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aeyumicore · 2 months

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☾ .⭒˚ heartstring symphony ♡ xavier x afab reader

⋆.˚ ☾ pairing: xavier x afab!reader (very fem!reader)

☾ .⭒˚ genre: smut, pwp, pwf (so so so sooo many feelings like a whole ocean of feelings)

⋆.˚ ☾ word count: 10.1k (oh lawd)

☾ .⭒˚ content warning: mdni, tiny reference/spoiler to chapter 4 of the main story (grandma and caleb), references to xavier/overall lads lore, first time sex (not virginity loss), explicit sexual content, pure pure filth but also so fluffy and emotional, unprotected sex, oral sex (f!receiving and m!receiving), lots of making out, pussy job, finger fucking, tongue fucking, cum as lube, references to xavier’s evol, slight use of y/n, switch!xavier, slight predator/prey play, somewhat vanilla

⋆.˚ ☾ video link: not necessary to watch in order to read and enjoy, but i highly recommending watching the memory for context and a visual for the fic! https://youtu.be/U-OanLwbSVE?si=Um0NFib7gQOTGrLq

☾ .⭒˚ a/n: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY BABIESSSSS COME GET YOUR FOOD. oof this one is a doozy. based off the memory ‘heartstring symphony’ with xavier, there’s a lot of small changes to the progression and the dialogue, but its largely on par with the original memory! there’s a lot of ‘plot’ building as this memory is a bit long and i really wanted to incorporate parts from the beginning, middle, and end so i ended up needing to write for the entire thing. the build up is kinda important to the smut but you can definitely still just skip to the smut (ya filthy hoes)!!

100% dedicated to my bestie who is the downest baddest bitch for xavier!

⋆.˚ ☾ 18+ only ☾ .⭒˚ minors dni ⋆.˚ ☾ 18+ only ☾ .⭒˚ minors dni ⋆.˚ ☾

the sunlight bounces off the sheen of the strawberries that are finally ripening enough to eat. it’d been months since xavier and you had started your quaint little rooftop garden atop his balcony, and your collective dedicated gardening was finally rewarded with the most beautiful crimson strawberries you’d ever seen. having been tasked with tending to his house plants on his sudden trip away, you found yourself spending a lot of time with the strawberries on xavier’s apartment’s balcony.

“but even though you’re bearing fruit, your owner isn’t here,” you murmur sadly, stroking the slightly sticky skin of the berries. okay sure, you were undoubtedly projecting your own feelings onto the poor little strawberries, but who could blame you? it’d been ten days since xavier had suddenly left town and similarly ten days since he’d responded to any of your text messages or returned any phone calls.

and dammit, you missed him. missed his deep groggy voice when he’d pick up your phone calls at 11 am asking if he’d had breakfast yet, his bewildered face when you’d barge into his apartment demanding that he take you to play crane games, the way he’d pretend not to notice when you swapped hands during kitty cards. ever since you’d first met the enigmatic hunter in the abandoned protocore research base on your first mission as an official hunter, you found both your night and day dreams being filled with the thought of him.

you’d even missed him enough to send a few regrettable late night texts, confessing just that. at 4am. you groaned inwardly at the embarrassment of recalling your deleted messages. really, no one should be allowed to send any text messages after 1am. least of all you, who had so many confusing unresolved feelings for the silver haired man in question.

the sound of keys jingling a door open snaps you out of your thoughts. your heart pounded, he was finally home! excitedly, you scrambled back into xavier’s apartment, to be met with the sight of him struggling to remove his uniform top. the sight of his sculpted torso on display before you like an absolute art piece, had you freezing in your tracks, cheeks heating at the glorious site before you. xavier also froze, his cerulean eyes locking with yours in surprise.

“you’re…here?” his voice was as warm as you'd remembered, the sound of it forever etched in your mind. but it sounded too soft, tired. exhausted even.

“y-yeah…the weather was good today and i wanted to check on the strawberries,” you attempted to remain calm and collected, turning around to stop from staring at his exposed stomach. but the plethora of injuries on his pale skin caught your eye. instantly, you were at his side, inspecting him and assessing his scars.

“...you got hurt?!” your heart hammered anxiously in your chest as you reached to touch him. he peered down at you guiltily, pulling his top back down to cover the scars. he gently pried your hands away from his abdomen, letting his fingers linger on your skin far longer than he’d needed to, the touch not going unnoticed by you.

“it’s nothing, let me go get changed,” xavier finally released your wrists and left you to wait on the couch for him. you felt on edge, waiting impatiently, feet tapping anxiously against the carpet. xavier finally reemerges from his room in a fresh set of indoor clothes, a ribbed white long sleeve and gray sweatpant joggers. you’d seen him in this exact outfit many times, but suddenly the way his sweatpants sat against his lap made your mind wander, but you shake the filthy thoughts out of your head. when he finally sits down next to you, you can’t help but fret over him, grabbing his arm to inspect his complexion.

“you went missing, and now you return all beaten up…why do you always make me worry?” you reprimanded, pouting slightly, “you’re wounded aren't you? does it hurt?” your fingers ghost over the bruises on his forearm, the veins there protruding slightly amongst the bulging muscles. xavier only turns away, unwilling to meet your gaze, but still leaving his arm in your lap.

his refusal to answer only makes you more desperate for reassurance that he’s alright. you try to lift his shirt, but he uses his free hand to grip your wrist, stopping you. you don’t notice the way he blushes at your touch.

“it’s nothing, just some minor scrapes.” while the mere sound of his voice does wonders to soothe your swimming mind, it does nothing to quell the anxiety you have over his well being. over where he’d been these last ten days. with not so much as a single text message to let you know he was okay, safe. that’s all you had wanted, to know he was safe.

“i think your definition of scrape and my definition differ greatly,” you mutter sulkily, trying to get him to meet your eyes. when he doesn’t, you take his face in your two hands, forcing him to level with you. his cheeks tinge a peachy red under your palms, his normally slow and controlled breath rapidly increasing at your touch.

“if your wounds aren’t treated they could get worse, get infected, and even become life-threatening,” you murmur, almost threatening him, unable to stop the worry from lacing into your words. you can tell he feels guilty, his eyes opting to stare at your shoulder instead of your eyes, “...this is nothing. i’m used to letting them heal without much thought.”

this does nothing to make you feel better, if anything it makes you feel worse, and you’re unwilling to relent, “the past is the past. this is the present.”

his eyes finally peer into your own, meeting your stubborn gaze. his deep blue orbs are intense, searching for something within your own. while his voice is deep, tired, undoubtedly exhausted, you can still sense the longing heat in them. he sighs, finally caving into your whims, “alright. so, what do you want me to do?”

and so you find yourself in xavier’s dimly lit living room, a first aid kit on your lap, and xavier shirtless in front of you. you try to ignore the fact that he’s very much half naked in front of you, his joggers sitting dangerously low on his waist. so much so that you can definitely see the indentation of his obliques forming a tight ‘v’. it was enough to turn your brain into mush, but you fought those intrusive thoughts away so you could tend to his injuries.

taking a deep breath to try and calm your raging nerves, you start, “is there a spot that hurts the most? or is really sensitive? i’ll try to be extra gentle when i apply the ointment.” your eyes linger on the way his collar bones frame the muscles on his chest, the skin there pure and untouched from the dark bruises forming on xavier’s shoulder and abs. you bite your lip to withhold the shiver threatening to overtake you at the image of xavier in all his muscular glory before you. his gentle voice brings you out of your filthy reverie.

“my neck.”

“hmm?” your eyes snap to his, cheeks flaming when you realize he’d caught you staring. he smiles gently, but thankfully doesn’t tease you.

“the most sensitive part of my body is my neck,” he says again, his words almost threatening to make you unleash the shiver you were holding back. refusing to let your mind wander more, you lean forward and begin carefully cleaning the wound that’s etched onto the muscles that connect his shoulders to his neck. while you wipe the cut with one hand, you use your other hand to rub comforting circles around the red skin surrounding it, hoping to ease the stinging.

xavier groans, his voice husky and drawn out. you can’t help but wonder what that sound would feel like under a different circumstance, but repress those thoughts deep deep down.

“does it hurt a lot?” you keep your eyes glued to the irritated skin, lightening the pressure at which you’re pressing down, not wanting him to feel any semblance of pain, ever.

“kind of.” xavier’s response is clouded in ambiguity, leaving you confused as to what he wants to say. before you can press him further he speaks again, “i appreciate you looking after things while i was gone.”

you sigh at his persistent nonchalance, as if he hadn’t just up and disappeared and come back beaten and bruised. you knew him well enough to know he’s not planning on telling you what had happened to injure him like this or why he had to leave town in the first place.

feeling childish, you decide two can play at that game, “you don’t need to thank me. neighbors should always look out for each other.” you force down the inexplicable emotions stirring inside of you that threaten to spill into your voice, continuing to tend to the cuts on his neck.

he doesn’t respond and the room becomes suffocatingly quiet. swapping the alcohol wipe for the ointment, you briefly peer up to find xavier staring at you with his intense blue eyes. you stubbornly refuse to waver from his stare, but he remains silent.

“what? if you have something to say, say it,” you demand, a bit snappishly, unable to contain the hurt you felt at his repeated silence, both now but also on his days away.

xavier remains gentle even at your abrasiveness, “you’re really close to me. all i can do is look at you.” despite yourself, you blush at his words, chest tightening. he keeps his eyes on yours and you can’t help but squirm under his emotion clouded blue eyes, though you couldn’t decipher exactly which emotion swam through them.

the silence envelopes the air once more as you refuse to speak. xavier speaks up again, his voice low and almost sad, “are you angry with me?”

your heart cracks at the vulnerability in his voice, but you can’t seem to let go of your own peeved feelings, “why would i be? we’re just acquaintances who happen to be neighbors.” you know you’re being unfair, but you can’t help but feel as if you deserve some kind of explanation. you cared about him, far more than he probably knew, and he just up and disappeared without a trace for ten days. and to top it all off, he came back looking like this.

“are the other neighbors like us?” though his words are simple, you can’t help but wonder if xavier is intending to say something else under the veil of those words.

no, you supposed to yourself, other neighbors probably did not feel the least bit in the way you felt for xavier. your hands tremble at the thoughts you can’t seem to push away, and you accidentally press a bit too deeply as you apply the ointment. xavier winces, his eyes finally unfocussing from yours and his brows furrowed in discomfort.

instantly you feel bad for being even the least bit annoyed with him. your voice is much gentler now, almost apologetic, “was i too rough? you're…does it hurt a lot?”

xavier smiles reassuringly at you, so warm and gentle despite your attitude and the undeniable pain of his injuries, your stomach can’t help but flutter at him, “sort of, but i’m alright.”

“that’s good,” is all you can sheepishly say as you find yourself lost in his expression.

“maybe the pain is so intense that i can’t feel anything,” xavier is smiling so you know he’s teasing you but you can’t help but feel incredibly guilty.

“really? i didn’t mean to…”

the look he gives you is enough to shut you up. though he doesn’t say anything, his facial expression makes you wonder what exactly is going on in his mind. finally he speaks up, “it’s okay. i forgive you, and in exchange you’re not allowed to be angry at me anymore.”

“i told you that i wasn’t angry,” you sigh, “stay still. i’m going to apply the bandage.” xavier smiles and nods, straightening his posture obediently. you want to tease him, but instead diligently apply a bit of gauze to his neck and adhere it with some medical tape.

satisfied with your handiwork, you smile smugly, “all done. keep your wounds away from water and avoid eating spicy food for the next few days.” xavier mumbles something unintelligible under his breath, and when you look at him his head is bowed down so low you can’t even see his eyes. before you know it, he’s collapsing in your arms, completely passed out.

“x-xavier?!” you catch him easily, but his unconscious weight holds you down. xavier only murmurs groggily at your words. you can’t help but smile and rub his bare back adoringly. his skin is soft, and warm to the touch. you relish in the feel of his skin against yours and his presence enveloping you, having truly missed him so much.

“poor baby,” you sigh, contemplating on how you’ll be able to carry him to his bed.

with great effort, you’re able to haul xavier to his bedroom. as you bend down to lay him on his mattress, you trip over his feet. with his arms tangled in yours like a little koala holding on for dear like, you tumble onto the bed with him. you flop onto his mattress, and his arms tighten around you, locking you in place, tucked into his chest. you move to push him off you, but instead you accidentally graze his wrapped neck.

xavier moans, still deep in sleep, and his lip pouts as he grips you even tighter. you sigh in defeat at how content he looks with his arms wrapped around you, with his bottom lip sticking out slightly. you can’t help but admire xavier’s sleeping face, his long eyelashes tickling against your cheek. it’s not long before you find yourself being lulled to sleep by the warmth of his strong arms and the slow beating of his heart against yours.

–

you awaken to xavier tucking you into his blanket, his movements gentle as to not wake you. your breath hitches but you do your best to pretend to still be sleeping, unable to face him in this compromising situation. with any luck, xavier would get out of bed and you could pretend to wake up when he wasn’t so intimidatingly close to you.

but instead of getting up, xavier only lays back down beside you, nuzzling into your side. your heart races at the affection, biting your lip to keep from making any noise. his body heat against your own threatens to unleash a shiver of satisfaction across your body, but you force it back so as to not alert him that you are in fact awake.

xavier is so unbelievably close, you can feel his breath fanning against your exposed neck and his fingers stroking your palm. unable to withstand the suffocating tension, you pretend to wake up, feigning a yawn as you flutter your eyes open. you come face to face with xavier, his eyes, still groggy with sleep, analyzing your every movement. his gaze falls lower, seemingly watching your lips part with the steady inhale and exhale of your bated breath.

you squirm, trying to dissipate the tension, remembering to keep your voice groggy, “are you still tired? it’s not morning anymore, so maybe we should start thinking about what to eat.”

“you’re resting on my arm. i can’t move. at all.” you jolt upwards, and xavier retracts his arm, rubbing the tender muscles, no doubt they’d fallen asleep, up and down. you hid your blush underneath your hair, unsure of what to do next. you became hyper aware of the fact that you sat in xavier’s bed, with him. and he was so very shirtless.

luckily xavier speaks so you don’t have to, “i saw your texts from yesterday saying you were having trouble falling asleep. did you sleep well?”

“it was pretty good,” you answered earnestly, genuinely feeling more well rested than you had in weeks, but then your heart stuttered, “w-wait, you saw the message i deleted yesterday?!”

“yeah, i did. but i’m pretty sure it was a small peek,” his gentle smile changes to one of a teasing grin, “xavier, if you don’t respond, i’m going to eat all the strawberries. all of them.” he raises the octave in his voice to mock you. to say you’re mortified would be an extreme understatement.

trying to deflect from the fact that he’d in fact seen your embarrassing late night texts, you counter, “but i didn’t. i saved you a small bowl!”

he continues, deadset on his mission to embarrass the hell out of you, his grin radiant enough to stop your heart. which you might actually prefer to the sheer embarrassment of being called out like this, “the moment i think about you being somewhere else annoys me to the point where i can’t sleep at all.”

you feel like a deer caught in the headlights, utterly defensive, “well, of course! you can’t just ask someone to look after your stuff and then ghost them. if that’s not being unreasonable then i don’t know what is!”

xavier glances at you, his voice calm but his eyes holding inexplicable emotions that you cannot decipher, “oh, and there's one text that i can't forget.” you hold your breath, already knowing which one it is. undoubtedly the worst, most incriminating one of them all.

“i think i miss you.” groaning, you cover your eyes with your hands and fall back against the bed. xavier laughs, propping up on his side to face you, his fingers brushing some stray strands of hair away from your cheek, hooking them behind your ear.

“...you saw every message!” you accused, peeking at him through the cracks of your fingers still covering your eyes. but didnt respond to any of them, you want to add, but hold yourself back.

his expression is that of pure innocence, “i was going to reply to them, but then i got caught up in something. and you deleted them a second later. i could only pretend that i didn’t see anything.” and then slowly, almost painfully, he adds, “maybe those messages weren't meant for me.”

despite your burning embarrassment, you couldn’t possibly let xavier think those thoughts were for anyone but him. the flicker of dejection in his eyes is enough to have you spilling out the truth, “...okay, i didn’t send them to the wrong person!” your cheeks burn and you’re sure you look just as red as one of the strawberries on the balcony. you prop up on your own side to face him, “i missed you. but that’s not the point!” your lips jut out to pout at him, feeling like an attention-seeking toddler that had gotten caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

xavier, the relief and longing palpable in his eyes, reaches his free arm out to cup your cheek in his palm, “and i missed you too.” his voice is low, nothing more than a whisper, making your breath catch in your throat.

his thumb brushes across the corner of your lip, “unbearably so.” his intimate touch literally rewires your brain, making you throw all inhibitions out the window. the tidal wave of emotions you’d had on a tight leash, floods through the dam. unable to control yourself, you firmly push him down on the bed and straddle him, making sure to avoid any of the bruises on his abdomen.

“why did you leave me?!” you whine, surprising xavier and even yourself with your assertiveness. he rests his hands atop your thighs, as they cage him beneath you. his body is warm under your own, and you feel the heat manifesting in your gut at the intimate closeness of your bodies.

his surprised expression is quickly replaced with one of cool and calm, despite the fact that you were literally on top of him like he’d secretly imagined several times before, “why are you so worried about me?”

“...when there are bad people and wanderers out there, of course i’ll be worried about you,” your voice softens at the very thought. the emotions coursing through you make your voice waver, no matter how hard you try to steel yourself.

xavier smiles warmly at you, his hands wandering upwards to your waist and then to your lower back. you’re acutely aware of his hands on you and it causes your confidence to tremor, your stomach bubbling in anticipation at his touch.

“and yet, you’re way more dangerous than any wanderer could be,” his voice is throaty, tinged with need and desire and his eyes find your lips once more.

“this is different. i would never hurt you,” you counter, your hands resting against his broad chest. confidence returning ever so slightly, you dust your fingers against his delicate skin. you come close to his nipples, but narrowly and intentionally miss them. xavier’s hands on your back grip harder, not enough to hurt but enough to leave you breathless and wanting more. you can feel him squirm beneath you, eyes pleading with yours. for what, you’re unsure.

“yes, but i don’t have the strength to resist you at the moment.” xavier’s voice is nothing more than a whisper, has hands digging further into the sensitive skin of your lower back. you writhe on top of him, to which he lets out a faint moan, just barely audible in the crackling air around you.

your voice is but a rasping murmur, as you throw caution to the wind, giving into all the inexplicable emotions your heart held for the man beneath you. at your mercy, “then…don’t.”

at your words, xavier pushes you down towards him with the hands he had on your back. you offer no resistance, fully letting him guide your face to his own. and like you’d day dreamed so many times before, xavier takes your lips into his. softly, reverently, but so hungrily.

your fingers entangle in his pale locks, gripping gently as his lips mold perfectly against yours. you sigh into his mouth as your breaths merge together. you breathe him in, basking in his radiance, all around you. xavier’s hands leave your back to hold the plush of your thighs, kneading softly but so possessively. your thighs clench around his hard torso, and you can’t help but rock yourself into him until you are resting on his lap, on his crotch. his hands tighten on your thighs, the grip a clear message, a wordless command for you to behave.

his tongue caresses your lips, a silent request for entry. you obediently part them, allowing him access to every part of you. when his tongue ghosts against yours for the very first time, you moan so deep and pleadingly that you can feel xavier’s smile against your lips. his hands wander up and down your back again mapping out all the ridges of your spine against your thin shirt.

you’d imagined kissing xavier for the first time, many many times, but none of those silly little daydreams could amount to this. your imagination paled in comparison to the real thing, so willing, pliant, and tender underneath you. ready to do anything to serve you.

you finally pull away, gasping for air but only craving his breath against yours again, you can’t help but ask meekly, “is this okay?”

you can see the answer in xavier’s eyes, but he responds still, “more than okay. is it okay for you?”

breathlessly, you trail your thumb across his bottom lip and mirror his words, “more than okay.” you’re suddenly hit with the reminder of just how much xavier had you worrying these past few days. feeling mischievous, you stare down at him, face flushed pink and lips swollen with saliva. your fingers trail down his cheek, careful not to touch his sensitive neck, and onto his chest, “i should teach you a lesson so you never make me worry like that again.”

between his breathless pants, he’s intrigued, “...what do you want?” his hands flit to the waistband of your pants, playing with the material and letting his fingers brush against the skin of your waist. you hold back a tremble, and instead of answering him, you decide to just show him. dragging your fingers across his muscular chest, you let your thumbs brush against his hardening nipples. xavier’s sharp inhale is immediate and you feel him clench his hands against your hips. you lean your face down to trail a path of small kisses down his chest, over his bruises, all the way to his naval.

you can feel him trembling beneath your every touch as he grinds out, “is this my punishment?” his hand reaches up to weave his fingers through your hair, collecting the pieces that fall to your eyes as you bend down to kiss his skin.

grinning, you sit back up, taking his cheeks in between your fingers and squish. you can never help but to tease xavier, his adorable reactions always leaving you wanting more. you release his face from your hold, only for him to mirror your actions right back at you. his fingers are delectably rough as they grip your chin.

“i can do that too. like this.” his face is so full of amusement, making you want to retaliate further. so you let your hands wander back up his chest, slowly moving to wrap around his neck. you see xavier’s eyes widen in surprise as your fingers delicately tickle the sides of his neck, feeling his pulse race beneath them. as your nails flicker across the sensitive skin of his neck, xavier lets out a groan that sounds suspiciously like a whimper.

“ahh, please,” he whines. you notice that his hands have slipped under your shirt now, but not venturing upwards, ever the gentleman.

you giggle at his vulnerability, “you’re injured and don’t know how to take care of yourself,” you hand ventures from xavier’s neck to hold his face in between your fingers again, “you’re like a helpless animal about to be eaten.” your voice is a teasing coo, and you bend down slowly, torturously grinding your core along his crotch. he hisses again, fingers digging into your bare skin as if hoping to slow you down. but instead, you lean into the crook of where his neck meets his shoulder, on the side that’s uninjured, and press a barely there kiss into the skin. even at the faintest touch along his neck, xavier groans and presses his lower half harder into you. to stop your own moans, and maintain the upper hand, you bite into xavier’s neck. he swears and his fingers crush into your sides, and you squeal into his neck but your lips stay latched.

his skin is so sweet between the gentle teasing of your teeth, his pheromones invading all your senses. as you suckle on the sensitive skin there, you continue to rock your lower half against him, pleasantly surprised at the feel of his bulging erection against you. your filthy day dreams of him paled in comparison to the sheer girth of what sat beneath you now.

“you’re not worried about me – hah, retaliating?” but you ignore him, instead relishing in the sound of his pants in response to your touch. never in your wildest dreams did you imagine xavier would be this reactive.

he continues his delectable moans at your ear, “h-hah, fuck – w-wait. love please,” your core clenches at the endearment and you detach yourself from xavier’s neck, a flushed bruise starting to form where your lips previously sat. xavier hardens further at your disheveled sight. lips red, swollen, and shiny with saliva, cheeks flushed a beautiful shade of red, eyes hazy with lust. he was fighting from coming undone at the sight alone.

“wh-what? is this not okay?” you pause, worrying you had crossed a boundary, but you can’t help the gentle and uncontrollable tremors your core makes against his crotch, almost like the aftershock of an earthquake. he groans in response, his head falling back deeper into the pillow as his eyes clenched shut.

his big hands squeeze your thighs reassuringly, and his right palm reaches up to cup your cheek. you lean into his touch, savoring the feel of his warm and protective hand against your flushed cheek. he repeats his words from earlier, “it’s more than okay. you don’t know how long i’ve waited to have you like this.” his words are filled with a vast expanse of emotions, but one you can make out is indescribable and utter love. like he’d been waiting an eternity for you to fall into place in his life.

his hands trails down to play with the buttons on your top, fingers grazing the exposed skin on your chest. you shiver as he says, “but i want — i need to savor this moment with you.”

in that moment you think about the way your heart has always throbbed at the thought of xavier. you think you’ve loved him for a while, it always felt like your life was destined to intertwine with his, in unexplainable ways. you’d long given up on fate, especially after caleb and grandma. but looking at the azure eyed man beneath you, you couldn’t help but think that that very fate had brought you two here today. so when you intertwine your fingers with his hand that toys with unbuttoning your top and bring your joined palms up against your heart, you don’t hesitate to confess, “you have me, forever.”

at your declaration, the expression on xavier’s face is a haze of inexplicable emotions. with the faintest sliver of hesitation and something that sounds an awful like sorrow he finally murmurs, “and you’ve had me, forever.”

unable to withstand the intensity of his longing stare and the weight of his words, you dip back down to capture his lips with yours, returning his heavy words with an equally passionate kiss. your hands move to stroke up and down his naked chest, before landing on his neck, using your thumb to feel the thrumming of his unusually erratic pulse. with your free hand you encourage his fingers that fiddle with the buttons of your blouse, urging him to undo the confines. you can tell xavier is holding back, likely doing his best to tread the fine line between careful respect for you and losing all control.

reluctantly, you withdraw from him, whispering through your gasps, “xavier…please. i want this. i want you.”

his eyes are misted with lust and adoration, his body stiffening even further. his voice is as deep as you’ve ever heard it, “are you sure y/n? you have to be sure. i-i’m scared i won’t be able to stop.”

softly, you use your fingers to trace over the hickey you’ve left behind on his neck. his breath catches and you can see the control slipping from his grasp. slowly, you bring your fingers to unbutton your blouse yourself. painfully slow, each finger taking its time to unlatch each enclosure, and you murmur, “i won’t want you to stop.”

his eyes are locked on you, as you slip the blouse off your shoulders, leaving you in your white satin bra. his jaw tightens at the sight of you and he grabs your thighs, “don’t say i didn’t warn you.” and with those words, xavier’s thick arms are lifting you into the air and throwing you gently underneath him. in a flash, his heavy body is on top of yours, your legs parted to accommodate his unbelievably built stature. you squeal in surprise at his dominance, the sound cutting through the thick sexual tension in the air. xavier smiles down at you, the dangerous glint in his eyes making heat flare between your legs. the slick forming in between your folds is unmistakable and you bite your lip to keep the moans at bay.

“am i still a helpless animal? since you seem to know everything, you should enlighten me.” the deep purr in his voice edges on a primal growl, like a predator with its prey between its claws. it’s enough to have you submitting to his every whim. how quickly xavier has turned the tables on you, his hand now gently pressed against your own neck, has rendered you a stuttering dripping mess.

“x-xavier…”

but he silences you, placing his index finger over your lips, his other hand moving downwards to stroke the soft satin of your bra, his fingers flitting dangerously close to the skin of the swell of your breasts, “when faced with a hunter that knows my weakness and how to take advantage of them, is there anything i can do?” you’ve never heard xavier so threateningly dominating, so demanding. it leaves you utterly speechless, your previous upper hand gone completely.

“perhaps i should teach you a lesson.”

you shudder at his words. his hands reach under your back to unhook your bra and you arch off the bed to allow him to slip it off effortlessly. fully exposed before him, xavier’s eyes burn with such intense heat it intimidates you, so you instinctively cover your breasts. xavier doesn’t speak, instead dipping his head down to trail delicate kisses along your arms, leaving a path of goosebumps in his wake. your breath comes out in shallow pants as he gently pries your arms away, and presses an open mouthed kiss to the swell atop your right breast.

you shiver uncontrollably under his warm lips, needing more friction, “p-please xavier.”

xavier’s wide grin is uncontainable, “look who’s the helpless animal now?” but despite his teasing, xavier indulges your pleas, capturing your nipple in his warm and waiting mouth. you’re unable to stop the gasp that tumbles out of your lips, your body arching off the bed only to be met with xavier’s heavy body pressing you back down. xavier’s muffled moans against your sensitive skin send your eyes into the back of your skull. as the pleasure threatens to overtake your melting mind, you press your dampening crotch into his erection even further trying to gain more friction. he groans, deep and hoarse, making you peer down at your chest and at him. your eyes meet.

the eye contact as he devours you is enough for your climax to start creeping in, your hand wedging between the two of you to grasp his cock through his sweatpants. your hands are met with the alarming dampness of his pre cum seeping through the gray fabric that frames his bulging erection. you bite your lip at the sheer mass you hold in your hands, your fingers tracing just how thick he was.

xavier’s tongue continues to flick along your nipple as your hand slowly makes its way under his waistband and under his boxer briefs. with his pubic hair tickling your palm, you brush your fingers against his thick erection. your touch earns your breast a harsh nip which causes you to cry out. the pleasure and pain is so blinding you find yourself needing to grip onto his cock just to keep succumbing to your impending orgasm, rooting you to reality.

“h-hah, y/n, please…ah, not so tight please,” xavier’s voice is a desperate whine, as he pants against the swell of your breast. at his urging you release his manhood from your grip ever so slightly, but keep it trapped in your palm, your hand has a mind of its own, unable to stop from stroking his length up and down, brushing against the single bulging vein alongside it. he leaks so much pre cum that it feels like he’s already pumped his release all over himself. you collect it all, using it to fist his cock in your hands while he ravages your breasts.

“you’re, hah, making me ruin my pants love,” xavier pants against you, descending upon your body until you’re forced to release him, much to your dismay. he slots his lips in the valley of your breasts, leaving a trail of wet kisses slowly down your body. when he reaches your belly button, his hands reach to remove your pants and panties in one fell swoop. the cold air nips at your exposed core, as xavier removes the tangle of clothing from your limbs

completely exposed before him, xavier rakes his eyes all over your bare body, admiring every inch of you and breathes out a single word, “beautiful.” you blush under his gaze and you clasp your thighs tight in an attempt to hide but xavier keeps your legs open, his grip tight on your knees. with his eyes locked on yours, he guides your calves onto his shoulders, careful to avoid his bandages. you feel nervous as he comes face to face with your undoubtedly soaking cunt, and to your utter embarrassment he notices it too.

“you’re so wet already. is this all for me?” while his words are teasing, his tone is earnest, almost in awe.

“w-wait xavier, you’re injured. i don’t want you to strain yourself. l-let me–”

his eyebrows arch at you, “you said i should stay away from spicy foods, you never said anything about this. let me enjoy myself.” without letting you protest any further, he lowers his face onto your waiting cunt, his mouth unbelievably warm against your own burning core. you cry out, your back arching to the point it feels as if it may snap. with your legs on xavier’s shoulders, your lower half is elevated nearly a foot off the bed, his hands on your thighs supporting your entire body.

xavier’s tongue is fervent and attentive. he explores every inch of you, mapping out which areas make you sing with the most pleasure. his tongue alternates between dipping in and out of your entrance and caressing your clit while his hands move to prop you up by your ass. as he feasts on you, his hands knead the fat of your rear.

“x-xavier please. so so s’good,” you wail, hands digging deep into his comforter, wishing your hands could reach his hair, his face, anything. your clit feels like it might explode in pure ecstasy under xavier’s tongue, making you unable to control your mouth. your words make him harden impossibly more, still restrained in his soaked sweatpants. he groans into your core, the vibrations intensifying your pleasure. you can feel your orgasm racing towards you, which makes your thighs tremble around his face. suddenly, he stops and lifts his head. you whine at the loss of his tongue and the disruption of your climax, almost collapsing into the bed if it wasn’t for his strong arms supporting you.

“can i put a finger in?” his eyes are pleading, as if he’s worried you might deny him.

your head bobs eagerly, and you have to hold yourself back from telling him he can literally do whatever he pleases with you, “god, yes. just don’t stop, please.”

“you’re so adorable when you beg for me,” he grins as his lips find your clit once more as he eases not one but two fingers into your waiting hole. your moans fill the room at being so suddenly and pleasantly filled to the brim, your eyes rolling into your brain. xavier’s pace leaves nothing to be desired, his movement producing absolutely filthy noises to mix with the sounds of your moans. you can feel him scissoring his fingers in and out, stretching you out against his soaking hands.

“you’re so tight even around just my fingers…” he trails off in wonder, pondering how he’d possibly fit himself inside you, if you’d allow him.

“m’s-sorry,” you pant against his ministrations stretching you to the fullest you’ve ever felt, “xavier, th-think i might cum soon.”

your words fuel him further, the squelching sounds music to his ears. the pleasure is endless and you’re starting to see white. without stopping his fingers, he murmurs against your clit, “please give it to me. cum for me, love. i need it.”

combined with his expert fingers weaving in and out of you, his demand sends your hurtling through your orgasm. your thighs threaten to crush his skull as they tremble uncontrollably on his shoulders. you release all over his face, his mouth still latched onto you, gushing into his waiting mouth as you chant his name like a prayer. he replaces his fingers with his tongue, giving your aching clit a much needed break while still working you through your fierce orgasm. you softly scream in response to this warm tongue inside of you, shuddering through the final waves of your orgasm while xavier laps up all of your release, not letting even a single drop be wasted.

as your body heaves, xavier removes himself from your thighs, softly setting you down against the bed. he murmurs, “you taste so good. better than i ever imagined.”

his words fuel you with confidence, and you feel the irresistible urge to return all the pleasure xavier just gave you. your thighs are absolute jelly, but you crawl to your knees to face him. taking his face into your hands, you lean in so your lips are millimeters apart and whisper, “my turn please.”

xavier’s eyes smolder, and he lets himself be pushed down backwards onto the bed, with you slotting between his thighs like he’d done to you. feeling confident from the aftermath of your orgasm, you lean down and kiss his bulge through his soaked sweatpants. he hisses, as his hands cup the back of his head on the pillow. his reactions only serve to embolden you further, and you lick a strip down his pants, relishing in the salty taste of his pre cum on your tongue. unable to wait further, you pull his joggers and undergarments down together, and his cock springs free. your confidence wavers as you’re met with xavier in all his glory. he was unbelievably thick, and the vein you’d felt earlier bulged deliciously against the pale pink skin. you unconsciously lick your lips at the challenge before you, taking him into both your hands and sinking down to lap up the pearly white beads that had formed on his tip, threatening to spill over.

xavier lets out a guttural groan, his hands leaving his head to thread through your hair. he whines as you take his tip into your mouth, gripping your hair gently. the salty, yet surprisingly sweet, taste invades your mouth as you struggle to accommodate his girth in between your lips. determined to please him, you bob down deeper as your tongue lathers the sides of his cock attentively.

“h-hah shit.” xavier is a grunting mess beneath you, “my – ahh – beautiful girl. you’re doing so, fuck, s’good.” he hits the back of your throat, tears streaming down your face. you bob slowly, your jaw aching already as you do your best to take him. with your hands you stroke the parts of him that aren’t in your mouth.

xavier’s hands in your hair are slowly guiding your head up and down, encouraging you take him a bit faster. you gag against him, his moans letting you know how much he enjoys your throat closing around his length. while his thickness threatens to split your jaw, you can’t help but enjoy how he feels inside your mouth, an endless dribble of pre cum your reward for taking him so well. after a few minutes of this, xavier’s hands tighten in your hair.

“s-stop.” you peer up at him through your wet eyelashes. hes propped up on his elbows now, staring at you with an intensity that excites you to your core.

“i…i need to be inside you. is that okay?” he asks, but it feels more like a command. more than willing to indulge him, you lick the stray beads of pre cum that had found their way onto your lips, and you get on your knees so you can seat yourself on top of him. using your soaked slit, you grind on his saliva and pre cum slicked erection, whimpering while it catches on your clit, still sensitive from his tongue.

xavier massages your thighs soothingly, his smile is as radiant as ever, “don’t worry love. take your time. i’m yours to use however you’d like.” his words fuel your pulsating cunt, and you continue to grind on him, letting his tip ghost along your entrance, but not allowing him in. your teasing drives him to the edge of madness and you love seeing his undoing all over his facial expression. the friction combined with his reactions to you are enough to have your second orgasm building in your stomach. the mixture of your arousals lets him glide so easily in and out of your thighs between your leaking slit.

you’ve definitely never tried this before, but the anticipation of using just your pussy lips to pleasure the both of you is so exciting. the sounds of your combined slick so lewd against both your bodies. his cock so close to just entering your waiting hole and devouring you whole. it’s all enough to have you cumming again right then and there, but you know the next time you finish you need it to be with him stuffed deep inside you.

“so big xavier…don’t know if it’ll fit..” you whine, not daring to halt your movements across his cock.

“it will baby, i’ll make sure it fits.” you shiver at his words and finally, you allow yourself to sink down onto him. you wail at the impossible stretch, much more than his two fingers. honestly you’d wished he would’ve used four fingers as that might’ve prepped you better, more accurate to what was stuffed inside you now.

your thighs tremble as you’re able to take his head fully in. the stretch is uncomfortable, but you’re wet enough where there’s as little resistance as physically possible. xavier throws his head back and pants out words of encouragement, hands kneading into your thighs.

“y’you’re so fucking tight it feels like you’re trying to snap it off,” he grits, eyes glued to where your body connects with his. you lower yourself steadily, and you finally seat yourself fully, his cock pulsing excitedly inside you. you gasp for air taking a second to situate yourself before you can even think of moving again. xavier is no better under you, sweat forming on his forehead from the pleasure alone, his chest heaving up and down rhythmically.

“m’gonna move now, ‘kay?” you warn him breathlessly, surprised your brain is even able to still form words.

xavier is equally fucked out, begging shamelessly, “please. need to feel you.” though xavier is the one pleading underneath you, you’re not a fool. ever the wolf in sheep’s clothing, you know he is the one in control of the situation, even if you’re the one setting the pace on top of him.

his pleas are enough to get your thighs moving, rocking up and down, back and forth. you squeeze your eyes shut, falling forward so your clit can catch on the thick muscles alove his pubic bone. xavier’s hands on your thighs inch up to your waist to better guide you along as your pelvis rhythmically gyrates back and forth to better feel him against your clit and inside you.

“hah, i’ve always loved it when you take control on missions. so pretty – shit – f’me, using my cock like this,” xavier pants, holding onto your body for dear life.

the pleasure of his words swims straight to your head, and you can feel your brain turning to mush as you use xavier’s cock to pleasure yourself in ways you’d never dreamed of feeling. you can vaguely hear his endless grunts and whines of encouragement as your heart pounds in your ears. the earth shattering orgasm creeping up on you builds monumentally, much more intense than the one that’d already ravaged your body.

xavier’s breathy cries snap you back into the present, “sh-shit slow down. if you don’t–hah– slow down m’gonna–” he cuts himself off, swearing as he feels you tighten even further around him. as if needing something to hold onto to steel himself, he uses one hand to grasp your breast, squeezing forcefully. you yelp at the painful ecstasy, your steady pace faltering and giving both of you a second to slow down your impending orgasms.

not giving him too much time to recover, you begin rocking again, slowly, torturously, and passionately, unable to stop yourself from chasing the pleasure only he can give you. your hand is planted on his abs to steady yourself. xavier’s eyes lock onto your joined crotches, mesmerized by the motions you make that are akin to the ocean waves pulling in and out of the beach. you pulsate around him wildly and he throbs inside you rhythmically, your bodies meshing perfectly.

as your head is thrown back, your eyes once again inching into your skull, xavier thumbs at your clit. you squeal and contract at the waves of pleasure he induces onto your body with a single touch.

xavier swears inexplicably at your vice grip on his length, knowing your body is pushing him rapidly towards his finish. your slow and intentional bounces have him seeing stars, but he needs more. keeping his thumb steadily drawing circles in your aching bundle of nerves, he uses his other hand to grip your waist and guide you along, faster and harder.

his eyes admire your naked beauty on top of him, he pants out, “s’perfect, y/n. you’re beautiful you know that?”

at his words, you’re a faltering moaning mess as the rhythm xavier sets has his tip hitting deep in your gummy walls, stroking your sweetest spots at every thrust. at this point xavier’s hand does much of the work, your thighs threatening to give out as the only thing your brain can focus on is the pure pleasure of his cock reaching the most sensitive spots right before your cervix.

you’re reaching a point of no return, unable to stop your babbling mess, “x-xavier you’re s’deep, s’big. splitting me open.” you can feel the mixture of slick against the underside of your thighs, smearing against his pelvis as your bodies slap against each other.

“baby you’re making such a mess…hah..fuck is this all for me?”

you whine at his words, “s’all for you xavier..m’all yours.” thighs still burning as you do your best to bounce on him, you grip your breasts with your hands as xavier uses you like a toy. he seems to know exactly where your g spot is, and he hits it every single time, almost as if he knows your body far better than even you. you’re coming impossibly close to your climax, but you can’t fathom this moment between you two ending.

“come here,” xavier whispers desperately, “let me taste you.” with his hands still shoved between your bodies, playing with your clit, you bend down towards him and let him take your lips into his once more. his soft lips are urgent as they take you, and you can almost feel a lifetime of emotions xavier has kept from you. you respond with the same desperation, wanting to show him how much he has invaded your very being. your body, your mind, your heart and soul. it all felt hopelessly intertwined with xavier, and you couldn’t fight it. you didn’t want to fight it.

his tongue, cock, and fingers ravage you in perfect unison. the blinding tension in your gut threatens to boil over, and you try to warn him, “x-xav, can’t take much more.��

“you’re doing so good for me, y/n. i can–f-fuck–feel how close you are. please, cum for me,” he pants, his breath mingling with yours. doing your best to maintain your rhythm amidst the climax that descends upon you like a tsunami, you sink your lips into xavier’s neck, careful to avoid his cuts. the moan that he responds with is a deep guttural warning. that he’s as close to coming undone as you are.

with renewed vigor you bounce atop xavier, absolutely needing to hear him fall apart for you. you spear yourself onto his ever hardening and throbbing erection as his thumb on your clit sends you into oblivion. the bone crushing orgasm descends upon you, and you bite down on xavier’s pulsing neck. You let out a string of incoherent babbles right by his ear, and he eats up every single cry you make for him. the tsunami consumes you, manifesting in uncontrollable waves of tremors around xavier’s leaking cock inside you. wailing through your orgasm, right into his ear, xavier takes you into his arms completely and bounces you violently on top of him, desperately chasing his own release.

“fffuck, you’re milking me y/n,” xavier groans through gritted teeth, “makin’ a mess all over my bed.”

you alternate between nibbles and soothing licks against his neck, feeling how he swelled inside you at his sensitive neck being ravaged. you could tell xavier was impossibly close, feeling his heartbeat throb in his cock as he speared your overstimulated core onto him with every ounce of fleeting energy he had left.

exhausted and completely fucked out, you murmur into his ear, “xavier, please. i-inside. make me yours.” you plant a gentle wet kiss on the deep red bruise you’d etched into his neck. It resembles the strawberries you’d grown together on the balcony.

xavier’s deep and incomprehensible swears ensue, “you’re mine. say it y/n, please.” his thrusts are erratic now, losing himself to the pleasure of your body perfectly wrapped around him.

you squeeze your eyes shut, suckling gently on the hickies you’ve littered across his pale neck, “m’yours xavier, now and always.”

your words send him toppling over the edge, letting out a strangled groan as you feel him release deep inside your cunt, pumping his release as deep as it will go. it’s unbelievably soothing, the warm milky seed relieving some of the ache in your throbbing hole from his intense ravishing.

despite the overstimulation, xavier continues to thrust lazily in and out of you, wanting to keep every drop of his spend sealed inside you, as deep as it will possibly go. it makes him wince, but he can’t bear the thought of any of it being wasted when it belongs inside you. but you tap his pecs pointedly, still laying completely naked and soaked on top of him, and whine, “s’too sensitive xavier.”

he chuckles and brings your face to his, this time pressing a slow and sensual kiss to your lips. you close your eyes, enjoying the feel of his soft lips against yours, your bodies connected in more places than one. with your head still on his broad and muscular chest, you relish in the slowing and soft thumps of his calming heartbeat, absolutely content and blissed out. xavier strokes your hair with one hand, his fingers massaging your scalp, and his other hand rests tightly on the small of your back. as if he’s scared you might disappear at any moment.

inevitably, his softening member threatens to slip out, but you’re much to fucked out to be able to move a single muscle. xavier shuffles gently, and you feel him lifting your body off of him and onto the space beside him. he moves again to shift off the bed, presumably to grab a washcloth to wipe you off, but you clutch his bicep and bury your face into his muscular side.

“please don’t go,” you whisper. he looks hesitant, wanting to clean you up and take care of you like you deserve.

“i can’t fall asleep counting stars. i need them to stay by my side,” you mumble sleepily, not even caring that the mixture of your collective release dripped down your rear and onto the bed beneath you. when he doesn’t respond, you peer up at him, and find yourself in awe of the man before you.

while his face is utterly exhausted, the sleep in his eyes clouding his azure blues, he almost glows. because of his evol, xavier is always incandescent, but this is different. its almost as if his sweat slicked skin illuminates in the soft rays of fading daylight that spill into his bedroom. he catches your stare and he smiles so brilliantly at you that you feel like you’re in the presence of the sun itself. like he’s an angel sent from the heavens to derail your entire life.

he relaxes back down beside you, covering the two of you with his thick comforter. fixating on the sounds of your soft breathing, xavier softly tucks you into his side, with his arm around the back of your shoulders. finally, he speaks gently and so heartbreakingly apologetically, “i’m sorry. i should've responded to your messages.”

“honestly, i’m not that upset,” you sigh into his warm chest muscles that feel better than any pillow ever could. propping onto your side to face him, worry laces into your voice, “but xavier, you fell asleep after getting injured. aren’t you still tired?”

his voice is thick with sleep, deep and comforting to your ears, “yeah.”

“will a good night’s sleep fix everything?”

with his fingers tracing patterns into your naked back, xavier’s pensive for a brief moment. his answer is thoughtful and earnest, “only if you stay and sleep next to me.”

the butterflies that erupt in your stomach bloom into your chest and you're incapable of keeping your voice steady while you continue your line of questioning, “is that why you always say everything’s fine and don’t tell me when you’ve been gravely wounded?”

he hesitates as you stare at him, his arm still wrapped protectively over you.

seconds tick by, “i’m leaving if you don’t answer.” you even make a show of trying to get up, knowing damn well you’re not going anywhere. xavier’s grip on you tightens, quite possessively.

“i promise it won’t ever happen again,” his eyes convey so much more than his words as he stares into your very being. the ardor in his blue eyes overwhelms you with emotions that sting your eyes.

“will there ever be a day when you fall asleep and never wake up?” the question comes tumbling out of your lips before you can even stop it. there’s really no reason for you to even fathom that this could happen, but something inside you demands an answer from the silver haired man wrapped around you.

xavier is silent for an agonizing moment, but takes your hand into his, placing a warm kiss onto it. you shiver at the feel of his lips against your hand. it feels like much more than just a fleeting kiss, but a promise, “if such a thing ever happens, you – and only you – must remember to wake me up.”

you fall back into the crook of where his chest connects with his arm, satisfied with his response, for now. with your hand still in his, you nuzzle into him, doing your best to avoid the trail of injuries that still stained his beautiful glowing skin.

and it felt so good, so right to be held by xavier like this. xavier wondered how it could be that you fit so perfectly into his arms, into his life. you both knew there was a heavy conversation to be had, about where this left the two of you. as friends, as hunting partners, but especially as two people whose fates were so indescribably interwoven with each other. you both decided you’d save that for later, opting to savor the perfect bliss of this moment.

xavier’s unable to keep his hands off you, innocently grazing against every inch of skin he can. his fingers trace unintelligible patterns on your back and his right hand rubs soothingly up and down between your thigh and your hips. his comforting touch feels so inexplicably right, like two stars written in the night sky. xavier was your shooting star, after all.

just before sleep consumes you, you feel out for him, “xavier?” you’re unsure if he’s still awake as you await his response.

“yes love?” from his voice you can tell he is on the cusp of dozing off, still with his hands all over you. your heart flutters at his words.

“you better not ever scare me like that again,” your voice, thick with exhaustion, is anything but threatening as you kiss the skin of his chest muscles.

his languid chuckle is deeper than usual, his stroking halts as he grips your thigh tight, drawing you closer to him and pressing an adoring kiss to your forehead, “if this is my punishment, then i can’t make any promises.”

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justmeinadaze · 3 months

Text

Little Girl Gone Part 3 (Steddie X You)

A/N: I tried to grab all the tags! If I missed any let me know :)

Warnings: Gangster Eddie/Officer Steve & Doctor Fem Reader, SMUT, slight degrading, spanking, slapping, handcuffs, etc. FLUFF, more details about the guys relationship,

ANGST, Per the previous chapters cliffhanger we get to meet Jason Carver and he causes problems triggering Eddie to react impulsively. Steve and Y/N spend the bulk of the chapter trying to talk him out of it. Steve and Y/N talk about past relationships, The boys fight but its an understanding between them (you'll see what I mean), technically not a cliffhanger ending this time!

Word Count: 6883

Previous Chapter Here

Clearing your throat, you regained your composure as you feigned a smile and extended your palm out to shake his.

“Hello there Mr. Carver. How can I help you today?”

“Well, like I told the young lady out there, I’m just here for a checkup. I’m embarrassed to say I wasn’t even aware this little office was here and so close to my house!”, he chuckled as he leaned against the counter.

Your head slightly ticked to the side at his statement as you pretended to read his chart. Carver’s side of Hawkins was nowhere near your clinic with you actually being a lot closer to Eddie’s building then any of Jason’s.

“Is that right?”

As the gangster nods, he turns his back to you for a moment to check his phone allowing you to sneak towards your sink and turn on the water as you pretended to wash your hands, utilizing your own device as you call Eddie’s phone.

“If anything happens, you see something or feel unsafe just call my cell. I’m more likely to answer than Steve who’s always on the move.”

Casually fumbling with your hair, you slide the wireless earbud into your ear and slide your device back into your pocket just as Jason turns back around.

“Please forgive me. Didn’t mean to break one of your rules.”, he laughs softly as he points to your “No Cell Phones” sign.

“Hey princess. I was just thinking about you.”, Eddie’s voice sweetly flowed from your phone.

“Oh, don’t worry about it, Mr. Carver. I completely understand.” You heard clicking that sounded like a gun being loaded as you focused on the man in front of you. “Now was there a particular reason you felt like you needed a checkup or did you just wanted to keep up appearances?”

“No Steve, fuck you. I’m not staying put. This fucker has the nerve to come on to MY territory and…well then I’ll meet you there. You better get there before me because I swear to God if this asshole wants a war… The fuck did you just say to me!? Goddamn it!”

“I have to confess; I did have a bit of a reason. My head and my shoulder have really been bothering me.”

“Steve’s on the way, Y/N. He said he’s a couple of minutes away and so am I. Just stay calm, baby.”

“That’s not uncommon with things like…migraines. I, um, I can run some tests and prescribe you some medication that…that will help.”

Jason takes a few steps toward you as he speaks.

“I would appreciate that. It just genuinely feels like I got shot in the forehead or something.”, he chuckles as he moves again till he’s right in front of you.

“I think you should leave.”

“Aw, why? I’ve heard from the community around here that you’d be the person to come to for pain and I’m in a lot of it. You see, I had to bury one of my close friends yesterday.”

“What does that have to do with me?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out, honey.”

“Don’t call me that.”, you growl making him smirk down at you before pushing some of your hair behind your ear displaying the earbud.

“She seems like a strong one, Munson. Beautiful. Girl in uniform. You definitely have a type.”

“Don’t touch me either.”

“Or what, honey, huh?”

The exam room door flies open as Steve barrels through with his gun drawn.

“Jason. You’re on the wrong side of town.”

“Put me on speaker, Y/N.”

Removing the device from your ear, you do what he says and hold your phone towards the gangster whose eyebrows raise in amusement.

“Is that my favorite rival?”

“Jason… you’re playing with fire. First you come on my territory, kidnap, and hurt Steve. Then you send one of your idiots to point a gun in my face. Normally this would be strike three but I’m giving you an out here. Stay away from them and off my side of Hawkins and we’ll do the same.”

“You know, Eddie, that sounds like a sweet deal. Let me talk it over with my team and…oh wait. You killed half my team.”

“You hurt the man I love. You started this… Don’t play the victim now.”

“No, you know who’s a victim? Andrew, Patrick, Samuel, and all of my other friends you killed.”, he sneered as his eyes met your own. “Soon you’ll know what it feels like. You won’t know when or where, freak, but I assure you I will be there when your pig and little whore here become victims to. Unless… you want to switch sides and come with me, pretty girl.”

As his hand reached out to touch your face, your fist reached out to punch him, knocking him backwards just in time for Steve to move forward, grab your wrist, and pull you behind him.

“Like you said, asshole, I have a type. She’s a lot stronger than she seems. However…”

The door to the room opens again as Eddie saunters in cocking his gun and points it in the other man’s face.

“If you ever pull a stunt like this again or lay one hand on her, there will be nowhere you could run where we wouldn’t find you. I’m not Allen, Jason. I’m not going to let the stupid bullshit you used to do slide.”

Moving aside to stand by Steve, he allowed the gangster to stand and adjust his suit as he headed for the door.

“You’re right, Munson. You aren’t Allen. The streets ran better with him in charge and you’re nothing like him. You may think these people respect you but I assure you they pity you.”, he spat before leaving the way he came.

The officer immediately turned around and cupped your head in his hands.

“Are you ok, honey? You did really good.”

You aggressively nod, gripping his wrist as you lean your forehead against his.

“Yeah, I’m ok. What does this mean?”

“It means I fucking slaughter that asshole and show him exactly how people respect me.”, Eddie grumble as tucked away his weapon.

“No, it doesn’t. That’s something impulsive Allen would do but not you.”

The gangster chuckled under his breath casually walking towards the officer, placing himself mere inches from him with a stoic expression but eyes filled with fury.

“That’s the second time today you, Steven, have insinuated I’m acting like my father and second person today to compare me to him. I am the boss of the Munson crew and I know how to handle my business. Now, go back to being the dirty cop and shut the fuck up.”

“I’m dirty because of you, babe. Everything I do is for you.”

“Wait…”, you begged as you step between them, each man prepared to duke it out here in your exam room. “Wait, don’t do this here. We can talk about it tonight in your loft.”

“We?”, Eddie sneered as he backed away. “You two can come over but the conversation will be the same. I know what I’m doing and neither of you have any say but especially you, little girl.”

“The head of a gang just threatened my life. I’m allowed to have an opinion on this.”

“Edward Munson, don’t do anything till we talk or I swear to God, I will arrest you and take you in myself.”

The gangster bit his bottom lip, huffing at he turned to leave.

“Well then bring your handcuffs, sweetheart, because you will need them.”

##############

Steve stayed with you the rest of the day and after you got off, drove with you to Eddie’s building. As soon as you both stepped in you could feel the energy buzzing around what happened.

“Hey Marcus. Please tell me he’s at least in his apartment.”

“Yes, sir, Mr. Harrington, but he has had people coming and going.”

“Great. Thanks, bud.”

The man behind the desk smiles at you as you wave politely, your other hand firmly locked with the officer’s as he led you to the elevator.

“Is this normal? Have you ever seen him like this?”, you ask.

“Uh, yeah, but not at this scale.” As the door to the elevator closes, he sighs before turning to face you. “We meant what we said, Y/N, about not hurting you or anything like that but we both can get feisty when we’re heated. If anything makes you feel uncomfortable or you get scared just say that word we taught you, ok?”

The entire week you stayed with them after what happened with Andrew, you not only spent that time getting to know each other but they explained some rules they like to follow when it comes to “playing rough.” Steve told you that due to their line of work sometimes they liked to take out their stresses on each other which made you giggle at the time when his eyes playfully rolled back.

“We like to go all out, you know? Slapping, choking, degrading… of course, honey, you don’t have to do any of that.”

“I don’t mind you doing any of that. Just don’t like punch me or cut me.”

“Sweetheart, we aren’t into that kinda thing either. Trust me, we see it enough out there.”, Eddie teases as he points absently towards the window. “If you don’t like something we’re doing or you need us to stop just say ‘Red’, alright?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Oh, Munson. She has manners. I like that.”

“Yes, sir.”

The officer grins as he leans down to kiss your lips.

As soon as you enter Eddie’s apartment you’re stunned by the chaos around you. There were guns laid out in random sections of the living room with a gigantic map of Hawkins on the coffee table. Walking further in, you noticed pieces of glass shattered against the wall with liquid that smelled like bourbon surrounding it.

“Ed, this is a rash jump. Shouldn’t the retaliation be level with the offense? A war seems…extreme.”

“Alright, Gareth, what would be level for openly threatening me and the people I care about, hm? Kill more insignificant lackies? Steal some of his product? No. If this is what he wants then I’m going to give it to him.”

“Jesus, man. You sound like—” The gangster’s angry glare cut him off as he rose to his feet, relief panting his features when he noticed Steve. “You know we’d follow you anywhere but we…I really think you should reevaluate your strategy.”

Eddie ignores him as he holds his current glass of alcohol in his hand to his forehead as he continues to focus on the image in front of him. The officer pats Gareth shoulder comfortingly as he leaves and you exhale your nerves as you watch these two men you’ve grown fond of interact.

***

“I see you didn’t wait for me.”, Steve sighed with agitation.

“You’re right, I didn’t, but I haven’t made any definitive moves yet so you’re right on time to say your peace.”

“Eddie, I’m not playing around. If you start a gang war in the middle of Hawkins, I will arrest you and throw you in a cell myself. If you want to act like your dad then I can treat you like him.”

The long-haired man slammed his glass against the table and rose to his feet, striding angrily towards the officer before shoving him furiously in the chest.

“Last time you tried that, babe, we barely made it halfway down the street before you were fucking me and letting me go! You think now you can follow through? After everything we’ve been through? Now that you love me.”

Steve stepped forward shoving the man back with his broad chest.

“With no hesitation, honey. I’d be doing it because I love you. I’m not going to let you get innocent people and/or yourself killed! There are other ways we can do this, Eddie.”

“There’s no other way. I’m tired of his cocky, entitled attitude and I gave him plenty of leeway! His response was to hurt you, threaten me, and intimidate Y/N? No. I won’t have that disrespect!”

“Eddie, doing this won’t gain you that respect. If anything, you’ll lose more or all of it.”, you added trying to help.

“Oh, sweetheart, if anyone has less say in this, it’s you.”

“My life is now on the line to as well as those innocent people Steve mentioned. I see and heal them every day! You told me when we first met that you didn’t kill people you didn’t have to. You don’t have to do this.”

Eddie glared into his boyfriend’s eyes as he reached for his phone and started dialing.

“Hey, Jeff. Yeah, get everything together and—”

Steve hand flew, knocking the device from the gangster’s hand as he tumbled to the side and caught himself on the couch.

“Jeff, it’s Steve. Ignore that order. As a matter of fact, all of you head home for the night, ok? Mr. Munson and I need to have a talk so he won’t be making anymore decisions tonight.”

With exception force, he threw the phone hard against the wall, not even flinching when it shattered. Both men stared each other down as the fury burned around them and you’d be lying if you said watching them angerly pant as their dominance oozed from them didn’t turn you on a bit.

Eddie lunged toward him and you watched in aw as both men began to fight each other. The officer got the upper hand, pinning him to the floor, and pressing his knee into his shoulder blades as he handcuffed his hands behind his back.

“Be careful, Steve! He’s still healing.”

Rolling him onto his back, he checked the gangster’s wound that was exposed due his shirtless physique that had Steve not just checking his side but his entire upper body.

“Why are you acting so impulsively? This isn’t like you.”

“Well, this feels familiar. You sizing me up while I’m on my back, handcuffed. I’m starting to think the reason you restrain me is because you can’t control me without it. Just like how you think threatening to take me in will get me to submit to what you want.”

Keeping both knees straddling his waist, Steve’s palms caressed his stomach around to his back, his eyes never leaving his boyfriend’s as he removed the cuffs accepting the challenge.

“I can control you just fine without restraints. Now… are you done with your tantrum, little boy, or should we keep going?”

The condescension in his partner’s voice infuriated the gangster as he smacked him in the face and tried to throw him off him. This just spurred Steve on more as he grabbed the man’s wrists and held them to the floor.

“Honey, can you help me?”

Nodding, you scurried his way and when his eyes gestured towards his belt, you immediately unbuckled it, even going the extra step of pulling out his cock for him.

“Thank you, pretty girl.”, he coos, tilting his head towards you so you could kiss his lips as Eddie struggled beneath him. “See? She’s a good girl.”

“She IS a good girl. That’s why I’m doing this; to protect her.”

“Don’t. Don’t say you’re doing this for us, Eddie, because we don’t want you to do this.”

The gangster’s jaw clenched at your words causing Steve to sigh in frustration as he leaned down till the tip of his cock was resting on his lips.

“Open.” When his partner remained still, the pretty boy rolled his eyes, shuffling the man’s hands into one of his own so he could free his other to reach behind him and place it on the massive bulge in his slacks. “OPEN.”

Eddie’s eyes fluttered as Steve continued to massage him and without prompting you slide towards the gangster’s waist and unbuckled his pants as well.

“All the way off, baby. He needs to be exposed and vulnerable because that seems to be what he’s into now a days. Right, little boy? That’s what this move you’re planning will do.”

When Eddie moaned, Steve turned to see just as you were running your tongue down the veins of the man’s length.

“She’s a lot nicer than I am because I assure you I’m not going to be that gentle. Now…OPEN.”, he growled.

He tried to remain steadfast but when your lips enveloped him, Eddie couldn’t help but groan allowing Steve to slide into his awaiting mouth. Releasing him from his hold, the officer balanced his hands above his boyfriend’s head as he thrust into him as you lightly mewled at the feeling of Eddie’s palms petting your hair.

“Fuck. That’s it. Keep that sassy fucking mouth open for me.”

Coming around to their front, you help Steve remove his shirt before leaning down beside Eddie’s forehead to tenderly move his hair away from his face. Even though they were upset, both men sighed at the action. You were a nice contrast to their rough lifestyle, not just when you played but in their relationship as well.

“Eddie, please, there’s another way we can do this without people getting hurt.”

Wrapping his arms around his waist, the gangster flipped the officer over and you slid back a bit to allow them to wrestle. You noticed immediately that a lot of Eddie’s fight had decreased especially when Steve’s back hit the wall as he circled his legs around him, locking the long-haired boy in a position that had him thrown over his lap on his stomach with his ass exposed.

Gripping his wrists again in one hand, the other free one came down hard on his behind making Eddie groan.

“She’s talking to you and she’s right, Ed.” Squirming against his hold, Steve’s hand came down again. “Why are you being so stubborn about this?!”

“FUCK YOU!”

His deep, authoritative voice startled you but not his partner as his palm came down once more before sucking on two of his fingers and sliding them into his entrance.

“Are you trying to prove something? Everyone already knows you’re a badass to be feared if needed.” Eddie moaned as Steve’s fingers tapped that spot inside of him that drove him crazy. “You keep saying it’s a respect thing but I don’t believe you. People respect you except that fucking, preppy moron but that’s one man. We don’t need to kill a bunch of people to prove a point to him.”

Steve spanked him again as he mused.

“Is it me?”, you asked in a small voice that makes Eddie’s head hang as his hair blocks his face. “Is it because of what we talked about…about how I’m another vulnerability?”

“I won’t allow anyone to fucking hurt you.”, he grumbled as his eyes shot up to meet yours. “Anyone.”

With incredible force, Steve pushed him off his lap and rose to his feet, pulling up his pants, and collecting you in his arms before carrying you up the stairs to the bedroom.

“Grab anything you may need, honey. We’re going to my place.”

“You have a place?”

“Yeah. Can’t really have it on record that I live with a gangster.”, he chuckles, his face hardening as Eddie enters the room. “You promised me that you wouldn’t let your feelings for me affect what you did out there. We agreed that extended to her when we decided to bring her into our world. If you really want to fucking burn down Hawkins to show the city that we are yours then we’ll remove ourselves from the fucking equation. Oh, and she’s not a vulnerability. Personally, I think she’s one of our strengths. One of the few fucking positive things about us and in our lives.”

“Why do you think I’m trying to protect her?!”

“EXCUSE ME! But haven’t I protected you two?!”, you angrily spit towards Eddie. “You I’ve saved twice, remember? I don’t NEED you to protect me. I can protect myself just fine. I like knowing I have you two there for me though. I…I make myself vulnerable FOR you. That doesn’t mean I’m weak. I’m not afraid of Jason Carver. If anything, I’m more afraid of you right now and what you might do.”

Eddie let out a heavy sigh as his palm flew up to his chest. Taking a hold of your hand, Steve led you past the brokenhearted gangster and out the front door.

##############

Grinning softly, you took in the new dwelling Steve had brought you to. It was a modest, brick interior, studio apartment on the fifth floor of a complex that had a good view of the city. The walls were pretty much bare except for the couple of pictures of sports cars and near his bed his certificate of graduation from the police academy. In the corner, he had set up a little gym area with weights and a treadmill with the same fantasy book off to the side that you remembered on Eddie’s nightstand.

When you flashed it to him questioningly, he smiled.

“Eddie loves that crap. Whenever he babbles about it, I at least want to know what he’s talking about.”

On his nightstand, he placed his badge and gun right beside the medication you prescribed him making you beam when you see he had been following your instructions. Beside his lamp and phone charger was a framed photo of him and Eddie different from the one the gangster had. In his photo, Eddie was on a kitchen counter somewhere with his legs reaching to wrap around Steve’s waist as his ringed fingers tugged at the collar of his shirt to bring him closer. Their lips were inches apart, noses just barely touching as Steve smirked down at him.

“We need to get a picture of you so we both can have one.”

“Does it worry you? Like if you invite a friend over who’s on the force and they see that?”

“Sweetheart, I don’t know if you noticed but I’m kind of an asshole. I don’t have many friends.”, he laughs breathily as he runs his fingers through his hair and takes a seat beside you. “The friends I do have know about us. If I ever go somewhere work related or with any of the other officers I usually go to their places. And of course, I’m the only cop that goes to his place so…”

Your own fingers tenderly reach out to caress his cheek and run down his muscular back making him sigh as he closes his eyes.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah… I’m just…I’m just worried. I really don’t want him to this.”

“Would you genuinely take him in like you said?”

“I would. Which means I would most likely get arrested to.” Opening his eyes, he glances your way seeing the slight confusion as he continues. “If I just brought him, it wouldn’t be enough. I’d have to tell them how I knew it was him and then everything else but…at least he’d be safe. Unless they send him to the same place his dad is at…Fuck.”, he groans as he rubs his palms over his face.

“What would happen to me?”

His head abruptly turned at your question as he became more serious.

“Nothing, baby. I promise. You’d be safe. Eddie has people that would watch over you for us and of course anything else you may need they can get it.”

“I need you two.”, you cry as your head hangs. “I like you both so much… I don’t want to lose you.” Steve’s arm shot out to pull you to him so he could hold you tightly to his chest. “God, what is wrong with me? I’ve never been this, I don’t know, clingy before.”

“We tend to have that effect on women.” He laughs and pretends to flinch when you pull away to lightly slap his arm. “Does it bother you? I mean do you like it?”

“I do. It scares me a little bit sometimes. Eddie says we’re his vulnerabilities but for me…being open like this…in that particular headspace… Most men are always intimidated by me when they first meet me and lately I struggled to get past that first date. My last relationship…didn’t end well…so I put all my energy into finishing my PhD and working.”

“I can understand that. I did the same thing after my last relationship. It’s part of the reason I had the balls to go after Eddie. I did so much reconnaissance and sleuthing that I thought I had enough to bring in the leader of a mafia gang. He, uh, wasn’t what I thought he would be.”

“Kind?”

“Goofy. He told me a dad joke that made me laugh. By the time we got near the station, I didn’t want to let him go. Over the past 10 months, I’ve learned how sweet, nerdy, and adorable he can be.”

“I learned the same thing about you.” Steve scrunched his nose as he laughed at you. “I did. You were a bit of a jerk and I thought you hated me.”

“I told you I’m a jerk!”, he grinned till you both calmed down and he tenderly petted your head. “No, baby, I didn’t hate you.”

A knock on the door had you both more alert as he placed his finger over his mouth in a shushing motion while he reached for his weapon. Rising to your feet in preparation, you watched as he slowly moved towards the sound, exhaling after looking through his peephole.

Lowering his weapon, he opens the door to a disgruntled Eddie who barges through and throws his leather jacket on the couch, his face instantly softening when he sees yours.

“Why are you crying? Is everything ok?”

You wipe your face as he hurries towards you, giving you a once over as you nod.

“Yeah, Eddie. I’m ok. We were just talking about you…how much we care about you.”

“Why are you here, Munson? Don’t you have a massacre to dictate?”

Blinking, he readjusts himself so he can address you both.

“Steve, when you showed up at my door after Carver’s guys jumped you, it scared the hell out of me. You were in so much pain and…”, his voice cracks before clearing his throat as he continues. “I remember what it was like having the shit kicked out of me and the fact that someone had the balls to do that to someone I love; someone that’s mine. I saw red. When Jason showed up at her work threatening to do the same…Baby, I lost my fucking mind.”

“Clearly.”, Steve chided, sighing when you flashed him a stern look. “She’s not just yours, you know. It’s not solely on you to watch out for her. You don’t think when I saw him pressing up against her and calling her a whore I didn’t want to shoot that motherfucker then and there? You’re also mine, Eddie, and if I have to arrest you to keep you alive…”

“Are you still going to go through with it? Going after Jason?”, you ask, relief washing over you when he folds his arms and shakes his head.

“You both were right. There are other ways we can attack him without innocent people getting hurt.” The gangster’s beautiful chocolate hues glance towards you. “I’m sorry I scared you.” As your arms wrap around him, he exhales heavily into your hair as his fingers cling to you. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m so fucking sorry.”

“It’s ok—”

“No, it’s not.”, he scolds himself as he tilts your head back to look at him. “Don’t you ever let either of us get away with bullshit like that. It’s one thing to dominate you. It’s another to frighten you. We don’t want to do that with you.”

“So, what I’m hearing, Edward Munson, is that you need to be punished.”, Steve teases causing the other man’s eyes to playfully narrow as he bows towards his boyfriend extending his arms on either side.

“I’m all yours, Officer.”

“Hm.”

Grinning, he steps forward, placing himself directly in front of him before forcefully turning him to face you as he pats him down.

“God this feels so vaguely familiar.”

“Because it’s been done so many times in the past?”

“Only by you, baby.”

Steve’s face hardens as he spanks the man in front of him as he leans over his shoulder to whisper in his ear.

“Stop talking. You’re in a lot of trouble.”

You watch with intense desire as his palm glides over the gangster’s pockets and reroutes around to the bulge in his slacks. Eddie groans as he licks his lips, his hips slightly grinding to find more friction.

“Too bad you were a bad little boy. We could have been sucking you cock right now or you could be sinking it into her tight, wet pussy. But no… you had to play big man in Hawkins, didn’t you?” When his boyfriend doesn’t answer, he spanks him again. “Didn’t you?”

“Ah, fuck. Yes.”

Abruptly grabbing his wrists, Steve handcuffs them behind Eddie’s back, guiding him towards his mattress, and tossing him stomach first onto his bed.

“Can you do me a favor, sweet girl?”

Stepping closer to him, you allow him to murmur instructions to you making you nod before lightly kissing his lips. After completely disrobing, you climb on to the bed in front of Eddie and per the officer’s instructions, open your legs wide for him to see.

“Fuck, angel. You’re so fucking beautiful.”, he compliments in a strained tone as the other man reached underneath him to remove the gangster pants and boxers.

“Yeah? You like my pussy, baby?” Scooting a bit closer to him, you bite your bottom lip and grin as he nods, tilting his head to kiss your inner thigh. As his kisses trail further up towards your legs, you push yourself back, denying him what he desperately wants. “Oh, I’m sorry. Officer Harrington said you weren’t allowed.”

Steve smirks over his shoulder as he listens to Eddie whine while hanging his head.

“No, hey, keep your eyes on her.”, he scolds, gripping his jaw and forcing his head up.

The long-haired boy groans as your fingers glide effortlessly through your folds, the sound of your wetness making him harder as he tries to relieve the pressure by rutting into the mattress. His boyfriend roughly loops his arms through his own, bringing his back to his chest as he guides his cock into his entrance.

“Fuck, baby, that’s it.”

You had never really been privy to seeing them be sexually intimate and you never initiated any of that in the bedroom. You wanted them to feel comfortable especially since you were the newcomer to the relationship and dynamic. Seeing them now as Steve slammed his hips into Eddie’s, lifting and holding his upper half with his arms alone as the gangster practically drooled mewling his name; it was the sexist thing you had ever seen.

A small cry left your throat as you pushed two of your fingers into your needy hole.

“Aw, look what you’re doing to her, honey. She wants your mouth in her cunt so bad. I bet you do to, huh?”

“I-I—fuck—I’m sorry.”, he sighed exasperatingly.

“I’m sure you are.” Pulling out, he smacked his ass before bouncing on to the bed on his back and man handling his boyfriend till he was positioned over his cock. “You better ride my dick fucking hard.” Holding the base, both men moaned as he lowered himself on to his firm length and did what he commanded. “Mmm—fuck—come here, Y/N.”

After crawling over to him, he tugged your arm and shifted your body till you were sitting directly on his face.

“I got you, baby.”

Steve wasted no time, his fingers digging into your thighs as his thick, masterful tongue went to work. Eddie watched you both with glassy, lust filled eyes as he bounced and grinded on the man he loved. Leaning towards him, you couldn’t help but capture his lips and was surprised when the officer allowed it.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I really am. Fuck, his cock feels so fucking good.”

“I forgive you, Eddie. I forgive you. YES! Steve, please. I need him.”

His hold around you tightened as he shook his head between your legs, his lips making obscene slurping sounds as he flicked his tongue against your clit at an overwhelming pace.

Panting, your body trembled as you came as his tongue continued with its assault, elongating your high. After a soft kiss to your thigh and a firm tap of your ass, you climbed off him, waiting for instruction. Sitting up, he grabbed Eddie’s cheeks and kissed him passionately making the gangster groan at the taste of you on his boyfriend’s mouth.

“I’m sorry, Steve. You know how I am sometimes.”

“Hot headed? Stubborn? A pain in my ass?” They both chuckled softly, the officer running his thumb along his lips. “We talk to each other right? Figure things out together.”

“Yeah, baby, we do.”

“ALL of us. That includes her now. She makes us stronger.”

“Yeah, she does.”, Eddie smiled as he glanced your way wishing he could touch you.

Giving him one final kiss, Steve leans back and pats his lower stomach.

“Come here, honey.” Taking his hand, you let him direct you till you were straddling him with the other man’s cock teasing your pussy lips. “You’ll have to slide back on him but he should be able to do the rest.”

Nodding your head, you reach behind you to hold his length as you guide him inside of you.

“Oh my fucking God.”, Eddie growls as you mewl at the stretch.

Steve’s large palms grip your hips as his boyfriend start’s bouncing and thrusting his own.

“Does that feel good, Y/N?”

“S-So good.”

“Shit. You’re both so fucking sexy That’s it. Just let go and take it like a good girl.”

Your breasts hang perfectly in front of his face and when his mouth attaches to your nipple, your pussy clenches around Eddie making him whimper as he picks up his pace.

“Please, Eddie. Make me cum.”

As he does his best to honor your request while restrained, Steve licks his thumb and massages your clit driving you crazy as you push up and lean against the gangster’s chest. You feel him grunt into your shoulder as he releases inside of you, you following as you moan his name into the ceiling. After lightly spanking you, you collapse to the side and watch as Eddie falls forward knowing the man he loves will be there as Steve cups his cheeks and thrusts roughly upwards chasing his own high.

“That’s it, Eddie, baby. Take it, take it, take it. That’s my good boy. Fuck.”

They both groan as the man underneath him thrusts his spend deep inside of him, his mouth falling open as he pants against his lips.

“I love you so much, Steven, fuck. I love you.”

As the gangster croons into his neck and they continue to whisper admiration for each other, you tip toe towards the officer’s set of keys and quietly reappear to free him. His palms promptly come to pet the boy’s head, kissing his forehead before playfully wrapping his arms around you and dragging you over Steve to place you between them.

A warm feeling washes over you as both men roll on to their side to nuzzle their noses against your cheeks as they hold you.

You aren’t sure when you fell asleep or for how long but the strong, delicious smell of pasta caused your eyes to flutter open. Eddie was still knocked out beside you but due to the small space you could see Steve with his bare back to you in sweats at the stove. One of his shirts had been placed by the bed and you smiled as you slid it on, shuffling towards him.

“Hey you. I’m making dinner if you’re hungry.” His grin grows when you nod, turning his attention back to his sizzling pan. Hopping up, on to the nearby stool by his counter, you notice a file with Jason’s name on it.

“May I?”

Glancing that way, he hesitates for only a moment before giving his approval.

The file itself was thick with photos and notes of Carver’s gang showing that the officer really did take his job seriously as you browsed through the details. Kind of like Eddie his father passed the reigns to his son Jason but unlike him, his father was still out and walking freely. He seemed to still have a bit of sway when it came to the clan itself but otherwise he trusted his son. He had been running things for a couple of years before Eddie took over and due to the change Steve noted a few things you found disturbing.

“Hey. Put that down and try this.” You smile as he holds a spoon to your lips and he beams with pride when make a tiny yum noise as he turns back around. “My mom was actually a pretty good cook. She taught me a thing or two.”

“Jesus Christ, it smells good in here.”, Eddie announced, grabbing a desk chair and sliding obnoxiously loud over to you two making you laugh. While tilting up to kiss you, he yanks the file from your grasp. “Bad Officer Harrington. Letting her snoop.”

“She’s not snooping. She asked and I said it was alright.”

“I’m glad you’re not going after him, Ed. There’s some things in there…”

“Yeah. Jason Carver is a prick. I’m surprised his dad lets him get away with half the shit he does but unless George Carver deems you worthy so to speak he doesn’t give a damn.”

Your head shot up as an idea hit you.

“Wait a second, Hawkins does a charity thing every year where the wealthy show up to throw money at causes to make them feel better about themselves.”

“Yeah, my parents go to that.”, Steve replied with a hint of sarcasm you didn’t miss.

“My dad was always invited but never went. He never felt the need to pretend to be a good man.”

“But that’s why I never went. I had heard that the head of the Carver’s attended.” They both continue to stare at you with confused eyes causing you to let out a frustrated sigh as you rise to your feet. “The sponsors of that party have funds for Hawkins medical funds but the bulk of it goes to that general hospital. I’m still always invited…if I wanted to mingle with the donors…make an impression… Come on, guys.”

“Honey, just say what’s on your mind.”

“I can go with Eddie and we can talk to Jason’s dad. Maybe somehow convince him to get his son to leave us alone.”

They exchange a look before the gangster finally speaks.

“Y/N, sweetheart, that means you’d have be seen with me and not just by the Carvers. My team, a few of our friends, and apparently Jason somehow knows about Steve but otherwise he’s hidden. If we go to this event with you on my arm, EVERYONE will know.”

“Including the police, baby. Which means you could have more eyes on you and pressure pushed when it comes to him.”

Your head hangs as you fiddle with your fingers.

“I would never turn you over or tell them anything. I swear…”

“No, honey.”, Steve quickly explains. “We aren’t worried about that. We just don’t want you to be uncomfortable. Of course, we can protect you in that regard from getting into any kind of legal trouble.”

“Your family and friends will have something to say—”

“I don’t have much family and I work 24/7 so I don’t have time for friends. Honestly, the only thing I care about is that clinic, my patients, and you two.” The genuinely smile at that last bit making you blush. “I do. I care about you very much. It’s been a long time since I felt like I wasn’t just coasting through life. These past couple of weeks I’ve really enjoyed having someone to talk to, to hold me, even just hear someone tell me I’m fucking beautiful.”

Eddie gets to his feet and tenderly kisses your lips.

“You are beautiful, angel. Ok, I need to take you shopping so we can get you a new dress.”

“Oh, you don’t have to—”

“I know I don’t HAVE to. I want to.”, he grins. “We need to go over some rules and things if we are going to pull this off. “

“I can come to. Since my parents are attending, it wouldn’t be odd for me to be there and I can keep an eye on you two.”

“My knight in shining handcuffs and a holster gun.” Steve sticks out his tongue as Eddie giggles like a little kid. “Alright, princess, this won’t be the last time I ask but are you sure you want to do this?”

Your gaze shifts between them as a heavy sigh exits from your lungs.

“I’m sure.”

###############

@5tud10-54r4h @munsonzgf @eddiesguitarskills @supraveng

@lilaclazer @ima1986 @micheledawn1975 @foreverminliv @corkadymu

@lemme-slytherin-that-dick @joannamuns9n @dashingdeb16 @sashaphantomhive

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esamastation · 6 months

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Part forty-seven of Shizuroth, aka, the SOLDIER General's Self Saving Shizun.

Ao3 link.

Previous parts: thirty-three, thirty-four, thirty-five, thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, forty, forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, forty-six

You want to be a hero.

You grow up with news that, unbeknownst to your young self, are completely controlled by Shinra, publicising Shinra propaganda, showing scenes of a war that's been going on for longer than you've known how to read. Everyone knows what the war is really about and everyone talks about it, but their tone is defeatist. There's nothing anyone can do about it. It's Shinra. Shinra will do as it likes. Ultimately, few people in your little backwater town really care.

But you don't really understand. You've seen the pictures - the parades, the speeches, the tech showcases. Tanks and trucks and planes and helicopters and the great airships. Shinra technology is already like magic to you - but they also make magic, they make Materia!

And they make SOLDIER.

The SOLDIERs are in the papers a lot. Sephiroth is in the papers a lot.

They call him a hero. The Hero of Shinra, the Hero of Wutai. Your mother reads you the article about him saving a squad of infantry troopers all by himself, how he'd taken a town just with his sword, how a great general surrendered to Sephiroth personally. There is a magazine every other week with Sephiroth on the front page.

Everyone is in awe of Sephiroth. All the kids in the school talk about how cool he is. They trade pictures of him like they're old-fashioned reading cards - until Shinra actually starts making SOLDIER trading cards. Everyone wants the holographic one of Sephiroth with Masamune.

Everyone wants to be like Sephiroth.

They talk about SOLDIERs. How they're superhuman. How Shinra puts magic into their veins, making them like the Ancients of myth and legend - but better! Because SOLDIERs can't just do magic - they're also really strong and really fast, and nothing can stand in their way! SOLDIERs are the best of the best! Their eyes glow and they can lift cars and fight dragons, and just being a SOLDIER means you're a hero.

Because heroes are people in the news, making headlines and having their pictures taken.

And you want to be a hero.

You want to be respected and acknowledged and feared. You want to know that there's nobody out there who can push you around. You want to make it into the newspapers, you want to be the one they write and talk about. You want to be the person they look up to and say, "Wow, I wanna be like them."

So you look into it. How do people become SOLDIER? They go to Midgar, they enter the SOLDIER candidate trials. There are tests, though no one knows for sure what they are. If you pass them, there's some kind of special surgery, and then…then you're in. And they make you into a SOLDIER.

And you're a hero for the rest of your life.

So you leave home. You make it all the way across the Planet and to Midgar. You sleep in an inn that costs too much, and you go to Shinra Building, and you ask the ladies at the reception, "How do I apply for the SOLDIER candidate trials?"

They laugh, and they give you a form to fill, which you pretend to read, but you don't, really, you're too excited. You sign everything, and they tell you, "Come back in two weeks, that's when the trials start."

In two weeks you use up all your savings and see the best Midgar has to offer, and you're sick with nerves and starting to worry, and you know you should call your mom, but you can't, not until you have good news. You're really starting to be nervous, but then, finally, it's time.

You head to the Shinra Building. You see the lobby is full of kids just like you, all nervous and sick and excited, and, you can't help noticing, so much bigger than you. Maybe older than you. SOLDIER candidate trials don't have an age limit, but you're worried you might be the youngest one there.

You don't talk to anybody. You're worried you'll throw up, you're so anxious.

A doctor welcomes you all into the SOLDIER candidate trials. He explains: there are several steps to becoming a SOLDIER, and the very first of it is the Mako reactivity test, and that there's no point in telling you about the rest unless you pass it. After all, you can't become a SOLDIER at all if you can't handle Mako! Everyone laughs, nervously. Your forced chuckle sounds like a wheeze. You wish you'd gone to the bathroom before it all started.

They divide the candidates into groups of twelve, and you're in group 8. Each group is assigned a lab, and a man in a lab coat tells you to follow. You take the elevator up. One of the other candidates looks at you and snorts. You're the shortest in the group.

You feel yourself blush, but say nothing.

Your group is ushered into a lab and lined up by size. The tech pulls up a trolley with twelve syringes and a number of swabs. You're the last in line - the biggest goes first.

You watch each glowing green injection closely - you see every reaction.

The first candidate goes pale and begins to sweat. He's told to sit down.

The second candidate doesn't react at all. He's told to sit down.

Third breaks out into red bumps all over his arm and is quickly given another injection. He's the first one to fail.

Fourth candidate reacts like the first and sits down.

Fifth passes out - he's the second one to fail.

Sixth doesn't react and is told to sit down…

Until finally it's your turn.

You watch the needle go in. It hurts. It feels weird, when the lab technician begins pushing the glowing green liquid in. You can't figure out how it feels. It just feels like a lot.

You feel pressure, inside yourself and in your head and all around you. You feel like you're being squeezed from inside out. You feel like you're suddenly very heavy, and yet you also feel light as a feather. The lights in the lab suddenly seem to glow blindingly bright.

You're drenched in sweat.

The lab technician tells you to sit down.

You pass the test - the eight of twelve. Of the four that failed, two have to be rolled out in wheelchairs. Of the eight that passed, two have thrown up.

They tell you you have higher Mako reactivity than is really desired in the program. There's a good chance you - along with numbers one, four and nine who reacted like you did - wouldn't pass the follow-up tests. You're told to not get your hopes up - but also that you shouldn't let that get you down.

"There's another program running right now," they tell you, cheerfully. "They're looking for volunteers for a new type of SOLDIER treatments! You might be a perfect fit for it!"

You don't understand. The pressure inside your head is turning into a headache. You try to reply cheerfully and probably fail.

The next stage of testing would be in a week. They tell you to be back then and send you off.

You're not sure what you're going to do. You've run out of money and can't stay at the inn anymore. You have nowhere to stay and you know no one in Midgar. Your head is starting to really hurt, and the injection site is inflamed. You don't know what you're going to do for another week. The pressure inside your head feels permanent.

You think you might've messed up, bad.

But you still want to be a hero.

#Fanfiction #ffvii #ff7

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little-miss-dilf-lover · 7 months

Note

I GOT SO EXCITED WHEN YOU OPENED YOUR REQUESTS!!! can i request a pietro fic where him and the reader are both avengers and they are best friends, but the reader has the biggest crush on him (she manages how to hide well) and they get assigned to a mission in hawaii and have to pretend that they're married and are there for their honeymoon? and that pretending to be the reader's husband and doing everything together like a couple made pietro realize that he also had feelings for her. one day they both go to a restaurant and have some drinks and he builds enough courage to finally kiss her (in the rain😼)

(i know it's cheesy but i just love the idea😭😭 and also, sorry if there's any mistakes, english isn't my first language hahah)

hii!! omg I love this and cheesy things hehe!! and don’t worry, your english was great! apologies, I had a nightmare writing this, I finished writing it then went to edit the next day to find chunks of my paragraphs were missing :(( but thank you for requesting, hope you like it💌

—

fake dating

pietro maximoff x fem!reader

word count: 811

✧.┊ MASTERLIST

As you and Pietro are the two youngest members on the team -with the exception of Peter- you were often paired together for lots of missions. Being best friends had its perks, especially for trips away where it was just the two of you.

You were both assigned to Hawaii to "collect intel", as Cap lightly put it. The pair of you undercover: smitten newlyweds on your honeymoon. Usually, you weren't a fan of these kinds of aliases, but this was different- it was with Pietro.

It allowed you to tap into your true and hidden romantic feelings towards him without over-complicating everything. Fake dating was like a compromise to you. It felt like it gave you a brief chance to date him without the consequence of doing the real thing.

The moment you boarded the plane, the mission began, and you were all over Pietro- leaning into him and stroking his arm, giggling at his jokes and sharing stories with the elderly lady beside you.

It all felt natural, and you didn't know where to draw the line. You admit you may have gotten a little carried away, but you couldn't help it- it just felt so right to date Pietro, like you could finally be your true self without keeping a part of you locked away.

The first several days of the trip went smoothly, completing all tasks assigned within the first few hours of the day, leaving you both together for many hours doing touristy things.

Each day was slightly different- snorkelling in the ocean for one and eating lunch with the locals for another. You both wanted to make the most of your 'vacation,' so you chose activities you couldn't do anywhere else, nor would you have time for otherwise.

As the days progressed, so did things with you and Pietro. You would find yourselves flirting and touching with no one around- no one to prove things to. He grew more comfortable being romantic with you, a lingering touch to your hand or a soft smile when you speak- just small and possibly inconsequential moments that felt too sincere to be fake.

Today was the last night of the trip before heading home in the morning, so you and Pietro decided to have dinner at your favourite quaint restaurant on the beach, much like a final farewell to the town you both grew to adore.

Everything was perfect- the scenery, the food, the company, even. It was the best end to an already great trip.

By now, you were on your final course of the night, sharing a desert as you chatted in your usual friendly way.

You sit up straight, pointing the spoon at him. "You suit it,"

His head cocks to the side, evidently confused. "Suit, what?"

"Y'know... the sun— being away. You seem happy," you smile, placing your spoon aside. "Haven't seen you like it for a while." You shrug, glancing out into the ocean to avoid his fixed gaze.

"I do?" he grins, pointing the spoon at you like you did him. "Same with you... it's nice to see."

"Maybe it's the company," your smile widens, turning back to face him.

He chuckles, itching his foot closer to yours under the table, slyly bumping into it. "Maybe."

After dinner and more drinks, you find your tipsy selves on the beach, sitting in the sand, huddled together under a blanket to keep warm. Pietro's arm draped over your shoulder, holding you close to him as you look out into the ocean. It all felt so familiar, like second nature- as if this was how it should be between you.

Sure, you've cuddled like this many times before, but this was not like those times- this was different. It was intimate- sincere. Pietro pulls away, glancing over your face as a gentle smile forms, watching the way yours mirrors his.

"Looks like it's gonna rain," you divert, suddenly aware of how real this all feels between you.

He hums weakly, his smile faltering as he slowly leans towards you, his low gaze focused on your lips.

"Might storm," you whisper, adding.

"Mh-hm," he softly replies, almost as if he wasn't paying attention. He slips his hand up to cup the side of your face, his palm resting on your jaw, guiding you closer.

"It might—"

He cuts you off with a small shush, quietening your blabbering mind before brushing his lips over yours, kissing you soft and sweetly. It felt like months of repressed longing poured into a single, beautiful moment. A moment you've long been yearning for.

As you pull away from one another, you wish you could stay here forever. Stay in paradise.

But as much as you hated to think about it, you'd be leaving tomorrow, and all you could think about was how things would be when you go back home.

— — — — — — — — — — ☆ — — — — — — — — — —

pietro taglist: @astermath @thewinterv @earth-elemental18 @lunnnix @idontknowwhattohaveasmyuser @randomawesomeperson102 @queerponcho @selfryed @daenerys-supremacy @dontknownameauthor @mrsbarnesxxx @honestly-who-even-is-this @simplyreflected

#request #pietro maximoff #pietro maximoff x reader #pietro maximoff fanfiction #pietro maximoff imagine #pietro maximoff x you #pietro x reader #pietro fanfiction #pietro marvel #pietro imagine #pietro maximoff fluff

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seat-safety-switch · 1 month

Text

Most small towns have a museum. Sure, they might not be ornate, enormous buildings filled with art. Once you pass a certain amount of people there's going to be some kind of hoard of historical items. We just naturally want to be able to tell future folks that we were here, that the things we did mattered, and here's where we came from, as evidenced by this old plaque, and a blurry photograph of the lady who got mysteriously murdered on this very night exactly 100 years ago.

One thing that almost all of them are lacking is a suit of armour. See, suits of armour are a big thing in museums in cartoons. Whenever you see Scooby-Doo investigating someone stealing t-rex bones, those crazy teens always somehow manage to end up over in Late English Medieval History and hide in a suit of armour. This is probably because suits of armour are fun for cartoonists to draw, and extremely time consuming for local, small-town cranks to fabricate.

Me, I live in a big city, and that means the museum has some very strict standards for what it accepts into its collection. Items have to be "historically significant," or at least not some random garbage that I welded together. They've got a suit of armour. It doesn't come from here: the museum has it because the queen gave us one when she visited. It's part of our history, sure, but only by accident, in the same way that you can't throw away an ugly vase from your mother-in-law because she expects to see it every time she visits on Thanksgiving.

A couple miles outside of the city limits, though, is a small town that I frequently visit. There's many reasons: it's close to affordable rural junkyards, the people are generally friendly to random folks showing up and pretending to have been invited to the barbecue, and the sheriffs are too busy ripping by on the highway to stop in and write exhaust tickets. Their museum fucking sucks, though. It absolutely rots. For starters, it's more of a "drinking hall" than a museum. Any mementoes of the town's last couple of centuries are just loosely nailed to the wall, without even an explanatory label stuck into the picture frame explaining who these ancient folks are. They needed a docent.

All this is to say that it really wasn't that hard to weld together a suit of armour. I had a lot of leftover bicycle fenders from the big internet company that went bankrupt. Burying the suit of armour, waiting a few weeks, and then digging it up was way more work, especially since I had to work silently so as not to arouse the suspicions (and indirect fire) of the good townspeople I was about to scam. Scam them I did, however. If you're in the area, come on down to the local museum. You can tell which one it is by the old, leaking Plymouth parked out front, in the "reserved for docent" 24/7 parking space.

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rise-my-angel · 2 years

Text

Distracted Mistakes

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader

Length: 10.5k

Warnings: angst/hurt comfort, graphic descriptions of violence, implied threat of assault, restraints, smut, p in v, orgasm denial

Notes: Kinda dark in tone but has a happy ending, can be seen as a sequel to Confused Warmth but also can be read as a standalone. Follow up Past Retribution

Growing up, you knew you didn’t experience things the same way you thought you should have. You knew what was normal, but you didn’t have the chance to naturally grow out of childhood into an adult. No, you were a kid one day, and the next, most adults around you demanded you behave just like they did. Sure, you sort of knew why at the time, you were ripped away from your home and into a world where you didn’t know who to be more scared of, the infected or other people.

One thing that you were taught was that you had to be good at the same kinds of things adults were. Few people who travelled with were willing to give you the time to learn, most told you to just do it and shut up about it. It didn’t matter if you were bad at it, or hated it, you were a kid and you needed to just do what you were told. Unfortunately for you, that was a habit you never lost as you became independent. Years of surviving alone, and you still refused to speak up about things you hated. All you learned to do was to be quiet and stew in your frustrations alone.

Months into your stay in Jackuson, Wyoming had helped to unwind some of the more demanding parts a nomadic habitation had forced you to endure, but if you still struggled with anything, it was speaking up truthfully about negative emotions. Still remembering the gruelling years of teenagehood, and the lessons you were taught. How irritated or angry you are doesn't matter, just shut up, do your job, or face the consequences like an adult.

Unfortunately for you, that irritation grew strong that afternoon, sun beating down on your head, pack strapped to your person making you sweat underneath, and the unbearably uncomfortable straining in your lower half all added up. The steady trollop of hooves and the presence of the men you normally treasured spending time with, did very little to make you feel better.

You put a lot of work into pretending as if it didn’t bother you, but the mix of a particularly hot day, and spending hours in the sun's direct path did little to quell the fact that you absolutely hated riding a horse.

You and Joel had spent increasing amounts of time scouting outside of Jackson, but this was by far the furthest away from town you had been since arriving. Tommy suggested the three of you go together to this area he and Joel had been looking at, and bringing the horses made the most sense.

Part of you wanted to feel guilty for being so grouchy, Joel did outright ask you before you left, “You know how to ride, right? Cus we’re gonna be out there a while just getting there.”

If by knowing how to ride, he meant your one time learning how to ride a horse during a short stay at a horse ranch many years ago in which you spent 3 hours total on one? Then sure you technically knew how to ride, but Joel already had one all set up for you when you got there and saying no wasn’t really an option. If you said you weren’t comfortable on one by yourself, you figured Joel would just tell you to stay behind, so you just said yes.

Two hours later, you were ready to jump off this damn thing and never look at it again. Coming to a stop near a set of buildings, Joel’s voice brought you out of your head, calling you name. “You with me?”

Nodding without much thought you moved to get down, face wincing as you haul your leg over to join the other on one side. Before you could step down, large hands grasp at your sides, picking you up and gently placing you on the ground. “I got it, I got it”

“Sure you did.” Joel didn’t even acknowledge your narrowed eyes towards him, one hand keeping you steady as it holds your hip firmly, the other reaching for your reins. “What’d we just say, then?”

You move to grab them from him, but Joel’s arm just raises out of your grasp. With a sigh, one palm finds a home on your hip, “We go through the strip right there, quick clear before grabbing essentials only and moving to scout the two story at the end. I heard you loud and clear, Joel.”

Joel’s face doesn’t change much, eyebrows furrowing downward. “Clearly not, since Tommy said all that not me.” His arm stretched back to wordlessly let Tommy take the reins of your own horse and secure it with the others. “Look if you’re not up for this-”

“Well I’m already here.” Moving the strap holding your firearm laying across your back up and off to hang over your arm, you hold back the attitude you know isn’t really warranted. “I’m fine, Joel. I’m just..”

He takes a small step into your personal space, head leaning slightly down closer to yours, but you keep talking before he can interject. “You and Tommy should start with the larger building. It’ll take longer anyways, and I can quickly make my way through these two small ones and meet up with you two before you even get to the second floor.”

A warm hand raises to the bottom of your chin, lifting up to meet his eye. “Hey, if you’re not okay just tell me.” His deep brown eyes, usually a degree of harshness within them, soften as he takes in your clear agitation.

Your own hand comes up and gently grasps his wrist, twisting his hold on you open, as you bring his hand to your lips with a gentle kiss. “It’s fine, I'll rummage through those two quickly and meet up with you two. You two are faster than me anyways.” Letting his hand fall, you step back to turn to Tommy, leaning against a post watching with a questioning gaze. “That okay with you?”

The two brothers share an unspoken conversation, as Tommy nods. “Works for me. Just keep your eyes peeled.” Joel moves to start off in the other direction as you make your way to the first, and smallest building. You don’t look back to see Joel’s watchful eye follow you with concern.

You’re not normally in such a bad mood, but the relentless heat pouring on top of you for two hours, straddling such a large horse for only the second time allowing pain and soreness to creep up the length of your legs and into your lower back left you uncomfortable to the point of vast frustration. Hearing Joel almost tell you that you should have stayed behind just poking at your already sore spots.

This was still new. You still weren’t used to having a person know you the way Joel does, having a person always watching your wellbeing with such care. You still feared Joel seeing you as incapable. If he didn’t think much of your skills out here, then what did he really think of you back home? Years travelling alone, surviving solely on your own skills, couldn’t match the experience over two decades Joel held over you. He was an adult when this started, you weren’t. And maybe you still worried he saw your inferiority as childish rather than just less experienced.

How long could he care about you in this way if he sees you as childish, afterall.

You made a slow progression through the first building. Too distracted, that’s what you were. You were focused on what was on the shelves, not your surroundings. You grabbed a few things as you moved out of the first room, too busy making your way to the much more full shelves in the back you missed the movement hiding in the shadows. Slipping your bag off of your back, you knelt onto the ground and started sorting through what to take or not.

If you had been thinking clearly, you could have cleared the building first, wouldn’t keep your back to the majority of the room. Realistically, the best decision would have been to stick to the original plan and scout the room as a group. You aren’t sure if you could have avoided what was about to happen even if you paid attention on your own.

Creaking wood had barely even grazed your eardrums, giving you enough time to lift your head up, before an arm came into your eyeline. All you could do was watch as the hand came into view and slammed itself down onto your mouth, while the other arm wrapped around your stomach and yanked you back into the body of its owner with an unpleasant lurch. Your own hands flew up to pry your mouth free with a muffled grunt, but whomever had you in their hold turned their body towards where you could see a second figure standing before throwing you onto the ground in front of them.

Your head slammed into the ground, a sharp sting flowing through your entire head, and the crushing pressure of a heavy weight kneeling down onto your back. Someone pressing your wrists together followed by a painfully tight restraint wrapping around them, another set of hands coming over your head, forcing a fabric around your mouth with such force it knocks your head back with it.

Suddenly your vision seemed to spin, as you found yourself being picked up and thrown face first into a wall, before the perpetrators spun you around to finally face them. Two tall men stood before you, covered in dirt, soot, and what you feared may be dried blood. They seemed gangly for the strength they used on you, but two on one wasn’t a good way for you to gain the upperhand.

“Search her.” One of the men spat out, pulling out a hunting knife as he crowds your face with the blade. “You gonna let the man do what he’s gotta do or you about to get a whole lot uglier.” His breath felt putrid alone, like it threatened to burn your skin off as the blade poked into your cheek.

The other wasn’t any better, his grungy hands roamed your pockets and feeling far too slowly around certain body parts, before checking around your clothes, pulling anything he found as he tossed it onto a small dirty table beside him. Your eyes closed shut, unwilling to watch his touch, when you realised just how badly you had screwed up.

You didn’t notice the strap of your gun sliding off your shoulder, it wasn’t on you thats for sure. Were you so distracted that they had slipped it off you before grabbing you? You opened your eyes to the one with the knife, and there it was. Hanging off of his shoulder, sitting too high on his torso for it to be his own. It was sized for your own height, not someone as tall as this, but you suspected it didn’t matter now.

The other straightened up as you were ripped of your possessions, “Not much good. Couple knives, some first aid shit.” The touchy one looking down at you, “Lady like you out here alone with fuck all on you? You believe that?” His attention turned towards his companion, both looking as sceptical as the other.

The one with the knife moved it up and off your skin entirely but continued to point too close to your body. “If shes all by herself out here with just this,” shifting the weapon on his shoulder, “then shes the dumbest broad I ever seen.”

Touchy man kneeled down to your height as you lean back as far away as you can, hoping the wall would swallow you up. “There’s one of you, and three horses outside. You ain’t alone, right honey?”

All you could do was glare. You wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of trying to yell, let alone give them even a lie. The one kneeling just smiled, a dark and greasy smile to match the suffocating stench that came from it. “We got ways of making you talk, but they ain’t nice so you best bet start talking. For your own sake.”

With a jerk of his head, he seemed to give the other man instructions as the knife holder stepped up and tucked just the sharp tip of the knife under the fabric around your mouth. “You scream when I take this off or do anything that ain’t just talking, I’m sticking this thing right into your face.”

You didn’t move. You didn’t try and speak. So the knife cut the fabric off of you, falling to the ground as you steadied your breathing. “Sorry to disappoint, but I’m alone.”

Touchy man leaned into you more, your head turning to the side to avoid it. “What you just love horses so much you got three of ‘em?”

There wasn’t a chance you’d tell the truth. You didn’t know how many men were here, or what they had planned. You didn’t even know exactly how far away Joel and Tommy had gotten, but you sure as hell weren’t about to put them up on the chopping block. “Those aren’t mine. Not much of a horseback rider.”

The men shared a look, before the touchy one stood up to full height once more. Seeming to speak to the other silently, the one with the knife waved it around as he spoke. “Look, we ain’t that stupid. There’s at least someone else ‘round here, two probably. Either you tell us where they are and what they got, or I go lookin’.”

Touchy knelt down to your height once more, this time his dirty finger just grazing your skin as it moved down your cheek. “And honey, it ain’t just gonna be bad for your pals out there, cus if they got nothing good then you’s all we got, and you can trust I’ll find a real good use for you.”

If anyone came close to your chest, they’d be able to hear the pounding fear of your heart racing, your eyes trying to glare as blatantly as possible, hoping it masked the chill of fear swimming through your body. Behind your back, your hands twitched desperately, scraping against what felt like a zip tie, searching for a way to loosen it even slightly. If you could pull against the plastic just enough, you could force your way out of its hold. You wanted to yell, just enough to maybe get Joel’s attention, but you were stuck. You were stuck and it was all due to your own stupidity. So you just twisted against the ties. You just hoped you could do it before they went beyond what you could come back from.

Joel had barely made it to the second floor before he felt that passing itch of paranoia. It was a sensation he had become accustomed to, but it never failed to hitch up his senses. Neither he or Tommy had found anything particularly suspicious so far, a decent haul of supplies sure, but nothing to send him on edge. Throwing glances over to Tommy, Joel made his way over to a window.

There was no sign of you making your way over at this point, he couldn’t even really see much in the way of movement in the next building. That itch flares up again, this time rising up from a tickle, finding a home in his shoulders. Time and time again, Joel has told himself he needs to let himself breathe. Not to always trust that his instincts are a verified threat, but there was something about you that threw that off.

It had been a long time since he held these kind of feelings in his heart. There had been people before, but it was never anything resembling a relationship. Not for quite a long time. You were different though, but honestly it was too soon for Joel to quite understand why.

You wormed your way under his armour and found the path to his heart. If he were more like his brother, maybe he’d be a little better about handling a relationship. Something had been bothering you, you’d been pretty quiet on the trip out here, and insisting you do some of the searching alone told him you needed a breather. So he let you go alone, he knew you were used to it.

Now though? As Joel stands at the window, waiting to see any sign of you coming his way, he starts to realise that letting you scour a building alone when you seemed to be distracted, might be a mistake. You could handle yourself, you had done so for years, but a wave of protectiveness splashes Joel anytime he was out here with you. No amount of skill you had would keep Joel’s desire to keep you safe from consuming him.

“Nice to see you’re still just as good with women now as you were back in the day.” Tommy teased. You were in a mood, and it seemed Joel hadn’t really picked up on its extent until you had already walked away.

Joel took in a deep breath, tearing his watchful gaze away from the view below long enough to send his brother a noticeably unimpressed look. “Yeah, and I’m sure if I ask Maria you’re always on top of things.”

Tommy’s chuckle followed his approaching steps. “Hey, my relationships have always lasted longer than yours.” Finding a place beside him, he looked down below at the stillness below.

“That’s just because you’re good at tricking them into staying with you.” Both men laughed before letting Joel’s unease fill the air. “It’s too quiet out there.” Tommy looked between the view and his brother. Waiting for him to continue. “She should’ve started making her way over here by now.”

Tommy nodded, he could feel something in his gut growing, similar to what Joel was letting take over. You should have been here by now, you didn’t linger like this, but he had to stand calm, keep that impulsive aggression in his brother from dominating his decisions. “What are you thinking?”

Joel’s hands flexed over the weapon in his hands, “I should go check on her. It’s taken too long, something’s wrong.”

“Want me to finish up in here, or you want backup?” Before Tommy could even get an answer, a door down below opened. From the back of the first building, the vague shape of a man made its way onto the gravel below, before facing the still open door, and making some kind of gesture to another person inside.

Joel and Tommy moved to the side, masking their presence at the window while they watched. It wasn’t the knife at their side that put them on alert, but the man inspecting the strap of the gun in his hand before tearing them off to hold it more comfortably. Weapons may not vary in appearance much, but Joel sure as hell knows exactly what you were carrying and that did not belong to this man.

Tommy leaned in to watch closer, “Vultures. Just a lowlife looking to take whatever they find off whoever they cross paths with. Probably no more than two or three of them.”

Joel watched the man skulk around the back of the alley, peeking into the window of the second building. Antsy, and almost looking a tad eager, and he understands, he’s looking for them. “They know she’s not alone.” His eyes track his every movement, seeing his head looking inside windows, then peeking at the horses as if to catch someone in the act. “They’re looking for who she’s here with. She doesn’t have enough on her alone, they want what we got.”

At the same time, both brothers head towards the stairs. Tommy knows exactly what Joel is afraid of, if they’re too late. “She’s probably being held by one of them until she gives us up or they find what they’re looking for.”

Reaching the door, Joel rests against the wall next to the door, “She won’t. Even if she wanted to talk, girl’s way too stubborn for her own good.”

Tommy makes a slow move to open the door, his voice lowering as the faint sounds of footsteps grow ever closer on the man's hunt for them. “You go out front, I’ll sneak in through the back and cover you.”

Joel nods, pressing his body up against the nearest wall and letting Tommy slowly headed to the side of the building in a more obvious view. The greasy man hadn’t even turned the corner before getting ambushed, seeing Tommy and raising his gun matching the one pointed at him.

Joel throws himself towards him, gripping the hand at the trigger, yanking it down to the ground as before wrapping his arms around his neck in an aggressive chokehold, giving Tommy the chance to get the weapon out of his hands.

It didn’t take much effort until he passed out in Joel’s hold, before being dropped onto the ground. Snatching the other weapons off of him, passing a few off to Tommy. The two brothers share a nod at the other before moving in their respective directions. Tommy headed back, quiet and steady, knowing he can sneak in unnoticed.

Joel making his way to the front, having no interest in keeping up any more level of stealth. These were immoral degenerates only interested in what they can gain from others. They’ll keep you alive for as long as they can get something from you, and Joel wasn’t going to let them take the only other thing they can from a woman they’ve already robbed.

These men were stupid, you realized. There were only two of them and one had walked out the back door to hunt double him. You just wish it was the touchy one who left. Being held at knifepoint would be easier to get around then one watching your every move, let alone raking his dark, sunken eyes over your form.

You could feel the skin on your hands ripping, the heat building up as blood begins to fall from the tears. Your eyes staying on his with a plotting anger, contrasting against his disgusting gaze. You just needed enough room to pry a single hand free of the restraints and you could go.

Realistically you were a bit out of touch with this kind of confrontation. You’re trip to Wyoming was a relatively silent one, and the months you’ve spent in Jackson have been nothing but entirely safe. It had been a while since you’ve been cornered like this, and even longer since you’ve found yourself in a vulnerable position due to your own sheer stupidity.

Maybe that helped fuel this deep anger, this frantic explosion of rage trapped within your chest just waiting to burst. Sure, these men clearly had been hiding out here and would have been found regardless, but at least you would have had 2 much larger and more intimidating companions as back up.

But no, you were uncomfortable, in pain, hot, and cranky and you wanted a moment alone. Hearing Joel almost suggest you should have stayed home just made that worse, like you had to prove you can still do things on your own.

So now you’re stuck leaning up against a wall, with your hands zip tied behind you as you pushed and pulled your way out. If you had any charm or charisma at all, maybe you would take advantage of the pervert’s wandering eyes, lure him over with soft sweet whispers and surprise him with a close attack. You’d seen happenings like it before, travelling with groups and watching the far prettier and leaner women with doe eyes manipulate those around them.

You didn’t have any of that. You simply had an angry drive to get out of something your own choices had gotten yourself into. With that drive, came a searing pull against your skin and the sudden snap of plastic.

Shifting your entire body as if to stand up straighter, the scuffle of your feet and creak of the boards below you hopefully masking the snap that felt so loud in your own ears. He still had all of your possessions, tossed aside too far out of reach. You could make a dash for it, but not only was he closer, but unlike his own partner, he had yet to show off what weapons he already had.

As if following your train of thought, he made a step towards your own stuff. A finger poking and tossing things aside before looking your way, “Your pals must not like you very much. Leaving you with a buncha junk and one gun.” Huffing to himself in a sort of condescending laugh he continues, “Maybe we’ll be doing you a favour, keeping you for ourselves.”

Don’t think about that, don’t even let what that may mean sink into your head. You had to focus, keeping him distracted was the only way to find an opportunity. “Doesn’t seem like you two have much worth while yourselves, why assume me or anyone else has something good to take?”

“Yeah, them horses look like they belong to a couple of barely scraping by folk.” His scoff was irritating, grating your eardrums. But it wasn’t the only sound you heard. A shuffling of something coming this way. It wasn’t his companion, the loud and uncaring stomp of his walk as he took off in hunt had no sense of awareness.

It wasn’t a long moment of suspense, front door wide open, no sound had yet alerted the man to someone walking in. You weren’t sure what Joel thought had happened, if he even knew of the other man looking for him, but there was a darkness in his eyes. A deep black that poured from his gaze into his entire being as he took in the sight.

Your belongings tossed aside, being fiddled with by a grimy tall figure, your body against a wall, hands behind your back, and if you guessed correctly, you assumed the stings and liquid on your face were likely bloody cuts from being thrown face first into an uneven dirty floor.

Part of you wished he wouldn’t, that he’d force you to get out of this yourself, prove that you could handle it alone, but Joel was protective, and nothing could simmer that. Gun raised in aim, his deep voice filled the air. “Pretty cowardly, tying a woman up after you’ve already taken her gun.”

The man almost slipped along the floor as he spun in place, finding a gun aimed in his direction from a man much stronger than him. “Women are wiley things, never can trust ‘em after they’ve been spooked.”

Not much of a well crafted self preservation instinct in this guy, considering he just keeps talking. “Side’s a like a bit of fight in ‘em, and she’s been looking at me like she eager to start one. You get what I’m saying buddy, big guy like you? Probably not keeping her for her face, but I’ll bet she gives you a good fight, right?”

Jesus, what kind of men are these guys used to meeting? He is either that confident that the man in front of him will agree, or he’s so incredibly stupid that reading the room isn’t a skill he has. Either way Joel takes more than a few steps forward, crowding into the already small space, an unmoving gaze trapped on the man. “Give me one goddamn reason I shouldn’t just kill you right now.”

Turns out, the man had a pretty simple answer. From the hand that had sat close to his belt line, a swift move turned a pistol in your direction. At least you had been right not to jump him the second you slipped from the restraint, silver lining. Not that Joel was seeing it that way. His voice growling out, “You know, your partner is still out there. We left him alive.”

Another figure came into view, this one much slower and quieter than his brothers, crept into the faintest part of your vision. With a noticeable raise of Tommy’s own gun, the sound was loud enough to let you know of his presence.

The gangly creep seemed to sound offended and he looked back to Joel, “So what, you want a trade? I look like a fucking barter to you?”

Joel’s eyes narrowed in an almost terrifying malice, “An offer actually. You let her go, and maybe I won't kill you, but the second that gun goes off, I’m dragging your partner in here, and make you watch as I take my time tearing him apart in front of you, before dragging his own knife deep into your goddamn throat.”

An eyebrow raised up in challenge. His attention found a focus, no doubt used to threats being the kind of lowlife he was, but he said he liked a little fight in them. Clearly that didn’t just apply to women they tie up. “You really gonna stand there and tell me some bitch’s worth all that work?”

Whatever deeply aggressive and growling response Joel gave him was lost on you as you looked over to Tommy, watching carefully, an eye on the two men but also you. As your eyes meet, you cast your gaze downwards towards your hands furthest the view of the stand off. Lifting up just enough to show the zip ties, and then furthermore to show the clear snap holding them together. Stretching your fingers out slightly, mimicking a small grasping motion, before casting your gaze at the one holding you hostage.

You could hear Joel speaking, but not really knowing what was being said. You could only pay attention to the slight shifting of Tommys position, just enough to come within a close reach of you. Your captor standing closer than that, he stood just out of view, lifting a knife off of his person, a small one at that.

Your jerked your head in the slightest of movements you could afford without drawing attention. You needed Tommy within view, there was no way he could hand you anything or even pull you to him without being noticed. As he flipped the knife, slowly reaching it towards you from the blade’s edge, Tommy looked up behind you.

He and Joel were a similar kind of expressive, their eyes held a bountiful language of their own, one seemingly only the other brother could speak fluently. Watching him look behind you, you knew he was communicating something to Joel, something unknown, before turning back to you.

Your hands moved to the side together, reaching out to meet the handle, Tommy’s body crouching to keep as low of a viewpoint as possible, but it was fruitless. You wanted it to be. You needed to let your captor get you close enough. Wood met your fingers and you jerked it in your hand to keep the edge pointed down behind you, in the same instance your whole body was pulled into another.

Holding you against his side with a grip so tight, your skin already crying out in protest no doubt leaving a mark in its agony. The pistol once held mere feet from you, now rested against your skin, pushing slightly in on the cheek he held it to. “Fuckin’, she ain’t going nowhere, pal. You two gonna learn how to fucking negotiate.” Waves of nauseating rot hitting your senses, and overwhelming your eyes to fog up as if his smell could melt them. But the fog wasn’t enough to hide Joel from you.

You tried to look impassive, you really did. If you were a better person, maybe you could have maintained a calm and determined look at the man before you. But really, you felt guilt, suffocating guilt that overtook you as Joel looked at you. There was anger in him yes, but the guilt only swallowed you up more as you saw behind it. There was a desperation there, a real, tangible, terrified panic as he watched you unable to just take you in his arms and leave. And it was your fault. Your own immaturity led to this, and Joel deserved better.

You had once told Joel you could take care of yourself, that you had for a while, but now you felt small and stupid. What Joel was seeing wasn’t you taking care of yourself, it was a pathetic girl needing to be saved, someone who he couldn’t rely on. Maybe his panic could turn to relief, but the guilt was filling the air in your throat and constricting your lungs. The panic could also turn into shame, humiliation, a different kind of anger that you were not the capable brave women you tried to be.

Brown eyes met yours, a deep penetrating gaze that knocked you back in time. Early evenings, and quiet laughs with those same brown eyes looking at you in a way you didn’t understand. Speaking the language you couldn’t and filling you with a warmth that had never been there before. Now though, the gaze didn’t feel warm. You didn’t know what it felt other than the pounding of your heart echoing through your head. “I’d let you shoot me before I just watch you walk out with her.”

What you felt didn’t matter. Joel had enough damage on his heart, he had enough loss that threatened to tear him apart for too long. You needed to end this yourself, and you needed it to end now.

So your grip tightened on the blade, eyes casting upwards to the man no doubt looking to flaunt the upper hand he thinks he held. Just as his mouth opened, he was proven terribly wrong.

His reflexes weren’t quite as sharp as he boasted, no doubt assuming any attack would come from a gun, but your sudden movement had simply startled him instead. Your hand reaching around from behind, and finding the blade a new home in the soot covered throat of your putrid captor.

A forceful grunt from you faded into his own cry of agony. Only you pushed it further, muscles burning from strain you had long forgotten was necessary. Knife sliding deeper into his neck as the edge of it was pushed across the skin to carve a wider slice.

Blood blocked your vision. Your face, your arm, torso, all freshly splashed with a disgusting red, as the sounds in your ear turned garbled and inhuman. Feral like a screeching animal, only to stop just as quick as it started.

Letting go of your attack, you felt yourself falling backwards, only for your back to be met with a softer surface than the wall or floor, and you felt consumed by the force pulling you away from the violence. You could only watch as the man fell to the floor with an aggressive thump, only to be approached by another and have the fallen pistol kicked away from its once owner.

It took you a moment to come back, to realise Tommy had pulled you away and into his hold for safety, as Joel kicked the gun away and seemed to be making sure he was dead. Tommy’s grip on you loosened, but his hands remained, one on a bicep keeping more of a steadying hold, the other found itself on your shoulder. A comforting gesture in a small sensation as Joel finally disarmed himself and turned to you.

Teeth and jaw matched both tense and gritting, as the pantings breaths of adrenaline lowered in his chest. This was it. Joel looking at you in a language you never spoke, and the anxiety but expected anticipation of never having a chance to learn it again, threatening to overpower you. You made a mistake, and it almost cost you your life and however little Joel wanted to do with you now was entirely yours to blame.

Taking mere steps towards you, Joel seemed to encompass your whole vision. Expecting him to stop and yell at you, only to find your body being torn from the comforting arms of a friend into the desperate needing arms of the other.

Tommy had taken a respectful step back and given his brother the space he deserved. Joel wasted no time on that chance, and flew into you. Large, rough hands finding both sides of your face and pulling you up and into a dominating kiss. Part of you didn’t understand, but most of you didn’t care. Your hands reaching up to grasp his neck, holding on like a cliff’s edge, one of his own trailing down the path of your hand and grasping one of yours and holding it tight.

Before the force of his lips could take away what little breath you had let, he parts from you to tilt his forehead down onto your own. The hand still on the side of your face readjusts, holding tighter yet not meaner. Holding onto your face as if it was the only thing keeping him from falling into the abyss as your hands on his neck was for you.

Barely a whisper, more of a small muttered prayer, “I’ve got you. I got you.” Joel’s eyes opened just enough to watch you try to say sorry, wide eyes panicked with shame, but he refused it. Once again using both hands to tilt your head down slightly, letting his soft lips kiss your forehead, attempting to soothe whatever was inside before making you look up at him, at his shining wide brown eyes filled without any of the resentment you feared. Just softness to match this voice. “I’m proud of you, baby. You did so good.”

Were you both panting from the exhaustion of terror, or from the fast and rough kiss his gifted to you? You weren’t sure, but all you could do was drift your hands down his collar onto his chest. Shaking your head just slightly, “You shouldn’t be. This was all my fault.”

Shaking his head, Joel tried to speak but you didn’t let him. “It was. I was distracted and stupid. If I just paid attention, or just stuck to the original plan I wouldn’t have been caught off guard. I fucked up. You shouldn’t be proud of me, you should be pissed.”

The hesitation in his face only made this sickness in you feel worse, even more so as he firmly says your name, "What you did was defend yourself, why the fuck should I be mad at you for that?"

Your hands slowly shifted upwards, grasping Joel’s own and pulling them down from your person to his sides before letting go of him entirely. “All I did was fix the mistake I made that put all of us in danger. Don’t coddle me for that.”

This life you’ve grown into has never once granted you reprieve from any mistake you’ve made before. The world always found a way to punish you, give you your comeuppance for the times you’ve screwed everything up. Easy forgiveness, just being able to push what you did behind you wasn’t normal for you, it was simply how you grew up.

Joel took in your unease, eyes looking towards the outdoors, with a view of Tommy busy hiking things up onto one of the horses before turning back to you. “Listen,” his hands finding a resting home on his hips, features on his face twisting to resemble much more of the frustrated glare you had once been so used to. “You didn’t waltz in here, throw your gun on the ground and purposely ignore everything around you. You’re not some dipshit who doesn’t know any better. So I’m not going to stand here and yell at you like you’re one.”

Taking a deep breath, one hand runs down the length of his face as he turns away from you. Only a few paces made before he pivots to look back at you, gesturing towards you. “Do you know how fucking terrifed I was when he had a gun pointing at you? How fucking angry I was having to stand there, watching those grimey hands pull you into him pointing that thing right at your head? Listening to him run his mouth about all the vile shit he very clearly had planned for you.”

Were you able to hear it, the aggressive pounding in Joel’s heart matched your own. “All of that was because of me. I don’t want you to just let me off the hook just because of,” Pausing, not knowing how to put it, or really how to say it diplomatically or even accurately. “Just because of this… between us.” Finger vaguely gesturing the empty air from you to him, shoulders sitting locked and tense.

Anger had thinned out to a quiet uncertainty. Whatever adrenaline coursing through your veins had dissipated completely, leaving only the intimidating anxiety you had felt before. Footsteps echoed loudly in your ears as Joel approached you, as if they were screaming with each step.

Part of Joel had concern written on him, as he looked into you for something specific to search for, until it began to wash away. Flushed out and leaving a far darker and glint in his eyes. There was intent there, and something..well something that you still were getting used to being directed your way.

It was as if something in his head clicked. Like Joel somehow switched gears, and he realized that his intent towards calming you down needed a different approach. And he found one.

“Oh I’m not letting you off the hook.” As his broad figure invaded most of your space, you had to turn your neck up to meet his eyes, and the darker unknown flashing in them was much clearer now. “You don’t get to scare me like that and get off scot free.”

There it was. Your lips parting as it all clicks together, the same sensation finding its way from the realisation in your brain, swimming down to find a place alighting your nerves. Your hands, your senses, and finally sparking a steadily increasing heat between your legs. That unknown in Joel’s eyes was desire, and by the upturned corners of his mouth, you were sure he found the same in yourself. Joel was simply better at recognizing it in you, then you were in him.

You looked over to the open entrance, only having a view long enough to see the tail end of Tommy’s horse being led away. In a less clouded and muddy brain, you would have simply recognized that he was moving it closer to make packing supplies easier on his own. You later would find a deep embarrassment that he had very purposely walked away from the building on his own. But your attention was short lived, being brought back to Joel’s with a hand grasping your chin and tugging it to meet your eyes with his.

“You don’t want me to coddle you? Fine.” His fingers pulling you right up into his own personal space, close enough to feel the air on your skin as he spoke, deep and quiet. “How about I show you just how livid I am that you put yourself in a positon where that perverted fuck was ready to put his hands all over you.”

Another hand of his tightly grasped at your hip suddenly, pushing you backwards towards the wall behind you. Your eyes cast briefly to watch as the view of the open door closed off as you were backed into an alcove. Shoved finally against the wall with a force strong enough to jolt your body, Joel’s grip on your chin tightened once more as he pulled your lips just before meeting his own.

“Is it punishment you want, sweet girl?” His lips grazed yours with each word, causing the heat between your legs to feel unbearable.

This..was new. You should be angry, upset, traumatized, and Joel shouldn't be looking at you the way he does, alone together when the sun goes down. Somehow, your brain was confusing this panic and adrenaline with arousal, but it also seemed to consume whatever Joel felt as well.

So you nodded, barely whispering a please before Joel kisses you. His body crowding you against the wall with no space to move, the hand on your chin moving down to find a firm hold of your throat. Not tight, not hurting, just enough to tell you that he was in charge.

You don’t think you will ever get used to how utterly soft Joel’s lips are. His stark and harsh sitting features don’t give any hint to the gentle plush softness hiding in plain sight. A plump pouty mouth moving against yours, so demanding and dominating you have no choice but to simply follow along.

Raising your hands up, hoping to find a home around his neck, needing to scratch the itch of tangling your fingers in the soft curls of his hair. Joel doesn’t give you a chance though, the second your hands touch his neck, both of his shoot out and snatch your wrists. Holding them in the air between the two of you, Joel keeps his lips brushed against yours.

“Now, isn’t this a punishment sweetheart?” Eyes shut, you couldn’t see it, but you could feel it. His smile he holds against you, borderlines on a smirk when you try to reach his lips once more for a proper kiss again. “If you want to be taught a lesson for what you did, then you don’t get to just touch me the way you want.”

Moving a step back, giving you space, Joel lets your hands down gently, only letting you go right as your arms are back down the entire way. “Turn around for me, okay?”

Joel’s hands find a soft, barely there touch against your hips helping coax you around into the wall. Once you’re facing the wall, Joel’s hands find yours once again, gently bringing them up to sit flat against the wall. “Keep these right here.”

You give him a nod before shutting your eyes, letting your mind focus solely on his touch. The hot air of his breath hitting your neck before tracing down to your collar with his lips. Feather-like presses of Joel’s lips felt like a hit of electricity, and each zap pulling a gasp closer and closer to leaving you.

You mindlessly cast your eyes to the side, only to be met with a wooden blocked view. You don’t know how visible Joel is from the outdoors, but your head is filled with a lightness anyways. A rush flowing through you, a thrill of being found, of being caught. This was also new, this arousal of being just barely hidden from view. A lot of things were new for you since Joel, some of which are new between both of you, most of which are new for you.

It seemed ironic, minutes ago you had shoved a knife into a man's throat, and yet it’s being pressed up against a wall, Joel’s hands flowing up and down your body, lips marking up and down your neck, the threat of his brother walking in at any moment that gets your blood racing.

The gruff husk of his voice purrs in your ears, “I’m not going to tie you up, baby. But if you move them down, or try to touch me or your own body,” One hand hovers above you only to come down and smack your ass. “Then I punish you more. Okay?”

When you don't immediately respond, his head turns slightly into the groove of your neck, his nose nudging into the softness from your cheek. “Sweetheart-”

Your body moving back, desperate to fit your back up against Joel’s chest. Leaning your head back into his own shoulder blade, fitting together like missing puzzle pieces. Straining yourself just enough to peek at his own gaze. “Okay. I understand.”

Confirmation was all he needed. You knew all Joel needed to hear was you being okay with this, as the abrupt shift in behaviour happens so fast it leaves you dizzy. The soft scrape of facial hair, the gentle push of his nose, and sweet lulling whispers leave you entirely, replaced by rough handling.

Joel’s body pressed tightly against your back, and his hands jerking in front of you to undo your pants with no gentle working up. His presence looms over you as he loosens you up just enough to find home for his hands to slide within. One sliding the fabric down just enough to grip the seam of underwear, tugging at it upwards just enough to hold it in his grip while his fingers dig into the meat of your hip, nails pressing in sharper and sharper with each passing second.

The other is ruthless. Joel slinks his fingers down right to your clit, pressing down on the bundle of nerves with the pads of two fingers before grasping it in a hold. Finally the air in your throat flies out, high and wanting and far too loud.

The transgression is given no reprieve, as Joel’s hand releases your clit onto to use what small tight space he has, to slap it. The resounding slap of skin muffled by fabric and layers, but to your own ears, echoes throughout. Another smack to your clit as your body tense up, winding your insides like a stringed instrument about to peak too far.

“First rule about survival, is how to,” a smack, “stay” another smack, “quiet.” The final smack follows a soothing rub of his fingers against your clit almost to soothe it. The dry rubbing from just his fingers, almost stings in a foreign kind of way. The wetness soaking you just below his reach feeling so needy at the raw burn, but also leaving you wanting more of the pain.

As if the mixture of pleasure and a sting of pain was what you needed. You didn’t know what you needed, your entire view on your own physical desires left entirely in Joel’s control. Your teeth came down to bite against your tongue, keeping yourself silent.

Joel’s fingers rub against you, each pass winding that string tighter and tighter as your fingers curl into fists. The cutting of his fingers in your hip slide up, pressing and grasping each patch of skin he passes, a desperate needing hold distracts him for a moment as his hand passes up your tits.

Finally he reunites his grasp on your neck, Joel’s lips only making a short caress over the skin before his teeth bite down. The scruff on his jaw and moustache burn against you as his teeth mark your neck up and down. His mouth almost moving in tandem to his holding on your clit.

It builds and builds, the white hot core making its way to the surface. The whine and need slipping through your purposeful silence. “You close, sweetheart?” Your head nods, biting down harder to keep your silence, “Yeah? Are you gonna cum for me?”

Your lean back, and Joel presses into you in return. He feels it, Joel knows you, knows what you need, but he does it anyways. Pulls his hand from you entirely only to slap his hand over his mouth covering the cries he knows you were about to let out.

“See if you just behaved, I would have let you cum. I’d sink my fingers into your tight little cunt, and let you cum as many times as you wanted.” The hands on your mouth and neck, respectively, join as they yank down your pants only just far enough to give him access to your ass.

Hands grasping and pulling your cheeks, unable to control himself and slapping more than enough that you know you'll be red with the large imprint of his hands, each slap harder than the last. “But you didn't, did you? And now?” A tsk leaves him, “You’re just going to have to wait, sweet girl.”

As his hands leave you, he doesn't abandon you as his mouth leans in. Starting by soothing the red bites he left in his wake, and a kiss finding its way onto your cheek. All you can hear is the clinking of Joel’s belt being open. You feel the edges of the leather as it opens up, loosening, his hands pulling himself out just enough that you don’t even get the reprieve of his bare skin on yours.

Part of you knows you’re ready, your own underwear soaking through enough that if you’re left on your own much longer, it’ll drive you crazy. There’s some part of you that has your nerves set alight. Anytime you have sex with Joel part of you always feels a sense of anxiousness, he’s so much more. He’s broad, and large and the months you’ve been together is hardly enough time compared to the decades of experience he has over you, it keeps you on edge a bit.

“Come here, sweet girl.” Joel’s hands bend you just slightly, arm around your waist pulling your ass to his own hips, and you feel the drag of his cock against your cheeks. You push back against him, pushing a groan from Joel has his cock now rub against you deliciously.

All you can do is plead, “please," his cock slips between your legs, his own hand guiding his cock to rub against you, prodding just inside before sliding back and forth.

You utter his name, it’s all you can get out. Joel slips inside you, just enough to let a moan creep out before thrusting himself to fill your cunt completely. The arm wrapped around your torso pulls you into him, as if the closer your own body the deeper he can push inside you, a groan growls behind you “That’s my good girl, let me fill you up.”

You were right. Part of you would never quite get used to Joel’s intensity and size, he begins pushing his cock in and out of you. Shallow thrusts deep inside you, but quick and pounding. The sight of your ass jiggling against the force of his hips drives him crazy.

Joel moves a hand to grip against your hip and pull you back onto him, each drag of his cock hitting the sweet spot only he has ever known. A pounding with little mercy and the groans singing in your ears harmonising with the hardley held back moans he pulls from you.

The arm wrapped around you shifts back down and rubs urgent circles into your clit once more. It’s obscene, the way Joel teases his fingers past you just long enough to feel his cock, soaked and sliding harshly in and out of your own warm cunt. Only your squirm of desperation pulls him back to stroke your clit in tandem with each push of his cock inside you, now with your own wetness to push you over the edge.

“You want to cum, don’t you?” Joel slows his thrusts, but pushes into you so much harder. The quick smack making way to loud slaps that sound so loud it almost completely overtakes the moans you are crying. You nod, your head leaning back into his shoulder blade. “How close are you, sweet girl? Almost there? Going to soak my cock like a good girl?”

He watches you stretch your fingers against the wall, arms trembling trying to struggle not to reach back and touch his neck, feel his dark curls beneath your fingers. The whine slipping from your mouth brings a smirk onto Joel’s face.

Joel’s cock slides in your cunt fast, faster than before, rushing you towards your end as his deep voice keeps talking. “I’ll fill you up, sweet girl. Fill this hot little cunt full of my cum, okay? Then I’ll give you what you want.”

“Anything, anything you want, Joel please.” You feel Joel’s entire body lean into yours. Head tucked right into yours, chest and hips pressed tightly into your back.

It rose and rose, your orgasm ripping at the seams demanding to be released, until it was at your door. Joel’s cock loses all rhythm, his own groans turning into a higher pitched moaning and just as you start to clench around him he moves his hand.

Abandons your clit and uses the free hand to bring your neck to his mouth to bite down and hide the undeniable moans as he finally cums. You feel him spill inside you, his warm cum being kept inside you as he pushes his cock deeper and deeper again until he has nothing left to give.

Then it all stops. He cock slows as his deep breaths pant into your neck, his hands finally soothing over top of any skin he can touch as he brings himself down. You are stuck in place, your orgasm crawling away from you, leaving you feel an ache between your legs and the stinging pleasure on your clit fade.

“I- Joel…you,” What do you say, you feel so utterly lost. “You said..” Joel’s pants increase, only you realise it’s not really that, it’s laughter. Turning his face into your neck enough to give a kiss.

Moving to remove his cock from your heat, you almost cry at how empty it leaves you. Joel only gave you a teasing reminder of his words. “I said I’d let you cum, not when, sweetheart.” Pulling your own pants back up, he taps at your hips and finally backs off of you to fix himself back up.

Spinning to lean up against the wall facing him finally, the man has the audacity to smirk. Walking towards him, shaking your head almost laughing at the condescending smile he has towards ripping your own release from you.

He meets you halfway, holding you by your shoulders leaning into your face with a small voice, “You be a good girl on the way back home, and I’ll make you cum so many times you’ll be begging me to stop.” His hand nudges at your chin, bringing you in for a soft peck.

You hold his waist still right when he shifts to walk away, “Joel, wait…before we.. about what happened-”

Joel’s hand stays on your chin, while his other encompasses the side of your face. “Don’t ever scare me like that again. Next time, just talk to me, okay?”

Foreheads touch as you lean into his, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I just wanted a minute to myself but..I just fucked up. I fucked up and it was so fucking stupid of me.”

Joel nods against your forehead. Part of him should be mad, but the other part of him has softened. Getting mad at you for something you’re beating yourself up over won’t help. Or maybe he’s just soft for you in particular leaving him unable to summon the ability to feel anything but relief, either way he pulls you into a hug just the same.

“Next time, you’re staying with me, got it?” You nod against his chest and that’s enough. “Let’s go, we take any longer and Tommy’s gonna storm in asking if we got lost.”

Sun shining bright outside, you rejoin Tommy standing casually by the horses arms crossed. Joel’s hand on your lower back, pushes you forward as Tommy comes to put a comforting hand on your cheek muttering your name, “You okay?”

Nodding but giving him a smile, Tommy seems to understand what Joel also thinks. You'll beat yourself up about this enough, neither of them lecturing you like you didn't know any better won't change what happened.

You step away from both, recognizing the look on his face as soon as both brothers turn their attention to the other. Tommy’s face twisting around, eyebrows raising high with a mocking tone to match, “That was quick, stamina not quite what it used to be, old timer?”

You don’t see it, but you can absolutely imagine the flat but irritated glare likely plastered all over Joel's face, probably pointing at him with a childish threat of hitting his brother. “Yeah yeah, and Maria has nothing but good things to say about yours, right?”

The three of you pack up the horses to go, the sun beating down on you as it begins to move across the sky into late afternoon. Before you have a chance to climb back up on the very thing that set off your entire mistaken chain of events, a pair of arms grabs you and pulls you up to a horse definitely not yours.

Joel chuckles as he brings you up onto his own horse, pointing at you to stay before he moves to lure your horse into walking alongside his own's gait. “You’re staying with me, sweetheart. I told you.” A small smile on his face as yours almost laughs.

Tommy hops onto his as Joel climbs up behind you, grabbing the reins from in front of you and leaning into your body once more, only this time, you feel a warm comfort from his body instead of an anxious arousal. The pair of you turning to rest your heads against each other for one peaceful moment.

“I’ll head up front, make sure the path is clear. Don’t fall behind, grandpa.” You don’t see Joel’s response but you assume it’s just as mature as their earlier interactions as you hear Tommys laugh out loud permeating the air then fading into the distance along with horse trotting.

Joel’s own deep tone brings you back calling your name, “You ready to go home?”

All you can do is nod at first. "Listen, what I was even upset about before, it was stupid. This was all just because I was being stupid. You deserve better than that." Joel shook his head, before simply leaning down to catch your gaze just enough to meet his soft lips in one last kiss. That's all you either of you need for now.

Breaking the seal of his lips on yours, Joel stays right against you brushing against them. “Don’t worry, There’s still plenty of punishment once I get you into bed tonight. This isn’t over yet.”

Joel kisses you one last time, smiling at the obvious flustered look you give, before he finally starts following Tommy on the journey home. You and Joel were a complicated pair, things between you don’t always make sense and you’re not quite on the same level yet as much as normal partners should be.

But you and Joel weren't normal, and neither was the world around you. So for right now, you both still were figuring out how to match the other the way you both knew could. That would take you a little time, but you and Joel had all the time in the world to find that harmony.

#joel miller x reader #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x you #joell miller fanfic #joel miller imagine #joel miller/you #joel miller/reader

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presidentbungus · 9 months

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i’m still trying to decide what exactly demo does after the war. i do think he breaks the degroot cycle and i do think there’s a chance his mum disowns him for it. i think he realizes he’s too miserable to ruin a kid pretty early on in adulthood and decides it’s worth it to sit through every long lecture about bloodlines and grandchildren over birthing a child into a loveless marriage and making it just as miserable as he is (which, he eventually comes to terms with, is exactly what happened to him)

it’s hard. cleaving yourself from your family like that, your clan, the people that brought you into the world and half-raised you and filled your head with all kinds of funny ideas about honor. after the war i thjnk he just shuts himself off from the world and sulks for months and months and months regretting his choice, knowing he can never go back, figuring this is the path of unluck he was following all along, destined to die alone in his thirties to alcohol poisoning in a huge mansion he has all to himself. eventually, though, someone does come along. soldier or scout or engie, in town for a visit and they won’t take no for an answer when tavish tries to tell them he’s moved on and he’s not really in the mood for a drink. it’s just one night, they just go get smashed at a random dive bar off the street and probably end the night in jail, but he wakes up the next morning and realizes that whatever it was tipped the single upright nail barely keeping aloft this whole massive pile of misery and self-pity and for the first time in months he wants to live. he wants to know people. he wants to try to rebuild what he had even if it’ll never be the same again

i think he just packs his bags and moves closer to someone he knows, honestly. makes a few calls and picks up and goes closer to wherever everyone else he knew in the war fucked off to, the closest thing he ever had to a family (even compared to the people that raised him), and starts to rebuild his life from scratch. it’s hard but he’s got at least one friend near him who’s probably in need of a project anyway, and he finds out quickly he had much more family than he thought as his coworkers start becoming parents and uncles of their own, and he never ends up having his own kids but he might as well considering how many times he finds himself godfathered, after everything he’d done for everyone, which turns out to be much more than he thought.

i think eventually he manages to get a job teaching high school chemistry or something stupid like that. not for anything resembling loose change, but it’s something to do, and there’s just a little bit of pride in knowing his mum’s probably doing flips in her grave every time he goes into work. he’s not great at teaching what he’s supposed to, but somehow the kids always come out of the class scoring twice the national average on whagever standardized tests they have to take, and he’s basically paying the school to work there below board anyway, buying buildings and funding school supply initiatives with the millions he has stocked up from all that thankless work in his twenties and thirties. even if he doesn’t have a kid of his own he makes himself a part of so many kid’s lives, not just teaching but building relationships, helping with homework and checking on home lives and showing up on the soccer field afterschool to cause a disturbance. and well it’s hard to feel like you’re a horrible useless person when every student you pass on the way to the teacher’s lounge beams at you and tells you about their day. it’s not much to a lot of people but it’s everything to him, finally something he can do that has a tangible positive effect on people’s lives, and that gives him a reason to stay upright, too, keep on trucking, keep being a positive example for every bright eye that looks up to him. for the first time in his life he feels like he’s worth something, without pretending to be something he’s not, bending over backwards in work he doesn’t enjoy to please someone who never loved him for anything he was in the first place. ok that’s it i think i have to go cry now

#bungus headcanons #tf2 #tf2 demoman #copied mostly directly from discord im sure you can tell #IM NORMAL ABOUT HIM. IM AVERAGE.#and none of this is projecting whatsoever. i don’t even know what you’re talking about

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yanderelovlies · 1 year

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Can we please get a scenerio where Joseph is a play boy/ tom cat and what is life was like as Joseph living that lifestyle and then meeting MC. But MC does not return his feelings since they know that he's a play boy and is not interested in getting played. Thank you for reading!

𝓨𝓸𝓾 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓫𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓽𝓪𝓴𝓲𝓷𝓰

Joseph never believed in love. He thought it was some fictional thing people only sang about to sell albums. No Joseph was the type to hop from bed to bed. He never means what he says to them. He just says them because he knows he can get what he wants out of them before moving on to the next partner.

Unfortunately for Joseph, this tactic only works when everyone is unaware of what he is doing. Eventually, he finds himself more on the streets than a warm bed. So leaves for El paso for a better life.

To his credit, it worked out! For the most part. He got a good job as a children's entertainer, which allowed him to get his own apartment. What didn't his change was his habit for a new partner every night. He didn't need to bed jump no more he could just bring them home. Which didn't help the spread of rumors, especially in the building.

He didn't mind it till you moved in a few doors down. Much like him, you had come from a smaller town hoping to find your way in the world. Except unlike him, you looked at the world with big innocent eyes. He wanted to destroy that.

So for months, that's what he had tried to do he got close to you as friend dropping hints that always seemed to go over your head. He got closer to you than he had with anyone else. Eventually, he forgot why he wanted to hurt you like that in first place, and dropped the whole thing together.

Or at least he tried to. Until one night, while staring up at the ceiling, he realized he was in love with you. He never slept that night. He couldn't stop analyzing every interaction the two of you had. Trying to see if there were signs that you liked him back. When you questioned him about the bags under his eyes. He couldn't help but just stare at you. Before shaking his head and reassuring you he was fine.

Eventually, he couldn't take it any longer, and one night when the two of you were hanging out at your place he confessed.

"Y/n I know this may seem....sudden." He wanted to look away from you, but he couldn't. He wanted to see your expression. "I like you. I like you a lot, and I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime?"

You blinked at him your face slowly turning red before looking away. "I...I can't..."

He looked at you worried "what do you mean?"

You began to fiddle with your fingers "I know what you really want out of me...."

Joseph could feel his mouth run dry as he opened and closed it trying to say something. When he said nothing you continued "I hear the rumors...some even stop me in the halls to warn me of your....behavior."

All he could do was look at you in shock and fear. His past was...catching up to him, and there was nothing he could do.

"I don't want to end up with a broken heart...I just want to stay friends....please..." you never made eye contact with him. So you never saw the heartbreak on his face before he left.

Joseph spent the next few weeks avoiding you, drinking his sorrow, and pretending everything is okay the next day at work. It was torture for him. He couldn't even bring himself to sleep with anyone.

After half a month of this, Joseph began to think of the situation as a whole. It was no lie that he got himself into the situation, but surely there is a way to prove that he was ready to put that behind him.

And finally, after a month of avoiding you, he knocked on your door on Saturday night. You were hesitant to let him in, but eventually gave in.

"I'm sorry for avoiding you....I just-"

You shook your head "There is no need im....sure it hurt."

He stopped closing his eyes and took a deep breath before continuing. "Look I just need you to know...I'm going to prove to you that I'm serious about you." His eyes met yours. You have never seen him so serious. "I don't care how long it takes or what I have to do. I will prove it to you."

You stared at him your mouth opening slightly before closing again. You looked away from him trying to come up with something to say.

"You don't have to say anything. I just...wanted you to know." He walked towards the door feeling slightly more relieved than has in a long time.

"I hope you're serious...I hope you prove us wrong."

Now he was more confident than more. Leaving with a smile and a promise to keep.

#sunny day jack #swwsdj #something's wrong with sunny day jack #x reader #yandere x reader #something's wrong with sunny day jack x reader #sunny day jack x reader #swwsdj x reader #joesph cullman #somethings wrong with sunny day jack joseph l #joseph x reader #sdj joseph #joseph haberdae #joseph cullman #joesph x reader #joesph cullman x reader

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raven-at-the-writing-desk · 10 months

Text

Kalim, Azul: Silver Spoon, Golden Boy

Kalim my beloved sun spot... 🥺 Also, gotta love that classic Azul ass-kissing to the wealthy/j ashdaisdbasfiba I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WAS JUST ME, but I wonder if Kalim not knowing where the cash register was is a subtle nod to Princess Jasmine not knowing she had to pay for fruit (during that scene where she snuck out of the palace and into the bazaar)?? Maybe I'm overthinking it!

A Boy in Bloom, and his Blossoming Future.

"How do you spend your days off?"

"I dunno!" Kalim replied cheerily, not a care in the world. "I do lots of stuff, it depends on the day!

“I'll throw a banquet if there's something to celebrate or if there's someone that's feeling down. Sometimes I'll play with the animals—Scarabia has a whole menagerie—or I'll take magic carpet out for a ride! Sometimes I'll chill with Cater and Lilia, or see what Silver's up to in Diasomnia."

"My, my, you're quite sociable, Kalim-san," Azul crooned, simpering and sweet. "It's good to keep oneself busy, but it’s even more important to build and maintain relationships, wouldn’t you say? You manage to keep abreast of them both so effortlessly.”

“Aw, thanks a bunch!! I love hanging out with my friends! I’ve actually been trying to go out more lately instead of bringing people back to Scarabia. It makes Jamil upset with me when I bring over unannounced guests, so…”

“He said that?” Azul pretended to look taken aback. “How rude! I would certainly never do such a thing.”

“No, he didn’t say it. I can just tell. His face turns into this mask you can’t read, or he sighs and tells me off a little. But even if he’s not happy with me, Jamil always does what I ask. Always. For so many years.” Kalim’s smile dimmed, a slight sadness creeping onto his lips. “I don’t want to cause him more trouble than I already have.”

Azul frowned, his flattery faltering. Something genuine pushed out instead. “… Kalim-san. Your compassion for others truly is remarkable. Jamil-san may not voice his true thoughts, however… there is a part of him that notices your efforts and appreciates them.”

“You think so?” Hope welled in the birthday boy’s voice.

“Fufufu, of course. I’m a businessman—and if nothing, I know of people’s hearts.” Azul pushed his glasses up, the sunlight momentarily catching them in pure white. “Now then, please continue to be hat you were saying before. You’ve been going out more as of late?”

“Yeah!” He perked. “The other day, I went shopping with my dorm.”

“Shopping?”

“Shopping!!” Kalim affirmed with a nod. “Usually I’d have people do it for me, but getting to do it myself was like a whole new world! I want to try and be more independent, so I thought this would be a good first step.”

“Well… yes, it is. Baby steps, I suppose.” His interviewer quirked a brow. “And how did that trip go?”

Surely he couldn’t have run into any excessive issues. He was still accompanied by dorm members, so they should have kept him in check.

“It was so cool seeing the places that sell things! I thought that stores would be more like the bazaars back home, with everyone mostly selling one thing. The fruit vendor, the fish monger! Like that!

“It turns out that stores sell lots of stuff all in one place. I got excited seeing it all, I had to grab a little of everything!! Um... then I stood around!"

"... What for?"

"I didn't know where the cash register was!!" Kalim easily laughed it off. "But my dorm mates were nice enough to help me out! They showed me the way and helped bring over the stuff I wanted to buy.

"It was a lot of work hauling it all, so I got them thank-you gifts for the trouble! Then I saw something really amazing while we were checking out!!"

"Oh? And what might that be?"

"Carpet cleaner!"

"... I beg your pardon? Carpet cleaner?" It certainly wasn't the first thing Azul would have imagined to capture the eye of such a wealthy boy.

"Magic carpet wasn't able to make the trip into town with us. I thought he'd feel sad if he didn't get a souvenir... so I hope 50 boxes of carpet cleaner make it up to him!

"Magic carpet loves taking baths! I know cuz Jamil's let me take over scrubbing magic carpet down. His fabric gets all covered in bubbles and he gets all relaxed. It's like he's getting a good massage!"

Azul patiently listened—and internally, he boggled at the mental arithmetic. “A little of everything” plus a thank-you gift for every Scarabia student and last-minute carpet cleaner quickly added up to a monstrous sum. He had no doubt that Kalim had fumbled at the cash register, trying to pay for a simple transaction in several thousand thaumark bills.

That’s one part of Kalim-san that won’t be changing anytime soon: his generosity.

If the octopus was lucky, he, too, would be graced with a smidgen of it. But Azul did not think himself a betting man. Every ounce of energy dedicated to the day was to up those odds.

"I see now. I'm glad to hear that the trip went off without any hitches!" Azul gushed. "You've learned so many new things this year--and I know you'll only continue to grow from here on out! I'm most honored to be your peer.

"You're broadening your horizons with each passing day. You're not the same Kalim-san from winter break. No--even back during the cultural festival, I sensed something different in you."

"Gahahah! You remember that." His garnet eyes softened with both fondness and sadness. "VDC was so much fun! It was also the first time I realized... all my life, I've been given everything I've ever wanted. I never really earned it, did I? I got it just for existing."

From the moment he had been born, there had been a silver spoon in his mouth, and he was golden. The future bright, a guarantee for him. Never questioned, never challenged.

His heart quivered.

"I got used to it, and I expected it. I never thought about what would happen if things changed. Then Jamil was picked as a lead vocalist--and I was so happy for him, but also so frustrated with myself. I knew... I couldn't stand at the same level as him. We didn't shine the same.

"Things can never be like they were ever again. Not until I earn that spot for myself! Not until I can stand on my own two feet at shopping and washing carpets and singing! That's my goal: to make my future golden myself."

"Kalim-san..." Azul pursed his lips. A second later, he let his words go. "Are you aware of how diamonds are formed?"

"Hmm? No, why do you ask?"

"Simply put, diamonds are the result of common carbon deposits being exposed to considerable heat and pressure. It takes billions and billions of years to form a single gem... and even then, a diamond is not always perfect. They can be too small, too rough, any number of things which may make it undesirable to consumers--but a diamond is only a diamond because of all the time and energy spent to form it."

Azul smiled, lowering into a bow. "Kalim-san, you are still in the process of becoming a diamond yourself. When that day should finally arrive, you will be a splendid one."

“Azul!!”

His hat and glasses were almost knocked off from the impact of Kalim colliding with him. Arms wrapped around the merman and squeezed, the embrace like a single drop of sun unfurling into a great spotlight.

“Thanks for believing in me!" Kalim cried through watery eyes. "I promise… I promise I’ll make you guys proud!!”

Azul chuckled. "I'll prepare my standing ovation when the time comes. Any plans to enter VDC as well next year?"

"Maybe when my singing's up to snuff! I've gotta cram in lots of practice until then!"

"Ah, yes. Best of luck then--but do let me know if you are ever in need of any musical accompaniment! I play piano quite well if I do say so myself, and I would be more than happy to lend a helping hand to your efforts."

"Gee, thanks, Azul!! You're so kind! I don't know why Jamil tells me to watch out for you. We should totally jam out sometime."

"Fufufu, why indeed..." Azul glanced up, shading his eyes against the sun, and smirked. "Speaking of Jamil-san, we wouldn't want to keep him waiting. I'm sure he has prepared a grand feast in honor of your special day."

"Oh crap, you're right! I gotta get going!!" Kalim scrambled for his broom, handling it like a hot potato. When he had, at last, clumsily mounted it, he cast a look at his classmate. "See you at the party, Azul?"

"I will be there to support you."

"Cool, see you there!"

With only one hand clutching onto the handle, Kalim took off on his broom. Gold and blue sparkles trailed behind him, white petals spiraling in the vortex of magic.

Even he rose higher and higher, Kalim didn't hesitate to look down. Filled with adrenaline--that oh-so-familiar rush, an indescribable feeling--he excitedly waved farewell to his friend.

He was off to see unbelievable sights, to visit dazzling places he never knew, to learn more of them.

#twst #twisted wonderland #Azul Ashengrotto #Kalim Al-Asim #twst imagines #twisted wonderland imagines #twst scenarios #twisted wonderland scenarios #disney twisted wonderland #spoilers #something no one asked for #Kalim birthday takeover

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iwishiwasbatman · 4 months

Text

Masked Love (Part 10)

Pairings- Jason Todd x OC; Dick Grayson x Platonic!OC

Warnings- Violence, guns, cursing

Summary- When the city goes to hell, Elana steps in to try and regain some control. An old foe create chaos as Elana tries to take matters into her own hands while saving the ones she loves.

Word Count- 5141

“You have got to be kidding me,” I groaned as a broadcast came onto the small video monitor in the abandoned building me, Dick, and Conner were holed up in.

“Hello, Gotham. This is Red Hood, coming to you live from the most exclusive spot in town,” Jason said in the video. He panned the camera around, showing the Batcave. “For too long, this city has been at the mercy of criminals. And I’m not talking about the Penguin, and the Riddler, and the Joker. I’m talking about the ones who pretend to help, but only make things worse.” I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. He was going to get it.

“No way,” Conner said.

“First it was Batman, now it’s the Titans,” Jason continued. “Hypocrites who feed off your terror in pursuit of glory and they turn Gotham into a city of carnage. There’s a new savior in town. First thing I’m going to do is burn the trash. You hear me Nightwing?” Conner and I turned to Dick. “You’re public enemy numero uno… But not for long. Meet me at midnight. You know the place. It’s time for us to finish this.” With that, the transmission cut. Dick turned and made a beeline for the exit. Conner and I followed.

“He’s right. Time to finish this,” Dick said.

“I’m sorry, you can’t be serious,” I scoffed.

“I am. This needs to stop,” Dick replied.

“We’ve got to get back to Wayne Manor,” Conner said.

“We can’t just burst in there. That’s what he wants,” I pointed out.

“That’s what he expects,” Dick added. “We need to break through the security system remotely and I can do that at Wayne Enterprises.” He turned to me. “Elana, get out there and be my eyes and ears.” He turned to Conner. “Stay here.”

“Are you talking to me or Krypto?” Conner asked with an edge in his voice.

“Both.” I stood there awkwardly.

“So, I’m good enough for getting groceries, but not this?” Conner exclaimed.

“I need you to stay here. I’ll see you when I get back,” Dick brushed him off.

“Hey!” Conner gabbed Dick’s arm, spinning him around. I stood back, ready to jump in. “Blackfire was shot! I’m not gonna stay here and do nothing.”

“Look, our best chance of connecting with Blackfire is through that radio. I need you to be here if they call,” Dick said. Conner didn’t reply, but he didn’t remove his hand. “Conner, I need you to let go of my arm.” After a second, he did. “Be here when I get back.” I gave Conner a reassuring look before hurrying after Dick.

“Why can’t we come with?” I asked.

“I need Conner manning the radios and I need you to see what’s going on in the streets. Besides, I can handle getting into Wayne.”

“What if I go to the Manor? I could get in and Jason wouldn’t touch me,” I said.

“Crane’s probably there. I doubt he’d let you off easy. And like I said, I need you in the streets.”

“I think Conner thinks you don’t trust him,” I said, switching the subject.

“I do,” Dick said.

“Don’t tell me, tell him.”

“Elana, we don’t have time.” He brushed past me, making me huff in annoyance.

“You know, this is exactly what Bruce used to do that made you mad. You’re being a hypocrite,” I said.

“Hey, I’m-“

“I get it, really. This is a terrible time with Crane and Jason and the drugs, but you’re the leader of this team. Step up and act like it,” I finished, walking away. Dick didn’t try to stop me. “I’m sorry about him,” I said to Conner once I got back.

“Why are you apologizing? You’re not the one being a jerk,” Conner sighed.

“I’ve been cleaning up after him for years, I do this a lot.” I shrugged. I went and grabbed my duffle bag. “I’m supposed to go patrol the streets. I’ll see you later, but if you need anything, call me.” Conner nodded, turning back to the radio. I sighed and turned to the exit.

—————————

I crouched down on top of the rooftop of Crime Alley, stalking a drug dealer as he approached a couple of kids. His jacket was bulging, meaning he was about to give these high schoolers more drugs than could fit in the backpacks they were carrying. That was a lot. As he stood in front of the kids, one of them began to pull out a wad of cash. I jumped down and landed behind the dealer.

“Selling to kids?” I said. “I’m disappointed.” The dealer whipped around and the second he did, I punched him in the face. He went down, bags of who-knows-what falling out of his jacket.

“You b-“

“Ah, ah. There are kids around. No profanity,” I tutted, cutting him off. I kicked his head down into the ground and he was out cold. “Now,” I turned to the boys, “care to explain why a couple teenagers are buying a crap-ton of drugs?” The stood there, speechless. “Hello? I’m talking to you two.”

“Uh… we-we…” one started, gulping.

“Do you see the city? Everyone is taking drugs. We thought we’d get ahead of the curve,” the other shot at me, crossing his arms.

“And that’s why the city is dying. You think adding more addicts to the mix will make it any better?” I asked. He didn’t respond. “That’s what I thought. Now leave and don’t let me catch you buying again.” With that, they scurried off. I huffed, rolling my eyes.

“You’re no Titan, but you certainly are one of those masked freaks,” a voice said from behind me.

“And you must be a very brave soul to approach a “masked freak”,” I sighed, turning around. He was a tall man with dark eyes and a gun in his hand. He was at the entrance of the alley. “How much water have you had today?”

“Eight cups a day, just like my doctor recommended.” He grinned.

“Delightful,” I muttered. “How ‘bout you put that gun down and we talk this out?”

“Sorry, I gotta protect my city,” he said, clicking the safety off. In the blink of an eye, I threw one of my daggers at the gun, knocking it out of his hand. He let out a pained scream and clutched his hand.

“You should leave. You seem like you need some sleep,” I said. He went for the gun on the ground, but I quickly shot an arrow through his hand. He cried out again. “Come on, man,” I groaned. “I’m giving you an out. Now run along before the next one goes through your eye.” Finally listening, he ran.

A buzzing from my gauntlet caught my attention, and I opened it. The police scanner had a call coming in about a break in at the local pharmacy. Sighing, I adjusted my quiver strap before heading to the location.

About halfway there, I got another alert, this time from my personal security system. Someone was in my apartment, but I couldn’t tell who. They were just a dark shadow. I muttered a curse under my breath. I could go stop a potential threat to the city, or a potential problem for me. I took another look at my camera to see the figure was now sitting in my island chair. Though I couldn’t see who it was, they had the build of a woman and was holding something I recognized to be a knife. In an almost malicious way, the figure waved. Whoever this was clearly was waiting for me. That made my decision.

I continued on my way to the pharmacy, the dark figure in my living room in the back of my mind. I shook my head to clear it as I got to the rooftop across from the pharmacy. There were three cars sitting just outside and another five in the parking lot across the street. I wasn’t sure if all of those cars were part of this, but I couldn’t rule it out.

I dropped down onto ground level and crept toward the back entrance. I strung my bow and kicked open the door, ready to release the arrow at the first sign of movement. The room was clear, but it was just a storage room. What worried me was that, though the room was full of prescriptions and medications, it seemed to be untouched. Why break into a pharmacy and not steal drugs?

Noises came from outside the door. Harsh voices and bangs that clearly weren’t good noises. I peeked through the crack between the door and the wall. From what I could see, which was very little, was a lot of bodies and guns in their hands. I couldn’t tell how many were there because of my limited view and lack of light. What alarmed me the most was the two figures crouched behind the counter. Hostages. This whole thing just got even more complicated.

“Are we in over our heads? What if we all get arrested?” I heard one male voice ask.

“Red Hood wouldn’t let that happen. We’re just helping,” another answered.

“He said the Titans are the problem. If this works, we could eliminate one of them and be in Red Hood’s favor,” a woman added. They were doing this to attract a Titan’s attention? They’d be disappointed when they see it’s me. I whistled softly, positioning myself on the side of the door.

“Did you hear that?”

“Dude, you’re being paranoid.”

“No I swear to god, I heard something.”

“If you’re so sure, go figure it out.” I heard footsteps coming my way and curled my hands into fists, ready to strike. He opened the door and I grabbed him, landed a perfect punch to his jaw, and shut the door with my foot. While he was off balance, I smashed his head into the wall twice, effectively knocking him out.

“Tom?” his friend asked from outside the door. “Whoever you are, come out and we won’t hurt anyone.”

“Do you promise?” I asked in a mocking tone. The footsteps grew louder and greater in number.

“Who are you?” another demanded.

“Batman,” I snickered. I rolled a smoke pellet through the door crack and it burst, covering the room in smoke. I jumped out of my hiding spot and rammed into the first guy, knocking him into another. I sent a flying kick at the guy next to him and swept another’s legs. Gunshots rang out around me, and I did my best to dodge stray bullets, though I could only really pray for a miracle in this situation. I first came out of the smoke, directed at my face. I ducked under it and caught it before jerking it to the side with a snap. I threw the victim into another, causing bothering to hit the floor.

From there, it was a mess of fists and bullets. I proceeded to kick the perps into each other and into walls. I had most of them down when something clicked behind me.

“Don’t move,” a shaky voice threatened.

“Or what? You’re gonna shoot me?” I laughed. I threw my elbow back into the gun as it went off and punched the guy in the face. He went down hard. I kicked the last couple guys in the faces and headed to check in on the hostages. “Are you guys okay?” I asked, offering my hand. The woman took it and nodded. The man was more hesitant to trust me, but ended up taking my hand anyway. “Call the police,” I instructed.

As they did that, I walked over to one of the men on the ground who was still conscious. I pulled him up by the collar and slammed him into the wall.

“You did all this to get my attention?” I asked.

“We wanted a Titans,” he stammered.

“Who said you didn’t get one?” I replied. “Red Hood isn’t someone to idolize. Tell your friends that if I see even one of you pulling anything like this again, I’ll come for all of you.” I slammed him into the wall one time before letting him drop to the ground. I turned back to the workers. “I have somewhere else to be, but the police should be here soon. If any of them try anything, just punch them.” Leaving it at that, I headed out the back door. As I began heading toward my apartment, I patched into mine and Jason’s private comm channel. “Hood?”

“Look, if you’re checking in to yell at me, I’m really not in the mood,” he responded.

“Like you would listen to me,” I scoffed. “I just ran into some of your fanatics. They took a pharmacy hostage to get a Titan’s attention. You’ve caused quite the commotion.”

“You say it like I did it on purpose,” he huffed.

“You sound tired.”

“I am.”

“That leads me to assume you’re not the one sitting in our apartment,” I said.

“There’s someone in our apartment?” He sounded more alert.

“I think they’re there for me. I’ll deal with it.”

“I’m on my way,” he said.

“No, it’s fine. I got it,” I assured him.

“Lanes, there’s only one kind of person that can get past our security,” Jason warned.

“Code names, idiot. I’m in the field,” I hissed.

“My bad, Huntress,” he said sarcastically. “I think I need to come back you up.”

“I need to do this alone,” I said. I was at the fire escape that led to my room.

“Fine, just keep your comm line open. If anything happens, at all, I’m coming to get you,” Jason sighed.

“I’ll be fine,” I said. “I’m going in.”

“Please be careful,” was the last thing he said. I put in my passcode to the window lock and it popped open, letting me slip inside. My feet hit the carpeted floor without a sound and I crept toward my living room, holding a dagger.

“You don’t have to lurk, my love. This is your own home.” I huffed in annoyance and relaxed slightly.

“Don’t call me that,” I said, walking into the living room area. Talia al Ghul sat on a bar stool in the kitchen, flipping a dagger in her hand.

“Why? Does it bring up past memories?”

“I’m pretty sure I’ve heard you call B that.” I pulled down my hood and took off my mask.

“You’re the only one I’ve ever called love. You liked it when you were younger.”

“That’s because you were the adult figure in my life at that point that didn’t beat me with a stick every time you saw me. Don’t get me wrong, you did it a lot, just not every time.”

“It made you better,” Talia said simply.

“Okay, enough of that. Why are you bothering me?” I asked.

“I didn’t mean any unpleasantness,” she said.

“Uh huh,” I said sarcastically, crossing my arms.

“I’m here on behalf of my father and the rest of the League,” she said.

“Then you should just leave now.”

“We have an offer to make you.” She set down a file on the table and I knew what was coming. “Take out the target and we’ll leave you and everyone you care about alone.” I lifted my eyebrow before hesitantly reaching for the Manila folder. “I’m sure you’ve already thought about taking this one out.” The cold eyes of Jonathan Crane greeted me as I opened the file. Even on paper, he looked like a stoner.

“Why do you want me to kill Crane?” I shut the folder.

“He’s become a potential problem,” she answered.

“Is that a fancy way of saying you needed someone I wouldn’t mind killing to try to tempt me back into the League? I know your game. No thanks. You can leave now.”

“We’re not trying to do anything. We simply want Crane taken care of,” Talia tried to argue.

“Talia, I’m not gonna ask you again. Get out. Now,” I demanded.

“I’m coming to you,” Jason’s voice chimed in from my comms. I wanted to respond to tell him no, but I didn’t want Talia to know I was on comms with him. Instead, I turned my comms off.

“You realize this is your chance to protect the people you love. Probably the last chance you’ll be offered. It’s selfish to decline,” she said.

“Then I guess I’m selfish. But let’s be honest, the League doesn’t make assassins like it used to, so there isn’t much to worry about.”

“You sound awfully sure of that for someone who hasn’t part of the League for seven years.”

“Fine. Tell me if I’m wrong. Your father won’t lift a finger unless it’s his life or death, you aren’t really much of a threat, your sister isn’t around, Deathstroke is too dead to work for you, Rictus sucks, and Lady Shiva is someone I’ve beat multiple times.”

“You’re arrogant.”

“No, I’m honest. Nothing you threaten to do scares me nor worries me.” There was a pause.

“Very well,” she sighed, straightening her stance. “I truly hope we don’t meet again, for your sake.”

“Me too.” I locked my eyes onto hers with a harsh, cold look in them. She didn’t try to say anything else, just simply turned and walked out the door. “Asshole,” I muttered once she was gone.

“Jay?” I asked into my comms after turning them back on.

“Are you okay? Your comms went out,” he sounded scared.

“I turned them off. I was in control of the situation. Talia’s gone,” I sighed.

“Did she hurt you?”

“No, Jay. I swear I’m fine.”

“I’m just checking. I don’t trust Talia as far as I can throw her,” he sighed.

“Hey, Jay?” I asked.

“Yeah?”

“Can we meet? My room at the Manor?”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Crane’s here and he’s not exactly your biggest fan,” Jason said.

“Please, Jay. I have to grab something,” I pleaded.

He hesitated, but eventually sighed. “Fine, but we stay in your room.”

“I’ll be there in a minute.”

A few minutes later, I arrived at the Manor and climbed in through the window. Jason was sitting on my bed.

“Hey,” he greeted, standing up. I echoed him as I took off my hood and mask and unzipped my jacket, throwing it onto the bed. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m just tired,” I muttered, collapsing into his chest. He wrapped his arms around me in response and kissed the top of my head. “So much is going wrong and I keep trying to fix it, but I just can’t. I’m pretty sure I’m just making it worse.”

“You’re not making things worse. None of this is your fault,” Jason reassured me.

“Jay, please, call this off. This stupid thing with Dick. It’s just going to irritate everyone. Nothing’s gonna happen,” I pleaded, pulling back enough to look him in the eye.

“I can’t do that, Lanes, you know I can’t,” he sighed.

“Why not?”

“I can’t back out. All of Gotham saw the announcement and Crane would lose what’s left of his mind if I just dropped it.”

“Screw Jonathan Crane. Let’s just disappear. Tonight, we can do it. The Bahamas,” I begged.

“I told you I can’t.”

“What the hell do you have to prove?!” I raised my voice.

“Keep your voice down!” Jason hissed.

“Why should I?! Crane’s in the Cave that you showed him!” I poked his chest. “He can’t hear me!”

“So, this is all my fault?!”

“Yes, it is!”

“I don’t know what you want me to say, Elana!”

“That you’ll stop this!” Then, I lowered my voice. “You and I, Jay. We take Crane out right now and then this can all be over.”

“The Titans will never let me back in, not after this whole thing,” he sighed.

“Then screw the Titans. Jason, let’s just leave. We have the world, and, yes, I love Gotham, it’s my home, but maybe it’s time to move on.”

“Elana-“ A knock at the door cut Jason off.

“Hey, Jason, who you taking to?” Crane asked from the other side of the door. I quickly ducked down on the other side of the bed as the door knob turned.

“No one,” Jason lied.

“I thought I heard yelling,” Crane said. I held my breath.

“I was on the phone,” Jason said.

“With who?”

“Elana.”

“What did she want?” Crane asked, starting to walk further into the room.

“Why do you care?” Jason contested.

“She wanted you to leave Grayson alone, didn’t she?”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean anything,” Jason insisted.

“This is her room, am I right?” I clenched my fist at his words, my knuckles turning white. I could feel the tension in the air. “It’s very in character. How is she, by the way?”

“I told you to leave her out of this.” Jason’s voice steeled.

“Relax, I’m just curious,” Crane said. There was a pause.

“What?” Jason spoke up.

“Nothing, nothing at all. You… you should get going. Wouldn’t want to keep Grayson waiting,” Crane said absentmindedly.

“Yeah. After you,” Jason said. Again, there was a pause before two sets of footsteps faded out the door. I sighed and got up. There were two options in the situation; I could go try to stop Dick from meeting Jason, or I could go see what Crane had going in the Cave. Maybe I could manage both. I threw on a quarter-zip and put my hair in a ponytail while trying to contact Dick on my comms.

“Dick,” I called into them, keeping my voice down.

“You were supposed to check in an hour ago,” he responded.

“Where are you?” I asked, putting on my gloves.

“The radio station. Where are you?”

“You’re lying. You’re on your motorcycle,” I said, ignoring his question. “I have a plan, but you need to listen to me. I’m doing recon on the Manor-“

“You’re doing what?!” Dick practically screamed.

“Jesus, you’re gonna blow my eardrum. I can do this right, without being seen, as long as you can distract Jason without getting too close. No full-on fight. Just lead him on.”

“What are you talking about? Crane is at the Manor,” Dick argued.

“And I have a plan for that. I’ll be in and out, but I’ll need a pickup, so you can’t, for the love of all things, engage with Jason.”

“Are you sure you can pull this off?”

“Positive.”

“I’ll do my best,” Dick sighed.

“Okay. Get to the Manor in twenty and check in with me in seven minutes,” I told him.

“Copy that,” he said.

“Huntress out.” I turned off my comms. I threw the parts of my suit I wasn’t wearing into a duffel bag and dropped it out the window, near my bike. Per mine and Bruce’s agreement, there were no security cameras outside my door. I took the liberty of disabling the ones outside my window, as well.

Before I dropped my gauntlet with my other stuff, I played back old footage of Bruce in the fourth floor main hallway and sent it to the Batcomputer. Bruce still didn’t know I could do this. I waited for the sound of footsteps to hit the stairs before looping all the first floor cameras and heading down to the Cave. Jason had left to go fight Dick and I had sent Crane upstairs, so I would be able to get down without any interference.

The first thing I did when I got down was play the sound of footsteps through random cameras on the fourth floor to buy myself time without Crane. Then, I took in the damage. The trophy cabinet was broken into, weapons were missing, random files were out on the floor, and it seemed as if Crane had gotten into electronic files, too.

I checked the electronic files first, seeing as those had the most information. I didn’t even have to log in, it was already open. There were 34 files viewed in the last 24 hours, which worried me. But what made my heart skip the most was a new file labeled Elana Queen. It wasn’t something Bruce made. It was made 15 hours before. Hesitantly, I clicked into it.

Under the basic information of my appearance and affiliations, there were dozens of lines of theories, each about me. Who trained me, my allies, even incidents I could’ve been involved in. The worst part was that most of them were accurate. A set of footsteps pulled my attention away.

“You like it?” I turned around to face Crane. The sight of him made my stomach jolt in disgust. His face was all sliced up, gross divots in his skin that set me on edge. Despite that, he wore a smile. “How’d I do?”

“A shitty job,” I growled.

“Sorry to hear that,” he said, dropping a chained scythe so it hung by his feet. “This going to sound weird, but I’d just like to say that you’re my favorite Titan, so I almost feel bad doing this.”

“You could always not,” I offered. I drew away from the computer, so that I was fully facing the manic and ready to pounce. I made the connection I would have to go deal with Jason and Dick after this, seeing as Dick hadn’t checked in, so I couldn’t spend forever with Crane.

“I don’t think you know how this works.”

“Sadly, I do.” He swung his scythe up at me and I activated my cuffs in time to block the attack. He kept swinging and moved toward me, but every attack glanced off the metal of my cuffs. I eventually managed to dodge the blade and grab the chain it was on. I yanked it toward me, pulling him close enough to send a punch to his face. He collapsed to the ground and I pulled his weapon out of his hands, tossing it to the side. Then, I pinned him down, throwing continuous punches to his face.

My brain went numb as my fist slammed into him over and over again. Blood splattered across his face and onto my skin, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. This man had gotten my boyfriend killed and then turned him into a killer. He was the reason the city was going to shit and I couldn’t do anything about it.

Crane’s eyes never lost their mischief, even as they struggled to keep open. His laugh was the thing that stopped me. It was airy and weak, but that did nothing to effect the evil in it. I froze as my fist hung over his face and my chest heaved. I could feel the fire in my eyes. If I kept it up, I would kill him.

“You- you gonna finish it?” he breathed. I activated my cuff once again and aimed it at his throat, inches away from his skin. A million thoughts rushed through my head. A small voice yelled at me to kill him right there, but another voice told me not to. I couldn’t think straight so much to the point my hand shook. My eyes burnt holes in his head, but he simply laughed. With a frustrated cry I shoved myself off him and to my feet. “Oh, come on. Kill me,” he wheezed.

“You’re lucky I have better things to do,” I growled. His laughter echoed throughout the Cave as I took off upstairs.

—————————

I arrived at the scene of the commotion where Jason and Dick were fighting as a crowd had gathered. I watched as Dick grabbed one of Jason’s guns and pointed it at Jason, who was on the ground. I flew off my motorcycle and threw my helmet to the ground, sprinting toward the two costumed men. Dick had gotten distracted by the crowd, and hadn’t seen Jason stand up behind him, loading a gun and pointing it at his head.

“Don’t!” I yelled, throwing myself in between them, so my back was to Dick. “If you want to shoot him, you’ll have to shoot me first.” Jason’s eyes softened, but his gun never lowered.

“Elana?” Dick breathed from behind me. I didn’t respond, too focused on Jason.

“I dare you,” I said to my boyfriend. I stared at him with challenging eyes, daring him to make another move, but before either of us could, three gunshots rang out from behind me. I whipped around to see a kid about my age standing with a gun pointed at Dick and and the latter bleeding from his neck in a bad spot.

“Shit!” I cursed.

“I did it for you,” the boy told Jason. Then, the crowd started chanting his name and moving in toward Dick.

“Give me your gun,” I demanded, turning back to Jason. He didn’t move. “Now!” He shook his head as if clearing his mind and handed me his gun, emotionless eyes never leaving Dick. “Leave. I’ll deal with you later,” I ordered. Once again, he stayed put. “Jason!”

“Right, yeah,” he mumbled before turning and sprinting away. I turned to the crowed that had we ended upon Dick and shot my gun into the air.

“Everyone, leave!” Most backed away before running off, but I had to knock a couple of the braver ones’ guns out of their hands before they got the message. When they were clear, I dropped to Dick’s side and immediately put pressure on his wound. Fear crept up my throat as I realized how bad the wound was. “Come on, Dick,” I muttered. “Stay with me.” He opened his mouth to respond, but only coughed up blood. My heart dropped in my chest. I was going to lose him.

#batfam #batman #dick grayson #jason todd #jason todd x oc #red hood imagine #titans dc #dc titans #scarecrow #jonathan crane #red hood x oc #red hood #jason todd x reader #bruce wayne #starfire #beast boy #superboy

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mabelstone · 9 months

Text

Handsome Stranger

matt stone x reader

summary: where reader falls in love with the stranger in the apartment building across from her; part one.

word count: 1045

note: this is gonna be a softer fic but knowing me will probably spice up eventually. i've had this idea for soooo long but i'm not sure how everyone else will like it so please give me your feedback! <3

also surprise i'm australian so i made the character too... u can just ignore this and pretend she's from wherever you're from :)) so your version doesn't HAVE to be australian, she could have lived there briefly? its not that deep enjoy use your imagination

You'd only just moved to Brooklyn from Australia two months ago. The change was daunting and you were struggling to find your footing in such a new place. Though it'd always been a dream of yours to move to New York, you were still feeling out of place and the home sickness was starting to creep up. You'd heard it takes three months for the homesick feeling to flee, so your goal was to hold out just that little bit longer and try to enjoy the experience.

Coming from a small country town, the hustle and bustle of the Big Apple outside your window evoked a strange sense of comfort for you. You never truly felt alone, even though you were 10,000 miles (you'd had to learn the difference between kilometres and miles) from your friends and family. You'd often sit on your windowsill, as your apartment had no balcony, and watch all the pretty lights, and the cars, and hundreds and hundreds of people who occupied the streets. And more often than you'd like to admit, your eyes would wander to the handsome man in the apartment opposite yours. Your buildings were relatively close to one another, and it was safe to assume he also liked to enjoy the city life from afar. His eyes would often wander to your window as well.

Although you'd never shared a word, he'd become a huge comfort for you, almost a part of your nighttime routine. You'd get home from work around five, shower, play music or watch tv while you made some simple dinner, and then your favourite part; sit by your windowsill with a glass of red and admire your new life. Sometimes you'd read, sometimes you'd catch up on work emails. Most the time, you watched the handsome man in the other building smoke his nightly cigarette. Your buildings were quite high from the bright streets with just enough moonlight that you could just make out each others' faces.

Each night you'd watch the orange light illuminate his face, revealing the deep contours of his sharp bone structure. He'd lean his elbows on the windowsill, enjoying the autumn breeze as much as you, who sat with your back to the right side of the wall with your legs out in front of you, giving you the perfect view of the handsome stranger.

You wondered what kind of person he was. You believed you could tell a lot about a person from their apartment. From what you could see, he was relatively tidy and maybe a minimalistic, a single tall lamp responsible for the warm glow in his space. He wore button up tops and dress pants everyday, making you all the more curious about this man.

Each night after your shared glances and appreciation for the chaos below your buildings, he'd send a wave your way, and you'd always reciprocate, smiling ear to ear. You'd take that as your cue to close the blinds and get into bed.

You nearly missed it, but tonight he didn't wave. Instead, he gestured to himself, then you, then down to the ground. You cocked your head, raising your arms with a laugh he couldn't hear as a means to say "what?" He threw his head back dramatically, repeating his gestures slower and more exaggerated this time. "Oh, you wanna go down there?" You shouted across to him, hearing a faint, echoey, "what?" in return. You laughed again, shaking your head. You mirrored his own gesture back to him, earning yourself an eager nod and a thumbs up from the stranger. You chuckled to yourself as you watched him disappear back into his apartment, your heart racing as you comprehended what you just agreed to.

Only clad in silk pyjamas and slippers, you quickly grabbed your phone and keys and made your way to the elevator. You blood was buzzing through your veins like electricity at the thought of finally getting to hear his voice, to properly see his features in light.

Your heard thrummed in your ears as your elevator reached ground level, and suddenly you didn't want to meet the handsome stranger anymore. Your hands started sweating and you felt sick. You cursed your legs for dragging you out of your warm building and out onto the busy street, a little embarrassed that you were in your pyjamas. Just as you were about to back out, your eyes landed on him, and as if you were in a cliché movie scene, it all suddenly felt fine.

"Hey," he smiled breathlessly, towering over you, the sweetest tooth gap on display.

"Hello," you smiled equally as big, unable to control the blush that wildly painted your cheeks. "I'm Y/N."

"I'm Matt, pleasure to finally meet you." He stuck his hand out for you to shake, ripping a nervous giggle from you. You shook his hand back, still struggling to comprehend the situation.

"Likewise," you blushed even deeper, if possible. He was massive. So tall, broad shoulders. So incredibly masculine, yet the two words you would use to describe him would be handsome or... pretty.

"I'm kind of embarrassed to be out here in my pyjamas," you quietly spoke, moving in close so only he could hear. Your knees nearly gave out when he craned his neck down to hear you better. "I know we just met, but would you like to come up to my apartment?"

Although the words sounded suggestive, neither of you even thought of the invitation in a sexual way. It was like catching up with an old friend. In the elevator, you both pointed out the elephant(s) in the room. His height, your accent. He made fun of the way you said certain words, but you could tell he liked it by the way the corners of his eyes crinkled, and the way his tongue got stuck between his teeth when he'd laugh particularly hard. He was funny. You really liked him. Although you'd just met him, his presence was warm and somewhat felt like home. You couldn't believe the pathetic words that plagued your brain like a teenagers diary. But after he left your apartment at 4am, your stupid heart continued to pang against your ribcage, and your stupid mouth couldn't stop smiling.

pls send asks with ideas, i'd love to have you guys involved xx and if this is boring PLEASE tell me thx

#matt stone #matt stone x reader

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pigeonwit · 4 months

Note

For the fic title game: you only ever just disappear

OOOOOH this is good... this is nice. love this.

davey'd worked on his family's farm his whole life, and in that time, he's come to understand the constants of his life. he knows when the fields lie fallow and when they rotate in new crops - he says new, he just means one of the four they always use, but still, it's a change. sort of. he can always tell when the fences are just about to need mending and can always feel that barest bit of chill on the air when a cold snap's about to come. he's used to it.

and when the weather gets a bit warmer and the sky gets a shade bluer and the first tree buds begin to burst, he knows that's when jack's coming.

jack visits every summer. he's like a rotation himself, sort of. he shows up, but he never stays. he has to lie fallow for a bit, build up the strength to come back. but he's been showing up since davey was a little kid, when they first met in the woods near the jacobs farm because none of the other kids wanted davey to play with them. but jack did. they played cowboys. and jack told him all about the west.

"have you been?" davey'd asked. and jack had just looked at him and said, "i've been everywhere." and suddenly, he felt a lot older than just nine years old.

the years keep passing. jack keeps visiting. he tells davey everything about everywhere he's been, all the best parts of santa fe and new orleans and california. (it makes davey a little embarrassed to only live in some backwater town in the middle of nowhere. it's surely not as exciting.) jack starts staying on the jacob's farm, in the hayloft of their barnhouse. he earns his keep even though they tell him he doesn't need to. and for a few months, it feels like he's part of the family. davey loves it. jack loves it, too. davey knows he does. and he doesn't want to push it, he doesn't, but at the end of every summer, he always asks - gently, though. floats the idea. about where jack's going next and if he's got everything in order for the journey and if jack ever felt like staying longer, his mother surely wouldn't mind, he could even stay in davey's room when the weather gets colder, he and les have never minded sharing - but jack always shuts him down.

"i gotta move, davey." he tells him. "gotta be free."

the years go by. they get older. davey growns into his lanky arms and knobbly legs. grows more lean through hard work, the way a colt grows into a ploughhorse . jack grows lean the way a stray does. not any less skinny, just carrying it a bit better.

every summer, he tells davey about all the spectacular places he goes to. davey's never brave enough to ask why jack always leaves, if they're really so great.

one summer, the jacobs are having a party. mayer's 75th. jack's there, of course. davey's dressed as best he can, but he knows he's not much. not like jack, all rugged cowboy charm and a mysterious air about him. but jack still asks him to dance. because jack keeps coming back to him. and davey's seventeen now, nearly an adult, and he's so tired of hearing about all jack's adventures and never his own, so full of energy with nowhere to put it but this farm, this life he never asked for, and jack's right there, right there, and now they're in the barn, whisky-drunk, and now they're kissing-

and then it's morning, and jack's not there.

fast forward to the next summer. davey's eighteen. jack's back. they pretend like it's all the same, but it's not. jack laughs and jokes and touches him like they're friends, and davey wants to enjoy it, he does, but it's always the same. he falls in love with jack every summer, and every summer, jack leaves. it's not fair. it's not fair.

he tries to talk about it. jack won't.

"just because you're ready to drop down dead here, doesn't mean i am!"

and then jack leaves again. again. the way he always does.

the next summer, davey doesn't know if jack comes back, because he's not there. he's found a good job apprenticing with a tradesman in the next town over. it's boring work, but it's at least something different.

it's the first time a whole year has passed and he hasn't seen jack. that's different, too.

next summer. he's in a bar with some other young working boys after a long day - the season's turning, he can feel it on the air. jack will be making his way to the jacobs farm soon. probably. maybe.

except he's not. because jack's here.

davey tries to play it off. tries to ignore him. he'll be gone sometime soon.

except he's not. because jack stays.

he keeps approaching him. keeps wiggling his way into davey's everyday life. and davey keeps trying to ignore him and wait for the inevitable day where jack leaves. but he doesn't. and that's... different.

he asks, because as proud as davey is, he can't resist asking jack questions.

"things are real with you. not just stories. not a fantasy. they're real. god, davey... don't you see how scary that is?"

davey rolls his eyes.

"oh, i see. so you left because you liked me too much, then? hm?"

"... would you believe me if i said yes?"

and there's something about jack now, jack without that cowboy bravado, without that mysterious traveller air, without all his tall tales and fairy stories that's... real. and yeah, that is scary. it's almost enough to make davey turn and run.

but he doesn't. he stays. and so does jack, mostly. sometimes he still needs to disappear. sometimes for a day, sometimes two - but davey understands. it all gets too much for him, too, sometimes. but he'll always come back, and davey believes that now.

#this all got way too long but #i've been thinking of jack-snufkin parallels for a while now and this fit way too neatly #thank you isabel i hope you like it!!#newsies #uksies #davey jacobs #david jacobs #jack kelly #javey #javid #pigeon scribbles #fic thoughts #ask #piedoesnotequalpi

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after-witch · 2 years

Text

Energy Loss [Yandere Vash the Stampede x Reader]

Title: Energy Loss [Yandere Vash the Stampede x Reader]

Synopsis: You’re traveling with Vash the Stampede, but a life on the run--a life in hiding--starts to wear too thin on you.

Word count: 4543

notes: yandere, obsessive and possessive behavior, drugging, dubcon NSFW implications (non-graphic); mentions of sexual harassment

It's not the nicest hotel in the city--not by a long shot. But when you're traveling with Vash (that is, Vash the Stampede--to say nothing of his more colorful nicknames) it's not always easy to come by money. Especially without a proper job.

Which is exactly why you've scrubbed yourself up this morning and dressed in what amounts to your best clothing: to apply for a job. At least a temporary one, while you and Vash decide whether or not to stay in this town or head our further West. You’ve yet to tell Vash that you would like to stay, would like to make a home here--but that can wait until after you’ve secured a job in the area.

As you're fixing your hair, Vash pops his head into the bathroom, toothbrush from dangling from his lips. "What're you so dressed up for?" He asks, smiling, words a bit garbled from the stick in his mouth.

You adjust the collar of your shirt and turn your head this-way-and-that, giving yourself a last lookover. Your carefully cleaned and filed fingernail taps on the counter, before you pick up the newspaper and toss it at him. He catches it easily and his eyes are drawn to the area that you circled the other day.

"Help wanted: library; part time, cash up front." His words trail off, but you're too busy focusing on last minute adjustments to your outfit to pay much attention.

"I heard that they got a huge shipment of books in from one of the Earth ships that's been bringing supplies. Lots of how-to manuals for technology, stuff like that. Plus novels." You give yourself a thin smile of approval before turning around, breezing past Vash and giving a twirl in the wider bedroom to show off your outfit.

"I've always liked books, so why not? Plus I can bring us in some real money so we don't get kicked out of the hotel... again," you add, the tiniest bit of bitterness seeping into your good-humored jab.

Vash's smile is instant and apologetic. "It was just the one time! I swear, I thought we had more left." He sets the paper down and takes you into his arms, an easy gesture, now that you're passed the stage of pretending that you two are simply friends. "Your intervene is today? What time? Where's the library at?"

You return his smile with some nervous laughter. "Geez, what's with the third degree? Are you writing a report on me? Maybe my mugshot will be up there next to yours soon." But you tell him, because why wouldn't you? And after nibbling on breakfast you wave and head out the door--with effort, as Vash insists he comes with you at first, refusing to take no for an answer until you have to get serious and snippy--and try to mentally prepare yourself for the interview.

Sure, you don't have any experience working in a library. But running your family's bakery after their deaths was no easy feat, especially considering you weren't exactly in the best head space afterwards. Witnessing murders during a robbery-gone-wrong will do that to you... but with help, with Vash's help mostly, you've picked up the pieces of your life and started fresh.

But even starting fresh has its limits, and you won't deny that getting this job isn't just about staying in the hotel--it's about staying in this town, perhaps for good. Roots might do you good--might do you both good.

The hot air whipping past your hair does little to calm your frayed, overstimulated nerves.

You didn’t even get to finish the interview. In the middle of it, while you were being asked how well you could understand classification systems, screams resonated throughout the building--screams and gunshots and noises that you were all too familiar with; every hair on your body stood on end as you and the woman doing the interview ducked under the desk.

The door burst open and someone with a gun stood in the doorway, sweaty and grisly and bulky, with flicks of blood across his face. He took one look at you and grinned, and you knew it, this was it and--with a bang, the man screamed and crumpled to the floor, clutching his leg. In moments Vash was there, tackling him, winding a rope around his bleeding legs and arms; a hogtie, rendering the man helpless. And rendering you safe.

The car bounces into a hole in the dusty road and the jolt takes you out of your memories.

Of course, you two had to run. Someone had recognized Vash from a wanted poster, followed you to the library, and planned on using you as bait to get to him. It wouldn’t be the first time, but you pray it’s the last.

Another long drive. Another search for a place that you two can live without being recognized. It’s hard, with Earth technology seeping into the planet’s social structure more and more; and boy, is it easier for people to recognize Vash from videos than from the crude Wanted Posters from before.

But the knowledge that it’s not Vash’s fault people recognize him doesn’t make it easier to give up another life you’d started to create.

“Vash?” You ask. He’s driving, staring ahead, face calm and lost in thought.

“Hm?”

“I… wish we didn’t have to go from town to town as much, you know?”

He glances at you, face suddenly sparked with concern. “What do you mean?”

“I liked that town,” you continue. “I thought maybe if I got that job… we could get an apartment or something, instead of the hotel. Start a life. Plant down roots.” You grin softly, bittersweet. “No pun intended.”

But Vash doesn’t return your grin. Instead his look hardens into something more thoughtful, something he rarely lets you see willingly.

“You okay?” You ask. “I didn’t mean to--”

“It’s not you,” he says, gently, correcting your notion. “It’s… I’m thinking about other people. Not most people,” he says, no doubt thinking of the many people he’s made connections with over his many years. “But the ones who want to hurt me. Who want to hurt you.” He take one hand off the wheel, running it through his blackened hair. “I don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”

Traveling with Vash the Stampede is not easy. You can still remember the first day you met him, exhausted and injured and collapsed in the first floor of your family’s bakery. You tended to his wounds--nursing, that used to be your job, before you had to keep the family business running--and before you realized it, you had built a friendship with the infamous Vash the Stampede.

He’d told you things, too, things you doubted most people knew. About a woman named Rem. About his brother. About his brother’s death and last sacrifice. But it was with that knowledge of who he was and what he’d done and what he was running from that you made the decision to travel with him. You knew what you were getting into, and it was no ordinary life.

Which is why, for now, you give him a soft smile and nod instead of complaining about your latest dash from civilization.

This place never had a Plant, and still doesn’t. But that was no longer a guarantee of poverty and hardship, thanks to the Earth teams working to improve the planet for human habitation, at least until the humans on Earth decide what to do with humans on Gunsmoke. The Earth teams had dug a well to previously unknown water sources underground and set up a plumbing system throughout the small settlement. Nothing fancy, but enough to keep people alive.

Which is all you and Vash can hope for when you rent a dingy room in the sole building in town that has them available. No widespread electricity here yet, but you’re given candles which give the room a soft glow as you the pair of you change into your night clothes.

Vash always undresses in the bathroom, no exceptions. You don’t know why. You’ve seen his body before, seen the scars and wounds and modifications that kept him from bleeding out every time he got shot and cut and injured saving others. But something about the act of undressing made him exceedingly shy, and he refused to let you see him taking his clothes off. Even when he knows that as soon as he’s dressed again, he’s crawling into the bed with you.

“Vash?” You ask, wanting to return to your conversation from earlier.

“Hm?” He calls out from the bathroom, and you can hear him thumping, hopping on one foot as he takes off his trousers.

“How long are we going to do this?”

In a few moments, he reenters the bedroom, night shirt on. “Do what?”

You gaze out the window into the darkness. All you can see is the reflection of the candle set on the dresser next to the bed.

“Running. Going from place to place. I’m--” you struggle to find words, your carefully practiced speech in your head fizzling away as soon as you voiced your thoughts. “I’m tired of being on the run all the time. I know--” You stare down at your legs, gripping the material of your pajama pants as memories flood to the surface. “I know I wanted to leave Greenacre after my family was killed. I know that. But that doesn’t mean I want to be running forever. I need… roots, you know?”

When you get the courage to look up, Vash’s face looks almost stricken in the candle light. He doesn’t say anything for a few moments, and there’s an ache in your chest when you worry that you’ve hurt his feelings somehow. Then, he pulls back the covers on his side of the bed and gets in. The warmth is familiar and comforting.

“I know,” he says finally. “Don’t worry. I’ll… find us a great place that we can call home.”

You don’t know how he does it, but after digging through endless maps to find a new destination, he finds the perfect place. And the perfect apartment. It’s nothing fancy, but you immediately take a liking to it. It’s a big city, big enough that you’re both lost within it; no nosy small town neighbors who take a great interest into every new person that steps a foot within the town limits. It helps that you convinced Vash to grow out his hair again. And even with the meager salary you’re earning at a 24-hour hole in the wall diner, you’ve managed to collect an array of hats that make him just another face in the city grind.

No one cares who he is, and you think that you can finally call this place home. And if Vash is a little clingy every time you come home from a shift, if he starts getting antsy anytime he sees you talking to someone in the halls, you can’t really blame him. He doesn’t go out as much as you do--can’t risk getting recognized, with your roots on the line--and it’s bound to make anyone stir-crazy.

Which is what first comes to your mind on this night before your first-ever midnight shift. He’s just a little stir-crazy.

“I’m serious, (Y/N). Don’t go.”

You button up your work shirt and resist the urge to roll your eyes. He’s sitting on the edge of your shared bed, hands clasped together, looking pitiful.

“Please. I’ll get a job so you don’t have to take these shifts. Anything you want. Just don’t go there tonight. It’s not safe. Stay with me.”

You turn to face him and try to look amused rather than annoyed, but the increasing patronization on Vash’s end lately has started to get to you, like needle pricks that get sharper and sharper. You’re an adult. You know how to take care of yourself. Why can’t he see that?

“We need the extra money. Besides,” you grin, poking Vash in the rib--playful, jovial, hoping to get a smile out of him. It doesn’t work. “All the best characters come out at night.”

He buries his face in his hands and all you can do is give him a stiff hug and promise you’ll be careful. When you glance back as you shut the door, he hasn’t moved, and you make a mental note to make sure that he starts getting out of the house more. New friends would do him good.

Your shift is uneventful. Drunks. Late shift workers. Someone with a baby that wouldn’t sleep. It’s over before you know it, and you walk home in the early morning hours, passing by people just getting up for their own jobs. The apartment building is starting to bustle with the sounds of early morning routines, and it’s oddly comforting after spending your night working in the quiet din of the diner.

The apartment is silent as you slide your keys into the lock; but before you can push it open, it’s yanked open with a ferocity by the darkened figure standing behind it. Your hand goes instinctively to your waist, to the little pistol you keep there, when the voice calls out:

“You’re home! Quick, get inside!”

It’s Vash--of course it is, who else would it be?--and you’re left practically squeaking in confusion as he pulls you by your arm inside the apartment. The door is shut and locked in record time, and as soon as he turns around you can tell that he hasn’t slept all night. Dark circles ring his eyes, and his gestures are shaky and anxious as he runs his hands down your arms.

“Are you okay? Did you miss me? Did anyone bother you at the diner? Did you talk to anyone? Wait--did you check if someone followed you home?”

The barrage of questions leaves you reeling.

“What? No, I--everything’s fine. Wait, why would someone be following me home?” Worry seeps through your tone but Vash’s response does nothing to soothe it.

He runs his hands through his hair, tugging at the ends as he begins to pace, speaking so rapidly that you have to force yourself to focus intently in order to hear every word.

“It’s my fault--it’s all my fault. I think someone might have recognized me. Maybe they’ll target you again. They probably know you work at the diner. I--I’m sorry, we should pack our things and get out of here as soon as we can.”

The keys in your hand drop to the floor in a twisted, jingling heap.

You can’t. You just can’t do this again.

Tears prick at the corner of your eyes and your body sways a bit before you stumble to the bed, sitting down on the plush mattress with a heavy sigh. It’s too much. Too much running. Too much change. Too much Vash, clinging to you in every way possible.

He’s at your side in an instant, his arm around your shoulder, pressing, trying to comfort you. But his familiar warmth and the feeling of his hand rubbing down your back does nothing to ease your feelings.

“Vash, I think--” You can’t bear to look at him when you say it. You can hardly bring yourself to voice the words. “I think we should… live separately for a while.” You close your eyes and push out the rest, afraid of seeing what your words might do to him. “I like it here. I really like it here. I don’t want to leave. So if we get separate apartments, just for a while, we can throw off--whoever this is. We can throw off their scent long enough to save up for another place in the city.”

You expect him to look anxious when you open your eyes, but instead his face seems… soft. Resigned. Calm. A far cry from the anxious energy he was exuding only moments before. It’s both relieving and a little frightening, a mood shift that’s leaving your tired mind reeling.

“I know,” he whispers, voice tinged with remorse, and it’s like you can feel the weight of more than one-hundred years in his tone. Heavy and old. “I’ll… start looking for a new place tomorrow, after your shift. Okay?”

You nod, relieved that he didn’t try to dissuade you but more relieved that he didn’t appear upset at your suggestion, and cuddle into his arms. You try to push down the sense of unease that came with his shift in moods. You’re too tired to deal with it now, anyway.

“You’re safe here, you know that?” You don’t respond to his words, only mumble sleepily as he continues to rub your back, your arms, clinging to you as if to comfort himself. Your eyes slide shut and you accept the fact that you’ll probably just fall asleep while he holds you.

“You’re always safe in my arms.”

You’re so tired that you pay no attention to the feel of Vash reaching over to open the drawer of the bedside cabinet and plucking something out. A book, maybe, or a snack. You barely feel the prick of the needle slide into your skin; the sudden sensation of stinging in your veins makes your eyes jolt awake, but they’re no match for the sedative and they slide closed again just as quickly.

The last thing you hear is Vash’s voice in your ear, muffled by his lips pressed against your hair, whispering over and over: “I’m sorry, I have to do this. I’m sorry.”

You’re asleep in no time.

When you wake up, your immediate thought is: Fuck. A hangover.

And then you remember Vash and the needle and the pain, and your body heaves itself out of bed with a fearful hurry. But even with your vision still blurring, with your body feeling weak and a headache screaming inside your skull, you know this: you’re not at the apartment.

Where are you?

You press your hands against your eyes and wait until the world stops spinning. Your vision returns and you look around to take stock of the situation.

You’re in a bedroom. Vash was holding you after you suggested that you split up for a bit. Then he… put something in you. Drugs? Something to make you sleep long enough to bring you here, wherever here happens to be.

As if on cue, Vash enters the bedroom with a breakfast tray in his hands. A cup of steaming coffee and a plate with bread and some sort of fruit sits on top.

You can’t run around him, so instead you bring your knees up to your chest and back yourself against the headboard as much as possible. Your mind feels blank and full all at the same time, emotions and adrenaline rushing through you so strongly that it’s hard to focus.

“Hey, hey,” Vash says, almost cooing. He sets the tray down on the end of the bed and holds up his hands. You’re reminded of the way your father used to try to calm down Tomas that had become too wild. “Calm down.”

You’re smart. You know that if you scream, if you lose your head, you won’t be getting out of this. So you relax your tense muscles and bring your hands to your lap rather than clasped across your knees.

“Vash--” Your throat is dry and your voice is croaky. He immediately jumps up and grabs a glass of water he’d set on the nightstand earlier. You take it with fingers that feel numb from fear and gulp it down, easing the ache in your throat.

“Vash…” you continue. “What’s going on? Where are we?” Why--why did you bring me here?” You try to keep your voice steady. Maybe this was all a big misunderstanding. It has to be, doesn’t it? This is Vash, after all. Vash, who let you nurse him back to health; who told you all his secrets; who took you on an adventure of a lifetime.

He wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. Would he?

He scoots closer on the bed, and you fight your body’s instinct to flinch away. You try to read the expression in his eyes and all you can come up with is that he feels nervous. But it’s a different sort of nervousness than you’ve seen before; as if he has to do something he doesn’t want to do, and simply wants to get it over with as quickly as possible.

“(Y/N), I need you to know something.” He looks at you for a response and you nod, showing him that you’re listening. “I would never hurt you. I--” he looks down and fiddles with the end of the breakfast plate. “I had a feeling that you were going to try to leave me, so… I got something from a friend. In case I needed to take you somewhere safe.”

He looks up and sees the sense of betrayal and hurt in your eyes and immediately grabs your hands. Only it’s hard to feel comforted by his firm grip when you realize that he just admitted to drugging you and taking you to some unknown destination.

You try to pull away but his grip is too firm. He’s not hurting you, but he’s not letting you go, either.

“I don’t understand, Vash. Why are you doing this? Let’s, let’s just go back to the city, okay? We can still live together.” You don’t know if you could, anymore, not after this. But he doesn’t need to know that.

He smiles and it’s such a sad smile that you can’t help the ache that forms in your chest. When he shakes his head, you realize that he won’t be listening to reason anytime soon.

“We are living together. Here. Where I can keep an eye on you. Where you won’t have to worry about a job or money or anything like that. No one can hurt you here. No one’s going to recognize me and try to hurt you ever again.”

Your hands are released and you set them back in your lap. It takes everything you have not to raise your voice as you look him in the eyes, mentally begging him to listen to what you’re saying.

“Vash. Listen to me.” He nods, and he pats your hand, and he’s listening--sure. “This isn’t right. I don’t want to be here. I want to go back to the city and our apartment. I don’t even know where we are right now.” With the last words, your voice starts to tremble, and your mind fights not to break down.

Vash’s arms are around you immediately, and your body flinches with anxiety as you remember the last time he held you like this. But there’s no needle prick, only his arms around you, squeezing; only his voice, shushing you softly.

“It’s okay,” he tells you. “We’re somewhere safe. The safest place in the world, really, because no one else is here! An abandoned town that’s so far out, no one will ever bother with it again. I fixed it up for us…” His tone drops a bit and your stomach falls with it. “Had to use some energy, but it’s okay. I just used enough to make sure we’ll have food and water for as long as we need it.”

The realization that he’d used some of his precious energy--and who knows how much of it he had left?--makes your breath hitch.

“Vash.” You draw back, and he lets you, taking in your concerned expression. “You’re not--you shouldn’t do that. You could…” You don’t say the final words, but the image he painted of his brother, the story of how Knives used the last of his energy to create an apple tree, shoots through both of you.

At your concern, Vash’s thumbs stroke your cheeks.

“Don’t worry. I won’t do it again. Just this once, for you. I’d do anything for you, (Y/N). I mean it.”

His strokes continue downward, onto your neck, onto your shoulder blades; and you’re suddenly keenly aware of the fact that Vash had changed you into your night clothes at some point during your forced sleep.

“Vash--” you start, but your words are broken when he kisses you on the lips. It’s not deep, but soft, gentle, and he pulls back so quickly that your lips barely feel the ghost of his touch. You don’t know what to say, or how to say anything. It’s all so confusing.

He… kidnapped you, didn’t he? Isn’t that was this is? But he’s your friend, and maybe there was a kernel of truth to it all. Maybe people did recognize him again--who wouldn’t, with his face and name and deeds plastered on every wall--and he was just trying to keep you from getting hurt. But couldn’t he talk to you instead of forcing this on you? Couldn’t he just ask you about it? A keening sense of betrayal rings in your head, interrupted only when he speaks again.

“Please don’t be mad at me,” he pleads. And you can’t help but feel a familiar tugging at your heart. He’s been through so much. You’ve been through so much, alone and together.

That’s why you don’t move when his hands reach for the straps of your nightgown. That’s why you don’t move when he leans in against your neck and inhales. The gestures are familiar yet foreign, recognizable acts from someone whose recent actions have left you ripped open.

He presses a kiss into your neck, lips warm against your pulse. “Think of the good things. No more sleazy jerks at the diner…” Another kiss. “No more people stopping you in the halls, asking for favors, like you’re their personal nurse.” Another. “Just you and me, always. Always.”

Your body responds as it always has to his touch, to his voice and to his closeness. Your mind is so confused and foggy, you don’t know if you should fight, if you want to fight him. You’ve been with him before, an intimacy long established. But this was different. This was not Vash and you giggling underneath the sheets, romping before you took a shower and headed to work. This was not Vash cuddling with you afterwards and making jokes.

This was Vash with his hands on you, possessive and all-knowing. This was Vash with a sharper look in his eyes, one that was focused and filled with such strong attraction that it made your stomach flip.

When you don’t struggle against him, when you don’t push him away, he slides the straps of your nightclothes down. His next words make goosebumps run up your arms.

“I’ll make every inch of your body know that you belong to me, and me only.”

His lips press against your collarbone, and you finally let the tension go out of your back, resting against the soft pillow behind your head.

You don’t know why you’re not fighting. Why you’re not screaming at him. Why you’re leaning back and letting out a pleased sigh when his kisses trail further down.

You just know that you’re here with Vash and you don’t know what the future holds anymore.

#yandere trigun #yandere vash the stampede #yandere vash #vash x reader #afterwitch writes #yandere

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