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bluexiao · 1 year

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#i love you, goodbye

—when they were about to confess their love… but you died / when they fail to confess to you

CHARACTERS. Albedo, Al-Haitham, Cyno, Gorou, Kazuha, Tighnari, Venti, Wanderer/Scaramouche, Xiao; gn! Reader

THEMES. main character death, angst, no comfort

WARNINGS. death (ofc), will not be too graphic

NOTES. still severely sick and stressed so here ya go. grab ur tissues i didn’t hold back in this one.

XIAO knew what love was—knew the affection he held to his brothers and sisters, and the love that emanated from the humans towards each other.

“You do know that humans… humans are very fragile, Xiao.”

He continues to bow his head in front of his god as he agrees, “I do.”

Zhongli said nothing more, but Xiao knew what he meant. It was advice. And a warning.

“Xiao!” You always called him with that beautiful voice of yours, ever so sweet, ever so tender as you bless him with your bright smile—a sun.

You are his sun.

“Xiao!” His heart would flutter once more—why do you have such an effect on him?—but at that point, he knew that no matter how hard he tried or tries to move away, your pull on him was strong, far stronger than the chains that were wrapped around his ever so fragile heart.

“Xiao…” it was on the third call that he decided to show up. He had been fighting enemies for the first two ones, and besides, you usually call him to merely see him or “hang” with him—a word you’d use as you try to lean into his side, your skin brushing his hands—so close yet not tied to each other.

He showed up, but he was far too late.

He was wrong.

“Y/n!” he calls your name this time—shouts it as he quickly approaches your figure.

“Y/n…” he pulls your body to his, empty and hollow, devoid of the same bright sunlight plastered in your face, the same beaming smile and shining eyes that could light up the night—light up his whole world.

“Y/n…” he wanted to say how he loves you so, how you bring out the best of him, and how he wanted to thank you for everything, for your patience, your presence, your love, your mere existence in his karmic-filled life.

But you were not there to hear anything of it.

And so he cries—cries under the same heavens that also took his brothers and sisters, cries because he couldn’t be there to save you when you were probably hurting, and he cries because of his own weakness—how he could love and always have that same love be taken away from him.

┌───────── · · · · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊

SCARAMOUCHE has had many betrayals.

But yours probably hurts the most.

“What happened?”

He glared at the Fatuus in front of him, kneeling on their knees with their heads bowed down in shame.

He crouches into one of them and sends daggers with his gaze, “I asked what happened here.”

The Fatuu trembled upon the sound of his voice, “M-my lord… it happened so suddenly, we couldn’t-their sickness-“

“Useless!” He releases a strike of his power and his subordinates immediately move to dodge, but they couldn’t walk away, not when they know that in the end, they can never run away from the Sixth Harbinger.

Yet unexpectedly, he trudges forward, to the big tent that laid in the middle of the camp, his footsteps and breathing heavy, hands trembling—of anger? Of fear?

No. A divine being such as him doesn’t tremble of fear.

Even when his knees give up beside the bed where you currently lay peacefully, even if he tries to control the tears that threaten to escape his eyes, he reaches for your hands.

Cold. So cold—like the night where he picked up the stars and called you as his—his star.

But it seems stars do die as well.

Pathetic.

And he’s even more pathetic to believe that humans will never betray him—that you never would.

┌───────── · · · · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊

VENTI sings of love to you, yet today marks the day that he shall confess outrightly—genuinely, with a promise of tomorrow’s kisses and hugs.

“Shhh, darling. No need to worry for me,” he smiles, “rest now. Shall I sing you a lullaby?”

He catches you forcing your own smile, and it pains him how you raise your hand and touch his cheek, which he holds and presses your palm on his skin, as if he was trying to transfer the warmth he has towards your frail form.

“Venti…” you let out your voice, hoarse and weak, “you knew… didn’t you?”

He purses his lips and his chest aches.

“You don’t have to… act like you love me too.”

He fails to catch his own tears, dribbling down his cheeks as he struggles to find the words.

“I-“

“I love you... But please don’t… pretend… for me.”

He squeezes your hand, and just as he was to utter the same words you did, to confess those three words that laid stuck in his throat—

“Y/n?” Instead, it was your name that he attempted to call, then he shook you, only to receive no word back.

“I…” I love you too—he wanted to say, but it died down. Once again.

┌───────── · · · · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊

There is danger in the forest, just as much as there are things to discover and admire. That is what TIGHNARI used to say to you.

It was a flora, a flower he had asked you to try and find—the same ones he was collecting for you, a suggestion from Collei for him to profess his love to you.

Let’s get this over with, he thinks. After all, he does love you, and it was an idea that seemed fairly interesting, to ask you to look for a flower and for him to give you the whole bouquet once you reach his side.

The thing is, you never did.

He was silent when he reached the village, his ears downwards as nobody dared to approach him. It was the aura he emitted, the faint heaviness of his footsteps, and the body that he held close to his own.

“Master-“ Collei tries, but someone else stops her, shakes their head as the girl merely frowns. How could this be? She begins to think, one minute you were there and the second…

“Collei,” she casts her thoughts aside as Tighnari finally speaks, yet he doesn’t turn to face them, halted in front of his abode as he adds on, “can you… prepare some water… to clean their wounds.”

“O-of course!” Her heart was pounding, but no matter how unprepared she was to see you-

“I’ll do the rest… don’t worry.” He says before he enters the hut, all alone.

He did not shed a single tear as he cleans your body. But nobody can ever know Tighnari’s cries as he holds his tail close to him, aching for the warmth that you once gave him.

┌───────── · · · · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊

KAZUHA’s poems always reach you. No matter how much distance he takes away from you, or crosses to go back into your arms, his poems and his flowery hidden confessions of love always reach your ears.

At the right time, he begs to himself, he will finally be able to say them to your face, when he could rid himself of the shackles of his past and live freely with you.

But those same shackles come and haunt him once again. In the form of yours.

“What happened?”

“I’m sorry… but they were attacked by Hilichurls and…”

“No one was there to save them.” Even as he says the words, there was this ache in his chest and prickle on the tips of his fingers, finally reaching out to your cold hand.

Death is a familiar face for Kazuha, but there is something far too different this time.

This time, he thought he had healed. He thought he was stronger. He even went away for it—only to come back with those same wounds and no one there waiting for him.

He places a kiss on your hand once he finds himself leaned over, unable to go without saying his last goodbye.

“In another life… Y/n,” he whispers in the wind, as if he could feel your presence there, and despite finding it difficult to look at your face without seeing your beautiful eyes and smile, he forces himself and says, “In another life… my dove.”

┌───────── · · · · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊

GOROU is a good General.

Anyone who was under him can attain to such, and even you. You respected him so much, trusted him so much.

And loved him so much.

“Gorou!”

He was right in front of you, you were right in front of him. The blade pierces through your body, but it feels like it has pierced his heart as well.

“No, no, Y/n—no!”

“Protect the General and Y/n!” The other soldiers went and gathered around both of you, shielding you both from the upcoming arrows and spears your way.

“Y/n… no, don’t-“ he cries, unable to stop the tears that drip down his eyes.

“General, you have to take them out of here.”

Gorou finally finds the courage to carry you and rush his way to the side, out of reach from the battlefield.

“Retreat!”

As the shouts with the same word echoed around him, he could only hear your voice and feel your touch that reached his ears, that despite your weakening strength, you showed him that smile of yours—no matter how forced or painful it must have been.

“Gorou..”

“No, don’t speak, you don’t have to-you’ll be okay-“

“I’m sorry,” you say as he shakes his head, unable to accept the apology, “I’m sorry I had to die like this.”

“No, you won’t die-you can’t die!” He still has something to say—a lot of things to say. You can’t die now! Not when-

“I love you,” you whisper, out of breath, “so much.”

Those were your last words. And no matter how many soldiers had perished under his command, yours held a hole in his heart that he can never fill—a hole that even a good General can never heal.

┌───────── · · · · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊

Everyone feared CYNO—his voice, his face, his spear, his very name, his wrath.

Oh how wrong they were to assume they had seen his wrath—because only until now had he shown it in an intensity no one could have imagined.

“What did you do?” He sneers, scarlet eyes glaring down, only to grab the clothes of the Mercenary, pulling him up without difficulty, “What did you do?”

The Mercenary chuckles despite the predicament he was in. “What? Failed to profess your love to the feeble thing?”

Everyone knew. Every single person in Sumeru knew that you were one of the people who the Great General Mahamatra cherished—probably much more than the few others. After all, you were the one who always stuck beside him, sometimes hiding behind a rock as he fought, or a bush when he talked to someone.

“Shut up! You don’t deserve to even mention them.” Cyno grits his teeth.

“So, I hit the nail, didn’t I?”

The Mahamatra throws the Mercenary away as he closes his fingers into fists.

He may never be able to bring you back.

But he can bring justice to your death, and nobody can ever escape the grasps of Cyno.

Except for you.

You slipped away before he can even tell you what he wanted to say, and now, there was no turning back.

┌───────── · · · · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊

AL-HAITHAM never regrets.

Regret is an emotion he had found to be so useless, and with that experimental mind of his, mistakes are merely normal, and if there was no point or way to try again, he can just discard the plan.

But there was no way he could discard you.

“It’s the Scribe!”

Everyone’s murmurs overcome the hall and he frowns even more.

How could he be so… unplanned with this.

“Scribe, we saw their body when-“

He motions for them to go away, and wordlessly, they do, quite remarkable, he thinks. But maybe, it was their pity—was he obvious? Of course, he was. He had tried so hard to amuse you, to make you feel his feelings despite the outer appearance and expression he had always kept. But you were as dense as a rock.

And unfortunately, he was wrong this time around.

“So this… is what regret feels like.” he mutters the words as he spares you his last glance, his last words, and his last time, all before he goes and turns away, an ache in his chest that he knew but can never rid. Not now, at least.

┌───────── · · · · ꒰⚘݄꒱₊

If ALBEDO was asked what was the meaning of life, he wouldn’t still be able to answer outrightly.

To live? To love? To spend time with others?

There can be a lot of answers—to anyone else, his answer could be very well different.

Well, he thought he did have an answer. But maybe, life was just too cruel to him—him, a homunculus that doesn’t know life and death and only knows how to survive.

But you taught him how to love.

Of course, he does love Klee, but the love you taught him was different, far too warm, too genuine, a romantic kind of love that he had not experienced in his whole life.

“I love you, but you don’t have to love me too. I’ll always be here for you, bedo!” Those were your words, and he clung to these words despite the stirring feelings his mechanical heart was feeling.

So warm. So genuine.

“I apologize,” he breathes out, “But I did love you too, Y/n… I apologize for never voicing it out. I’m sorry…”

And now he stares at the gravestone in front of him, written was your name that he used to always call out, used to always associate with the bright sun or the moon or the stars—anything that was too beautiful for this world—you were too precious for this world, and maybe that’s why life itself had to meddle and steal you away from those who loved you—from him.

If Albedo is asked what was the meaning of life, he’d probably tell of the love you gave, and the love he failed to give—to never do anything that makes you regret, or you’ll end up just like him.

Reblogs and comments are appreciated!!

(taglist either on reblogs or comments)

#genshin x reader #xiao x reader #scaramouche x reader #wanderer x reader #kazuha x reader #albedo x reader #venti x reader #scara x reader #gorou x reader #alhaitham x reader #cyno x reader #tighnari x reader #blue’s works

2K notes · View notes

mxdnightlvers · 2 years

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𝐖𝐚𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐇𝐜𝐬 *𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝟏* °˖✧✿✧˖°

➸ 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: How they wake you up or how you wake up next to the Genshin men. It’s mainly fluff

➸ 𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞: Im so busy irl this that this took ages 😭. Anyways here's the rest of the genshin boys to my Zhongli hc ♡ I also plan to do thoma and ayato for part 2 (hopefully)

➸ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬: Childe, Diluc, Xiao

➸ Zhongli version here

➸ Part 2 Here

➸ 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: Suggestive for Childe’s part

➸ 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐬: Gn! Reader

⋆┈┈｡ﾟ❃ུ۪ ❀ུ۪ ❁ུ۪ 𝐗𝐢𝐚𝐨 ❁ུ۪ ❃ུ۪ ❀ུ۪ ﾟ｡┈┈⋆

"Sleep? Hmph. An adeptus has no such need for that."

Something he would say early on in your relationship but in reality, he would love to get into bed with you and wake up next to you.

But instead of acknowledging his needs, he just avoids ever mentioning them or asking for them.

Even if you bring it up again he would panic and repeat the same excuse.

So....getting him to sleep next to you will be difficult.

However, he still finds a way to spend your mornings together.

When it's time for you to wake, he'd be nearby, silently watching over you, or as he likes to call it, "protecting you from potential danger."

He would be near enough to you, silently appreciating how peaceful you look but would be far enough to make up an excuse that he wasn't watching you in your sleep.

You see right through him the first time he did it.

He still denies it to this day

Don't expect this man to cook you breakfast.

He would definitely order food but actually cooking it? Never.

He bitches about making a sandwich what did you honestly expect

However as time passes in your relationship and he gets more comfortable, he would always have a meal ready for you. It was ordered but you still appreciate the gesture.

So now he waits by your side every morning, till you wake up with your breakfast on the nearby table.

Also, he keeps all the curtains closed so that you don't wake up too early because of the sun.

When you do wake, he greets you with the sweetest good morning ever.

He would walk over to your bed and sit down at the edge, patiently waiting for you to be fully awake.

Once you almost hit him with your hand when stretching.

After, he will give you your breakfast, making small talk with you as you eat.

He dodged ofc but he made a mental note to avoid potential attacks from you when you wake up.

Idle chatter isn't something he usually partakes in but he can't help but be comforted by your sleepy voice <3

The mornings are peaceful, waking up to a delicious breakfast and Xiao's comforting voice.

It becomes something he looks forward to a lot although, he would never admit it yet.

Later on in your relationship, you do manage to finally convince him to join you, and boy does he love it more than he thought he would.

By this time he would be comfortable enough around you and would express his feelings more but it's still extremely easy to make him flustered.

Whether he actually slept? Well, you'll never know <3

You'd wake up to find his arms wrapped tightly around you.

He's very protective of you and he shows it even when you're sleeping.

He would still get you breakfast but you'd still wake up in his arms.

You didn't feel or hear anything the entire night, seriously how does he do it

His face would also be buried in your hair or neck.

He's touch starved and you honestly never mind when he's close like this to you.

Sometimes you'd rest your hands over his, and as if on cue, he would mumble his good morning to you.

Seriously it does make you wonder if he actually sleeps.

He won't let you leave immediately though.

You're finally awake and he just wants to spend some time with you like this :(

"Mm..don't go...just yet."

Yeah how can you possibly say no

He'd be silent, quietly enjoying your presence and the warmth of your body close to him.

However, turn around to face him and start giving him kisses and he'd be a blushing mess.

One kiss would do it for him.

He'd bend his head further down, causing his hair to hinder you from giving him more kisses >:(

He actually doesn't intend for you to stop but his body automatically shies away.

It's frustrating for the both of you but, in a good sense of frustration <3

He's simply the cutest and I love him so much plz feed him all the almond tofu in the world.

━。゜✿ฺ��ฺ゜。━

Your eyes hadn't opened yet, but you were awake, simply relishing in Xiao's embrace. His hands held you by your waist, keeping you close to him. It was his way of protecting you in your dreams. He needed to feel you in his arms, to know that you were close to him, to know that you're not going anywhere, he needed to know that you were safe. You hummed in delight, slightly tilting your head to see the boy who hid his face in your hair. He stirred as you stirred, pulling away from your hair.

"Goodmorning Y/N," he whispered sweetly, hesitating for a split second before continuing, "I hope you slept well."

You smiled, turning your body to fully face him, "Morning xiao, don't worry I did."

His lips curved into a smile, golden eyes softening as he tightened his grip and pulled you closer. You rested your head in his chest, relaxing to its slow rise and fall. Your hands slowly ran up and down his back, lightly lifting the end of his turtleneck. He wore only his shirt and his pants, his mask, and all his extra accessories laid out on the nearby table. He allowed one of his hands to reach into your hair, softly playing with it before pulling you a bit closer to plant a small kiss on your forehead. He pulled away, the touch still lingering before returning his hand to its previous position.

The time was unknown, your breakfast was getting cold and the world slowly awoke but it was peaceful. There was no need to rush, so you stayed tightly snuggled into your boyfriend's chest, allowing yourself to fall into his touch and forget about everything else.

━。゜✿ฺ✿ฺ゜。━

⋆┈┈｡ﾟ❃ུ۪ ❀ུ۪ ❁ུ۪ 𝐃𝐢𝐥𝐮𝐜 ❁ུ۪ ❃ུ۪ ❀ུ۪ ﾟ｡┈┈⋆

You'd be a melting mess when you're awake.

THIS MAN IS HOT

Both literally and figuratively

Anyways, you'd wake up in his arms and it's sweet for a moment before you realize how hot it is.

Is it because of his pyro vision or is it just him??? You never found out the answer.

However, after kicking off the blanket, you feel way more comfortable.

He's holding you tightly, his breathing paced calmly, his messy hair resting on his face.

It's one of the moments where you get to see diluc so peaceful like this.

Honestly, it's 50/50 with your mornings.

Either he wakes up early for work or you wake up first and have to drag him out of bed.

If you're awake first, you'd turn to face him if you weren't already, brushing his hair out his face to plant a kiss on his forehead.

If that doesn't wake him you will simply shake him awake.

Gently tho, unless you're feeling to be mean >:(

"Dilucccc time to wake up..."

"Mm...nnoo..."

He awakes for a split second, just to whine and he immediately falls back asleep.

He's surprisingly difficult to get out of bed omg

If you two don't have important things to do that day, you'd allow him to rest a little more and sometimes you'd even fall asleep again.

He then ends up having to wake you up later

If you do manage to wake him, he'd groan, his voice hoarse as he weakly mumbles his good morning.

Why does he so sound hot tho

Makes you want to wake him up again just to hear his sleepy voice <333

If he's awake first but doesn't have to rush to work, he'd stay in bed with you.

He'd press kisses all over your face, trying to get you awake.

He wants to have you by your side as he gets ready for the day and especially since he's not busy that morning, he would literally kiss you awake.

Gives you the sweetest most genuine smile when your eyes do flutter open.

He's showing his vulnerability around you when he's doing this but it's fine because he trusts you <3

Yeah you'd still be melting tho but it's worth it

You guys would then proceed to spend your morning together, making breakfast, reading, whatever it may be, you would be doing it together.

When he has work, he can't quite spend his morning with you.

Feels guilty about waking you, so on most days, he would give you a quick kiss in your sleep before getting out of bed.

Would make breakfast if time permits but if not, his maids are always there for him.

Would leave your portion aside with a small note telling you about his location and activities for the day.

It's a bit sad to wake up to a cold bed

His heat may be overwhelming at times but it tells you that he's next to you.

Waking up without his warmth would never become a feeling you'd get used to.

You make up for this by cuddling that night so all is well :>

However, on some days he just needs you next to him so he gently shakes you awake.

You never really mind but sometimes it is a pain to wake up before the sun has risen.

You'd be way sleepier getting ready that morning.

The beginning of your relationship and later on isn't much different.

He would be hesitant about showing too much affection at first but he eventually opens up to you.

10/10 he deserves the world

━。゜✿ฺ✿ฺ゜。━

Warm hands held your waist and you moved closer to your boyfriend’s torso. Relaxing your body, you kept your eyes closed, listening to the calming sound of Diluc’s heartbeat. You tried falling back asleep but alas, you couldn’t. Exhaling, you pulled away slightly, peering up at the redhead. Eyes closed, breathing paced, lips ever so slightly parted. As for someone who rarely ever shows any expression in his daily life, for some reason, his current state was more peaceful. You peered over his shoulder, looking at the time on the nightstand. It was already 9 am. Later than both of you usually awake but seeing that it was the weekend, you didn’t mind. However, you knew that even if it was the weekend, Diluc was not fond of waking up super late. So, you parted his hair out of his face and placed a kiss on his forehead. You paused, looking at his still body before deciding to plant another kiss on his forehead. You whispered to him, but even that wasn’t enough to wake him. You paused again, contemplating if you should wake him when he look so peaceful but, you also didn’t want to see him trying to rush his work later today.

Frowning, you shook his figure more, “Diluc…time to wake up..” He finally stirred, grumbling as his hands reached for your waist, pulling you back down and closer to him.

“Not yet love, sleep a little longer…” His voice was hoarse and his eyes hadn’t opened yet, still in his half-awake, half-asleep state.

“But it's already 9 am…” You were simply worried about him but, he had other plans for that morning.

Sighing, he pressed his lips against your forehead, “Stay with me a little longer…,” he pulled away, looking at you, “Please?”

With soft eyes like those, how could you possibly refuse? So, you gave into him for the morning, allowing yourself to get comfortable in his arms, simply indulging in each other's presence for the morning.

━。゜✿ฺ✿ฺ゜。━

⋆┈┈｡ﾟ❃ུ۪ ❀ུ۪ ❁ུ۪ 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞 ❁ུ۪ ❃ུ۪ ❀ུ۪ ﾟ｡┈┈⋆

Horrible

Firstly, he’d wake you up in the most annoying or sweetest way ever.

Gentle pokes that turn into kisses or being violently shaken awake.

Pick your poison

“Wakey wakey time to get up”

“What do you mean it’s 6am? I see nothing wrong with waking up at 6am”

“Me? Tired? No no you’re the tired one here.”

Yeah okay Childe, tell that to the eye bags you have.

You try to convince him to just come back and rest a bit more but he’s persistent.

He already knows that he’s gonna agree but he just likes pestering you.

After he finally had enough fun, he lays next to you, allowing you to get comfortable in his arms.

Contemplates if he wants to continue annoying you.

If he does,, you’re definitely not falling back asleep.

His hand around your waist slowly finds itself lifting the hem of your shirt.

His touch is featherlight, only tracing up your waist before raising your shirt a little higher.

This pattern continues until his hands are all over you.

Rip to sleeping in

But don’t worry because he’ll let you rest for as long as you want once you guys are done :)

He’d stay with you while you’re asleep, softly playing with your hair until he also falls asleep and you’d wake up with his hands still in your hair <3

The times he does let you fall back to sleep,, you’d wake up finally feeling rested.

Most of the time, if not always, he’s facing you so the sunlight is usually shielded by him.

You’d slowly open ur eyes to see him beside you, hand lazily placed in your hair and his eyes closed.

You can’t tell if he’s actually asleep or just silently resting but either way you’d wake him up by moving his hands out the way.

He’s a light sleeper so whether or not he was awake, he’d be wrapping his arms around you again and pulling you close to him.

Smiling, he’d tell you good morning while teasing you about sleeping in late.

“Well look who’s finally awake”

He says in such a confident manner as if he wasn’t just sleeping.

Some days you won’t be so fortunate to wake up late as he has fatui things to be doing.

He still never fails to make the mornings special.

You’d wake up while he’s getting ready in the morning and that’s either because he switched on the lights or he just makes too much noise getting ready.

It’s annoying but when he realizes he woke you up,, he’d sit down on the bed beside you and softly apologize :>

Softly petting your hair whispering soft words to reassure you while you fall back asleep

Before he leaves or before you fall asleep again he’d quickly tell you that he’s leaving and would not leave until you nod or give him some kind of reassurance.

Always leaves a letter anyways because one time you told him you thought you dreamt him leaving

So now he has to make sure that you know why he isn’t home.

You sorta get used to knowing where he is if you wake up to an empty bed but the letters just became a nice habit of his.

Sometimes surprises you with breakfast <33

This man can cook so you bet he’s gonna be utilizing those skills often.

Generally, waking up with him is amazing and fun I love him <3

━。゜✿ฺ✿ฺ゜。━

You feel small pokes against your side but ultimately decide to ignore them as you were still somewhat asleep. Unfortunately, the pokes only got more annoying as they seem to get faster. You frowned, turning over and covering your face in the blankets. You should've opened your eyes to see it was Childe poking you because now he's aggressively grabbing your shoulders and shaking you. Your eyes are forced open, light blinding you and you hear your boyfriend softly giggling behind you. You don't even have time to say anything before you're pulled onto your other side to face Childe. He's grinning with the cheekiest, "Good morning love" you've ever heard. You go to scold him but the way he's smiling so genuinely, the way his ginger locks glow in the sunlight, you can't help but let it go. When he's satisfied that you're finally awake, he leans down to press a kiss on your forehead. He continues down to your cheek, nose, then finally your lips, the both of you melting in each other's touch. He finally pulls away and he pulls you into his arms. He just wants to spend his morning with you. He enjoys your presence so can you really blame him for waking you up? However, he knows you must get your rest so when be pulls you into his arms you know you can safely fall back asleep.

“You can go back to sleep now, I’ll be right here beside you the entire time.”

━。゜✿ฺ✿ฺ゜。━

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elliotthedork · 2 years

Note

After Red Son tickle hc, are you planning to do Wukong and/or Macaque as well? Or you're going straight to MK? He is a cutie pie! Also I like your blog! Good job

Thank you!!!

Honestly i would be totally willing to write for all 3 of them as a matter of fact!

Here we go!

Congrates on being my first ask/request!!!

Sun Wukong

Lee:

*omg he is a ticklish bastard and you cant convince me otherwise

*literally if you simply brush against his side somehow he looses it, internally of course. He still has a bit of an ego so he'll just die on the inside

*however its very easy to notice when he gets flustered. He is really bad at hiding it so its a dead give away that he is ticklish

*thats just someone accidentally tickling him

*now imagine him ACTULLY being tickled

*he is a squirming mess and can and/or will accidentally kick you somehow

*i like to imagine him losing in a tickle fight so he tries to get on top of his ler and tickle them back cuz "Sun Wukong, great sage equal to heaven ISN'T gonna lose!"

*thats what he thinks until his ler dodges Wukong's attack and he gets tickled to peices

(This next one is based off of @toast-is-ticklish 's tickle fic about how Wukong glows when he laughs and i find it adorable so i wanted to include it in my headcannons. Also by the way go read their fic its amazing!)

*So he basiclly glows when he laughs and just imagine his ler (or you) tickling him and he starts glowing like a firefly, so his ler starts teasing him and baby talking him about it (playfully ofc) and calling him petnames. OMG HE'LL DIE

*Like he'll die of both, the tickles and the teasing. He'll also get super pouty about it because he thinks the glowing is embarrassing

*wanna now how he likes the tickles?

*his tail is wagging like crazy back and forth

*his main tickle spots would be his ears, sides, tummy and ribs. His armpits and neck are also pretty ticklish

*tbh he's pretty ticklish everywhere

Ler:

*Just as much as a bastard

*he is super playful when he is a ler and expect him to laugh and giggle with you cuz he has a lot of fun with tickling

*he would love to playfully tease the shit out of you. He would be tickling you on your worst spot and just coo at you how cute you are when your being tickled and everything related to that

*he loves tickle fights. He loves to hold you down and tickle the hell out of you while your squirming under him

*expect a lot of random tickles out of nowhere just because he wants to be a bastard. You two could just be cuddling or simply sharing a hug and BOOM he's tickling you

*also a bunch of tickly kisses :3

*if you two train together he also definitely uses tickles as a tactic, whether its self-defence or sneak attacks. He has also done what with Mk

Some of his favorite tickles are at night time when you both are cuddling and trying to fall asleep and both of you two just cant. So he'll softly and sleepy tickle your favorite spot to help you both fall asleep (he likes it even better when your gently tickling his sides while he is tickling you)

*over all he is a really soft ler and super fun to be tickled by :D

Macaque

Lee:

*he doesn't lee much but when he does your gonna have to catch him pretty off guard for him to stay down

*he probably hasnt been tickled before or at least in a really long time, so if you decide to tickle him give him a while before he gets used to the feeling

*after a few times of continuous tickles, the feeling (and the liking for it) it will grow on him

*he prefers to wait for other people to tickle him cuz he gets really embarrassed to ask for them. But sometimes he'll subtly ask for them. Your gonna have to be pretty good at taking his hints

*some of his favorite types of tickles are ones were he wakes up from a nightmare (cuz this man has plenty of trauma) and you offer to gently tickle him back to sleep. He loves those ones the most because he can be vulnerable around you

*he has a love-hate relationship with teasing. Like he likes it but at the same time its so embarrassing and it makes his brain go to mush

* i feel like his most ticklish spot is his ears (he has 6 of them they HAVE to be ticklish), his neck and i also feel like his cheeks are a lil ticklish so give him kisses here and there, his tummy, ribs, sides and the back of his knees are also ticklish

Ler:

*This man as a ler is the definition of merciless asshole

*will absolutely tickle the hell out of you if given the chance. In private of course

*he loves chasing! Chasing his lee down as they are already laughing themselves to death at the sheer idea of being tickled. He also likes the tickle fight after he catches them

*he will tickle your absolute worst spots and ask rhetorical questions like "oh? Your really ticklish here?"

*he himself isn't a fan of teases but expect A LOT with him. He will tease you in everyway, shape and form at any chance he gets

*he is more of a nibbler then a biter cuz he knows his teeth are really sharp and he doesn't wanna hurt you. He would nibble on your tickle spots and pretend he's eating you

*he would use his tail to both hold you down and tickle you. He'll also grab your waist with it if you try and run away from him

*going back to the topic of teases he would definitely use the 'tickle monster' tease. He'd try and act all mean and scary while he's tickling you but he really us just as playful as Wukong. Just in a different way

Lee:

SWEETEST. LEE. EVER!

*he is so fucking cute when he is being tickled he juat kinda lays there and gives in with little to no fight back cuz tickling is his worst weakness

*as i previously stated Wukong will sometimes incorporate tickling into he and mk's training. So mk has been tickled a decent amount of times by Wu

*he likes any kinds of tickles really. He gets sorta embarrassed if he's tickled in puplic but oh well °w°

*he has a contagious fucking laugh what just makes his ler wanna laugh along with him its so adorable

*he definitely snorts if you get him really good too

*he has also been tickled by Mei as well

*he is pretty ticklish all over but his worst spots are is tummy, sides, ribs and armpits. Also his neck and hips are also pretty ticklish

*he LOVES raspberries! (Giving amd receiving)

*he really likes tickle hugs. Especially when he doesn't know if its gonna happen or not

Ler:

*honestly i see him WAY more as a lee then a ler but I'll try my best for this one

*he LOVES raspberries (giving and receiving)

*he has gotten Wukong a few times after Mk got fed up with Wu's tickle training tactics and has gotten the upper hand a few times

*of course that resulted in mk getting tickled to pieces by Wukong later

(Like i said i see him way more as a lee then a ler so im sorry if this part is dry)

If anyone has any other characters they want tickle headcannons for please send me an ask! (I'll do almost any character if ik enough about them)

#lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk macaque #lmk sun wukong #mk #lmk mk #tickle headcanons #tickle hcs #tickles #sfw tickle community #lego monkie kid tickles #fanfic writer

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andthebubbles · 1 year

Text

i had a very nice day!!! so the person i picked up stuff from actually turned out to be super nice, it was so wild it was like i stepped into an alternate universe (over email she sounded super urgh and troublesome). idk if there’s a catch somewhere and i just haven’t found it yet, but yeah, what the hell. i got the stuff and now i can do mileage claim!

checked out moona moona creek afterwards, it’s a veryyyyy nice swimming spot. actually, the sand and the colour of the water has been the most interesting/noteworthy things at jervis bay. the sand is almost white and the water is just this gorgeous aqua-ish blue (although less noticeable the closer you get to it lol). also, the light (sunlight) is just really clean and blue?

(oh i almost forgot, i also checked out the mangrove boardwalk at huskisson, that was good, until i visited the beaches SKJDGNFKG)

then ofc since there weren’t any traffic jams i checked out hyams beach because you know, ~whitest sand and stuff. i guess the sand is pretty white?? it’s not that markedly whiter than the sand at moona moona creek. but the biggest difference was skfjgnkfjng the TEXTURE of the sand skjfnkfjgnkfng so at moona moona creek, the sand sometimes was almost ‘solid’, like, if i was an elf and i could walk lightly enough on it, i wouldn’t break through that outer shell. but once you break through the outer shell, it just crumbles and then it’s soft. and kinda squeaky feeling. maybe it’s very salty?? idk

but MMMMm hyams beach sand was like, SO SOFT, it was like walking on pillows, especially for the sand in the shade, it was just soooo mmMMMMM. the waves crashing on the beach were whatever, i guess they were almost greenish because it was so clean blue, but the SAND TEXTURE, now that was noteworthy. (i also may have taken a tiny bit of sand because it was so fascinating and fiiiine and pale and soooo soft and pillowy, and now i’ve decided i’m gonna start a sand collection!! it’d be really interesting to see the difference in colours of sand, and also i guess i will take notes. like, maroubra sand is pretty coarse, and darker ofc... bondi beach sand is like... idk, paler than maroubra, but it’s nothing special either, it’s not that fine

it’s interesting, cause if one could 4wd moona moona creek, i think it’d be quite easy because the sand is so firm, but hyams beach would be pretty tricky i think

anyway!!! sand collection!!! i need to get me some glass bottles with corks

(might post pics later, might not)

also, the drive was pretty easy... i did up to wollongong first, then my mum did from there to bomaderry, then i did from there to jervis bay stuff, and then once we were done there i did from there to wollongong, and then to home, so i did most of the driving and mmmm it was good. also idk what it is about the sun going down/nighttime = i can drive a loooot more lol, it’s just, once the sun goes down and it starts to settle into dusk and then nightfall, i just fuckin wake up skjgkfkj

so anyway, jervis bay is like, just over 3 hours away, so it’s pretty doable, esp if you split it into 1.5h each. i’d love to go back to hyams beach just so i can feeeeeeel the sand again... i might go back once school holidays are over haha. and also it’d be nice to stay longer so i can get some night photography in. the sun took forever to set today and i guess that’s cause summer solstice is... tomorrow, okay, i just checked lol well ANYWAY, i miss night photography, but it’s also nicer to do it when the weather is colder because there aren’t any mozzies about, and it gets darker earlier so you don’t have to wait as long. but me dad’s a chicken with the cold, and sometimes i don’t particularly like going remote-ish places at night by myself because it feels kinda dodge

anyway!! time to check the pics i took eheheee

eta: HYAMS BEACH SAND (those aren’t my footprints (why didn’t i pick a better spot where the sand was untouched ksjnfgkfjgn oH WELL))

selfie lmfao:

eta 2: i gotta say it’s REALLY nice now that there’s an albion park bypass and a berry bypass... (yeah i haven’t been out much until recently lol) also, i kinda miss the old foxground route, but more in a sense of ‘i bet it’s really fun now with almost no traffic’ SKJDNFK

#blahblahblah i just memory-dumped about the beaches i visited today lol #very skippable!#me.txt #yeah. i wish i could've stayed longer!!#after i got home we took the cat for a walk round the block in her cat pram lol #and THEN it felt like the day was complete #i didn't even get to use high beams on the highway on the drive home #THAT'S how early we started going back #what a shaaaame #no night driving with high beams? pfft #with spotties and lightbar on dirt roads it's even more exciting!#point of interest (lol): i've gotten used to how tough the troopy is with like... everything #that today i accidentally switched on the high beams with this nissan when i was signalling to.. turn or change lanes idk #normal cars are so soft lol #normal MODERN* cars are so soft #also i discovered that if i put my left hand on the right hand side of the stupid T shape of the steering wheel.. it isn't so much a strain #so uh that's nice #at least i'm not coming home with like a fucked up shoulder or neck or whatever #i think sometime next year or so it'd be really nice to spend some time at like.. jervis bay territory #like. camp near the beach #explore the area #etc #but it has to be not during school holidays lol i think this place would be kinda crap with too many people around #i got lucky today i guess cause it's the first day of the school hols

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midnxght-sweet-time · 2 years

Text

☯︎ Hɪsᴛᴏʀʏ sʜᴀʟʟ ʀᴇᴘᴇᴀᴛ ☯︎

❥︎ Paring: ☢︎︎Scaramouche x ⚤︎ Kitsune!Reader

⚠︎ TW: None

᯽ A/N: Inspired by @fatuifucker 's Scara x Kitsune reader fic. This is kinda a shameless oc insert but I wanted to make this an x reader also to let scara simps enjoy it as well.

I spent a good 1 hr writing this with no plot idea in mind during physics class cuz I finished my work-

We're on the topic of electricity btw and I thought yea sure electro-

Reader is ofc based off my oc so there will be some parts where it wont make sense so sorry for that lmao

I like to think Ei put a small part of her conciousness in Scara when creating him. And scara knows no matter how much he change himself, it doesnt change the fact he is a part of her.

"If nothing else. Please spare these memories…"

The gentle breeze pushed past the purple locks of hair that covered an ominous face. The giant ornaments that hang by his giant hat sway in a rhythm, dancing with the grass. Indigo eyes, calm yet calculative, stalking his prey from atop of the hill. His sights set on a figure with sharp points of ears and a big pillow-like tail with a sniper like gaze. Eyebrows furrowed at the peaceful scene of sakura's raining softly to your face, like pink snow that hails from above, the giant tree as your winter cloud.

Their backs were facing him, their posture as stationary as the statue that sat quietly in Tenshukaku, the Omnipresent God. It was still and calming, a boring task he put himself through as he kept his pupils glued to that very being. Why was he so focused on them again?

"Scara." A whiff of lightning was shot in a panic towards the voice that came behind. In a quick flash whoever approached him dodged swiftly as the burst of energy struck down a tree. "Sheesh, I didn't think you were that paranoid." A mischievous whisper with a glaze of sweet gentleness rings in his ears like a morning bell of a wind chime. He looks up at the fox with a shock expression, their tail wags along with their hair that flows with the wind as a smile lifts their cheeks in delight.

The puppet looks back below the hill he was guarding and realizes what he'd been watching this whole time was a fox statue painted in gold by the light of the sun. With the sun now lowered, the light diminished and revealed the rusty gray of stone.

"Wow, I never knew you like fox statues."

He felt his eye twitch unconsciously. He swore to whatever unholy in the abyss to kill his creator– that he had just been spying on them. How did he lose sight of them? Did the rogue sakura petal that came very close to smacking him in the face distracted him for a brief moment, giving you time to escape? But how fast were you that you could easily leave without him noticing your figure running away? He doubts you have any abilities including teleportation, you don't have a vision–

"You look like you've seen a ghost Scara. Are you okay?"

His thoughts were cut off. A large inhale was heard as their reply. Scaramouche was clearly not okay, and you catch on quickly. As his eyes close shut with a clear irritated face, before any words can erupt from his mouth, you display a small black lunch box in front of him. His expression turned from upset to confused looking at what you have brought.

"Where did you keep that?" Scaramouche's brow raised looking at the box, wondering where it came from so suddenly. You have no bag for you to carry it around and last he checked, you weren't holding it. "A little trick, a handsome prince taught me ." A high pitched laughter came soon after that raised more of the puppet's annoyance. Every time he blinks, this sly fox seems to always surprise him.

The box was then laid down on the ground next to him, the lid popped open with a satisfying click. The smell of sweets blasted his porcelain nostrils. His eyes widened at the selection of different dangos, not just the tricolor ones you can get in the streets of Inazuma city.

"I made a variety today. Tomorrow I will make daifuku." Their ears twitched along to their cheerful tone. The many dangos dressed in different syrups and painted in different colors amazed the boy in front of them. It isn't everyday he gets these kinds of dangos unless it's seasonal. His delicate fingers grasped onto the stick that held a dango with tiny crumbled pieces of nuts latching onto the sticky ball.

"What flavor is this?" His tone is soft, almost like a whisper in the wind as his eyes focus on the sweet treat in awe. "Kinako dango. It's a kind of roasted soybean. Try it." You popped a goma dango into your mouth, the sweet sesame taste with the chewy treat makes you hum in delight. Scaramouche cautiously looks at the skewered treat, its soybean barrier falling off in bits and pieces the longer he stands it up in his hands. With a small hesitation, he chomps down onto a piece of dango while closing his eyes in anticipation.

It's delicious.

A sense of nostalgia washes through him. Time stood still for a moment, never minding the wind that rudely blew his hair in his face. Eyes widened slightly with a sweet comforting warmth filled his hollow chest that was once numbingly cold.

What is this feeling?

A blurry vision flashed in his mind as the once young fox that sat before him formed a figure of white as snow with eyes that sparkled like gold. A kitsune that's older by appearance that he has never seen before. A shrine maiden outfit that she wore reminds him of the dreadful pink one that tried to end him once. However, the background turned from the wilderness he was in, into a garden that he surely recognized— Tenshukaku.

Dejavu, is what he could describe this moment. It felt so similar yet he had no recollection of such memory. Why was he reminiscing over a scene he knows very well he never experienced for centuries he roamed this earth.

That's when he realized the feminine outfit he wore, colored with nothing but different shades of purple and gold, thighs long and thick as it folds on the floor with delicate soft hands that wrapped around a dango, one ball was missing. His maker's appearance. These are her memories.

You waved your hand in front of Scaramouche. He was stiff as a brick. One moment he showed a clear sentient movement of eating a treat and then he went motionless like a shutdown ruin guard that lost its core. You sat there for a few moments, internally panicking and trying to recall what you might have accidentally added into that Kinako dango.

'Did I accidentally add father's paralyzing drugs?'

You wondered silently, remembering all the times you would grab the wrong ingredient that led to disasters since your father, who is a scientist, tends to leave unsuspecting medicines in the kitchen for convenience pick. You still never understood why he never placed all drugs in one drawer instead of scattered in different cabinets. 'Just in case' he always says.

You slowly slide a piece of Kinako dango from Scaramouche's stick he seems to hold onto so tightly yet with a hint of fondness over before examining it to see if your theory was correct. Before you can even come to any conclusions, the feeling of purple electric shocks makes your hair stand on end, causing you to drop the dango and quickly grab the lunchbox to hide behind a tree for cover.

The loud sizzling sound of electricity flew in the air, a burst of chaotic energy lit the sky and painted the clouds purple. A roar of thunder came crashing down on the little picnic area you once sat with Scaramouche, the sound of a dangerous blast that chips away at the sturdy ground. You closed your eyes as your ears dropped at the deafening sound of lightning as you swore you heard your friend screamed. It wasn't out of pain from the possible 9 thousand volts, but a familiar sound of anger you can identify all too well. The lightning strike was way more ferocious than the ones you've encountered in Yashiori Island.

It was absolutely terrifying.

A few moments later, he stopped. The sky turned back to its evening sky of warm colors as if nothing ever happened. Still shaken up from whatever dangerous outburst Scaramouche had, your body stayed behind cover, too afraid to move. Your hands shaking as you struggled to hold the box of dangos that are now disorganized and the different flavors mixing with one another.

'What– in the name of the Hydro Archon, happened?' You wondered as your pupils stay constricted in absolute terror.

Your ears perked at the sand of quick crunching dirt before silence engulfed the area. You peaked out of your hiding spot and was almost taken aback how destroyed the place has been. A giant scorch mark claimed its territory as all the grass in its radius was burned away to ashes. Any flora that was in sight was charred with specks of purple electro lingering like fire sparks.

Scaramouche was nowhere to be seen.

You sighed in disappointment, another unsuccessful attempt at befriending this grumpy cat. You're no idiot. You know he is a fatui and messing with him is a suicide at best, yet you went with it anyways. Slowly his friendly facade has come to crack but even then it wasn't enough. You can read him like an open book but never understand the language inside. You can't understand him and you wonder if you ever will.

You stood silent, looking up ahead as a small sakura petal waves to you hello before landing by your feet to the burned ground. A chuckle escaped your throat. The light of the sun no longer presents as the moon now greets you with its cold gaze. Looking up you see the stars twinkling away, appearing slowly in the early night sky.

Are any of those stars your ancestors?

Your tail wagged at the thought. Ears perked up attentively that you could pinpoint the wind's destination.

As your legs carried you home down the hill, words rolled down your tongue in a whisper as you remembered a quote that always lift your spirits;

"Do not be blinded, do not waver. Keep walking that path you believed in."

#genshin impact #genshin fanfic #genshin x gender neutral reader #genshin x reader #genshin x y/n #genshin x oc #genshin scaramouche #scaramouche x reader #scaramouche #genshin x you #genshin

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littlefreya · 3 years

Text

Vanilla Milkshake

Summer: Henry and a long time friend hangout at their usual spot when things turn chaotic because of an innocent misunderstanding...

Prompted by:

Oooh Freyaaaa I just *need* some scene featuring Henry and ofc drinking milkshake.

Pairing: Henry Cavill x Unamed OFC (no description of ethnicity or body type).

Word count: 1.7K

Warnings: RPF, major fluff, friends to lovers, sexual innuendo, mild seduction, sex talk, an unwanted boner, Henry being a boomer, Henry having a meltdown.

*No permission is given for reposting my work, copying it, ideas or parts it and claiming it as your own.*

A/N: So, first thing first, thanks @agniavateira for quickly beta’ing my work! And of course thanks @the-soot-sprite for bouncing ideas with me and being an emotional support. Decided to go with friends for lovers because I live for that stuff. Also, I am aware that “Milkshake” can be interpreted in several ways but for the sake of the story I went with that particular reference. Divider by the lovely @firefly-graphics

Please comment and reblog if you enjoyed. 🖤

Title: Vanilla Milkshake

“I swear, this diner looks like Barbie had an orgasm all over the place.” A whimsical grin sliced between Henry’s marble cheeks. Eyeing the pastel-esque surroundings, he huffed scornfully and adjusted the cap over his nest of unruly curls.

“Remind me again why we always meet here, young lady?”

Staring at the beastly man who barely managed to squeeze into the plastic-pink faux leather booth, she couldn’t help but chuckle. Henry carried himself with something that was both eloquent yet unmistakably feral, reminding her of a burly forest creature. Sturdy tree trunks stood for limbs, torso, and shoulders—the widths of icy mountains and a blanket of thick fur coated the entirety of his body, deeming him a dangerous bear.

No wonder he preferred himself clean-shaven. The sharpened edge of a razor kept him a cut away from becoming ‘Henry the Barbarian’.

Seeing him surrounded by pastel and sparkly fairy dust brought far more joy than she could ever imagine. The utter look of contempt gleamed on the surface of his shifty eyes.

Oh, by God, how much he hated glitter!

“And what would you know about Barbie’s orgasms?” she teased with a crooked eyebrow and a comical suspicious glare.

Readjusting his cap over the messy mane of chocolate curls, Henry offered a terrible wink and shrugged, “a gentleman never tells.”

Her fingers rapped on her thigh while she contemplated whether to allow this naughty joke slide, but then the urge to provoke him was far too great. After briefly chewing on the inside of her cheek, she broke into a wicked grin.

“Is that… like a role play you have with the missus? She’s Barbie, and you’re G.I.Joe? Because I kinda don’t want to hear about it, but then I kinda do.”

Henry’s smile gradually faded along with the playful glee in his eyes, his melancholic gaze dropping to the sparkly table. He slumped into a heavy sigh, “If by missus, you mean ‘Miss Hand’, then no… not really.”

Dumbfounded, she frowned at Henry with confusion when then it struck her; a sense of incredible embarrassment drained the blood from her head to her gut.

“Oh…”

“Yep.” Henry blurted and grabbed the menu, pretending to be incredibly interested in the kids’ meal options.

Just in time to rescue them from a prolonged awkward silence, the waitress arrived with their order, serving Henry a hot cup of double espresso while she received a tall glass of a luscious vanilla milkshake.

“Enjoy your drinks, guys!” the waitress smiled sweetly and kept her eyes glued to Henry as she walked away. But the gloss of the waitress’ flirtatious excitement was lost on him; drenched with greed, Henry’s blue sapphires were fixated on the generous scoops of ice cream and the dark chocolate swirls that decorated his companion’s dessert.

“Henry, my eyes are up here!” she provoked and grabbed the straw between two fingers while throwing an amused glance at his simple cup of coffee. Henry followed her gaze and scoffed before raising the cup to his mouth and blowing to cool his drink.

The way his lips pursed together and his finger stroked the ceramic surface did not escape her observation. A sudden tingle swam down the length of her spine once it resonated in her mind that kind, charming, and beastly Henry was now single. Here they were, long time buddies, but now sitting together felt less comfortable than before. Her limbs felt like pins and needles while staring directly at his eyes was as risky as staring at the sun.

“Cheers,” Henry mumbled and took a sip from his cup.

Almost jolting in her seat, she stiffened and then grabbed her straw.

“Cheers.”

Giggles came from the other side of the diner. Among the retro gumball machines and rounded plastic bar stools, the waitress and a colleague leaned against the counter and stared at Henry, who turned his head for a brief moment and tipped his head.

Their giggles turned even louder.

She frowned.

“So, have you been single for a while?” she heard herself asking with a rather urgent tone. Right away, a look of contrition crept on her face as she regretted her verbal onslaught and lack of sensitivity.

Henry directed his gaze back to her and watched as she slowly sipped from the milkshake and then suckled the cream off her mouth.

Absentmindedly, he licked his lips. “Since May. How about you, weren’t you with…?”

“No, ended, dodged a bullet.” she spat and pumped the straw up and down the thick beverage. “My milkshake brings all the boys… except it doesn't.” she sighed.

Henry frowned and shook his head with confusion. “What? You never told me you make your own milkshake. How come I never had some?”

Her face abruptly froze, her eyes rounded with surprise before she snorted so loudly the waitresses stopped their whispering.

“Umm… Hen?” she called out, trying to hold herself from bursting into chuckles as her friend accidentally asked for a very sexual favour, “you honestly don’t know what ‘milkshake’ is slang for...?”

“Uh…”

“Omg, you’re such a boomer.”

“No, I was born in ‘83! I’m a millennial. But please, indulge me.” he begged and crossed his arms together.

Clearing her throat loudly, she did her best to fight the wicked grin that stretched on her already painful cheeks and wrapped her fist around the straw. “So you know... how… certain male bodily fluids are sometimes white and creamy...? And when you perform a certain motion it’s like you’re shaking it…?”

Henry blinked and became silent. An unbidden rush of blood pooled at his groin as he watched her thumb graze over the tip of the straw and her fist pumping it into the smooth liquid in a slow, gentle motion. Wickedness glazed her eyes, but he tried to dismiss it as nothing but their usual playful banter; yet his adam’s apple bobbed up and down while his shoulder tensed at the oddly arousing sight of her performing a sinful act on a milkshake.

There was an unmistakable stir in his cock and for once, he was thankful for narrow spaces as it hid his predicament.

Leaning forward, she opened her mouth and swirled her tongue around the straw. She went deliberately slow, making him watch while she playfully licked and suckled the tip until finally wrapping her lips around it and taking a generous sip.

Henry gawked utterly smitten, unaware that his jaw was nearly at the floor.

And to make things worse, she moaned—not too loud—but definitely enough to make his shaft harden more.

She wasn’t sure what stirred this whimsical boost of confidence, only that seeing the large, handsome man pale at her provocations made her feel like the most powerful woman on earth. She also gathered she’d regret it forever and a day once they’ll part ways, but it was too late for that now.

Gingerly she pulled back, though not before allowing a single drop of cream to trickle down the corner of her lips.

“Oops,” she smirked casually, wiping the cream with her fingertip and sucking it clean.

“Please stop…”

It was then when she noticed that Henry’s playful mien was all but gone. Far from amused, he glowered with a clenched jaw. “If you’re going to keep doing that, I’ll have to leave,” he stated matter-of-factly.

A rush of panic made her freeze in her spot, the same needles that pricked her skin were now setting jolts of electric bursts. “I’m so sorry, I crossed the line,” she said and covered her mouth with shame, “did I offend you? Do you want me to leave?”

“What? No, no, not at all.” Henry’s voice softened right away, and he reached a hand in the air, as if trying to stop her from leaving. The last thing he wanted now is for her to think he is angry with her. If anything, he wished they could spend more time together, not because of his obvious arousal, but because for the first time in a long while, he was having fun.

Still, she looked at him so utterly distraught.

“Then…?”

Henry scanned the diner as if trying to make sure no one was staring or taking any photo and then shifted in his seat uncomfortably. His eyes altered between his spread thighs and her several times, trying to signal toward his… trouble.

“Oh...” she gaped.

An odd sense of pride began to permeate her chest, battling over the burning embarrassment that flamed up her neck and cheeks. At this point, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to feel, only that it was definitely the most awkward hangout they had to date.

Problem was, she never knew when to shut up.

“Is little Henry hungry?”

Hearing those words, his brows dropped to an irritated sulk. “There is nothing little about it.”

“Ha! Prove it!”

It was as if the entire diner and perhaps the world fell into silence. Had the clatter of the dishes being washed in the back kitchen not rung their ears, she would have thought she grew suddenly deaf.

“I didn’t mean it… sorry, I’ll stop,” she mumbled slowly and pressed her fingers to her mouth while shaking her head at her stupid behaviour. That was it, this was to be the last afternoon she would ever hang out with Henry and right now, she couldn’t even bring herself to look at him.

Henry chewed onto the inside of his cheeks, trying to stop the words that came faster than his thoughts.

“You didn’t?... Because I’ll definitely be up for proving...”

She blinked at his words and tilted her head, hoping that he won’t notice the wild tremors that shook her limbs, “What was that?”

“I... yes? No?...I… fuck!”

Henry lowered his head and slapped his palms across his face, rubbing back and forth with an utter meltdown while mumbling, “Forgive me,” a couple of times. He couldn’t care less of what the waitresses or whoever was watching would think of him; all he cared about was to make her feel comfortable around him again and maybe… even make her like him?

“Henry?”

Soft and warm her voice called to him, slowly pulling him from his anguish like a sailor being rescued from a sunken ship. His blue sapphires shone, an ocean of confusion and anxiety still pooling within while he peered back at her face that was now smiling at him a mixture of comfort and exhilaration.

“Would you like some of my milkshake?”

#henry cavill #henry cavill rpf #henry cavill x reader #henry cavill x ofc #henry cavill fanfiction

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nerdzzone · 3 years

Text

-More Hearts Than Mine-

Summary: Raising a child is hard. Raising a child with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars is even harder. And raising a child with one of Hollywood’s biggest stars who you’re not actually in a relationship with is even harder still.

Especially when a global pandemic is sweeping the world.

With lockdowns and stay at home orders looming on the horizon, the uncertainty of their situation becomes almost too much for Whitney Taylor to handle. Chris suggests that they quarantine together to avoid any potential separations but, given what happened the last time they spent more than a few brief moments in each other’s company, that could cause more problems than it solves…

Chris Evans x OFC

Sequel to: Once Bitten - Twice Shy

Note: Again, just a reminder that all the information I have about covid restrictions in Massachusetts is from google, not first hand experience, so if something seems wrong please just go with it.

Part Three

______

Part Four

If avoiding difficult conversations was an Olympic sport then it's pretty safe to say that I would have earned myself a gold medal by the end of the following week. It wasn't all that hard to do though as the exhaustion from parenting during a pandemic was hitting us both. Especially because the weather for the first couple of weeks of April was abysmal. It was cold, stormy and raining almost every day and we were all getting quite stir crazy from being inside constantly - especially our lively and spirited child.

So, it was a massive relief when the sun finally came out.

It was also a relief that it lined up with Grayson's third birthday.

He was going to have a very different birthday than previous years - as most people would over the next few months - but we wanted him to have fun and he was quickly tiring of all the indoor activities that we could come up with.

We set the living room up the night before after he'd gone to bed, putting up a birthday banner with several clusters of balloons, and there was quite the mountain of presents in the corner as most of our family members had sent their gifts in advance. I had hoped to wake up before him, but when I woke up to excited cheers and Dodger barking from downstairs, I knew I was too late. A quick glance at my phone told me that it was only six thirty, but clearly the excitement had gotten him up earlier than normal.

"Whoa, Dodger, Grayson, shhhh," I heard Chris warn the pair of them, his voice still raspy from sleep. "You'll wake up the whole neighbourhood."

I smiled and quickly climbed out of bed. Chris wouldn't let him open any presents without me, I knew that, but I didn't want to keep him waiting for too long.

When I got downstairs, a very excited Grayson was bouncing on the couch as Chris sat next to him, watching him closely with a smile on his face.

"Happy birthday!" I cheered, catching his attention.

He sprang off the couch and bolted towards me.

"Thanks, Mama," He shouted, throwing his arms around my legs and looking up at me. "I'm three!"

"You are!" I smiled as I knelt down in front of him and pulled him into a hug. "You're such a big boy now."

He let me squeeze him for another moment or two before wiggling free.

"Can I open presents?"

Chris laughed at his clear priorities, shaking his head as I stood up.

"Let's just wait for Uncle Scott," he suggested before glancing up at me. "He's putting the coffee on."

"Very smart," I nodded. "I think we're all going to need plenty of that today."

Grayson proved my point by grabbing at his balloons and waving them frantically, setting Dodger off barking again.

"Dodge!" Chris scolded. "It's just a balloon, buddy. Chill."

The poor overwhelmed dog hung his head and came over to me for some sympathy. I happily obliged, cooing some comforting words and rubbing his back.

"Gray, leave the balloons, okay?" I requested. "I don't think Dodger likes them."

Grayson frowned, but instantly let go of the balloon in his hand.

"Sorry, Dodger."

"It sounds like we have quite the party in here already," Scott commented as he sauntered into the room. "Shall we see what's in some of these boxes?"

"Yes! Yes!" Grayson cheered, running over to the presents. "What first?"

"Whatever you want," I told him, smiling as I went to sit on the couch next to Chris. "Do you need some help?"

"No, I can do it!" He insisted, making a bee line for the biggest box and quickly ripping the paper off.

We watched as he opened gift after gift, an ear to ear grin on his face the whole time. Just as he was at Christmas, he was incredibly grateful for every present from the Paw Patrol Lookout Tower that was almost as tall as he was to the dinosaur books that were more educational than flashy and fun.

But there was one gift at the bottom of the pile that Chris wasn't particularly impressed by. The one that my brother had sent.

Grayson opened it, pulling out a t-shirt first.

"What does it say?" He asked, holding up the shirt towards us.

Chris' jaw dropped as I stifled my giggles and Scott burst out laughing.

"It says 'Team Iron Man'," I read. "Remember how Uncle Rob was in a movie with Daddy where they had a big fight? Iron Man was Uncle Rob's character and I think Uncle Jack wants you to be on that team."

"Oh," Grayson smiled. "Okay!"

"Okay?!" Chris protested. "You don't want to be on my team?"

Grayson shrugged as he pulled something else out of the box from my brother.

"Look!" He shouted, his excitement clear as he held up a very fancy electronic Iron Man helmet. "I love it!"

I wasn't even sure that he knew what it was as he hadn't seen any of the movies yet, but his enthusiasm compared to Chris' displeasure was killing Scott and I.

"Oh, it's such a shame that your brother wasted his money," Chris said, his words dripping with sarcasm as he had a forced look of pity on his face. "Those things are expensive and Grayson is never going to wear it."

"I'll wear it!"

Grayson's insistence was followed by him putting the helmet on his head and another howl of laughter came from Scott as a look of betrayal crossed Chris' face.

"Your brother is a jerk."

His words were quiet so Grayson wouldn't hear and I smiled.

"What can I say?" I shrugged. "We're an Iron Man family..."

Chris shot me a glare, but turned his attention back to Gray.

"Well, if you don't want to be on my team then I guess I'll just have to find someone else to have the last present that I got for you..."

Chris was teasing, but Grayson whipped off the helmet faster than we could blink. He looked around, a puzzled expression on his face when he couldn't see anymore boxes on the floor and I shared his confusion as I wasn't aware of anymore gifts either. But the Evans brothers exchanged a knowing glance and I knew they were up to something.

"Maybe Miles would like it," Scott suggested. "He loves Captain America."

"Me too!" Grayson insisted, tossing the helmet aside as if it hadn't been his new prized possession moments ago. "He's my favourite!"

"Oh, is he now?" Chris laughed. "Doesn't take much to make you change your mind, does it?"

Grayson shook his head, oblivious to the fact that he was being teased, but Chris didn't torture him for too long.

"Alright, do you want to see what it is?"

"Yes, I do!"

Grayson leapt up, bouncing up and down with excitement, making Chris laugh as he stood up from the couch.

"C'mon then," he told Grayson, nodding his head towards the door. "It's this way."

Grayson scurried after his dad and I followed, my own curiosity piqued as well.

"What is it?" I asked Scott, but he just shot me a smirk.

"You'll see in a second."

I narrowed my eyes at his secrets and paused at the front door where Chris was waiting for us, his hand on the door knob as Grayson practically vibrated with excitement.

"Okay, close your eyes," Chris instructed. "No peeking!"

"I won't, I won't!"

Grayson covered his eyes as an extra assurance and Chris' grin widened even more as he swung open the door. I put my hands on Grayson's shoulders and guided him through it, seeing a shiny blue bike with a big bow on the handlebars. I felt a flash of worry at all the potential ways for Grayson to get hurt riding it, but there was no time to dwell on that as Chris told him to open his eyes and he gasped with excitement.

"A bike!" He squealed with joy, leaping off the doorstep and running towards it.

He circled it for a moment as if he was really trying to take it all in while I looked up at Chris.

"There better be a helmet with this present," I warned him. "I'm already imagining broken bones and missing teeth."

"He'll be fine," Chris assured me with a chuckle. "It has training wheels, but of course I got him a helmet."

I opened my mouth, ready to share some more potential disasters that could come from this - because even with training wheels he could still fall off or lose control and crash into a tree - but Grayson cut me off.

"Help me, Daddy! Help me!"

He was trying to climb onto the seat, but as I took in the sight of him barefoot in his pyjamas standing in the driveway, I stopped Chris as he moved towards him.

"Wait, why don't we have breakfast first?" I suggested. "We have all day to play on your bike, but you're not dressed or even wearing shoes..."

Grayson's face fell and I felt bad being the mean parent, but Chris nodded in agreement.

"Your Ma's right, Gray," he told him. "Let's go get ready and then we can come right back outside, okay?"

Grayson looked sulky, but reluctantly agreed as he walked back over to us.

"Hey now," Scott said, catching his attention. "No pouting on your birthday! We've got some chocolate chip pancakes to make! Unless that sad face means you don't want them anymore?"

His previous smile slid instantly back onto his face at the promise of such a sugary breakfast and the pep returned to his step as he grabbed Scott's hand before dragging him into the house.

I had no evidence to prove my theory, but by the time breakfast was over, I was almost certain that it would have been more relaxing to be in the middle of a hurricane. There was pancake batter all over the room and we practically had to pin Grayson to his chair to stop him from sprinting around the room with food in his mouth. It was a miracle that he got through the meal without choking.

It was impossible to be mad though when he was having such a good time. He'd had so much to adjust to lately, seeing him happy on his birthday was all that I wanted and I was willing to put up with a little more chaos than normal if it made that happen. Within reason, of course. I did stop him when he suggested that we put the entire bag of chocolate chips in the pancake batter and I did make him help me clean them up when he dumped them on the floor in protest of my ridiculous restrictions.

Once the breakfast circus was over, Chris whisked him off to get him ready to play outside while I helped Scott clean up the kitchen before going upstairs to shower and get ready myself.

When I came back down almost an hour later, I felt considerably less frazzled, but the sound of excited squeals and giggles echoing from outside told me the energy levels hadn't died down much. It really was a relief that he was having such a nice day though so I braced myself for more chaos and headed out to find them.

The sight that greeted me melted my heart completely.

Chris was running backwards across the driveway as Grayson rode towards him. He shouted encouragement the entire time, reminding him to keep pedaling and to look where he was going and cheering as Grayson rode past him before turning around and circling back.

"Look, Mama!" He shouted to me as he spotted me by the door. "I'm doing it!"

"You are, baby!" I smiled. "Good job!"

I sat on the doorstep and watched him ride in circles, proud of how fast he'd figured it out, but after a few moments, my attention turned to Chris.

There were few times since I'd known him when I'd seen him look as happy as he did in that moment. When Grayson was born, when he took his first steps and when he first said 'Dada' were probably the only comparable moments I could think of. He looked absolutely gleeful as he chased after Grayson, laughing as he passed him before dodging a different way and waiting for Gray to catch up before bolting off again. The sound of their giggles and shouts filled my heart so much that it genuinely felt like it was about to burst out of my chest and a feeling of contentedness hit me so hard that it almost knocked over.

It was a feeling that told me that they were all I ever needed. Those two boys, making each other dizzy as they ran in circles. Their happiness and love was all I could ever hope to have and moments like these were all I ever wanted to see. I wanted us to spend every weekend soaking in this kind of joy. I didn't want to fight and argue and transport Grayson back and forth every other week. I wanted to give Grayson what he deserved, I wanted us to be a family.

But as fast as that clarity hit me, the knots in my stomach were there to remind me that it wasn't just about what I wanted. It wasn't about what would bring us the most moments of delight, it was about what would provide Grayson with the most stability and being a family might do more harm to that goal than good.

It was a constant battle between my heart and my head, but I was starting to realize that my head was losing. I was clinging to my resistance with all I had, but it was slipping away. I knew I needed to talk to Chris, to sort out the fog in my brain, but for the time being, I pushed it out of my mind. This was Grayson's day and we didn't have time for anymore heart-wrenching conversations.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as Scott appeared from the side of the house on roller blades and the unexpected sight pulled a laugh from my lips as he sailed past Chris and Grayson and headed down the driveway.

"Gray, follow me!"

Gray nodded, frantically pedaling to catch up with his uncle as they sped off down the long drive. Chris watched them for a minute before jogging over to me.

"He got it so fast," he puffed as he fought to catch his breath. "He's a natural."

"The training wheels help," I pointed out, shielding my eyes from the sun as I looked up at him. "But it's fine because he'll be keeping those on until he's at least eighteen."

Chris barked out a laugh, shaking his head.

"No way," he smirked. "We'll have them off by next week."

"Not a chance. I need at least six months to get used to that idea."

"How about we meet in the middle and aim for three?"

"Hmm, maybe," I bit back a smile. "We'll have to see how many injuries he gets with the training wheels on first."

"He'll be fine. He's a champ," Chris grinned proudly. "We've got a pretty great kid."

"We do," I patted the step next to me as I made room for Chris to sit down. "I can't believe he's already three."

Chris accepted my silent invitation and sat down next to me.

"I know," he sighed. "It feels like just yesterday that he was born..."

"He was so tiny," I reminisced. "And you had those huge Captain America muscles."

Chris laughed as he nodded at the memory.

"I was so scared to hold him in case I accidentally crushed him."

"I was so scared of everything," I admitted. "It wasn't until he was actually born that it really hit me that we were completely responsible for his well-being and keeping him alive."

"We've done well with that though!"

"We have," I agreed with a smile. "He's alive and thriving."

"We make a good team."

He flashed me a warm smile that made my heart beat stutter and it almost stopped completely when he stretched out a hand and placed it on mine. His touch was gentle and the warmth of his skin flooded through me even more than the sun streaming down on us. It was a simple gesture, but it eased the heaviness that had been hovering between us lately and I was grateful. I carefully flipped my hand over so our palms pressed together and let our fingers interlace. His smile widened as he looked back out at the driveway, his eyes settling on Grayson in the distance who was laughing at something Scott said.

"Thank you," Chris sighed, his voice quiet and filled with genuine appreciation. "I don't think I've ever said it, but thank you for making me a dad."

His words almost brought tears to my eyes, but I shook my head.

"Chris, you don't need to than-"

"I do," he insisted, cutting me off. "He's the best thing that ever happened to me and he wouldn't be here without you."

"I could say the same," I pointed out, trying to ignore the way his thumb was stroking the back of my hand. "He gets most of his good traits from you too. His kind heart, his sensitive little soul, his loyalty."

"His infuriating stubbornness."

"He gets that from both of us," I smiled. "He didn't stand a chance with that one."

"Well, I hope he gets some of your selflessness," Chris informed me, glancing over and looking a tad sheepish. "Because, as much as I disagree with it and I wish you'd be a little selfish, I get that you're trying to look out for him."

I felt my palms start to sweat and I wondered if he could feel it. I resisted the urge to snatch my hand away from his, trying to play it cooler than I felt. He was watching me closely as I mulled over his words until I found the strength to speak.

"I'm not so sure that it's just him that I'm trying to look out for," I admitted, exhaling a breath that I didn't realize I was holding. "I do think we have more to talk about, Chris, but I don't think this is the right time."

"You're right," he nodded. "I just felt like I owed you an apology after the other night. I let my feelings get the best of me and I came across a little harsh."

I was about to reassure him that he hadn't when the sound of honking interrupted our conversation. Our attention was pulled to the end of the driveway where two cars - belonging to Chris' mom and his sister - were pulling in as Scott moved Grayson and Dodger off to the side to let them past.

"Did you know they were coming?" I asked, surprised by the little motorcade.

"Nah, I had no idea," Chris shrugged. "We'll stay outside though, keep our distance."

I wasn't worried about that really, I knew all of Chris' family were staying very isolated and being smart about staying safe and we were technically allowed to have outdoor gatherings of up to ten people anyway with the current rules in place. I was surprised to see them though as we'd warned Grayson that he would only get to see most of his family over FaceTime. His excitement at that being untrue was clear as he frantically pedaled back up the driveway to greet his guests.

"Mama! Daddy! Look!"

I let Chris' hand fall away from mine as we stood, smiling at Grayson's excitement as everyone started getting out of their cars. They burst into a rousing chorus of 'Happy Birthday' making Gray's grin grow even more.

"Happy birthday, Grayson!" Lisa beamed as Grayson ran towards her full speed. He threw his arms around her legs before we could even remind him to keep his distance, but Lisa seemed unbothered by it. "Have you had a good day so far?"

"Yes!" Gray smiled up at her. "I got a bike!"

"I saw that!" Lisa matched his enthusiasm. "You're a lucky boy!"

Grayson shot her another smile before turning his attention to his cousins.

"Wanna try?"

His older cousins were probably too big, but Stella's hand shot up first and beat them to it anyway.

"That's really nice of you to share," I called over to Grayson. "But share your helmet too, okay?"

He nodded and struggled with the clip for a few minutes before Lisa helped him take it off and placed it on her granddaughter's head.

Once they were all happy, chasing Stella and Dodger around the drive way, the adults moved over towards us. Lisa was the first to speak, a guilty look on her face.

"I hope you don't mind us just showing up like this, but we couldn't stay away on his birthday..."

"It's great!" Chris assured her. "Don't worry about it."

"And Grayson seems thrilled," I added. "It's nice for him to have other kids to run around with for a bit."

We all turned to watch them as they played until Carly let out a laugh.

"Are Grayson's shoes on the wrong feet?"

I hadn't even noticed, but I laughed as well when I realized that she was right.

"Some days just getting him in shoes at all is a victory," Chris defended himself. "And today was one of those days."

"He's like the energizer bunny this morning," Scott joked. "I can't imagine what he'll be like after we get some cake into him."

"Just think how well he'll sleep tonight," Carly pointed out. "He has to crash eventually."

"I hope so," Chris smiled. "He had me up at six o'clock this morning, I need an early night."

That earned a laugh from the group as his siblings teased him about being such an old man, but I felt a pang of sympathy for him, knowing that he'd been up early with Grayson a lot lately. Maybe it was because we were at his house so it was what Gray was used to, but Chris was definitely the favourite for the early morning wake up call.

We stood in our little circle for a while, just catching up as we watched the kids, all of us enjoying conversation with someone other than the people we were locked up with twenty-four hours a day. It was nice for me to have some female company as well even though Lisa was very pleased to hear that her boys were pulling their weight around the house and not just treating me like some kind of live-in maid.

It didn't take long for the kids to get tired of sharing the bike, especially the older boys who were too big for it anyway, and soon they were swarming around us demanding that we all play a game. After being cooped up for so long, it didn't seem like a bad idea to get us all moving around a little so we agreed and set about the daunting task of finding something everyone was willing to play.

Eventually, we settled on capture the flag - girls against boys. Lisa decided she'd make a better referee than a player so the boys team had one extra member, but they had three children to our one so it hardly seemed like the extra person would cause any unbalance.

The rules of the game were simple: each team had three flags in our 'end zone' at opposite ends of the large grassy part of Chris' yard and the other team had to try to steal those flags. We had to grab it and run it all the way back to our own end zone to score a point, but once it was safely 'captured' it couldn't be stolen back. If someone managed to snatch a flag, but was tagged on their way back to their end zone then they had to give the flag back.

Lisa was very firm in reminding her children that tackling was not allowed as the Evans siblings were fiercely competitive and it had apparently led to trouble over the years. Once the rules were all set, we took our places and started the game.

The teams were fairly evenly matched. The boys had more strength, but we had more agility and were much better at communicating and working together which led to us easily scoring the first point. While Stella distracted Scott, Carly snuck past him to snatch the flag and she tossed it to Shanna who faked a pass to Stella before throwing it to me to get it to the safe zone. It was a beautifully executed play that showed the boys we weren't messing around.

"Oh, it's on now," Chris called out as he sprinted past me.

Shanna bolted after him, but he managed to grab the flag and throw it to Ethan before she caught up. With all the other boys guarding him, he made it all the way back to their end zone without getting tagged.

"I think having a super soldier on your team is an unfair advantage ," Carly huffed, but Chris shook his head with a smirk.

"Nah, because we have Scott too so it balances out."

"Hey!" Scott protested. "I'll switch teams if you're going to be rude!"

Stella jumped for joy at that idea, pleading with him to come onto our side, but the rest of the boys voiced their protests and he decided that, as long as there was no more hurtful comments, he would stick to his team for now. I used their bickering as a distraction though as I snuck closer towards their unguarded flags. I managed to grab one before Scott noticed and called out a warning to the rest of his team, but when I took off running and Grayson charged towards me, I didn't have the heart to out run him on his special day. I slowed down enough that he wouldn't realize I was letting him win and groaned dramatically as he tagged me, making me give up the flag.

"I did it!" He cheered. "Daddy! Did you see? I did it!"

Stella had a disappointed scowl on her face, but everyone else was understanding as they watched Chris scoop him up onto his shoulders, chanting his name as if he'd just won the World Cup while he carried him back to replace the flag.

Their celebration was short-lived though as we managed to steal the flag again almost as soon as Chris and Grayson were far enough away from it. After another perfectly executed play, the score was sitting at 2-1 for us. The pressure was on after that as we only needed one more point to win, it ramped up the competitive spirit.

We were off to a great start in the next round. Shanna got the flag quickly, but Scott had her cornered almost immediately so she tossed it to me. I got about ten steps before Chris was on my heels and I was forced to throw it over to Carly. Chris turned and went to chase after her instead and without even thinking, I leapt on his back to stop him.

"Hey!" He protested, slowing to a stop despite how he was clearly unaffected by my weight. "Is anyone seeing this? This has got to be a foul! She tackled me!"

"I did not tackle you!" I insisted, clinging to his shoulders with my legs wrapped around his waist. "If it was a tackle, you'd be on the ground."

Chris wiggled around, trying to throw me off his back as Carly sauntered into our end zone with the flag.

"The only reason I'm not on the ground is because you're too weak," Chris argued before shouting to his mom. "That doesn't count!

"No, Mama," Grayson joined in, running over to us looking very disapproving. "No cheating!"

I laughed, but slid down from Chris' back.

"Sorry, I'm sorry!" I held my hands up as I apologized. "I can't outrun Captain America, I had no choice!"

"Well, now you lost the point," Chris teased me, shoving me playfully and making me stumble a step away from him. "So, lets keep it fair and stop trying to cheat."

I swatted back at him as I stuck out my tongue while Lisa made the official call that the point didn't count and Scott took the recently captured flag back to the boy's end zone.

Chris had a new twinkle in his eye as the next round started. He hadn't let me get very far away from him and I quickly realized that I'd made a mistake by antagonizing him. I would be useless to my team if he was on my tail the whole time, but he was a tank and incredibly fast so getting away from him was next to impossible. I watched helplessly as Scott and Miles easily took our flag and dashed it back to their end zone to tie the score.

"Chris!" I whined as I tried to get around him like I was a cornered puppy, trying not to get caught. "Get away from me, you big oaf!"

"Oh, wow," Chris chuckled. "Let's not start calling names and being mean."

I tried to dart past him again, but groaned as he blocked my path.

"You're infuriating!"

"It's all part of the game."

The smirk on Chris' face had my competitive side firing up as I could see behind him that Miles had snatched our last flag. Stella was hot on his heels though, so he had no choice, but to pass to Grayson who was coming our way. Was I going to stop my three year old son from scoring the game winning point on his birthday? Probably not. But I had to at least make my attempt genuine so I came up with a plan.

"Is that..." I squinted off into the distance on the other side of the yard. "Is that Dodger chasing a cat?"

My Oscar worthy performance had Chris spinning around to check out what I saw and it gave me enough time to bolt away towards Grayson who wasn't far away from winning the game for his team. I made it an impressive five steps before Chris figured out what I'd done and came after me. Grayson saw what was happening and dodged to the left so I followed, but my change of direction gave Chris an opportunity. The next thing I knew, I felt a crash against my hips before I was lifted from the ground and found myself dangling over Chris' shoulder.

I let out a squeal of surprise as I kicked my legs, trying to get down, but Chris had a tight grip on me and there was no getting away. The ease with which he threw me around wasn't at all distracting and there wasn't a single part of me that was revelling in his strength. Not at all.

"This is absolutely a tackle!" I protested, focusing my mind back onto my predicament. "Put me down!"

"If this was a tackle, you'd be on the ground," he mocked me. "This is payback."

I had a nice view, my head only inches above 'America's ass' so, swept up in the moment of playfulness between us, I reached down and gave it a smack. He yelped and jumped, shaking me as he did.

"Chris! Put me down!"

My demands were weakened by the giggles that I couldn't hold back, but thankfully Scott stepped in to help me regain some dignity.

"Alright, you two," he called over. "Can we get back to the game now or would you like us all to give you some time alone?"

A blush covered my cheeks as I remembered that his entire family was around us and was relieved when he lowered me to the ground.

"Games over," Chris called back. "Grayson scored!"

Grayson jumped up and down happily, but Stella had a scowl on her face.

"Nuh uh! When Whitney tackled you, it didn't count!" She pointed out. "Grayson's point doesn't count too!"

The joy on Grayson's face fell into a look of anger as he stomped his foot at his cousin’s claim.

"It does!" He insisted. "I did it!"

"Now look what you've done," I playfully scolded Chris quietly before shouting to the rest of the group. "I think we're going to have to let them have the point, ladies. I wouldn't have been able to catch up to Grayson even if Chris didn't cheat..."

Stella's jaw dropped in clear shock that I hadn't supported her protests, but to stop the war before it could start, Chris chimed in.

"Grayson didn't need my help to score that point, I shouldn't have interfered," he started. "But why don't we call it a game and go have some cake?!"

The promise of sugar seemed to quash any animosity between the teams as all the kids let out a shriek of approval at that suggestion and took off running back to the house.

"Oh, yes," Carly sighed. "Because what my children clearly need right now is more energy..."

"It's Gray's birthday," Chris shrugged with a smile as we all followed the children at a much more reasonable pace. "We have to have cake!"

"And if it wasn't his birthday then I wouldn't have let you win."

My taunting earned a bark of laughter from Chris.

"Let us win? Yeah, sure, okay. You just keep telling yourself that you're faster and stronger than me," he teased. "Whatever makes you feel better."

I shoved him, but he was braced for it and I ended up more affected by the impact than him which proved his point, putting a smirk on his face.

"Asshole," I muttered as I shook my head, but I couldn't hold back a smile at how nice our affectionate teasing felt.

By the end of the day, we were all exhausted. It had been a fun and very special day for Grayson so we were thrilled for him, but exhausted nonetheless. Gray fought his bedtime with all the will power he had, eager for the day to go on just a little bit longer, but we won out in the end and he made it to bed on time. Scott had gone to his own room while we were fighting with him and Chris and I parted ways shortly after to get some much needed quiet time of our own.

I found myself distracted though, when I was finally alone, as the importance of the day had me feeling sentimental. Watching Grayson grow up and hit these milestones was a joy, but it left me feeling a bit reminiscent of the years gone by. Years when he was even smaller than he was now, just starting to figure out the world and how to speak, walk and be a part of it. The time was really flying by and as I began to scroll through old videos of his first year of life, the nostalgia was almost too much to bear.

Eventually, I stumbled on a video that had distinct parallels of today.

It was a video of Grayson's first birthday when we'd given him his own little cake and let him go to town on it. Of course, as many babies do, he'd stared at it for a moment before smashing his face directly into it. It was adorable and tugged on my heart strings considering how comparatively neat his cake consumption was earlier that day. He'd grown so much in such a short time and I felt compelled to share my discovery with Chris so I dragged myself out of bed and crept down to his room.

There was a fluttering of nerves in my stomach as I knocked on his bedroom door, the feeling only growing as he called out an invitation to come inside. I did as he'd asked and let myself in, finding him leaning back against the headboard of his bed - wearing nothing but his pajama pants - with his own phone in his hand.

"Hey," he smiled. "What's up?"

"I found a video," I told him, standing awkwardly near the foot of his bed. "I was feeling a little sad about how fast Gray is growing up so I was looking back, watching old videos and I found one that I thought you might like to see."

Chris’ smile widened and he eagerly patted the bed next to him, encouraging me to sit. I took him up on his offer and settled in as I unlocked my phone and started the video.

"He was so little..."

Chris' observation came as the camera settled on Gray where he sat in his high chair. Chris was right next to him, a grin on his face as he chatted happily to our son despite the nonsense babble that he got in response. I appeared on the screen after a few moments, carrying a tiny cake as everyone started to sing Happy Birthday. Grayson had a look of confusion on his face as he looked around at the crowd, but his eyes widened when the cake was placed in front of him.

"Go on, Gray," I prompted once the singing had stopped. "You can taste it."

He needed no more encouragement and simply face planted right into it, popping up a moment later with blue icing from the tops of his eyebrows to the bottom of his chin. He had a huge, cheeky grin on his face as he looked at us and, just as he did in the video, Chris laughed next to me.

"Oh, man, it kills you, doesn't it?" He questioned before clarifying. "How cute he is."

I hadn't realized that Chris' arm had found its way behind me when he leaned in to watch until I felt his breath on my hair as he spoke and I couldn't resist leaning back, tucking myself under his shoulder. The whole day, the knowledge that my baby was growing up, had me needing some comfort. It was exciting, to see him learn and shift from a baby to a little person, but at the same time, I felt the overwhelming urge for time to stop.

"It does," I agreed, letting my phone fall to the bed beside me. "I can't believe how much he's changed since then."

"In some ways," Chris agreed, looking down at me with a smirk. "In others, he's still that goofy, reckless baby."

"If he's anything like you, he'll probably never grow out of being goofy and reckless."

I felt Chris' shoulders shake as he chuckled at my teasing and I was reminded of the last time we'd been cuddled up, in a similar position to this, in his bed. I felt a flood of warmth run through my body at the memory as I was suddenly aware of how close we were, aware of how good he smelt and how strong his hard muscled arm felt as I leaned against it.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

"I meant it as one," I assured him. "I like that you're goofy. Your recklessness used to give me anxiety sometimes, when you'd always insist that you just had to do your own stunts on Captain America as if you really thought you were a super soldier, but I like that you're willing to take risks."

"Awe, gee, Whitney," he teased, squeezing me closer against him. "It was nice of you to worry about me."

"Of course I worried," I rolled my eyes. "Your muscles are bigger than your brain sometimes."

"Not anymore..." Chris held up the arm that wasn't currently around me and flexed his muscles, showing off a bicep that was still much larger than most even if it wasn't quite up to the Avengers standard. "I'm out of shape."

Against my own best interest, I turned slightly, letting my hand drift up towards his arm as my head fell against his chest. I traced over the bulging muscle and watched as tiny goosebumps rose up on his skin at the sensation. Skin that felt so soft under my touch and I felt his breath shift as he clearly felt the mood between us change the same way that I did. I felt emboldened by how amorous our emotional day had left me as I let my head tip back to find him looking down at me with the same intensity he had a few months ago.

My breath caught in my throat and I couldn't help myself. Despite every alarm bell going off inside my brain, I stretched up just enough to press my lips against his. For a moment, he relaxed. His shoulders dropped as my fingers curled around the arm they were just stroking, but then suddenly his entire body tensed as if he'd been shocked by a bolt of electricity. He jerked away, sliding out from under me and off the bed before I could even realize what was happening.

"No," he said firmly, pointing his finger at me the same way he did to Dodger when he was being naughty. "No, no, we're not doing this again. Not until we talk about it what's going on here."

I felt the sting of rejection so harshly that it almost brought tears to my eyes, but I knew he was right.

"I'm sorry," I squeaked out, my cheeks burning. "You're right. I shouldn't have done that."

My voice was shaking as I scrambled to stand up, the stunned look on Chris' face only adding to my embarrassment. We stood there, staring at each other with the bed between us, but he didn't speak and after a few moments of silence, my shame was overwhelming, kicking my flight instincts into gear.

"I'll go," I mumbled. "Sorry again."

I didn't wait for a response before darting towards the door, but Chris' voice stopped me before I could make my escape.

"Whitney, stop." He didn't shout, but his tone was firm and demanding enough that I froze on the spot. "We need to talk about this. We can't keep going on with it hanging above our heads."

I turned to face him, discovering that he'd moved closer and was standing by the foot of the bed. He was still a few feet away from me, but close enough that it felt almost suffocating and I bit my lip as I stared at his feet, unable to look him in the eye.

"I don't know what to say..."

"I can take it," he insisted, a hint of resignation in voice as he continued. "You've had plenty of time to think it over since our last conversation and you said earlier today that we needed to talk. If you're gonna turn me down, put whatever this is to bed, just do it now and get it over with."

I furrowed my brow in confusion at his words, my heart beating in my chest so fast that I could hear the blood pumping through my ears.

"Turn you down?" I questioned. "Why do you think I'm going to turn you down? I just kissed you."

"That didn't mean much at Christmas."

He had a very valid point and I felt another pang of guilt at how badly I was treating him. I was hot and cold, affectionate and withdrawn, unwavering in my decision one minute and unsteady the next. I hadn't spared much thought to how cruel that was and now that I'd realized, I couldn't hold back the frustrated groan that fell from my lips.

"I don't know what to do, Chris! I think I know what the right decision is. It's what always felt like the safer choice, but then there are times when that's just..." I paused, taking in a deep breath to work up a dash of courage. "It's not what I want."

Chris watched me closely as if choosing his next words very carefully.

"If the safer choice isn't what you want then it sounds like maybe you need to take a risk. You can't live your life making decisions out of fear."

My eyes narrowed. He was over simplifying the situation. That way of thinking might work if it was just the two of us, but with Gray in the middle, things were more complicated.

"It's not that straight forward."

I shook my head as I spoke, but Chris countered with a nod.

"Sure, it is," he shrugged before asking a question that almost stopped my heart. "Do you love me?"

I stared at him, opening my mouth to speak and then closing it again when the words didn't come. I stood there, gaping at him like some kind of ridiculous puffer fish, until I finally got a word out.

"What?"

A smirk slid onto Chris' face at my floundering as he repeated the question.

"Do you love me?" He asked. "And don't say it doesn't matter or it's not important. Just yes or no."

I stared at him for a moment longer as a war between my head and heart raged inside me. Deny, deny, deny was what my head was screaming, but in the end the quiet reminder of now or never from my heart was what won out.

"Yes, I do," I admitted, proud of my voice for not breaking. "I always have."

There was a grin on Chris' face now, but my stomach churned because it didn't mean anything. As I said, I'd loved him all along and yet here we were, no better off.

"That's all that matters then," he insisted. "We can figure out the rest."

"But what if we can't figure it out?" I protested, crossing my arms as if I could somehow fold into myself and disappear completely. "What if it's nice for a while and then it all comes crashing down around us? What about Gray?"

He shrugged again. His whole demeanour miles away from my own. He seemed confident, hopeful, almost excited while I felt nauseous, terrified and paralyzed by fear.

"But what if it doesn't? What if it all works out nicely? Why are you so convinced that we wouldn't last?"

"Because you're you," I reminded him, my tone flat as I stated the obvious. "Hollywood super star, Chris Evans. And I'm me, a boring nobody. You could have pretty much any famous actress you want, the only person who wants to be with me is the creepy maintenance worker in our apartment building."

Chris looked taken aback as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"What? I've never heard about this guy."

"He's just some weird guy who does the repairs," I shrugged. "He comments on my outfits and looks at me in this way that makes my skin crawl, but he's harmless."

"Doesn't sound harmless to me," Chris argued, crossing his arms as a thunderous look settled on his face. "Does he have access to your place?"

"No!" I assured him, but after my quick answer I realized that I wasn't so sure. "Well, I don't know. He might have a spare key, I guess. If most maintenance people do? They have to give me notice before they enter the apartment anyway."

"Unless he's sneaking in to perv on you."

"Chris! That's gross!" I wrinkled my nose in disgust. "Why would you put that thought in my head?!"

"I told you that you should have let me buy you a house," Chris huffed. "You're moving when all this covid shit is over."

"Oh my god," I groaned having flashbacks to our conversation a few weeks ago about him buying me a car. "All of this is so beside the point! We're talking about how you'd get bored of me and leave me heartbroken for some flashy Hollywood babe, remember?"

"Right," Chris nodded, letting his arms fall to his side. "But that's such a ridiculous idea that I thought it was hardly worth acknowledging."

His dismissal of one of my biggest fears sent a flash of anger through me.

"How is it ridiculous?" I snapped. "It's true!"

"You know me, Whitney," Chris sighed. "You know that my team had to practically force me into doing Captain America because I had one foot out the door of the whole acting gig and I hated the way Hollywood made me feel. Do you really think that I would give up a chance at a having family with you, someone who I really care about, for some wild, short-lived fling?"

His tone conveyed his disbelief, but he hadn't quite accurately interpreted what I meant.

"I think you'd regret it," I clarified. "I think that once the initial excitement wore off, you'd see that I'm nothing special and that I don't fit in your world."

Chris was looking at me as if I'd grown an extra head and I crossed my arms a little tighter around myself.

"We were friends long before Grayson came around and I've always thought that you were something special. Where is all this insecurity coming from, Whitney? Because I just don't get it."

I swallowed hard as I bit my lip. I felt incredibly vulnerable and the urge to run away and continue ignoring all my feelings seemed much preferable to standing here and analyzing them all, but I stayed strong. We were both adults and this was the only way to move forward. Whether it ended how Chris wanted or not, he deserved to know how I felt.

"I spent a long time convincing myself that you didn't care about me as anything more than a friend. I told myself that it was an insane idea because we're in two very different leagues so there was no point getting my hopes up. Then that night happened and I thought that maybe I'd been wrong, that it could be the start of a really good thing, but then you were gone by the time I woke up and you never called."

I barely choked out the last few words as I fought back the tears that were swimming in my eyes. An unmistakable look of guilt flashed onto Chris' face and he opened his mouth to comment, perhaps to defend himself, but I held up a hand to stop him. I needed to get it out or I never would.

"Then three weeks later, I found out I was pregnant," I continued. "I assumed from your silence that you didn't want to be with me and I knew that we were good together as friends so I kept my feelings to myself and spent the last three and a half years beating myself up for thinking for even one second that you would want to be with me."

"I did want to be with you..."

Chris was looking at me with those puppy dog eyes that he'd mastered and I sniffled as a tear slipped down my cheek.

"I know that now, but I can't just turn those thoughts off."

Chris sighed and rubbed his hands over his face before holding out his arms.

"C'mere."

I shook my head, wiping my tears as I worried that I'd fall apart completely if I stepped into his arms, but when he persisted and gestured me over again, I couldn't resist. I took the few steps needed to close the space between us and let my arms slide around his waist. He hugged me close to his body, burying his face in my hair as pressed mine into his muscled chest. We stayed like that for a few moments until Chris broke the silence.

"I'm sorry. I was an idiot," he apologized, his words muffled by my hair. "I should have fought for you. At the very least, I should have stayed until you woke up and I should have called, but I was scared too."

I felt more tears fill my eyes as I choked out a soft "I know".

Another silence fell between us before Chris spoke again, his words making my heart almost stop completely.

"I was going to propose." I pulled back at that confession, my eyes wide as I looked up at him unable to process his words fast enough to speak before he continued. "I called my mom up as soon as you told me you were pregnant. I wanted her to help me pick out a ring, but she talked me out of it. Said you'd think I was doing it for all the wrong reasons."

My heart fluttered back to life at the sincerity in his admission, but I nodded my head.

"Your mom is a smart lady," I told him. "I absolutely would have thought you were only doing it because you felt you had to."

"It wasn't out of obligation though," he insisted. "Maybe I was getting a bit ahead of myself leaping straight to marriage, but I cared about you. It was an opportunity to make it official, make that commitment and be a family. That's what I wanted."

I stayed quiet, resting my head back against his chest as I tried to take in all this new information. It was a lot to process especially when it directly contradicted the belief I had clung to for so long - that Chris and I would never work and for Grayson's sake we were better off apart. That assumption was so deeply embedded in my brain that it was hard to find the courage to take such a risk.

As if Chris could sense my lingering indecision, he continued.

"It's still what I want," he said softly. "Being here these last few weeks with you and Grayson as a family has been a dream come true. I wouldn't give it up for anything or do anything to jeopardize it if you'd just give me a shot."

The word 'okay' was so close to the tip of my tongue that it shocked me.

That was all I had to do, just open my mouth and agree and he would be mine.

My heart was pleading with me to do it, to take that leap and ignore any of the arguments against it that were running through my mind - especially now that those arguments seemed much less sound than they had a few short weeks ago. I was so conflicted that it almost physically pained me to have to make a decision and I couldn't help, but wonder how he could be so certain.

So, I leaned back and tilted my head so my eyes could meet his.

"How can you be so sure?" I questioned. "After how things have been these last few years, how can you be so confident in your feelings?"

"Because I love you," he told me plainly and with unwavering surety. "If you tell me right now that it's not what you want, then I'll accept your decision. But if there's a hint of a chance, then I'll wait as long as I need to. I've been waiting for years, thinking that I didn't even have a shot, I think I can wait a little longer now that I know that I might."

It was another heart wrenchingly honest explanation, another vulnerable admission, and something in the openness with which he spoke made me realize that over the last three years he had done nothing to earn any distrust from me. Even after the fallout from Christmas, he'd put his hurt feelings and pride aside to make things easier for me. He'd been sincere during every discussion we'd had since then and hadn't been cruel or impatient about my indecision. I had no reason at all, other than my own fear and insecurities, to assume that he was going to break my heart and tear apart our family.

He deserved a little bit of trust from me as well and a clarity washed over me as I finally knew what I had to do.

There were words I could have said, probably should have said, but I didn't feel like there was anything that would accurately portray how I was feeling. I settled for a more direct approach as I pressed up onto my toes and let my lips fall against his.

He tensed at first and for a brief, heart stopping moment, I thought he might push me away again, but he didn't. He relaxed, pulling me closer as my hands slid to cup his neck.

It was a soft kiss. A gentle, loving kiss, that I hoped conveyed what I couldn't figure out how to say. But when our lips parted and he leaned down to rest his forehead on mine, there was a concern in his eyes that told me I wasn't going to get away with it that easily.

"What does that mean?"

I bit my lip, staring up past his long eyelashes into his eyes. There was still a tiny voice in my head telling me to run, to stop being so foolish and leave now before I made a mistake, but my heart had found its footing now and wasn't going to back down. Listening to my head all this time hadn't made things any easier, so it was time to try something else.

"It means," I started, taking in a shaky breath. "I don't want to keep you waiting anymore."

Chris let out a breath of relief as a tentative smile slid onto his face.

"Really? You're sure?"

I swallowed hard and nodded my head.

"Yes," I breathed out, my voice thick with all the emotions swirling through me.

He dipped his head a touch lower until our lips were reconnected. It was a deeper kiss, more desperate than the first as his tongue slid against mine and his grip tightened on my waist, my nails scraping against the fuzz of his recently cut hair. I caved into him, clinging to him like he was a lifeboat in a storm until he pulled back to take a breath.

My chest heaved against his, the adrenaline of his touch and what this finally meant, almost too much to handle. I settled back down, flat on my feet and nuzzled my face back into his chest as I fought to calm my racing mind and just enjoy the moment.

"You really mean it?" Chris asked again, the shakiness of his voice filling me with another pang of guilt. "You really want to give this a try?"

"I mean it," I nodded against him. "Doesn't mean my concerns have all vanished in the last five minutes, but I...I think I need to trust you."

"I won't let you down," he murmured into my hair as he pulled me even closer. Another silence fell between us until I broke it with an embarrassingly large yawn and Chris' chest shook as he chuckled. "Do you wanna sleep down here tonight?"

As soon as he'd asked the question, it suddenly hit me how exhausted I was. Even just the thought of walking upstairs seemed like an impossible task when there was such an inviting, comfortable bed only steps away from where I stood. But a thought popped into my head that I couldn't ignore and I turned my head slightly so I wasn't speaking directly into Chris' muscles.

"What about Gray?" I asked. "He always comes to you in the morning..."

"Would it matter?"

His tone wasn't accusing or annoyed, but genuinely curious as sharing a child did add a strange new element to all this. I didn't really know what the best way to handle it was since Grayson didn't really understand our relationship or know how a typical family was set up anyway, but it didn't seem like the best way to introduce him to the idea.

"I think we should talk to him about it instead of just letting him stumble on us in bed together," I suggested. "But I think maybe we should wait a while?"

Chris' face fell as the look of worry returned.

"You want to keep this a secret?"

"I didn't mean it like that," I shook my head. "You can tell whoever you want, but I think we should figure things out, make sure things are stable between us before we try to explain it to Gray."

"Alright, that's fair," Chris agreed before leaning down to place another soft kiss on my lips. "I'll wake you up before he comes down."

"Okay," I nodded as I let my thumb stroke his cheek.

We reluctantly slipped out of each other's arms, but it was a brief separation as we climbed into opposite sides of the bed. Once we'd turned the lights off, we met in the middle and he pulled me back against his chest, letting me hook my leg over his hip as we settled against each other.

Chris ran a hand up and down my spine as he nuzzled in my hair.

"This feels nice..."

"It does," I hummed. With the darkness around us, the quiet that had settled in, I felt encouraged to say something that I'd felt I should have said long ago. "I'm sorry, Chris."

I felt him tense.

"For what?"

"For messing you around so much," I admitted. "Especially at Christmas...that wasn't cool."

"If I had expectations, I should have laid them out before anything happened." His answer sounded rehearsed, as if he'd spent a long time convincing himself of that fact. I wasn't entirely sure it was a fair statement, but he continued before I could question it. "I can understand where you were coming from, but I promise I won't hurt you."

I felt a pang of uncertainty because that wasn't always a promise that could be kept, but the sincerity in his voice gave me hope. I placed a soft kiss against his chest as his hands slid up under the loose shorts I was wearing to cup my bum.

"I love you," I mumbled against his skin.

"I love you too," he replied, making a feeling of warmth flood through me. "Thank you for giving me a chance."

I sighed happily as my exhaustion had my eyes fluttering shut. I wanted to stay awake, to keep this moment before the brightness of the morning could bring any doubts or second guesses, but I was powerless to resist as sleep overtook me.

Part Five

Tags: @maggotzombie @moonlacebeam @mizzzpink @zaylaugh @flowery-mess @flowerjewels @njrronaldo7 @hockeychick10

#chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fic #more hearts than mine

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ly0nstea · 2 years

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This is mostly for my own self-reference but I thought if I'm gonna write it down I may as well post it and see what people think. It's mostly my ideas on how firebending works, but it also touches on how the Fire Nation developed certain things and why they act the way that they do. I'm trying to keep this canon-compliant, but atla is very light on how bending actually works so I'm not too worried, idrc if I go against the comics because most of my fic ideas end up making them and Korra not really able to happen anyway so if I contradict it no massive deal, i only really care for the Beginnings two parter.

So, jumping right into it, the source of fire bending, the way I see it is that Fire Bending is driven by your personality, an 'inner flame' so to speak, which is why Zuko's bending was so weak post-DotBS, he had no significant drive, his flame dyed down and so did his flames. The specifics of where the fire comes from is emotion, not all are equal though, the most significant being anger and joy, this is why firebenders lash out with flames a lot when they're angry, because the act of creating flames causes them to get angry, and if they get too angry, they're unable to control those flames, the same could be said about a firebender shooting flames when they get really excited/happy. This is also why the most popular source was anger, it was powerful and easy to harness, as well as easy to control. You can give someone something to be consistently angry at, it's harder to give someone something to be consistently very happy at, it's a lot easier to get angry than it is to get happy. However, like a Pavlovian response, if you always get angry when you bend, you'll instinctively get angry whenever you bend, even if drawing from other sources, this applies to other emotions ofc but anger is the most dangerous one because it can easily escalate fights to lethal proportions.

Next is the Sun, and Sozin's Comet, I don't believe that the comet simply gives power to the firebenders just for the sake of being a flaming rock, with that logic earthbenders would get a boost too. So, my idea is that the Comet and the Sun are spirits, similar to Tui and La, (as Tui and La spin in a circle, the comet spins around the sun, orbiting again and again) we know celestial bodies can be spirits (and even people, Yue) so it's not that out of the question, we also know that spirits can influence people (and are equally influenced greatly by their own emotions, see Hei Bai), so I think the Sun spirit and Comet spirit both affect the personality of their benders, emboldening them, the Comet is only more noticeable because it is so close to the earth, but we know fire benders are also stronger in the day. To back this up, I want to look at Sozin's Comet's parts 3 and 4, specifically the fights we see between the 3 main firebenders, Zuko and Azula in the Final Agni Kai, and Ozai and Aang.

We see them act, for lack of a better term, bolder in the comet. Zuko taunts Azula to use her lightning, an act that would surely kill him, and Azula falls for his bait, they're both absolutely certain if their abilities, (Azula to hit Zuko, and Zuko to dodge). One thing to note, Azula is generally seen as at most neutral to killing, azula never goes out of her way to cause a death, even in situations where it could be easily justified to herself, and to people around her. Ozai also acts brashly, but specifically, I want to talk about after the fight, Spirit bending is an act that can possibly destroy a soul if it goes wrong, however after the fight ozai is still competent enough to speak clearly, recognise Suki's taunts, and reply to them after he expending more than all of his energy in the fight itself, and around the end of the comet he collapses.

Then there's Azula's mental state. Between Boiling Rock and Sozin's Comet we only see her in the attack on the air temple, where she is still very competent, she can command, fight, taunt, she's definitely different, more brazen with remarks like "I'm about to celebrate becoming an only child", (possibly explained by the closeness of the comet), but it isn't until the comet fully arrives that she snaps, because when the comet emboldens a person it doesn't only strengthen the good parts of a person's personality, it also highlights the bad parts, and when the comet arrived azula was particularly vulnerable to those negative aspects, which quickly took over her. Which is why I do think a post-comet azula would most likely be quiet and burnt out from how over the top her body and mind went, instead of plateauing and maintaining her Sozin's Comet level of mental unwellness.

Next is how this affected the development of the Fire Nation, specifically their honour based society. Naturally, Fire Benders would be seen as the strongest early on when people gathered in tribes as they could not only hunt better, cook the whole tribes meal at no expense, elevating their status to leaders. Now, firebending being driven by personality leads to essentially the person with the strongest or 'best' personality is on top, and one of the most apparent measures of the quality of one's personality is Honour. Honour is a measure of integrity, of who you are, how trustworthy you are and in the Fire Nation, how good your bending was. This would naturally lead to the most honourable being on top, and those below them wanting to imitate that level of honour, and thus a society that prided honour was born, this inevitably leads to tests of honour like Agni Kai's. This would also lead to anyone who wasn't a Machiavellian level liar to be cast out as being caught in a lie is incredibly dishonourable, which would leave the fire nation fairly free of corruption, until someone like Sozin finds a way to make dishonour honourable.

Or something I dunno, might add more later as the idea develops

#avatar the last airbender #azula #avatar #azula deserved better #zuko #reblogging for reference #atla meta #ozai #fire nation #fire #firebending #atla headcanons

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bonjour-rainycity · 3 years

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Double Heart | Chapter Seven ~ Haldir

|previous part|

Pairing: Haldir x OFC

Rating: PG-13

Word count: 2738

Warnings: Canon-level violence, injury, blood

**Read on Ao3 under the user “bonjour_rainycity” if you prefer!**

A/n Happy Monday! I’m so thankful for each and every one of you <3

We rise with the first rays of the sun. As much as I hate to admit it, I feel refreshed after a full rest. I slept soundly, trusting my brothers to do their job well. They did spend the whole night awake though, so I make a note to ensure that they sleep tonight, even if they will need to get up for second watch. As helpful as it would be to have two others on the watch rotation, I can’t risk putting the humans to the job—their senses are so inferior. I’ve snuck up on them nearly ten times by now, all without meaning to.

Rumil brings Roch into line behind Faervel. Farther on Roch’s back sits Cosima, her arms wrapped around my brother’s middle. She’s much more comfortable on the horse now, and if the mountains weren’t so rocky and full of steep drop-offs, I would suggest that she lead the horse—the experience is important. Alexander has expressed zero interest in learning how to care for or ride a horse, or learn anything about Arda, really. I will allow him the journey to adjust, but if he decides to return with us to Lothlórien, he will have to acquire skills to become more self-sufficient. Though, I have a feeling Alexander will attempt to leave this realm, or, at the very least, seek out a human settlement. I just don’t know if Cosima will go with him. She seems to have accepted our world and has taken steps towards making it her own, but she is tied to her human friend. The hold he has over her concerns me, though I do understand it. They’re each other’s only tie to the world they left behind. It would be hard to break that bond.

The sun rises above one of the higher peaks, blinding me for the brief second it takes for my eyes to adjust. Looking up, I see the morning sky is decorated with thick stripes of pale pink and brilliant gold. I take a second, and only a second, to enjoy it, then return to scanning my surroundings. This level of vigilance used to exhaust me, but by now, it’s as natural as breathing. Even when I am off duty, taking my leave in Caras Galadon or vacationing in Imladris or elsewhere, I never fully relax my surveillance. It is better to be prepared. Advanced warning can mean everything.

I hear the sound of a canteen rattling and Cosima clears her throat. “Hey, Haldir?”

“Yes?”

“When did you say we would reach that stream?”

I stretch my eyesight as far I can. It’s difficult in the mountains, where boulders and peaks and valleys hinder a proper line of sight, but I make out a slight glimmer on a rock far ahead of us—sun glinting off the surface of water and casting light on the boulder. “By tomorrow morning, I’d wager.” Then, the pieces click together. I narrow my eyes. “Why?”

I can hear the forced nonchalance in her voice. “No reason.”

I sigh. She really should have been more careful with her rationing. “Rumil and I will share water with you.”

Rumil protests at the same time Cosima calls out her thanks. I leave them to their good-natured bickering and return my full focus to guiding my horse and my company.

A slight movement registers in the corner of my eye. “Draw arms!”

I unsheathe my sword and swing it to the right just in time to stop the arrow finishing its flight to my youngest brother. I block another one aimed at my neck. I hear Orophin and Baranor free the swords at their hips, as well as Rumil hurriedly instructing Cosima to take the reins. She protests, likely not yet fully registering the attack, and I cover them as they argue. “Cosima, do as he says,” I call back. I need Rumil and his bow to take out the attackers on the hillside to our right. Orcs, likely.

My suspicions are confirmed when twelve of them descend from the peaks to our left and right, converging on us in the middle. Rumil has evidently persuaded Cosima to take control of Roch and has put his bow to good use, killing the orc that focused its fire on us from above. Sharp clangs and the shouts of battle create a chaotic cacophony that is all too familiar. I urge Faervel forward, cutting through the middle of an orc as I go. One chances a blow to my leg but before it can carry out the act, I sever its head from its neck. By my count, ten more to go.

Arrows rain from above, this time coming from our left. Alexander shouts, and I risk turning around to see if he’s been hit. Thankfully, he hasn’t — an arrow had only come relatively close to him. I have to remind myself how frightening this must be for humans who have never experienced an orc ambush, or even an orc. While unpleasant, an attack like this is part of the job for myself and my wardens — even Baranor, who frequently heals others on the battlefield. With that in mind, I cut down another orc and bring Cosima into view. She grips Roch’s reins with an intensity that turns her knuckles white and whips her head around, trying to keep all the beasts in her line of sight. It pleases me to see that she’s attempting to be observant, even if her already weak senses are untrained and thus dilute her efforts.

While Rumil focuses fire on the orcs attempting to fell us with arrows, an orc in the infantry rushes Roch. Cosima jerks the reins to the right, spurring him into movement. The motion catches Rumil’s attention, and, with deadly accuracy, he hits the orc in the eye. He turns his attention back to the skies, attempting to locate those that still assail us with arrows.

Concussions sound to my left — the beasts have dislodged a pile of rocks, trying to crush us. Faervel is an intelligent steed and dodges the boulders skillfully, allowing me to keep my attention on beheading one of the orcs who jabs towards my middle. As I kill another, the arrows cease falling from above—Rumil’s done his job, then.

Six orcs left.

Those remaining attempt to surround us. Can’t have that. I guide Faervel past the furthest beasts and then turn, swinging my sword, forcing them to fall back. From the rear of our line, Orophin follows my lead, blocking an orc’s blow and returning it with a fatal one. Baranor rears his horse to narrowly avoid being knocked off by an axe. I tighten my jaw. It is risky forcing the orcs into the middle when four of our company must share that space with them. I shake my head, firm in my original decision. It is less risky than allowing the orcs to encircle us.

Alex yelps and directs Baranor to an orc approaching them from behind, having snuck past Orophin. They keep coming. They must be hiding in the rocks. My youngest brother recognizes the urgency building at the back of our line and concentrates his close-range fire on those that attack there. He has also noticed the threat hiding in the rocks and kills the beasts as quickly as he can identify them.

The noises of battle are loud, but any experienced warrior knows it’s the quieter sounds—the ones out of place—that are the most important. A boot scuffs against stone and I raise my sword just in time to meet the massive orc that throws himself from the rock above me. We collide, falling to the ground. The impact knocks the breath from me and the colossal weight on my chest definitely doesn’t help. With my left hand, I retrieve my dagger, slicing towards the beast’s neck. He stops me with his sword, pressing the blade to my own throat. He’s strong, but I’m stronger. I push against him, using the leverage from my movement to flip us over and, before he can register the change, I plunge my blade into his gut.

A fiery sting shoots up my leg and I kick my uninjured foot, knocking the newcomer in the head. He falls to the ground, stunned by the blow, and I draw myself to full height. His rotting flesh squelches when I stab him in the chest. In the second I have before another beast attacks me, I check the weapon that sliced my leg. Not poisoned. Good.

A scream pierces the air.

Cosima.

I whip around, locating her quickly. She gasps, gripping below her left shoulder, staring at the blood between her fingers in shock. I switch my dagger to my dominant hand and throw it forward. Within a second, it is buried to the hilt in her assailant’s chest, and he falls to the ground with a thud.

A blow from behind sends me sprawling, and I catch myself just before my face collides with the dirt. Coughing violently, I twist, jabbing my sword under the orc’s chest plate and in between his ribs — a fatal strike. Mentally, I reprimand myself for getting so distracted, and let my eyes wander around our surroundings, checking for any enemies we have yet to eliminate. Only one remains, and Orophin ends its life with a deliberate slice to the gut. Everyone is alive and accounted for, thank the Valar. I run to them.

Cosima’s face contorts in pain — she’s gone sickly pale. Panic I didn’t feel during the attack sears through my chest. How much blood can humans lose before it is fatal? “How badly are you hurt?”

“It’s just her arm,” Rumil answers for her, looking quite distressed himself. “It’s deep. I do not think the sword was poisoned, though.”

“You don’t think or you know? How sure are you?” My voice is harsh—harsher than it needs to be, probably, and I try to de-escalate. I’m likely still fired up from battle.

Rumil sets me with an even gaze, nothing but honesty in his eyes. “I know. The sword was not poisoned.”

I nod, feeling my breathing begin to slow. “Good.”

Alexander calls worriedly from the edge of the group. “What happened? Is she okay? Cosima!”

“I’m fine,” she grits back. Her voice is scratchy, strained, so obviously speaking through the pain that it makes my stomach hurt.

But the pain will pass, I remind myself. But for now, I can’t say for sure if the threat has. And I need to be sure.

“Baranor,” I gesture to my friend. “Bind her wound so it is secure for travel. Orophin—search back and make sure we are not being followed. I’ll scout ahead.”

Before turning to leave, my eyes seek Cosima’s of their own accord. Hers are tight, squinted against the pain I’m sure she’s not used to feeling. In them I see so much fear—terror, even—and I feel resolve settle within me. An attacker won’t get an opportunity like that again.

I pull my gaze away. There’s still work to do.

{***}

Thankfully, no orcs hide ahead. Though I am reluctant to leave the group for long, I spend a handful of moments retracing the trail our attackers took. It leads to a shallow, empty cave and an abandoned fire pit. Just to be safe, I stomp the pit under Faervel’s hooves. That will discourage other orcs from sheltering here.

In this rare moment of privacy, I roll up the edge of my right legging, assessing the injury to my leg. It’s shallow, just a slice, really, and the sting is minor enough that I’ve nearly forgotten about it. Satisfied that it’s not serious, I decide to wait to have Baranor look at it until we’re settled for the night. Right now, my top priorities are Cosima’s wound and getting moving again. Now that we’ve encountered a pack of orcs, I am even more eager to reach the safety of Imladris.

I ride back to where I left the others, arriving not long after Orophin. No orcs on his end, either. Good. I dismount, leaving Faervel in Rumil’s care and join Baranor where he crouches on the ground next to Cosima. Behind her, Alexander paces anxiously.

Baranor smoothes a salve over the torn skin. It seems he’s already cut away the excess cloth of her tunic sleeve and cleaned her wound. Part of me is grateful I was gone for it—by the haggard look on Cosima’s face, it can’t have been a pleasant experience. Like Rumil said, the wound is deep. Orcs don’t typically use well-crafted weapons, and this one was no different—a jagged blade had been used to injure Cosima, possibly an old knife or a scrap piece of metal fashioned into a rudimentary sword.

I raise my eyes to hers and find her already looking at me, watching my expression intently. Looking for signs that she should be worried, probably. I say a quick prayer of thanks to the Valar for my natural stoicism that gives nothing away and for our safety. Then, I address my obviously shaken friend. “Baranor is one of the best healers in Lothlórien. The cut looks frightening and hurts, but it will heal.”

She nods, keeping her jaw tightly clenched.

My heart aches. I look to Baranor, at a loss. His bedside manner comes much more naturally, and he gives an easy smile as he wraps a clean bandage around Cosima’s upper arm. “There, that will do the trick until we reach Imladris. I want to redress it tonight though, and again in the morning. I’ve used some of my power to aid the healing process begun by the salve—we’ll see where it’s at tonight. Don’t you worry my dear friend.”

Cosima bobs her head again, murmuring her thanks to our healer. The look on her face—stricken, fearful, pained—both hurts me and draws attention to the steadily growing guilt. I should have been faster. I should have looked out better. I should have—

I jerk my head to the side, trying to free myself from these thoughts. As leader of the group, all faults are mine. But dwelling on that now won’t keep us safe, so, for the time being, I stand, gesturing for the others to do the same. “We should get going. I don’t want to lose more time.”

Rumil nods and hands me Faervel’s reins, reaching down to help Cosima stand. I hear him whisper a heartfelt apology to her, sounding as if he feels just as much guilt as I do.

She waves it off, wincing when she moves her injured arm. “It’s not your fault. I’m okay.”

But her voice sounds fragile, devoid of the liveliness that characterized it this morning. Rumil also notices the change in our friend and is extra gentle when he grips her foot to lift her onto Roch’s back.

Something pricks at the edges of my mind, bothering me. “No.” I hear my voice ring out over the silence. I’m met with five pairs of questioning eyes. I clear my throat, hastening to gather my thoughts. “Rumil, I want you to guard the back with your bow. I’ll take Cosima on Faervel so you can focus on shooting if there’s another attack.”

Seeing the logic in this, Rumil nods, releasing Cosima and mounting Roch alone, leading the horse to the back of our company. As Alexander passes to join Baranor, he takes Cosima’s hand in his, squeezing. She gives him a tired-looking smile then walks to join me at the front of the group.

Automatically, I kneel, locking my hands together as I wait for her foot.

She hesitates. “No orcs in Imladris?”

I hold her gaze, wanting her to see the honesty in my eyes. “No orcs in Imladris.”

She swallows and places her boot in my hands. “Good. Let’s get going, then.”

I help her up, taking the opportunity to assess her face. The fear remains, but it is now eclipsed by a hardness, a determination. She’s putting up a wall. I know. I’ve been there.

But there’s nothing we can do about it now. We’re still in the orc-infested mountains and we need to reach safety. So, I grip Faervel’s mane and pull myself in front of Cosima. I give the order and we continue our journey.

A/n Thanks for reading! Likes, comments, and reblogs are the best :) Let me know if you would like a tag! And if you’re having trouble being tagged, try subscribing on Ao3. That will notify you automatically when I post there!

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kashi-prompts · 3 years

Text

Flowers For A Shinobi

Chapter 8: Death

Word Count: 2,381

Pairing: Kakashi x OFC

Previous Chapter ❀ Archive of Our Own Link ❀ Wattpad Link

A/N: Thank you to those who have been reading. I know it’s not my usual one-shots, but it’s really given me a lot of inspiration and purpose to continue writing this. I appreciate all your love and support. I hope you like it so far.

And I promise there will be romance and fluff. Soon. I PROMISE.

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"You remember me, sister?" the man asked, his lips curling in an ominous smile.

"A-Aoi?" Ayame managed, her mouth dry. "You're supposed to be dead. You died, Aoi. I -"

This couldn't be happening. It had to be a dream or an illusion of some sort. This man could not be her brother, but his unmistakable green eyes staring back at her told her otherwise. In his hand was a blue scroll, the very one she sought after.

"Ayame?" she heard Kakashi's call out, his voice in a slightly higher pitch than usual. "I think something strange is going on - are you-?"

Ayame looked up, her eyes meeting Kakashi's over her brother's shoulder. His once disquieted gaze turned stern, his eyebrows knitting together immediately at the sight of the man in front of her. Ayame looked back at her brother, her vision suddenly becoming grainy and blurred. His nefarious smile shifting as he moved, leaving a trail of rippling colors and bright lights behind.

She blinked, feeling her heart racing as she tried to focus her vision. Her skin felt itchy like it was coated in something foreign. She shook her head, feeling disassociated from her surroundings. Her mind felt muddled.

"Who are you?" she heard Kakashi's commanding voice boom through the hallway. His eyes landed on the scroll.

She looked back up, her head spinning as her eyes landed back on her brother. Something was wrong. When her eyes locked again with his, Aoi's grey skin began to wrinkle unnaturally, liquefying to the consistency of melted butter. Her stomach twisted while she watched in horror as his skin melted away from his face, revealing his skeleton.

She blinked her wide, petrified eyes. What was happening? Was she awake? Was this a dream? Her body felt heavy and the air thick. Panic seized her. Upon the second blink, the skeleton replaced itself with a new man, someone she had never seen before but seemingly twice the size of her younger brother. His eyes were darker, and his hair longer. He smiled at her again, taking a step closer as her feet shifted backward.

"Who are you?" she demanded, watching his fingers swirling around the scroll perched mockingly in his palm.

"I'm an associate of your brothers," his azure eyebrows twitched with his words.

"My brother is dead," Ayame assured him, her voice jagged. "I know he is."

"Do you?" the man questioned, his smile revealing a set of grey, decaying teeth. Ayame's stomach coiled in fear. She couldn't focus on him. Her vision blurred like waves of vibrations during an earthquake.

A leg abruptly swept underneath the man, his feet coming out from under him without a moment's notice. He landed on his bottom, and his repugnant smirk was swiftly wiped from his face. Kakashi took his chin in his hand, lifting it and pointing a kunai at his throat.

"Who are you?" Kakashi demanded, his grip tightening on the man's jaw, forcing his gaze to look upward.

"Ah, your pupils," the man noticed cooly, "that mask of yours must act as a filter. Your friend over here doesn't seem to have that luxury."

Kakashi looked up at Ayame, her hand against the stone wall as she tried to steady herself. There was something in the air, he thought. He had smelled it when they had first entered. Watching her struggle made him grip the man's cheeks tighter. She opened her eyes, her pupil appearing like tiny pinpricks in a pond of green, begging him to help her.

"Shame," Kakashi heard before he felt the jolt of a foot smack into his face. He staggered backward, composing himself quickly to assess where the man had gone. Kakashi saw Ayame's chest expanding in the corner as she continued to try to get her bearings.

"Earth Release: Wolf Lichen Rope," the man exclaimed, appearing behind Kakashi as he slapped his hands to the ground. A ripple of green erupted from the cracks in the marble floor. A pealing paint like mossy rope quickly sprung up to catch Kakashi's heel as he lept away. The green thread quickly wound itself around one of Kakashi's heels, slamming him back to the ground.

Without hesitation, his hand reached into his pocket to retrieve a kunai and cleanly cut away the rope as it continued to pull him closer to the man. Releasing his heel, Kakashi vaulted his body from the ground, throwing the weapon at the man before landing on his feet in front of Ayame. He held a protective hand in front of her as she slid her body against the wall to the floor, the room still spinning. Her eyesight was pulsing in a tunnel of black.

The kunai missed, hitting the wall behind the man with a loud clang. Kakashi blinked, wondering how he could have missed. Pushing his palm against his headband, he revealed his Sharingan to the man who seemed unphased by the dojutsu.

"You know," the man cooed, "maybe that mask isn't helping you as much as I thought. Your target is off."

Kakashi reached in his pocket, pulling out a kunai with a paper bomb as the man stood up. He threw it, aiming straight for the man's chest, but he quickly dodged it. He watched it skitter on the floor and explode.

What is wrong with me? Kakashi gritted his teeth. As he moved his head, he could feel the world shifting around him. His Sharingan stayed focused while his regular eye blurred.

There must be some type of toxin in the air or a hallucinogen, Kakashi inferred, wrapping his elbow around his face to shield him. Things would only get worse if he didn't release the air in the room. He looked up, calculating where they must be located in relation to the debris above ground.

"My name is Daichi," the man said, walking forward. "And I have orders that neither of you are to make it out of here alive. And especially not with what you came for. You can count on that."

"You can count on this," Kakashi lunged forward, his hand sparking with electricity and chakra. He pushed his fist through the air, aiming for the man's chest. Before he could reach him, the man slapped his hands together to summon a mushroom that burst from the ground, cracking the marble. Kakashi's heels skidded as he tried to stop. The large fungi tilted its head back, shooting nails from its under cavity. Kakashi cursed himself for wasting his chakra as he dodged the arrows, twisting his body as he somersaulted backward.

His foot slipped on the marble floor, and the sharp point of the nail cut through the skin of his shoulder effortlessly. His hand slapped over his wound, gritting his teeth as he kept a blurred eye on Daichi. This was not like him. He calculated every move he made, but his brain was fogged. It was as though the solutions were there, but he couldn't get through to them. He shook his head.

Who was this man? What did he want with this scroll?

"You're sweating," Daichi said cooly.

Kakashi pushed his hands to the ground forcefully, producing a boulder that burst from the marble to hit the ceiling above. He gritted his teeth, forcing the boulder through the top to form a large cavity above them. Debris from the wreckage overhead fell through, scattering itself around them like snow.

The stale air of the village above sauntered into the basement like fresh, clean air. Kakashi looked up, feeling slight ease to know they weren't breathing in whatever toxic chemicals it was this man had produced. The afternoon sun above was hot on his face. For a moment, he just listened to the crows cawing in the distance. Quickly, he looked back down, hearing the man projecting himself over the hole Kakashi had created with the boulder.

Kakashi promptly retrieved a kunai, shielding himself with his weapon and pushing away the dizziness. Daichi produced a kunai himself as his feet skidded in front of Kakashi on the fractured marble floor. The sound of metal hitting metal echoed in the space around them.

Kakashi half-turned and stepped back, swinging his arm to connect with his opponent's weapon. Faster the two sparred, one-hundred and forty pounds colliding head-on with a man closer to three hundred. Kakashi kept twisting, feeling his stamina begin to weaken as he boldly attempted to keep up with a man twice his size while also trying to push away the symptoms of this toxicity. He threw one long left hook, turning his leg over the man's shoulders to hit his head, Daichi dodging quickly.

"Take a puff," Daichi said as he stood back up from the dodge, a perfect mushroom in the palm of his hand. With one blow, a small bubble rapidly traveled from the blue fungi to Kakashi's face, bursting at the tip of his nose. Taken aback and still dizzy from the previous toxin, he staggered backward and fell onto the floor.

Immediately, Kakashi knew something was wrong. He had inhaled poison before, but this felt different. His chest constricted tightly, and his throat itched painfully. A cough rose through his trachea, but he couldn't inhale enough air to expel it. His skin began to itch, little red hives raising all over his exposed forearms.

"Enjoy," Daichi smiled, looking down at the copy-ninja as he held his chest. "I've heard about you Leaf shinobi. It's a shame you can't stand up against a few noxious fumes. But wait, your friend back there is still barely functioning with even just a little bit. Let's check on her, shall we?"

Daichi walked past Kakashi as he struggled to breathe, stepping on his hand carelessly. Beyond the silver-haired shinobi, Ayame lay with her head against the wall. Her fuzzy consciousness was slowly piecing itself back together from the new air above as she looked over to see this behemoth of a man walking towards her.

He knelt next to her, his heavy stale breath in her ear. She looked over at him as he reached into his pocket for the scroll they had come for. He leaned in closer, touching her hair with his rough hands. She reached up, slapping his hand away.

"Don't touch me," she snarled, her slit eyes glaring over at him. His hot breath touched her nose, wrinkling it from the stench of his rotting teeth.

"If you want this, you'll have to earn it," he nudged her ear with his nose. She could feel herself recoil at the thought of what he was implying, and she quickly moved away.

"You're disgusting," she muttered to him, looking deep in his yellowing eyes. "Why do you have that scroll?"

"I'm not telling you anything," Daichi grasped her chin, forcing her face closer to his. "But I know all about you, Ayame Hana. I know what you've done and how useless you are. You always listened to your family, never honing that kekkei genkai of yours that so many others pined for. You're weak. You always have been."

"You don't know me," Ayame gritted her teeth, heat flaring in her chest.

"Oh, but I do," he smiled, letting go of her face. He tapped the side of her cheek mockingly, standing up and turning away. Ayame quickly stood up, enraged by his words as her mind tried to adjust.

At that moment, she noticed everything that had happened while she was unconscious—the hole in the ceiling, the damage to the underground cache. Her eyes finally landed on Kakashi as he laid on the fractured marble floor, unconscious. She looked back at Daichi as he walked away, the afternoon sun coming in from the hole in the ceiling above.

She ran towards Kakashi, her knees skidding across the floor when she reached him. His skin was pale as her hands hovered over his face, unsure of where to begin. She touched his shoulder where his shirt was ripped open, blood smearing on her fingertips. She reached up, tapping his face and calling his name. Panic rose.

"He'll be dead soon," Daichi called back to her as he continued to walk. "Amatoxins, you know."

His nonchalant demeanor set a fire of rage within her as she pushed Kakashi's hair from his sweaty face. Her eyes widened as she looked back down at him.

No.

Something snapped inside of her that she hadn't felt in a long time. A wave of anger came from deep within, rolling over her body like an ocean current. This man, who came into her old village, seemingly ransacking every house he could find and destroying everything, stealing everything - injuring Kakashi. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep, battered breath. Concentrating.

Stay focused, she heard Kakashi's voice in her mind from earlier. She focused on the feeling she had when she had meditated that morning—feeling the chakra flowing through her, pushing its way through her damaged parts, and producing more to sustain her.

Carefully, she wove her fingers to form signs she had barely ever used before and slammed her hand to the floor. The already split marble floor shattered in hundreds of molecular paths as a thick vine erupted from the floor. Anger seized every ounce of her body as Kakashi lay beside her, dying. She thought of Daichi's words as the vines traveled quickly towards him.

How useless you are.

Daichi's small eyes turned around at the commotion behind him. The lush vine swirled in the air, wrapping itself around his neck tightly. Within seconds, the vine constricted his thick neck, blocking his airway. She watched him turn blue as he clawed at the vine around his neck, gasping for air. The tighter the vine became around his neck, the more relief she felt. She clenched her teeth, feeling her vision begin to tunnel from the exertion.

Above, a crow cawed in the distance. She watched the man fall to his knees, his eyes begging her to stop. She wouldn't. Her body lurched forward as she tried to remain conscious. In the last few seconds where she remained awake, she watched this repugnant man die of asphyxiation before her.

She had never killed anyone before. But today was a new day.

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A/N (again): Please don’t make me beg, but I would really love to know what you guys think. I literally get so hyped just for a like.

Constructive criticism is always welcome as well. If you want to shoot me a message/comment and tell me what you don’t like or do like, I would be very happy with either. I just want to know, as I would love to be a professional writer someday and am looking to improve.

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

Text

Leave No One Behind

Ch 11- Mama Don’t Preach Part 2 Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing

Episode Summary: It’s Hannah’s turn to head home for a week to see her Mama, and there’s a surprise request waiting for her too. Meanwhile, back in Sudan Ari’s left holding the baby...or in this case, puppy…

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW, 18+ only)- in Part 2

Episode Pairings: Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

Leave No One Behind Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Part 1

The morning the tourist board visit was due Ari woke up early, which was unusual ever since he started sharing the bed with Hannah. Actually, it wasn't that unusual, he was still an early bird but he liked to lay in with her in his arms once both of them were awake until they heard someone else was up and it was time for them to tend to breakfast for the guests. He stretched and turned his head a little, grinning as he felt Hannah’s face by his head, but then he wrinkled his nose as she was licking his ear.

Ok, so that was new.

"Han…" he chuckled "Babe…"

Then there was a little whine followed by a tiny bark. Ari frowned and opened one eye to realise that it was in fact Simon’s tongue that was stuck in his ear.

"Gross pal… gross." he groaned as he shoved the dog away from his face. Ari then rolled onto his back and ran a hand through his hair, smiling as he realised Hannah was due back that day. 7 long days and nights without her, it had been crap. And he had to admit, he hadn’t been in a great mood. In fact, if he was being fully honest, he was totally aware he had been a nightmare to the rest of the team. And he still wasn’t particularly pleased he couldn’t go pick her up but… well, she’d be home in… he reached over for his watch and saw it was just gone 7:30 so she’d be home in round about 5 hours all things considered.

That made him smile again, it really wasn’t long at all now. So he stretched out, before he swung his legs out of bed, got dressed, shoved on his sneakers and then whistled to Simon. He opened his door and stepped out onto the sand, the sea lightly illuminated by the early morning sun, and the two of them headed out for a run before the rest of the resort awoke.

About an hour or so later after a jog and a slower walk down the coast path Ari returned, showered and headed down to the main building. The rest of the team was already at the table for breakfast. After nodding to a few guests he sat down next to Sammy, reaching for the coffee pot.

"Morning." he greeted, his tone chipper, as he poured a cup.

"Oh my God." Max gasped.

"What?"

Max ignored Ari and turned to Jake instead. "Did you see that?"

Jake nodded. "I know man, I can’t believe it."

“Believe what? Ari asked, looking around the table.

"You, smiling." Max explained with a grin across his face.

Ari rolled his eyes. "Oh, fuck off."

Besides him Sammy sniggered so Ari playfully gave him a dig with his elbow and Sammy laughed even harder, rubbing his side.

"I’m glad you’re in a good mood today because Madibo will be here in 2 hours or so and we don’t need a bratty owner. So you need to stay as charming Guy Thomas and not the sulking, whiny bitch you’ve been for the past week." Rachel instructed, looking intently at him.

Ari was about to argue but Rachel narrowed her eyes at him and he sighed, shrugging. Truth be told he had no argument.

"Oh he’ll be charming alright… but not for Madibo." Jake joked and Max let out his characteristic laugh.

"Oh come on, I’ve not been that bad." Ari tried to defend himself.

The entire table started to scoff and took turns in pointing out to him that he had been that bad and Ari snorted, shaking his head.

"You’ve been worse than Sammy is." Rachel deadpanned but her eyes were soft on Sammy who played the offended victim

"Hey!"

"She’s right." Max agreed.

"Ok, I’ll admit…I’ve been a little bit tetchy." Ari said as he lowered his head in defeat.

"I bet when me or Max leave no one is gonna bat an eyelid." Max quipped. At that point Simon barked and Jake acknowledged him

"Thanks buddy, I’ll miss you too."

There was a roar of laughter and then Sammy turned to Ari. "You know tetchy doesn’t even begin to describe it."

"Fuck you Sammy." Ari jokingly retorted.

Sammy laughed and stood up. "All right, I’m so overwhelmed with the love you are all giving me this morning."

"What are you doing? Sit down and shut up." Ari commanded, shaking his head.

"I can’t. I need to shower and then set off to pick my sister up. You remember her?"

"No, he doesn’t. Absolutely not…" Max said playfully.

"You know what, Navon…" Ari trailed off as Sammy grinned at him as he snatched up another piece of toast and left the table. "Drive safe! Be careful with the cargo" Ari called across the room.

Max and Jake both snorted as Sammy flicked Ari the bird over his shoulder before he left the room. And Rachel sighed before she demanded their attention and started telling them her plan for Madibo.

"So Jake is going to start with the diving area, show him the facilities, how we run the tours, take him out on a boat to show him the diving spots from the surface."

"Yeah if I take him over the wreck he’ll be able to see it." Jake offered.

Rachel nodded before continuing. "Then a tour of the rest of the facility, show him what we’ve done with the place. He can speak to a few guests. I don't know, see the guest book and the reviews. And then lunch."

"Great, sounds good. Where do you want me?" Ari asked.

"With Madibo. At all times. You’re the owner. You did the negotiations with him." she explained and Ari nodded.

"Ok. Stuck to Madibo it is.”

"Am I doing anything?" Max asked.

"Like what? Showing him how you twist and bend in your pyjama pants." Jake replied, throwing him a piece of toast from his plate.

"Says the tanning scarecrow." Max glared at him as he dodge the flying food.

"Don't play with the food.” Ari instructed before he looked at Max “And actually you can keep an eye on Simon."

"Are you sure you trust me with your itty bitty baby puppy?" Max looked at Ari questioning his suggestion. "Just two days ago you wanted to kill me for, and I quote, pup-napping your precious pooch."

"Better than letting him fuck Madibo’s leg." Jake scoffed.

"Exactly… that or biting him." Ari sided with Jake.

"He wouldn’t hump him. It's been a week since he saw that. Dogs have short term memories." Max offered casually.

"Ok, now shut the fuck up." Ari raised his voice.

"No, they don’t! How do they remember to sit and lay down if they only have a short term memory?" Jake inquired.

"Same as you remember to get dressed in the morning but can’t remember what you ate yesterday." Max explained and shrugged.

"Will you all shut up and help me clear the table?" Rachel said, standing up to remark with her actions she wanted the nonsense to be over.

"Not sure I remember how." Jake snorted, amused at his own wit, which earned him a slap round the back of the head from Rachel.

**** The line for passport control was taking for ever and Hannah was losing patience. She had always hated this part of travelling plus her feeling of impatience was compounded by knowing that Ari was literally the other side of the door she could see. Finally she was called forward and after smiling at the Immigration officer who stamped her passport she walked through with her bag in her hand and out of the doors into the warm Sudan air. She glanced around for Ari, ready to leap into his arms, but she couldn’t see him. Instead she spotted Sammy waiting by the jeep. He smiled and came towards her and she grinned back, giving him a hug.

“Try not to look too disappointed I’m not Ari.” Her brother chuckled and Hannah snorted.

“Oh shut up, I’m just as happy to see you”

“Yeah right!” Sammy pulled back and picked up her bag as Hannah gave a roll of her eyes and followed him back to the jeep.

“How’s everyone been?” she asked.

“Good.” Sammy nodded “Ari nearly killed Max and Jake on Monday.” He tossed her bag into the back.

“Why?” Hannah asked as she climbed into the car.

“They took Simon out on the boat. Ari thought he’d lost him…kinda went a little bit mad, not as mad as he did when he got told he couldn’t pick you up.”

“Yeah why is that?”

“We got a tourist board visit.” Sammy answered as he set off “He’s with Colonel Madibo now, so when you arrive, you’re Rosa…”

“Noted.” Hannah nodded “So other than that has everyone been ok?”

“Yeah, other than Ari, he’s been a pain in the ass. Clinging to that dog like it’s his fucking kid…”

Hannah grinned and looked out of the window as they eased onto the main freeway out of the city. But, after a few minutes or so her grin slipped. Sarah’s words had been stuck in her mind all day and night, and the worst bit about their conversation yesterday was that Hannah had wanted to tell Sarah she was wrong. She’d wanted to defend Ari but had been unable to because Sarah was right. He had put them second. And if Sarah’s comments about how Ari had refused to go to her wedding because he had still loved her were true, then that made her feel even worse about the whole situation, that she could somehow be responsible for Ari being the reckless asshole he was with regards to his marriage.

Hannah needed reassurance more than anything, reassurance that wasn’t the case and also an affirmation that once all this was over, he wasn’t just going to swan off into the sunset and leave her behind again. And whilst she could understand that he might not quit this life, and Hannah was ok with that, she knew that it could work because she’d seen her mother and father do so, what worried her was that her dad had manage to strike a balance . She wasn’t sure that Ari would be able to.

The only thing she did know was that if she had to watch Ari walk away again, it would kill her.

**** Ari, Rachel, Madibo and the two men he’d brought with him were just finishing lunch when Ari heard the sound of the jeep approaching. He tried to bite back his smile and caught Rachel’s eye. The look on her face told him his was failing, miserably.

“Do we have company Mr Thomas?” Colonel Madibo frowned and looked at him, clearly having picked up the sound of the engine which was now louder as the jeep had pulled up outside. Ari hesitated and then thought, what the hell. He and Hannah weren’t a secret, plus the team had already stated at length how much it actually added to their cover. He took a deep breath and looked at the man, smiling “It’s My girlfriend, Rosa-“ Ari didn’t miss the smile that flickered across Rachel’s face when he uttered the words “-she’s been home to Spain for a week to see her mother. One of the other guys went to pick her up before.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you were running this place as a partnership?” Madibo looked at him and Ari took a breath

“We weren’t…it’s…” he paused, rubbing his neck “…well, it’s a long story but we go way back and…”

“Say no more Mr Thomas, I get it.” Madibo grinned “The magic of the Red Sea” The man turned his head to look out of the large open lattice doors across the beach before he turned back to Ari “There is something very romantic about being by the ocean.”

“There certainly is.” Ari agreed with a smile. At that point he heard Hannah’s voice drifting down the hallway into the dining room as she jabbered away to her brother, her Spanish accent impeccable thanks to Sammy clearly having warned her about their visitors. Ari turned to look as she walked into the room dressed casually in jeans and a light blue button down sleeveless blouse. Her eyes met his and she beamed at him, a flash of what looked like relief crossed her face and he grinned, standing up. He crossed towards her and gave her a hug.

“Hi.” Hannah said gently into his ear.

“Hi yourself.” He replied, pulling back and giving her a quick kiss “Was your flight ok?”

Hannah nodded “No brat kicking my chair so…”

Ari laughed and then looked at Sammy who raised his eyebrows in the direction of the table. Slipping back in to professional, Guy Thomas mode he nodded and smiled.

“Come on guys, let me introduce you to our guests.” He took Hannah’s hand and led her to the table. “Colonel Madibo this is Rosa Garcia, she’s in charge of guest relations and this is Liam Anderson…” Ari gestured to Sammy “Our entertainment manager who also doubles up as our site doctor.”

“Pleasure to meet you both.” Madibo rose from his chair. He shook Sammy’s and then took Hannah’s clamping his other hand over the top of hers. He looked at her, smiling, before he turned to Ari “You are a lucky man Mr Thomas.”

Ari raised his eyebrows and smiled, looking at Hannah who flushed as Madibo let go of her hand. “I sure am.” He then turned to Hannah and frowned a little at the look on her face. She was smiling, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes, almost like she was nervous. Maybe she was, after all, Madibo and his guard were quite imposing when all was said and done.

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I’ve had a long flight and need to freshen up.” She spoke, a little shyly “Would you please excuse me?”

“Of course, of course Miss Garcia.” Madibo bowed a little “It was a pleasure to meet you.” “You too Colonel.” She smiled, and turned to give Rachel a quick hug before she reached for her bag.

“I’ll do that.” Ari offered “I’ll fetch it in a little while.”

“Ok, thanks” she nodded, before she turned to leave, but paused, spinning back to look at Ari “Where’s Simon.” “With Max and Jake.” Ari said.

She nodded and gave them all another stiff sile before she scurried away.

Now Ari was sure something was bothering her. He looked at Sammy for some kind of clue but he was clearly as puzzled as he was as he shrugged slightly. He then turned to Rachel who met him with a blank look of her own. But, before he could dwell on it too much, Madibo spoke again causing Ari to turn back to him.

“We should be going anyway now, but I’m pleased with what you’ve done with the place.” The Colonel looked around, smiling “My report back to the President will be very favourable.”

“All free of charge, I hope.” Ari quipped and Madibo laughed, pointing at him

“You’re a funny man Mr Thomas!”

Rachel shot Ari a warning look and he simply shrugged, giving her a cheeky grin. They followed Madibo and his 2 guards out to the truck where they shook hands, thanked him for coming and bid him goodbye. No sooner had the truck gone Ari strode back inside, picked up Hannah’s bag and headed off towards her hut. She hadn’t made it back there, however, instead he found her halfway down the beach, crouching on the sand by Max with Simon going bananas as he jumped all over her, his tail wagging furiously, excited little whines coming from him as he licked her face.

“You happy to see momma buddy?” Ari chuckled as he stopped by her side.

“No, that’s his sad face.” Max deadpanned and Ari laughed, dropping a hand to Hannah’s head, gently caressing her hair.

“You ok Firefly?”

“Yeah, just tired.” Hannah stood up and looked at him.

“Wanna go rest?” he asked, his mind straying to the fact he was quite happy to go curl up next to her on the bed, maybe a little bit of something else, and from the snort that came from Max he wasn’t the only one thinking such things. “Piss off.” Ari turned to him, raising an eyebrow.

Max laughed “I’m gone…” Hannah and Ari both watched him leave and Ari wrapped his arms round Hannah’s back, pulling her into him, giving her a deep kiss. He pulled away, his nose bumping hers. “Wanna go lay down for a while?” Hannah shook her head. “No, if I do I won’t sleep later. Think I’m gonna get changed and hit the beach.” She said, glancing around.

“Oh, ok.” Ari tried not to sound too disappointed. He hadn’t seen her in over a week and she was pushing him away. Now he knew for sure something was wrong, but he also knew if he pushed her too hard she’d clam up even more. Hannah looked at him, and he clearly hadn’t done as good a job of hiding his disappointment as he hoped as she took a deep breath, sliding her arms round his waist as she pressed into him, her cheek against his chest.

“I have something for you from Maya.” She said gently

Ari looked down frowning “You saw Maya?”

“No, I saw Sarah.”

“What?” his frown deepened.

“She left a note with Ethan, asking me to call her.” Hannah shrugged, stepping back.

“Why?”

“She wanted to talk to me.”

“What about?”

“Take a guess Ari” Hannah sighed and went to pick up her bag. Ari bat her hand away and picked it up, taking her hand in his spare as they walked silently towards her hut, Simon trotting in front of them. For the first time in weeks it was a little awkward between them, Ari unsure exactly what to say whereas Hannah was simply exhausted both physically and mentally. The relief she had felt upon seeing Ari had melted away and she was back to dwelling on what Sarah had said. Once they were inside her hut, Ari dropped Hannah’s bag on her bed. Without a word she reached into it and pulled out the envelope addressed to Daddy. Ari took it, glanced at the writing on the front, his breath catching a little before he looked at Hannah. “You know, you didn’t need to meet her.”

“Well I did, it wasn’t a big deal.”

“It clearly is.” Ari bit back, an air of frustration in his voice “I can tell somethings bothering you Hannah, so what did she want?”

“She was just curious I guess.” “Curious about what?” Ari’s temper was starting to fray and Hannah let out a growl of annoyance.

“About, us Ari, what do you think? She basically asked me outright if I loved you, then told me to ask you why you never came to my wedding and…” she paused as Ari groaned as he ran a hand through his hair, shaking his head. “She said it was because you couldn’t bear to see me marry someone else.” Hannah looked at Ari, shaking her head. “Is that true?”

“Hannah, does it really matter?”

“It matters to me, yes!”

Ari sighed, looking down at the floor as he shook his head “Look, I loved Sarah, you know this…”

“For fucks sake, just tell me the truth Ari!”

“Yes, ok!” Ari snapped “The reason I didn’t come is because the thought of you with anyone else, well it made me sick. That what you wanted to hear?”

Hannah looked at him, blinking before she shrugged. “I don’t know to be honest with you.”

“Han…” “She made me feel like shit, Ari!” Hannah looked up at him, tears in her eyes “She basically said you’d been in love with me for the entire time you’d been married to her, that she was second best and…”

“For fucks sake…” Ari shook his head “She had no right to put that on you, no right at all.”

Hannah looked down at her feet, “I can’t blame her, Ari. I’d be the same in her position.”

Ari swallowed as he glanced at his feet, looking again at the letter in his hand before he raised his head to Hannah once more. “Did she say anything else?”

Hannah snorted “She wished me good luck, said I was gonna need it.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” Ari bit back angrily and Hannah let out a scoff.

“She meant when all this is over, the mission and we go back home.” She glanced at Ari and he was surprised now to see the angry fire in her eyes. “She said that she had never managed to stop you leaving before, even when she was pregnant and was basically implying that once we’re home and out of this little bubble then it would all be different and you’d leave me behind…”

“Ok, no, stop…” Ari held his hand up, tossing the letter onto her bed. “Firefly, listen…” he gently took her face in his hands “That’s not gonna happen. I told you before, I’m not letting you go again.”

“I know you did, and I believe you I do.” She shook her head “And I know that it’s different for us because I’ve lived this life too and I get what being in Mossad means, you know, my mom and dad made it work, but I just…oh, I can’t explain Ari.

“Try, please.” Ari looked at her, his hands gripping her face a little more, his thumbs stroking large arcs over her cheeks.

“I’m not sure you know how to strike a balance Ari. Between this and-“ she blinked and looked down as Ari licked his lips as his hands dropped to her hips.

“Hannah, it’s irrelevant…” “What do you mean it’s irrelevant?” she frowned “I think it’s highly relevant all things considered!”

“Look…” Ari took a deep breath “I never told you this, hell, I never told anyone this because I still wasn’t totally sure until a few weeks ago but I’ve kinda decided that this mission is gonna be my last one in the field.” Whatever Hannah had been expecting Ari to say, it wasn’t that. As the implications of his words crashed over her she could do nothing but gape at him as he shrugged and continued.

“I’m 37 this year sweetheart, I've been doing this for longer than I care to remember. It’s dangerous and, well I’ve missed so much of Maya growing up I don’t wanna miss anymore or god forbid leave her behind for good should something happen.” He sighed, “Sarah’s right. I was a shit husband and a shit dad, I owe it to Maya to a least be a little less shit going forward.”

“Ari, I…” Hannah took a deep breath and shook her head “I’m not asking you to quit…” “I know.” He assured her, “And with the greatest of respect, I’m not doing it for you, I’m doing it for Munch.”

The relief crashed over Hannah in a wave. She’d been scared, not simply that Sarah had been right, but that if he did quit it would be for her, putting her first, and she didn’t want that. His daughter should be top of his priority list and to hear that it had finally hit home to him, well, it brought her a reprieve from the nagging feeling of guilt and turmoil she’d been feeling since she’d left that coffee shop in Tel Aviv. She looked up at her man, the smile creeping across her face and he dropped his head to rest against hers.

“Is that all that was bothering you?” he asked softly and she nodded in response. “So, are we good?”

“Yeah, we’re good.”

“Thank fuck for that, because I really wanna kiss you Han.”

She grinned and blinked looking up at him. “Nothing stopping you.”

With a flick of his eyebrow, Ari pulled her closer and dropped his face to hers, pressing their lips together. He kissed her softly at first before his tongue slid across her bottom lip and she opened her mouth, letting out a soft sigh. Ari’s tongue lashed against the roof of her mouth as his hand slid upwards, tangling in her hair, the kiss deepening…

And then there was a knock at the door, punctuated by a responding bark from Simon.

“For fucks sake…” Ari groaned, as Hannah shrugged a little, moving to open it.

Rachel peered back at her, a little sheepishly “Sorry to intrude but, well, I wasn’t sure if you’d be joining us for dinner?”

“Dur.” Hannah nodded back as behind her, Ari sat on the edge of her bed, picking up the letter from Maya.

“Ok, I’ll let Aziz know. I’ll leave you to it.” Rachel smiled, and with that she was gone. Hannah turned round to see Ari opening the letter, pulling out the paper from the envelope.

“If you want to read that alone, I won’t be offended.” She began but Ari shook his head. Silently, Hannah sat next to him as he began to ready Maya’s untidy scrawl, his eyes misting over. It was nothing out of the ordinary, telling him about school, her friends, how Sarah had taken her to the zoo the previous weekend and she’d seen a man holding a snake, the typical ramblings he’d expect from a 7-almost 8-year old, but it was the first ever letter he’d had from her when on a mission and it choked him up, especially the bit when he said she hoped that Simon and Hannah were both ok too.

“She err…” Ari swallowed and looked at Hannah who gently reached out and brushed a tear from his cheek, a tear he hadn’t realise he’d shed “She says she hopes you and Simon are both ok.” Hannah smiled “Yeah, Sarah said she’d asked after me.”

“Han…” his voice broke and Hannah sighed, wrapping her arms around him as he buried his face into the crook of her shoulder. This was a side to Ari Levinson that very few people knew existed, a vulnerable, almost childish side. A side that just wanted to be comforted and loved, seeking out strength instead of giving it. Hannah knew that everyone took it for granted that he was the stalwart, forever stoic leader and forgot that underneath the cool agent façade there was a gentle, kind man. A flawed human, but a human all the same. She gently rubbed at his back as he sniffed a little, pressing his face further into her neck. Hannah dropped a kiss to the top of his head and he pulled away, wiping at his eyes.

“You know…” she said softly, her head pressing to his “I really did miss the beach. Reckon Guy can sneak an afternoon off to spend with Rosa?” “Guy can take as much time to spend with Rosa as Rosa wants.” He smiled, pressing a soft kiss to her lips.

***** After clearing it with Rachel that neither of them were needed, the pair of them spent a nice afternoon together. They took 3 mile walk round the cliff edge, Simon examining the usual nooks and crannies as they walked hand in hand behind him. The sun blazed hot on both their necks and even in the late afternoon it showed no sign of giving up as they made their way back to the resort. Choosing a secluded spot away from any guests, not far from their cave, they flopped down onto the sand. Hannah pulled off her sundress and lay back as Ari shed his T-shirt and sat next to her, watching her for a moment, simply drinking her in before he lay back next to her and they continued to talk and laugh. An hour or so later, just as the sun was starting to dip to the horizon, both were sticky and sweaty from the heat, and when Hannah suggested they should shower up before dinner Ari quipped he had a better idea.

“What…” Hannah’s voice turned into a shriek as Ari scooped her up and began walking quickly to the sea. “Lobo, don’t you dare!”

“Dare what?” he asked, wading in a little so the water was lapping at his waist.

“You know what!” she clung round his neck, laughing a little.

“No, sorry, can’t hear you…” he shook his head, wading a little further towards the spot he knew the shallow sand underneath him dropped a little, making the water deeper and cooler. Hannah glared at him and struggled in his arms

“I fucking swear to God…” but she was cut off as Ari gently tossed her into the waves where she disappeared under. She broke surface a split second later, spluttering as she wiped her hair back out of her face and saw Ari laughing at her, his entire handsome face creased up as his head tipped back, right hand reaching for his left pec. "El cabron..." she hissed the Spanish word for asshole at him, just one of the many insults in her mama's native tongue that he recognised, and swept her arm in a huge arc over the surface of the ocean, sending a wave of sorts straight over Ari's head. Shaking his hair off his face with the manner of a dog, Ari chuckled and reached out for her, his fingers digging and teasing a little on her ribs where he knew she was especially sensitive. She wriggled a little, her hands resting on his broad chest as she tried to push away. Ari wasn't letting go though but he took pity, laughing as her head tipped back a little, her hands sliding up towards his face. Her delicate fingers tangled in his beard and she looked at him as his hands settled on her hips, guiding her towards him a little more. Her legs wrapped around his waist as it was too deep for her to stand up, and Ari remained with his feet planted on the soft sandy floor of the ocean, large hands on her back, submerged to his shoulders. And for the first time in a week, Ari felt at peace. "I missed you Firefly." He said softly as her lips gently brushed his before she pulled back to study his face, her arms round his neck. "I missed you too Mi Lobo." She smiled, her blue eyes as deep as the ocean they were currently bobbing in sparkled with love and lust and Ari's mouth was drier than it had ever been in his life. He felt a twitch in his groin, his arousal spiking and he actively fought back the groan that was bubbling in his throat. Fuck, she could reduce him to an absolute wreck, bring him to his knees both physically and metaphorically with a simple look in his direction. He needed her. "I'm thirsty Firefly..." he could taste the salt on her skin as his lips brushed her ear and she gave a shudder at his words, and he knew why. They were the same words he'd spoken to her one night when they had been together the first time round and Ari had been away for a week. He'd likened not seeing her to being deprived of water, to which she'd called him a dramatic asshole and laughed. Which was precisely what she was doing now. “There’s water everywhere.” Her voice was loaded with humour yet carried an undercover of suggestiveness his hands slid down to cup her ass. “But not a drop to drink.” He arched an eyebrow as he flexed his hips up slightly, bumping his semi-erect cock up against her core. Hannah gave a little moan as she clung to Ari, before she arched into him even more, pressing her lips to his. Ari kissed her, furiously, tongues thrashing together as their teeth clashed, Ari's large hands sliding up Hannah's back, pinning her to him. One hand moved down her spine and slid round and over her hips, dipping into her bikini bottoms. Hannah gave a dirty croak in her throat as he started teasing her clit, his movements slow and deliberate and her hips soon began to work against his hand, desperately seeking out a way to satisfy the craving his touch was giving her. She was on fire. She wanted more, she needed more. "Ari..." she whispered, licking her lips as she reached down and wrapped a hand around his wrist. "Wanna feel you..." "Yeah?" His lips brushed hers and she nodded as his fingers plunged into her channel making her cry out. "Feel me like that?" She panted as his fingers continued, coaxing her to the brink. Hannah closed her eyes as she teetered on that edge, so close to falling but Ari stopped his movements abruptly. She gave a little choked moan at being so close but when she felt him shift underneath her, his hands leaving her body, she knew she wasn't going to feel dissatisfied for much longer. She felt the material of his swim shorts brush against her leg as he moved them down and she pressed her lips to his, kissing him again. His hand gently moved her swimwear bottoms to one side as she dropped one hand from his shoulder into the water, taking his cock in her palm causing him to hiss as she lined him up. With a slow, power full thrust upwards he filled her and Hannah rolled her head back in pleasure, her mouth open in a silent moan as she welcomed the familiar stretch. “God, Ari..." she gasped, her bikini clad breasts jostling with the staccato breath as she rose slightly out of the water. Her nails were biting his skin as her hands tightened on his shoulders. Her back was arched, her beautiful body open to him, and when Ari bottomed out he laid his forehead on her chest and breathed in. "My good girl, takes me so well..." he praised as he kissed her skin trailing a path up her sternum and throat until he met her lips, the salt from her skin was tangy on his taste buds. He began to trust slowly, deeply, rolling his hips as Hannah worked herself on him, desperately. “More.” she begged and Ari all but growled at her plea. "I need more, Lobo..." Ari rutted upwards furiously, over and over and Hannah's back arched in pleasure. He leaned forward, nipping at her neck, then soothing the sting of his bites with his tongue as he slid his hand into her hair at the base of her skull and pressed his lips to hers, keeping her head anchored in place. The kiss because sloppy and she panted into his mouth, lips parted. "Ari...I'm gonna..." her words died off as Ari kissed her again swallowing the involuntary shaky whimper she made as she came, clenching around him. He thrust through her orgasm, picking up the pace as he rushed towards his own end and with a deep thrust he stilled as the pleasure pulsed through him, his cock twitching as he emptied himself inside her. With a few final and shallow thrusts he stilled, his forehead resting against hers as he breathed deeply, eyes closed, waiting for the world to right itself.

“You ok?” Ari asked, his breathing deep and Hannah gave a soft hum of response as his nose brushed against hers, as she opened her eyes to look at him, her entire face lit up with that blissful happiness he’d come to know and love even more this time round.

It was pretty dark now, and aware that they were in the middle of the ocean, Ari pulled back and placed a kiss to Hannah’s head.

“Come on Firefly, it’s been a long day. Let’s get some dinner and then we can go to bed.” He said softly and she gave a little sigh as he shifted, pulling out of her, readjusting his shorts all the while keeping her supported. She kept her legs round his waist as he walked them to the shallower water and then when he attempted to stand up she refused to let go, giving a giggle as he sighed, shaking his head. “Seriously?”

“You said yourself, it’s been a long day.” She grinned “I’m tired.” “You’re actually gonna make me carry you up the beach?”

“Yup.” She nodded.

“Fucking brat.” He snorted and she laughed, pressing a kiss to his lips.

“If you’re a good boy and do as I ask, then maybe after dinner I’ll show you how grateful I am.”

“Well, when you put it like that…” Ari grinned and stood up quickly hooking his arms under her legs as he swooped her up out of the water, bridal style. Her laughs carried across the slight breeze as he walked them down the still warm, sugar white sand towards her hut.

**** Chapter 12 Part 1

#leave no one behind #Ari Levinson #ari levinson x ofc #ari levinson x original female character #red sea diving resort #chris evans #chris evans characters

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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years

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Leave No One Behind

Ch 11- Mama Don’t Preach Part 2

Co written with @icanfeelastormbrewing

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words. Smut (NSFW, 18+ only)- in Part 2

Episode Pairings: Ari Levinson x OFC Hannah Horowitz

Song for Episode:

A/N: Please read Part 1 first…