#Garretts got nothing going on behind those eyes | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bluerose5 · 1 year

Text

Behind Closed Doors

Word Count: 3,593

Summary: When Anders requested his aid in finding those "outlandish" ingredients of his, Garrett had a feeling that something was off about the situation.

Taking matters into his own hands, he searched for answers.

~~~

Anders was terrible at lying.

From all the years they spent together, Garrett knew that to be true. Perhaps he could bullshit his way around others, but around Garrett? No such luck.

Living together made it even more obvious when one of them was acting differently. Turns out, after spending hours upon hours with each other every day, it became easy to pinpoint when they weren't their usual selves.

Who would've guessed?

So, when Anders asked to speak with him privately at his clinic, Garrett instantly knew that something was up.

Of course, the last thing he expected was for Anders to suggest separating from Justice.

Garrett felt as if he had been punched in the gut, all of the air knocked free from his lungs, leaving him breathless.

For so long, he had thought…

"I thought we were past this," Garrett said, his brow furrowed in concern. "Is there something wrong? Did something happen?"

Anders blinked owlishly at that.

"What do you—" He swallowed thickly, averting his eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Why are you suddenly so intent on splitting from Justice?" Garrett asked.

Anders scowled.

"Is it not enough that separating is what I want?" he countered. "Why must there be something wrong to come to that sort of conclusion?"

"Well, you have to admit, this is a bit out of the blue." Garrett pursed his lips. "I thought things were going fine. I thought that we —as in the three of us— were fine." Garrett paused, hesitant to give voice to his doubts. "Is Justice no longer happy? Are you no longer happy?"

“Garrett!” Anders admonished, taken aback.

“What?” He crossed his arms over his chest. “I can’t tell you the last time you laughed with me around. Maker’s breath, the last time I actually saw you smile was when we helped Nathaniel out.”

“That’s not true!”

“Oh, yes, it is. Don’t patronize me by insinuating otherwise,” Garrett snapped. The temperature flared around them in response to his ire. “But, by all means, remind me, Anders. When was the last time I said ‘I love you,’ and you didn’t immediately respond by changing the subject?”

Anders opened his mouth, then closed it, deep in thought as he grimaced.

All Garrett got in return was a deafening silence, but it was answer enough for him.

“That’s what I thought,” he sighed. “You know, there was a time when I was the one struggling to say those words back to you.” He shrugged. “Not that it matters. You’ll always have my support. I’ll respect your wishes regardless of what you decide to do with Justice. I just want you to be certain, though. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing either of you.” He chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Tell me. Is Justice on board with this?”

“Justice is on board with whatever helps our cause,” Anders replied. His words were deliberate, careful.

“Of course he is.” As if Garrett expected anything less. “Well, if you are certain, if this is what you truly desire, then you know I’ll help however I can.”

Even if something about the situation didn’t sit right with him.

Anders watched him closely. Eventually, his expression shifted, soft and tender.

“I knew you’d stand behind me in this. Even if…” He trailed off.

How quickly that gentle expression fell.

“What?” Garrett asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion.

Anders glanced away again, thoughtful, then said, “Nothing.”

Yeah, as if Garrett believed that for a single second.

However, before he could press the issue, Anders continued, “I’ve gathered most of what I need, but there are some… outlandish ingredients I was hoping you’d help me collect.”

As he went on to describe where they could find both the drakestone and the sela petrae, Garrett listened and responded accordingly. The drakestone didn’t sound too bad.

The sela petrae, on the other hand…

Let it never be said that Garrett Hawke wasn’t willing to do anything for the man that he loved.

But that didn’t mean that he had to follow him blindly.

If Garrett was going to help, then he wouldn’t do so under false pretenses.

When he told Anders that he needed to meet up with a business partner before they got started, Anders readily agreed, much too preoccupied with his own preparations to even detect the half-truth for what it was.

After they agreed to meet back up at the estate, Garrett departed.

As much as he despised going there, he rushed straight to the Gallows.

For the most part, he kept his head down and his eyes forward when he arrived. He didn’t want to see how many more mages were made Tranquil, compared to his last visit. He didn’t want to focus on the sounds of mages being beaten, day in and day out. He didn’t want to watch as his own people cowered in fear yet stared after him with envy, all because he was free to come and go as he pleased.

He didn’t want to go there, only to leave his fellow mages to the mercy of the templars, over and over again.

But he had a purpose for being there. One that he needed to tend to, and fast.

Ignoring the eyes trained on him, from both mages and templars alike, Garrett approached Solivitus with his best attempt at an easygoing grin.

Not that the herbalist bought the act, his responding smile strained, skin stretched tight around the edges.

“Sol!” Garrett enthused. “Great to see you, as always.”

“Likewise, Champion.” Solivitus stood tall, nodding in greeting. “Care to see what I have in stock today?”

He waved a hand over his collection of potions, spread out on display.

“As a matter of fact,” Garrett said, “I’d love to.” Casting a glance towards his neighboring Tranquil, out selling her goods as well, Garrett kept his voice calm and collected. “Although, you know me. I’m hardly an expert when it comes to this sort of thing, so I might have some questions.”

Solivitus didn’t miss a beat.

“But of course,” he replied, serene as could be, given the circumstances. “Now, let’s see, let’s see…” Trailing off for a moment, he hummed in contemplation, tapping a finger against his chin. “Aha! What about this beauty?”

He picked up a brand new flask, filled to the brim with a glistening, purple liquid. He cradled the container with care, leaning in close to speak to Garrett under his breath, as if reverent, awestruck.

“This is my latest addition,” he explained. “A fine blend of various strains of elfroot and spindleweed, meant to protect an individual from even the most fatal blows. Its regenerative abilities are second to none, capable of bringing one back from the brink of death.”

“Really?” Garrett asked, playing along for the time being. “With all of the unique ingredients you handle, all it takes to make something so powerful is a handful of elfroot and spindleweed, and that’s it?”

Garrett scoffed, incredulous, but leaned in closer, as if to get a better look.

“What?” he mumbled, careful with his words, even when he was certain that no one else could hear. He mimicked his joking tone from earlier, echoed what he said to Anders with a rather specific twist. “No virgins’ blood or eye of newt?” They locked gazes with a pointed look passing between them. “No concentrated manure or tongue of a hanged man?”

Again, Solivitus took the comment in stride, even as his expression lit up with both curiosity and understanding.

“Ha!” Sol laughed, scrunching up his nose at Garrett. “Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t handle ingredients that are quite that exciting. Although, funny you should mention it. During my early days at the Circle in Ostwick, I did know a rather unusual fellow who was so convinced that you could draw forth power from piles of poo. Bloody idiot, he was.”

“You’re kidding,” Garrett snorted.

Solivitus grumbled, continuing on about this imaginary youngster from his childhood.

“If only. One of his ventures to use the chamberpot was rather… explosive, to say the least.” Solivitus shuddered, his acting as impeccable as always. “Damn fool thought it was a sign from the Maker or some other nonsense, a blessing bestowed upon him so that he could ‘unlock true power.’” Solivitus shook his head in disdain. “He cast a single lightning spell and had us cleaning his waste from the walls for the next week.”

“Ew.” Garrett grimaced, taking note of where Sol added emphasis.

An explosive, huh? Was that what Anders was dealing with?

Given Sol’s extensive knowledge of rare and unusual ingredients, Garrett had no reason to doubt him.

It brought to mind what Anders said earlier.

“No, no ritual. Just mix the ingredients up and… boom. Justice and I are free.”

That sly bastard. He had the gall to fucking joke about it to Garrett's face while lying through his teeth?

Before he could get too upset, Solivitus nudged him gently in the side, a not-so-subtle reminder of where he was.

“Yeah,” Sol agreed, his eyebrow raised in question. “I would not recommend replicating his experiments.”

“No kidding,” Garrett said, now cautious for an entirely different reason. He needed to get home, lest he slip up and risk this somehow getting traced back to Anders. "I think I'll just stick with the elfroot and spindleweed for now."

"A wise choice."

After coin changed hands, Garrett strolled out of the Gallows with his newly-acquired potion, appearing as confident as he was when he first arrived.

Only, once he was out of sight and well beyond those prison walls, he nearly slumped over from exhaustion —physical, mental, emotional.

The walk through Hightown was filled with forced pleasantries and tense smiles as everyone and their mother stopped what they were doing to greet the Champion.

By the time he made it to the estate, Bodahn informed him that Anders was waiting for him in the library.

"Whatever he's working on, he's really focused," Bodahn remarked. "I thought it best not to bother him, so I left him to his own devices."

"Thank you for that," Garrett said, taking the time to rub at the back of his neck. "Listen, I have an important matter to discuss with him. Do you mind taking Sandal and Orana out to the markets for the next hour or two? Here." He reached towards his belt and unfastened a coinpurse, taking it and setting it into Bodahn's hand. "On me."

"Messere," Bodahn gasped, "this is mighty generous of you, but surely this is too much."

"I insist." When he tried to return the pouch, Garrett gently pushed it back towards him, closing his hands over it once more. "You've all done a lot for this family over the years. Let me repay the kindness that you've shown me."

Bodahn stared up at him, then nodded in resignation.

"As you wish then. Give us a moment, and we'll clear out."

Garrett nodded in turn. As soon as they were ready, he saw them off out the door.

Before he could even think about searching for Anders, he had to make sure that their home was secure. Setting aside Sol’s potion, he checked that the locks to the estate were properly latched into place, but even that was not enough to put his mind at ease.

Garrett set up several wards to ensure that no one would be getting in or out of the estate without his say-so. While he drew the curtains closed, he had Barkspawn run a sweep over the estate.

One burglar in his wardrobe had been one too many for his liking.

Call him paranoid, but the conversation he and Anders needed to have should be for their ears and their ears alone.

By the time Barkspawn returned, barking his approval, Garrett spared him a few treats from his pack, along with a heaping pile of praise.

When he left to stand guard at the entrance, as Garrett directed, Garrett finally sought out his beloved apostate.

There, in the library, Anders poured over a tome with a burning intensity, ultimately unaware of his surroundings.

He jolted when Garrett cleared his throat, turning to greet him with a small smile.

One look at Garrett’s face, however, and his smile vanished.

“Are you okay?” Anders said, approaching him cautiously. “Are you ready to head out?”

“We can leave soon,” Garrett promised, lips pursed. “But first, I would like to speak with you in private.” He gestured out towards the main living area. “Up in our room, perhaps?”

“Okay…” Anders said, the word drawn out in confusion. “But we really should be leaving soon. The quicker we get this done, the better.”

“Oh, I’m sure,” Garrett muttered. “I assure you, though. This will only take a moment.”

Hesitant, Anders considered what would be his best course of action in this scenario, eventually nodding along in agreement.

Together, they climbed the stairs to their room in silence.

Once they were safely inside, Garrett searched the room yet again. He peeked out the window behind the curtains, confirming that no one lingered in the streets below. With that being cleared, he turned to rummage through the wardrobe, and then glanced underneath the bed with a keen eye.

Anders watched him, dumbfounded.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

Instead of immediately answering, Garrett added two layers of wards to both the door and the windows.

The first was to repel anyone who tried entering without permission.

The second was to muffle any and all noise from within.

Garrett turned to Anders after he was finished, clenching his jaw.

“I’m trying to make sure that we won’t be interrupted,” he explained, “and that we don’t have to worry about anyone overhearing us.” His frown deepened. “We need to talk.”

“I gathered as much,” Anders stated, suddenly on edge. “Garrett, seriously, we don’t have time for th—”

“Then, make time,” Garrett retorted, lowering his voice when Anders winced.

Even with the wards in place, they remained quiet, careful not to raise their voices too much.

Swallowing past the lump in his throat, Garrett put some distance between them, taking a seat on the edge of the bed while he stared into the crackling flames of the fireplace.

“Were you—” He shook his head, exasperated by this turn of events. “Anders, were either of you going to tell me the truth?”

A spark of light flashed across his skin, but it quickly dimmed, there and gone in the blink of an eye.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he muttered, but the fact that he couldn’t look Garrett in the eye told him all that he needed to know.

“Right,” Garrett deadpanned, “so I guess the whole ‘making an explosive’ thing is something that I’m imagining. Great, so now I’m crazy?” Anders stiffened, and Garrett knew that he had him. “Oh, yes, dear, I know. I might not know your whole plan, but I know enough.”

Anders turned his back to him, wrapping his arms tightly around himself, as if to keep himself from falling apart.

“How did you find out?” he asked, his tone hollow and empty.

Garrett figured that, if anything, the time for honesty was now.

“I paid Solivitus a visit.”

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.

Anders’ head snapped in his direction. A bright glow surged to the surface of his skin, forming veins of blue light, reminiscent of lyrium.

His eyes —once a warm, honey brown— were consumed in a blinding storm of blue.

He and Justice spoke together as one, the spirit’s voice reverberating through his host’s.

“You went to the Gallows?” they snarled. “Alone?”

“Don’t try to turn this around on me,” Garrett spat. “I can take care of myself. I covered my tracks.”

“Are you okay?” they asked. “Did anyone hurt you?” Before Garrett could respond, they stormed over to stand in front of him. They took his face in hand, turning it this way and that as they looked him over from head to toe, their movements frantic. Garrett allowed them to continue with their poking and prodding, knowing that they needed to be certain that he returned unscathed. “We swear, if any of them so much as laid a finger on you…”

“I’m fine,” Garrett assured them, taking trembling hands into his own. He gave them a firm squeeze, his touch lingering. “But I hope you realize that I wouldn’t have had to resort to going there, if only you two had been honest with me in the first place.”

They shook their head, snatched their hands away, but Garrett insisted on his side being heard.

“Back at your clinic, I could tell that something was bothering you, that you were hiding this big secret of yours. I’m not stupid, you know.”

“We never meant to imply that you were.”

“If that wasn’t your intent, then stop coddling me,” Garrett said. Getting to his feet, he faced them and refused to back down. “Stop treating me like a child.”

“We were just trying to protect you!”

“By lying to me! By making me believe that we were going to lose Justice!” Frustrated, Garrett threw his hands up into the air. “As if I would rejoice in knowing such a thing.”

Their light flared, as did the neighboring fire, the room glowing brighter as their combined whirlwind of emotions stoked the roaring flames.

“We didn’t want to involve you any more than necessary,” Justice and Anders explained. “We don’t want you to have to pay the price for our crimes.”

“That might not be up to you,” Garrett told them. “That should be my decision.” He jabbed a finger into his own chest for emphasis. “The mages are my people, too. How often you seem to forget that.”

“We wouldn’t expect you to give up everything you have built.”

“Everything I built?” Garrett barked out a laugh, bordering on hysterical as he combed his fingers through unruly curls. “What exactly is keeping me tied down to Kirkwall anymore, if not you? If not the idea that we could help the mages here? Had it not been for that, I would have left as soon as Mother died. This place—”

Garrett struggled for breath, finally giving voice to the darkness that had been eating at him for years.

“It’s killing me, Anders.” Garrett’s vision blurred. His heart raced. Every gasp of air felt like too little and too much, all at once. “Everywhere I look, there is death and pain and suffering. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my friends. I love all of the adventures and excitement we get caught up in, but it’s not worth it. Staying here is slowly chipping away at everything I am, and I’m just so worried about what’s going to be left of me when all of this is over.”

His hands shook, magic flaring, uncontrollable.

Tears burned at his eyes, spilled down his cheeks.

When Anders and Justice reached out for him, Garrett didn’t even hesitate, burying himself into their arms, his head tucked underneath their chin.

They squeezed him close, refusing to let go.

This time, they were keeping him from falling apart.

“I want to do something right for a change. I knew that this was coming. You warned me yourself,” Garrett murmured, his words but a ghost of a whisper against their throat. “‘No small change would address the injustices that mages face.’”

Garrett pulled away, only far enough to cup their cheeks.

They leaned their forehead against his, noses brushing ever so softly.

“You always mention how I have the potential to become a leader to our people, so I’m asking you to trust me now to do what is right by them, no matter how difficult it might be.” Wrapping his arms around their waist, he rested his head upon their shoulder. “Trust me to help you. To support you through this. To make whatever sacrifices are necessary. And perhaps, one day, our children and our children’s children will live in a world where mages’ talents are to be celebrated, rather than feared.”

Anders scoffed, but their heart warmed at the thought nonetheless.

“You truly expect such change to happen in our lifetime?”

“Heh, call me optimistic.” Garrett smirked. “One of us has to be.”

Snorting, Anders leaned in and pressed a brief kiss to his lips.

“You know that we’ll be fugitives after this, right?” They sighed. “There is no turning back from that.”

“Good, because I had no plans to,” Garrett stated. “The majority of my life before Kirkwall was spent on the run, hopping from place to place. I kind of miss it. The spontaneity of it, not knowing what the next day will bring.” His grin spread. “Plus, it will be nice to get an actual change of scenery.”

“What?” Anders joked. “The annual trip to the Bone Pit not up to your standards anymore?”

“You don’t know the half of it.” He paused, considering. “In all seriousness, though, if it meant building a better future for you and all other mages, then I will gladly throw away everything left of my life in Kirkwall. The house, the title, the money… We’ll make do without it, I swear. So long as we’re together, we’ll get through anything.”

“Garrett,” they breathed, nothing short of reverent.

“Yes?”

“We’re sorry,” they said, “for ever doubting you, but we’ll make it up to you now. We’ll finish this. Together.”

“No more secrets?”

“No more secrets,” they promised.

#dragon age #dragon age 2 #da2 #garrett hawke #anders #da justice #handers #justhanders #this hawke has a more active role in the boom #so if that's not your cup of tea #please ignore #they're rebel husbands what can i say #bluerose rambles #bluerose writes #decided to post the whole work here #click on the title for link to ao3 #if the game won't give me the outcomes i want #then i'll make them myself

50 notes · View notes

thornbushrose · 1 year

Text

Um.. so, I'm writing a Daredevil fanfiction and I need some help. A beta reader would be great. It's a Matt/OC slow burn romance rewrite of Season 3. Lots of whump, lots of banter (I could write banter for days with these two) and some action scenes later on.

Teaser - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Birdie Garrett is a social worker at St. Agnes' Home for Boys. Compassion is her job, even when it turns out that the mysterious guest in the infirmary isn't what he seems.

Fortunately, Birdie isn't what she seems to be, either.

Excerpt - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

“Are you ready for lunch, Mr. Murdock?” Birdie called out as she entered Patient X’s room. She went to the table by his bed and set down the tray.

The man in the bed had probably been handsome when he was well, but weeks in bed had made him pale and hollow-looking, like a plant in a closet. Whatever had happened to him, his chest was crossed by scars, bandages and stitched wounds. His eyes were half open and corpselike. He didn’t move a muscle to greet her.

Birdie said, “Mr. Murdock? Are you awake? I can’t tell.”

“I sleep with my eyes closed,” he said, faintly. “Just like sighted people.”

“Well, for your information,” Birdie said, in the same tone she used with curious children, “Some sighted people sleep with their eyes partially open.” She crossed the room and opened the cupboard there. “I’m Birdie Garrett. I’m a social worker with the orphanage.”

“Birdie? Like, tweet tweet?”

“Yep.” She opened the cabinet on the wall by his bed.

“Your parents hate you?”

“Yep, that’s why they named me Roberta.” Birdie checked the shelves on the far wall. “I’ve been Birdie since I was six.”

He waited while she looked through the laundry basket next to the cabinet. “You’re not a nun.”

“And you’re not a little boy, so I guess we both got a surprise today.”

Murdock stirred, shifting to face her slightly. “The chocolate’s a bit much.”

Birdie bent down to look under his bed and frowned. “What chocolate? Oh wait.” She sniffed her hands. “Yeah, this new lotion I bought wants everyone to know it has cocoa butter.”

His voice was weak but deep, gravelly. “Why are you under my bed?”

“I’m looking for your backrest pillow. You don’t know where they keep it, do you?”

He waved vaguely at his face. “Haven’t seen it.”

“Har har,” Birdie said. “I’ll be right back.” She went out of the room and searched the linen closet, but of course those backrest pillows were only to be found when you didn’t want one. Eventually, she found one in another room and came back to her patient. “Got it.”

She set the pillow on the bed near his feet and pulled his sheet back. “I’m going to lift you and scoot you up the bed so you can sit. Tell me if I’m hurting you.”

She hooked her hands under his arms, set her legs, and pulled him up into an awkward hug. He was heavier than he looked; he must have had some muscle still in there. She prepared herself to haul him toward the head of the bed, but he did it himself with his arms. He had his lips pressed together, his face tightened against the pain, but a small moan came through anyway. Then they were done, and Birdie put the backrest pillow behind him and helped him settle back.

He obviously was used to keeping himself fit, she thought, and to have such reduced mobility must be hard for him. In addition to being unable to see, he’d injured his spine and broken a hip. It was probably too early to know if he was going to get his legs back. So she turned away from him to allow him to catch his breath while she fussed over his blankets.

Slowly, she became aware that something was bothering her. It was like a beam of hot sunlight on bare skin, like a hair tickling her back under her clothes. Like voices engaged in a fierce conversation, just barely heard through a wall. She swiped at her ear, her shoulder, her elbow, but there was nothing there. She turned back to Murdock, who was facing away from her, catching his breath, and she felt the heat on her face. It was him. More properly, it was his heart.

Birdie could sense hearts. She called it reading them, but it was much more than that. If she focused, she could perceive what was inside someone. It was what made her so good at matching orphans to would-be parents. Hearts opened to her in a panorama of temperature, sight and sound. It was hard to interpret and sometimes traumatic. She had learned to block it out when she was a teenager, but some people projected. There was no way to ignore this man’s heart, so Birdie took a deep breath and opened up to it.

Matthew Murdock didn’t have a heart so much as a huge pile of rubble, pulsing faintly and screaming in pain.

He was in so much pain.

Not bodily pain. There was plenty of that, but it was muted by medications. Somehow, though, what had happened to him was a lot worse than a spinal injury and a broken hip. He’d lost something – or someone – he loved, and worse. Something that had been the cornerstone of his entire identity. The writhing pile of broken cement and glass that had been his heart was crisscrossed with confusion, fuzzy and green like mold that burned rage-red around the edges. He didn’t understand what had happened to him, and he was furious about it.

He could be a ticking time bomb, she realized. Or he could overcome this and be stronger than before. It would depend on a lot of things.

“You okay?” he said.

Birdie returned to reality with a jolt. Murdock’s sightless features appeared to be focused on her. She was glad he couldn’t see the expression she quickly blinked off her face. “No, I’m… I’m fine. Just distracted by something.”

Her heart pounding, she uncovered his tray and set it in his lap. What would happen if the fury she sensed in him exploded? Would he turn violent? Would he harm himself? Was she safe, being alone with him?

He turned his face toward the tray. “Chicken noodle. Smells like my childhood.”

“Mine, too,” Birdie said. She placed his hands on the cup of soup and the spoon. It was hard to imagine him becoming violent. This poor, pale, neglected houseplant. “You grew up here, didn’t you? In the orphanage?”

“Yeah.” Very gingerly, he took a tiny amount of soup in the spoon and brought it to his lips.

“Were you adopted eventually?”

“No. There was one guy.” His voice turned hollow. “But it didn’t work. I aged out.”

Birdie nodded, forgetting he couldn’t see her. “That must have been tough.”

He didn’t answer, savoring his soup. Or maybe brooding over it. If he were anyone else, she would have been able to sense the difference. But not him. The screaming was too loud.

“Do you mind if I ask how you were injured?” Birdie asked.

“Yes. I mind.” Murdock set the soup down in his lap and groped on the tray. Birdie put the cup of water into his hand. He took a sip and changed the subject. “You said you work for the orphanage?”

“I’m a social worker. I represent the kids, make sure their needs are being met, facilitate adoptions, etc.”

“Does that work?”

“I’m the best baby-seller this side of the Hudson. Legally, anyway.”

Murdock set his cup down. He was starting to sound tired. “I meant, adoption. People just take home a random kid and they’re a family?”

Birdie pursed her lips. “Well, it takes work. All families take work.” She watched him eat pensively. “It worked for me, anyway.”

Murdock paused, mid-slurp. “You’re adopted?”

“My birth mother abandoned me as an infant. I joined my real family when I was two.”

“Does that make you mad?”

She sighed and brushed his arm with a napkin. “It used to. I mean, I had my angsty teenage years like everyone else.” She shrugged. “The people I work with now—sometimes they’re in ugly situations too. Maybe leaving me in a safebox at the fire department was the best she could do.”

Murdock took the napkin and wiped his chin. “That’s very magnanimous of you.” All of his movements were slow, shaky.

“Yeah, well. Two summers at anger management camp is all it took.”

A corner of his mouth twitched. “Teenage angst?”

“I never do anything halfway.”

He snorted and turned back to his soup. Birdie decided to let him eat in peace.

She hadn’t actually spent two summers at anger management camp, but it was easier than explaining the truth. The swanky upstate private school had taught her how to control her empathy as well as her anger. They’d have taught her a lot more stuff too, if she’d agreed to their terms. She didn’t mind letting them study her, to a certain point. But she didn’t want to play their little war games.

A few minutes later, the cup was empty, and Birdie got up to clear away the trash. “Do you need help to lie down again?”

“I’d like to stay up,” he said. “Unless you need to return this pillow.”

“Pillow?” Birdie said, with a deliberately confused expression. “What pillow, Sister? Did you look in the linen closet?”

Something that had probably been a smile in a previous life brushed by his lips without reaching his eyes. “Thanks for that. No one else propped me up before.”

Birdie stopped in the act of lifting the tray. “What? How have you been eating?”

“On my back. They fed me with a spoon.”

Birdie frowned. “They can’t do that. I’ll talk to someone.” She carried the tray to the door. “I have to say, though, this was a very poor showing, Mr. Murdock. I was told you’d hurt my feelings.”

“Matt. And I tried my best,” he said. “You aren’t scared of me.”

“I’m not a nun. I am not intimidated by half-naked men.”

“Didn’t they tell you I’m the Devil?”

Birdie paused for a moment, choosing her next words carefully. “If the Devil himself had been through what you have, Matthew Murdock, he’d be a gibbering heap on the floor.” Murdock turned his face away from her, blinking hard. Birdie carried the tray out and closed the door behind her.

==============================

If you like it, please comment or message me. I really need some writing buddies.

#daredevil #daredevil fan fiction #daredevil angst #daredevil fanfiction #matt murdock #human disaster matt murdock #matt murdock needs a hug #matt murdock/oc

12 notes · View notes

greypetrel · 1 year

Note

!! for the hand in hand starters, how about ∆ HEAL ∆ - sender treats a wound on the receiver’s hand

Hello! ✨

No character stated? Uh. Let’s do something new, shall we. And since last prompt was light and very fluff...

Also I honestly don’t know how but in my first DA2 play I triggered Anders’ romance by mistake. I was running after Isabela and suddenly Anders tried to kiss me and I was there bitch what. Of course I kept it.

Tis the prompt list

∆ HEAL ∆ - sender treats a wound on the receiver’s hand

Raina staggered back, bumping her back against the wall -she didn’t want to know what exactly fell when she did, she just felt something splorch under her boot and she prayed it was a patch of snow that hadn’t melted yet. She had no heart to peek down and look, she was better without looking. She fixed on her adversary instead, raising up her fists against her face, spitting on the side as the last of the thugs got close by, blabbering something she didn’t even care to listen to. She was panting, her left thigh hurt if she put her weight on her leg, and as per usual, that spot on her left ribcage had a bruise as well, with two or three others around herself. None on her back, tho, of which she was proud.

So much for her grand return to the Hanged Man after Anders finally declared her stomach healed and her good to go out. He would have probably killed her for running head-first into a brawl after her second beer of the evening, but in the moment she couldn’t care less. Things were finally back to normal, she felt alive again, adrenaline rushing and keeping her active. And she hadn’t even needed to put that much effort in finding the fight. Or well, starting it, but those were details. She loved Kirkwall.

She waited in guard for the last thug to approach her – he was a tall and buff mercenary always so quick in whistling at her and Merrill whenever they came around the tavern, big words, apparently no neck and slow feet, not intelligent enough to guess that if she knocked out his three friends, chances were that she would have done the same with him as well. But oh no, he was the last in town to know exactly who killed the Arishok. Raina wasn’t complaining.

He stepped up, gained speed -as much as he could- and raised his fist, ready to punch her… And she ducked last minute, crouching and slipping just below his fist and leaving it colliding against the wall where her nose was before. How unfortunate. She didn’t lose time, and spun around at once. He just started screaming in pain that she hit him, slapping hard against his right ear to make him lose balance and kicking him in the kidney, from behind, hard with her knee, building momentum by spinning on herself.

He fell on the ground, and she punched his nose -she heard the crack of the bone breaking and ignored the sharp pain in her knuckles as they collided against the skull. He was on the ground, breathing hard and holding his nose with both hands, groaning loudly in gurgling noises, throat full of blood. Raina panted hard, spitting again somewhere and waiting for him to cross her eyes.

“Say one more comment to any girl and I’ll get back to finish the work. Got it, Casanova?”

She smiled at him, leaving clear that she wasn’t joking. He luckily got the message, and nodded, not trying to get up again. Luckily for her, because her hand was throbbing pretty painfully, and she was tired. Too much time in convalescence, and surely there wasn’t anything tugging in her stomach. Nothing at all, uh-uh.

She nodded once, declared it had been a pleasure talking of basic decency with them, and as the group of thugs was raising back from the ground and scampering away scared from her, she entered back the tavern.

Cheers and whistles welcomed her in, and in all answer she curtseyed, as graciously and elegantly as her mother tried to teach her ever since she was a child. She had listened, just refused to do it for the Chantry Mother in Lothering, driving her mother crazy and Garrett laughing under his hand.

Satisfied with herself and feeling a little less cranky than when she entered the tavern, she went straight for the counter, winking at Corff and asking him whatever hard liquor tasted less like piss he had.

She heard someone calling her from behind, but honestly? She didn’t want the company. Not this evening. This evening was for getting in the first fight on the way, no daggers, no weapons, just good old punches and kicks, and getting horribly drunk. She killed the fucking Arishok and suddenly everyone in Hightown liked her, the hypocrites, she had sex with one of her best friends on a whim and said best friend somehow didn’t hate her, was ok with the thing, just told her to settle things up with the other friend she really liked and had sex with and tell her what she decided. And who never came to check on her whilst she healed. Not when she was conscious at least, she’s been told the piratess has been there in the first night, after they got back from the palace. But then? Nothing.

And Raina Hawke was never good at talking about feelings. And feelings, with Bela, were very clearly out of the discussion. So, she would have done the sensible thing anyone in her fucked up position would do. Drown the feelings that shouldn’t be there in… It was clear, it could be whatever spirit brewed in a cellar in Darktown- and get on with her life. Decided what she wanted to do with her life.

Maybe the answer was on the bottom of that glass.

But when she drowned it, all in one gulp, there was none, just her throat burning hot, and her hand hurting really bad. Fantastic, the thugs had hard heads for real. She shook the offending appendage in the air, breathing out the too strong liquor and, finally, assessing the situation. Her knuckles were angry and red, and the blood was hers too, gushing out from a couple of bad cuts across the bones. Right when her fingers bent, and she bent them enough not to let the cut close. Fantastic.

She grunted, rubbing angrily her hand against her jacket -it was dirty anyway- and asking for another drink. Maybe it would have been the right one for an answer.

Isabela, tho, arrived before her drink, casually leaning her back against the counter, right beside her.

“What next, convincing Martin to lower his prices by gnawing at his ears?”

“You know me, I live to serve.”

“A difficult course of action. If Anders entered now and saw you like this, he’d tie you to the bed.”

“He wished.”

She snorted, mirthlessly. Feeling horrible right after for the sarcasm she used. She didn’t know if it was already cool joking on it, or it was too soon after he tried to kiss her and she had to tell him she wasn’t interested. In boys in general. Never been.

Her liquor arrived, giving her at least a distraction. Another shot right down her throat, all of a sudden. It hurt less than the first, her throat probably numbing. The silence felt forced and tense, and she was about to ask for maybe another couple of small drinks, when Bela stopped her, placing a hand on her elbow and pulling a little.

“Come on, Champion, let me see that hand.”

“What for.”

“We wouldn’t want Blondie to throw a fit because you’re undoing all his hard work.”

She laughed, but there was little joy in it, and she refused to look at her in the eyes, carefully looking at a random point on the other side of the room. Raina nodded and followed her, snaking through other adventors and usual faces to climb up the stairs, Isabela leading her to the room she inhabited. It wasn’t the first time, Raina knew what to expect. Few things scattered untidily around with little care, trinkets on surfaces of little value, just to sway thieves so uncareful to go stealing from her, just the bed neatly done.

And what she met was a tidy room, knick-knacks at their usual place, but no clothes, bad romance novels, papers and quills and tools around. An opened sack tossed in a corner, evidently full. So that was it. Raina tried to ignore the sting of knowing she was leaving, didn’t comment in the least to anything she saw. She just politely asked for permission to ender the Captain’s quarters, in a mock salute, and went to sit on the foot of the bed, perching on the border, when she was allowed in. She didn’t take off the jacket, but just focused on her boots as Bela retrieved from her sack the small lacquered box she kept her medicinal tools in. Because a girls must be ready for everything. And brought to the bed the bowl of water from the vanity, with a clean cloth.

She offered her hand when she asked, not saying anything but a nod of her head and letting her work, washing it thoroughly and disinfecting it with a pomade she had for the occasions. It stung, it really stung, and Raina hissed through her teeth, instinctively trying to retract her hand.

“For a person who gets in so many fights, your pain tolerance is incredibly low.” She giggles, and if Raina had wanted to hurt herself more, she could stop and consider that behind her words there was some affection. But, no.

“Why being predictable, after all. Predictability is boring.”

“Exactly, why.”

Silence fell again as Isabela carefully rubbed the pomade on her knuckles, fingers very delicate on hers and pressing a little on the meaty part of her hand, in a proper massage. It shouldn’t have been so intimate, none of them even closed the door. But they’d been there in other situations, none of them had involved luggages ready for departure, and there hadn’t been any “I almost died to save your life” part yet. When she finished, Bela didn’t let go of the hand, taking it in both of hers and placing it on her lap. Raina didn’t turn to look and let her do, stubbornly silent.

“Listen. I’m… I wanted to thank you for what you did. All of it.”

“I should thank you for coming back.”

“Yeah, sure.” She snorted. “You could have done it without me. You and Aveline could have stormed the Keep on your own, add your brother in the mix and neither the ashes would have been left.”

“I… “ I didn’t care enough to do it. Weren’t it for you, I would have left the city to the Qunari. She can’t tell her anything of that sort, tho. “… I don’t think so.” Better. Less pining. Maybe.

She heard sighing from her right, some more fumbling in the box, before something leant on her knuckles. A rapid glance on the side showed clean bandages being wrapped around it. The discourse looked concluded, but if Bela was really leaving, she had to ask. She needed to ask.

“You never came to say hi, ever since the Keep.” There. She couldn’t look at her anymore. “Why so?”

The work on her hand stopped.

“I am sorry. I… I was busy.”

Oh. So it was that. Busy. Well, she could understand it. After all, they had stolen back a relic from a gang of bandits whose boss was still around and knew who did it. And she also had had to organise her journey. Of course. Raina couldn’t reply, too busy, herself, to suppress everything, every nasty, self-deprecating and uncomfortable feeling that was arising in her throat. She wished it was alcohol, but she didn’t drink enough. She swallowed it.

“Well, you missed Anders almost getting along with Fenris, and Merrill playing doctor. It was fun. And Wicked Grace on my bed all together in our nightwear. Nothing much, anyway, we could do it again.” A pause. “Well, not the Anders and Fenris not trying to jump at each other’s throat, that would be difficult to recreate.”

“Merrill told me.”

“About the pyjama party? Yes, that was fun, Garrett and her built a huge pillow fort, Beowoof destroyed running right at it. It was-”

“She told me about you. And her.”

“… Ah.”

She froze, not replying in the least. And what to tell her? Yeah she had been crying and she was cute and I fucked it up but maybe not so much.

“She’s a good one, Hawke she’ll… She’ll be good for you.”

It hurt, honestly. It hurt even more than that luggage ready for departure.

“What about…?”

“We had our fun together. But that was it. Fun, right?”

“Yeah…” No, it was not. Not for her. “It’s been fun.”

She didn’t sound convinced, not even to herself. But, whatever doubts she had is ignored, swept away in that pile of unsaid and unexpressed that’s raising so high this evening. And with that, Bela deemed the bandage done, and patted delicately the back of her hand, satisfied.

“There, good as new. And that’s it.”

“When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow.”

“I see.”

“It’s… I can’t stay here, Hawke.”

“I understand.”

“Castillon’s men will look for me.”

“Of course.”

“And… I don’t want to drag you in. I already did too much damage to you.”

“I was the one to follow you and not Aveline.”

“It wasn’t Aveline you almost died in a one-on-one combat.”

And, Raina had no words to reply to that. She just slouched forward, propping her elbows on her thighs and crossing her fingers between them, observing with focus a larger crack between two of the planks of the pavement, following the nodes in the woods.

“I- Listen, I’m not good for you. Haven’t been from the start. We both know it. I told you I didn’t want feelings.”

“You did.”

“And, you found another person. It’s gonna be fine. Someone has to think of your own good, while you’re so busy thinking of everyone else’s…”

“It makes sense.”

She felt her eyes burning, and clenched her jaw, hard, not to cry. What had Merrill done to her, that she now cried at every given chance? So many years in carefully avoiding it and now, twice in a week? She hated Kirkwall.

A hand clenched on her shoulder -contracted to the limit shoulder, but the fingers managed to squeeze nonetheless.

“So, goodbye, Hawke. And thank you, really. For everything. I’ll… I’ll leave you here, take your time. It’s the least I can do.”

And with that, Isabela rose up, mattress swaying a little as her weight left it. One step, another, another one as the Captain reached the door, hinges squeaking-

“It doesn’t have to be one over the other.” Raina blurted out, unwillingly. She hated how desperate she looked. But she could care later. “I mean, if you two are ok… It works with both, for me. All three of us. If you’re ok.”

There, out in the open, the forbidden dream she couldn’t even admit with herself. Drooling out of her lips before she can even think about what she was saying. Her heart thumped so loud in her ears, nose pricked as the urge to cry got more and more urgent every second Isabela didn’t speak. But again, she suppressed tears for twenty years. She could resist some more, contracting her fingers on themselves until the knuckles still visible became white. And waiting.

“… Goodbye, Hawke. Thank you.”

And with that, the door closed behind Bela, and Raina was left to herself and her tears, bursting out suddenly and more violently than she would have expected. She didn’t care if she could be heard -the walls of that place were horribly thin- or of whatever. She just slipped to the ground, pressed her face between her thighs, and hugged her knees, crying and crying until she had no more to give.

By all means, all Isabela said made perfect, absolute sense. But this was Kirkwall, and this was her, and nothing in that city or in her life followed rules that made any sense. So, she just dragged herself to her feet, and marched right out of the tavern, straight to home.

There was alcohol that was more reliable, at home, for sure.

#dragon age #dragon age 2 #dragon age fic #hawke x isabela #hawkebela #female hawke x isabela #raina hawke #writing petrel

6 notes · View notes

drmakeyousing · 1 year

Text

*The last thing I expected on my way into work this early in the morning was Charles leaning against the wall outside of my office. He was the oldest and crankiest of all of the orderlies, and I made it a point to exclude him from my plans.

The amused looked on his face suggested otherwise, though. There could only be one thing he would be at my door for. He knew.

I acted unfazed as I unlocked my office door and opened it, pausing for a moment before I stepped inside and finally acknowledged Charles.*

Is there something you need me for, Charles?

*Without a word, Charles shoved past me into my office. This man actually elbowed me out of the way getting into /MY/ space. When he reached my desk, he turned and leaned against the front of it, arms crossed. He was going for intimidation.

“I’m onto you, Dr. McKamey. I know all about the side operation you’re settin’ up. I knew you was trouble from the second you walked into this hospital, and now I have proof.”

My eyebrows shot up as I closed my door and crossed the room to Charles. I reached past him and set my things on the desk before I looked him straight in the eye, challenging him*

Oh, do you? That’s interesting, since I came here to help Dr. Whitley with his research - /AT HIS REQUEST/ - and nothing more. Maybe you could fill me in on this side hustle that I have?

*The high and mighty look that he gave me reminded me of my father when I was a teenager when he thought he’d caught me in some kind of lurid act. Even then, I was able to talk my way out of it. I could be very convincing when I wanted to be.

“I been told you been goin’ around givin’ the boys opportunities to help you… take care of some problems around here. Usin’ all of those methods your grandmother used around here - Yes, I know all about you bein’ related to Mildred. Ratched.”

He paused to make a face, like my grandmother’s name alone had an effect on him.

“I want in, or I’m goin’ ta Whitley. I will not have you damagin’ the reputation of this place.”

Did he think I was scared of him? Scared of Dr. Whitley? The doctor was too caught up in his research and could really care less what I did. I’d only seen him twice since I’d started, and those were only quick conversations about how I was settling in and if I needed anything.

As for Charles? Oh, I wasn’t even worried. I gave him the same tight-lipped smile I always gave him and nodded*

You know what, Charles? That’s a great idea. Why don’t you join us in the old operating theatre this evening so I can show everyone the ropes at once?

*This answer seemed to satisfy him. He nodded once and headed towards the door. I’m pretty sure he would have been more combative if he disagreed.

And now… I had to find Brian.

~~~

It was a few minutes past seven when I approached the door to the old operating theatre. I could hear voices mingling behind the closed door. It got quiet as soon as I let myself in, and I took a quick survey of the room. Brian… James… Garrett… Roger…

Oh, and Charles stood in the corner, brooding as he usually did around the hospital. Everything was normal.

I approached the gleaming new table fixed in front of the theatre seating, looking up at the empty rows of chairs. I’d never been one for being in front of an audience, but I never stopped wondering what it would be like. After a moment of reflecting, I snapped back to the present and turned to face the orderlies, leaning back against the table*

This is the last of the three rooms you’ll be helping me in. Hopefully we won’t be using it very much, but I feel like it’s necessary. I’ll just give you guys a quick overview of how everything works.

*I reached down and picked up one of the belts attached to the table, my fingers stroking over the buckle*

Brian had you draw straws earlier. Who got the short one and gets the honor of playing patient first?

*There was silence for a moment and then, as expected, Charles stepped forward with a grumble, holding up a straw. I put on a surprised facade and moved to the side, patting the table*

Well, come on down, Charles!

*I moved to the end of the table where Charles laid his head, and the rest of the orderlies gathered around on either side, each picking up a strap beside our “patient’s” wrists and ankles. They looked towards me for instruction and I gave each of them a curious look*

Are you guys telling me that /NONE/ of you have had to strap down a thrashing patient? Do I really have to show you everything?

*The four of them snapped into action, securing Charles to the table. His arms were splayed out at his sides, and his legs were straight and securely lashed to the frame of the table. Charles looked up at me indignantly, speaking in his gruff voice.

“Is that all? This seems like the easiest job in the world. You didn’t even need me up here!”

At the head of the table, I pulled out a final set of straps, methodically buckling them together before I tightened them, letting the smooth leather creep towards Charles’ forehead*

Oh, I do need you there, Charles. It seems like there is some animosity between us, and I want you to hear me out so we can clear the air. I just want us to get along…

*After I secured the last strap, I strode towards the little cart nearby that held the tools I needed. I listened to Charles state his case.

“You can let me up now. We don’t have to get along. I just want a cut. Bigger’n all of these young fellas are gettin’. As long as that happens, I’m not sayin’ nothin’.”

I stepped back up to the head of the table, shaking my head*

Now, Charles… I just really can’t trust you after all we’ve been through. I think we’re going to keep an eye on you.

*I produced the long pick and mallet that I’d picked up from the tray, waving them in his field of vision. For the first time since I’d met him, there was something besides disdain in Charles’ eyes. They were clouded with fear as he spoke again.

“Now, now… I’m not one to say nothin’ to nobody. Just let me up. I’ll take an equal cut, and we’ll never say anythin’ about anythin’.”

Brian came up beside me and used his fingers to hold Charles’ left eye open wide before I positioned the pick at the inside corner, looking down at the man that was now at my mercy.*

I know you won’t say anything, Charles. You’re never going to say anything ever again. You don’t run this place anymore.

*James came up beside me and stuffed a rag into Charle’s mouth, muffling the man’s grunts of resistance. I brought the little mallet down onto the handle of the pick, the tapping of steel against steel quickly echoing around the room. I felt resistance as the pick hit bone, and my strikes became more deliberate until finally I broke through with an audible crunch. I lightly tapped one more time to hit my target, then twirled the pick as described in my grandmother’s notes. Charles went quiet, and I knew it had been done correctly. I slowly pulled the pick away, looking for any signs of bleeding from the now-catatonic man laying on the table.

I looked up at the orderlies across the table from me, all of them straightening up from where they’d hunched over the table to watch. I quickly lifted the pick and pointed it at each one of them in turn.”

Now… which one of you told? How did Charles know?

*One by one, the orderlies took a step back until one remained. James stood in front of the others like a sore thumb, looking to either side of him as his teammates gave him up. He looked back up at me guiltily, giving me a single nod. I waved toward Charles’ form laying on the table*

You get to deal with that. Put him in with Bill. They’ll get along famously. After he’s settled, come to my office. As for the rest of you?

*I looked towards the rest of the orderlies, who gave me their full attention.*

Make sure he doesn’t do anything /ELSE/ stupid. I’ll take care of him myself.

0 notes

dinowritesblank · 2 years

Text

I Don't Want To Talk About It

A story by me

That day, Mason Garrett had scored the winning goal for his school in the football state championship. Cheers had come up from all over the bleachers, and he'd been celebrated by his teammates in the locker room afterwards. But now, as he walked back to his car in the parking lot after the game, you'd think he'd just had a mildly bad day at school.

"Here he comes! The winning goal!" his boyfriend Max cheered happily, standing next to Mason's car, "Congrats babe!" They'd been dating for a few months now, and things were going pretty well. But right now, Mason didn't really take notice of him, instead just getting in the car and starting it. Max's face fell when he didn't get a response. He got in the passenger seat with a confused look on his face.

"Babe? You okay?" he asked, putting his hand on top of Mason's as it laid on the stick shift.

Mason barely looked at him. "Hm? Yeah I'm…I'm fine," he said, as if he'd just been awoken from a daydream, "let's just go home." He slipped his hand from under Max's and onto the steering wheel.

"O-okay," Max said, concerned. He buckled his seatbelt and Mason pulled out of their spot. It was a silent ride over to Mason's house. Max occasionally glanced over at Mason, trying to read his face for any signs of what was going on to no avail. Eventually he gave up, sighed and sat back in his seat. Finally they got to Mason's house, where they'd planned for a small celebratory date for after the game.

Mason got out of the car and went inside, not saying a word to his boyfriend. Max got out as well and followed him into the house and up the stairs to his room. He closed the door behind him, and when he turned around Mason grabbed his face and kissed him hard. Max kissed him back for a few seconds, enjoying it for a bit before remembering his mood. He pulled back and looked his boyfriend in the eyes. "Something's wrong," he said worriedly, "what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Mason said, a bit annoyed, "let's just…" He kissed him again, harder this time, but Max pulled back quicker than before.

"Mason," he said, his voice serious, "what's wrong?"

"I said nothing," Mason maintained, "I just wanna be with you right now." He tried to kiss him again, but Max dodged it and gently pulled his hands off his cheeks.

"Mason," Max repeated, "I know you. I know when something's going on. Talk to me."

"No," Mason snapped, raising his voice, "I don't wanna talk about it."

"Hey!" Max exclaimed in surprise, "Please don't use that tone. I just want to know."

"Max…" he trailed off and sighed, then sat down on the bed, looking at his knees. The room was silent for only a few seconds, but in those few seconds time seemed to flow like molasses. Finally, Max broke the silence, sensing what the problem was about. "Is…is it about your parents?"

Mason didn't say anything, but he visibly tensed up and gripped his knees tightly. Max sighed and sat down next to him. "Mason, you know you can talk to me about it," he said softly, putting a hand on his back, but Mason shrugged it away, "remember what I said. You're allowed to have feelings too. You can't keep everything bottled up inside. It's okay to be sad, and it's especially okay to talk about it. So talk about it."

"Later, Max, please," Mason mumbled, putting his hands on his face.

"No," Max said sternly, "you've put this conversation off for too long now. I've asked about it and asked about it and every single time you dismiss it, told me we'd talk about it later. Well this is later. Now's the time."

But Mason huffed and stood up, walking over to the other side of the room. "I can't talk about this," he muttered, "I don't…I don't deserve to."

"What did I just say? Yes you do!" Max said, "Of course you deserve to!"

"No!" Mason suddenly shouted and turned around to face his boyfriend, anger showing clearly on his face, "I don't deserve to! I'm rich! I'm popular! I'm privileged! I've had everything handed to me while other people have it so much worse! I shouldn't be complaining about stupid stuff like my parents when there are people who don't even have parents to complain about!"

"So it is about your parents," Mason sighed, looking up at the bigger boy, "what happened?"

Mason bit his lip regretfully. "I didn't mean to say that," he said, then sighed, "they…they didn't show up to the game. But it's whatever. I don't care."

Max stood up. "Babe," he said delicately, "you clearly care."

"No! I don't care!" Mason exclaimed in frustration, "I don't care! I stopped caring a while ago!" He crossed his arms and muttered, "They don't care, so I don't either."

"Mason, I'm sure your parents–" Max started to say, but Mason stopped him.

"No, you're not sure," Mason interrupted, "they don't care, and they've shown they don't care for as long as I remember. They go on their little business trips, leaving nothing but a text or a post-it on the fridge for me to find when I come home from school. Not even a-" His voice broke, but he composed himself and continued distantly, "Not even a goodbye. They don't care about me, so I don't care about them."

He sighed. "All this 'woe is me' crap is insane coming from me," he kept going, "that's why I don't like talking about it. There are so many other people with worse problems than me. I should appreciate what I have. The life that my parents have given me. I shouldn't complain."

Max walked towards him. "Babe, that's…that's sad," he said, "I mean, I knew your parents weren't around a lot, but it's much more than that. Just because you grew up rich or something doesn't mean your problems are invalid. C'mere…" He put his hands out and tried to hug him, but Mason just brushed his hands away.

"No, not now," Mason snapped, "I'm not even in the mood for anything anymore." He sighed angrily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I just…I don't wanna talk about it anymore. I wanna be alone. Just leave Max, please."

Max was taken aback. He didn't want to leave his boyfriend here, sad and alone. "No, I'm not leaving," Max protested, "I'm not leaving just so you can wallow in your own sadness and then stuff it all back in its little box. I want to stay here, to talk to you. I'm not going."

Suddenly, Mason grabbed Max's wrist, "I said," he growled through gritted teeth, gripping his boyfriend's wrist hard, "leave." Then he began pulling him roughly towards the bedroom door.

"HEY!" Max yelled angrily, wrenching his wrist away from Mason's grip, "Don't touch me like that! You do not put your hands on me like that, understand? What's gotten into you?"

Mason huffed and stepped up to Max, looking down at him. "Nothing's gotten into me," he grunted sharply, "I just want you to leave. Now." He grabbed his wrist and tried to pull him towards the door again, but Max shoved him off this time, stumbling back onto the bed. He looked up at his boyfriend with horror and disbelief.

"I said, don't put your hands on me like that," Max repeated indignantly "this isn't you, Mason. Just because you're not in the mood to talk about your feelings or something doesn't mean you get to pull me away like that!" His voice rose as he talked, getting angrier with every word. "You don't get to yell at me for trying to help you! I just want you to share your problems with your boyfriend! For you to talk about your feelings for once in your goddamn life! Is that so hard!? Since you say you're so rich, why don't you just get a therapist huh!? That way you'll finally speak your mind without feeling bad about being privileged or something!" Suddenly he realized what he said. He covered his mouth in surprise and regret. But Mason didn't notice.

"Oh, you wanna yell now!?" Mason exclaimed furiously, "FINE! Just because I'm your boyfriend doesn't mean I have to tell you every single thing I think or feel! You think you can fix every single problem in your life!? Well guess what! You don't get to fix me! You don't get to pick me apart and put me back together like some sort of messed-up science project! You want me to see a therapist!? FINE! I would prefer seeing some crazy twisted shrink than talking to you about my feelings! Now GET OUT!" He was shouting by the end of his rant, practically screaming it in Max's face.

He was clearly hurt. He was lashing out. He didn't mean it. At least that's what Max told himself to keep back his tears. "Mason, no, I–" he tried to apologize, but Mason cut him off.

"NO! GET OUT!" he screamed, storming over to the door and opening it, "I wanna be alone! ALONE! Just LEAVE!" His voice was shaking and his eyes were brimming with tears. "Please Max, just…just go."

Max looked at him with sadness and regret. He was hurt, but he knew he didn't mean it. Hopefully. So instead of protesting further, he just nodded, sniffling, and walked out of the room. He turned back one more time, hoping he'd let him in again and they could apologize about everything, but Mason just slammed the door in his face.

Max just stared blankly at the door as if trying to see through it, then turned and leaned against it, sliding down onto the floor. He could hear Mason inside, stomping around and yelling at himself. Eventually the stomping stopped and he could hear faint sobbing, then nothing.

He wiped away his tears and stood up. He faced the door again, unsure of what to do. He reached out a hand to the doorknob, thinking about coming inside…but pulled back, figuring it would be a bad decision. He took a shaky breath, tears beginning to fall from his eyes again, and turned around. He went down the stairs, out the front door and onto the street, crying all the while. He practically ran home, then shut himself in his room. He hugged his pillow, dampening it with his tears, and eventually fell asleep.

A few hours later, when it finally started getting dark, he was startled awake by a knock on his door. His parents usually got home around 6:30, but he glanced at the clock and it was barely 5:45. He assumed it was his mother, home from work early and probably asking about dinner. He sighed and pulled his pillow closer. "I'm not hungry mom," he began as he heard the door open, then looked up.

"Max." Mason stood in the doorway, looking at him. His face was puffy from crying and dried tears stood out on his face in streaks. He was fidgeting, clearly nervous, but he looked straight at Max. "I'm…" he started, but his voice broke. He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. For everything. I-I'm sorry about what I said, and about what I did. I…I didn't mean it. Any of it. Please forgive me."

Max stared back at him, sniffling. He sat up in his bed and turned so his legs hung off the side, then he patted the spot beside him. "Come, sit," he said, "let's talk."

Mason nodded and walked over, then sat on the bed. He looked down at his knees, but Max quickly said, "Mason. Look at me." He looked at him, sadness and regret plastered all over his face.

Max put his hand on Mason's thigh and took a breath, then started. "First off, I want to say sorry about what I said. I thought about it, and…and I shouldn't have pressured you to talk about something when you clearly weren't comfortable talking about it."

Mason began to protest, "No, Max, it's my-"

"No," Max stopped him, "it was my fault. But, I do want to talk about what happened."

Mason nodded again. "I'm really, really sorry Max," he apologized, "I just…I shouldn't have said any of that. I wasn't really angry. I was just…sad."

"I know babe," Max said, now stroking his back with his hand, "but that's an explanation, not a justification."

"Yeah, I know," Mason sniffled, "and you were totally right. I shouldn't have put my hands on you like that. At all. I regretted it the moment I did it. I feel disgusted with myself. I really hope you'll forgive me, but…I understand if you can't."

"No, hey, c'mon," Max said, taking Mason's hands in his own, "I wanna work through this. I want to forgive you, but first I wanna talk about it. So…can we talk about it?" He didn't say exactly what "it" was, but they both knew.

Mason nodded. "Yeah, I just…" he sniffled, and his voice wavered, "it's just hard to talk about it because…because most of the time I just feel like I got everything just handed to me, y'know? So if I have all of this, I shouldn't complain. From another perspective, it seems like I have the perfect life. But it just…it doesn't feel like…like…"

And the dam broke.

When Max saw the tears flowing down his boyfriend's face, he wrapped his arms around him and hugged him tight. Mason hugged his boyfriend back hard, putting his face down on his head. It started as a trickle, quiet sniffles and only a few teardrops, then the walls began to crack. He cried harder, hugging Max tighter, and began to sob into the boy's hair. They just sat there, on Max's bed, crying and letting it all out for what felt like hours.

"They were just…they were never there," Mason cried quietly, "I was raised by n-nannies and TV. Sometimes the only time I'd see them was…was at dinner, if anything. I can count on one hand the amount of times…the amount of times they've told me they love me. Sometimes it feels like they f-forget I exist. Sometimes…sometimes it feels like they n-never wanted a kid in the first place." He sobbed again, burying his face in Max's hair.

"Oh baby," Max cooed, gently stroking his hands up and down his boyfriend's back, "I'm sure that's not true…"

"I just…I just wanna be wanted," Mason sobbed, "I j-just want someone to hug me and t-tell me that they're here for m-me…that they…that they love me…" He held Max tighter in his arms, squeezing him gently like a beloved teddy bear.

Max's mind reeled for a moment at the mention of love. They hadn't gotten quite there yet, but…they'd been dating for a couple months now, almost a year, and he really really liked him, just being with him. And he'd been thinking about "the L-word" too…

"Mason, baby," he said softly, "I'm here for you, I want you, I…I love you."

I love you.

The words rang out through the bigger boy's head. Unbeknownst to Max, he'd been thinking about "the L-word" as well. He hadn't said anything yet for fear they might be going too fast, but now that Max had said it…

"You…you love me?" Mason sniffled.

Max froze, suddenly wondering if he should've said that. But he wanted to be honest. "Y-yeah, I do," he said, and pulled back a bit, now looking up into his boyfriend's eyes, "is…is that okay?"

Mason smiled, his tears drying on his cheeks, and kissed the smaller boy. "Of course it's okay," he said as he pulled back, "I love you too. So, so much."

But instead of replying, Max just kissed him again. This time deeply and without holding back, letting out all his love and passion for the other boy. Mason kissed him back, now holding his face and pressing it against his own. They fell back on the bed, still kissing, and Max maneuvered himself on top of him and straddled him.

Mason broke the kiss for a moment and smiled up at Max. "Does this mean you forgive me?"

Max chuckled. "Of course I forgive you, dumbass," he said, "and I love you. I love you I love you I love you." He kissed him again, now feeling Mason's hands run through his hair and wander on his body so tenderly and so lovingly that he knew…

They were alright again.

#story #fiction #short story #creative writing #relationships #gay #gay couple #gay fiction #queer fiction #fight #zine story #but that never happened lol #love #gay love #cute #uhhh thats it i guess #post

1 note · View note

totallynotsatirespoilers · 2 years

Text

Welp, Secret’s Out I Guess

The real cast of BB24 has been released, which means the pre-season-fake-spoiler-fun must come to an end (for now at least).

In honour of the actual cast reveal, I’m gonna share some behind the scenes content, revealing my thought process while creating these fake spoilers.

The Cast

(Ngl, I got quite attached to this cast.)

People who almost made the cut:

TOP: Alice (alt 1), Alice (alt 2)

BOTTOM: Gemma, James (another J, LOL), Marco

I was also considering making Garrett, the guy who was replaced by Christian last year, a thing, but I didn’t wanna do the digging LOL. Maybe next year, Garrett.

The alternates were removed due to a lack thereof picture quality, or to make room for others on the cast. Both girls on the top row were supposed to be Alice, but I ended up swapping the images out.

Oliver

Though it should come as no surprise, his real name isn’t actually Oliver - though he sure looks like one. His real name is Marvin, and, according to IMDB, he played a character named “Skye” in the Dear Evan Hansen movie. He was the ginger guy who said Jared’s “sch00l sh00t3r chic” line from stage version. When I saw him in the movie, my first thought was “Oh, he’s cute!”, so I put him on the cast.

(Marvin, if you see this, I’m so sorry😂.)

Christie

This was an obvious choice. She tested positive for COVID after being sequestered for BB23, and the rumours of her being on season 24 ran (slightly) rampant this year. Thus, I decided to go along with it and throw her in.

Jenna

I had a similar reasoning for Jenna as I did for Christie. Jenna was allegedly supposed to be on BB21 but something happened that caused her to get cut (I think it had something to do with Kat, but, to my knowledge, she didn’t have any ill intentions). Not to mention, Jenna is rumoured to be on every other year, so I thought I’d go along with the meme.

Phoebe

This poor girl’s stock image is used on fake cast lists every gosh darn year, so my decision to add her to the list was a pretty easy one. I read somewhere on Twitter that her real name is Christy, but I didn’t want there to be two Christy/ies on the cast, so I changed this ones name to Phoebe.

Alice

She looks a lot like an OC I have with the same name, but the stock image girl’s eyes are brown, not blue. I used photoshop to give the girl blue eyes so she’d look like my OC, and went with it.

Lyra

I was searching for one final woman of colour to add to the cast, and, lo and behold, I stumbled across Lyra. She gave me a vibe that screamed “Winner of BB24″, so I photoshopped the background of the image to match everyone elses, and gave her a very unique name. Queen will go places one day. Mark my words.

The Theme/House

I claimed in an earlier post that the season theme was “Big Brother Festival”, and the house was designed to look like a retro desert. Then the whole motel(?) thing was teased, so that went down the drain quick😂. I did get the retro and festival parts right though, so that’s something!

But yeah, I kinda just went with what SpoilerGirl said on this one because when is she ever (consistently) right?

The Musical

This one is pretty straightforward: I’ve always wanted to see a BB musical happen, thus, I used this account to put it into the universe.

The Vets

The vets were a last minute addition to the cast, which is why there are sixteen newbies and why I made these vets coaches and nothing more.

Kemi

Considering everything Kemi went through on BB21, it was obligatory to give her a second shot at something BB related.

Brett

As I’ve previously stated, I do not claim Brett. I used to stan him, but his friendship with J*ck and M*ch** became too much for me. However, there is no denying the impact he had on BB20 as a whole, and, who knows? Maybe he’d turn a new leaf in that house (those chances are slim, but I can dream😂).

Matt

I needed someone from an earlier season, and bringing Brigade members back seems to be a trend, so Matt seemed like the perfect candidate.

Hannah

I don’t think anyone wants Derek F back, and the other four Cookout members are already on The Challenge USA, so Hannah, with her huge fanbase, became the BB23/Cookout representative for the season.

The Other Stuff

The Triplet Twist I Hinted At

That was just me being unhinged. Now that I think about it, I have no idea how that would’ve worked with the coach-betting-system-thing.

The Key Wheel

That wasn’t a fake spoiler: that was a request. Make it happen, Grodner!

And with that, thank you all for putting up with my fake spoilers (and to the four people who followed me!!). I shall return for CBBUS4 or BBCAN11, depending on what happens first (these should be a bit more fun, since I probably won’t be searching for rookies in the form of stock images), though I may briefly pop in to “reveal” who won that one crucial HOH.

Deuces!

- A

#bb24 #big brother cbs #if you are in one of the stock images I used I’m so sorry #I still stan Lyra because queen tings #and also Oliver - I mean Marvin - wait-

1 note · View note

atlafan · 3 years

Text

Je T’aime - One Shot

a/n: Bonsoir! I’m back on my French bullshit! Harry is the head chef at a five start restaurant, and he unfortunately has a new manager coming in: Ariel Bardin. They don’t start off on the right foot, and it just gets worse from there. How will they learn to work together? Read to find out! (not proofread) Support me here if you’re able! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY PLEASE REBLOG, DON’T JUST LIKE, REBLOG REBLOG REBLOG! LEAVE ME LITTLE NOTES IN THE TAGS, GIVE ME FEEDBACK! I’M BEGGING YALL PLEASE THROW A BITCH A BONE I DO THIS ALL FOR YOU!

Warnings: light soft dom/sub themes within the smut, hate fucking (light degradation, but not really???) lots of swearing, plenty of angst, and a tiny bit of fluff, mild choking

Words: 12.9K

Pairing: Harry Styles x OC (Ariel Bardin)

Managing a five-star restaurant was no easy task. Ariel had to make sure all of the schedules for the waitstaff were up to date, double check that the cleaning crew left everything spotless, and make sure those that came in early had set up the tables as beautiful as can be. There were many headaches that came with all of it: drama with the waitstaff, customers trying to get in without reservations, large parties that couldn’t be turned away because it was for someone famous – it’s what made the previous lead manager of Je T’aime quit. The owner, who lived far away, was not happy about this news since the previous lead manager had been there for years. So, he sent in the only person he trusted to get the job done – his daughter, Ariel Bardin.

Ariel was only twenty-seven, but she was honored when her father asked her to take over. She had plenty of experience in the food service industry, and she watched her father run the place for years. It was always her dream to manage Je T’aime, and now she finally had the chance. Being a lead manager meant giving up a lot of personal time, having to step in when the kitchen got busy, running food, and a lot more. Ariel was more than up to the task.

The head chef of the restaurant wasn’t so thrilled with the change in personnel, though. He had a good relationship with the previous manager in that the manager let him run the kitchen how he liked. Chef Harry had never met Ariel, but he had a feeling things would be a lot different. He was very particular, and ran a tight ship. He didn’t want someone else coming in and thinking they could take command. He knew he needed to get ahead of things. He had emailed her to see if she wanted to meet for dinner to discuss things before her first day, but she declined. Ariel appreciated the initiative, but she explained that she wanted to meet the entire kitchen crew at the same time. Harry was already annoyed that his efforts were thwarted.

Ariel was excited for her first day. She made sure to get a new pair of no slip grip shoes that weren’t totally ugly. She put on a pair of black slacks and paired it with a baby blue blouse. Lastly, she put her hair up in a cute ponytail, and put on a little eye makeup before heading out. She had requested a tasting at the restaurant before it opened for dinner, and she wanted to leave the cooks plenty of time to get their prepping done. She also wanted to get their early enough to set up her new office.

Before entering the restaurant, she takes a deep breath. She smiles and waves to the people setting up the dining tables as she makes her way towards the kitchen. She remembers being a little girl and going to work with her father. She loved it when he’d sit her up on one of the counters because the cooks would always let her taste test their latest creations. They figured if a child liked the cuisine, then adults would too. Ariel goes right to her new office, and smiles. Arthur had kept up the family photo of Ariel’s parents. Her mother was pregnant with her when they opened Je T’aime. In fact, her father named it that because Ariel’s mother was French, and her father learned the language just for her. Ariel’s mother passed a few years back, and it was pretty devastating. She was a wonderful woman, and Ariel always hoped to have a romance like theirs.

She snaps herself out of her thoughts, and starts taking out the things she brought with her from the box she was carrying. This was going to be a great day, she could feel it. She takes out a notepad and pen, and heads back out to the kitchen towards the chef’s office. She taps on the door frame when she sees two men sitting inside chatting.

“Hello?” She says to them, and they both turn in their chairs to look at her. “I’m Ariel, the new lead manager. Which one of you is Chef Harry?”

“That would be me.” Harry stands up to shake her hand.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you. So, that makes you Chef Garrett, right?” She says to the other man.

“Correct, I’m the sous chef, it’s nice to meet you, Ariel.” He shakes her hand as well.

“Wonderful, is everything ready for the tasting? The menu’s changed a lot over the years, and I want to see if it needs anymore.”

“With all due respect,” Harry starts, “the menu’s more than perfect. It changes seasonally as is.” He crosses his arms.

“With all due respect, Chef, I don’t particularly care.” She smirks and crosses her own arms. “I’ve worked hard to get here, and my father finally trusts me to take care of this place. I’m not going to make him regret it. Now, if I like everything, then nothing will need to change. But I’ve got a couple of ideas I may like to try out, and you’ll have to deal with it when the time comes.” She smiles and leaves the office.

Harry and Garrett share a look, and follow her out. A few of the other cooks had already set up the plates for the tasting. Ariel greeted all of them warmly, and started tasting the food. She was impressed, for the most part, but she definitely had notes.

“These mashed potatoes could be whipped a bit more…possibly with more sour cream?” She says. “And this chicken…more seasoning could do it some good. The salmon is excellent, though, just delicious.”

“Chef Harry prepared that.” One of the cooks says, and Ariel looks back at Harry who had a smirk on his face.

Ariel narrows her eyes at him, and then turns her attention back to the food. She enjoyed the pasta dishes, but she makes a face when she gets to the steak frites.

“What…what are these?” Ariel asks as she points at the fries.

“French fries.” Garrett says.

“Mhm, yeah, they should be steak fries, freshly made. These look like they were frozen before.”

“Because they are.” Harry says. “They’re more cost effective. We season them after they’re fried, and they’re great for when kids come in.”

“Kids like steak fries just the same. I want fresh cut potatoes used. They’re more authentic. This isn’t a fast food restaurant. You already have to order potatoes for the mashed potatoes, right? I bet we’d get a discount if we order a larger quantity. We can talk it about it later.”

After tasting a few more things, and thanking the cooks, Ariel heads into the dining room to start greeting the waitstaff. Things felt a lot less hostile with them. Harry was fuming in his office with Garrett.

“It’s her first day and she already wants to change things! And the worst part is, she’s completely right about the bloody fries.” Harry huffs. “Steak fries would be ten times better!”

“Chill, Harry. She just needs to see how well you run things while it’s busy, and she’ll understand her place here. This is your kitchen.”

“Right, good idea. Her real job is to manage the waitstaff.”

Ariel was on fire. It was a busy night because blackened salmon was the special. She was helping run food, and the waitstaff was extremely impressed. The previous manager rarely helped liked that. She was even running bread and water to tables, starting off orders, and helping seat. She even went behind the bar to help get drinks to tables, and help the bartenders catch up. It was a great first impression. She was exhausted by the time she got to sit in her office at the end of the night. She sat with the head hostess to go over the receipts before cutting her for the night. Her last task was to make sure the kitchen was closed down properly after locking up the safe.

“Ariel?” One of the cooks asks her as she steps out. “Would like anything for dinner before start to throw things away?”

“Throw things away?” She furrows her brows. “I have food at home, thank you, but don’t throw anything out. Surely we can start up a makeshift compost before getting a real one.”

“Oh, well, we don’t throw everything away, just-“

“Can you let me see all of the leftovers that usually get put in the trash?”

The cook nods, and she follows him. Harry was in his office checking over what the most popular orders of the night was, and getting some paperwork done. He notices Ariel speaking with Eddy, and he sighs. He gets up, and makes his way to where they are.

“Is there any particular reason your keeping Eddy from his sidework?” Harry asks her.

“I asked him to show me what usually gets thrown out. This could easily be donated or used for compost. I’ll be coming in early tomorrow to set up a new compost area, and I’ll be talking with the local food kitchens to see what they need. This is good food, and it shouldn’t be wasted.” She crosses her arms. “Is that going to be a problem?”

“Why,” he sucks his teeth, “Come to my office when you’re done telling my staff what to do, we need to talk.” Harry turns on his heel and goes into his office, nearly slamming the door.

Ariel helps the kitchen and dish crew clean a few things up, earning herself even more brownie points, before going into Harry’s office. He doesn’t look up at her until she clears her throat.

“You wanted to talk?” She says.

“Yeah, have a seat.”

“I’d prefer to stand, thanks.”

Harry turns in his seat, and looks up at her.

“Are you and I going to have a problem?” He asks, standing up, towering over her, but she stands her ground.

“I don’t know, are we? Are you seriously going to tell me that you never thought of composting?”

“It’s expensive. We find other ways to stay green, though. You would have known that if you had gone to dinner with me. I could have told you everything you needed to know. But no, you blew me off, and decided to find every possible way to embarrass me and undermine me in front of my staff.”

“Look, Chef, I’m sorry if you feel disrespected, that wasn’t my intention. I just think a lot of changes need to be made. I spoke with the dining staff just the same, it wasn’t just your staff. This place means a lot to me, and I just want to make sure it’s being run well. I…I didn’t think a dinner would be appropriate for us.”

“Why? It’s not like I was asking you out on a date.” He scoffs.

“No, but I just assumed you were going to try to schmooze me or something, and I didn’t want to deal with it. Am I wrong in thinking you were going to try to work me over?”

“It wasn’t to work you over, but the last manager and I sort of had an understanding.”

“Which was what?”

“I do my thing, he does his, and we don’t get into each other’s hair.”

“Well, that’s not how this is going to work.” She gestures between the two of them. “I don’t want things getting hostile between us, for the sake of the staff. I didn’t think we’d be best friends or anything…but I was hoping we’d at least get along.”

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen. Not a great first impression.” He crosses his arms.

“Same could be said to you.” She scoffs. “If you start doing things better, then I won’t have a reason to talk to you. So, do better, Chef.” She looks him up and down, and then leaves his office.

Harry wanted to pull his hair out. This woman was going to make his life a living hell, he could feel it.

“What kind of a name is Ariel, anyways?” Garrett scoffs a week or so later. He was in charge of the new composter, and he wasn’t thrilled about it.

“I know! We her parents big fans of The Little Mermaid?” Harry chuckles.

“It’s French.” Ariel says, entering Harry’s office. “And it’s a family name. My grandmother’s name was Ariel, and my mother named me after her.” She looks at both of them and smirks. “And, Ariel just so happens to be my favorite Disney princess, so it’s an honor on many accounts.”

“Did you need something?” Garrett asks her.

“Yes, actually. I wanted to talk about Passover, it’s coming up and we need to talk about a kosher menu.”

“Seems like something for just the two of you to discuss.” Garrett says, and leaves quickly. Ariel takes his seat.

“A kosher menu, huh? Don’t you need a separate kitchen for that?”

“Not necessarily. I was just sort of thinking we could offer some different specials throughout the week.”

“Like what?”

“I’ve got a killer brisket recipe, we could offer a matzah ball soup too. There’s lots of stuff we could whip up. Oh! Macaroons would be good, and maybe some matzah bark as well. I’ve got recipes for all of it if you’re game.”

“When’s Passover?” He sighs and looks at the calendar on the wall.

“At the end of March, plenty of time to order what we need.”

“You know we do a brunch on Easter, right?”

“Yes, I’m aware.” She nods. “If we do for one, we should do for others.”

“If you email me the recipes, I can work on them.”

“Alright, I can do that. I ask that you don’t tweak them. They’re family recipes and I promise they’re golden.”

“One of our cooks is Jewish, he can work on them. I’ll be focused on the brunch food.”

“Oh…well, great, okay.” She stands up. “Thanks for hearing me out. I think a lot of our customers will be excited, and it’ll being good attention.”

“Listen, uh…I’m sorry about Garrett and I before. We were just-“

“Don’t.” She shakes her head. “I know you both don’t like me. I’m a bossy bitch that’s come in and made things difficult, I get it. This isn’t my first male-led restaurant that I’ve managed.”

“Hey, I’ve got no problem with women in charge.” Harry stands up. “You just came in like a bull.”

“Aw, would you have preferred if I pouted my lips and batted my eyes at you, and asked pretty please?” She pouts her lips and bats her eyes at him, making his mouth fall open. She smirks at him and shakes her head. “It’s too easy.” She laughs and leaves his office.

If he couldn’t stand her before, he definitely couldn’t stand her now.

It really pissed Harry off at how much the Passover food was liked. The restaurant had never been busier, getting completely booked with reservations from patrons that had never been before, but heard about the diverse specials. Then there was the Easter brunch. Ariel walked in with her hair half pulled up, and the rest of it flowing. She was wearing this gorgeous pastel pink blouse along with some navy slacks. She was dolled up for the holiday. She pumped up the staff during the pre-meal chat, and then she started running around with coffee carafes to help out the busy staff.

It was an elegant brunch, and Harry was also dressed up because the head chef usually went around the dining room checking in with the patrons. He wore his nicest chef’s jacket, and made sure his hair wasn’t too out of sorts before he went into the dining room. Ariel had never seen him be so personable. He was genuinely laughing with people at their tables, she couldn’t believe it.

Ariel was tired, but her customers were happy, and she got to go home around four, which was a blessing in disguise. She couldn’t wait to get home and flop herself onto her bed. She just needed to put the cash in the safe, and check the receipts.

“Is there any lobster mac ‘n cheese left?” She asks as she walks over to the line.

“Got a pan of it right here.” Eddy smiles at her.

“Amazing, I’ve been looking forward to it all day.” She scoops some into a to-go container, and adds a couple of other things she wanted.

“Why is that you always like the food I make the best?” Harry smirks as he also fills up a container for himself.

“I’m not too big to admit you’re a very talented chef, Harry.” She says and looks at him. “It’s your personality that could use some work, Happy Easter.” She smiles at him. “Great job today, everyone!” She exclaims before making her way back to her office.

“Man, did you see Ari’s tits in that shirt today?” One cook says to another.

“Her tits? I was too busy sneaking a peek at that ass of hers. Wouldn’t mind tapping it.”

“Oi.” Harry says to them. “None of that, alright? It’s rude.”

“C’mon, Chef.” One of the cooks says. “I know you don’t like her, but even you can admit she’s hot.”

“Do you all want to get out of here on time to see your families?!” Harry shouts. “Finish cleaning up.” He huffs, and goes back to his own office.

“He’s not wrong.” Garrett says to the cooks. “Don’t be disrespectful.”

“Yeah.” Eddy chimes in. “Don’t think your girlfriends would appreciate it very much if they knew you were talking about another woman like that.”

Harry was about to head out for the day. He was going to go home and cuddle up with cat, Luna, and veg out. He walks by Ariel’s office, and he stops short. He sees her sitting with her face in her hands. He looks around behind him, they were the last two people there.

“Hey, are you alright?” He says as he opens the door, and she jumps in her chair a bit, obviously startled.

“Yeah.” She wipes under eyes. “I’m fine, why?”

“You just…were you crying?”

“No, don’t be silly.” She wipes under eyes again. “I’m just a little sweaty, I ran around a ton today.”

“How was the mac ‘n cheese?”

“I haven’t eaten it yet, I’m bringing it home…”

“When are you headed out?”

“Soon.”

“I can wait for you, if you want…”

“I’m all set.”

“Ariel, if something’s wrong-“

“Nothing’s wrong! Go home, Harry! I’m just finishing some things up.”

“You know something, you are a bitch.” He puts his hands on his hips. “I was just trying to be nice, and you have to be so nasty about it!”

“Right, because I need a fuckwad like you checking on me.” She rolls her eyes. She takes her leftovers and puts them in the trash.

“What are you doing?!”

“I’ve lost my appetite.” She says, standing up, grabbing her purse, and brushing by him on her way out.

Harry was shocked Ariel hadn’t turned his hair white with how much she stressed him out. The interaction they had pissed him off to no end. He had defended her, told his staff not to talk about her a certain way. Then, when he sees her in distress, she’s as ungrateful as ever. He tried calming down in the shower, but that didn’t work. He tried watching TV with Luna, but he just wanted to know what she had been so upset about in the first place.

He takes out his phone, and searches her on Facebook. He figured she must have one, if not he would search Instagram. He rolls his eyes when he sees how gorgeous she looks in her profile picture. She had most of her privacy settings on, but his eyes widen when he sees her tagged in a post. It was written in French.

Il y a quinze ans aujourd'hui, nous avons perdu notre Nana Ariel. Comme elle nous manque tellement, et nos étés avec elle sur les plages françaises.

Harry only understood a few words, so he taps the translate button: Fifteen years ago today, we lost our Nana Ariel. How we miss her so, and our summers with her on the French beaches. He furrows his eyebrows at the photos. It must have been a cousin that tagged Ariel. Her nana looked like a lovely woman.

“Shit.” Harry sighs. Ariel was probably putting on a brave face all day. He knew her mother had passed, but he wasn’t sure about her grandmother. Her female figures were gone, and he called her a bitch to her face. He felt terrible. “Jesus fucking Christ.”

Harry gets off his couch and goes into his kitchen. An hour or so later, he’s driving to Ariel’s house to deliver a fresh lobster mac n’ cheese. He was lucky he knew her address. She lived in a quaint neighborhood. He pulls up out front, and goes up to her door, ringing the bell. After a few moments she opens the door. She was in a long robe, and slippers. Her hair was up in a bun on the top of her head.

“Harry?”

“Here, feel better.” He practically shoves the casserole dish into her arms. “And…I’m sorry I said that to you, okay?”

“What is this?”

“Lobster mac n’ cheese. You threw yours out because I was being an ass…but to be fair you snapped at me first.”

“What made you do this?”

“The Easter bunny came to me in a dream, alright? It doesn’t matter, just take it and eat it. M’sure you don’t feel like cooking after such a long day.”

“Well, you’re right.” She raises an eyebrow at him. “I’ll take it, thank you. I shouldn’t have been so short with you.”

“I shouldn’t have tried to pry. I’ll see you Tuesday.”

“Yeah….” She almost invited him to have some with her, but as nice as the gesture was, she didn’t really feel like spending anymore time with him today. So she lets him leave.

Harry was back on his couch in no time with Luna, feeling much better than he did before. He feels his phone buzz, and he looks down to check his notifications.

Ariel Bardin: I don’t know what makes me more furious, the fact that you’re an incredible cook, or the fact that such a simple dish could make me feel ten times better

Harry smirks down at the message. This didn’t change anything between the two of them, but Harry felt a little better knowing there was a bit of a common ground between them now. They didn’t have to like one another, but maybe there would be a bit more respect.

There was a respect between them, but the two still bickered and argued and made things difficult for one another. He’d call her a spoiled brat, and she’d call him a fat headed fuck, it was just their thing. No one in the kitchen seemed to mind, especially because if Harry was yelling at her, then he wasn’t yelling at them. Garrett had warmed up to Ariel considerably over the last few months. He was starting to see that she really did mean well, and over time the changes she made were for the better.

A lot of people understood why Ariel and Harry butted heads so much. They both had dominant personalities, and kitchens were hot. Usually one of them would go into the walk-in fridge, and come out much more cooled down. As the summer months started, it just got worse.

“I’m not sending out wilted lettuce!” Harry screamed at her.

“It’s not wilted!” Ariel screamed back.

“Did you go to culinary school?! You’re not the fucking expert, I am!”

“So, you’re just going to chuck perfectly good lettuce because you think it’s wilted! Put your fucking glasses on!”

“Enough!” Garrett yells. “We’ll double check the lettuce and make sure none of the dingier looking pieces get sent out. Take a break, the kids are getting scared.” He was referring to the kitchen staff, and to the few waitstaff that were in the kitchen.

They both growl and walk away from one another. They stayed away from each other for the rest of the night. Ariel was there late catching up on some paperwork. She jumped when she heard something fall on the ground. She thought everyone had gone home for the night. When she goes out to the kitchen to see Harry, she sighs with relief.

“Scared the shit out of me, what are you still doing here?” She storms over to him.

“Prepping the dinner roll dough so it’s ready to go for tomorrow. It’s been too hot to make it in the morning. The prep cooks can just come in and use the ovens while it’s still cool if the dough’s already set and proofed.” He says as he continues to knead the dough on the counter.

“Why not have someone else do it?”

“Why should I make someone else stay late?” He scoffs.

“Well…here, I’ll get an apron so I can help.”

“I’m all set.”

“Don’t be silly, it’ll help you get out of here faster.”

“What do you care about that?”

“God, you’re so stubborn.” She goes to wash her hands, and steps over to the dough, but he swats her hand away when she goes to reach for it.

“Go home, Ariel.”

“What the fuck is your problem?!”

“You! You’re my fucking problem! Cooking is supposed to be relaxing, this is my me time, and you’re ruining it!”

“Well, excuse me for offering to help!”

“I don’t need your help!” He slams a fist down on the counter, causing flour to splatter onto her chest and face. “Oops.” He smirks.

Ariel wipes her face off, gathers a bit of flour, and flicks it into Harry’s face. He takes a deep breath and looks at her.

“Oops.” She says in the same mocking tone he had.

“You know, for someone who hates wasting food, I’d think you’d be more careful.” He says, wiping his face off. “It was an accident when I did it.”

“Oh well.” She shrugs.

“You,” he starts walking towards her, backing her up to the opposite counter, “are one of the most infuriating people I have ever met.” They were practically chest to chest. She could feel his breath fanning over her face. “I wish you never started working here.”

“You know what they say, can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” She says, looking up at him with a searing gaze.

“It’s my kitchen, you get out.”

“Make me.”

Harry’s eyes widen, and his nostrils flare. He was about ready to boil over. He’s not sure what comes over him, but his flour covered hands reach up to cup her cheeks, and he leans down to kiss her roughly, pressing her further against the counter. She gasps as he does it, but she doesn’t fight him. She doesn’t push him away, she doesn’t do a thing to get him to stop. In fact, she reaches to tug at his shirt so he could be even closer to her. She could taste the mint from his gum, and his lips were insanely soft. He breaks the kiss first, but doesn’t move her hands from her face.

She opens her mouth to speak, possibly to question him on why he kissed her, but she doesn’t get the chance because he’s kissing her again, this time licking into her mouth. She pushes against him, backing him up to the opposite counter, and he grunts against her. Her arms move to wrap around his neck, and her fingers tug at his hair. Just as she was sucking on his tongue, he shoves her up against a nearby wall, and lifts her up. She wraps her legs around his waist, and he carries her over to a counter to sit her on.

Their lips hadn’t parted, and they both needed air, but neither could stop. Harry kisses sloppily towards her neck, and she bites on her bottom lip to suppress a whimper. She reaches down to untie the apron he had on, and she tugs it off. His hands work to undo her pants just as he bites down on the crook of her neck, making her gasp.

“Lift your hips ups.” He says into her ear before nibbling onto her lobe. She does as he says so he can tug her pants down. He places his hands on her thighs, and scratches his nails down them before looking at her. “You want this?” She nods yes at him. “Need you to actually say it. I’m not gonna do anything you don’t want.”

“I want it.” Her cheeks flush. “Happy now?”

“Very.” He growls, and bites down on her bottom lip before letting it snap back. He reaches between her legs, and he groans. “You’re soaked, did yelling at me rile you up?”

“No.” She blushes, and then tugs at his hair. “Stop talking before I change my mind.”

He tugs her panties to the side so he can get a real feel for how wet she is. He plunges two fingers inside of her, and her mouth falls open. Her head rolls back as he pumps them in and out of her.

“Christ, when was the last time someone fucked you?” He grunts. “You’re so tight.”

“Harry, please, shut the fuck up.” She grits her teeth and reaches for the button on his pants.

“Only cause you said please.” He smirks, and she flicks his forehead.

He sucks his teeth and reaches into his back pocket for his wallet, pulling out a condom. She rolls her eyes at the fact that he’s one of those guys that kept a condom in his wallet, but she wasn’t going to complain too much. She was glad he had one. He takes himself out of his pants, getting them down just enough, and rolls the condom on. He looks at her, just to make sure one more time that it was alright and she nods. He splays his hands on her back, pulling her closer as he pushes inside.

“Fucking, shit.” He grunts.

“Try to last longer than a minute there, sport.” She says, trying desperately not to wince at the stretch he was giving her.

“God, I fucking hate you so much.” He says as he starts to thrust in and out of her. She grips his shoulders to hold onto him.

“The feeling’s, ngh, mutual.” She bites down into his shoulder to suppress her moans, but he yanks her head back by her ponytail.

“If I’m gonna fuck you, you’re gonna let out every single little sound, do you understand?”

“You really like telling me what to do.” She grunts.

“And you’re shit at listening.”

“So are you!”

“Weren’t you just telling me to shut up?! Take your own fucking advice!”

She lets out an exasperated noise, and crashes her mouth back to his. He grips her hips as he pounds into her. Her legs wrap tighter around him to get him even closer. They’re both moaning into the other’s mouths. One of his hands leaves her hip, and he brings it over to rub at her clit. She whimpers, and starts panting. He nips at her lips, and works his way back to her neck.

“Fuck, ugh, that’s it.” She mewls. “I’m close, don’t stop.”

“Can feel you squeezing me, like the way I feel?” He licks up her neck back to her ear, and then slots his mouth over hers, not even giving her a chance to answer him before she’s crying out.

She lets her body rest against his as he picks up the pace. He was close himself, but he was trying to savor how good she felt. She was soaked between her legs because of him. He’d never let her live this down. A few more thrusts, and he’s spilling into the condom.

He rests his forehead against hers for a few moments as he catches his breath. He pulls out of her, and tugs her panties back into place before helping her off the counter. They both wordlessly work to get their clothes back on properly.

“So, uh, do you really not want help with the dough?” She asks, smoothing some hair away from her face.

“No, it shouldn’t take me too much longer…thank you.” He chews on his bottom lip. “Why don’t you wait, though, I’ll walk you to your car.”

“Sure…I was in the middle of some paperwork anyways. Just come get me when you’re done.”

Harry nods and goes to wash his hands before getting back to what he was doing. Ariel makes her way to the bathroom to properly clean herself up. They walk to the parking lot together later in silence. He makes sure her car starts before driving off and heading home to Luna.

Work was…awkward after that. Everyone was confused because the kitchen had never been more quiet. Ariel had mostly kept to herself and if she had something to say, she was less brash. Harry was the same towards her.

“Do you think we could add pudding pie to the summer dessert menu?” She asks him. “Like an Oreo thing?”

“Um, sure, yeah…should be easy enough to work into the rotation.” He says. “Good, uh, good suggestion.” He swallows.

“Thanks, Chef.” She nods and walks away from him.

“Dude, not that I’m complaining, but what’s up with you two?” Garrett whispers to him as they both work to chop vegetables.

“Nothing.” Harry shrugs a shoulder. “We’ve just…reached an understanding, is all. We, uh, hashed things out a week or so ago.” He clears his throat. “Just focus on the your beets for the borsht. I need to get started on that chilled melon soup.”

Harry heads into the walk-in fridge to grab the cantaloupe he had already cut up to make the soup with. He was essentially making a creamy smoothie, but this was one of their summer best sellers. He stops short when he sees Ariel trying to reach for something on the top shelf.

“Need a hand?” He asks, and it startles her.

“Y-yeah, could you get the, uh, shredded Brussels down for me?”

Harry nods and reaches above her to grab the pan. He hands it to her, and she thanks him before making her way towards the door.

“Ariel?”

“Yes?”

“How…how have you been since-“

“We can’t talk about it now.” She shakes her head. “Find me later if you want.”

And that’s what he does. At the end of the night, Harry goes into Ariel’s office and sits down at the spare chair she had.

“So…what’s up?” She asks him.

“I just wanted to see how you were since we, you know…” He looks away from her for a moment. “We haven’t talked about it.”

“I didn’t think you wanted to.” She shrugs. “It’s really not that big of a deal, it was a heat of the moment thing.”

“Yeah.” He swallows. “Nothing more to it than that. I can’t help but notice that things have been a tad more civil between us over the last week.”

“I just haven’t wanted to make waves, I guess. Sort of hard to yell at the guy that made me come as hard as I did.” She says shyly, and he smiles.

“Glad I could finally be of some use to you.” He smirks.

“Don’t get too cocky. I have things at home that make me feel even better.” She smirks and his face falls.

“It was good, though, right?”

“Yeah…nice way to get some frustration out.”

“I think…I think that’s how we make things work here.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, think of how peaceful everything’s been this week with us being nicer to each other. I think when we’re starting to get on each other’s nerves we should just fuck because clearly talking shit out doesn’t work too well.”

“Are you asking me to be your fuck buddy?”

“The word buddy implies that we’re friends, and we’re not. I still can’t stand you, Ariel.”

“Likewise.”

“But you’ve got a tight cunt that I wouldn’t mind fucking into again, so what do you say?”

“Harry, this is a five star restaurant. We can’t just fuck in the kitchen every time we get on each other’s nerves. That’s a major health code violation.”

“So we wait.” He shrugs. “We both have cars and houses. Lots of places to let out our frustrations.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“You do that.” He says, and stands up to leave.

“You didn’t tell anyone, did you?”

“Might have mentioned to my cat, but only because she was mad at me for getting home so late. I’m not one for bragging about intimate details.”

“Good.” She nods. “Thank you.”

Harry leaves her office and she sighs heavily. She wasn’t expecting the conversation to go that way at all. Ariel thought for sure Harry was going to say that it was a mistake and it never should have happened, but he didn’t. He wanted to fuck her s again, he said it himself. And he wasn’t wrong, the kitchen had been a much happier place to be over the last week. The only thing was, she didn’t know if she wanted to give into his request so easily. He was the one who admitted to wanting to do it again, not her. The ball was totally in her court! She also wasn’t too sure how smart it would be to start fucking her chef on the regular. It could do more harm than good.

“What do you mean you let a party of fifteen come in?!” Harry shouts at Ariel, who was now putting on an apron and gloves to help the cooks out.

“You heard me! We can either waste time arguing about it, or we can get to preparing their meals! It’s not you who’s gonna have to stay late, it’s me and my dining staff.”

“Why would you let a group of fifteen come in right before closing?!”

“Because they paid up front with cash for four bottles of $500 wine!”

“Holy shit.”

“Yeah, holy shit. They already gave us their order, so we just need to get everything out to them, and then everyone can clean up. Let’s move!”

Harry sighs heavily, but does as she says. He and Garrett get to work on the entrees while the cooks work with Ariel on the appetizers. She runs the food out so she can help out her dining staff that were trying to wrap up their sidework. Two hours after closing, the large party left, and luckily they left a huge tip. They apologized over and over again about coming in so late. Apparently they were in a production for something, and it closed so they wanted to celebrate. Ariel assured them it was fine. She sighs when she’s finally able to go back into her office. She still needed to go over all the receipts for the night.

“Need any help with that? I know your hostess usually gets this done with you…” Harry says as he walks into her office.

“No, thank you.” She says without looking at him. “You can go, I don’t need you to wait for me.”

“You’re such a hypocrite.” He shakes his head and sits down. “You tried to force yourself two weeks ago into helping me make some bread dough, and now here I am offering up some help and you won’t take it.”

“Guess the shoe’s on the other foot.” She still wouldn’t look at him, so he reaches forward to grab her chin, and turns her head in his direction.

“You’re, quite literally, the most annoying person I’ve ever met.”

“Yeah? Then why are you trying to fuck me right now?”

“Who said I was trying to do that?” He says, letting go of her and sitting back in the chair.

“Please, it’s so obvious.” She scoffs. “We’re the last two people here, you’re coming in here offering help. What’s wrong, hm? None of my waitresses wanted to suck you off?” She pouts at him, and his face hardens.

“I have never done anything like that with a member of the dining staff.”

“No? They sure talk about you like you have.”

“You sound a little jealous.” He smirks.

“Don’t flatter yourself.” She deadpans.

“You know, when my cooks make crude remarks about you, I tell them it’s wrong and to stop. Do you even try to defend me when you hear them talking out there?”

“Sure I do, I tell them that this neither the time nor the place for any of that, and that they should have more respect for you. One of the bartenders, Jess, she seems to have a thing for you. Her eyes are glued to you every time you come out into the dining room. Why not go be her fuck buddy?”

“Because I don’t want to fuck her.”

“And you want to fuck me?” He nods yes at her. “Why?”

“Because despite how much I can’t stand you, it was a good fuck and I’d like to do it again. This isn’t news, we’ve talked about this already.”

“I smell like food.” She mutters as she gets back to checking the receipts.

“So do I.”

“So, go home and shower and meet me at my place in a little while. I’ll text you when I’m ready.” She looks at him. “Go feed your cat or whatever, I’m sure she’s missing you.”

Harry tries his best to bite back the smug look that was growing on his face. Wordlessly, he stands up and leaves her office. Ariel shakes her head and continues with their work.

“Far too easy.” She says to herself with a smirk.

Harry didn’t end up at Ariel’s place until nearly midnight. It took her a while to finish things up at work, and then she wanted to shower so she didn’t smell like food anymore. Her rings her doorbell, and she opens it wearing the same robe she had been wearing the first time he showed up at her place, only this time she wasn’t wearing her cute little slippers, and her eyes weren’t puffy from crying. She doesn’t say anything to him, she just steps aside to let him in.

He doesn’t look around, he doesn’t compliment her place, all he does is kick his sneakers off, cup her jaw, and shove her up against the wall. His mouth crashes to hers, and she sinks into it. She almost wanted to sigh with relief. It was amazing how simply kissing someone could make you forget all your troubles. She tugs him closer to her, and his hands brush down her body to lift her up.

“Where do you want it?” He breathes as she wraps her limbs around him.

“Bedroom, upstairs.” She says before kissing on his neck.

He grunts as he finds his way to the staircase, and carries her up. Of course, he makes a few pit stops to kiss her, smoosh her up against the wall and lick into her mouth. When he finally does make it to her room, he practically tosses her on the bed. He starts to rid himself of his clothes while she sits and watches.

“Aren’t you going to take yours off?” He asks after getting his shirt off.

“M’only wearing this.” She shrugs. “Thought you might like to take it off yourself.”

“Stand up.” He tells her and she does so, walking over to him.

His hands reach for the tie on her robe, and he undoes it. He pushes it off her shoulders, and licks his lips when he sees her naked body, the robe pooling at her feet. He wraps his arms around her waist, and pulls her close so he can kiss on her chest. He licks between the valley of her breasts before pulling one of her nipples into his mouth with his teeth. He sucks on it harshly, eliciting a soft moan from her. He walks them back towards the bed, and he pushes her onto it. He climbs on top of her, and goes back to kissing on her chest. He works his way down her stomach, nipping where he pleases, before he’s able to lay comfortably between her legs.

“You…you don’t have to.” She says to him, and he looks up at with a confused look.

“I know I don’t, I want to. Didn’t get to do it last time.” He rubs circles into her thighs with his thumbs. “Do you not want me to?”

“No, I just…I don’t know, it’s sort of intimate for what this is.” She chews on her already swollen bottom lip. “You really want to?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t wanna suck your dick.”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

“Okay.” She takes a deep breath and opens her legs for him.

He uses his thumbs to open her folds up a little more so he could better see what he was working with. Ariel always hated this part when a guy would go down on her. She always felt like she was at the doctor’s office getting a checkup. She stopped feeling like that the second his tongue licked around her clit. She sits up on her elbows to watch him. He continues to lick around her clit, watching it get a little more swollen each time and then he sucks on it.

“Ah!” She gasps, reaching for his hair to tug on.

His fingers soon replace his tongue on her clit so he lick around where she’s wet for him. He moans into her after he finally gets a real taste. She smelled sort of like cocoa butter, he assumed she moisturized after her shower. For a woman that couldn’t stand him, she sure was considerate. He licks into her, and she squeaks out a noise that she had never heard come out of her own mouth. Ariel tries to wrack her brain, but she can’t seem to recall a time where a guy had ever actually licked into her before, teasing her in such a way with their tongue. Harry was licking and sucking on her while his fingers were working magic on her clit. She had tears in her eyes from how good it felt. Her thighs were squeezing against his head, and her heels were digging into his back, but he didn’t care. He was too caught up with fucking her with his tongue.

“Shit, I…fuck, Harry, I’m gonna come!” She warns him, and all he does his moan into her, encouraging her to do so.

She tugs on his hair a little harder as she cries out, back arching and head rolling back. He sits up and licks his lips. She was speechless, she had no words. He reaches into his back pocket to pull out a condom before standing up to get his pants off. His cock slaps back against his stomach once it’s free, and her eyes widen. His tip was already leaking.

“You got that turned on just from eating me out?” She wasn’t being condescending, in fact, her tone was full of shock.

“Yeah.” He says as he rolls the condom on. He knees back onto the bed, and shuffles to sit up against the headboard. “Since you’re not gonna suck me off, the least you could do is ride me for a bit.”

Her mouth falls open at that. She wasn’t quite sure how he expected her to have the energy to ride his dick after what he just did to her. She furrows her brows, and moves herself onto his lap. When they make eye contact, she realizes that she doesn’t want to look at him, so she turns herself around to ride him reverse. She guides him in, and sighs into her ear once he hits bottom. She takes a moment just to get reacquainted with him before she starts to swivel her hips in little circles. He gets an arm around her, securing it between her breasts, and gripping her shoulder to help keep her close and steady. He nibbles on her earlobe, and she whimpers. He carefully thrusts up into her as she grinds on him. She couldn’t believe the restraint he had. Most guys would thrust up too far when she was on top and it would hurt. But this…this felt heavenly. She almost hated him more because he was so good.

His mouth moves to the crook of her neck, sucking a bruise into her skin. Her head rolls back, and his other hand snakes around to rub at her clit. She picks up the pace, bouncing a little more on him. The way he was grunting and moaning was giving her goosebumps, which was an odd sensation to feel while her skin also felt extremely hot. His tip starts to hit her g-spot in just the right away, and she loses all control of the noises she’s letting out.

“That’s it.” He groans. “Come all over my cock.”

“Oh my god.” She mewls.

Her fingernails sink into the meat of his thighs as she cries out. She arches into him, and looks up at him, almost distressed, so he licks into her mouth. One of her arms hooks around his head to tug at his hair as she rides out her orgasm. She squeezes around him so tightly that after one more thrust he’s spilling into the condom. She lets her body go slack against him as they both catch their breaths. He sponges open mouth kisses to her neck and jaw before lifting her off of him. She whimpers from the abrupt change.

“Sorry.” He says. “Know that stings a little.”

“Yeah, just a little.” She swallows.

She watches him get off the bed and throw the condom away. He walks right into her bathroom, he didn’t even ask first, and she wasn’t sure why that annoyed her so much, but it did. When he comes out, he grabs his clothes to put back on. She goes to the bathroom next and puts her robe back on when she comes out. She walks him down the stairs and to the door.

“Well, uh, have a good night.” He says, running his hand through his hair.

“You too.” She opens the door for him, and he quickly steps out. She closes it and sighs, resting her forehead against it. She hated him, she really did.

A pattern had started between them. After hooking up, things were usually cool for about a week, until they’d eventually fight over something. The cooks almost wanted to set up a bingo card of things they fought over.

“Why can’t we offer lentil pasta instead of just gluten free?!” She yells one day.

“Because lentil pasta is more expensive than standard gluten free pasta!”

“You’re such a cheap prick!”

“I’m sorry, I’m trying to save this restaurant some money!”

“We can splurge on some different options! It’s what the people want!”

“Oh, did your bloody survey results tell you that!”

“Yes, as a matter of fact!” His eyes were full of rage. They were both in his office going over the order sheet. “Why can’t we just order it, try it out, and see how many people order it? If it’s a flop then we don’t have to order it again!”

“Fine!” He throws the clipboard with the order sheet onto his desk. “You’re coming to my place tonight.” He says lowly.

“M’allergic to cats.”

“Take a decongestant then.” He brushes by her to open his door, and he slams it behind him, leaving her standing in there.

Despite her gut telling her not to go, she follows him to his house after work. They say nothing to each other as they walk in. Luna comes over to greet Harry, and he picks her up. Ariel grimaces at the cat.

“You seriously don’t think she’s cute?” Harry asks.

“I’m not a cat person, they’re no fun.”

“You just haven’t met the right cat, then.” He snuggles Luna to his cheek for a moment before setting her down. “My room’s this way.” He nods towards the hall on the right, and she follows him. He walks straight into his bathroom and turns the shower on.

“What are you doing?”

“We’re doing this in the shower, I smell like steak.” He says, already taking his clothes off. She crosses her arms and huffs. “What?”

“I don’t want to shower right now. Just rinse off quick.”

“Ariel, I wasn’t asking. Get your ass in the bathroom, now.”

“Who the fuck do you think you are? What do you think this is? You can’t just – mmph!”

He had yanked her into him, kissing her to shut her up. She doesn’t fight him on it at all, and he walks them both into the now steamy bathroom, kicking the door closed. They both work quickly to get the other naked before stepping into the warm water.

“You better have a fucking spare towel.” She mumbles against his lips.

“Obviously.” He bites her bottom lip and then steps back from her. He reaches to grab his body wash.

“You’re seriously taking a shower?”

“Yeah.” He says as he lathers his body up. “I was balls deep in au jus today.” He steps in the water to rinse himself off. “Much rather be balls deep in something else, though.” He tugs her to him, licking into her mouth, and reaching between her legs to rub at her folds. His middle finger slips inside her, and she gasps. “Always so ready for me.” He grunts, and backs her up against one of the tile walls. “Can I hit it raw?”

“Are you, um, are you clean?” She asks.

“Yeah, are you?”

“Yeah.”

He grins, and hooks one of his arms under one of her legs to lift it up enough for him to have the room to thrust up into her. She grips his shoulders as he rocks in and out of her. He slots his mouth over hers and they both moan. Her nails rake down his torso and she grabs onto his love handles for dear life as he pounds in and out of her.

“You really fucking pissed me off today.” She says to him. “It’s just pasta.”

“You like spending money left and right.” He grunts.

“If people like it, then it’ll bring in more business. It could pay for itself.”

“The more people that want it, the more we’ll have to, shit, buy.”

“I’m aware of how supply and demand works, you asshole.”

Harry growls at her and presses his other hand to her throat.

“Do us both a favor, and just shut the fuck up, yeah?”

She nods at him and he lets go of her throat, but she pulls his hand back to keep it there. He groans because, quite frankly, it was one of the hottest things he had ever seen someone do. He wasn’t going to last very long, and he had no way of rubbing her clit.

“Touch yourself, rub your clit.” He says into her ear, his breath hot on her.

She snakes a hand between the two of them, and she whimpers when she touches her throbbing clit. She presses on it and rubs circles into the little bud.

“Ah, oh fuck.” She starts panting. “Just like that, Harry, shit.” She wanted to cry she was so close. She bites down on his shoulder as she comes to her release. She didn’t want her noises to scare his cat.

He pulls out of her quickly and comes on her stomach. He steps away from her and grabs his shampoo. She stands there awkwardly while he scrubs his head.

“You can use my body wash if you want.” He says, nodding to it. Ariel doesn’t say anything. She starts to tear up. “Hey, whoa, are you alright?”

“I…um…” She blinks a few times, but can’t really form a sentence.

He’s not sure what’s going on, but it he takes it upon himself to guide her back into the water to rinse her off. He gets his body wash on a spare cloth to wash her with, and then he turns the water off. He grabs a towel to wrap around her, and then gets one around himself. He picks her up and sits her on the sink counter to get a better looks at her.

“Talk to me, what happened?”

“I’ve never, um, let someone, uh…choke me before.” She looks up at him, and he sighs.

“Did I hurt you?” He asks softly.

“No.” She shakes her head. “Just felt a little…floaty for a second, like, lightheaded.” She swallows. “M’fine, I think it was just the steam. I have asthma and it can act up after a particularly hot shower.”

“If I had known I wouldn’t have-“

“I put your hand back on me, it’s okay.” She takes a deep breath and hops off your counter.

“Do you…wanna just crash here?”

“No.” She laughs. “Not at all.”

“You can’t drive if you’re all lightheaded.”

“I’m fine now.” She says as she puts her clothes back on. “I need to get going, I have a busy day tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow’s your day off.”

“Yeah, and I have things to do.” She leaves his bathroom, and he follows her out to his front door.

“Just…could you at least text me when you get home?”

“Sure.” She nods. “Bye.”

“Bye.”

She’s out the door in a flash. Harry didn’t quite understand why things were always so awkward with them afterwards. It was like neither of them ever knew what to say because they just didn’t really know how to be soft with one another. Harry scoops up Luna and brings her to bed with him. About twenty minutes later his phone buzzes.

Ariel Bardin: I’m home

Harry Styles: thanks for letting me know, you made me nervous for a second there

Ariel Bardin: I’m fine, you can go back to not giving a fuck now

Harry Styles: will do, goodnight!

Every time he was nice to her, she had to reject it. He hated her, he really did.

“You’re really liking it, you’re not just saying that?” Ariel’s father, Frank, says to her.

“Yes, Papa, I swear.” She smiles. “It’s better than I thought.”

“Good.” He sips on some lemonade. “You look awfully tired.”

“It was a long night.” She shrugs.

“How are things going with the head chef, Harry is it?”

“Yeah, um, I mean, we butt heads from time to time, but it’s fine.”

“It wouldn’t be a normal kitchen if the manager and chef didn’t butt heads.” He chuckles. “I used to fight with the chef all the time.”

“Papa…Uncle Matthew was the head chef when you were there.”

“Don’t I know it. We fought constantly, stubborn old bastard.” He shakes his head. “We still argue about recipes to this day.” He laughs. “Tell me, are you still planning to do the staff appreciation shindig at the end of the summer?”

“Course I am. Hotel’s booked and everything. It’s going to be a fabulous evening.” Ariel smiles. “The dining staff are really excited.”

“Good, good.” He nods. “Do you think you’ll bring a date?”

“Papa.” She groans. “I’d have to be seeing someone in order to bring a date.”

“You work too much, you don’t make time for yourself. Your mother and I were married with a kid by the time we were your age, you know?”

“Yeah, I’m the kid.” Ariel laughs. “I just have other priorities right now.”

“There’s really no one you’re talking to? No one that you like?”

“No.” She takes a sip of her own lemonade. “Don’t worry about me so much, I’m perfectly content, alright?”

“Okay, okay.” He raises his hands in defense. “I won’t ever stop worrying about you, though, that’s the curse of being a parent. At least let me pay for a new dress for the party, hm?”

“You know your money’s no good. I’ll send you pictures, though.”

“Please do, you always look so pretty when you get all dressed up. Spitting image of Mama.” He smiles.

“Thanks, Papa.” She gives his hand a squeeze. “Maybe, um, when I feel like I can take a vacation we can go to France? We haven’t been in so long, and I think it would be good to see our cousins.”

“If you plan the whole thing, sure.” He shrugs. “I think it would be a blast.”

Ariel was feeling a little nervous for the staff party. Not only was the restaurant closed for the weekend, but her staff had never seen her in a dress before. She was second guessing everything. Her hair was down and wavy, and she had on this gorgeous navy blue, lace mini dress paired with white heels. When she walked down the hall to the elevators she heard someone suck their teeth. She turns to see it’s Harry.

“Oh, hi.” She blushes.

“Hi.” He looks her up and down. “You look nice.”

“Thank you, so do you.” She swallows and steps inside the elevator once the doors open. Harry steps inside as well, and presses the button for the floor they need to get to with the small ballroom. “Should be a fun night, huh?”

“I’m hoping so.”

“It’s usually a good time.”

“I remember coming with my parents when I was little, it was great. They let me drink all the Shirley Temples I could stomach.”

Harry chuckles slightly at that. In that moment she wasn’t sure if she had ever genuinely made him laugh before. They had hooked up a few more times since the night in his shower. It was always the same, hot and heavy, and then awkward when they were done.

“Wait until you see Garrett on the dancefloor after a few drinks, he can breakdance.”

“No shit, really? I’ll have to keep an eye out.” The elevator dings and they both get off and head towards the ballroom. They both could hear the music the DJ was playing. “Well, have a good time tonight.” Ariel makes her way over to some of the dining staff members that were closer to her age. She had become friendly with a few of them.

Harry migrates over to where his staff was, and buys them all a round of drinks. Ariel stayed nursing on the same vodka-tonic for a bit. She didn’t want to get trashed. She was talking with a couple of the hostesses, having a good time.

“Alright, ladies, I’ve had a couple of drinks, I’m gonna go talk to Harry.” Erica says to them. “My mistake last year was waiting until the end of the night to talk to him. I’m starting earlier this year.”

“And what’s the end goal here, exactly?” Ariel smirks.

“To see what his hotel room looks like, of course.” Erica winks and walks over to where Harry was. “Evening, Chef.” She smiles.

“Hi, uh…”

“Erica.”

“Erica! Right, I knew that. You still working behind the bar?”

“I hostess too.” She smiles.

“Good for you.”

“Are you having a good time?”

“I am.” He nods, and sips from his drink. His eyes flash to Ariel and then back to Erica. “Are you?”

“Yeah. Must be nice that you have the whole weekend off for a change.”

“It’s definitely a nice break.” He smiles, and looks at Ariel again. “Could you excuse me for a moment? I just remembered something I needed to tell Ariel, and I don’t wanna forget again.”

“Oh, um, sure.”

Harry walks away from Erica, and she pouts.

“Don’t take it personally.” Garrett says to her. “Personally, I think he has a thing for Ari, but I have very little proof.”

“Are you kidding? They can’t stand each other.”

“Maybe so.” Garrett shrugs.

Harry makes his way over to Ariel, and clears his throat to get her attention.

“Yes?” She asks, eyebrows raised.

“Come dance with me.”

“Very funny.” She scoffs.

“M’serious. I think it would be good if everyone saw us palling around. Show them the squabbles we have are purely work related.”

“Harry, I have a feeling I’d hate your guts no matter the setting.”

“Just humor me, will you?” He says, visibly annoyed.

“Fine.” She rolls her eyes, and finishes her drinks before following him to the dance floor. A slower song was playing, so she figured it wouldn’t kill her to dance with him.

Once they’re on the dancefloor, his hands go on her waist, and she puts her hands on his shoulders. They sway back and forth for a bit, and it just feels awkward…

“This is weird.” She giggles, and he can’t help but laugh too.

“Why is that the only things we’re good at doing with each other is fighting and fucking?” He smirks.

“Been wondering the same thing myself.” She smirks back at him. “Things would be so much easier if you didn’t question every little thing I wanted to do.”

“Someone’s gotta play Devil’s advocate.”

“You’re not the advocate, you’re the Devil himself.” She rolls her eyes, and it makes him laugh.

“I happen to be a very nice person, you just tend to bring out the worst in me.”

“I suppose a guy who named his cat Luna has to have a soft side.”

“Oi, leave her out of this.” He pouts at her. “You’ve warmed up to her.”

“She’s alright.” Ariel shrugs.

“Those are, uh, really beautiful earrings you’re wearing.” He blushes slightly.

“Oh! Thanks, they were my mother’s. She left me all her good stuff.”

“You must miss her a lot.”

“Yeah.” Ariel sighs. “But it’s nice having these little pieces of her.”

“You know, I’ve never asked, can you speak French fluently, like, are you bilingual?”

“Je ne sais pas, dites-moi.” I don't know, you tell me. She grins at him.

“Okay, I know you said I don’t know…something…me…” He narrows his eyes in thought.

“Dites is tell, it’s the past tense of ditre, which is say.”

“Ah, right, it’s been a while since I conjugated a French verb.” He chuckles. “Remind me, how do you say fuck in French?”

“Merde.”

“I thought that was shit.”

“It works for both.” Ariel shrugs. “There are a lot of variations and translations, like, if I wanted to say I want to fuck you, I’d say Je veux te baiser, but baiser translates to kiss.”

“French is so confusing.” Harry shakes his head. “But it sounds nice while you’re speaking it.” The song ends and she tries to step back from him, but he keeps his grip on her waist. He leans in to whisper in her ear, “Tu veux coucher avec moi ce soir?” Do you want to sleep with me tonight?

“You could have at least used the formal voulez-vous.” She sighs.

“Just answer the question.” He rolls his eyes.

“Oui.” She nods. “But I wanna do it in my room so I can hang my dress up. I don’t want it getting wrinkled.”

“Do you wanna head up now? Think I’m done hanging out with everyone else.”

“Yeah, let’s go. Uh…go ahead of me, I’ll meet you at the elevator.”

Harry nods and makes his way off the dancefloor. Ariel counts to ten Mississippi before making her way out. Harry was leaning up against the wall waiting for her. The elevator dings and they both head inside. Before she knows it, she’s being shoved against the wall, and Harry’s tongue is down her throat. She wraps her arms around his neck, and she groans when he presses himself against her hip. When the elevator dings on their floor, he steps back from her, and they both quickly walk to her room. The second she’s inside, she kicks her heels off, and jumps up for Harry. He carries her over to the bed, and they both fall onto it. They’re both being sloppy with their kisses, but neither cares. The need to be close is overpowering. She starts unbuttoning his shirt while his lips stay on hers. She imagines they’ll still be red and puffy by morning.

He flips them both over so he’s on his back, and she grinds herself against his growing erection. He grips her hips and helps her rock back and forth. She kisses on his neck, and sucks on the area just below his ear. His hands squeeze and knead her ass as a bruise starts to form where her lips are.

“Fuck, need you naked.” He grunts, sitting up to tug on the hem of her dress.

“Hold on, you’re gonna rip it! There’s a fucking zipper on the back.” She huffs.

In the next second, he’s shoving her down onto her stomach so he can undo the zipper of her dress. He pulls her up by the hips so she can free her arms, and then she’s being moved into her back so he can get it the rest of the way off.

“Take your underwear off.” He says as he undoes his pants.

“No.” She smirks at him.

“What do you mean ‘no’?”

“You do it.”

“Ariel.” He says firmly. “Have you not learned how this works by now?” He moves to hover over her, kissing her slowly. “I talk, and you listen.” She shakes her head no, and his eyebrows raise.

“What makes you think you’re always in charge, hm? I let you do all of these things, you know?” Her smiles grows wider. She pecks his lips before speaking again. “Now, tell me you hate me and take my bra off.”

He sits back, and yanks her into his lap. He works to undo her bra, and tosses it across the room. He kisses on her chest, and sucks on the plushier areas before taking a nipple into his mouth. He pops off with a smirk.

“I don’t just hate you, Ariel, I absolutely loathe you.” He pushes her down onto her back and yanks her underwear off. He finishes taking his own clothes off, and he reaches for a condom, but she grabs his wrist. She shakes her head no. “You sure?” She nods her head yes, and he moves back over her.

He kisses on her neck while one of his hands roams down her body and between her legs. He slides two fingers inside her, and she moans softly. He pumps them in and out slowly before curling them up inside her, and rubbing his thumb on her clit. She grips at the comforter on the bed.

“Like that?” He says into her ear.

“Yes, fuck.” She bucks her hips up to grind against his fingers easier. He pulls them out and she whines.

“Would you relax, I was just gonna flip you over.”

“Oh.” She blushes and rolls onto her stomach. Harry yanks to her to her knees, and slides his fingers back in. Ariel sighs with relief.

“There we go.” He rubs his other hand up her back, and scratches back down before giving her ass a smack. He squeezes the supple flesh and leaves his hand there as he continues to work his fingers in and out of her.

“Oh, oh! Right there!” She gasps and starts rubbing her clit.

“M’I hitting it?” He grunts.

“Y-yeah, you’re right on it, don’t stop, please!”

She can hear him grunting and groaning behind her. He got so much pleasure making sure she got off, it astounded her. She cries out as she comes around his fingers, and he pulls them out slowly. He rubs her back as she catches her breath, and he sucks her slick off his fingers.

“Good?” He asks.

“Yeah, thanks.” She turns onto her side. “Wanna hit it from the side?” She wiggles her eyebrows at him, and he chuckles.

“Sure, if that’s how you want it.”

“It is…for now.”

He gets into position, and gets one of her legs over his shoulder. He pushes inside and watch as her mouth falls open. That was always his favorite part. She’d had him so many times at this point, and she still seemed so shocked at how he stretched her out. He rocks in and out of her slowly before really getting a groove going.

“H-Harry?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you like, go behind me, like, we’re both on our sides? Do you know what I mean?”

He nods and pulls out of her so he can lay down behind her on his side. He lifts one of her legs a little so he can slide back inside of her. She hooks one of her arms around his head so she can get her fingers in his hair, and he kisses on her shoulder while his hand presses on her lower tummy. They were grinding against each other in the most perfect way. His fingers start to work her clit and she whines.

“Sensitive?” He asks her.

“Mhm.”

“Fight through it, know you can come again.”

“Need something to bite on.” She pants.

He gets his other arm around her neck so he can get his fingers in his mouth. She moans around them, and her eyes roll back.

“M’not gonna last, Ariel.” He rubs her clit harder, and she just moans louder around his fingers. “I’m gonna have to pull out soon.”

“No! Come inside me!” She shouts around his fingers.

“Fuck!” He cries out as he comes inside her. It pushes her over the edge, and she comes with him, milking him for everything he’s got. She kisses the palm of his hand before he pulls out of her.

“Could you, uh, bring me to the bathroom?” She asks, looking over her shoulder. “I don’t wanna sleep on sticky sheets.”

“Yeah.” He breathes, and scoops her up, bringing her into the bathroom. He sits her down on the toilet, and leaves to give her some privacy. When she comes out, he’s laying in his boxers on the bed.

“What are you doing?” She asks, going to her suitcase to look for her nightshirt.

“Figured we could fuck again in a bit, it’s not like we have to worry about getting up early, right?” He says, not looking up from his phone. “Or did I tucker you out.”

“No, um, we could…we could do it again in a little while.” She knees onto the bed and lays down. “I just need some time to cool down.”

“Yeah, no worries.”

“Harry?” She asks, turning on her side to face him.

“Hm?”

“Do you really loathe me?”

He looks up from his phone at that and turns on his side to face her.

“No…just sort of said it to keep us in the mood.”

“Do you think, like, we keep fighting as an excuse to fuck?”

“No, I mean, I genuinely can’t fucking stand you sometimes and doing this helps.”

“But what happens when one of us meets someone and we can’t just fuck it out?”

“Oh, please.” He scoffs. “Do you have time to meet someone else?”

“No, I’m just saying-“

“Besides that, who’s gonna fuck you better than me? Gimme a break, Ariel.” He laughs and rolls onto his back again, going back to his phone.

“Harry…eventually I’m going to want more than just fucking someone on the down low. I want certain things.”

“Yeah? So do I. You act like I’m going somewhere.”

“I’m…very confused right now.”

“Come here.” He pats his thighs and she shifts to straddle him. He tucks her hair behind her ears, and then pulls her down to kiss him. “You really think I’d like you run off to be with someone else? If that’s what you think, then you’re even crazier than I thought.”

“Harry, you don’t want me, stop messing around.”

“I’m being completely serious. I’ll get you the big house, the white picket fence, we’ll fill it with babies, and then they’ll have a romantic story to think about just like you did with your parents.” He kisses her again. “What’s cuter than mum and dad meeting in the kitchen at work, right? We can leave out the rest.”

“What makes you think that I…that I want any of that with you?” She was trembling.

“Because you wouldn’t have fucked me a second time if you didn’t like me, Ariel.”

“Harry, stop it, you’re gonna make me cry.” Her bottom lip quivers. “This isn’t funny.”

“I know it’s not, I’m not joking around.”

“But I don’t want us…I don’t want us to always be at each other’s throats. I don’t want that to be the only reason there’s a passion between us.”

He caresses her cheek and rub away a stray tear.

“It won’t be like that. I mean, I certainly know how to make you shut the fuck up, but I think we really have this weird connection. Things always get so awkward after we hook up because I think we’re both sort of soft people, and we don’t know if it’s okay to be soft with one another, but…I wanna be soft with you, I think. I want to sleep over, and cuddle, and all that other shit.” She blinks at him. “Do you want all of that…with me?” She nods yes at him. “Alright then, quit your blubbering and come here.” He tugs her down to him all the way so he can hold her properly. “Je t’aime.” He says softly as he strokes her hair.

“Je t’aime aussi.” I love you too.

#harry styles #harry styles fanfic #harry styles fic #harry styles au #harry styles one shot #harry styles angst #harry styles smut #harry styles fluff #harry styles x oc #chef!Harry #harry styles imagine

573 notes · View notes

julieloveupstead · 3 years

Text

"I'm Never Leave You" - Upstead

Chapter 4

- "Detective Rollins," she heard a female voice on the other end.

- "Hello, this is Detective Upton with the Chicago Police Department." - Hailey called the detective who had handled two similar cases to the one she and the team were handling a few years ago.

- "Hello. How can I help you, Detective?"

- "Today we started on a double murder case, similar to the one we found that the state was investigating a few years ago." - she explained to the woman on the other end. In the meantime, Sergeant Platt brought her, the autopsy results of the murdered boys.

- "Which one specifically?" - the voice on the other side pulled her from her reading.

- "It's about the beating, sexual abuse and then murder of two young men. We found drugs in the building with a similar tag. We think the two cases are connected." - Hailey elaborated.

- "And that's how I remember that case. We had a case like that, but we didn't have a suspect. When the son of one of the diplomats was murdered, the FBI took over the investigation, but as far as I know they didn't even catch anyone either. Practically, the investigation came to a standstill." - Detective Rollins said. But listen, email us with what you've found so far, and we'll compare it with ours and let you know." - suggested the Detective on the other end.

- "Okay, we'll send you everything we have right away, and I look forward to hearing from you." - and after a brief goodbye, Hailey hung up.

She went back to reviewing what she got from Trudy and then decided to call the FBI some more, who as Detective Rollins told her had taken over the investigation.

At the same time, Jay in Voight's office. Since the Sergeant wasn't there, he figured nothing would happen if he stayed there for a while, and If the Sergeant returned unexpectedly, Jay didn't care. If anything, after what he found out, he didn't care what opinion he would have of him or how angry he would be with him. As far as Jay was concerned, Voight might not be coming back. Back on the case, Jay had just spoken with an officer from the LAPD, and they also arranged to share information.

After the call, he returned to the bullpen, where Hailey was still talking. He sat down at his desk and watched her. He may have looked like a stalker, but he loved watching Hailey passionately do every single thing, even when they weren't together yet, the passion with which she gave herself to her work was remarkable, and he always appreciated that very much.

Hailey could feel Jay's burning gaze on her from the start and had to really try to keep her attention on what Agent Anderson-Li was saying.

- Jay, don't look at me like that," Hailey whispered as she ended the call.

- How am I looking? - Jay asked in an innocent voice, getting up from his seat and walking over to Hailey's desk.

- Well, like this - she pointed her hand at him. Jay sat down on her desk as usual.

- What do you mean? - he asked again, leaning over her.

- Like I'm your whole world - she whispered huskily.

- I can't help it if you're my whole world, Angel. - he whispered back.

Hailey gazed into his eyes and saw the loving look in his eyes until her heart beat a thousand times more, and if it wasn't for the fact that she was sitting, she was sure that she would have fallen intimidated by such great affection. She felt like she would never get used to how much Jay loved her.

For many years, she thought she didn't deserve to have a guy love her for who she was. Her father had admirably proven that for many years of her teenage life, and then the guys she'd been with when they found out what baggage she had left her behind. The exception was Garrett, but before things could get serious with him, he died at the hands of Booth and now that she's with Jay she can't believe that after everything he's learned about her and everything she's done he's still here looking at her with the same tender, loving and lustful eyes.

Since the day they started being together, Hailey thinks she's been dreaming and doesn't for the hell of it ever want to wake up from it.

- Jay, please don't say that - she couldn't help but have fears in addition to all the wonderful emotions she was feeling. Because what does he really see in her? After all, she's no one special. And after what had happened a few days ago, and not only that, all her pushback to cross the boundaries of the law, it all didn't look to her advantage. She was broken, and she knew that Jay accepted her like this 100 or even 200%, but she couldn't quell the fear that someday Jay would finally realize that there was nothing to glue together, or would he just be tired of it all and just walk away?

She used to think that the thing that kept her from telling Jay how I felt about him was the fear that he wouldn't feel the same way about her, but now she thought it was the fear that she would finally realize how complicated it really was and his leaving.

- Hailey...

- Guys, I found the owners of the house where we found these two boys. - Adam entered the bullpen, preventing Jay from finishing. They both turned towards him and waited for further information from their friend. - The owners are Margaret and Joseph Tremblay. - He walked over to the board and pinned up a photo, then walked over to the two detectives and gave them some cards. - Two years ago Margaret died after a months-long battle with cancer, shortly afterwards Joseph left for a retirement home. They had no children. - He explained.

- And do you know who he sold it to? - Jay asked.

- No one, Joseph was just renting it out, not to some Richard West guy. - replied Adam. - And I checked that no one with that name had rented the house recently. - He added when he saw the questioning look from his friends.

- So he was cheated? - asked Hailey.

- It seems so. - answered Adam. - The only question is by whom - said Jay.

- 'Okay Adam, we'll wait for Kevin and for Sergeant Smith and Officer Wilson, and we'll be done for the day, because we probably won't find one today anyway. - Jay sat down at his desk.

- Adam, do you know anything about Kim? - Hailey dared to ask her friend.

- 'Mhmm, her parents are sitting by her, and her sister texted me that her condition is stable, but the doctors are afraid to wake her up yet. - He replied, sitting down in his seat. Jay and Hailey looked worriedly at Adam, who, though he tried to hold back, had tears in his eyes. - I'm so scared for her. - He hid his face in his hands.

The pair of detectives looked at each other. They felt very sorry for their friend. Hailey knew exactly what the friend was talking about. After all, it had been over a year ago that Hailey had been in his shoes, and she remembered well the fear when she found out Jay had been kidnapped, and then waiting in the hospital waiting room for him to get some information and for him to finally wake up. It was like a nightmare. For months, she couldn't shake the images of Jay full of blood lying on the concrete floor and even to this day in her nightmares reliving it all over again.

She stood up and put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed in a gesture of support that Adam needed so much right now. Adam nodded in acknowledgement, Hailey smiled some more and went to the coffee room with a mug in her hand.

However, instead of making coffee, memories entered her head. She thought she had gotten over it, that she had accepted what had happened and moved on, but apparently this whole thing with Kim had caused the unwanted memories to return.

When Jay went missing, the worst part was the fear of not knowing where to look and that going around in circles was awful, and then the thoughts of whether she would make it in time or see him again. She was also angry with herself that something like this had happened, and until now she could not forgive herself that she had let such a situation happen at all. And when she finally managed to find him and saw his battered face her heart was breaking, but the fact that she found him beaten and bloody but alive helped give hope that all was not lost yet, that maybe they still had a chance. When Jay said he still had to come back for Angel, she barely held back the tears that started to appear at the corners of her eyes because it was all him. Jay Halstead, a man with a huge heart who always thinks of others first and himself last, even if it would cost him his life. And just when she thought the worst was behind her, it got worse. And waiting in that bloody room in the hospital waiting for any information about his condition and the emerging thoughts that this would be the last time she would see him was even worse. That's why he knows exactly what he might be experiencing right now.

Because knowing that the person you love so much is suffering, and you don't know if this is the last time you will see this person, is indescribable. Those things that you were afraid to tell him about, you may now not even have the chance to say anymore.

She closed the door and sat down on the couch. She brought her knees to her chest and just let go. She doesn't know at what point tears started streaming down her cheeks, and she didn't know if she was crying because of the memories, or because of Kim, or because of what happened in that damn warehouse, or maybe because of everything at once. She had to admit to herself that she felt tired of keeping herself in check in front of everyone, but most of all herself. She was already sick of it all. She felt a complete confusion in her head and did not know what she should do now. She knew that she would not be able to stand this way for long, that finally, after so many years, she had reached the limit of her endurance and did not know how to turn back.

When Hailey closed the door behind her, Jay still looked after her for a moment. He was worried, and he was worried a lot. He knew that the memories from over 1.5 years ago had to come back to her now because of Kim. Until now, Jay couldn't forgive himself for what he had done. When he was sitting in that basement and when they beat him and then after he was shot, his only thought was Hailey and her smile and how she would be mad at him. After that, he promised himself that he would never let something like that happen, that he would never let Hailey suffer. That's why he was so hurt by what Voight had done to her.

- Is Hailey okay? - Adam pulled him out of his thoughts.

- Mhmm, this whole Kim kidnapping thing has cost everyone a lot. - Jay didn't know how much he should say or if he should say anything at all, so he answered evasively. Adam just nodded.

- I remember when you were missing and Hailey was losing her mind. If it wasn't for her and what she did, I don't know if we would have found you. - Jay was puzzled by his friend's words and didn't know what to say, just stared at his companion.

He had never wondered how they had found him, he didn't know the need to revisit the subject. He was afraid that it would bring back bad memories and for him and most of all for Hailey, who he knew was going through a lot. - I know Hailey won't dare to do this, but I know her and I know that she loves you very much, you know that? - After a moment of silence Adam spoke again and again the honesty of his friend's words clobbered him. Now that he and Hailey were together to know that this wonderful person loved him was surreal, but in a positive sense of course, but when he heard it from an outsider, a person who doesn't even know they're together, it made his heart beat harder.

- I... Emm - Jay didn't know what he should say now, not to give too much away, and he was tempted to say out loud that he knew and that they were together, but he knew it wasn't something he should say himself.

- Jay - Desk Sergeant Platt came into the bullpen, delivering Jay from further conversation. Both men looked in her direction. - Nathan Robertson's parents had just arrived.

- Adam, will you come with me? - Jay looked at his friend, who nodded without hesitation. Before going downstairs, Jay took another look at the door to the break room where Hailey was staying and then approached Sergeant Platt. - Trudy, can I have a request? - The older woman just nodded, waiting for the young police officer to finally say something. - Could you sit with Hailey for a moment? - he asked quietly so that Adam, who was waiting for him by the stairs, could come over. Although he knew Hailey wanted to be alone, he didn't know if that was a good idea.

- Did something happen? - The Sergeant asked herself, surprised by her subordinate's request and most surprised by his worried look.

- You could say that. Serge, Hailey probably won't want to talk and will want to push you away but ... - He paused and looked away from Serge and looked in the direction his girlfriend was and then again at the older woman who was looking at him with a worried look. He realized suddenly that he trusted the woman standing across from him more than anyone on this command, much like Hailey, for whom Trudy was an important authority figure, and that was the only reason he'd dared after asking the Sergeant. - There's been a lot going on lately, and I'm just worried about her and I know she trusts you Serge like no one else and I trust you too. Hailey needs someone like you right now. - It was the first time he dared to say such a personal thing.

- Of course I'll sit with her. - Sergeant Platt hadn't been as moved by Jay's words in a long time as she was at that moment. The way Jay was worried about Hailey was heartwarming. It was the first time Trudy had seen, Jay so in love, and she was so happy that both of her best men were now happy.

- Thank you - Jay was grateful and sent the Sergeant a slight smile before joining his friend.

- Jay - before they went downstairs, though, Platt stopped them for another moment. - She almost forgot, I managed to identify the other boy. His name was Harry Bartel. He grew up in an orphanage and then was sent to a reformatory for theft and battery, where he had just met Robertson. - Jay nodded his head in understanding in passing, and then he and Adam finally went downstairs to the dead boy's parents.

Left alone, Trudy walked up to the locked room where she knocked on the closed door, and when she heard a quiet "please" after a moment, she entered.

Hailey was sitting on the couch and when she looked at the Desk Sergeant entering the room, she quickly wiped her wet cheeks and tried for a warm smile, but unfortunately a grimace came out.

- What's up, Trudy? - she said in a voice hoarse from crying, which she tried to mask with a grunt.

- Hailey, what's going on? - Trudy immediately noticed that she must have been crying, which immediately worried her.

- I don't know what you're talking about. - Hailey tried her best to sound normal and hide everything, hoping that the Sergeant would let it go. However, seeing the expression on the older woman's face, she knew she wouldn't succeed.

- Hailey, who are you trying to fool? - Platt sat down next to her subordinate and watched her vigilantly, sitting down at the table so that she could look at her. - Your boyfriend said it would be like this. - The older woman laughed, causing a puzzled look on Hailey's face.

- Did you talk to Jay? - Hailey asked herself in disbelief at the Desk Sergeant's words.

- Chuckles just confirmed what I've been seeing for the past few weeks, and I'm not talking about you, I mean what's going on with you. - She looked at her with a watchful, bone-penetrating gaze, making Hailey feel as if the older woman was reading her mind.

- Serge, it's all right, really - Upton tried again to convince the woman sitting next to her, and above all herself, that nothing was going on, but to no avail. With all her might, she did not want to let on that it was wrong, that something was going on. It's enough that he sees her so broken all the time, and that shouldn't be the case. Hailey doesn't like to show her weakness, that something hurts her, that there are millions of demons swirling around in her head that she can't deal with.

- You're a lot like me, you know? - said Platt in reply to Hailey, who was surprised by her words and waited for her to elaborate further. - From an early age I was taught that emotions are weakness, that if I am not tough, that if I show even the slightest weakness I will get nowhere. So I was like that at work and at home, which meant I was alone most of my life, but I didn't care too much because I worked in the police force, which was my dream, so as long as everything was going well professionally I didn't care that I had no boyfriend, no friends. At work, this frigidity helped me to survive in a world dominated by men. But then it started to bother me and when Mouch came into my life, everything changed. - It was a surprise that the Sergeant entrusted her with such private matters. She didn't really know why the older woman was telling her all this. - Look, Hailey, I'm not going to get you to confess to me, but I do want to tell you that if you want to talk to someone, and you don't necessarily want to tell Detective Chuckles, you know where to find me. - she assured Trudy.

Those words touched Hailey deeply. She closed her eyes and let out two deep breaths to calm herself. She wanted to tell Sergeant Platt the whole truth about what happened that day in that damn warehouse, but she was afraid that not only would she lose her job, but that Jay and the rest of the team would get in trouble, and she couldn't let that happen.

- Trudy, I appreciate your frowning at the truth, but I can handle it. - She turned her face towards the Sergeant. - But if something were to happen, or I wanted to talk, I know where to report. - she sent the woman a grateful smile.

- Okay - Trudy nodded, knowing she wouldn't convince Hailey to confide in her.

- Oh shit - Hailey looked at the clock hanging on the wall - I should send the documents to New York. - She stood up abruptly and without waiting for the Sergeant, she left the break room to meet Jay and Adam entering the bullpen at the same time.

- Do you guys have anything? - she immediately asked the men while crossing her arms over her chest.

- Nothing in particular. - Ruzek was the first to speak up.

- 'I don't understand how you can turn your back on your own kid,' snorted Jay as he dodged Hailey and sat down in his seat.

- What do you mean? - Hailey asked, looking at her boyfriend.

- Robertson was 15 when he first went to juvie and since then his parents had forgotten about him, and now they didn't even shed a single tear. Disbelieving. - Hailey could see that Jay was angry, at these people, and she wasn't surprised at all. She herself couldn't fathom why parents did so much evil to their children, it was incomprehensible. She walked over to Jay and put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed it in a gesture of support. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment, Hailey smiled slightly assuring Jay that she was fine and that she didn't need to worry, Jay returned the smile.

- 'What about Kevin? - Hailey asked, stepping slightly away from Jay.

- And with me, two pieces of information - as if on cue, Kevin appeared in the bullpen. - First of all - he went straight to the board and started to explain what he had found. - There are no drugs in our warehouses with that tag, nor any narcotics cop any dealer dealing the same amphetamine we found in that house.

- But? - spoke up Hailey sensing that Kevin was not telling all.

- But one of my informants heard some time ago that a big player had recently appeared in town, but he doesn't know who it is. He said as soon as he finds out something, he'll let you know.

- And that's all you've agreed on for five hours? - said a sergeant from the Homicide and Burglary department with a commanding tone, appearing out of nowhere together with his subordinate, who Hailey thinks looks at Jay too often.

- I don't understand? - said a visibly irritated Jay, standing next to Hailey.

- I mean, detective, that ...

- Sergeant, is there a problem? - unexpectedly in the room appeared Sergeant Voight and in truth Hailey, really tried, but she couldn't stop herself from violently drawing in air and instinctively moved closer to Jay.

- 'Your people haven't established anything for five hours,' Sergeant Smith explained in a smug voice. She felt Jay's muscles solidify and then felt his hand on her back, at which she instinctively moved even closer to him. She needed to feel the contact with his skin, to feel that he was there because that was the only way she could keep from giving in to the impending panic attack.

- Okay, Jay get all the information together and then you and Hailey will come to me - at that word I swallowed my saliva nervously and felt Jay clench his fists tighter. I stepped back so that my back was touching Jay's chest, to calm my nerves, to keep from being plunged into panic.

She wasn't ready to face their Sergeant yet.

- Sergeant Smith, welcome to my office. - and with that Voight entered his office, followed by the Sergeant from Homicide, to talk behind closed doors.

❁❁❁

- Adam go to the hospital and sit with Kim. - spoke up Jay after some time of work.

- What? - asked a surprised Adam.

- You stare at that phone for 30 minutes - said Hailey, turning towards him.

- Go Kim needs you - added Jay.

- Thank you - Adam started to pack his things and a moment later he was gone.

- You too - Jay turned to Kev.

- Thank you, but I will stay and help you. - protested the officer.

- Okay, whatever you want - replied Jay, shrugging his shoulders. - Hailey - Jay turned to his partner, who looked at him with a questioning expression on her face. - We've already sent everything to New York, and we'll probably have to wait a few hours for an answer anyway, so you can go home. - Come on. I'm not leaving you guys. - she said confidently.

- Hailey - Jay walked over to Hailey and sat down on her desk. They looked into each other's eyes for a moment and communicated only in their own way, without words.

- Jay, Hailey come to me - a grey-haired man leaned out of the office and Hailey regretted her decision to stay on District. Jay put a hand on his girlfriend's shoulder and whispered to her to go home after all, then got up and walked over to the Sergeant.

- Hailey has to do one thing with Kevin, so I'm going to have to suffice you myself,' Jay said in an unobjectionable voice. Hailey could see how angry he was and how hard he tried not to show it in front of her and Kevin, who completely didn't understand what was going on.

Hailey didn't want to go out and leave Jay alone, but on the other hand, she was afraid that she would lose control of her emotions as soon as the door closed behind her and the three of them stayed in that office.

- That's how one of my CIs spoke up, wanting to meet. - Kevin spoke up, trying to support his friends.

- 'Okay, go ahead - Voight spoke up after a moment, then walked into his office, followed by Jay, who closed the door behind him and sent her a smile to let her know that everything was okay. Hailey tried to smile as well, but for some reason she couldn't do it and a grimace came out.

- Come on, Hailey - she was pulled out of the shock she was in by the touch of a hand on her shoulder.

- Yes, I'm coming - she shook her head to get rid of unnecessary thoughts. She quickly gathered her things and a moment later she was already in Kevin's car.

She didn't want to talk and Kevin didn't press the issue, although Hailey could feel his worried look on her and knew he had a lot of questions. She laid her head against the glass and watched the passing streetlights. She closed her eyes and let a few tears run down her cheeks. She knew this was the first time Kevin had seen her like this, but she no longer had the strength to pretend to be strong, and she knew Kevin was one of those people she wasn't ashamed to show emotion around, and she also knew he wouldn't ask any questions if she wasn't comfortable. So now they were driving to her house and in silence, punctuated by street sounds.

#upstead #upstead fanfiction #upstead fic #jay x hailey #jay halstead #hailey upton

19 notes · View notes

bluerose5 · 1 year

Text

The Center of it All

Anders thought it was a bad idea from the start.

When Grand Enchanter Fiona asked Garrett Hawke to serve as her agent, to speak at the Divine's Conclave on her behalf, Anders had a sinking feeling about it all. At first, Anders had begged him not to go. He pleaded with him to reject the offer, to let someone else go in her stead, but he had let Garrett convince him that all would be well. That he would be safe.

Garrett didn't necessarily want to go, but he felt obligated to.

If there was even a chance to make a change, to persuade others to stand with them and defend their cause, should he not take it?

Anders had no response to that.

He watched Garrett make the trip from the village of Haven to the Temple of Sacred Ashes, remaining behind in Haven, where he was careful to blend in amongst the crowds.

Varric met up with him on the outskirts of the village, right as it happened.

"Blondie, there you are," Varric said, relieved. "Long time, no see." He glanced around, then frowned. "Hawke already left?"

For a split second, Anders heard the beginnings of whispers, low in his ear. Distant hisses with no real meaning.

Before he could form a greeting, his head snapped in the direction of the Temple, eyes narrowed.

"Did you hear that?" he asked, to which Varric furrowed his brow, his head cocked to the side.

Anders could sense the taint nearby, barely close enough to detect.

"Hear wha—"

The explosion was deafening.

Wind whipped past them at blinding speeds, knocking them off their feet. As Anders hit the ground, he struggled for breath, winded, staring up in horror as the sky split open before them.

His ears rang, an endless torment.

Grasping at the right side of his head, he winced.

Once he gathered enough strength, he sat up.

Only for his heart to turn to ice.

At the center of it all, there laid the Temple of Sacred Ashes, completely destroyed in the blast.

Oh, the irony was not lost on him.

Was this to be Anders' punishment then? Was this some sort of sick, twisted joke? Was this the Maker's doing, sacrificing one of His most sacred temples to exact his vengeance upon those that rebel against Him and His precious flock?

Anders couldn't find it in himself to care. To the Void with that. To the Void with the Maker Himself, if that be the case.

His heart shattered to pieces, leaving an empty chasm in its wake.

"G–Garrett!" Anders gasped.

His ribs ached, but he ignored it, surging to his feet in a futile attempt to lunge forward.

His head spun, and his knees buckled. He didn't make it far before he collapsed into the snow.

Curling in on himself, he released a pained cry.

"Maker, no!" Tears streamed down his cheeks, hot compared to the icy winds slicing through pale skin. "You cannot have him!"

How easily Justice took over, what with the Veil all but torn to shreds.

Gritting their teeth, they got to their feet with renewed strength, turning to help Varric stand.

Varric gaped up at the hole in the sky.

When he spoke, his whisper was frightened, cautious.

He didn't want to face the truth anymore than Justice did.

"Blondie, where is Hawke?" When they didn't reply, staring up at the decimated temple instead, Varric followed their gaze and swore. "Shit, shit, shit..."

"We must go find him," they stated.

"What? You think he actually survived that?" Varric asked.

Needless to say, he was skeptical.

"If anyone could survive such a catastrophe, it would be Garrett," Justice answered, certain of their claim. Gathering their staff, they set out with Varric at their heel. "We will not rest until we know for sure."

"Uh-huh, and you had nothing to do with this?"

Justice stopped to turn on their heel, glaring down at him, enraged by the accusation. Varric threw his hands up in surrender.

"Just asking," he muttered. "Wouldn't be the first time, after all."

"This act served no purpose but to cause more chaos for the foreseeable future," Justice snapped, "and we would not have taken such a risk with Garrett so close."

"Well, that's reassuring."

"Come. Let us make haste," Justice ordered, lengthening their stride. "We are wasting precious time."

Varric grunted as he rushed to keep up.

"What if we encounter resistance?" he asked.

"For their sake," Justice told him, "they would be wise to stay clear of our path."

And for once, Varric agreed with them.

When it came to Hawke, they would stop at nothing to keep him safe.

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #dai #anders #da justice #garrett hawke #varric tethras #inquisitor hawke #or not #i left it ambiguous for that reason :')#bluerose rambles #bluerose writes #handers #justhanders

27 notes · View notes

smile-hotch · 4 years

Text

Red Dress - Aaron Hotchner

Hello and welcome to another Aaron work! This is the first one I’ve done in a while, so enjoy!

Warnings: mentions of domestic abuse (ties to the victims)

word count: 1,844

Penelope Garcia, in a rush as always, walked into the conference room with an armful of files. Her eyes danced along the table and a frown formed on her lips. “Hello, my fine friends,” she greeted as she began to pass out files to each person. As she came around to Aaron Hotchner, she paused. “Sir, I can’t get (Y/N) on the phone.”

For a split second, Aaron’s eyes darted around the table. “Debrief us and then Morgan and I will go to her house for a welfare check.” His voice was cool but urgent as he looked back down at the file.

Nodding quickly, Penelope put her back to the large screen in the room and held the remote up on her hand. “Unfortunately, our little friend who kidnaps political figures is back,” she began and flashed the image of a dead woman in a police uniform. “This is officer Sheryl Garrett. She was reported missing a week ago today after not showing up for work and was found dead two hours ago in an alley two blocks from her house. As you can see,” Penelope changed the picture, “there are lacerations on her neck and wrists, like the last two victims.”

“All of who were political figures?” Derek Morgan asked as he set the pictures down.

Penelope nodded vigorously. “The first victim was Megan Shelly, as you may remember.” She showed her pictures on the screen. She was the founder of a non-profit organization serving victims of domestic abuse in the city.”

Jennifer Jareau pressed her lips together briefly. “And she was taken two months ago?”

“Exactly two months ago from the time Sheryl Garrett was abducted.” Aaron’s dark eyes didn’t bother looking up from the file.

Spencer looked up. “Perhaps our unsub has a particular disdain for those assisting victims of domestic abuse.”

Penelope pointed to Spencer. “Let me finish my speech before you get to the point. The second victim was city councilwoman Sharon Rubel, who’s campaign focused greatly on punishing those convicted of domestic abuse and protecting the victims. She was taken from her home exactly a month ago from the date of Officer Garrett’s abduction. And Officer Garrett worked in the domestic abuse division of her precinct.”

David Ross hummed. “And he is obviously spiraling. His timeline is shortening, his cuts are becoming sloppier. If we don’t catch him soon, there could be at a lot less domestic abuse activists in this city.” His fingers flipped through the pages.

Penelope held up her hand, silencing her friends once more. “The unsub also left a note for the first time in Officer Garrett’s house, as you can see here.” She put the picture on the television.

It is only going to get bigger.

“Bigger?” Derek scoffed. “Does that mean he is going to go after a congresswoman, maybe?”

JJ, her face paling slightly, looked up at the rest of his team. “I hate to even speculate this, but wasn’t (Y/N) an attorney that only worked with domestic abuse victims?”

Abruptly, Aaron stood and closed his file. “JJ and Rossi, go to the precinct and see if there have been any disgruntled offenders. Reid, you and Prentiss need to go to the dumpsite. Penelope, keep calling (Y/N) and pull the cases she worked on in . Look to see if any of the offenders were released from jail shortly before the first murder, and cross reference the last victim’s cases with (Y/N)’s. Morgan, you’re with me.” With that, the team dispersed. Aaron marched off towards his office with Derek on his heels.

“Should I get (Y/N)’s address from Garcia?” Derek questioned as he followed Aaron into his office, where he took the gun from his desk and holstered it on his ankle.

He grabbed the car keys for one of the bureau's cars off his desk and walked by Derek. “You don’t need to.”

The ride to your house was achingly stiff. Derek tried to talk possible motives with Aaron regarding the case at hand, but all conversation was quick and stern. “With all due respect, sir, what’s going on with you?” Derek asked as they pulled up outside your house.

Aaron leaped from the car without answering Derek and began towards the door without waiting. Shaking his head, Derek rushed to catch up with Aaron. Without hesitating, Aaron reached for the front door handle, and it opened with ease. “Not locked?” Derek asked as Aaron glanced in the house.

He shook his head. “That’s not like her,” he muttered and pulled his gun from holster before pushing the door open more with his foot. Immediately, as they entered your living room, Aaron cursed loudly. In black paint, across the painting you did of the farm you grew up on as a child, was “IT IS ONLY GETTING BIGGER” in messy, scrawled handwriting.

“I’m calling backup,” Derek said as he pulled his phone from his pocket. Aaron frantically searched the house for any sign of you, but there was none. He came back down the stairs of your home, spotting Derek in the kitchen, looking closely at your back door, leading to your backyard. “I think he was waiting for her last night, after work.”

Aaron’s face paled as he looked at the back door as well, where the scratch marks on the trim indicated someone breaking in. “It had to be later that night,” Aaron finally said to Derek as he looked away.

Crossing his arms, Derek narrowed his eyes. “If there is something you know, you need to tell me.”

Aaron felt a burst of anger in his head. He wanted to throw, destroy something, anything. “(Y/N) was with me last night. He had to be waiting for her after I dropped her off shortly after ten o’clock last night.”

Derek raised his eyebrows. Normally, he would hound Aaron about this information, but he couldn’t. Not when you weren’t there to face it as well. “What was she wearing last night so I can have law enforcement put an APB out?”

A slight blush formed on Aaron’s face at the thought of it. “A sleeveless red silk dress and black heels.”

Again, Derek raised his eyebrows. “Damn.” He walked away, putting the phone to his ear. Aaron turned away, walking through the house as he, too, started calling people.

As he wandered into the living room once more, he avoided looking at the ruined painting above the fireplace. “Hotch? Did you find (Y/N)?” Rossi’s voice flooded through the phone immediately.

“He has her,” he answered stiffly as his eyes landed on one of his own ties laying across the back of one of your antique chairs. He picked it up, running his thumb along it, and pressed his lips together. “Have you found anything at the precinct?”

Rossi fell silent for a moment. “We’ll find her, Aaron. You know we will.” The silence that met his words made Rossi sigh. “Truthfully, it seems almost all offenders are disgruntled on out latest victim’s end. I’ve sent the particularly violent ones to Garcia to cross examine.”

“Let me know if you find anything,” Aaron told him and hung up the phone without another word.

Aaron felt guilty, for leaving her on her own the night before. He knew that there was no way for him to predict that this would happen, but still felt at fault for it. However, the guilt was nothing compared to the anger he felt for anyone daring to hurt you.

~.~

It took two more days before JJ discovered a break in the case that led the team to the unsub. You were gone for three whole days, and there was always the biting thought in the back of everyone’s mind that you were long passed alive and not even with them anymore, but they still had to find you, in whatever capacity that may be.

The unsub failed to hear the team enter his home, as he was sleeping soundly on the couch, and Derek Morgan flipped him off to the ground incredibly hard and cuffed him as the others searched for you. JJ and Spencer searched the large yard and shed behind the large, Victorian style home, while Emily, Aaron, and Rossi began to tear the house apart. Local law enforcement took the man into custody and dragged from the home as he shouted and screamed about the unfairness in the judicial system and the rats that cared about the victims of domestic abuse.

Aaron anger built up as he tore down the steps of the house, into the basement. A door at the end of the room had a single lock on the outside of it, and without hesitating, Aaron kicked the flimsy door in.

The lights in the room were an odd shade of red, and there you were, tied to a chair in the middle of the room. “I’ve got her,” Aaron shouted up the house.

With your arms tied behind your back and legs tied together at the knees and ankles both, you were completely unable to move. There was a gag in your mouth, tied around your head and stained with a mixture of blood and tears. You still wore your red dress, which now had a tear up the side and blood along the top, but still looked beautiful to Aaron.

With wide, pleading eyes, you whined into the cloth as Aaron quickly fell to his knees in front of you and began carefully cutting the rope around your knees and ankles. “(Y/N), are you hurt?” He asked as your legs were free, and he untied the cloth from around your head.

With a busted bottom lip and a thin cut across your cheek, you shook your head. “Just a few bumps and cuts, is all.” Your voice was gravelly and sounded dry. “I could really use a drink.”

Aaron chuckled as he cut your hands free, and you rubbed your wrists immediately. “You had me so worried,” he mumbled as he stood, holding a hand out to you.

Your black heels felt taller than ever as you tried to stand. Stumbling, Aaron caught you and quickly frowned. “Ah, haven’t walked in a minute,” you explained and held onto his arm tightly. As you straightened and stretched your legs, Aaron watched you closely. “I wasn’t worried.” Aaron furrowed his eyebrows. “I knew you’d find me, Aaron.”

Slowly, you stood on your toes, even in your heels, and kissed him so gently. You ignored the pain of your busted lip as you grabbed his shoulders, steadying you further.

Carefully, Aaron pulled you against him, deepening the kiss and wrapping his arms tightly around your waist. After a moment, you both pulled away with red faces. Law enforcement rushed down the stairs at that point, and you moved your hands to his arm once more. “Take me home, please. I can’t wait to get out of this dress.”

Aaron, fighting the smirk on his lips, spoke quietly to her. “I quite like you in it, actually.”

#aaron hotchner #Aaron Hotch Hotchner #aaron hotchner fanfic #aaron hotchner fanfiction #aaron hotchner imagine #aaron #aaron hotchner oneshot #aaron hotch x reader #aaron hotchner fluff #Criminal Minds #Criminal Minds Fanfiction #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds preference #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds x reader

490 notes · View notes

obsidiancreates · 3 years

Text

Freezer Duty (Part One)

(This was going to be a one-shot but then it reached 4,000 words so now it’s split up)

----------------------------

Amy parks her car and lays her head on the steering wheel. "You can do this. Christmas shopping is already slowing down, you can do this."

She grabs her coffee thermos, a special blend Emma came up with just for the holiday rush days (it had made Amy almost cry with thankful joy, and had made Emma shrink into her sweater and mutter "Whatever," five times straight), and gets out of her car.

The parking lot is mostly empty. Either most of her coworkers took the bus, or Amy is one of the only people on time... again. Not that she blames anyone. The weather is so cold that getting out of bed feels like a death sentence.

As she walks to the doors, she glances at the other cars. Glenn, obviously. As long as she's been working there, he's always been early. Carol, too. Probably planning to mess with Sandra somehow, this kind of stuff is why corporate shouldn't have shut down the in-store HR department. And then...

Jonah's car? He's usually at least a couple of minutes later than her... weird.

She walks past, and pauses. Why are the inside lights on? That means it's unlocked, and she knows Jonah locks his car obsessively. She once saw him lock it five times through the doors of the store.

Curiosity claims her, and she peeks inside.

And drops her thermos.

“Oh my go- JONAH!”

The scream is loud enough to summon Glenn. “Amy, what is- AHHHH!” he holds his hands up to his head as he shrieks.

Jonah is laying inside his car, bleeding from the neck.

Amy yanks open the car door and shakes Jonah’s shoulders. “Jonah, Jonah wake up!” As she shakes and calls out, Glenn stands behind her with his hands clasped, frantically praying to both Jesus and the Jewish God in a highly confusing yet heartfelt prayer.

“Jonah!” Amy slaps him in the face in a moment of complete desperation.

Jonah startles awake and puts his hand up to his cheek. “O-ow! What was that for! And...” he looks behind Amy. “... Why is Glenn turning purple.”

“Wh- oh, my god, Glenn, take a breath. Okay, um, Jonah, are you alright?”

“I-I think so... why?”

“Well, because you’re sitting in your turned-off unlocked car, in the middle of winter, passed out with blood on your neck.”

“WHAT?!” Jonah feels his neck. “OH- oh, god this is- this is not good, how did-”

“Our insurance is so bad,” Glenn sobs, “You’re not gonna make it!”

“Glenn, don’t- okay, let’s get you inside and- you’re not still bleeding, right?”

“I don’t think so, but what does critical blood loss feel like? Like would I be able to tell? I need to Google this, just-”

“Yeah, you’re going to be okay. Okay, into the store, Glenn help us out.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Ow.” Jonah winces and flinches away as Amy dabs his neck with a wipe.

“Pretty dramatic start to the work day, gosh. I hope nothing else happens.” Glenn shakes his hands by his sides and looks around nervously. He leans in and whispers, “Do you think they’ll find another foot? Jonah, what sneakers do you wear?”

“Again, still have both off my feet.” Jonah winces again, and Amy sets down the towel.

“Okay, it’s all clean, so now we can-”

“Hey guys! Whoa...” Cheyenne stops in her tracks as she enters the breakroom, spreading her arms and stopping everyone else from entering too. There’s an annoyed clamoring for a minute before Garrett just rolls in under her arm. Everyone stoops down to follow, except Marcus, who tries (and fails) to turn it into a game of Limbo.

Garrett looks at the bloody wipes on the table Jonah and Amy are at. “Whoa, dude, what the hell happened?”

Amy sighs. “Jonah was-”

“We found Jonah dying in his car!” Glenn exclaims.

“Not dying!” Jonah and Amy say quickly.

“He was passed out and bleeding a little,” Amy says to cut any rumors off preemptively, moving the collar of his shirt to get a better look at the wounds.

“In your car? In the middle of winter?”

Glenn nods, his face screwed up with worry. “And no scarf!”

“Oh, you’re for sure gonna die,” Cheyenne says, Mateo nodding in agreement. “It’s like, super cold outside.”

“Honestly I didn’t even feel that cold,” Jonah says, putting his hands up. “I guess my car stayed warm. ... Some-somehow.”

“What were you even doing in there? Are you homeless again? You could always crash at my place. Unless the birds don’t like you, then you’re gone. Nothing personal.” Dina sips her coffee.

“Thank you, for that... generous offer, um, I don’t actually remember.”

Amy pauses her checking. “You don’t?”

“No, I um, I just remember realizing I forgot something and going back into the store to get it, and then coming out and everyone was gone. And then there’s just sort of, nothing. ... That-that actually is more worrying, now that I say it aloud, am-am I dying?”

“Your brain probably froze up and is just taking time to de-thaw,” Marcus says with a flippant gesture. “Happened to my cousin once when we ate too many beer-pops.”

“... Okay, then, what’s a- no, nevermind, I can just guess. I don’t actually think that’s how brain freezes work, but thanks, I think.”

Marcus smiles and raises his hands in an attempt at a gracious gesture.

“So you don’t remember anything?” Amy asks, bringing the subject back to the alarming and somewhat urgent situation.

“Maybe someone came up behind him and hit him over the head. Blunt force trauma, put him back in his car to make it look like he froze to death, do you know of anyone who wants to kill you? Maybe a disgruntled ex-classmate, customer you bored out of their skull with a pointless story, maybe-”

“That- no. No, I don’t think anyone wants to kill me for telling an invigorating story. And I’d rather not think about that, actually.”

Dina shrugs. “You don’t want to solve the mystery, fine. But don’t blame me when someone you screwed over in a group project cuts off your junk.”

Jonah and Amy stare at Dina for a second, and then Amy shakes her head. “Anyway... I checked, and I don’t think he has anything wrong with his head. Just his neck.”

Mateo glances over, unperturbed but curious. His expression becomes horrified. “Oh, my god! There’s two giant holes in your neck!”

Jonah slaps his hand over the wounds. “WHAT?!”

“They are not giant holes!” Amy shouts as everyone starts chattering. “They’re tiny ones! And-and they’re more like cuts, anyway!”

“Maybe someone injected him with drugs.”

“Why would they do that, Dina?”

“Yeah, who wastes drugs like that?” Cheyenne looks around at everyone else, who have gone silent. “What?”

“And, wait, with two needles?” Garrett points to Jonah’s neck.

“Maybe they missed a vein the first time.” Dina snorts like it’s an obvious conclusion.

Marcus snaps his fingers. “Maybe it’s some kind of new fancy needle.”

Dina shakes her head. “I keep up to date on drug needle trends. We find too many in the customer bathrooms for me to be out of the loop.”

Glenn startles slightly. “We do?”

“Guys!” Amy gestures at Jonah.

Everyone murmurs some form of “Right!” or “Sorry Jonah.”

“Really, I’m-I’m fine.” Jonah keeps a hand over the holes. “It’s just a little sore, and um, I don’t know, I guess I’m a little chilly and tired, but I’m generally okay.”

“Okay, great!” Dina claps her hands. “You can have an easy assignment today because of the whole ‘attacked for revenge’ thing-”

“That’s not what-”

“Well, no-one knows what happened, so for now my theory is valid. Anyway, I’ll assign you to grocery. Slow over there today, bakery is having a big sale and uh, huh, we had an overstock of powered donuts so it might get wild.”

“Well... thank you, Dina. A slow day sounds good, actually, because I’m starting to get a headache.” Jonah rubs his eyes. “Really bright in here.”

“It’s the standard fluorescents.” Glenn looks up. “Unless corporate had it changed overnight, but I don’t think so...”

Cheyenne tilts her head with a small frown, and looks at Jonah’s neck throughout the rest of the meeting.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“No way,” Mateo scoffs. “That’s far-fetched gossip, even for us.”

“No, but it would make sense, right?” Cheyenne looks around, and then whispers. “Didn’t notice the cold, lights too bright, two holes in his neck. Jonah totally got bitten by a vampire.” She leans back and nods, eyes wide at her own revelation.

“Vampires aren’t even real though! As much as we might wish they were.”

They glance over at Grocery. Jonah is yawning, leaning against the freezer section.

“He looks pale, right?” Cheyenne whispers.

“He always looks pale. He could wear non-tinted sunscreen as foundation,” Mateo says with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“Yeah, I guess. ... Should we try to get a look at his eyes?”

“Chy, I love you, but we’ve got a ton of restocking to do and I don’t want to be all panicked before lunch.”

“Right. Right. Yeah. Probably just like, letting my imagination get the best of me, right? Yeah...”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Excuse me?”

Jonah startles, jumping away from the freezer door. “Hi! Yes, sorry! Um, what-what can I... help you with?”

“Could you please show me where the frozen pizzas are?”

“Sure, ma’am, right this way.” Jonah rubs his eyes, leading her to a different section of the freezer area.

“Oh, thank you! Could you grab it for me?”

“Wh-why?”

“I don’t like the cold.”

Well, neither does he, and he’s already chilly. But this is his job. Somehow. How did he get here again? His head feel a little foggy, he can’t quite gather his thoughts.

He reaches in and grabs the pizza. “Okay, here you-”

“No, the ones from the very back.”

“... I-I’m sorry?”

“The back ones are always better.”

“... Alright, I will... reach all the way into the back of the freezer.”

Jonah leans into the freezer, bracing himself for chills and shivers. And...

... Nothing.

It’s cold, but it’s... not bothering him that much. he leans in, grabs the pizza, and leans back out without feeling any more cold than he did prior to the task.

“Thank you, young man. You should grab yourself one too, it’ll put some color into those cheeks.”

The old woman walks away, and Jonah pulls out his phone to look up symptoms of frostbite and hypothermia.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Justine shakes her head. “I’ve read Twilight a million times, if he was a vampire I would be able to tell.”

“What if we give him some garlic bread, and tell him it’s normal bread?” Sandra suggests.

“Because if he’s just allergic to garlic, we won’t know the difference. Doy.” Marcus scoff-laughs at Sandra and points at her mockingly with his thumb.

“What are you guys talking about?” Garrett asks, rolling up to the group. “Marcus, aren’t you supposed to be unloading a truck right now?”

“Eh, didn’t feel like it. Anyway, we’re trying to figure out if Jonah is a vampire now.”

“Are you serious?”

They all nod. Garrett grins. He folds his hands in his lap. “So what have you tried so far?”

“Nothing yet,” Justine admits.

“We might give him garlic bread,” Sandra says with a shrug. “Is he allergic to garlic?”

“No.”

Sandra lights up. “So it would work!” Her smiles fades. “Oh. But then it might kill him.”

“We can’t do that! The Horsemen stick together, I could never hurt my best friend.” Marcus shakes his head. “What if we just drop something really heavy on him and see if he catches it?”

“That won’t hurt him?” Garrett checks.

“Not if he’s a vampire.”

“Right, right. How about instead of splattering him across the Wheaties boxes, you just ask Glenn to go pester him with Bible stuff?” Garrett would love to see that, Jonah gets to flustered over trying not to offend while trying to get away. It’s hilarious.

Marcus points at Garrett with a smile. “That- yes! Perfect! Thanks man!”

The small group runs off, and Garrett laughs a little to himself as he heads on back to customer service.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Oh, this one is one of my favorite verses, so here we go, ahem-”

“Hey, Glenn? Isn’t there a-a rule, against doing this kind of thing at work?”

“Well... technically... but Marcus told me you wanted to know my favorite parts of the Bible, so I just sort of thought why wait.”

“He- really? Because I’m not... known, for being very curious about... the Bible...”

“But you are known for being curious about your friends,” Glenn says with a point and a smile.

Jonah plasters on a smile himself. “Yeah. Yeah, I do tend to-”

“Get a little nosy.”

“... I was going to say get involved, but... I-I guess nosy works too. But um, I’m restocking the ice cream right now, so kind of have to act fast,” Jonah motions at the freezeer.

“Oh, then I’ll make this quick! Okay, this verse says-”

Jonah sighs, rubbing his head. His headache is just getting worse and worse. He’s pretty sure it’s the lights, or maybe the dry-cold freezer air, but Glenn’s babbling is not helping.

And his voice is really grating right now. It’s not exactly soothing at even the best of times, but Jonah is pretty sure he’d rather listen to nails on a chalkboard than another round of ‘Top Bible Verses’ from Glenn.

“Okay!” he snaps. “That’s good, that is- that is very much enough! Thank you for sharing something you enjoy with me, now please let me do my job!”

Glenn startles, and then hugs his Bible to his chest. “Fine. Then I guess you don’t get to hear me sing the top five best Psalms. Which is too bad for you, because Jerusha says I do them well enough to be on radio.”

Glenn walks away, and Jonah sighs. He hadn’t meant to snap, it was just really getting on his nerves. ... At least his headache is a little better already without the extra noise.

He watches Glenn walk away, and then catches sight of Justine and Sandra quickly ducking behind another isle. He looks on in confusion for a moment more, and then gets back to work.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Okay, we need a real plan,” Justine sighs.

“For what?” Dina pauses on her way to the coffee pot. “More raccoons? Did they find a snake in the bananas again?”

“We think Jonah night be a vampire,” Sandra says.

Cheyenne stops eating her lunch. “Oh my god, you told them?”

“I couldn’t think of anything else to say!” Mateo defends. “It’s been a boring day! Other than, you know, Jonah almost dying.”

“Wait, you guys think Jonah is a vampire? No way, have you seen him? That’d be too cliche.” Dina scoffs at the idea. And then looks at the ground, a thoughtful frown appearing on her face. “Although the cliche would also mean it makes sense...”

Garrett eats a chip. “Come on, he’d be a terrible vampire. Vampires are supposed to be confidant and suave. Jonah can’t even explain his cookie choices without a five-minute tirade.”

“And he’d cut himself off at least six times in those five minute,” Dina says with a slight wince. “Yeah, he’d be a terrible vampire.”

“I don’t know. Sometimes he’s really confident, and he does that smirk thing?” Sandra says, gesturing to her own mouth for emphasis. “Plus, he always stands like a politician.”

“And he puts way too much product in his hair! That’s a total vampire thing,” Cheyenne says with a definitive shrug.

“He does already have that black-hair-pale-skin thing going for him...” Mateo admits. “If he could be a villain on CW he could be a vampire.”

“And how would he drink blood?” Garrett asks. “Just talk until the person passes out? Ask overly politely in a way that really sounds like he’s trying to ask for sex?”

Everyone murmurs in agreement.

“He would starve,” Cheyenne declares. “Because he’d be picky, too, right?”

“Picky like, about the person’s health?” Mateo asks with a doubtful frown. “He’d probably freak out about not wanting to discriminate though.”

“That would be the starvation,” Dina says with a nod. “He’d be too worried about the socio-political crap of whoever he picks so he’d just debate himself until it was too late.”

“... That’d be kind of funny,” Mateo says quietly.

Everyone thinks for a moment, and then agrees.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Hey, Jonah.” Dina snaps her fingers in front of Jonah’s face, jarring him out of his standing sleep. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Sorry, Dina.” Jonah rubs his face. “I feel exhausted.”

“It’s the middle of the day.”

“Yeah! Yeah, I know. Um, what did you need?”

“I need you to go help Brett move some of the exercise equipment, the dolly broke.”

“Wh- so-so we have to move it by hand?”

“You’ve got a little muscle on your noodle arms, you can handle it.” Dina slaps him on the back and walks away. Jonah huffs, hands on his hips. After a moment he shakes his head and moves over to exercise.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Okay, now we find out for sure,” Dina says smugly. “No way a Human Jonah could handle the weight of that stuff.”

Everyone is crammed into the surveillance office, watching Jonah on the monitors.

“Should one of us tell Amy about this?” Cheyenne asks. “I feel like we’re leaving her out.”

“It is weird that I’m in on this and not her,” Marcus agrees. “But she’d probably tell us this is ‘dangerous’ or something.”

“She wouldn’t like it at all,” Dina confirms. “Best to just tell her about it later, or let her find out on her own. Later.”

They watch Jonah and Brett work together surprisingly smoothly, moving the heavy equipment with a perfectly human amount of struggling. Dina leans back in her chair with a disappointed sigh. “Dammit. I almost let myself believe in magic...”

“Wait, look!” Cheyenne points to the monitor.

Everyone looks, excited and hopeful. And they collectively sigh and grumble.

“He’s just talking to a customer,” Mateo says.

“A super rude one! I’ve dealt with him before, he’s a total asshole. Let’s turn on the audio and listen to Jonah freak out.”

“I do love a good Jonah freakout.” Dina turns on the audio.

“Yeah, I-I’m sorry, sir, we just don’t carry that here anymore.”

“This store has carried it for over ten years.”

“Yeah, it’s a bummer! I know I hate when store stop carrying stuff I like. But maybe! Maybe we can view this as a-a chance for personal growth, for you! A chance at... at evolution, at moving forward-”

“Are you mocking me, little bitch boy?”

Everyone gasps. “Oh no he didn’t,” Cheyenne whispers. On the camera, Jonah is clearly taken aback, leaning away from the customer and staring with wide eyes.

“Some... very strong language, sir. Um, no, I just meant that maybe, you know, instead of-of viewing this in the negative-”

“So I’m a negative person?”

“No! No, I can’t- I don’t know you! I can’t make judgements about people that fast! Just- I hope this doesn’t ruin your day, right? And-and I want to see if we can find you a-a replacement, so that you can still have what you want!”

“How important do you think this is to me? You think I’m pathetic? Can’t be happy without my specific little brand?”

“No, I just-”

“I’m gonna need to speak with your bitch of a floor manager or whatever she’s called.”

“... I’m sorry?”

“Your bitch of a floor manager. The loud Latina lady.”

Dina stands up, ready to go beat the man with a bat for talking about her best friend that way. Cheyenne pushes her back down, jaw dropped. “I think Jonah is about to stand up to him,” she says.

Jonah is indeed, looking quite pissed off. He steps closer, and looks the much taller man right in the eyes. Jonah’s a good head shorter, his hair barely coming up to the other man’s chin, yet for some reason unknown the black-and-white monitor shows the customer being the one who leans back.

“You, sir, are a very unpleasant person,” Jonah says in a calm, measured voice. “And I think you need to do some self-reflection. I think you should leave the store, and learn how to talk about people without using the word ‘bitch’, alright?”

It’s so overly polite it’s almost comical. Yet somehow... it works.

The customer stands there for a second, then just... walks away. Jonah watches after him, the calm and collection expression on his face quickly giving way to confusion. He looks around as though wondering if someone else had done something to scare the customer off.

“Confidence boost,” Sandra says softly.

Cheyenne pulls out a notebook and ticks something off. “That counts as evidence.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jonah has no clue what just happened.

One moment he was speaking with a rude customer, the next the customer was walking away and Jonah has no clue why. What he does know was that his headache was slightly better, and that he really wishes his lunch break was sooner because he is famished.

Someone taps him on the shoulder, and he nearly jumps out of his skin. He turns around to see Amy looking at him with slight concern. “You okay? You’re just sort of... staring off into space.”

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. Uh... yeah, I’m fine. Totally fine.”

“... I don’t believe you.”

“Well, then you... have trust issues, because I am. I’m fine.”

“... Sure... can I see your neck again, real quick?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re acting weird and I want to make sure you’re not developing an infection that’s getting to your brain?”

“... Yeah, check away.”

Amy checks, and winces. “Youch. Yeah, let’s get some more antibiotics on those.” She starts leading him towards the breakroom. “So, what happened with that customer? I came over right at the tail end, missed the whole thing.”

“Oh. Um... I guess I just, really got through to him.”

“You?”

“Yes, me, why- what is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing! It’s just, usually when you try to calm down a customer you don’t get very far.”

“Well, you know, sometimes people just listen if you hit the right cords-”

“Mmm-hmm, yeah.”

“-I guess I just found the right words to resonate with him, is all I’m saying.” If only he knew what those words were...

Creak

Jonah pauses. “Did-did you just hear that?”

“Hear what?”

Creaaak

Jonah looks up. “I think the ceiling is about to collapse.”

“Why?”

CREAAAAK!

A mass of merch falls from the ceiling! Amy and Jonah both scream, brace themselves, Amy still holding onto Jonah and Jonah still holding onto Amy-!

...

And... they’re a safe distance from it all as it crashes down.

A multitude of raccoons scamper out and scatter, their Nest Of Stolen Goods now revealed. Jonah and Amy watch from the sidelines.

The sidelines!

“How did we get over here?” Amy is staring at the pile.

“... I don’t know,” Jonah replies, staring as well. Oh, what an adrenaline rush, his heart is racing- ... it... should... be racing...

Amy’s hand is still around Jonah’s wrist. She looks at him for a moment, and then shakes off the shock. “Okay, um, let’s get a team to clean this up, and get some antibiotic on your neck.”

“Will that part take a whole team, too?”

“Ha-ha, Jonah. ... I’m just glad neither of us got hurt.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!” Cheyenne grabs Mateo and starts shaking him. “DID YOU SEE WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!”

“WE ALL SAW!” Mateo shouts, pushing Cheyenne away. He huffs and brushes off his sweater. “All three of us left, anyway.”

Dina taps the monitor. “That’s why you never leave the surveillance room after something mildly interesting happens! Something big always follows!”

“He’s actually a vampire,” Mateo says in disbelief. “He vampire-ran away from that junk, he’s actually a vampire!”

Dina scoff-laughs. “The little guy pulled off one hell of a ruse, huh? Pretty clever, faking amnesia.”

Cheyenne stops her mini victory celebration. “Whoa, why do you think he’s faking?”

“Because why wouldn’t I? He’s a vampire now, even if he actually doesn’t remember what happened it’s got to be pretty obvious to him that he’s undead. ... Right?”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“What’re you googling?” Amy dabs at the neck wounds gently with a damp cloth as she prepares to put on the antibiotic cream.

“Symptoms of frostbite and hypothermia. I guess everyone got into my head this morning, and I’ve had some weird stuff happen to me...”

“Well... anything about last night coming back? Could help you figure out whatever symptoms you’ve got.”

“Still nothing.” Jonah rubs his neck when Amy is done dabbing it with the cloth. “I still feel like the day just started, honestly.”

“Oh yeah,” Amy agrees. “Today’s going to be a long day.”

#Superstore #superstore jonah #superstore amy #superstore nbc #superstore tv #jonah simms #Amy Sosa #Dina Fox #garrett mcneil #glenn sturgis #sandra kaluiokalani #vampire #vampires #Vampire!Jonah AU #blood tw #death mention #fanfic #my attempts at fanfic

26 notes · View notes

laequiem · 3 years

Text

No tricks, only treats [ONESHOT]

/ Cardan and Jude join the rest of the family to enjoy Halloween in the Mortal World.

Part of Tales from the Mortal Realm, a collection of random moments in the lives of the Queen and King of Elfhame.

"Is it strange that I find you attractive dressed as such?"

I was looking at myself in the mirror, assessing my outfit, when Cardan sneaked into the room. His training with The Ghost was paying off, he was as silent as ever.

"Strange? Yes. Surprising? No."

Read it on ao3

"Is it strange that I find you attractive dressed as such?"

I was looking at myself in the mirror, assessing my outfit, when Cardan sneaked into the room. His training with The Ghost was paying off, he was as silent as ever.

"Strange? Yes. Surprising? No."

I saw him prowl towards me through the glass. He slid his arms around my waist, staring at me through my reflection.

Today is October 31st and Oak insisted we join him in celebrating Halloween. Of course, this means we all need costumes. I decided to go as the one character I knew more than anyone else.

Cardan.

I looked through his wardrobe for my outfit. It was quite hard to find a top that was loose enough to account for my breasts, as most of his clothes were tailored to fit him perfectly. I also found a dark blue coat, its collar covered in iridescent feathers. I gave up trying to find pants in his collection, as my hips would never fit, and just wore a pair of black leggings with black combat boots.

"What do you mean, dear Jude?"

"The only thing you love more than booze is yourself."

He raised his brows, making a show of looking offended.

"Your capacity to lie to yourself will always impress me,” he said then plucked a kiss to my temple, “I love you more than I love wine."

I don’t think I will ever get over him being caring . It felt as if he was a completely different person from the boy who would disturb lessons just to get attention.

Cardan turned me to face him, then inspected my face. “Something is missing.” He took my hand and directed me to his personal vanity. He opened the drawer and pulled out some cosmetics. He lined my eyes with kohl and coated my lashes with dark mascara. I suppressed my laugh when I saw he was so concentrated that he had stuck out his tongue. Then, he took out some glittery gold powder and applied it on my cheekbones.

He took a step back to look at his handiwork and smiled.

“And the final touch,” he said as he plucked his crown off his head and put it on my head at an angle, “Voilà!”

I looked at myself in the mirror. I did not bother with any kind of wig. I put my hair up in elaborate braids, letting a few short curls hang in a few places. Yet, even without his signature dark hair, I still looked like him. I made faces at myself in the mirror, trying to get his grin right.

Finally, I got up. “Your turn now, dearest Cardan.”

When Heather learned that Cardan would be coming too, she started suggesting outfits for him. She even went as far as drawing some of them. Something about his otherworldly looks inspired her. Maybe it's the tail, since a lot of her designs included it: a devil, sexy cat man and my personal favorite, a cute puppy.

In the end, I chose my own, petty idea. I walked in the closet and pulled out the outfit I had the servants clean for the occasion.

“A King needs his Queen,” I grinned as I revealed the Queen of Mirth dress and crown.

Cardan threw his head back laughing. “You sure know how to hold a grudge.”

Thankfully, my husband was a team player, and he went with it. Even in this, he looked strikingly handsome. Or pretty, I guess. Unfair.

We landed in Maine in the early afternoon. It was strange to be awake so early, but Cardan did not seem bothered at all. We met up with Vivi, Heather, Oak, Taryn and Garrett at the entrance to FallFest, some kind of harvest festival that was held every October in the local park. It had everything from harvest contests to food stands, a section with typical carnival games, a small hay maze and even a haunted house.

I was not surprised to see my eldest sister dressed up, she went crazy for Halloween every year. Vivienne would dress up for a week straight before Halloween, even when she still lived in Elfhame. She was wearing a tight black bodysuit with a tail and claws as well as a black leather mask with cat ears. Heather dressed up as some kind of … plant lady? She had a short bodysuit made of green ivy leaves, green stockings and a long red wig. Oak was with them, wearing a reddish pink shirt with a big yellow star on it. I can only assume they went for pop-culture references I am unfamiliar with.

The real surprise was seeing my twin Taryn and her quiet lover also dressed up.

"What are you dressed as?", Cardan inquired, cocking his head to the side, "You ought to have dressed as Jude, you have already proved to be so good at it."

I snapped my head at him and slammed my foot as hard as I could on his. He was joking, of course. But the peace between me and Taryn was still fairly new. We mostly kept to ourselves and rarely talked. Garrett was back with the Court of Shadow and we were friendly, but he kept his professional and personal lives completely separated.

Cardan was hopping on one foot, scowling at me like he did not understand why I was upset. Taryn understood, though. She was sheepishly looking at the ground.

"I… I'm sorry for tricking you, Cardan."

I tried finding something to say to end the awkwardness. I wanted Cardan to apologize for what he said, but I knew he would not. Fae don't apologize.

Thankfully, Vivi broke the silence. "C'mon guys, we're here to HAVE FUN!" she complained, "What ARE you two dressed as?"

"Phantom of the Opera." Garrett replied.

"Nerds."

"Says the one dressed up as Catwoman." Garrett mocked.

The bickering continued, though less mean-spirited than Cardan’s original comment, as we walked down the main path. Our first stop was the pumpkin carving station. Each couple got their own pumpkin to carve, though Vivi and Heather’s pumpkin was mostly Oak’s handiwork and the couple making sure he did not stab himself. Taryn and Garrett made some intricate flower design on theirs, Garrett being the one doing the carving of course. As for us, well… Cardan had creative ideas, but no skills with a blade, and my skills were more of the stabbing variety. We settled on giving our pumpkin a traditional jack-o-lantern face.

After the effort of carving pumpkins, we were starving. Oak was complaining, dragging his feet on the ground so much that Vivi and Heathers were holding both of his hands to pull him along. Behind them, I saw Taryn with her arm looped around The Ghost's.

I was suddenly very aware that Cardan and I were the only ones not holding hands.

Nobody knows us here. We needn't keep the appearance of the power couple, together to rule and nothing else.

I took my hand out of the pockets of my borrowed coat and tentatively brushed my fingers against Cardan's hand. I saw him whip his head towards me, and I blushed when I witnessed the surprise in his face. Soon enough, he smiled. One of those smiles he kept for me and only me, blissful and happy. The smile he gives me when we have the time to spend hours cuddled together in bed, enjoying each other's presence.

Cardan took my hand and squeezed. I squeezed back.

We spent the rest of the afternoon eating good food, trying to guess the weight of giant pumpkins and visiting a haunted house. Cardan was fascinated by the weird human traditions and absolutely ecstatic about the food. Pumpkin-spiced flavored food will become the new trend in Elfhame, judging by his reaction.

When the sun started to go down, Taryn and Garrett left for Madoc’s, who decided to try giving out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Heather and Vivienne had initially volunteered to take Oak trick-or-treating himself, but when one of their friends invited them to a party, we offered to take him instead. Oak was excited to spend more time with me and “Uncle Cardan”.

I had not gone trick-or-treating in...10 years? Maybe 12? Since my parents died. Cardan, obviously, had never gone. So, dressed up as each other, with Oak dressed as some cartoon character, we roamed the residential streets of the city to beg for sweets.

“If it is called ‘trick-or-treat’, does that mean I can make bargains if someone refuses to give me candy?” Cardan asked as we watched Oak go up to a house.

I gave him my best ‘I’ll-strangle-you-if-you-do’ stare. “No. No turning people into cats, no curse making them hear imaginary insects buzzing around their ears.”

“Why is it called trick-or-treat, then?”

Vivienne told me they had to explain this to Oak, too, a few weeks ago. Someone at school had mentioned being excited to go trick-or-treating and my brother had been very confused.

“I don’t know.”

Cardan hmmed and smirked, “Perhaps the Folk were involved when the holiday was first established.”

I crossed my arms.

“If that’s the case, not all traditions need to be brought back.”

He laughed at that, then reached around me and pulled me closer to him.

“You win. I won’t trick anyone,” he crooned in my ear, “but I want a kiss for being well behaved.”

I rolled my eyes dramatically. “So needy.”

Once again, I had to remind myself that nobody knows us here. Nobody recognized our costumes today: in the mortal world, dressed as each other, we were only The Guy In An Ugly Dress and Fashionable Emo Boy. Nobody knew we are King and Queen of Elfhame, therefore there are no expectations to be the hedonistic king and his murderous wife.

I slid my hand behind his neck and pulled him down. I felt him smile as I captured his lips with mine.

“Ew, gross!” Oak’s voice came from the other end of the driveway, “Stop that, come here.”

Reluctantly, we pulled away from each other and looked towards the house. Oak was in front of the opened door, talking with a couple.

“Honey, look,” the tallest woman exclaimed as we walked down the driveway, “She’s dressed as High King Cardan!”

“Oh my god,” the other one replied, sounding so very human, “that sounds kind of profane. Do you think he would have her hung for this?”

As I looked at the two women, I realized that Oak had stumbled upon the house of a Fae couple. They saw through his glamour, and he saw through theirs.

“This is my sister Jude,” Oak started, “and this is my Uncle Cardan.”

Both females had gone completely still and were staring at Cardan with wide eyes. Simultaneously, they bowed deeply.

“Forgive us, Your Majesty. We weren’t expecting you.”

“We so rarely see our kind around here,” the shorter one said nervously, “we… wanted to meet who little Oak was with.”

“We have tea, if you would like.”

I dared a glance at Cardan and noticed he seemed amused. Was he delighted to make them uncomfortable?

“That won’t be necessary,” he said as he took my hand, “My wife has us on a tight schedule, we have other houses to visit. Have a nice evening.”

I caught the emphasis on wife and realized they only recognized him as royalty. ‘ Your Majesty ’, singular. I could tell from the two females’ expressions that they also understood their mistake. I felt bad for them knowing they had no ill intent, probably unaware of the situation in Faerie. Yet, I could not help the grin that crept on my face. I worked hard to become High Queen. I fought and killed my way through the ranks, almost dying. Multiple times. I made decisions that will haunt me until the day I die. I am High Queen, and the Folk must know.

“It was nice meeting you,” I say as I take Oak’s hand, “You are welcome to visit us at the palace if you wish.”

My memories from before Faerieland were to blurry, I did not remember getting so much candy. Did Taryn and I get that much? How could we possibly have eaten all of that? Cardan and I each had a smaller bag, only accompanying Oak to some of the doors, but Oak had multiple full bags. Once he went to sleep, Oriana was more than happy to give us some. She had learned how bad candy was for children’s teeth - even little Fae kids. She filled little bags for us to take back to Elfhame.

Like anyone eating candy for the first time, Cardan went a little crazy. He wanted to try everything. Faeries might be different in a lot of ways, but I now have proof that chocolate is addictive even to them.

The High King of Elfhame ate so much candy that he fell asleep on the couch, to the former General’s dismay.

#tfota #the folk of the air #cardan #cardan greenbriar #jurdan #judecardan #jude duarte #the cruel prince #the wicked king #queen of nothing #holly black #fanfic #fluff #laequiem

74 notes · View notes

nachohypno · 3 years

Text

Pine’s Football Jocks (Rewritten!) - Ch. 6

Our team won! I saw it all, I’ve never been really interested in football but it felt kind of amazing this time!

I was mostly focusing on Mike, to check out how he played. And if the practice I saw a few weeks ago worked as a comparison, the ‘get very focused’ order did a little bit of help. He seemed pretty excited once the time was over. I couldn’t stick around much there, though. I had to go to the locker room.

This part is kind of decisive. Coach Mark is going to make the whole team go to the locker room for a little pep talk. But in reality, I’m going to be here and try to enslave them all in one go, just like I did an hour ago with the rival team.

The rival team would be here in any second now, so I had to be quick.

Slowly, the local team started entering the locker room, and I was behind some of the middle lockers, to avoid being seen so easily.

After they were all in, the coach came in and stood by the exit. I came out of my hideout, trying to avoid freaking out. I did it great last time, now it had to be the same, right?

I mean, I already caught what seemed to be the hardest fish of the tank. The rest were mostly easy-going, I think.

“Very great work, guys. As a little reward, I asked a special guest of ours to come and say a few words. You may start now, kiddo.” The coach started, and all the faces turned to me. I looked at Mike on the back, and he seemed to be the most confused of them all. My three current slaves: Garrett, Brent and Mark, all seemed to have small smiles, like they knew what was coming.

“So… I think you guys know me already. Pine here, and…” I really didn’t want to enslave Mike. Should I tell him to ignore me until I leave?

That would be weird. Guess I can take him and have him, I dunno, play around the coach’s house. “Ehem, this may sound weird, but here it goes… You all want to do everything I tell you to do. That is because you realize I’m your master, and you have to do everything your master tells you to do”

‘Damn, I’m a kinky weirdo’ came to mind, as I watched the fruit of my work. Slowly, all the jocks in the room (Including my best friend) showed dumb smiles and glassy eyes.

“Yeees, master Pine…” They answered, like mindless drones. It felt good, like I finally achieved something really great. I mean, yeah! The whole team seemed to be under my control! That was big, right?

At that moment, Mark seemed to notice something and turned around. The other coach was behind him! The man, a guy around his late thirties, I would say around Mark’s size, but my guy is pretty much bigger. He still seemed fit though, wearing a simple t-shirt and some jeans, a cap on his head and a whistle around his neck.

“Yo, man. My guys wanted to pass by and congratulate your team on the victory.” Then he noticed me, still on top of the bench. “You guys were in the middle of something? We can leave and come back in a few minutes… We got a lot of time, honestly.”

“Actually, you should stay. Our guy here was giving out an amazing speech, you should stay and listen” Coach Mark pulled him in and made him face me, trying to seem as unsuspicious as possible.

“You’re the coach, right? May I ask your name?” I asked, as the last members from the rival team entered the room. They seemed to know what was going on too, and the little smiles returned to their faces too.

“Uh… Darren. Why do you ask?” The man asked, really confused at what the hell was going on.

“Well, Darren. You just gotta catch up with the rest, okay? Everyone around you just wants to give up control for tonight, and you really want to do the same. You really want to do what I tell you, isn’t that right?” I tried to ease him up for a bit. I mean, I already had all the pieces of the game in place, and he was just the only one left!

“Whut…? Uh…” Was the only answer I received from Darren. His eyes were glassy already, but he just didn’t answer. May be a good time to push my orders even further, I thought.

“Don’t worry, coach. Your team is quite happy tonight, my team is quite happy tonight. They just want to celebrate today’s game like good obedient boys for me. And you want to be a good obedient boy too, okay?”

A slow nod, as his mouth twisted into a dumb little smile.

“And for that, you have to realize that I am your master, and you are my good obedient slave. Isn’t that right, coach?” Honestly, I loved this. The sensation of being in control, of ‘nothing can possibly go wrong, I’m leading this!’ is addictive.

“Yeah, master… That’s right…” He sighed, like he felt pleasure by just letting those words out. And thus, my plan was almost complete.

I patted his head, like he was a dog. “Very good boy! And for the next part…” I walked back to the bench and stepped up.

“Okay! So… First things first, lift your hands up if you have to return home after the game. We’re going to throw a little party and it may take a good while…” No hands went up, surprisingly. That was better, it meant I could have the 24 guys at the last phase! “Awesome! Let’s head to the school guys these guys came on, shall we?”

A loud “Yeah, master!” resonated through the locker room, and the rival team left first.

There was actually a small plan to avoid drawing suspicion. First, the new guys would have to go to the bus, me going with them. And as soon as they were all in, the coach included…

I climbed the stairs and looked at the bus driver. “Hey there! My name’s Pine.” He looked at me from the corner of his eyes, while he read a book in silence. I would think that was rude, but the guy just wanted to read. It was understandable.

“Not going to bother you for a long bit, I just need you to zone out for now and do exactly as I tell you to do…”

After that, I ordered him to draw a few streets away, where the local football team would be waiting.

Some of the guys would have to stay standing, because there weren’t that many seats. But after a few minutes, the bus was filled and we settled our way to coach Mark’s house.

-----

I was excited. We arrived finally, and the jocks were already marching in towards the backyard. I still needed some time to get ready, but everything would come perfectly in time. My plan was going great!

I headed inside the house, Garrett following me closely. It was nice to have a sidekick when it comes to carrying out a plan and all, someone to talk to about all that’s going on.

“What’cha got in there?” Gary asked, after I took my bag off and started taking off stuff. A school tank top, the coach’s championship rings, sunglasses and the necklace I took from him.

“I was thinking I should wear the part; you know? Just hoping I don’t look ridiculous…” I mumbled, as I took my tee off and put on the tank top. It looked awful on me, no muscles to display nor anything. ‘Whatever,’ I thought ‘I’ll just roll with it’.

After dressing up like a mini-coach Mark, I went outside to the backyard and nervously walked up the deck. Making sure I could see everyone, I clapped my hands and the enslaved jocks turned to me.

“Alright, guys!” I started, trying to think ahead of something to say and reduce the ‘uh… ah…’ to the bare minimum, which was none. “You know who I am?”

“Master Pine!” They droned, sounding quite proud.

“Good boys! I want you to listen very carefully now. You will start recognizing me as your coach, besides being your master. As your coach, obeying and making me happy is one of your top priorities as my good slaves!” I stated, hoping that it would stick in their heads and that they wouldn’t start resisting now. Something can always go wrong, you know?

“You are all my loyal football players. Always ready to obey what I, your coach, orders you.”

“Yeah, master! Huzzah!” Huh, I like that little celebration. They were getting all excited, apparently!

“Great work! For the next part, I want you to strip while you listen to my words. You can get started now.” I resumed my speech, as I watched the twenty-two football players, and the two coaches, getting naked at my command. “A little rule though. You won’t tell anyone about this. Under any circumstance, you CAN’T talk about me being your master or coach and you being my obedient jocks. Is that clear?”

“Yeah, master coach!” They shouted back, their clothes already at the floor. It was amazing how in shape these guys were! Is football really that good? I don’t think so, they may hit the gym frequently or something like that because dear lord.

“Now guys, you can feel yourselves getting really horny. Just pair up in groups or couples and have fun! You won’t mind at all that you’re doing it with other guys, it’s just as good as doing it with a girl. Isn’t that right?” This is it. All the jocks were under my complete control, and they were walking around, pairing up to form a good orgy.

I managed to see the blond guy pulling this other teammate of his into a nice make out session, but they were quickly lost into the small crowd of guys trying to get in the action.

I was ultimately really proud. I had achieved it. Finally! Not only I had one, but two football teams under my control and they were all about to have a big nice orgy. I was so excited; I couldn’t think of where to start.

Should I search for a group of hot guys and honor them with their master’s attention? That sounded weird. I’ll delete it later.

So many options, twenty-four to be exact, and I couldn’t decide!

“Hey, master!” I heard a familiar voice over all the noise around me. Gary, in his naked glory, walked up to me. “Great job with the party! Lots of people here, though. Mind if we go somewhere more… special?” He winked at me, and I kind of didn’t want to seem like he had some kind of favoritism with me. But hey, I kinda appreciated being asked out. Saved me from having to search for a group myself.

It could also mean the jocks would probably freak out a bit if I disappeared out of nowhere and didn’t give them instructions of how to continue, so better not be gone for long.

I noticed Mike was looking around without a group, also naked, and I found myself taking a bit to examine him. I shouldn’t. I really shouldn’t because he’s my friend. But… a little peek wouldn’t hurt.

“Mikey! Come here!” I called him, and he seemed startled to hear my voice. When he located me around the small groups, he jogged over to me and I must admit that his cock going ‘boing boing boing’ didn’t help with my ‘look away’ approach.

“Yo, master! Wanna make a group? My teammates seem to have one already and I’m afraid that the new guys may be mad after we kicked their butts” He chuckled at his little joke, and Gary behind me offered him a high five. The jocks slapped their hands, as I tried to think about something.

I didn’t want to have sex with Mike. I used to take baths with him as kids, it would be weird if now we started doing other stuff naked.

So, maybe I could put him in for a treat. I know he’s not gay, but I knew he would like this. “Go get the coaches and come back here. We’ll wait for you.” I ordered my childhood friend, and he gave me an exaggerated nod before jogging away.

Gary went behind me and started kissing my neck, which felt pretty awesome. I was the only one wearing clothes at the time, having the whole coach attire and all. It felt good, honestly. Made me feel powerful or fitting for the role of ‘coach master’.

Mikey returned, with coaches Mark and Darren behind him. I had almost forgotten how nice Mark’s naked body is and the reminder was greatly appreciated. After that, I told the four guys behind me to follow me and we made our way to the master bedroom.

Jumping on one side of the bed, Gary followed me and sat right beside me.

Mike and the coaches on the other hand, decided to stay by the bed and wait for more orders, apparently.

“Mikey, the coaches are yours. Feel free to do whatever you’d like with them. They’re yours to command and enjoy, got it?” Yuuuup. I wanted to make things right with him. I knew he wasn’t actually in his best mind right now, being my ‘slave’ and all, but I’m sure he would still enjoy this. I’ll see what I do with Mike later on.

“Yeah, master! Thanks a lot!” The big guy mumbled, and hugged the coaches beside him. The pair just had dumb small grins on their faces, as Mike led them to the other side of the bed I was laying on.

I looked at Gary, and patted the spot beside me on the bed, motioning him to lay down too. He did as I asked, and soon we were just five guys on the same bed. And I kind of wanted to die because four of them were huge and were about to crush me.

I got on top of Garrett, using his body as a mattress to leave more space for the other three guys. “You really got into this plan, huh?” He asked, a little smile on his face.

“Hey, it all worked out in the end and I’m quite pleased now. I think it’s safe to say that my plan is over” I hugged the muscular jock beneath me and he hugged me back, before pulling me in for a nice kiss.

Just like the guys beside us were doing. Mike made the coaches make out beside his cock, so they were in-between blowing him off or making out. It was actually quite pleasing to see.

I looked at Gary, before turning around and positioning myself to face his cock. “Sixty-nine with a guy? New stuff for me, bro. Sorry if I’m bad at it.” The jock said, before taking my cock in his mouth.

I did the same, and started sucking with a slow rhythm. Gary, on the other hand, started picking up the pace quite fast, while he wiggled his tongue around my head at any chance he would get.

It felt really good, not going to lie…

We kept going at it for a good while, not paying attention to the threesome right beside us. A few moments passed, before I let go of Gary’s cock and ordered him to get up from the bed.

He did so without a second thought, and I took the chance to lay down again, my ass in full display.

Nicely enough, Garrett knew exactly what I wanted to do and he climbed the bed again to lube me up with his saliva.

This was going to be quite awesome, I could tell.

------

After the sex was over, Gary and I just laid down for a while. Mike and the coaches seemed to last a bit longer, and I felt like telling them to move to another room for the time, but I could handle them having fun.

It had been an hour or so since the jock party started, so better try and finish it off so everyone returns to their proper home.

I got up from the bed, passing over Gary as the jock just stared at me, and started getting dressed up again. “C’mon guys, we gotta get going” I said, before leaving the room.

Heading out for the backyard, I noticed some of the guys were still going, while others just sat down and remained either making out or feeling their fellow jock’s muscular bodies. Their cocks seemed soft, so I guessed they may have cummed.

I guess that ‘Don’t cum until I say so’ order is actually really useful. I’ll have to implement it more for future parties, if I ever repeat this.

“Okay, guys! I want you to listen to me very closely…” I was ready to call this a night. I just had to go over the orders I gave them before to make sure they all got them right (You never know with twenty-four people, and I didn’t want to make any mistakes).

After that was done, we could all go home.

-----

[Epilogue]

It’s been a week or so since I finished my little rampage, and my life was nice.

I grabbed Mike’s arm, as we wandered around the school. I was trying to look for a private place, and he was just sticking along. “Where are we going, master?” He asked. I noticed the corridors were empty, so that must be why he referred to me like that.

I should take note of that, corridors get empty during lunch time, apparently. Not sure why would that be useful, but hey, maybe someday I want to summon all my obedient guys and it would be weird if they marched out of a class or something like that. (Not that I would do that, classes are important!)

First place that came to view: The janitor’s closet. I knocked on the door, no answer. ‘Nice’ I thought, as I pushed Mike inside and closed the door behind me.

“So… How are you doing today?” I asked him, trying to make room for myself, but the big guy occupied most of the available space. ‘Darn, these closets are small’.

“Oh, doing great, master!” The jock answered, cheerfully. In reality, he seemed to be the same old Mike he was before the outing, just a bit more open to do what I say and referring to me as ‘Master’ when alone, rather than ‘Piney’.

And the truth is, I didn’t want him as my slave. He’s nice and handsome, don’t get me wrong. But I already had a… it wasn’t really a revenge if it happened accidentally, right? Whatever, he got some consequences, and it almost went too far for him, and I’d like to keep him out of all of this.

He’s my best friend, after all. Even after being mad at him for a good while, I still feel like he’s the guy I want to have around for a good laugh and play videogames together until bedtime.

That, and I feel like having every guy in my life agreeing to whatever I say is going to drive me crazy. I can be throwing incorrect statements or fake information that these guys will just believe it and repeat it around like parrots. It’s awful.

One thing I managed to notice is that the guys I turn into my ‘slaves’ kind of become sociopathic when it comes to carrying out my orders, and that’s awful. I have to be really careful because I don’t want to make anyone do something they may regret. They just don’t care about the consequences; they want to get it done for their Master.

And I’d like my best friend to retain his normal self. I thought about this already, and I was sure about what I wanted. And I wanted Mike to be back to normal, no toying with his mind after this point.

“Well, you know how I had the whole team… both football teams, ‘realize’ that I’m their master and that they have to obey me?” I asked.

“Yeah, master! That was awesome! Really don’t know how I didn’t notice-“

“Okay, but in reality you weren’t supposed to realize anything,” I interrupted him, not really wanting to hear the usual worship scene. “because I’m not your master and you don’t really have to obey me. In fact, you realize that any order I gave you that night wasn’t actually an order, more like… nothing at all. It was supposed to be for the other guys.”

Mike’s eyes were glassy, and the smile he had on his face slowly vanished until his face was blankly staring at me. I was kind of erasing his whole ‘mind goal’ or whatever gets in their heads when I enslave these guys, so I gave him some time before actually speaking up again.

“So, you’re not really my slave and don’t have to call me master, nor do anything that I tell you to do unless you really want to do it.” I didn’t know if it was working, but his face seemed zonked out, so it had to be working. Just had to wait and see the results.

It took him a while. Like, around 5 minutes. Maybe it had been a bit less, but it seemed like forever for the big guy to become ‘alive’ again.

“I mean, I know you’re not my master, bro. That would be weird” He laughed. Then he looked around, probably noticing we are in a small space and he’s taking up almost the whole thing for himself. “Actually, I don’t even get why… a few nights ago… Oh god…” Mike started to mumble, his face going from really confused to almost terrified.

“Uh, I kind of wanted to tell you something else, actually…” I tried to make a direct move, the sooner I’d say it, the sooner it would all be over. And I hoped Mikey wouldn’t take it too bad, but that was probably impossible. “I may or may not have mind control powers… And I may have used them on the football team, you included…”

I looked at my shoes, as confused Mikey slowly shifted his gaze at me. I looked up at him again, and to my surprise, he didn’t look terrified anymore. In fact, he didn’t even look confused, but totally excited.

“YOU HAVE WHAT?!” He asked, raising his voice maybe a bit too much.

“Keep your voice down!” I whispered, tapping his arm.

“Sorry! But you have like… Real mind control powers? You’re not messing with me?” I was pretty surprised myself as he kept asking. He didn’t seem mad at all, nor scared. He seemed quite excited that I had told him about it. And Mikey isn’t a dumb guy, he would have called me out on my shit if he thought I was fooling him.

“Noooope. We can go outside and try them out, if you’d like? But wait, no. Someone may see us and it was already hard enough to wait for this conveniently neat situation to happen so I could get the football team under and the coach. Let’s better not.” I explained, hoping that he would still believe me after that excuse.

Mike shrugged. “Okay, you don’t have to prove it. I believe you, bro. Would love to see it someday, though!”

“Wait, you really do? Like, without any proof or so?”

“It actually answers a few questions I had, like why Garrett started being so nice to you all of a sudden, and how he started ordering the team to stop picking on you. Saw what you want, but I don’t think someone would do that for their tutor” He seemed quite proud of his realization, and I was happy for him.

“Did I really do… it… with the coach and so?” He seemed a bit embarrassed, like he really wasn’t supposed to talk about it or he didn’t want to remember it entirely.

“Yeah, you did. But I left you in charge of the pair, so you were the one in control of that whole thing, if that brings you some relief.”

“I mean… I can’t really get mad at you for that, since I’m the one who started this mess anyway…” He sighed “So, if I get this right… Not only one but two football teams, plus their coaches, are under your control and think you are their ‘master’?”

“Yuuup, that’s a nice way to summarize it all. I don’t know what I’m going to do with them, but I had a lot of fun after the game.” I tried to sound a bit smug and all, but it sounded pretty weird and Mike snorted at me.

“Okay, I’ve got the whole thing now, I think. We should head out before the janitor tries to enter this place.” I nodded to his request, and we left the janitor’s closet as discreetly as possible. Because two male best friends leaving a small closet together leaves a bad image, I think. “Can’t believe you made me do gay stuff. Gotta admit though, I remember it like an awesome time.”

Luckily, nobody was really near us to hear him talk. I couldn’t help but laugh though. “You really seemed to enjoy having coach Mark not yelling and being all lovey-dovey there. Want me to set up a playdate with him?” I mocked him, poking him in the ribs as the big guy smiled.

“Oh yeah, I could even invite him to prom afterwards! Wouldn’t be weird at all!” And now I had an image in my mind of the coach’s muscular body in a tuxedo, slow dancing with my best friend in the middle of the gym. This conversation just kept getting better and better!

“Actually, you reminded me!” Mikey started. His voice seemed to get deeper, like he was trying to make an impression. “About prom…” But he got cut off by a loud ‘Piney!’ over the corridor.

We turned around, and noticed Gary was jogging over to us, coming from the cafeteria. “What’s up?” I asked him once he arrived. He didn’t seem tired, but his cheeks seemed a bit red. I don’t know if it was from the jog or he was nervous.

“Nothing, just wanted to check in how my favorite nerd was doing, and… Uh, hey bro.” Garrett greeted Mikey, before shifting his gaze back to me quickly.

“Sup, bro?” Mike greeted him, but he didn’t seem too fond of Gary’s sudden appearance. Or Gary’s existence at all. I guess now that Mike isn’t dumbed down nor enslaved with the rest of the team, he doesn’t have to like Gary anymore, which is fine by me. Big guy can have his own opinions, he’s a free man again.

“Wanted to ask, do you have a prom date?” His cheeks turned a bit redder as he asked that, and I could feel my own face blushing at the sudden question.

“Not really? I wasn’t thinking about going, to be honest…”

“You should go! Maybe I could be your date, if you don’t have one already!” Garrett’s tone was commanding, but it kind of sounded like a plea. One thing’s for certain, Mike seemed weirded out of how my former bully was acting.

“You really got to him, huh?” He mocked me, before patting my shoulder a few times. “Gonna… give you guys some space… Hey, Esther!” Aaaand, he was gone. Mike headed towards one of the school’s cheerleaders, Esther. But as curious as I was about them, my attention went back to Gary.

“So… What do you say?” The jock was clearly excited, and I honestly didn’t know what to answer.

“Well… All right, I think. Gonna have to look for my suit and check if it still fits, but other than that I think there’s nothing holding me back.”

“Don’t worry about that, I can lend you one of mine. Actually no, I’ll get you a new suit. You’re a Small size, right? Anything for my date, bro. Gonna get you some flowers, too. Or do you prefer chocolates?”

Not going to lie, he was kind of cloying me. I found it really cute, but maybe a little too cute. I preferred this way over the old awful Garrett though, so I preferred to not change anything in his mind.

Everything seemed to be getting better and better, right?

--------

It was already the big night. And I was dying.

Not literally, of course. But as I buttoned up the white shirt, I tried to take deep breaths to calm myself down.

I looked at myself in the mirror, not entirely believing what was going on right now. Or more exactly, what was going to happen.

It’s been some really fun months, after the bullying part was over of course, and school was almost over. Yaaaay.

I finished buttoning up my shirt and grabbed the bowtie. I saw the same tutorial a hundred times on how to tie this thing and now it was time to put my skills to test!

Honestly going to college sounds both like a blessing and a nightmare. Because I like studying, but new places terrify me. At least now I have my mind control powers, right?

Luckily, those haven’t faded away with the months nor the use, so I’m mostly certain that they’ve come to stay, and I’m happy to think that.

“Pine! Your friend is here!” Mom called me from the front door. I figured I should speed up a little bit.

I grabbed the blue suit jacket and put it on, buttoning up a few of the lower buttons. After that, I was ready.

In the mirror, a nerdy looking guy with brown hair and glasses looked back at me. I looked good! I kind of felt bad, because Gary bought me this suit out of nowhere.

I mean, it’s nice, but I may have looked it up and the thing is really expensive. When I asked him about it, his answer was ‘Don’t worry, bro. Money’s not a problem when it comes to my master’, which wasn’t really what I was going for, but decided to drop the subject. I knew Gary’s family was loaded anyway.

I debated if I should tidy up my hair a bit, but only passed a hand through it and walked out of the bathroom. I was ready!

Walking to the front door, Garrett was already waiting for me. He was grabbing his forearm, looking a bit nervous. The bigger guy was wearing a similar suit to mine, but he was all black and had a tie instead of a bowtie. He knew how to wear it too, because suddenly I felt like I wasn’t as ready as I could have been.

“Hey,” He greeted me, as I stopped in front of him. “You look… really amazing.” I couldn’t help but blush, and I really hoped my parents didn’t hear that.

“Thanks.” I mumbled, looking up at him. Gary was smiling. Am I really going to have Garrett Basch as my date? I remember hating him a few months ago, not going to lie. Still a vivid memory. “You look… awesome, too.” I didn’t put much effort in the compliment.

Gary chuckled at my vague answer. “Thanks, bro. Wanna get going? I’d like to be fashionably late.”

Before we could leave though, mom prepared a whole photo session for Gary and I. Luckily, not literally, and after a while of her snapping pics of us smiling at the camera (I swear my face hurts now.) and Gary placing his arm around me, we finally managed to leave the house.

My jockboy drove us to school, and we just… entered together. It was a lot less dramatic than I expected. And that was perfect.

Honestly, I didn’t want to dance. Like, I didn’t want to say no to Gary because being able to go to prom was already out of my plans, but going to prom and having a very hot date would be a nice way of closing my time at this school? I don’t even know what I was thinking.

At one point, after I single handedly attacked the snack table, Garrett snuck up on me and kissed my cheek. “Wanna dance, my date?” He whispered. I felt like it was sort of an obligation, part of the ‘Go to prom together’ deal, even though I’m the one who gives the orders and he wouldn’t be mad if I told him no.

But yeah, better try and enjoy things for a while.

I saw what his deal was, actually. The music just went from loud rock to a way slower song. And it kind of felt good, because now I knew no-one would run over me while dancing or something.

As we swayed along with the music, his hands on my hips while mine were draped on his shoulders, I figured I could do some small chitchat, to lighten the mood a bit.

“So… How’s your night going?” I asked him, like we were in the corridor any other Friday.

“Amazing so far, and growing more amazing now that we’re together” He smiled at me, it was a weird cocky smile, but at the same time he was clearly nervous. “Thanks for coming as my date, bro.”

“No problem at all, wasn’t really going to come but I’m having fun. I think.” And then we were in silence again.

I opened my mouth, but closed it again. I had a question on the tip of my tongue, but couldn’t choose if it was good or bad to ask. After a bit of reformulation, I threw him a “Question. Are you doing all of this because I enslaved you or what? Like, I don’t remember telling you to be nicer, and yet here you are being an amazing date”

I felt like I was a bit blunt, and Gary bit his lip for a bit as he looked around. “I was an awful person before, Pine. Everything just seems so easier after you got to me. I like this new me, and people like me more, too!” He answered, excitedly.

I nodded. “Glad I could help.” It may have sounded like I didn’t care, but I was really glad. Not only did I get him off my back, but I potentially saved more people from the ‘king of the corridors’? Hell, give me a prize.

“I’m glad you could help too.” He pulled me in for a hug, as we continued to dance. Garrett whispered in my ear “I like you, Pine. Thanks again, for everything.”

I smiled, and rested my head on his shoulder. “You’re welcome, jockboy.”

------

Present Pine’s POV

So, I fell asleep after the story ended. Mike apparently was giving me his impressions when suddenly I started snoring, and he woke me up asap to get ready.

He was really, really excited to get the cast off his arm. If everything went right, he would be able to play football in a few weeks and then it would be all back to normal.

Nothing really interesting happened at the hospital. Mike got his cast off, and got told that he should wait a bit more before putting real effort into his arm. But that for now, he could participate in the less-effort practices (Like cardio and so).

It wasn’t a perfect plan for now, but at least he could now move his arm freely again. That was nice!

“Sorry for falling asleep, but I wanted to ask. How was the story? Was the ending good?” I ask the big guy, as we walk back to our place.

Coach Mark should still be up there and I wanted to ask him to prepare dinner. I was hungry!

“Yeah! Really liked it! You were really that nervous before?” Mikey answered, wrapping his arm around me and pulling me closer.

I shrugged. “I still am, but I manage that a bit better, I guess.” Honestly, I didn’t feel as nervous as once I started with my mind control powers, but it was still a bit weird when I had to use them and so.

Probably still not entirely used to the idea that people will just do whatever I tell them if I want to, but not really a big deal. I mean, I’m having a perfect time lately, checking on everything I achieved with my powers.

“Well, I still think that was a neat story, and I’m glad I could hear the whole version! Should I now start thinking of my boyfriend as a superhero with your own origin story and all, bruh?” He mocked me, tickling me a bit while still holding me close to make sure I wouldn’t escape.

“Nah, if I have to take in another thing to do, I’ll explode. Let’s leave the superhero thing for after I’m done with either college or the club.”

Mike shot a confused look at me. “Wait, you really wanna become a-“

“No, Mikey. I’m not going to become a superhero. If anything, a villain would sound funny with the whole mind control thing going on. Hehe.” It seemed like a dumb conversation to have. Obviously it was just imagination talk, but it gave me a throwback to those nice nights sleeping in my or Mike’s room, where we stayed late at night and just played games or talked about stuff like this.

‘Which power would you have if you were a superhero?’ was one of my favorite questions in the world.

“So... Speaking about villain stuff…” I started, breaking the small silence time we had going on.

“Huh?”

But I wasn’t going to wait for Mike’s question. “Took care of you for a few months. Now it’s payback time, big guy.” Were my last words before I flipped Mike’s mind switch.

I could feel how his thoughts drifted away as his eyes became glassy, a dreamy smile forming on his face as his mind became empty. Like a puppet, I could send him commands as if he were a videogame character.

‘Walk along with me while we head home’ Was the first command I had to send him to ensure he wouldn’t suddenly stop and look dumb in the middle of the sidewalk.

I would make him carry me for the rest of the way, and I was really tempted to do that. But he couldn’t do much effort on his arm, so better not push it. Just a few more weeks though, and the big guy would be at full power again.

For now, he had two hands available again…

We stopped in front of the building we lived at. I faced him, as he stood there, smiling like a dummy.

I tiptoed and leaned in for a kiss, while sending him another command. ‘Kiss me back’. Had to do it, he won’t even do simple actions if I don’t tell him to.

We engaged in a nice make out session, and he was as good as always (Even if a bit slow due to the trance). I really enjoyed this, and being outdoors actually gave it a bit more of hotness to the situation.

Once I pulled back, I mumbled a quick “Love you, Mikey”.

“Love you too, master…” I made him answer, but in some way it also felt quite honest.

Something was clear as we walked in, we would have a looooot of fun once we got back to our room, and Mikey would put his freed hand at use, to celebrate.

This was going to be an amazing night. I could maybe have him wear his football armor, so he can start getting used to that again!

-----

Author note:

Last chapter’s here!

Thank you all so much for reading this rewritten version, and I hope you enjoyed it very much.

I really didn’t know if I should have done it because who would like to read an old story with a few scenes added up? But I got really nice feedback and I’m glad you liked Pine’s new original story. I have a soft spot for this cast of characters <3

My next story is about superheroes. Or rather, supervillains...

Chapter 1 should go up during next week, but if you feel like it, consider supporting me on Patreon! You’ll get access to the published chapters earlier, before they go public in other platforms.

Again, thanks so much for reading, and I hope you catch your interest with some other work of mine again :3.

#PinesJocks #PinesFootballJocks #PinesCollegeJocks #mind control #straight to gay #gay hypnosis #hypnotized #hypnosis #brainwashing #brainwash #brainwashed

35 notes · View notes