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#and then I stress about where I’m gonna find the money to get enough food to fill me up and ughhh
strohller27 · 3 months
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ihasafandom · 3 months
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Carnage re-write P1
So I woke up today with Words in my head and instead of assisting with any of my ongoing fics my brain has decided to re-write Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage ://
So I guess we’re doing that. (Originally a quick outline; cleaning it a bit and posting on Feb 6 for @symbruary's Fix-It day)
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The movie had pretty effects and a decent soundtrack and some good action, but what it lacked was the heart and comedy of the first film (and the good good deep Venom voice, why is he so squeaky and annoying now??? (T o T) )
I’m not a comedy-writing person, and I’m not gonna be doing an actual fic or screenplay for this, so I’ll be keeping to the heart part. What gives a piece its heart I thnk are its emotional throughlines. Each character and relationship having their own story where they change from how they are at the start to how they are at the end, and having that story be concretely present and observable as the movie/book goes on.
There were hints of that in Venom2 but a lot of them fell flat, didn’t go anywhere, or didn’t have a satisfying change.
For example: both Eddie and Venom are frustrated with their relationship for X reasons. They fight, they separate, they do things on their own, but when they come back together they haven’t resolved any of the reasons that they broke up in the first place. Everything’s just magically better for no reasons and we are supposed to intuit that they are good for eachother and that they have improved as partners but we never really see that happen. Just a forced capitulation on Eddie’s part and the same traumabonding and extreme circumstances that made them work as a team in the first movie.
Another thing that sucked was how they dumped the uniqueness of certain characters and plots and emotional beats from the first movie to retread the same old tropes from everything else. Dan was unique and widely beloved in my parts of the fandom for not being a jealous jerk. He admired Eddie’s journalistic work, he dropped his dinner to do doctor work without complaint, he trusted Anne, and he didn’t fall into the stupid romcom plots even when Anne brought them up. Focused, intelligent, useful, kind, caring. A breath of fresh air. Entirely unlike how he acted in the second movie.
So let’s fix that.
Situation at the start of the movie:
Eddie is depressed, frustrated, and stressed. He is not used to being the self-control in a relationship, and is trying really hard to keep to his morals. He also needs to make enough money to keep them in food and home. He is lonely; he misses Anne and Maria and people in general since a large part of his solution to Venom is isolating them in their apartment so that they don’t eat people and don’t look crazy in public. He is spending all of his time and energy either trying to do work or keeping Venom entertained, controlled, and fed. He also might need some mood-stabilizing meds, he seemed heckin ADHD and/or autistic in the first movie.
Venom is stressed, bored, and starving. It is not used to not being able to do whatever it wants (bar keeping its head down around other symbiotes higher on the pecking order), it is not used to having to cooperated with a host, it doesn’t understand Eddie’s morals, it doesn’t understand Earth, it doesn’t understand money, it doesn’t understand human relationships and society. It needs higher quality food (mammalian, more variety, more human-specific chemicals since it’s bonded with a human), it needs enrichment, it needs to understand more about what its new situation is.
They both need to communicate and understand eachother and learn to find a balance that will get them both what they need. They also need a support system and an income stream.
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erin-bo-berin · 2 years
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Hi can I request a steve x fem reader where she has an unhealthy obsession with dogs and every time she sees a stray she gets so upset and Steve always knows whenever she feels that pain in her heart and so every time it happens he grabs her hand and asks if she wants to get ice cream as a way to cheer her up?
Aww oh my gosh can you imagine him working hard and extra shifts at Family Video (or wherever considering the aftermath of the s4 finale but for this instance let’s just imagine that it’s FV) to save up enough money to adopt one of the dogs? Like he’d surprise her with a trip to the shelter and tell her he wants her to pick the dog they’re gonna adopt I’m so SOFT. Okay anyways, blurb incoming I’m sorry it’s so short 😩
Dogs were the love of your life. Well, besides Steve Harrington—the human love of your life.
You’d had pets growing up, but they were always your parents’ dogs or other family members. Needless to say, your love for dogs started at an early age.
Steve always teased you about your soft heart when it came to dogs, but you knew he loved it. It was true though, you just had the biggest heart when it came to panting tongues, messy paws and sloppy kisses. Wagging tails made your heart happy, furry, warm, four legged babies made you happy and Steve knew it.
What hurt the most though, was seeing strays.
“I don’t know how anybody could toss a pet like it was last week’s garbage,” you’d always mutter.
Sometimes, humanity baffled, infuriated and saddened you. It was the strays that always pulled on your heart strings.
When you first started living with Steve, he’d had to get used to the amount of stray dogs that would come and go in his backyard. You constantly had dog food and water in rotation for any dogs who needed a safe space.
You kept things from flea treatments to first aid too, to help any injured canines that might wonder your way.
“You’re the Florence Nightingale in the dog world,” Steve would lovingly tease, giving you a hug from behind when you were busy and a sweet kiss on the cheek.
It was a rewarding, but emotionally exhausting task. Sometimes, it seemed like you couldn’t do enough. There’d always be more and not enough supplies, money or resources for you to help. Most of the strays always went on their way after finding your help, something that you understood but it also broke your heart. Most would hesitate to trust again after being treated so awfully.
It was when it took its toll that the heartache would really begin. Sometimes you’d just sit and cry, wishing you could do more.
There was one instance where after a tough week, seeing a stray on the streets while you were out in town with Steve caused you to have a break down. The tears just started coming and didn’t want to stop.
He didn’t even have to ask, he just stood and held you in the middle of the sidewalk while you rid your body of all the worry, stress, tension and emotion that had been building. He rubbed your back, murmuring to you.
“I don’t know anyone else with a better heart than you,” he whispered into your hair.
“You,” you sniffed, wiping your face as you pulled away, “You care so much about everyone you love.”
“Well,” he smiled shyly, not used to being complimented so much, “I have an excellent teacher.”
He tapped your nose with his finger as if it to make his point.
“Come on, how about some ice cream to cheer you up. I’ll get you your favorite flavor.”
“Two scoops?” you asked, looking up at him with puppy dog eyes.
“Two scoops,” he confirmed, nodding.
It became a tradition ever since.
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gynandromorph · 1 year
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i guess it’s time for a new year retrospective thing since it’s almost a new year
this year sucked and not even in like a notably bad way, it’s just one big haze of nothing where nothing matters and nothing has any meaning because there’s literally no break in between all the stress. groceries are as expensive as ever and they’re just gonna stay that way forever while the cost of living limit for welfare stays the same so now i’m stuck between being unable to afford food AND having no healthcare. mawkish continues to get older and she has more health issues. it takes up an unspeakable amount of my time and money, but she’s happy and not declining right now. every time she skips physical therapy for her arthritis due to a cancellation i can see how it affects her, though, so i don’t know if i’ll be able to cut costs there. a lot of this is about money, huh? i just feel like i can’t even DO anything without it. i can just Be At Home which just makes me feel like a wild animal pacing in a cage. i’ve been single for a while now and i’m REALLY feeling it and i know it’s partially my fault for not wanting covid more than not wanting to be lonely but like what the fuck would i do if i put myself out there huh? tell some girl i don’t have enough money to buy lunch or a coffee so we’ll have to just sit outside at a park? yeah i’ve sat outside at parks to meet and chat with people but as like a first impression it’s not great!!!
and my art has gotten worse, of course. it’s stiffer, and i feel on edge because my hand is either always on the cusp of hurting again or it IS hurting again. i’ve gotten it back to normal again, and then i slack off on my exercises and we’re back to square 3 (i haven’t gotten so bad that i go back to square 1) because the exercises themselves are wildly time-consuming and god knows if there’s anything i don’t have enough of it’s time. i hate the tablet i’m using and i can’t even find the old ones i brought with me because of the move, but even then they’re very small and that’s why i like them and it’s also why i hurt my hand in the first place. still, the curves this tablet makes are just not the same, there’s tons of issues with it that aren’t technically issues but certainly things that impact how the art comes out and how much i enjoy making it. not really related but about a week into the new year i’ll be getting a new computer, also, and a new desk chair, since both of those are fucking falling apart. i want to do other things that i’m not going to say here because if there’s one way to make sure you never ever do a project it’s just announcing it publicly before you’ve done literally any of the work. still, we’ll see if anything changes. it feels like it won’t simply because my brain is too depressed to do anything anymore and even when i do do the thing it turns out like shit or i don’t retain it at all. these are at least things that will not require the intense use of my dominant hand.
oh and the last huge negative is i just have like functionally no religious community now because this friend i made at my last synagogue was a great friend!!!!! super friendly!!!!!!!!!!! too friendly in fact!!!!!!!!!!! and i tried reasserting that i was not interested in a relationship multiple times, i tried tolerating advances i wasn’t going to reciprocate and it just kept getting more physical, eventually i decided to get my rabbi there involved and i gotta say the response i got was disappointing at best!!!!!! this was maybe like november 2021 but it’s literally functionally cut me off from that community altogether here because i wasn’t thrilled about the drop in covid protocols and i’m certainly not more enthusiastic now that i’ve been sexually harassed just to have it brushed under the rug knowing this is an all too common reaction for jewish authorities to have!!! i literally feel like i can’t say anymore about it besides that but hey it kinda sucks!!!!!!!
that’s it dude, that’s all, i started a new comic way later than i should have but i did start it, and i’m living somewhere that kind of sucks the soul out of me but i won’t be investing a lot of time and money into a move this year not only because it’s tolerably under my sister and her husband’s roof instead of my mom’s but because rent is too fucking high for me to jump ship too. sure hope 2023 is a great year cuz it’s the last one i’ll have as a 20-something and the bar is certainly low after this one, i can’t even be more thoughtful or humble about this retrospective, i’m so tired of feeling like shit and having functionally no way to fix most of these problems
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roving-boi · 11 months
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Dear Diary,
My dad pressured me the other day about career/school, because I don’t know what I want to do after school. He wants me to go to some sort of technical school or I dunno, get some sort of education so I’m not stuck making minimum wage. But no field really sounds good to me. Everything, all of my options just sound miserable. I’m scared to even find a career in writing or art because I know people will have expectations for me and when that happens I’m stuck fearing that I won’t satisfy anyone. I’m not really a magic machine that can write and or create the best piece of fiction ever out of thin air. I mean I guess that’s sort of how it works, but on short notice I should say. Everything that comes to me just comes to me on its own, and I take forever to actually get it down on paper. I’m not even anywhere near done my novel that I started like 2 months ago.
In other news, my mom bought a house (well it’s more of a mortgage), and it’s going to be ready to be moved into soon. It has 3 bedrooms, one for me, my brother, and my mom (and unfortunately my ex-step dad that she got back together with for some fucking reason. God I hate that guy). My mom wants me to move back in with her and be a family again. Though she wants me to graduate high school where I’m at currently and then make the choice to come live with her. Now here is the problem, my dad is quite unaware of all of this and telling him is going to cause arguments and other discourse I don’t really wanna deal with.
My aunt told me I should do whatever I want, and not worry about pleasing or hurting others. And I think it’s something I’m gonna do. I need my own space, and it lets me live somewhere more free, and much closer to work. Where my dad lives, is quite literally out in the desert in the middle of nowhere. There’s no opportunity here, there’s no work, there’s nothing. I don’t know how I’m supposed to do anything here.
I was looking at comments on an Instagram reel about people getting rejected from jobs. Like Walmart and food jobs. The basic crap. It kind of started stressing me out. I don’t plan to go to college and I don’t know what I’m going to do for money when I leave this place. I have no idea what I’m doing I’ll be honest. And I’m scared I’ll never really make enough to keep myself afloat. There’s nothing at college I even want. And the ONE thing I’m passionate about, fucking jay told me she wants to go to college and get a degree in. Ugh. Fucking great.
I’ve been having nightmares about jay. I had about 4 in a row almost. In one of them I remember driving away and driving and driving until I reached this little food area in the middle of nowhere. It had a sushi restaurant right next to a Mexican restaurant. Really weird but I stopped by and went into the Mexican restaurant. Things were peaceful for a good few minutes I think until I saw jay roll up with her stupid friends. They were going to head into the sushi restaurant but she noticed me sitting at the Mexican restaurant and decided to come in. She walked up to me and I just lost it. I grabbed her by the hair and threw her on the floor, and I started slamming her face onto the tile floor. But she wouldn’t react to it. It was if it wasn’t even hurting her. It started freaking me out and I think screamed for her to shut up because she wouldn’t stop talking. I kept slamming her head into the floor until I guess I got tired and stopped. I don’t remember how to dream ends but it was so freaky. I wanted her to stay down. She wouldn’t.
I don’t wanna see her face at school. She’s dead to me now but, I’d probably just get so angry. I’m so stressed. In other news I got a new friend group and they live really close by. Remember that boy I met at the fair in real life? He let me join his friend group and it’s been great. We voice chat together and play video games together and they make me feel included. They ask me questions, joke with me, ask for my opinion on stuff, they share stuff with me. They just make me feel like I’ve always been apart of their group. My friends at school never did that. I’ve only been hanging out with my new friends for like over a week and already it’s been a better experience than my stupid fake friend group at school.
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jjunyyi · 2 years
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the mediocre life I want
WARNING:: it's gonna be a long post.
A toxic trait that people have used to try to encourage others is that everyone is important. And they have a purpose ( I hope y'all know that when I say that this isn't what I really mean)
Yes, of course people are important in this world. However, people are constantly being brought up that you are only important because you’re going to change the world. That your only purpose is to change the world however it may be. Find the cure to cancer, save a kids life, become an environmentalist. Or whatever.
Theres this false reality that society has created that you’re only living if you’re hustling and bustling to create a change. That all dreams are famous world saving dreams.
We are enculturated to all have big dreams, becoming the president, becoming an astronaut, etc. And when we don’t exactly achieve those dreams and we have let ourself down. Our expectations were the ones that broke us in the end.
The funny thing is, a lot of adults say that we can believe those big dreams but doesn’t actually believe we can achieve them. Its a pretense they give because they too were enculturated like that.
Many people actually achieve those big dreams. The impossible ones, the ones that seem so damn far away. Some are happy and some realized that, even though they achieved the dream they’ve had since young, they don’t really feel happy. They realize that although that dream is what they’ve always wanted, it wasn’t what made them the happiest, the most content.
Why live life at the end of the margins with all the power when you can live life in the story?
So go ahead and dream. But dream for a future you want. Go after the so called ‘mediocre life’ . Have a 9-5 job and stress over the little things. Have coffee at the broadway every sunday morning,
It’s not the life being promoted on social media, but it’s a life you’re content with.
Don’t make money to buy a mansion, buy that apartment that is enough for your space. Strive for whatever you want , whether it is being an astronaut or being an office worker, magic happens in the weirdest ways. Just make sure it’s what you really want.
But maybe, in a way you are changing the world even if you aren't very famous and explicit about it. As long as you are alive, you can make a change in the world, even if it's only your world.(there's more contradictions in life than in this post so move along) This is really just a paradox of my words but there are so many times where you made a difference even if you didn't know it. Anything that you are doing is a difference. And no, I'm not talking about talking to a stranger and then potentially saving them from suicide (though, I hope you know that is a difference) I mean, waking up and living, drinking water so you don't dehydrate, eating bits of food so you're not hungry at work, etc.
I guess, moral of the parodoxical post during my breakdown is that you don't need to have a bizarre significant dream to keep living. keep your ordinary, average and indifferent dream to own a house and to get brunch with people you love every Monday morning. to keep living and to believe in yourself because only you know what makes you content even if sometimes its covered in stab wounds.
(ps. English isn't my best language and I tend to word my emotions really bad so if anyone who makes it this far in this post and can word this better or easier to understand, go right ahead)
-jjunyyi
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me too. we’re going to the uk this year (my uncle bought us tickets to come visit him, it’s a bit weird because we haven’t seen him in years) so i’m ticking some of the other places off my list at least!! i really hope your trip goes well, your brain is just being mean.
what are the polish mountains like? our mountains are beautiful but i’m guessing you guys have a lot more snow than we do
it’s really lovely swimming there, but we haven’t been to the east coast since early 2020. we were actually there on holiday when the covid lockdown was announced. the water where i live is really cold because the main current carries water up from antarctica, but i still love swimming here.
i was in my neil perry era lol. no i’m kidding, it was stressful but i learned a lot so in hindsight i’m kind of grateful for it. i wouldn’t do it again though
how old is he? my history teacher is definitely just an unfulfilled athlete, he tends to invest a lot of time in the rugby and athletics kids. it’s a bit weird tbh
it’s more like what haven’t they done, honestly. one girl in my grade (she was a prefect) was arrested for shoplifting last week, and another one assaulted a bus driver two or three weeks ago. the other kids keep getting into fights, vandalising stuff, etc. i think my class is the only well-behaved one in our year tbh.
and yeah! we have to pay to wear our own clothes! the amount differs depending on what they’re using the money for. the last time we had to pay 30 bucks, which is about 7 złoty (idk if i’ve got the currency right, is there an abbreviation? do you guys use euro or is google lying to me? is there another currency? idk please advise). that isn’t really a lot but it’s still annoying. and they’re using the money to build another hockey field, which is gonna cost millions, but they don’t want to spend a few thousand and buying more microscopes for the science department, even though that’s objectively more important than building a sports field that we don’t actually need!! it makes me so mad
we have teachers stationed outside the bathrooms to make sure that the kids don’t vape, but they still find ways to do it, i hate it so much. your former dealer sounds like quite an interesting character. did he drop out to deal drugs full time or did he leave because his academics weren’t good enough? he sounds like he was very smart but you never know. our old one sounds a lot like your current one, he also wasn’t very hygienic. about anything, actually, i’m surprised he managed to get customers at all. i’ve never touched drugs but for some reason people keep trying to sell them to me? i think it’s because i look like the “broody rebellious rule breaker” ( a dude called me that once, it was weird). i’m not though, but i think it might be my hair that’s giving them that impression lol.
(no problem!! i would also apologise for taking so long to respond but i think it’s gonna keep happening to both of us, we’re both very busy. when school start again for you?)
that's so cool! i've never been to the uk, but it's placed quite highly on my bucket list. yeah, i hope so too, you're probably right. my brain gets like this sometimes.
yeah, snow always comes there first and is the most violent. at least that's what i've seen in the pictures. i've never actually been there in winter, only in spring. the landscapes are stunning. i will probably remember the views from the peak we climbed for the rest of my life. the food and the tradition there are also awesome. all regions in poland have their own culture, but the highlanders' one seems the most distinctive. i'd attach some pictures, but i can't really find any good ones :/
yeah, no surprise you love swimming there. if i lived next to the beach, i wouldn't pay attention to temperature either.
wow, it was that intense? i'm sorry you had to survive through that. but it's good that you at least had a chance to learn a few things. the silver lining in every bad experience is that they always make you a little wiser.
he's about 55. oh okay? that is weird...
wow! i understand now. my class has the worst reputation in the whole school. but my classmates could never compete with the kids at your school. their biggest crimes are smoking, underage drinking and using their phones during classes. so as you can tell, they're not very dangerous.
this sounds insane! do you pay for individual pieces of clothing or for the entire outfit? how does it work? (yes, this is our currency! and yes, there is an abbrevation, it's zł. no, we don't use euro. they wanted to introduce euro a few years ago, but the plans never got carried out.) personally, i think it's quite a lot, but the reason i view it like this is probably because i've always been free to wear my own clothes at school. gosh, this is so absurd! school literally exists so that we can learn, not to play games. sports are important, sure, but in this case, it's a secondary matter. i'm mad with you.
yeah, they came up with a similar solution at my school, except it's not the teachers who are looking out, but the janitresses. it's not a very effective solution. the kids vape anyway. he transferred to a worse school to have higher chances of passing the matura exams (the teachers at that school let kids cheat during the exams). he was humanities smart, but suprisingly, he didn't take any advanced humanities classes. he took advanced physics, because i quote, "i already know everything about history so why would i take advanced history? i take physics to learn something new." it didn't turn out too well for him. he couldn't understand physics for shit. nobody has ever tried to sell drugs to me. it's probably because i, on the other hand, look like teachers' favourite who never causes any problems. which is well, true. teachers like me and i keep away from drama. actually, "broody rebellious rulebreaker" has a ring to it. i would've taken it as a compliment if i were you.
(i'm so sorry it took me so long to respond. i'm in the middle of the most intense period at school and it's been a while since i had a break that would've lasted more than half an hour :/ i think the day you send me this ask was my first day back at school.)
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letamreviews · 2 years
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Le Theme - Birds of Prey (2020): Empowering Emancipation (part 2)
(part 1) (part 3) (part 4)
MODERATE SPOILERS
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Renee Montoya’s Daily BS
Next, we’re introduced to Detective Montoya, who can't even get the fuckers she works with to take her seriously. See the crime scene scene.
Montoya: There was only one shooter. Inside. *looks down at guy sitting dead in front of her* This guy shot out the glass. Serrano. *gets ignored* Yo. Hey. *walks over to him* Have ballistics check for a bullet in one of those parked cars. Munroe: *smiles and scoffs briefly before looking at Serrano* Serrano: *puts arms in front defiantly, shifts weight to one side, and looks at Munroe* Munroe: *still smiling* Go ahead. *nods with wider smile* Serrano: *does his job* Montoya: *looks at Munroe* Munroe: *performs apologetic body language*
(...)
Munroe: Okay, you think one guy got all four? Montoya: Wait, wait, wait. *shushes him repeatedly* Munroe: I'm just saying, we got four dead bodies here, you know. Montoya: *still shushing him* Munroe: One guy... Montoya: I'm trying- Munroe: Bullet holes. Montoya: I'm trying to work. Munroe: I'm sorry. *more apologetic body language* Go ahead and work. Go ahead. *MABL*
Do I need to explain this shit? This essay’s gonna be long enough as it is.
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Harley’s Food Love Affair
After that bullshit, we get to witness Harley’s food love affair while listening to Barry White's “I'm Gonna Love You Just A Little More Baby.”
Harley (V.O.): Egg, bacon, American cheese. Soft, toasted *visibly falling in love* buttered roll. Just a dash of hot sauce. Harley: Not too much, Sal. *slight panic* I wanna taste the cheese. *horniness intensifies* Harley (V.O.): What a way to start my new life. Harley: *sighs happily* Harley (V.O.): With the perfect egg sandwich. Harley: *receives the goods* Mmm! You're a lifesaver, Sal. *pulls out a dollar bill and places on counter* And I'm good for the 75 cents, okay? I promise. That's all the money I got in the world, *pulls a Collector* and it's so worth it.
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Let's acknowledge for a sec the fact that she's financially broke at this point. HWSNBN kicked her to the curb and the last bit of money she has (after x weeks/months of fun) gets spent on “the perfect egg sandwich.” A completely understandable decision. Shit, let’s acknowledge how she undresses the sandwich (while walking with one shoe). Homegirl’s in love with that shit while the lyrics, yet again, are ringing true to the scene here.
Cause deeper and deeper In love with you, I'm falling Sweeter and sweeter Your tender words of love keeps calling Eager and eager, yeah
And unlike the last, this moment—one she indulges in regularly—gets interrupted. By Montoya of all people. The epitome of detectives. How dafuq did she even find her? And why doesn’t she have backup? I’mma let y’all infer on this one.
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Back to Montoya – the Disrespect & the Desperation
Simpson (desk sergeant): *sighs* Fuck, Montoya, you smell like a dead rat's asshole. Montoya: Not today, Simpson. Male: Hey, it's Detective Montoya. Respect your elders. I mean, your elderly. *salutes and laughs* Montoya: You're only a few years younger than me, and you're still behind that desk. You wanna go there?
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Just leaving that part where it is and moving on. The next scene we see is Montoya arguing with Munroe and her Captain (the fucker) about a potentially big case.
Captain: These are... serious accusations, Miss Montoya. The Sionis family name is on half the museums and schools in Gotham. Montoya: And that makes him immune to the law, Captain? Harley (V.O.): Montoya’s day is going almost as badly as mine. Remember the guy who stole her promotion? That’s him. Montoya: He had four people killed alone last night. Munroe: *smug-ass look* If Roman Sionis is such a mastermind, how’d he get fired from his own fucking company? Montoya: The Janus Corporation is his father’s company, thank you. Munroe: *smiling smugly* Montoya: And by the way, they cut him off. Captain: Where does the DA’s office stand on all this? Montoya: *stressed look* Harley (V.O.): To make matters worse, Montoya: *looks over at her* Assistant DA: *thinking with a squint* Harley (V.O.): the assistant DA? That’s her ex. Assistant DA: The evidence that Sionis is linked to these murders-- Montoya: There’s a shipment coming in. Assistant DA: *somewhat shocked wtf look* Captain: Drugs? Montoya: A diamond. Munroe: A diamond. Wow, Montoya. Should we call the Feds for backup? Montoya: Listen, I had a source at the club. His driver. He said that Roman couldn’t stop talking about this thing. And he said that he overheard something about laser-encoding. Now, I did some research. I think it’s the Bertinelli diamond. You remember the Bertinelli massacre, right? (…) Montoya: Which is exactly why Roman Sionis is trying to get his hands on it. That's what makes him so dangerous. He's already building an army. If he gets the diamond, he'll have all the money and connections to bribe every single judge and cop he needs to get a monopoly on the city. Captain: You said you had someone on the inside? Montoya: Yes. He's… He's no longer there, but… Captain: So basically, you have nothing. You are trying to go after one of the most litigious and wealthiest families in Gotham, *Assistant DA and Munroe exchange glance* and all you've got is rumors and a hunch? Montoya: Well, you know, the DA's office is building a case against him, too. Assistant DA: *confused look* Montoya: Isn't that right, Miss Yee? Assistant DA: *looks at her* Captain: Listen, if the DA is willing to throw himself out in front of this, it's fine with me. Assistant DA: Captain, n- no. Captain: Listen, Munroe, find me some tangible connection to Sionis, all right? Munroe: Yes, sir. Montoya: Wait, wait, wait. Captain. This is my case, okay? I've been working on this for six months. Captain: We need something that we can actually use, Detective. And, Miss Montoya, we do have a dress code. (scene jump) Munroe: Look, Assistant DA: No. Munroe: I'm sorry about that, but I… Assistant DA: That is my job you are fucking with. What is wrong with you, Renee? Munroe: Me? He gave my case away. Assistant DA: Oh, poor Renee. Why don't you pour yourself a drink? It's almost noon. Munroe: Wow.
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Let’s look back for a second. Montoya interrupts the Assistant DA (Miss Yee, her ex) frustratingly when her Captain asks where the DA stands on the matter (instead of just trusting her, I mean really). This interruption isn’t even the main problem here. It’s the fact that Montoya mixes the Assistant DA (her ex) in with a lie to further her own goal. As if she was so desperate to be taken seriously that she had no choice in the matter (we’ll be coming back to this). Hell, we later find out that she was wrong anyway. Street smarts says Sionis must be working with the crossbow killer because nobody would dare kill his own people without his permission. Evidence, on the other hand, says the two people have no involvement with eachother.
Back on topic, the Captain gives the case over to Munroe (the idiot) even though Montoya's been working on it for six months because “We need something that we can actually use, Detective,” which is a work-appropriate way of saying “Yeah, I don’t think you’re capable.” Then the dress code remark.
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Next thing we see is Montoya trying to apologize to Assistant DA for her bs from a moment ago. Assistant DA makes it clear that she’s pissed and doesn’t appreciate Montoya “fucking with” her job. And Montoya’s response? The best thing she can think to say after Assistant DA asks “What is wrong with you, Renee?” Some good ol’ fashioned re-directional bs: “Me? He gave my case away.” Like that 1) justifies her actions, 2) happened before her actions, and 3) isn’t an attempt to dodge the question. Again, maybe she was desperate. Regardless, “What is wrong with you, Renee?”
This short conversation does not end well, with Assistant DA saying “Oh, poor Renee. Why don't you pour yourself a drink? It's almost noon.” Now, let’s think back for a second. Assistant DA is Montoya’s ex. An ex would surely know someone on a personal level and know just where their sensitivities lay. And her sensitivities is exactly what Assistant DA goes for.
“Oh, poor Renee” says Montoya complained/vented often about her woes at work. I mean, she gets no credit at best and is constantly undermined by those beneath her. How many years has she worked at the GCPD?
“Why don't you pour yourself a drink? It's almost noon” says Montoya has a drinking problem. Again, this likely is due to the daily bs at work.
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hitnran · 3 years
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OBSESSIVE EX (gender neutral! reader)
how they deal with you having an obsessive ex
includes: ran, rindou
CW: obsessive behavior, cursing, stalking (ran), phone harassment (rindou), the haitani brothers lowkey kinda scary here (not to the reader) 💀 but i’m just trying to make it fit within their character
— RAN HAITANI
Getting into a relationship with someone like Ran, half of the charismatic brother duo that ruled Roppongi, almost means guaranteed safety wherever you go. His title itself is one that is feared when murmured. Whenever you two leave, he always has an eye and a hand on you. Ran knows well that even if he is feared, he can also be challenged and the last thing he wants is for you to get involved — you would make an easy target for his enemies.
You two were out together on a stroll around the city. Although there was nothing neither of you needed, Ran’s favorite thing is showing you off. Sometimes you start to feel similar to his younger brother, thinking that you’re just a shadow and only known as ‘Ran’s partner.’ But Ran’s intentions were opposite. He wanted everyone to know that it was him that belonged to you and it is him that people would have to deal with if you were ever tested.
As you two are walking, Ran noticed your eyes consistently checking itself to the side. He took note of that and eventually brushed it off since you stopped. But then he noticed that you were being especially keen and scanning the whole area.
“Are you okay, love?” Ran slightly hunches down, getting your attention as your face turns his way. He lightly smiles at you. “Did you see something you liked?”
You swallowed down hard. You could’ve sworn you saw a familiar face, but after trying to scan the area numerous times for the past few minutes, you thought it was just you being paranoid. The last thing you wanted was to worry Ran and cause a scene.
“I’m okay,” You shook your head, returning a light smile. You grabbed on his arm, this time a little tighter. “Let’s turn into this corner.”
Ran knows when you’re lying. He knew something made you uncomfortable, but he wasn’t going to force you to tell him. Instead, he’ll make it his own problem too and deal with it himself.
This area was his territory and everyone knew it. It was almost as if Roppongi, a city known for liveliness, calmed down ever so slightly if one or both of the brothers were out. Everyone’s gaze wound be kept low and their conversations would go mute as they walk by.
At that moment, Ran could feel a pair of eyes staring your way. He won’t make it obvious though.
“Love,” Ran called out to you. You looked up his direction and he placed a hand against your lower back. “Rindou’s gonna throw a fit if I don’t bring back food for him. How about you go into the restaurant and order first while I call him and ask what he wants?”
You felt at ease hearing that you two were finally going to be in somewhere indoors, but it made you nervous that he would be separated from you for just a little while.
“Don’t wanna bring something back he won’t like and have him complain,” Ran lightly laughed, trying to ease your clear discomfort. He placed a hand over your head. Taking out his phone to add to his act. “I’ll be quick.”
After some hesitation, you gave in. It was a public space after all, so it shouldn’t have been anything to worry too much about. He watched as you entered the place before turning around, sending chills to the person who had been following you two around this whole time.
“Would be a shame if I left them alone for too long, wouldn’t it?” Ran gave off a sinister grin, slowly walking towards the person. “Wouldn’t want anyone to take them away…especially someone like you.”
Ran knew who this person was. He was an obsessive ex of yours that just would not leave you alone and accept the separation despite it being years passed. He gulped hard, nervously stepping back, not thinking that he would get caught.
“You were so bold to even follow us in the first place, why so shy now?” Ran smirked, hiking up the sleeves of his sweatshirt. “This is the first time you’ve heard of me or something? I should introduce myself to you well and hard then.”
Almost ten minutes had passed since you’ve been waiting for Ran. You sat patiently and waited. Your best guess as to what’s taking him so long revolves around Rindou. Maybe he was complaining about how he wanted food from a different place or being picky about menu opinions. Just as you were about to raise yourself from your seat to check up on Ran, you saw him enter.
“Did I make you wait too long?” Ran appeared, seating himself in front of you. The worse case scenario you had in mind was that he got into a fight, but in front of you, he looked just as how you last saw him. “You know how Rindou is.”
Your chest became relaxed and you gave a small smile, shaking your head, “What did he want from here?”
“I didn’t even listen to what he said,” Ran teased, opening up his menu and leaning back against the chair. You felt his legs sandwich your calves from beneath the table. “He can order it himself. All my money is going to you today.”
And that was how Ran liked it. Although Ran wanted everyone to know that he belonged to you, he knew how important it was for others to know that you belonged to him too. The image of the face of your ex is burned so clearly into his brain — face all bloodied up, mauled almost, as he failed to even whisper for forgiveness.
“I think there’s only one way I’m gonna let you outta here alive,” Ran kicked his body down with force, hearing something shift in his jaw. He couldn’t give half a damn about it. “Do you know what that is?”
Your ex was visibly beaten and weak now, barely able to even blink or properly form a sentence. Though, with his adam’s apple slightly moving from fear, Ran took it as a response.
Grabbing him by his hair upward, Ran bent down, looking straight at him, “You’re gonna leave them alone and never show your goddamn face again. If it wasn’t fucked already before, it sure is now. I promise you I’ll know if you’re even barely visible or a mile away, I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
Ran thought it was so disgusting how someone like you could ever have your time wasted on someone low like this ex of yours. Even if Ran saw him and his brother above everyone else, he always put you above him.
“Maybe even after this, I’ll send one of my men to go and beat the shit out of you every day so you could suffer for as long as you’ve tried to bother Y/N.”
— RINDOU HAITANI
Rindou can’t even remember what it took for you two to even reach this state of your guys relationship. He convinced himself that it was Ran, his older brother who wouldn’t shut up about how he was going to take you if Rindou didn’t make a move.
It genuinely surprises himself even whenever he looks your way, observing every detail and soaking in the idea that you are someone he can call his.
You two were watching a movie, or rather, supposed to. Rindou was too focused on side-eyeing you every now and then. You caught him a few times, but he would brush it off with comments like “this movie is boring” or “I’m just checking to see if you fell asleep.”
He would snap himself out of a trance after hearing your phone ring beside you. You eyed it once, looking at the caller ID and ignoring it. It wasn’t enough to cause Rindou to worry - it’s not his problem if you just didn’t wanna answer a call, it was your guys’ time anyway.
But then it rang once more again. Your ringtone dragged itself out halfway through before Rindou slightly raised his hand from your hip, pointing to the phone on the side of the couch.
“You not gonna answer that?” He asked.
You shook your head, eyes focused on the TV, “It’s fine. It’s an unknown caller ID.”
Rindou shrugged, ignoring it once again, but after a few more calls and your phone receiving back to back text messages, it was starting to irk him. He was close to just grabbing your phone and answering the call himself, but you were quick to act before him, just shutting it off.
“It must be spam or something,” You sighed, sitting back down.
“Yeah, well whatever it is, good thing you shut that damn thing off. That shit was annoying,” Rindou sighed, curling his arms around you again. “Let’s change the movie too or something. This one is boring.”
One thing about dating Rindou is that he seems uninterested in absolutely everything he does. Although you avoid thinking like that when it comes to your relationship with him, you always remind yourself that Rindou is someone who deeply cares for you. He shows it very differently compared to others, but you know.
He can recall a memory from a few weeks ago where you kept getting calls in the middle of your guys’ date. It annoyed him, but not as much as it annoyed you. You’ve pressed the red decline button at least five times now, stressing over it and spilling out everything about your previous ex.
At the end of your rant, Rindou grabbed your phone, picking up the call and saying words as simple as “leave them alone.” It was so simple, but for the next few weeks, it was silent. You finally thought you were free of harassment thanks to your boyfriend, but recently, they’ve been coming back as unknown caller IDs and more frequent than before.
Halfway through the movie, Rindou felt your body become more loose and relaxed beneath him. Your breath became slower and more steady. You had fallen asleep. He thought it was ironic to have someone as angelic as you in the arms of someone like him - a gang member always involving himself in trouble, even just for fun.
He stared at your phone just a reach away and then back at you. The last thing Rindou wanted was for you to be uncomfortable, or really, anything that isn’t where you aren’t happy.
When you woke up, the TV was shut off and you felt a blanket drape over your body. You realized you had fallen asleep from earlier, but you were expecting to find your boyfriend with you as well. That was when the door swung open and you were greeted with Rindou.
“Rindou?” You slowly let out, still adjusting from waking up. “I didn’t know you left.”
He raised a bag up midway in the air, it’s a bag from a bakery you often bought from, “You kept murmuring about it in your sleep. Didn’t want you to wake up all grumpy.”
“I don’t wake up grumpy!” You protested, watching as he took his seat next to you and unpacking all of your favorites.
“Yeah, okay,” Rindou joked. He listened to you puffing out before wrapping yourself around his arm.
“Thank you though,” You murmured out of embarrassment - maybe he was half right.
“It’s nothing,” He replied, softening his face into a grin. “Must’ve been hungry though if it got you talking in your sleep and drooling on my arm.”
You didn’t even know about half of the things he does for you, but he didn’t mind it, because if you were happy, then that was all that mattered.
It made Rindou feel guilty to turn on your phone and look through it. It wasn’t something that he ever felt the need to do - he trusted you and it felt wrong if you weren’t aware that he was using it. Though, at this time, he felt like it was for the better.
While you were silently sleeping, he browsed through your texts. It’s that same person - your ex back again to bother you. Rindou scoffed, making sure it wasn’t loud enough to wake you up, but he was angry. He clicked his tongue whilst composing a message.
Rindou knew you would never be so stupid as to meet up with someone like this, especially not after already experiencing it once. It was a good thing that it was just Rindou posing as you though. How delighted your ex felt to have finally received a response to you - ‘Let’s meet up here.’
Rindou thought it was so pathetic. This guy had no idea what he looked like, let alone that you even had a boyfriend. So when Rindou’s immediate reaction upon seeing him was to throw a punch, he was shocked.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Your ex cried out, trying his best to dodge his attacks but failing in between his words and attempts.
“Me?!” Rindou snapped, pushing him to the ground and twisting his arms. “Speak for yourself.”
The man beneath him screamed in pain, “I-I’ll call the cops on you and have you arrested!”
“Yeah? You think they’ll give me less time if I tell them I was just trying to teach a creep a lesson?” Rindou pulled back on his arms a little harder, tendons and muscles stretching themselves out of place.
“T-The hell are you talking about?!” He stuttered out.
“Don’t bitch around. Might end yourself up in there if you keep this act of yours up - I’ve been once before,” Rindou smirked, pulling back more and more on his arms. “It was fine for me. My big bro and I even got some respect while in there, so what’s gonna happen when they hear about your name from me? You’re fresh meat to them.”
“W-Who even are you?!”
Rindou scoffed, “The same guy who warned you once to leave Y/N alone. I should’ve honestly went to find you myself personally and beat the shit out of you, but I hate wasting my time.”
Your boyfriend let the man go. If his arms weren’t all bent out of place and dislocated, he’d be crawling away by now. It was a sight that Rindou would laugh at. Upon seeing that his phone had fallen out of his pocket, the same phone used to consistently harass you, Rindou stomped down hard, breaking it into bits and pieces.
“Don’t waste my time again. Next time you do, call the cops, I promise you I won’t care if they catch me killing you,” Rindou turned his back around.
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Stitches // 18
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Pairing: Frank Castle x Reader
Summary: Amy gets a visitor, Y/N snaps at Frank for keeping things from her. The mystery man finally has a name to his face.
Warnings: angst
Only two more chapters to go! Also, sorry for taking so long, writer's block has been kicking my ass lately plus school is being a bitch right now, regardless I hope you guys enjoy this <3
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14 Part 15 Part 16 Part 17 Part 18 Part 19 Part 20 BONUS
MASTERLIST
Frank’s POV
“Castle I’m in the middle of trying to actually find who’s responsible for putting Amy in the hospital, make this quick.” Mahoney walked further into the apartment and greeted Curtis and David.
“Before I get into this I need you to not not tell Y/N anything about any of this, she’s already stressed out as it is.” he nodded and I released a breath I didn’t know that I’d been subconsciously holding.
“That day we spoke at the hospital Brett, I lied, I went to the kid’s place after you left.”
“Damn you Frank, what’d he say?”
“He said that he was going to take her to the waterfront to hand her over to a man that offered him money. He went on to say that the man frequents the diner they work at and only requested Amy to serve him.”
“How are you so sure you can take his word on that?”
“At first he wasn’t going to say anything but he ended up singing like a canary with a knife plunged into his thigh, Curt.”
“That’s premeditation, whoever this guy is, he was stalking her all along. Do you know where Jacob is right now, he basically admitted to attempted kidnapping and quite possibly sex trafficking.”
“I left him zip-tied to his chair and if your officers didn’t find him in his apartment, I don’t know where he could be.” Mahoney bit his tongue, refraining from saying what was really on his mind as he massaged his temples.
“You’ve kept this to yourself for nearly a week.”
“He told me the next day and we spent hours going through CCTV footage at the diner and on the streets to see if we were lucky enough to at least catch a number plate but this guy knows his way around the cameras.” David turned the laptop around for him to see what he’s talking about.
The man entered the diner with his hat hiding the majority of his face and went to his regular spot in the corner booth with his back to the camera. He’d stay there for at least a little over an hour and like Jacob said, Amy’s the only one that serves him his food. Then he’d leave and the camera’s lose him as he disappears into the alley a couple blocks away.
“Someone’s bound to know who this man is, I’ll question some of the other workers, see if they could give me a better description.”
“I’ll tag along with you.” Curtis piped up and Brett didn’t didn’t oblige. Frustrated, I ran my hands over my face.
“We’re gonna get him, Frank.” The two of them left and David patted me on my shoulder.
"What's going on?"
I've been at that diner asking questions to the staff and got jack shit. Mahoney could try all he wants but he's not going to get anything different. I thought I could use their help but the truth is, I don't need their help. I just used them as an excuse to not slip back into old habits but I guess I should’ve taken care of this myself in the first place.
The beast in me has been locked up for far too long and once I get a taste I'm sure I'll be back out in the streets putting down the assholes of Hell’s Kitchen but I'll deal with that when the time comes.
I want to be the last thing that man sees.
"I'm going to have to do this myself."
—-
Y/N’s POV
“I can get you a sandwich from the cafeteria if you want ma’am.” the young nurse offered but I declined, I’m not in the mood to eat anything. She finished taking note of Amy’s vitals before leaving me alone with her.
“Okay tough girl, I need to see those beautiful eyes of yours.” my knuckles gently stroked her cheek as I hopelessly tried to get a response from her. At this point I’d be grateful for her fingers to twitch the slightest.
“All this time I thought Frank was the most stubborn human I’ve ever come across but damn, you’re giving him competition now. Speaking of him, you know he’s barely even spoken to me since this happened to you.”
I’m not sure if she could hear any of this but at this point I really don’t care, I need her to wake up somehow. If she can hear my voice I hope it brings her out of this state.
“I don’t know where he is or if he’s figured out anything that could help us understand why you’re in this position right now and I’m worried sick.” A knock on the door gained my attention; a strange man stood outside the door with a bouquet of sunflowers in his hands.
Who the hell is he?
“Yes?” stepping out into the hallway, I slid the door shut behind me.
“Hi, Ms. Y/L/N, I know this all seems strange but I’m just a regular at the diner your daughter works at, one of the other workers mentioned what happened to her and I just wanted to stop by to see how she’s doing.” The way this man kept his focus on Amy through the window is rubbing me in the wrong way because number one, why is a grown man peering into an unconscious girl’s room and number two, why does he care this much about a waitress?
“I’m sorry, who are you exactly?” he politely smiled as he averted my question, raising more red flags.
“Do you know if she’s going to make it?”
“I asked you a question, you can’t expect me to tell you anything if I don’t have the privilege of knowing your name. You clearly know who I am yet I don’t recall meeting you before.” his right eye twitched slightly as he fought the urge of doing something out of impulse. The mystery man never pegged the woman standing in front of him to be like this.
“Have a good day ma’am.” he walked away from me without another word, leaving me there with a shit ton of questions. Curiosity got the best of me and I followed after him, weaving around medical staff and other personnel as gracefully as a heavily pregnant woman could.
I made it out into the chilly night in time to see him get into his sleek black Volvo. I quickly pulled out my phone and snapped a couple photos of the licence plate. That man really expects me to believe that he’s actually concerned about Amy’s wellbeing, everything about him feels off.
Tabling this for now I made my way back inside of the hospital back to Amy’s bedside. As I entered the room I discarded the flowers in the trash can and eased myself down into my seat again.
“Woah, that one hurt.” For the past couple of days I started having Braxton-Hicks contractions which I have yet to tell Frank about. It’s nothing major, it’s just my body doing what it’s supposed to by preparing me for the real contractions when I do go into labour.
“Amy you’re strong and I need you to hold on for as long as you can, give me a sign or something so I know that everything is going to be alright.” I slipped my hand into hers, gently caressing it.
Earlier on today her doctor updated us on the swelling of her brain which has gradually decreased, he even suggested that they try weaning her off of the ventilator to see if she’s able to breathe on her own. They did unhook her from the machine and removed the tube from heer throat and for like five seconds we thought she was in the clear until her vitals started declining, shattering my little piece of hope. Frank didn’t stick around for much longer after that, said he had something to take care of and I didn’t bother to stop him. He indirectly blames me and I don’t give him wrong for doing so because this could’ve been avoided.
For a split second it felt like she tried to hold onto my hand but that could just be my mind playing tricks on me.
“Amy?” her eyes opened at the sound of my voice and she began choking on the tube down her throat, the monitors and machines went haywire as her vitals fluctuated. The medical staff filled the room and a nurse escorted me out as the others did their job.
“Oh God.” I fished my phone from my pocket and dialled Frank’s number, looking on as they removed the tube and administered what I believe to be a sedative.
“Sweetheart, everything alright?”
“You need to get to the hospital right now.”
“I’m already here.” turning to my right I instantly recognised the tall brooding man quickening his pace to get to me.
“What happened?”
“I was talking and-” the door opened and Amy’s doctor smiled at us, and just like that, it felt like a ton of weight lifted from my shoulders.
“Good news is, she’s out of the coma and is breathing on her own. Bad news, we don't know the extent of her head injury, we'd know more once she's awake. I also gave her a sedative to calm her down, she should be awake soon.” Frank pulled me into his side, kissing my forehead in the process.
“We’re still monitoring her for any changes that can occur and once she’s in the clear, we’d be moving her out of the ICU and into one of our regular hospital rooms. You both can go in when you’re ready.”
“Thank you.” as soon as the last nurse exited the room Frank and I went in.
"Why's there flowers in the bin?"
"Oh some man stopped by to drop them off for her a short while ago, thought the whole visit was weird so I dumped them." His features visibly hardened as I spoke about Amy’s regular customer.
"What'd he look like? Did he give you a name?"
"Tall, brown hair, wore a grey suit, has a scar on his right cheek, why?" Ignoring my question Frank fished his phone from his pocket.
“Did you get anything else from him at all?”
“I got a photo of him going into his car and number plate.” I quickly pulled up the photo and handed the phone over to him.
“Frank?” he blatantly ignored me yet again and walked out into the hallway with his phone up to his ear. He’s keeping things from me, that much I’ve gathered but why?
“You better not take everything from your father or else we’re going to have some problems little man.” Frank was out in the hall for all of five minutes before his return to Amy’s bedside. He didn’t bother to tell me anything about his urgent phone call and I didn’t have it in me to hound him about it, the last thing I want is for us to end up fighting.
"If you’ve got to go, go. I’ll let her know you were here when she wakes up.”
“Y/N, we need to talk.”
“Are you going to tell me why you’ve been lying all this time or ask about your son growing inside of me?” Frank didn’t let my snappy mood get to him, I guess he was expecting me to react this way.
“I knew you lied that morning, I just wanted to see how long you were going to drag it out.”
“I didn’t tell you because I thought that it would be best to not stress you out more than you already are.”
“That only made it worse! I know you told David not to say anything to me about this when you first went to him for help and you've been going out in the middle of the night and don’t bother to say you're leaving!” Another wave of pain came over me and I brushed it off as best as I could.
“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that and I shouldn’t have blamed you for this."
So he finally admits that he did blame me for all this, brava.
“Sweetheart, I didn't come here to argue with you."
"Whatever." Silence washed over us as we both focused on Amy’s sleeping frame. Frank’s phone started ringing and he forwarded the call only for it to ring again.
"Frank, just go if you have too." Releasing a heavy sigh he leaned over and kissed her head before coming over to me.
"Be safe."
"Always." Briefly we locked lips as his hand found my bump, gently rubbing against it causing the little guy to move around at his touch.
I watched as Frank left the room knowing that what he's about to do just might change him for good. Ever since the Vanessa situation he made some major changes, he stopped killing and by doing so he's deprived that animalistic side of him for so long; I fear that this would be his point of no return.
"Mom?" Amy’s hoarse voice gained my attention, did she just?
"Amy, it's Y/N, I'm here." She blinked repeatedly as she adjusted to the bright lights in the room. She finally focused her eyes on me and weakly smiled at me and I to her.
"You're awake, I get to see those beautiful eyes again." She reached up to my face, gently wiping away the tears I didn't even feel running down my face.
Stupid hormones.
----
Frank’s POV
Snap
The security's limp body fell to the floor as I made my way further into the building David located the asshole that visited the hospital tonight.
"Stop, right th-" I capped the two men that were guarding the door to his office, their faces blown to pieces splattering their blood on the walls.
With one swift quick to the door I let myself in.
"Mr. Castle, I’ve been expecting you."
"You know who I am." The office chair turned around revealing the smug looking bastard. My finger is itching to pull the trigger to end it all but I need to know why he so desperately wants Amy.
"How's my daughter?"
Before the words could register in Frank’s brain, he was struck in the back of the head, effectively knocking him out. His gun clattered on the marble tile beneath him and the man pushed out of his seat.
Harry Bendix looked on as they hauled Castle’s unconscious body onto the chair and secured him.
“Not so tough now, Punisher.”
—-
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watchmegetobsessed · 3 years
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TO LOVE AND BE LOVED - Part One (Harry Styles)
a/n: oh my god i am sooo thankful for the love the masterlist got with just so little info about the story! it means so much to me and i really hope i won’t disappoint you with this story! i was planning to post the first part on tuesday but i got excited bc of all the feedback and reactions and decided to start earlier, so here it is, part one of TLABL, a story im kind of proud of and very happy to share! please drop by my ask box or leave your thoughts on the story, i would love to hear everything from you guys!
pairing: CEO!Dad!Harry X Reader
warning: mentions of death, cheating and divorce
word count: 11.2k
SERIES MASTERPOST masterlist
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“I hope you realize this holds nothing against you, we all love and appreciate you and your work, but we had to face some unexpected problems this past year.”
You sit in front of Claire, your boss completely dumbfounded, not even comprehending what she is saying completely. You came to work this morning absolutely oblivious that today is going to be your last day of work at the daycare you’ve been working at for over two years now.
“I’m sorry, but last time you let us in on the budget you didn’t bring up any complication that might have indicated someone could lose their job, so what possible problem could have come up so abruptly?” you ask with a shocked and nervous chuckle. Part of you kind of hopes this is just some stupid joke she is playing on you, but Claire is not one to make games out of such serious things. Letting out a tired sigh she pushes her reading glasses up to the top of her head into her carefully curled hair.
“Look, I’m really trying not to make a big deal out of it, but we had to make some cuts on the budget. The kitchen and gymnasium renovation was completely unplanned and it kicked us in the butt. We are making some changes about the groups this year and it was made that it can be solved with one less person on the team. I’m sorry it had to be you, but the decision had to be made.”
“But why me?” you press. “There are two people who have been working for a shorter period of time here, didn’t I earn your trust during my time here?”
“It’s not about that, Y/N,” Claire shakes her head.
“Then what is this about?”
“If you are so keen on knowing, we’ve… received a few… complaints.” Your eyebrows shoot up to your hairline, this is the first time you’re hearing about it.
“Complaints?”
“Yes. Some parents are not quite the fan of the kind of mentality you are using while teaching the kids.”
“What are you talking about?” you ask, feeling all the blood rushing out of your face. This is starting to get way too nasty. Claire pinches the bridge of her nose before leaning onto her desk, clasping her hands together.
“I know that you are quite the free spirit and want to teach the kids about openness and acceptance, but not everyone is as rainbow as you are. Some kids brought the word home about what kind of books you’ve been reading and we’ve gotten a few concerns about you basically promoting the LGBTQ community for the kids.”
“I’m not promoting, I’m trying to teach them to accept everyone just the way they are, how can that upset anyone?!”
“Well, it does. The committee had to make a decision on who we should let go and many agreed that it might be the safest decision to make it be… you.”
You’re about to faint. You are sure you are about to fall off this chair and just black out. How can someone get mad about you reading stories about acceptance and treating everyone equally? What kind of monster can see it as a bad thing? And now you are losing your job over such a stupid thing that you don’t even feel responsible for.
Though you’d love to stay and try to convince Claire to not let you go, you know the decision has been made and if you’re being honest, you don’t feel comfortable anymore working at a place where parents tell you off for teaching important values for their kids. Sadly, but you sign all paperwork about your immediate parting and you leave Claire’s office to pack your stuff.
“Miss Y/N! Miss Y/N!” Izzy, one of the sweetest girls in your group basically launches herself at you, smashing against your legs as she hugs you happily. “Do you want to see what I just painted?” She blinks up at you with her gorgeous green eyes and your heart breaks that you won’t get to see her again.
“Oh, Sweetie. I have to—you know what? Sure. Show me your painting,” you smile at her warmly. You can’t say no to her, not when this is the last time you get to see her.
As you’re cleaning out your locker in the break room, Heather walks in and stops in her tracks, seeing you with your gloomy face as you pack everything into a cardboard box.
“What the hell are you doing?” she questions right away. The two of you have known each other for years now, you did the same master’s programme and somehow ended up working here together, carrying on the friendship you’ve formed through your school years.
“I was… fired,” you sigh, wincing at the words.
“What?! Why?”
“Apparently, we are having some budget problems with all the renovations that was made recently and unbeknownst to me, some parents have been complaining about my openness with kids so I was the lucky one to part ways with.”
“That’s fucking bullshit! The kids adore you, how can someone complain about something like that?”
“Don’t know, ask them if you ever find out who they are,” you mumble under your breath as you shut the now empty locker closed. “I’m sorry we can’t carpool anymore,” you pout at her.
“No fucks given about that, what are you gonna do now?” she asks, seemingly very bummed at the news that you won’t be working at the same place now.
“I don’t know,” you shrug. “I guess I’ll have to find something new if I don’t want to end up on the streets,” you mumble.
“Oh girl, I’m so sorry,” Heather sighs pulling you into a hug. “Why don’t we go out for drinks on Friday? Everything is on me!”
“Don’t act like I’m already broke, makes me feel like a loser.”
“Sorry,” she scowls. “Just want to brighten you up a little. Meet me at seven at that Mexican place, how does that sound?”
“Stuffing my face with nachos and tequila? Sounds like the best plan I could wish for.”
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You waste no time arriving home after your worst day at work. You jump right into the job ads, looking for basically anything that might help you out of this impossible situation. Sending your resume to as many places as possible, you get a few callbacks the next few days, but you only make it to one interview on Friday and that doesn’t go well either. The man who calls in for an open position at a private kindergarten turns out to be a total snob and he doesn’t find your free spirit too fitting with the profile of his institution so you get rejected at the end of the interview.
You head out to meet Heather feeling like shit. You’ve been unemployed for four days, but it’s already breaking your spirits.
“You know what? Clair is a bitch for giving in to the complaints,” Heather slams her fourth shot glass on the table with a grimace. “She should have defended you!”
“I’m sure she just didn’t want to get into any disagreement. Some of the parents donate great amounts to the school and Claire would never risk losing that money,” you sigh rolling your eyes.
“Okay, but she is being very… not inclusive,” she narrows her eyes. “Firing someone for teaching the kids openness? Bullshit.”
“I’m just sad I don’t get to see the kids anymore. They really grew close to my heart.”
“The little fuckers can be so damn cute, almost make me want to have one.” Heather sighs, downing another shot before pulling the nachos closer to her. You laugh at her vulgar reaction, she has always had quite a dirty mouth but somehow she controls herself well around the kids. “How has the job hunting been?”
“Horrible,” you growl in frustration. There are not many that offer a good paycheck and the few that does are these posh places that expect you to treat the kids like they are made out of gold which is ridiculous. That’s not how you raise a kid!”
“I’m sorry, I’m sure something will come up soon. Why don’t you look into nanny jobs, have you thought about that?”
“What do you mean?” you furrow your eyebrows, popping some chips into your mouth.
“A lot of people prefer having nannies for their little children, some even want them to move in. My brother’s ex-girlfriend was a live-in nanny for about two years and she earned a shit ton of money, because she didn’t have to pay rent and a good chunk of the food, because the parents just treated her like part of the family and bought groceries for five people instead of four.”
“I’m not sure I’m cut out for that kind of stuff.”
“What, earning money?” Heather scoffs.
“No, living with a stranger.”
“Most of the time the nanny gets like a separated place so it wouldn’t be that bad, but you know what’s good for you. It was just an idea,” she shrugs.
Soon enough you drop any work talk not wanting to ruin the mood. You enjoy some time away from the stress of job hunting and you’re just trying to have fun with your best friend. You start talking about nostalgic memories from college and end up looking up people you graduated with on social media, checking out what they’ve been up to in the past years.
“Alright, I’m gonna go to the restroom quickly, watch out for my drink,” you announce pushing your drink closer to Heather as you head towards the restrooms.
There’s a bit of a line so you stand behind two girls chatting about some cute guy they just met and leaning against the wall you close your eyes for a moment, feeling the drinks hitting you in the head. You’re not used to drinking, haven’t really had the time to get drunk too much lately and it’s saddening to think that now that you’re unemployed, you could black out every day, you wouldn’t have anywhere to show up in the morning.
Getting deep in your thoughts you almost don’t even notice that your phone is buzzing in your pocket. When you finally realize you pull it out of your back pocket and look down at the unknown number with a scowl. You quickly leave your spot in the line and rush out to hear something as you answer the call.
“Hello?”
“Hi, I hope I’m not calling at an inconvenient time, I’m Harry Styles and I’m looking to talk to Y/N Y/L/N?” you hear a thick British accent on the other end of the line.
“This is her.”
“Great. Sorry for the late call, I’m Isabelle’s father.”
“Isabelle?” you ask in confusion, the names not really clicking in your head thanks to the shots you’ve been taking.
“Isabelle Styles? Izzy?”
“Oh! Yes! Sorry, yeah. Mr. Styles, what can I help you with?” you ask, not sure why Izzy’s dad would be calling you.
“Well I just recently learned from my daughter that you’re not working at the daycare any longer?” “Uh, yeah. Unfortunately I was fired this Monday…” you awkwardly answer.
“I’m sorry about that. Izzy has been really sad about it, I wanted to ask if you’ve found a new job already?”
“Not yet, I’ve been looking but I haven’t had much luck yet,” you confess.
“In that case I have an offer to make,” he firmly continues and you perk up at his words. “I’ve been thinking about pulling Izzy out of daycare, but I didn’t want to do it until I found someone to take good care of her. You’ve been her absolute favorite and she’s been devastated since you’ve been gone. If you’re up for a job of this kind, I would like to offer you a spot as Izzy’s nanny.”
“Oh!” is all you react, completely not expecting this call.
“I know there are a lot to discuss, but if you’re interested, I would be more than happy to have a chat with you sometime this weekend? To go over the details and see if we can make it work.”
“I, uh… Um, yeah. We can meet, that sounds good. When would it be good for you?”
“How about tomorrow afternoon?”
“That can work.”
“Amazing!” he beams. “I’ll send you the address through text if that’s alright for you.”
“Yeah, of course. When should I be there?”
“Would three o’clock suit you?”
“Absolutely,” you nod, stunned at the turn of events.
“Great, thank you so much, and once again, sorry to bother you on your Friday evening. Looking forward to see you tomorrow!”
“Thank you, Mr. Styles, see you soon!”
You get back in line at the bathroom and then make your way back to the table where Heather gives you a puzzled look.
“Did you take a massive shit or something?” she jokes as you take your seat and stare back at her, still in shock.
“No, I had a very interesting call, actually.”
“With who?”
“Um, Izzy Styles’ dad just called and offered me a job as her nanny.”
Heather almost chokes on her drink, coughing at the news. You hand her a napkin as she dries her chin off from her cocktail.
“Harry Styles wants you to be the nanny of his daughter?” she gasps.
“You know Izzy’s dad?”
“Y/N, everyone knows him! He is the sexiest man to walk this planet and not to mention that he is like stupidly rich! Have you not seen him yet?”
“Not really,” you shrug. “Izzy was picked up by an old woman most of the times, I guess I never worked when her dad came for her.”
“That explains why you’re not squirming already,” she scoffs. “That man is like… crazy hot, I’m telling you. I bumped into him one morning when I guess he was dropping Izzy off, the way he said ‘Pardon me, Darling’ made my knees shake,” she tells you, faking an accent that’s nowhere near what Mr. Styles sounded like on the phone.
“Well, I guess I’ll see him for myself. I’m meeting him tomorrow to discuss details,” you shrug and Heather slams her hand on the table.
“Oh my God! You’re gonna work for Harry Fucking Styles! Get ready because your panties will be soaking wet all the time,” she laughs like a hyena.
“Heather, stop!” you shake your head laughing too.
Following Mr. Styles’ call you decide to cut the night shorter than you intended, not wanting to look absolutely wasted when you meet him. Arriving home to your small, one bedroom apartment you take a quick shower before climbing to bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to collect your thoughts. You told Heather you’re not willing to do the whole live-in nanny thing and Mr. Styles might not even want you to live with them, but now that the option is there, you realize it might not be the worst case scenario. Especially since you’re not really swimming in other job offers and you are in desperate need of anything at this point.
Despite having consumed quite some alcohol the previous night, you wake up at a reasonable hour in the morning, finding a text from Mr. Styles about the address you’d have to be going in the afternoon. You make a quick trip to the grocery store and do some chores before you start getting ready for the meeting. You opt for a simple black dress that reaches your knees and pair it with a little funkier, flower printed blazer to bring some color into the outfit.
Punching the address into the GPS you see that it’s taking you to the outer skirt of the city to the neighborhood that’s known to have some quite luxurious estates and you immediately think back to what Heather said about him being ridiculously rich. Driving down the streets in your old Volkswagen you couldn’t stand out more at a place where at least three cars park on the driveways and one of them is a Ferrari or a Porsche.
There’s a massive security gate under the address that’s your destination and it’s left open so you can pull up to the driveway easily. You park next to a fucking Tesla, finding it extremely funny to see your car next to it, but it is what it is. Walking up to the front door you ring the bell as you take a look at the house that can easily considered to be a mansion. Guessing from the outside there are at least about five bedrooms in it and you can only imagine what other luxurious units are squeezed into it.
Soon enough the front door opens and you find yourself staring back at a breathtakingly gorgeous man, wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up and black suit pants, his chocolate curls falling to his forehead as his emerald eyes fall on you, a warm smile tugging on his lips.
Shit. Heather was fucking right, you think to yourself swallowing hard.
“Miss Y/L/N, it’s so nice to see you. I’m Harry, Izzy’s dad, come on in!” he invites you inside before a short handshake.
“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Styles.”
“Please, just call me Harry. I don’t like formalities at home,” he asks you as the two of you walk further inside until you arrive to what looks like a living room, but it’s actually the size of your apartment.
“Only if you call me Y/N,” you smile at him and he nods right away.
“Miss Y/N!” you hear a small voice call out and turning around you see Izzy running down the hallway until she throws herself against your legs.
“Oh, hello Sunshine!” you hum, squatting down so you can hug her.
“I missed you!” she pouts, rubbing her eyes.
“I missed you too,” you smile at her, caressing her soft cheeks before standing up. An older lady walks in, the one you’ve seen picking up Izzy. She approaches you with a friendly smile as she extends a hand towards you.
“Hi, I’m Ruth, it’s nice to meet you.” “Y/N, nice to meet you too.”
“Ruth, would you take Izzy outside while I talk to Miss—erm, Y/N here?” Harry requests. Ruth nods and taking Izzy’s hand she lures her outside to look for ladybugs in the backyard and that immediately catches her attention. The two of them leave through the sliding door, giving you and Harry privacy.
“Please, have a seat,” he gestures towards the sectional couch. “Would you like something to drink?”
“I’m good, thank you,” you smile at him as he sits in an armchair across you.
The interior of the house is quite cozy, kind of modern with a hint of vintage touches that make it less rigid, a pop of color showing at most corners so it’s not too monochrome. You quite like it.
“Y/N, I once again apologize for calling you at such an inappropriate hour, but I often work late and I wanted to get in touch with you as soon as possible upon hearing the news.”
“Don’t worry about it, I understand.”
“Isabelle mentioned it to me on Thursday that the other workers told her you no longer work at the daycare so I asked around a little yesterday and was informed that they let you go earlier in the week.”
“It was quite sudden for me as well,” you chuckle lightly, feeling a little anxious to talk about it.
“I know it’s not too appropriate, but I asked why they chose you to part ways with and I have to say it’s outraging that some parents are so ignorant and wayward. I’m really sorry this had to be the reason out of everything.”
“Thank you.” It actually feels nice that he thinks the same, this whole firing was ridiculous and you were losing hope in humanity, but Harry is now very much restoring it.
“Let me walk you through what the situation is here and what I was thinking about.” You nod and listen carefully. “I’m president of a record label and it consumes most of my time, I sometimes work sixty hours a week which I know is not ideal and healthy and I’m trying to change it, but it’s not an easy situation. I thought that putting Izzy into daycare was a good idea, but it’s been getting harder to work around her schedule as a single parent with so much work on my hands. Ruth is a family friend who has been helping tremendously with Izzy, but she is not getting any younger and she would like to retire fully and spend more time with her own grandkids. So I’ve been thinking about hiring a nanny for Izzy and try to make her days work around mine while I’m able to do that. She is going to start preschool in little over a year and I want to spend as much time with her as possible, but it’s not easy when the schedule depends on an institution. When she told me about your firing I had the thought that you might be interested in taking the spot as her nanny. She is obsessed with you, wouldn’t stop talking about what you do every day, and I might have also looked into your professional background. I like what I’ve seen and I’m very much into the way you’ve been dealing with the kids at the daycare. Openness is really important and I want Izzy to grow up in an environment that teaches her about being equal and supportive towards each other. I would be more than happy if you’d be the one taking care of Izzy while I’m not available.”
To say the east you’re stunned at how forward and open he was about the offer and his compliment about your professional background is quite flattering. You can tell he is doing an amazing job at raising Izzy as an open and accepting human, she was always one of the nicest and sweetest kids who always made sure to include all her peers in the games you played. And it’s obvious Harry is not just being a hypocrite, his tattooed arm, painted nails and ring clad fingers are not quite what you’d traditionally imagine a man like him wear, but he does it well and clearly doesn’t give a fuck what others might think about it.
Harry continues with how much he thought you’d be earning for the job and you almost choke on your own saliva. It’s almost three times as much as you’ve been earning at the daycare and you’d be able to save a good chunk every month which is quite amazing.
“I have to ask, were you thinking about a situation where I live with you or I’d have to be coming here every day?”
“Well, essentially it would be the easiest for everyone if you moved in. I have plenty of rooms you could choose from and you’d have access to everything else as well, of course, including the home gym, the pool, the sauna and the entertainment room. But I understand if you are not willing to make that commitment. If you choose to live here you wouldn’t be charged anything, naturally.”
This actually sounds like a dream, moving into this luxury mansion from your cramped little apartment and being able to save the money you’ve been paying on rent.
“And what would be the time management? If I moved in it would easily make me fall into a habit of always working, which is not quite ideal,” you point it out.
“Of course,” he nods. “I like to take care of her morning routine so you’d have to start around nine when I leave to the office. If we can make this deal working I’d like her to start taking some extra classes during the day, moving her activities earlier in the day so her afternoons would be free. She takes piano lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays, a swimming instructor comes here on Thursdays and she is taking French lessons every Tuesday and Friday. Everything takes place here, I would reschedule her activities to take place between nine and twelve. You wouldn’t have to worry about her during those times. You’d cover lunch time and then the afternoons. I try to get home between four and six and just work from home if it’s possible so I can be around her. You’d have to only help out whenever I can’t make it home in time I have urgent works that have to be done from home. We could have dinner time together and then her night time routine is my duty again. Ruth is willing to help me out on Saturdays and I spend Sundays with her strictly without any work distraction so you’d have the weekends off unless something comes up. In those cases I would check in with you beforehand and arrange it however it works best for you.”
You’re speechless for a moment. What he just shared doesn’t seem too bad, you might have to work a lot more, but being one on one with just one kid is much easier than dealing with fifteen of them at once. Not to mention that the money is still amazing compared to what you’d have to be doing.
“I’m gonna be honest with you, it’s an amazing offer. Izzy is such a sweet girl, I would be more than happy to take care of her.”
Harry smiles at you warmly, clearly proud of his daughter, as he should be.
“Can I ask for some time to think about it? It would be a huge commitment.” “Of course. Take your time and let me know whatever your decision is.”
“Thank you.”
Harry offers a quick tour in the house regardless, the kitchen is massive, they have a nice dining area with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out to the green slopes of the backyard that seems to be Izzy’s kingdom. She has a playhouse that could almost function as a real one, the pool is filled with floaties for her and she has her own playground further in the back with slides, monkey bars and a swing set. Your assumptions were almost right about the number of bedrooms. Beside Harry’s master and Izzy’s own room there’s one that’s been used by Ruth, one that’s for Harry’s mother and sister for whenever they are staying over and there are three additional rooms now serving as guest bedrooms, one of those would be turned into your room if you chose to move in. The gym seems better than the one you’ve been going whenever you felt like being a little active, the entertainment room has everything you could ever think about for a room this sort of and the sauna is already calling your name. Living and working here might actually feel like a vacation.
“Miss Y/N! Look what I found!” Izzy runs up to you when you and Harry step out to the backyard, holding her pointing finger up. A ladybug is wandering around her tiny finger, not even bothering with the amazed girl that’s inspecting it.
“Wow! How many dots do you see on it?” you ask and she knits her eyebrows together, counting the black dots.
“Five!”
“Yes, good job!” you ruffle her curls as she smiles up at you proudly. She really is an angel, you’ve grown to like her a lot and you would be lying if you said you didn’t get emotional over thinking about never seeing her again. Being able to take care of her and give her the best possible childhood would be such a dream and the chance to do that is right in front of you.
“I’ll be waiting for your call, Y/N,” Harry smiles at you walking you towards the front door.
“Harry, I don’t think you need to do that,” you speak up and see his face fall, he obviously took it the wrong way, thinking that you want to say no to his offer.
“Oh…”
“It’s not that,” you chuckle softly. “I would love to take the job. And if you’re still okay with that, I’d like to move in, it would make everything just so much easier.”
You watch as his expression changes from disappointed to hopeful as he cracks a smile nodding.
“Yeah, the offer is still there. When do you think you can start?”
“How soon do you want to pull Izzy out of daycare?”
“As soon as possible. If I have to I can go in on Monday and do all the paperwork. You could move in sometime during the week maybe?”
“I have to talk to my landlord about my lease, but I’m fine with moving in during the week,” you nod smiling and you can’t help but feel excited.
“That would be wonderful. Thank you so much. I’m looking forward to working with you.”
You discuss a few more details and then you head out, thinking about how the next time you’ll be coming here, you’ll be moving in.
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“If this one doesn’t go to the donate box, I’m leaving right now.”
Heather holds up a pair of denim shorts, painted in the colors of the flag of the States. She holds it pinched between her index finger and thumb as if it was something nasty and disgusting
“You know I only bought that for that stupid frat party. I never wore that anywhere else, so you can put it into the donate box.”
“Thank God!” she groans and throws the shorts into said box.
It’s Sunday evening and your place looks like a warzone, boxes taking up the place everywhere as you’re packing your life up to officially move into the Styles mansion. You agreed with Harry to bring over a good chunk of your stuff on Monday and then settle in for real on Tuesday. He is pulling Izzy out of daycare first thing on Monday and you’d stay at home with her for the first time on Wednesday. It’s been a fast paced change, but you couldn’t care less. With the amount Harry is gonna pay you, you’ll be able to save up a good chunk every month, like you always wanted to.
As you finish putting your books away you reach the shelves that contain all your photo albums. Photography has been your passion for a long time. It started as a simple hobby sometime through your freshman year in high school, but in senior year, your photos filled the yearbook and you even did the design of it too. You’ve had a few gigs since then, some weddings and pregnancy shoots and you like to sell your photos individually as well. You wouldn’t have imagined how much a simple nature photo costs.
Flipping through the one on the top, you can’t help the bitter smile on your face as you see the photos from your brother’s 14th birthday three years ago. There are tons of family pictures with you, your brother Trevor and your parents, seemingly being all happy and joyful. Things were different back then and you didn’t see anything coming.
It’s past midnight by the time you more or less finish packing, you’ve filled three big boxes with things to donate so you have significantly less stuff to move to the Styles mansion in the morning. Heather spends the night, but leaves early in the morning since she needs to go to work. The moving van you rented out arrives a little after eleven and the two guys from the moving company helps you load it with about two thirds of your stuff. Harry is at work when you arrive and Izzy is still at the daycare, Ruth is the only one at home, she helps you out even though you tell her not to break a sweat over it.
“Let me help, makes me feel needed,” she chuckles sweetly when you try to get her to stop, but she insists on bringing in some smaller bags and boxes.
You’re still unpacking when Ruth arrives back with Izzy a little after four. You hear her little feet tapping against the floor as she runs down the hallway, bursting into your future room.
“Miss Y/N! You’re here!” she cheers, throwing herself into your arms as you sit on the floor, being the perfect level for the little girl.
“I am! How was your day, little Sunshine?”
“We finger painted and I made a painting for daddy, do you want to see it?”
“Of course!”
Izzy disappears to get her backpack from Ruth who is making her some snacks in the kitchen. She soon returns with her painting, presenting it to you proudly.
“Look! This is me and this is daddy!” she points at the two human-like figures, the only thing giving away who is who is that one of them is bigger than the other one. “And then this is mommy!” she then adds, pointing at a star in the upper corner of the painting and you freeze.
In the midst of everything, you didn’t even have the time to question why Harry is a single parent. To be honest your first guess would have been divorce, but Izzy’s painting is telling you something a lot more tragic.
“It’s beautiful,” you smile at her, trying to hide your surprise at the new information. “I’m sure he’ll love it.”
Ruth makes sure Izzy is busy while you finish up unpacking and when you’re about to be done, Harry arrives home. Approaching your room even though the door is open he knocks on the doorframe, catching your attention.
“Hello, just wanted to see how things are going. Do you need help with anything? I’m sorry I couldn’t be here to help with the boxes and all…”
“Hi! Oh don’t worry about that, I had plenty of help,” you shrug smiling. “Everything is going fine, thank you.”
“Great. I did all the paperwork today, tomorrow is going to be Izzy’s last day at daycare. You’re still up to start on Wednesday, right?”
“Yeah, of course. I only have a few things left at home so I’ll be all set by tomorrow.”
“Thank you so much,” he smiles warmly. “And thank you for being so quick about everything. It means a lot to me that I can spend more time with Izzy thanks to you. I really appreciate it.”
“I should be thanking you the opportunity. I wasn’t really drowning in the job offers,” you chuckle making him smile as well. “Please let me know if you want me to change anything, I have a plan I would like to go around with Izzy’s days, but of course, your word is the most important.”
“I trust you to take good care of her during the day. The only thing I want is to have her home when I get home. Ruth couldn’t always pick her up before and I really hated to do the extra trip and pick her up from daycare instead of coming straight home to be with her.”
“Understandable. I’ll make sure to plan accordingly,” you nod smiling.
“Y/N, I want you to feel home as much as possible. This is your place just as much as it is ours now. Izzy and I go grocery shopping every Sunday, it’s kind of a father-daughter thing we do every week. We keep a list on the fridge, feel free to add whatever you need and we’ll get it.”
You can’t help the smile that stretches across your lips, because this is such a sweet thing to do, when Harry could easily afford someone to do the work for him. Yet he still uses this time to be with his daughter.
“Yeah, sure, thank you!”
“I’ll get out of your hair now. Would you like to stay for dinner?”
“Oh, no, but thank you. I still have some things to take care of before tomorrow.”
“Alright,” he nods before walking out. He leaves you thinking hard about him. You wonder what really happened to Izzy’s mom and if he is dating someone right now. A man like him is basically a dream to any woman, you doubt he is having a hard time finding a partner, but you haven’t seen any sign of another woman around the house. Guess you’ll have to wait and figure it out yourself.
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The apartment is awfully empty on your last night here. When you moved in about a year ago you didn’t think you’d be moving into a mansion from here. You spend the evening cleaning out a bit so you leave the place in good condition. Your landlord was terribly nice about your early leave, you could easily agree that you’d pay for the two more weeks that’s left from the month and that would be all, no extra costs for moving out before your lease was up.
You’re cleaning off the kitchen counter when your phone starts ringing, it’s a video call from your brother.
“Hey there! What’s up?” you ask, propping up the phone on top of the microwave while you move around, doing your thing. Trevor seems to be lying in bed, a black hoodie covering his upper body.
“Hello, just wanted to see how the moving has gone today.”
Despite the ten year age gap between you and Trevor, your relationship couldn’t be better. Probably because you were old enough to see what a blessing a sibling really is when he was born.
“Everything went smoothly. I only have a few stuff to bring over, that can fit into my car tomorrow, so it’s fine.”
“Cool. How is the dude? What was his name again?”
“Harry. Harry Styles.” You see him pull his laptop to his lap and probably searches up Harry’s name before his eyes widen at the screen.
“This dude is big! He is the president of HES Records, they run some of the most popular singers these days.”
“Yeah? I was sure he is a big name judging from his mansion,” you chuckle.
“Have you looked him up yet?”
“Not really.” “Want me to read what’s here about him?”
“Sure,” you hum, continuing to clean while you listen to Trevor.
“Alright. Apparently he is thirty-one, took over the record company when he was just twenty-five because his father wanted to retire early. The number of talents working under the label has doubled since he has taken over and many of his clients have won Grammy Awards. Impressive,” he hums, scrolling down on whatever site he has just found. “He is known to be a private person, the last time he made an appearance… Oh shit…” Trevor breathes out and you turn to your phone with furrowed eyebrows.
“What?”
“Wow, this shit is heavy. It says the last time he made a public appearance was in 2017, not long before his wife was killed in a car accident.”
You freeze, feeling your stomach drop to the floor, immediately thinking back at Izzy’s painting of her family. It very much makes sense why she said the star was her mother, it must be the way Harry explained to her what happened to her mother.
“It happened in 2018, she wasn’t in the fault, a drunk driver ignored the red light and ran into her car at a crossroad. This is terrible, oh God.”
“Poor Izzy, she probably doesn’t even know what really happened.”
“Must have been hard on him, there’s not much about him since then.”
“Can’t blame him for not wanting to be in the spotlight after losing his wife.”
“Yeah.”
Trevor shows you a few pictures of him from years ago, he has always been handsome, but your favorites are the few from the times when he had long hair. He looked so different, like a whole other person, but still, he rocked it perfectly.
Then you show Trevor around in the empty apartment before loving to the couch, turning all your attention to him.
“How have things been?” you ask with a sigh. Trevor purses his lips and shrugs.
“Other than the constant screaming matches on the phone and endless fights every time dad comes over for more of his stuff? Everything is rainbows and butterflies.”
“Is it really that bad?” you scowl.
“It’s like they never run out of stuff to throw at each other, but I feel like this much couldn’t happen even in their twenty-eight years together,” he scoffs making you chuckle.
“I’m sorry you’re stuck in the middle of all that.”
“It’s like payback,” he hums and you give him a puzzled look. “You had it bad growing up for being the surprise baby, making them teen parents. Then I came at a reasonable time, they already knew the drill, but now that you’re out of the house I’m getting all the shit, having to deal with their divorce.”
“I’m really sorry, Trev,” you sigh, feeling guilty that he is all alone at home.
“It’s fine, I don’t blame you,” he shrugs. “But you could make it better if you asked your millionaire boss if I could hang out at his house sometimes.” He grins at you slyly and you roll your eyes. Of course he is already thinking about using you for his own good!
“I don’t want to push the boundaries just yet, but I’ll see what I can do.”
You talk a little more about school and what he’s been up to with his friends before ending the call. You take a shower and go to bed right away, feeling extremely worn out from all the packing you’ve done through the day.
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The next day you pack the remainder of your stuff into your car and then your landlord comes over to do a checkup, though he fully trusts you took good care of the place.
“Again, thank you for your understanding, I didn’t plan to leave so early, but it just kinda came up,” you tell him, handing him over your keys.
“Don’t worry about it. I hope your new place will treat you right,” he smiles kindly at you.
You chat a little longer before you leave and head over to your new home. Once again, Ruth is the only one home and being the angel that she is, she helps you to carry your stuff up from the car before leaving to get Izzy from daycare. Since there’s not much left to unpack you finish quite fast, leaving you some extra time alone in the house. Walking around you try to learn your way around, still finding it a bit of a maze. You find Harry’s home office’s door open and after a bit of hesitation you step inside, just taking a look around. Yeah, it’s kind of a nosy thing to do, but you couldn’t help yourself.
His space is quite clear, he keeps his stuff neatly organized. Certificates and plaques are hung up on the wall, showing off his many successes in the business. There’s a huge bookcase near his desk and there you see some family photos… ones that include his late wife as well.
She was beautiful. There’s a picture of the three of them in the hospital from the day Izzy was born, Harry has an arm around his wife’s shoulders who is holding baby Izzy, both of them radiating happiness as they just become parents. Your heart breaks when you see the photo next to it, it’s just Harry and her in Paris, the Eiffel tower standing tall behind them as they are grinning widely at each other, foreheads touching. Harry has his arms wrapped around her slim figure while she is hugging his neck. They look so happy and in love, like they were always meant to be with each other. Knowing what tragedy hit them is just hard to process even for you, who never even met the woman.
You hear the front door open and Izzy is laughing at something, so you rush out before anyone could catch you snooping around.
“Hi Miss Y/N!” she chirps upon seeing you when you meet them in the living room.
“Izzy, you don’t have to call me Miss Y/N, Y/N is perfectly fine,” you smile at her, caressing her rosy cheeks.
“Okay. Ruth, can I please have some ice-cream?”
“I’m afraid we ran out of ice-cream, but I’ll put it on your grocery list,” Ruth tells her, a pout tugging on Izzy’s lips.
“How about this: I’m gonna make a delicious smoothie, that’s almost like melted ice-cream, would you like some?” you offer and her eyes brighten up immediately, nodding right away.
While Ruth puts away Izzy’s things they brought home from daycare, while the two of you move to the kitchen to make the smoothie together. You find some frozen berries in the freezer and pair them with bananas, putting them all into the blender with oatmilk, blending it all together.
“How is it?” you ask Izzy, who is sitting on top of the counter, tasting the pink smoothie that leaves a cute little mustache above her cherry lips.
“I like it!” she smiles, scrunching her nose.
“We can make it some other time then,” you smile, drinking up your portion.
Izzy is dancing around the kitchen, babbling about her last day at daycare while you clean the glasses and the blender when Harry arrives. He is wearing a baby blue suit with a crispy dress shirt underneath, looking fashionable but still business appropriate at the same time.
“Daddy!” Izzy launches towards her daddy, who catches her, throwing her into the air before holding her in his arms, joining you in the kitchen.
“Hey baby. How was your day?”
“Good, all my friends hugged me but I told them we would meet in the park.”
“That’s right, and I have the number of all your friends’ parents, we can have playdates with them whenever you want to,” he smiles before his eyes meet yours. “Hi Y/N, everything went well with the rest of your moving?”
“Yeah, I’m all set,” you smile back at him.
“That’s great. I have a few calls to make, but I’ll be done in thirty probably. Would you mind looking out for Izzy in the meanwhile?”
“Of course. She promised me to take me around her room, so we could do that, what do you say?” you ask the little girl who nods in excitement.
Harry disappears in his office and Izzy pulls you to her room, showing you just about every toy she owns. Her room is a typical girl’s room, the walls are painted a light pink color, her bedframe resembles a castle and she has a dollhouse as big as your previous bathroom. Harry clearly spoils her rotten, but what you noticed is that she is not one of those annoying bratty only children who can’t take no. She was clearly taught how to behave and always listen to the adults.
While Izzy is putting her stuffed animals away after introducing you to all of them, you spot a photo frame near her bed, decorated with macaroni. You remember when you all did that together at daycare and now you get to see the photo that ended up behind the glass.
It’s a photo of Izzy and her mother, she was just a baby and doing quick math in your head you realize it must have been not long before her accident, might even be the last picture taken of the two of them. Her mom is smiling at the camera while Izzy is sleeping in her arms peacefully. Izzy looked a lot like her when she was a baby, the bridge of her nose and her lips resembled her mother’s, though now she appears to take more after her dad with her chocolate curls and piercing green eyes.
“That’s my mommy,” she tells you when she sees you looking at the photo.
“It’s a nice picture,” you smile at her, trying your best to hide how heartbroken you feel even just looking at the photo.
“Daddy said she had to go up to the sky, but she is watching me from there,” she explains, clearly not entirely sure what it means, but you can tell she misses her. “Daddy said she is living between the stars now and that she loves me very much.” You need to fight your tears back at her words.
“I’m sure of that too,” you breathe out smiling at her.
“Izzy, do you want to help me make dinner?” Harry walks in smiling, though it disappears for a moment when he sees the two of you looking at the photo of his wife, but he is quick to control himself.
“Yes! What are we making?” she runs over to him, jumping up and down.
“Uh, chicken and veggies.”
You step away from the photo, pretending like nothing just happened. You’re dying to discuss it with Harry, hear him talk about it, but you won’t push him. If he wants to share it, he’ll come to you.
“Alright, come on then,” he smiles down at her. “Thank you for watching her, I’ll take over from here. Food will be ready in about an hour, Ruth is staying with us as well,” he informs you.
“Great, I’ll… I’ll be in my room,” you nod.
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The first two weeks on the job brush past smoothly. It takes you some time to get used to your new home, but taking care of Izzy doesn’t feel like work, so you’re feeling amazing in your new job. You easily fall into a schedule with her.
The mornings are always Harry’s duty. He wakes her up around seven-thirty, makes her breakfast and dresses her for the day before he leaves around nine. Thanks to this habit of his, you’re able to sleep in until eight, leaving you plenty of time to get ready for your day with Izzy before Harry has to leave. Depending on the weather, the two of you then either take over the back yard or move to her room for some play time before her class of the day starts in the noon. Piano with Rosaline on Mondays and Wednesdays, French lesson with Lyon on Tuesdays and Fridays and then Izzy’s favorite on Thursdays, swimming class with Kitty.
Izzy loves to help in the kitchen so you usually make lunch together. Once her tummy is full she takes a nap before you sit down to learn something new every day. You’ve been teaching her the numbers and the alphabet, or some days you just talk about anything that interests her and learn at least two things she hasn’t know yet, all through games so she doesn’t even realize what you’re doing. You’re usually done by around three, leaving you time to take a visit to the park, if Harry is not planning to take her himself later that day.
You’re strictly home by four, unless it’s Tuesday when she has her dance class until five. Those days you drive her to her class, run some quick errands and pick her up. Harry usually uses his extra time in the office on these days, but he is always home by six to have dinner together with his daughter.
Once Harry is home you’re off duty, though you like to stay close, not just in case something comes up for Harry, but because you genuinely like spending time with Izzy and Harry, seeing them interacting.
Harry sometimes has to work on Saturdays as well, but just as he promised Ruth is always here to take over duty on those days, leaving you free for the whole weekend. It’s been working perfectly for you and those very few concerns you had about moving in dissolve quite fast as soon as you start working.
Though it’s been pretty clear to you before, you now one hundred percent sure that Harry is living for his daughter. She is always a priority, he doesn’t hesitate to decline any work calls he gets in the evenings if Izzy needs him, if she is a little fussy and wants her daddy’s attention or when they are in the middle of a game. He is clearly trying to keep a balance between his work and role as a father and from what you’ve seen, it seems like he is doing an amazing job in that. However you haven’t learned much else about him. He is all friendly towards you, but makes sure to keep it business casual, not quite keen on getting to know each other better as just friends, maybe.
A Friday afternoon you’re having a little tea party in the backyard with Izzy when Harry arrives home, but this time, he is not alone. Through the sliding door you spot him with a blonde guy who is talking very articulately as Harry is typing on his phone. The man looks about Harry’s age, but you can’t tell if he is a friend or a business partner, but if Harry brought him home, he is more likely to be a friend of his.
“Uncle Niall!” Izzy gasps when he spots the man through the glass and abandoning the tea party, she starts running towards the door. The man spots her and slides the door open grinning widely before she jumps into his arms.
“Little bugger! How are ya?” the man laughs, holding Izzy in a tight hug before leaning back to take a good look at her. You notice his thick Irish accent and it suits his appearance quite well. You head inside as well, in case Harry needs Izzy busy for a little longer, though he doesn’t mind having her around, kissing the top of her head before finishing up whatever he was doing on his phone, watching Niall and Izzy smiling.
“I’m having a tea party with Y/N, wanna join?” Izzy invites the man, who then looks at you for the first time, smiling widely.
“Hi, I’m Y/N, Izzy’s new nanny,” you introduce yourself, holding out a hand that he shakes, keeping Izzy in his other arm without a problem.
“Nice to meet ya, I’m Niall.”
“Y/N, Niall is an old friend of mine. He is joining us for dinner, hope you don’t mind,” Harry informs you and you find it funny how he is kind of asking for your approval when it’s his house.
“Not at all.”
“Harry has told me he hired a pair of new hands to help, but he didn’t mention it’s a stunning young woman!” Niall beams, making you blush right away.
“Ni, I would appreciate it if you didn’t try to pick up my daughter’s new nanny,” Harry warns him lightly, though there’s some firmness in his tone, not that it scares Niall in any way, he even winks at you.
“Oh come on, you can’t expect me not to flirt when you surround yourself with so many pretty women! First Ruth and now Y/N!”
You smile at him, something is telling you he wasn’t joking and he tried to flirt with Ruth as well. Harry just rolls his eyes at his friend, taking Izzy from him.
“Keep it in your pants, Niall,” Harry tells him and though it’s nothing vulgar, it catches Izzy’s attention.
“What should he keep in his pants?” she questions, making your and Harry’s eyes grow big right away. Luckily, Niall keeps his cool and takes care of the situation.
“My attitude, Sweetie. Your daddy is just jealous because I’m more handsome than he is,” he smirks at the little girl, successfully avoiding an awkward conversation about what it is that Niall should keep in his pants.
You smile at his reply, even though you are not that sure about the comparison he just made between himself and Harry.
“Izzy, do you want to continue the tea party?” you ask her and even though just a minute ago she was inviting Niall to join her, now she shakes her head no. “Alright, I’ll pack it up then.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. We’ll do it, right Izzy? She brought it all out, she is going to be the one packing it up,” Harry reminds her and she nods.
The two of them move outside to put her little tea set back into the basket she keeps it in, leaving you and Niall alone.
“So Y/N, how did you end up here?”
“I was working at Izzy’s daycare, but they sent me away not long ago. Then Harry contacted me and offered the job which was a lifesaver, truly.”
“That’s great! Well, not that you got fired, but that you ended up here. I know it means a lot for Harry that he can spend more time with Izzy, you’re making everything a lot easier for him.” Niall walks over into the kitchen and grabs a water for himself as he leans against the counter. “I can see that he is a lot more relaxed now already.”
“Really?” you ask, surprised.
“Yeah. I know he always used to stress about picking Izzy up, or forgetting something the daycare asked for. Now he can make it all work just how he wants to, that fits him a lot more. It hasn’t been easy on him since Maggie’s death.”
This is the first time you hear anyone talk about Harry’s wife and now you just learned her name. Maggie.
“Being a single parents is never easy,” you add with a soft smile, not wanting to interrogate Niall about Maggie. It’s Harry’s place to tell you about her, if he wants to, of course.
Soon enough Izzy and Harry take over the kitchen, Niall helping them this time and you leave them alone, taking some time for yourself in your room. Later you go out to check if there’s anything you could help with, Harry asks you to set the table as he finishes up the cooking.
“So, Y/N. Tell me a little bit about yourself!” Niall asks you over dinner.
“Um, what do you want to know?” you ask, feeling a little flustered to be in the spotlight.
“I don’t know, family, friends, hobbies?”
“Well, I have a younger brother, Trevor. He is seventeen and already taller than me.”
“Oh, that seems like a big age gap.”
“Ten years, to be exact,” you nod. “He was planned, I wasn’t,” you add with a soft chuckle. “But we have a great relationship, so it’s all good. We talk almost every day.”
“I’m sure you’ll get well along with Gemma then!” Niall beams, glancing at Harry.
“Gemma is my sister,” Harry explains. “Though she is not that much older than me.”
“But you can bond over being stuck with a younger brother who outgrew you,” Niall jokes making all three of you laugh.
All through dinner you realize how different Niall is from Harry, but in a good way. While Harry is more quiet and calm, Niall is kind of all over the place, buzzing and chatting every chance he got, but the two of them make a great pair, bringing what the other doesn’t have to the table.
After dinner you attempt to leave them again, but Niall makes you stay as they open a glass of wine. Harry puts on a movie for Izzy to keep her busy, giving the three of you a chance to sit out at the terrace from where you still can keep an eye on the little girl inside.
“Alright, Y/N. When are we going on our first date then?” Niall asks out of the blue, a cocky smile tugging on his lips.
“Niall, for fuck’s sake,” Harry breathes out as you let out an awkward chuckle.
“What? I think there’s some electricity going on between us.”
“I, uhh—I don’t…”
“Please don’t turn me down!” he sighs dramatically, making you smile.
“You’ve been great company, but I’m not sure we should go out,” you tell him. He huffs in disappointment, but it’s clear he didn’t take it to his heart.
“Is it because you’re taken? I didn’t even ask, are you dating anyone? You can’t be engaged, because I don’t see any rings,” he points out, nodding towards your naked fingers, however his words make you suck on your breath.
“I’m not engaged. Not anymore,” you admit and you watch their eyes go wide at the information.
“Wait, you’ve been engaged before?” Harry asks, clearly surprised, if not shocked.
“Yeah. For about four months,” you nod, running your tongue over your lips as you reach for your wine, taking a few large gulps.
“And what did the fucker do?” Niall bluntly questions, earning a look from Harry. “What? I’m just curious what twat it takes to lose a woman like her!”
“Maybe she doesn’t want to talk about that,” Harry presses, but you shrug.
“It’s not a secret. We dated for about two years before he proposed. I said yes, started planning the wedding and everything, then found out that he had been cheating on me with his assistant for about a year. We broke up, simple as that. It’s in the past, happened a year ago.”
“That’s some next level asshole bullshit,” Niall shakes his head while Harry is just staring at you with an unreadable look before he turns his attention at his glass, still clearly deep in his thoughts and you wonder what he thinks of you now. Here is the loser who not only got cheated on, but lost her job, all of that just in one year.
Harry doesn’t react, and a moment later Izzy comes out because she is thirsty, so daddy duties call him away. Niall stays a little, but heads home soon as well.
“It was nice meeting you, Y/N. The date still stands though,” he smirks when he pulls back from the short hug he enveloped you in.
“Alright,” you chuckle, slowly getting used to his flirty act.
You was the wine glasses and head back to your room while Harry walks Niall out and then takes Izzy upstairs to give her a bath. You don’t cross paths until later when you leave your room, already in your pajama pants and an oversized t-shirt to grab some water for yourself and he walks out of Izzy’s room just then, probably done with putting her to sleep.
“I’m sorry if Niall made you uncomfortable, he didn’t mean to be rude or anything,” he apologizes as the two of you walk together.
“Oh, don’t worry about it,” you chuckle softly. “It was kind of a boost to my ego, if I’m being honest.”
Harry huffs with a smile and stops at the kitchen island, his fingers tapping on his lips as you grab yourself a bottled water.
“I’m… I’m sorry about… about what you told us earlier.”
Closing the fridge you look at him, seeing that he is kind of hesitant, like he is not sure he should have spoken up, but you appreciate the thought.
“It’s alright. Just water under the bridge,” you shrug.
“I just feel bad you had to go through that.”
“It wasn’t your fault,” you chuckle softly. “It sucked, yeah. I really thought I would live happily ever after with Keith, but instead I got a lesson.”
“A lesson?”
“When we broke up I was obviously on the floor, both literal and theoretical way. I thought it was my fault, that I did something wrong and that’s why he did what he did. I even thought that I’m not worthy of being loved and being in love again. Took me time to realize that no matter what happened, I still deserve to be happy and to find someone to love and who can love me back.”
It appears that your words touch him deep, staring back at you, he just nods shortly, not replying to anything you just said. You’re not sure he is so silent because he doesn’t really understand what you just talked about or if it hit too close to home. Whatever it is, he keeps it to himself.
“Good night, Harry,” you smile at him before walking out of the kitchen and up into your room.
You’re lying in bed already when you hear him open his room’s door and then close it and suddenly he is all you can think about. The way his eyes sometimes pierce down on you, the way he taps his fingers against his lips when he is thinking hard or the proud smile that always plasters across his face whenever he is watching Izzy do basically anything. But you do see some pain in those beautiful green eyes of his and your desire to take just the smallest fracture of it away grows, even though he is not showing any sign that he is willing to share it with you.
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The next morning, despite having the day off, you wake up quite early. You toss and turn, try to fall back asleep a little longer, but you just can’t. It’s a nice, warm morning and you decide to take advantage of the little balcony attached to your room. Wrapping yourself in your fluffy robe you grab the book you started reading a few days ago and sit out, enjoying the morning Sun that’s shining right at you on the balcony.
You don’t even realize for a while that you’re not the only early riser. When your eyes wander down to the big oak tree that’s near Izzy’s playground, you spot Harry doing what appears to be yoga on a green mattress, wearing nothing else, just a pair of black shorts. No shirt.
For a moment you think about going inside, feeling like you’re invading his privacy in a way, but you have the right to enjoy the morning Sun on your balcony, it’s not your fault he decided to have yoga at the exact same time. And it’s just hard not to look at his shirtless body stretching in all directions, twisting and turning as he goes through the motions, his tattooed body on full display.
It’s been clear since the moment you laid eyes on him for the first time that Harry is probably the most beautiful man you’ve ever met and that includes all your exes. Paired with his kind of mysterious charisma and the way he takes care of his daughter, he is the whole package, but you have been busy with Izzy to dwell too long on how attractive he really is. But right now, you are not working and he is very much shirtless in the backyard, teasing you with thoughts you definitely shouldn’t be thinking about when it comes to your boss.
A shaky breath leaves your mouth as you let yourself watch him just for a few more minutes before heading back inside, not wanting to get busted for being a stalker and also not wanting to see him in more positions and have even more unholy thoughts about him.
But what you don’t know is that just as you step inside, Harry catches your figure disappearing in your room, knowing well you saw him too.
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tnystrk-exe · 3 years
Text
Estocolmo
Hannibal x Reader
Masterpost
Warnings: Smut 18+ thigh riding, fingering, oral, daddy kink, plot to make up for my first attempt at writing smut.
Word count: 6.8k
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Chapter One
“Fucking hell.” You sighed as you looked at the still tall stack of essays that needed grading. “I’m never getting through this.”
Your stomach grumbled, signaling it was time for a break. Stretching, the quiet was interrupted by the sound of your bone’s protest from sitting in one position for hours. It was nights like these you had regretted your choices. Sure you had known Professor Jacob loved to torture his students with too much work, but when you took the job as his assistant you assumed that he’d shoulder some of the weight. A ridiculous thought now that you’ve experienced working with him. Why should he even think of grading an assignment when he had a perfect little lackey doing it for him? That was a non question. He had been strict about the work not leaving his office, which meant you had accidentally fallen asleep in his office more than often than you would have liked. The pile of work never seemed to diminish. 
Walking out the office, you thought briefly of the joy you would feel when you’d never have to see it again. These long corridors would be a thing of the past in just a few, short months. Then you’d probably go to the city and struggle for a while but at least you would be free from here. As much as you prided yourself for getting through the first round of college, the walls of the building gave you more of an annoyed feeling than anything. 
Pushing open the door to the teachers lounge, you made a beeline for the fridge. The leftover pizza already seemed like a feast until you noticed it was nowhere to be seen. “Hannibal,” you whined to the empty room as you closed the fridge. 
“Yes, darling?” 
You startled, immediately turning around to face him, a mischievous smile was plastered on his lips. Usually your missing dinner meant to head over to his office. It wasn’t typical, but the two of you had managed a comfortable friendship between the shared late nights. Though, you suspected he’d stay longer than necessary to accompany you in the empty building. “Would you mind telling me where my dinner went, handsome?” You asked, raising a brow at him.
“Old pizza can hardly be considered dinner. Come,” he motioned to sit next to him at the table, “I’ve got a better meal prepared for you nonetheless.”
“Or maybe you just need to learn to appreciate the simple things,” you quipped as you took your seat.
“And you, the finer.”
You gave him an obvious look over, “I’d say I appreciate you plenty enough.” 
Being so forward wasn’t usually in your cards. However Hannibal had always been a gentleman and it had been fun to tease at him a bit. He never complained, often just acknowledging what you said with a raised brow or chuckle. Still there was always some truth in jokes and you’d be lying to say that he was anything less than tempting. Especially in the dark grey suit and dried blood red shirt of his. ‘No’ wouldn’t come to mind if he ever offered.
“Naughty, Miss LN,” he chided you, “What shall we do with you?”
“What do you want to do with me?”
“Eat your dinner,” he said, humor in his voice as he shook his head.
You choked back a comment about him just wanting to see your mouth stuffed, deciding it was too much of a push. Instead you just opened the lunchbox he placed in front of you. Hannibal watched you expectantly as you took a bite of the meat.
Closing your eyes, you savored the bite. It had been a while since you had something home cooked. “Han... I’m going to miss you most. I don’t know what I’m gonna do without you. Delicious, as always.”
“I’m sure you’ll do just fine.” He went back to work on his own stack of papers as you ate. “Though, I’m not sure I’m ready to allow you to live off street food once we part.”
“Guess we’re gonna have to find me another man that insists on throwing away my perfectly good food to serve me home cooked meals.”
Hannibal left some remarks on a paper before pushing it to the side. “You could always come learn a few things. Maybe I’ll rest better knowing you know how to make yourself a couple of decent meals. Any guesses for the meat?”
It was a strange guessing game, but you indulged him, he was just eccentric. “Oh, definitely human,” you teased, making sure to pick up some spinach and artichoke in the next bite, “Probably had a boring name like David.”
“Close. It was Richard,” he corrected. 
“Beef, it was the Rolex of all farm animals hand picked by you and I’m very grateful you shared some with me,” you smiled at him, “So how are things going with Baltimore?”
“I’ve found a beautiful home. The office, however, seems to be harder to find.”
“I’m sure you’ll find the perfect one.” Your phone started ringing. Grabbing it from your pocket, you looked at the screen. Mom. “They’re making this unnecessarily difficult,” you sighed to yourself. 
Hannibal looked at you with peaked interest as you shut off your phone and pushed it away. “Is something troubling you?”
“My parents aren’t taking too kindly to the no contact rule. It’s the tenth call today.”
“You’ve cut them off?”
“I thought about what you had said,” you shrugged, “I’m tired of always having to get them out of troubles and be their ATM when I don’t have enough for myself. It’s just too much on me right now. Between school assignments, Jacob’s work pile, and my other part time, it’s all just suffocating. They keep trying to use my grandfather’s death as a leverage to make me feel bad about not talking to them now, but they just want some money. I don’t want to feel guilty about this but I can’t help it.”
“Don’t,” he placed his hand over yours, “You deserve to feel taken care of and appreciated. They aren’t providing you with that now. Especially now when they use the death of the person who raised you as leverage,” he shook his head, making a disgusted sound, “It’s for your own well-being that you take some time to breathe and be young. They provide too much stress…” Hannibal fell silent. “I’ve suggested this before but i-“
You gave his hand a gentle squeeze before pulling away. “I’m not taking your money. We’re friends. Money complicates things. Muddies the waters.”
“Friends help each other,” he reminded you, “I’ve already told you I wouldn’t want any payment.”
“But I’d still feel like I owe you.” You shook your head, “It wouldn’t feel right to me. I’m fine. I promise. Though, if you’re so willing to help me with something, I wouldn’t say no to those cooking lessons. They could be fun.”
He spared you a smile, “It would be my pleasure to teach you what I know.”
“And I’d never deny your pleasure,” your mouth spoke before you could think about it, “Sorry.”
“I don’t deny myself pleasure either,” he said, amused. “You’re fine. Now, how about we meet on Sunday? I’ll have time to figure out a full meal and gather all of the ingredients.”
“Great!” You ignored the heat that still lingered on your face, “I- um, do you need me to bring anything?”
“Nothing at all, I’ll make sure to take care of everything. All you need to do, sweet girl, is bring yourself and an appetite.”
You stifled a pleased smile at the term of affection. “I’ll make sure to do that,” sparing a glance to the clock, you frowned, “I should probably get back to work on those essays.”
“Why don’t we work on them together?” He suggested. “My colleague is notorious for drowning you in his work. I can help you sort through it all and you can have a restful Saturday without Micheal’s added stress.”
“I really can’t ask that of you. You already have enough work as it is.”
“We’ll work together. First your work, then mine. What happened to never denying my pleasure?” 
Your eyes widened, but you laughed all the same. Maybe a while more in his company wouldn’t be so bad. “Fine. Hold me to my words, but it’s only going to cause you a headache. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. These new kids are… something else.”
“They’re nothing,” he stood, grabbing his papers in one hand, “Meet me in my office. We can be more comfortable there and I may have stowed away a bottle of wine.”
“What would I do without you Doctor Lecter?”
-
“You have arrived at your destination,” the robotic voice informed you as you parked.
You took in the mansion of a home. It was too big for someone that lived alone. The thought made you shiver. Homes should be filled with life, not empty space. Then again, he was a fan of dinner parties, extravagant ones at that, so you supposed there was life in those walls on occasion. The home itself reminded you of the houses in old movies. Ones where the lightning would strike at just the right moment as a warning to stay away. But this was real life and there was no lightning, just a sun setting on a near perfect day. 
Without a warning telling you to keep away, you grabbed the gift bag and stepped out of your car. He had said to bring nothing, but you couldn’t resist a simple gift. The ties in the bag had taken out a decent chunk from your pocket, but he deserved them. Between agreeing to give you cooking lessons and helping you out with grading every so often, the simple pieces of fabric meant nothing. Besides, it was a two way gift, he’d get more of the patterned ties he was fond of and you’d get to see him in the darker colors you liked on him, knowing he’d feel compelled to wear them to show you his gratitude.
Knocking on the door, you waited a couple of minutes before he emerged. “YN, just in time. Please, come in,” he stepped to the side, “I’ve looked forward to this all day.”
You smiled and stepped past him. “I have too. Entertained myself a bit today by finding you a gift.” 
“Darling, you shouldn’t have.”
Nervousness bit at you slightly, a bit self conscious they’d be too cheap for his taste. Too late to back out of it, you handed over the bag. “You’ve always been so kind and I really appreciate everything. Let me do something for you.”
He set the bag on the nearby table, laying out the ties to get a better look at them.  “They’re all lovely,” he ran a finger across the fabric of a maroon one, “Fond of me in darker colors, YN?”
“What can I say?” You shrugged, “We catch ourselves spending a lot of time together. Why not make you a decent piece of eye candy?”
“Inappropriate,” he chided you, before signaling you to follow after him.
“You just wear them so well, Doctor Lecter.”
Shrugging off his navy suit coat, he draped it over a chair, making quick work of rolling up his sleeves. “Ready to get your hands dirty, my little sous-chef?”
“What are we making?” You asked, looking at his kitchen wide eyed. It was definitely bigger than your measly studio apartment. 
“Frisee aux lardons, duck with a pomegranate-citrus glaze. I took the liberty of preparing a blood orange sorbet for dessert.”
“I have a proposal.”
“Yes?”
“We don’t do any of that and just have dessert for dinner.”
“No,” he gave you an amused glance, “There’s more pleasure in waiting for things. Why don’t you start washing up the vegetables and I’ll start preparing the duck?”
You stuck your tongue out at his back but set to your work. “This is what I get for befriending a charming old guy.”
“Keep going the way you are and our next meal together will be langue d’Agneau en papillote.”
“That can’t be a threat if I don’t know what that means,” you quipped, setting aside an endive. 
“It means, darling,” he pointed his knife at you, “The fondness I feel for you is an inconvenience. Nonetheless, it’s welcomed.”
You smiled at him brightly, as you brought the washed vegetables over to him. “I’m fond of you too, but you gotta stop flirting and teach me how we’re gonna cook Daffy here.”
He motioned for you to grab a cutting board and a knife of your own. The two of you worked in quiet harmony, occasionally he’d tell you exactly why he was doing something a certain way or just give you simple instructions and let you have a hands on feel of exactly how to prepare something. It was nice to see him in his element. Hannibal seemed much more content in his kitchen than any where you had seen him at the college. Eventually he set his work to the side and washed his hands. 
“You’re cutting them too thick. Thinner is better for this dish.” He stepped behind you, “Do you mind?”
“Go ahead.” You attempted to move to the side, but Hannibal had already caged you in between himself and the counter. His cologne was different from the one you were accustomed to him wearing, but the subtle spice of it gave a more homey feeling to him. 
Hannibal grabbed your hand that had yet to  let go of the knife. He made sure to show you how to cut them the right thickness. “See? A little thing can unbalance everything.”
“Hm,” you hummed, catching yourself relaxed against the man, his frame strong against yours, “I don’t see much of a difference. Pretty sure this is just your variation of a putter.”
“You assume I have hidden motives,” He acknowledged, looking down at you, “And if there were any?”
Taking the bait, you pressed a kiss to the side of his jaw. “I wouldn’t be too upset.”
His head dipped into your shoulder, taking in a breath. “What happened to not wanting to bring on complications in our friendship?”
“We only have weeks left with each other,” you shrugged, “There wouldn’t be any complications. Not really.”
“We really should get back to making our dinner, darling,” he sighed, almost seeming reluctant to pull away, “What else did you did you do today?””
It took you a second to respond, still shaking off the embarrassment. You weren’t sure what had compelled you to do that. When you looked up at him you grimaced. Grabbing a napkin, you carefully wiped away the lingering lipstick. “The ties were the more interesting part of the day, I didn’t plan anything eventful. Honestly most of my day was taken with trying to recall the shop you mentioned that carried the ones you liked.”
He hummed in appreciation, “You also managed to pick out two I have had my eye on. I’ve got new suits coming in soon that will pair perfectly.”
You beamed at that, happy he did actually like what you had chosen. “Lucky guess. It was difficult remembering the ones I had seen you wear.”
Hannibal made to grab some ingredients and set them on the counter near the stove. “Have your parents tried calling you this weekend?”
You sighed, sure you didn’t have to tell him the truth but you wanted to, he had a compelling thing to him that made it easy to just speak. “I sent them money for rent. Which was honestly the dumbest thing I’ve done in a while.”
“It wasn’t idiotic,” he stated, setting to work on making the pomegranate sauce as you watched, “They’re you’re parents. It’s only natural you worry about them. Though, I do worry they’ll think of you as a person that doesn’t stick to her word.”
“I know, I really meant to, but the thought of them out on the street. It’s not my responsibility, but I’m just so used to being their adult.”
“It’s difficult to detransition. You worry for them as they should worry for you.”  He checked over a pan he had been heating, “That’s perfect. If you could please..” Grabbing the plate with the duck you set them on the pan. “With duck it’s important to render off the fat. A low heat is necessary.”
You nodded, “Low and slow, got it... You know, I’m not sure they worry about me at all. I mean- I know they don’t. It should hurt, but it’s just a fact of life.”
“They didn’t give you an opportunity to be a child. When you were supposed to be in the most carefree moments of your life, they burdened you with the responsibilities of an adult.” He held out a spoon with some of the pomegranate sauce for you to taste. “Any pain the notion inflicted on you has been killed with time.”
“There are still moments though. Suppose that’s common enough, isn’t it Doc?” You leaned in, allowing him to feed you, “That tastes amazing. I really should have paid attention.”
“It’s simple, I’ll write it out for you later.” Casting the sauce aside, he set a pot of water to boil. “Very common. We aren’t too dissimilar when it comes to how quickly we had to grow up. Very different reasons, but the fall out isn’t much different. Our paths left us in places where we’re very much alone.”
“What happened?” You asked, realizing that he had known a great deal of your family and you had known nothing more past how his day had gone or his preference of coffee. “If you don’t mind me asking.”
“I don’t.” Hannibal went to fill two glasses with wine. “I was very young when my parents died. My father had implemented in me that, if anything were to happen, I was to take care of my mother and sister. Which meant I had grown fiercely protective of Mischa when the time came. Soon I was acting more as her father than a brother.”
“Where’s Mischa now?” You asked, knowing at the very least she had to be in her late twenties.
His lips set into a frown, he took a quick drink. “Lost her sometime after. There was a lapse of judgement on my part and she suffered because of it. My days have often been shrouded by the thought that I could have done better by her. The ways I failed burdens me significantly.”
You rubbed his arm sympathetically. “I couldn’t even begin to imagine that pain.”
“It’s something I never wish to experience again. Losing someone you love so dearly, it changes a person.”
“I’m sure you tried your best. You’re a good man. I’m sorry you had to go through all of that when you were so young.”
“You think too highly of me,” he patted your hand on his arm, “Far better than I deserve. Still if my childhood had taught me anything, it’s to value those I hold dear. Such as yourself.” 
“I’m glad we found each other. Even if it is for a short while.” You watched as he stepped back into the rhythm of cooking. Maybe you weren’t any help to him but watching him work was comforting. 
He raised a brow, “Just because the amount of time we physically see each other will diminish, doesn’t mean we need to completely break apart. I’d like to have you at my dinner table later in life.”
“I’d like it if we kept in touch,” you replied, looking at a small box on the counter. The small black beads glimmered in the light, calling at you to take a peek. A neat row of recipe cards in his impeccable penmanship, numbered as high as 120 but there could have been more. “That’s sweet,” you mused, looking at the back of a card, noticing a couple had business cards on them, “You keep track of your friends’ favorites like this?”
“Friends, acquaintances, business partners. It’s difficult remembering everyone’s preferences. When I have dinner parties I like to make sure there’s a bit of something for everyone.”
“Hm, well I’m sorry I don’t have a card for you to have.”
When everything was said and done, you helped Hannibal set up the plates to have dinner. The conversation became light as you laughed along to the better memories of Mischa. From his smile it was easy to see he adored the usually shy girl. You never pressed on to find out how she died, simply choosing to bask in his soft smiles and laughter instead of entertaining curiosity. It was easy to see he rarely talked about her and you were grateful that he found that much comfort in you.
Some time later he was sitting at his harpsichord, playing a self composed melody as you browsed his shelves. There was an almost familiar calm in the air, like this was a usual happening and it would simply just happen again. A naturally reoccurring moment. You found comfort in his presence too. 
You looked up from the shelves when you heard his sigh. “I can’t seem to master this melody,” he stated, “The ending never sounds right.” The annoyed demeanor contradicted his lax look. At least lax for him. His vest and suit jacket had been discarded a while ago leaving him with a popped button, loosened tie, and rolled up sleeves. “I may just leave this one in the air.”
“Sounds perfect to me,” you said, walking over to him, “Though we can be our own worst critics. I know I’m mine.”
“It sounds… forced. Almost as if it’s reluctant to work with me.”
“Forced things just need time.” You placed your hand on his shoulders, digging in your thumbs to relieve the tension you felt. A soft groan as he let his head lull back to rest against your stomach. “Time is all you need sometimes. I thought you would have learned that already, old man.”
He opened his eyes, raising a brow at you. “Always with that mouth.”
You smiled down on him fondly, something- probably the wine in your system -thought about pressing a kiss to his forehead right then. “What can I say? It has a mind of its own.”
“I do prefer when it’s otherwise occupied,” he stated, closing his eyes again.
Your fingers dug a little deeper at that, caught off guard. “And yet.”
Hannibal played a couple soft notes, seemingly testing the waters for his next attempt at getting it to sound right. “And yet.” The first melody seemed almost innocent, but was followed by a second seemingly stalking after it. “Would you mind putting on a record? It seemed I’ve grown bored with music of my own.”
“Sure thing, Han.” Giving his shoulders one final squeeze you pulled away from him. At the record table you browsed through his selection. Hannibal was still composing as you decided to go with a record that looked more worn than the others, figuring something well loved would help him out of his frustrated state. Setting it on the platter, you gave it a brief once over with the anti static brush, knowing he’d probably be attentive to that type of thing, and dropped the needle. The music filled the air as you took in the melody. “Very you.”
He let out a soft chuckle, abandoning the harpsichord, in favor walking over to you. “Very me, indeed.” Hannibal took the record sleeve out of your hand, setting it down on the table. The music’s build up reached. “Would you give me the honor?” His hand was stretched out toward you.
You gave him a sheepish smile, “Afraid I’m going to have to disappoint. I’m not much of a dancer.”
“I’ve been told I’m a wonderful teacher,” he pressed, a charming smile on his lips, “We all start somewhere. Let me be yours.”
A soft laugh bubbled from you as you took in his look of boyish excitement. “You’re not allowed to complain when I step on your toes.” You placed your hand in his. 
He gave a gentle squeeze to your hand. “If you’re too terrible, I’ll show you the way I taught Mischa. You can stand on my toes as I try to help you commit the movements into muscle memory.”
“Handsome and a comedian.”
“I try my best.” Hannibal gave you a gentle spin as he pulled you closer. A kiss was pressed to your hand before he placed it on his shoulder. “Now, just follow after me,” he instructed, placing his hand on your hip.
The moment could have made you fall for the man as you danced with him throughout the room. Toothy smiles and teasing winks were sent your way the couple of times you stepped on his toe. Soon enough, you figured out the pace and learned how to follow through with his unspoken plans. Still, ever the novice, you managed to place your foot in a way that sent you both stumbling to the floor.
Hannibal held you close to his chest, ensuring you didn’t get hurt in the fall. “Oh my sweet girl,” he laughed, “we are going to need more practice.”
You hid your face against his neck, ignoring the fact that he could feel how hot your face was getting. “You want more of that?”
“You were doing perfect, YN,” he stroked your hair sympathetically, “One misstep isn’t something to be embarrassed about.”
Taking a deep breath, you shifted off of the older man, opting to sit beside him on the floor. Hannibal followed suit, leaning back on his elbows. “I really am going to miss seeing you regularly,” you admitted, reaching out your hand to push back the hair that had fallen in front of his eyes. 
“We spend much of our time together,” he acknowledged as he looked at you curiously. “In the kitchen-“
Your eyes widened slightly, “We don’t need to talk about that i-it’s fine. No hard feelings.”
“Romantically or physically?”
“I’m sorry?”
“Do you see me as a romantic or physical conquest?”
“I, um,” you opted to look at your fumbling hands, “I’m honestly not sure about romance… especially considering… everything and my experience when it comes to romance. Never really thought past- I’m talking too much.”
Hannibal’s hand tilted your chin up, forcing you to look him in the eye. “Oh? What happened to the confident girl in the kitchen? Don’t go shy on me now.”
“I was high on your cologne, you can hardly blame me,” you rambled, “It pairs with mine nicely I think.”
His thumb stroked absentmindedly at your jaw. “Such a sweet little thing you are… Now, tell me, YN, what couldn’t you think past?”
“You,” you offered lamely, “Mostly nights when I needed to relax. You’d cross my mind. I’d wonder how you felt. How’d you do things. Maybe you’d like to leave bruises only you’d ever know about…”
“There’s something special in knowing what others don’t,” Hannibal acknowledged, “I do enjoy my lovers wearing my marks, hidden from others view and only acknowledged by myself. As it should be, I’m certain you agree.”
You swallowed thickly at the implication of being marked as his solely. The idea of having normal conversations with him at the college with evidence of him knowing you well burned against your skin. Maybe you’d see if you could convince him into one particular fantasy Friday night had conjured. 
He rested his thumb against your bottom lip, bringing you back to him. “I’ve had thoughts of my own… I wonder… Have you ever wrapped a hand around your own neck?” Hannibal smirked at the way your lips parted in surprise as he felt the heat rise to your face, caught in a way you hadn’t expected. “Sweet girl, were you desperate for me?”
You went to lick your bottom lip out of habit, instead finding the pad of his thumb. “Yes, sir.”
“Darling,” he sighed out softly, almost disappointed, “we could have sorted you out this entire time, if you’d only ask politely. There would have been no need for you to imagine, creative as you might have been. You always put everyone’s needs before yours, but where does that leave you?” Hannibal his thumb pressed against your lips lightly, humming in satisfaction when you let him in, already so compliant. “All you have to do is ask. What would you have me do tonight?” A soft pop sounded in the room as he pulled his thumb back, smearing your spit onto your lips and chin. 
“Just tonight?” The words rolled out of your mouth thoughtlessly. 
A soft laugh. “Maybe more, if you behave.”
Hannibal threaded his hand into your hair, pulling your head back slightly. Leaning closer he took a deep breath, taking you in, before leaving a simple kiss against your neck. His warm breath fanned across your face as he kept you in anticipation. Finally he graced you with a feather light kiss, so quick you weren’t sure you even noticed. You didn’t have time to feel ashamed of the whine that had escaped when he started to move away. Following after him, you caught him in an urgent kiss, threading your own hands in his hair to make sure he’d stay close. Hannibal bit at your bottom lip, his tongue sliding in the second you gasped. You ignored the sting and slight coppery taste. 
Sure you had had your fair share of ventures. It was only natural to crave the attention for the night or a couple hours. However, Hannibal didn’t feel like any of your past partners. His kiss was unrelenting and passionate. Quickly he learned exactly how to kiss you to ensure you’d moan into his mouth. You weren’t sure how long had been spent like this. Lips on lips. Someone’s wandering hand trailing down the other’s body. The growing need. Every movement slowly became bolder. Hannibal took the time to pull you onto his thigh, closing the distance between you even more. He kissed along your neck until he found a spot that made you buck against him. 
“Please,” you sighed out, not really knowing exactly what you wanted, but having faith that he’d give you just what you needed. 
Hannibal leaned his forehead against yours, “Are you sure about this, darling?” 
It wasn’t time for contemplation though, everything was already set into motion. He had just asked out of politeness. His hands moved to your hips, he dragged you against himself in a way that clouded your mind. “You’re very convincing,” you said with a shuddered breath. Leaning your head against his shoulder, you matched his rhythm. At the moment everything in the world was him and you couldn’t find it in you to mind. 
“You came to me,” he pointed out. His hand tugged at your shirt and you allowed him to pull it off. Fingers raised goose bumps along your skin as he followed the fabric of your bra to unclasp the material.  
“Could you blame me?” You kissed the side of his jaw for the second time this night. The lipstick mark left behind wasn’t as embarrassing when you were half undressed on his lap. A blush blossomed in your chest as you watched his darken eyes take you in.
Hannibal kissed along your chest. His hand made its way into your pants, drawing slow circles on your clit. Your soft moan and jut of your hips urged him for more. Before you could ask, he thrusted two fingers inside of you, the pace changing every so often as he took in your reactions. You leaned your head against his shoulder as you grinded against his hand. Soft whimpers were muffled by the fabric of his shirt. 
“Come on sweet girl,” he used his free hand to pull you off of his shoulder by the hair, “you shouldn’t be hiding. Look at me when I’m touching you. Don’t you want to be my good toy?”
You nodded meekly, unable to make a smart comment when you saw a smirk settle on his lips as a too loud moan took its place. 
“That’s it, no one can hear you,” he teased as he worked at the spot harder, his thumb rubbed at your clit. “You seem very close, what if I…”
As he went to move his hand, you grabbed his wrist to stop him. “No, no, no. Please, I’ll be good for you.”
He chuckled, but didn’t say a word as he brought his pace back up. Instead he chose to revel in your soft sounds and the way you had to focus to keep your eyes on him. Finally, he decided keeping you on the edge was enough and allowed you to cum on his fingers. 
“Clean up your mess,” he said as he thrusted his cum coated fingers into your mouth, “There you go, good girl.”
You watched him as you sucked his fingers clean. Bringing a hand down you palmed cock through his pants, fully intending on returning the favor. “You’re wearing too many clothes.”
“I’m afraid that status isn’t going to change anytime soon.” Hannibal kissed your pouted lip. “Don’t worry, I fully intend on taking care of you. Come, let’s make you more comfortable.”
As he stood, Hannibal offered you his hand to help you up. You followed him through the home to his bedroom, a place you didn’t think you’d end up but were more than pleased to see. Still you weren’t exactly taking in the sights when you were pulled into a rougher kiss as he led you toward his bed. A not too gentle push to your chest landed you on top of it. Leaning back on your elbows, you watched as Hannibal took his time undressing you fully. 
“You don’t play fair,” you complained, shifting yourself higher on the bed, away from him, “I like a pretty view too you know.”
He smiled, looking down at you fondly, “Very well, but only as a reward for earlier. I know you struggled.”
You smiled at that, shaking your head, “Come here won’t you?”
There wasn’t any time wasted when he settled on top of you, you didn’t have his patience. Your hands worked on his tie and buttons as his lips and teeth trailed across your chest. A subtle grind against your pussy had your thighs squeeze his waist. Pushing his shirt off, you felt down his chest, still surprised by how muscular he seemed to be underneath it all. You wondered if he’d stop you as you reached for his belt.
“That’s enough. I don’t think you’ve earned it just yet.”
An annoyed huff was all you could manage. 
“All in its time, darling.” A surprisingly gentle kiss was dropped on your cheek. “Can you manage waiting a while longer for me?”
You resisted the urge to nuzzle against him, unused to such soft displays from past partners. “Yes, sir...”
“Always such a sweet, polite thing.” 
Hannibal kissed and bit his way down your body, ensuring there would be evidence of him the next time you saw yourself in the mirror. He allowed you to thread your fingers in his hair, giving him a soft push down when he took too long marking you in one spot. It wasn’t much longer until Hannibal was level with your thighs, he pushed them further apart. A moment passed without anything before you remembered his rule. Willing yourself up you looked down at him, catching a wink before you were rewarded with a broad lick. Hannibal sucked your clit, pressing your hips down when you grinded against him. 
A helpless noise was the most you could do.
He bit your thigh, his fingers immediately making their way back inside of you, targeting the spot he had quickly learned turned you to putty. 
“You really are beautiful like this,” Hannibal acknowledged, “Completely at my mercy. Desperate for anything I’m willing to give you.”
There wasn’t any time to think up something to say as Hannibal’s mouth replaced his fingers, silencing any words that weren’t his breathy attempts of his name and pleas. Teeth grazed against your clit and a soft moan of his own was enough to pull you closer. 
“Please, daddy,” you begged, too far gone to be embarrassed by your slip, “I’m close…”
Hannibal was merciful, helping you finish as quickly as you had asked. Maybe at another time he would have teased and made you hold on longer but there was only so much patience he had. Especially when there was such an eager lover begging him. You watched him, dazed, as he came back up, his hand gripping at your jaw.
“Open.”
Doing as he wanted, you opened your mouth, instantly receiving a mix of the still lingering wine he had drank at dinner and you. He watched as you swallowed.
He let out an almost dreamy sigh. “So pliant.” 
Hannibal kissed you, finally allowing you to get your way as you pushed off the last clothes. You pumped him in your hand, working up the courage as you shook off the daze he had left you in. He was definitely the most talented partner you had had.
“We don’t have to go any further,” Hannibal reassured you, kissing the side of your mouth, “I’m perfectly sedated watching you.”
You shook your head immediately, not wanting him to think you were hesitant. “I want to, college guys aren’t so giving, just needed some time to clear my head.” As if to prove your point you gave him a squeeze, that made him thrust into your hand on instinct. “I just feel bad you’re doing all the work.”
“I prefer it,” he groaned quietly, as you thumbed at the slit. Hannibal rolled so that you could be on top of him, “But if you insist…”
A soft laugh. “That was hardly the fight I was expecting,” you muttered teasingly, kissing his jaw. 
“My patience is running thin.”
At that you straddled him, your hand lining him up with you. His hands held you steady as you sunk onto him. The both of you moaned softly when he was fully inside. Hannibal slowly grinded you against himself as you adjusted to his size. Hands against his chest, you started riding him in earnest. 
“That’s my good girl,” he praised you, his fingernails digging harder into your hips. 
“Yours,” you whimpered, too enthralled in the feel of him to pay any attention to the weight of what you were saying. His groans underneath you encouraged you more than anything. “All yours.”
Hannibal sat up, wrapping an arm around your waist to keep you firm against him. His soft kiss was a contrast to how roughly he was working himself into you. You couldn’t find it in you to care that he had taken control again. Instead you wrapped your arms around his neck, letting him do as he pleased, just enjoying the way his hands and lips would travel across your body. Teasing, pinching, biting everywhere he could reach.  Your chest alone would be covered in marks left behind by Hannibal. That would be a problem for the future you to deal with at the moment you were too preoccupied with begging him for more. He’d slow his thrust whenever he felt you close to the end, chuckling lowly at the whining sounds you had made.
“Give daddy one more sweet girl. I know you can.”
You moaned loudly, giving Hannibal exactly what he wanted. When he wanted. Drained, you fell limp against his shoulder. Every small sound you made broadcast directly to him as he used you for all your worth. His arms tightened around you when you tried to pull away from the over stimulation. 
“Daddy’s close,” he promised, his accent thicker than usual, “I’ve taken such good care of my girl. Be good for me.”
Nodding, you dug your nails into his shoulders. You could be good. He had been so good to you after all. Still your vision blurred and it had taken a while longer for him to finally go still inside of you. 
Hannibal kissed the side of your head, before pulling you to lay down against him. His thumb wiped away the stray tear that had managed to fall. “You did so well for me. Are you alright? Do you need anything?”
You sighed sleepily, curling into his side more comfortably, “I’m alright. Just want you.”
“We’ll take care of you later,” he promised, seeing how tired you were, “You should rest, darling. I’ll be right here.” His hand rested on your hip, thumbing at forming bruise gently. Between the soft touch and his quiet humming, it didn’t take long for you to find sleep. 
NextChapter
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moemammon · 3 years
Note
Hi there! I finally snapped and walked out of my shitty job after being there for almost 3 years, so could I please request the brothers reacting to the MC finally quitting their horrible job that they've been encouraging them to for months? Thank you!!! <3
Congrats on Quitting! (Feat. the Demon Bros)
(There's nothing like the sweet sweet release of leaving a shitty job, but it ain't an easy task. Good for you! 😤💪)
Lucifer
He's seen the way your job has been affecting you. The weary look in your eyes, the way your joints constantly ache, the dread on your face when you'd soon have to go into work. Trust him, he knows the feeling all too well.
Naturally he tried giving you that push to leave, but he knew he couldn't make the decision for you (as much as he wanted to). He’d just have to wait until you made the move yourself.
So when you DID? Oh, he was so relieved. He never doubted that you had it in you. Extremely proud of you for taking that leap of faith, and he won't let you regret it.
You're 👏 getting 👏 spoiled 👏
"Where would you like to have dinner? I'll make reservations at once." "...Why are you giving me that look? Obviously this calls for celebration. I won't be taking no for an answer."
Mammon
Even Mr. Money Bags himself knows that no amount of money is worth suffering over (uh, at least not suffering for three years straight)
He's been bugging you to quit for forever now. "If it's money ya need, I can introduce ya to way better jobs! There's this guy I know that can set ya up with something real nice-"
When you announce you've finally quit, he literally sweeps you off your feet and shouts for joy. Fucking FINALLY! He was getting worried, always seeing that gloomy look on your face.
And now? You're not gonna be spending much money. He's spending for you, buying whatever you need (and everything you don't need). You're unemployed, so let him spoil you!
"Nuh uh! Don't even THINK about bringin' your wallet with ya! Didn't I say I'd be payin' today?? Just worry about relaxing a little, and let The Great Mammon take care of everything' else!"
Levi
Working irl was never something that interested Levi, unless he was doing volunteer stuff at concerts and conventions. But seeing what you're going through? Yeah, that's exactly why he stays home.
He's tried to ease your nerves by inviting you over for games and tv, but there's only so much that Ruri-chan can do for an overworked human.
So the moment you announced leaving your dead-end job, he was over the moon! This obviously calls for a movie marathon night! He's got plenty of recommendations, but it's probably best if you pick, right?
Trying his best not to overwhelm you with his excitement, but he can't wait to start spending more time with you!
"Seriously? You finally quit?! That's... that's great! That means you'll be home all the time, and-! Er... if you wanna come over, my door's always open for you!"
Satan
Literally told you right away that you should quit. He's not so oblivious that he doesn't notice how you're being exploited.
You're a hard worker, and your worth was being taken advantage of. Why would he want to sit around and watch you wither away? It annoyed him to no end.
So he did all he could to convince you to leave, suggesting alternative career paths, mentioning he could help you find something, but only you could make that important decision.
And BOY was he thrilled when you decided to leave. He congratulated you immediately, then proceeded to let out every insult aimed toward your job that he’d been holding in this entire time.
"They weren't good enough for you, so I'm glad you've finally realized that. If you want, I could leave them with a 'parting gift' to show them just how much you loved your job? I can even whip up something special for your boss."
Asmo
All the days you had to suffer working at a place like that.. You always looked HAGGARD coming home, and he hated it!
But now that you've quit working at that terrible place? Asmo's gonna make up ever single day that you could've spent pampering yourself. Also tried convincing you to start an OnlyFans-
He'll make sure you're so relaxed and cared for, you'll completely forget about all the grief your job put you through. Work? Who's she??
Massages your shoulders while you tell him stories of all the shitty customers and coworkers you've had to deal with. Spill the tea, hun. Speaking of tea, do you want him to top off your glass for you?
"Ive been worried sick about you, you know! Instead of working, you ought to just stay home with me instead! I know plenty of ways to make money without having to leave the house, after all~"
Beel
He always tried making sure you ate well before you left for work, but it didn't seem to be enough to keep you from being worn out when you got back.
He even tried suggesting that you workout with him to relieve stress. But after a hard day at work, it's understandable that you didn't want to move much.
Beel wasn't the type to outright urge you to quit, since it's nice to have a way to earn money, but after seeing the metal toll it was taking....
He couldn't have been happier when you announced you'd finally quit. Like Lucifer, he immediately wants to celebrate! This calls for eating until you're about to burst! Do you want Madam Scream's? He'll get you a lifetime supply of blackberry cheesecake, too!
"Since you're finally free from that place, we'll be able to spend more time together. It's been lonely, not seeing you as often. The food tastes better when I enjoy it with you, so let's eat together from now on, okay?"
Belphie
Sometimes, you were such a hard worker that it exhausted Belphie to even look at you. But he knew you were only human, and your stamina wasn't as limitless as you tried to make it out to be.
You were growing weary, both physically and mentally, and he could tell from a mile away. Was it really worth all this hassle just to make a buck or two?
He certainly didn't think so, and tried to get you to see it from his point of view. Just find something easier to do that wouldn't wear you out, you know? Or be unemployed. You know his brothers won't let you stay broke-
You tell him that you've finally quit, and Belphie can't help but smile. He won't admit that he was getting worried for your health, but you can tell from the way his expression relaxes.
"The hard worker had finally joined the lazy side, huh? That means you'll be able to make up for all the lost sleep, and I think we should get started right away. No objections, no objections. Come here." ".....I missed holding you like this."
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Text
Hey y'all, hope you are all doing great. I have been gone for a long time for many reasons and I hate to come here and talk about this stuff.
Tumblr for me (and many of us) is a safe space and here is where I can vent anything I want and feel comfortable doing it.
These months have been pretty (normal) and okay for me and my family, but you know, the pandemic is not over and who when it is gonna be. And so, my family and I are struggling again with paying bills, affording food or medicines or water, and it's literally almost impossible to have a job where you earn enough money to afford all we need, we live in Venezuela and it just doesn't get better, ever.
My dad has been unemployed for the last couple of weeks and I'm praying we can find a way to survive. I know we will but it doesn't get easier or less stressful.
Hope you don't mind or get sick of me for doing this... I really wish (with every part of me) I didn't have to.
If you are interested and wanna help, I can give you my p**p*l link so you can help us🙏🏻
Thank you to everyone who's been there for me reblogging my old post, sending me messages, showing me your support and donating🤍 you have a place in my heart!!
Sending love your way, please take care and stay safe.
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anniebrainrots · 3 years
Text
Family
In which you reflect upon yours and Technoblade’s shared past. 
=============
warnings: mentions of violence (nothing too graphic), slight gore, angst, SBI family dynamic, no y/n 
wc: 3.2k 
notes: i’m sorry if there are any grammatical errors, i really tried my best :,) 
===========
You can’t remember a time when you and Technoblade actually fought. You had always been attached at the hip, you had watched him grow up from a young boy full of ambition and fire to an accomplished man with strong ideals and a fierce personality. That’s one of the things that you had prided yourself in, well, that and your impeccable ability to calm the pink-haired piglin. 
You remember the first time the voices had appeared; he had come to you after he had gone hunting with Phil for the first time. He had mentioned his first kill, how it had awoken something in him, how it almost felt like he had been running on autopilot when he shot the arrow. You hadn’t known how to talk to him through his episodes then, though with years you had learned what to say to not set him off. 
The first time he had killed a man hadn’t been that long after his first hunt. A bandit had come to your small camp in the forest in the middle of the night. You couldn’t have been older than twelve at the time, Techno being thirteen. You had been held at knifepoint, held in front of Phil and Wilbur while the hybrid had gone out to get more firewood when your campfire dwindled. You remember seeing horror cross the two faces in front of you before the grip on your neck had loosened and a man had dropped right to the floor. You had tried your best to erase traces of that night from your memory, but the thin scar on your neck always made a point to remind you of it. 
He had changed since then, an insatiable thirst for bloodlust had festered deep within him, unable to be satisfied. He hadn’t been too good at controlling the voices at that time, and the first time he had lost control in your presence he couldn’t bear to look at you for a week out of shame. It had taken the help of Phil, Wilbur, and even Tommy to talk him out of separating himself from you. After that, your bond with him had only grown stronger. When you had left the family to pursue your own adventure with Techno, you had learned how to talk to him, to ease the voices that always screamed at him. 
The second time he had lost control around you it hadn’t been directed at you. The both of you had entered a tournament for money, and the result had been devastating for you. Techno had gotten his long hair cut short while your wings had ended up getting chopped off. It had been a foul play, ambushed from the back while you had fought another in front of you. Techno had seen nothing but red, finishing off both people before consoling you the best he could. You had mourned the loss of your flight and your precious wings for weeks, not eating and barely alive, according to Techno. He had half the mind to send you back to Phil, doubting his abilities to protect you but you had insisted to stay with him, that you would simply be too ashamed to look your father in the eyes and tell him why your wings had no longer been on your back. 
Years later, even though you still held the loss of your wings close to your heart, you had learned to move on with the help of your companion, finding solace in causing chaos and taking down unjust governments. Naturally, when Wilbur and Tommy had called upon you both to help them with their revolution against a tyrant who had taken charge of their old country, you had been more than happy to come. 
The first few weeks had been spent catching up with your brothers, and you had exchanges of your adventures and their experiences running their country. You couldn’t help but notice darkness festering deep within Wilbur’s eyes, and one night he broke, asking Tommy if they had been the bad guys all along. You couldn’t bring yourself to tell them you had followed them that night, eavesdropping on their conversation. You had confided in Technoblade, the piglin merely dismissing your concerns for your brother as he urged you to start preparing for the war. You had tried to ignore it, the way Wilbur’s tongue dripped with acid every time he had spoken of L’manburg, the way Tommy had flinched when Wilbur would walk into the same room, the way Wilbur constantly disappeared in the dead of the night when he had thought no one was watching. But you had been, you had always been watching him. 
The day he hid behind Dream, the man that had nearly killed Tommy twice in their war against the Dream SMP, you had nearly taken it upon yourself to incapacitate Wilbur. Technoblade, as war-hungry as he always had been, paid no attention to this, which had angered you greatly. Once you had learned of Wilbur’s planting of hundreds of TNT underneath L’manburg, you had tried to talk him out of it. 
“L’manburg is a fallen nation, birdie. It’s done nothing but cause pain for everyone, so why does it have to exist? You wouldn’t understand, you weren’t there when we built it, so stay out of our fucking business or leave.” The nickname that Wilbur had given you in your youth sounded like nothing but pure venom and ice, and his words had stung you far more than anything else. 
That night, you had approached Technoblade; you couldn’t help but notice how you had been falling apart due to how busy he had become with his preparations.  It had been obvious to you how stressed he was, spacing out more frequently while you had conversed. When you brought up your concern over Wilbur’s plans, he lashed out. 
“God, you’re so annoyin’, always havin’ concern over what Wilbur wants to do or not. The man ran the country way before we even got here so why do you care so much?” 
“I’m worried because everyone’s life is on the line here, Techno. You’re telling me you’d let your brothers fight in a war that will end up in explosions? What about Tommy, you’re gonna let him go through with this? Why can’t you see that Wilbur’s gone crazy, and he needs to be stopped?” 
“I can’t let you do that. No matter what you want, I promised to help Wilbur and if you don’t agree with his ideals, then just leave. We don’t want you here.” For the second time that night alone, you had been told to leave by some of the most important people in your lives. You choked back the rising sob in your throat, letting your sadness dissipate and anger take over. You had marched right out of his base, not a single call of your name from the man you had just spoken with, and you had concluded that that would be the last time you would talk to him. 
You had gone deep into the forest into your small cottage, taking all of your valuables and putting them in your ender chest, stuffing food and all of your weapons into your bags where they had fit. You had taken a few pieces of TNT, no one needed the rest of these items anyways. You had been deep enough in the forest that the explosion would not be heard from anywhere near PogTopia, so you had quickly ignited the TNT and watched as your house exploded onto tiny remnants. A small crater had been left in its place, small enough to pass off as a creeper explosion in the night. 
Your second stop had been to Tommy’s quarters, where you had found him sitting by his bed. 
He had looked up at you in slight confusion, noting your packed bags and outdoor attire. He had wondered if you were going to go scouting in L’manburg and almost wanted to ask if he could come, but you had cut him off before he could. 
You handed him a sword, the first one you had ever made with your own hands when you were barely his age. 
“What’s this for? And why are you dressed like that?” 
You gave him a watery smile, “this sword helped me survive all this time, so I hope it serves you well in the war. And I can’t fight alongside you anymore, Tommy. Technoblade and Wilbur had made that very clear tonight.” 
“What? Wilbur? I’ll go speak to him right now if he’s makin’ you leave. You can’t leave, you just can’t!” Tommy stood to his full height, arms wrapping themselves around your smaller form. You patted his back, offering words of comfort. 
That night, you had left with a heavy heart, and despite your rather unpleasant last experiences with Will and Techno, you couldn’t help but to think of them fondly from time to time. 
That led to where you are now, in the Tundra, in a humble cottage in the middle of a clearing. There’s a village nearby, with wonderful farmers offering you discounted golden carrots for all the help you provided for them in the past 6 months. 
You never did find out the outcome of that war, and something tells you that it didn’t end in celebrations. You traveled far enough that even news from L’manburg would be unlikely to reach all the way here. Still, though, you can’t help but wonder where Technoblade is, if he’s been taking care of himself, if he’s even still alive. You snort at that, of course he’s still alive; Technoblade never dies. 
One day, you wake up with a slightly more cheery attitude than most other mornings. You prance around your house, humming songs to yourself while you clean and cook. It’s quiet, like it always is, and sometimes you find yourself wishing you’re back to the old days, when everything was loud, chaotic, and bloody. The silence, however, is a luxury you never knew you needed. 
Your black cape and golden crown (one that Techno gave you in order to match with him), hangs in your closet, unused. 
You make sure to polish the crown once a week, it being a gift from a man you harbored feelings for since your youth, you couldn’t bear to leave it to collect dust. You sigh wistfully, placing the newly polished crown on your head while looking at your reflection in the mirror. 
You can’t help but notice the way your features have softened, given your lifestyle with Techno over the years, you were almost never given a break from all of the bloodshed. Your eyes are brighter, and your face gleamed with a newfound glow, one that had always been stained by dirt and grime from the battlefield. You note faint scars running down your arms, a brief moment of insecurity passing through you as you remember the perfectly clean complexion the village women had. 
You’re cut off by your thoughts by a rapid and harsh knock on your front door, and you rush to take off the crown and place it back in your closet and head back downstairs. It’s odd, almost no one visits the Tundra, so the very idea that someone is knocking on your door is already incredibly bizarre. You figure it’s probably a wandering trader, a very impatient one sounding from the hurried knocks. 
You open the door roughly and step back slightly in shock. Phil stares back at you with equal emotion in his eyes, he obviously wasn’t expecting you to answer the door. Your gaze shifts to the man by his shoulders, hanging limply with his head down. 
“Help,” is all Phil’s able to say before you quickly wrap your arms around Techno’s midsection and lead him to lay down on your couch. Blood pools around his waist staining your cushions, but you can’t even acknowledge that. He’s passed out and pale, so you make quick work to tend to his injuries, finding him improperly wrapped in loose bandages. 
After cleaning his injuries, the worst of which being a stab wound on his midsection and a large gash on the arm, you wrap him with bandages and give him healing potions to speed up the recovery. With the help of your adopted father, you move Techno to your bed, closing the door before joining Phil on the floor near the fireplace. 
Phil watches you sit down next to him, eyeing your bloody hands before blinking away to stare at the flickering flame. He also notices your wings, or lack thereof, but chooses to stay silent. 
“What happened? Why is Techno like that?” 
He’s silent for a moment before answering, “after the big battle, they reclaimed L’manburg but reinstituted Tubbo as the new president. Techno didn’t like that, so he fought back. It was him against everyone else. After that he fled to escape but someone was able to shoot him down with an arrow and stab him. I knocked the guy out and tried to fix Techno, but I couldn’t do that with everyone chasing us down. So, I took him on a boat and ended up here. Gave him enough healing potions to not die, but I barely had enough. Thank god we found you.” 
You go quiet at that, a question annoying you at the back of your mind. 
“Did he do it?” From your tone, the man realizes you’re referring to Wilbur, and his heart clenches at the fresh memory. 
“He did. I barely got there in time, mate. I tried to talk him out of it but…” he trails off, shoving his face into his hands to hide his tears, “I killed him.” 
Your shoulders slump in sympathy, about to comfort him, “Phil, it’s not your faul—” 
“No. I literally killed him. When he pressed the button, he gave me his sword and…” this time he lets out a weak laugh, “did I do the right thing, birdie? Was I right to kill my own son?” 
You can’t wrap your head around that. “Wilbur’s dead?” 
Phil cries quietly to himself, nodding his head to affirm your thoughts, making you let out a small ‘oh’. 
You’re at a loss for words. Sure, Wilbur had been nothing but toxic to you the last time you had seen him, but that didn’t overshadow the years of love and affection he had given you in your childhood. Deep down, you knew the Wilbur you had seen last had been nothing but the shell of the person that gave you piggy back rides when you were learning to fly so you can experience being off your feet, of the person that bandaged your knee when you had tripped and had been too scared to tell Phil you had gotten hurt, of the person that sang you songs on his guitar whenever you felt restless at night because he knew they helped you sleep. Wilbur is—was—your brother. 
“He went crazy, Phil. Too clouded by his emotions to think straight. He endangered the lives of everyone around him. He wasn’t Wilbur anymore at that time, Phil. He was just a man that had lost everything, too scared to rebuild from scratch that he just destroyed his work so no one else could have it. It was like watching a child who lost their favorite toy. Jesus, Phil, if you’d seen him then…” You watch the crackling fire, words caught in your throat, unable to finish the sentence, silence lying heavily in the air. “He needed to be stopped.” 
The man you saw as your father goes quiet, and from the corner of your eyes you see just how this man aged. Despite being immortal, Phil always had what you called ‘sleepy eyes’ referring to the way he seems to constantly have bags underneath his eyes that made him look sleep deprived despite being well-rested; a trait that Wilbur inherited, and Techno had purely because of his lack of a proper sleep schedule. Tommy used to tease them about it, despite having developed it slightly after his staying up with you, Wilbur, and Techno in the dead of the night to sneak out when Philza was asleep. 
“Guess we’re both flightless now, huh?” You ask after a moment, studying his burned feathers that would surely never heal properly enough for him to take flight. He let out a humorless chuckle, dull eyes closing for a moment. 
“I tried to shield him from the explosion but it resulted in quite some irreversible damage.” He stretches his wings out, barely even a quarter of its original length, black feathers singed and unrecognizable. He gives you a glance from the side, “you never told me about yours.” 
You hum, and your back burns with phantom pain. “I lost them in an arena. A couple years after we left, Techno and I participated in this free-for-all arena and some guy ambushed me from behind and cut them off.” Your left hand grips your sleeve, images of red and withering feathers flashing before your eyes. You feel a gentle hand on your back, and all of it stops. 
You and Phil sit together in well-appreciated silence, basking in each other’s presence after so many years of no contact. A shuffle from the other room catches your attention, you turn and see Techno stepping out of the room, one hand supporting himself on the wall and the other wrapped around his midsection, tight against his fresh wound. You and him make eye contact for a split second before you turn away and he redirects his gaze to Phil. 
From the corner of your eyes you see them staring at each other, having what seems to be a silent conversation before the older man sighs and gets up. He pats you on the head once and gives Techno a nod before stepping outside. Uh oh. You know what’s coming next and you don’t know if you’re ready for it. You say nothing when you hear approaching footsteps from behind you, staring at the dwindling flame in the fireplace. You say nothing when he sits behind you on the couch, unable to sit on the floor because of his injuries. You say nothing when you turn around from your sitting position on the floor to look up at him. 
Despite only being apart for 6 months, Techno sure looks older. Maybe it had been the effects of war, but both you and him have gone through countless battles before and you had never seen his face like this. Grim, serious, unapproachable. Something in his eyes flicker when he stares at you; pity, remorse. 
“I’m sorry.” Techno says after a moment, looking guilty as his facade slowly breaks. 
You don’t know what to say. The Blood God, infamous for his unyielding wrath and immeasurable power, for his countless victories in war, for his presence made to induce fear upon people, bowing his head to you in remorse. Was this the same Blood God that you hear countless stories of? No, this is Techno. Your best friend, your partner in crime, your person. 
“I know.” 
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party-gilmore · 3 years
Text
Okay so today I am thinking about how fucking LAVISH the Nate/Sophie* wedding was.
All of the gorgeousness of a "rich people who can throw as much money as they want at something and (at least one of which) appreciates fine things" wedding but with NONE of the stuffiness. Priceless antique decorations?? Sure! Climb all over and play around with them as much as you want!!! Enjoy the space!!! Fuel your creative urge to play!!
And it's not that minimalist bullshit either, like it is EXPERTLY coordinated in all colors AND eras of art qnd decorative styling - almost like how a museum sets up its different areas with different themes.
So Many Good People!! Sophie's theater kids, The Brewpub Staff, a who's who of everybody they've saved and kept in contact with
The FOOD!!! So Eliot, despite some grumbling, was probably not ALLOWED to handle this. Like. "Eliot, we want you AT the wedding, enjoying the day with us! Not spending all your energy having to prepare and serve for it!" BUT he also would NOT have allowed them to have anyone but The Masters of the craft in his stead. Pulled so many strings with so many of his contacts and got a string of A-Listers to head up the cooking staff (although "Alice" still got Peggy's catering company to handle the set up, serving, etc. - similar reasoning on Peggy not being in the kitchen, Parker wanted her to just enjoy the wedding).
Hardison getting some SERIOUS musical talent for the reception lined up - I'm talking live performances from everybody's favorite artists, not to mention the kind of lighting rigs and special effects and OH WOW of COURSE he handled the like, whole A/V sideshow presentation whatever for the reception like, figuring out a cover story close enough to the truth to be Real but also, uh... tweaked just enough not to tip off all the civilians in attendance, let alone the law enforcement. Bonano might be willing to go to bat for them, but he doesn't want to push things too far with McSweetin present.
They don't invite Sterling. This is because they KNOW Sterling will find out show up anyway, and kind of enjoy him showing up all disgruntled and snippy. They probably set like, a little trail of conspicuous behavior for him to follow, and he thinks he's gonna catch them in a con (ESPECIALLY after he arrives at a CRAZY expensive looking function- typical of where they might try and corner a mark) but when it's revealed it's there wedding he's actually kind of offended he wasn't 'invited' and it's sort of adorable. Sophie's like "What do you mean we don't care, Sterling? Of course we do! We know how much you like figuring out our little puzzles, an outright invitation would have been too... too..." "Gauche." "Ooh, YES Nate, exactly, too gauche. We're so glad you made it on time for cake!" Olivia has already been there for like two hours enjoying the party because she was personally invited by Nate and whisked away by The Kids while Sterling was busy following their breadcrumbs.
Just. Everybody DELIGHTING in a fancy party. All the people who don't normally get to go to things like these having a fucking BALL because it's not just gorgeous and expensive with formal aesthetic, its also CASUAL in energy and social mood so like... it's not like anyone's afraid of saying the wrong thing or breaking something, it's just LOVELY and FUN and OBSCENELY LAVISH
The OT3 gets to really enjoy it as well, since for a change they get to attend a Fancy Party without having to WORK it, like this is good, this is a good thing, that they don't have to do anything but relax and enjoy themselves and have a nice romantic night all dressed up at a nice party full of very expensive things that have been very explicitly legally purchased and owned so it's all above board yep this is good one night to celebrate with absolutely nothing... nothing to... steal...
okay yeah they DO all three disappear for like an hour while they dash across the street to like, a museum across from the ballroom or down the road from the garden venue or SOMETHING, just a quickie last-minute no pre-planning (to keep things challenging) heist in their nice formal wear and Nate and Sophie will never even have to know.
(The happy couple does, of course, notice the new tears in previously immaculate clothing and the rumpled hair and sweat and smudged makeup from various vent crawling and security neutralizing and other such strenuous activities, but Sophie just smirks and makes a sly comment about "sneak away for some fun?" and let's them blush and stammer and assume she may have meant something else. After all, she and Nate chose a venue close to that lovely little museum collection for a reason. C'mon. They know their kids.)
All in all it's just a DELIGHTFUL, LAVISH, GORGEOUS celebration, good times are had by all, the various fabrics are exquisite and the food is decadent, a rather Big To-Do that leaves everyone swaying, drained and exhausted in That Good Way come the end of the night, and Nate and Sophie just dance slowly as the last song plays and the adhesive gives out on a few of the streamers and curtains, gossamer whites and silky golds and silvery confetti drifting down around them. Sharing that silent twinkle in their eyes that confirms that this was a very lovely night, and that they will not, in fact, be telling The Kids they actually got married three days ago when the pressure of The Whole Thing just rose too much and the snuck away in the night to elope in a small private ceremony on the boat of an old captain friend because that's all they really needed anyway. Still, a lovely party though. Even more enjoyable with that stress off of it.
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