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jgracie · 1 month

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WHO’S AFRAID OF LITTLE OLD ME?

masterlist | rules

♡ dedicated to giselle @pinkdiorluvr <3 our leo/ttpd/aphrodite parallels resulted in this epic crossover... love u sm !

in which leo was tame and gentle ‘til the circus life made him mean (alternatively, the one where you teach a son of aphrodite how to love again)

pairing son of aphrodite!leo valdez x roman!reader

warnings self-loathing (happy ending tho dw), ooc / dark!leo? idk tbh but this is a deep dive into his mind lowk 😭 also this is kinda long sorry in advance LMAO

on the radio . . . who’s afraid of little old me? (taylor swift), the only exception (paramore)

an aphrodite cabin leo my beloved… read the comments under this for a bit of context :) also in this they know the ghost of the battery is venus cz it fits w the story ok

If you looked up the word ‘tragedy’ in the dictionary, Leo was convinced you’d find his whole life there. It’d take up half the book, listing every event that’s ever happened in his life from the moment his mother died in that fire, her body so charred there was nothing to bury, until present time

It would talk about how after that, social services arrived, and how his aunt had refused to take him in, calling him a diablo and shouting at the social workers to take him themselves. It would talk about how none of his other relatives wanted him. It would talk about all the foster homes he’d run from, both the okay and the ugly (because they were never good. They didn’t want him either) opting to sleep under the Houston bridge for months instead. It would talk about how Leo was completely and utterly unloveable

Years of his life being this endless cycle of misery resulted in Leo toughening up. He was no longer the sweet boy who’d sit on his mother’s lap as she worked with pieces of metal, who’d run to get her a hammer or a screwdriver before she even asked for it, his heart so full of love for her he was close to exploding. No, this was a new Leo. This Leo learnt to deal with the bullies and the streets and everything else life decided to throw at him, his skin calloused and his heart cold. Sure, he was still elvish and scrawny, but he wasn’t afraid. That alone was enough

Eventually, he befriended Piper. She was nice. For once, he was around someone who didn’t seem to mind his company. But no matter how much Piper liked him, she still liked Jason more. Leo wasn’t an idiot, he knew from the moment Piper laid eyes on the perfect blond that this was her dream guy. And he was happy for her, she was his friend after all! However, he couldn’t help but resent her feelings towards him. He found himself left out again - unloveable Leonidas Valdez, that’s who he’d always be, now that his mom was gone

Then, he discovered a whole new world of Gods and monsters and for a moment in time, Leo thought everything might finally begin to click. He never fit in with the other kids in his foster homes because he wasn’t like them, he was a demigod, of course he couldn’t fit in. For the first time since his mother’s passing, Leo became an optimist. Maybe things would turn around? He’d get to meet his second parent and they’d explain it all, possibly even reward him for his perseverance? Leo toyed around with the idea, replaying the fantasy in his head. In the end, to him, just getting a glimpse of them would be enough

He got claimed as soon as he arrived. Usually, that would be considered incredibly lucky, and Leo really tried thinking of it in that way. Annabeth had told him some campers wait years for that symbol to float over their heads, to finally be able to move out of the crowded Hermes cabin and have people they can genuinely call siblings, a place they can genuinely call home

Leo would’ve been happy if his Godly parent wasn’t her. Aphrodite. What a sick joke. How could the Goddess of love be his mother? No one loved Leo, even Piper and Jason saw him as a nuisance at times. They tried to disguise it, but Leo knew. Years of being bullied had given him excellent training in reading the emotions of others. He knew that whenever the three of them were together, they wished they could be alone. He’d almost refused to sleep in cabin 10, but his new siblings grabbed him by the arms and dragged him over, excited to meet a fellow child of their mother’s

Luckily, it didn’t take Leo very long to get a quest. He, along with Piper and Jason, left Camp Half-Blood to go find and save Hera from the cage she was trapped in. Although the quest was hard and there were many times he’d come close to death, Leo was happier away from the cabin that reminded him of everything he should be and was not. The trio came back to camp just in time and immediately started planning their journey to Jason’s home, Camp Jupiter

The days Leo was building the Argo II were some of his happiest. He had an excuse to not sleep in his cabin (the Hephaestus cabin had kindly offered him bunker 9) and he was around the one thing he truly did love - machinery. The smell of oil and clang of metal reminded him of his mother, the one person who’d truly ever loved him. Sure, Leo did occasionally find himself yearning for human interaction, but every time he felt that ache in his chest, his fingertips longing to touch another, he’d push it down and continue his work. Just because he was a son of Aphrodite, doesn’t mean he deserved love. If he did deserve love, surely, he would’ve gotten it a long time ago

Soon enough, the ship was finished and Leo, Jason, Piper and Annabeth set sail for Camp Jupiter. On the boat, he felt less pressure to fit into the constraints of the stereotypical role of a child of Aphrodite, consequently becoming more like one. Away from land, he could shed the Leo Valdez who was tough and hard as stone, becoming as fluid as the sea instead. He wasn’t anywhere near as social as the others, but this time, he didn’t lock himself up in his room. He taught Annabeth about the mechanisms of the ship and teased Piper and Jason whenever he caught them kissing

From above, Aphrodite watched and hoped the Fates were feeling kindly towards her baby boy. It broke her heart watching him lose faith in love, but she couldn’t do anything about it - not with Zeus keeping a close eye on her

“Okay, I’ll show you the ship. Come with me,” Leo told Octavian - Camp Jupiter’s joke of an Oracle. The boy annoyed him, reminding Leo too much of some of the manipulative bullies he had to learn to fight back, but he knew giving him a tour of the Argo II was essential for gaining the Romans’ trust. Surprisingly, it was going well. Octavian was quiet as he examined it all, only making a few snide remarks about the ‘obviously Greek methods’ Leo had used

Then it happened. Leo felt his mind go blank and his limbs move against his will, heading for the ballistae. He tried to stop himself, but he couldn’t. He fired on Camp Jupiter

Other than Jason, who had gotten hit by a brick and was currently passed out, everyone was fine. What wasn’t fine was the fact that the Romans were no longer on their side. The others gave him accusatory glances, even though he’d insisted didn’t mean to hurt anyone. Only Piper seemed to be on his side, but even she was a little hesitant, a little confused

You were the anomaly. Leo didn’t notice you - quiet and observant, wanting to see how this would play out - until you spoke up to defend him. You, a Roman who’d just had the only home she’s ever known destroyed, who’d just been labelled an outcast by all her friends and family thanks to him, had defended Leo

“Guys, I don’t think he meant any harm,” you said, immediately silencing the other six members of the Great Prophecy. Leo’s mouth was agape, unable to say anything as you continued, “why would he fire on Camp Jupiter on purpose?” You asked, “isn’t he a part of this eight, one of us?” Then, turning to Annabeth, you said, “isn’t he your friend? Why aren’t you defending him?” She blushed and looked down at her feet, unsure of what to say

You smiled, happy that another problem had been solved, “let’s not ruin this quest before it even starts, okay? We can’t save the world from Gaia if we don’t act as a team.”

For the first time since his mother’s death, Leo felt loved. However, he knew all too well how good things never last

Leo distanced himself from you, as well as everyone else on the ship. After that day, he’d decided to coop himself up in his room and work on upgrading the ship instead, only coming out when absolutely necessary. Meanwhile, you eagerly got to know everyone else who was part of the prophecy, intrigued about the differences between Greek and Roman demigods. The one person who you desperately wanted to know, though, was Leo

No matter how hard you tried, he always seemed to escape your clutches. You’d been worried for him ever since that first day on the ship, and after finding out he built it, you were dying to know more

“Venus only appeared when Reyna was alone, so I don’t think any men can come along,” Jason said. Yet again, you were splitting up for another quest. This time, it was seeking the ghost of the Battery, who you’d deduced was Venus, the goddess of love. Suddenly, you had an idea

“Shouldn’t Leo come along? He’s her son, isn’t he? She’d show up for him,” you said, giving the boy a kind glance, which he averted. He really didn’t want to meet his mom. She didn’t care for him, so neither did he for her. If she cared, she wouldn’t have left him to fend for himself all those years. She was no better than his Aunt Rosa

Unfortunately, everyone on the ship agreed with you. Venus would probably be more helpful if her son was there. It was settled, you and Leo would go find the ghost of the Battery

The walk was awkward. This was the first time the two of you had been together since the first day on the ship. You made small talk, asking him about the ship and Camp Half-Blood. He thanked you for that day, and when you’d given him a toothy grin, your eyes sparkling, Leo felt as if Cupid had shot an arrow right through his heart. He couldn’t breathe. He’d never been more overwhelmed with love

“Lady Venus?” You said, your voice tentative as you looked around, suddenly doubting your plan. Immediately, she appeared in front of you. She was beautiful, with curly brown locks and fiery brown eyes. Her smile was kind, making you feel a warmth spread throughout your body. Then she noticed Leo. Instantly, her fiery eyes became sad, and… were those tears?

She floated past you and towards Leo, cupping his face in her hands. He flinched, about to pull away before remembering she’s a Goddess and could easily smite him if she were in a bad mood. His eyebrows remained furrowed, the crease in his forehead only deepening when she said, “my boy, my Leo. You’ve grown so beautifully.”

You could tell Leo’s relationship with his mother was strained, despite never meeting her. He scoffed, gaining the courage to remove her soft hands from his rigid face

“I am not your Leo. I am Esperanza Valdez’s Leo. She’s dead, in case you can’t recall. She died and you did nothing to stop it, nothing to ease the pain. I will never be your Leo. I’m only here for the sake of the quest, so please just tell us what we need to do and we’ll be on our way,” with every word, you could tell Venus’ heart shattered into several tiny pieces. Never in a million years did you think you’d see a Goddess look so heartbroken

She tried to reach out for him again, but this time, Leo didn’t let her, inching closer to you instead. Sighing, Venus opted to use her words, “look, I’m really sorry. You have no idea how bad I feel. I wanted to help you, really, but Zeus–”

“It’s always Zeus with you Gods, isn’t it? No, you don’t get to tell me you feel bad. You wouldn’t have survived an hour in my childhood. Do you know how horrible it felt, being wanted by no one? Do you have any idea how much it hurt finding out your own mother, the Goddess of love, didn’t do a single thing to help, choosing to leave you feeling unlovable instead? If you really loved me, you wouldn’t have given up just because of Zeus.”

Venus was quiet after that. You looked up at the sky, afraid Jupiter would strike you with his lightning bolt at this very moment, but he didn’t. With tears in her eyes, she said what was necessary and as soon as she was done, Leo got up and began walking away. You, however, stayed. You couldn’t help but feel a little bad for the Goddess, even though Leo was in the right

“He likes you,” she said, breaking the silence, “but he thinks he’s incapable of love, and it’s all my fault, I know, but I beg of you, please save my son before it's too late.” Her hand was tightly gripping yours, and you gave her a sad smile before going to catch up with Leo

You found him crying behind a bush. He had his face in his hands and sat with his knees touching his chest as horrible, gut-wrenching sobs left his open lips, desperate for some air. Calmly, you sat next to Leo. You didn’t do anything - no stupid words, no trying to fix his issues, you knew that wasn’t what he needed. Leo just needed some love. So you wrapped an arm around him and let him let it out on your shoulder

With the grass leaving indents on your skin and the light breeze cooling your bodies, Leo opened up. He didn’t say everything, but you got the gist of it all. You also got that seeing Venus face-to-face and crying afterwards had taken a load off of his back. With every word he said, Leo’s face seemed to brighten, his curls gaining shape and his eyes becoming a warmer shade of mahogany. The realisation hit you like a truck: he looked just like his mother

As the days passed, you paired with Leo for quests more often. He was more comfortable around you than any of the other crew members, which didn’t go unnoticed by them. They were glad Leo had found someone he could let loose with. Your journey across the Mediterranean continued and your friendship blossomed and bloomed, every late night conversation proving to Leo that maybe love was something he could achieve in this lifetime after all

Despite this, he kept his distance. A part of him was scared you stayed out of pity. As a son of Aphrodite, he knew that wasn’t true - he could read people like a book, after all. But he would never forget how his life is an endless loop. Just as he’d think he was finally getting a break, the universe would greet him with the worst event he’s ever experienced. Soon enough, something awful would happen. Something that’d push you away. You should be afraid of him, an unstable boy with extreme detachment issues and a history of bad relationships. What was there to love?

Everything. To you, there was everything to love about Leo. From the way he always had a piece of scrap metal to fiddle with in case he got nervous, to the way his nose would scrunch up when he’d laugh. Leo Valdez had ripped your heart out of your body and decided to keep it, and you were okay with that

Your confession had happened after Percy and Annabeth fell into Tartarus. Everyone was absolutely gutted, of course, but no one more than Leo. He blamed himself for their descent into the deep pits of hell, and you began to see him slowly go back to the Leo he once was, the Leo he was used to being. The difference was that this time, you were there

You forced him to give you and the others some of the watch shifts he’d assigned to himself. You made sure he ate and drank water and took care of himself. You were there to pick the pieces back up again

One night, it was just you and him

“Why do you do this? Am I not a burden to you?” Leo had asked, just as you were about to leave his room. After finding him half asleep at the wheel, you dragged him to bed, tucking him in yourself and making him swear not to leave until the morning

You turned, your eyes holding a mix of fondness and hurt. Not for yourself, but for the boy who has never looked into the mirror and seen a person worthy of loving. Your voice as clear as the sky above, you said, “because I love you. You could never be a burden to me, because I want to do this.”

“Why? Why do you love me?”

Making your way over to his bed, you sat on the edge, cupping his face, just like his mother did during your first adventure together. This time, he didn’t flinch. In fact, he seemed to melt under your touch. You felt anguish in your heart at this - no matter how much Leo insisted he should be alone, he still craved another

“Because you’re you. You’re sweet and you’re loyal and most of all, you’re so deserving of love. That’s more than enough reason for me.”

As Artemis rode her moon chariot across the starry sky, you shared a tender kiss. You saw Leo for everything he was - a black dog, a broken boy, the definition of the word ‘tragedy’, and chose to love him anyway

You weren’t afraid

#leo valdez x reader #leo valdez x you #leo valdez x y/n #leo valdez #leo valdez x fem reader #percy jackson #pjo #percy jackson x reader #pjo x reader #leo valdez fanfic #pjo fanfic #percy jackson fanfic #leo valdez drabble #aphrodite leo valdez #son of aphrodite leo valdez #aphrodite pjo #cynwrites

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badasgirlfriend · 8 months

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Step By Step | Bada Lee

pairings: bada lee x fem!oc

genre: friends to lovers, student x teacher

a/n: idk i just had an idea

parts: 1, 2 , 3.....

"Sorry." The short-haired girl bowed as she bumped into a man. He turned, his face twisted with anger, and he uttered a curse at her.

The girl winced at his harsh words, but she can't blame him, it was her fault after all. She's the one running around like a headless chicken

With a sigh of frustration, she began running once more. She didn't plan on being late, but her teacher had insisted that she remain after class for discussion of some things. To her, they were utterly stupid matters, but she had no choice but to comply. She was quite certain that the teacher was merely looking to curry favor with her, just because her mom is a famous ballerina.

"Sorry maam." Nari said to the older woman, " Do you happen to know where the-" she paused looking at her phone "Jam Republic agency is located?"

The older woman scoffed "Are you blind"

Nari was astonished by her bluntness, she didn't expect that

"It's right behind you. Even at my age, I can see better than you, it would seem."

"Well, you're not wrong about that." she replied, murmuring the statement to herself, and quickly added, "Thank you. Have a nice day"

Turning away, she saw that the old lady had been correct all along. With an exasperated sigh, she pushed through the door leading into the building,

As her eyes scanned the unfamiliar surroundings, she soon spotted the reception's desk. However, to her dismay, no one seemed to be stationed there. Walking a bit closer, she placed her bag on the ground and sat in one of thr chairs.

After waiting a few minutes, and not hearing or seeing anybody else, Nari finally decided to proceed with her outfit change. She had no desire to keep waiting around, and risk anyone seeing her in her tight pastel pink skirt and green top. Her mothers choices

Just as Nari began to stand, she spotted a tall girl exit through a doorway nearby. She was wearing a white shirt, grey sweatpants, and a grey zip-up hoodie. The girl had a white hat on concealing most of her features, making it quite difficult for Nari to take a good look at her face at all.

Not to mention, the girl was looking straight down at the ground, making it even more difficult for Nari to see her expression.

With a quick motion, she locked the bathroom door and took out her clothes from her bag. First, she slipped on the black sweatpants, followed by the grey sports bra. Then, she wore the baggy t-shirt, but didn't like the way it looked, so she instead placed it behind her neck only covering her shoulders. After a few adjustments, she stood before the mirror looking at herself

Having had enough of the ugly pink bow that was on her hair, she tossed it into the trash can. Then, she gathered her hair up into a rather messy, yet loose, ponytail, securing it with an elastic band. She looked in the mirror now happy with her appearance. She felt like herself, not like the girl her mother wants her to be

She unlocked the door and went outside, entering the now familiar hallway she saw the same tall girl from earlier, sitting in one of the chairs

Embarrassing, she witnessed her outfit change

Quietly, she returned to the chair, and took her seat once more. She waited patiently for anyone to arrive, casting a glance in the direction of the tall girl, who appeared to be preoccupied with her phone, as her eyes remained firmly fixed to the screen.

"Excuse me," Nari blurted out before she could stop herself. She immediately fell silent, feeling a sudden wave of tension wash over her. The girl turned her head toward her in curiosity, and Nari became utterly speechless, as she was not expecting her to be this beautiful. Nari found herself completely unable to move, as she was simply lost for words, and utterly mesmerized by the sight of the other girl's striking looks.

"Yes?"

Fuck, not only was she attractive and beautiful, but even her voice was incredibly alluring.

In an effort to regain some level of composure, she cleared her throat, and hoped that her voice would not crack. "Uhm, do you know if Bada Lee is here?"

"I'm Bada," the girl stated, leaving Nari utterly confused

"What"

"What...?"

However, Nari's confusion only deepened, as she was under the impression that her teacher was a man, based on the information that her friend told her before.

"You're not Bada" the younger girl blurted out, shaking her head in disagreement.

Now it was Bada's turn to be confused "Im pretty sure I am" was this girl on drugs

"My friend told me that you were a man," she said

"Well, your friend is mistaken" Bada replied with a slight chuckle. "And, my name is definitely not a masculine one," she added

"Im so sorry" Unable to hold back her rage, Nari found herself itching to find her friend, Chaeyoung. With the next class being only a few short hours away, the anticipation of making Chaeyoung face her consequences was nearly unbearable.

She was in deep shit

"You're Shin Nari right." Bada asked, and Nari confirmed with a quick nod of her head.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to be this young," Bada stated, looking at Nari with a confused expression. "Here it says that you're in your thirties, so this is a surprise."

Nari felt a rush of embarrassment wash over her, and she wanted to bury herself and die "Sorry I have a habit of picking random birth years everytime I apply for something"

If Bada said no to teaching her she wouldn't be surprised

"Alright, let's not waste any time and begin," Bada stated with a nod as she and Nari both stood up "Are you familiar with dance, were you a dancer before?"

"Yes Im a ballerina" Nari nodded

Bada's eyebrow raised in surprise, yet again, and she couldn't help herself from inquiring further. "Oh, really? So, what brought about the shift from ballet to hip hop?"

"Oh, but I'm not quitting ballet completely," Nari clarified with a quick glance toward Bada. "I actually love both ballet and hip hop," she added. "So what you have here is a two-for-one dancer," Nari joked, smiling at her own words.

Bada chuckled at Nari's joke, Nari was truly a sight to behold, she couldn't deny her beauty. Ever since she had first seen her, Bada was left in a state of awe at her natural beauty, and it was something that she hadn't expected at all.

However, what she hadn't anticipated either, was the fact that Nari would turn out to be her student.

"Alright, then, we will first begin with some exercises meant to loosen up your stiffness, considering your ballet background," Bada stated, clarifying their focus "This is the main priority at the moment," she added.

Nari nodded in agreement, she couldn't wait

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citruslullabies · 2 months

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For some reason I just want to see Dogday x child reader, Basically they're somehow surviving in the place, and the child has grown quite a bit, and basically he's comforting reader after a nightmare

Here you are love! Took some creative liberties

Trigger warnings: blood, depictions of gore, death, just the standard stuff

Romantic/platonic?: platonic

Requested by: anonymous

Category: comfort angst

Ship (romantic or platonic): Dogday x child!reader

Word count: 746

They Haunt Me

You remembered when everything went wrong, the day… no. The hour everything just collapsed onto your tiny shoulders at once.

You were about to get adopted, about to leave the place you had been raised in but you couldn't wait to be someone's little kid. And it was such a nice couple adopting you too, a woman named Krystal and her wife Emma. They looked at you with such warm loving eyes, only to be filled with terror moments later and to fall cold.

The screams and the desperate sounds of footsteps were all you could hear as you let out choked and quiet sobs, huddled up as far back as you could be. You hoped and prayed that everything would calm down and would be alright again as you shut your glossy eyes and prayed to an extent that no child unless truly desperate could comprehend.

You slowly opened them, eyes burning with salty tears as you heard the screams outside of that door. You didn't even know how you were still alive, everything hurt both mentally and physically. Your body felt like crumpled paper.

Everything suddenly quieted down, the scampers of critters and small weeps could be heard but going into the distance. You felt brave enough to finally get out of your hiding place and stumble around the massacre inside of the building.

With each footstep you grew more paranoid and afraid but you kept moving, yelping when suddenly a hand grabbed your ankle. You looked down in fear and saw a man desperately holding onto you, somehow alive but too far gone to be saved with his body sliced and torn as if fabric with carefully knitted guts spilling out and painting the ground he crawled on, nails broken and bloodied from being in the way of the only hand he had to move with. He tried to speak but blood gurgled in his throat, only making your fear worse as you shook him off and ran.

You found Krystal and Emma, both dead and brutally torn apart but hand in hand. Despite all of this… the blood, the gore, everything. This is what hurt the most. The women who were going to take you and love you so dearly, strung apart like confetti. Krystal’s face was wide open like her arms were, and Emma’s jaw was hanging on by a thread just like you were at this very moment.

With a pained gasp, you shot up and held your chest. Clutching your heart only covered by your flesh and bones that seemed to threaten to tear through them, sweating violently. You gulped and dry heaved a bit while shaking just like you did when you hid. You were still just a kid, even if you were much older by now. Dogday heard you and came rushing, kneeling beside you and pressing a paw against your forehead with the other on your back. “Angel?”

He was worried since you were the only thing he had left in this place. He could defend you from the monsters that lurked in the shadows but he could never protect you from your own mind. “Cherub, look at me… it's okay. It'll be okay.” The canine said softly while sitting on his knees, bringing your shaky form to him as he cradled you in his arms. You tried to say something but could only feel choked up as he continued to rock you like you were the most precious thing in the world. And you were to him.

“M-mom, mama…” You choked out, saying the names that your new adoptive mothers encouraged you to call them before it was too late. Dogday had found you months after the hour of joy, shocked that someone was still alive. Especially someone so young, so he had taken you in as his own. In the end you were still adopted just under more unfortunate circumstances. Dogday carefully shushed you and pressed his dry nose against your forehead, sighing shakingly.

He rubbed your back and squeezed you tight in his arms, being careful since you were just skin and bone. He carefully rubbed your scalp with one hand so you could have the comfort you needed. “They're not here, cherub. I'm so sorry.” He whispered before adding with a shaky voice. “But I'm here, I'll always be here. I promise.” He reassured softly while feeling you slowly but surely relax in his arms.

Sadly, promises were made to be broken.

Thanks for requesting!

#poppy playtime #smiling critters #poppy playtime x reader #dogday #dogday poppy playtime #dogday x reader #dogday x y/n #poppy’s playtime x reader #poppys playtime #poppy playtime dogday #dogday x you #dogday smiling critters #smiling critters dogday

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eddies-ashtray · 2 years

Text

eddie tells you a story to help you sleep

***

“eddie,” you whisper into the darkness of his bedroom, turning around in his arms so you’re on your side facing him.

“mhm,” eddie hums in response.

“can’t sleep,” you pout.

“no?” he asks rhetorically, hand leaving its place on your hip to brush some hair back from your face. he continues stroking your hair as he suggests in a hushed tone:

“close your eyes for me.” you do. “d’you want me to tell you a story?”

“please.”

“okay,” eddie whispers, and you can hear the fond smile in his voice.

eddie’s voice is soft and smooth; words rolling off his tongue like melted chocolate poured from a bowl. you’ve always found his voice comforting, especially when he speaks as soft and gentle as he is now, purposefully keeping his voice quiet and low.

eddie’s hand is warm and gentle as it continue to play with your hair and begins his story.

“when i was, uh…6 my mom bought me my first bike with no training wheels. she saved up all her tips from the diner for months…” he starts. and immediately your heart melts. eddie doesn’t talk about his mom often, but when he does it’s always only sweet memories.

“so, one day i came home from school. hopped off the school bus. came running inside. and right there in the living room was this bright red two wheeler,” the smile in his voice reappears.

he pauses for a moment.

“and then what?” you whisper back.

eddie strokes your cheek kindly. “and then i demanded that she take me out immediately. i remember she was in her uniform, so she must have been leaving for a shift soon—she worked into the night a lot. but she took me out anyway.”

a soft smile graces your face, though eddie can’t see it in the dark. every time he talks about his mom you can feel the love pouring out of him; every word filled with excessive amounts of it. you can feel yourself becoming more relaxed, sleepier as eddie continues; the sound of his soft story-telling voice (only used for you) paired with his gentle hands in your hair and on your body working their magic.

“when she took me out, even though i was so psyched to finally have this awesome bike, i was afraid to get on...so she hopped on the bike, showed me that if she could do it, then i could do it; that it wasn’t nearly as scary as i thought,” eddie explains.

“she rode up the street, didn’t care that people were staring at this grown woman on a child’s bicycle…”

you felt yourself drifting off, breathing becoming slower and limbs feeling heavier throughout the telling of his story.

eddie seems to notice the difference and whispers, quieter than before, “are you asleep?”

you were close, but you wanted him to finish the story.

“mm-mm,” you hum, hoping that was enough to get him to continue. eddie maneuvers you so your lying back to chest once again and kisses your shoulder. this is far more comfortable, eddie’s arm slung over your waist.

before continuing, eddie pauses, thinking about where he left off. “so, um…when she came back down the street, she had this big smile on her face, said something like: ‘see, ed? it’s so much fun, you have to try it!’

“so i got on the bike and i was so eager to try it cause she’d made it look so easy and fun that i almost crashed. but she was right beside me, lifted me off at the last second before i fell. i was scared to get back on to try again, but she told me that it’s important to pick yourself back up when you’ve failed…she taught me that every day actually,” eddie finishes.

though you’re boneless and entirely sleepy now, you need to say this to him.

“thank you. love when you talk about your mom. she sounded like a really lovely lady,” you slur slightly in your sleepiness.

“she was,” he responds simply.

and again, though you could fall asleep any second laying like this; with eddie’s hand brushing soft circles into your hip, his light breath on your neck, you turn around in his arms and hold him for a change. it’s just as nice.

“i love you so much,” he whispers, hugging your arms to his chest where they wrap around him.

“i love you too. so much,” you reply, kissing his bare shoulder.

that’s how you fall asleep; wrapped around him with an abundance of love warming your bodies.

—

for ayu ( @k1ngeddie )

#eddie munson #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x gn reader #eddie munson blurb #wasn’t gonna post this cause i lowkey hate it #but ayu liked it so!!

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moongreenlight · 2 months

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It's WIP Wednesday and I'm thinking so hard about “Chateau Lobby #4 (In C for Two Virgins)” by Father John Misty that my head explodes.

Retired!Price x Divorcee/single mom!reader (titles are hard who cares)

Cw/Tw: Pressure to perform sex/sexual acts

Little 1k blurb that ends right before the smut because I just got done ovulating and the thought of writing about cock and dick is not in the cards rn.

There was never much time to date while John was working. Never enough of him to occupy all of his work and pleasure. Try as he might, he couldn’t seem to spread himself thin enough to coat the surface of all his wants.

He tried for a few years, early, when he could stay out late and still feel alright putting in a full day’s work the next morning. But he’s a romantic at heart. Never found much appeal to a fast-and-loose lifestyle and eventually stopped looking for trouble in places he would find it.

He was now alone, but with more time to figure out what he really wanted after retiring. Had more of himself to portion out. Pursued his hobbies. Picked up odd contracting jobs out of a need to keep himself busy. Found trouble with a single mother and recent divorcee who hired him off of an online ad because she needed help with a few things around her new house.

He knew he was in for it the moment she opened the door. Asked her out while he was half inside a cupboard under her sink. She said no twice.

Third time’s the charm.

She must have been put on one of those religious conveyor belts and turned out like she was on a factory line- that or she had parents to piss off. Married, turned out two kids, and split young. Must have been straight out of high school, because now that the divorce is finalized she’s cheating her way through a business degree at the community college around her day job.

Still carries some of that youth and innocence in her even though she’s only a year or two his junior. In the way she snorts when she laughs and hastily covers it up by holding the back of her hand over her mouth. The three times already tonight she’s prefaced that she doesn’t kiss on the first date and she’s got a strict rule about no ‘secondary locations.’ It’s charming. Like she’s spending any fleeting moment of free time discovering herself.

And is he glad she’s wasting her precious time on him. Even more glad he caught her on a weekend where her ex had the kids, though the idea of introducing himself to her house, her innocence, her little family, was fucking intoxicating. Made him forget the two fingers of whiskey sitting up right of his plate.

He gets so tipsy on the thought of besting her rules that he can’t help but push his luck after she- ever so delicately- refused the waiter trying to drop a dessert menu at the edge of the table.

“Cheap date.”

A snort from her. She has to pull her lips away from the rim of her wine glass to stifle it. House, even though it’ll give her a headache, she says. Couldn’t possibly bring herself to spend a dime of his money further than what was necessary. Darling thing. He’d love to see how far that ‘good girl’ act went. How much pressure it could handle.

She’d probably pull him in warm. Gooey in the middle when he finally got her spread open.

“Wasn’t out to test your fiscal limits”

She dabs the corner of her smile with a napkin. It’s his turn to laugh now.

“Shame. Half my appeal is the restaurant.”

She falters for a breath. Her eyes go a bit wide, like she’s suddenly worried she hasn’t thanked him enough. Hasn’t been good enough to please him. The thought makes him ball his hand into a fist to distract from the tightness in his slacks.

“Gosh, John, and it is such a nice place. Dinner was fantastic. Thank you, really.”

Her fingers curl around his fist. She has to stretch a bit to reach him from across the table. Her fingertips don’t touch even when she tries to wrap her hand around his. Earnest is thick on her voice now. It honeys her tone. He wonders if when she pulls away she’ll leave a sugary stickiness on his skin.

He tsks, a smile flirting across his mouth. Unable to help himself. A hungry stray being tossed a hot meal.

“And how impressive would it have’t be if I had my heart set on bringing you ‘round t’mine for a nightcap?”

She wrinkles her nose at that, though there’s a glittering of humor in her eyes when she gives his hand a kittenish slap.

“You couldn’t afford it.”

Sharp as a tack.

He has to clench his jaw shut to keep from sinking his teeth into her. They ache to see if she’s candy-floss all the way through.

“No?”

“Dinner was fantastic, John. Thank you.”

She throws him a warning glance with that. There’s the faintest outline of severity blurring into the soft edges of her voice. He digs his nails into his palm.

“M’I that bad to talk to?”

He’s pulling out stops now. Ignoring the chirping alarm sounding in the back of his skull that tells him that he should be able to pick out if he’s insisting for the right reasons or not.

She’s more difficult to guilt a second time. Rolls her eyes and starts folding her napkin on the side of her plate.

“Must be.”

She is fucking delectable.

Trouble. Everything about her. Every new layer he peels back sets him ablaze. He’s smoldering in his chair, waiting for the smoke curling off the crown of his head to set off the smoke detectors.

It takes some effort, but he’s able to get her to settle on him coming ‘round to hers after dinner. ‘One drink, John. I’m serious.’ She digs her heels in a bit, but he’d already made his mind up. He’d have her. Tuck her in a paper bag and take his dessert to-go.

She makes him turn away when she punches the code into her garage opener. Says the remote in her car is dead, and while he looks around the edges of the house for security cameras, he makes a note to come back and get both of those things taken care of for her. Doesn’t like the thought of her alone in her driveway after work tired and vulnerable.

Never mind if she had to step out in the rain. Sugar melts.

He tries to convince her to sit on the couch with him while she nurses a weak pour of wine, she refuses. Sits on a plush armchair catty-corner to him in the living room and smiles while shakes her head.

“Not used to being told no?”

It’s less of a question than it is a plain statement. A surface-level observation. It should strike him as an insult, but watching the words fall from her pretty mouth made pride swell in his chest.

“Should I be?”

Trouble. He’s inching toward the line.

“You’d think.”

He wonders what she would think if he took her down to the studs. Not much of anything- if he was lucky.

#moongreenlight #moongreenlightwrites #cod mw2 #call of duty #cod x reader #141 headcanons #drabble #price cod #price call of duty #captain john price #john price #captain price #john price x reader #price x reader #captain john price x reader #wip wednesday

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byeoltoyuki · 4 months

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hii could you please write a lee know x reader parenting series where they are like married and have a one month old baby 😭 my mind goes crazy everytime i think about minho as a dad

Hello sweet anon! A serie would be a big thing and even if I love the idea, I sadly don't have enough time to write it since I have already so much on my wiplist ;_; Now that being said, I still wrote a small drabble because I also live for dad Minho. I changed the age to six months, it was easier for me this way :). Hopefully you'll like it ♥

genre: established relationship / fluff overload /

***

“No one shall be my wife but she whose foot this golden slipper fits.” Minho read out loud, Minji nicely placed on his laps. He didn’t think it could possibly calm his six months old baby, she was too young, and yet it was doing a rather good job. She stopped crying the moment he started reading, doing his best to put as many emotions as he could into his voice. He tried to adapt along with the characters he played. And Minji? She seemed to love that as she giggled loudly every time his voice changed.

So he kept reading, stopping from time to time just so he could kiss the crown of Minji’s head.

“This also is not the right one,” said he, “have you no other daughter?” “No” said the man “There is still a little stunted kitchen-wench which my late wife left behind her, but she cannot possibly be the bride.”

Minho had to stop the urge to close the book. Fairy tales were not his cup of tea, especially those with princesses that needed to be saved. Clearly, Cinderella wasn’t a princess but definitely one young, lovely woman that needed some serious saving. He wasn’t fond of that. Yet, for the sake of his own daughter’s entertainment, he kept reading.

“That is the true bride!” The step-mother and the two sisters were terrified and became pale with rage; he, however, took Cinderella on his horse and rode away with her.

“Nope.” Minho closed the book and pushed it away from him. “I can’t. That some serious bull-“ he stopped right on time before the curse left his lips. He scooped Minji in his arms and looked fondly at her. “You, my sweet, little angel, don’t need a man.” And with that he peppered her face with kisses until she squealed and tried to push him away with her tiny hands.

Minho was enjoying his sweet father-daughter moment, he failed to notice that you were finally back from your first, little girls’ night. At least, until he heard your sweet chuckle.

“I thought you said you’ll never, ever, read her bed time stories, hm?” You teased, knowing how much those stories repulsed him. The day he saw you buying those books, he was read to set them on fire. And yet, look at him now.

For the sake of pettiness, he ignored your comment and instead gave his full attention to Minji. “You’re gonna be a strong, independent and lovely woman.” Minho told her softly before his eyes found yours, he just couldn’t help it. “Just like your mom. You won’t need a man to be happy.”

Of course, he would say something like that, you thought. You were used to him being all snarky and teasing, sometimes looking and sounding cold and yet he had the biggest and softest heart you had ever met.

With a big smile plastered on your face, you got closer to the bed. You kissed Minji’s head before pecking Minho’s lips. “Cute. But should I remind you that this,” You pointed at yourself,” Incredible, beautiful, strong and absolutely hilarious wife of yours still needed a man like you to make her life perfect, hm?”

Minho considered your words for a moment, his eyes darting back and forth between you and your baby. “True. But she’s not allowed to date. That’s it.” No man could be enough, could be good enough for his little girl. Not in this world.

“Minho!” You groaned. You should have known the day you found out you were expecting a girl that Minho would be, from time to time, an overprotective dad.

“What?” He feigned innocence.

“You know you can’t shield her forever, right?”

“Fine. She can date.” He agreed, “But only once I’m dead and buried.”

Yeah, it was too good to be true, you told yourself. You smiled nevertheless. “And then you’ll come and haunt the poor man?”

Minho’s grin turned pure evil. Of course, you saw right through him after years of knowing each other. With Minji, still in his arms, he stood up from the bed and brought her back to her cradle. He kissed her head and straightened back to look at you. “Exactly.”

You laughed at his words, at his confidence and fierceness. You wrapped your arms around him and rested your head against his back. He felt warm and like home. “You’re impossible.”

“And that’s why you love me.”

“Unfortunately.”

“Take that back, lady!” He turned to face you, hands on his hips, he feigned annoyance but the glint in his eyes told you another story. “Take that back or else,”

“Or what?” You dared him, knowing damn well you were in troubled waters.

Before you could do some more provoking, Minho grabbed you and threw you over his shoulder making you squeal in return.

“Minho!”

But he only laughed and slapped your ass for good measure. “Let me show you.”

#stray kids #lee know #minho #stray kids x reader #stray kids fluff #stray kids fic #lee know x reader

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myosotisa · 8 months

Text

Old Heart - Part 4 - Build

‖ chapter summary: Following the destruction of Memphis, you and Eddie make your way to the spot where he is set to hand you off for the final leg of your journey to Colorado.

‖ tags: enemies to lovers, age gap (41 and 25), forced proximity, slow burn, angst, hurt/comfort, HEA, "zombie" apocalypse, reader uses she/her pronouns, no y/n, no physical description given, minors dni

‖ chapter warnings: grief and the tumultuous emotions included. abandonment issues. mentions of untreated terminal illness (cancer). implied/referenced suicide (very implied, not graphic). animal death and using it in a meal. also alcohol.

‖ word count: 11k

‖ prev ‖ ao3 ‖ masterlist ‖ tag list request ‖ next ‖

August 18th through 23rd, 2016 – somewhere in Arkansas

You only make the mistake of asking Eddie to talk about Memphis twice.

The first time was Thursday night after the two of you had settled into a place to sleep that seemed secure enough for both of you to sleep through the night. He’d assisted you with changing the bandages on your wound with the supplies him and Max had managed to scrape together while you had been catatonic. It was vague – more of an offer that if he wanted to talk to you about it, you were there for him. He’d bitten back with a harsh retort that there was nothing to talk about before rolling over and pretending to go to sleep.

Progress had been slow as you trekked across the state together due to your injury. You felt tired faster, found yourself pushing to keep going until you got so dizzy you almost fell over, then had to take a rest before you did the same thing all over again. Eddie never once complained about the pace but you could tell the sitting and waiting for you to be ready to move again was weighing on him. He would anxiously pace while you sat, or make an excuse about going to make sure the perimeter was clear and disappearing for 15 minutes at a time. The first leg of your trip he was standoffish and closed off but, ever since Max left, he’s been fully avoidant. Not wanting to get into situations where he would have time to stop and think.

Running away from silence and stillness like he had a bounty on his head.

When you ask again if he wants to talk about anything that happened in Memphis, he doesn’t snap. He barely responds at all. He sits there in the moonlight with one leg kicked out and the other bent up with his arms crossed on it. There’s a far off look in his eye despite his gaze being firmly settled on his boot. Dark shadows are cast along his features that make the circles under his eyes seem more sunken and his jawline more defined. A shadow of himself in the dark.

“Who’s Sally?”

The question catches you off guard, your legs crossing under you as you lean back against a dusty bookshelf in the dark room. “Sorry?”

“When we were leaving Louisville, you told–” His voice is soft and ragged – it catches on the word and he has to clear his throat to keep going. “You told Dustin to ‘get home safe to Sally.’ I didn’t know he was seeing anyone.”

You’re not able to contain the amused snort that forces itself out of your nose and you notice that the silhouette of his head whips toward you in response. Quick to explain, you tell him, “Sally is a German Shepherd. She lives on the farm with Dustin and Will.”

“Ah,” is his short response. You think maybe that will be the end of it but a few moments later he’s talking again. “His mom was a cat lady. He liked the cats, but I always kinda got the feeling he was a dog person. So that’s, uh… That’s nice to hear.”

“Yeah, he’s obsessed with her. Talked about her almost as much as you on the trip there.”

This makes him huff, a quick exhale of breath. You wish you could see his face – figure out if that was a good noise or a bad one. For not the first time, you find yourself wishing you knew what he was thinking.

“I had a cat for a little while.”

His confession has you suddenly on the edge of your seat and you struggle to rein yourself in. Try not to think about how excited it makes you to hear him let a little fact about himself like that slip free. Carefully, keeping your tone neutral like you’re trying not to spook a wild animal, you ask, “Oh yeah? What was their name?”

You’re surprised when he actually answers. “My uncle named her Mimzy. Stupid fuckin’ name,” he complains, though it comes out through a chuckle. “Then again, the cat was dumb as a brick so I guess the punishment fit the crime.” You spend a few moments considering if you should ask more questions to try to keep him talking but he does so on his own. “She lived under our trailer when I was in high school. Was just fur and bone when I started throwing scraps outside for her to eat. ‘Course she stuck around after that. Even though I was the one who started feeding her, she always preferred Wayne. Would rub all over his legs when he got back from the plant in the morning after ignoring me all night. Though she was a fan of mine for a while when I saved her dumbass while trying to fight a raccoon.”

Still not quite sure how to handle this situation in which Eddie is willingly talking about himself, you fall back on humor. “Trying to fight a raccoon is a rookie mistake. They have fully functioning fingers. A cat stands no chance.”

This time the huff he lets out is definitely amused and you find yourself warming under the approval. “I’m just glad she didn’t get rabies or something from the thing.”

While it feels a bit like pushing your luck, you take another metaphorical step closer by offering up some bits of your own. “We had a dog when I was a kid. Yappy little terrier named Lola.” He doesn’t move to interrupt you so you push your luck a little further. “I was always more of a cat person but my dad fucking hated them for some reason, so I was never allowed to have one.”

“Didn’t get one when you had the chance?” He asks, and it makes you hesitate.

Not sure if he forgot how young you were or if he meant something else, you are reluctant to remind him. Despite the worry that it's the wrong move, you still awkwardly answer. “Well, I was only 13 when everything went to shit. And they didn’t want animals on the base so… No.”

Silence falls like a blanket of thick snow. It feels fuzzy and heavy. You immediately try to figure out how you can reel the words back into your mouth, say literally anything else that would keep him talking. Keep the silence from creeping in like hands around your throat.

“I forgot,” he’s borderline whispering now and you can barely hear it over the buzzing in your ears. “Can’t imagine how fucked up it was to go through that as a kid.”

You shrug even though he can’t see it, feeling that captive piece of you starting to pace behind its bars again, looking for the first sign of weakness to lunge. “About as fucked as it was for everyone else, I guess.”

“Yeah… Guess so.” The moment sits heavy on you both before the sound of leather on polyester hisses in the empty air. There’s a lot of shuffling from his side of the room and you see the shadows of him settling down on his sleeping bag. You take that as your sign that he’s done talking.

A small part of you thinks about telling him goodnight. You decide to stop while you’re ahead.

The next 3 nights go similarly. When you’ve both found some abandoned place to sleep, he helps you change your bandages. Looks out for signs of it getting infected and lets you know if it seems to be healing or not. When your cobbled together sling gives out, he rips apart his white overshirt to make you a new one despite your protests that you can manage without. Once your arm is settled and you’ve both eaten at least a little bit of something, you start talking. Not much, maybe 15 minutes to half an hour. But those sacred minutes allow you to learn more little facts about Eddie. Never anything related to Memphis or life during the pandemic. It’s all things from before.

He had the same flannel shirt in 3 different colors because he just really liked how it looked on him. A part of him always wanted to get into fixing up motorcycles in his free time. He also used to enjoy drawing and playing fantasy games with his friends. He learned to play guitar when he was a kid from an old 6 string that his uncle had but never used. 90% of his tattoos were from before, only two being added to the mix over the last 13 years. Not for lack of wanting – more like lack of resources and not trusting those who had set up “shops” these days to do stick and pokes. On that note, his first two tattoos were stick and pokes he did himself in high school.

You drank all the information like sugar water for a fly – desperate to be filled even if it wasn’t the way you were hoping it would be. Even if it didn’t end anywhere, even if it didn’t help either of you. It was something.

In a world where everything felt like a luxury, vulnerability was the rarest among them.

Evening of August 23rd, 2016 – Three Corners, Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma

The last hour or so of your hike through the middle of nowhere has been dirt roads and wooden fences that barely remain standing on the dusty roadsides. While you have questioned him once or twice, Eddie is determined that he knows exactly where he’s going. That he’s made this trip before, could do it blindfolded. And, with the sun quickly sinking toward the western horizon, all you can do is hope he’s right.

As you kick your way through orange dirt roads covered with rocks and tree limbs, the ruined fencing to your right starts to slowly be replaced with newer wood – better maintained and more sturdy. Further beyond, the wooden beams are replaced by a chain link fence that rises a foot or two above your head. This looks even newer, barely rusted and without any cuts or weak points. Despite being far from anything you would even attempt to call civilization, it seems that you are getting closer to something someone is caring for.

You don’t realize that you’re lagging behind, distracted and exhausted, until Eddie looks back over his shoulder. “We’re almost there, Bambi. Just a little farther.”

Not sure if he means to be encouraging or condescending, you decide to take the opportunity to talk again. Maybe if you can focus on that instead of your sore muscles and swollen arm, you can pass the rest of the time easily. “Y’know, calling me Bambi is kind of fucked up.”

He stops, slowly turning toward you with concern and confusion on his brow. He waits for you to catch up before continuing on with you in step. “How exactly is it fucked up?”

“Y’know, because both of my parents are dead now.”

He chokes on air, a hacking laugh forcing itself out of his throat. His eyes are shining with a certain mischief in them, one you haven’t seen since Memphis. “First of all, that’s so fucking dark, Bambi.” You blink at him a few times, not understanding exactly what he means. He continues on, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “Second of all, I don’t know if you noticed, but a lot of people’s parents are dead.”

You scoff, shaking your head and looking back out to the road as you murmur, “Asshole.”

“Third of all,” he continues, ignoring your retort, “I’m pretty sure we started calling you Bambi because you’re going out into the world for the first time on your shaky legs; eyes wide and unsure. Not because your parents are dead.”

The realization hits you harshly, suddenly embarrassed for your own morbid assumption. “Oh,” is all you muster, teeth clenching as you try to shake off the fumble. “I am not on shaky legs. I’ve been in the world this whole time, same as everyone.”

“Sorry, but I don’t think your tall ivory walls of government protection count as ‘out in the world’.” He goads, almost sounding pleased with himself. Either not at all catching on to how the assertion frustrates you, or not caring that it does. “We didn’t all get our 3 square meals a day or access to clean water whenever we wanted it.”

The boil in your blood mounts higher – hotter than it’s ever been in his direction. While at the beginning of your journey, you’d been annoyed with his attitude toward you, this is entirely different. This is him taking a knife to where it hurts and twisting it just to watch you bleed. White hot blood you’re quick to spit back.

Your tone is barely contained fire and steam when you say a resolute, “Fuck. You.”

He looks almost like he wants to laugh until he glances in your direction and sees the look on your face. Subconsciously, he shifts another inch away from you, swallowing harshly as he stuffs his hands back into the pockets of his jacket. “Sore spot. Got it.”

The acknowledgement that his comments hurt you does little to smother the flames clawing up your throat, but you leash your tongue and use them to propel you forward instead. Settling into a tense silence that could last 5 minutes or an hour. It’s hard to tell with the rate the sun continues to sink down onto the horizon and the grasslands surrounding you remain unchanging.

Luckily, the fuming is interrupted by Eddie using his long legs to his advantage and crossing over in front of you to grasp at what you’ve just noticed is a gate in the chain link fence. He fights with the chain wrapping the gate closed for a few moments before he manages to prop it open far enough for you both to squeeze through. You pass first, crossing from a dirt road to what can only be described as worn down tire tracks in the grass. It arcs forward and toward the left, disappearing behind a small grove of trees.

“Is this it?” You ask over your shoulder, glancing back as Eddie once again wrangles the thick chain back into place. “Three Corners?”

“Yup, just up the drive.” He exhales a huff as soon as the chain is back in place. Looking at you with an emotion behind his eyes that you can’t determine, he clears his throat and sets into following the path again. “End of the road. For me, at least.”

The startling realization that this is the end of your journey with Eddie hits you unexpectedly. Twists your gut in a way it didn’t when the handoff happened with Dustin. That you had always known was temporary, a means to an end. Just like this was supposed to be.

When had you lost grasp on that?

Oblivious to your internal struggle, Eddie treks ahead, the call of a place to rest and get clean too enticing to let wait any longer. He’s already disappeared around the bend of the trees before you even catch sight of the property.

First, there’s a light blue walled barn, looking only a little bit worse for wear. More like seasoned in the Oklahoma winds. Two of its off-white, rolling doors are shut, the third opened to a room lined with what looks like workbenches – but it’s hard to tell exactly what in the growing shadows of dusk.

Second, you spot a house. One story, laid out wide rather than tall, and organized with mismatched windows and shutters. The walls are painted the same sky blue as the barn, with white trim and a beige slatted roof that is missing more than a few shingles. The roof extends over a small porch, just big enough to fit the door and 2 rocking chairs, and ends in a copper rooster that slowly rotates back and forth in the light wind.

The front door is wide open, presumably from Eddie, and shows only shadows of what is happening on the inside. You hover there in the open space in front of the house, not sure what to do, until you hear Eddie’s voice calling out.

“Hey! Anyone home?” He barely pauses before continuing, his voice getting closer as he goes. “Jeff? … Ama? … Anyone?”

He reappears from the shadows of the house, crossing back through the threshold with a sharp crease of concern between his eyebrows and his mouth set in a thin line. “Hey, you out here?” He continues, long legs carrying him to the barn next, where he once again disappears into the shadows you’re not yet brave enough to venture into. “Jeff? Ahuli?”

The sound of a creaky metal hinge rings out toward you in the open space, echoing out into the quickly darkening sky. Determining your hesitancy in this unknown space is less important than your desire to sit down, you suffer the last few steps to one of the rocking chairs on the porch, tossing your pack to the ground before throwing yourself onto the seat, almost falling backwards with the force of your exhaustion.

Eddie comes back out into the open, hands on his hips as he makes a slow circle to search around the area within view. Leaning forward on your elbows to contain the sudden urge to melt into the ground, you tilt your chin up toward him as he stops to face you. “Looks like no one's home.”

“Yeah, which…” He takes a few steps closer, dust coated face still wrinkled in concern. “They knew we were coming, maybe not this soon but… I don’t know where they would even go.”

“Maybe they left a note or something,” you suggest, wanting just a few minutes to sit and not worry about what was going to happen next. Wanting a few minutes to just rest. “Could look around the house or – maybe they said something to someone over the radio?”

His expression drops from worry to something that looks a bit like despair when he turns back toward the open workshop door. “I should… Let them know we’re here. Tell them what happened.”

But he doesn’t move an inch. Just stares at the steadily growing shadows of the empty barn. Like if he doesn’t go over there, he won’t have to say it. Won’t have to relive it and remember it.

This is something you can’t run from.

You push yourself to your feet, almost numb at this point of exhaustion, and walk past him toward the barn. Without looking back, you hear him get moving behind you, following you as you approach the structure and cross the threshold. Straw softens your step over concrete floors, making your footfall near silent as you venture further into the darkness.

Try to ignore the fear, shake off the urge to reach for your gun or your flashlight. You’re safe here, you’re safe here, you’re safe here–

A short sound comes from behind you and then the room is bathed in harsh white light, nearly blinding in its sudden appearance. You squeeze your eyes shut for a few moments before slowly blinking them back open.

Two of the walls of the room are fully lined with wooden table tops, drawers and random scraps littering the spaces beneath. It looks almost like some kind of machine workshop – drills, hammers, pliers, wiring, and more scattered across the wood between tools and small machines. Most of it you couldn’t even hope to recognize, but as you slowly turn to scan more of the space, you see Eddie approaching what definitely looks like a radio receiver. There are wires all over, some disappearing behind the workbench it sits on and others loosely arching toward the ceiling and through a cutout. Homemade antenna?

He flicks it to life with ease, a burst of static echoing out along the space before settling into a stable hum of sound. Lowering into a crouch, he has to get pretty close to the dial as he adjusts the frequency, like he can’t see the numbers well. You’re about to offer to help him when he drops his hand and straightens up with a groan.

It tumbles out of your mouth before you can stop it. “Careful old man, or you’ll throw your back out.”

Bracing for him to lash back with something mean, you’re surprised when he snorts a laugh out of his nose, shaking his head lightly before throwing a glance back at you and saying, “Bite me.”

And maybe it’s the smirk on his face, or your exhaustion, or your life falling to pieces around you, but you somehow decide that the way you want to reply to that is, “When and where?”

This time he fully looks at you, eyebrows raised in utter surprise, his smile growing and shifting sideways as your face heats in embarrassment. “Yeah, Bambi?”

“Shut up,” you mutter to his teasing, dragging a tall stool across the straw floor to sit beside him. He is still looking at you, a sharp glint to his eye that makes you feel like a mouse being cornered by a cat. “Just radio in,” you try to order, but it comes out more like a plea.

“Whatever you say,” he concedes with a sly smile, pulling the receiver up to his mouth and pressing down on the button. The static hum cuts out as he says, “Hawk’s Nest, come in. I repeat, Hawk’s Nest, come in.”

The moment he lifts his finger, the static cuts back in. Neither of you move, almost not even breathing, as you wait for a response. Eddie, showing more impatience than you, tries again. “Hawk’s Nest, this is Crow, do you read me?”

When he releases the switch again, you dip slightly forward to look at his profile. “Crow? You have call signs?”

He groans, eyes rolling back into his head. “Yeah, and it’s all bird-themed shit. Blame your fucking sister.”

“Ah, Robin, figures.”

“Pain in my ass,” he reaffirms, but the small smile that remains on his face betrays him. He lifts the receiver again like he’s about to repeat when the static crackles a few times – waving between a very high and low pitch before a static tinted voice cuts in.

“Crow, this is Hawk’s Nest. Read you loud and clear.”

“Thank Christ,” he sighs out before pressing down the switch again. “Crow reporting package arrival at drop 3.”

Annoyance prickles at the base of your skull again, ready to snark back about not being a fucking package but the voice you still don’t recognize cuts back in. “Package arrival heard, will relay.”

He barely waits a second before jumping in again. “Drop 3 handoff incomplete, receiver not present. Any report?”

It all sounds so incredibly vague and short form – like if you didn’t know exactly what was going on you wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of any of it. That’s probably the point actually, that anyone listening in would have almost no idea what they were talking about.

There’s some additional crackling, a longer pause before the voice cuts back in. “Nothing noted. Standby at drop 3, will report back at 1500 hours tomorrow.”

“Heard,” he confirms and releases the switch. You wonder if he’ll leave it there, not mention anything about Memphis or Max or any of it. It’s almost like he’s tempted to, because he looks over at you with a hard tension in his jaw. You’re not sure why, if there is something he wants you to say or do. If there is some kind of encouragement you could give him, some comfort you could provide.

Nothing feels right to say. So instead you heave a deep breath, wounded arm protesting as your chest expands, and exhale long. Whether consciously or not, Eddie mimics the motion, shoulders rising and falling as he exhales out through his mouth and then presses down on the switch again. “Hawk’s Nest, additional intel for the line.”

A few seconds of hum before the voice replies, “Ready for the line.”

From your point of view, you can see Eddie rest his free hand on the table top, head falling forward as his eyes squeeze closed. His lips twist in a grimace, head rocking back and forth a few times, before he brings the receiver back up to his mouth.

“Memphis QZ is gone. I repeat, Memphis QZ is gone.”

This time you do hold your breath while you wait – heart pounding in your ears loud enough to drown out the static hum as you stare into the black coated machine. The silence stretches on way too long, the longest pause you’ve heard since the conversation began. You almost have to inhale just to keep from passing out, lungs groaning in protest, before the two of you hear a reply.

“Heard, will relay. Status on Flycatcher?”

A sigh out of his nose before he replies. “Headed your way, arrival unknown.”

Another, shorter pause. “Heard, will relay. Standby for 1500 report. Over and out.”

He sets the receiver down with a heavy hand, raises the other to flick the radio back off. Both hands on the table again, he exhales shakily as he hangs his head.

You don’t move or say a word until he does. Allowing him that moment to collect himself, if nothing else.

Slowly, he rolls his shoulders back to his full height, posture squaring off as he takes a step back from the table.

“Come on,” he requests softly, “let’s go clean up, change your bandages. Get something to eat.”

You follow him out of the barn, light flicking off behind you, across the red tinted dirt circle between the barn and the house, and into the shadows within.

August 24th, 2016 – Three Corners, Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma

Last night, Eddie showed you around a bit. They had an outdoor shower with a water heater, a working toilet and sinks, a small fridge, a wood stove. Electricity and hot water. And beds. Both of you would be able to get your own bed.

You’d awkwardly turned down his assistance on getting clean, insisting you’d be really careful with your arm. He let you go first – when you re-emerged from the wooden enclosure of the shower, there was a little bundle of clean clothes waiting for you. By the time you got inside, there was a small (but warm) meal prepared. He was already halfway done with his, and when he finished, he insisted on changing your bandages again despite your reassurance you could do it.

After making sure you were clean, bandaged, and fed, he told you where you could find a bed and went out to take his own shower. You washed the dishes as well as you could with one fully functioning hand and tucked yourself into bed before he even came back inside.

This domesticity felt unnerving. His care felt unnatural. It was different from the apartment in Memphis. This was the home of a family of four, with kids toys and art and pictures and everything. And, despite it only being the two of you, Eddie watching out for you, taking care of you, putting you first… It was overwhelming and uncomfortable and felt unsafe.

Somehow, laying alone in the dark child’s room, in clothes that weren’t yours and in the silence. It was worse than anything.

You couldn’t fall asleep until you heard Eddie come back inside and close the door to the room beside you.

When you wake up, there’s sunlight coming in through the opaque curtains, a soft yellow cast across the homemade quilt you had pulled up to your ears. As you slowly shift it down to your waist, dust starts to kick up and dance along the beams into the room. Making the blues and greens of the bedding and the child-drawn artwork look almost pastel. And while part of it was comforting, imagining a kid who still got to have a room like this – live a life like this – there were a lot of other feelings that came up. Feelings you weren’t ready to face this early in the morning.

Instead, you get up and get dressed to go find some water.

Your door is barely open an inch before you hear something going on in the kitchen, the scrap of wood against metal and the clink of a glass. Not sure if maybe the homeowners had returned while you were out, and you were now about to meet them, you walk as quietly as you can to the end of the hallway that leads to the rest of the house.

The only person you can see is Eddie with his back to you.

He’s standing in front of the wood stove in a tank top and sweatpants, bare feet on the uneven tile flooring, long hair down and haphazardly placed on either side of his shoulders. The scars along his arms are on show, allowing you a better glance as you slowly approach from behind. His right arm isn’t too bad, a vague slash mark here or there, along with a couple of black ink tattoos scattered across the skin. There’s a healed over bullet graze at the top of his right bicep, the skin indented and slightly puckered pink. Probably somewhat similar to how your own arm will heal.

His left has larger patches of scar tissue, a big section on his forearm and a few other spots as it goes up his arm. They almost look like burn scars – the skin damaged and discolored but healed over. It’s the same texture of the scar on his side you saw last week, also on the left. He must’ve been in some kind of accident with flames or maybe some kind of chemical.

You wonder if he’d tell you what it was if you asked.

The closer you get, you can see there’s some small bowls on the counter beside him and one of them is stacked high with brown spotted eggs. He has a cast iron pan over the crackling fire and scraping at the yellow liquid inside it to scramble them.

Without otherwise announcing yourself, you ask him, “Are these fresh eggs?”

He nearly screams, wooden spatula going flying and almost losing the pan too as he jumps away from you. “Jesus Christ, Bambi,” he gasps, running a hand through his hair before dropping it on his heaving sternum, “Are you trying to scare me to death?”

“No,” but your mischievous smile heavily implies you’re not exactly upset about the outcome. “Where’d you get the eggs?”

He glares at you while shuffling back to the front of the stove. He still sounds a little out of breath when he replies, “Ama has a henhouse out back, takes care of them. Tries to keep them out of the garden.” He points toward another wooden bowl that has 2 small pears, some leaves of lettuce, and a single shoot of green onion.

“Holy shit.” The fresh, home grown food nearly brings tears to your eyes – brushing past his back to take one of the small, green pears and hold it up in the sunlight to examine it. “I mean the food, the animals, the water, the electricity… How do they keep it all going out here?”

“The reservation was already making attempts to be self-sustainable before the pandemic hit. Their own power grid, water collection, the works.” He continues to cook while he explains, scraping the bottom of the cast iron to keep the eggs from sticking as he watches it carefully. “After everything went to shit, they fast tracked it. Jeff and Ama were living in the city and moved back to her parents' place to help them. Her folks died a couple years ago so then it was just them and their two kids. Jeff is a mechanical engineer and Ama is a fuckin’ genius in general so they made this into the best compound someone could ask for in an apocalypse.”

Looking over the house, you couldn’t help but agree. The stable fencing, communication, their own food and water. Depending on how they sourced the power, they could probably stay out here for who knows how long and the only thing they might need to worry about is bandits. Even then, there’s not much around. A bandit group would have to be really lost to end up here.

“That’s… amazing. I honestly didn’t think it was possible to still be living like this. Anywhere.”

But then again, I thought that about Memphis too.

He hums an agreement as he scrapes the eggs out of the pan and onto two plates. “Yeah. I know they are still in touch with other families around. Maybe they are out helping one of them with something.” He nudges his elbow against your arm, pointing for you to grab the other bowl of greens and bring it over to the table with him. “There was a ton of feed in the henhouse, like they prepped to be gone for a little while.”

You follow his lead in setting the bowls on the circular table in the center of the room before taking a seat to his right. “Well that’s a good sign, isn’t it? That they were prepared to not be here?”

He hums as he settles into his chair, the wood groaning as he leans too far back in it. “I guess so. I just hope Will has something to tell us at noon.”

Laying out a piece of lettuce, he makes a sort of egg wrap with bits of green onion before taking a bite right out of his pear. “So Hawk’s Nest, that’s Will? He mans the radios out on the farm with Dustin?”

“Mhmm,” he confirms as he finishes chewing, eyes locked on his plate like he doesn’t know where to go next. “With Sally, apparently.”

Long fingers wrap around his wrap and bring it up to his mouth with a crunch, so you pick up a fork and start to spear into your own warm eggs. Unseasoned but still warm and fresh. A hundred times better than the powdered egg stuff they made back at Quantico. Even just having a warm meal settles you in a way you hadn’t anticipated, relaxing further into your seat as your eyes close.

When you open them again, you’re struck by the sight of Eddie. The sun coasts in through an uncurtained window – bathing him and the table in bright morning light. His slightly frizzy hair, greys visible, is pulled to one side, showing off the length of his neck and the broadness of his shoulders. The scruff along his jaw has only gotten thicker, salt and pepper across weathered skin, almost enough to hide the scar on his chin. There’s a tattoo of a dragon along his bicep, a slashed scar of white right through its abdomen, and a swarm of bats on his forearm. His hands are clean, maybe cleaner than you’ve ever seen them and you find yourself thinking that he looks good like this.

This is a different person from the Eddie you first met. The wolf in denim and leather who is intimidating, unapproachable, someone you wouldn’t want to get in a fight with. With the sharp glares beneath aviators and sharper remarks against anything you had to say. This is a man who has seen terrible things – done terrible things – and now gets to rest. A safe place where he can just live. Not be constantly fighting to survive.

If only he would sit around long enough to enjoy it.

The two of you finish your breakfast and clean up the dishes. Eddie roots through closets and cupboards until he finds a jacket that will fit you (since they tore yours apart to make a sling), a corduroy coat in a forest green that probably wouldn’t stand up well in the elements but keeps you warm nonetheless. He helps you slide it up one arm and hang it over your other shoulder. Your arm is still in your makeshift sling at his request, insisting it would be better to take it off in another day or two.

After that, he explains he’s going to go check the trap line Jeff normally has set up, see if there is anything caught so the two of you might be able to eat some fresh meat tonight. You offer to go with him, to try to help, but he’s quick to deny.

While he says something about your arm and wanting you to rest since it’s still healing, you get the feeling he just wants to be alone for a while. So you watch him re-emerge from one of the bedrooms down the hall in his jeans, boots, red and black tie dye shirt, and his leather jacket before walking out the door with a promise to be back before 3pm for Will’s call.

Leaving you to your own devices.

At first you snoop around the house, trying to bide time. Walk the walls like an art gallery – seeing old and faded photos of families, women in calico tear dresses and men in their ribbon shirts. Newer photos of people gathered in churches, an older man and his three kids all climbing on a pasture gate.

Closer to the fridge, there is a set of three polaroid photos. The top is a family of four sitting on the porch of this house, a man and a woman sitting on the steps with a boy and a girl posing between them. The boy is older, looks almost 7, and the girl looks about 5, with his black pigtail braids draped over her shoulders. The other two are each centered on one of the kids; a shot of the boy with a stripe of grease on his cheek and holding some kind of contraption in his palms with a huge smile, the name ‘Ahuli’ written in cursive underneath, and a shot of the girl sitting on top of the father’s shoulders, her hair wild and windswept as she appears to scream out with laughter, the name ‘Tay’ written in cursive beneath.

This must be Jeff, Ama, and their kids. All living out here on this land. These were kids born after everything fell apart. A family created in utter tragedy. There’s something bittersweet about it all. These kids… This is the only world they know. A world ravaged by man eating man and fungus that takes over your body, pilots your muscles and tendons, and leaves you aware. Cities were destroyed and millions of people died and society collapsed. They don’t even really know it. They’ve probably been told, at least some of it. But they don’t have any idea of what it was before – don’t have anything to miss. This is what they have, have always had. A safe home with a happy family.

The chained creature roars in agony, jaws snapping at the bars like it will tear free and take out its anger on them, on their happiness. Roars for you to grab the polaroids and tear them to pieces, to destroy, to light fire to it all. Burn it to the ground.

You go for a walk.

Slip on your boots with some difficulty and just start walking. Past the outdoor shower, the light clucking of the henhouse behind, and out into the grass beyond. Going until you reach the edge of the fence line and then follow along it, looking out for anything that catches the eye. There are a few horses grazing on the property, a single cow with its calf in the acres beyond the fence. Birds flit by overhead and the drying grass shifts as small creatures scurry far away from you.

You’re not sure how long you walk but the sun beats down, along your shoulders and a sweat breaks out. The breeze keeps you from being miserable but you’re still definitely getting sunburnt along your cheekbones. You’d think after days and days of walking, you’d want to do anything but that. But this feels different. It’s peaceful and relaxing. You’re not on edge, listening to every sound and searching for any sign that something or someone is coming after you. Somehow, your body has gotten the message that you are safe (for the most part) within this chain link fence, allowing some portion of your guard down. So you walk and listen to the birds without constantly looking over your shoulder.

Somewhere toward the back acreage, you intercept Eddie on his way back to the house with a string connecting two dead animals hung over his shoulder. He looks surprised to see you but gives an awkward little wave, waiting along the fence until you get there. “Dinner?” You ask, free hand stuck in the pocket of your coat as you look over the furry animals hanging from him, one on his front and one on his back.

“Dinner,” he confirms with a small smile, adjusting the line holding the animals together before you set off back toward the house together. “I can skin ‘em easy enough, and make sure they’re cooked through, but can’t guarantee it’ll taste very good.”

“If you skin them, I can cook them. While I was snooping around the house, I found some bone broth and other stuff. Should be able to make something edible at least.”

His head tilts toward you, eyebrows raised slightly. “You know how to cook?”

“Yup,” you keep your eyes forward, across the waving prairie grass and toward the outcropping of trees that hides the house and barn. “My mom taught me. She used to work in the mess hall on the base.”

He audibly swallows beside you, a nervous pause before he asks, “When, uh… How long ago did she… pass?”

“Eight years, I think. 2008ish. I think it was summer.” Your voice remains surprisingly steady as you explain. “I still don’t even really know what happened. My dad just came home one day and told me she was gone. I was 17, old enough to be more aware of stuff, but it still felt like he was protecting me from something.” You kick at a stone that caught the tip of your toe in the tall grass, eyes on your dusty boots. “Guess now I’ll never know.”

You cross another 15 feet or so before he replies. “One of the shittier parts of keeping secrets. Once you’re gone, they’re gone too.”

You huff a small laugh, gazing ahead at the trees as you continue to inch closer. “He says as a man overflowing with secrets.”

“There’s a difference between not knowing someone and being ‘filled with’ secrets,” he points out, almost defensively.

“Oh yeah,” you roll your eyes, “because you’re an open book.”

He quiets down again, the silence growing more tense than before. When you finally glance over, you see him looking straight ahead, a muscle in his jaw rolling with tension. Despite your desire to say something else and lessen the sudden distance between you, you decide to let him sit in that. Stew in it even. Like maybe if you reflect that mirror right back at him, he’ll see something.

Maybe something will change for him. Even if you’re not going to be around to see it.

The rest of the walk is quiet as you pass back through the treeline. You follow Eddie into the barn, where he disappears through a door into the other half before reappearing sans animal carcases. The two of you settle in front of the radio again.

Will comes through at 3pm sharp with almost no news. No reply from Colorado about Memphis. No news about Jeff. The only thing he is able to tell you is that he will have more for you at 1300 tomorrow and he lets you know Max arrived at the farm early this morning, unharmed. It’s all in code, but you’re able to get the gist of it. When the radio clicks off, Eddie’s frustration boils over. He kicks hard at a metal can sitting on the ground, the side caving in before it goes sailing out the open door and bounces across the dirt drive of the house. You watch it roll to a stop before looking over at him, one hand on his hip and the other over his mouth as he stares at the object, the sun reflecting off the coating in a glare.

“I’m gonna go skin the animals.”

The door slams shut behind him.

You stare at the closed door for a few minutes before getting off the stool and heading back inside the house.

When you wake up on the couch a few hours later, the sun is even further toward the west. The light no longer shines into the windows of the front room, leaving it much darker than it had been when you and Eddie ate breakfast this morning. Rolling up to sit, you stretch overhead with one arm and a yawn before glaring down at the sling keeping your other arm captive. You’re well past tired of the limitation now and slip it over your head, tossing the fabric to the other end of the couch.

Extending your arm, there’s still some pain and discomfort, but as long as you don’t bring your arms above your head or lift too heavy with your bad arm, you’ll be fine without the sling. It is well past time you were able to use both hands again.

The heavy glance from Eddie when he slips back inside implies he disagrees, but it seems not enough to say anything.

Heavy footfall breaks up the silence until aluminum hits tile. “They’re cleaned. Are you still willing to cook?”

“Yeah, absolutely.” Padding across the room in your socks, you step right up next to him to peer into the container. Trying to ignore the way he shifts his shoulder back to make room for you at the counter. Tilting your head toward him, you’re closer than you thought when you add, “Thank you for doing that.”

He looks surprised by the proximity too – brown eyes even just a little bit wider as he scans your face. You can see the way his Adam's apple bobs up and down in a hard swallow. The words sound a bit caught in his throat when he replies, “Sure, no problem.”

Although he looks nervous, maybe even uncomfortable, with how close the two of you are standing, he still makes no effort to move away. Neither do you, although you do lower your face to look over the meat before you in an attempt to ease some of the tension.

If you didn’t know any better, the warmth to your side makes you think he drifted even closer when you stopped looking.

Softly, entirely too intimate compared to the standoffish man who slammed the door behind him mere hours ago, he asks, “Do you want help cooking? Or can I go take a shower before we eat?”

“Go shower.” He doesn’t move an inch. “Oh, actually,” you twist and your noses almost knock together, causing both of you to jerk back in shock. What in the hell is happening right now?

“Could you…” Your voice is unsteady, a bit breathless. “Would you light the stove before you go? I’ve never used one like this before.”

The corner of his mouth tilts up in a small smile before he drops down to his knees right there beside you. Steady hands reach in toward the wood burning stove as you avert your eyes, shifting out of his space and over toward the cabinets you scoped out earlier. Overwhelmed by his quick change in attitude, you busy yourself in preparation until he pushes himself up with a groan.

Seeking some normalcy, you sigh louder than necessary. “Sorry, shouldn’t have asked you to do that. Old knees and all.”

He huffs a laugh, hair shifting while he shakes his head in your periphery. “Careful, Bambi, or I’ll have to give you a taste of what these knees can do.”

A laugh bursts out of you before you can contain it, turning toward him again. “What the fuck does that even mean?”

His eyes narrow playfully, a hand raising in an accusatory point. “Better hope you never find out.” Raising your hands in surrender, you turn back to the counter before he offers one more, “Anything else before I go?”

“Nope, all good here. Thanks.”

He dips his head in acknowledgment before leaving you to your cooking.

As the door clicks shut behind him, you find yourself wondering which Eddie will he be when he gets back.

Evening of August 24th, 2016 – Three Corners, Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma

The chirp of crickets is nearly deafening out on the dusty porch now that the sun has sunk below the horizon. It echoes through the circular clearing of the drive – ricocheting off of thick foliage and the aluminum siding of the barn in a chorus of hissing. A cacophony of noise that drowns out everything but the creak of the rocking chair while it slowly shifts beneath you.

A knit blanket, softened with age, is draped across your lap, frayed edges rolling between your fingertips as you look out over the darkening landscape. The wind has softened from earlier today, meaning you don’t really need the blanket to combat the cold itself. But there’s something about curling up on the porch with a blanket that feels so… Novelty. Comforting.

Another thing you never thought you’d be able to do again.

Dinner with Eddie had been… Strange. He wasn’t quite the tease from when he brought back in the meat, but also wasn’t the grump you left in the barn. Somewhere in between – or maybe something else entirely.

His mood appeared to be wildly shifting by the hour and left you feeling unsure in how to act. While dinner itself had gone relatively easily, you couldn’t help being uneasy by what the next shift might bring.

After eating, he’d insisted on cleaning up. You didn’t fight him on it and made yourself scarce. Found your current blanket, bundled it up into your arms to keep it from dragging across the ground, and made your way to your current spot in the rapidly darkening dusk air. Taking a little while to breathe in fresh air and do your best to reach some sort of relaxed state.

You don’t get anywhere close before the metal hinge of the door behind you creaks open to announce your companion’s arrival.

“I come bearing gifts.”

A cool, glass bottle of liquid is set in your lap – two long fingers releasing either side of the neck before retreating out of view again. Twisting it toward you, you recognize the label of the familiar liquor.

“Where did you get this?”

Eddie drops into the rocking chair beside you with a sigh while he sets a flickering candle on the floor between you both before moving to untwist the top off his own bottle. “A lady does not reveal her secrets,” he murmurs before lifting the bottle to his lips and taking three long swigs. He hisses in through his teeth as it lowers, face contorting in a sort of pleasured pain before falling slack. “Fuck, that’s good.”

Curious if the label is true to the contents, you’re quick to follow - popping the top and bringing the cool glass mouth up to your lips in a more cautious sip than Eddie’s gulps. Sure enough, the liquor is strong and sharp as the burn invades your mouth before sliding down your throat. You groan slightly, not sure if it’s a good thing or not, as you lower the bottle again.

“That’s strong,” you cough slightly, face pulled back in a grimace. “Haven’t had any real shit in a long, long time.”

“Yeah, well.” He glances over at you, brown eyes warm and bright in the dancing flame between you, as the corner of his mouth tips up in a small smile. “Don’t get used to it, Bambi.”

“You sure they won’t miss these?” You ask him, curiously. Despite the burn, you bring the bottle up to your lips again, seeking the numbness that is sure to follow.

He takes another long chug, releasing his mouth with another hiss. “I stashed ‘em here. Guess I should feel lucky they didn’t drink them.”

“Guess so.”

Silence falls again. Or, what can be considered silence beyond the buzz of insects in the dark. You both continue to silently nurse your bottles – you more gently than him – as the red hues of the sun disappear into the navy blue blanket of stars.

When you glance over at Eddie, he has his head hanging back, the base of his skull resting on the back of the rocking chair, baring his throat to the night. He looks exhausted but at rest. Like the alcohol is finally lulling him into some semblance of ease. His legs are splayed wide with the bottle resting between them, hands loosely resting on his thighs. The salt and pepper scruff on his jaw grown thicker than when you’d first met him and his hair pulled back haphazardly.

It’s the most vulnerable you’ve ever seen him. Completely unguarded. Even with you right there beside him.

Which makes him breaking the silence first even more terrifying.

“I think I owe you an apology.”

You try not to tense too much in response, looking over at him again. His head is still facing up but his eyes are open now, trained on the stars above you both.

While you can think of a few things, you’re still unsure exactly what he might be referring to. “I feel like I might regret asking this but, for what?”

His hands shift in his lap, tensing into fists before relaxing again. Shoulders rising and falling in a heaving sigh, his eyes pinch closed again. “I haven’t exactly treated you fairly since we met. I…” He trails off, head slowly lulling forward to glance at you before sticking to the ground before him. He clears his throat before continuing again. “Your dad and I never liked each other very much, for a lot of reasons. The biggest one being how he treated Rob.”

You can’t help but cut him off there, confusion apparently in your face. “What do you mean how he treated Robin?”

Eyes shifting over to you nervously, he takes another swig before explaining. “I’m sure you know the story - your dad and Rob’s mom had her really young, didn’t know what they were doing, all that. You probably heard the sugarcoated version but your dad just kinda up and left them. Didn’t really call, definitely didn’t visit. Moved on… Started a new family.”

Your heart burns then, sorrow and guilt pulling you in different directions. A new family – your family.

“Robin never blamed you, or your mom for that matter. She’s never had anything but good things to say about you.” He’s quick to add, making minimal eye contact with you as he continues to explain. “But I did. I was real protective of Rob around the time your dad came back around wanting to make amends. I remember how much it hurt her. And I think a part of me always blamed you for that.”

Definitely not what you were expecting, you don’t say another word, waiting to see if he’ll keep going. It’s a bit painful; knowing he disliked you for something that couldn’t have possibly been your fault. Almost like he hated you just for being born.

“Anyway, that wasn’t cool or fair of me. The fault was always with your dad and his choices. So… I’m sorry.”

While the sentiment is appreciated, it’s still hard to swallow. You counteract the choking feeling it leaves in your throat with another sip of hard liquor.

“Thanks for telling me.” You offer softly. While you might not be ready to forgive him or even to accept it, you’re still at least grateful to understand a little better why your relationship had seemed doomed from the start.

His chest rumbles in a hum of acknowledgment, turning his attention to his bottle again. You let that hang in the air for a little longer before you speak up again. “What were some of the other reasons?” You ask curiously, looking anywhere but his face. He mumbles a ‘huh?’, urging you to clarify. “You said there were a lot of reasons you and him didn’t like each other. What else?”

You see him grapple with the question, rolling it around in his mouth as he figures out how to chew it. The liquor has definitely loosened him, mentally and physically. Maybe you shouldn’t press for more info like this but… Maybe this is your only chance.

“He tracked me down a few years ago. 2011, I think. It was a week after… After my Uncle Wayne died.” His voice is thick with emotion now, his eyebrows drawn together in concentration as he remembers it. “He asked me to help him with something – something big. But I… We argued. Barely held back from punching him square in the jaw a couple times. He said a lot of shit about ‘expecting more from me’ as if he knew me at all,” he let out a bitter chuckle, his head shaking slightly.

“I was in a lot of pain,” he admits, slightly choked up. You’re shocked still, not sure how to handle this turn of events. Should I comfort him? Let him talk through it? Ask more questions? “I told him to go fuck himself and he called me a selfish bastard. And we kept our distance from each other after that. I’m sure he’s probably rolling in his grave right now knowing I’m one of the people escorting you around.” A huff of a laugh at that, bringing the bottle back up to his lips before his eyes widen and glance your direction. “Sorry.”

You swallow around the lump in your throat. “No, uh… Don’t worry about it.”

Suddenly feeling yourself scramble for something else to say or some way to keep the conversation going, you put your foot right in your mouth by asking, “What happened to your Uncle Wayne?”

He looks at you, shock and maybe even offense clear on his face, and you wince as you kick yourself mentally. What kind of question is that? What the fuck do you think happened to him, idiot –

“Cancer, actually.”

Not sure if you’re more shocked by that response or the fact that he actually answered, you focus in on his face now to make sure he knows he has your attention.

“He worked in a factory for years and years before everything fell apart and smoked a shit ton. Lungs started giving out a couple years after everything fell apart. Coughing blood, wheezin’, the whole thing. Wasn’t really much anyone could do, everything being like it is.”

He pauses to take another long gulp of liquor, the points of his cheekbones tinged pink with it. Or maybe emotion, it’s hard to tell in the candlelight. “Did everything we could but he, uh… Decided he was ready. Said he didn’t wanna wait around for the day he tried to take a breath and couldn’t. So I helped him out to a church in a small town that’d already been picked clean. Held his hand while he said his prayers. Gave him a hug. Gave him a pistol.”

Your heart drops into your stomach, Eddie’s gaze far off. Reliving the moments in his head. “Went outside and shut the doors. Waited… waited until the shot went off.” His hand harshly clasps over his mouth as he leans forward, nearly knocking the bottle to the floor as he leans his face away. You can still see the reflection of the tears escaping his eyes.

The softest whisper you can muster, you twist your fists in the blanket in your lap. “Eddie… I’m so sorry.”

His face pinches tight, tears spilling out of his closed eyes, as he shakes off the feeling and rights himself again. “Better end than most people get nowadays,” he admits, voice rough and dismissive. “Least he got to decide on his own terms. Not everybody gets that chance.”

Pained by his dismissal but accepting this is how he needs it to be, you give a solemn nod. After Memphis, you’ve learned your lesson about pushing him.

“Haven’t talked about that in a long time,” he adds with an embarrassed laugh, rubbing his scruff with the palm of his hand. And while there are still tears in his eyes, he looks a little bit lighter. A little bit more free. Your mind flashes to the church in Memphis – Eddie staring up at the missing head of Jesus in reverence, a pistol strapped to his belt.

Searching for something.

You tip forward, the chair creaking as you rest your feet on the ground below you. He looks over at the noise, watching as you lift your bottle towards his in an offering.

“To doing things on your own terms,” you toast quietly, a small smile on your face.

He blinks at you a few times before a small smile tugs at his own face again. Eventually, the bottom edge of his bottle gently clinks against your own.

“To doing things on your own terms.”

August 25th, 2016 – Three Corners, Cherokee Nation, Oklahoma

It’s with a lot of difficulty that you blink your eyes open from a dead sleep – heavy lids and crusty corners protesting the smallest movement. Warmth surrounds you, coaxing you back to rest and away from the headache that is already starting to appear behind your eyes. It must be very early based on the blue toned light that comes in through the window, which you’re not even conscious enough to realize is not in the same spot as it was yesterday.

Barely aware of anything other than how comfortable you are right now and how much you have to pee, you groan softly before attempting to move.

You freeze up when there’s an answering groan from behind you and the weight around your waist tightens to pull you back in.

Shocked fully awake now, you take stock of your surroundings. You’re in a bed you’ve never seen before. There’s a half empty bottle of liquor on the floor beside you. Your pants are gone. And there’s a tattooed forearm wrapped tightly around your torso, belonging to the warm body lining your back. Hot air coasts along the back of your shoulders, the slightest hint of scruff on your skin, and the rhythmic rise and fall of his sleeping chest.

You’re in bed with Eddie. And you don’t remember how you got here.

Heart starting to pound in your chest, you try to calm yourself from spiraling with questions, many of them starting and ending with why am I not wearing pants–

He shifts behind you and you hold your breath, waiting to see if he’s waking up. You remember he drank a lot more than you so, with any luck, you’ll be able to extract yourself from this situation before anything too horribly awkward happens. When he falls still again, curled tight to the back of you, you cycle through your options.

First and worst, make a scene. Scramble out of the bed, shouting and hiding the fact that you’re half undressed, and mortify both of you in the process. Absolutely not.

Second, try to slowly and carefully remove yourself from his hold. Maybe you could replace yourself with a pillow or something, give him something else to hold onto. Or maybe just remove yourself and make a break for the door, hoping he doesn’t wake up in the 5 seconds between and realize what happened.

Third, accept this is your life now. After all, it’s really comfortable. He’s warm and holding you tight – comforting and safe. Feeling his breath across the back of your neck. You feel like you could drift right off again if not for the slight pressure of something against your lower back…

You need to get up. Now.

Like you’re the worst secret agent navigating the worst bank vault ever seen, you somehow manage to extract yourself from Eddie’s surprisingly tight grip. He moans in disapproval but remains asleep, bringing a pillow in to tuck against his chest in a poor replacement. If it wasn’t for the nearly empty bottle on his bedside table, this surely would’ve gone a whole lot worse.

Taking a few moments to admire his sleeping form in the early morning light – the crows feets beside his eyes only noticeable as tan lines, the harshly indented wrinkles between his brows smoothed over – you rush out of the room when he adjusts again just in case he’s waking up.

You make a pit stop in the room you stayed in the previous night, grabbing a pair of pants from the piles of clothes on the floor, and lock yourself in the bathroom.

After a quick wee, you appraise yourself in the mirror. Your hair is a mess. As messy as it normally gets with sleep, you tell yourself. You don’t have any hickies or other noticeable signs of something less “friendly” happening. In fact, it really just feels like you had the best sleep you’ve had in years, not including the rapidly progressing hangover you’re experiencing now. Still, you think back to last night, trying to remember how you might have ended up in Eddie’s bed.

After he told you about Wayne, the two of you ended up reminiscing on other people you’d both lost along the way. Your school friends, his band mates (other than Jeff), both your parents, a few of the friends he made in high school. A little bit of pondering where you both would be now if the world hadn’t gone to shit. He talked a little bit about Memphis and what he’d lost, which you listened to intently. Then… Nothing.

Resting a hand against your forehead as you stare at yourself in the mirror, you’re terrified to realize you can’t remember what happened between the two of you sitting on the porch and when you woke up in his arms this morning.

What the hell did you do?

i bet you thought you'd seen the last of me!!!!! well guess what!!!! you haven't.

i obviously went a lot longer than i wanted before updating this but i have never, ever stopped thinking about it. i still have it all fleshed out in my head and i will finish it if it kills me. i appreciate your patience in the meantime.

and let me know what you think!! comments and reblogs mean the world <3

#happy birthday gods favorite princess #this one is for you #eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x fem!reader #eddie munson angst #eddie munson hurt/comfort #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson series #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #Old Heart #myos ideas #myo4munson

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daydream-cement · 1 year

Note

Hiii! I know you’re not taking requests right now so this is for whenever you have the time ! (Or even if you want to:) ) but I absolutely loved the Weems x student reader platonic fluff so much! Would you consider writing one surrounding a student who came out to their parents during parent weekend, it didn’t go well and their parents caused a scene? And then just some protective/mama bear Larissa would be so cute ! Have a great day/night!

Momma Bear

Characters: Larissa Weems x student!reader

Authors Note: This fic may be triggering for LGBTQ readers. I wanted to filter out some of the more painful elements, so everyone feels safe reading.

Your parents voices rung around in your head as you stared at the floor. You mother specifically had begun yelling, causing the whole quad to go quiet, listening in on her harsh words. Parent's Weekend had been going so well, you thought it would have been the perfect time to come out to them. Your time at Nevermore had brought you so many new supportive friendships that you felt like you could finally be yourself.

Your parents has caused you so much embarrassment in that moment with their behavior, but you were astonished when Principal Weems stepped in. Literally, she stepped between you and your parents, shielding you with her tall form.

"Mr. and Mrs. L/n, I'm going to have to ask you to leave." Principal Weems offered a diplomatic smile, but like with most people, your parents found it hard to argue with her, "I prefer not to have people making a scene in my courtyard. Your child has been a wonderful student here and I'd rather not have their progress backtracked due to your unscrupulousness."

Your mothers mouth gaped and your fathers look soured. They were absolutely furious that your Principal was speaking to them like this with such a bright smile on her face.

"Once again, I believe your Parent's Weekend is over. I'm sure Coach Vlad can see you out." Larissa held up a hand, inviting Coach Vlad to come stand next to her. His serious demeanor the exact opposite of Larissa.

Principal Weems turned around to face you, her smile was softer when she looked down at you, "Let's go for a walk, y/n."

You nod, eyes staring down at Weems' high heels.

-----

Principal Weems and you sat side by side in the gardens on a bench. You carefully glanced up at your principal, she was looking around the gardens, allowing a silence to grow between the two of you. Probably waiting for you to talk to her first.

"I tried coming out to them." You explain the reason for your parents yelling, "They... They didn't take it well."

"Mhmm..."

Your principal wasn't all that comforting you thought to yourself. Principal Weems seems nice enough, but she always seemed so serious.

"You know... My mother wasn't too happy when I came out to her either..." Principal Weems drew your attention in, making you feel better knowing she had experienced something similar, "I ended up finding a different 'mom' of sorts..."

Principal Weems looked down at you, her head tilted, "Sometimes the people we are born to aren't our real family. Nevermore... This is my family. You are apart of our Nevermore family too."

You felt tears began to pool in your eyes, but you really didn't want to cry in front of Principal Weems. Gently you lean your head into her arm, hiding your face in her sleeve.

Principal Weems pulled you into a hug. Your head rested against her shoulder and Weems' arms hugged you tight. She continued to speak to you, "As your mom, I'm telling you that I'm so very proud of you for sharing all of yourself with us. You are so incredible. You have come so far since coming to Nevermore."

She placed her hands on your shoulders, drawing you away so she could look into your eyes, "Now I want you to go back to the festivities. I've been told they will be serving dessert soon and I don't want you to miss that."

With that final statement, you went back in for another hug, squeezing Principal Weems a little tighter this time. You even felt Principal Weems press a kiss to your temple.

"Thank you, Principal Weems..." You murmur against her jacket.

"Anything for one of my babies..."

#larissa weems x reader #larissa weems #wednesday netflix #plantonic #mother figure #student!reader #gwendoline christie #mommy #fanfic #oneshot

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security-chief-odo · 7 months

Text

The Fake Dating Job - Chapter 2

Eliot Spencer (Leverage) x Reader

Read chapter 1 here

Word Count: ~1.6k

Summary: The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner kick off the wedding weekend. Will your family believe your lie, will you be able to keep your feelings a secret from Eliot?

• • •

In the weeks before Eliot and you had already laid out an iron-clad backstory and decided that some PDA would be necessary when your family is around. Even with your plan falling into place, getting in the car to go has you beyond nervous. Though you can’t say your family is what has you so nervous about this trip anymore.

The wedding venue is a two hour drive from the loft and Elliot insists on driving, an offer you gladly accept so you could get a nap in before dealing with the chaos this weekend has in store.

Both you and Eliot are nicely dressed already as you were heading straight to the rehearsal dinner. Eliot is donning a light gray suit that fits him a little too well. You’re wearing a cocktail dress, which leaves you shivering as the evening chill rolls in with the sunset as you near the venue.

You stir from your slumber to the sound of Eliot whispering your name. At some point during the drive he must have taken his jacket off because you now found it wrapped around you like a blanket.

There is no way you’ll survive this weekend if just the smell of his cologne on his jacket has you ready to confess your feelings, but it’s too late to back out now.

Finally looking out the window, you see you’re at the wedding venue, so you sit up as Eliot gets out of the car. You stretch lightly as he opens your car door. He takes the jacket and folds it on his arm, offering you his other hand to help you out of the car.

“How do I look?” you look down at your outfit before looking up at him for an answer.

“Almost perfect, may I?” he asks. You nod and he begins adjusting your necklace that had gone askew as you rested, then he fixes the few strands of hair that no longer laid as neatly as before. “Now you look perfect.”

Your face flushed as you looked into his eyes, “Thank you again for doing this whole thing for me. You’re really saving my ass here.”

“Happy to help darlin’” He offers you his arm to hold as he gestures towards the doors.

The rehearsal goes off without a hitch, and you now find yourself seated at the restaurant, with Eliot’s arm resting on the back of your chair.

He is sitting next to your mom who just can’t seem to get enough of him. As she regales him with stories about your family drama, he moves his hand to rest on your thigh, just above your knee. Your breath hitches as he absentmindedly traces his thumb across your leg.

Neither you nor Eliot have been drinking much, but the flush on your cheeks could have the whole room fooled.

Your mom, on the other hand, is just past tipsy when Eliot excuses himself to go to the bathroom. As he gets up he presses a kiss to your temple, “I’ll be right back sweetheart.”

You not-so-subtly check out his ass as he exits the room and you take a sip of the glass of wine you've been nursing all night. Your mom leans in and tells you “That man is a keeper.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Do you not see him y/n?” your mom is looking at you incredulously, “He’s gorgeous, a perfect gentleman, and don’t even get me started on the way he looks at you.”

So maybe it wouldn’t be too hard to convince your family of your relationship after all. Eliot has clearly already sold your mother on it, perhaps a little too well. “I don’t know, mom. I’m not sure he’s as into me as I am into him. It’s only been a couple months anyways”

You figure sprinkling in the truth will make it more believable when your eventual “break up” happens, and at least they'll feel bad enough to comfort you once you're through breaking your own heart. You put yourself in this situation, so you swallow your disappointment down with another sip of wine.

“Honey, Eliot looks at you like you hung the moon and stars,” she pauses, seemingly lost in thought, “ I think you’re wrong about him.” She shrugs and walks away to go talk to your sister.

You can practically feel your blood run cold as James, your ex-boyfriend, approaches you for the first – and hopefully last – time this weekend. “You should listen to your mother. You’re definitely wrong about your new boy toy.”

He clearly has only caught the last bit of your mom’s statement. A fact that becomes more evident as he continues on with his drunken rambling. “He probably only came here with you because you’re dressed like a fucking whore. He just thinks he can get some, but that’s not gonna happen. We both know you’re still not over me.”

“Fuck off, James.” you spit out quietly, hoping not to make a scene.

“Why? Can’t handle the truth sweetheart?” That word had felt so right when Eliot had said it, but it now felt like poison on your ears.

“Don’t call me that.” you move to walk away but he blocks your path.

“Oh,” he laughs with a venom to his voice that is all too familiar to you. “Now I get it, maybe pretty boy is right. You did move on – by moving under every guy in town. Maybe this one’s just bored enough to keep a slut like you around, at least until the next girl with daddy issues and–.”

Before you could get another word in, Eliot comes to your rescue. He isn’t exactly sure what is happening but his heart breaks a little when he sees the relief cross your face at his arrival. He wraps a protective arm around you “Hey beautiful,” he pressed a kiss to the top of your head. This left James to walk away in a huff.

Eliot pulled you into a hug, kicking himself for ever leaving you alone. He excused himself to the bathroom just to collect himself. Every time he holds you, every time you brush his hair back, every time your eyes meet, he feels terrified you’ll figure out just how in love he really is. He has been in love with you from the moment you joined the team.

He is supposed to be here to make your weekend easier, but let you down because he can’t control his emotions. He whispers in your ear, “You ok?” and his body relaxes when you nod against his chest.

Pulling away, you rest a hand on his chest while his hands settle on your waist. “He’s just drunk and thinks he can still get under my skin. It’s no big deal, really.”

“Well why don’t we head back to the hotel anyways? Tomorrow will be a long day” Your heart sinks a little, knowing that behind closed doors, you’ll just go back to being friends. No arm around you, no hand resting right above your knee, and no more kissing.

***

You get your key card from the front desk and grab your bags from the car. Opening up the door to the room, you stop dead in your tracks. Your sister had booked you a single bed. Of course she had. You were staying with your “boyfriend”, so what else would she have done?

Eliot enters behind you and notices your predicament. The way you’ve frozen confirms all of his fears about how you feel about him. “It’s ok, I’ll just call down for some extra bedding and I’ll sleep on the floor.”

“No, I’ll do that. You’re doing me a favor. The least I can do is let you have the bed.”

He moves closer, some of the nervous tension having dissipated, “Darlin’ you’ll be up and on your feet all day tomorrow, in heels no less. You need it more than I do.”

“Well I’m not going to sleep unless you take the bed.”

“Well I won’t either until you do. Two can play at this game sweetheart.”

You’d be lying if you said the pet names didn’t make you feel something, and maybe that’s why you say “Well then I guess we’ll have to share.”

The challenging look in your eyes as you stare Eliot down fills his body with a familiar warmth, and maybe that’s why he replies, “I guess so.”

With that resolved you grab your pajamas and take a quick shower before heading to bed. When you exit the bathroom in your short shorts and tank top, Eliot is lying shirtless on his side of the bed with a movie playing on the TV.

An almost silent tension fills the room as you both struggle between checking the other out, and desperately avoiding checking the other out for fear of being caught.

You climb into bed and settle in, watching the movie Eliot had turned on. He had been watching 10 Things I Hate About You, so you turn to him with a questioning look and wordlessly point to the TV.

Immediately defensive, “What? This is a goddamn cinematic masterpiece.”

“Fair enough. Just didn’t peg you for a rom-com kinda guy.”

“Well there’s plenty you don’t know about me y/n”

With your amusement evident in your voice, you reply “Goodnight, Eliot”

“Goodnight, doll.”

You both drift off to sleep, only dreaming of each other’s touch.

• • •

Taglist: @mini-kunoichi @javicstories @imwithyoutiltheendofthelinebucky @being-worthy @xkell-bellx @imaginecrushes

Let me know what you think or if you want to be added to the series taglist!

Read chapter 3 here!

#reader insert #eliot spencer x reader #eliot spencer/reader #leverage fanfic #there was only one bed #one bed trope #leverage fic #wedding #the fake dating job #fake dating #eliot spencer #eliot spencer fanfic

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gloryofroses19 · 2 years

Text

The Name Game

Pairing: Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x reader

[y/n] liked to think she wasn’t the type to be easily swayed by a handsome man. Even if the handsome man was a tall sunkissed brunette outfitted in Navy service khakis and looking at her like she made the sunrise. A mustached man, who let a swarm of butterflies loose in her stomach, a feat not known to her since her teenage years. How she ended up on the date with him was beyond her. But not all the wonders of the world can be answered so [y/n] pushed that question aside and instead asked another.

“So, what’s your real name Rooster Bradshaw?”

Rooster grinned as he leaned across the table towards [y/n]. “Who says Rooster isn’t my real name?”

And his grin grew as [y/n] didn’t back down and instead [y/n] met him halfway across the table with her own smile. “Because you’ve already told me you’re a pilot and I’ve learned from living here that you guys have nicknames.”

“The technical term is callsign.” Lieutenant Bradshaw enjoyed the way the setting sun’s ray crossed across her face giving her a warm glow but her accompanying laughter made him realize he liked that much more.

“It’s Bradley.” Sipping his beer, Bradley hoped to quell the flush, warming his body as he was enamored by the woman before him.

“Nice to meet you Bradley…” As [y/n] paused, Bradley watched with anticipation as mischief filled her smile, “Wait, so you're telling me that your parents named you Bradley Bradshaw?”

Bradley did nothing but nod as her [color] eyes began to twinkle with that he’d call glee. “I now understand why you use your callsign, Brad-Brad.”

Letting out an exaggerated gasp, Rooster placed a hand over his heart and feigned a wounded tone. “Hey, it’s a family name!”

“Yeah, it sure is, considering it’s your last name!” [y/n] continued to laugh as she became completely endeared by the pilot. She truly appreciated how, despite looking like an adonis and having a jet-setting career, he didn’t seem to take himself too seriously. The fact that he wasn’t above joking around and can keep up with her banter while maintaining his sincerity had [y/n] deciding that she would kiss him tonight if he made a move.

“Ok, I admit I walked right into that.” Rooster put his hands up in mock defense, “My dad was a bit of a jokester and my mom liked to be a troublemaker too.”

“They sound like a couple of silly gooses to me.”

As the comment left her rosy lips, the familiar warmth spread through Rooster again. He wasn’t oblivious to his good looks and how coupled with the Navy uniform, women looked at him. Even as a teenager, before he fully broadened out and got his six pack, he understood that he was handsome. Growing up, Rooster overheard people ask his mom why she didn’t date again and each time she said, “Goose Bradshaw was the only man for me, nobody else would compare”. When Rooster was old enough to understand, he had his own question. To his question of “how did you know?”, Carole Bradshaw looked at her son and said “you’ll just know”. Rooster found her answer wholly unhelpful and esoteric so he turned to his dad. Rooster often found himself softly saying “talk to me dad” when he needed guidance and support. But before he could even ask the question, [y/n] innocuous comment answered it for him because he finally knew.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Bradley raised an eyebrow in question. “Is that the technical term?”

“Yes Bradley, it is.” [y/n] confirmed taking a sip of her beer as she tried to maintain her composure under his appreciative stare.

“Oh, we’re calling me Bradley now.” Rooster teased as he leaned back in his seat. His teasing smirk grew into a genuine smile as [y/n] leaned in as if to ask him where he was going.

“Well I’m not calling you Rooster now that I know you’re alter ego Brad-Brad but maybe next time.”

“So there’s going to be a next time?” Rooster couldn’t stop the cocky tone that overtook his voice as he leaned back in. A beautiful girl expressing her interest in him wasn’t anything new, however, a beautiful girl who felt like sunshine, laughter and the possibility of a future was and he would be damned if he missed his chance.

Upon realizing what she had said, [y/n] was left with an open mouth that she quickly closed as embarrassment ran through her body. Yes, he seemed clearly interested and not just in bedding her, but he did have a dangerous and peripatetic career. One that left him on naval ships and speeding aircrafts so maybe it was presumptuous to assume he’d want to see her again.

As if sensing her apprehension, Bradley Bradshaw bridged the gap and placed his palm over her hand while smiling at her with hope. “Cause I’d love a next time.”

Linking her fingers with his, [y/n] let the tension leave her body as she met his smile with one of her own. “Then it’s been decided.”

“I’m glad.” Giving her a final glance with his chocolate eyes, Rooster turned his gaze out the window and conspired a way for the night to not end.

Unbeknownst to Rooster, [y/n] shared the same feeling and was thrilled by his next question. “How about we take a walk on the beach [y/n] [y/n]?”

Laughing at his repetition, [y/n] squeezed his hand. “I’d love to but who says I won't push you into the ocean because of that unimaginative nickname Brad-Brad?”

Chuckling, Bradley kept their hands linked as led her out of the bar and into the warm night. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take ma’am.”

A/N: I can’t thank everyone enough for all the likes, comments and reblogs from my previous work, it is truly shocking. And as always, any feedback is welcomed!

#bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley bradshaw fic #bradley bradshaw imagine #rooster bradshaw x reader #rooster x reader #top gun imagine #top gun maverick x reader

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ganseyth · 1 year

Text

The Date

PREVIOUS PART | MASTERLIST | NEXT PART

Part: 3

Pairing: Jason Todd x Female Reader

Length: 1.7k

Warnings: annoying family members, fluff

I appreciate all the love on parts one and two! I believe I tagged everyone who requested.

_________________________________________________

Jason, being the complete gentleman he was, ran around to open your door while offering his hand. You accepted it but didn't get out of the car right away.

As if noticing your hesitation he squeezed your hand gently.

"It's okay if you're worried," he said, voice quieting slightly, almost as if he were talking to a scared child. "Family reunions can be quite intense."

"But they're family," you replied, feeling slightly relieved but also annoyed with yourself for being a mess in front of him.

"Nobody has a perfect family sweetheart," Jason reassured you. "If this is too much for you, then we can take breaks when we need to."

You felt guilty about how considerate he was. You didn't deserve his kindness.

"No, it's fine. I want to do this."

Before he could reply, you gripped his hand and got out. Once you were on your feet, Jason moved to get the bags out of the car.

He had just managed to pull them all out when you heard the front door open and a squeal so loud it could only belong to your sister.

You sighed and directed your attention to the person currently running towards you.

Your sister jumped into your arms and knocked the breath out of you before letting go.

"Hey, sis. How was the drive?" she asked with a soft smile, taking one long look at the car you arrived in.

It was only then she noticed your date. She seemed momentarily confused and then her face lit up in a way that made you question whether or not you should have chosen the best of the best.

"Oh my gods! He is one sexy beast!" Her enthusiasm was so strong that you found yourself embarrassed for subjecting Jason to your sisters harassment.

"Jason, this is my sister…" you murmured, giving Jason an apologetic look.

His expression softened slightly, and then he smiled at your sister. "Thanks for having me. I'm Jason."

She ignored his greeting and instead hugged him tightly. You didn't know why but a spark of jealousy tore through you.

She pulled back slowly to examine him. "Oh, dad's going to have a fun time with him!"

Her comment put you on high alert but before either of you could say anything more your dad appeared in the doorway. His eyes instantly focused on you and his expression softened, only before his gaze shifted to the man standing next to you.

"And who is this young man?" your dad asked his voice light but laced with concern.

"Dad, this is Jason, I told you about him on the phone."

"And what exactly are your intentions with my daughter?" Your father kept his voice steady but there was no mistaking the severity behind his question.

You felt your cheeks heat up. "Dad!"

The smile that Jason flashed your way was enough to erase your worries.

"Nice to meet you, sir," Jason replied, holding out his arm to shake hands. Your father took it without hesitation and smiled as they nodded toward one another.

"That's a good grip you've got there son."

Jason chuckled softly and shook his head. "I'll have to tell my dad that his lessons are finally paying off."

Your dad released his hold and gestured to the entrance. "Please come inside. We'll introduce you to everybody."

"Of course."

Jason followed you inside along with his two bags and your duffel slung across his chest. You offered to help but he brushed it off saying that as your boyfriend he was the designated bag holder. You rolled your eyes but complied, deciding to place your purse on top of the duffel to which he only laughed.

"Hello dear!"

You turned around when you heard your mom. It wasn't until she wrapped you in a tight hug that your eyes started filling with tears.

"Mom," you choked out. "I missed you."

She let go and wiped away the few stray tears that slipped down your face.

"We've been thinking about you, sweetie. How has everything been in Gotham?"

"Good actually," you said, smiling.

She nodded approvingly. "And who's your friend?"

You blushed furiously, completely forgetting that Jason was standing right behind you. You noticed that he had placed your bags on the floor.

"This is Jason."

"Good evening ma'am. Thank you for having me."

She gave you a warm smile before reaching toward Jason to hug him. "It's wonderful to meet you, sweety."

"Thank you," he replied politely, returning her hug.

Before anyone else could say anything, a throat cleared behind you.

Your sister's fiancé had been hovering near the doorway of the kitchen and now stepped forward to greet you. You hadn't spoken to him since the engagement and you could tell from the look he had on his face that he hadn't taken it well.

You opened your mouth to apologize to him but he wrapped his arm around your shoulder, cutting you off.

"Well looky here," he expressed loudly, looking directly at Jason. "Looks like it didn't take you too long to find someone new."

You tensed. The last thing you needed was for him to embarrass you, especially in front of your fake boyfriend.

"Would you mind removing your hand from my girlfriend?" Jason said. His voice was calm and his demeanor professional. You felt the man beside you flinch.

"And what would happen if I didn't" he spat.

Jason leaned in even closer to him, causing him to take a step back, away from Jason. "You don't want to find out."

He quickly removed his arm from around you without another word and moved to stand beside your sister. You watched after him before turning back to Jason, trying to smile through your discomfort.

"Thank you," you whispered.

Jason smiled lightly, extending his arm to wrap around your waist. "Don't mention it, love."

You allowed yourself to lean against him, your hand subconsciously moving to rest on his.

"So mom, which rooms are we in?" you asked, hoping to avoid any more potential awkwardness.

"Oh right, dear. So it turns out that you two will have to share a room-" you could already feel your heart sink. "-there was a burst pipe in the room Jason was going to stay in," she concluded, smiling reassuringly at you.

"Great," you said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

"Behave yourselves," she said, winking.

You wished the floor would swallow you whole.

You didn't even consider sleeping in the same bed as Jason. He's probably slept in the same bed with most clients but that didn't exactly make you feel better.

You carefully removed yourself from Jason's grip and grabbed your things, heading towards the staircase leading upstairs. Before you made it to the top Jason called after you.

"Is everything alright?" he asked quietly.

"Everything's fine, don't worry."

He raised his eyebrows but didn't say anything else just in case your family was still listening. You climbed up a few more steps before realizing that you didn't even ask him about how he felt sharing a bed.

You stopped and turned around. "Do you want to share a room?"

He shook his head. "I'm comfortable if you're comfortable."

You nodded and continued up the stairs. You weren't sure you liked that response.

It felt almost as though he was trying to convince you that his feelings didn't matter.

Once you reached the top you went into the bedroom down the hall and took in the room you'd be staying in.

It was a huge room with one king-size bed pushed against one wall. Next to it were two bedside tables with matching lamps and across the room was a nice walk-in closet.

You quickly moved on to the bathroom, which was also quite huge. The shower stall was big enough for two people to easily shower in and next to it was a bathtub that could fit two people comfortably if you squeezed together.

Not that you would be doing that.

When you looked up, you noticed Jason watching you intently as you stared at the tub.

"What?"

"Nothing," he mumbled, averting his gaze immediately.

You raised an eyebrow, wanting to question him some more but decided against it.

You walked into the bedroom and dropped yourself onto the bed. As soon as you did, you felt a dip in the mattress beside you. You glanced at Jason who had flopped down next to you, his legs dangling over the edge of the bed.

For some reason, you found the gesture comforting.

Jason turned towards you.

Your face heated up at his sudden attention. "You did great."

He grinned. "I try."

Silence lingered between us as you stared at each other.

"So what's the deal with your sister's fiancé?" he asked, breaking the silence.

A frown creased your brow as you tried to come up with an explanation.

"Well... I sort of dated his best friend."

Jason snorted in surprise, which caused you to glare at him.

"Don't laugh please."

His eyes widened and he reached out to move a strand of hair that had fallen in your face.

"I'm sorry, it's just...I didn't think you would date someone who's friends with that guy."

You bit your lip nervously. "They weren't friends originally." The words left your mouth before you could stop them. "My ex hated him at first. He complained he was a major creep and everything."'

He hummed in agreement. "But now that guy is engaged to your sister and your ex is his best friend?"

You nodded.

"What happened?"

"He just changed one day." You shrugged, avoiding his gaze.

Jason frowned. "Did he hurt you?"

You shook your head. "No, he wasn't like that."

"Then what happened? If you don’t mind me asking."

"He kind of..." you hesitated, trying to decide what to say next. "...lost interest in me."

A pained expression crossed his features but he recovered quickly.

"Why?"

"Because.." you sighed, feeling uncomfortable answering. "I just wasn't his type anymore."

You had never admitted it out loud and hearing it only made you feel worse.

"Wasn't his type?"

You looked up at him. "Yeah."

His brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean 'wasn't his type'?"

You hesitated again, wondering how to explain that your ex no longer liked girls like you and preferred to go out with people like your sister.

Jason seemed to sense your hesitation and smoothed your hair out gently.

"Look. Whatever it is, it doesn't matter because you have me now.

You stared up at him.

"Thanks."

_________________________________________________

tag list:

@theautisticduck @igotanidea @princessbl0ss0m

#jason todd x reader #dc jason todd #fanfic #jason todd fanfiction #jason todd #jason todd fanfic #jason todd imagine #dc titans #!thedatejason

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mayullla · 2 years

Note

Hello! Can i request 🌷 + 🦋 platonic yandere with pantalone?

Title: White bunny

Character: Pantalone (Genshin Impact) Summary: Your mother the wife of the Harbinger tried to hide you away from her husband. But it can only last for so long. Warning/tags: Platonic Yandere, Child!reader, Fem!reader, you are the daughter of Pantalone

[ - A little present~! Event - Closed - ]

"You shouldn't move so much when I am braiding your hair dear. We do not want to ruin it now do we?" You flinched at his words, hugging the snow-white bunny he had given you, hiding your face as if it were a way to hide from him. It never did.

His touch was foreign as he took the tiny strands he had missed and tucked them back into your braids, placing snow-like accessories and pins decorating them. Heavy you thought, you wanted to complain but no words came out. He always liked to play with your hair, forcing you to stay still calling it a status as his daughter. After all, how could the poor maintain such luxurious soft hair?

Your father never cared for you for a long time. To you, it was always your mother till he decided to come into the picture when you bumped into him one day. A marriage arranged by benefits between two businessmen, your mother married the harbinger not out of love but what there was to gain. Profits.

It was unsurprising that there was no affection between her and the Harbinger. When he sent her away after he found out that you were inside her womb nobody said anything. To him, you and your mother were a nuisance to his work and sending you far away to one of the villages would make it easy for him. So long as you have a home, food to eat and warmth from the cold snow that should be enough no?

Your mother loved you, loved you so much. That you almost had a normal childhood in the lonely mansion with her with few servants working there to watch over you two. You always wondered who your father was for the vague compliments that your mother gave you about your father did not satisfy your curiosity.

So when a random man came to your home while your mother was away and introduced himself as your father, you were excited. You asked him many questions and he patiently listened and answer them. You thought that he was a nice man but something that you have always been curious about was where was he this whole time?

He told you that he did visit sometimes but because of how busy his schedule was he didn't have time to stay for too long and that whenever he does you would be gone as your mother told him that you went out to play. It was obvious to him that your mother was trying to hide you from him, but while you were his daughter he didn't have an interest in you.

She was still cautious though... she didn't want you to gain his interest.

The sounds of boxes falling to the floor surprised you as you turn to your back and saw your mother shocked face. "Mom! Dad is here!!" You yelled jumping from the couch you ran to her for a hug. You didn't understand what was happening when your mother grabbed you by the hand aggressively pulling you to her protective holding you almost like a mother bear protecting her cubs.

"Mom?-" "Why are you here?" Your mother's hostile voice surprised you as you looked at her face, her beautiful face had a hostile glare towards the man that was in the room.

"Can a father not visit to finally see his daughter? You have been desperately trying to hide her away from me for so long now."

You looked at the person who was your dad, the smile on his face never left his face even when your mother tried to aggressively get him out of the house. She didn't have the power to do so, but he himself left the house peacefully and your mother stayed right by your side as if afraid that you would disappear all of the sudden.

For a long time, she held you in her arms, whispering to you that you will be alright and that she will protect you but it seems that she could not hear your voice.

You didn't understand what happened then but maybe when you are older you would...

You thought that was the end of it, unsure of what happened as you looked at your distraught mother. Time passed and you thought that everything returned to normal well time fatui soldiers barge into the house grabbing you from your mother's arms.

The screens and shouts, as your mother cried your name. You tried to hit the person who was carrying you away from your mother but your small fist didn't hurt the soldier at all.

"Your mother was greedy, she should have known that she could not keep you forever." The man that you meet more than a month ago was smiling at you, taking your hand gently trying to take you away from the dark corner of the room that you were locked in.

"I bought a little gift for my lovely daughter. A white bunny."

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joeys-babe · 7 months

Text

Someday We’ll Be Together

Chapter 14: October 1st

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(y/n's pov)

Joe stayed at the house long enough to eat breakfast with my parents and me before he had to leave to set up for our date.

there were so many kisses shared that morning, it seemed neither of us could get enough of the other. my parents didn't seem to mind at all either, in fact, they thought the opposite. they could tell Joe made me so happy and that's all they wanted, to see me happy.

my parents, plus pretty much everyone around us could tell that Joe and I's connection went deeper than "best friends", that being said.. when they found out that Joe confessed and that we were more than friends they were so happy that it finally happened. it felt like a game to them, waiting to see who'd confess first since it seemed inevitable.

even though we had confessed to being "in love" with each other, "I love you" hadn't been said yet. That was going to be a separate occasion.

Joe and I had decided to not reveal our non-official relationship to his parents yet. We'd be doing that tomorrow night in a funny, quirky, very Joe Burrow-style way.

I had just told Joe bye when I walked away from the front door and towards the stairs, my mom was in the kitchen with a smirk on her face as she looked at me.

"He makes you happy, huh?" - your mom

"Extremely happy. My cheeks hurt since I've been smiling for the past 10 hours straight." - you

"That's the best type of pain, honey." - your mom

"I'm starting to understand that." - you

"Do you have any clue what the date entails? Or even where it is?" - your mom

"Uhm.. nope! I'm sure Joe has something nice planned though." - you

"Okay.. you better start getting ready, did Joe tell you what to wear?" - your mom

"You're starting to make me realize that I know nothing about this date." - you

"Then text him!" - your mom laughed

I felt like a teenage girl as I ran up the stairs giggling, and simultaneously pulling my phone out of my pocket.

Instead of texting Joe, I thought it would be easier if I called him so I quickly found his contact. Since last night it has been changed to "Joey💕". Crazy how the day before yesterday I had him blocked, and now there's a heart by his name.

Joe answered in less than two rings, his deep beautiful voice ringing through the phone causing a blush on my cheeks.

"Miss me already, baby?" - Joe

His cheerful tone of voice made it easy to picture the expression that was probably on his face right now. A war-ending grin on those perfect lips that I loved.

"That too. But, I was calling because I need to know some details about our date." - you

"Ask away." - Joe

"What do I need to wear? Where is it? What time-" - you

"y/n, sweetheart chill out. You can wear whatever, I'm wearing sweats. I'm picking you up so don't worry about a place and I'll prob be over at your house at 6." - Joe

"Okay sounds good. I can't wait." - you

"Me neither. I've been thinking about this night for probably a decade." - Joe

"Me too, I'll see you in a couple of hours?" - you

"Yup, I'll see you then. Bye, beautiful." - Joe

"See ya later, Joey." - you giggled

When the tone sounded through my phone speaker letting me know that Joe had hung up, I fell back onto my bed. Butterflies swarmed through my stomach as my cheeks heated up; feeling more loved than ever before.

*time skip*

"do I look okay??" - you

It was currently 5:55, just five minutes before Joe would be picking me up for our date and I was standing by the front door as my mom helped with any finishing touches.

For my outfit, I opted for a pair of baggy jeans and an oversized graphic sweatshirt. It was comfy but cute and chic at the same time.

"You look great sweetie. You need to stop worrying though, it's just Joe." - your mom

"Sure it might just be Joe. But I still want to impress him! I've waited so long for this night, Mom. I want everything to be perfect." - you

"Everything will be perfect if you stop stressing!" - your mom

I went to open my mouth to utter a rebuttal but the ringing of the doorbell beat me to it.

My mom gave me an encouraging smile as I reached for the doorbell but hesitated to open it.

"You got this." - your mom

I nodded and quickly opened the door, Joe's gaze lifted from his shoes to my face. As he did so, the large smile that I adored made its way onto his face.

Joe was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt; a simple combo that made him look so complexly handsome.

We just stood staring at each other for a few seconds, we didn't know what to do.

"Oh! Yeah these are for you!" - Joe

Joe moved his hand from behind his back revealing a bouquet of white roses. He handed them off to me as a blush of crimson flushed his cheeks.

"Aww. Joe, I love them. They're so pretty!" - you

"I'm glad you like them. Wanna get going?" - Joe

I nodded and my mom took the flowers from my hand.

"I'll put these in a vase then put them in your room. You two have fun!" - your mom

My mom practically shoved me out of the house before shutting the door behind me, Joe took my hand and led me to his car.

Before I could even reach for the handle, Joe opened my door and once he knew I was comfortably sitting he shut it back.

When Joe started driving a comfortable silence fell over us, our hands intertwined on the center console while music played through the speakers.

"So... where are you taking me??" - you

"It's a surprise. We've been here together before though." - Joe

"Oh really?" - you

"Yup, as kids. Don't look in the backseat by the way it'll give away everything that I have planned." - Joe

I nodded but when we were at a red light I couldn't help but peak. Joe immediately noticed and let go of my hand, he grabbed my chin gently and moved my gaze to him.

"No peaking!" - Joe

I laughed at Joe's pouty expression and before I knew it he was pulling me by my chin to connect our lips.

It was such a sweet kiss, Joe's lips were soft on mine with a hint of possessiveness. A silent promise that I was his.

The only thing that made us pull away from each other was the light turning green.

"I don't think I could ever get tired of kissing you." - Joe

"Good, because I could never get tired of kissing you either." - you

Ten minutes later Joe was pulling onto a dirt road that felt familiar but not significant.

"Backroads? Are gonna kill me?" - you laughed

"No ma'am. Not after I just got you all to myself. Maybe in a couple of months." - Joe joked

"Oh shut up!" - you

"I'm just playing, baby." - Joe

"I know you are Joey." - you

When Joe parked up in the grass and helped me out of the car, the sight my eyes landed on took my breath away.

"I hope you like it..." - Joe

There was a red checkered blanket laid out on this grassy hill that had a beautiful field view. A white sheet was hung between two trees and a mini projector was on this upside-down wicker basket. On the blanket was another folded blanket, two pillows, with candles scattered around the perimeter.

"It isn't the most romantic first date ever but I did try to make it something you wouldn't forget." - Joe

I felt tears well up in my eyes, happy tears of course. This was the sweetest thing a guy, or anyone really, had ever done for me.

When I turned to face Joe I watched panic fall over his face when he saw my teary eyes.

"Joe. It's perfect. I love it." - you

"Really?" - Joe smiled

"Yes, it's so sweet and so romantic." - you

Joe laced his fingers with mine and led me over to the blanket, my heart filled with so much love as we got closer to it.

"You can go ahead and get comfortable, I'm gonna grab the food from my car." - Joe

"Okay!" - you plopped down on the blanket

Joe had to chuckle, you looked so cute and he was oh so in love with you and everything about you. Being in your presence alone had him melting.

He returned shortly with the picnic basket of snacks, the pizza, and the cooler of drinks.

Joe spread everything out before sitting down beside me.

"Okay, so I tried to think about all your favorite things. Everything I thought of, I bought. We can eat the picnic snacks first then eat pizza." - Joe

"Sounds perfect!" - you

Joe grabbed the picnic and started getting things out. When he pulled out red grapes I decided to play a little prank on him.

"Uh Joe, I like green grapes." - you

His neck snapped so fast in my direction as a worried look appeared on his face.

"What? Since when? I was sure it was the red ones you liked-" - Joe

"I'm kidding Joey!" - you placed a hand on his shoulder as you laughed

"Oh. I was worried I messed something up already." - Joe

"I assure you that you won't mess anything up, we've been here five minutes and I've already cried." - you laughed

"Those were happy tears right?" - Joe

"Major happy tears." - you

Joe smiled as I leaned forward and pecked his perfect lips. When we pulled away he kissed my cheek and continued sitting everything out on the blanket.

"Hey, what's the projector for?" - you

"I planned to watch the sunset, but I was worried that the sunset might be underwhelming. So if it is, we've got a movie to watch instead." - Joe

"Woah, Joe you've thought about everything haven't you?" - you

"I've run every possible situation through my head and adapted. There is no way this is getting messed up." - Joe

"That's sweet of you." - you grinned

"I try." - joe smiled

"C'mere, lay with me. You should start the movie and we can eat our snacks." - you

Joe scooted over on the blanket carefully to not bunch it up and laid down next to me.

"What movie you wanna watch?" - Joe

"It's October so how about a Halloween movie? Not a horror movie of course since you are scared of them." - you

"I'm not scared of them, y/n! I just don't like them!" - Joe

"Sure, Joe." - you laughed

"I didn't come here to get made fun of." - Joe

I laughed as I laid my head on his shoulder and threw an arm over him.

"Sorry, babe." - you

"You know, I love when you call me that and baby." - Joe

"Well, I love calling you them." - you

Joe leaned down and pressed a kiss onto my lips before sitting up to open a box.

"Chocolate-covered strawberry?" - Joe

"Ooh! Yes, please!" - you

He leaned down on his elbow to where he was hovering over me and led the strawberry to my mouth. My hand found its way onto his chest, just wanting to remain in contact with him.

"Good?" - Joe

"Mhm, they're really good. Hand me one, it's your turn." - you

Joe handed me a chocolate-covered strawberry and I leaned up a little bit to guide it towards his perfect lips.

"Mmm, those are good!" - Joe

"What else do you have? I'm feeling something savory." - you

"We can have the pizza." - Joe suggested

"Oh yeah!" - you

Joe grabbed the two plates he brought and handed me one, along with a few napkins.

He was hesitantly reaching for the pizza box and for a second I wondered why he was seemingly nervous all of a sudden, he seemed fine up till now.

I watched Joe place the box between us before he slowly opened it. When he did his eyes immediately traced off to mine, and that's when I realized why he was nervous.

Written in pepperoni said, "Be My GF?"

Joe was silently freaking out, scared he asked too soon, worried about what you're answer would be, or if it was a lame way to ask such a big thing.

You on the other hand felt like you were on cloud nine. This was such a Joe way of asking you to be his girlfriend and you found it sweet and so endearing. It was perfect and quirky, just like Joe.

While you were swooning over the proposal, answering the question seemed to have slipped your mind. When you're eyes finally met Joe’s and he seemed frantic you realized you hadn't answered his question yet.

"Of course, I'll be your girlfriend!" - you

Joe’s once-nervous expression turned lit up with excitement as he leaned forward to crash his lips onto mine.

My hand cupped Joe’s cheek as I held him as close as I could get him, his lips rough on mine.

When Joe and I pulled away from each other huge smiles were plastered on our faces.

“So, I'm your boyfriend…” - Joe

“I’m your girlfriend…” - you

We looked at each other for a second before erupting into nervous giggles. It was almost as if our teenage selves came back for a second.

A few minutes later we had calmed down and got comfortable on the blanket. Joe got Hocus Pocus playing and we were cuddled up eating our pizza, stealing kisses after bites, and feeding each other snacks now and then.

The sunset didn't disappoint and neither did the view of it.

It seemed as if life couldn't get any better than it was at that moment. I was watching one of my favorite Halloween movies, and eating my favorite snacks, all while cuddling up to my boyfriend.

“Joey?” - you

Still lying on his shoulder, I rubbed his chest to get his attention.

“Yup?” - Joe

“Thank you for all of this. This was the best first date ever and I've loved every second of it. I'm so happy to finally call myself yours.” - you

“You’re so welcome, baby. I'm glad you've enjoyed it because I have as well.” - Joe

Sadly once the sun had set and the movie ended shortly after, it was time for us to leave.

Joe told me to head back to the car while he gathered everything up saying he didn't want me to get cold without the blankets.

Even while I was alone and Joe was putting stuff in the backseat, I couldn't stop smiling.

Today had been so perfect; waking up next to Joe, having breakfast with him, and then having the best date possible to end the night.

I wasn't without Joe for very long and when he got in the car he slipped his hand onto my leg as he turned onto the main road.

“My girl.” - Joe squeezed your leg

You had smiled at the gesture just thinking he was reminding you of his presence but in all honesty he just wanted to say it out loud to see if it would feel any more real to him. He couldn't believe it, the girl he'd had a crush on since high school was his girlfriend. She felt the same way about him that he felt about her and it was so surreal to him.

It was silent in the car, not an awkward silence but a little too quiet for Joe’s liking so he went to shuffle his usual playlist.

“Aye! We listened to your music the last time we were in the car. It's my turn.” - you

“Whatever you want, babe.” - Joe laughed

I connected my phone and shuffled my everyday playlist, a content smile on my face when “we fell in love in october” was the first song that played.

It hit me that it was October 1st. This song felt a little personal now that Joe and I started dating in October.

“This is kinda our song now…” - you

“Well. We started dating in October, I don't remember what month it was when I fell in love with you a few years ago.” - Joe smiled

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Authors note: this chapter has me feeling REALLLLLLLL single.

Hope you enjoyed! ❤️

#joe burrow #bengals #joe burrow x reader #joey b #cincinnati bengals #joe burrow fan fic #joe burrow series

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nerdzzone · 1 year

Text

Worlds Apart

Chapter One

Summary: Single mom, Bridget Clark, thought that she was fine by herself. Moving her son to a new town and out of the hustle and bustle of Boston, she thought that life would be quieter and simpler, but a chance encounter with a certain Hollywood actor only a week after their big move had her questioning everything. Bridget was faced with the ultimate decision of head vs heart, but would letting her guard down prove to be worth the risk?

Series Masterlist

-----

February 2016

It all happened so fast.

One minute Bridget Clark was searching through the pile of hard avocados for one that was perfectly ripe and the next she was frantically searching through the aisles of the unfamiliar grocery store for her son.

She fought to keep her breath steady - she’d only looked away for thirty seconds, maybe a minute, he couldn’t have gotten far - but as her feet hit the ground with increasing urgency, she could feel the panic tightening her chest with every empty aisle she passed. By the time she made it to the other end of the store with no sign of her son anywhere, her heart was pounding. She knew he was smart enough not to leave the store without her - at least not by himself and his flair for the dramatics had her doubting that anyone would have been able to take him without him causing a scene - but the store wasn’t particularly big and she was sure she should have seen him if he was still there. In a last ditch attempt to find him, she raced back to where she’d started her search to make sure he hadn’t doubled back, but she prepared herself to start screaming for help if he wasn’t there.

To her overwhelming relief, he was standing beside the avocados with worry all over his face as he held the hand of an almost equally worried looking man.

“Landon!” She called out, getting his attention as she hurried over to him. “Oh my gosh, buddy. You scared me.”

She dropped to her knees without hesitation and pulled him into a hug as desperate apologies fell from his lips. Once she had held him long enough for her brain to feel reassured that he was there and that he was safe, she leaned back and flashed him a stern look.

“You know not to walk away when we’re in a store like this,” she reminded him, hoping she’d managed to muster a firm tone despite the relief still coursing through her. “It’s not safe to wander off by yourself.”

“I know, Mommy,” Landon nodded, a sheepish look on his face. “I’m sorry, I just wanted to get some chocolate.”

“I know and that was going to be our next stop,” Bridget sighed. “Did you find some?”

Landon shook his head as Bridget rose back up to her feet and the stranger waiting patiently beside them finally chimed in.

“I found him wandering around by the cookies,” he explained. “He seemed a little lost so I offered to help him find you.”

She’d almost forgotten that he’d been standing next to them, but as his voice drew her gaze over to him, she was immediately struck by how handsome he was. His face was kind and the smile he was flashing her was very disarming and she could see why Landon had felt comfortable trusting him. There was something familiar about him, but considering they’d only been living in the area for barely a week, Bridget couldn’t figure out why and she matched his smile as she racked her brain to place him.

“Thank you, I really appreciate that. I swear, I only looked away for a minute and then he was just…gone.”

“Don’t worry about it,” he assured her, disregarding her explanation with a wave of his hand. “I have a niece and two nephews, I know how quick these things can happen.”

“Too quick,” Bridget agreed, exasperatedly running a hand through her hair. “He’s usually pretty good about staying close, but we just moved to town about a week ago so everything around here’s still new and exciting for him, I guess.”

That information intrigued him as his eyebrows raised with curiosity.

“Oh? Where are you guys from?”

“Boston,” she informed him. “Not far away, but it’s nice to be out of the city.”

“Yeah, and this is a great town,” he assured her. “But, welcome! I’m Chris.”

“Thanks, I’m Bridget,” she introduced herself with a warm smile. “And this is Landon.”

Landon offered a shy wave with his hand that wasn’t firmly locked onto the cart beside his mother as if he was determined to prove he wouldn’t be leaving her side again.

“It’s nice to meet you both.”

“You too,” Bridget nodded. “Anyway, I should probably get this guy to the chocolate aisle before he gets antsy again, but thanks again for helping him.”

Once again, the kind stranger - Chris - assured her that no thanks was necessary and took a moment to say goodbye to a bashful Landon before they parted ways.

Thankfully, the rest of their shopping trip was rather uneventful, but it wasn’t until they got home that the realization finally hit Bridget that her son had been saved by Captain America.

Two Weeks Later

Bridget had been worried about moving away from Boston.

It was the only place that Landon had ever lived and she worried that the distance it put between him and his father - while certainly not insurmountable - would ruffle feathers, but after having a month to settle in, she was feeling very happy with her decision.

At four and a half, Landon was pretty unaware of the change in scenery, but Bridget could see the benefits already. They had a backyard - something their previous condo and even his dad’s townhouse couldn't offer him- and the streets were quiet and peaceful, their neighbours were friendly and greeted them every time they saw them, and it just felt safer and more free than life in the big city. Of course, there were times when she missed the convenience of city life and the drive to drop Landon off at the daycare he went to three days a week in the city was slightly more of a trek than it used to be, but so far she was feeling confident that the move was going to be worth it.

However, as the cold wind whipped around her at a park in the middle of winter, she was somewhat regretful of her choice to hype up all the potential for outdoor fun they could have in their new town. They’d driven past the playground several times since they’d arrived and every time Landon excitedly asked when they’d be able to go. Considering it was February and barely thirty-five degrees, Bridget had put him off the idea for as long as she could, but when they’d woken up that morning to a bright, sunny day with clear blue skies, it had been his first request. It didn’t matter to him that it was freezing cold and due to snow again any minute, the sun was out and he was ready to explore his new town.

His enthusiasm was hard to ignore and that was how Bridget found herself sitting on the top of a picnic table - bundled up as well as she could possibly be despite the shivers that still ran through her body - as she watched Landon bound around the playground. The sight of the joy on his face eased her suffering slightly as a small group of kids had quickly taken him under their wing. With his daycare being in the city, Bridget was eager for him to make some friends in their new town as well, but she knew that he’d inherited her slight nervousness around new people. He was usually great with adults, but when it came to kids his own age, he was more hesitant and shy about joining in. The kids that he’d buddied up with that day seemed very open and friendly and Bridget was happy to see that they’d barely given him time to be apprehensive before inviting him to play with them - even though she had a feeling that the dog they had with them and were currently chasing around was probably Landon’s biggest motivation for letting his guard down.

A smile slid onto her face as the dog in question jumped up to lick Landon’s cheek and she could hear his wild giggles floating across the field towards her, but the hood of her puffy coat was pulled so tightly around her face that she didn’t even notice the man approaching her until she felt the table creak and heard his voice.

“You look frozen…”

Her current lack of peripheral vision forced her to turn her entire head to see who had joined her on her little perch, but she was happy to see a familiar face when she realized it was the same stranger she’d met at the grocery store a couple of weeks earlier.

“I am frozen,” Bridget admitted. “It was sunny when we got here, but now that dark cloud has rolled in and blocked the warm patch of sun that I was sitting in.”

“Yeah, apparently the forecast has changed now,” Chris informed her. “We’re supposed to get snow tonight.”

“Gross,” Bridget wrinkled her nose. “I’m ready for spring. Landon barely seems to notice the cold, but I’m much more of a warm weather person.”

“I got that impression,” Chris smirked, gesturing to her heavy duty winter gear that she did have to admit was probably more suited to a ski hill than a playground. “But I would have to agree. I think kids just move too fast, they don’t stop long enough to feel the cold.”

“That’s probably true. I can’t feel my toes enough to run around right now, but maybe I’ll test your theory the next time I get dragged out into arctic temperatures.” Her dramatic words and the shiver of dread that ran through her earned a chuckle that had a smile sneaking onto her face, but as she glanced around the fairly empty playground she posed a question. “Are you here with your kids?”

It was odd knowing that she knew more about the relative stranger sitting beside her than he did about her and she felt almost guilty for having the upper hand, but from her brief research after their last encounter, Bridget was fairly certain that he didn’t have any children. However, asking why a single, childless man was hanging around a playground alone seemed like a ruder question.

“Nah, I don’t have any kids of my own,” he answered, confirming her suspicions. “I’m here with my niece and nephews.”

“Oh, right, I remember you mentioning them,” Bridget nodded, thinking back to their conversation at the store. “Do you spend a lot of time with them?”

“As much as I can,” Chris smiled. “I…travel a lot for work, but whenever I’m home I like to hangout with them.”

His hesitation had opened the door - given Bridget an opportunity to explain that she knew who he was and there was no need to beat around the bush - but if he was choosing not to be forthcoming with that information then she was happy to ignore it.

“That’s sweet, I bet they like having you around.”

“I think so, and they’re great kids so it’s nice for me too.” There was a proud edge to his voice, but a sheepish look slid onto his face as he glanced over to where Landon was playing with his new friends. “They’re actually playing with your son right now, the dog’s mine though.”

A wave of realization washed over Bridget as it did make sense considering the only other people crazy enough to be at the park on a day that cold were a couple of older kids playing on the playground.

“Landon loves dogs so I think that was a big draw,” Bridget smiled. “But they seem really nice. Landon sometimes takes a while to come out of his shell, but he warmed up to them really quick. I was worried about him making friends around here so I’m happy to see him joining in.”

“They seem to be getting along great,” Chris agreed. “But, hey, if you wanna give me your number then I can pass it on to my sister for you? They don’t live too far away and I know she’s always setting them up on playdates and looking for more friends too.”

His suggestion briefly caught Bridget off guard as a request for her number was the last thing she expected to come out of his mouth, but as he slipped his phone out of his pocket and opened a new contact - ready for Bridget to share her information - her brain reined in her imagination and she realized that his reasoning was actually really sweet. They were basically strangers and if anything, she owed him a favour for helping Landon the first time they met, yet he’d taken the time to approach her again and was willing to go out on a limb for her in an effort to help her and Landon adjust to their new home. Flashing him a smile, Bridget rattled off her number before voicing her appreciation.

“Thank you for that, but if you do pass it on then please tell her that there’s no pressure. I know how busy life can be with one kid, she might not have time to take in any strays while she’s trying to raise three.”

“I’ll let her know, but Carly likes to keep busy so I’m sure she’ll find the time,” Chris assured her, chuckling at her request. “But anyway, how are you guys settling in? How long have you been here now?”

“About a month,” she informed him. “And we’re settling in very nicely. It took a little time to adjust, but it’s been great to be out of the city.”

“It’s a lot quieter, that’s for sure,” Chris nodded in agreement. “But of all the towns around here, what made you pick this one? If you don’t mind me asking…”

“Work, mostly,” she admitted. “I knew I wanted to raise Landon outside of the city so I applied for jobs in a few different places and out of all the ones that were offered to me, the one here seemed like the best fit.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a librarian.”

“Really?” The surprise was written all over his face. “Aren’t you a little…”

He trailed off as he was clearly trying to find a delicate way to finish his question and Bridget smiled as she took pity on him.

“Ugly?” She supplied. “Ordinary? Frumpy?”

The surprise on his face shifted quickly into shock as he shook his head.

“No, the opposite actually,” he insisted. “I was gonna say young and attractive, but clearly I’ve been going to the wrong places if you’re considered ‘ugly’ in the library world.”

“Oh…” Bridget felt her cheeks heat up at his complimentary words and rushed to explain her unintended self-deprecation. “Most people joke about the whole ‘sexy librarian’ stereotype so I always feel like I don’t represent very well.”

“Well, to be honest, most of the librarians that I’ve met have been pushing retirement so I’d say you’re doing pretty well.”

“Compared to women in their sixties?” Bridget smirked. “I think that was almost a compliment, but I’m not entirely sure.”

“It was meant to be,” he assured her, flashing her a wink that she was embarrassed to admit pulled a giggle from her lips. “That sounds like an interesting job though, how’d you get into it?”

“By being a dork,” Bridget joked. “I really love reading and I spent a lot of time at the library when I was a kid so it’s just always something that I wanted to be a part of.”

The full explanation was more layered. There were reasons she’d spent so much time at the library as a child - reasons why it had been such a meaningful safe haven for her - but that was too much to share in polite conversation with someone she’d just met so she settled for the abridged version and was relieved when Chris accepted her answer with a smile.

“I’d say libraries are definitely underrated,” he mused. “I know I definitely don’t make as much time for reading as I probably should.”

“Most adults don’t,” Bridget nodded. “Myself included, if I’m being honest. I run the children’s section so I’m in charge of all the programs and events for kids which means I have to keep up to date on all the latest kid’s books, but it doesn’t leave a lot of time for books targeted at my own age group. It’s fun though, I think reading is important and it’s nice to help kids see how much fun it can be.”

“It is important,” Chris agreed. “And it’s always rewarding when you can turn something you’re passionate about into your career.”

Bridget nodded again, but hesitated as the truth to his words provided her with the perfect segue. It was another good opportunity to broach the subject of his career and let it slip that she knew who he was and what he did for a living, but just as she opened her mouth to ask him about his own career, Landon’s voice pulled her attention away.

“Mommy! Mommy!” He called as he raced over towards the table they were sitting on. “Look! It’s snowing!”

“Is it?” Bridget had been so wrapped up in her conversation that she hadn’t even noticed, but as she tipped her head back to check, a snowflake landed on her cheek as it seemed like the snow was suddenly coming down quite fast. “Oh, wow, it is! We should probably get going before it starts to stick on the roads.”

That suggestion wiped the smile completely off of Landon’s face as he frantically shook his head.

“No, I don’t wanna go,” he insisted. “I wanna stay and play in the snow with my friends!”

His use of the word ‘friends’ almost tugged on Bridget’s heartstrings enough to convince her to let him stay, but the threat of having to drive home on roads she wasn’t entirely familiar with yet in the middle of a snow storm had her staying firm.

“I know, buddy, but we don’t want to get stuck in the snow,” she sighed. “How about we go home and have some dinner and then maybe there’ll be enough snow by then to play a little before bed.”

Landon paused as he considered her offer, but after a moment of thought he decided that it was enticing enough to agree.

“Okay,” he nodded. “But can I say goodbye?”

“Of course, but be quick, okay?” Bridget watched as Landon hurried back towards the new friends he’d just made before turning back to Chris and explaining, “I hate driving in the snow. I know it seems dramatic, but I’d rather leave now than wait for it to get worse.”

“That’s understandable,” he assured her. “It can get bad really fast sometimes, we’ll probably be leaving soon too.”

“Okay, Mommy!” Landon’s voice drifted across the field as he ran towards their car. “I’m ready!”

“I’ll be right there!” Bridget shouted back as she pushed herself up from the table and hopped off the bench, turning back to flash Chris a smile. “Well, it was nice to see you again!”

“You too,” Chris matched her smile. “Get home safe.”

Bridget returned the sentiment before offering him a somewhat reluctant wave and jogging over to where Landon was waiting on the edge of the parking lot. It was strange, she thought, how disappointed she was to have to part ways with the handsome stranger who she seemed unable to avoid, but she chalked it up to the lack of adult social interaction she’d had since their recent move and pushed the feelings out of her mind.

Two More Weeks Later

Bridget was having one of those days.

It started with a series of small annoyances - like realizing they were out of coffee just as she went to make it, burning the toast that Landon wanted to have for breakfast and dropping her phone as she hurried to get him in the car, cracking the screen in the process - but the harder Bridget tried to turn things around, the worse it seemed to get.

And Landon hadn’t made it any easier.

It was hard to tell if his attitude was due to his own bad mood or if he was just feeding off of Bridget’s frustrated energy, but to say he was grumpy would have been an understatement.

He’d spent his entire life going back and forth between his parents’ houses. Despite the slightly larger distance between them since they’d moved out of the city, it was a situation that he was very used to and never questioned. However, he chose that day to decide not to cooperate. He whined the entire drive into Boston - which, of course, had possibly record breaking levels of traffic and took more than twice as long as it should have - and put on quite a performance when Bridget dropped him off. He screamed, he cried, he begged for her not to leave and even though he’d completely calmed down by the time she managed to slip away, the whole process had been emotionally exhausting.

As she headed out of Boston towards the comfort of home, she was desperate to curl up on the couch wrapped up in a blanket with a mug of her favourite tea and spend the rest of the afternoon with one of her favourite books that might help her shake off her bad mood.

However, it seemed the universe wasn’t quite done ruining her day as she was only about ten minutes away from her driveway when smoke started coming out from under the hood of her car. She let out a groan as she pulled over and turned off the engine, but after waiting for at least fifteen minutes and trying it again, she was disappointed to see that the temperature gauge hadn’t dropped down to a reasonable level again as it had the last time. Resigning herself to the fact that she had a bigger problem on her hands than she thought, she reluctantly climbed out of the car to take a look under the hood. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was looking for as cars were absolutely not her forte and as she stared blankly at the complicated engine, the drizzling rain shifting into something that could only be described as torrential had another groan of frustration leaving her lips as tears pricked at her eyes.

She knew she needed to hold it together - just for a little bit longer - because she couldn’t sit in her car on the side of the road all day, but the stress of her horrible morning had her emotions quickly getting on top of her. She wanted to cry and scream like Landon had when she’d tried to leave him at his dad’s, but just as she was debating whether or not to give into that urge, a car pulled over on the other side of the road and a voice that was becoming very familiar called to her through the storm.

“Hey!” Chris shouted, pulling his hood up over his head as he jogged across the road. “Are you okay?”

“No,” Bridget called back, raising her voice to be heard over the sound of the heavy rain coming down around them. “My car overheated.”

“What makes you think that?”

“The smoke that was coming out of the engine,” she informed him. “It happened last week too, but it fixed itself when I let it sit for a few minutes. This time the temperature gauge won’t come back down.”

“Oh,” Chris frowned. “I know a little bit about cars, but I think that’s beyond my level of expertise. Have you called a tow truck?”

“Not yet,” she sighed. “I cracked my phone screen pretty badly this morning and the bottom half of it won’t work anymore. Makes it hard to dial.”

“Shit,” Chris flashed her a sympathetic smile. “You’re having a tough day.”

“Tell me about it…”

The words fell from her mouth as a scoff that she wasn’t even sure Chris would hear over the pouring rain as she reflected on how truly awful her day had been, but it seemed like it was about to turn around as Chris came to her rescue again.

“You can use my phone,” he offered. “And you can sit in my car while you wait for the tow truck.”

It was an enticing suggestion and not one that Bridget could really afford to refuse, but she hesitated as it seemed like a lot to ask from someone she barely knew.

“Are you sure? I’m all wet, I don’t wanna ruin your car…”

“I’m wet too,” Chris shrugged. “C’mon, let’s go before it gets worse!”

He turned to head back to his car and Bridget followed even though she wasn’t entirely sure that the rain could get worse. She was soaked through to her skin and she was grateful that Chris turned on his car to run the heating system as she settled into the passenger seat. She waited patiently for him to pull up the number of a local towing company before handing her the phone. They answered quickly, but the news was a bit disappointing as they warned her that the wait was longer than she had hoped it would be. With no other real option, she accepted that timeframe and told them where her car was currently sitting before hanging up and handing the phone back to Chris.

“It’s gonna be a while,” she informed him. “I can just wait in my car, but I appreciate you helping me out again.”

“How long did they say?”

“About an hour…”

“You’ll freeze if you sit in your car in wet clothes for that long with no heat,” Chris shook his head. “I’ll stay with you, I don’t mind.”

His tone was firm and left little room for argument - not that Bridget was particularly eager to fight him on the issue - and a sigh of relief slipped from her lips.

“Thank you,” she smiled before flashing him a sheepish look. “So, did they cast you as Captain America because you’re such a good samaritan or did you pick up the habit from him?”

Considering they were going to be trapped in the car together for an extended period of time, Bridget was eager to get the elephant in the room out in the open, but she questioned her tact slightly as his eyes widened in surprise. However, it didn’t take long for his shock to morph into a smile as a chuckle slipped from his lips.

“Ah, so you do know. I thought maybe you didn’t recognize me.”

“I didn’t realize right away, the beard is a pretty good disguise.”

“It definitely helps,” Chris agreed. “But I blend in more easily than people expect, I don’t get noticed as much as people think.”

“Even around here?”

“Well, I grew up around here so a lot of people know me,” he admitted. “But it’s different. People are pretty respectful and tend to just leave me alone.”

“I guess that’s another perk of life away from the big city,” Bridget mused before biting back a smirk. “And if they see you all the time then it’s probably not very exciting anymore. I mean, this is the third time we’ve met and it already feels less special.”

“Oh, wow,” Chris scoffed out a laugh. “I see how it is…”

“Sorry, I’m sorry,” Bridget smiled. “Please don’t kick me out of your car and abandon me in the rain.”

“I’ll let it slide this time,” Chris shot her a playful glare. “But it’ll be a long and cold wait if you’re not careful.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

A silence settled between them as Bridget struggled to calm her racing mind after her chaotic day. She’d been feeling almost completely overwhelmed by all the hurdles she’d face that day, but if it was all leading to another chance encounter with the man currently sitting beside her then she was starting to think that maybe some of the struggle was worth it. However unintentional, their regular unexpected meetings had Bridget feeling grateful to have a familiar face in their new town and she was cautiously optimistic that it could turn into some kind of friendship.

“So,” Chris started, breaking Bridget out of her thoughts. “Where’s your son today?”

“Landon? He’s with his dad,” she informed him, but something pushed her to quickly add, “But we’re not together. So we share custody, alternate weeks.”

She wasn’t entirely sure why she felt that was important information for him to have and she worried briefly that she’d overshared until a look that appeared to be intrigue crossed Chris’ face.

“That must be hard to navigate.”

“It’s not too bad most of the time,” Bridget shrugged. “There’s still a lot of love between us so we can usually work together pretty well.”

“Sometimes people just work better as friends,” Chris nodded understandingly. "Not every relationship is meant to be romantic.”

“Especially because he’s gay,” she blurted out. “He was in the closet while we were together - or maybe in denial, I’m not really sure - but when he found out I was pregnant, something changed. I guess he didn’t want to live a lie anymore.”

“Wow…” The shock on Chris’ face was a look she’d seen many times over the years whenever she explained the way her previous relationship had imploded. “That must have been a big surprise, especially with a baby on the way.”

“It was, but I can’t really blame him for his sexuality.”

“No, but I’m guessing it’s pretty rattling to find that out about someone you’re trying to build a life with.”

“Yeah…” Bridget hesitated for a moment unsure how much of the story Chris really wanted to hear, but there was something about the torrential stream of rain washing down the window and blocking out the view of the outside world that made it feel like a safe haven - a good place to share. “And, I mean, I can blame him for spending the last three months of our relationship dating someone else - a man - in an attempt to figure out what he really wanted.”

“Yeah, I’d say you can definitely blame him for that,” Chris scoffed. “It’s one thing to be confused, it’s another to work out that confusion with someone else while you’re still in a relationship.”

“I thought so,” Bridget agreed, flashing him a sad smile. “But they are still together now, so who am I to get in the way of true love?”

“I guess…”

The skepitcal look on his face and the suspicious tone in his voice told Bridget that he wasn’t entirely convinced, but she was grateful that he didn’t push the issue any further. It had hurt and it had been a very emotionally confusing time, but it was in the past and she found it was much easier to focus on Landon and just let everything else go. Whatever happened between them, he was a good dad and so was the man who was now his husband and that was what was most important.

Eager not to let any awkwardness creep in, Bridget was quick to change the subject and break the silence that was settling around them again.

“I try not to dwell on it all too much,” she admitted. “It’s better just to focus on the future like settling in here and making some friends. Which, by the way, I will hopefully be doing soon when I meet your sister.”

“Yeah?” Chris raised a questioning eyebrow as a hopeful smile slid onto his face. “I gave Carly your number, did she reach out?”

“She did,” Bridget nodded. “We’re meeting up sometime next week, I think. We were supposed to last week, but then you dragged her off to L.A. for the Oscars and she was too busy catching up on work when she got home.”

“Dragged? Was that her word?” He chuckled with a playful roll of her eyes. “As if she didn’t beg me to take her.”

“I’m just saying what I was told,” Bridget giggled as she shrugged. “But it’s nice of you to take your siblings to events like that, instead of whatever hot model you’re dating this month.”

She was fishing for information - purely out of curiosity, to get to know the man she seemed unable to avoid and not for any ulterior motives, she told herself - but if Chris knew what she was doing, he took the bait anyway.

“Oh, is that what you think of me? A new girl every month?”

“Well, you’re a pretty okay looking guy,” she teased. “I imagine you have a pretty constant stream of women throwing themselves at you.”

Her assumption pulled a bark of laughter from Chris and the sound had Bridget biting back a grin as it sent a flush of warmth through her body.

“It’s not constant, but I do okay,” he admitted, but while the smirk on his face was cocky, there was a playful element to it that Bridget found reassuring. “There’s no one at the moment though, I’ve been single for a while now.”

“Sometimes it’s good to take some time and just focus on yourself.”

“It is,” Chris agreed, shooting her a sly look that didn’t go unnoticed. “What about you?”

“Me?”

“Yeah,” Chris smirked. “Are you focusing on yourself right now?”

“I guess so,” Bridget shrugged. “Even though I’d probably say I’m more focused on Landon considering he takes up most of my time and emotional energy and that doesn’t leave much time to focus on anything romantically.”

She left out the fact that she hadn’t focused on anything romantic since her relationship with Landon’s father had fallen apart. Being completely single for about five years wasn’t really something she was particularly proud of, but Landon had really been her main priority since he came into the world and she was proud of her determination to put him first. It wasn’t until recent months - now that Landon was older and less needing of her undivided attention - that she was starting to realize how much she missed the comfort and excitement of a meaningful adult relationship, but taking the leap after being single for so long was an intimidating step and she was thankful when Chris didn’t press her with any follow up questions.

“That’s understandable,” he nodded. “I know how hard it can be to balance dating with a busy schedule and I’d bet that being a mom doesn’t leave you with a lot of free time.”

“It definitely doesn’t. I mean, I do have a little more time when he’s with his dad, but I usually end up just catching up on work or doing the other five hundred things that I don’t have time to do when he’s with me.” Bridget smiled as he chuckled, but she quickly turned the conversation back onto him. “It must be hard for you too though. Even when you have a bit more free time, your notoriety must make dating a little more complicated than it is for most people.”

“It can,” Chris admitted. “I have to be a little extra cautious, but I think I’m a pretty good judge of character so - as I said - I do okay.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Bridget informed him, fighting to keep a straight face. “I was worried that such a handsome face was being wasted on a life of loneliness.”

“Yeah?” Chris raised an eyebrow, clearly amused by her faux concern as she nodded. “Well, you can rest easy, I do just fine.”

“You mentioned that once or twice,” Bridget reminded him. “But, what’s that saying? ‘Thou dost protest too much’? Sounds like that might be you right now…”

“That’s a fair point,” Chris chuckled. “I guess I better keep my mouth shut before I give you the wrong impression.”

“I think so,” Bridget giggled. “That would probably be wise…”

Chris dramatically mimed zipping his lip and throwing away the key, but his promise to stay silent was rather short lived. They spent the next half an hour chatting and joking and by the time the tow truck appeared Bridget was incredibly grateful that he’d chosen to stay and keep her company.

“Thank you for this,” she told him as she opened the door and braced herself to venture out into the pouring rain. “You can just add it to the list of things I owe you for.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Chris assured her. “I’m happy to help.”

“Well, I really appreciate it,” Bridget smiled. “So, thanks again.”

She hopped out of the car and flashed him a little wave before lifting up the hood of her coat and hurrying back across the road. It wasn’t until she’d explained the situation to the driver and he’d almost finished winching her car up onto his truck that she realized Chris had never left and was walking through the rain across the road towards them.

“Everything okay?”

Chris got the question out before Bridget could ask why he was still there, but she nodded her head.

“As okay as it can be for now,” she shrugged. “He’s gonna take it to the repair shop for me, but no one will be there until the morning so there’s not much else that can be done for now.”

“Okay, do you need a ride home?”

“Oh, that’s okay,” Bridget assured him, feeling the guilt of his kindness weighing on her already. “The driver said I can ride with him into town and then I can get a cab home from there.”

“That’s crazy. I’m already right here, I may as well just drive you.”

“I can’t ask you to do that, Chris. You’ve already done so much for me.”

“It’s really not a problem,” he insisted. “Going all the way into town would be a waste of time.”

Bridget hesitated. She didn’t want to take up anymore of his day, but she had to admit that it would save her a lot of time and considering she didn’t know how much the repairs would cost, she knew it was probably wise to save the money she would have to spend on a cab. So, after a moment of thought, she reluctantly agreed.

“Are you sure?” She asked, giving him one last chance to take back his offer, but she wasn’t at all surprised when he nodded his head. “Okay, then thank you. That would be really helpful.”

They waited until her car was all ready to go and Bridget took the information from the driver that she’d need to follow up with the repair shop in the morning before they headed back to Chris’ car.

The drive back to her house was full of the same easy conversation they’d had while they waited for the tow truck and by the time Bridget was waving to Chris as she walked in her front door, she realized that her earlier bad mood had disappeared. It was refreshing to meet someone new who she seemed to have connected with so effortlessly and since her adult socialization had been limited since leaving Boston it was nice to have conversations that weren’t about Paw Patrol or Hot Wheels cars. There was something about Chris in particular that Bridget found very intriguing and exciting and she felt a flicker of hope that their current trend would continue and they’d run into each other again soon.

#chris evans #chris evans fanfic #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans fan fic #chris evans fan fiction #chris evans fic #worlds apart

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bbgem329 · 10 months

Text

Things Are Never As They Seem… Chapter Twenty Five

Pairings—Sebastian Stan x Actress!Reader, Sebastian Stan x OFC (PR relationship)

Summary

You and Sebastian Stan have been dating privately for over two years. Everything is perfect until he is coerced into a PR relationship when he signed with a new agency to advance his career. Trouble ensues…

Warnings

MINORS DNI! 18+++. Language. Fluff. HW sucks. SMUT. Oral (female receiving). PIV. Angst a little. Did I miss anything?

Series Masterlist

—————

May 29, 2021

“Fuck.”

You caught yourself on the edge of the counter, struggling to yank your pants up.

“You okay over there?”

You laughed a little, shaking your head as you finally drew the tight mom jeans over your hips with a subtle shimmy and slipped the button into place.

“I am riding the struggle bus.” You announced, “The test shots ran late, the director is an absolute dick, I’m starving, and on top of all that for some reason I’m spotting which is really odd because I know I’m at least two weeks out from my period.”

Your boyfriend chuckled softly on the other line, “Did you miss a pill?”

“No. I never ever do.” You snatched your phone off the counter, heading in the direction of the trailer bathroom to touch up your makeup and check your hair, “I love that that is what you're focused on.”

“Baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t–”

“No.” You interjected softly, “I was teasing and honestly, I’m feeling a little hangry I mean nothing by it, seriously. I’m the one who's sorry–I’m the one who’s running late.”

He sighed, out of relief or what you weren’t sure, “Don’t even worry about that. I’m just hiding out in a guest room until you get here. And there is plenty of food, they’re getting it all out now.”

“Here. Facetime me.” A second later his facetime request came through, you immediately hit accept and propped your phone up on the counter, “How does this look?” You stepped back and did a little twirl, “What is everyone else wearing?”

Sebastian’s smirk turned flirty as his eyes trailed hungrily over your form, “You look absolutely gorgeous. The way your ass looks in those jeans…” He lifted his arms, making grabby hands at the camera, “I’m in love.”

“Thank you.” You rolled your bottom lip between your teeth, biting back a smile as you ran your fingers through your hair and fluffed your loose curls, “Are you sure the top isn’t too much?”

You fiddled with the little bow at the front of your navy blue, lacy corset top. You were going out tonight with a group of friends for his friend Tommy's birthday. You figured jeans and a nice top with a pair of heels would be good enough but you couldn’t help but feel like the top might be a little much. You’d been waiting forever to wear it and now was your chance. It made you feel sexy and confident and that was something you could use tonight if you were going to deal with Catalina.

“No, sweetheart.” He shook his head, not lifting his gaze from your chest. No doubt admiring the way the top accentuated your breasts. “You look absolutely gorgeous. You will, hands down, be the best dressed. It’s perfect—You’re perfect.”

“Thank you.”

You couldn’t stop blush that rose to the apple of your cheeks, even if your tried. The way he said it—the way he was ogling you so openly, left you no choice but to believe it was true. At times you still didn’t know how to handle the attention or to accept the compliments he gave you, more often than not you found yourself brushing it off and nudging the focus onto him.

“What are you wearing?” You giggled when he rolled his eyes at you. He knew you so well–knew exactly what you were doing, “I think it’s only fair I get a fit check after I gave you one.”

He squinted, lips pressed in a thin line but you didn’t miss the little cork at the corner of his full lips, “A fit check?”

You rolled your eyes playfully, waving your hand at him through the camera, “Just show me your outfit.”

He propped his phone on something and stepped back from the camera. You paused rummaging through your makeup bag to watch him as he, just as you had, did a little twirl for the camera.

God.

It wasn’t even fair how gorgeous he was.

In a simple pair of light wash jeans, t-shirt, and his signature pair of white Nike air forces, he looked like sex on legs. His tattoos had been removed earlier this morning in preparation to reapply fresh ones tomorrow and his hair was pushed back with a pair of raybans.

He looked less like Tommy and more like himself like this.

Exactly how you liked him best.

You were definitely taking advantage of that tonight.

You’d go out and spend your time with your friends but tonight he would be all yours.

“Ughh.” You groaned, letting your head drop into your hands as you leaned over the bathroom counter, “Why are you so sexy?” You jutted your bottom lip out in a pout, “It’s not fair.”

“Now you know how I feel!!” He laughed loudly and warmth spread throughout your chest and belly, “It’s going to be hard to keep my eyes and hands to myself tonight.”

You frowned, a downpour of reality washing over you, “You’re going to have to keep the ruse up for the party?”

Sebastian nodded solemnly, guilt swarming in those cerulean eyes as he picked up the phone and brought it closer to his face, “Not everyone knows there. I’m sorry–”

You held a hand up, shaking your head, “Don’t apologize. It’s alright.” You gave a little shrug of your shoulders before pulling your mascara from your makeup bag, “It’s only for a couple hours. No biggie.”

He sighed softly, “I know but it still sucks. We should be able to enjoy time with our friends without all this PR bullshit.” He waved his hand, eyebrows furrowing and jaw clenching, “Without Catalina fucking with our lives.”

You knew he was right, of course, but you were over letting her control your emotions.

So what if you had to act like you weren’t absolutely in love with Sebastian at the party tonight?

So what if you couldn’t openly hang on him and kiss him?

You would get him all to yourself tonight and for the rest of your life, you were more than sure of that.

Catalina wouldn’t be around forever.

She was temporary.

That relationship was a movie and you too had a part to play.

And you’d play it well.

If only for Sebastian’s sake.

“It’s alright, seriously.” You smiled, one you hoped reassured him, “It’s only for a little bit. She won’t be around forever.”

He was quiet for a moment, studying you carefully through the camera before speaking up, “I love you, you know that?”

“I do.” You grinned, “And did you know I love you too?”

He nodded, a smile growing across his handsome face, “I do.”

“Good, now.” You finished the last of your touch-up and sprayed a little perfume on your neck and wrists, “I’m gonna go. I gotta swing and grab that cake and then I’ll be on my way to you.”

“Okay.” He blew you a kiss, “Drive safe. See you soon.”

“Time me.” And with a wink you ended the call.

—————

As soon as you stepped through the door, you were completely bombarded. You barely had time to blink before your bag and the cake were being pulled from your hands, and then you were being drawn into a million different hugs.

“Wow.” You laughed, finally making it through the warm greetings, “Quite the welcome committee you have.”

“You’re the last to arrive.” Your friend Josie took your hand, leading you in the direction of the kitchen, “Go ahead and make a plate. Everyone else is eating throughout the living room and sunroom.”

“Momma.” A little voice called from the other room, “Momma!”

She rolled her eyes playfully, a big grin splitting across her face, “Duty calls. I’ll save you a seat.”

And with that she left you alone in the kitchen.

You weren’t super close with Josie but you’d been here enough over the last couple years to find your way around her kitchen. You snagged a plate from the cupboard and trailed over to the island like a horse to a carrot. You were starving and there were so many options spread across the counter top, you didn’t even know where to start.

Just as you leaned over to pick out a few taco shells, a pair of arms snaked around your waist and drew you back against a familiar hard body.

“Sebastian.” You chided softly, shivering as he began trailing open mouthed kisses up the side of your neck. You set your plate on the counter and halfheartedly bat his hands away, suddenly feeling weak in the knees, “You can’t just do that. Anyone could walk in…”

“You look so gorgeous, baby.” One more little kiss to the skin beneath your jaw and he was spinning you around, crushing you to his chest. “I missed so much today.”

You giggled, cheeks flaming bright pink. “You saw me this morning.”

Despite knowing you could get caught—knowing the risk, you found yourself wrapping your arms over his shoulders and rolling up on your toes to connect your lips with his for a sweet, drawn out kiss.

He groaned against your lips when your fingers tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck, giving it a deliberate tug.

You tugged again and used his following gasp to your advantage, slipping your tongue into his mouth to tangle with his own. You lost yourself in the kiss, as you always did—pressing your body closer to his, so close you could feel his heart beating against your breast.

“Get a room.”

You jolted back, practically throwing yourself across the room, as far away from Sebastian as you could get in only a few seconds.

“Jeez.”

You lifted your head to find the birthday boy standing in the entryway, a knowing smirk on his lips.

He strolled further into the room, towards Sebastian. “You’re lucky it was me that walked in.”

“Fuck off.” Your boyfriend laughed, brushing Tommy off when he threw an arm over his shoulder, “I can kiss my girlfriend when I want to.”

“Tell that to that barbie bitch out there.” He nodded his head towards the living room with a chuckle, “She’s telling everyone and anyone who will listen all about how obsessed you are with her and how it was love at first. She’s yammering complete and utter bullshit.”

You watched with a baited breath as Sebastian’s entire body went rigid, “What?”

Tommy shook his head, giving a little shrug of his shoulders as he spooned a bit more rice and beans on his plate, “She’s a real bitch that one. I’ve dealt with her for all of thirty minutes and I already want to bash my head against the wall. I can’t even imagine what it must be like for you.”

“Fuck.” Sebastian groaned, scrubbing a hand down his face, “I’m sorry, baby. I’ve gotta go deal with that.”

He shot you an apologetic smile over his shoulder and disappeared through the door.

Tommy said your name softly, “It’s good to see you. Thanks for coming.”

You smiled, “Of course. Wouldn’t miss it… Though it’s probably going to be a long night.”

“Yeah.” He grinned, pulling you into a half side hug when you came to stand next to him at the island and picked up your discarded plate, “But we’ll make it fun.” He gave your shoulder a little squeeze, eyes flashing with mirth, “Promise.”

—————

You hid your smile behind your glass, watching as Catalina shoved herself away from the table before storming off into the restaurant.

The moment she was out of sight, it was like a weight had been lifted from everyone's shoulders and everyone relaxed.

Finally, you could breathe again.

Catalina had made everyone uncomfortable all night.

When you’d sang Tommy ‘Happy Birthday’, she had loudly and rudely announced her birthday was coming up in the next few days too, and suddenly the cake you’d bought was being held in front of her face and at the end of the song, she was blowing out the candles.

You’d been forced to watch her hang all over your boyfriend at the party and then watch her pout whenever he brushed her off—which meant she was pouting and stomping around throughout the entire event.

It was embarrassing. You’d honestly gotten second hand embarrassment just witnessing her behavior, you couldn’t even imagine what Sebastian must’ve felt all night long.

Some people’s kids. Some people’s kids.

Fortunately, only the close knit group of friends ended up going out on the party bus so Sebastian was free to be around you–to touch you and kiss you as long as you were both careful in public.

You were more than a little relieved that Josie had rented out the back patio of a restaurant to enjoy drinks away from the general public’s watchful eye.

“Sebastian.” You followed the voice to find Tommy lifting his beer from at the end of the table, “I’m so sorry you have to deal with that man.”

Your lover laughed a little, shaking his head, “You should feel sorry for me.” He scrubbed a hand down his face, “She’s much worse. Her behavior tonight was pretty typical—tame.”

“Did she leave for good?” You spoke up, eyes darting from him to the door she stormed through.

He nodded, fingers trailing over the little patch of hair on his chin. Since he didn’t have a beard at the moment, he didn’t have anything else to run his fingers over. “She got an Uber back to the house.”

“Damn.” You tsked softly, “I was hoping she’d go to her cousins again.”

Sebastian stood from his seat across the table, his expression unreadable, and walked around the table before slipping into the empty seat next to you. He took your hand in his, tugging you toward him. You plopped in his lap, his arms looping tightly around you waist to pull you back into his chest.

“Well, hello.” You smiled, turning your head to press your lips to his in a soft, short kiss. “I missed you.”

His eyes twinkled with mirth in the fairy lights hung over your head, a sly smirk tugging at the corner of his pink lips, “I’ve been right here all night.”

You playfully smacked his chest, causing him to laugh, “Shut up, you.” You relaxed back into him, head lolling back against his shoulder. He tightened his arms around you and layed a sweet kiss on your temple, “You know what I mean. It was awful not being able to touch you and–”

“Hang all over me?” Sebastian offered you, smirk growing, “I missed you too.”

“Hey.” You scowled, struggling to fight back a smile, “Don’t act like you don’t love when I hang on you—Don’t act like you don’t hang on me right back.”

“Mhmm.” He buried his face in your neck, pressing little kisses to the skin beneath your jaw, his hands trailing up down your side, squeezing your hips, “Do you want to get out of here?”

You felt heat creep up your cheek, your panties growing wetter and wetter with every touch and soft kiss to your skin, “Yeah. Take me home, handsome.”

—————

Not even twenty minutes later you found yourself standing only in your little, lace panties at the edge of the bed. Nothing more than a trembling, needy puddle at that moment.

You wanted it so bad. Needed him so badly.

A groan rumbled through Sebastian’s chest before he buried his face in the crook of your neck, rutting his throbbing bulge harder into your ass. His hands trailed up your trembling body to grope your breasts, pausing every so often to pinch and twist your pebbled buds between his expert fingers.

“Please.” You whimpered, hips rocking desperately into his, the needy ache in your core almost unbearable. All thoughts vanished from your head, replaced by an instantaneous urgency to be filled. “Please, Sebastian.”

“It’s okay, baby.” He shushed you softly, planting one last little kiss to your flushed cheek before he stepped back. “I’m trying to take my time with you.”

A pitiful whine slipped from your bitten lips before you even had the chance to stop it. The sudden loss of his firm, warm body and the friction of his covered cock, sent you spiraling so fast you nearly cried.

Sebastian didn’t give you the opportunity to protest. A blinked and you found yourself pinned across the bed, your bare breast pressed to the cool sheets, hips digging harshly into the bottom bed frame, and your toes just barely skimming the floor.

“Just relax, honey.” He cooed, breath fanning against your lower back as his fingers hooked on the band of your panties, tugging them sensually down your legs as he dropped to his knees behind you. “I want dessert first.”

A strangled moan tore through your chest when his teeth sunk harshly into your left ass cheek and as if they had a mind of their own, your hips jolted back into his face, a fresh wave of slick dripping from your aching core and down the insides of your thighs.

You cried out when a loud smack echoed throughout the quiet room, followed by a pleasant sting radiating across the right side of your plushy behind.

Sebastian tutted softly to himself, both hands skimming up the sides of your thigh, holding you still as he dipped forward to plant a kiss on the reddening skin. “That wasn’t very nice, pretty girl… Almost knocked my teeth.”

You swallowed thickly, tilting your head to the side until your cheek rested against the bed, willing yourself to relax and surrender to his complete control. “I-,” You couldn’t see him but from the heat in his tone and way he was kneading the plush of your ass he was strung out and moments away from losing his composure. “I’m sorry.”

An amused hum rumbled up from his chest, thick fingers sliding up to dig harshly into your cheeks, pulling the jiggly flesh apart to expose your slick and shiny core to his hungry eyes, “Jesus Christ.” He gave a little delightful laugh, hot breath fanning across your cunt, causing you to clench around nothing and soft whine to tumble from your bitten lip, “You’re fucking soaked, sweetheart.”

You give a little wiggle of your hips, a futile attempt to tempt him as a wave of heat crawled up your neck and settled over the apples of your cheeks. You felt so vulnerable in that moment, in the best kind of way.

He saw you.

He always did.

And he liked it too. If the way he was on his knees for you, panting like that, fingers gripping you like you were moments away from disappearing before his very eyes, was any indication.

“Mmm.” Your core tightened in anticipation as his hot breath fanned over your wet folds, closer now, and his fingers slipped down to pull your puffy lips apart further, “Gorgeous.” He cooed softly, dipping down to press a light kiss to your clit. “Look at this perfect little pussy.”

“S-Sebastian!” You gasped out, spine arching as he planted an open mouth kiss to your swollen bud before his tongue darted out to lick a long strip up your slit. “Oh, God.” Your eyes rolled back in your head, hands scrambling for purchase in the comforter beneath you as he lapped at your slick, dragging the warm, wet muscle down to flick over your sensitive nub. “Please.”

An appreciative groan rumbled against you and molten heat tore through you, settling deep in your naval as he got to work, sucking your swollen clit into his hot, wet mouth.

“Oh.” Your hips rocked back against his face when his tongue slipped up to poke at your weeping hole, thrusting it shallowy into your velvety walls. “God—fuck. Don’t stop. Please, don’t stop.”

Sebastian moaned into you, large hands snapping up to grasp your hips, rolling you over his face and you got with the program pretty damn quick, one hand reaching back to tangle in his tousled hair as you rutted your hip back against his face.

You nearly sobbed when his tongue slipped out, returning to flick your clit, tracing intricate patterns over the swollen nerve as a finger skimmed down from your hip to circle your little hole.

“Yes. Yes. Yes.” You chanted out, slick body sliding across the cool marble with every desperate grind of your hips. “Please. Give it to me. Oh, please.”

“I love it when you beg.” Sebastian mumbled against you before his warm, wet mouth wrapped around your clit, giving it a messy and salacious kiss as he thrust two thick fingers into your pulsing hole.

“‘You’re gonna make me cum.” You gasped out, thighs beginning to tremble as the coil tightened in your naval and your vision began to swim. “Oh. Oh, god.” And then he crooked his fingers, brushing the pads of them perfectly against the spongy spot inside you. “Haah…Fuck…. Right there, Oh! Right there!”

He doubled his efforts, fingers working quicker over your g-spot, mouth sucking harder on your pulsing bud. Sebastian was always a messy eater but nothing could have ever prepared for the sounds he made as he feasted on you and how they echoed through the spacious room.

“Want you to cum on my face.” He grunted, hot tongue darting out to lick languidly and lap at your swollen bud. “Make a mess, baby. Can you do that for me? Can you cum on my tongue and fingers?”

“Yes, God, yes.”

“That’s it. Good girl.” He added another finger, thrusting them rapidly in and out of your velvety walls, curling them with each pass over that special spot. “Give it to me, gorgeous.” He panted out, voice low and thick with desperation.

Sebastian’s lips wrapped around your clit again, giving it a harsh suck as he shook his head from side to side and you shattered.

A sound you’d never made before—something between a wail and a groan, tore through your chest and the coil snapped. Your entire body tightened around his fingers, vision swarming and ears ringing as you sagged bonelessly against the bed.

He worked you through it, slipping his fingers out as his tongue dipped down to lap at the creamy slick gushing from your pulsing core, his thumb rubbing expanding circles on your oversensitive bud to prolong your mind shattering release.

“God damn, baby.” He laughed, giving your ass a delightful little smack as he rose to his feet and draped himself over your damp back, littering kisses along the side of your face and down your neck. “You did so fucking good, gorgeous.”

You mumbled incoherently, head still fuzzy and your heart thumping rapidly in your chest as you struggled to catch your breath and gather your bearings.

“The way you were humping my face—Fuck… Just about came in my pants.” He buried his face in the crook of your neck, sucking and licking at the skin there as he rolled his hips against yours. “God, do you have any idea what you do to me?”

You moaned softly in response, one hand flying back to grasp his hip, tugging at the band of his black briefs as you pressed your ass harder against his covered length.

“I gotta fuck you, baby.” He groaned, one hand swiftly drew the fabric down his thighs, freeing his thick, leaking length. “Need to be inside you so bad.”

“Fuck me.” Your plea turned into a gasp, shaking body jolting forward as he skimmed the fat of his cock through your slit, coating himself in your slick. “Please. Oh, god.”

Sebastian didn't give you any warning, grasping your hips and yanking you back as he thrust forward, burying himself fully in your warm, wet cunt, splitting you open.

You cried out, hands scrambling for purchase as your vision swam. No matter how well he prepped and stretched you beforehand, you wouldn’t ever get used to the size of him.

“Fuckkkk.” He breathed out, fingers biting harshly into the flesh of your hips as the front of his hips met the smooth skin of your ass. “Need a minute. Holy fuck.”

You wiggled impatiently, a pathetic whine spilling from your swollen lips as you struggled to fuck yourself back on his cock. Your toes were off the ground and you had nothing to steady yourself, he was in complete control.

“Impatient little thing, aren’t ya?” He chuckled, one hand remained on your hip as his other danced up your spine, leaving goosebumps in his wake. He pressed down on your upper back, forcing you harder into the sheets. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll take care of ya.”

Your wailing moan pierced through the air when his hips snapped forward again, cock sinking up to the hilt. He sets a brutal pace, fucking you hard and fast, his heavy balls tapping your swollen clit with every deep, deliberate thrust.

“So fucking tight.” He grit out, fingers biting painfully into your hips as he pushed and pulled you with every purposeful flex of his hips, cock pistoning in and out of your warm, wet channel. “Feels so good, baby. This pretty pussy was made for me.”

Your slick, limp body slid further across the bed with every punishing thrust, incomprehensible babbles and whines spilling from your lips as your lover lost himself in your pulsing cunt.

“Who’s making you feel good?” Sebastian leaned forward to wrap an arm around your middle, angling your hips higher and you cried out, the fat head of his cock bumping the spot that made stars burst behind your eyes with every thrust. “Who’s pussy is this? Hmm?”

When you didn’t respond, he pressed his chest to your back, keeping the steady, brutal rhythm of his thrusts as his free hand slid up to wrap around your throat, “Answer me.” His lips skimmed across your upper back, pausing to sink his teeth into the smooth skin of your shoulders, his pace never faltering, “Tell me your mine. Tell me.”

“I’m yours.” You mewled out, eyes rolling back into your head as your pleasure began to crest, thighs trembling and cunt tightening around his twitching cock in waves. “I’m yours. Gonna cum. You’re gonna make me cum.”

“That’s right.” He panted out, burying his face in the crook of his neck, his entire large body covering your much smaller one as he picked up the pace, thrusts growing erotic and sloppy. “Cum for me. Need you to cum with me.”

He sounded just as wrecked, if not more so, as you were and the sight of him alone when you stole a peek at him over your shoulder, was enough to send your barreling over the edge.

His brows were furrowed in concentration, head hanging, jaw slack, and eyes clenched shut as his entire body rolled over yours. His hair was flying in every which direction, his skin was shimmering with a thin layer of sweat in the dim light, and you swore you’d never see anything more beautiful than him in that moment as he completely lost himself in the pleasure only you could provide.

A hoarse cry was his only warning before your body convulsed beneath his as you came again, walls clenching so tightly you milked him of his own orgasm. One hand held your hip in a bruising grip, the other tightening around your throat as he flexed his hips forward one last time, pressing his cock as deep as possible before emptying himself in your cunt with a breathless shout of your name.

“Fuck.” He croaked out before collapsing on you, his entire body weight pressing you harder into the pleasantly soft bed, softening cock still buried in your twitching core as you both took a minute to compose yourselves.

“Holy…”

“Yeah.” You laughed a little, body completely boneless beneath his and your legs shaking a little, “Holy.”

“Give me a minute.” He choked out, burying his face in your back, “I’ll be ready to go again.”

You giggled breathlessly, deliberately clenching around his softened length just to hear him groan, “You better, Stan. I’m not through with you yet.”

—————

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