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eyndr-stories · 2 years

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The Stranger The Better (FNAF SB fanfic) C10 - There's A New Sheriff In Town

Read the intro to Chapter 1 (Enter A Sleepy Bitchard) for more details! I'd start reading there anyways else things won't make a whole lot of sense lol

In Summary: Reader is a forever exhausted young adult who has social difficulties doing their best to pay the bills, so when they get hired at the well-paying, almost entirely automated Freddy Fazbear's Mega Pizza-Plex, they don't really hesitate to think things through before stumbling headfirst into a horror mystery surrounding this company and its crew of quirky (and surprisingly kind) animatronics.

Things To Know (lmk if I should add anything, also check the tags for more stuff):

There are some horror elements in several chapters! This chapter isn't all that spooky, there are some feelings of fear but that's it for this one.

Eventual romance, minorly important to the plot.

Reader has paranoia.

There is much swearing.

Reader is also addicted to energy drinks, and not fantastic at self care.

Reader is nonbinary (and also trans masc) though it's not vital to the plot and only comes up once or twice.

Reader is from the south, is protective of their friends, and if you threaten their friends then I'm afraid you've yee'd your last haw and yes that is important to the plot

Previous Chapter | Chapter 10 | Next Chapter

C10 - There's A New Sheriff In Town

You had the day off from the plex today, but not the deli. You weren't closing luckily, although your manager did ask if you could stay late to help close. You refused, feeling slightly guilty, but you were more exhausted than normal today and really looking forward to a chill night before your full shift at the plex tomorrow. You needed to be on you’re A-game tomorrow, the specialist would be doing their robotic wizardry on Moon and Sun. You were totally only worried a normal amount.

Once you were home for the night, you dutifully did your chores, cleaned off your apron and made sure both uniforms were ready to go, made ramen for diner, and brewed yourself a nice mug of tea to help with your nerves. Your totally reasonable amount of nerves. Your hands were definitely not shaking.

You gripped the warm mug tightly and took a few deep breaths.

Your phone rang, and you jumped, spilling a small amount of tea on your fingers and the kitchen table. You cursed and quickly cleaned up the mess as you pulled out your phone, ready to decline another spam call.

Sun and Moon's contact flashed across the screen. They were calling you. Oh fuck Sun and Moon were calling you-

You leapt into action as you picked up the call. "Hello? It's Y/N," you said, grabbing your shoes.

"Hello dear!" That was Sun's voice on the other end of the call. Sun and Moon shared the same voice box, but you'd gotten to know them well enough to tell their tones apart. "Sooo I just thought you should know. We're coming over for an impromptu sleepover! Everything's fine, just fine, peachy keen, just dandy!"

You paused halfway through putting on your hoodie. "Whuh?? To my house? You're coming here??"

"That's right, sunshine! We'll be there shortly!" Sun hung up before you could question him further.

"What the fuck," you muttered, staring down at your phone.

There was a knock at the door, and you jumped again.

You peered through the window and sure enough, there was Sun, standing outside in front of your door. He waved at you.

You unlocked and opened the door. "Uhhhhhh. What the fuck?!" you said.

Sun winced, but their smile never faltered. "Hey there hon! May we come inside? I know the visit is a little short notice."

"Uh- yeah. Yeah, come in." You stepped aside, and Sun ducked through the doorway. You were suddenly coming to the realization that Sun was in your house (Moon too, technically), the place where you lived, and you hadn't cleaned yet, oh god, this was embarrassing-

You closed and locked the door, then hurried around to tidy things up. "Um, sorry, it's- I haven't cleaned yet, let me just…" You straightened the mess on the table, put the dishes in the sink, wiped off the kitchen counters.

To your surprise, Sun started helping, fluffing pillows and organizing loose books into a neat stack. "Your home is so lovely!! Its so cute and cozy… is this art on the wall yours??"

You laughed nervously. Your cheeks felt warm. "Some of it, yeah. Some stuff is from my friends back in my hometown. I always keep anything people make for me." You started doing the dishes, scrubbing them down and setting them aside to dry.

Sun studied a framed drawing on the wall near the bookshelf. "Hey, I know this character! That's Calcifur!"

You looked at the drawing in question. "Yeah! A good friend of mine drew that for me for my birthday one year." You turned your attention to Sun. "So… I have… several questions."

Sun glanced at you briefly, then busied himself with re-fluffing the already fluffed pillows.

"First. How are you here?? Like. Not only, how do you know where I live, but also, it's dark out. Shouldn't Moon have come out?" you questioned.

"You have location sharing turned on when you send us pictures." Sun got out their phone and pulled up their conversation with you. He tapped one of the most recent pictures you'd sent him of the fence, and sure enough, there was an information tag at the bottom that displayed a time and location where the image was taken.

"Oh. Damn, I didn't even realize that was a feature." You weren't great with technology.

"Sometimes, if both Moon and I are in agreement, one of us can have total control despite the light levels. It takes a lot of concentration, but it's doable! Moon can't leave the plex, and we both wanted to come see you," Sun explained, putting the phone away.

You finished with the dishes and dried your hands off. "Just can't get enough of me, huh?"

"That's right!" Sun smiled and winked at you.

You felt there was something else going on here. You squinted suspiciously at the bot. "…Are you sure this visit has nothing to do with the fact that the specialist is gonna separate you and Moon tomorrow?"

Sun looked away, intertwining their fingers together tightly.

"Why don't we sit and talk about it?" you offered gently, gesturing to the table.

"…Okay." Sun sighed, then took a seat.

"Can I get you anything? I've got tea, snacks, candy," you said.

Sun smiled. "I'm alright, sunshine. I don't usually enjoy eating."

You nodded and sat down across from Sun, grabbing your forgotten mug of tea. You sipped at it and waited patiently for Sun to start. When he didn't for a good long moment, you prompted him.

"So, uh… what exactly has you two so nervous about all this?"

Sun tapped their fingers on the edge of the table. "It's just… we've always been… together. Its always been the two of us working in tandem… most of the time. Neither of us really want that to change. And Moon is worried… we both are worried that the specialist won't actually… fix Moon. We're worried she'll get rid of Moon instead."

You took a deep breath. "I'm worried too. But… like Paige said, it's all about the money. It'd be more lucrative for them to fix up Moon and have another animatronic to work the daycare. Besides, I'm gonna watch that specialist like a hawk the whole time."

"But what if… no offense, but you aren't exactly an expert with technology. How would you know if… something was amiss?" Sun stared down at the table.

You had actually been worried about that yourself. You looked away. "…I… I can't say much to that. You're right, I'm hopeless when it comes to computer stuff and robots and whatnot. I'm sorry, but I don't have a solution. We're just gonna have to trust that everything will be alright. Which I know sucks, cause management isn't exactly trustworthy… but I do think we can trust that they're greedy bastards."

Sun nodded. He looked thoughtful.

"As for you and Moon being separated… yall don't have to be, like, apart. You can hang out together and still talk to each other. And hey! Won't it be great to give him a big ol hug?"

Sun smiled. "That would be great! I suppose it all just seems so daunting. It's scary."

You nodded. "I know. I'm here for yall, whatever you need."

"Thank you, sunshine." Sun looked at you gratefully, expression soft.

Your face felt warm again. It sure was doing that a lot lately. You hoped you weren't coming down with a cold, that'd be inconvenient.

Sun perked up a little, starting to sway from side to side. "Is it alright if we stay the night? We could have a sleepover!"

"Sure, that'd be alright. I can give you a ride back to the plex in the morning," you said.

"Aw, thank you dear!" Sun smiled happily, then sprang up from the table. "A sleepover!! Oh my, we haven't had a sleepover in some time… what should we do first?? We could watch a show or play a game or make a pillow fort or tell ghost stories or braid each other's hair and gossip!"

You smiled. "You don't have any hair, Sunny."

Sun froze, looking shocked and alarmed. They frantically pat their head with their hands. "Oh dear!! My hair!!! Where has it gone?!"

You snorted. "Must have fallen off on the way here."

"Ohhh silly me! I could still braid your hair, though," Sun offered.

"You might have a little trouble, since it's kinda short." You thought for a moment. "You know, building a pillow fort does actually sound like a lot of fun. I haven't done that since I was a little kid."

Sun clapped excitedly. "Lets build one together!!"

You and Sun gathered up all the pillows and blankets you owned and spent the next few hours hanging out in what ended up being a rather impressive pillow fort. You chatted and made silly jokes and even let Sun braid your hair. It felt very nice and relaxing to have someone play with your hair.

With both you and Sun in the fort surrounded by cozy blankets and pillows, it was very warm and comfortable. That was definitely the only reason your face felt so warm.

The warm comfort of the fort was also making you very drowsy. You were nodding off in the middle of a game of cards when Sun noticed your sleepiness.

"I see it's time for the 'sleep' part of our sleepover," he said with a smile.

"Nahhh, I'm fine." You paused to yawn. "You just don't wanna finish this game cause you know I'll win."

Sun rolled their eyes. "Says the one who hasn't noticed they've been showing me their cards this whole time."

You frowned, realizing he was right, and quickly pulled your cards close to your chest.

Sun chuckled. "Moon says it's his turn. I'll turn out the lights. Don't peek at my cards while we're gone!"

You watched Sun carefully extract himself from the fort. You were tempted to look at their cards, but restrained yourself from cheating. The lights went out, but the soft glow of the nightlights you had around the home allowed you to still be able to make out the cards in your hand.

Moon settled into the fort, eying you suspiciously as they picked up their cards.

"I didn't peek, I promise." You rolled your eyes. "Nice to see you, dream boy."

"Nice to see you too, rule-breaker." Moon looked at his cards, then at you. "Let's make a deal."

"A deal?" You looked at him curiously as you yawned again.

Moon nodded. "Let's finish this game. If you win, we can stay up and play another round. If I win, you have to go to sleep."

You squinted at your cards, then at Moon. You had a pretty decent hand. "Hm… I hope you're ready to play till the sun comes up then, cause you've got yourself a deal."

Moon smiled. "It's your turn."

"Oh. Is it?" You frowned and looked over your cards again. You ignored Moon's snickering and set down a pair of jacks. "It's you and Sun!" you declared, pointing at the jesters on the cards.

Moon looked at the cards thoughtfully. They straightened the cards, separating them neatly into their proper piles.

"…How are you doing, Moon?" you asked.

"I'm… worried. Same as Sun. But… I feel better knowing you'll be there." Moon set down three cards.

You were so surprised that you didn't even realize you were actually about to loose the game, Moon had made a really good move. "Well, I'm happy to help," you said, your face warm again.

"If… when Sun and I are separated, will you still spend time with both of us?" Moon asked.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?" You looked at Moon quizzically for a moment before trying to focus on your cards.

"I mean… you and Sun get along so well. Once I'm not… unavoidably there every other night. You might want to… you might prefer…" Moon trailed off.

You looked at Moon. "Hey, Moon. You know I like you just as much as Sun, right? Do you not think the two of us get along too??"

"I- we do. At least, I think. I'm just… I don't know what you… think of me." Moon fidgeted with the edge of a pillowcase.

"I think you're great," you said. "I think you're funny and snarky and quiet. I think that you think you're dangerous, but I'm not scared of you. I know you tried to hurt me."

Moon winced.

You quickly continued. "But that wasn't really you, was it? You weren't in control. You are kind and caring." You reached out and took one of Moon's fidgety hands. "You and Sun mean the world to me, you know that?"

Moon looked at you with an expression you couldn't read. "You mean the world to us, too."

"Good, keep that in mind when I beat your ass with this awesome move." You grinned and set down all four kings.

"Oh, dear. That’s one of the best moves in the game… if only there was one move better that could beat that…" Moon set down his last four cards, all of them aces.

"Aw, fuck!" You frowned. Moon had won the game.

"Mind your language, sore looser." Moon rolled their eyes.

You huffed. "We ain't in the daycare, dream boy. I can swear as much as I damn well please in my own house."

"I suppose." Moon picked up the cards and packed them away. "I do believe you made a deal with me that you must now honor."

You rolled your eyes. "Okay, okay. I am pretty tired." You adjusted the pillows around you and pulled up a blanket. "I'm gonna crash right here, no way in hell I'm making it all the way to my bed. Are you gonna sleep? Er, enter sleep mode?"

"We will," Moon said, laying down next to you and folding his hands together over his middle.

"Don't you need a recharge station though?" You burrowed deeper into the pillows, feeling incredibly cozy.

"A recharge station would be nice, but its not necessary. The stations just help the cycle go faster, as they're very cold, and the door doesn't open until the cycle is finished, so we can't be disturbed," Moon explained.

"Oh, okay." You yawned. You were having trouble keeping your eyes open. "I'll have to get me one of those… so yall can rest better next time."

"Next time?" Moon tilted his head.

"Unless you don't wanna hang out at my place again?" you asked.

"We would love to have another sleepover sometime, my dear."

You smiled. "Good… I had a lot of fun. You guys are great. I like you both a lot."

"Oh, is that so?" Moon smiled at you.

"Hush, dream boy. I'm half asleep…" You were indeed starting to drift off.

"We like you a lot too, Y/N," Moon said quietly.

You smiled.

Moon began to hum quietly. You recognized the tune as the lullaby they'd sang to you a while ago. You wanted to listen to his lovely voice, but you drifted off into a dreamless sleep before he was halfway through the song.

~~~

It had been a long time since you last woke up with someone next to you. Moon was in sleep mode, eyes closed and still. It was still dark out, but you could see his peaceful face in the glow of the nightlights. You realized you were very close to them, likely having rolled over in your sleep to get closer to the bot's warmth. That's what you told yourself, at least. There was no other reason.

…Or was there?

The feeling was intense now. The same feeling you realized you'd been ignoring for a while now. You'd felt this before, for someone who was no longer in your life. You'd questioned whether you'd ever feel it again, and here it was, overwhelming and undeniable.

You were snuggled up to Moon, his arm around you, holding you close. You were currently hugging their other arm like a teddy bear. You'd been physically close to both Moon and Sun before (Sun sure did love hugs) but this was different.

Oh, shit. You had a crush on Sun and Moon.

Teeming with embarrassment, you gently untangled yourself from Moon and climbed out of the pillow fort.

"Shit shit shit shit shit. Fuck. Shit." You mumbled quietly to yourself as you paced around your kitchen. You spent the next ten minutes having a silent crisis. Then you checked the time on your phone and realized the pizza-plex was about to open in half an hour. "Shit!"

You quickly got your shoes on and your hoodie and grabbed your watch. You poked your head back in the fort.

"Hey, uh, Moon?? You guys gotta get back to the plex," you said.

Moon didn't stir. You cursed, realizing you had no clue how to get them out of sleep mode.

"Ahhh, beans!" You paced around for a moment. "Alright, hang on. I'll get you there."

You dismantled the fort enough to crouch next to Moon. You hesitated, not wanting to disturb his peaceful rest, but you reasoned that you really didn't want him to get in trouble. You put your arms under them and lifted.

"FFFFFFFFUCKING HELL," you cried. The animatronic weighed a ton. Not only was he bigger than you, but he was also made of metal.

You took a step back and took a moment to stretch and psyche yourself up. The plex opened in twenty minutes. You took a deep breath, then tried to lift Moon once more.

With adrenaline fueled strength, you heaved Moon upwards and very awkwardly struggled to drag them to the door.

"Dangit!" You fumbled with the lock, trying to keep Moon up at the same time. "Fuckin shit. Ahh hell-"

You managed to get through the door, but locking it was a whole separate challenge. You fumbled with the keys and ended up nearly getting crushed by Moon. You were extremely grateful that your neighbor's lots were spaced far away from yours.

"Motherfucker- god dammit-" Moon was so heavy, and not exactly as soft and squishy as you. You awkwardly half-dragged, half-carried him to your car regardless, wincing as you accidentally bonked Moon's head on the door as you got him into the passenger seat.

At long last, you collapsed into the driver's seat and let out a long breath. "Man. And I thought I was a heavy sleeper." You looked over at Moon, who was still fast asleep. You hoped they'd at least get through rest mode by the time you got to the plex.

You drove all the way to the plex before realizing that you now had to get Moon inside. You groaned and set your head on the steering wheel.

Ten minutes until the plex opened. There were several cars already here. You hoped they were all employees who were already inside and not customers about to witness an obscene amount of tomfoolery.

You took a deep breath and got out of the car, then heaved Moon up out of the passenger seat. In your struggle to reach your keys and lock the car behind you, you tripped over the curb and crashed into the sidewalk, breaking Moon's fall as he toppled over on top of you.

"Dammiiiiit!" You squirmed, trying to get out from under the animatronic. Your face felt incredibly hot, and you really hoped no one was able to see you.

Almost as if in response to this desperate hope, Moon's eyes opened and fixed on you.

"…This is not where we were when we entered sleep mode," Moon said.

"Sorry, you wouldn't wake up and I had no idea how to get you out of sleep mode. The plex opens in like five minutes," you breathlessly explained.

Moon looked around, then seemed to realized the position the both of you were in. They quickly got up and picked you up as well, giving you a once over for injuries before setting you back down on your feet.

"Were you trying to carry me to the pizza-plex??" Moon questioned.

"Trying?? I damn near had you there, thank you very much." You huffed and brushed yourself off.

"You… are ridiculous. Thank you." Moon smiled.

You smiled back. "Not a problem, partner. Now get on home before the bandits get a hold of ya. And mind your liquor next time, a sheriff has other things to do besides walking you back from the saloon."

"As you wish, sheriff. We'll see you tonight." Moon took a step towards the door, then paused. He turned and took your hand, then gently pressed his faceplate to the back of it. Then they hurried inside the plex, leaving you standing there blushing furiously. You thought of nothing else the whole way home.

As you clocked in for your shift at the plex however, you found your mind occupied once more by troubles and worries. You made your way straight to the daycare, checking the cameras on your watch as you went. You spotted the specialist also making her way through the plex. She was in one of the access tunnels, making her way up the stairwell. She was wearing a uniform and a badge, so the moment of horrible surprise between spotting her and realizing who she was was brief.

The whole thing with Sun and Moon getting separated was, at least, very distracting from your earlier realization of the feelings you planned to bottle up deep inside, and then one day, die.

The lights were on in the daycare. Sun was a rush of energy and motion, running around and straightening already tidy boxes of crafts and stuffed animals and toys.

"Howdy, sunflower." You stepped into the daycare and offered what you hoped was a reassuring smile.

"Y/N! How are you??" Sun bounded over and hugged you tightly. "Everything is going according to plan! The specialist will be arriving any minute now with the last bits and pieces to finish Moon's body! She'll escort us down to parts and service and then…"

"Relax, Sunny. It'll be okay," you assured, giving Sun's hand a squeeze. "How's Moon?"

"He's just as nervous but he won't admit it." Sun rolled his eyes. "She was supposed to be here by now… I don't know what's keeping her. What if something is wrong??"

"Nothing's wrong. I saw her heading over on the cameras. Try to relax, okay? I won't let anything bad happen to yall," you promised.

"Okay… okay." Sun still looked nervous. He wove his fingers together and paced around until someone appeared in the doorway.

"Sorry I'm late, I wanted to move the second body over to parts and service but no one gave me a key to the door it's behind. Not to mention this place is a maze," the woman said. She was very wiry, with age in her short dark hair but not in her eyes, sharp and observant behind a thick pair of circular spectacles. She showed you her badge. The name printed at the top read 'Omari Vander'. "Hey there, officer. Um. Would you happen to know where the key is?"

You straightened, pleased by the fact that she seemed to view you with at least some level of authority. "Not to worry, I have the key."

"Right, of course. Well, let's get this started shall we? We're in for a long night," Omari said with a sigh.

You turned to Sun. "Ready?"

Sun nodded.

"Alright, let's do this." You did your best to project a calm confidence as you lead the way to the nearest entrance to the access tunnels.

Sun sat anxiously on the metal table opposite of Moon's new body. Omari had set up shop in parts and service, laying out a great deal of well organized tools and parts and working diligently on Moon's body. You quickly learned that she was a talker, and had a lot of complaints about management, which made you like her a little better.

"I told them a year ago when Moon's bug first became an issue, them and their budgets and cost cuts, they don't think about things like the functionality of these animatronics, all they care about is the money. I tried to tell them again before I came here today. They still want me to keep Moon in safe mode for the time being. What a pain," Omari huffed.

"What's safe mode?" you asked.

"What Sun here is in now. He won't be after the upgrade though. Basically it keeps the animatronics off the network. No connecting to the security cameras or the systems here in the building. They can't connect to the internet, and they don't have as much leeway when it comes to the rules. Most importantly, animatronics in safe mode can be deactivated much easier," Omari said.

"I see." You watched as Omari finished plugging up some wires and began screwing the metal plate back into place on the new body's torso.

"I won't be in safe mode anymore?" Sun asked, tilting their head.

Omari shook her head. "Nope. Management figures you're fine, the issue is with Moon. Honestly the only reason you've been in safe mode since activation is because Moon isn't in safe mode. Not sure what the original designers were after there, probably figured it was an extra safety precaution in case they needed to turn you guys off. Moon would still get the benefits of not having safe mode on, and at the same time, the both of you would be easy to manage."

"You aren't the original designer who made Sun and Moon?" you asked curiously.

"Nope, I'm just the poor sod who gets to clean up their mess. Ugh, don't even get me started on how difficult it was to work things out with management." Omari went on immediately regardless. "Those chuckle heads couldn't even find the bug. I told them, it wasn't a bug as much as it was a programming issue, again, two AI's in one bot, if you aren't careful a lot can go wrong. They didn't want to admit their fancy-shmancy top class designers would make such a horrible programming error." Omari shook her head. "Not a doubt in my mind the issue will be gone as soon as this is over."

"Let's hope so," you said. You watched Omari turn to the computer, which was hooked up to Sun as well as Moon's new body. You squinted at the complicated lines of code on the screen.

"…Do you have to hover like that?" Omari raised an eyebrow at you.

"Oh, sorry." You took a step back.

"I've got the update code all worked out and ready to go for the both of them. Just running a system check to make sure the new body is functioning properly…" Omari studied the screen, understanding things there that were entirely lost on you.

"How long will it take? Until everything is done?" Sun asked.

"The transfer will have to be slow, but the updates won't take long. Two hours tops till we're done here and I can go home," Omari said.

"Sure thing, doctor! I trust you'll have us all patched up and ready to go without issue!" Sun swung their legs back and forth, fingers anxiously tapping at the table.

Omari gave Sun a funny look. "Right. You know I'm not a doctor, right?"

"Oh, yes. I was just… attempting to lighten the mood," Sun said.

Omari looked at Sun, then at you. "Is it just me or does this robot have anxiety?"

"You'd be nervous too if you were about to get your brain meddled with by a stranger," you said, frowning at Omari.

"…Right." Omari focused back on the computer.

Soon, it was time to get things started. Sun laid down, staring over at the other table.

"When I'm powered back on… Moon and I won't be together anymore," Sun said.

"Maybe not in the same way, but yall will still be together." You took Sun's hand and gave it a squeeze.

Sun squeezed back, holding your hand very tightly. He looked so nervous. You didn't doubt Moon was nervous as well.

"Hey. I'll be right here the whole time," you said, then gave the back of Sun's hand a kiss.

Sun beamed at you and wiggled happily. "See you soon, sunshine."

Sun powered down, their grip going slack.

You tried not to think about how different this was to seeing Moon in rest mode. They looked the exact same, eyes closed, body still. But Sun wasn't in rest mode, Sun was entirely off. You reminded yourself he and Moon would both be back on in a little while.

"Uh… so what's going on here?" Omari asked.

You had almost forgotten she was here. Your face felt hot as you turned away from Sun. "We're friends," you stated.

"Uh huh…" Omari still looked confused. "They're just robots, you know."

You scowled. "They're more kind and understanding than a lot of people I know."

"That's just their programming, though. They take care of kids."

"All of the animatronics are more than their programming. They have feelings, thoughts, fears. Even the damn security bots here seem to have some level of feeling," you said.

Omari looked at you, then at Sun. "I'd say you're pulling my leg, but… He did seem really worried earlier. And the way you guys talk to each other…" Omari waved and shook her head. "Man, I'm not paid enough for this. I'm just gonna do my job and get outa here." She focused back on the computer.

You were too anxious to sit, so you paced around while you waited for time to slowly creep past. You glanced over at the computer every now and again, but you couldn't understand anything of what was going on. You just had to trust it would all be okay. Trust that Sun and Moon would wake up fine.

"You've gotta stop that pacing around, you're making me nervous," Omari said.

"Sorry." You pulled up a chair and sat between the two tables. Your leg bounced anxiously. "What kind of upgrades are they getting?" you asked, hoping to distract yourself.

"Well, Moon's getting most of the new features, since I think management plans to have him return to security duty. He'll have minor x-ray vision, like Roxy. He's getting his systems streamlined, same as Sun, so they'll both be a lot more energy efficient. He’ll keep his night vision of course, it’ll just get a minor upgrade."

You had several questions. You took a moment to take in the information.

"Management wants him to go back to doing security?" you asked first.

Omari shrugged. "They didn't tell me much. They'll probably talk to you about it, since you're security yourself. I do recall them mentioning you, saying something about how you're supervising the whole thing."

This was news to you. You shook your head. "Sure would have been nice for management to let me know that."

Omari snorted. "Get used to it, those jerks don't care much about anyone but themselves."

"I gathered." You sighed and put it out of mind for now. "I didn't know Roxy had x-ray vision."

"Yep! Helps her win races. She's the best, you know? Management has this whole vision for each of the animatronics, and they want her to be cool and confidant and really popular with the kids."

"Right." You thought about what Roxy had said to you a few days ago, about the pressure she was under. She probably felt pressured to live up to management's high expectations of her. Another reason to hate management.

"How long have you been working for the company?" you asked. "You seem to know a lot about things around here."

"Well, they first hired me to do maintenance back when the place opened three years ago, make sure everything was running smoothly and all that. It was me and this other lady, god she was a piece of work. I could just tell she thought she knew more than me, you know? But she got promoted elsewhere a year in, and I retired soon after anyways. I wonder if she still works here…"

"I dunno, I've only met one other human employee. The other night guard, Vanessa," you said.

Omari snapped her fingers and smiled at you. "Vanessa!! That was her name!"

"Oh! Yeah, she still works here."

"I thought for sure she must have quit by now. She was always going on and on about how much she hated this place. Which, I guess I can't blame her for, I've been doing the same thing all night." Omari laughed. "Management is such a hassle."

Omari got back to work, and you got back to anxiously waiting. You thought about management, and scowled at the floor. You couldn't stand how they treated the animatronics, how much stress and worry they put on everyone, especially Sun and Moon. You wanted to do something actionable about it, but you didn't have the first clue what or how.

For now, you decided to just keep your ear to the ground and try not to get fired.

You were scrolling through the cameras on your watch when Omari stood up and stretched.

"Alright! Just need to run some system checks and then I can go home and go to sleep," Omari said. "I dunno how you stay up this late every night. I could never be a security guard."

"Ah, I'm a night owl." You shrugged. You got to your feet as both animatronics began to rouse.

You watched Moon sit up first. He looked around slowly, his eyes no longer red pinpricks, now full white with dark blue pupils. He flexed his hands out, moving each finger, then looked down at himself.

"…I sure would like some clothes," he said.

"Oh, jeez- I'm sorry, we should have brought some-" You quickly pulled off your hoodie and handed it to Moon, averting your eyes, despite the fact that there wasn't anything to accidentally see, not to mention the fact that you'd been sitting here staring at Moon and Sun for hours.

Moon awkwardly pulled on the hoodie, which was a little small for him.

Sun sat up, staring straight ahead for a long moment. His pupils were easier to see now, the old yellow indiscernible from the surrounding white now a deep red. Then he blinked and looked around, gripping the edge of the table tightly as he did.

"How you guys doing??" Your eyes were on Sun, who was almost concerningly stiff.

"It's so strange… I think we're- I mean. I think I'm alright." Sun loosened up a little. He gave you the smallest of smiles.

"It's so… empty…" Moon put a hand to his head. "Finally some room to breathe."

Sun rolled his eyes. "Shut up, you miss me already."

"…Yeah," Moon said.

"Everything looks good, system check came back positive. Uh, I release you from my office! I dunno, what the heck do doctors say?" Omari waved it off. "Whatever. I'm leaving. Bye."

"Thanks doc," Moon said.

"Goodbye! Thank you!" Sun waved.

"Have a good night," you said.

Sun and Moon unhooked themselves from the computer and got up. They looked at each other for a moment, then simultaneously went for a hug. Sun let out a little laugh as Moon swung him around.

You were smiling at the two of them when they both pulled you into the hug as well. You hugged them both tightly.

"I told yall it'd be okay," you said, finally relaxing. You were so relieved. They were okay. They were both alright.

"Okay… maybe you're right. Maybe things will be okay from now on. How do you feel, Moon?" Sun asked.

"I feel…" Moon hugged you and Sun a little tighter. "Calm."

You smiled. Everything had gone fine. Moon and Sun were both here. Everything was fine.

You just hoped things would stay that way.

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simply-trash5 · 4 years

Text

PuppetBoy

Okay Kankuro simps, got some more juice for ya! Seriously this was so fun to write. It is a college AU about Kankuro and a reader. I am pretty proud of it. I would love to write some things for you so PLEASE request. Seriously. I’ll even try smut (I’ve never written it before so we’ll see how it goes). Drop them in the ask box and if you like what you read you should totally tell me because i am a self conscious bean.

What the hell is that noise? You think to yourself as you look around. It sounded terrible. Whatever car was making that noise was definitely on it’s last leg. You nod your head realizing it was the same guy you see everyday parked across from the education building at your college. You could hear loud metal playing from the speakers and the windows shaking as he pulled into the lot. He jumped out,slammed the door and gave the tire a swift kick. Wow he’s kinda cute. He stood almost 6 ft. tall and had on a black hoodie that hung lightly over his brown hair. His black jeans had rips in the knees and you could see he was wearing scuffed black DocMartens. You continued to follow him with your eyes as he passed you walking toward the theatre building. He had an eyebrow ring and gauges. Oh shit, I think he caught me staring. He looked at you, scoffed and kept walking toward the theatre building. Is he a theatre major? You wondered to yourself. Maybe he just has to take a fine art credit. Letting your thoughts wander you pulled the straps on your bookbag tighter and walked to your class in the education building.

The class seemed to drag on forever, and you knew after that you had to go to your nannying job which would take up most of the evening. You wished that you didn’t have to have a job, but unfortunately scholarships didn’t cover all of your tuition. You grabbed your keys from your pocket and headed toward the parking lot. Climbing into your car you started the engine and began making your way to your job. You loved kids, so nannying was a great gig for you. When you arrived at the home of a doctor in your area you were greeted by a small boy with a large grin. “Ms. Y/N, can we go to the children’s theater today? Mom said we could go if it was okay with you, she even left my booster seat so you can drive!” You giggled and shrunk down to his height. “Well if your mom says it's okay, it's fine by me. Let’s grab your jacket and booster seat and we will leave.” The small child ran into the house. His mother approached you. “Thank you so much for watching Trevor,I know he is a handful but i'm rather fond of him.” You gave her a huge smile and told her that it was no problem and explained that you were going to take him to the children's theatre. She said her goodbyes and you walked into the house to retrieve the boys booster seat so that you all could make the 4:00 production of the Three Little Pigs.

The little boy sitting in front of you on the floor giggled wildly as a wolf puppet “ran” off stage. You smiled down at him. The curtains closed and the crowd gave them a round of applause. The stage hands and puppeteers began to disassemble the set so that they could get ready for the next show when you saw a familiar face. It's car boy. You smiled in his direction, and didn’t realize you may have looked at him a little too long. “Hey, take a picture, it will last longer.” The mysterious boy gave you an annoyed look and a blush began to creep up your face. He was wearing a tight black tshirt that showed off his muscular arms and his tattoo of a sandtimer on his forearm. “Come on Trevor, lets head home,” you said steering the young boy out of the theatre.

“Oh my god what did you say back?” your friend was screeching on the other side of the phone. “Well, see, I just kinda left.” you explained not wanting to relive the embarrassing moment. “Y/N, you have got to do something tomorrow. You’re going to see him in the parking lot and you don’t want it to be weird.” You were twirling your hair around your finger staring at your phone. “Y/N are you still there?” You snapped back to reality, “yeah, I think I will buy him a cup of coffee. I’m sure he never sleeps like the rest of us. He is a college student.” You both finished your conversation and you got ready for bed. You set your alarm early so that you could go to a coffee shop and grab him a coffee to make up for the awkward run-ins you had the last few days.

“God its early” you whined to yourself but got ready anyway. You had to make a better impression on puppet boy. You gathered your things and headed out the door and made your way to a local coffee shop. You grabbed your latte and then decided it was best to just give him black coffee. You drove to your college thinking about the handsome stranger all the way there. His brown hair was shaggy and fell right into his eyes, which you melted at the thought of his hair being pushed out of his face. Your mind started to drift to what your next move would be as you pulled into the parking lot. Okay, it's 7:45 he should be here any minute. Shit what should I do? In a moment of extreme confidence you grabbed a pen out of your backpack and messily scribbled your phone number on the side of the paper cup. God I hope this works. You took a deep breath and stepped out of the car. You could hear him coming for at least a mile. Alright Y/N you cannot chicken out now. He rolled in and slammed his car door as he had every morning for the earlier part of the semester. It's now or never, you've got this shit. You beelined toward his car. He realized you were approaching and looked at you with a strange face. You immediately got nervous. You just sat the coffee cup on the hood of his car, turned on your heel, and quickly walked to the education building. “HEY! HEY COME BACK!” You heard him calling after you as you continued on your way to class cursing yourself the entire time.

Buzz

You grabbed your phone from your pocket. An unknown number had sent you a text. “How do I know you didn’t drug this coffee so you can turn my corpse into a puppet?” you laughed at the text and a blush spread over your cheeks. “Now why would I do that?” you replied. You typed “Also that is oddly specific” “What can I say, I like puppets?” The conversation continued for the next few days. You saw him a few times on campus but you never spoke in person. He would send you funny memes and videos at all hours of the night. Apparently puppetboy is a night owl. “Um btw, we’ve been talking for days and I still don’t know your name. What should I call you.” “My name is Kankuro.” “Well Kankuro, my name is Y/N. Its nice to put a name with a face.”

Shit I’m never gonna finish this run. You thought to yourself as you continued to run on the treadmill. You had your headphones in and music blaring. You loved to run and hadn’t been to the gym in a few days due to all of your nannying obligations. Okay, only a half mile more to go, you thought to yourself as you pushed your body to keep running. Out of nowhere you felt a large calloused hand on your shoulder. You snapped your head “Hey listen creep I-” before you knew it you were falling only to be caught by Kankuro. “Y/N you falling for me already?” Kankuro flirted giving you a tight smirk. You were shocked, not only by the fall, but by the arms around you. They were strong and helped steady you with ease. He was wearing a dark grey tank top which showed his muscles and tattoo off wonderfully. His legs were muscular too and looked amazing in the black shorts he was wearing. In his other hand he had a pair of boxing gloves. You began to blush and he realized you were staring at him, imagining what he looked like under that tank top. Your hand crept up to your neck where you fiddled with your necklace. He gave you a small chuckle. “I’ve got to go spar with my buddy, but if you want to you can meet me out front in an hour.” You smiled and shook your head and he turned and walked away. The shorts hugged his bottom perfectly and the tank top showed his shoulder muscles. You could see another tattoo on his back. Was it puppet strings? You pursed your lips and began to blush. I would love to see those strings up close.

The hour wait seemed like the longest hour of your life. You waited out in front of the gym as he came bounding out the door. He was sweating and his shaggy hair was sticking to his forehead. He walked over to his car and opened the door. It made a horrendous screech as it opened and you stifled a laugh. “Whats so funny princess? Just for that we gotta walk to get food.” You blushed. Did he just call me princess? Why was that so hot? “Come on, I’m starving,” he said and began walking down the sidewalk. You walked hurriedly to match his long strides. Damn my short legs. “So Kankuro, where are we going?” he gave you a crooked grin. “Its a surprise.” You giggled and retorted “well how do I know you’re not trying to get me alone and turn my corpse into a puppet?” He gave you a devilish grin, “Well sweetheart lets find out.” Another pet name. Your face turned bright red and you stared at the sidewalk. You approach a deli that you frequent with your friends. “I love this place,” you exclaimed. “Well don’t be weird and actually order some food. I like a girl with an appetite.” You laughed and smiled. You ordered your usual and he ordered grabbing your food and heading outside to a table. You both began eating and chatting casually about your lives. You found out he loves horror movies, especially ones that feature creepy dolls or puppets. You also learned that he has a lot of horror memorabilia in his apartment and that he rarely sleeps. He boxes to keep himself busy when hes not working as a children’s puppeteer. He is studying theatre with concentrations in stage management and special effects makeup. “Kankuro, thats really fucking cool,” you said and began to tell him about yourself. You were studying to be a teacher and nannying as a job to make money for college. You lived in an apartment around the corner from the deli with a friend. “So Kankuro I noticed the sand timer on your arm, do you have any other tattoos?” He gave you another devilish grin.”Yeah I have a back piece that is marionette strings. I’ve loved puppets since I was little so I thought it would be cool. Do you have any tattoos?” You blushed. You stood and pulled up your athletic top to show a tattoo of your family's crest on your hip. You had to pull your shorts down ever so slightly revealing your black lacy underwear. He looked at the tattoo and then back to your face. “Thats a nice one,” he said and rubbed the back of his neck. The conversation continued and you all talked more about your semester and your family. You laughed and told him about how you liked to run and also about how you thought it was cool he was a boxer. “Maybe one day we can spar angel,” he flashed a smile in your direction and you smiled back at the thought. You both got up from the table and threw your trash away. It was dark and cool. You pulled your jacked tighter around your shoulders. “I guess I am going to walk home and let you get back to the gym.” Kankuro shook his head “absolutely not doll, its dark and I’m walking you home.” You blushed. Another pet name, this boy is gonna be the death of me.

You began walking toward your apartment and your hands brushed several times by accident. “Damn Y/N if you wanted to hold my hand that bad all you had to do was ask. I aim to please.” You blushed and then punched Kankuro. “Still want to spar?” you said cheekily. You both walked in silence but it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was as if you had known him your whole life. The comfort of him walking beside you felt so nice. “Well this is my apartment.” You sighed and reached for the door.

BAM

The door slammed shut and you noticed a strong arm beside your face. Kankuro looked down at your lips and smirked. You began to blush. The tension was so thick. I swear im going to pass out. Your heart began racing as he leaned into you. Your back was pressed against the glass of the door with a strong arm beside your head. His other hand made its way to your tattooed hip, he drew circles over your ink with his calloused thumb. His hands were so large that you could feel his fingertips on your back. The heat rose to your cheeks. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss against your lips. He pulled back, his hand still burning a hole into your hip bone. You opened your eyes to see a smirked Kankuro. You were in shock when he reached his other hand to brush a stray piece of hair out of your face. Your thoughts raced, you wanted nothing more to bring him up to your apartment and let him give you that devilish grin some more.

“Guess I’m not a killer princess. Text me.” He chuckled, turned on his heel and walked back toward the gym. You watched him until he walked out of sight. You were ready to see him again and maybe see more of that back tattoo.

#naruto #naruto oneshot #naruto fanfiction #naruto au #kankuro x reader #kankuro au #kankuro #kankuro imagines #naruto imagines #eeeeek #im v nervous #please like it kank simps #trash writes

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allie1804-fan · 4 years

Text

Please Assist Me (Chapter 11)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10

Warning: mentions of sex

She Said

Having had such a lovely day at the beach, Keanu offered to take me and the kids back there again on Sunday. We headed out early as we didn’t know if it would get crazily busy. It was a bit more off the beaten track than the LA beaches that were on the evening news, heaving with people not distancing from each other and the kids always wake early so it was no hardship really.

Keanu came into his own at the beach having seemingly endless energy for games, swimming and bodysurfing. By 3pm, our energy was waning and I could feel the saltiness on my sun-drenched skin and that wonderful tiredness from being out in the fresh air all day. We headed home and the children were asleep on the back seat in under 10 minutes.

“we’ve beaten them for once thanks to you” I grinned.

Back at my house the kids revived enough for a quick dinner of pasta with pesto before a little quiet time in front of the TV then stories and bed. We each took a kid for a story and met up in the living room afterwards. I was down first and set some music playing from my phone on the speakers.

The music was being selected at random from my playlist. Just as Keanu got down after finishing Miguel’s story, a familiar tune started up. Keanu laughed out loud as the simple piano notes of “This never happened before” started.

“Really?”

“I swear it’s just on random selection!”

“OK, I believe you – so do you wanna dance”

There was no need to answer that as he well knew! As we moved to the music, I can’t deny that I was thinking about that scene as I nestled into his chest and slid my arms up and around his neck. We were soon kissing, sooner than him and Sandra I think! I was utterly lost in the moment and his kisses until I heard a creak from the corner of the room. We both heard it and pulled away from each other, startled but there was nothing there ……. or so we thought.

He said

Our family day at the beach was idyllic and we managed to avoid the crowds and the paps as far as we were aware. And there was nothing to see from a Pap point of view anyway as we were playing it cool in front of the kids.

The day left my skin taught from the sun, sea and wind and I had that lovely tiredness you feel from a full day of outdoor fun. In the evening we danced and kissed to “It Never Happened Before” which was both weird and lovely. Our dance was cut short though when we heard a noise - the moment was lost and I realised as well just how tired I was so decided to head home. We each had a busy week ahead so I likely wouldn’t see her until the following weekend. If she could arrange a sleepover for the kids, maybe there was a chance she might be feeling ready to take the next step by then.

Then, on Tuesday evening I had an interesting call from Sophia

“So I have some news”

“Oh yeah what?”

“So Eva asked me today if you were my boyfriend!”

“Oh, right, how did she figure that out?”

“Well, when she told Julie that she had seen us kissing ..”

“What?!”

“Yup, anyway so Julie said you must be my boyfriend if you were kissing me!”

It turned out that when we were dancing and heard that little noise, Eva had forgotten her doll and popped downstairs to get it and had glimpsed us dancing and kissing. She’d then told Julie who’d obviously asked Sophia about it.

“So what did Julie say”

“Well she said that all the other bubble mums had totally realised why I wanted you to join the bubble and knew it wasn’t because you were lonely”

“Are we that transparent?”

“Well obviously I am! They said they knew I’d been mooning over you for at least 6 months!” She chuckled as did I.

“And Julie also made us an offer”

“Oh yeah what kind of offer, does she want paying off to keep the secret?”

“No don’t be ridiculous - that’s a given. What happens in the bubble, stays in the bubble OK? No, she said that next week when it’s her school day she’ll keep my 2 overnight and take them to the next mom so we can have a couple of days and a night together. Are you free Tuesday, Wednesday?”

In an instant I said I was.

“You can’t have checked your diary that quickly!”

“Well if there’s anything in it, I’ll move it – or my PA will!”

She burst out laughing at that

“OK Boss. Sooooo it’s a date then”

“Yup, a special date”

She Said

Being discovered like that was a blessing but since it also accelerated the big moment, it filled me with nerves - excitement too but mainly nerves.

I think Keanu sensed my nerves as each time he called and asked what I wanted to do during the day, I was struggling to think, almost paralysed by what was going to come next!

“Look, let’s focus on the rest of the day OK, I can tell you’re worrying about, you know, the rest of our plans but try not to please. I want to please you, OK and I think you want that too right?”

“Yes, of course”

“So everything will fine if we relax and focus on that OK?”

“OK”

So he took over and suggested another bike ride up PCH and a short hike, maybe around Topanga Canyon before going back to his house. He then said we could order take-out from one of his favourite restaurants, Georgio Baldi sending me the menu to choose ahead of the day.

The time we had before our date allowed me to buy some new underwear – I definitely hadn’t thought about underwear in a sexy way for 3 years at least so it was fun to choose something new though I ended up ordering several different sets online because there was no option to go to an actual shop and try things on. I was going to wear my yellow sun dress for our dinner - I had in inkling he liked it on me. I did see him in person too before our actual date since there were PA tasks that required me to be at his house on some days but we mostly kept to business unless I was there for lunch when we’d take a break and share a meal on the patio together.

When Tuesday came at last, his choice of the ride and hike turned out to be just what we needed to relax and enjoy each other’s company and the great outdoors instead of everything being focussed on what was going to happen later. We made it up to one of the canyon’s best viewing points by lunchtime and sat looking over the spectacular views to the city and the sea. We had stopped on our way for sandwiches from Keanu’s favourite deli that was fortunately still open for take out, stowing them in a cool bag in one of the paniers on the bike. He had all the gear for the touring bike that made things comfortable for a day out. We spent a good half hour of our time at the viewpoint talking sandwiches! He’d gone for a BLT because it needed to travel OK but if we’d been eating straight away he’d have gone for a hot pastrami sandwich instead he told me, lovingly describing the relishes and gherkins he’d include. He sure can talk with passion and knowledge about his food preferences for someone who really doesn’t cook!

After a little more hiking up at the canyon after lunch, we made our way back to his house where we cooled off in the pool for a while. Now we were properly alone, not to mention not wearing many clothes, Keanu took his opportunity to get up close and personal. I was resting against the pool side, eyes closed leaning my head back and enjoying the sun while he did a few lengths. I noticed that the splashing had stopped and opened my eyes but couldn’t see him. A moment later I gasped as he popped up from the water right in front of me having swum a length underwater. He was delighted at my surprised reaction and leaned in to kiss me, pinning my arms back against the edge of the pool. My legs instinctively went up around his waist and I could already feel his hard on pressing against me as he looked hotly down at my cleavage and groaned.

“Sorry, I’m being like a horny teenager aren’t I?”

I giggled at that, he was so sweet and playful so in that way, yes, he was young in attitude but he had none of the horrible demanding nature of a real teen.

“Nahhh, horny teens are pushy, you’re just needy I guess”

“Yup, why don’t we get out and get showered and changed ready for dinner. The restaurant delivery is due in around an hour so we can have the crostini out here with some champagne”

He hopped out of the pool and helped me out too.

“You trying to get me drunk Reeves, coz I can tell you, you don’t need to”

“Nope, just trying to please you, like we said”

“OK then”

I was smiling as I headed to his room and the shower while he set the dinner table and got drinks chilling.

@fortheloveoffanfic @kindainlovewithkeanu @omg-imagine @iworshipkeanureeves @fics-not-tragedies @ficsnroses @keanureevesisbae @penwieldingdreamer @witty-wallflower @paperplanesandwallflowers @bitchyslut99 @ladyreapermc @toomanystoriessolittletime @fanficsrusz @keanuficfiles

#keanu reeves fanfic #keanu reeves fanfiction #keanu #keanu reeves #romance with boss

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coffee-obsessed-writer · 5 years

Note

Hi! If requests are still open, can i have a Rosa Diaz imagines. Where Rosa’s wife is pregnant, and she is in the precinct so Rosa can keep an eyes on her. And they go into lockdown and the reader is about to give birth. So they have to help her give birth in the 99, and at the end it’s fluff with Rosa, the reader and there baby! Thank you! :)

Here ya go, anonny! Sorry it took so long…

Imagine Being Rosa’s Wife and Giving Birth at the 99

WC: 3K

Warnings: None

Rosa Diaz x Female!Reader

Tags: @sorenmarie87 @cloverhighfive @kazosa @whelp-that-just-happened

“This is completely unnecessary you know,” you said as you waddled towards the breakroom. She had insisted that you go to the station with her that day, despite feeling extra tired. Your back was especially sore, and there was a war of indigestion raging in your chest. But, with the recent rise in break-ins in your neighborhood, Rosa didn’t want you to leave her side. “Babe, I don’t need a babysitter. I would have been fine at home.”

“Yes you do,” Rosa mumbled and helped lower you to the couch there. “You’re nine months pregnant with our baby, and if you think for a second I’m letting you stay at home with all the craziness that’s been going on in this city, you’re just as bad as the… crazies out there,” she stuttered a little, shook it off, rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “Sorry babe, you’re stuck here for now. My shift is over soon and then we can go home, and–” she trailed off, looking around to make sure no one could hear her, “I’ll rub your feet for you.”

“Well now, Diaz, are you being soft for me?” you teased.

“No. Shut up,” she scoffed, took one more look around and bent down to kiss you quickly before turning towards the door. “So, stay put, eat some crap from the vending machines and take care of our little girl.”

“Yes ma’am,” you winked and gave her a mock salute.

Trying to settle in for her long shift, you got as comfortable as you could, laid your head back and closed your eyes. There was a nice, ambient lull to the precinct that day, and you weren’t even mad that she dragged you across town just so she could keep an eye on you. Rosa must have put the fear of death into the squad not to bother you, because for more than an hour straight, neither Hitchcock or Scully even came near the room for snacks, or the use of their favorite couch.

In fact, it wasn’t until you heard the crack and then whoosh sound of someone opening a soda can, did you even start to stir. You opened your eyes and saw Jake standing near the vending machines, orange soda can in hand, and a look of fear on his face as he saw you wake up.

“Hiiii, Y/N. Sorry to wake you,” he whispered loudly.

You laughed. “Its fine, Jake. How ya been?”

He looked nervously out into the bullpen and then back to you. “Good, good. Go back to sleep. If Rosa knew I woke you up, she’d kill me. Like, literally. She promised to hog tie anyone who disturbed you and then said she would tie them to the back of her bike then give them a tour of Brooklyn. I’ve already seen Brookly, Y/N. I don’t need a tour.”

“Come on, man, you really think I’d let her do that. Help me up off the couch and I promise your secret is safe with me.”

Jake put his soda down and gave you both his hands to help heave you up from the couch.

“Damn, little Rosa seems ‘bout ready to pop, huh?”

“Dude, you have no idea. This little girl is a firecracker. She’s already taking after her mommy.”

“Aww, that’s so great, I can’t wait–”

“Jake!! What the Hell?!” Rosa exclaimed from the doorway. “I told you, what would happen if you woke her up!” Rosa glared and went to slowly pull something from the inside of her leather jacket, then stopped. “You’re lucky I don’t have the bike today.”

“Babe, stop. He didn’t wake me. In fact, he helped me up off the couch and then was about to get me a snack, right Jakey?”

“Yep, exactly. See! Uncle Jake is helping…”

“Fine,” Rosa relented and turned to you. “Have a good nap?”

“Yeah, it was great. Now I’m gonna eat the vending machine crap–”

“Over my dead body,” Charles chimed in from behind Rosa. Boyle walked further into the breakroom, his hands on his hips, his eyes wide with disbelief and cast as shameful look at Rosa. “How could you let the mother of your child dare to poison herself and that sweet wittle baby with vending machine crap!?”

“It’s fine Charles, I’m okay with it,” you laughed, knowing he meant well, but cheese puffs and an orange soda actually sounded pretty good.

“I’m–I’m appalled. At both of you. I am going down to the deli and bringing you back the most AMAZING Italian sub. They shave the lunchmeat so thin–”

“Alright, Boyle. Thank you for feeding her, now go before I have to hear something gross about shaved meat and feel the urge to punch you,” Rosa groaned and looked back to you with a little shrug as Charles turned and bolted quickly, most likely afraid Rosa would change her mind.

The moment he was out of sight, you walked over to the vending machine and procured the snack and soda you really wanted while Charles was gone. As you tasted the sweet orange bubbles, you smiled as it refreshed the dry throat leftover from your nap. You were about to say something when out in the bullpen a bout of chaos pulled everyone’s attention.

Jake and Rosa passed a curious, but a nervous glance and both turned to venture out to see what was happening. In the doorway, Rosa turned back to you.

“Stay in here, okay?” she asked but you knew it wasn’t a request.

The blinds were drawn so you couldn’t get a good look at what was going on, but you heard a variety of shouts and sounds of a scuffle. From somewhere else in the building, it sounded like a gunshot went off. You pushed your back flush up against the vending machines, suddenly terrified of what was going on. That’s when you felt the trickle of water running down your thigh, then a gush if it soaking your shorts.

“Shit!” You nervously touched the wet spoke of the shorts, worried that you’d see blood there, but thankfully there wasn’t. Sighing with relief, you tried to move off the machines and towards the door to get Rosa.

Jake came through the door just as the first few moments of a strong contraction were making you stop to rest at the table.

“Y/N?!” Jake exclaimed. “What’s wrong?”

“Labor…” you managed to get out, trying not to scream as the pain spiraled quickly through your back and legs. “Get Rosa, pleeease!”

“Ok, okay… come on, let’s get you somewhere comfortable. The precinct is on lockdown. Had a perp escape custody downstairs. The whole building is on lockdown until the situation is resolved. Let me take you to Holt’s office, at least his couch isn’t covered in Hitchcock and Scully leavings…”

You groaned in both pain and disgust as Jake slung an arm around your waist and you put yours around his shoulder. As he got you from the breakroom and out into the main room of the precinct, Rosa came running over.

“What’s wrong, are you–” she stopped at seeing the wetness on your shorts. “Shit. Water broke. You need to get to the hospital. Now.”

“We can’t get out, Diaz. Let’s get her to Holt’s office, maybe he can call in paramedics at least.”

Rosa nodded and helped prop you up from the other side as they assisted you into the Captain’s office. His door was already open, and he waved you in immediately.

“Sir, Y/N’s water broke, her first contraction has already started. Is there any way you can pull rank and get some paramedics up in here? I know this can hours but–”

You inadvertently cut Jake off by a cry of pain as another contraction pierced through you.

“–you can see things are speedin’ up a smiidgal.”

“Yes, I can see that. Thank you, Peralta. Diaz, stay here with Y/N, try your best to keep her calm. Let me make a call and see what I can do about getting medical help. Jake, find Amy, brief her of the situation and see if she has some kind of binder for this emergency. After Sharon went into labor, I believe she put a protocol together just in case it should happen again.”

Jake nodded in confirmation, while Holt followed behind and closed the office door behind him. Rosa knelt by your side and squeezed your hand tightly. The pain from the contractor subsided a little and you tried to remember the breathing techniques from the one Lamaze class you and Rosa attended. You couldn’t help but laugh when you remembered why you never went back.

“What?” she asked. “What’s so funny?”

“I was just thinking of the one birthing class we went too,” you replied, swallowed thickly and wishing you had some of the orange soda to wet your throat. “There was that one couple… The Bernbacks… Bernsteins? I don’t know… Bern–somethings…”

Rosa rolled her eyes at the mention of their names. “I don’t care what the instructor said, we totally beat them at all the exercises. They thought they were so perfect in the burrito roll, telling me how I should–”

“Alright, babe… I didn’t mean to rile you up. I just can’t believe its happening. All this time we waited… and now here she comes.” You felt a severe rush of hormones and emotions take over, tears quickly bubbling to the surface and spilling down your cheeks.

“What? What’s wrong?” Rosa asked, trying to assess what was causing you to cry.

“Please don’t let the first thing our daughter see be Scully or Hitchcock… or some weird food ritual for newborns that Charles tries to present.”

“I promise you, I would let either of those two bozos within a hundred yards of our little girl,” Rosa said. “You just breath and relax.”

“We never did pick a name,” you said, trying to think of the hundreds of options you and Rosa had discussed over the nine months. “Think we can try and settle that before she makes her grand entrance?”

“You know my choice…” Rosa shrugged casually and exhaled through her nose. “But you didn’t want Nancy.”

“I am not naming our daughter after Nancy Meyers… please pick something else.”

“I just don’t want it to be all… froo-froo.”

“Ok, then, besides Nancy, what do you like?”

Rosa was thoughtful for a moment but ultimately shook her head. “I don’t know. I think you should pick, and whatever you pick, I’ll love it. Right now all I can focus on is making sure you and her are both okay.”

You nodded and couldn’t help but laugh. “Alright, I’ll think of the perfect name for this little firecracker.”

Rosa comforted you and did her best to keep you calm, as another couple minutes went by before the next contraction hit. By the time it subsided, Holt, along with Jake and Amy returned to the office with hurried excitement.

Holt explained to Diaz paramedics were on their way, but there was still a situation on the second floor. They were letting them in through the back entrance and could hopefully get them up here with no trouble. Amy was on the couch, a binder in hand and asking you a flurry of questions about pressure here, pains there, and if you thought your cervix had softened.

“Amy!” Rosa admonished. “Come on dude, just… help her.”

“I’m not a doctor Rosa! I just… know the steps and questions a doctor would ask. I didn’t think you or Y/N would be comfortable–I’m NOT, by the way–to check it myself!”

“Fair enough,” Rosa relented and came back to kneel by your side. “Help is on the way, but I don’t know how long before it gets here.”

“Ookay…” you breathed, trying to fight the urge to scream. “I hope its soon because I feel like I need to push.”

“No, no. Don’t do that, not yet,” Amy warned. “At least let me read ahead and see what the binder says. This isn’t exactly like trying to teach someone how to rotate a tire, or organize a closet.”

“Yeah, maybe a bit more complicated, babe,” Jake said and touched her shoulder lovingly, trying to guide her up off the couch. “Come on, let’s give the binder to Captain Holt, then you and I give Y/N and Rosa a minute to breathe, okay? There we go…” Jake slipped the binder from Amy’s arm and handed it to Holt before they left the office.

The contractions came and went quickly over the course of the next twenty minutes, and when the elevator opened, a paramedic team with a stretcher getting off on their floor brought everyone a deep sigh of relief.

They got you moved to the stretcher, and realized that there was no time to move you, the baby was coming. They cleared Holt’s office, letting only Rosa stay to hold your hand. The paramedics worked fast to cut away the shorts and cover your lower half. The pain tore through you as they told you to bear down and push.

It felt like hours went by, but in reality, it was only about ten to twenty minutes of hard labor before a big, piercing cry filled Holt’s office. From the other side of the drawn blinds, an eruption of shouts and cheers filled the bullpen at the sound of a healthy baby.

You were exhausted, in pain and yet smiling from ear to ear as the paramedics gave the baby a quick once over before bundling her up and handing her to you. Gazing down at her little face, you looked up at Rosa, whose dark brown eyes were filled with tears, a soft smile quivering on her lips.

“She’s so beautiful,” Rosa whispered and delicately touched the baby’s cheek. “She’s perfect.”

“Ok, mom and baby, you guys ready to travel? Let’s get you to the hospital and make sure baby… she have a name yet?”

You and Rosa locked eyes for a moment, and just as she was about to say no, you said. “Yes, actually, we do.”

“We do?” Rosa snorted. “Since when? Literally twenty minutes ago, she was gonna be Baby-Not-Named-Nancy (Y/L/N).”

You shrugged and looked down at the beautiful baby currently sleeping in your arms. “I was thinking, Charlotte Marie Diaz. You can call her Charlie, thought that wouldn’t be too… what was the word you used? Froo-froo?”

“Diaz? I thought…” Rosa hesitated, surprised at hearing her last name and not yours.

“The way this girl heard a bit of commotion, then raced to get here to see it… she is a Diaz through and through. Just seems like she should have her feistier mom’s name.”

“It’s perfect.” Rosa bent down and kissed the side of your head and mumbled, “I love you.”

As the EMT’s rolled the gurney through the precinct, Amy, Jake, and Captian Holt were standing by to catch a glimpse of the newest addition to the Nine-Nine family. Right before the elevator, you asked them to pause just for a moment, so you could introduce everyone to little Charlotte. Even Captain Holt couldn’t stop himself from cooing at her. Everyone was so enamored with the little pink bundle, no one saw Hitchcock and Scully approaching from the other side.

“Hey, we found this, thought maybe you could give this to the baby from us!” Scully said, beaming with pride at the treasure he was holding out towards Charlotte.

Jake saw him first and quickly moved to stand between the dark, furry item that Scully assumed was a stuffed animal of some time. Blocking you and the baby from even having to see it.

“Noooo… No. Not gonna give her that,” Jake groaned and quickly disposed of whatever it was. “Go! Go!” Jake waved the EMT’s, along with Rosa to get you into the elevator. Amy and Holt blocked Hitchcock as he also went to hand a baby blanket that had been in the lost and found since 1995.

“No! Hitchcock!” Amy admonished and smacked it from his hand to the floor. “No gifts from you for the baby. I’ll find you something you can give her. New… from a store. Not something you pulled from lost and found.”

“No, that’s not from lost and found! That’s just old evidence from a–”

“Alllright,” Holt called out, getting everyone’s attention. “Let’s go, mother and child need to get to the hospital.”

Acting as a barrier, Holt, Amy, and Jake waited until the elevator doors opened. Charles came through the elevators, holding the bag from the deli and a look of sheer exasperation on his face. The moment he stepped off the elevator, he started rambling, completely unaware of the EMT’s and the fact that you were on the gurney, holding a baby in your arms.

“You will NOT believe what just happened. I ran down to the deli, and it took a minute or two longer because they had this gorgeous goat’s head in stock. Can’t find a good goat’s head in Brooklyn these days. Anyway, so I was trying to get back in the building, but the stupid lockdown. Had to wait until they finally lifted–”

“Charles!” Amy, Holt and Jake all yelled, interrupting his story. Incensed at being interrupted during his rant, he followed their line of sight to see you, and finally notice the baby.

“Wha-How-I missed…baby…” he trailed off and his eyes rolled back as he fainted to the floor.

“And down he goes,” Jake narrated and shook his head with a laugh. “You guys go, we got Boyle. Meet you over there soon, okay?”

“Thanks, Jake,” Rosa smiled and followed the paramedics onto the elevators.

As the door closed, you were gazing down at your daughter, who was starting to get fussy and was probably ready to eat. Despite the pain and exhaustion set into your body, you felt a rumble of hunger yourself.

“Oh man,” you mumbled, making Rosa look down as the elevator descended to the bottom floor.

“What?”

“I shoulda had you grab the sandwich from Charles. Hospital food sucks.”

Rosa laughed and rolled her eyes. “I promise, once you and Charlie here are all checked out, I will bring you whatever you want to eat. Anything at all.”

“You spoil me,” you teased and leaned your head against her side.

“Now I get to spoil both of you,” she mused dreamily, unable to take her eyes from Charlotte. “Maybe I should take some time off work. We could just chill at home with the kid… just enjoy life a little,” Rosa shrugged, but once she saw your reaction, she couldn’t hide her smile.

“Charlotte and I approve of that decision. Very, very much.”

As the EMT’s pushed you and the baby through the precinct doors and out into the light of day, Rosa squeezed your shoulders.

“Good. Now let’s get you two to the hospital before there are any more crazies coming out of the woodwork today.”

#Rosa Diaz x reader #Rosa Diaz x fem!reader #Rosa Diaz x reader insert #Rosa Diaz x you

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theyoutubedork · 5 years

Text

I’m not a wizard: part 2

tag list: @strangemaximoff

A couple of months later, and you are completely able to walk again. You learned Eldritch Magic Manipulation, constantly channeling dimensional energy to let your body function normally. It took you a while to get the hang of constantly using it, but now you grown used to the inter-dimensional hum throughout your body. You can barely feel it anymore. At this point, you were ready for almost anything, with Dr. Strange teaching you as much as possible. He wanted you to be prepared for when the dangerous threat he was talking about arrives.

The best part though, was being able to enforce your quarter staff with magic. Similar to the staff of the tribunal, you could spilt the stick apart so you could use it as a flail. It’s use was no longer that of a cane.

One day, Dr. Strange was about to do a deli run. You were going to go with him, while Wong stayed behind since he had no American money.

“I wouldn’t say no to a tuna melt,”

Wong said. You let out a laugh, before something crashed behind you. You all ducked for cover. You all summoned your weapons as you closed in on the hole in the stairs. You summoned your staff into your hand, pointing it threateningly as you draw closer. You peer inside to see a green man grumbling, eventually losing his odd color as he shrinks. He looks up at the three of you.

“Thanos is coming. He’s coming,” he said, out of breath. You all exchanged confused glances.

“Who?” Asked Dr. Strange.

After incoherent ramblings on the destruction of the universe you went over to the man who introduced himself as Dr. Bruce Banner, or the hulk. You place a hand on your shoulder. He stops rambling.

“If this Thanos is as life-threatening as you describe, is there any one you know that could help us?” You ask. Bruce Banner nods.

“Tony Stark,” He says. You look to Dr. Strange,

“Iron man, wow, ok, let’s try that,” You say. Dr. Strange nods at you to come with him as Wong stays behind. Dr. Strange quickly opens a sling ring, showing Stark and his wife kissing each other. You wince as Strange interrupts them.

“Tony Stark,” He announces, walking through the portal with you behind him,

“I’m Dr. Stephen Strange. I need you to come with me.” The couple looks at us, confused out of their minds. You nudge Strange, urging him to elaborate.

“Oh, uh, congratulations on the wedding by the way,” he says. You try not to laugh. Tony squints his eyes.

“I’m sorry, you giving out tickets to something?”

“We need your help,” Strange explains. You nod.

“It’s not overselling it to say that the fate of the universe is at stake,”

“And who’s we?” Tony challenges.

You were about to introduce yourself when Banner walks through the portal.

“Hey Tony.”

“Bruce!”

“Pepper,” Bruce greets.

“Hi,” whispers pepper.

Bruce goes up to Tony and hugs him.

You all walk back into the sanctum, you directing Tony to a couch. Wong begins to explain everything to do with the infinity stones and their existence. Dr Strange lists them out, revealing the time Stone in the eye of Agamotto. You gasp.

“You didn’t tell me you had that wrapped around your neck this whole time!” You growl, swatting Strange’s arm. His cake pushes you away. You huff. Tony continues,

“Tell me his name again,”

“Thanos,” explains Bruce, “he’s a plague Tony. He invades planets. He takes what he wants. He wipes out half the population. He sent Loki. The Attack on New York, that’s him.”

“This is it,” says Tony, “What’s our timeline?”

“No telling, He has the Power and Space Stones. That already makes him the strongest creature in the universe. If he gets his hands on all six stones, Tony...”

“He could destroy life on a scale hitherto undreamt of.” Says strange. You see Tony lean on the cauldron of cosmos, stretching.

“Did you seriously say “hitherto undreamt of”?” He sneers.

“Are you seriously leaning on the Cauldron of Cosmos?” The cloak of levitation whacks Tony away from it. It lets out a big clang. You let out a chuckle.

“I’m going to allow that. If Thanos needs all six, why don’t we just stick this one down the garbage disposal?”

“No can do,”

“That’s a stupid idea,” you groan at the same time as the Doctor. Tony looks at you.

“Aren’t you a bit young to be here?” Tony says, finally looking at you.

“My name is Y/N L/N, thanks for asking!” you say, letting on a frown,

“Anyway continue” you lean your staff towards the group.

“We swore an oath to protect the time stone with our lives.”

“I swore off dairy, but then Ben and Jerry’s names a flavor after me, so...”

“Stark Raving Hazelnuts.”

“It’s not bad,”

“More like not good,” you laugh.

“A bit chalky.”

“A hunk of hulk of burning fudge is our favorite,” Wong says.

“I liked Captain Americone, but then they discontinued it since he was you know, a criminal now,” you add. Wong hums in agreement, with a solemn look on his face.

“Point is, things change.” Tony said.

“Our oath to protect the Time stone cannot change. And this stone may be the best chance against Thanos.”

“Yeah, So conversely it may also be his best chance against us.”

“Well if we don’t do our jobs.”

“What is your job exactly? Besides making balloon animals.”

“Protecting your reality,” Strange says and you instinctively join him in saying, “douchebag,” Strange smiles at you, and you give a toothy grin.

“Ok guys, could we table this discussion right now? The fact is we have this stone. We know where it is. Vision is out there somewhere with the Mind Stone and we have to find him now,”

“Who’s Vision?” You say.

Tony explains that “Vision” is offline.

“Who could find vision then?” Strange says.

“Shit. Probably Steve Rogers.”

“Oh great,” you all mumble.

“Maybe.”

Bruce asks why he can’t just call him, and Tony reveals to him that the avengers broke up.

“Broke up? Like a band? Like..like the Beatles?”

“Exactly like the Beatles,” You say, chuckling at his use of terminology.

“Cap and I fell out hard. We’re not on speaking terms.”

Bruce explains that Thanos is coming no matter what whoever you’re talking to or not.

“He’s right Tony,” you add. Tony sighs and walks away and pulls out his flip phone. Things start to rumble.

“Say doc you wouldn’t be happen to be moving your hair would ya?” Tony asks.

“Not at the moment no,”

The rumbling becomes louder as you see people running outside. You guys exit the sanctum, seeing people running for their lives. You quickly follow Dr. Strange and Tony, summoning your shields.

“You might want to put that stone in your pocket Doc,”

“Might wanna use it,” Doc answers, summoning his own rings. You turn a corner to see a ring ship hovering over the city.

“Friday, evac anyone south of 43rd street notify first responders”

Dr. Strange instructs you to clear the dust with him, and you both cast the Winds of Watoomb to clear the area. A beam from the ship makes two aliens figures land on the ground. You gulp, taking a deep breath.

“Hear me, and rejoice. You are about to die at the hands of the Children of Thanos. Be thankful that your meaningless lives are now contributing—“ the skinny one says before Tony interrupts him.

“I’m sorry, Earth is closed today.” He yells. You smile at his words,

“You better pack it up and get outta here.”

“Stonekeeper” the alien addresses Strange.

“Does this chattering animal speak for you?”

“Certainly not I speak for myself.” He defends, summoning his rings, “you’re trespassing in this city and on this planet.”

Both you and Wong summon your rings as well, and you feel magical energy course through you.

“He means get lost, Squidward.” Tony yells. You have to bite your tongue to keep yourself from laughing. He was totally right!

“He exhausts me. Bring me the stone,” Squidward says to his partner who chitters in an alien language.

Banner is unable to summon hulk, saying they had a thing, frustrating Tony.

“Dude you’re embarsssing me in front of the wizards.” Tony growls.

Tony orders wings to look after Bruce. You see Tony summon his iron man suit battling briefly before being shot up from the ground. Dr. Strange turns to Bruce as Wong summons a shield.

“Since the rest of your green friend won’t be joining us...” sending him through a sling ring.

You send a few projectiles at Squidward when Tony comes back.

“You need to get that stone out of here now!”

“It stays with me,”

“Exactly, bye,” He says, hurtling towards the beasts before being sent through a wall. Dr. Strange turns to you,

“Go help him,” he says, nodding his head towards Tony. You nod. You quickly summon ruby rings, jumping up towards a building, using your quarterstaff to pole vault you towards the park. You see Tony push Bruce out of the way as you will yourself to float down next to them. Your legs wobble slightly from your first time with actually floating, but you quickly recover. Tony begins to be beat up by the monster and before you throw a shield to protect him, something red and blue beats you too it.

“Hey man. What’s up Mr. Stark?” The young hero says. You recognize him as Spider-Man, since you’ve heard briefly of him.

“Kid, where’d you come from?” Tony asks.

“A field trip to MOMA!” He yells as he’s thrown to the side. You quickly throw some golden whips onto the beast, trying to restrain him as Tony blasts the alien.

“What’s this guy’s problem Mr. stark?” You hear the boy yell.

“Uh he’s from space. He came here to steal a necklace from a wizard.” He says. You sigh, slashing at the alien with your flail-staff.

“For the last time due we’re not wizards! We’re Masters of the Mystic Arts!” You yell back at Tony. The beast grabs Spider-Man throwing him. You summon a sling ring, sending him through as you drop him above you, as you manage to catch him. Your knees slightly buckle from the weight but you set him down on the grass. Spider-Man looks up at you.

“Thanks!” He yellsas you flail at the beast.

You throw more space shards at the alien. Spider-Man quickly grabs a car that’s thrown, throwing it at the alien. Suddenly you see Dr. strange whip by, the cape dragging him.

“Kid that’s the wizard. Get on it!” Tony says.

“On it!” Spider-Man says. You start running towards Strange, using your staff as a pole vault once more. You use more powers as you try to fly through the air, but you keep trailing across the ground every few feet or so. Spider-Man soars above you as you start to trail behind. You feel your legs screaming from the amount of energy you are using, yelling in pain. You look at Spider-Man swinging through the air and you start to do the same. You take golden whips and start swinging off of trees and streetlights, only having to float yourself a few times. The wizard sends billboards you way, and you quickly deflect it with a shield. Spider-Man gets hit, and you keep going, flying ahead of the wizard and grabbing Strange with your whip as he’s sent flying, you see a strand of webbing attach to him, and Spider-Man comes to your aid. Suddenly a beam from the ship starts pulling you up, but you refuse to let go. Spider-Man trails after you. And you hear his yell.

“Uh Mr. Stark, I’m being beamed up.”

The ship escalates super quickly and you look at Spider-Man.

“What do we do?” You say, unable to think of a spell to save you. Spider-Man quickly grabs you by the waist, swinging you both to a side of the ship. You cling onto the panels. You both start climbing. Spider-Man says suddenly,

“But you said to save the wizard! I can’t breathe!” He says as he takes off his mask. Your already gasping for air as you see an attractive young man emerge from the mask. He gasps for air. Tony seems to say something to him before he says,

“Yeah, that makes sense.” He breathes before he collapses. You scream, failing to catch him with your whip.

“Spider-Man!” You yell. Suddenly something flies onto him, emerging his in a new suit. He lands not so gracefully on the trip. gracefully on the ship. You see that before he’s sent off with a parachute, and you start to lose consciousness, you try to summon the winds into your lungs, but your arms give out. You start to feel yourself fall, but then you feel strong metal arms surround you.

“I got you kid,” you hear Tony say. You’re able to breathe in a few moments, and Tony sets you on your feet. You and him quickly go to a safe place, observing Dr. Strange from above. Tony nearly blasts the cloak of levitation.

“Wow, you’re a seriously loyal piece of outerwear aren’t you?”

He says. You nod at him.

“Yes, it’s his personal relic, it has a spiritual bond with him.

“Yeah uh speaking of loyalty.” Spider-Man flips down onto the floor.

“What the..”

“I know what you’re gonna say.”

“You should not be here”

“I was gonna go home”

“I don’t want to hear it.”

“But it was such a long way down and I thought about you the way...”

“And now I gotta hear it.”

“Kinda stuck to the side of the ship and this suit is ridiculously intuitive by the way. So if anything it’s kinda you’re fault I’m here.” Peter rambles. You gasp at his words. Did he seriously just say that?

“What did you just say?”

“I- I take that back?” Peter stammers, “And now I’m here in space”

“Yeah right where I didn’t want you to be.” Tony says. He walks up to Peter in a hushed tone. You turn to the cloak, looking for any help. It just shrugs at you before wrapping you into a cloaky hug.

You hear hushed arguing before Tony walks back towards you.

“You’re not to supposed to be here either!” He says to you.

“Excuse me?” You retort.

“You’re too young just like him, I can tell you’re not ready for this!” He assumes. You cross your arms before sneering up at him.

“For your information, Strange told me to go SAVE you when you got hit in the face with a hammer,”

“I didn’t need to be saved!”

“Maybe not but obviously you are your little buddy here couldn’t hand it on your own, so now I’m here! I’m trying to save my fucking mentor so if you two could shut the fuck up, then maybe we can get out of here!” You say, blood boiling. You got so distracted that you stopped channeling your energy, and you nearly fall before Spider-Man catches you in your arms.

“What’s the matter?” Spider-Man says. You look up into his chocolate brown eyes before shoving him away, regaining the strength in your legs quickly. You feel the familiar hum in your bones.

“Nothing! I just got so angry I forgot to hold myself up,” you mumbled. The boy and Iron Man look at you quizzically. You sigh, leaning on your staff,

“I have to use dimensional energy constantly so I can walk,” You say. They still look at you oddly.

“I was paralyzed from the waist down a few years ago, that’s why I became what you call a “wizard”. Dr. Strange taught me how to walk again.” You explain, returning to your full height.

“You use magic to walk?” Iron Man says. You sigh, rubbing your temple.

“Basically, I’ll explain it later, right now we gotta save my boss.” You say. Iron man points to Strange, looking at Peter.

“See him down there? He’s in trouble. What’s your plan? Go.”

“Umm. Ok ok um have you seen this really old movie aliens?” Peter says, looking at the both of you. You raise your eyebrow in question.

Tony starts to face off against Squidward. He blasts a hole in the ship sending out the alien, and Spider-Man goes to grab him. He hangs on by metal tendrils. You hear him scream in triumph through an earpiece Tony gave you. You quickly wrap your whips around his torso, dragging him back up through the ship. Tony quickly seals the hole when they are launched back up. You drag Spider-Man back up, and discard your whip. He looks at you with his wide mechanical eyes. You smile before rushing over the Dr. Strange.

Tony And Stephen start arguing. You walk next to him as Tony yells at him.

“Who just saved your magical ass? Me!”

They continue arguing as you turn back around, conjuring a string of light between your hands, fiddling it in thought.

“Now we’re in a flying doughnut billions of miles from Earth with no back up.”

“I’m backup,” both you are Peter say, raising your arms. You both look at each other.

“No, you’re both stowaways! The adults are talking. ” Tony sneered.

You groan in protest.

“She’s not a stowaway, she’s with me. And,I’m sorry, I’m confused as to the relationship here. What is he your ward?”

“No, I’m Peter, by the way.”

“Dr. Strange.”

“Oh you’re using made up names, um, I’m Spider-Man then.” He says. You sigh and walk over to him while the “adults” started talking.

“That’s his actually name. He’s my mentor. I’m Y/N L/N.” You say, flipping your hair out of your face while sticking out your hand for him to shake. You see Peter get flustered he takes your hand warily.

“I’m Peter. Peter Parker.” He says. You smile.

“You said that already,” you laugh. His eyes widen.

“Oh,uh sorry.” He says. You shake you’re head.

“It’s fine, Peter,”

You both glance back at the two men, who are standing face to face. You both gulp in fear of what they’re talking about.

“All right Stark, we go to him,” Strange says, “But you have to understand, if it comes to saving you, or the kid, or the Time Stone, to let either of you die. I can’t because the universe depends on it.”

“What about your magical assistant then? You didn’t say you would let her die,” Tony asked with genuine interest. Your heart drops. Before Dr. Strange answered you stepped in.

“Like Wong said, we swear an oath to protect the Time Stone. I will lay down my life for it if I have to.” You say to Tony. You look to Stephen, who avoids your gaze. What would he have said?

“All right kid,” Tony says, laying his hands on both of Peter’s shoulders, “you’re an avenger now.” Peter smiles, adjusting his stance to look more heroic.

You smile, looking at his new self-assured state. He looked cute. Wait what?

#marvel #mcu #spiderman #tom holland #marvel x reader #mcu fanfiction #peter parker #peter parker x reader #tom holland spiderman

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buckysforeverprincess · 5 years

Text

What Do You Want From Me? Ch 9

Lance Tucker x Reader

Words: 1873

Warnings: Sickness

A/N: Some more Lance/reader interaction. What could possibly be going on with these two?

You were sitting in a coffee shop, sipping on a cold caramel frappe, waiting on your two thirty interview. After your last interaction with Lance, you contacted his agent/manager and told her you were resigning. She asked you if you would interview and hire a new PA for Lance since you knew the demands of the job and were the best person to find the right fit for his personality. You agreed with the condition of no contact from Lance until you made the decision to hire. That was two weeks ago and so far, you hadn’t had any luck.

Reading over the resume again and waiting for Hailey to arrive, you were surprised when someone who was not Hailey pulls out the chair in front of you and sits down. Giving said person your best resting bitch face, you glared hard at them.

“I'm sorry.” Claire says, giving you her best frown.

“For what? For not telling me the entire story about Jase? Or could it be forgetting to mention that he's a dominant?” You ask her coldly.

“Both. I should have told you he was the governors nephew from the start. But would it have changed your mind?” She questions you.

“It could have been a deal breaker. Being with him brings a lot of unwanted attention…not something I’m too fond of.” You take a sip of the frappe. Ugh, this is so gross cold.

“How's it going with him anyway? You haven't updated me. The sex as good as I've heard?” She has always been a thirsty bitch.

“Wouldn't know. I asked if we could take it slow, given the revelation of him being a Dom, and everyone wanting a piece of him!” God, she's irritating.

“I thought you'd be ok with that. I mean, you've worked for Lance...all you do with him is submit.”

Oh, she's done it now!

“Seriously, Claire?!! What the fuck does that even mean?!” Your raised voice grabbing the attention of some of the patrons.

“Shhh! It just means you have to be a little submissive to have worked for him for so long. He's no easy task.” She says softly, trying to avert the stares you were now receiving.

Maybe she's right. Maybe on some level you were a submissive, but definitely in not a ‘yes, master’ way.

“Claire, I know you're trying to help, and I won't deny that I need to get on with my life, but don't you think I should do it on my terms? When I'm ready? This whole thing with Lance has really put a strain on me and-”

“You slept with him!”

Absolutely did I not just give that away!

“I…didn't say that.” Who the fuck are these people I surrounded myself with?

“You didn't have too!”

I'm pretty sure I gave nothing away.

Claire sits back in the chair and crosses her arms, “then answer the question. Did you sleep with Lance Tucker? And because I know you so well, if you stay silent or deflect, I'll automatically know you did.”

To do list: drop Claire as a friend, effective immediately!

“Why does it matter? Lance is in my past. See?” You hold up the resumes in your hand.

“God, I honestly hate that man! I can't believe he finally got to you!”

Well, that's a curiously odd statement to make.

“Claire. I'm moving on. I promise. Please, no more talk of Lance, or Jase, or anything that has to do with sex. Actually, let's not talk. My interview should be here any second, and I think you should go.”

She glares at you, but knows you have work to do. “Fine. Text me later! Love you!” Claire gets up and leaves the coffee shop.

Thank fuck! You’re not sure how much more of her you could take.

A few short moments pass when someone else is standing in front of you. “Hi…are you Y/N?”

You look at the girl and smile. “I am, are you Hailey?” She gives a shy smile and confirms her identity. You look at your phone and notice she's ten minutes late and offers no apology for her tardiness. She's also a cute, young blonde, which is exactly Lance’s type. Sorry Hailey, no rose for you. “Shall we get started?”

Two weeks later, you were able to find someone to replace you as Lance’s PA. You contacted his agent to send her the resume and job application to run the usual checks. Mindy was going to do well with Lance, and you couldn't be happier with your choice.

The only problem now, was making contact with Lance. You told his agent you would see Lance to give him his keys and the details on Mindy. Also, on her first day of work you would accompany her to give her the basics and lay of his house. Lance will take one look at her and will scream to the heavens. You’d be there to make sure she stayed.

You had sent a text to Lance to work out a time to meet him. He answered back and had agreed on nine am the next morning. Obviously the sooner the better.

When you woke up the next morning, you weren't feeling well. Maybe it was just nerves from seeing him again or could it be from the finality of it all? Three years of being Lance’s whipping post is about to come to an end. Definitely a good reason to not feel well.

Grabbing a muffin and a coffee on the way to his house sounded like a good idea. Hopefully the caffeine will get rid of this fucking migraine, you thought as you went inside the little coffee house you frequented.

Opening the door, the harsh smells of the coffee beans made your stomach want to regurgitate, and you felt overcome with nausea. Great! Stomach bug. I don't have time for this today. You slowly made your way to the counter, ordered your banana chocolate muffin and Carmel latte, and rushed out the door, deciding the coffee house was off limits until you were over the bug.

Pulling into the driveway, the clock read seven minutes before nine. Sometimes you hated being punctual. You looked at the half-eaten muffin in disgust and threw it back in the bag. It tasted horrible and the coffee was too sweet. Fucking newbies! Lance better have coffee ready

You walked into his house and a feeling of nostalgia took over. Three years was a long time to walk away from. You'd miss this place but couldn't do this anymore. The broken heart would heal but seeing his face daily while it healed wouldn't help. This was for the best... you just had to make yourself believe it.

“Hi.” Lance says but doesn't smile.

“Coffee!” Your excitement for the dark substance made Lance chuckle. He opens the refrigerator and pulls out a bottle of your favorite hazelnut creamer and places it next to the coffee maker.

“It's fresh…figured you'd want some. Uh, I can make you breakfast? If you're hungry, that is?” You start to pour the coffee into a mug.

“No thanks, I had half a muffin from the coffee house. Tasted like ass! Mmmmm!”

The moan you let out is illicit, but Lance’s coffee is so good. He only buys the expensive shit, in the rare case he entertains guests and as of today…that’s what you were.

“How've you been?” Lance asks you, and you're not sure if you're ready for this yet. Not enough coffee for a conversation that may need you to be on your toes.

“Good, I've been good. How about you?” You direct the question back to Lance.

“I'm ok. So...I... uh, I wanted to apologize for my behavior at the charity event. I'm really sorry.” Lance genuinely looks apologetic.

You think back to that night and realize you may have been a little harsh to him as well. “Since you said sorry, I should as well. When I ran into you, I said some things that were pretty awful, and you didn't deserve that. I'm sorry. In my anger, I attacked you. I wanted you to hurt like I did. I shouldn't have let it get the best of me, so I apologize for my own actions.”

Lance leans on his counter. God, he looks good! Why am I still conflicted about everything?

Maybe it's because he's being so sweet right now, you just want to hug the shit out of this man.

“Oh…I just remembered….’future wife’ huh? Do I detect a hint of jealousy?” You ask him, assuring yourself he'd play it off.

Lance walks over and stands in front of you, “I meant it. It may have come out in a fit of anger, but I meant it.” Lance leans down to your ear whispering, “I refuse to believe this is the end of us!” He kisses your cheek and backs away.

Who is this man? You ask yourself totally shocked at his statement. If you were one hundred percent honest with yourself, this is what you've always wanted. This is not the Lance Tucker you've grown accustomed too. Where the hell is the Lance you knew?

“So, you have stuff for me?” Lance is staring at you with a smile.

“Yes!” You come out of your state of shock. You grab the file you brought with you and start going over the details of his new PA, Mindy. Lance is actually paying attention for once and not interrupting. Subject displays abnormal behavior. Further treatment and evaluation is recommended before giving final analysis.

“Do you have any quest-” was all you got out before bolting to his bathroom.

“Y/N? You ok?” Lance runs after you and finds you in the bathroom vomiting up the awful muffin.

“Lance…please...go!” Panting between heaves, but he's having none of it.

He grabs your hair from your face and rubs your back, whispering something to you that you can't make out. When you feel you've finished, he grabs a warm washcloth and gently wipes down your face, cleaning you up. You feel too weak to fight him off, the vomiting taking a toll on you and all you want to do is take a nap.

“Can you walk?” Instead of answering him, you just close your eyes and relax in the floor. “Nope, not here!” Lance gets to his feet, puts his arms around you and scoops you up bridal style off the floor. He takes you to his room and places you on the bed and under his covers. Lances leaves long enough to get you some apple juice and a bottle of water.

“Beautiful, can you sit up?”

You do so, and Lance hands you the juice, which you gladly take a drink of. “Thank you, but I should go…”

“No, you should rest, and when you wake…they'll be soup waiting.” He smiles at you.

“Chicken noodle…from the deli?” Hoping he knows they have the best chicken noodle soup ever!

“Is there any other kind? Now rest.” Lance leans down and kisses your forehead before he stands to leave the room.

“Lance…” You say right before he exits the room, making him stop and turn around. “Thank you...for that. You didn't have too.”

Lance gives you a genuine smile. “I'd do anything for you.”

#lance tucker #lance tucker x reader #lance the fucker tucker #lance tucker fanfiction #the bronze #the bronze au #pa!reader

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taevcngs-blog · 6 years

Text

best mistake - taeyong

Genre: Short Series; Fluff. [bad boy, thief, taeyong au!]

Word Count: 2K

Summary: You lived in a world full of books, while he lived in a world full of you.

While you worked in your towns local bookstore, you meet with a thief. He attempts his mischievous ways until you catch him. Sparing his life from the police, you two make a deal, but what you both don’t know is that the deal ends with a plot twist that you’ve only ever read about in books.

A/N: welcome to my first story! i didn’t expect this to be a series but somehow when writing i just had a lot more ideas and details to add in for later. anyways pls stick around soon for part two!

part one | part two

Who would've thought a worker at a local bookstore would have such rough hours? You definitely didn’t. As much as you loved reading, your whole life has been surrounded by books. Everyone knew you as the bookworm, the poet, the soon to be J.K Rowling. Okay, maybe not J.K Rowling, but a really successful author. It’s practically in your blood. Your mother was known for her late night poem readings at a small diner a few streets away during the weekends, while being retired as a English professor. Only, you ever found it as your hobby. It never occurred to you, the many paths reading and writing can unlock for you.

Currently, you were behind the register, totaling up a bunch of books for a few college students on the line. It was that time again where school was starting, which meant you would get a lot more customers than what you would get. You see, with technology being a thing nowadays with iBooks, Audibles and all that online stuff, it’s rare for you guys to even have a full line at register. If it weren’t for a few local sponsors and schools, this store would of been gone a long time ago.

You hadn’t realized your hours until your coworker side bumped you to get your attention. He chuckled at your sudden reaction, “you’ve been working with the cash all afternoon Y/N, I got it from here. You can just fix up the shelves in the back to relax a bit.”

Your dull face lit up and nodded, “thanks Johnny! You’re a real one!” You switched places with him, leaving the front to the back of the store.

As boring as people think it is, reading was one of your escapes from reality. You found it to be a world where you can use your mind, build images for your favorite characters, be in a world that was different from the one you wake up to. As for writing, it was even better. You were allowed to build your own world. A world where you were in control for once, and because of that you’ve always been attached.

Lately, you’ve been noticing a strange pattern in your current works. The journal where you currently write ideas in, is suddenly repeating itself. You notice most ideas you jot down deal with the concept of love. You find it strange, you don’t think you’ve felt love, been in love. You’ve heard of love, you’ve read about it plenty of times, yet it’s still a stranger to you. Its something you’ve been craving, but something you don’t want rushed. Out of all the horror and thriller books you’ve came across, nothing scares you more than facing the fact you have fallen in love with someone. It was a day you were dreading, because that day could come any time. Through novels you have learned that the greatest love there could be comes unexpectedly.

So as you find yourself rearranging the books in the back of the store, your thoughts snap once you finally hear what seems to be a table full of heavy books fall on the floor. Being curious, you make your way towards the noise to find the textbook section a mess. The table display had been completely knocked down, textbooks everywhere. Some of them were damaged from the fall, pages bent in every other direction they were supposed to be in. With this mess came with what seems to be a young man with a oversized hoodie, gasping at the mess that just took place a few seconds ago.

“Oh no! How the heck did this happen? Sir, did you see anyone do this or was this an accident? Uh, we’re going to need money to replace the ones that have gotten damaged or else-“ you attempt to clean up the mess by picking up the fallen textbooks, only to be pushed back onto the floor by the young man hidden with his hoodie. He snatched the textbook from your hand, picking up what he could before you could get up.

“HEY! THIEF! COME BACK HERE!” You run after him, following him as he ran for his life through the back exit.

This thief was more skilled than you thought, because you managed to lose him within a few minutes of the chase. He could possibly be near so you yelled, letting him know you’re calling the cops when you get back

If only you caught his face behind that damn hoodie.

“Y/N I’m so sorry for not being any help to you when this happened. I should of stayed in the back, but I saw how tired you looked I just wanted to help-“

“Don’t worry Johnny it’s okay,” you chime in. “Its my fault for being slow and letting him get away,” you sigh, looking down at the paperwork you were filling in you started when you got back from chasing the thief.

“If it makes you feel better, I managed to clean the display. I told Mr Park it was my fault so you wouldn’t get in trouble,” he smiled.

“Johnny! That’s not fair to you!” You whined.

“Ah! Don’t worry about it! He let me off the hook since he’s friends with my mom. Just finish filling out the report then go home, you could use the break,” he patted your back before clocking out.

With a nod and a sigh, you finished whatever you had left of the form. Whoever the man was from today, he just made your day ten times more stressful and you were itching to find out who he was. If he ever came back, you vowed to catch him this time. You just had to catch him by yourself and you truly didn’t know why.

The next day at work was pretty normal. This time Johnny worked the back while you stayed behind the register, cashing out another group of college students. Your mind kept flashing back to yesterday of the man with the hoodie. You remembered it was black, oversized and you remember him being pale. You cursed at yourself for not being able to spot the mans face. Assuming you’ve been zoning out as your thoughts got wiped away when another customer was ready to check out.

“Hello sir! Would this be all?” You smile at him, looking down at the book he placed on the counter.

You took a better look at him, brows raising at his appearance. He was taller than you, slender. He wore a black hood, oversized, only to be topped with a blue vest. He paired them with regular black skinny jeans and a random pair of black shoes. His hair was red, not many could pull it off but he did extremely well. It was styled up while earrings dangled from his ear. He had one of those trendy eyebrow slits to complete his aesthetic. His skin was clear, smooth and pale. His lips were a bit chapped, but tinted red, most likely from the cold weather that has been creeping upon us now.

His hands were stuffed in the pockets of his jeans, emotions a bit unclear. He puckered his lips as he took a moment to think about it. He looked behind you, eyeing the display behind the counter. His eyes landed upon laptop cases you held.

“Actually, may I look at your laptop cases?” He smiled, a smile that seemed a bit too forced.

“Oh! Yes! Is there any particular one catching your eye?” You quickly turn around for barely a second, turning back to see the man stuffing the iPad pens you sold at the counter, into the pocket of his vest.

His eyes widened in fear as yours widen as well. He froze, not knowing what to do, what to say.

“YOU!” You run around the counter, ready to trap the man that made your day a living hell.

His instinct was to forget his items, and to run out the store. What he didn’t know is that this time you had a head start and were practically inches away from him. You grabbed onto his hood, yanking him back. This caused him to almost slip on his ass, all the pens falling out his vest.

“Are you kidding me? Were you really stupid enough to come back here after yesterday? Did you think I wouldn’t remember? You’re coming back to pay for everything you stole, everything you damaged and if you won’t then you can just tell the cops why,” you tighten your grip, creating a scene outside a store a block away from yours.

“C-Chill! Okay, okay… Listen, I know this looks bad, but I have my reasons. Just please don’t call the police!” He begs.

“And if I don’t?” You look him eye to eye.

“I’ll give you the money by the end of this week! I promise!” His sentences get faster.

“Bullshit, I don’t believe your stealing ass,” you scoff.

“No! I promise! I’ll give you my address, my number, where I go to school! Look, if I don’t pay up you can tell the cops my name! I’m Lee Taeyong and I go to the uni twenty minutes away from here. I live in the apartment complex next to the sports center and the deli! Just let go of me, damn it!” He attempts to let go of your strong grasp.

You huff, slowly letting him go. He sighs in relief, turning around to face you. He takes in the way you’re glaring at him up and down. He felt guilty, he really did, but this was his only way. He could of ran again, he could of given you a fake name, a fake address but he didn’t. He stayed and listened to what you had to say.

“Why’d you do it, mister Lee Taeyong?” You fold your arms.

He sighs, looking down at his dirty shoes, “I needed textbooks for school and I don’t have any money from being fired. Before you ask, my parents laid me off and don’t wanna talk to me if it’s about money. The money I currently have is going towards rent and food so I decided to… steal what I could from your store…”

Your face slowly softens up, “what about the pens?”

“I was hoping if I gifted my advisors with them, they could help me get out of a few classes they forced me in before school starts back up,” he frowns.

Silence had been present for a while between the two of you. While his mind was racing with thoughts of his punishments, you came up with an idea.

“Okay fine, I won’t call the police-“

“REALLY?” His face lights up.

“BUT…” you continue your sentence. “Only if you start working at the bookstore. That way you can pay off for the damages you made, be employed and get some extra cash for school. This way it can be a win-win situation for the both of us. I don’t have to deal with anymore late night paper work and school work, while you won’t be behind bars. You can come in tomorrow, and can give me your number so that way I can talk to my boss and recommend you, deal?”

Taeyong looks at you defeated. He had so much to deal with, that was the reason why he got fired in the first place. He thought about working again to get his parents off his back, but he was only concerned with school. He had no other choice then to swap numbers and agree. His eyes squinted as he took a glance at your name tag pinned on your shirt.

“I’ll text you the details tonight. You better be here or else the cops will,” you glare at him again.

Slowly nodding, and backing away, he sighs, “looks like you won’t go easy on me, is that right, Y/N?”

“Not until you pay for the mistakes you made, Taeyong,” and with that you turned away from him, heading back to work.

You finally caught the thief, mentally cursing at yourself at what you’ve just done, again. Little did you know that your life was about to become one of those stories you only ever imagined being fantasy.

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klaineanummel · 6 years

Text

Story of My Life 14/24

Kurt reflects on the past twelve years of his life, coming to realize that one man in particular has affected him far more than he ever thought he would

Welcome to chapter 14 of my @klaineadvent fic, for the prompt “Nose”. WARNINGS for this one: Major angst, though not in relation to the Kurt/Blaine of it all. Kurt/Cody (who, if you remember from the show, is not the best guy...)

Hope you enjoy, and I hope to see you soon-ish with the next chapter! Also, please note the date this takes place! There was a pretty big time jump between last chapter and this chapter (which I swore I wouldn’t do, but here we are...)

Read on AO3

May 17th-18th, 2019

When Kurt unlocks his apartment door and sees Blaine sitting at the dining table with Cooper and Rachel, he almost groans out loud.

Not that he isn’t happy to see Blaine. Actually, things have gotten a lot easier with Blaine over the past year. They still don’t spend much time alone together, but he no longer feels awkward being in the same room as him, and clearly Blaine doesn’t either.

Today, though, he wishes Blaine weren’t around. Kurt desperately needs to rant about Cody, and even though things are better with Blaine, he still feels a little uncomfortable talking about his boyfriend around him.

“Hey,” Cooper greets, frowning when he sees the look on Kurt’s face. “Whoa, what crawled up your butt?”

Kurt rolls his eyes and heads to the table, sitting down beside Blaine. He glances at the boy for a moment, then sighs heavily and says, “My conversation with Cody didn’t exactly go how I hoped.”

Blaine furrows his brow, and Kurt winces. He really, really wishes Blaine wasn’t here right now.

“Ouch,” Rachel says, reaching over to pat his hand. “Rejection is tough.”

Kurt sighs, sparing a quick glance at Blaine before saying, “Apparently it’s too soon in the relationship to think about ‘big steps’ like that.” He shakes his head. “We’ve been dating for a year-and-a-half. How is that too soon?”

Blaine tilts his head and asks, “Sorry, what big steps are you taking that Cody thinks are too soon to take?”

Kurt glances over at Cooper and Rachel. Rachel is wincing, clearly preparing for the awkwardness, but Cooper is nodding encouragingly. Kurt takes that sign to mean that Cooper believes Blaine will be okay with the news, so he carefully says, “I asked Cody to move in with me.”

“Oh, my,” Blaine says, eyes widening. His entire body tenses, and Kurt groans. Why, why, does Blaine have to be here right now?

“You do have to remember, Kurt,” Cooper says when Blaine falls into silence, “that this is the man who refused to meet us all until you’d been dating each other for almost a year. Maybe he just likes to take things really slow?”

“Yeah, didn’t you say that he still doesn’t want anybody at work to know that you’re together? I think he’s just private, and wants to be sure you guys are for real before letting you fully into his world.”

Kurt glances at Blaine, who is shifting uncomfortably in his chair. He sighs and says, “Maybe we shouldn’t talk about this now.”

“No!” Blaine hurries to say. He takes a deep breath and says, “No, it’s fine. I’m not… it’s fine. You guys have been dating for a year-and-a-half, Kurt. You can talk about him around me. It’s fine.”

Kurt doesn’t feel very convinced, but nods and turns to Rachel to say, “I think it’s more than just being private. I haven’t met his parents, or any of his family, and he refuses to meet mine. I basically had to beg and plead for him to come to Elliott’s birthday party, and even then he was stand-offish to all of you and could barely look me in the eye all night.” He shakes his head and says, “And now this? Saying it’s too soon to move in when we’ve been dating for over a year? I don’t know. I’m starting to think there’s more to it than just being a private person.”

Blaine’s lips are pressed together tightly, and he is very clearly avoiding making eye contact with Kurt. Kurt doesn’t know why Blaine would insist that he’s okay talking about Cody when clearly he is uncomfortable as hell.

“Well, Kurt,” Cooper says, folding his arms on the table, “Quinn and I dated for four years, and we never lived together.”

“Yeah, but that’s because you guys couldn’t afford to, you said it yourself, and we all agreed that Quinn moving in here would be one person too many. It’s not like you didn’t want to.”

“Brody and I moved in together after five months of dating,” Rachel shrugs. “But he turned out to be a cheating asshole, so you know.”

Blaine squeaks, then says, “Excuse me,” and hurries out of the room, heading toward the bathroom. Kurt frowns as he goes, and sighs.

“When will things be normal between Blaine and I again?”

Cooper is frowning too, though he doesn’t seem to be upset about the same thing. “I don’t get it,” he says. “He told me a few months ago that he wishes you wouldn’t be so purposeful about not talking about Cody around him. He said it was actually getting annoying, and that he wanted to talk to you about it.” He stares at where Blaine just disappeared. “Now you’re actually doing what he wanted, and he reacts like this?”

“Maybe he thought it would be okay, but realized he wasn’t ready after all,” Rachel says, completely unhelpfully.

Kurt sighs. He turns back to look at his friends and asks, “Am I being totally crazy about this? Like, am I overthinking it way too much?”

“I don’t know, Kurt,” Cooper says, shrugging, eyes still on the hall where Blaine disappeared. “I don’t think any of us know the guy enough to properly judge the situation.”

Kurt sighs again, knowing that that answers his question more than he would like to admit.

Just before his lunch break the next day, Kurt gets a text from Blaine asking if he can meet for lunch. He claims he just happened to be in the area, but Kurt knows that Blaine has a class at the NYADA campus at 2pm, and that’s at least a twenty-minute subway ride away.

He agrees, though, knowing that if Blaine came all this way to talk, it must be something important.

He heads out soon after telling Blaine to meet him at the deli across the street from the Vogue building, saying a quick goodbye to his desk partner. He hurries out, finding Blaine waiting for him at the building’s entrance, looking like he’d rather be anywhere but here.

Kurt forces a smile as he opens the door and greets Blaine with a, “I thought we were just meeting at the deli!”

“I’m sorry,” Blaine says, eyes wide. “I, uh. I thought it might be better if we were sitting down, but I just can’t keep it in for one minute longer.”

Kurt frowns, dread building in his stomach. Oh, please, not again he tries his best not to wince at the look in Blaine’s eyes. Please, things are just starting to go back to normal, please don’t bring this up again.

“Keep what in?” Kurt asks hesitantly.

Blaine glances around, then says, “I didn’t tell you yesterday because Cooper and Rachel were there and, honestly, I wasn’t sure if I should say anything at all. I don’t want you to think…” he sighs. “I mean, with our history, I didn’t think I would be the best person to tell you this, but after what you were saying last night, I know that I have to.”

“Blaine, you’re kind of starting to freak me out,” Kurt says. “What’s going on?”

Blaine’s entire face screws up, as though what he’s about to say is physically painful, then shuts his eyes and blurts out, “Cody is cheating on you.”

Kurt’s entire body goes limp. He feels like someone just pulled the ground out from under his body. “What.” It isn’t even a question.

“I saw him, two days ago, at a coffee shop,” Blaine says, hands moving quickly as he talks. “He was with a man who definitely wasn’t you. They were holding hands, and I saw them kissing. I’m so sorry, Kurt.”

Kurt swallows thickly, thoughts racing inside his head. He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.

“Thank you for telling me, Blaine.”

“You’re uh… you’re not mad?”

“Oh, I am,” Kurt says, nostrils flaring. “Just not at you.” He glances back into the building, knowing Cody doesn’t like to take his lunch break until after everybody else has returned from theirs. “I’m sorry, Blaine, but can we postpone lunch? I think I need to have a very serious conversation with my boyfriend.”

Blaine nods. He steps forward hesitantly, then fully commits, wrapping Kurt up in a tight hug. Kurt lets himself be hugged, feeling tears springing to his eyes. He briefly hugs Blaine back, then steps away from him and back into the building.

IT is on the seventh floor, and just as Kurt expected, the area is entirely empty except for Cody, who is typing away at his computer.

He feels nauseous just at the sight of him. He takes a deep breath, then marches forward with as much purpose as he can manage.

“Cody, we need to talk.”

“Oh, hey, Kurt,” Cody greets, glancing up briefly from his computer. “Sorry, can it wait? I really need to finish this before everybody else gets back.”

“Are you cheating on me?”

That makes him stop. He looks up, and the look on his face lets Kurt know that he’s right on the nose with his accusation.

“What?”

“Blaine said he saw you out with another man, and that you were kissing. Are you cheating on me?”

“Babe,” Cody stands up. “Are you really trusting Blaine’s word about this? I mean, isn’t he like, madly in love with you? Don’t you think—”

“I trust Blaine implicitly,” Kurt says, feeling tears pooling in his eyes. “I know he wouldn’t lie about something like this, so just tell me the truth. Are you cheating on me?”

Cody licks his lips, staring at Kurt for far too long.

Finally, he sighs and says, “No, Kurt. I’m not cheating on you.”

Kurt doesn’t feel any relief. Cody’s body is stiff, and he definitely doesn’t look like he’s done talking.

He stares at Kurt for a beat longer, then lowers his head and says, “I’m cheating with you.”

If Kurt felt nauseous before, now he really feels like he could throw up. “What?” he manages to choke out.

Cody sighs, then leans back, rooting around in the pocket of his jacket, which is draped over the back of his chair. He straightens back up and holds out his hand, revealing a small, gold ring in the middle of his palm.

“I’m married,” he says.

Kurt feels faint. He actually thinks he might pass out. “You’re – you’re married?!”

“Yeah.”

“For how long?!”

“Five years, in June.”

Kurt stumbles back, hand coming up to his heart, as if that will get it to stop beating out of his chest. “You’re – oh, my god.”

“I’m sorry, Kurt,” he says. “I wanted to tell you, but I just – we’ve been having so much fun, and I didn’t want anything to ruin it.”

“We haven’t been having fun, Cody,” Kurt hisses, hands balling into fists at his side. “We’ve been dating. Like, exclusively dating, in a serious, committed relationship, for over a year. Now you’re telling me that you’ve been fucking married this entire goddamn time?!”

The more he runs it over in his head, the more it makes sense. Of course Cody didn’t want to meet his friends. Of course he didn’t want Kurt to meet his parents, or to meet Kurt’s. Of course he didn’t want Kurt to meet his friends. Of course he doesn’t want to fucking move in. He can’t.

Because he already lives with his husband.

“We’re done,” Kurt says. “We’re done, we are so, so done.”

“Kurt—” Cody reaches out, but Kurt recoils from his touch.

“Don’t touch me, Cody!” he shouts. “Don’t fucking—”

“Cody?” both men freeze. Kurt turns and sees a tall, handsome man standing behind them. He’s holding a carry-out bag, and staring between Kurt and Cody. “What’s going on, babe?”

“Hank,” Cody says. “Honey, you didn’t tell me you were coming to see me today.” Kurt can see out of the corner of his eye that he’s struggling to put his ring on while drawing as little attention to himself as possible.

Kurt is done. He’s surprised he hasn’t thrown up or passed out yet, but this is too much. He shakes his head, turns to Cody and says, “You’re a fucking pig.” He then turns to Cody’s – god, he’s his husband. He’s Cody’s husband, his boyfriend of a year-and-a-half is fucking married. He looks the man in the eye and says, “Just so you know, you can do a million times better than this lying, cheating, piece of shit.”

Hank looks completely taken aback, staring up at Cody and beginning to ask, “What--?”

Kurt can’t stick around for this. He shakes his head and storms off, though he makes sure to give Hank a small squeeze on the arm as he goes.

The tears start to fall as soon as he’s out of the room, and he sobs as he waits for the elevator to come. Without thinking, he enters and presses the button for the main floor.

When the elevator door opens, he sees that Blaine is still standing by the entrance, eyes directly on the elevator. His face crumples when he sees Kurt ,and he hurries into the building.

Kurt doesn’t even think. He goes to him as quickly as his legs will take him, and wraps him up in a hug far tighter than any they’ve shared before, sobbing loudly into his shoulder.

“I’ve got you,” Blaine says, holding Kurt to him tightly. Kurt continues to sob, clutching at Blaine, wishing it was possible for him to hold him even tighter.

Blaine just strokes a hand over Kurt’s back, and softly repeats, “I’ve got you.”

Part Fifteen: Orgy

#klaine advent 2017 #klaine advent: nose #klaine au #klaine fic #klaineanummel fic #multi chapter #fic: soml

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hoodiesandcomputers · 7 years

Text

Shared My Body and My Mind With You (That’s All Over Now): Chapter 8/8

Six months ago Felicity did the unthinkable and paid to have sex with the one and only Oliver. Despite being worlds apart they’ve become close friends, but what happens as feelings change, a rival comes into the picture, and a friendship suddenly starts to break? A continuation of a prostitute/client AU, which comes from my one-shot “Taste of Your Poison Paradise.”

Hey everyone! Sorry for the delay -- this chapter ended up being a monster. So if you’re on mobile and don’t want to read this, I would absolutely recommend coming back to your dash or tag in an hour or so. You’ll be scrolling a lot, lol.

Many thanks to @curvy-tam and @the-mimi-hiddleston for supporting me when I needed it the most. They were so understanding and gave me all the time I needed to get back on track. And of course, I have to thank @awriterincowboyboots for making this chapter a thousand times better. <3

Ch 1 // Ch 2 // Ch 3 // Ch 4 // Ch 5 // Ch 6 // Ch 7 // FF // Ao3

Nine months later

Despite moving her desk away from the windows, Felicity finds herself suspiciously staring at the windows and wondering when they’ll break off. Back at Kord her office was on the 51st floor, but now she’s all the way at the 60th and no amount of anxiety pills can make her overcome her fear of heights. She doesn’t doubt she could switch offices with someone else, but all the offices have windows on this floor, so it wouldn’t really make a difference.

Sighing, Felicity decides the best way to stop looking over to the side is to put a large plant that’ll obstruct her view of the ground below. Still, she shouldn’t complain too much when she’s got a nice view of Star City and the plaque outside her door which reads “Felicity Smoak, CTO.”

Now that is what success looks like.

It’s been nine months since Felicity left Chicago, and she’s starting to become accustomed to her new home. Star City is different from Chicago – it’s smaller and cleaner, and it feels more relaxed.

And not just the city. She was always stressed at Kord, wondering if she had done the wrong thing or overstepped her boundaries and she’d never had any time to breathe. Even though she’s CTO, Felicity actually has two full days off for the weekend instead of spending her Saturdays in the office. The workload is different and she oversees everything technology related in Palmer Tech, but it’s good. She’s busy and happy – her bank account is definitely happy, too.

Although she enjoys her time in Star City, making friends while being CTO is harder than she anticipated. Felicity essentially has to start from scratch, which is easier said than done. Even though she’s lived here for nine months, Felicity hasn’t ventured much inside Star City, let alone walked around her entire neighborhood. There are times when she feels lonely, and it’s during those moments a small part of her wonders whether it was worth coming to Palmer Tech.

Despite having gone on a couple quasi-dates with Ray back in Chicago, Felicity eventually chose not to be in a relationship with Ray. It would look completely unprofessional if she had decided to be with Ray, and thankfully he understood how important her job was. Regardless, it didn’t hurt to occasionally flirt here and there, and he was a good business partner. For once, she feels appreciated and revered.

In the end, Felicity knows she would never have had this opportunity if she hadn’t left Kord. As CTO, she’s begun to work with engineers to create ways to help those with spinal injuries and several other projects that’ll change the world. Felicity’s actually eager to come to work, and coupled with Ray’s enthusiasm, the company is always buzzing with excitement.

She’s in a good place.

There’s a loud knock on her door, and before Felicity can tell the person to come in, Curtis Holt barges into the room looking nothing short of frazzled. Alarmed, Felicity stands up while her secretary comes running in, confused by Curtis’ antics.

Nodding at her secretary – Kendra – that everything’s all right, she focuses her attention on Curtis and asks, “What do you think you’re doing here?”

Ignoring her, Curtis – one of Palmer Tech’s most revered engineers – continues to pace back and forth her office. His hair is wild and it looks like he hasn’t slept, which is definitely a bad sign. “Are you OK?”

“No, no way, not. At. All.” Stopping right in front of her, he looks at her with I-haven’t-slept-in-five-days eyes and whispers, “It’s done.”

Felicity’s heart begins to pound as she can only imagine what went wrong. “What’s done?” she asks carefully. A thousand scenarios run through her head, all of which end badly. So many things could be “done” buy Curtis’ definition that she can’t think.

“The chip. It’s totally done for like my late grandmother – bless her but not really because she was a little mean – and I don’t even know what we’re going to do because even I’m having a hard time trying to find a solution for this, and basically I need you A. S. A. P.”

Frack.

The spinal chip meant to save the world has had a lot of hiccups from the very beginning, ranging from lab disasters to not being able to get the funding they needed from investors. But seeing Curtis so uninhibited means something really went wrong, and there’s zero time to waste.

Grabbing her phone – and promptly dropping it before she picks it up again – Felicity kicks off her heels, getting ready for battle. “We’re going. Now.”

“Aye, Captain!” Curtis bolts out of there with Felicity in tow, as she tries not to slip on the marble floors due to her tights. She and Curtis run past Kendra and she looks at them with bewilderment, shocked to see her boss running in the halls of Palmer Tech.

“Miss Smoak! You have a meet–”

“Not now Kendra!” Felicity yells as she dodges her coworkers. She can only imagine how she looks with a tight fitted skirt while running down the hall at full speed. Curtis, being unnaturally tall, is almost at the elevators and she hates him for having a biological advantage over her. “Cancel everything today! And tomorrow!”

Thankfully Curtis is already inside the elevator holding the door for her and she runs inside, desperate to go down to the R&D floor. Realizing she forgot to say something else to Kendra, she sticks her head out the elevator and hollers, “And for the foreseeable future!”

She only manages to just bring her head back inside before the elevator doors close on her face, and it isn’t until Felicity hears how loud they’re breathing that she realizes the absurdity of the situation. Laughing, Felicity bends a little and places her hands on her knees, trying to regain her breath.

Curtis’ looks up at the ceiling to control his heavy breathing and says, “It’s the first time I’ve ran in six months.”

She laughs again and Curtis joins her, as she has no doubt they’re both wondering how they still have a job.

There’s never a dull moment at Palmer Tech and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

~/~

“If it makes you feel better, Hartley got a little too cocky with Ted Kord at the gala last week and got his butt kicked. For once he’s not walking around with a stick up his ass,” Caitlin muses.

Laughing at Hartley’s demise, Felicity continues to walk towards her house (a real, actual house that’s almost one hundred years old and large enough to fit a family of five), dodging runners and people casually walking about. The weather has gotten a little chilly and for the past week it was raining, but today the sun is out and warming everyone’s hearts.

Gripping the phone tighter, Felicity slows her stride and stands to the side, leaning against a brick wall as she continues her conversation with Caitlin. “I don’t think you have any idea how happy I am! You know what they say: karma’s a bitch.”

Chuckling alongside her Caitlin adds, “And the best part? He hasn’t come into my office since last week!”

“Finding out Hartley got his ass handed to him is probably the best thing I’ve heard in forever.”

“I knew this would be a better present than me coming to visit you.”

Stepping away from the wall, Felicity starts to walk when she spots a sign with a menu listed on it. Glancing to the side, she sees a small deli shop and wonders if she should waste time and buy something to eat. Looking back at the menu, Felicity scans it until she spots a four-cheese soufflé as their special.

Oh, I should send a picture to Oliver –

There’s a slight twinge of nostalgia and sadness in her chest, reminding her she can no longer do it anymore. Felicity can’t call him up and talk to him about the latest movie she saw, or joke about random things she’s seen on the Internet. She can’t sprawl all over his couch and complain about work and laugh at his escort stories. There’s no one to hang out with on Wednesdays and Sundays anymore.

There’s no Oliver in her life.

Almost every day Felicity catches herself thinking about him, usually when she sees something which reminds her of Oliver. She wonders if he’s OK and if he’s still working at Emerald, but moments later Felicity remembers she’s in no position to think about him anymore. She has to deal with the consequences of her decision.

No amount of success and money can make up for the fact that Felicity chose to run away from her problems instead of fixing them. But Felicity wasn’t prepared to find out Oliver Jones was, in fact, Oliver Queen. And in her panicked and angry state, she felt Oliver was using her to sustain a picture-perfect friendship, which was anything but perfect, and she pushed him away without talking to him like a mature adult.

It felt like a literal kick to the gut when she found out the truth, but there was also a sense of relief. She finally knew why he was so secretive, why he hated Ray, and (in Felicity’s eyes) seemed to be jealous of her accomplishments while he was stuck as an escort. Felicity’s no stranger to secrets, but when Oliver’s began to impact their friendship, she knew something was up. And sometimes Felicity hated being right.

After Oliver revealed everything to her, she quickly began to put the pieces together but she couldn’t help but wonder: had he ever planned on telling her? Evidence proved otherwise. Everything about Oliver’s behavior made sense, yet deep down Felicity knows she never really knew him. And it hurt her. She spent more time with him than anyone else, opened up to him for the first time since Cooper, and all she got was a box of lies.

So, in her anger Felicity left without patching things up between them, hoping a new environment would permanently erase any memory she had of Oliver.

Clearly her plan failed.

Yet, despite feeling lonely and wondering if she made the worst mistake ever, Felicity knows her feelings were justified. Had they not talked (or yelled) about their differences, they probably would’ve continued to be at odds with one another. In the end, their friendship would have dissolved like any other, to where their weekly hangouts would’ve turned into monthly, and eventually nothing at all. Their argument was a necessary evil, Felicity concludes, but one that still haunts her to this day.

“Hello, Felicity? Are you there?”

She hadn’t realized she spaced out, and honestly forgotten she was on the phone with Caitlin. Her heart still beating at an abnormal pace, Felicity reluctantly tears her eyes away from the menu as a pang of disappointment hits her.

“Yeah, sorry. I . . . never mind.”

Oblivious to Felicity’s inner turmoil Caitlin continues to chat, but Felicity can’t bring herself to pretend everything is OK. Regardless, she pushes through and swallows her feelings, marching forward into the unknown just as she’s always done. Even if it hurts to do so.

~/~

It’s Thursday now, and for the first time this week Felicity’s spent her entire day at her office. After the fiasco regarding the spinal chip, Felicity’s stayed at the R&D department to make sure everything was running smoothly. They found a whole slew of other problems, so Felicity’s been running on coffee and adrenaline for the past few days.

Needing another cup of Joe, Felicity heads to the kitchen and is surprised to find a couple of the secretaries there. Muttering a “Hello” Felicity goes straight to the coffee machine, only to find it completely empty.

I hate my life.

“Sorry Miss Smoak, I usually refill it but I thought everyone left,” she hears Victoria, Ray’s executive assistant, say.

Turning around, Felicity smiles tiredly at Victoria and another secretary, Carly, to let them know everything is fine. “I guess it’s a sign I should stop drinking coffee and go home, but I’m clearly an addict and don’t know how to stop.”

The girls laugh politely at Felicity’s lame small talk and return back to gossiping before her presence interrupted them. She busies herself by setting up the coffee machine when she suddenly hears an Oliver mentioned in the conversation. Her heart pounding, Felicity wonders if it’s Oliver Queen or someone else – yet deep down, she has a feeling it might be her Oliver.

Straining her ears to hear more, Felicity angles herself so that she’s a little closer and can listen to what they’re saying.

“I can’t believe you saw him! What did he look like? I used to have a major crush on him,” Carly says.

Victoria laughs and Felicity can imagine her shaking her head in disbelief. “He’s so hot now. He’s got a scruff, he’s super built, and ugh I’m drooling at the thought of him.”

So it is Oliver’s they’re talking about, and Felicity’s powerless to stop her legs from shaking. What’s he doing back in Star City and for how long has he been here? When Felicity last saw him, she was convinced he planned on being stuck as an escort for the foreseeable future. This information is sending her in a tailspin.

Confused by the turn of events, she tries to calm herself and listen once more to what Victoria has to say.

“Anyway, he was hanging out with Tommy Merlyn the whole night. I think he’s moved back permanently. I wonder what he was doing for all those years,” Victoria muses.

Felicity’s met Tommy at a Merlyn Global event, as it was obvious Malcolm Merlyn was trying to set the two of them up. Obviously nothing happened, but she can see why Oliver would be his friend. During her brief research session, she saw several tabloid articles detailing Oliver and Tommy’s panache for debauchery.

Deciding she’s had enough, Felicity doesn’t wait for the coffee to be done and heads straight to her office. Her mind reeling, Felicity shuts the door to her office and lies down on her couch, trying to even her breathing but to no avail. She doesn’t know what to think, other than Oliver Queen is back in town to disrupt her life.

Or maybe make it better.

In a twist of fate, this feels like a second chance to Felicity. She’s been feeling so guilty as of late, and misses Oliver more than she misses her father, more than she ever missed Cooper. There’s an emptiness in her heart, and she knows it’s due to not ending things with Oliver on a good note. What she needs is closure – their fight was a mess and Felicity didn’t get a chance to articulate what was on her mind. If they meet, maybe they can hash things out like adults . . . and possibly reconnect on better terms.

She wants to reconcile with Oliver more than anything. These past few months have given her plenty of time to dissect every second of their argument, and she’s come to conclusion they should at least talk. Yes, Felicity was deeply hurt, but she can see why he kept the information away from her. He was scared of opening up and Felicity shouldn’t blame him. She can only imagine how difficult his life has been, from starting off as a wealthy playboy to suddenly becoming a nobody having to whore himself in order to pay the bills. His pride wounded, Felicity understands why Oliver disliked Ray, even if the only thing Ray did was take over QC. Oliver’s future was stripped away from him without a moment’s notice and he’s barely hanging on.

Perhaps now that he’s back and they’ve aired their dirty laundry, they can move on from the past.

But she’s getting ahead of herself – Felicity needs to reach out to Oliver first. She owes him that. Sitting up on the couch, Felicity reaches for her cellphone and immediately searches for his number, even though her hand is shaking from doing so.

She can’t believe it – it’s happening. She’s actually doing this. For nine months Felicity’s taken out her phone various times so she could apologize, yet every time she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Coupled with her guilt and cowardice, Felicity held off on being the bigger person, but it’s time for a change.

She doesn’t know what she’ll say to him, and for a moment she stops herself from dialing his number. Sighing heavily, Felicity knows if she waits a second longer she won’t call him. For someone who prides herself in being strong, Felicity is undoubtedly weak when it comes to emotions.

Swallowing thickly and gathering whatever courage she has, Felicity dials his number and anxiously waits to see what happens next. Her vision blurs from being overwhelmed by an onslaught of emotions, and she prays Oliver won’t be able to hear her heart obnoxiously beat through the phone.

It rings once until she hears a beep, followed by “I’m sorry, the number you have dialed is unavailable.” Shutting the phone, Felicity sighs in relief and leans back on the couch to calm her nerves. She doesn’t want to be relieved Oliver’s ditched his old phone number, and therefore can’t talk to him, but she feels she dodged a bullet. Calling him now isn’t the right time.

One way or another, Felicity knows has to make amends with Oliver. She shouldn’t take this as an opportunity to not seek out Oliver at all, but perhaps she should focus on what she’ll say once she meets him . . . Whenever that happens.

~/~

It’s been a couple of weeks since Felicity found out about Oliver being in town. Once she realized he was back, Felicity promptly spent the next few days combing through the Internet, and found various articles on gossip sites discussing his new look and speculating on what he did for the eight years he was gone. Felicity wonders if people will find out about Oliver’s time as an escort and the thought worries her. It’s possible Oliver may no longer be ashamed for working as an escort, which is why he’s back in Star City. Yet, despite several valiant efforts from rabid fangirls and smarmy reporters, no one has a clue what he did during those eight missing years.

Despite her constant researching, she still hasn’t made an effort to contact Oliver. There’s a part of her afraid he’ll turn her away after what she did to him. She can’t call herself a strong, mature adult when she’s scared shitless to approach Oliver. If she doesn’t speak to him it would make her a hypocrite, and that’s the last thing Felicity wants to be known as.

She just – all she needs is practice. If Felicity doesn’t practice in front of a mirror and spend a few hours writing down what she wants to say to Oliver, she’ll definitely be a blubbering mess and she can’t afford for it to happen. Felicity likes to prepare for every situation and this is no different.

Which is why she’s completely shocked and petrified when she sees Oliver outside a building in the Glades on a cold Saturday afternoon, painting on the side of the wall with a serene smile on his face.

Her heart does a strange pitter-patter and her breathing gets shallower by the second, while her mind races with confusion. She’s bundled up in winter gear since it’s November, but she’s suddenly sweating buckets and doesn’t know if she should strip and wave hello, or get the hell out of here.

See, this is why Felicity needs practice and a blueprint for her life, because when things like Oliver randomly appearing in her line of sight happens, she loses her brain and the ability to function.

He’s looking at her like she’s the sun, never mind the fact they had a huge fight and haven’t spoken in nine months. And for a moment, Felicity feels so good just seeing him that she thinks no time has passed.

For a split second, Felicity imagines herself running into his arms and pretending everything’s all right between them. But reality is much different and instead she takes slow, robotic steps toward him, unsure of how close she can get to him.

Oliver drops his paintbrush and cautiously steps forward as if he’s trying not to scare her. And maybe that’s a good thing – as familiar as Oliver feels, there’s a distance between them caused by their unfortunate rift. It aches to see how far apart they are now, how the air is laced with trepidation, but maybe this can change.

At least she hopes so.

They finally stop moving towards one another, careful not to overstep their boundaries. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Felicity takes a good look at Oliver and notices a certain bit of lightness to him. His shoulders aren’t tight and ridged, his lips aren’t pursed in thoughtfulness and his eyes . . . they’re wide open, like it’s the first time he’s seeing the world.

Without a doubt, Felicity knows these past nine months have changed Oliver, and she’s unbelievably proud of him.

She can’t stop herself letting out a relieved smile, because all she’s ever wanted for him is to be the man he can be. Felicity can only imagine the emotional toll it took on Oliver to be an escort for so many years, and she’s glad to see him happy for once.

“Hey, Oliver.” Saying his name out loud feels foreign to her mind but familiar to her tongue. Her brain can try to push Oliver’s memory away from her, but every inch of her body and soul will always remember.

“Felicity.”

He’s bundled up as well, but there’s some paint littered on his jeans and his nose is red from the cold. Shuffling his feet, Oliver shyly glances down before looking at Felicity. “It’s good to see you.”

It’s good to see him, too. “Yeah” is all she can muster, as her mouth – for once – is unable to embarrass her any further.

There’s an awkward pause, and in order to distract herself she looks at everywhere but him. For the first time Felicity notices where she’s at – the building Oliver was painting on appears to be a small business, maybe a coffee shop. It doesn’t look like it has opened yet, she spots equipment, tables and chairs scattered about inside. Her heart leaps as her mind wonders whether Oliver came back to start a business, one that doesn’t require illegal activities.

Over to the side she spots someone watching them, and as she takes a good look she realizes it’s Tommy Merlyn. It feels a little weird to be speaking with Oliver when she’s also met Tommy, and especially since he seems to be spying on them. Felicity sees no one else inside the building or around it, which makes her feel a little better, but she’s still nervous.

Realizing it’s been silent for a good ten seconds, Felicity takes a deep breath and rocks on her heels, unsure of what she wants to say.

“I . . . called but your phone isn’t . . . working anymore. It’s been disconnected. Obviously.” She feels herself blushing, which is stupid and annoying. She needs to be stronger than this.

“Uh yeah, sorry about that.” Oliver exhales loudly and adds, “After I moved back I changed numbers. I was getting . . . calls. Ones I didn’t need anymore.”

Her eyes snap up to his and Felicity immediately understands what he’s getting at. It seems Oliver’s officially stopped being an escort, and really did intend to come here as a fresh restart. And she’s happy for him.

She sees him in a new light now. Felicity was convinced Oliver didn’t care about moving forward, or was so focused on being stuck in his misery, but she was so damn wrong about him. Life pushes unwanted circumstances onto so many people, and some get dealt with a horrible hand – Oliver was one of them. To see him in the process of (possibly) opening a business means he’s taken control of his destiny, and for that, Felicity is unbelievably proud of him.

“Oh, gotcha.” Nervous once again, Felicity counts backwards from three to control her word vomit, since she’s positive she’ll say something totally embarrassing, but she has a feeling she’s only delaying the inevitable.

Oliver shuffles his feet once more and shoves his hands inside his coat pockets. Felicity steals a quick glance at him, and she’s once more annoyed-yet-slightly-happy Oliver is as handsome as he is. But it’s how his eyes are devoid of any haunted memories, which gives her a pause for thought.

Oliver’s become the man he was meant to be, and she’s so glad to have gotten a chance to witness it.

“Hey, uh, I’m opening a café – this café, actually – next Saturday.” He’s nervous too – maybe their breakup affected him more than she thought, because Oliver is anything but nervous. “I’d . . . really like it if you could come by.”

Her heart skips a beat, and an overwhelming feeling of hope etches into her skin. Although Felicity doesn’t want to expect something from Oliver’s invitation, as it could very well be him acting nice for the sake of being nice, she wants nothing more than to support Oliver in this endeavor. And if he’s inviting her because he wants to become friends with her, then she should definitely take this opportunity to mend old wounds.

“I might have some company event to go to . . . but I’ll try to make it.”

Lies.

Why is she being so difficult? She spots the exact moment Oliver’s face falls, and she wants to kick herself in the face, even if it is impossible to do so. This is what she’s wanted for so long – a chance to make up and get closure, and now she’s throwing it away. Felicity doesn’t understand why she’s pretending to not care as much as she does, but it pisses her off to the point she can’t think clearly.

She’s about to rescind her comment until Oliver nods. “That’s fine.”

Shrugging then taking a deep breath, he smiles gently and Felicity’s in awe of how unbothered he is. “It was . . . really nice seeing you, Felicity. I hope you can come.”

For some reason her throat closes up, and she can only nod before tears threaten to spill over. Oliver smiles softly once more before turning around to finish painting the wall. She watches him walk toward his friend, his steps carefree and light, and for a moment Felicity wishes she met Oliver when he was like this. But she knows if she didn’t, then she wouldn’t appreciate the struggle he’s gone through, and for that she is forever grateful.

Turning around, Felicity composes herself as she takes long, deep breaths. Today was unexpected and she needs time to think about what happened with a big bottle of wine.

As she starts to walk away from Oliver, she hears Tommy loudly ask, “Dude, how do you know Felicity Smoak?”

Well, wouldn’t he like to know.

~/~

The obnoxious wall clock Felicity bought on a whim ticks incessantly, its sound getting louder and louder as the hour hand inches toward six o’clock. She’s spent the last four hours following Twitter mentions of Oliver’s café opening, searching for something but she doesn’t know what. According to visitors, Tommy Merlyn and Thea Queen – Oliver’s sister – are working there and hundreds of people have come. A line started to form an hour before the café – Nocking Point – opened, and since then it’s been nonstop traffic.

She debated going there, but chickened out no less than seven times. Felicity doesn’t know why she’s having a hard time going, especially since this is what she’s wanted for a long time, and Oliver personally invited her. There’s a part of her deathly afraid of the possibility of not getting together as friends or . . . something more.

After finding out Oliver’s no longer a prostitute, her mind wouldn’t stop thinking about what ifs. What if she and Oliver get together? What if they turn into something more than friends? What if their relationship is really good? What if it’s not? It’s the first time she’s allowed herself to think of these questions and they’re making her dizzy.

During the course of their friendship, Felicity found someone who made her happy and excited and less lonely. It was different – she had been intimate with him before she knew him. Oliver saw a part of her very few people did and that will forever tie her to him. And amidst all the weirdness, they became fast friends over the mundane aspects of their lives.

But Felicity held herself back. She didn’t let herself get too attached to Oliver in fear of totally falling in love with him, or forcing him away with her neediness. There were times when she teetered back and forth, unsure if what she felt for him was her projecting a romantic relationship on a friendship because she was lonely, or whether underneath their easy smiles there was something hidden there. In the end she pushed it away, believing their delicate, easy friendship and her career were more important. Felicity didn’t want to disrupt that balance.

Now . . . she doesn’t know what to think. Oliver’s working legally – he has his own business. Felicity didn’t think something she mentioned in passing would actually happen but it did, and he seems happier, less anxious. And, coupled with knowing who Oliver really is, maybe it’s not as unfathomable to be with him.

Letting out a strangled breath, Felicity admits she wants to be with him. She wants to be his girlfriend. She . . . loves him.

The last thought gives her pause, but it’s so honest it aches to admit it. Oliver withholding his secrets from her hurt her more than usual because she cared – cares – about him. A lot. If Oliver were any other friend she wouldn’t have exploded on him as she did, but Oliver was more than a regular friend and it destroyed her when he lied. She thought there was a closeness and understanding, and when Oliver said otherwise, it crushed her soul and any self-esteem she had.

Their breakup has affected Felicity more than she thought, and after seeing Oliver so carefree she wants nothing more than to be a part of it. Nothing’s holding them back – they’re free from societal expectations, shame, embarrassment and stubbornness. For so long Felicity’s been denying the truth, but she has to face it head on.

And tonight is the perfect night.

Without wasting another second, Felicity gathers her coat and purse, her confidence increasing as she realizes she’s this close to meeting Oliver again. Taking her car, Felicity speeds her way to his café and hopes he hasn’t left yet. The shop closed at 5:30 – it’s possible Oliver’s already gone home. This causes Felicity to drive faster, not caring about breaking any traffic rules.

As she speeds along Star City’s streets, she can’t help but snort at how very rom-com this is. Felicity half expects Nora Ephron to jump out of nowhere and direct her reunion with Oliver, and there’s a part of her slightly giddy at the thought of seeing him and telling Oliver her feelings about him. She’s no doubt scared – her mind is an Internet browser with a thousand tabs open, but Felicity plans on going there and being honest.

If things don’t work out between them, or they’re able to forgive one another but it’s still too hard to move on, then she’ll be OK with it. At the end of the day, she hopes they’ll get the closure they need and can look back at their friendship with fondness instead of bittersweet nostalgia.

Lost in her thoughts, Felicity almost misses the café before she screeches to a halt. Luckily she’s able to find parking nearby, but once she kills the engine Felicity’s courage vanishes into thin air. Her mouth pools with saliva, her palms moisten in fear, and she feels her confidence waning.

Glancing at her phone, she sees that it’s already 6:30 and another dose of panic hits her. Oliver could very well be gone, and she’ll have missed her chance to tell Oliver how she feels about him. Inhaling deeply, Felicity checks whatever makeup she has remaining on her face, but she stops for a moment to look at herself. For the first time in awhile, Felicity seems . . . excited. It’s like she’s been on a month long vacation and the summertime glow hasn’t faded away yet.

Felicity does her best to shake her nervousness away and exits the car, because it’s now or never. As she inches closer to the café, she sees the lights are off and her heart drops in disappointment. If Oliver’s not here this will all have been in a waste, and she has to wonder when she’ll get another perfect moment like this. Hugging her coat closer, Felicity stops in front of the café and tugs on the door, finding it locked. Undeterred, she goes over to the window and presses her face against it, hoping someone – preferably Oliver – is inside.

And he is.

He’s sitting on one of the chairs, looking over some papers as his head is bowed in concentration. His collared shirt doesn’t even try to cover his impressive physique, and Felicity finds it endearing there’s a tiny apron wrapped around him.

She spends another few seconds watching him from afar, but her private peep show is over the moment Oliver’s head snaps up and his eyes land on her. Feeling like she got busted for doing something wrong, Felicity blushes furiously and awkwardly waves at him – she can only imagine how weird this looks. He doesn’t move for a moment, no doubt shocked she’s here, but Oliver quickly springs to actions and practically runs to the door.

Felicity can hear him fussing with the lock, and when he manages to unlock it the door swings wide open as Oliver holds it. He’s smiling and Felicity’s heart leaps – he looks so happy and good here. An overwhelming desire to hug him grabs a hold of her, but Felicity manages to restrain herself. Now’s not the time to freak him out.

“Felicity.”

He says it with such wonder, curiosity and something else that she can’t think. There are times when Felicity’s convinced Oliver says her name like it’s a sentence; as if there are too many words to accurately describe what he’s feeling, so he pours it all into saying her name with whatever emotions grab him.

She missed him. So much.

“Mind if I come in?”

“Depends. Do you plan on buying anything?”

Felicity’s suddenly reminded of their Sundays at Jitters, and she can’t stop herself from grinning like an idiot. “If it’s any good.”

Oliver laughs and it’s absolute heaven to her ears. “I guess you’ll see for yourself.”

Beckoning her to come inside, Felicity steps forward and enters the café, keenly aware of how close Oliver is. He shuts the door behind her and clasps his hands as she surveys the space. “Anything in particular you’d like?”

She’s quiet for a moment as she digests everything in. The café is stunning. It’s modern yet classic, with hints of green tastefully peeking out. There’s a corner dedicated to large, comfy sofas, the chairs and tables are sleek, and coupled with a brick wall Felicity has no doubt this will become the latest hipster spot in Star City. It’s clearly a labor of love and Felicity wants this to succeed as much as Oliver does. He deserves it.

“Oliver, this is amazing,” her voice laced with equal amounts of awe and excitement. She can’t wait to see what’s in store for him.

Turning around, she fondly looks at him but he’s bashfully staring at the ground. A small grin creeps up to her lips and Felicity says, “I’m really proud of you.”

He takes a deep breath and shakes his head as he shoves his hands in his pockets. “Thanks.”

The air is suddenly rife with tension and unspoken admissions, and Felicity finds herself awkwardly standing there. “Can I sit?”

Oliver nods and waves his hand around the café’s general direction. “Take your pick.”

Sitting down at the table nearest to her, Felicity takes off her coat and continues to admire the café. Her eyes touch upon the paintings and vintage posters on the walls – she spots a poster for The Adventures of Robin Hood, and briefly wonders if Oliver put it up there on purpose, especially since it’s her go-to background movie to play during the weekends.

Maybe she shouldn’t read too much into things.

“You still didn’t tell me what you want.”

Snapping out of her daze, Felicity shrugs because she knows anything Oliver gives her will be delicious. “Surprise me.”

Nodding once more, Oliver smirks knowingly and heads to the kitchen, while Felicity tries to rehearse what she’ll say to him. Unfortunately the gorgeous location keeps distracting her.

She had expected the café to look and feel great, but she didn’t expect how amazing it turned out to be. It feels comfortable and familiar; all this place needs is a bed and Felicity could easily call it home. There’s a lingering smell of cookies and other food, and for a moment Felicity feels she could sleep here without another thought.

A couple of minutes later Oliver reemerges from the kitchen with two plates. As he gets closer, she grins at how serendipitous this is – of all the things Oliver chose to bring out, it’s a soufflé, and a chocolate one at that. He smiles at her and places the soufflés on the table, settling down next to her. Its aromatic smell makes her dizzy with exhilaration, and she sees that it’s been drizzled with chocolate on top of it.

“I feel like I’m on an episode of Top Chef.”

Oliver laughs tiredly and Felicity immediately feels guilty for coming so late. After all the craziness of today, she doesn’t doubt he’s exhausted and wants to sleep.

She’s tired, too. Tired from being sad, of wishing she could change the past, of her mistakes, and of being scared. Felicity tries so hard to be something else other than honest. She’ll run away as far as she can, push her feelings to the back of her mind believing they’ll only ruin her future, and in the end it leaves her broken.

Despite having a decadent soufflé in front of her, she doesn’t feel like eating it anymore as her thoughts continue to cloud her mind. But once she takes one savory bite, Felicity can’t help but moan as its flavors make her mouth dance in ecstasy. It’s soft, warm and gooey on the inside, and it’s quite possibly the best soufflé she’s ever tried.

“Do you like it?” Oliver grins, no doubt amused by her reaction.

“Are you kidding?” she says with a mouthful of food in her mouth. Swallowing, she immediately digs her spoon inside for another bite. “I could eat this for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”

Smiling once more, Oliver stays silent as Felicity continues to eat. He doesn’t touch his own soufflé, and feeling a bit self-conscious, Felicity slows down and tries not to shove the entire thing in two seconds. It’s painfully quiet now, and in order to not embarrass herself she takes one more bite.

“I’m glad you came.” His confession startles Felicity – glancing up at him, she’s surprised to see how sincere he is. “I was . . . worried you wouldn’t.”

Crap – she feels bad for getting his hopes up and crushing it. But now that Oliver’s being honest, Felicity knows she can’t continue to skirt around the truth anymore. If he can open up to her then so can she. Still, it causes a rush of adrenaline and nervousness, and Felicity does her best not to freak herself – and Oliver – out.

“Yeah I . . . I – I didn’t have anywhere to go.” She spots Oliver’s eyebrows rise slightly, and for a moment she feels she’s about to get reprimanded by her mother.

“I wore PJs the whole day and stalked you on Twitter.” Realizing how horrible it sounds, Felicity tries to remedy her faux pas even though she knows it’s pointless. “I mean your Twitter mentions. Mentions on Twitter about you.”

Frack. She really can’t go a minute without embarrassing herself, can she? Her skin burns in humiliation, and closing her eyes, Felicity collects herself before saying what she really meant. Oliver’s got a hint of a smile forming on his lips, and his reaction makes her marginally feel better.

Taking a deep breath, Felicity pushes the soufflé aside and puts her thoughts in order. “I’m sorry. I guess I . . . just didn’t want to show you how much I . . . “ Missed you. So much.

It’s at the tip of her tongue, and God, she wants to tell him how much she missed him. But it doesn’t feel like the right moment, and she swallows her confession away, unsure of when she’ll get the chance to say it. There are several other things she needs to tell him first.

Sensing her hesitation, Oliver purses his lips and slightly turns his chair towards Felicity. She can tell he’s trying to find the right words to say, and she patiently waits for him, just as he’s done a million other times. The silence doesn’t feel unbearable but there’s a layer of unsaid words begging to be let out.

“Felicity, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was back in Star City.”

As his jaw tenses he glances at the floor, and Felicity wants nothing more than to make him feel better. She doesn’t know why he feels the need to apologize for not contacting her, since they fought and she made sure he wasn’t allowed to be in her life anymore. Sometimes Felicity wonders what causes Oliver to shoulder everyone’s burden, because he does it often.

She shrugs. “It’s OK.”

Oliver’s not having it. Shaking his head, he shifts in his seat as he gathers his thoughts. “I just – I needed to figure myself out.”

“Oh.”

She wonders what it means – figuring yourself out. Perhaps it means moving to another environment and pushing yourself until you can’t, until you’re so exhausted from running that you finally have to stop. Or maybe it means going back home and finding ways to come to terms with your past, present, and future.

Felicity doesn’t know if she’s figured herself out yet. She’s still stubborn, is prone to hacking when she knows she could go to jail for it, worries she’ll get abandoned by anyone and everyone at a moment’s notice, and can’t for the life of her want to workout. But she’s also figured out how to balance her work life, and how to stay calm in stressful situations. She knows her limits. She dresses better, she finds happiness in smaller things, and knows what it’s like to lose missed opportunities.

She’s lost, loved, and won. And that’s all part of figuring yourself out. Seeing Oliver take a chance and reevaluate who he is as a person encourages her to do the same. And maybe, just maybe, they can work this out.

For the first time since she woke up this morning, Felicity finally takes a moment to soak this all in and let fate take its course. She’s just . . . happy she’s here, sitting next to Oliver for the first time in months. It feels like things are starting to happen the way they’re supposed to – naturally and without expectations.

Glancing up at Oliver, she gives a shy smile before looking down at the table and toying with the napkin. She doesn’t know what to say, but she figures she should start small.

“How did you leave Chicago by the way? You know, with Emerald and all . . .”

Clearly, Felicity needs a lesson on how to start a conversation without going straight to the heavy stuff, but she is curious and wants to know.

Oliver takes a deep breath and stares off as his eyes harden. “Let’s just say Isabel won’t be a madam for the foreseeable future.”

Well, that was unexpected. “You know you can’t not finish the story,” she says with a laugh. “I’m dying to know the rest.”

He raises his eyebrows and fiddles with the spoon on his plate, his mouth pursing as he tries to find a way to tell Felicity the truth. She doesn’t know much about his time at Emerald – he would hardly talk about it unless there was something funny, and she finds herself wanting to know everything he kept hidden. Felicity wants him to know she’s there for him, and listening to every sordid detail is one place to start.

“I’m sure you remember me occasionally complaining about her. “ Felicity nods – there were only a handful of times Oliver slipped how it wasn’t so great to work at Emerald. “She wasn’t a good person. So I made sure she didn’t hurt anyone else.”

Felicity can only imagine what pushed Oliver to do something like that, but she trusts his judgment and knows if it weren’t Oliver, it would’ve been someone else who would send Isabel to jail.

“Good.”

Her steely response causes Oliver to look at her peculiarly, but as someone who’s seen the worst of humanity more times than she can count, Felicity’s glad Isabel won’t be able to prey on escorts anymore. They’re more alike than she realized.

Wanting to change the heavy subject, Felicity clears her throat and smiles awkwardly. “Anyway, how long have you been back?”

He seems thankful for the change of direction and quickly says, “Four months.”

A pang of disappointment hits her – he’s been here for this long and she didn’t know? In the back of her mind Felicity knows he didn’t contact her because he needed time for himself, but she wishes so much hadn’t passed.

“Oh. OK.”

Oliver notices the mood shift and explains, “I – I was going to . . . I got busy with opening this business and personal things.”

“Like I said, it’s fine.” She doesn’t want Oliver to feel bad when it’s not his fault to begin with. “It’s not like we were on speaking terms or anything.”

Giving her an odd look, he begins to rub his fingers and stares at the table. “Still.”

It annoys her Oliver feels it’s his fault for not contacting her – he shouldn’t blame himself for wanting some distance and taking time to focus on his wellbeing. Felicity’s tempted to press him, but things are a bit delicate right now and she wants things to go smoothly.

Clearing her throat once more, Felicity relaxes in her chair and looks around at the café, marveling once more at the décor. She feels the need to change the subject again and asks, “How did you manage to open a business in four months?”

He grins and stops rubbing his fingers. “It helps having friends in high places.”

Snorting, Felicity shakes her head but there’s a smile on her lips. “That doesn’t sound ominous whatsoever.”

A soft chuckle emanates from Oliver’s lips, and she’s suddenly reminded of how beautiful it sounds. She’s missed his smiles, laughs, and his presence by her side.

“How do you like Palmer Tech?”

“It’s great.” Tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear, she takes a deep breath and tries to find a way to tell Oliver how amazing it is. “I’m having fun, actually. We’re developing a spinal chip that’ll hopefully end any sort of paralysis, so . . . I’m doing big stuff.”

Cringing on the inside, she wonders how she managed to boil down her very important CTO role into “big stuff.” She might as well have finished the sentence with bigly and ended the night there.

“Wow, Felicity. That’s incredible.” Oliver’s eyes shine the same way they used to and for a moment she can’t breathe.

“Yeah, it is.”

Some days it doesn’t hit her she’s made it – she still thinks she’s back at MIT in her horrendous goth clothing, aching to make a difference in the world. There are days – months, even – when Felicity feels she hasn’t done her part yet. While she exceeds in one aspect of her life, she totally fails in the other. Yet through it all she’s trying and it’s all she could ask for.

It’s why she’s here in the middle of Oliver’s café, hoping she can make her past a little more bearable and her future a little more exciting.

“Oliver, I really do need to apologize. For how I ended things.”

Her breath stutters in her chest and her throat dries up in nervousness and anticipation. She’s waited months to tell him what she really feels, and she wants nothing more than to have everything go smoothly.

“You don’t.” Oliver looks a little scared, as if he doesn’t want to discuss how painful their breakup was.

“But I want to.”

“Felicity –”

Shaking her head, Felicity brings up a hand to signal him to stop. This is her time to tell him how she feels. Instead of yelling at him and asking what his last name is, she has to say what was – is – bothering her and how sorry she is.

Seemingly afraid of what she has to say, Oliver looks a little cautious but patiently waits.

Taking a deep breath, Felicity gathers her courage tries to stop her voice from wavering due to an overwhelming amount of emotions. She can feel her arms shaking from an overabundance of adrenaline, and curls her hands into small fists to control it. The moment she’s been waiting for is here – she can’t fuck this up.

“It – it really hurt me, when you lied. I thought we were so close. You were the first person in . . . a long time I was this close to, and I thought I was wrong.”

The air is rife with tension, and she has to shrug off her jacket so she’s not sweating buckets from nervousness. Oliver’s carefully watching her, but she has to focus on her thoughts and take this one step at a time.

“I know I wasn’t totally open with you. I – I thought as long as our . . . secrets weren’t brought up then there wasn’t a reason to mention it.”

Her heart loudly pounds deep beneath her chest to the point where it actually hurts her. Although Felicity told Oliver about her mother and growing up poor, she never told him about Cooper or her dad. Worse, she didn’t feel like they were in a stage to discuss their fears and insecurities, and Felicity chose not to take the first step in solidifying their friendship. She wonders what would’ve happened had she opened up to him first – she’s pretty sure they wouldn’t have gotten to this point.

“I just . . . I was OK with us not spilling our deepest secrets, as long as it didn’t impact us. But once yours did impact us, and when I found out everything, I felt . . . betrayed.”

Briefly, Felicity glances up to look at Oliver and she’s not prepared to see his face completely devoid of emotion. It kind of scares her how distant he is, but Felicity soldiers on and hopes her apology doesn’t push Oliver further away.

“But I could only imagine how hard it was for you, you know? Leading a double life and all. And how you probably wanted to keep your secrets to yourself because it hurt to think about them.”

She knows exactly how he felt, since it still hurts to think about her father and Cooper even after all these years. But unlike Oliver, Felicity managed to pull herself up and succeed despite everything, while he was literally and figuratively stuck being a prostitute. Their circumstances were different and she should’ve understood.

“I’m sorry for forcing it out of you. I’m sorry for leaving like I did.”

Black dots dance around her vision and Felicity suddenly remembers she needs to breathe – she immediately gulps as much air as she can, and tries to steady her racing heart. It feels like her chest might explode and her vision blurs from unshed tears. She’s equal parts relieved and anxious, and prays he doesn’t run for the nearest exit. But he hasn’t yet, and she thinks maybe he’s been waiting for a moment to tell her what he feels, too.

His mouth open and closes for several seconds until she can hear him take a deep breath. Shifting in his seat, Oliver leans forward and she’s hit with a whiff of his scent – a mix of cookies, chocolate, and something a bit woodsy. It’s uniquely him and Felicity wants nothing more than to be in his arms.

“Felicity, I’m glad you forced it out of me.” Her eyes snap up to his, surprised by his confession. “I probably wouldn’t have said anything until you did. I took advantage of the situation.”

She appreciates his honesty, and gives him a small smile to let Oliver know she doesn’t begrudge him for it.

“Still. I left like a kid who didn’t have their way.”

He laughs at her word choice then gazes off into the distance, which causes the atmosphere to shift back into something a little more serious. Felicity’s not done apologizing, and she vows to say everything that’s been on her mind for months.

“I hurt you by not introducing you to my friends, to the other side of my life.”

Shame begins to coat her skin, lighting every inch of it on fire, reminding her what she did to keep Oliver away was so damn wrong. Putting Oliver in a tiny box labeled “Only For Felicity’s Consumption” did nothing but push him further away, and she hates how much it hurt him. He had every right to be introduced to her work and other personal life. Felicity separated their friendship from other aspects of her life, because she didn’t want people’s judgments to ruin things between them and her career. It wasn’t fair to him.

“I kept you away because I valued my career over our friendship. And I’m really sorry.”

Tears prick her eyes and she rapidly blinks them away – she doesn’t want the waterworks to spill just yet when she’s not done with this conversation. Swallowing thickly, Felicity has to look away for a moment, because she doesn’t know if she can handle staring at Oliver right now. She wants nothing more than to be in his life, especially now when things are looking up for both of them, but she hopes her confessions won’t push him too far away.

Suddenly, Oliver shifts and scoots his chair closer to Felicity – she thinks he’s about to take her hand in his, but nothing happens. Instead, he stares straight into her soul, his cerulean eyes quickly moving back in forth as they search for something. Felicity thinks he’s looking for acceptance and she wishes he didn’t feel the need to ask in the first place.

“I’m sorry I hurt you, Felicity.” His voice wavers and Felicity wonders whether this has been as hard for him as it’s been for her, too.

“I should’ve told you . . . why Ray was bothering me.”

For a brief moment, Oliver’s eyes harden and she suspects it’s due to mentioning Ray. His reaction would’ve annoyed her before, but now that she knows the truth she understands why he has ill feelings toward him. At least Oliver’s come to learn how to separate his personal feelings from Felicity’s professional life, and for that she’s forever grateful.

“I shouldn’t have let my – my issues ruin an awesome opportunity for you. I attacked you when instead I should’ve been honest about why I was acting out.”

She can tell how sincere he is from the way his shoulders have dropped and how he never stops looking at her – even his fingers aren’t rubbing together, a nervous tick she’s seen time and time again. Seeing how different Oliver is now astounds her, and his journey to this point only encourages Felicity to make changes in her life as well.

“And I’m sorry for not telling you how I felt . . .” He hesitates then adds, “About all that. I really am.”

For months Felicity’s been aching to hear Oliver’s apology. She’s imagined a million different scenarios, all of them abruptly ending because she couldn’t ever dream of this moment happening. But instead of feeling a weight get lifted off her shoulders, she simply digests Oliver’s words without another thought. It’ll probably hit her when she’s back in her bed, going over this conversation on repeat, but for now Felicity’s satisfied they’re in a place to be this honest with one another.

It’s all she could ever ask for.

“I should’ve been honest about how you were hurting me, instead of letting my anger . . . boil over.”

“And I should’ve told you the truth.”

They smile shyly at one another, and in that moment Felicity just knows they’ve moved on. Whatever was bothering before will no longer have to power to control them, because the desire to be in each other’s lives is more important than focusing on the past.

“Now you can. If you want.”

I want to be there for you.

There’s a pregnant pause and Felicity’s afraid she may have pushed it too far. Oliver leans back against the chair and his eyes darken – whether it’s from sadness or anger, she doesn’t know. But Felicity wants him to know he can be honest with her and not worry about judgments, and most of all, not feel like he has to hide things from her.

He takes a deep breath and shakes his head, like he’s trying to rid his head of certain memories. Looking off into the distance, Oliver starts to rub his fingers and Felicity knows things are going to get serious.

“The night before our movie hangout, I was called to join a house orgy.”

She sees Oliver swallow thickly and she can imagine how difficult this may be for him. Felicity almost wants to take back her offer, but they’re already being so open with each other – it would be a shame to revert back to who they were a mere ten minutes ago.

“And instead I saw . . . a young escort getting assaulted. She was barely eighteen, Felicity.”

Shaking his head once more, Oliver lets out a breath and looks down at the floor. His shoulders sag and in this moment he looks so defeated. She wants to tell him to stop or even hug him, because this is obviously hurting him. But suddenly, he sits right back up and looks at Felicity, his face betraying no hint of emotion. She doesn’t know what to think of this mood change, but chooses to wait and see what happens.

“When I went to Isabel, she . . . You have to understand, the girl was going to be indebted to Isabel forever. She would’ve never been able to get out from Isabel’s grasp.”

Felicity quickly digests the information in, and she’s hit with such sadness and pity she doesn’t know what to think. It appears Emerald was a mafia, with Isabel in charge of destroying people’s lives and stuffing her bank account. For Isabel to use young girls and keep them as modern day slaves is nothing short of disgusting. Now Felicity understands why Isabel’s in jail.

“So I had to do something to keep her safe.”

He’s seen so much – from having his money, parents and house snatched away from him to becoming an illegal escort under a literal mob boss. After all these months, Felicity understands why Oliver wouldn’t speak about his time at Emerald: it was too painful. And she feels so fucking guilty for asking him to open the can of worms. She should’ve known what his silence meant, why he only shared funny escort stories, why he did whatever he could to get Felicity talking so he could focus on something other than his horrid job.

“I’m sorry that happened to the escort . . . and to you.”

Oliver probably doesn’t want Felicity’s pity but she can’t help feeling that way. She wishes he didn’t have to go through all of it, yet she’s glad he had the courage to take down Isabel in a way he saw fit.

Unaware of Felicity’s inner turmoil he simply shrugs. “And another escort I was mentoring overdosed the following night,” his voice grave as he recounts the incident.

Holy shit. No wonder he looked so haunted on their last movie night, and worse for wear the following Saturday, on the day of their fateful fight. She remembers how off he seemed. She took his sullen silences as him being jealous of her, Ray and a million other stupid things, but he was quietly suffering the whole time. And she freaking spent that time fighting with him.

God, how bitchy could Felicity be? She made it all about her when it was anything but that. Granted, Oliver not telling her the truth made things a bit more complicated – it certainly would’ve stopped Felicity from accusing him of numerous things – but she just wishes she knew before blowing up on him.

She’s feeling nothing short of guilty. This whole debacle could’ve been avoided had they been honest with each other, but everything seems preventable in hindsight. Maybe Felicity had to lose Oliver in order to really appreciate him.

“I could’ve . . . You know I’m there for you, right?”

Her voice drops an octave and she finds herself whispering – there’s a part of her wanting him to know how serious she is, but most of all, this promise is only meant for him. There’s no one else she’s willing to stand through thick and thin for. Oliver has to know this.

Oliver’s mouth twitches as he leans forward, clasping his hands in his lap and watching her intently. The way Oliver’s looking at her reminds her of their Sundays at Jitters and Wednesdays curled up in each other’s couches, and it’s so familiar that Felicity almost cries at the thought of it. Her heart stops and restarts, her stomach doing flip-flops without her permission and she feels complete.

“Yeah.”

They fall into an easy silence, and Felicity doesn’t know how long they simply stare at one another. It should make her feel awkward but it doesn’t – it’s like coming home. She can feel her cheeks heating up, though she doesn’t know why, and immediately looks away to cover it up.

The spell now broken, Oliver ostentatiously clears his throat before saying, “I – you were right, about me wanting to keep our friendship a fantasy.”

Of all the things Oliver could’ve said, this was a bit unexpected. She doesn’t know how to respond to it, and firmly keeps her mouth shut before she embarrasses herself.

Oliver glances down at his hands and shakes his head as he does so. “I didn’t want to tell you about work because work didn’t exist between us.”

He struggles for a moment – his brows furrow and Felicity suddenly has an itch to smooth it over and take his worries away from him.

“I wasn’t happy at Emerald . . . I wasn’t happy in general.” Shrugging, Oliver smiles sadly and continues, “And I didn’t want my job being the topic of our discussions whenever we were together.”

Her chest pinches painfully and it takes every bit of strength not to launch at him. There’s a chance Oliver was severely depressed back in Chicago and she only made things worse for him by pushing him to open up. Yet, hearing how their friendship made him happier warms her body and soul, and she just knows they’re meant to be in each other’s lives.

“Sometimes I wondered why you hung out with me, you know? I was a nobody.” Felicity snorts but when Oliver’s silent she realizes how much it hurt him to be a prostitute. Naturally, his profession forced him to be isolated and prevented him from having a well-rounded social life, but despite all of it, he was – is – somebody to her.

“I was an uneducated former playboy turned escort.” Blowing a breath, Oliver briefly begins to rub his fingers, and Felicity can only imagine what’s going on in his head.

“I – I felt abandoned when I heard you were hanging out with Ray, or with your other friends.” Scoffing, he inhales deeply and rubs the back of his neck. “Which is . . . stupid, since you’re allowed to have a life.”

Combined with refusing to introduce Oliver to her friends and keeping their friendship in a small bubble, Felicity hadn’t realized how her social life clashed with Oliver’s nonexistent one. From what she can gather he spent most of his time with her, so it’s understandable why Oliver would feel that way. In an ironic twist, it’s Oliver who felt abandoned even though Felicity constantly worried it might happen to her.

“If it makes you feel better, I only met Ray twice after I saw him at the gala.”

Oliver blinks rapidly. “Oh.”

She feels the need to tell him she enjoyed hanging out with him, and that whenever she spent time with her friends they didn’t hold a candle to spending time with Oliver. “I never meant to blow you off when I hung out with my friends.”

“I know that now.” He nods solemnly and his eyebrows furrow once more in contemplation.

Hearing how Oliver felt about Felicity’s social life reminds her of last Saturday, when she saw Oliver for the first time in months. Seeing him blissfully painting away and starting a business without her knowledge made her jealous. She wanted – wants – to be a part of his life, and now she knows why Oliver felt abandoned in Chicago.

“You know, when we ran into each other last week, I saw how happy you were without me, and I guess I . . . finally realized you didn’t need me. I got . . .” Toying with the hem of her shirt, Felicity searches for another word besides jealous except she can’t. She doesn’t want to say the word in fear of making things awkward.

Oliver Hmms and when she looks up at him he’s staring thoughtfully out into the distance. It used to bother her so much when he would look away, because it usually signaled the end of a conversation. But times are different now, and she can’t be more proud of them for being able to open up like this.

“It’s funny – I thought the same thing back in Chicago,” he casually admits. This night has been filled with confessions and apologies, but Felicity’s glad they’re at a point where they can hash things out as adults.

“It made me – what’s the word – not sad, but frustrated to see you having a life.” Felicity quizzically looks at him, but he only grins lopsided at her, her heart skipping a beat as he does so.

“I wasn’t jealous, but I knew you went to work, had fun and were excited about it. Me?” Oliver shrugs and if Felicity paid closer attention she could’ve sworn he rolled his eyes. “I could barely keep my head straight. I wanted what you had – stability and a . . . passion.”

She almost tells him she was never really passionate about being a consultant, but another second passes and she finally understands what he’s trying to say: she cared about the work she did and he . . . didn’t. And although Oliver probably cared about his clients, he went home everyday wishing for something more fulfilling.

“A reason to live.”

Felicity’s sad Oliver didn’t feel like there was a reason to live in Chicago, but seeing him here, alive and happy makes her slightly glad they fought. If they hadn’t, then Felicity doesn’t doubt she wouldn’t have come here, and Oliver would’ve been under Isabel’s firm grasp, working at a job he didn’t love.

“Well, you’re free now.”

He smiles contentedly. “Yeah, I am.”

They fall into another silence but a hint of panic hits her. She feels like the conversation is winding down but she still hasn’t told him everything. She hasn’t told him she loves him. That she’s in love with him. That without him in her life, she’s barely floating by and can’t function.

Her mouth pools with saliva and she can’t bring herself to look at him. This moment is too important to screw up, but she’s never been in this situation before. She’s never felt so uninhibited that it causes her to throw caution in the wind. She feels so out of control she’ll do whatever it takes to grab a hold of it.

Gathering any bit of courage she has, Felicity breathes in deeply and finally looks up at Oliver, albeit shyly and without any bit of finesse. “Oliver, I missed you.”

For a moment nothing exists between them – time has been erased, their past is forgotten history, and the gods from above collectively hold their breath. Felicity’s vision blurs from fear of rejection, but the possibility this might turn into something good stops her from running out the door. She has to know what this is between them, otherwise it’ll kill her.

Something changes in Oliver – his shoulders drop, his head tilts to the side, and he’s staring right at her like she’s the only person in the entire world. It’s as if he’s allowing himself to see her for the first time, not as a friend but as someone more. Someone who can make him happy, someone to encourage him to live another day.

“Me too, Felicity.”

Relief washes over her, coating her skin with tenderness and chills. After finding out Oliver was back at Star City, Felicity felt she was not longer in a position to be missed, because he clearly didn’t need her anymore. Yet hearing him admit to missing her causes her to feel more loved than she has in her entire life, and she wants nothing more than to wake up to the feeling every day.

Oliver suddenly scoots forward, and for a second Felicity thinks he’s going to grab her hand, but he doesn’t. He continues to look straight at her, as if he wants her to know how important his next words are.

She takes this opportunity to really look at him – his hair has gotten a tad longer, the wrinkles on the corners of have gotten deeper and his lips, which were always in a tight, pursed lines have loosened up. He’s always been handsome, but in this moment he’s nothing short of beautiful, especially in the dim café lighting.

God, Felicity wants him so bad, and the ache in her chest intensifies as each second passes.

“Those seven months we spent together were the first glimmer of light in a long time, Felicity.” She hadn’t realized he began speaking, and she has to lean forward to hear him talk.

He’s entirely focused on her but he seems a tiny bit distant, yet it does nothing to dissuade her from losing herself in him. He’s gotten her wrapped around his finger, and the thought of it doesn’t shame her – it makes her giddy with anticipation.

“And I want to say thank you for making me . . . happy.”

Oh no. Not this – anything but this. She came here tonight for the sole reason of apologizing and telling him how she feels, not have Oliver give up on any romantic – or platonic – possibility of getting together.

But something stirs in Felicity: hope. It gets her heart racing and her palms sweaty – she doesn’t doubt that Oliver can hear her heartbeat as it covers the air with it’s fast and thrumming pace. She entertains the idea maybe, just maybe, she’s not alone in her feelings. If he’s willing to write off a potential relationship, it means he was at least thinking about it before, and it’s all the evidence she needs.

And for the first time since Felicity’s met Oliver, she fucking fights to keep them together. To have them as a single unit, bound by admiration and love. Felicity’s not going to go home and tuck her tail between her legs – she’s already done that. No, this time Felicity’s going to make sure they’re in a place where there’s nowhere to run except into each other’s arms.

“Oliver, I –”

It happens without her own accord, but before she knows it she reaches over to grab his hand. Her fingers curl around his calloused palm, igniting a path of electricity she didn’t know was possible and gasping at the sensation. Oliver flinches from the contact, and Felicity would like to imagine Oliver felt the same spark of electricity as she did. But without a moment’s hesitation, he wraps his hands around hers, holding it tight and doing everything in his power to not let go. And it fills her up with such warmth she wants to cry, because there has never been a moment in her life where she’s felt this way.

He’s taught her what it means to love, to laugh, lose and gain it all back. Oliver’s everything to her.

“I want . . . the next day, month, and year to be happy.” Her voice wavers and her vision blurs for the umpteenth time, but she soldiers on. This is it.

“And I want you to be a part of it. With you.”

She shakily lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding, and she’s hyper aware of everything around her – Oliver’s fingers tightening it’s hold around hers, his scent, the long forgotten soufflé, and the fact all time has seized to exist. What Felicity feels is so powerful that it threatens to unbalance her, but she welcomes it with open arms.

“I love you, Oliver.”

She can feel the exact moment her soul leaves her body, anxiously waiting above her to merge with Oliver’s. All this time she’s been missing a piece, and it’s Oliver who’s been able to patch her up in ways she didn’t think were possible. He’s made her feel things she never thought she could, and no matter what happens Felicity will never regret hiring him more than a year ago. He’s meant to be in her life in its weird and awkward glory.

Oliver inhales sharply but his body doesn’t move an inch. His eyes rapidly move back and forth, searching and searching, until he’s found the answer he’s been waiting for.

“I love you, too. God, I’ve loved you for as long as I can remember.”

Letting out a relieved sob, Felicity clamps a hand over her mouth as she tries to suppress her emotions from tumbling forward. But she can’t help it – she’s been waiting for this moment for so long, and for it to actually happen . . . she can’t believe it.

And neither can Oliver – he laughs, the kind filled with delirium and happiness, the kind that shows up in true, honest moments. The sound is so beautiful and her laugh mingles with his, creating a symphony of love unknown to mankind.

She doesn’t how moves first, but their hands leave each other’s and Oliver immediately cups her face with both of his hands. He’s so close – she can see every single eyelash, pore, and truth hidden beneath his skin.

Placing her own hand on top of his and the other curling over his thigh, Felicity leans forward the same moment Oliver does, her eyes closing in contentment. Their lips touch like two missing pieces of a puzzle, and the sheer intensity of the kiss causes her to gasp – her womb tightens, her toes curl, and her skin erupts in chills as the sensation overtakes her. It’s the single most amazing kiss she’s ever experienced, and she’s already imagining what it’ll taste like years into the future.

Love does a number of things to you – it makes you irrational, angry and jealous, but there’s that other part, the part which makes you complete. The part that feels like coming home, the part that hurts so much you can’t bear to be without it.

And Felicity knows, without a doubt, all the hardships she and Oliver have gone through were meant to lead them to this point. There’s no other explanation for it – if it weren’t for Oliver working as an escort, Felicity would’ve never met him, would’ve never felt such intense pleasure, sadness and happiness.

She never would’ve known what being in love means, but she does now. As their foreheads touch one another’s, their souls mingling for the first time, Felicity has a feeling things are only going to get better. And she’ll do whatever it takes to hold onto it.

Holy shit, last chapter! Epilogue will be posted on Thursday. :)

#olicity #olicity fic #olicity fanfiction #olicitysquee #oliver queen #felicity smoak

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