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#and by FAR the longest time it took me to capture :')
starlightomatic · 2 days
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hi, i just want to remind folks that a lot of people on here have personal connections to people who died or were kidnapped on october 7th. please keep this in mind when you want to understand why we react so much when people denying, minimize, or celebrate it.
a couple of months ago i met vivian silver's best friend. vivian silver was a long-time peace activist who was burned to a crisp so badly on october 7th that it took weeks to identify her body. my ex-boyfriend's family was friends with her as well, and they spent those weeks believing she was a hostage and hoping for her return, only to discover that she had been dead the whole time.
a couple weeks ago i met the sister of a nova festival survivor. she said that the hours when her brother was out of contact and they didn't know if he was alive or dead were both the shortest and longest hours of her life. another friend of mine lost five friends that day. yet another friend lost two friends who were on a biking trip in southern israel.
a couple who i know because they attended my childhood synagogue while in the US for two years lived in kibbutz nahal oz. they always told us how beautiful it was, and how they wanted us to visit it. now we can't; it's destroyed, with several of its residents killed. they and their two young girls miraculously survived after hiding in their safe room for ten hours before being rescued. a good friend of mine's boyfriend is from one of the kibbutzim that was destroyed, but he was not there at the time and so survived.
once, many years ago when the ex-boyfriend who i mentioned above (the one who knew vivian) were on a gap year in israel, i visited him on the kibbutz he was living on on a thursday night, and his friend gave us a ride to a bus station the next day to help us get to our shabbat destinations. the friend was headed on to visit friends at kibbutz be'eri, now destroyed, with over 10% of residents killed. i don't know if that man's friends survived.
another friend of mine, who was my coworker for several months when she was in the US last year, lived in metula in northern israel, on the border with lebanon. because of the war, she and many others are internally displaced within israel, because her home is not safe from rockets. recently, a mutual friend told me her house has been destroyed.
another friend of mine attended virtual synagogue with chaim katzman, a young man who spent time in the west bank protecting palestinian shepherds. when hamas fighters opened the closet he was hiding in to capture hostages, they shot him immediately, before taking hostage the women and children hiding in the closet with him.
in total, i have at least eight friends-of-friends who were killed on october 7th. the actual number is probably far higher, since i have a lot of friends in israel and many israelis lost people; but the eight is confirmed.
all of this to say: please understand when you're interacting with me and other jumblr bloggers that this is not theoretical to us. maybe to some of you, it's an academic excercise in seeing fanon's works in practice. maybe it's about decolonial theory and you might think "ah, well, decolonization is violent, what a shame but it was necessary." please remember it's easier to think that when you're not the one sitting at a shabbat lunch table with your mom's old friend who had to learn within the past few months that a woman she'd built movements with and was best friends with had been burned so badly she couldn't be identified for weeks.
i already know that people will believe the purpose of this post is to "generate consent for genocide" no matter what i say, but i'm going to say it anyway: nothing justifies genocide. nothing justifies the brutality that israel visits on the palestinian people. the people of gaza have gone through an order of magnitude more horror than what israelis have. the entire gaza strip is destroyed; people's homes, schools, mosques, orange orchards, everything. entire families have been killed with not a single surviving member. people have starved to death. people lack sanitation, menstrual products, and safe places to give birth. children are operated on without anesthesia. this is one of the greatest humanitarian crises of this century and it is israel's fault.
we need a ceasefire now; we needed a ceasefire yesterday; we needed a ceasefire months ago; we needed this never to begin. blowing up a child in gaza does not bring back vivian, it does not bring back chaim, it does not bring back my friend's cycling friends. it doesn't untraumatize the girl who waited hours to know if her brother was okay or the young family trapped for ten hours in their safe room. and i know for a fact that vivian and chaim would never have wanted this. not in their names, or at all.
so i am not posting this in an attempt to deny, minimize, excuse, or justify the genocide of the people of gaza, or to deny or excuse the nakba, the israeli raids in the west bank, settler violence, land theft both past and present, burning of olive trees, checkpoints and the restrictions on palestinian movement, the denial of right of return, and the fact that most palestinians do not have voting rights in the country that controls their lives.
i also understand that there are folks on here who have just as many personal connections to gaza -- or more -- than i do to israel. that it's deeply personal to them too, and they have watched as loved ones die, places they love and remember are bombed to dust, and people continue to minimize it, excuse it, or fight over semantics. i understand that this post will not land well for many of those folks, and that it will have activated people to hear me speak of nahal oz as a beautiful place i wanted to visit, because that land likely once belonged palestinian families, and was seized after its residents were herded into gaza during the nakba.
and.
people are human. humans deserve to live in safety. friends of humans who are harmed will feel pain, even if those friends lived on colonized land. i also live on colonized land, i am a settler. i live on the lands of indigenous peoples. when i looked up the nation whose land i live on, i can find information about their history but no information on where they went or whether they still exist. i don't know if they experienced a genocide and were all killed, or if they joined another people. i know i have never met any of them, and i live on their land.
and i'm not the only one. millions of people on this site are also colonizers of indigenous land. if you are not indigenous or Black, and you live in the US or Canada, you are every bit as complicit as my friends' dead friends in israel. your beautiful town is not morally better than nahal oz. you recognize yourself and your friends as people; you see their humanity.
i am beyond begging you to see the humanity of israelis, i think many of you can't. instead, this is my request:
remember, as you're doing your callouts, as you're describing me as evil and a person who needs to be blocked for the safety of your followers to i don't infect you or them with my evil:
i say and feel the things i do in large part from a traumatic event that occurred less than a year ago that i am personally connected to. please use what you know of trauma to understand that.
and then, if you can do that, maybe we can start to understand how trauma plays into why israel is the way it is; why trauma is actually the biggest player. so many of you have asked "how could a people who've been brutalized and oppressed brutalize and oppress another people?" my question: why would you expect that not to happen? trauma responses include fear, anger, aggression, compassion fatigue. when a population of descendants of refugees and genocide survivors, in a world that they believe to be out to get them, either supports or turns a blind eye to their government's atrocities, i am not surprised. saddened, but not surprised.
we then have to start asking: who enacted those traumas? when will we start to see the pain of both palestinians and israelis in light of the violence inflictated by far more powerful entities? by germany in the holocaust; russia and poland in the pogroms; swana arab countries in the persecution of jews post-WW2? who's at the top here? many of you are happy to believe it's jews pulling all the strings, but who set this in motion?
who denied jews safe haven before the holocaust, thus enabling this trauma to be inflicted in the first place? the US, and nearly all countries around the world. who restricted jewish immigration even post-holocaust, thus funneling huge numbers of jewish refugees into palestine, overwhelming the population even if israel had not been a colonial project? again, the US, and many other countries. who made double-promises and drew arbitrary lines in the region leading to decades of conflict? the UK.
who's funding this war? the US. Russia. Iran. don't be fooled that any of them care about israelis or palestinians. they have their own interests.
israelis and palestinians are the collateral damage in a horrible chess game that world powers have been playing for centuries. but they are not collateral damage, they are human beings, and their lives have value. collective liberation demands we look at the levels above the oppressor to see who is holding the strings, who put the puzzle pieces in place, who set off the levers and strings in a noxious rube goldberg machine that left nahal oz and be'eri in ruins and gaza destroyed almost beyond recognition.
my friends' little girls cowering in a safe room were never the enemy. chaim katzman hiding in a closet hoping the fighters would overlook it and leave him alive, or at very least capture him instead of kill him, was never the enemy. and they can't be; not if our goal is freedom and safety for everyone in israel/palestine. choosing who will dominate and who will be the oppressed minority in whatever comes next will not be the answer we need, and will not be liberation. just as zionism was not liberation. what can we build together, when this is all over?
what do we need to dismantle and destroy?
let's start with what we don't: homes. villages. cities. kibbutzim. orange trees. olive trees.
and who do we need to fight?
let's start with who we don't: the children.
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the-broken-truth · 9 months
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Leaving The Web [Part 2] - Platonic Yandere Miguel O'Hara x Daughter Symbiote Spider Reader
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Summary: It's been three months since you left Miguel and the Spider-Society to start a new life with Venom. So far, things have been going great. The universe seems to welcome a Spider-Woman protecting the streets of New York. However, Miguel seems to be struggling, and a strange occurrence brings him to your Earth. Will you consider giving him another chance, or has the Spiderling left the web for good?
[Earth-928 - Nueva York - Spider-Society]
"Father, check it out - I captured this Anolmany by myself!" Your smile was bright and hope radiated in our eyes, hoping for your father's praise - praise that he has denied you for the past 15 years but you remained hopeful that he would notice your effort and give you what you wanted for the longest time - his love. However, he didn't give it to you - he instead glared at you as if you were something grotesque and took the Anolmany to be placed with the others before walking away and leaving you and your shattered heart alone. He saw in the image that Peter came behind you and pulled up into a hug with Mayday.
"I should have done that for you, [Name]. I should have been the one to hug you and praise you for everything you had at such a young age, but I couldn't... No... I wouldn't. It's all my fault." Miguel said as he hung his head down, closing his eyes and telling the tears hit the table before him. "I failed you, [Name]; I'm so sorry."
"You should have said those things to her while she was still here. You don't get to pity yourself now that she is gone." Peter said behind Miguel on a lower platform while holding a sleeping Mayday in his arms.
"I know that, Peter; you're not telling me something I don't already know. I failed my daughter all because I had an issue with the woman who birthed her. It wasn't [Name's] Fault that she was born but I still took it out on her, now my daughter is gone." Miguel said as he wiped the tears from his eyes and turned to face Peter, who glared at the man he considered his friend. "Is there something you needed?"
"If you weren't such a horrible father, none of this would have happened. I mean, you left your daughter to steal the life of another you after he was killed and called your own daughter a burden."Peter said as he jumped up to Miguel's Platform, "But that's not why I'm here, you haven't been listening to Lyla's Hails; if you have, you would know that there is another Anolmany sighting on Earth-232. We need your help, Spider-Man 2099." Peter said to Miguel, who just nodded his head before materializing his mask and messing around with the Gizmo on his wrist, opening up a portal to Earth-232 and jumping inside without a second thought.
[Meanwhile - Unknown Earth]
The Black-Suited Spider-Woman zipped through the streets after the strange-looking creature that was giving the cop such a hard time to the point they needed to call you - apparently, it looked like the Vulture but the real Vulture was locked away tight and hadn't escaped prison. This was strange but then you realized that this Vulture was nothing but an Anolmany and if there was an Anolmany here...
"It will only be a matter of time before he or his goons arrive here to collect it. We need to deal with this and head away before they can see us." Venom said from the depths of [Name's] Mind.
"I know that, V. We'll have this wrapped up and back home before dinner." [Name] said to her Symbiote before arriving at the scene and getting into the fray. She shot webs at the other Vulture and started pounding on him before wrapping him up in the webs and placing him n the roof of a nearby building before turning to leave but it was too late. A portal opened up and Miguel along with a few Spider-People walked out and looked down at the trapped Vulture but Miguel was looking at you while you glared at him over your shoulder.
"There's a Spider-Woman here? I thought the computer said there was no Slpider-People in this universe." One of the Spider-People said but Miguel just walked over to you but stopped a few feet away when you lifted your hand, signaling him to do so.
"Don't come any closer, Miguel O'Hara. You have what you came for, now leave my universe and never come back." You warned him but he just looked at you and his mask disappeared and the tears in his eyes fell like rain.
"[Name], my daughter..." He started but you just shook your head at him.
"I'm not your daughter, Spider-Man 2099. I don't have a father just like I don't have a mother. They are dead to me. Take your Anolmany and leave; come before me again and there will be problems." You turned and shot a web at one of the building and was prepared to swing off when Miguel's hand wrapped around your arm, causing you to look at him with anger in your eyes. "Let me go."
"Mija, I know that you are angry with me but I can be a better father to you now; I have seen the error of my ways; please, come home with us." Miguel begged you but you just punched in the face with your feet hand, breaking his nose and making him let you go before you swung away from the scene before he could recover and follow you.
"You handled that rather well, [Name]" Venom said.
"Thanks, V. What do you want for dinner tonight It's our turn to pick. You said as you swung from building to building.
"Tater Tots and Chocolate." Venom purred, "Lots of chocolate."
"Deal, V." You said before disappearing from Migeul's View. Miguel stood there with his hand covering his bleeding nose and tears rushing down his face.
"Boss, was that your kid...the one that went missing?" One of the Spider-People asked causing Miguel to nod and close his eyes, "Man, she really hates you."
"I know...but I shall fix that soon enough. Now that I know where she is, she can no longer escape from me. Gather that Anolmany and let's get back home; I have some planning to do." Miguel said as he returned his mask and walked through the portal, 'I know where you are now, Mija; Papa will be there for you from now on.'
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jsprnt · 25 days
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Americano PT. 2 | Jude Bellingham x Reader
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What happens if two individuals who absolutely despise each other are forced to interact after unforeseen events occur?
A/N: my exam took me out and I had the longest nap of my life but here’s part two!! <3
W/C: 3.757
part one
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"No, I'm fine. You know, I get nauseous when we run around the stadium with a full stomach." I tell Luis as he offers me one of his packed sandwiches.
He hums, taking the last bite of his sandwich while observing the streets of beautiful Madrid,  looking comfortable in the passenger seat.
It was match day against Union Berlin, the first in the group stages of the Champions League. We were all pretty optimistic about it.
"Can you hand me some gum instead? It's in the glove box." I point, placing my hand back on my steering wheel as I take a left turn. The Santiago Bernabéu Stadium coming into sight.
He leans over, grabbing the blue packet of gum, quickly removing the plastic foil.
"How many pieces do you want?" He asks, crumpling the foil with his hand.
"Two please." I say, lowering the volume of the radio as we enter the staff parking lot of the stadium.
I notice him unwrapping the individual pieces of blue gum and extend my hand so he can place them in my palm. 
"Thanks." I mutter, popping them into my mouth after I manage to find a parking spot.
"When is the team arriving?" He asks as we step out to collect the camera equipment out of the trunk. I make sure to hand him his staff badge, clipping mine to my lanyard.
"Twenty minutes, I think." I say, helping him with the equipment bag. We quickly make our way towards the pitch, greeting fellow staff members. Luis sets the camera up as I check our drafts quickly.
We finally finish taking videos and pictures of the pitch after a few minutes, our staff badges hanging off our necks as we walk back inside to capture the players walking into the stadium.
"Okay, I've posted the Instagram stories. Mind if you take a look?" I ask Luis, showing him the short clips of the pitch and stadium.
"Looks fine, but you know you don't have to get it double-checked anymore. You've been doing this for a while now." He nudges me, expression reassuring.
"I know, just making sure." I say, analyzing the posts one more time. I didn't want anything to go wrong or look particularly weird, plus it would give Valeria a reason to complain about me.
We make sure to get good shots of the squad entering the stadium, following them out to warm up as well. Finally, we get to sit down when the match starts. We update the social media platforms of the club accordingly during halftime, just as planned.
So far, it was still a goalless game, prompting us to have higher expectations in the second half of the match.
Though, the second half isn't that much more climactic, but we all sit on the edge of our seats when extra time is announced. My finger hovering over the 'post' button of a 1-0 ‘X’ post.
Luis and I look at each other anxiously as we get awarded a corner. A commotion starts right before the net of Union Berlin, the ball bouncing back at first, and then GOALLL!
I practically slam the post button, the stadium erupting in cheers along with us. Finding it difficult to calm down, so we can focus on the last minutes of the game. With the assurance that we would win, Luis and I start packing our equipment quickly. It would make sure we could follow the team back into the tunnel and, of course, towards the changing room for the post-match interview.
"Who got Man Of The Match again?" I ask Luis, noticing a smirk form on his face immediately.
"It's Jude." He says, and I look at him with wide eyes, pulling an annoyed face.
"Really? Now I've got to interview him? It's going to explode his ego, like it can get any bigger..." I sigh, following Luis down the stands.
"You'll live." He mumbles, prompting me to sigh again, wishing I could speed up the next few minutes as if it were a boring Netflix show.
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"Tell him to- put his shirt on." I urge Luis, nudging his arm, my hands falling to my side when he shakes his head.
We'd both already been in the changing room, and my eyes had caught multiple half-naked
players. Prompting me to exit instantly. I didn't want to intrude when the guys were changing for obvious reasons, so I walked myself out before things became really awkward. Though, they probably didn't care, I did.
"Why does it matter?" He asks, pushing my head away from his face.
"It's distra- or just say-"
"I'm ready."
I whip my head around, my head almost colliding with a hard chest. I quickly take a step back, a smug-looking Jude looking down at me.
What the fuck was he so tall for?
"Took you long enough." I mumble, rolling my eyes. Trying to pretend he didn't scare the crap out of me.
He scoffs, the ‘Player Of The Match’ award glimmering in his hand as if he's trying to show it off to me.
"Can we just do the interview so I can stop talking to her?" He says, looking at Luis. His eyebrows raising in question.
I click my tongue in annoyance, tapping my shoe against the ground impatiently. I watch Luis nod, his hand coming up to my shoulder as he pushes me closer to Jude.
I turn my head, looking at Luis confused. I mouth a 'what the fuck?' to him, his smirk getting wider as my arm collides with Jude's. A sudden panic and disgust creeping up to me.
"Let's just do it without my face." I blurt, immediately detaching myself from Jude's side, like he's a scorching fire ready to burn me.
I feel his eyes follow me as I walk to stand behind Luis. I fight to urge to kick the back of Luis's leg for whatever that was and just request him to start filming. Glad that the mic was already attached to the camera.
"3, 2, 1.." he counts down, pressing the record button. I try to fake my uppermost enthusiasm when I ask the questions to Jude. Watching his own expression change within milliseconds. It's like he wasn't just begging for the interview to start, so he could stop talking to me.
"¡Hala Madrid! ¡Buenos Noches!" He finally exclaims, raising the award excitedly. The interview finally ending.
The two minutes felt like an eternity, and he'd probably uttered the same sentence about 50 times now.
I sigh in relief, stepping back as I watch Jude and Luis give each other a handshake. We make eye contact for a split-second, my gaze cold as he looks at me with pure arrogance plastered on his face. Walking away to join his teammates, who had already walked out of the changing room.
"Can we go now?" I ask Luis, massaging my temples. He turns around, blankly staring at me. It creeps me out for a split-second.
"What?" I ask, frowning at him, folding my arms defensively.
"Nothing. It's late, let's go." He says, walking ahead of me. I watch him walk away for a couple of seconds, trying to decipher why he gave me that look. His back almost disappearing out of my sight before I knew it.
He walks past a couple players and staff members, them having their own conversations and being loud. Notably, Ancelotti walking with them.
I curse, clicking my tongue in annoyance. I start to walk fast, trying to catch up to Luis, who, at this point, wasn't even in my line of sight.
Suddenly, I hear Ancelotti call out my name, and I turn around like a deer in headlights. Slowly starting to consider leaving Luis in the parking lot, instead of driving him home.
"Something wrong?" I ask, looking at him cautiously.
Was I in trouble?
"Come here." He says, waving his hand. I look to his right, seeing a familiar group of players glance at me. It consisting of Vini, Cama, Aurelien, and Jude, again. Them laughing and banter amongst each other.
"Can you tell your father to call me? I need to speak with him." He adds, looking at me.
I nod, my expression changing to a less confused one, before reassuring him I would tell my dad.
"Then go on, it's getting late." He says, patting my shoulder, squeezing reassuringly.
I smile at him, nodding and glancing at the guys next to him.
"Good game, guys! See you tomorrow." I say, fully in Spanish on purpose, waving and walking away as fast as I possibly can manage without looking crazy.
Luis was getting his ass left here, for sure.
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"Dad! I'm home." I sing, taking my shoes off at the door, quickly storing them away in the shoe cabinet.
"I'm in the kitchen." He shouts back, and I make my way towards him.
"What are you doing?" I ask, seeing him stand in front of the open fridge.
"Grabbing dinner to heat up. You're hungry, right?" He says, and I nod, walking over to kiss his cheek in greeting.
"I'll do it, dad. You should go rest." I say, noticing him already dressed in his pajamas. I take the Tupperware of food out of his hands, placing it on the marble island.
"How was the match?" My dad asks, leaving to sit on one of the bar stools across from me.
"Good- we won." I say, pouring the tomato soup into a small pot. Placing it on the electric stove, before turning it on.
"I saw, Jude really saved the day. Amazing signing..." He chuckles.
My dad wasn't aware of the absolute disdain we had for each other, but I wouldn't want to bother him with it.
"Yeah, I guess he did." I mutter through my teeth, stirring the soup with a spoon. Making sure I don't scratch the surface of the pot.
"Oh! Mr. Ancelotti asked if you could call him. I think it's pretty important, since he asked me..." I remember, looking up at him from the stove.
"Why didn't he just call me?"
"Maybe, because you're always busy? He probably can't get a hold of you, or your secretary forgot to tell you. Which would be- weird." I say, watching him walk away to grab his personal phone off the dinner table.
"You're really calling him now? Dad, it's like ten at night. You need to stop thinking about work."
"It's alright, we're close enough." He says, calling the man of topic as he approaches the sliding glass door to the backyard, walking out.
I scoff in disbelief, shaking my head. I should've just told him tomorrow after breakfast.
I try to push those thoughts away, finally sitting down at the dinner table, putting on a binge-worthy show on the TV across from me. Enjoying my dinner with a can of Coke.
The ending credits of the episode and my empty bowl allow my mind to wander back to the day’s events. It was the first game of many for the Champions League. No doubt, our team would go far, we had a strong team with amazing support. I just hoped traveling while also studying could be manageable, especially this year.
I decide to give my brain a break from thinking critically, taking care of the dirty dishes, and sliding the backyard door open.
"Dad?" I call out, noticing him sitting on one of the pool lounge chairs. He turns to me, motioning for me to be quiet with a finger on his lip. I nod, mouthing a 'goodnight' and wave. He mouths it back, smiling at me. I nod, turning my back and walking up the stairs.
Arriving in my bathroom, I take a quick shower and do my nighttime skincare. Feeling very refreshed when I crawl into my bed, the silk pillowcase soft underneath my head as my eyes flutter shut.
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The atmosphere today at the training center is very off.
Instead of the players looking happy and excited after their win yesterday, they look somber and tired. The vibe is gloomy, despite the sun shining brightly since early this morning.
Especially the younger guys. I didn't know what was wrong yet. They greeted me halfheartedly, unlike normally, and even Jude himself didn't give me one of his daily, annoying, egoistic looks.
I had asked around, and most other staff members told me they noticed the same, so it definitely wasn't just me making things up in my own head.
Maybe, just maybe, nosy Lina had some information.
I grab a tray, walking along the lunch buffet, and getting my food. I didn't want to bother fussing over all the options today, just opting to go for my usual. I don't forget to grab my drink, an Americano, iced this time to combat the September heat.
I look up to find Lina, my eyes finally catching her wavy, dirty blonde hair at our usual table, as I make my way towards her.
"Hey! Haven't seen you today. What's up?" I say, hugging her. I had been busy filming the recovery exercises of the players with Luis in the gym.
"Finished editing the footage you and Luis took yesterday." She says, smiling at me. Moving a lock of hair behind her pierced ear.
"Was the footage usable?" I ask, looking at my plate of food before looking back at her.
"Yeah, good as always. Posted it on YouTube already." She answers, and I turn to her after swallowing my bite of pancakes.
"Was the interview alright? Did it sound like we wanted to kill each other?"
"It was surprisingly good! You two just have that onscreen chemistry." A smile pulls at her lips, the outrageous statement causing me to freeze for a moment.
"Carolina! Don't ever say that again, please." I use her full name, giving her a look of disgust while shaking my head, horrified.
I hear her laugh mid-bite, she practically starts choking on her food. Prompting me to pat her back semi-aggressively. She finally calms down when I bring her drink up to her lips.
"Can I ask you something? It's about something completely unrelated." I say, changing the topic and looking around for any eavesdroppers.
"Go ahead." She says, clearing her throat for a moment.
"Have you noticed the younger guys- are acting a little off?" I say, choosing my words carefully, watching her eyes light up almost instantly.
She definitely knew what was up.
She nods, pulling me closer by my shoulders, and whispers into my ear.
"Apparently, last night after the match, the guys went to celebrate at a restaurant. When they dropped Jude off at his home- and I'm saying just what I have overheard. Someone tried to break into his place." She whispers, and I pull back to give her a bewildered expression.
"You're serious?" I ask, raising my brows.
"Yeah, something about his window being broken and a note being left."
"A stalker?" I ask, taking a sip of my coffee.
She nods, pulling away from me.
"That's what I've heard. Apparently, this wasn't the first time it happened, it being the second time already. The younger players probably feel bad for Jude. They've all gotten pretty close and are probably worried about his, but also their safety." She explains.
Despite the bad blood between Jude and me, I had the heart to feel a little bad for him. I had morals at the end of the day.
"Doesn't his mom live with him?" I ask, recalling what I've heard around.
"She wasn't home, thankfully."
"That's good, at least." I reply, looking away for a moment.
"He'll probably have to start a legal process.." She adds, and I return my attention back to her.
"Where did you even hear all of this?"
"A good gossiper never reveals their sources."
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"y/n, could you come here for a moment?" I hear Hugo speak. The head of PR and marketing for the club. Whom I had the opportunity to grow pretty close to last season.
I place the folders in my hand back on my desk, walking over to him curiously.
"What is it?" I ask, looking at the grey haired man. He's smiling, so it must be positive?
"I'm sure you're aware I chose you to provide content during matches, but also the match preparations this season, along with Luis."
I nod, eagerly waiting for his point to be made.
"I've seen what you and Luis put out yesterday. I'm very pleased so far, especially the interview with Jude. Feedback has been great online. Looked very nice and casual."
"Thank you, we tried our best to create the best content. I honestly couldn't have done it without Luis." I quickly say.
That was true, I don't think I could've done the interview without Luis, even though he was being a little weird about it.
Why was everyone obsessed with that interview anyway? It was just a normal, run-of-the-mill interview I did most of the time.
"Right, extend my praises to him as well. As you know, the CEO of Apple will be visiting us on Saturday. I'd like for you and Luis to capture the moment. Would you want that?"
Meeting the CEO of Apple, Tim Cook?
I would be crazy to refuse.
"Of course, I'm sure Luis would also appreciate the opportunity. Could you send us the details via email later?"
This was definitely a dream come true, especially for tech-nerd Luis. He looked up to these CEOs for inspiration all the time.
After the conversation with Hugo ends, I decide to finally clock out. I walk down the stairs, my bag slung around my arm as my eyes are glued to my phone. Wondering how Luis would react to the news.
I couldn't tell him in person since he wasn't on site at the moment. So, texting would have to suffice.
I reach the last few steps, my shoes stomping against them, finally taking a right at a corner.
Suddenly, my shoulder painfully crashes against another body. My bag falling on the floor, along with my phone which flies out of my hand.
I look up instantly, eyes locking with someone I don't recognize by name, but have definitely seen around. He's dressed in a brown T-shirt with some dark blue jeans, interesting wear for the weather today. He did look a couple years older, something like late twenties or early thirties.
I clutch onto my arm, trying to ease the pain as I start to apologize profusely. I want to be rude so bad, but I hold my words back with everything in me.
I wasn't watching where I was going, but still, he could have heard me stomp down the stairs.
"No, it's fine. It happens." He says, no actual emotions detectable in his voice. I reach down to grab my bag off the floor. Watching him bend down to grab my phone, which had landed on the floor about a meter away from me.
I stand back up, holding my bag with my unhurt arm.
"Here." He says blankly, handing me my phone. 
"Thank you." I say, grabbing the device. His cold fingers unexpectedly graze against mine, making me shudder as it creeps me, the fuck out.
I did not like whatever that was...
He was holding my phone right at its base, how did his hands even touch mine?
He looks at me for a second, his blue eyes piercing into my soul, as he then walks off, not saying another word. Leaving me standing there in confusion.
I snap out of my trance quickly, trying to forget whatever that interaction was. Finally, walking up to my car and unlocking it.
Most players and staff had left already. Recovery day was so fun, only because it meant getting off early.
After pondering for a few seconds, I decide to just visit my dad's law firm instead of going home directly. Mostly, because I hadn't been there in a while. I could see him, and work on my essay there at the same time.
Maybe, I could also convince the other lawyers there to give me feedback on my essay.
I connect my phone to the car, clicking on my current favorite playlist and increasing the volume of the speakers. Knowing my favorite songs could keep me company while I drove through the city.
I grab my own set of keys out of my bag after arriving. My dad had given it to me, so I could enter and leave the firm whenever I wanted. Giving me the freedom of not having to knock or press the intercom when I visited.
I insert the key in the keyhole of the front door, trying to twist it. I frown as the key doesn't actually twist, making me wonder if the lock was changed. I pull the key out, inserting it again, and try to twist the key.
I sigh as it doesn't work, looking around to see if anyone is staring at me. Only because I definitely looked like I was some stupid robber trying to break in, in broad daylight.
Thankfully, no one is looking my way, so I continue to struggle with the door. Mumbling some curse words in annoyance, a frown settling in between my brows.
I breathe in, inserting the key again, readjusting my grip on the doorknob as I twist the key. I push the door at the same time, the door unexpectedly flying open. My weight presses against the door as I fall inside, clutching onto the door handle for dear life. My ankle rolls painfully, and I let out a pained wince.
I hear a loud groan as I try to stabilize myself. I raise my brows confused, seeing my dad lean over to ask a guy who's cradling his head if he's alright.
I just slammed the door into a client’s face.
A mortified expression forms on my face as I realize the situation I caused. I immediately walk over to place a hand on the guys shoulder, apologizing repeatedly. My dad giving me the most disappointed look to date.
I glance over to the woman next to my dad, recognizing her within a heartbeat.
"Denise?" I ask, eyes widening in confusion. If she's here, then...
I notice my victim raise his head, a pained groan leaving him. We make sudden, unexpected eye contact. I freeze in shock and confusion, a little disgust following at the realization of who he is.
"Jude?"
"y/n?"
132 notes · View notes
austinshotbutlers · 1 year
Text
The Wedding Date - Part Four
Pairing: Aaron Hotchner × Fem!BAU!Reader
Summary: Your sister's wedding is approaching fast and the thought of showing your boyfriend off to you family and your ex-boyfriend seems like a very appealing idea. The only problem is... you don't have a boyfriend. Luckily your stony faced, serious, sexy boss has agreed to be your fake boyfriend for the weekend. What could possibly go wrong?
Word count: 4.9K
TW: Smut (Hotch is a boob man at the start, semi-public sex? (they have a quickie in a bathroom), unprotected sex, vaginal fingering), swear words, violence.
A/N: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Part four is finally here! I’m sorry it took so long and this part is also the longest one so far. I apologise for any mistakes, I don’t know how well I proofread it! But I hope you enjoy it, it’s fluffy, smutty and also a little bit angsty. Please let me know what you’d like to see in part 5!
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Being woken up by the bright sun shining through the gap in the curtains was not ideal when dealing with a hangover. Your head pounded as you buried it in the pillow, trying to remember just how much you had to drink at the party. You smiled to yourself as you replayed the events of last night in your brain; you couldn’t believe you and Aaron had sex. You couldn’t believe the two of you had admitted your love for one another.
You sat up slowly, expecting to see Aaron still asleep but there was no sign of him. You laid back against the headboard, chewing lightly on your thumbnail with a look of pure satisfaction on your face. You hadn’t slept with anyone in a long time and it had been an even longer time since anyone had left you feeling so satisfied, so loved. No man had ever made love to you the way Aaron did last night and it was just incredible.
Then, your bedroom door opened gently and Aaron walked in, carrying a tray of food and drink. He looked up and smiled when he saw you were awake.
“Morning.” He smiled, as he walked in and placed the tray down on your bedside cabinet. “I thought you might be hungover so I took the liberty to bring you Advil, water, black coffee, plain toast and a banana. Whatever might do the trick.”
Your heart swelled at his thoughtfulness and you immediately reached out for the pack of Advil and water. “Thank you so much.” You smiled, popping the Advil in your mouth and taking a huge sip of water.
Aaron sat down on the bed beside you and leaned forward for a kiss which you happily reciprocated, placing a soft kiss on his slightly chapped lips. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling Aaron in deeper and he adjusted your bodies so that you were back lying down. You both leaned in for another kiss but you bumped heads in eagerness and laughed but Aaron quickly captured your lips again.
“I’m still naked from last night.” You giggled and Aaron groaned into your ear.
“God you make me feel like a horny teenager again.” He murmured and you laughed, placing light kisses behind his ear. Aaron pulled the duvet down to reveal your breasts and you shuddered at the sudden loss of warmth the fabric was providing. Aaron spread kisses from you neck down to the valley of your breasts and you took a deep breath as his mouth fell to your right.
“Oh!” You managed to moan out as Aaron closed his mouth around your nipple, his tongue swirling while his other hand massaged your left. “That feels so good.” You mumble breathlessly, running your hand through his hair. The pleasure from Aaron’s tongue flicking and sucking on your nipple while his other hand kneaded your left breast made your brain foggy with rapture as the building pleasure settled in your lower abdomen.
Suddenly, your bedroom door creaked open and you could hear you mom chatting away as she was about to enter. You shoved Aaron off, who fell back against the mattress, and you frantically pulled the duvet back up to cover yourself.
“Oh my god mom! Have you ever heard of knocking!” You groaned frustratedly. “It’s like being 15 all over again.”
“Sorry, I forgot! It’s all the excitement of the rehearsal dinner tonight!” She said cheerily which told you she didn’t see anything, much to your relief. “How were the parties last night?” She asked as she wondered into your room, opening the curtains and the sun blinding you.
“Jesus mom.” You hissed and squinted your eyes. “Well the bachelorette was fun, you should have seen Sarah dancing.” You laughed.
“Well I heard you at 3 this morning.” Your mom said and you and Aaron threw each other a panicked look. Had your mom really heard you two have sex last night? “You slammed the front door so loud,” she went on to say. “I’m surprised you didn’t wake up your dad and Aaron as well.” And the two of you relaxed. “So! Tonight, we need to be heading to Thomas’ Parents’ house at around 4, guests will be arriving from 5 and I expect you not to drink so much tonight please Y/N. I do not want you hungover on your sister’s wedding day.”
You rolled your eyes. “You’re making it sound like I have a problem but whatever, it all sounds good.” You said trying to get your mom to leave the two of you.
“Make sure you wear a nice dress and Aaron, I hope to see you in a suit again.” You mom winked to him and Aaron awkwardly chuckled.
“Of course Mrs Y/L/N.” He smiled politely.
“Great! I shall leave you two now. I can tell when my company is not wanted.” She joked and quickly walked out of your room, closing the door behind her.
“Well…” you sighed. “That killed the mood a bit didn’t it?”
“Just a little.” Aaron said, turning back to look at you.
You started to laugh. “The way we both looked at each other when my mom said she heard me come home last night.” You tried to catch your breath. “We really thought we had been caught! It’s like being a teenager again when I used to sneak my boyfriends in through the window in the bathroom and always being so scared my parents were gonna hear us.”
Aaron laughed. “You were quite the rebellious teen.”
“Weren’t we all? At least I didn’t have a punk phase like Emily did.” You giggled. “What were you like as a teenager?”
“While you may not have had a punk phase in high school, I hate to say that mine was in college.” Aaron said.
“Shut up! There is absolutely no way you were a punk. I couldn’t even imagine what you would have looked like.” You’re practically in hysterics now, trying to picture Aaron in college.
“When you come to my apartment, I’ll have to show you the photos.” He said, amused at how entertained you were by the thought of his, very awful attempt, at a punk phase.
***
“I miss you too buddy.” Aaron smiled into the phone “But I’ll be home in 3 days and you can tell me all about your museum trip with aunt Jessica as soon as I get back. I can’t wait to hear what you saw.”
You smiled from your place at the dressing table, listening to Aaron talk to Jack as you put mascara on your lashes.
“I love you too.” Aaron said. “Be good for Jessica. Yes I love you too Jack.” He chuckled. “Bye buddy.” And he hung up the phone.
“How is he?” You asked, turning to face Aaron.
“He’s good. He went to the museum today and bought a giant shark teddy.” He said.
“He’ll have to show it to me when I next see him.” You smiled , going back to finishing your makeup and Aaron’s heart swelled because Jack loved you. Whenever he would come to the BAU, he would always make a beeline for your desk knowing you would have a chocolate for him in your drawer and make him laugh with some silly story that he would then go home and tell Aaron about 15 times.
“He would love that.” Aaron smiled.
You stood up and turned to show Aaron your dress. “How do I look?”
Aaron felt like he’d stopped breathing as he took in the gorgeous dark green dress you had on. It hugged your figure perfectly, accentuating every curve and falling just above your knee.
“You look gorgeous.” He breathed out and walked over to you. “So, so gorgeous.” He whispered, leaning in and placing soft kisses behind your ear.
“If you keep that up, we’re going to be late to the dinner.” You mumbled breathlessly as Aaron continued to kiss your neck.
“I don’t care.” He said lowly against your skin.
“Neither do I but my mom will go pure psycho on us and the rest of the team will be coming to claim our dead bodies.” You joked and Aaron chuckled. “But I promise we can continue this later tonight.”
“Deal.” Aaron smirked as he pulled away, standing up straight to look at you. You reached up to tighten and straighten the silky red tie he was wearing and smoothed down his shirt.
“You look very handsome Agent Hotchner.” And you reached up to give him a peck on the lips. “We better get going before my mom starts hassling us.”
Aaron reached for his suit jacket and swiftly put it on before the two of you exited your bedroom and made your way down the stairs. Your mom came into view and she gasped when she saw you.
“Oh sweetheart! You look beautiful.” She smiled.
“Thanks mom.” You said smiling back.
Aaron placed his hand on your lower back and you both made your way to the car.
“So Aaron,” you dad started as he drove. “Have you enjoyed your time in LA?”
“Yes, very much Sir,” Aaron said. “It’s nice to be here for leisure and not dealing with a case.”
“Do you enjoy working for the BA…. Whatever it is?” Your mom asked.
“I do enjoy working at the BAU, my son thinks I’m a superhero.” Aaron chuckled.
“Oh you have a son?” Your mom questioned obnoxiously.
“Yes, his name is Jack. He’s almost 8 now.” He said with a smile and you placed your hand on Aaron’s thigh to apologise for your mom’s abruptness.
“Would you want anymore children?” She continued.
“Mom!” You called our frustratedly. “What kind of question is that?”
“It’s fine Y/N,” Aaron smiled to you, taking your hand in his and squeezing it. “I suppose I am open to more children but only if it feels right.”
The rest of the car ride went in a silence, your mom and dad occasionally exchanging a few words and sentences but you soon arrived at the house of you sister’s future in-laws. You took in the extravagant building.
“At least we know Sarah is going to be rich for the rest of her life.” You joked to Aaron and he chuckled.
“Oh shush!” Your mom reprimanded you and she knocked a few times on the door before Sarah excitedly ran to open it.
“Can you believe I’m getting married tomorrow!” She said excitedly.
You all made your way into the lavish home and were greeted by Thomas and his parents.
“Luke is here, he’s just in the dining room.” Thomas smiled as he shook your dad’s hand.
Anger flared in Aaron’s chest at the mention of Luke as their conversation from last night replayed in his head. You noticed Aaron tense up and placed your hand on his back, rubbing softly to help him relax.
***
The large party sat around the dining table as the second course had just been finished, chatter and laughter filling the room.
“Sarah and Y/N never used to get on! They hated each other growing up.” Your mom was telling the table.
“That’s because Y/N couldn’t stand the fact that I was more popular than her.” Sarah interjected. “She was far more interested in her boring criminology books.”
“We all know you were only popular because mom had to beg the coach to let you on the cheer squad.” You laughed and Sarah threw you a glare.
“Well at least you two girls get on together now.” Your dad said, trying to calm the conversation.
“Get on? No. Tolerate? Yes.” You said laughing and a few chuckles came from around the room.
Aaron looked around the large table at the guests and his eyes settled on Luke who was downing another drink, much to his girlfriend’s dismay. She was muttering something to him and he replied angrily. Always the gentleman.
“Do you want more wine?” Your voice drew Aaron from his thoughts and he turned to you.
“Please.” He smiled, holding out his glass as your poured. “Thank you.”
Aaron pulled his chair in closer so that he could rest his hand on your thigh and the small action sent instant waves of calmness through your body.
“So, Aaron and Y/N. Why don’t you tell us what it’s like working for the FBI.” Thomas said, everyone’s eyes falling onto the two of you.
“It’s hard work but we love it.” You said, looking up at Aaron with a smile.
“Tell us about the serial killers.” Thomas pleaded.
“I don’t think that’s appropriate dinner talk honey.” Sarah said.
“I’d like to hear about it.” Your dad interjected.
“Maybe we should leave this talk until after the wedding.” Thomas’ mother said unimpressed.
You and Aaron looked at each other as everyone spoke over one another and laughed.
“We profile more than just serial killers.” You said.
“Have you ever shot anyone?” Thomas asked eagerly.
Aaron opened his mouth to respond but your mom’s desperate tone cut him off. “Why don’t we go back to talking about the wedding!”
You turned to Aaron and rolled your eyes before the excited chatter of the wedding filled the room again.
Eventually, the guests dispersed from the table, mingling around the grand house with one another. Your mom was excitedly chatting away with Sarah, Thomas and Thomas’ mom while your dad was talking to a couple of your great aunts. Luke was solemnly stood in the corner, sipping slowly at a large tumbler of whiskey. Aaron had his hand placed at the small of your back, holding you close as your cousin spoke.
“You should have seen your mom’s face when Thomas asked if you had ever shot anyone!” Liv laughed. “She looked absolutely horrified.”
“Well, you know better than anyone my mom hates my job.” You replied with an eye roll. “She never wanted me to take my job at the BAU.”
“I’m glad you did take it.” Aaron said, rubbing a circle on your back. “Or we never would have met.”
“Blah!” Liv said. “You guys are so in love it makes me sick. Where can I get myself an Aaron?” She joked.
“Join the FBI.” You replied with a laugh.
“I’m going to go and get another drink and consider your proposal.” Liv chuckled and walked off to the kitchen.
You looked up at Aaron with a smile and leaned in for a kiss which he happily reciprocated, placing a gentle peck on your lips. You leaned in for another but Aaron pulled away.
“I don’t think I’ll be able to control myself.” He mumbled into your ear. “You look so breathtaking in this dress.”
Heat rose to your cheeks and you smiled shyly into Aaron’s neck. “Keep talking like that and I won’t be able to control myself.” You replied and looked around the room. Everyone was occupied or engaged in conversation, all centred around Sarah and Thomas. “I don’t think anyone would notice if we disappeared.” You said and the implications in your tone told Aaron exactly what you were thinking.
“Are you sure?” He asked, his hands sliding to yours hips and you nodded eagerly.
The two of you quickly made your way down the long hall to the ostentatious bathroom and checked if anyone was around before you both stepped into the room, locking the door behind you. In an instant, Aaron’s lips were on yours, catching them in a hungry kiss and you stepped back, the back of your legs hitting the the bathroom counter. Aaron swiftly lifted you up and effortlessly placed you softly onto the counter. You parted your legs so Aaron could stand between them, letting him be closer to you as he kissed your jaw and you pushed his suit jacket off his shoulders.
“I never took you as a quickie in the bathroom kind of guy.” You joked breathlessly.
“Neither did I.” He said as lips trailed down to your collarbone. “But you can be quite persuasive Agent Y/L/N.”
You pushed your clothed centre into Aaron’s crotch and he groaned into your ear as you slid your body closer to his from your position on the counter. You could feel him getting harder as each second passed and your kiss grew rougher and more passionate.
“This dress is just so beautiful.” Aaron mumbled. “You are so beautiful.”
You kissed him again hard on the lips and began to unbuckle his belt.
“Eager?” He jokingly muttered as you unbuttoned his pants and unzipped them.
“We don’t have long until they realise we’ve disappeared.” You said. “And I’ve been thinking about this all day.”
Aaron pulled you closer to him and hastily hiked the skirt of your dress up. You could feel how hard he was through his pants and leaned into his ear.
“I need you.” You mumbled desperately.
He reached for his wallet out his back pocket and quickly ruffled through before muttering frustratedly.
“Fuck! I don’t have anything.” He said gruffly.
“It’s fine,” you mumbled as you pulled him back to you by his tie. “I’m on birth control.”
“Are you sure?” He asked. “It’s not always 100% effective…”
You cut him off with a kiss before reaching for his boxers, slipping your hand beneath the waistband and pulling his cock free. Aaron groaned as you took him in your hand and reached down to your panties, pushing the fabric to the side and sliding his fingers inside your slick folds.
“So wet already.” Aaron grumbled and you gasped as he began to pump his index and middle fingers in and out of you slowly.
“Please Aaron.” You pleaded and helped line his length up to your entrance.
Aaron pushed his cock inside you slowly and your hands grabbed onto the edge of the counter tightly. Once he was completely inside of you, he stilled and gave a moment for your body to adjust.
“You ok?” Aaron mumbled and you nodded.
“Yes!” You exhaled.
Aaron began slow thrusts, rocking back and forth, driving into you over and over again. Each thrust felt like ecstasy to him as your walls clenched around his length. It was enough to send him into overdrive. You moaned out quietly and bit your lips to stifle any noises.
“Feel so good.” Aaron grumbled into your neck as his pace picked up and his grip on your hips tightened.
“Aaron!” You moaned at the building pressure between your legs, your grip on the edge of the counter so tight as Aaron’s thrusts grew faster and harder. He placed soft kisses on your neck as he continued to fuck you against the counter and you felt as though you were about to crumble from the pleasure. “Fuck! Right there…” you gasped out as he hit the perfect spot and he positioned himself to make sure he continued hitting the right spot.
“Where do you want me to?…” Aaron began to ask but was cut off by a moan from himself as his own pleasure neared its climax.
“Inside.” You managed to mumble. “Aaron! I’m going to…” all brain function was clouded as your orgasm took over your body.
Aaron buried his head into your shoulder, his thrusts growing sloppy as his own climax neared. A soft moan from your lips was all he needed and he was tumbling over the edge and you gasped at the sudden hot sensation as he filled you up. Aaron continued rocking his hips as he rode out his orgasm. Then, the two of you froze as the doorknob began to aggressively twist as someone attempted to enter the bathroom.
“Occupied!” You managed to call out and you heard a gruff mumble reply from the other side of the door. “Quick, we should get cleaned up.” You whispered and Aaron nodded, pulling out of you slowly and reaching for several tissues from the countertop.
Once you were both cleaned up and looking much more presentable than you were a mere 5 minutes prior, you unlocked the door and quickly exited.
“Remember the quick fucks we used to have?” A voice mumbled from behind you as you and Aaron began to walk down the hall. You turned to see Luke standing against the wall, taking a large swig from his glass.
“I’m sorry?” You asked, taken aback by his abruptness.
“Don’t act dumb Y/N, we all know you two just fucked in the bathroom. We used to do it all the time.” Luke slurred as he walked towards you and Aaron. “I told you she was a good fuck didn’t I?”
“I don’t want any trouble Luke,” Aaron said sternly as he stepped in front of you, shielding you from Luke in a protective manner.
“Come on Aaron, admit it! You’re only with Y/N for the sex. God knows that’s the only reason I stayed with her for five years.”
Anger grew inside Aaron and he stepped forward to Luke. “Just go back to the party and stop bothering Y/N. I warned you last night to leave her alone.”
Luke stepped away and threw his hands up defensively. “Hey whatever! We’re cool man. I mean, I can’t say I envy you being stuck with the needy slut.”
Aaron didn’t even hesitate, his fist formed a ball and without a second thought, he threw a punch to Luke’s jaw and he fell to the floor from the impact. Everything happened so fast and you barely had time to process the situation but you were back at Aaron’s side in an instant and he wrapped his arms around you. Luke slowly stumbled upright as he found his feet, clinging onto his nose as bright red blood spilled over his suit.
“What the fuck! I think you broke my fucking nose!” Luke shouted.
All the commotion had drawn people’s attention from the party as they all made their way to the hallway to see what had happened.
“Oh my god! What have you done?” Sarah shrieked as she looked at the scene before her.
“Broke my fucking nose!” Luke responded angrily.
“It’s not broken.” Aaron rolled his eyes.
“You had to make this about you didn’t you?!” Sarah fumed, turning to you.
“Wh…what?” You fumbled in shock.
“You couldn’t stand the fact that this week was about me and you had to create a scene!”
You started to laugh at her preposterous suggestion. “Are you serious?”
“Girls! Let’s leave this argument until after the wedding.” Your mom said as she tried to intervene.
“You just can’t get over that I’m getting married first so you had to ruin it.” Sarah continued.
“No Sarah! I just couldn’t stand the fact that your let that,” you aggressively pointed at Luke who was now being fussed over by his girlfriend and Thomas. “Asshole to be a part of it.”
“He dumped you two years ago! Get over it.” Sarah replied angrily.
“Trust me Sarah, I’m fucking over it! And you know what? I’m over this wedding as well.” You exclaimed.
“Y/N!” Your mom hissed.
“She’s a fucking psycho mom!” Sarah said. “No wonder she catches them for a living.
Aaron’s grip on your waist tightened as he pulled you closer to him, the tension in the room so thick you could cut it with a knife.
“Why don’t we all calm down and go back to the party?” You dad suggested as he tried to calm the situation.
“I think me and Aaron should go.” You muttered.
“Yes. I think you should.” Sarah said venomously.
“I’ll drive you home.” Your dad offered but you shook your head.
“We’ll just get a cab.” You replied and took Aaron’s hand in yours.
***
“I’m sorry.” Aaron said as the two of you walked into the deserted house.
“For what?” You asked, turning around to face him.
“I escalated the situation. I should have never punched Luke but I couldn’t stand listening to how he spoke about you.” He loosened his tie as he spoke.
“Don’t apologise.” You said sternly, walking over to him and intertwining your hands with his. “I’m lucky to have you defending my honour.” Your tried to joke and Aaron smiled.
“But you’re sister…” He began but you cut him off.
“Needs to realise that not everything is going to be perfectly smooth.” You rolled your eyes. “We’ll know in the morning if I’m still maid of honour. But, it’s going to be hilarious seeing Luke tomorrow standing at the end of the aisle with a broken nose.”
Aaron groaned and rolled his eyes. “I did not break it! It was just a light punch.”
“A light punch? You nearly killed him!” You laughed and Aaron sighed defeatedly despite the small smile on his lips. “But I must admit, it was very sexy.”
Aaron chuckled sheepishly and placed his hands on your hips, still in awe of your appearance and your dress. You leaned up and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, wrapping your arms around his neck.
“Let’s go upstairs and pretend everything today didn’t happen.” You muttered against Aaron’s lips.
“Everything?” He quizzed, pulling away and raising an eyebrow which caused your to giggle.
“Ok, not everything.” You laughed and the two of you began to trek up the stairs to your bedroom.
When you entered your room, you immediately kicked off your heels and began to unzip your dress. Aaron followed closely behind, taking off his jacket and tie before sitting down on the bed to untie his shoes.
Soon, you and Aaron were sat in bed together, he had his arm wrapped around your shoulders while you nestled into his side. It felt so natural, so domestic. You could still smell Aaron’s cologne on his neck and it smelt like heaven, sending ripples of relaxation through your body.
“I could spend all day in your arms.” You mumbled into his chest.
“I’d love nothing better than to lay in bed with you all day.”Aaron replied.
“What will the team say when they find out about this?” You asked.
“They will definitely tease us. Dave would claim he’d always known we would get together.” Aaron scoffed. “He actually…” he paused, a hint of embarrassment in his tone. “He actually tried to get me to ask you out.”
“Really?” You asked surprise, sitting up straight so that you were facing him.
He chuckled nervously. “Yes. His voice kept circling my head that night I agreed to do this with you. I could hear Dave’s words repeating over and over.”
“What did he say to you?” You asked eagerly.
“He said ‘If you don’t tell Y/N how you feel, I’ll do it for you’ and I couldn’t stand the thought of you finding out how I felt about you from David Rossi of all people.” Aaron laughed.
You suddenly gasped. “Oh my god! Rossi is the reason you bought me those earrings for my birthday isn’t he?”
Heat rose to Aaron’s cheeks before he nodded slowly. “Dave saw you show a picture of them to Garcia and JJ and told me to get them for you. I rarely listen to Dave’s advice when it comes to relationships but this was the one time I listened to a suggestion from him.”
You leaned forward and kissed Aaron passionately, wrapping your arms round his neck. His hand instinctively went to your hips as he held you in place. You pulled away and looked deeply into his eyes.
“I love you.” You said breathlessly.
Aaron smiled brightly. “I love you too.” He said before leaning in to kiss you again.
***
“Did you go to that party with a plan to ruin your sister’s wedding?” Your mom shrieked as she burst into your room. You and Aaron jolted apart at her sudden entrance, her shrill voice piercing your ears.
“Mom, oh my god.” You sighed. “You made us jump!”
“You were very rude to your sister at her rehearsal dinner.” You mom continued, a sour look on her face. “She is downstairs so upset with what happened. You’re lucky she still wants you to be her maid of honour tomorrow.”
“I think you’re both being over dramatic. Luke got what he deserved.” You rolled your eyes. “It’s not my fault Sarah started an unnecessary argument.”
“Luke has got a potential broken nose! We don’t know of he’ll be able to go to the wedding tomorrow.”
“Would that really be so terrible?” You asked.
“Enough! Tomorrow is Sarah’s day, let the past with Luke go and try and behave for the wedding tomorrow.”
“Jesus mom, I’m not 5 anymore.” You huffed at her ridiculous words.
“In Y/N’s defence,” Aaron spoke from his position next to you on the bed. “Luke has said some disgusting things about Y/N this weekend. I don’t usually go round throwing punches but I couldn’t stand there and let him call my girlfriend, your daughter a slut.”
Your mom was taken aback by what Aaron said. She struggled to find the words she wanted to speak.
“Just make sure you apologise to Sarah in the morning, she’s staying here tonight. The night before her wedding and all that.” Your mom muttered and then swiftly exited your room, shutting the door behind her.
“Christ tomorrow is going to be painful.” You groaned, throwing your head back against the pillow.
***
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bookworm551 · 3 months
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Take the Edge Off | Part 9 | Stitches
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Summary: After a failed mission, Miguel needs to patch you up.
A/N: well, new year, new chapter (finally). I’m getting real close to finishing up this series, maybe 2 more parts. This took forever bc I needed a filler and had no idea what to do, and this is also the longest part so far. At least I know where to go from here, so I should have the next part up relatively soon 💀
Warnings: smut (duh), canon-typical violence, wound care
10.2k words
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 10
You had grossly underestimated how difficult catching Ghost would be.
The main issue was finding him. He was smart, and he seemed to realize that anytime he spent too much time in one dimension, you and the team would pounce, and like water in your hand, he always managed to slip away. The closest you came to catching him was about three weeks after your bet, and it was an absolute shit show.
"Fuck me," you grunted under your breath when another explosion knocked you into the wall. Ghost came from a universe with hammerspace, and every new dimension he traveled to, he managed to store away more and more dangerous equipment. Now, you were there in some alleyway, half your team missing, fighting off a barrage of missiles, bombs, and sharp projectiles.
Across from you, Ben was tangled in a net trap, and Malala was groaning on the floor as she recovered from an intense electrical shock. Clenching your jaw, you leapt off the wall at Ghost. You were getting aggravated by how difficult this was. Why couldn't he be a regular villain and let you catch him?
Anticipating your move, Ghost jumped out of the way. You webbed him and yanked him toward yourself. Rather than fighting your pull, Ghost flew at you and pounced on your form, knocking you flat on your back. He drove his fists into your ribs, and you cried out as electricity coursed through your body. He held his fists, adorned in makeshift gauntlets, to you as you lay paralyzed by pain.
"Where's the big guy?" He asked you, his voice low and silky. "He's always a good time." You weren't even able to breathe from the shocks pulsing in your ribs, but before you would've been able to answer him, your attention was captured by the sight of a yellow portal to your right.
For one dreadful moment, you thought it was Ghost's escape. His slippery nature was due to the watch he had stolen from Ben all those months ago, and it seemed almost impossible to keep him in one dimension long enough to catch him.
To your tremendous relief however, Miguel's muscular form flew out of the portal, knocking the anomaly off of your body. You took a ragged breath as the two men tumbled to your side. "Oh! Here you are!" Ghost laughed, pushing himself off the floor to face Miguel. "We were just talking about you."
Miguel turned his head for a moment to assess your form still gasping for breath. "You're late," you wheezed to him as you rolled onto your side to stand up again. You'd been here fighting alongside Ben and Malala since the alert from Lyla had gone out, and Miguel was only just now showing up. You didn't even know where Jess and the others were.
Seeing that you were well enough to give him sass, Miguel turned back to face Ghost, shooting a web that Ghost easily avoided. "You missed," he teased, but he was quickly eating his words when Miguel yanked the dumpster he had webbed instead and slammed it into the arrogant anomaly.
While Ghost was still recovering from his hit, Miguel threw his containment unit device at Ghost’s form. It slid right next to him, but a microsecond before it deployed, the anomaly rolled away, causing the orange force field to envelop nothing.
"Interesting," Ghost stated, sounding genuinely fascinated as he observed the glowing orange cage. You huffed in irritation, finally managing to sit up now that your muscles weren't spasming anymore. As much as you usually enjoyed banter with your enemies, you were not in the mood.
Miguel lunged after Ghost, who pulled another weapon seemingly out of nowhere and fired a spray of spinning razors at him. Miguel began twisting through the air, managing to evade every blade with expert precision.
Unfortunately for you, your screaming muscles weren’t able to move quite as fast as you needed. You leapt through the air to try and dodge the razors, but midair, one clipped you right in the shoulder, cutting deep from the front of your shoulder down almost to your back.
You cried out in pain, slamming hard into the ground as you fell. The wind was knocked out of your lungs, and you lay there struggling to breathe while hot pain blossomed in your shoulder.
Hearing your pained cry, Miguel froze, his body automatically turning to find you. You lay there a moment before moving to roll onto your good side. You pushed yourself up with a groan, and you were surprised to find Miguel at your side and pressing you back down to the floor. “Don’t move,” he urged as he gently held you down.
Even though his face was hidden, you could see he was examining your wound. “I’m fine,” you grunted, moving to sit up again. Miguel must’ve seen that you weren’t too terribly wounded and watched you carefully while you sat up off the ground before finally saying, “Okay.”
Together, you turned back to face Ghost. He was standing with a curious look on his face and an unsettling smile on his lips. “Now, that is interesting,” he said. Before either of you could move at him, Malala came swinging in a blur and knocked the anomaly off his feet. “I’m getting real tired of his gabbing,” she muttered, sounding as aggravated as you felt.
Ghost didn’t stay down for long. “It seems I’ve overstayed my welcome,” he observed. He quickly typed something into his watch, and a portal opened up beside him. “No!” Miguel snarled, leaving your side to lunge after him. You also stood up, grinding your teeth in pain as you leapt after him.
To buy himself time, Ghost threw down two small capsules that flashed brightly, making you balk. When the sun spots faded from your eyes, there was still a thick cloud of smoke around you, causing you to cough weakly. Your eyes scanned the alley for your rival, and you found him scooping up the containment unit device Miguel had thrown.
You flung yourself at him, trying to web the device from his hands. Hitting his arm, you pulled him forward with all your strength. He flew at your body, but when you raised a hand to hit him with your bad arm, pain flared from your shoulder and caused you to stumble, and you only managed a weak punch.
Seeing your pain, Ghost pulled a knife out of who-knows-where and severed the line between you. Scrambling away, he jumped for the portal and fell inside it just as Miguel tried to catch him, and within a breath, the portal to an unknown dimension closed.
“No!” Miguel shouted in frustration, his fist punching the wall where the portal had been mere seconds ago. You let out an aggravated breath. This was the closest you had ever been to catching Ghost, so frustratingly close that it made your chest burn in anger.
There was a tense second where nobody spoke. You could see that Miguel was breathing hard. At your side, Malala stood up with a heavy sigh and moved over to help Ben who was still entangled in a net.
Miguel whirled on you. “What happened?!” Miguel shouted at you. You gaped at him incredulously. “You’re asking me?!” You shot back angrily. “Where the hell were you when the alert went out?”
Miguel’s mask retracted to reveal his scowling face. “We had him!” he snarled, ignoring your question and directing his anger towards you.
Your frustration boiled in your chest. Not only had Miguel been late to the call, but his accusatory words were some of the first that he had spoken directly to you since he added you to the team. It had been weeks since you had spoken to each other. It seemed as though since your last encounter, he had been avoiding you. Your interactions had been brief and relevant only to the mission, and you hadn’t even spent any time alone together since you had been added to the team.
“Yeah, we had him,” you repeated angrily, your own mask retracting. “We had him until you stopped going after him.” His face contorted into a scowl, and his figure towered over you. “You had plenty of time to incapacitate him,” he argued.
You scoffed. “Yeah, I had plenty of time waiting for you to show up,” you shot back. “And as soon as you do, you turn your back on him.”
“You were hurt,” he stated sharply. His eyes fell to your shoulder, and you thought that some of his anger dissipated from his face. “You are hurt,” he corrected himself, his voice still sharp but a bit less angry.
You almost scoffed again, but when you looked down at your shoulder, you grimaced. Your suit had retracted around your cut, exposing the deep slice in your shoulder. In your adrenaline-fueled state, you had only briefly felt it, but now, seeing it slowly oozing blood, the pain was suddenly very noticeable.
"Shit," you sighed under your breath. You were used to dressing your own wounds, but this one was in a spot that was going to be difficult to treat. "I'll be fine," you said dismissively.
Miguel seemed to compose himself a little bit. He closed his eyes with a deep sigh before looking back at your shoulder. "You need stitches," he said.
You rolled your eyes. "I said I'll be fine," you repeated firmly. "Don't be stupid," he replied in a flat voice. "And don't try to tell me you can do it yourself." You closed your mouth and huffed. That's exactly what you were about to say.
"Fine, I'll get Jess to do it," you stated in exasperation. "Happy?"
"Like hell you will," he muttered, typing something into his watch. A portal opened beside you, and Miguel looked back at you, irritation still evident on his face though perhaps not so much as before.
"What?" You asked expectantly. He shot you an impatient look. "Go," he told you sharply. You shifted your stance defiantly, stubbornly remaining where you were. "I don't want to go with you," you argued. He sighed in exasperation. "Would you stop being so damn stubborn and go through the stupid portal?" He snapped.
You stared up at him in contempt. His demanding tone and harsh mannerisms made you feel resistant to accepting any of his help. After ignoring you for weeks and snapping at you during this failure of a mission, he was the last person you wanted seeing you in pain.
You both continued staring at each other, each refusing to look away first. You felt blood oozing down your back, and the pain was really starting to radiate in your shoulder. Miguel stared at you with a deadpan expression, knowing it was only a matter of time before you would give in.
You realized with a wave of aggravation that he was going to win your staring standoff. With a sigh, you grit your teeth together and looked down in defeat. "Fine," you muttered sourly. Pushing past him, you walked into the portal and didn't bother looking back to see if he was coming.
You weren't quite sure what you were expecting on the other side of the portal, but you were somewhat surprised to find yourself standing in Miguel's room. It was just as you remembered it from weeks ago— simple, neat, and barely used.
From behind you, Miguel stepped into the room, not even sparing you a glance before heading to the bathroom. You hesitated for a moment before reluctantly following after him. He pulled out a large black bag onto the counter space filled with all sorts of medical equipment. He was laying out materials for suturing as you walked in.
"Sit."
You scoffed in annoyance. "I know you know how to say please," you grumbled. He didn't respond, turning to his sink to wash his hands rather than answering you. If you had been in a pettier mood, you wouldn't have moved until he asked nicely, but you were in pain and ready to get it over with, so you pushed yourself up onto the counter by the sink and waited for him.
Miguel pulled a pair of gloves over his hands and inspected your wound carefully. "Your suit," he said flatly, indicating that it was in the way. Sighing, you let your suit retract just enough to reveal half your torso for him. It didn't matter that this man had seen you completely naked on several occasions, you weren't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing you undressed now, even if he was only going to stitch you up.
Miguel began with wiping away the blood from the skin around your wound. You flinched hard. The pressure he used was light but still painful, and you closed your eyes to fight the grimace that was trying to show. It took you a second to realize that this was the first time he'd touched you in weeks.
Despite your irritation towards him, you couldn’t help but notice how closely he was standing to you. From the corner of your eye, you watched his face as he worked diligently to take care of you. His eyebrows were slightly scrunched as he focused his attention on your skin, and there was only the sounds of his soft, steady breathing in your ear.
When he was satisfied with how your skin looked, he sprayed antiseptic on it before asking, “Do you want something for the pain?” You considered it for half a moment before shaking your head. You had managed stitches before, and it wasn’t as painful as some other shit you’d experienced before.
He waited to see if you’d change your mind before lifting the threaded needle with his forceps. Despite your resolution against painkillers, you ground your teeth as the needle punctured your skin. "Sorry," Miguel murmured softly as he pulled the suture through your skin. He was obviously trying to work as gently as possible, but pain was inevitable with suturing.
Taking a deep breath and closing your eyes, you tried your best to ignore the pain, but with how slowly he was going and how thick the tension was, you knew you were going to need a distraction.
"Are you sure we couldn't have just used butterfly stitches?" You asked sourly as he pulled the thread again. "Yes," he replied firmly. "This is deep. You got lucky, too. If it had been just a few inches over, the blade would've hit your neck, and you'd need a lot more than sutures."
"It wasn't luck," you replied pointedly. "It was skill." Miguel gave a disbelieving snort as he pulled the thread tight. "If you really had skill, it wouldn't have hit you at all," he mumbled.
You huffed indignantly. "Oh, please," you began, "don't pretend like you haven't had to take a few hits before. It's practically in the job description."
Miguel didn't reply as he pierced the needle through your skin again, causing you to wince at the pain. You thought he was going to make some sharp bullshit retort about how he didn't get as hurt as you, but instead, he just sighed.
"This was too close," he murmured at last.
Your defensive attitude softened considerably at his words. Studying his face closely, you realized that he wasn't being critical, he was being protective. With your new understanding, you almost felt bad for being angry at him.
"I've had closer," you told him wryly. He frowned. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?" He asked in a dull voice. You have a small huff in amusement. "It's supposed to show you that you don't have to worry about me," you explained earnestly.
He didn't say anything to you as he continued sewing up your cut. The sting of the needle caused you to wince again, and you tried to think of something to talk about to distract you from the pain.
"At least I don't have to fix up my suit," you said at last, hoping he would pick up the conversation. Miguel hummed before replying, "It's almost impossible to destroy unstable molecule fabric."
You raised an eyebrow at him. "Well if it was impossible to destroy, wouldn't it protect me from even getting cut?"
"That's not how it works," he told you flatly.
"So then how does it work?"
He gave a short sigh, indicating to you that he was not in the mood to entertain your curiosity. Nevertheless, he did. "The molecules work almost as a form of energy," he explained. "They assess the host molecules and change with them. The suit learns your body and reacts with it."
Another stitch was added, but you didn't feel it quite as much as before.
"When you were cut, it didn't destroy the suit," he continued, "it interrupted it. Your skin was damaged, and the suit left it exposed because your wound isn't the default for the molecules."
You studied his face as he spoke, a smile slowly growing on your lips. When he had finished explaining the science of the suit, he seemed to feel your stare and glanced down at you, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.
"Nerd," you said at last.
That seemed to pull him out of his grumpiness somewhat, and he turned his attention back to your shoulder. "You asked," he mumbled, but the sharp edge that was in his voice was gone.
"So then how does the suit retract into my web shooters?" You asked, genuinely interested in knowing more about the fascinating technology you wore everyday, and it definitely helped distract you from the pain.
"Since the suit can take on an energy form," he explained, "it can be stored in the web shooters as a form of data." You stared down at the web shooters on your wrists. It was amazing that such an unsuspecting piece of technology housed such powerful energy.
"They look just like my old pair," you noted. Miguel nodded, his eyes never leaving your shoulder as he worked. "I know, that's what I was aiming for," he said, "but I was thrown off by the web cartridges you use."
You smirked. "Pretty cool, right?" You said proudly. "I built a system that condenses the water in the air and converts it into a hydropolymer to supplement my web supply. It's not as strong as my original formula, but it saves me from having a web block."
Miguel's eyebrows lifted somewhat as he listened. If you hadn't known better, you could almost say he was impressed. He must've noticed your staring because he turned his eyes to meet yours, and his face softened.
"Nerd," he said.
You smiled in return and rolled your eyes. "Whatever," you mumbled playfully. His lips widened fractionally, and his eyes returned back to your shoulder. You felt more relaxed now. The anger and irritation you were feeling before had disappeared as soon as you saw him smile.
"How's it looking, doc?" You asked after a moment, trying to turn your head to see his progress. “Don’t move your head,” Miguel said and nudged your face with the back of his wrist. "And you're not going to be doing any swinging for the next few days.” Your eyes snapped up to look at him. "It's not that bad," you argued weakly. "I'll be fine."
Miguel gave you a stern look. "In your shoulder, it is that bad," he said. "If you tear this, it's going to scar even worse than it's already going to now."
You rolled your eyes again. "Well, you know better than most that this isn't my first or worst scar," you argued, "and it probably won't be my last." It was true. Your body was covered in scars large and small, old and new, and this was just another addition to your collection.
Miguel didn't reply to you. He had worked steadily from the back of your shoulder to the front, but the closer he got to your neck, the worse the pain felt. You did your best to remain neutral, but you couldn't help the small grunt of discomfort that sounded in your throat. Miguel heard it and asked gently, "Do you want something for the pain?"
You shook your head in response. "I have my own stuff," you told him before a crooked grin pulled on your lips. "But you know what I've heard is a natural pain killer?" You added slyly.
Miguel heard the mischief in your voice, and he looked back at your face with suspicion. "What?" He asked carefully.
In a sweet tone, you answered, "Kissing."
Miguel gave you a disapproving look, but you caught the ghost of a smile on his lips. "I told you not until we get the anomaly," he said pointedly.
You weren't discouraged by his assertion. "I just want to see if it works," you told him innocently. "It's an experiment."
"With an ulterior motive."
"The motive is to get rid of the pain."
He still wore a skeptical look, so you tried again. "It's for science," you explained, batting your eyes at him. After weeks of not touching him, you longed to feel his body against your own.
Miguel was unconvinced. He gave an unimpressed hum and pulled his needle through your skin again. It seemed he wasn't going to budge. Heaving a large sigh, you continued, "But if you don't want to participate, maybe I'll find someone else who does."
Miguel pulled his stitch tight, making you wince. "I bet you think that's funny," he said in a flat voice.
"I bet you don't," you shot back.
"Because it's not."
"Well," you began slowly, hesitating as you wondered if you should even start this conversation with him. You’d thought a lot about him the past few weeks, and barely seeing him for weeks now had made you realize that being a casual fling wasn’t what you wanted anymore. "I know you've expressed many times that this isn't a relationship,” you said carefully, “so I don't really see what the issue is."
Your heart was beating a little faster now. Your words opened the door to a conversation that you were both eager and terrified to have. You wanted desperately to know how he felt about you, about whatever this was between you. You were also nervous that he didn't feel what you felt or want what you wanted.
At your words, Miguel's face darkened. He stayed quiet for a second before he resumed suturing. "If that's what you want," he muttered at last.
There was a tense silence that settled between you. You stared up at his hardened face, trying to determine what he was thinking.
"It's not," you replied quietly, "but being on this break got me thinking."
"About?"
"About how I feel about this whole arrangement."
The tense silence returned. Miguel's eyes were fixed determinedly on your shoulder, and his eyebrows furrowed as he listened to what you said.
"You want to end it?" He asked, his voice level and neutral.
"No," you said a bit too quickly. "It's just..." you trailed off, trying to think of the best way to tell him what you wanted. Doubt nibbled at your mind, and you wondered if this was even a good idea at all.
Miguel noticed your apprehension, and he stopped sewing your wound to give you his undivided attention. His dark eyes met yours, and he was so close to you that it caused your heart to flutter.
You looked away to regain your thoughts. "I know that this is supposed to be a casual thing," you began slowly. "And I know what you said about time and relationships. I just..." you sighed, shifting uncomfortably on the counter. "I don't want to be just a diversion for you, a mindless distraction that you can pick up or put down as you please."
Your face burned as you spoke, and you couldn't bring yourself to look at his face. Miguel murmured your name softly, and you closed your eyes to keep from seeing his reaction.
"If that's still what you still want, that's fine," you continued quickly. "I'm not trying to force you into something you don't want." You sighed as you opened your eyes again. "That's just how I feel," you finished quietly.
Silence enveloped you, suffocating, nerve-wracking silence. After a couple heartbeats, you forced yourself to look up at Miguel. He was still staring at you, but instead of wearing an awkward or even condescending expression as you had expected, his face was soft, almost thoughtful.
You stared at each other quietly for a moment longer before he finally turned his gaze back to your shoulder. Picking up his hands again, he began working on your sutures without reply.
Your stomach tightened anxiously at his silence, and you felt a wave of disappointment wash over you. You didn't feel the pain of your wound anymore now that your mind was racing with what you just said and Miguel's utter lack of response.
"It's not that I don't want it," he said at last. "Because I do."
Your eyes shot up to his face as he spoke. His gaze was still fixed on your stitches, but you could see clearly that he was thinking about what you just said.
"Then what is it?" You asked quietly.
Miguel took a moment to respond, his hands never ceasing their work. "I built my whole life around what we're doing here," he began slowly. "When I say I don't have time for a relationship, it means I can't give you the time you deserve." He glanced over at your face briefly before returning back to your shoulder, his eyes growing distant.
"The last time I let myself get close to someone, I hurt a lot of people," he added quietly. "More than I could ever make up for." He paused for a moment and sighed. "I just don't want to see that happen to you," he said softly.
Your heart ached. You remembered what he told you, how his actions triggered the destruction of a universe. The burden of his past still clearly weighed on his conscious, and you didn't know what to say to him to comfort him.
In the silence following, Miguel tied off the last stitch. With a pair of scissors from the kit, he snipped the line. You looked down at the neat row of sutures that held your cut closed. His work was precise, and you knew it was miles better than what you could've done by yourself.
Miguel was cleaning up his materials, clearly trying to avoid eye contact with you as he did. You watched for a second before taking a deep breath.
"You know, I've learned a lot of things since I was bitten by that stupid spider," you began, breaking the silence around you. "First, pain is unavoidable." You pointed to your shoulder's fresh stitches. "Case in point," you said wryly.
Miguel didn't react to your weak joke. He continued packing his materials away, but you could tell he was still listening to what you were saying.
"My second lesson," you continued, "was that I would always be alone."
Miguel paused, and his eyes turned back to your face. "There was nobody who knows what it's like to be me," you explained. "Nobody who knew what I've sacrificed. I had nobody to trust with this secret life, and the longer I did this, the more I regretted being Spider-Woman."
You stared down at the web shooters adorning your wrists as you contemplated your own words. You had never told anybody this before, not even the other Spiders. You had suffered so much by yourself, and only now for the first time did you feel like you could share your life with someone.
"But when I came here," you continued quietly, "it all changed. Suddenly, I was surrounded by people who did understand, who also felt how I did." You paused again, and you finally looked up at his face. His eyes were watching you with a look of understanding and sympathy that made your throat tighten unexpectedly.
Your eyes broke away from his stare again, and you stated quietly, "When you offered me a place here, I wasn't alone anymore."
Miguel nodded softly. "That's what I wanted," he replied. "A community for people like us." You tilted your head up at him and studied his countenance. "Then why do you still act like you're doing it alone?" You asked.
He sighed uncomfortably, crossing his arms in front of his chest and leaning against the sink counter. "In a lot of ways, I am doing it alone," he stated quietly. "Everyone here enjoys doing the missions, seeing all the new dimensions, and meeting new Spiders. I'm the one who has to do all the damage control, the recruitment, the dirty work." He sighed again and muttered grimly, "I don't always like what I have to do."
You raised an eyebrow at his melodramatic statement. "You know, it would probably be more enjoyable if you actually interacted with the other Spiders," you told him with a pointed look.
Miguel huffed a short breath. "I'm not trying to get close to anyone," he stated firmly. That made you pause and tilt your head in interest. "Then what am I?" You asked, a curious smile pulling at your mouth.
His gloomy expression lifted somewhat as he looked at you. He uncrossed his arms and planted them on the counter on either side of your body, and he stared at your face thoughtfully. You stared back, waiting for an answer.
"You," he began slowly, "were a distraction to take the edge off." You hummed thoughtfully in response, wrapping your legs around his waist to bring him closer. "And now?" You prompted, your eyes falling to his lips.
"And now," he echoed, "you're the person I bring back to my room to stitch up because I don't trust anyone else to do it."
You smiled at him, and your stomach fluttered at how close he was to you. You wanted so badly to kiss him. Your lips yearned for the feeling of his mouth against yours.
"I guess that makes me pretty special," you replied smugly.
A glimmer of reluctant amusement shone in his face, and he tilted his head in mock consideration. "I think 'special' is a stretch," he stated coolly. You placed a hand over your heart dramatically. "Ouch," you gasped. "And you wonder why I joke about going to other people."
He raised an eyebrow at you. "I don't wonder," he stated. "I know exactly why you do it."
"And why is that?" You asked coyly.
Miguel shot you an unconvinced look. "Because it gets under my skin, and you know it," he replied. You smirked, unable to deny the truth in his statement.
"If that's true, then that would make me a horrible person," you told him.
"You are a horrible person."
Your smile widened, and with your good arm, you raised your hand to his chest and let it slowly wander up to wrap behind his neck. "Then why do you like me?" You asked innocently.
Miguel was looking at your lips now, and there was a hint of playfulness in his face. "'Like' is a strong word," he said thoughtfully. "I think 'tolerate' is more accurate."
You rolled your eyes with a smile. "Damn, is there anything in the first aid kit for a broken heart?" You joked. He couldn't stop himself from smiling softly at your theatrics. "You're ridiculous," he said.
You hummed, pulling him closer to your face. "You love it," you insisted. His nose brushed against yours before he repeated, "I tolerate it." You chuckled and gave a careful shrug. "Same difference," you said before pulling his lips down against yours.
You couldn't resist smiling against his lips as you kissed him for the first time in weeks. You were savoring every sweet second of his body against yours. His mouth moved slowly against your own, and he snaked an arm around your torso, making your face glow with a faint blush.
His words echoed in your head. It's not that I don't want it. So, he did feel the same way you did, or at least, to some degree he did. The thought alone made your stomach flutter, and you ran your fingers through his hair while trying to memorize how his lips felt against yours.
When you finally broke apart, you still wore a smile on your face as his forehead rested on yours. "Oh wow, that does help with the pain," you commented. The pain had subsided considerably when his mouth was pressed against yours.
Miguel chuckled and kissed you again briefly. "Consider your experiment a success," he said. You hummed thoughtfully. "I would be an irresponsible scientist if I didn't repeat my experiment to prove its validity," you argued, earning a smile from him before you pressed your lips to his again.
It felt so good to kiss him, especially after the shitty failure that was today's mission, and the warmth of his body melted all your troubles away from your mind. You didn't care about the mission or your injury. He was here with you, everything else could wait.
With your fingers still running through his hair, you grabbed a fistful of jet-black strands and deepened your kiss, pushing your tongue into his mouth with a sigh. His hand on your waist tightened while he grunted softly into your mouth.
Breaking away from your lips, Miguel murmured your name in a low, warning voice. "Hmm?" You replied innocently, looking up at his dark eyes through your lashes. "We had an agreement," he said.
"Yeah, when I was on the team," you told him. "But you just said that I need to lay off for a few days..." you gave him a pointed look, "...which means I'm technically off the team for a few days..." you pulled his face back down to yours, "...which means that our agreement is null and void."
With that, you pressed your lips to his in a deep kiss before he could argue back. It was a weak argument, and you knew it, but you didn't want him to challenge it. You wanted him to want you.
His grip around your waist tightened as he pushed against your tongue with his own. You couldn't help the small moan you gave as his passion began to show, and all the longing you'd been feeling for Miguel the past couple weeks began welling up inside you.
Your lips separated for a moment. "Treacherous," he murmured breathlessly against your skin. You hummed, blinking your eyes open to look at him. His face looked restless, and you knew he was hungry for more.
"So I've been told," you replied smugly as you moved your lips down to his neck. Miguel gave a deep sigh at the feeling of your kisses on his sensitive skin, skin that felt warm and soft to the touch.
In your growing desire for him, your teeth gently nipped his bare flesh. Miguel sucked in a sharp breath at the sensation, his fingers gripping your waist tightly as he whispered your name again. You smiled deviously as his reaction, and your legs wrapped around his hips to bring his body flush against yours.
"Give me more," you mumbled against his skin. Miguel took a second to respond, his breathing ragged as he tried to keep his composure. "You're hurt," he argued weakly. Based on his strained voice, you knew he had all but given in to the craving of your touch. You raised your head up so that you could look him in his dark, restless eyes, noses brushing gently as you were both panting lightly in anticipation.
"Then make me feel better."
That was all you had to say before he kissed you with the hunger of a touch-starved man. He pulled you off the sink in one swift movement, holding you upright with your legs still wrapped around his waist, and walked out of the bathroom to where his bed was waiting for you both.
Finally, you thought. The tension between you these past few weeks had been torture. Seeing each other around HQ after your last encounter and not saying a word in passing was aggravating, and you had been longing for the moment when you could wrap your arms (and legs) around him again.
When his legs hit the side of the bed, he lowered you carefully down onto it. You still had your good arm wrapped around his shoulders, and when he placed you on the top of his bed, you hissed in pain and clung to his body. The edge of your stitched-up wound had touched the comforter, making it sting. 
"Maybe not like this," you said with a light chuckle.
A flash of concern crossed Miguel's face when he realized your pain, and he moved to roll off of you. Still holding yourself close to his body, you rolled with him and found yourself straddling his lap.
With a smirk, you hovered your face over his. "Much better," you stated smugly. Miguel was still assessing your face for any traces of discomfort. "Are you sure you're up for this?" He asked. You shot him a look. You would've thought he was trying to find a way out of it if it weren't for the fact that his fingers were unconsciously trying to move your hips against his hardening cock.
"I've been craving you for weeks," you whispered against his lips. "It would take more than this to keep me off of you." His face gave way to a smile at your words, a true smile that filled his whole face. Fuck, he looked so good. The way he lit up with you knocked the wind out of you, and you could've stayed there forever just admiring the beautiful smile he had before he raised his head to kiss you.
You leaned into him, growing hot with desire. Your suit, so attuned to what your body wanted, retracted all the way back to your web shooters. Miguel's hands traced across the skin of your torso as his tongue slid against yours, and his suit also disappeared from his body.
Feeling his skin against yours set your heart racing. His fingertips felt electric as his hands wandered up your back to unclasp your bra. Careful not to hit your new stitches, he removed it from your body, taking in the sight of your bare body with a lustful expression before lowering his head to take one of your breasts in his mouth.
You sucked in a sharp breath as he moved his mouth sloppily over your skin. Leaning into him, you ran a hand through his dark hair and grabbed fistfuls of the strands. You missed this, the feeling of him exploring your body. It was so much more than taking the edge off now. It was almost like a form of worship.
"Feeling better?" He murmured, tilting his head up to watch your enraptured expression. "Mhmm," you hummed, a lazy smile pulling at your lips. "But don't you dare stop."
Miguel smirked. "Wasn't planning on it," he replied in a low voice. As he spoke, his hands slid down your body and began pushing your underwear down over your ass. Leaning forward, you lifted your legs to allow his hands to remove your last piece of clothing.
You were breathing hard in anticipation now. You placed sloppy kisses on his chest, his neck, practically any of his tanned skin that you could reach. From his throat, the softest little moans sounded in response to your touch, and each fueled your desire. In your desperation, your teeth grazed his skin again.
His breath caught in his throat, and his fingers dug into your skin. You smirked, enjoying his reaction to your teasing. "You like that, don't you?" You observed slyly. Before you could give him the opportunity to respond, you bit down on the muscle at the base of his neck, not enough to be painful but enough to leave a mark.
He moaned loudly, an unrestrained sound that demonstrated the power you had over him. You released the skin between your teeth before moving them up his neck and biting him there, gentler than before. You were fairly certain he stopped breathing for a moment as you bit down on his soft skin. When the moment passed, you let go again, moving your mouth up and nipping his earlobe.
Miguel was practically paralyzed by your touch, and you could feel his heart racing wildly under your hand. He was completely at your mercy, unable to stop you even if he had wanted to.
But you knew he didn't want you to stop.
Still holding a fistful of his hair, you pulled firmly and tilted his head back to expose his neck to you. Letting his earlobe slip out of your teeth, you moved your mouth to his jaw, placing a kiss on the skin there before gently biting it.
He groaned your name. There was a desperate edge to his voice that made your cunt ache for him. When you moved your lips up to his, he kissed you with such fervor that it was less like he was kissing you and more like he was trying to devour you, like being completely pressed against you wasn't close enough.
"I need to...be inside you," he gasped, his lips still trying to kiss you as he spoke. He sounded as breathless as you felt, and when you opened your eyes to look at him, his eyes were hungry with his desire for you.
Maybe if it hadn't been so long since you'd been together, you would've prolonged the teasing, exacerbated his frustration, but you found that you were also desperate to feel him inside you. Every inch of your body burned for him, and you knew he burned for you, too.
Settling back down slowly on his lap, you allowed Miguel to guide your hips to his cock. Your forehead rested against his, and you gave a small gasp when you felt the tip tease at the entrance of your pussy. Giving Miguel another messy kiss, you lowered yourself down his length.
God, he felt good.
Your head lolled back as he stretched you out so perfectly for the first time in weeks. Miguel released a hot breath against the skin of your neck, his hands holding your hips tightly as he slid into your tight cunt.
"Oh, fuck," he whispered. "I've missed this."
If you had been in a clearer state of mind, you would've pointed out it was his own damn fault for making the stupid rule in the first place. But right now, the only thing on your mind was that you needed to move your body against his.
Raising your hips up again, a loud groan spilled from your lips. You'd almost forgotten just how big he was. His cock was buried deep inside you, setting every nerve on fire. Every muscle in your body tightened with the feeling of his dick sliding out of you, and your hands, one still in his hair and the other holding onto his back, curled tightly as you clung to him.
You moved back down again, your eyes closed tightly with the sensations of riding him. Miguel's hands gripped your waist tightly, his fingers digging into the soft flesh as you moved slowly up and down the length of his cock. His breathing was shaky, and so was yours. Neither of you said anything as you took the time to reacquaint yourselves with the feeling of each other's bodies.
You soon grew impatient with the slow pace you were keeping. You raised your hips off of his lap with greater need, grinding your pussy down hard against him as you did. Miguel's reaction was immediate, and you heard a growl deep in his throat. His hands encouraged your pace and eased some of the effort off of your knees.
The sound of your ass smacking against his lap filled the air, and combined with the sounds of his heavy panting, it only fueled your lust-crazed mind. Blinking open your eyes, you looked at Miguel and found that he was staring up at your face. A shimmer of sweat gleamed on his forehead, and his lips were parted as he breathed hard.
Your eyes locked with his dark gaze. Even as you continued to move along his length, you couldn't help but feel utterly paralyzed by his stare, so brazen and intentional, completely in awe of you. It made you feel powerful, revered.
Loved.
You managed to break out of your paralyzed stupor and crash your lips down on his. Now, you were the one who felt as though you couldn't be close enough to him. Even with his cock pumping in and out of you with ever-increasing speed, you wondered if there was anything that could satisfy your need for him.
Your pace was uncontrollable now. Small, whining moans escaped your mouth with every rise and fall of your hips. Miguel's fingers dug into your waist tightly, and he grunted as he pulled away from your lips.
"Wait," he gasped quietly.
Your eyes snapped open, and you froze. Was something wrong? Were you doing something he didn't like?
Miguel's face struggled to compose itself. "You need to slow down," he finally said. You stared at him for a second before you understood what was happening.
A wicked grin grew on your face. "Why?" You asked deviously. Miguel shot you a glare, his chest heaving. "You know why," he grunted. "Just slow down."
Still wearing your devilish smile, you started moving your hips again. "I don't want to," you told him, your words sounding almost childish as you choked back a whine. Miguel cursed under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut as he fought against the pleasure your cunt brought him.
"Wait, wait," he groaned again, trying to hold you still. Now, this was a power trip if you'd ever felt one. You knew you were only a few moments away from causing him to unravel. Now, he was begging you to ease up because he knew he couldn't last against you.
You grabbed his jaw in one hand, forcing his face to look up at you. "Why should I?" You demanded to know. He was panting hard, and his eyes seemed hazy and unfocused.
"I need to take care of you first," he managed to breathe. You huffed an amused breath. He never failed to get you off, and despite the fact that you were more than happy to finish him off in record timing, you were inclined to let him take over for you.
Miguel placed a soft kiss to your lips. "Let me take care of you," he pleaded in a whisper. "Let me taste you."
The thought alone of what he could do with his tongue was enough to make you moan. Instead of replying, you kissed him hard before lifting your hips up off of him entirely. You felt a twinge of regret from the loss of his cock inside you, but when he slowly rolled you over, the rush of anticipation quickly replaced it.
Miguel pulled you to the edge of the bed, careful not to cause your stitches to hit the comforter. With your good arm, you were propped up by your elbow while he slowly moved down your body. He placed tantalizing kisses on your throat, your collar, your breasts, your stomach, practically every inch of your body he could see. With every kiss, you felt like your body was slowly being set on fire, and you moaned impatiently as he slid off the edge of the bed and wrapped his arms under your thighs the way he loved to do.
When his mouth finally landed over your pussy, you nearly fell back against the bed. A cry of pleasure tore from your throat. The hand you weren't leaning on came up and grabbed his hair while you squirmed in his grip. His lips were sealed over your pussy. He was alternately sucking at your clit and circling it with his tongue. You struggled to breathe as he continued working at a careful pace.
"Miguel," you gasped, your thighs flexing beneath his hands.
Miguel moaned against you, his movements growing faster and faster. His head pressed firmly against you. Your heart was pounding furiously in your chest as you tried to keep your arm from buckling. His tongue moved expertly against you, lapping hungrily at your swollen clit. You tugged at his hair as you tried moving under his arms, but his grip kept you in place.
Your head fell back with a long whine. You knew at the rate he was going that you weren't going to last long. He was all too familiar with the way your body worked, and he knew exactly where to focus his efforts to get you off.
Lifting your head up again, you blinked your eyes open to look down at him. Half of his face was blocked by your arm, so you released the hold you had on his hair, letting your hand trace the edge of his face. His dark eyes were gazing up at you intently, watching your every reaction.
Letting your hand fall away from his face, it rested on your thigh as you let out another high-pitched moan. Without stopping his tongue, Miguel released his grip on your leg and took your hand in his. You looked down at him and squeezed his hand while he continued swirling his tongue over your pussy.
"Don't stop," you panted, your stomach tensing from his movement. He tightened his grip in two quick pulses, and even though his mouth never left your cunt, you could practically hear the words he was thinking—I won't.
Your legs were shaking now, and you barely had the strength to keep yourself up off the bed. Pleasure was taking over your body and coiling at your stomach. Miguel knew you were close by the quickening of your breath and the tightening of your grip, his tongue maintaining its steady pressure.
Finally, with a loud cry, your body began trembling under his touch. You squeezed his hand hard as you came against his mouth. The feeling of ecstasy burned in every part of your body while you struggled to breathe from the pleasure that had now completely overwhelmed you.
Miguel eased his pace to lazy circles, his eyes alight with smug satisfaction. You writhed under his mouth, growing restless from the overstimulation you were beginning to feel. "Oh, fuck," you gasped, moving your hips to escape his warm tongue. He let you move away from his face, releasing his grip on your hand and thigh.
Miguel pushed himself off the ground and began crawling over your body. "See?" he said in satisfaction, sounding out of breath. "I'll always take care of you." You moaned again, still trying to recover from your high. "Careful O'Hara," you managed to say. "Don't make promises you can't keep."
He smirked down at you, his lips and chin glistening with your wetness. Pushing forward, his body forced yours down. You wrapped one arm around his shoulders, clinging to him to keep from laying on the bed. "Not like this—my stitches," you whispered.
Miguel froze for a second before placing a hand behind your back to help you up. "How do you want it?" He asked quietly. You took a second and bit your lip as you considered the myriad of ways he could fuck you.
"Like before," you decided finally.
His subtle smile returned, and he rolled off of your body and onto the bed. Pulling yourself up, you straddled him again, though perhaps not so fast since you were still hazy from your orgasm. His hands guided you back down to where his cock was waiting for you.
Miguel rested his head on your good shoulder as you lowered yourself slowly back down on him. His hot breath fanned against your skin as he groaned at the feeling of your wet pussy around him. You let out a strangled gasp, feeling yourself stretch out again for him. You moved slowly, still halfway stuck in the stupor his mouth had left you in, and everything was still so sensitive for you.
Gradually, you began moving again. Miguel's arms wrapped tightly around you, pressing his body up against yours. His skin felt like fire—burning, consuming, enthralling. You rested your head against his as his strong arms helped lift you up and down his length.
"You feel so fucking good," he grunted quietly against your cheek. "You don't understand...what you do to me." Your nails dug into the skin of his shoulder as he spoke. The movement of his cock inside you made it difficult for you to formulate a response, but you managed to choke out, "Tell me. Tell me what I do to you."
He groaned softly. "You drive me fucking crazy," he muttered. "I can never focus when you're with me—," he groaned again, "—but I can never stop thinking about you when you're not." His arms were moving you up and down faster as he spoke, and you could tell he was fucking out his frustration. "The way you smell," he continued breathlessly, "the way you feel, the way you look when you're cumming all over my cock."
You gasped sharply, the combination of his words and his increasingly desperate pace rendering you speechless. "I want to have you every second...of every day," he murmured in your ear. You were panting hard against his skin while his cock continued driving deep into your aching cunt.
"Then have me," you whispered so quietly that he wouldn't have heard it over the lewd sounds of your fucking if it hadn't been said directly in his ear. "Have me every day."
He groaned, and turning his face, he captured your lips in a kiss. The taste of your pussy still lingered on his mouth, and you moaned softly against his lips. Everything felt so good, and when you broke away from your kiss, you looked deep into Miguel’s eyes and whispered, “I’m yours.”
And just like that, Miguel's body tensed, and with a long moan against your skin, he came inside you. You stilled as he held you tightly against his body. Beside the sound of your heart beating furiously in your ears, there was only your heavy breathing to fill the silence between you.
You could've stayed like that forever, feeling his strong arms wrapped around your body, hearing his breath against your ear. Your body still buzzed with pleasure, and there was nothing in your mind except that cursed phrase you fought so hard to ignore, the one that whispered to you constantly in the back of your brain every time you looked at Miguel.
I love you.
Over and over, it echoed in your mind, begging to be spoken. You'd heard it nagging in your heart for a while now, and you had tried your best to ignore it. Even after weeks of next to no contact, your feelings hadn't wavered for him.
Now, as you sat there wrapped in each other's arms, you felt those words ringing louder than ever, and for one dreadful moment, you thought you might say it out loud.
No—no, you couldn't. A bolt of fear yanked the words off your tongue. You couldn't jeopardize this. It was too precious to you. Even if this was all you could have, the occasional fuck, sleeping together knowing that he would always have to leave for something more important than yourself—wasn't it better than nothing? Wasn't it better than before when you were all alone? Especially now that he admitted to feeling something real for you, you couldn't ruin it with those three words.
Miguel finally moved when he turned his head toward yours. Your noses brushed against each other for moment as you both gasped for breath before your lips pressed down on his. You moaned against him softly. Still holding your body to his, he leaned back against the bed, bringing you down with him so that you lay on his chest.
After your breathing began leveling out, you shifted, allowing his cock to pull out of you with a groan. You slid off his chest onto your good shoulder with your body still pressed against his. You lay there like that for a while in comfortable silence, enjoying the feeling of each other's warm skin.
"It's been too long," Miguel sighed, finally breaking the silence. You smiled. "And whose fault is that?" You asked as you looked up at him. A small smile formed on his lips. "You were the one who swore you'd catch Ghost," he pointed out. "Is it my fault for believing you?"
You scoffed. "It's your fault for making that stupid rule in the first place," you argued. There was a quiet chuckle that rumbled in his chest. "It's called compromise, sweetheart," he said smoothly. "I can't let you have everything you want."
You tried to keep a straight face, but his snark caused your lips to quirk upward. "And why not?" You demanded to know, propping yourself up onto your elbow to look deep in his eyes.
Miguel looked at you with a subtle smile still adorning his face. "Because then everyone is going to complain about how I favor you over everyone else," he replied evenly. "And then, one by one, they'll all leave until it's just you and me."
You hummed thoughtfully. "That doesn't sound so bad," you said, settling back down next to him. "Just you and me against the multiverse."
He hummed as well. "Just you and me," he repeated, and in his voice, you could hear him imagining it, the two of you together across every universe.
You had imagined it before, too. You and Miguel, together, always, through everything. It was such a sweet dream, and yet the truth was the bitter chaser that always followed your longing—different dimensions, different lives. What future could you have together?
If Miguel was thinking the same thing, he didn't say it. He seemed content to just lay with you in silence while his fingers gently caressed your arm.
After a moment, you sighed. You could feel Miguel's head turn to look down at you in curiosity.
"You know, I meant what I said before," you told him softly.
"Hmm?"
"About being more than just a fling you can ignore outside of the bedroom," you explained.
"Ah."
You felt his head turn back up to stare at the ceiling, but his fingers still brushed against your skin. "I mean, is that what you still want?" You asked, lifting your gaze to look at his face. "Be honest."
There was a beat of silence before he quietly answered, "No."
You waited, hoping he would say more. He sounded almost reluctant in his reply, so you could tell there was more to it.
It was Miguel's turn to sigh. "I don't—I don't want this to be casual either," he began slowly. "I want it to be real, but I can't give up my work here. I won't. And one day, you'll hate me for not putting you first."
You scoffed lightly at those last words. "I could never hate you," you told him. There was a slight pause before he muttered, "Don't be so sure."
It could've been a joke, but the way he said it was so serious, it made you pause, and looking up at his face, you found there wasn't any traces of humor. You pushed yourself up a bit to face him better. His eyes moved back to you, and you held his stare for a moment.
"I could never hate you," you repeated in a soft, earnest whisper. Miguel didn't respond, he only watched you carefully before a tiny, sad smile pulled at his lips, looking as though he wanted to believe you.
"Careful," he murmured. "Don't make promises you can't keep."
You smirked at him and leaned in close. "I'll try my best not to," you said before closing the gap between your lips. He kissed you gently before pulling away to say, "And I'll try—about what you want, I'll try."
Your heart leapt, and there wasn't anything you could do to contain your smile. "Thank you," you whispered before kissing him again. You could feel him grinning against your lips, and his arms pulled you close. When you broke apart, you settled back down next to him.
"If they all start complaining though, I'm blaming you," he said. You chuckled. "Fair is fair," you replied. "If they don't like it, they can leave." He huffed in amusement. "Until it's just you and me?" He asked.
"Until it's just you and me."
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junnieverse · 6 months
Text
FIRST DATES ➳ ENHYPEN
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➙ what your first date with enhypen was like
pairing: non idol!enhypen x afab!reader
genre: fluff
request: " hiii, could you please write about going on a first date with enhypen? or a date where they ask you to be their gf? thank you "
warnings: not proofread, lowercase intended
a/n: here it is anon, thank you for the request, I actually had planned to upload this post and since I got your request too, it was like hitting two birds with one stone. I also had a txt version in my drafts too so I decided to post that one first and hopefully if I have the time I can make a zb1 version too :)
a/n (2): you can find my txt version [ here ]
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🖇️ — 양정원 ; JUNGWON !
↳ amusement park date
you had met jungwon after a friend of yours set you both up claiming he would be your 'perfect match'
you were skeptical at first due to her outrageous claims but after meeting jungwon for the first time you were starting to believe her
he not only was your type in terms of how he looked but he also had some unique qualities and features that made you like him even more
he had invited you to a theme park with him after finding out through your mutual friend that you'd always wanted to go to an amusement park for a date
he was pretty nervous in the beginning not wanting to make any bad impression and so he seemed quite timid and shy in the beginning which you found cute
after the first rollerocaster you both got on, he started loosening up and getting comfortable with you
not only did he hold your hand during the rides when he noticed you getting scared but he also won you a giant teddy bear at one of the stall games
he officially won you over after that and you could notice other couple complaining to their boyfriend's wanting them to win them a prize too
after the thrilling first date, you both made sure to set up a next date and you made sure to thank your friend for being such a good matchmaker
🖇️ — 이희승 ; HEESEUNG !
↳ go karting date
heeseung was a mutual of yours from social media who you soon met at a social event a friend of yours was hosting
unlike alot of the other guys here who were seemingly living it up on the dance floor or trying to hit on someone, he was sitting with a couple of his friends casually having a conversation of their own
your friend soon introduced you to the group he was with and he ofcourse captured your attention
being as bold as he was, heeseung asked to take you out on a date and you agreed because he was incredibly attractive and you wanted to get to know more about him
he had decided meeting to go on a go-karting race would be super fun and you couldn't agree more
heeseung was super funny and a little flirty too during the course of your date and that was something that drew you in more to him
"Hope you can keep up with me, I won't be going easy on you." you tell him cheekily as you got into your seat
"Oh you're on and when I do win, I'll be expecting a second date." heeseung answers driving off leaving you behind
true to the 'promise' you both made, there was a second date and a third before you both decided to make it official
🖇️ — 박종성 ; JAY !
↳ candle lit dinner date
you had known jay for some time now having been friends in the same friend group but your other friends had been trying to set you both up with each other for the longest time
it took alot of convincing from both sides but you both agreed to give it ago since you knew there was that tiny bit of romantic attraction you had but just never acted upon
jay being the gentleman he was wanted to treat you to only the finest dining experience like the princess you were
oh and did I forget to mention the gorgeous bouquet of your favourite flowers that he suprised you with too?
despite your protests that this was far too expensive and extravagant, jay wanted to pull out all the stops to impress you and hopefully see things through with you
the dinner was not only peaceful but the cozy aura of the entire scenery made getting to know jay seem more deep and romantic
he was handsome, no doubt about that, but you were seeing him from many more different lights as he spoke only highlighting how much of a walking green flag he was
and jay was smitten over you, you looked ethereal that night, absolutely stunning and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't stop how uncontrollably fast his heart was beating at the mere sight of your smile
yes, you were both hesitant to the idea of getting out of the friendzone but now you realised you'd been holding back how you truly felt for each other
🖇️ — 심재윤 ; JAKE !
↳ picnic date
you had met jake at the park after his dog layla had seemingly strayed too far from him and he had unexpectedly found her laying with you under a tree whilst you read your book
you had jokingly told him it was she was in good and jake felt relieved knowing she wasn't lost and wanted to repay you for your kindness and 'watching her'
you agreed seeing as this stranger was fairly cute and you couldn't possibly say no to his sweet smile
jake had planned out a picnic date with you at the exact spot he had first met you and when you'd arrived he had everything set up
"I got you these, well made them actually, I hope you like them." jake shyly says gifting you a bouquet of lego flowers which you found absolutely adorable
when you both had exchanged numbers, you had the chance to get to know each other and there he learnt one of your hobbies was painting
not only was layla accompanying him during your date, but jake bought a bunch of paint and brushes with 2 blank canvas so you both could paint together
during the date, you both got to learn more about each other and it was even more surprising to see how much in common you had
you didn't know this but jake made sure to give layla extra treats to thank her for being a little cupid that day
🖇️ — 박성훈 ; SUNGHOON !
↳ ice skating date
you had met sunghoon through... not the best circumstances
you were meant to go watch a movie with a date of yours but he stood you up
sunghoon happened to be in line to the movie you were watching and you both happened to have a casual conversation talking and getting to know each other
you soon got to become good friends and to your suprise, sunghoon happened to ask you out
you'd initially taken it as one of his jokes but after realising how serious he was, you decided to agree and see where things go
he had told you about his love for ice skating and how he'd been doing it for years on multiple occasions so you raised the idea of going ice skating for your first date just so you would see him skate in person
he knew you weren't the best skater either so he made sure to help you find your balance on the ice and he showed you a few of his tricks he'd learnt in the past
he had the biggest smile on his face the entire time and despite having his full attention on you, it was very clear that he had the attention of everyone else in the rink
not only because of his ethereal beauty but because of how gracefully he moved on the ice
watching sunghoon in his element skating so elegantly oddly made your heart skip a beat and that's when you knew this would be the beginning of something special
🖇️ — 김선우 ; SUNOO !
↳ ice cream date
sunoo happened to be a classmate of yours you'd be paired up with for a project and you found him attractive as he did you
sharing shy glances at each other during lectures to soft laughs whenever your fingers gently touched the others when you worked together
mustering up the courage, sunoo asked to go out with you when you're available and you ofcourse happily agreed
summer had made its appearance and ice cream was the obvious answer to beating this heat
you both had spent your day going to an art class and after coming across an ice cream parlour in the area, you decided some ice cream would be great
everything about your date with sunoo was going so well
not only did you both have alot in common but he made you feel giddy and the butterflies were fluttering in your stomach
sunoo was also having an enjoyable time during your date and he was just happy to see your smiling the entire time and he loved your company
he accompanied you home after the date and you suprised him with a little kiss on the cheek leaving him a blushing mess afterwards
🖇️ — 西村 力 ; NI-KI !
↳ arcade date
you had known riki as you were both classmates and despite how intimidating he was, you confessed your attraction towards him asking him out on a date and suprisingly he agreed
you thought going to the arcade in your neighbourhood would be a great date idea and he agreed
best believe riki is doing his ample best to win at each and every game so you get to take the prizes home with you
his competitive nature wants him to only do the best and his pride wants to impress you
yeah sure he let's you win a couple games but he won't go easy on you alot of the time, you have to beat him fair and square
still super sweet and funny the entire time and makes sure you're enjoying yourself
riki makes sure you go home with not only fun memories of the day but also two handfuls of plushies that he proudly won for you
"If I get you the duck plushy you want, he about I take you out on a second date, that'll be your treat to me." he says and true to his word he got it for you
albeit you were the one to initiate everything, riki made sure to text you later that night to plan for a second date to your delight
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remedyx · 10 months
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Boyfriend for Hire
BTS Ot7 x Reader
Chapter 52
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The next morning, I didn’t have to worry about being late seeing as how Yoongi’s alarm had gone off a good thirty minutes before mine was supposed to. I groaned, rolling into him to keep him in bed a little longer. He didn’t complain, his arms tugging me closer, so I practically laid on top of him.
“You should stay with me every night. I like waking up with you here.” He mumbled sleepily.
“You have six other people to convince before me.” I giggled.
“Mmm.”
In the next second, he flipped us over. My legs wrapped around his waist on their own as he supported his weight above me. His lips descending on my own while my arms snaked their way over his shoulders. As I returned his kiss, he shifted his hips into mine, my own body unable to help but respond to the prominent bulge that pressed into my core. My moan passed my lips only to be swallowed by Yoongi who thrust into me a bit harder in an attempt to hear it again. Slowly, he pulled away, leaving three more soft kisses against my lips as he looked down at me.
“Let me take you to work.”
“Are you sure? I know it’s not on your way.”
He kissed me again, teasing his tongue against mine before pulling back with a smirk.
“Why do you think I set my alarm 30 minutes earlier than I normally would?”
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Not only did Yoongi make sure he had enough time to drop me off, but he had also made sure he had coffee at the ready for me as well as a breakfast sandwich on our way out the door.
“You spoil me too much and I may come to expect it.” I mumbled around a mouthful of sandwich as Yoongi drove through the early morning traffic of Seoul.
“You haven’t been spoiled yet doll. All we’ve done for you so far is take care of you as we should.”
A soft hum left my lips as I tore off a piece of my sandwich and held it to his lips. He accepted it, chewing silently as I took my last bite, intending to feed him the rest of it.
“Either way. I’m going to have to figure out a way to return the favor. It seems like you all have done a lot for me since we’ve met, and I haven’t reciprocated.”
“Are you kidding?” he guffawed, mouth open to take another bite I offered to him. “Y/N, I know you might think that, but I can assure you that while what you give us isn’t tangible or visible, you’ve made us all happier than we’ve been in a long time. You brought all of us together. There’s not been a single woman who has captured all of our attention, ever. We intend to keep you. And to do that, we’ll lay the world at your feet if we have to.”
My heart swelled with all the pent up emotions. I popped the last of the sandwich in his mouth as a distraction. I was worried I would start crying otherwise.
“You’re too good with words, you know that?”
He chuckled, mouth working around the large bite I gave him. He chewed for a moment before swallowing and casting me a glance out of the corner of his eye.
“I told you. Every once in a while I’m smooth.”
The drive to my shop passed too quickly. Used to, I thought it was the longest drive to have to make every morning by myself. Funny how perspectives change depending on who you’re with. I felt like I didn’t ever get enough time with the boys even with there being seven of them.
“Thank you for the ride.” I said as we pulled up to the shop.
I unbuckled my seatbelt, gathering my purse and phone. Yoongi snatched my coffee, holding it out to me as I opened the door to get out.
“Coffee.” He reminded me as I almost got out without it.
“Oh.”
I reached out to take it from him, he quickly moved it out of reach before I could wrap my fingers around it. I looked at him confused only briefly before the way he slightly puckered his lips enlightened me as to what he wanted. I grinned like a fool as I leaned across the seat to kiss him. He hummed in appreciation finally relinquishing the coffee he held hostage.
“I love you.”
Butterflies erupted within me, making my already foolish smile widen as I gave him one last peck.
“I love you too. Drive safe.”
“I will. Don’t work too hard.”
“I should be telling you that. You put in way more hours than I do.”
“Comes with the territory.” He chuckled. “Have a good day. I’ll see you later.”
“Bye.”
I exited the car, blowing him one last kiss and heading inside to start my day.
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It hadn’t dawned on me until much later in the day that I didn’t have my own car with me to make Jimin’s delivery. Only about an hour before I was supposed to be meeting him specifically. Typical of myself to forget small bits of information that are actually important. I helped Kat finish the last of the weekly orders, double checking the online shop to see if we had anything new as we packaged the last of them.
“Will you be fine here by yourself? I don’t know if I’ll make it back before close.”
“Of course. You don’t have to feel guilty leaving me here alone sometimes. I’m a big girl. I can handle things.”
“It’s not that. I just don’t want to leave you to have to do everything on your own.”
“I know. You’re an amazing boss. Now call your pretty boy before you forget that too.”
I kicked her in the butt as she walked by me. Knowing she was right though and I needed to call Jimin, I picked up my phone dialing his number.
“Funny, I was just thinking about you.” Jimin said first thing after answering.
“Well, we are supposed to be meeting soon.” I playfully rolled my eyes even though he couldn’t see me through the phone.
“Even if we weren’t though, I’d still be thinking about you, baby. You’re on my mind all the time these days.”
“Alright Casanova, there’s a reason I called.” I giggled, holding the phone between my shoulder and ear as I shrugged my coat on.
“Hit me.”
“I’ll be late with the delivery. I was a ditz and forgot I needed my car to drive your way and didn’t pick it up last night, so I’m heading back to the house now to get it.”
“Where are you right now?”
“Just now leaving the store. I should be there in an hour and a half.”
“Don’t worry about it. I have time, I can come get you.”
“What? No. It’s fine. I’ll be quick-“
“Y/N.” his voice was like smooth honey through the phone. “I’m on my way. Just get your cute butt back in the shop and keep it warm until I get there.”
I paused with one foot out the door. Sighing as I debated my options. I could ignore him and tell him I’m still going to get my car, but I didn’t think that would go over too well in my favor. The other option was to let him come get them himself, saving time on both our behalf’s, but more effort on mine.
“Is there any way I can convince you to change your mind?”
The faint sound of a car door shutting on his end gave me my answer before the words left him.
“In any other circumstance, I would say yes. But I really have no issue coming to get you. It gives me a reason to see you. That, I won’t turn down.”
Damn it. It was impossible to be frustrated with any of them when they were this sweet.
“Although, if you would like to say thank you, I’m not opposed to you letting me eat you out in the back seat-“
“Jimin. Do you always have to be so insufferable?” I laughed good naturedly.
I could practically picture him shrugging. “It’s part of my charm. Don’t pretend you don’t love it.”
He was right. As unapologetic as he was, it was a captivating quality. The way he could so effortlessly draw people in and lighten the mood. I couldn’t ever truly be fed up with him. Exasperated, sure, but he was adorably Jimin.
“Alright. I’ll be here when you arrive.”
“Can’t wait to see you gorgeous.”
Chapter 53》
Taglist (closed): @mayla548 @lizzymizzy-blogg @uarmyhore @strawberry-moonpies @yu-justme @gooooomz @luvian-art @p-i-e-d-p-i-p-e-r @kiki-zb @mageprincess7 @thebisexualonesworld @mellymousie @bookoffracturedescapes @comingupwithacoolnameishard @idkreallys-blog @mushroom-main @ortiz1997 @felicityroth @juju-227592 @minholykingofkorea @purplelo @welcometomyworld13 @idkjustlovingbts @writingwithmai @k3yl337 @singukieee @taebae19 @tinyoonsblog @shawtylilsalty @bts-ruu @hopeonthestreet67 @burningfanflowercash
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x-reader-things · 9 months
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Omg hi!
I saw that you wrote for star wars rebels and thought that this was my shot!
Could i get an imagine of where Ezra has a partner(non binary reader) and they get captured after a big fight, and when they come to save them they are EXTREMELY hurt, like, burn scars, black eyes, cuts littered everywhere on their body, and how he would react along with the other ghost crew and a week or so after ish?
The ghost crew is platonic btw, but i don't know if i want Ezra romantic? Just fluff and cuddles and a really worried Ezra :)
Feel free to ignore this and remember to take care of yourself!
This one got carried away from me ty for requesting this, oml-
It was really fun to write it- I literally stayed up until 4 : 30 something or 4 : 40 something writing most of it, got 3 hours of sleep, and began to write it again I love this piece sm-
Sorry for the long wait too, and I hope you remember to take care of yourself as well!! And if this isn’t exactly how you imagined it I apologize as well, but still, I hope you enjoy!!
“—Builds character, apparently.”
The Ghost Crew x Reader [Platonic], Ezra Bridger x Reader [Romantic, mostly - recently established relationship]
Summary ; In which you get captured and tortured after a… lovely argument with your partner. Only to be found and brought back home a week later. Fun times.
Requested? ; Yes
Warnings ; reader get’s tortured, descriptions of violence [not too graphic], injuries, anxiety - typical canon violence for Star Wars Rebels and Star Wars in general. Also not much of a warning but touch starved Ezra!! I love him sm- also hurt comfort things too-
Word Count ; 6.6 k [my longest one so far- :00]
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Thinking back on it now, the argument was so small. So trivial.
So… Minimal.
Compared to now, that is. It was just a stupid thing blown out of proportions. A stupid little spat that you got in with your partner, Ezra.
Well, it’s not that stupid.
It was about him using the damn Sith holocron to get stronger. You didn’t mind that he was using it at first, sure. It helped him. Especially after what happened to Kanan. Kept him calm. Kept him strong. Kept him believing in the Force.
After all, in your minds eye, Sith and Jedi were really just two sides of the same coin.
It didn’t make too much of a difference to you, besides in methods of how each group manipulated their abilities they got from the Force, respectively.
But now, a couple years since then - and about a few months into… whatever your relationship turned out to be - he was depending on it too much. He was taking it’s teachings to the next level, which in turn made him more powerful. Which was a good thing, in some cases. It saved your asses more times than you could count, recently.
But Ezra was… much, much angrier than before.
Power hungry, almost.
And after Kanan found out he was using it - all because Ezra was dumb enough not to hide it quickly or put it away, and too oblivious at that point to even sense that Kanan was literally at his cabin door - Ezra rounded at you.
Blamed you for Kanan figuring it out. Blamed you for spilling his secrets. Blamed you for Kanan getting angry at him for his decision.
And you knew he wouldn’t actually say those things if he was really himself. You knew that he was beginning to get corrupted by that red pyramid of a holocron. You knew he was literally losing nights sleep due to nightmares, which made him more paranoid and skeptical about everything.
But damn, if it didn’t hurt like hell and make you even angrier than he was at that point.
You snapped at him. Told him you kept his secret from everyone. Told him you’d never, ever, spill any secrets of his or anyone else’s, even if you were being tortured for the truth. And you told him that you couldn’t believe he’d even accuse you for such a thing as that. You blamed the holocron, even took Kanan’s side for it - something you rarely ever did when it came down to Ezra unless of it was something serious - saying that Ezra’s gotten angry.
Too angry.
And you honestly didn’t really think you could handle it anymore. Or him in general, for that moment. So you left. Before he had anything else to say, and before he snapped out of that stunned daze that stared right into your eyes, almost completely disbelieving into the very depths of your soul. It was a heat of the moment kind of anger that made you do such a thing.
You offhandedly mumbled something about a mission you had to get to anyways, just as you quickly walked away from him, glare set on your face, hardening any kind of other emotion that threatened to come pouring out of your eyes (stars, you hated angry tears).
All of which happened about a week prior to where you were now.
Starving in a jail cell.
An imperial jail cell, locked away from everyone and everything.
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Another cough racked out of you, a wheeze accompanying it. You must have a cracked rib or something. Karabast, everything burned.
The mission you went on was supposed to take a couple days. And Hera gave it to you as a solo-operation. You needed it anyways, to cool off from the heated and stinging argument you had with Ezra before leaving.
It was simply get a few supply crates for medical purposes for the fleet. With how big the supply crates were, it should last the fleet about half a year at most - a few months at the very least. And honestly, the fleet could take anything it can get, at this point.
The crates were located in between the planets of Batonn and Denash, two planets in the Batonn sector.
You were warned to be careful. Earlier that year all three planets in that sector were taken back over by Grand Admiral Thrawn - some guy you’ve only recently heard of through transmissions from Fulcrum in the past few months - during the Batonn sector insurgency. You would be able to cloak one of the Phoenix squadron ships (since the Phantom would be in use for another mission at the time) so you wouldn’t be able to be detected by any of the imperials, or any of the imperial fleet, there.
Once cloaked, a secret message would be transmitted to you via a comm channel that only you and the disguised transporter would know about, in order to make the exchange for the medical crates. All hidden behind a few of the moons that orbited between both Batonn and Denash.
And you were careful.
At least, you were.
Clearly, the other disguised transporter wasn’t, and the plan was found out a little too late for you to realize that - especially a good few minutes after being bombarded by heavy blaster fire from the imperial fleet’s artillery. You’d think you’d realize that the moment you didn’t see the medical crates outside and connected to the transporter for an easy attachment pick-up, but no. You just had to give them the benefit of the doubt, didn’t you?
And now, here you were.
A week later.
Severely burned, bruised, and dehydrated.
And yet still somehow keeping a level head.
At least. You think.
“I told you, I have nothing to tell you.”, you spat between ragged breaths, another stick of something electric being shoved into your side again. You grit yourself teeth and strained, keeping your groaning and screaming to a minimum. You learned pretty quickly that running your vocal cords raw weren’t going to do you any good like that. Despite having to repeat yourself over and over to the imperial scum in front of you that you literally didn’t know a damn thing about what they wanted to hear from you.
Something something, plans for Lothal and it’s liberation (terrorist attack, which is what the Empire called it), and other boring stuff like where was the other rebels.
Now obviously, you weren’t going to just hand over the second part of their questions on a silver platter that easily. You never would. Not even if someone tried using the Force to get you to spit it out. You wouldn’t reveal that integral part of information, no. That’s where your friends were, that’s where your family lived, that’s where Ezra was.
You sure as hell weren’t going to give them that information for their satisfaction.
As for the first part of their questions, however, you legitimately didn’t know anything about it.
Sure, you’ve heard talks of it. Plans of getting together to actually plan it out, once the fleet was big enough. But you didn’t know specifics. After those couple of things, your knowledge of the subject was dwindled down to just some things you heard in passing conversations back at Chopper base. That was it.
And clearly, for the past longest week ever, the imperials didn’t believe you when you told them that truth.
That it wasn’t even fully planned. That they had nothing to worry about (yet). That you didn’t know anything.
A gloved hand lurched up and roughly grabbed your jaw, digging into the ever worsening bruises that littered your jaw and cheeks, forcing you to look at whoever it was. Through the swelling of your black eye that’s been getting worse for the past couple of days, all you could see was the blurry outline of the same soldier that always questioned you, looked at you and hurt you like you were the scum of the galaxy.
“The more you lie, the worse this gets”, he sneered, another jabs of burning and electricity stinging through you at his words. He shoved your face to the side as he let go of you, your head smacking into the metal slab that held you up and kept you captive in this horrific torture machine.
Another strained noise tickled the back of your throat. Another whimper of pain that you stifled to keep your sanity. At the very least, you could do whatever Ezra taught you to do best.
Annoy the hell out of these bucket heads.
“What’s that saying about insanity? Oh right”, you coughed before wheezing out a bit of forced laughter, a smirk forming over your mouth, irritating the cut lower lip that was beginning to scab over. “If - if you do something over and over again, and continuously get the same results, that makes you insane. And uh - buddy it’s been about a week, hasn’t it? You haven’t gotten anywhere—“
The restraints were unclipped from your wrists and ankles. Confusion wracked your mind before a hand grabbed at your neck and forced you back harshly on the metal slab. That time, you couldn’t stop the loud shout that sprang out from you at the sudden movements.
“Wha—“, you grunted before you can even squeeze out a sentence, a strong fist connected with your abdomen, making all the airbrush out of you at the action. You couldn’t even begin to process the pain you were in besides the electrical burns. The adrenaline and the numbness to it at that point was still ringing true in every nerve in your body.
Before the imperial soldier could even land another hit on you, or another burn, the hilt of a Lasan Bo-rifle hit the back of them at a pressure point, instantly knocking them out.
Wait.
Bo-rifle from Lasan?
You coughed and wheezed for more air the moment the soldier let go of your reddening neck and smacked onto the ground, and you were even firmly planted on the ground yet, or strapped down onto anything. So you were about to smack onto the ground yourself when you found no energy within you to keep yourself there. Gravity acted too fast on you.
“Woah, easy there kid—“, a rough voice sounded, almost distant in your ears, until a couple of purple furred hands caught you before you fell, steadying you on your shaky feet. “You alright there?”
“Zeb?”, you croaked out, looking up and squinting at who caught you. Purple fur, blurry yellow eyes, some semblance of a scowl - yep that was Zeb.
Once Zeb got a proper look at you, he grimaced with a flinch. “Oh - Karabast, kid, what did they do to you?!”
Burn marks everywhere, bruises everywhere, scratches everywhere, rips in clothing, tattered, messy hair, more sunken eyes than usual, looking dryer and skinnier. Karabast, you look worse for wear.
“Oh, yknow”, you chucked wryly, still keeping up the act of being as calm as you could. “A bit of torture, a bit of starvation and dehydration - builds character, apparently.” Zeb rolled his eyes, brow furrowed in something a lot less like annoyance and much more like worry.
Odd, you think. It’s only been a week since you were kidnapped. How worried could they have gotten?
“Spectre-4 to Spectre-2, come in.”, Zeb said immediately into the comm.
“Specter-2 to Spectre-4, Whaddya got for me, Zeb?”, answered the crackling voice of Hera on the other end, a faint sound of blaster fire behind her somewhere.
“I found them, I found Spectre-7”, Zeb said immediately into the comm.
“YOU FOUND THEM?” , came a chorus of four other voices loudly into the comms, along with the surprisingly relieved beeps of Chopper. You and Zeb flinched at the sound. Your ears weren’t as sensitive as the Lasat’s were, but damn if that sudden noise didn’t make you flinch.
Your’s and Zeb’s shared reaction caused him to look back at you as opposed to the comm in his other hand. One arm was held onto one of your biceps, which was one of the only thing keeping you from falling next to the puffer-pig dung heap on the floor. You were so much lighter than before. That was not a good sign.
“They’re not lookin’ so good.”, he said honestly, swiveling his head around just in case of any stray stormtrooper coming your guys’ way. No one answered back right away. At least, that’s why you and Zeb thought.
Comms shorted for a second.
Imperials know they’re there, trying to get you back, trying to cut off communications with one another.
“Zeb”, came another voice. Younger than Hera’s, definitely not either of the other guys. Sabine, you guessed, mind still swirling from the burning feeling of the metal, electrifying rods being stabbed into your sides, just enough to cause burns rather than cuts in the skin. “ZEB!”
Zeb exclaimed in irritation at the loud and sudden noise of the comms crackling back, deciding best that it probably wasn’t a good idea to just sit and wait for the others to find you two while under blaster fire. “WHAT!? What is it—!?”
“Talk to me, Orrelios, how bad are they??”, urged Sabine, seemingly referring to your injuries.
You grunted at the sudden lurch of being pulled into the hallway by Zeb, stumbling over your shaking feet as he didn’t stop for a second, even at the sounds of your own discomfort, the ones you wanted to keep at bay for a while now.
The lasat pulled you aside into an empty corridor once the blaster fire began to reach you guys. With a sigh of irritation, he picked you up from your knees and held you up - almost like a kid, which you still kind of were to some degree to him - and spoke into the comms once again. You laid your head on his shoulder with a groan and a wheeze, earning another concerned side-eyed glance from Zeb.
“Look, you’ll see them when we get back to the rendezvous point, just get there, got it!?” He said sharply into the comm, shoving it back into its place on his belt.
After that, conversations on the comms were just crackles and buzzes of the other members quickly trying to communicate with one another, blaster fire covering the most of it up, along with your hands at your ears. It was all just a blur at that point, really.
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Just before reaching the rendezvous point that was agreed upon, Zeb let you down to your feet again, still keeping a stabilized hand on your shoulder as you walked - hobbled, really - over to where the rendezvous was. He figured you didn’t want anyone to see that he carried you here like a child all the way there from that corridor. Karabast, you even vocalized that.
“Tell anyone you carried me like a kid and I will steal all of your snack rations from the extra food we found, got it?”, you slurred out, arm loosely wrapped around your middle as you heave a coarse cough afterwards, still trying to recover from being tortured just before Zeb found you.
“Got it.”, Zeb said to you with a small, relived chuckle. Although, that relief was short. How the hell are you still acting normal after all of that? Your normal, sarcastic-like-you-spend-way-too-much-time-with-Ezra self? Although, the sarcasm seems to be the only remaining constant with how you were from a week before, at that moment, so the Lasat can take what he can get. Beggars can’t be choosers, after all.
You arrived at the rendezvous point not a minute later, being met with a very worried sick Sabine and Hera. Hera immediately took you from Zeb’s side, an arm wrapping under one of yours as she led you back onto the Ghost. Sabine held onto your bicep of the other arm wrapped around your abdomen and stomach, keeping close by, and Zeb hovered close behind as the four of you quickly boarded the ghost.
Ezra, Kanan and Chopper were the ones in charge of the escape.
Once you were confirmed to be MIA, with chatter around the imperial gossip chain leading to fulcrum about six days into your stay at that imperial facility before it got to Chopper base, the plan was made almost in record time.
It was agreed upon that the two Jedi’s were to help escape, not fight. Not after the whole debacle with the old Clone Wars Y-Wings mission days prior to that, when Ezra’s use of the dark side got into his confidence and a little out of control during that mission - which lead to the unfortunate destruction of the Phantom.
Ezra was wholeheartedly against it, and so was Kanan.
But to Hera and the other two, it was their best bet. The moment Kanan and Ezra would’ve been found in that imperial facility would’ve made things a whole lot harder to get you out of there.
The Jedi staying behind on the Ghost was their best bet to get you out of there with as minimal attention as possible.
Well, as much as they could despite being rebels, of course.
No sooner than the doors to the Ghost closed once you were all loaded onto the ship, the freighter was immediately put into hyperdrive. Not directly to Atollan, of course - just somewhere away from that cursed place around Batonn and Denash.
The four of you all breathed a sigh of relief, you still wheezing and coughing from everything and trying to catch your breath. At this point, though, you’re pretty sure you have a cracked rib somewhere. Breathing hurt. Not just around your neck, but your sides too.
“Well, that was something”, you strained out with a forced chuckle, earning some pained looks from Sabine and Hera once they looked at the state of you.
Stars, you looked like hell.
Beeping and warbling from Chopper joined you soon afterwards, the Astro-mech flying towards you, around the loading dock that everyone who wasn’t a Jedi was in. Chopper nudged onto your leg, moving its head from side to side, almost like a nuzzling manner that your would see from a loth-cat. Zeb chuckled at the sight a bit, earning a quick zap from Chopper, and what could’ve been a curious catering of curse words and what you picked up to be “don’t tell anyone about this”, in droid language. You moved your arm from around your waist, giving Chopper a quick pat on the head, taking your hand back as he rolled away, the sounds of two sets of footsteps bounding closer on the metal of the ground scaring him off to the side.
You looked up slowly, eyes barely meeting Kanan’s, nor Ezra’s.
Well, it’s not like Kanan could actually see you. But he could hear and sense you. And the pain you’re in, despite you not being able to feel it all just yet. And he could tell you were fighting the whole time. Not giving up even the slightest bit of actual information that could help the empire. He was both equal parts relieved and absolutely horrified at that.
Force knows what kind of injuries littered the skin of your body.
Ezra, on the other hand, could see you. He couldn’t even begin to fathom what he saw.
A gulp and a shaky, quiet breath followed after he finally got to see you. A week after that stupid, stupid argument. His eyes were wide, cerulean blues scanning over each and every injury and bruise that came with your battered appearance.
You were his partner.
What did those damned imperial asshats do to his partner!?
“Hey, there’s my favorite Jedi’s!”, you forced out, your voice cutting through Ezra’s thoughts, another smile cutting through the scab on your lip even more.
Kanan gave Ezra a small pat on the back in encouragement, and Ezra wasted no time on jumping over the railing of the top deck, feet firmly planting on the lower deck of the loading dock before he enraptured you into a tight hug that almost knocked you back down onto the ground.
Hera, Sabine, and Zeb were smart enough to back away once Ezra had landed on the lower deck.
You grunted from the force, a pained wheeze accompanying it. ”Easy, Ez, pretty sure you cracked my ribs even more”, you say, sarcasm and a joking lilt covering whatever kind of fears you were feeling right then. Ezra just barely loosened his grip on you, a hand coming up to gently hold onto the back of your head as the other clutched you close around your shoulders.
His eyes were screwed shut, brows furrowed downwards as his chin pressed onto your shoulder, for another reminder that you were there. You were with him. You were in the Ghost.
You were safe.
He was still reeling at hearing the sound of your voice after not hearing it for about a week. Perhaps the longest week ever.
To say that he freaked out the moment he realized you missed your check-in time with Hera was an absolute understatement. He was already antsy during the first two days of your mission. Especially since you guys both said nothing to each other after the argument, you having left not too long afterwards. He already got a bad feeling that wouldn’t stop coursing through him - no matter how hard he tried to will it away - the moment you left him alone after you offhandedly mentioned your task once the argument ended.
And when you missed the check-in time? And the days after that?
He couldn’t sleep at all.
Went through one too many scenarios through his head that made him anxious to no end in sight. Not even Hera or Kanan could help him through that one.
He grew irritable when he was told to wait for further instructions on the matter of your disappearance. He wanted to go out and find you - maybe pay a visit to whoever the hell kept you away from the base for so long. Man, even Sabine and Zeb were willing to join him on that endeavor before the transmission from Fulcrum came through. Once Fulcrum said your name and stated the now-debunked-as-true rumors of you being captured in an imperial facility for questioning, all thoughts of his previous idea flew out the window.
He remembers how the air left his lungs when Zeb’s voice crackled through the comms to speak to Hera about finding you, Kanan and him being tapped into the frequency just incase anything else happened while they were on the Ghost, waiting for the rest of the Spectres to come home with you in tow with them for the escape. It was difficult to breathe for a few seconds.
Zeb found you.
And then, of course, he remembers the fear and anger that rushed in at what Zeb said about your state of being. What he wouldn’t give to have beat up whoever thought was a good idea to torture people for information - especially whoever thought it was a good idea to do that to you. Everyone knew immediately what Zeb was referring to when he said you didn’t look too good. You were injured. And from Zeb’s tone of voice, the injuries were bad.
And now, here you were. Held in his arms, safe back on the home you called the Ghost, with him being absolutely unable to bring himself out of the hug. He can breath easier now, now that you’re at home.
“Ez, ‘m fine”, you said with a laugh. Still trying to remain calm. “You can let go of me, y’know?”
Ezra shook his head no stubbornly, eyebrows furrowing inwards a bit more for just a second at the idea, knowing damn well he got a roll from the eyes from you. That wasn’t going to change his mind about holding you at all.
“Ezra seriously my ribs are starting to hurt—“
He loosened his grip enough to pull away from you, not before pulling a surprising move and lifting you up into his arms. One arm still clung around your shoulders, and the other hooked underneath your knees. You gasped in surprise at the action, but the gasp was a little to sharp for your body’s reaction, so immediately afterwards you coughed away from him and into your elbow, trying to catch your breath, your other arm slung around Ezra’s neck instinctively.
After a bit more of you catching your breath after a few seconds, Ezra sighs shortly in relief, and makes his way towards the ladders with you, still in his arms. The adrenaline was still there for you, just slowly waning, enough for you to get tired enough not to protest Ezra’s actions.
“What are you doing?”, Hera asked him once he started climbing out the ladder to the deck above the loading dock. The arm around your shoulders was helping him climb, your arm strong enough to hold yourself up, while his other arm stayed hooked underneath your legs.
“Gonna help with their injuries.”, he told Hera curtly.
“We have a team of medics at the base to—“
“I know.”
Ezra’s voice was sharp at that answer, even just the slightest bit of annoyed, stunning a bit of silence out of Hera at his reaction. The rest of the crew watched as he disappeared back into the Ghost with you wrapped up in his arms.
For a second, Hera took a step towards the ladders, having half a mind to follow the two of you, before Kanan’s voice called out to her from the balcony.
“Let him help. They’ll be fine with him. Think they both need some time together after the past week we just had.” He explained to her calmly. Hera only stared at him for a long minute, before looking at a random part of the Ghost below them both, sighing at his words.
He was right.
You both needed this.
—————————————
“You really said that to the guy?”, Ezra asked incredulously, voice the softest it’s ever been around you. He was busy cleaning off the dried blood from your visible cuts, having already just cleaned, bandaged, and put burn salve on the electrical burns all over your middle and sides. The burn salve was long over due for them, and you visibly relaxed when the burns were finally covered in the soothing, cooling substance. That should take away the sting that ebbed away at your nerves.
“Hey, it really was the definition of insanity in there!”, you said with a chuckle as you defended your word choices. Which, granted, prompted you to get choked by the guy before Zeb stepped in, so it probably wasn’t the best word choice, but still. It was better than nothing. “Couldn’t help it, Ezra. I spend too much time with you to not say something, yknow.”
That comment coaxed a small smile out of Ezra, a gentle hum of a chuckle already being pushed through him. But it still wasn’t enough to make him laugh all the way. At least it got him to smile, though, even for a little bit.
He was cleaning off a couple of the cuts on one of your hands, attention staying on that hand as he let the small smile turn the corners of his mouth upwards.
“There’s the smile I missed for the past week”, you said, your other hand coming up to cup the left side of his cheek. Your thumb lightly grazed over the two shallow indents of scars left by the inquisitors a couple years prior, and he leaned into the feeling of your hand on his cheek, stopping his small mission of getting you patched up himself, and relishing in your touch. Even if it’s for a few seconds before he got back to work.
One week without any knowledge of how you were doing was enough to make him realize how much he really, really missed you during the longer missions. He missed your hugs, your talks, the banter. He’d give anything to prevent another week like this one from happening again.
One week without him around was enough to make you worry. What kind of lengths he’d go through to get anyone back. To get you back. That is, if he fully turned to the darkside of the Force. Sure, two sides of the same coin with the light side of the Force and everything, but it still harbored some level of fear in you. Luckily, though, it seemed like Kanan knocked some sense in him. That or your disappearance and subsequent torturing - but honestly you’re hoping it’s not the latter. You’re just glad he’s ok. That he isn’t hurt. That he’s here and he’s safe, and that you protected the secrets of the Ghost and Chopper Base without breaking to anything the imperial facility threw at you. That was an accomplishment in its own right. And you were glad that you were able to keep those secrets safe.
And that you were able to keep Ezra safe.
You were pulled out of your thoughts when a thumb swiped over the split cut that was on your lower lip. Ezra just barely grazed it, but it still hurt, and made you wince a little bit at the touch. Only by a smidge.
To cover that up, however, you decided to joke around a bit.
“If you wanted a kiss you could’ve just asked”, you said, snickering a little at Ezra’s eye roll, and the red that began to tinge his ears. He closed his eyes and shook his head with a chuckle, and your smile grew. That got him to laugh.
His hand moved to hold the side of your neck, just below your jawline. Part of his hand still rested on it, more so at the corner, and just underneath the skin of your ear. The touch was careful, and his thumb lightly brushed against the bruising on your jaw. He gently pulled your head closer, and his forehead lightly bumped against yours, his nose lightly nudging against the side of your own, all in an attempt to get more calm and comfortable.
And it worked.
He took in a breath, and let out a sigh, the tension in his shoulders finally leaving after a couple seconds of the breath.
“Sorry about the argument”, he mumbled the apology, eyes tilted downwards, focus on the ground. “I shouldn’t have—“
“Hey”, you cut him off, knuckle from your free hand coming up, gently nudging his chin up so he could look at you, eyes that swirled with the power of the Force onto yours, that only caught the reflection of the light in the room, and the reflection of Ezra in front of you. “That was just a stupid argument. That doesn’t matter now.”
“But it does!”, he exclaimed in a whisper, irises boring into yours. You swear, you could see your own soul reflected through them. ”I went out of line and blamed you for being careless and—“
“You really think that argument has any affect on me right now?”, you ask, raising a brow. “Karabast, I was literally tortured, I would love to go back to when that argument was the most of my worries.”
That was only last week that that argument happened. So trivial, compared to the events that unfurled.
So trivial compared to the burns on your sides, the ache in your ribs, the twinges of pain from your bruises and the black eye that plagued your left eye.
It hurt emotionally, sure.
But what you wouldn’t give to go back to that being the only kind of pain that swirled in your mind.
Before even you realized what was happening, through the haze of the loud thoughts that made up your mind at the moment, Ezra’s other hand disconnected from the rag that cleaned up your dried blood, and reconnected with your other cheek on the other side of your face, away from the black eye. He nudged away a stray tear with one of his knuckles, and brushed his thumb over the swell of your cheek once more began to slowly tumble out. Mainly from the one eye you could actually see out of properly, the one eye that went wide after you mentioned the torture you endured, the one eye that let that tear go loose, providing other tears with enough confidence to start falling as well.
“I was tortured, Ezra.” Your voice went quiet, strained.
It was only then that you realized just how horrified you were.
Strange, how some feelings of anxiety didn’t pop up until way later, once you were actually processing whatever kind of traumatic event you just went through. Other times the anxiety bubbles up pretty quickly, during whatever you were going through - even if it was just a normal, calm situation that somehow made your anxiety act up. But this time, it took you a week to actually feel the damned fear that wouldn’t actually allow you to sleep very much throughout the time you were being held at the facility.
Then again, you were also doing your best to keep a level head the whole time. To keep yourself from spilling anything. To keep yourself sane.
Maybe it was the fact that you were finally in the comfort of your own home, in front of your partner no less, that made you feel comfortable enough to grab onto the bad feelings again, rather than to just force them down until they were too much for you.
Your eyes blurred Ezra out of focus due to the burning tears that bubbled up behind your eyelids. You screwed them both shut, and gulp with a shaky breath. Ezra furrowed his brow again - this time, however, they were pointed more upwards than downwards.
Still keeping his hands in the same places on your neck and cheek, he lifted his head from resting against yours and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead, staying there for a couple seconds, just to linger. Mainly for his own comfort, to remind himself you were physically there with him, and also to remind you of that as well.
After that he wrapped you up in another hug, gentler this time. One you leaned into, your forehead coming to rest on his shoulder, near the crook of his neck. The hand on your cheek moved to the back of your head, lightly pressed into your hair, and his other hand on the side of your neck, just under your jawline and ear, moved to your back, pulling you forward for the hug that you graciously accepted.
He nudged his nose onto the crown of your head, placing another soft and comforting kiss there. “Took you that long to figure it out, huh?”, he murmured, voice soft with an air of humor. Just the slightest lilt to make things much less strenuous than they seemed.
“Shut up, Bridger”, you sniffed, lightly punching his arm, a chuckle spilling out between the both of you. The hug tightened just a little bit, the hand you punched Ezra’s arm with holding onto the sleeve of his orange jacket he always wore.
“Sorry, sorry”, he apologized, laying his cheek down on the top of your head. “Had to joke about this somehow, right?”
You let out a breathy laugh, followed by a sigh, quiet and exhausted. “Right…”
A silence fell over the two of you. Ezra let out a sigh through his nose a couple minutes into it. “You’re safe now, ok? You know that, right?”
The message was quiet, a soft mumble only meant for your ears. The tension in your own shoulders began to ease a little, much like his minutes beforehand.
Your arm moved from his jacket to around his neck again, pulling the hug even closer, just to be nearer to him. Just for more comfort. For your peace of mind to remind yourself that you’re home.
You’re safe.
You’re with Ezra.
Things are fine for now.
Everything will be alright for now.
Just for right now. Which is all you could ask for at that moment.
“I know.”, you mumbled back. You sigh out of relief, of being there with Ezra, in the comforting arms of home, in the surprisingly comforting metal rooms of home, deciding against breaking the hug for the time being.
Until Ezra broke it himself.
“Oh c’mon, Ez!”, you complained. “I was just getting comfortable, dude!”
“You were falling asleep on me”, he responded back, grabbing the rag he was using to clean off the dried blood from your injuries strewn about your skin. He stood up to get more water for it, along with a cooler ice-pack for the nasty bruise on your eye.
“Like I said, I was just getting comfortable!”
“You can get comfortable and sleep on my shoulder after I’m done taking care of your injuries - and after we’re sure you don’t have a concussion.”
“I’m pretty sure I don’t have a concussion.”
“I’m not convinced.”
You groan, leaning back on your arms as Ezra gathers the supplies you need from one of the medical kits that came from the medical crates you were supposed to get from your mission beforehand. “Stars, you’re just as stubborn as Chopper - like friend like droid, y’know?”, you say with a playful scoff.
Ezra laughed. It was less of a chuckle now, more genuine. Good. You liked it when he laughed. “I could say the same thing about you, y’know—“ you interrupted him with a indignant noise, absolutely appalled that he would ever compare your stubbornness to the astro-mech. You were the only one allowed to do that, how dare he?
“I’m not that stubborn—“
Another laugh bubbled out from Ezra, and you couldn’t help but smile at it. It was a noise that never failed to brighten your day, even in the darkest of hours.
A chuckle made it’s way out of your throat again as a smile pulled at the corners of your mouth, and you shook your head a little, the banter between you both continuing. Just like normal.
Just like home.
Maybe some things were definitely worth getting tortured over.
If you could keep the base safe, the Ghost safe, and Ezra safe, you’d do it all over again, no matter what.
You’d always protect your home from the Empire.
Even if your home wasn’t always protecting you.
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angelpuns · 7 months
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TMNT:HME Redesigns (again)
I probably won't ever be satisfied with the way these guys look, but I redesigned the lads :)
Leonardo is arguably my least favorite design even though I loved it when I first looked at it?? IDK
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It's also got bits and pieces of info, I ofc know the most about Leo for obvious reasons :) I changed his mask to look kinda like a ponytail cause he wants to be pretty but in a he/him way :) Also there are some other scars/marks but they'll be explained later. He also has a beauty mark now :)
I'll probably post the sketches where I worked through ideas later? Idk
Donnie:
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Donnie took the longest for some time??? the head shape was giving me difficulty :/. Anyway, he's got a couple of little bruises because he falls a lot/bruises easily for a reason that'll be discussed later :) also stole Raph's tooth gap and gave it to him completely on accident lmaooooo
Raph:
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Raph got a lot of changes cause I didn't like his design at all, this design is much more appealing to the eye tbh. He also has a lazy eye that he is supposed to be wearing corrective glasses for but he refuses to :/ Idk how accurate the heights are I just kinda eyeballed the lineup and hoped for the best - Leonardo is definitely 5'6" it's more just guessing based off of him.
Mikey:
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I really like Mikey's design - it's not too far off of his original because I liked that one too, but this one captures the energy I was looking for. I love his color palette so much, it's v nice.
Also he has a few scars from various accidents - Mikey tends to get hurt in the weirdest most ridicukous ways? Like he was hit by a firework twice - yeah.
Also he wears hand me downs, the only thing that he owns that is new are his gloves, kneepads, footwraps and mask.
So those are the newest designs- hopefully the last ones but I'm already looking at Leo like ' you ae not good enough' (lmao funny I'm funny)
TMNT:HME Masterpost
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mariondeux · 2 years
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BREAK YOUR HALO
— SYNOPSIS ; A priest praised by god himself, he prays to god for help around the church. And one day, his prayers are answered and you, a special angel, appear in his lovely church.
CW ; NSFW, Corruption, Non-con, size difference, loss of virginity/innocence, religion kink, religious themes, manhandling, dacryphilia, the reader “falls” at the end, possessiveness, obsession, Tatsumi is delusional, forced submission, mindbreak if you squint, jealousy
WORD COUNT ; 2005
PAIRING ; Yandere!Priest!Tatsumi Kazehaya x Angel!GN!Reader
A/N ; This is the longest oneshot I’ve ever written on this blog so far.. Also special shout-out to 🥤 anon who requested something similar to this! I hadn’t written your request because by the time you requested it I already had a self indulgent oneshot sitting in my drafts for two days!! 😭 I finally finished it though!
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Tatsumi is a priest known far and wide, not just for the great things he’s done as a priest, but for his looks and his heavenly singing voice. He’d spent his life since birth praising the name of god, his faith in the lord above strong as he was granted with the ability to sense evil. He prided himself on what he could do and accomplish; he prayed every week, took part in community services, he enjoyed committing good acts to bless the people.
Lately, he’d been praying to the god far above the clouds for someone, anyone, to help him with tasks around the church. He’d been short on volunteers to help around the church, mainly because the usual ones were extremely occupied or had fallen ill. Surely god would listen to him?
Tatsumi closed the book in his hand and placed it back on the shelf, dusting off his robes before stepping away from his bookshelf. His eyes gazed around the area as he walked out of the library under the church. Now that he’d finished cleaning the library, all that was left was..
‘creaak..’
The priest paused his movement, his eyes darting around the area as he looked for where that noise had come from. Has someone come to praise the lord? But he swore no one would be here today..
He fixed his posture, neatly walking over to where the source was.
Tatsumi paused in his tracks once more, eyes widening at the sight in front of him.
There you were, soft, tiny looking angel wings tucked behind your back as your eyes stared at the church in awe. They did not drape you in chiffon and light fabrics, no; it appeared as though you tried your best to dress in a very humane way. That being a purely white blazer and dress pants along with a white shirt underneath, to top it all off, you wore a simple, silver necklace with the cross hanging off. Your head turned in his direction, and your own eyes widened along with wonder. You were the purest angel of all forms that he’d ever seen, and even by looks alone, you were far more than divine. You were absolutely ethereal.
“Oh, hello! Are you the priest of this fine church?” He snapped out of his daze as your voice broke the silence. He nodded, trotting over to you before coming to a halt.
“And you might be..?” You gave him a polite smile, “I am (name). I’m not too accustomed to being formal, so I’d rather you use my first name.” You held your hand out for him to shake. “I am an angel sent by god to accompany you and help around the church!”
Tatsumi’s throat dried as he stared at your hand. Everything about you was so alluring, you radiated the utmost purity he’d ever seen. You were so polite. He wanted to ruin your innocence and drape your naked body in his essence.
He took your hand and shook it as he plastered a smile over his face. “I am Tatsumi Kazehaya. I do not mind if you’re formal or informal with me.”
That was the first impure thought he’d ever had in his life.
You were of great help around the church. You hid your wings around others and made a great impression on the townspeople. Everyone adored you. They commented on how kind you were and on your good looks. You’ve even captured a few people's hearts. Some days Tatsumi would ‘accidentally’ run into you being confessed to by someone. He’d interrupt them and ask you to come help with a book assortment, placing a hand on your back as he sent the most sinister smile towards the person who confessed to you.
People noted how possessive he was of you, not that you noticed, but he’d have your attention on him often. If he found you talking to someone who he knew had an interest or feelings for you, he’d steal you away. Or, if he felt like you were talking or spending too much time with someone, he’d excuse the person you’re with and steal you away as well.
There was not a day where you weren’t with the handsome priest. He was present in your days almost always now. 
It was growing to be overwhelming, but you didn’t want to really speak up about it. That was, until he finally made you step your foot down. “Kazehaya.. You’re doing it again! Every time that person talks to me, you keep taking me away from them, and.. and… you even gave them an evil look!” Your voice shook as you yelled at him. Hot blood rushed to your face in anger. “This.. this isn’t like you..”
Tatsumi eyed the way your feathers puffed out of your wings angrily. You were genuinely upset with him. You looked up at his face as you noticed how eerily silent he was. “Kazehaya.. Say something, please, you’re creeping me out..” The priest stood there for a couple of seconds before a smile formed on his face. “If I had done this earlier, maybe then no one would ever have bothered to take you away from me..”
Just as you were about to question his words, he suddenly grabbed you, turned you around and pushed you against the ground. He used a hand to grab both of your wrists and pull them back behind you as he ripped off your clothes. You cried out in pain. He was pulling so hard it felt like he’d rip your arms off. Your wings flapped wildly to get him off of you until he stomped on a wing and ripped another cry from you.
“Kazehaya! Stop! Why are you doing this?!” You wept as you lay bare on the ground, your nude body all for the priest to see. Was he really about to take your virginity? If he does, then you’ll be evicted and stripped of your title as an angel. Your heart dropped as your breathing quickened. You were beyond terrified.
“Angel.. Don’t act like I haven’t noticed how distant you’ve been acting. You’ve even stopped referring to me by my birth name.” His dress shoes ground itself against your wings, drawing another loud weep from you. “And you love to call me by my birth name.”
“Tatsumi.. Please don’t do this. I’ll do anything, but just don’t take my innocence! I’ll fall if you do!” You are fully relying on begging at this point. You couldn’t fight back physically and only with words. The priest's sinister grin widened as he felt your body grow limp under his grasp.
He pushed his robes aside and unzipped his pants to pull his cock out. Once the crown of his cock pressed against the entrance of your hole, you knew your constant pleas and thrashing were all for naught. 
“Oh, (name).. You underestimate me. That’s exactly what I want.” He shoved his cock into your hole raw, hissing due to how utterly tight you were. It was no mistake you were a virgin, and even if you weren’t, he doubted you’d be able to go past the pearly gates of heaven like that. His cock throbbed at the sight of his length disappearing into you once his hips were firmly against yours. You weren’t convincing enough for him to stop. He knew you were trying your best when you immediately shifted to using his given name to please him.
Who knew an innocent angel could be so manipulative?
You were violently sobbing as his length split you open, attempting to stretch you out to accommodate him. You knew begging him to stop was useless at this point. You’d been tainted and now god will never allow you back in heaven again. You’re filled with despair. Your luscious, snowy white wings lay spread out amongst you as your body propelled forward each time Tatsumi thrusted into you.
“You’re so obedient~ Are you perhaps enjoying this more than you’d like to admit?” Tatsumi’s particularly large hands firmly gripped onto your hips and bounced you along with his thrusts. He sucked in a breath each time you hungrily sucked him back inside of you. He’s never felt more honored till now to take an angel’s virginity, especially one with an ungodly amount of purity. You were absolutely perfect for him. It was like your body was waiting and begging for him to take you like this all along. If it weren’t for him chasing away any potential competitors, you wouldn’t be here crying just for him. You should be grateful! A priest praised by god such as himself should be the only one tasked with taking your innocence.
You didn’t bother to respond to his words. You didn’t want to indulge in his nonsense, not when you can feel yourself breaking into two and your world crashing down all around you.
“Maybe you secretly wished for me to corrupt you. Dreaming every night to have my hands locked onto your body as you pleasured yourself,” His filthy words had your body shivering in reaction, drawing out a low groan from him as your hole clamped down on him.
“What a dirty angel.” 
You weren’t. You swore you weren’t! You’d never have such impure thoughts. It was a sin you’d never commit.
Tatsumi’s hips rocked against you as he leaned down and dragged his tongue up your back to your neck. He began sucking and licking at your shoulders, back and the back of your neck. He was intent on covering your body with markings from him, to show a claim so anyone that could see would back off.
“You’re mine..” You felt his cock throbbing against your walls as his thrusts dissolved into a more unrelenting tempo. His hands groped and massaged at your body, touching every part of your skin he’d never gotten to until now. You were his now. It was only logical he’d be able to explore your body as much as he could. “My sweet, little angel. Moan for me, moan for your priest to come inside of you.”
This priest was beyond sinister. He was downright malevolent.
You moaned out loud as his cock brushed up against a sensitive part of you. And once he knew that was just the spot to get you to break for him, he began using it against you to break you. The head continued to brush against that part of you, abusing it repeatedly as his teeth bit down on your skin.
“Tatsumi! Please.. release your seed inside an angel like me!” You cried in between words. You couldn’t believe what had just come out of your mouth.
Tatsumi gladly listened to you and fucked you so well, perfectly intent on getting the both of you off.
As his thrusts had grown sloppy and his cock would accidentally slip out of you as you clenched down on him, you two knew you were both close. You were dreading it.
“Close.. gonna fill you with my children..” He bit his lip, letting out a drawled out a groan as his hips struck against yours. He kept your hips melded with his as he emptied his balls out and stuffed you full with his essence, making sure you didn’t drop a single bit of his white cum. Your shoulders shook as light sobs sounded out from you, your legs spasming as you came as well.
That was it. You were done for.
Once the priest finished coming inside of you, he slipped out and let go of your fucked out body. You laid there on the ground, unmoving.
Your wings gradually turned black, the inky color making its way to the base of your wings. The closer it got, the more your feathers fell off one by one. Tatsumi did nothing but watch you fall as he cleaned himself up, tucking his cock back into his pants.
He didn’t feel a single bit of remorse or sympathy for you.
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TAGLIST ; @exhokai @shuvies @venniin @leeuxry @s1cklyang3l @4kumaa @ambassadoro @noahrandom @mayoisilly
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missacidburn928 · 4 months
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Was Feeling Some Type Of Way
So I sat down and this flowed out...(attach whichever fictional man you desire)
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“Why are we like this? Why do I feel like I have to walk around on eggshells when you’re actually home? When did the raging fire inside me settle into smoldering ash? Was it when I could tell your mood by the sound of your steps coming down the hall? Or did you slowly beat it out of me with every hand you raised in anger? I never thought I would be in this situation. Swore I would never be that girl. But I was blinded by your façade of the perfect gentleman. The mask you hide behind in your day-to-day life. Like a true sociopath you mirror emotions with practiced perfection. A practically flawless performance. Hell, you had me fooled and under your spell. So much so, that I thought I deserved every unkind act you did to me. Every bruise, every fatigued muscle. And I begged for any crumb of affection you would bestow on me. Your good girl. Your perfect little whore.”
The look on his face is one I have yet to see before. It’s a mix of his usual mild annoyance when I speak my mind and the eyes of a man primed for the kill. To render my flesh from the bone.
But I’m no longer scared. He fucked up when he left me bloodied on the floor while he disappeared on business for weeks. The longest he has ever been away. While my body healed, so did my resolve to leave. But I wasn’t going to skirt away in the night. Oh, no. I was going to say my peace before I left this life behind. Knowing full well, I may not make it out of this house alive.
“I’m done riding this merry go round of delusion. I’m well past enjoyment and just full on nauseated. If I don’t attempt to remove myself now; I know that I will succumb to the ultimate escape. For like a butterfly captured in jar I only have so much air before your either free me or place me under glass for display.”
“You’re talking in riddles and nonsense. You love me. And you know how insanely in love with you I am. It’s how you’re able to drive me to do such crazy things. I have only ever hurt you because I get overwhelmed by my emotions, and I lash out. But I always make it up to you. I always come back. I would never turn my back on you. And you’re telling me that you’re what…leaving me? Like somehow, I’m just going to let you out that door without a fight.”
His eyes darken. “You. Are. Mine.” He takes a step in my direction. “I will chase you down to the ends of the earth if I need to and drag you all the way back kicking in screaming because the only place you should be allowed, is by my side.”
Unbeknownst to him, when he took the rather large step to try and intimidate me into submitting to his whims like in the past, he left a wide enough space behind him that lead straight to the partially opened front door. It was my one and only chance to break free.
Before I could think better of it, I cut to my left to make it around his large frame. Barely making it past the birth of him and the wall. With no time to waste I made a mad dash for the door. Wanting to be as far away from his reach as possible. As I crossed the threshold, I felt a finger slip into the back loop of my jeans…
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book-place · 2 years
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To the Moon and Back
Part 2 -> Meet Fatherhood
Warnings: moon knight episode 5 and 6 spoilers!!!, cursing (?), character death, violence, implied child abandonment, weapons, adoption, all Arabic comes from google translate, let me know if I missed any :)
Pairings: Marc Spector x daughter reader, Layla El Faouly x daughter reader, little bit of Steven Grant x reader platonic
Request: I got a platonic mk x reader request!!! How about Marc x avatar reader where the reader was like Marc and Layla's adopted kid from the Philippines where they met during one of Marc's mercenary missions. After Marc left to persue harrow the reader becomes mayari's avatar (goddess of the moon in the Philippines) and reunites with him after joining Layla to Egypt (after much persistince to go). Make it as angsty as you want or not....
(I hope this is what you were looking for! I changed it a bit- sorry. Also, I’m not familiar with Mayari so I did the best I could and did a little bit of research)
Request by: @queenotaku23
*not my gif*
Summary: For the longest time it had just been the three of you, your little family. But then one day changes that forever
A/N: Second Moon Knight request!! Hope you enjoy :)
Please don’t plagiarize my work, you may reblog if you like but I’m asking that you don’t steal my hard work
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As the shot rang out through the vast room, all you could do was stand frozen in shock and horror as your blood ran colder than the moon.
The sound was deafening, but you could still hear everything. The grunt of a man. The sound of splashing as a body hit the water. The sound of heavy breathing. But above all, your own heartbeat that rang above all the other sounds. Louder. Clearer.
You barely registered as your mothers sobbing form took you into her arms, pulling you to her chest so that she could try and comfort you.
But no tears fell out of your eyes, you couldn’t wrap your mind around it. Any of it.
Your father couldn’t be dead. Your strong, brave father, Marc Spector.
Or your other father, the kind and gentle one, Steven Grant. The one that you had only met a few days ago, but formed a deep attachment with nonetheless.
How had this happened? Just moments ago you were running through the halls of the tomb, more than certain that you and your family would beat Arthur Harrow to Ammit, then all of you could finally find peace.
Then the next thing you knew, you heard your mothers outraged screaming and then your fathers deep and calm-even in the middle of a crisis, but still partially desperate- voice trying to coax her away from the room.
Then you had run in, just in time for Marc to gently push you towards your mother, telling her to take care of you, barely having time to give you a gentle kiss on the crown of your head before ushering you and Layla out of sight.
He had been so prepared to fight to the death for the two of you. Make sure that you guys got out of there okay, and it ended up being the last thing he would ever do.
It was a battle that he had lost.
Marc had found you eleven years earlier on one of his mercenary missions and back then you were just a young, four year old, child who had no family and nobody to turn to for help.
Without knowing it, you immediately captured the normally cold man’s heart and he took you under his wing right away, giving you a place to stay and food to eat.
That was before Layla had come along, and when she did, you looked up to her almost right away and she quickly began loving you like a daughter.
It wasn’t perfect, but you guys were quick to make a small family of each other. A family that loved one another, no matter what.
It was as if you were watching from a far as Layla gently took you by the shoulders and kissed the crown of your head, trying to silence her soft sobs the best she could.
You just looked up at her with a pale face and wide eyes, mouth dropped slightly open.
Then without warning, or meaning to, you harshly pushed away from her and sprinted to where your father had been standing just a moment before.
Ignoring her whisper shouts for you to come back, you made a beeline to the water right behind the sarcophagus, and when you saw what was there, your knees gave out from underneath you in sheer horror.
Marc’s body lay there, half in, and half out of the water, his eyes closed, and half open mouth still. Not a muscle in his body moved.
A sob escaped your lips for the first time, now that you were looking at him, “Dad,” you shook him a little, as if trying to wake him up, “Come on, dad, please. Dad!”
Your mother quickly came up from behind you and caught you just before you collapsed again, and began shushing you even though she too was crying.
The salty tears streamed down your face, one after another, like an endless waterfall of sorrow.
After a moment, Layla gently tapped your shoulder to let you know that she was going to let go, and moved towards her husband with a shaky figure.
Once she took a long breath, she gently pushed Marc into the water, as if afraid he were made of glass.
Your sobbing continued, but did quiet down a bit when you came to your senses and realized that Harrow was still most likely in one of the mazes of halls somewhere and might still hear you.
You watched as Layla slowly stood up and then helped you up as well, “Come on,” she whispered tearfully, “We have to go.”
You couldn’t even give him a proper funeral.
With that you went back to your barely-registering-anything-state, and allowed your mother to lead you out of the tomb without complaint.
Not a word was passed between either of you as you got into a cab that brought you guys back to your hotel room.
It was only once you got into the room that she finally spoke up, “I’m going to go out for a while, sweetie. I need you to stay here.”
On a normal day, you would’ve fought against her and insisted that you go where she was going. Because on a normal day you would’ve known her, and you would’ve known where she was going. To face Arthur Harrow, alone.
But you didn’t have the energy to think or comprehend what she had said to you as you numbly nodded.
She quickly bent down to your height as you sat on the bed, staring at the floor, and she moved her face so that you were looking at her, “I need you to promise me that you will stay in this room. No matter what.”
Again you just nodded, but when she gave you a slightly stern look, you mumbled, “I promise.”
She seemed to visibly relax when hearing that, “Thank you, sweetie.”
Giving you a quick kiss on the forehead, and grabbing a couple of things, she scurried out of the room, making sure that the door locked behind her.
She was only okay with leaving you alone because she knew that Arthur and his followers would be somewhere looking for Ammit, meaning she could keep them as far away from you as possible.
That and there was plenty of food in the mini fridge for you to last a few days.
You sat in the same spot that she had left you for hours, staring blankly at the spot on the peeling beige colored wall.
Then suddenly, without warning, it was if a gust of wind had just blown through the room at full force and brought a huge dust patch with it, but the widows weren’t even open.
Your wide eyes traveled over to where Khonshu then stood in the place that the dust patch and been, and though you had never actually seen him, you knew enough Egyptology to know who he was.
“Little Spector.” The god greeted.
“What do you want?” Your voice came out hollow, as if you were done with everything and everyone.
“I need your help, you need to become my avatar.” The bird replied, his tone impatient and restless.
You scoffed, “And why would I ever do that?”
“Because the world is in danger.” He said it as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
“I think enough Spectors have been taken from the world today because of you and your stupid war.” Anger suddenly replaced that emptiness that you had been feeling all afternoon.
“Your mother is in danger.”
This made you pause where you were, halfway standing up as you were ready to match over and yell at the skeleton looking bird.
He could see that he had gotten you to pause and took that to his advantage, “An avatar is needed so that Ammit and Harrow can be stopped.” He insisted.
“I will not be your avatar.” You made sure to make yourself clear as you made up your mind, “But I will be someone else’s avatar. Anybody else, I don’t care. As long as it’s not you.” You spat out the last word like venom.
Khonshu paused, studying you for a moment, “You are brave, Little Spector… I know the perfect goddess for you to host.”
With that the dust and wind appeared again but gone as soon as it came without a trace, leaving you to wonder if any of that had really just happened.
“Y/n Spector.” A smooth and melodic voice suddenly rang out in your head after a moment, “I am Mayari, goddess of the moon and ruler of the night.”
The name rang a bell to you, when your mother had taught you years ago about Philippine mythology. You were originally from the Philippines before Marc found you, and Layla found it very important to teach you about the culture of where you came from. And you had always really appreciated that.
“Khonshu has informed me of the situation,” she continued, “And if what he says is true, then I need your help just as much as you need mine. So, do you, Y/n Spector, swear to withhold the legacy of the moon, and promise to keep the stars shining bright?”
You hesitated, knowing what being an avatar had done to your father and Steven, but then their cold, dead body flashed through your mind, and your mothers sobbing face, and you hesitated no longer, “I do.”
With that, you felt a wind around you, not a harsh and cold one like when Khonshu had entered the room, but a slow and refreshing one.
It swept around you like you were at the center of a tornado, and when it stopped, you no longer stood in your busted up hiking boots and ratty old t-shirt and jeans.
You then stood in a flowing blue and purple one piece jumpsuit that had a golden sword sheathed at the side of your right leg.
The material against your skin was smooth and durable, which let you know that it would be easy to fight in.
How does it feel?
Mayari’s voice sung through your head, making you jump slightly.
“Uh-g-good… it feels good.” You quickly got over your initial shock when you remembered the reason you were there in the first place.
Good, now let’s not waste anymore time. Shall we?
“Shall we what-“ You cut yourself off with a small yelp as you felt your feet being lifted off the ground, “What the- Hey! What’s happening?” You fumbled around, trying to grab onto something while trying to stay balanced so you didn’t hit your head.
You heard her chuckle a little.
I’m a goddess, flying just so happens to be a perk.
You swallowed hard, “Right, yeah, of course.”
You heard her laugh again before you started moving forward while still in the air.
Now hang on.
-•-
Next thing you knew, you were zooming through the skys, over the city buildings of Cairo on your way to where you could only assume the fight was taking place.
In the distance you saw a very large crocodile and dead looking bird fighting near some pyramids, and you didn’t even have to think to know that it was Ammit and Khonshu, who must’ve tricked some other poor soul into being his avatar for him.
It looked weird enough to you, who knew about avatars and everything, so you could only imagine what it looked like to the rest of the world.
Are you ready for this?
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” You mumbled, clearly unsure of yourself.
You’ll do great, and I’ll be here the whole time if you need anything.
You allowed her to bring you closer and closer to the ground until your feet hit the pavement, and you stumbled a little while trying to regain your balance.
Taking a moment, you took in your surroundings to see what you were dealing with.
People where running around in complete chaos, with windows broken, cars flipped, and buildings on fire.
You saw a flash of purple out of the corner of your eye and quickly whipped around to see Aurthur pointing his staff at a mother, father, and daughter who all sat huddled in a bunch.
The parents were obviously trying to shield the screaming child from whatever the strange man was about to do to them while gripping onto each other tightly for comfort.
It was as if your brain switched off and was replaced with that of a warrior, which you later knew you could thank Mayari for.
You quickly unsheathed your sword and sprinted over to the group as fast as your feet would carry you, before jumping right in front of them just in time for Harrow to shoot out a beam of violet light.
His eyes widened in surprise as your golden sword caught the blast midair and sent it right back at him, sending him flying backwards a few feet before his head hit the pavement.
Only partially listening to Mayari’s words of praise, you turned back to the family after reshething your sword, “هل أنتم بخير؟” You asked hurriedly.
(Are you all okay?)
“أنت بطل خارقة!”
(You’re a superhero)
The little girl gasped in awe, staring at you with wide and adoring eyes, and all you could do was smile at her softly.
You took the next moment to reassure the parents that everything was fine as they sobbed and thanked you over and over again.
Once you saw them hurry away, you turned back to the spot Harrow was in, only to find him and his staff gone.
You cursed quietly before running through the streets, helping people along the way, and listening to your goddesses advice whenever she had any words of wisdom.
Just as you were helping an old lady out of a car, you heard your name being called in disbelief above all the other noises that the city had to offer that night.
You whipped around and froze in your place, suddenly feeling like you were back in that tomb.
Marc Spector pushed his way through the crowds as he came running as fast as he could towards you.
I thought Khonshu said he was dead?
You ignored Mayari’s curious voice, unable to comprehend it or anything else other than your father at that moment.
“D-dad?” You whispered out in disbelief.
“Oh, honey.” You could hear the relief in his voice as he quickly pulled you into his chest.
You gripped the back of his suit tightly, as if afraid if you let go then he would disappear once again.
For a long moment, the two of you rocked back and forth, him comforting you lovingly as you sobbed into his chest.
“The bullets- I saw- you were-“ you couldn’t even form a proper sentence.
He shushed you once again, “It’s okay, I’ll explain everything later. I promise.”
You were grateful that Mayari gave you two a moment together without her interrupting you or your father.
Gently, he pulled away but still held onto your shoulders, keeping you at arms distance as he studied you and your outfit, “What is this?”
You could tell by the way his eyes flooded with panic and horror that he already knew the answer, though.
“Dad-“
“No, no, no.” Marc shook his head in disbelief, dropping it down in defeat, “First your mother, and now you.”
You felt your heart drop, “Mom?”
He nodded painfully, “Layla became an avatar for Taweret.”
Before you could question him further though, his suit quickly changed into a very different one. One that you knew to be Stevens outfit.
“Oh my gosh! I can’t believe you’re Mayari’s avatar!” He gushed, “That’s so bloody cool! Oh poor old Marc had no idea who’s avatar you were, but I could tell from one glance that-“
He was cut off by you throwing yourself into his arms, “I’m so glad you’re okay, too.” You whispered into his ear.
After a moment, the two of you pulled away at the sound of the screaming of your name from nearby.
You and Steven both turned to see Layla angrily stomping towards the two of you, wearing an outfit you can only assume Taweret gave her.
“Yeah, no thanks.” Steven said, “You can handle this one, mate.”
And with that, his suit disappeared and was quickly replaced by Marc’s, “What- no, Steven! Hey!” He stuttered out, quickly stopping at his wife’s deadly glare.
“What are you doing here?” She seethed, glaring down at you, “You promised to stay in the hotel room! And what are you wear-“
She cut herself off with wide eyes, realizing what was happening.
“Oh no, honey. Why would you do that?” Her voice had softened slightly and she was referring to you becoming an avatar.
“You needed help.” You mumbled, looking at the ground with slight guilt, “If it makes you feel any better, it’s the goddess-“
“Mayari.” She finished in awe, “The one I used to tell you stories about.”
Aww, you used to listen to stories about little old me?
Your goddess teased you playfully.
Marc on the other hand, huffed and crossed his arms, “Why did everybody know who it was right away, but me?”
Before any of you could respond, you were all cut off with a shout coming from a couple feet away from all of you.
You all whipped around to see one of Arthur's followers charging at you with a gun, and Layla immediately pushed you behind her and put her wrists up, deflecting all of the bullets with her cuffs.
Marc then took action and quickly ran out from behind her and kicked the man in the face, making him drop to the ground.
Then Ammit’s followers were all around you.
All three of you fought back, trying your best to defend one another while trying to stay alive.
You unsheathed your sword and quickly got to work fending off the woman nearest to you while Mayari gave you helpful tips.
You noticed with glee that your parents both glanced at you every now and then in pride at seeing you handle your own.
But there were only three of you. Avatars or not.
You were all quickly outnumbered, and next thing you knew you were backed up against a wall, fighting the best you still could in your situation.
You glanced to the side to see your mother pinned up against a side of a car while your father glanced worriedly at the two of you and Aurthur was shouting something you couldn’t hear at him.
You knew they could handle themselves so you focused back on your own fight and after a few minute struggle, they were all down and you were no longer surrounded.
Turning back to see if your parents needed help, your eyes widened in shock at what you saw.
There were bodies of Harrow and Ammits followers scattered all over the place, and your parents stood above them looking around in confusion.
“That wasn’t you, Steven?” You heard your father ask in slight horror, but you knew he didn’t even have to ask. Of course it wasn’t kind, lovable Steven.
“Dad?” You called out hesitantly.
He quickly turned to face you, scanning you for any injuries, “Yeah?”
“What the hell was that?” Layla voiced your thoughts.
“I-I don’t know.” He admitted, “I blacked out.” He glanced between the two of you, “Are you two okay?”
You both nodded and he sighed in relief. And though you were all in the middle of the biggest fight of your lives, you all couldn’t help but be grateful.
Because you had each other, your little family. Just like it always had been.
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melestasflight · 4 months
Note
For the holiday asks, #16 and Aegnor/Andreth in Dorthonion.
Holiday Silm Prompt fill for @elentarial 'as a naked flame' and for @greyjedijaneite who requested 'their hearts were stirred' Warnings: Discussions on death and mortality
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as a naked flame
An Edain story from the far East, as woven by the wise-women of the House of Marach, recorded in Sindarin by Andreth daughter of Boromir of the House of Bëor, F.A. 394.
Long ago, when the Sun was mighty in its youth, a boy was born in the Vale of Murmenalda. He came to the world on the longest day ever known to his people when the Sun shone brightly and did not set behind the mountains for a full day and night. The fire of the Sun shall ever be his boon, the elders had said, his story a light that shall never set.
The boy grew into a fierce warrior, and as it was foretold, his spirit blazed as the Sun and he was untouchable. No curse nor weapon could do him mortal harm. When darkness threatened his people, as it always has since those ancient days, he was the first to stand in its way. He fought with spear and stone, and his own body he put as a shield between his enemies and his home. Great glory and renown he earned, and the stewards of the Vale of Murmenalda knew peace for many long days while the warrior kept their lands safe. But as time passed, and the years of the warrior lengthened, and still he knew no defeat, he began to carry the weight of sorrow. For none of his friends were blessed as he was and one by one, death took them be it by weapon, or sickness, or old age. In time, his brothers were gone too, and after them, even his sons he watched depart the lands of the living. Robbed of those he had loved, the warrior came to believe that his boon was no fortune at all but a curse. He wished it no longer and sought to free himself of life. Death he dared take him at every step, seeking battle ever more fiercely, calling upon himself dooms never before imagined. But the more he fought, the greater the victories he won, and the songs of his deeds echoed across the Vale of Murmenalda. His body is touched by the Sun, the songs told, the enemies turn blind if they but set their eyes upon him. A day came, at last, when the Sun darkened and a heavy storm ravaged the land. No friend nor foe dared emerge in the open, and the warrior came outside alone and besieged the skies to save him from his life. His plea was heard. The sky opened, and a bolt of lightning struck a tree that stood tall before the warrior.  If no war or weapon will take me, he thought, let it be thus. Then he stepped forward and walked into the fire. As the flames began licking his skin, the warrior felt the fire of life kindle within him. In his final moments, which he had long desired, he understood that he had wasted his life on seeking death. Suddenly, he wished for nothing more than to keep living. All his strength he summoned to his desire for life and battled with the fire that sought to destroy him. Long they fought but the warrior prevailed at last, and consumed the fire, swallowing it whole. He burned as a naked flame as if the the entirety of the Sun had been captured within a mortal body. When the storm passed and a new day came again, the people found a warm fire burning from an old tree and wondered long at the sight. They lit branches and spread the flames of that fire. They carried the flames and with them built the first hearths, bringing light and warmth to their homes. Thus, the warrior lived on and death never took him. ��варо́гъ they called him in the language whose words are seldom remembered by the people of our times. He lives still in the flame that keeps us warm as we tell our stories, the light that keeps the darkness away.
Aegnor releases the parchment from his hands and lets it fall on his knees. Wet marks in the shape of his fingerprints adorn the edges of the sheet; he did not realize that his fingers were sweating. So absorbed in the stories that he lost track of what was happening around him. The jeweled obsidian of the sky is now framed between the windows of Andreth’s house and lively flames dance in the hearth.
Andreth sits beside him quietly, a deep frown adorning her face as she pulls a thread with utmost concentration. He follows the swift movement of her fingers, mesmerized by the sight of the slender needle appearing and disappearing between the reds, yellows, and oranges of the old tapestry she is mending.
Aegnor does not permit himself to interrupt; moments such as these are rarely granted to them. He basks in the simple joy of watching Andreth closely, so close he can feel the warmth of her body, her attention given to her work as if nothing else matters, as if time has halted its ceaseless marching for her sake alone. 
It was how he had first seen Andreth on a summer morning in the high hills above Ladros. He had stood beneath the tall pines watching her unearth dandelion roots from the dewy ground, and soon after, their eyes met and their hearts were stirred at once. Now, with that same awe, Aegnor observes how the shadows of the flames dance upon Andreth’s face, warming the mahogany flush of her cheeks and diving between the ridges along her lips that had not been there even a few summers ago. 
When the needle between Andreth’s fingers swings around itself and the image of the fiery warrior there is once again whole, she notices that she is being watched. ‘How long have you been watching me like that?’ Andreth’s face transforms, the focused frown replaced by soft crinkling along the edges of her eyes. 
‘An eternity, or perhaps a few moments, I couldn’t tell you,’ he responds truthfully, earning himself one more smile. Aegnor looks to the tapestry in her hands, ‘Is that Сваро́гъ with his burning tree?’
‘Oh yes, look how handsome he looks now that his flamy hair has been renewed. It rather reminds me of your own.’ Andreth pulls on a stray strand that has escaped from its braid and now stands rebelliously atop Aegnor’s head. He chases her hand but Andreth is swift and eludes his grasp.
‘You may have to rewrite this one,’ he tells her when the chuckles die down. ‘I'm afraid I have spoiled the parchment with my fingerprints.’
‘All the more reason to keep it,’ Andreth says with gladness that warms his chest like honeyed tea.
‘You didn’t transcribe Сваро́гъ’s name to Sindarin,’ Aegnor inquires. 
‘No, I am still undecided on how to translate it well.’ 
‘Does his name not mean fire?’
‘It does,’ Andreth explains, ‘though the word is never used alone anymore, it only serves as a stem for many words associated with warmth. And besides, its meaning is not always literal. Сваро́гъ is the fire we make with our hands to light our hearths but it also signifies life-fire. The desire to keep living even if we know the end is inevitable.’
‘It would be closer to hope, then?’ Aegnor suggests. ‘Perhaps estel might suit it better.’
‘It is not a bad thought, I shall ponder on it some more.’ 
They fall into quiet contemplation for a while, their gazes straying to the hearth. The flames there extend their limbs eagerly as a fat log finally gives in and cracks its wooden heart open. Even from where they sit by the windows across the room, Aegnor can feel the heat of the flames, their erratic movements stirring some ancient power within himself. He obliges them and keeps looking right at the core where the hues of red and orange collapse upon one another and disappear altogether, leaving a white pulsing core. The heart of the warrior beating still.
‘Isn’t it strange,’ Aegnor hears himself say, ‘how we always desire that which we cannot achieve?’
Andreth hums, eyes still fixed upon the hearth, but says nothing more. As is her custom, she waits patiently for the unraveling of his heart.
‘In life,’ Aegnor continues, ‘Сваро́гъ sought death, and when death was finally upon him, he wished life. He is a part of us all, seeking what is beyond grasp, his irony is our own.’
Andreth turns to him then, eyes searching deeply into his own. ‘All of us, you say. Even you?’
It is a simple question, but it befuddles him. Aegnor had never felt the immortal life of his people as a curse, but time in Beleriand paced on its own strange rules. Where a year passed in the blink of an eye, a moment could stretch out for eternity. And how he wishes he could stretch out moments such as these forever, fold himself in this singular time and space where he simply sits with Andreth by the fire.
He wonders now why he had never given his heart to a lover of his own kindred, not as he gives it now, fully and easily. If it is the taste of her mortality that holds him so. Aegnor has no answer for himself and he does not offer one to Andreth either. He asks instead, ‘Have you not wished to reach immortality as many among your people?’
‘But I can reach it, Aikanár,’ she says as her lips settle into a small smile. ‘Immortality is right here, within my reach if even for one day, for one moment.’
Andreth's warm hand reaches for him, her thumb brushing along his cheekbone. Aegnor turns to bury his face into her palm, to fill himself with the scent of freshly crushed herbs and burning pine and something else that is just her. He feels Andreth's life-fire against his lips, the pulsing rhythm that counts the hours of her mortal fate.
If flames consume me, Aegnor decides, it shall not be such a bad ending.
If you enjoyed this story, feel free to drop me a note/kudo on AO3. It makes my day!
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mischiefmanaged71 · 2 years
Text
The Love Hypothesis (22/22) - Stephen Strange x Reader
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Summary: Y/N Y/L/N is a PhD student who wants to prove to her best friend that she has moved on and dating. With no way to prove it, she kisses the first man she sees, which ends up being none other than Dr. Strange, known as one of the most unapproachable and critical professors in the university.
A/N: AU! Stephen Strange is a Professor/Doctor at Columbia University and reader is a Ph.D. student (Reader - 28, Stephen - 34). Credits to Ali Hazelwood for the original story. This work is a piece of fiction. I have no ownership over anything, this is ff. 
PS. Sorry for the large gap between posting! I had a family wedding, holiday and uni beginning in the span of a month so life has been very busy.  Here is the final part to this series which I hope you all enjoyed. Thanks for all of the love, comments and reblogs. I wouldn’t mind requests to inspire future writings xx
Pairing: Stephen Strange X FEM! Reader
Word Count: 1K
Series Masterlist
For the longest time, she believed that the significant feeling of want and being wanted by someone was something far off. Connecting to someone and feeling truly understood was something far from reach when you held your heart close to you. It wasn’t the fear of holding onto something unreal or out of her depths. It was the fear of falling and no one being there to catch you. 
The crashing swoop of love over your heart and mind, all in the moment that solidifies the fall. The moment when everything falls into place and you know entirely, that they are yours. That you are theirs. The buckling of her knees with a glance at his dazzling smile. The shivers that ran along her neck when his hand grazed over her back. A whisper of her name on his lips and her heart shuddered as she paused and looked up, their breaths brushing on faces. 
Everything seemed to fall into place.
For now, she knew that she was in love.
For the longest time, Stephen believed she would be far out of his reach. She was this graceful person with a mysterious way about her that captured his attention from the first curious moment in that bathroom. The passion behind her nervous rambles and the quirks within her behaviour. It was the sputter of his heart with a glance in the moment that they connected eyes. 
***
A warm breath graced her cheek as she laid there on the couch, simmering in the warmth of the sun from the window. The smooth scent of coffee filled her senses as she peeled her eyes open, glimpsing at the sight of someone standing above her. Her eyes glanced upward to Stephen standing over her with a soft smile on his face. 
“Hey, you.” she whispered, smiling in return at the sight of him. “When did you get here?”
His hand brushed against her cheek fondly, “Not long ago. I found you here. Didn’t want to wake you just yet. Coffee?”
“Always.” she smiled, accepting the container from him gratefully, moving to a seat on the couch. He took the seat next to her, throwing an arm on the back of the couch. She circled a finger around the rim of the takeaway cup, humming at the familiar taste of her favourite drink; made precisely in the way she liked it. 
“Stephen?” she paused, staring at the cup as he hummed.
“When did you know?”
He hummed in response, sending a confused at her question “Know what exactly?”
She paused, a light feeling of something resting on her chest - something that slowly bubbled to the surface. “After everything, when did you know? That you were sure about this?” meeting his eyes in a moment that the words rang true.
She could see as the thoughts ran through his head and he answered. 
“It would be really cliché of me to say that moment in the bathroom.” gaining a laugh from Y/N as she listened to him, “I guess, it was an accumulation of several moments over time that brought me to the moment I knew for sure that I was infatuated with you.”
Her eyes shook as she forced herself to hide the effect of his words within the shakiness of her breath and her averting gaze.
“Not the thought of you, but the person you were. The person you are that makes me want to be better. The woman that loves passionately and lives by her word.” Stephen finished, catching onto her silence. 
“I like you for many reasons, Y/N.”
He paused, almost as if he were unsure of his next words. Maybe he was hesitant, nervous, or a combination of the two. “But I love you for all of it.”
His words rang true as she flickered her gaze upward to make eye contact with Stephen, her heart stammering in her chest. Y/N’s eyes glistened with tears at his confession, unsuspecting of the effect of his words.
“One of the things I’ve always regretted is not noticing you sooner.’ She huffed, catching as he swiped his fingers over her cheeks to wipe away the tears. A soft gasp escaped her mouth as she chuckled, falling into his embrace “Then maybe it would’ve made everything a whole lot easier. You make it all easier.” 
She felt his hands falter for a moment as he pulled back, pausing to look down at her. 
“Everything with you makes sense.” she continued, “I realised that for a while I wasn’t in a good place, but...I’m far from that when I’m spending my time with you.”
“You don’t know what happiness you’ve brought into my life when you realised just how incredible you are.”
She smiled, “I’m sorry you had to wait so long.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, “Don’t apologise for that. It all happened and we’re here now.”
“Are you saying you believe in things like fate?”
He laughed, shaking his head slightly as she laid down on his chest. Stephen tucked her there and leaned against the couch, “While I don’t believe in fate, I do think the universe has a way of making things certain.”
“Do you have a scientific basis to that statement?”
She certainly imagined him rolling his eyes in that moment, “Call it a hunch.”
“Right. The Strange hunch.” a laugh escaped her, “It’ll catch on.”
He pinched her side, raising a yelp from her as she flicked his chest. “Smartass.”
She leaned on her hands, connecting their gaze “You chose to be with this smartass.”
A softened look glossed over his eyes, “I did.”
Stephen leaned closer and the warmth of his breath brushed her cheeks as he cupped her face and they embraced. His lips pressed against her mouth and the room faded into nothing with the calm and tentative kiss. He had her memorised all the same, the edges of her body beneath his hand as he cupped her jaw. Her hands found placement on his neck. Stephen tilted her chin, taking her in as if it were the very first time, savouring the hitch of her breath as she leaned against his forehead until they apart.
“I love you.” she whispered.
And he whispered the words back in every subsequent breath.
TAGS
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umichenginabroad · 11 days
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Stockholm Week 9: Booking the Rest of the Weekends!
This week was supposedly a stressful midterm week but thanks to the work I put in last weekend, I had an oddly relaxing week. 
I booked a bunch of flights (hopefully the last) this week too ⸜( ˙ ˘ ˙)⸝♡
My wallet is suffering but I’m brainwashing myself that this is a lifetime opportunity I need to catch. 
3/11 Mon: Ivar Los Park + Italy!
I had the mission of finding the tablecloth my mom bought in Stockholm Stadsmission during her stay. She was sad that she didn’t buy more of the same design since it fit the table size too perfectly. As a good daughter, I decided to do a scavenger hunt for it before it ran out of stock. 
Unfortunately, the ones with the same design were gone when I arrived. Although I failed my mom’s request, my own hunt was successful! I found a skirt and dress that fit perfectly. I couldn’t resist buying them since they were less than $10 each too. 
My Midterm paper for Crime Fiction class was due on Tuesday but I was close to being done due to last weekend’s grind. With light steps, I continued to spend time outside, enjoying the sun. Since I was already in Mariatorget and didn’t want to go home yet, I took a long walk around the Ivar Los Park. 
The park was smaller than I thought. I sat down on a bench for a little while until I got up to walk alongside Monteliusvägen. The clear sky amplified the beauty of the view, lightening up my mood as well. 
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I tried to capture every moment in my head so that I could look back to these moments when I was exhausted. 
During my 40-minute walk, I discovered a kindergarten, church, ballet school, and Mojang studios (shoutout to Minecraft fans). I shared my happiness with my grandparents in Korea by calling them and chit-chatting for a while. 
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A few snaps from my point of view 
I walked back home since the park wasn’t too far from my apartment. I noticed that our apartment also had a small garden and walking paths, so I strolled around in the little garden until I was satisfied with the amount of Vitamin D intake. 
For the longest time, something inside me had been bugging me to travel to Amsterdam and see the tulip festival. I tried scheduling times with my friends, but I couldn’t find anyone available during the weekend I was planning to go. 
It was then that I got in touch with my friend from home, who is also studying abroad in Europe. We started talking about our travel plans and scheduling availability. Going to Amsterdam failed again because of our tight schedule, but we managed to find a weekend to visit Italy!!! It didn’t take us long to book our flights and come up with Airbnb lists ( ˃ᴗ˂ ) 
3/12 Tue
In Swedish class, we were assigned random groups to do a team assignment.
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There are too many ways to pronounce words
I don’t know how but dumplings kept coming up in our conversations (we were hungry), and I just had to go grab dumplings after class. 
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These pork dumplings were a bit greasy but they tasted a bit like dim sum and I loved that 
I walked around the vicinity after getting re-energized. More and more flower vendors have been popping up here and there, and I walked by slowly to enjoy the sight and the scent of flowers. 
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Tulips usually aren’t my favorites but the ones here are absolutely gorgeous ✿(′ᵕ′*)
For dinner, I followed a kimchi fried rice recipe with cabbage instead. It was delicious as usual :) 
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I’m running out of menus though ;-; 
3/13 Wed: Productive Day 
Wednesdays without any field studies are arguably the best! 
I slept in and made a sandwich salad combo for brunch. 
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Pesto is always right
I stayed home and worked on the second midterm essay of this week for Glued to the Screen TV Film course. I was more of a test girl than an essay girl but oddly, I enjoyed writing the three essays that are 2.5 pages each. I really think blogging is helping to lower the mental hurdles I have for writing essays. 
After finishing the essays early, I switched the subject and worked on two different group projects. It was a very productive day! 
3/14 Thu: Malta! 
I stayed in the DIS building after the morning class until my late afternoon core class began. I was going to go to one of these recommended study cafes but got too lazy to go out. 
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A map of good places to study! 
I couldn’t get rid of the thought of going to Amsterdam, so I logged into Ryanair again. 
The Ryanair website had an option to select “Anywhere” for the destination. Out of boredom and curiosity, I set the dates to one of my available weekends and scrolled through the possible destinations. 
I found relatively cheap flight options to Hungary, Germany, Latvia, Estonia, Austria, the United Kingdom, Greece, and Malta. Out of those options, Greece and Malta caught my eye. I would’ve loved to go to Santorini but that wasn’t an option. When I searched Malta on Google, I was captivated by the scenery. I LOVE the beach and it happened to be Malta’s specialty. I could feel my lingering desire for Amsterdam finally dissipating as I looked at the pictures of Malta. 
I contemplated for a while, calculating the expenses, and clicked the button to buy the flight ticket. A solo trip to Malta in April is officially confirmed! I’m becoming more and more spontaneous but I don’t hate the change. I’m working on trying out things that I wouldn’t have done before, and this is a step towards my goal. 
For dinner, I made a quick and healthy meal out of oatmeal. I’ve been into oatmeal recipes lately; they are easy and fulfilling! Since oatmeal was healthy, I ate chips to balance out. 
For the rest of the night, I read the second half of The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir for the Crime Fiction class tomorrow. 
3/15 Fri
I woke up early around 7 am to finish the book. 
After classes, my friend and I grabbed lunch at a Thai restaurant.
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The pad thai was good but I couldn’t stop comparing it to No Thai
If you’re reading this in Ann Arbor, please get pad thai or drunken noodles or potato curry at No Thai for me. 
Anyway, our lunch date didn’t end there. Yes, we were full after lunch. Yes, we got boba. I have been refraining from getting boba too much because I knew my addiction would kick in again soon enough. But it was Friday and I was productive this week, so I got it as a treat for myself. 
I tried working on homework that evening, but I couldn’t get myself to focus enough to finish it. So Friday night ended up as a self-care night in my bed as well ( * ˘╰╯˘ *)
3/16 Sat: Study Date
On Saturday, I got to sleep in until 11:30 am. I was still in my bed rolling around when my friend asked me if I wanted to come with her to go do work in a cafe. It didn’t take too long to realize that I wouldn’t do any work if I stayed home, so I composed myself and got ready to go out. 
We headed to Gamla Stan but it was packed with even more people than usual. I blame the good weather. 
After failing to find a spot in three different cafes, we moved over to T-Centralen and found a good study place. 
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The cafe is called the Kaferang City - I got Snapple but it was $5.50 ;-;
The music and distant conversations helped me focus and finish my assignments (+ blogging) for the week! 
On the way back home, I stopped at ICA to get groceries. I bought a pack of raw chicken breast for the first time, and it took me TWO hours to cook it + make dinner. My legs hurt by the end but once I tasted my dinner I knew it was worth it!
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I was so afraid that chicken would be raw so I cut some into thirds, not even halves
When I went back home I was irresistibly drawn to stay horizontal in my bed. I made a good choice to start a new novel but a bad choice to read until 5 am.  
3/17 Sun 
Free time! 
My roommate hasn’t come back from her weekend trip so I had all the space to myself. Moreover, I didn’t have much to do because I did most of it yesterday at the cafe. 
Sooo I basically spent the whole day finishing reading the novel except doing a brief project meeting and submitting finalized homework assignments. 
This week was an opportunity for me to rest peacefully, both mentally and physically. I love traveling but felt that taking a rest was a necessary step for me. 
It has been two months already since I came to Stockholm. Thank you for reading my weekly essays and I promise you that I’ll come back with more stories to tell next week! 
Vi ses, 
Jiwoo Kim 
Chemical Engineering
DIS Study Abroad in Stockholm, Sweden
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Lost and Found- Part 9
Genre: Horror, Action, Adventure, Romance, Slow-Burn,  
Pairing: Leon Kennedy x Named Reader (Named but not Described)
Summary: Ella was one of the missing hikers who was kidnapped by the villagers. She narrowly escaped being sacrificed, but her friends weren’t so lucky. Managing to survive out in the woods with her previous skills and knowledge, she runs into Leon, and that meeting begins the longest, most dangerous adventure of her life as she tries to help him save the girl she saw being taken into the church. What will happen along the way? Only one way to find out.  
Warnings: Canon typical violence and gore, Death, Murder, Monsters, Suicidal ideations mentioned
Word Count: 4,206
Part 8 Part 10  Story Masterlist
xXx
“This-” Ella stabbed her knife into the cult member’s chest, before turning to immediately shoot another one coming up behind her. “Is not-” Three more were to her right and she had to duck out of the way. “Very entertaining!” She shouted out as she used her shotgun on the now four cult members coming towards her.
It was as if Powder Puff had ordered them to specifically target her, because the ones not trying to grab Ashley, were trying to kill her. Ramon had barely acknowledged her existence- the one time he did he shot her the most disgusted sneer Ella had ever seen- so she didn’t understand why he seemed to have it out for her in particular. It really didn’t matter, though, as she had to focus on not dying and not letting Ashley get captured. After what felt like an hour of fighting and running around the large hall, they finally found the wheel they needed to bring down the stairs and advance forward, but that didn’t mean their troubles were over. Far from it.
Getting up to the third floor, they saw that there was a large river of black liquid between them and where they needed to be, Ella letting out a curse of frustration. She looked around, seeing that there were wheels on the platforms above them, and Ella knew those were what they needed. “Leon, help me up!” She shouted as she moved over to a wall, the man seeming to hesitate a moment. She wasn’t the only one who noticed that the cult members really had it out for her However, there was no alternative, there being no reason to send Ashley up there, who was a bigger target, and Ella unable to lift Leon up.
“Come on!” Ella rushed him as more cult members started advancing towards them, and Leon finally moved, kneeling in front of the wall. Ella climbed onto his back, standing on his shoulders and using the wall for balance as he stood, allowing her to reach the ledge and climb up. There were already cult members waiting for her, and she pulled out her hand gun, shooting the ones directly in front of her. “Go! I’ll cover you!” Leon shouted, and Ella took care of the last one in her way before running to the wheel closest to her. It was too hard to turn the wheel with one hand, forcing Ella to put her gun away and use both. Fortunately, she trusted Leon to watch her back, all the cult members getting close to her falling to the ground with a headshot wound. 
As Ella continued to turn the wheel, half of a bridge emerged from the water bit by bit, and Ella was able to bring it up all the way. Now, to the other side. In order to get to the opposite wheel, she had to cross a narrow rail-less pathway that connected the two floors, and she let out a light groan as she hyped herself up for a moment, before beginning her way to the other side as quickly as she could. Leon continued to cover her, but more Cult Members filed in on their floor, and despite being on the below her, one threw his hatchet straight at her, Ella narrowly dodging it as she moved to the side; However, her foot slipped off the edge of the bridge, and Ella almost fell to the floor below where there were more members waiting to get ahold of her. She barely managed to catch herself, though her chin had slammed down hard on the stone, rattling her teeth and spreading the taste of blood across her now injured tongue. “Ella!” She heard Ashley scream behind her, but all Ella could focus on was kicking her legs to avoid the grabby hands of the cult below her, as well keeping an eye on the ones still on the bridge. Her arms were folded on the platform, Ella unable to find a grip to get herself up, and she hissed when a knife sliced into the side of her calf. Leon was doing everything he could, but there were too many in two different spots, not to mention the ones coming for him and Ashley, and he had to focus on the priority, Ella hearing him cursing behind her. She knew his hands were tied. He couldn’t use his shotgun or grenades, as he risked hitting Ella, so he had to stick to his handgun or magnum, which had limited rates of fire.
“Fuck- Come on Ella, think!” She ground out after spitting out the blood that had filled her mouth. Speaking made the wounds on her tongue and chin more apparent, but she couldn’t care about it at the moment. An idea popped into her head, though it was risky, but she didn’t have anything to lose. In a quick movement, she lowered herself down, only her hands keeping her on the ledge now, and she was able to use the metal helmets of the cult members below her to push off and jump up, almost slipping once more but catching herself. She took a moment to catch her breath, Leon able to focus on the ones on the bridge, who were much more manageable. “You okay?” He called, and Ella nodded, holding her hand out and giving him a thumbs up. SHe needed a moment to catch her breath, but soon she was getting up and moving over the now cleared bridge. She had sustained quite a few cuts on her legs, some deeper than the others, but she pushed through the stinging pain, making it to the other side and turning the wheel to raise the last half of the bridge. Once it was up, she didn’t waste any time as she climbed over the ledge and jumped down. It wasn’t too big of a height, but her injured legs gave out on her, and she would have tumbled to the floor had Leon not suddenly been there to catch her.
She didn’t know how many times he had been there to catch her when she stumbled, but she greatly appreciated him. He had saved her knees on more than one occasion, and she was sure that if it wasn’t for him, she’d already be covered head to toe in bandages, if not dead. “You alright?” He asked her once more, and she looked up at him, taking in the concern in his expression. He may be much better at managing his emotions than her, but she knew he cared about her as much as she did him, and that was a comforting realization. She knew that it was just him being a good person and nothing more, but considering the alternative was him not giving a shit about her wellbeing whatsoever, she would take what she could get.  “Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Let’s go.” She realized she had been staring at him a little too long, and they didn’t have time to waste. He nodded and released her, Ella ignoring the ridiculous feeling of loss that rose in her chest and focusing on the now open path before them. 
The three quickly made it over the wet carpeted bridge to the other side, running up the stairs and pushing open the large doors, letting them close behind them and give them reprieve from the fighting. Ella was still panting lightly as she noticed the surprisingly beautiful outside area in front of them. There was a large water fountain with plants and pink and white flowers lining the edge of it. If it weren’t for where they were, Ella would want to snap a picture of it. She winced as she made it over to the edge of the fountain, sitting on the stone and looking down at her legs, which were pretty cut up. Her tights had been ruined long ago, so she wasn’t worried about them as she ripped off the material around the cuts. “God, I really wish I had decided to wear pants before coming here.” She joked as she pulled out first aid spray and bandages. What was only a little over a week ago felt like years. She remembered thinking that it wasn’t real cold where they were headed, but it could get a little chilly, hence shorts with tights and a short sleeve t-shirt with a flannel. Her legs were covered, but not too covered, and she had the pockets awarded to her by jean short. It had seemed so practical before. “Ella, they were after you.” Ashley pointed out, concerned. She was used to being a target herself, but she had never seen them explicitly target one of the other two before. “You noticed that too huh? I guess Ramon really didn’t like my Powder Puff joke.” She chucked before she grimaced at the sting of the spray. At this rate, she was going to be covered head to toe in bandages. Leon had a few of his own from minor wounds sustained in their many fights, but Ella still had him beat. 
She saw Ashley’s look of worry. “Hey, don’t stress about it. This isn’t the first time my big mouth has gotten me into trouble, and I promise it won’t be the last.” She assured her, giving her a comforting smile, before focusing back on wrapping her wounds. Her hands were shaking lightly as the last of the adrenaline wore off, the pain in her legs becoming more apparent, and it was harder for her to properly wrap the bandage than she had thought it would be. “No, this was more than that.” Leon spoke up after being characteristically quiet, suddenly kneeling down in front of her and taking the bandages from her hands. He must have seen that she was struggling, and Ella could only assume he wanted to pick up the pace, pressing her lips together as she tried to push the feeling of being a hindrance away. It didn’t help that Leon was clearly upset, and she couldn’t help but wonder if it was at her. She tried not to think about it too hard, leaning back to give him more space. Instead, she focused on his words, her brows furrowing. “What do you mean?” What else could it be? Unless he was thinking that somehow he was involved. ”You don’t think The Priest has anything to do with this do you?” The mention of him had Ashley looking at them in confusion, but neither offered an explanation, too busy considering the possibility of him being involved somehow. She knew he had escaped, but being in the castle and behind the walls had made it feel like they were done with him, at least for a little while, for some reason. “I don’t know, but we can’t rule it out. You need to stick close, alright?” He told her, and Ella didn’t want to argue with him, as he was already upset, so she just nodded. Really, she didn’t think he would be trying to kidnap her again. Those cult members were trying to kill her, not ritually sacrifice her. But she supposed it never hurt to be cautious.
It was quiet then, the only sound being the unraveling of bandages and tape as Leon worked on covering all of the wounds. At one point, he had wordlessly pushed her legs apart for better access to a cut that went around her knee, and Ella had to mentally tell her traitorous body that now was not the time for butterflies to erupt in her chest, reminding herself of the situation they were currently in. That was much easier to do when Leon accidentally wrapped the bandage a little too tightly, Ella letting out a small yelp of pain as she grabbed his shoulder as if to push him away, giving him a look of indignation.
“Sorry.” He chuckled as he adjusted the bandage, and Ella would be annoyed if she wasn’t relieved that he was no longer frowning. Maybe he hadn’t been upset at her after all.  
A few more tortuous seconds passed, but soon Leon was done wrapping the wounds on her legs, and he stood up, holding a hand out for her. Ella took it, getting up off the fountain before running her tongue over her teeth, feeling the small wound at the tip. Fortunately her tongue was intact, her teeth having just grazed the muscle for the most part, but it still hurt like hell. That didn’t even include the scrape on the underside of her already bruised chin, and she realized she would need to clean that as well. The fight in the large hall had really done a number on her, but considering she had been a target, she supposed that made sense. If only she had Leon’s skills, because then maybe she’d be better at avoiding getting injured so often. 
“Here.” Leon raised his hand to gently cup her jaw, tilting her head back to get a better angle on the injury and leaning his head forward. If Ella wasn’t in pain, she was sure his touch and proximity would have once again caused goosebumps to spread over her skin, her body clearly not caring about how inappropriate the timing was. Ashley handed him the spray, and Ella closed her eyes, the now familiar sting almost comforting to her as Leon carefully sprayed the wound. At least the pain meant her wounds were clean. Leon cut a small piece of bandage, taping it to the bottom of her chin and effectively covering it.
“Better?” He asked her as he released her jaw, though he didn’t immediately step away from her. Ella looked into his blue eyes, seeing a touch of gentleness that made her heart flutter lightly, and she nodded her head.
“Yeah. . .thanks.” She really hoped her cheeks weren’t as flushed as they were warm, but if they were, she’d blame it on the rigorous exercise they had just been put through. If Leon noticed, he didn’t react or call it out, just nodding with the slightest smile on his lips, before he turned, looking to the door they would need to go through.
“Alright, let’s go.” Ella tried to ignore the loud thumping of her heart, the reasoning not being due to a life threatening situation this time. 
xXx
They ended up having to lift Ashley up onto a stone ledge to the other side to unlock the door leading out of the outside area. 
Her cough had concerned Ella, who hadn’t missed how that had been happening more frequently. Ashley seemed to brush right past it though, and Ella knew bringing it up would only scare her, so she refrained, pushing the worry down for the time being. They finally arrived at the courtyard, but there was no sign of Luis yet. Had they not taken enough time to get there? Where was he? “Looks like the right place-” Leon had started, but he was cut off as another fit of coughs sounded from Ashley, Ella looking to her in concern. “You okay?” Leon asked as Ashley looked up at him. “I think so.” She murmured, taking a step, before beginning to fall forward. Ella had moved to catch her, but Leon had been closer, wrapping his arms around her and holding her up. “Instead of worrying about her, worry about your own skin.” Ashley said suddenly, and before Ella could even process what happened, Ashley grabbed Leon’s knife, stepping away from him and bringing the knife up threateningly. “Ashley-” Ella tried, but the girl thrust the knife forward, Leon catching it in his gloved hand. Ella didn’t know what to do, not wanting to hurt Ashley but not wanting to let her hurt Leon either. Ashley suddenly pulled the knife from his hand, slicing his palm and making Leon let out a grunt of pain. In the next second, Ella moved to try and restrain her, as did Leon, but both of them stopped when the light caught Ashley’s eyes, revealing what was going on. There were black veins around them, the usually amber brown iris’ now a pale blue. It was Saddler. “Temperance children!” Ashley snapped in a raspy voice, Ella feeling her heart jump into her throat when Ashley suddenly held the tip of the knife to her own throat. There’s no way Saddler would kill her, and Ella knew that, but it was still a terrifying risk to take, Leon and Ella cautiously stepping forward as Ashley stepped back. Before they could reach her, however, a gate suddenly slammed down in front of them, separating Leon and Ella from Ashley. What seemed to be almost instantly, the veins faded from Ashely’s skin and her eyes returned to their natural color as she dropped the knife, her eyes wide with shock. A sob bubbled from her throat as she realized what she had done. She looked at her hands in fear and disbelief, stepping back from the gate before looking back up at Leon, regret shining in her brown eyes. Suddenly, she turned, running off.
“Wait!” Leon called, but it was no use, and Ella cursed, trying to think fast.
“Lift me over.” She ordered, moving to the side of the gate where she would be able to reach the ledge. “What?” Leon questioned immediately, and she knew he wasn’t that clueless. “Lift me over the ledge so I can go after her! Saddler clearly wants to separate us, and we can’t let them get to her!” She explained, and Leon knew she was right, even if he didn’t like the idea of being separated from the both of them. Gritting his teeth, he moved quickly, letting Ella climb onto his back once more as he lifted her up just enough to reach the plant covered stone top. She pulled herself the rest of the way up and jumped over, stumbling, but catching herself. She kicked Leon’s knife within his reach, before wasting not another second as she ran after Ashley, leaving Leon alone.
xXx
Ella had been able to catch up to Ashley after making some split-second decisions on which paths to take, relieved they had been the right ones as she caught the fleeting sight of Ashley’s back. “Ashley, wait!” She called, wishing the girl would stop running away from her. It made no sense for her to run, as she knew how dangerous it was for her to be alone.
“Leave me alone!” Was all she received, and Ella wanted to groan. She had to remind herself that Ashley was just a scared kid, pushing her annoyance away as she continued to pursue her. xXx Eventually Ella had found her crying in a small room, taking a second to catch her breath as she entered behind her. Ashley turned, standing up quickly as she stepped away. “Stay back! I-I don’t want to hurt you.” She cried, and Ella had to refrain from rolling her eyes.
“No offense Ashley, but firstly, I think I can take you. Secondly, if you run away again, I might just smack you upside the head.” She didn’t mean to be harsh, but this had not been the smartest move on Ashley’s part. The blonde gave her an incredulous look, shocked Ella had spoken to her like that when she was usually so kind and reassuring. 
“What? Bu-”
“No buts. And I’m sorry, but what were you thinking? You know he did all that to separate us, so why would you run away?” She couldn’t help but be a little frustrated with her. Now Leon was all on his own, and he’d have to find an alternative way to them, and who knew how long that would take. 
“I just didn’t want to hurt either of you. . .” She sniffled, and Ella sighed, feeling the frustration dissipate. She knew Ashley was just reacting impulsively, and was feeling guilty after hurting Leon. She had just been controlled, and the shock of that made it hard for her to think straight, which was something  Ella could understand. Her initial annoyance was gone as she reminded herself that Ashley was doing the best she could in an impossible situation. 
“I know.” She murmured, and Ashley looked down at her hands, black veins peeking out from her sleeves.
“I was so scared. . . when that happened, I wasn’t myself anymore.” She looked back up at Ella, the look in her eyes making Ella’s heart tighten in her chest. “I was something else.”  Ella frowned, empathy filling her. She had no idea what that felt like, and she wished she could comfort her by telling her she knew how she was feeling, but she couldn’t. So she tried something else. “You know. . .Leon is infected.” She started, and that made Ashley look up at her in shock. “H-He is?” Ella nodded.
“Yeah. The Chief kidnapped him at one point while we were making our way to the church, and it happened then.” She explained as she moved over slowly, not wanting to scare Ashley off. Fortunately, the young girl stayed put, and Ella took a seat on the plushy couch next to her. “But. . .aren’t you scared that he’ll. . .turn?” Confusion was clear in her voice, and Ella couldn’t blame her. Ella’s initial reaction when she found out hadn’t been great, but that was because she knew how dangerous Leon could be. Ashley knew it too. “Oh boy. . .I’m terrified.” She admitted honestly, and Ashley was quiet as she waited for her to continue. “When I realized he was infected, I knew that everything had gotten so much more dangerous than it already was. I had no idea how it would affect him- if he would turn on me at any moment.” She sighed, remembering all the thoughts that had gone through her head. “Why did you stay with him?” Ashley didn’t understand. Ella was strong willed and determined, but there was no way she could take on Leon if he were to be taken over by the Plaga. “To be honest. . .I don’t know. I told him it was for you, and that was true, but I think at the time I would have done anything to not be left alone again.” She hummed as she thought back to the early event in their long journey. Ella had lost all of her friends and was wandering around in the woods alone for days, surrounded by people who wanted to kill her. She had no way to get home and her mental health was chipping away at her self-preservation instincts. Leon had been her last hope, and saving Ashley had been the only motivation that she could hold on to. It had never been a completely selfless act for her to tag along on his mission, as much as Ella wished she could claim it was. 
“But now?” Ashley probed, knowing that Ella’s motivation had changed by now. It was clear in the way her relationships with the both of them had developed, Ella no longer being held back by her grief. 
“Now? It’s because I care about him. A lot.” The admission had flowed freely from her lips, but Ella didn’t care. She knew that much was obvious to the young girl, who had been watching the interactions between the two. She looked at her, Ella’s expression soft, but determined. “Him and you, and I want to do whatever I can to help you both, no matter the risks.” Ashley was quiet as she took that in. “It’s okay to be afraid. I know I am, and have been since all of this started.” Ella chuckled, the admission making Ashley look back at her.  “But you can’t run away again. Leon and I can’t protect you if you do.” Ashley pressed her lips together, before she nodded, her expression apologetic as the guilt became more apparent on her features. “Hey, it’s okay.” Ella assured, reaching up to brush Ashley’s blonde hair out of her eyes, before she put a comforting hand on her arm. “It’s going to be okay. I promise.” Ashley leaned into her side, resting her head on her shoulder, and Ella leaned her own against Ashley’s after a moment.
“Thanks. . .” The latter murmured, and Ella hummed in response, closing her eyes. This reminded her of the times she had to comfort Alice when she was going through hard times, and Ella smiled softly at the memories. It was crazy how often Ashley reminded her of her best friend, and Ella was sure the two would have been great friends had they gotten the chance to meet.
“Should we go find Leon?” Ashley asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence, and Ella sighed. “Unfortunately that’ll do more harm than good.” She responded.. “We don’t know which alternate route he had to take, so we don’t know where he could be coming from. It’s best if we just stay here, maybe keep a look out for him while we lay low.” As much as she wanted to go after him, Ashley came first, and dragging her about the unfamiliar castle wouldn’t be safe, especially because Saddler knew she was more vulnerable right now. Ella didn’t like it, worry for Leon swirling in her chest, but they didn’t have any other choice but to say put. 
A few minutes later, the door behind them opened, both Ella and Ashley turning to look in hopes of seeing their lost companion walk through the door. 
But it wasn’t him.
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