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#but over the course of the month they’ve gone to three words and then four
elprupneerg · 3 months
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You know, you’d think tumblr staff would be too busy with the literal hundreds of spam bots I reported yesterday (and the other hundred a few days before that, and the other couple hundred last week, and the literal thousands I haven’t had the time/spoons to go through and report) to ban random trans people or censor screenshots of tweets about trans rights. And Yet guess which blogs are still up posting stolen pictures of random peoples breasts and genitals and which blogs are just straight up gone
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dollfacechub65 · 1 year
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I didn’t write this, it was a Tumblr user called MollyPops. It’s so hot and I’ve cum to it so many times, thought y’all would like it too.
If MollyPops sees this, thank you and let me know if you want me to keep this up.
It had been just over two months since Wonder Woman had been captured. She had been investigating a new up and coming crime kingpin, Lester Sneed, and had woefully misjudged his power, influence, and skill. He had set up a trap perfectly for her, and when she sprung it, she ended up imprisoned in a dark cell at an unknown location less than an hour later.
Diana had gotten used to the routine of being captive. Once a day, four henchmen would visit her. Three of them held her still while the other injected her with a green liquid. She was positive that it was a serum that eliminated her incredible Amazonian strength, because even though on a regular day she would have no trouble dispatching four goons, in her current state, she was helplessly outmatched by them.
The only other activity her captors had for her was a daily hour and a half “interrogation” session. They would march her out of her prison and into a brightly lit room filled with all sorts of painful instruments. She would then be forced to endure their insidious torture; which her captors insisted would stop if she would swear allegiance to Lester and agree to be his top lieutenant.
Of course, Wonder Woman refused. She could handle the pain due to her unbreakable mental toughness and was also certain that they had no intention of killing her. Criminals always make mistakes. I’ve been in tight spots before and wriggled out of them. This time will be no different. I just have to be patient.
Over the last few days however, it seemed as though Lester had changed his strategy. He stopped having her interrogated and instead began to cease giving her food or water. She wasn’t sure what his play was, she’d need sustenance eventually if she was going to stay alive.
Masked henchman approached her cell and began spraying a foul smelling gas in her direction. She was confused as to what their plan was as she slipped into unconsciousness. When she came to, the men were gone. Scanning her cell, she noticed that a pink rod had been installed in one of the walls. Above it, words had been crudely carved out into the cement wall, GOOD GIRLS DRINK UP.
Wonder Woman was perplexed by this and moved closer to the rod to examine it. She was disgusted to discover that it was actually a thick rubber dildo. Tentatively, she reached out to touch it, and as soon as she did, a sticky pink liquid oozed out of the tip and onto her finger. Lifting her hand to her mouth, she tasted the goo. Her nose crinkled at the flavor, it was incredibly saccharine, almost nauseatingly so.
Diana could guess what Lester wanted, for her to debase herself and suck the fluid out of this dildo. Quietly annoyed, she marveled at his stupidity, she could just touch the thing and dispense the drink out onto her hand. Although she was no fan of the flavor, it had been four days since she had last drunk anything. Squeezing the dildo, she extracted more of the sweet pink goo and licked it up until she was satiated.
The long boring days continued, with Wonder Woman sparingly using the dildo to quench her thirst. After her fourth use, she noticed an odd effect of the liquid; it seemed to satisfy her hunger as well as her thirst. She wondered what the goo was composed of and made a mental note to acquire a sample to study when she escaped.
A week later, something frightening happened. When Diana squeezed the rubber for her nighttime snack, nothing came out. She panicked, quickly falling to her knees and examining the hole, wondering if it might be clogged. It seemed to be clear, but nothing she did with her hands would make it dispense what she needed. Heavens! They’ve decided to starve me out! It can’t end like this!
It was less of a thought and more of a survival reaction that she stuck out her tongue and licked the dildo. Instantly, the heavy sweet goo graced her tongue. She licked again, craving more. The dildo kept delivering, but it wasn’t enough. Wonder Woman began to wrap her lips around the rubber, but stopped herself, frowning. No! This is exactly what Sneed wants. I’m not going to give him the pleasure. She looked up at the words carved into the wall; doubt crept into her mind. I’m so thirsty though, I need to drink. Just a little bit, nothing too grotesque. Her mouth enveloped the head of the dildo and she sucked the pink elixir into her mouth and down her throat. After long minutes, Dianna lay down on the cold floor, content and at peace for the first time in days. She fell asleep, making a silent promise to herself to develop a plan for escape in the morning.
The next day Wonder Woman decided that if she was ever going to escape, she would need her strength back. Sucking down the pink liquid made her feel good and strong, so her first order of business was to drink as much as she could. She spent the first hour and a half of her day slurping on the dildo before falling into a peaceful sleep full of pink fluffy dreams. I need to rest, she thought as her eyelids closed, rest will give me the strength I need to get out of here.
Wonder Woman kept drinking from the dildo each day. She was determined to escape, but the goo never quite returned her to full strength. It was lucky for her that it tasted so good, she felt like she could guzzle gallons of the stuff at any time. After a week passed, the dildo stopped dispensing the liquid for two days. Diana turned into a mess, nearly going insane with terror. Were they starving her out? Would the sweet flavor ever slide down her throat again? 
On the third day, she figured out that the dildo was actually working, but it would only spray out her treat if she took the rubber completely down her throat. It was difficult at first, Diana covered herself with her own drool and spit as she gagged, but eventually, she trained herself to relax her throat muscles. Her prize flowed freely and she was overjoyed, relieved to be able to drink again.
Another week passed, and Wonder Woman watched from her hands and knees as three men entered her cell. At first, she was afraid that they were going to take her away from her nourishment. Once the men explained that they were only there to fix her dildo however, her fear dissipated and she waited eagerly for the repairs to be made. 
When they left, Diana discovered that she now had to press a button to make the machine work properly. The dildo had been fitted with a pneumatic pump that moved it back and forth in a steady motion. It was the only way that she was able to be fed her yummy cocktail, so she hungrily wrapped her lips around the dildo while it mechanically fucked her face. Her eyes were drawn to the writing on the wall above her, GOOD GIRLS DRINK UP. That was pretty much all she focused on lately, being a good girl and swallowing her medicine.
As her brain melted away, replaced little by little with the pink formula, Wonder Woman became less aware of what was happening around her. She didn’t notice when the dildo began shooting a salty white cream into her mouth instead of the sweet pink goo, nor did she realize that soon after, the dildo had been replaced by the rock hard cocks of Lester’s henchmen. All her consciousness could process was that good girls drank up, and she greedily opened her mouth to swallow whatever was put inside, desperate to be a good girl. Cum filled her mouth and covered her face as she begged for more…
****************************************
Wonder Dolly blankly stared up at Lester Sneed from her knees. As much as he had hoped that she would become his prized lieutenant, he enjoyed seeing her this way perhaps even more; a mindless drooling cockslave whose only reason for existence now was to be a cum receptacle for him and his men.
“Wonder Slut, I don’t know if you deserve my cock today,” he smiled at her cruelly, “I’m not sure if you’ve been a good girl lately.”
She whimpered and let a garble of unintelligible sounds spill from her lips. Speaking had become all but impossible for her now, her mouth was only good for one thing anymore. Lester contemplated if perhaps he had dumbed her down a little too much. 
Nah, he thought as he grinned, I think she’s the best possible version of herself now.
“Ok you silly little bimbo, I’ll be nice to you I guess. Come on, drink up your dinner.”
The former paragon’s wet mouth slid over Lester’s cock, her tongue deftly swirling around the shaft. He groaned as he sat back in his lounge chair, wrapping the fingers of one hand through his slave’s hair as her head bobbed up and down. Her eyes were vacant as she slurped, the only thing left in her empty head would be burned there forever as a result of hours and hours of training.
Good girls drink up. 😈
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Hi Daphne and Phoebe,
Really enjoyed (is that the word?!) the first episode of your new series. 😥
Like you, I suspect that for all four of them (but especially for John and Paul), the narrative that the split was inevitable was – and is – easier than the idea that it was avoidable.
It’s Hamlet’s (dubious) consolation, after all:
“If it be now, 'tis not to come. If it be not to come, it will be now. If it be not now, yet it will come – the readiness is all. Let be.”
With this in mind, however, I was interested to come across Peter Jackson’s comment on Paul’s contemporary reaction to the Jan 29, 1969, conversation between George and John (revealed in “Get Back”) in which the pair plus Yoko discuss George’s desire for a solo album and how this might be accommodated within the band:
GEORGE: And I’d just like to maybe do an album, of songs.
JOHN: Of – on your own?
GEORGE: Yeah.
JOHN: Yeah.
GEORGE: But I mean, I’d like it so that if… uh… [long pause] ‘Cos it would be nice, it would be nice to mainly get them all out of the way—
JOHN: Yeah. It’d be nice anyway.
GEORGE: And secondly, just to hear what I – what all mine are like all together.
JOHN: Yeah, as long – you see, it’s good. If we put [out] an LP and it’s all safe that will be ‘cos it’s together, but George is doing an album and—
GEORGE: Oh yeah, but I mean it’d be nice to, uh—
JOHN: It’d be the same as me doing an album.
GEORGE: —if any of us can do the separate things, like, as well.
JOHN: Well, I mean—
GEORGE: That way, it also preserves this, the Beatle bit of it, more. ‘Cos then—
JOHN: This – there’s an outlet for every note you want.
YOKO: That’s great. That’s a good idea.
JOHN: Yeah.
How ironic that G + J appear to have found the Saving Grace: almost by accident, they’ve  stumbled on the Only Possible Future for The Beatles – while the person who would actually have remembered this conversation and might have held them to it – the one who’d been carrying them all for months – just happens to be out of the room!  
Talk about lost possibilities… it’s like one of the medieval Grail narratives. 😭
And how obvious does it seem now that this is what Paul should have pitched on Sept 20, 1969 not the touring idea? 😞🥺
Paul's reaction, as relayed by Jackson in 2021, is heartbreaking in an understated way:
"Oh, I wish I knew they said that at the time."
https://youtu.be/L_HArQpzaYg?t=246
Hello @this-swan! Sorry for the late reply to this ask, which was received after Episode 1 of A Mistake in Many Ways. By this point, we've covered much of this in the first three episodes of the series (see Episode 3 for more on why Paul’s touring idea was in fact NOT DAFT 😇), but to address a few of your points: To a certain extent, we think the breakup was inevitable; at least we think the breakup between John & Paul was. John and Paul seemed to both agree (they've said as much) and disagree (they've said as much!). 
As for the band, I think the fairest thing to say was that a breakup of the Old/Original Beatles was inevitable... but that it was at least possible that they could've continued in a New/Revised Configuration. But that's a big "IF" and of course it never got to that point due to John's behavior in the Divorce Meeting. I think it was impossible to negotiate after that, because Paul took John's words/actions to heart. And although John subsequently made NUMEROUS oblique gestures to Paul (as detailed in the podcast) he never said “let’s not break up” to Paul’s face. If he had, things may (or may not!?) have gone differently. As far as Paul's recent comment to PJ about wishing "they had said that at the time" ...Paul certainly wasn't unaware of the possibility that they could all do solo albums (!?!), so I don't think this changes anything (especially since George had plenty of opportunity over the subsequent 15 MONTHS to make/start his solo album and yet didn't until after the Beatles were officially broken up). So to be blunt, I don’t think Paul’s comment really means much! He doesn’t want to take blame for breaking up the band, so what else can he say?  As we said on the podcast, we think these details, while fascinating and fun to parse out, are not what ultimately caused the split. In the simplest of terms, it was John's behavior in the Divorce Meeting (from Paul’s POV and therefore in functional reality). The amazing and sad thing is that John didn’t seem to understand that, which again suggests (to us) that he wasn’t committed to ending the group. 
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d-andilion · 2 years
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nice things
@witcher-bows-and-arrows day 4: gift
(geraskier, gift giving, modern au, established relationship, fluff, 1.4k)
read on ao3
One of the first things Geralt learned about Jaskier was how badly he wanted a piano of his own. He had an electric keyboard that he used to tutor his students and to work on his own music when time allowed, but that thing was old when he bought it. He wanted a proper, professional instrument, something grand and stately.
He’d had one as a child in his parents’ house. Jaskier told Geralt all about his beautiful grand piano, so large it had a room all to itself. He started learning to play it when he was only four years old. Geralt could picture it; little Jaskier’s legs dangling from the bench as his tutor positioned his tiny hands on the expensive ivory keys.
Of course, Jaskier hasn’t seen that piano since he severed contact with his parents. Geralt had been there for that adventure. Jaskier struggled a lot the first few months without his allowance. He had an abundance of firsts—his first job interview, his first pathetic paycheck that barely covered rent, his first off-brand clothing purchase. He almost cried when his fancy Parisian face cream ran out and he couldn’t afford a new bottle.
He was generally a spoiled brat about the whole thing at first. Geralt told him so to his face after the face cream incident, and Jaskier didn’t talk to Geralt for a good three days after that conversation. But Jaskier’s grown a lot in the years since. He’s basically a normal person now, cheap trainers and all.
Geralt knows Jaskier doesn’t regret the decision he made about his parents. It was the right thing for his wellbeing and he’s only been better for it. Geralt also knows that going from a fully furnished brownstone and a vacation house on the coast to a four-story walk-up is a big adjustment. Jaskier doesn’t miss his parents, but he does occasionally miss their lifestyle.
He doesn’t say it in so many words, especially since he and Geralt got together. He never wants Geralt to feel like he isn’t enough. Geralt knows Jaskier loves him, that he’s satisfied with their life together. Still, when Jaskier casually mentions the year his parents rented out a ski lodge in Switzerland for Christmas, it’s hard not to feel a little less than adequate.
Geralt has always been a provider at heart. Jaskier is fond of reminding him that there are other ways to provide, ways that Geralt excels at, and Geralt believes him for the most part. But knowing there are things Jaskier wants that Geralt can’t give still gets to him sometimes.
Every now and then, Geralt will save up for a smaller luxury; a watch or a sweater, or an overpriced pair of shoes. It’s never anything too extravagant, but Jaskier is always over the moon, making Geralt swear the gifts didn’t put him out too much.
This time, however, it’s a bit bigger than some nice accessories. It’s Jaskier’s birthday today, and as Geralt watches the movers carefully attach polished black piano legs to the body of the instrument in their sitting room, he wonders for the hundredth time if this isn’t completely fucking insane.
It’s no grand piano. He looked them up and choked on his tea for a good two minutes when he saw the prices. This one is a baby grand, on the small side from what Essi and Pricilla told him. It still cost an arm and a leg. He was only able to swing it because the sweet old lady who sold it to him knocked a few hundred off when she heard it was a gift for his boyfriend. Geralt wouldn’t typically have gone for something so expensive, but they’ve had a good year. A great one, actually.
They’ve been making good money since Vesemir decided to retire from the garage, leaving Geralt to take up the lead. Enough for Jaskier to step back from giving lessons and focus on his own music. He’s even playing open mics on the weekends the way he used to. Space is no longer an issue now that they moved in together, to a house with plenty of room for them and for Ciri when she stays over.
Things are really looking up for them. The rest of their lives are finally getting started and Geralt just wanted to celebrate that. Making one of Jaskier’s dreams come true seemed like the perfect way to do it.
The piano movers work efficiently and they’re out the door more than an hour before Jaskier is supposed to be home. Yen took him out for brunch and manicures this morning. She tried to extort Geralt for a few bottles of good wine when he asked for her help getting Jaskier out of the house, but he knew good and well she was enjoying herself. The two of them did manicures every few months anyway.
Geralt steps back and looks over the instrument, nestled into a sunny corner of the sitting room. He knew it had to be this one the moment he saw the listing. The rim is decorated with a delicate swirling design, carved into the polished wood and painted gold, and the cushion of the bench is embroidered with bright yellow flowers. It has character. Personality. It’s creative and interesting and joyful, just like its new owner.
Jaskier is going to love it. He is. Definitely.
The sound of the lock turning startles Geralt from his thoughts. He hadn’t even heard Yennefer’s car pull into the driveway. They must have finished early. Fuck, she was supposed to text him when they left the salon.
Geralt swears and his heart races as he fusses with the piano’s bench, pushing it in and then pulling it out again. He thought he’d have some time to plan the whole presentation bit before Jaskier got home. He even bought a big bow, which is currently sitting upstairs on the bed.
The front door swings open. Fuck.
“I’m home!” Jaskier sing-songs from the entryway.
“Have fun?” Geralt calls back, positioning himself awkwardly beside the piano. He has a brief moment of panic about what to do with his hands before shoving them into his pockets.
“Oh, it was divine, one of these days I’m going to get you to a manicurist, it really is the most relaxing—”
Jaskier’s sentence is cut off by a gasp as he turns the corner into the sitting room. His keys and sunglasses hit the floor with a clatter and he covers his gaping mouth with both hands.
Geralt puts on a smile. “Happy birthday, Jas.”
“But— But when did you— How did— How, Geralt?” Jaskier stammers, face flushed and hands flying everywhere. It could be the light, but Geralt thinks he sees tears welling up.
“I’ve been saving up, and the seller let me pay in installments,” Geralt tells him as Jaskier steps closer, eyes never leaving the piano. “It’s not new and it’s not the big one you always talk about, but it’s nice, I think.”
“It’s beautiful, darling.” Jaskier runs his fingers reverently over the lid, mouth pressed into a thin line and eyes blinking a touch too rapidly.
Geralt understood the waterworks at first. Jaskier is an emotional person, prone to tears of joy at the slightest provocation, but he doesn’t look to be getting any happier. A lump forms in Geralt’s throat. Maybe it’s too small, or the bench is too much?
“But?” Geralt asks tentatively.
“But it’s expensive,” says Jaskier woefully “I’ve told you, I don’t need fancy presents.”
Geralt breathes a sigh of relief. “Don’t worry about that,” he says, taking Jaskier’s hands in his. “We’re doing good, Jaskier, better than good. You’re always telling me to enjoy nice things.”
“Nice things for you, this is a gift for me.”
“And I enjoy giving it to you.”
Jaskier sighs heavily. “Geralt—”
“It can be a nice thing for us, then,” Geralt interjects. “Ciri can practice on it too. I’ll let you teach me if you like.”
That earns a laugh. Jaskier has been trying to teach Geralt various instruments essentially since the day they met. Geralt cups Jaskier’s cheek and runs his thumb along the line of that smile.
“Let me do this for you,” he says softly.
Jaskier gives the piano a longing look and for a moment, Geralt thinks he’s going to argue the point further. But when he turns back to Geralt, his blue eyes are soft. “Well, if you’re going to twist my arm about it.”
Geralt snorts. “Thank you for your noble sacrifice.”
Jaskier leans in for a kiss and throws his arms around Geralt’s neck. “Thank you so much, my dear. I really do love it.”
“You’re welcome,” says Geralt, holding Jaskier tight against him. “Play me something?”
Jaskier pulls away with a squeal and a grin on his face. “You have no idea how much I love it when you say that to me.”
~~
bows and arrows masterlist
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boldlyvoid · 3 years
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Spencer and fem!reader have been together for a decade, married for five. They got married right after the Justin Mills episode, she proposed cause she almost lost him. He proposed to her once he got out and she had no idea he was going to. Anyway I got off on a tangent sorry I have ADHD. But anyway so part of Spencer was scared she’d leave him while he was in prison, which of course she never would. Not only because they have a three year old daughter. She of course doesn’t, and they’re both there to greet him when he’s released eighty-four days later. She’d been using porn to pleasure herself while he was gone, but it wasn’t nearly the same. He’s been so pent up that he jumps her the second they get back to his apartment. Needless to say, she wasn’t expecting him to be even more dominant when he got out of prison than he had started to be when he went in.
so i changed it up a bit, she hasn't had an orgasm since he left. she's so touch starved becasue she cant even hold his hand at visiting hours and they both can't help but fuck the second she tell's him they're bringing him home.
word count: 1.4K
cw: unprotected sex, dirty talk, daddy kink, dom!spencer, wall fucking, public sex, creampies, talk of pregnancy, touch starved reader and spencer, canon typical violence, references to PTSD, (I hope I got it all)
She’s anxiously tapping her foot, she’s been awake for 48 hours now, she hasn’t seen her daughter in just as long, and her husband even longer.
84 days to be exact.
She feels like she’s going to explode, she misses him so intensely and if he doesn’t come home now, she might never see him again. His mother is missing, he stabbed himself to stay safe in prison, he might not come home. again.
In the 10 years that she’s been with Spencer, he’s almost died 3 times. she thought that was the extent of her worry for her husband's safety... then he went missing, then he was arrested in Mexico and now he’s in prison fighting for his life.
She has her head in her hands, curled into a ball on the briefing room sofa, trying desperately to get her mind to stop saying he’s dead, they’re going to kill him, you’re too late. Over and over and over, the thoughts are so intense she almost doesn’t hear Emily call in and tell them to go get him.
It’s time to bring him home.
She stands faster than before. Faster than when they found the cemetery. Faster than when he almost coded in the ambulance from the anthrax he was exposed to. The only time it rivals is when the doctors came out and said they stopped the bleeding, 2 weeks before they eloped, 9 weeks into a pregnancy they were trying to hide from the team.
She always finds herself rushing to his side, fearing the worst but never has she been this close to the edge. She’s on the plane with JJ, Luke and Penelope faster than she’s ever moved before. Leg still bouncing as she sits, trying her best to stay awake, but her adrenaline is making her dizzy.
“Y/N,” JJ whispers from across the table, “he’s okay.”
“I know,” she whispers back. “That’s not why I’m nervous.”
“Why are you?”
She turns and sees Penelope and Luke arguing in the back, flirting way too much to eavesdrop, she takes a deep breath.
“I haven’t touched him in 3 months,” she whispers. “You guys may not think he’s a touchy person, but I haven’t slept. I don’t know how to sleep without him beside me. I haven’t had a real hug in forever…” a tear falls down her cheek.
She shakes her head, it’s been so unbelievably hard to be separated from him and she’s kept her composure this long. “I haven’t even been able to touch myself.”
She’s ashamed but JJ doesn’t budge, she simply tilts her head to the side in sympathy, “oh honey, he might be really distant, you have to prepare for him to continue to not touch you, or he might not leave your side and drive your crazy. I’m not sure how he’ll react but I know it’s not going to be easy.”
She nods, releasing a shaky breath and pretending that it’s not making her more anxious, “I know.” She finally breaks, sobbing and hiding her face behind her hands. “I’m sorry.”
JJ gets up and moves around the table, rubbing her hand over her back and shushing her, “you can tell him. You can go in and have a few minutes alone with him, Penelope and I will wait in the hallway.”
“I just want a hug,” she whispers, “I’m not going to fuck my husband in a prison.”
“Bundy did it,” Luke replies from the back of the plane because of course, they were listening in. “Plus, I don’t think he’s going to be comfortable enough to do that yet, I think his mind is on saving his mother.”
“Exactly,” Y/N rationalizes it, even if all she can picture is him bending her over that table that she wasn’t allowed to cross.
Sometimes the prison was so intimidating for her that she felt like she wasn’t even allowed to look at him. It was easier for her to send letters, they corresponded regularly. She knew everything, on a level the team didn’t, she knew just how hurt he was in there and she was already preparing for his recovery.
She has a binder in her purse, it has every resource he’ll ever need. Random information pamphlets for him to read on the way home and his sponsor's number. She got it from the VA, taking a special trip with Luke to ask the men there what they wish they had when they came home from Afghanistan, how they coped with PTSD and what they wish their partners knew beforehand. She’s as prepared as she could be.
But nothing prepares her for the look on his face when she opens the door. The guard steps aside and JJ closes the door as soon as Y/N is safely inside the room with him, she just cries.
“Is my mom okay?” He panic, “who’s watching Elly?”
“Spence,” she walks up to him, “we’re taking you home.”
“What?” His face drops, he turns as white as a ghost like he’s hallucinating and doesn’t believe what he hears.
She simply nods and throws her arms around him, holding him tighter than ever before, he holds her just as tight. She can’t breathe, he’s holding her too tight and then he’s picking her up and sitting her on the table, kissing her neck and down her shirt and she can’t help herself from leaning back and attempting to unbutton his jeans.
He pushes her skirt up and pulls her panties to the side, roughly kissing her as she stokes him a few times before wrapping her legs around him and bringing him inside. His beard is longer than it’s ever been, scratching at her skin as he explores her, she can’t believe they’re actually doing this but it feels too good for her to even say a single word.
“God, I’ve missed your sweet cunt,” he grunts in her ear, picking her up and turning them. He presses her against the brick wall, holding her with a strength he’s never had before, and fucking into her with intent.
“I haven’t cum in 90 days,” she says between pants, wanting him to praise her.
“So that’s why you’re such a desperate slut? I’ve made you into a whore over the last 10 years, haven’t I?”
“Yes sir,” she replies on instinct, they’ve tried having him be more dominating but it never really worked out in their favour… this however, this is more than that.
This is primal.
He bites her shoulder, over her shirt and making the fabric wet, grunting as he fucks her, he’s like an animal. It’s incredibly hot, she’s so deprived she almost cums but she holds off, “please?” She begs, wanting his permission for the first time in months.
“Please what?”
“Please can I cum?” she cries, actually tears fall down her cheeks from the frustration, months of anticipation bursting at the seams, “please, daddy?”
“Ugh,” he lays his forehead on her shoulder and fucks into her harder, rubbing her clit with his thumb. “Cum baby, come on daddy’s cock, you depraved little whore.”
She tosses her head back against the wall, it’s going to hurt later but her orgasm is so intense she barely even feels real. She’s floating there as she grips his shoulders and her legs hold him close to her. He stills as he cums, filling her up, they both sigh at the same time.
Sliding to the floor, she’s still wrapped around him, cock inside her as they hold each other. Faces buried in the other's neck, they try to come down but all they can do is run their hands over each other's bodies, appreciating the fact they’re allowed to hold one another in this stupid room again, no one is going to yell at her for holding his hand or passing him a bracelet from their kid.
They hear a knock on the window and that’s their queue to get presentable again. She feels a little gross, but this is the closest she’s felt to him in forever. Carrying a part of him inside of her was her favourite thing in the world, all she could hope for was another little one to be the glorious result of this terrible situation.
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be11atrixthestrange · 3 years
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Hi~, I don't know if you're still taking prompts, I just discovered you on AO3 and I love your stories. If you like my idea, feel free to write about it :) I imagine that Ron goes to Hermione's room the night after Dobbie's death. And he comfortes her and hugs her (and apologizes for leaving) and they fall asleep deeply for the first time in months. (+Bonus: They wake up embarassed, because they hear that the others don't find Ron in the house) -H
Hi! I take prompts! But I'm slow AF to respond, so it's possible you don't even remember asking for this!
But, here's some Shell Cottage fluff, just because I had three glasses of wine tonight (oh, the scandal!) and then things happened!
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More Than Okay
“Ron, what are you doing here?”
Her voice jolts him awake and for a moment, he forgets where he is. It takes a few seconds of consciousness for his eyes to adjust to the moonlight before he can make out his surroundings. He scans the room and takes in the peeling and dated wallpaper, the two framed twin beds with upholstered headboards, one of them empty, another a lump of blankets, an explosion of bushy brown hair.
It’s a far cry from the mildewy tent canvas and camping cots, the thick, icy air, the constant penetrating dampness. Hermione is so far from the girl he’s been living with in the tent. Before, she was so full of passion, determination and fire. Anger. Energy. Now, her voice is weary, ragged, worrisome. It’s not like her to ask questions she already knows the answer to.
“Where else would I be?” he asks as he sits up, suddenly more lucid and awake than ever.
“Downstairs with the boys, where you’re supposed to be.”
The corners of Ron’s mouth turn up into a smile. It’s still Hermione. Waking up from what was essentially a coma, and she’s arguing with him. He wants to laugh with relief, but it might not serve him well.
Instead, he hardens her gaze and looks her directly in the eyes. “I’m never leaving you again.”
He watches her eyes glow as she absorbs his words and everything they mean. The future implications, the past apologies, her own stubbornness reflected right back. “Where are you going to sleep?”
Ron nods toward the empty bed, the one that was supposed to be for Luna, but who knows where she is right now. Looking for crumple horned snorkacks, probably. “I can sleep there.”
“No.”
“I’m serious. I’m not leaving y—”
He pauses when she shifts to her right, ever so slightly. The subtle smile on his face is now etched across, possibly permanent.
“I know you’re not leaving me,” she says, averting her eyes. “Just don’t sleep in Luna’s bed.”
Ron stares at the space beside her. It’s only an inch or two larger than before, but he can’t help but interpret her movement as an invitation. He wants to slide under the covers and wrap her in his arms, but it’s risky. It would be disastrous to misread her now, but if he’s learned anything over the past few months — past twenty four hours, even — it’s that risks are unavoidable and he might as well start calling the shots.
So he does. Ron rises to his feet and watches her eyes widen in surprise and a smirk cross her face as he accepts her invitation. He crawls underneath the blankets and wraps his arm around her. She leans, melts, into him and everything feel so natural, so easy, like it’s something they could have done years ago without blinking an eye.
“Dobby died,” he says.
Hermione lets out an audible sigh, one that Ron can feel against his neck, reminding him of how close her lips are. Have they ever been this close?
“How’s Harry handling it?”
“About as well as you’d imagine.”
He can feel Hermione’s head bobbing up and down in the crook of his neck. “And you? How are you holding up.”
“Fucking fantastic.”
It feels almost disrespectful to verbalize it, but it’s true. The pain of Dobby’s death has only heightened the joy of Hermione’s survival. It’s shines a light on his new focus, the sole reason he has to still fight. Her.
He expects her to reprimand him for his lack of respect but she doesn’t. Instead, she tightens her embrace and he pulls her body against his. It’s not enough. If only he could pull her even closer, and there were no barriers between them. He could kiss her right now, shag her even, and he still wouldn’t be close enough. So he settles for the embrace. It’s motivation to win this damn war so he can spend the rest of his life next to her. If she’ll have him, of course.
When her breath quickens against his neck, he knows she’s looking at him, waiting for him. Inviting him. He could kiss her, snog her senseless. They both want it more than anything.
“Not like this.”
It takes all of his willpower to say it. Thankfully, she nods against him and he hopes more than anything she understands how much he wants her right now. He always has, always will, but not like this.
He doesn’t have time to rethink his rejection — it’s not even a rejection, it’s a rain check — and he knows she understands that by the way her fingers dig into his t-shirt as she hugs him. Their time will come, and it will be worth it.
While wrapped in Hermione, sleep creeps in with ease. His eyes flutter shut, and for the first time in forever, he has the best motivation to keep fighting: it’s for more nights like this. They collapse against one another, comfortably, as though it’s not the first time they’ve done this. If his dreams count, it’s definitely not the first time they’ve shared a bed. Maybe it’s not for Hermione, either. It doesn’t seem like it by the way her body collapses against him, seeming to mold to his skin, her legs wrapping around his thighs, her breasts against his arm, her breath against his cheek.
It’s both exciting and comfortable, natural, and it spurs the endless dreams as darkness encroaches.
———————————
“Ron! Where’s Ron!?”
Ron’s eyes snap open at the sound of his name. The voices are downstairs, muffled by walls, hallways, and a staircase.
“Haven’t seen him, why?” Harry, groggy as ever, sounds like he doesn’t give a crap about his best friends’ wellbeing. Good man.
“He’s not in his bed! Did he go for a walk or something?” Ron can make out Fleur’s voice, frantic, panicked.
“He’s around, just give him a second,” says Dean. “He’ll show up.”
Fleur scoffs at Dean, and Ron laughs. It wakes Hermione.
“What are you laughing at?” she asks, and then they both pause, as footsteps approach.
“Nothing,” he says. His arm are still tight around Hermione and neither make an effort to move.
They tug closer as the door swings open, Fleur emerging into the doorway, her hair billowing behind her.
“Hermione, have you seen Ro—”
Fleur freezes in her tracks, scanning the pair intwined in each others’ arms.
“Yes,” says Hermione. “I have seen Ron.”
Fleurs eyes flit between the pair, and she’s clearly unsure what to say. “Very well, then. I’ll let everyone know he’s okay.”
She backs out of the door, and it shuts between them. As soon as she’s gone, Ron and Hermione erupt into laughter.
“She was so worried about you!” says Hermione.
“No need to be.”
“Exactly, you’re okay,” she says, pulling him in. Her leg drapes over his torso, and without thinking about it, he lays a hand on her thigh.
It’s so natural that it’s hard to believe he hasn’t kissed her yet.
But when she smiles at him, and her eyes drift shut, he follows suit. It’s been a while since he’s had a good lie-in, and they both deserve it. Plus, anything is better than facing the knowing looks of his friends down in the kitchen. He might as well sleep in.
At least they know he’s okay. More than okay.
181 notes · View notes
tennessoui · 3 years
Note
Ummmmmm can i please request 5
This was written all on my phone waiting for my train and I’m trying to post it through my phone which tumblr is being a lil bitch about but here is
5. Falling Pregnant After A One Night Stand (3.6k)
(squick: a/b/o dynamics, mpreg)(two tags I never thought I’d write lmao)
Anakin’s working on the couch when he hears the key in the lock of the apartment door, signaling that finally—finally—Obi-Wan’s home from his week-long hastily planned stay at Bail’s place.
Bail and Breha’s place, Anakin reminds himself. Obi-Wan’s mated friends pose no competition to Anakin’s inner alpha, which definitely thinks of Obi-Wan as his omega.
Obi-Wan comes into the main room quietly, putting his bag on one of the barstools and leaning against the counter for a second, head bowed.
When he lets out a sigh and a heavy curse, Anakin can’t stop himself from speaking up, alarmed. “Are you alright? Did something happen?”
Obi-Wan jolts and turns around to face the couch, clearly startled. “Anakin!” he yelps, one hand flying to his stomach and the other to grip the counter behind him, as if Anakin is an intruder, and not the man he’s been living with for six years. “I thought you’d be at work!”
Anakin fights the urge to flush. The truth is, he’s tried to go into work for the past three days, but Obi-Wan’s absense has kicked his alpha hindbrain into a special kind of panic mode, where he can’t stand to leave the den until the omega returns to it safely.
It’s not like Anakin’s going to say that though, not after five years of pining for the older omega from afar. He’s a pro at this by now.
“Working from home today,” Anakin says. And then so Obi-Wan doesn’t think he’s spent his entire week alone on the couch waiting to be not alone anymore (he has), he lies, “Woke up hungover.”
“On a Thursday?” Obi-Wan says, sounding a bit concerned.
Anakin purses his lips and tries not to pout. He rakes his eyes over the omega, taking in his messed up hair and untrimmed beard and the dark circles that have popped up beneath his eyes. “You didn’t answer, Obi-Wan,” he accuses. “What’s wrong?”
The omega’s scent tinges with distress, which only proves Anakin’s point further. Obi-Wan never lets his scent leak through his blockers, not if he can help it. Anakin’s always made sure to luxuriate in his unbridled scent when he can, one that smells like maple and rain and cinnamon. But to smell it now just makes him feel more worried.
“Are you going into—“ Anakin stutters over the word heat. Obi-Wan’s at least feeling well enough to roll his eyes fondly. The older omega thinks Anakin’s one of those alphas that get wildly uncomfortable talking about an omega’s heat. It’s not true. Anakin’s helped friends through heats both platonically and sexually. Look, he’s run to the corner bodega at two in the morning to get Padmé heating pads to be left outside her door. He’s no stranger to heats.
But the idea of his prim and proper roommate writhing around in his nest, begging for something to fill him up the way he needs—that makes Anakin stutter and blush and trip over his words.
“No,” Obi-Wan says, but there’s something off in his tone, something sour in his scent. Anakin puts his laptop aside—the screen’s gone dark already anyway—and makes to stand, his inner alpha baying with the need to run his hands over the omega, to make sure he’s not bleeding or hurt or injured—
“I—I’m going to unpack and take a shower,” Obi-Wan decides, pushing away from the counter and closer to the couch. Not close enough. But closer. “And then I need to talk to you about something.”
“Are you…” Anakin casts around for the right word to say. Ill. Leaving me. Sick. Sick of me. Done with all of this. Dying.
Obi-Wan pauses and gives him his own sort of once-over. Whatever he finds in either his body language or his scent brings a soft smile to the omega’s face. “I’m fine, dear one. I—I need a shower. I don’t—smell right.”
Anakin blinks after him, hands balling into fists and relaxing as he processes those words. Usually it’s Anakin who wants Obi-Wan to shower off the stench of other alphas after his business trips or stays at his friends’ places. Obi-Wan’s always insisted he smells fine, but he’ll cave if Anakin’s mood gets bad enough.
It’s not something he’s especially proud of, but it’s worth it when Obi-Wan curls up onto the couch beside Anakin and he smells only like the shampoo and soap they share.
Sometimes if he’s tired enough, he’ll even let Anakin scent mark him so that next time he goes out, everyone will automatically assume he’s already in possession of an alpha and not looking for anything.
Sometimes, he even asks for it. Those times are the best.
Anakin tries to sit still while he waits for Obi-Wan to come back, but it’s impossible. He moves to the table, then to the kitchen counter, then back to the couch. Where should he sit, where would be a place he feels safe enough to receive whatever news Obi-Wan’s putting off telling him?
In the omega’s arms in his own bed, is the answer that comes to mind. But can he really ask that of Obi-Wan? They’ve done it before, when Anakin’s mother had died, when Ahsoka had left the city to get a degree abroad, when Anakin feels as though he’s going to shake apart if he doesn’t hold onto his omega and make sure that he at least can’t leave him too.
When Obi-Wan comes out of his room, all flushed from the shower with his hair still damp and messy, wearing a blue sweater Anakin’s pretty sure used to be his and a pair of sweatpants that are definitely currently his, there’s hardly a choice to make. If Obi-Wan wants to wear his scent, Anakin will give it to him.
Silently he takes his hand and leads him to his bedroom, toeing out of his shoes and tugging him into his bed and into his arms.
Obi-Wan goes so easily that it only makes Anakin more worried. His heart cannot take this level of stress and he has to hide his face in the crook of Obi-Wan’s neck and inhales greedily at the pure scent of omega—Obi-Wan omega—his omega.
“Obi-Wan,” he says nonsensically, just to feel the way the omega in his arms shudders at the sensation of his lips brushing against the sensitive skin of his neck.
But then Obi-Wan doesn’t stop shaking and Anakin can feel a growing wetness against his shirt. He can’t stop the distressed rumble that comes out of his throat, but he bites his tongue just in time to stop the alpha command to tell him. Obi-Wan wouldn’t like that and Anakin wouldn’t like doing it.
His hands stroke soothingly over the omega’s back as he starts purring from within his chest. An alpha’s purr is supposed to reassure an omega, make them feel safe and protected, but Obi-Wan doesn’t seem to realize this because he doesn’t stop crying.
“Talk to me,” Anakin murmurs nosing at the short hairs behind Obi-Wan’s ears. “Baby. Obi. Omega. What is wrong? What can I do?”
Obi-Wan wipes his eyes dry on Anakin’s shirt and looks up at him with a heartbroken but strangely resigned expression. Like he already knows what Anakin’s going to do, and he thinks nothing he says will change anything.
As if.
When Obi-Wan went on a two month long business trip three years ago, Anakin grew out a beard and it only took one look from the omega upon his return before Anakin was shaving it off. The point is, Obi-Wan doesn’t even need to speak half the time for Anakin to agree. He’s just that in love. It’s pathetic. He can’t remember who he was before it.
“I’m a mess, I’m sorry,” Obi-Wan finally gets out, retracting one of his hands from the tight grip he has on Anakin’s shirt to rub at his eye. “I told myself I wasn’t going to be like this, but. I don’t—it’s—“
“Hey, hey,” Anakin soothes, leaning back a bit so he can knock their foreheads together. Packmates do that all the time. “It’s okay.”
Obi-Wan nods slowly, and his scent expands with the pleasant notes of a comforted, protected omega.
“Do you remember…when I went to Seattle at the end of August for that conference?” he starts slowly.
Anakin hums in acknowledgement. He’d wanted to go with Obi-Wan, instincts demanding that the other side of the country was too far for the omega to travel alone, but he’d not been able to get time off of work.
His heart drops into his stomach at the idea that somehow maybe Obi-Wan met someone there during his four-day trip, and he’s in love with them and is trying to find a way to tell Anakin he’s moving.
Would it be pathetic if Anakin followed him? Would Obi-Wan’s new alpha allow Anakin to live with Obi-Wan still? Would Obi-Wan’s alpha be amenable to telling Anakin how he made Obi-Wan fall in love with him in a matter of days when Anakin’s been trying to get the man to love him romantically for six years?
Anakin’s heart rate is up, but it’s nothing compared to the staccato beat of Obi-Wan’s. He tries to send out more calming pheromones, but he can’t even find them for himself.
This is it. He’s about to lose Obi-Wan. The alpha inside of him whimpers, and it takes all of his willpower not to crush his omega tighter to his chest.
No. Not his.
“I met a man there, just at the hotel,” Obi-Wan says. It would have been kinder if he’d just stabbed Anakin with the kitchen knife. There’s no relief to be found in this slow death. Because—because surely, Anakin will die without Obi-Wan. Not physically, of course. He’s not one of those alphas who doesn’t know how to take care of himself.
Actually, it’s Anakin that cooks most of the time for both of them. And Anakin will do the shopping, will keep an eye on the amount of cleaning supplies they have, how much toilet paper, how many garbage bags.
But what would be the point of cooking anything if Obi-Wan isn’t there to taste it and shower him with praise? What’s the point of cleaning the apartment if Obi-Wan isn’t there to tuck himself into his arms on the couch and thank him for the work? What’s the point of anything if he’s doing it without Obi-Wan?
“Anakin, I—“ Obi-Wan stutters and falls silent. Anakin braces himself for the end he should have seen coming. “I’m pregnant.”
White noise. Anakin doesn't even think he’s breathing. Obi-Wan is pregnant. Obi-Wan…had a one-night stand in a city 2,400 miles away from Anakin, and he’s pregnant. Someone touched Obi-Wan, someone made Obi-Wan come, someone got Obi-Wan pregnant, and maybe…maybe there’s a chance they’ll get to keep Obi-Wan too.
The alpha in his chest howls at the thought. The idea that—that someone else will have a better claim on Obi-Wan’s heart. What’s six years of living together compared to a child?
Except Obi-Wan presses further into his chest, with a shaky whine. The omega is here now, not with any other alpha, not in any other city. He’s in Anakin’s bed, in Anakin’s arms.
Anakin opens and closes his mouth, trying to figure out what to say, how to say it, how to speak. He needs to know so much more. He needs to know what Obi-Wan is going to do, if he’s in contact with the father, if he’s planning to move, if he’s planning to raise the—
As if he can hear his thoughts, Obi-Wan starts talking again, very fast as if he’s afraid Anakin’s going to kick him out in a few minutes and he needs to get the whole story out before he does.
“I’m keeping it. Them. I—I’m so old now—“ he’s barely 38– “I’m afraid this could be my only chance at…at a family.”
Anakin closes his eyes and hides his face in the still-damp strands of Obi-Wan’s hair. He doesn’t want Obi-Wan to see how devastated he is at this response. Anakin’s family is Obi-Wan. He’d thought…he’d wanted….
“I understand if you want to move out before the lease ends,” Obi-Wan mumbles, but his hands clench tightly around Anakin’s back. “I know…a baby…another alpha’s baby…you shouldn’t have to take care of them. I know it’s not what you signed up for, I wouldn’t…I wouldn’t hold it against you.” His voice gets smaller and smaller until Anakin has to strain to hear him. “I can do this alone.”
He sounds as if he’s telling himself as much as he’s telling Anakin. But Anakin can’t even focus on that because his entire attention is caught by everything else Obi-Wan’s just said. Because it sounds…it sounds as if Obi-Wan is planning to stay in the city. In the apartment. Without the sire.
Alone.
As if Anakin would ever let Obi-Wan be alone, given the choice. As if Anakin would ever leave Obi-Wan to struggle through any difficulty without him.
Obi-Wan presses impossibly closer to him. “Say something,” he demands, running his nose up and down Anakin’s neck, over his scent glands, as if he expects Anakin to be able to form whole, coherent sentences when he’s doing that with his mouth.
The pregnancy must be messing with Obi-Wan’s instincts and emotions, Anakin realizes distantly. His body must know he’s not mated, that he’s about to be a visibly pregnant, unmated Omega in a dangerous city. No wonder he’s trying to cover himself so completely in Anakin’s scent. He has to wonder if Obi-Wan even understands what he’s doing. He’s never been one to try and he in touch with his Omegan side.
“Alpha,” Obi-Wan pleads, and Anakin has a second realization that it’s been ages since he’s said something. The room fills with the scent of distressed, in pain omega.
Anakin lets out an involuntary purr and tightens his hold on Obi-Wan’s body. It would be nice to look him in the eyes, but he thinks they both need as little distance between themselves as possible. “You’re going to make a great parent,” he soothes, nuzzling along Obi-Wan’s hairline. “And I’m not going to leave you unless you want me to.”
Obi-Wan stills completely as if shocked to his bones, and then he relaxes bonelessly into Anakin’s arms. This time, Anakin feels the tears as soon as they start and he goes about stroking up and down Obi-Wan’s spine again.
“I was so afraid,” Obi-Wan admits between sobs. Anakin thinks to himself privately that he definitely knows how that feels, but one of them shouldn’t be crying. “I didn’t know how to tell you—I didn’t want you to hate me for making such a stupid mistake—“
There’s nothing Obi-Wan could do to make him hate him. Sure, Anakin’s absolutely filled with hatred for whoever caught Obi-Wan’s eye on that business trip, but none of those emotions bleed over into what he feels for Obi-Wan. Not when his love is too strong and entrenched.
“Bail said you’d understand but I’m just—a mess, I don’t know what I’m doing half the time and these goddamn hormones are making me feel out of control—“ Obi-Wan continues. The fact that Bail fucking Organa found out about Obi-Wan’s pregnancy before Anakin did will drive him crazy if he lets it, so he puts that aside for now and focuses on comforting his omega.
“We’ll figure it out,” Anakin says, scenting Obi-Wan back. “It’ll be alright.”
————
A few hours later, Obi-Wan awakens from the nap he’s fallen into with a start. Anakin’s gotten no sleep, too busy drawing nonsense lines on Obi-Wan’s back and staring at the ceiling, thinking about the future. About what’s going to happen to them, around them.
No matter how much he hates the sire of the child in Obi-Wan, he already feels attached to the baby. It’s part of Obi-Wan. Maybe they’ll have his hair color or his eyes. Maybe they’ll have his compassion, his wit. Maybe they’ll let Anakin teach them how to play soccer or swim or cook.
The possibilities are endless and all of them involve Obi-Wan falling in love with him because of how amazing of a father he is to his child.
It’s not the most pressing thought in his mind, but he has to admit at least to himself that it’s there. That he’s just as in love with Obi-Wan as he was when he woke up in the morning. Now he just has another part of Obi-Wan to love: his child.
Maybe their child.
“I need to tell him,” Obi-Wan mumbles from his spot laying across Anakin’s chest. “I don’t—I don’t particularly want his involvement or, or money, but he should know. He should have the option to be in his child’s life.”
The part of Anakin who has just spent the past three hours getting used to the idea of raising Obi-Wan’s child as if he’s his own bristles at the idea of the sire being involved at all.
“Do you have his number?” Anakin asks reluctantly. He can’t imagine getting to sleep with someone as gorgeous as Obi-Wan and not trying to give him a means of keeping in contact.
But Obi-Wan shakes his head.
“His address?”
Another negative. “I…know his name and where he works.”
Anakin bares his teeth at the ceiling. “And?”
Obi-wan sounds more than a bit embarrassed. “Ah. He was the bartender at the hotel. And his name tag said Set.”
“You went to a medical conference full of alpha surgeons and researchers and you…slept with the bartender,” Anakin says blankly, before he can stop himself.
Obi-Wan huffs. It’s the most Obi-Wan response he’s given since he got home from Bail’s. “Sorry my one-night stands don’t meet your standards.”
Anakin hums. The truth is the only person who will ever meet his standards as a romantic partner for Obi-Wan is Anakin. “So what do you want to do? Call the hotel and ask for Set?”
Which, by the way, is the most pretentiously Seattle name he’s ever heard of. Set’s given name is probably, like, David and he just wanted to sound cool and grunge.
“I can’t just—this isn’t something I can say over the phone, Anakin,” Obi-Wan says. He falls silent.
“It’s mid-November,” Anakin points out. “Neither of us are hurting for money, but plane tickets are going to be astronomical until January at least. If they’re available at all.”
There’d be shitty seats available, of course, but Anakin’s not going to let his pregnant omega cram himself into an uncomfortable, smelly seat for eight hours.
“You don’t—I don’t expect you to come with me,” Obi-Wan mumbles into Anakin’s collarbone.
Anakin just manages to bite back a scoff and the urge to point out that last time Obi-Wan went off to Seattle without him, he got pregnant. Who knows what would happen if he does it again?
“Well, I’m gonna,” he says firmly. “But I think we should drive. It’ll take longer, but I’d feel much better about what you’re exposed to, not to mention how much more comfortable my car is than a coach seat. We can share a motel bed to cut costs, and—what? Why are you looking at me like that?”
Obi-Wan picks himself up off his chest to stare at him quizzically. “What if your job won’t let you take the days off? They didn’t even let you leave for the original Seattle trip and that was only a few days. We’re talking weeks here, Ani.”
Anakin sets his face into a scowl. He’s worked at the same finance firm since moving to New York, but if they won’t let him take time off for this, for Obi-Wan, he’ll quit. Simple as that. “Then I’ll go anyway and they can fire me.”
Predictably, Obi-Wan has several protests. Anakin will hear none of them. If he is fired, if he can’t find another finance job in the city that makes the same amount of money, then they’ll move out to somewhere else. He’s heard good things about Denver. And if Obi-Wan doesn’t want to move that far, maybe they can move upstate. It’ll be easier to raise a kid outside of the city anyway.
He’s not dumb enough to tell Obi-Wan this, knowing it makes him sound literally insane, but he is just stupid enough to cut Obi-Wan off and say, “you’re the most important person in my life, Obi-Wan. You….you both are.”
Hesitantly he moves his hand down to rest it gently over the slightest swell of Obi-Wan’s tummy. The omega’s breath catches in his throat, but he lets him touch.
“I’m going to be there with you, every step of the way if you’ll have me,” Anakin adds, stroking his thumb over the impossibly soft skin. Pregnant. Obi-Wan is pregnant.
It’ll take a few days more to get completely used to that idea, that’s for sure.
Obi-Wan studies his face with eyes still red-rimmed and puffy from all that crying a few hours ago. Slowly he raises his own hand to Anakin’s neck and rubs up and down his scent gland with something almost like longing in his expression. They’re so close together. Anakin would let him have anything—everything.
Everything.
“Alright,” Obi-Wan agrees with an air of strained incredulity in his voice , placing his other hand over Anakin’s on top of his abdomen. “Yes. Let’s drive to Seattle so I can tell my one-night stand that I’m carrying his child.”
Anakin nods and adds privately in his head, And so I can tell him that that kid’s gonna be mine in everything but blood and he better stay on his side of the goddamn country.
He’s not losing his family to some stupid Seattle alpha.
147 notes · View notes
ibis-gt · 3 years
Note
*slides you 37 pennies* how would luther handle trying to go on a public date with cam (movie, restaurant, etc.) with the whole… affection turns height to no.
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had two requests for this one so here u go! luther does his best to keep it together for date night. 2750 words, warning for brief mention of violence in a movie and some hanky panky between consenting adults. not explicit, just a little spicy.
~~~
Four months into their relationship, and Luther has more of a handle on things now.
He’s got the size thing totally under control. He hardly ever shrinks just because Cam looked at him anymore. He can take a compliment like a champion. Those soft, sweet, gentle smiles that spread across Cam’s face like molasses? Barely make him lose an inch. Physical contact? He’s… still working on that one.
But at the very least they can have date nights in public now, as long as Cam behaves himself, and Cam is quite willing to behave himself. Most of the time.
It’s a snowy Saturday night in December, and they’ve got a date planned. Cam will pick Luther up at eight, they’ll go have dinner at a local sushi place, watch a late night special feature from the 80s, and then come back home for some wine and light snuggling before bed. An absolutely perfect night, if Luther can make it through enough of it full-size.
He’s still debating his outfit when a gentle knock at his front door heralds his beloved’s arrival. Five minutes early as usual.
“It’s open!” Luther calls. “C’mon in and help me choose, will you?” He’s standing in his bedroom in a pair of black slacks with the horrid green jumpsuit undone and tied around his waist, staring critically at his two choices of top. A lovely turquoise turtleneck, or a stylish electric blue button-up. The floor creaks behind him as Cam ambles in. “Which one do you think is better? I guess it depends on what you’re wear - eep!”
Luther squeaks and jumps as Cam presses his lips to Luther’s neck, big warm hands sliding up his arms to rest on his bare shoulders, sending an involuntary shiver down his spine.
“Both look nice,” Cam murmurs in his ear. “But I think I like the blue one better.”
“C-cam,” Luther whines, his face going pink. “If you keep this up we’re not even going to get out the door.” The hands remove themselves, and Cam pulls back, chuckling.
“Sorry. Couldn’t help myself. All that exposed real estate, you know.” He lets out a perfect wolf whistle. God damn him. Luther glares over his shoulder and folds his arms, letting annoyance take over.
“We’ve been planning this for weeks, and you’re going to ruin it,” he pouts. “Go on, out. Wait in the living room if you’re going to be like this.” Cam puts his hands up in a placating gesture and retreats, but that damn smile doesn’t leave his face. Luther tosses his hair and huffs, secretly proud of himself. He didn’t even lose a half inch. He turns back to consider his options.
Well, if Cam is so focused on his neck tonight, that sweater might be the better option to afford him some protection. But he said he liked the button-up better… It’s lighter than the sweater so it won’t keep him as warm, but that means he can steal Cam’s big coat later on. The turtleneck would completely cover the green jumpsuit, but the blue of the button-up actually compliments it nicely. Luther nods decisively. The button-up will be perfect.
He dresses quickly, gives himself a final once-over in the mirror, unbuttons his top button, and heads out to see Cam. His boyfriend - his boyfriend! The thought still sends a thrill through him - has picked up the cat, Scrunge, and is stroking her head, making little baby noises at her. She purrs in her usual way, fast and loud, like a revving motorcycle. Cam sets her down when he sees Luther and sighs happily.
“You look fantastic,” he says.
“You clean up pretty nice yourself.” Luther crosses the room and fondly brushes a loose strand of hair behind Cam’s ear. Cam’s in a dark grey v-neck shirt and black suit jacket, slightly tarnished silver cufflinks adorning the sleeves. He’s got his big heavy winter coat draped over one arm so he doesn’t overheat in the relative warmth of the apartment. Luther sneaks a covetous little glance at it before grabbing his own shabby coat off a hook near the door.
He bends down to give Scrunge a goodbye scritch behind the ears. “Behave yourself while I’m out,” he tells her. “No tearing around the place and knocking things over.” She meows plaintively. Luther retrieves her bag of treats and gives her two as a bribe, which she accepts happily.
“Okay,” Luther says, straightening and shrugging on his coat. “Ready?”
“Ready,” Cam says, and takes his hand.
They walk to the restaurant. No point in searching for parking, it’d take longer than just hoofing it anyway. It’s been snowing on and off throughout the week and piles of dirty slush cover the sidewalk. It’s cold, but Luther’s coat is keeping him warm enough for now. He and Cam hold hands as they walk to the restaurant, and Luther doesn’t even shrink a little bit. His chest swells with so much pride he thinks his feet might leave the ground.
The place is only a little busy, so they have a short wait before they’re shown to their table. They get their usual orders. Luther prefers simple rolls and nigiri so the taste of the fish is front and center, while Cam likes to get the complicated, loaded rolls for the variety of texture and flavor. While they wait for their food to arrive, Luther fills Cam in on Scrunge’s latest reign of terror in his apartment, and how much it’ll cost to fix the cracked frame of the painting she’d somehow managed to knock off the wall in her frenzy to catch the fabled red laser dot.
The food arrives. Cam offers Luther a taste of his rolls - he’s gotten something deep fried with cream cheese, cucumber, and crab, and another loaded high with four kinds of fish, topped with roe. Luther tries the one with all the fish, but passes on the deep fried one. He trades Cam a piece of mackerel nigiri. Then he continues on talking, telling Cam about his week, how work’s been, the new guy they hired, and the annoying new habit his coworker’s formed of singing along with the music on the jukebox, regardless of whether she knows the lyrics or not.
Luther suddenly catches the look in Cam’s eyes. There’s something… hungry in them. It’s the only way he can describe it. It’s not regular hungry, because he’s practically ignoring his food in favor of listening intently to Luther’s rambling story. He’s leaning forward, arms folded on the table in front of him, drinking in every word Luther has to say. He’s hungry for him. The realization hits Luther like a truck and he stops mid-sentence, jaw dropping, a blush starting to spread across his face.
“What’s wrong?” Cam asks, innocent as ever. How could he even know the effect he has on Luther? How could Luther ever explain?
“N-nothing, um, I… I’ve been talking a lot, why don’t you take over for a bit? What’s keeping you busy at work?” It was delightful to listen to Cam ramble on about his job. Luther barely understood a word of it, but his enthusiasm was adorable and, importantly, not about Luther. He could keep it together and breathe a bit, work on calming down the scramble of emotion in his gut.
Sure enough, he wins himself a good fifteen minutes of calm while Cam talks on about carburetors and mufflers and manifolds. He could be making it up for all Luther knows. It’s not until Cam realizes his deep fried roll has gone cold that he breaks off to eat. They finish their food, decide to pass on dessert, pay, and head for the theater.
It’s only a few blocks away, a fifteen minute walk at most. The night has gotten a little colder and darker, and now stray snowflakes drift and spin through the air, catching the streetlights and twinkling like stars. Cam has a lot of fun pretending he’s a dragon, his warm breath turning to steaming clouds in the freezing air. Luther’s shivering now, his old secondhand coat doing little to protect him from the chill. Cam notices, of course, and whips his own coat off in an instant.
“Oh, please,” Luther demurs, “You’re so chivalrous, but really, I’m fine.”
“You’re shaking like a weathervane in a hurricane, sweetheart. I’ll be fine, I’m my own space heater.” Cam arranges the coat over Luther’s shoulders neatly and slips his arm around Luther’s waist, pulling him in close. It’s so warm and so nice, and so very, very close. Luther’s shivers slacken and cease, and then one more shakes him, different from the rest.
“Oh no,” Luther whispers, “I was doing so well, please…”
Luckily, he only loses about three inches. His clothes are a little looser, and he’s engulfed a little more by Cam’s huge coat, but he’s still a perfectly normal height. He sighs in relief.
“So what’s this movie we’re seeing?” Luther asks, trying to take his mind off of things.
“Oh, so it’s this old sci fi cult classic based on a book no one’s ever read. I saw it the first time when I was like… eight? And it scarred me for life, really, and now I’m obsessed with this shit. The special effects are super gnarly, and they hold up okay, even though you can totally see the tube for the fake blood in the decapitation scene. Don’t worry too much about following the plot, it’s not really the point of the movie, but what you should know ahead of time is…”
Cam rambles on like that, filling the night with fog. Luther snuggles in closer and listens happily, totally at ease. He made it through the most important part of the night, and once they get in the theater, he can relax. It doesn’t matter if he shrinks in the theater - from what Cam’s said, the only people watching this late-night special feature will be die-hard fans who’ll be glued to the screen, and in the darkness they won’t have to worry about anyone catching sight of them.
That also means, of course, that Cam might get a little handsy once the lights dim. If he’s being honest, Luther would be disappointed if he didn’t.
They get a seat in the back row. As the previews start up, Cam reaches over and takes Luther’s chin in his hand, turning it gently so they face each other. For a moment, he just holds them there, staring into Luther’s eyes with an adoring softness that makes Luther’s heart sing. Then he leans in and kisses him, just once, softly on the mouth. Luther shivers and loses another few inches. Cam lets him go, but Luther’s not satisfied. He grabs Cam’s collar and pulls him down for another kiss, this one deeper and hungrier. Cam chuckles against his mouth and nips at his bottom lip, catching it between his teeth for just a moment. Luther sits back heavily in his seat, breath coming in shallow gasps. He grips his armrests tight, trying to pay attention to the trailer for the newest slasher flick as it blares out through the theater. No dice. He’s losing height fast now, shrinking down to four feet tall, his normal clothes hanging off his frame.
They stay apart for all of a minute before Cam’s hand sneaks across the seat and slides into place on Luther’s thigh. He strokes his thumb back and forth in a slow rhythm, humming happily. Luther gasps and shrinks more, staring wide-eyed as Cam’s hand covers more and more of him, soon easily encompassing his entire thigh.
He’s maybe two feet tall now and he can’t see the screen over the seat in front of him. Cam glances down, catching the pouting, grumpy look on Luther’s face, and presses a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter.
“Here, sweetheart,” Cam murmurs, and picks Luther up with one hand. With the other, he frees him from his clothing so that he’s only clad in the jumpsuit. Cam settles Luther gently on his lap. This has fixed the problem of not being able to see the screen, but only momentarily. Luther goes bright red and dwindles down even further. By the time the previews have finished, he’s only eight inches tall.
As the opening theme blares with discordant trumpets, Cam pinches the back of Luther’s jumpsuit between thumb and forefinger and lifts him up. He dangles Luther in front of his face for a moment, expression torn between adoring and apologetic, then brings him in close for a gentle kiss. He sets Luther on his shoulder and hands him a piece of popcorn.
Luther hides his burning face behind the buttery morsel. He’d been expecting a little hanky panky, but nothing so direct. Stolen kisses, maybe a fake yawn that disguised Cam putting his arm around Luther, a little playing with his hair. Going for the thigh like that… that was entirely unexpected. He’s beginning to suspect Cam was trying to get him tiny.
The movie is just as gory and weird as promised. Luther isn’t super squeamish, but more than once he turns and ducks his face into Cam’s neck, squealing in disgust, his voice quiet enough at this size that he doesn’t have to worry about disturbing anyone else. Every time, he feels Cam shake under him with silent laughter, enjoying Luther’s reactions.
The movie ends before too long, and the other theatergoers file out, chatting animatedly with one another about the flick. Cam holds his hand up to his chest, and Luther pushes himself off Cam’s shoulder, landing gracefully in his palm. Cam sets him down on the armrest while he folds up Luther’s discarded clothing and tucks it in an inner pocket of his big coat. He looks down at Luther and tilts his head to one side, lips pursed in a calculating expression.
“You’re just a little too big to hide comfortably… here, let’s fix that.” Cam puts his elbows on either side of Luther on the armrest and looms over him, completely blocking the dim theater lights overhead. Luther takes a few involuntary steps back and bumps up against Cam’s hands, linked together behind him to form a ring penning him in. “You’re all mine now,” Cam breathes, quiet as a whisper. “So tiny and cute. I’m going to put you in my pocket and carry you home, and then… well, then we’ll see what I’ll do with you, hm?” A crooked, meaningful grin spreads across Cam’s face, and that hungry look comes back into his eyes.
It works like a charm. Luther’s legs shake, his heart pounds, and he shivers. He dwindles down to half his height, a mere four inches.
“There we go,” Cam croons, and scoops him up in one hand. Cam stows him safely in his coat pocket, held in a loose fist to keep him safe from jostling and the cold. He exits the theater and moves through the crowds easily. People tend to make way when they see a man his size coming towards them.
Luther curls up against Cam’s fingers and sighs happily. Cam’s hand is warm, calloused in places but soft in others, and the pocket sways gently with his gait. It’s so safe and cozy, combined with the late hour and the exhaustion of the day, it’s the perfect recipe to knock him out. He fights the heaviness of his eyelids as long as he can, but only makes it a few blocks before he’s fast asleep.
~~~
“Whew, cold one out tonight,” Cam says as he unlocks the door to Luther’s apartment. He can already hear Scrunge wailing on the other side. “I hope you weren’t too frozen in there.” He pushes the door open and addresses the cat. “Yes, we’re home, hello darling, we missed you too.” She winds around his legs and purr-meows at top volume. “Okay, okay, other people are trying to sleep,” Cam hisses. “You’re gonna wake up the whole floor, shitty kitty.” She mrrps in disapproval.
He pulls Luther out of his pocket. “So, babe, do you wanna - oh.” The little dear is asleep, snoring softly. Cam smiles and presses a kiss to his chest. He takes a seat on the couch, sighing as he plops himself down. Scrunge leaps up into his lap immediately and puts her front legs up on his chest, sniffing at Luther in his hand.
“Poor dear’s all tuckered out,” Cam murmurs, giving her a scritch. “Let’s let him rest.”
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indiee19 · 3 years
Text
Doesn't Time Fly
Alex Turner x reader
Summary: You and Alex growing up together.
warnings: light swearing, sad in some parts
word count: 4.1k
-Request from Wattpad
a/n: Hope that you enjoy. Also, sorry that this was kind of delayed, I'm currently moving so I'm sorry.
✿✼:*゚:༅。.。༅:*・゚゚・⭑ ✿✼:*゚:༅。.。༅:*・゚゚・⭑
1993
You sat in the very back of the class. You had just moved to High Green, Sheffield and knew no one. Because you didn't know anyone, the seats beside you were empty, everyone else sitting beside their friends.
You thought that you would just sit by yourself for the rest of the day, maybe even the year, but to your surprise, three boys came to sit beside you.
"Hey, aren't you the girl that just moved in to the big white house on the block?" one of them with light brown hair, sitting to your left.
"Yeah," you said, cheering up a little. They all made a shocked face, one of their mouths wide open.
"Oh my gosh, you're so lucky," another one with dark brown hair said. He looked down at your arms that were crossed on the table, seeing your silver bracelet that you had on. "Wow, that's cool, where'd you get it?" he asked, picking up your hand that it was on.
"My nan gave it to me for my birthday," you said, smiling.
"I'm Alex by the way. And this is Matthew J. Helders the third, but we call 'im Matt, and that's Jamie, or you can call him Cookie if you want to," Alex said. You introduced yourself and then the teacher called for everyone to quiet down, your day now being turned around, having made three friends that you lived close to.
From that day on, you four were the best of friends, and hardly ever stayed away from each other, always going to the park, going to each others houses and staying over, making new friends.
It was the start of something amazing.
-
1997
-
You ran through your house to the front door, almost running into your mother on accident. "No running in the house!" your mother yelled.
"Sorry," you called back. "I'll be back in a few minutes! I'm going to Al's house." You quickly closed the door and began walking to Alex's house, excited to see him after he was gone on holiday for two weeks.
You and Alex had grown up in the same neighborhood since you moved and you  became very close with him, along with a few of his friends that lived in the neighborhood: Matt Helders, Jamie Cook, Andy Nicholson, and someone named Nick O'Malley, and the best part was that all of you lived within a two minute walking distance.
Though it was a two minute walking time, you still rushed to get there, eager to Alex and hopefully go hang out with everyone else. You reached his house and walked up the two front steps, knocking on the door.
"Coming," Penny yelled. She opened the door and said hello to you.
"Hi, Mrs. Turner, is Alex home?" you asked.
"Yes, and how many times do I have to tell you, you don't have to call me Mrs. Turner, Penny will do," she laughed, moving aside so that you could come in. "He's in his room."
"Thank you ... Penny," you said, walking upstairs to Alex's room. You knocked on the door, but when no one opened it, you opened it instead, seeing Alex watching a show - Danger Mouse, his favourite.
You walked over to him and tapped on his shoulder, making him jump a little. "You scared me," he said, standing up, giving you a hug. "I've missed you."
"I've missed you too, Al," you said, sitting down in the floor, Alex doing the same. "How was your holiday? What all did you do?" you asked, excited to learn about everything he did in Belfast.
"Well, first we visited the Peace Wall, and you know how mum is, so she of course took at least fifteen pictures of me there. Then, we went and saw the Ulster Museum and that was really, really cool. We saw the Botanic gardens and the Belfast Castle which was awesome," he said, just as excited as you.
He told you all about the trip, explaining every detail that he could. He told you all about the castle and the museum and anything else that he could remember. As he was telling about Botanic Gardens, you both heard Penny call yours and his name, asking for you both to come downstairs.
"Okay, we'll be right there, mum," Alex called, standing up, holding his hand out for you. You took his hand and both walked downstairs to the kitchen, seeing Penny placing two plates with sandwiches on them.
"What do you two want to drink?" she asked, going to the cupboard and getting two glasses.
"Water, please," you said.
"I'll have water too, mum," Alex said. She nodded and got you both a glass of water, handing it to you both as you sat down, starting to eat the sandwich. "After this, do you want to go see Matt and Jamie?" Alex asked, his mouth full.
You nodded and started to drink the water as Penny told Alex not to speak with his mouth full and you laughed as you put the glass down.
-
1999
-
You heard your mom call your name from downstairs. "Honey, come on, Alex and them are here," she said.
"Coming," you yelled back, quickly adding the finishing touches of your costume on, rushing downstairs. You saw Alex, Matt, Jamie, and Andy all waiting in the family room, talking to your mom.
You saw them in their costumes, Alex dressed up as Steve from Full House, Matt dressed up as Cory from Boy Meets World, and Andy dressed up as Jesse from Full House. You were dressed up as D.J. from the show, you all deciding on a group costume months ago for your last time trick or treat-ing. Though, Matt didn't seem to want to dress up as someone from Full House, so he went with Boy Meets World.
"Okay, everyone, come together, I want to get a picture of you all," your mom said, taking her camera out, snapping quite a few pictures of you all.
"Mum," you complained, knowing that she would take at least twenty pictures of you all.
"What? Their parents wanted me to take some pictures," she said, taking a few more.
"Yeah, a few, which means four," you replied. Your mother scoffed and stopped taking the pictures, letting you all leave.
"So, which house are we going to first?" Matt asked. Andy was first to come up with an idea, saying that you all should go to the house on the end of the block.
"Race you there," Jamie said, pushing Andy and Matt out of the way so that he could start running towards the house.
"Hey, that's no fair, you got a head start," Matt yelled, him and Andy running after Jamie. You and Alex kept walking, laughing at them. Alex shook his head, laughed and looked down at the ground. "Goofballs," you laughed, continuing to walk, seeing Matt run into Jamie, falling onto the pavement.
You heard a slight whisper of your name and you looked at Alex. "I, uh ... I just wanted to say ... uh, um, t-that ... your, uh-your costume looks really good," Alex stuttered, tripping over his words, pausing very often to try and get the right words to come out of his mouth.
You thanked him and told him the same, an idea coming to your head instantly. "Race you to the house," you said, slightly pushing Alex to get a head start. "Oh, I don't think so," Alex laughed, catching up to you, grabbing you from behind, ultimately beating you, making you all laugh.
-
2002
-
You and Alex were sitting on your bed, both of your heads against the headboard, and you were fiddling with your fingers. "Love, can I ask you something?" Alex said, turning to look at you. You looked at him and nodded. "Have you ever kissed someone?" he asked, refusing to meet your eyes now.
You shook your head. "No, have you?" you asked. He said no and you took his hand. There was a moment of silence before anyone said anything. "C-can I kiss you?" he asked, finally looking you in the eyes finally.
You nodded and you both leaned in to kiss one another, lips moving in sync. It was a soft, elongated kiss, not a full on make out, but a longer kiss than you would have ever expected. You heard your mother call both yours and Alex's name from downstairs. "Alex, Matt and them are here and they're asking for you," she yelled.
You both pulled away and Alex brushed a piece of your hair out of your face. "I've got to go now," he said, standing up, and you did too. You walked down the stairs with Alex and saw Matt, Jamie, and Andy sitting in the family room.
"You ready, Al?" Jamie asked, standing up. Alex nodded and everyone else stood up, ready to leave. "Bye, love," Alex said, hugging you before leaving, everyone else saying goodbye. You said your goodbyes and went back upstairs to your room, reaching into your bedside drawer for your journal and a pen. You opened it and began to write about what had just happened.
'I had my first kiss today. It was with Alex, up until now I never realized how cute he was. But, unfortunately, he had to leave. I assume that he was going to practice with the boys, apparently they've decided on a name - Arctic Monkeys. It's a silly name, I'll admit that, but what else would I have expected from Alex?'
Your mother called you down for dinner, and you put your journal and pen away and went downstairs.
-
2002 *two months later*
-
You sat in the back of the class, waiting for Alex and Matt to get here. You had some really important news to tell them - especially Alex - and wanted them to be the first ones to know, you had waited to tell your mom, that's how much you wanted them to know first.
You watched the door like a hawk, hoping that whenever it opened it would be them. Ten minutes passed and it was almost time for class to start, you knew that they were at school, having walked with them. Then, finally, one minute before class was going to start, they walked in, walking to the back to sit beside you.
"Hey, where the hell have you guys been? I've been waiting in here forever," you asked, class now starting.
"We were discussing a few things for our band, apparently Glen quit so now we don't have a lead singer," Matt whispered. The teacher asked everyone to get out their books and you three did so, continuing to have your conversation.
"Alex could be your lead singer," you replied, lowering your voice so that only you, Matt, and Alex could hear it. Alex gave you a surprised expression, his mouth agape. "What?" he asked, "I can't sing."
You shook your head, looking down at the floor. "Then you have clearly never heard yourself sing in the shower while you're at my house then," you answered, eliciting a quiet laugh from Matt, making Alex glare at the both of you. You kept on trying to persuade him, Matt helping you out and, finally, after a few minutes of trying to convince him, he said that he'd do it.
"Oh, and I have something to tell you both," you said, excited to tell them, to see their reaction. "Okay, what is it?" Alex asked, excited to find out as well. You breathed in deeply before telling them.
"Well, yesterday, after school someone asked me out," you said, the both of them now intrigued. They both looked at you and asked you who it was, you quickly told them and they were shocked.  "Well, what did you say?" Matt asked, curious.
"I said yes," you answered. Alex looked up at you, not expecting you to ever have interest in the guy that asked you out. "What the fuck, love," Alex said loudly, everyone in the class looking back at him.  "Mr. Turner, for that, it will be detention," the teacher said. You glanced over at Matt then at Alex. You didn't think that he would get so mad over you dating, I mean, he's dated someone before, so why couldn't you date someone as well?
You and Alex didn't talk to each other for the rest of the school day, it was only when you all started walking home that you said something to each other. "So, did Alex tell you that he's now going to be the lead singer?" you asked Jamie and Andy, Alex looking up at you.
"What, really, Al?" Jamie asked, happy, him and Andy smiling like crazy. "Uh, y-yeah, I am," Alex answered, never once taking his eyes off you. "That's fucking amazing," Jamie laughed.
You slightly smiled at Alex, and he returned it. As you all walked to each others houses, you ran into a kid named Nick that you went to school with and that you all lived close to one another and you all said hi to him.
You reached Jamie's house first, then Andy's, then Matt's, then Alex's and finally yours. You went inside and went upstairs to your room, sitting on your bed, getting out your journal, writing about today.
-
2003
-
When you heard the doorbell ring, you immediately jumped up from you seat, rushing to the door and opening it, greeted by Alex's big eyes and his adorable smile, guitar in hand and a notebook in the other. You stepped aside and let him in, taking off his jacket and putting down his things in the family room as you shut the door.  "Hey, love. I've missed you," he said, hugging you. "I've missed you too, Al," you said, pulling away from the hug. "So, what did you want to show me?"
He sat down on the sofa, you sitting down beside him. "Well, me and the guys have been working this song for a few months now and I wanted to show you it before we play it tonight," he said, getting his guitar and the pick out of the case. "Okay then, sing away, Al," you laughed, excited to hear the song, knew that he put so much time and effort into his music and couldn't wait to hear it, hear his angelic voice.
"Uh, j-just keep in mind that the lyrics could possibly change by next month or so. So, yeah," he said, getting ready to strum his guitar.
'There's always somebody taller with more of a wit. And he's equipped to enthrall her and the friends think he's fit, and you just can't measure up, no, you don't have a prayer. Wishing that you made the most of her when she was there.
They've got engaged, no intention of a wedding. He pinched your bird and he probably kicked your head in. Bigger boys and stolen sweetheart. You're better off with out her anyway. You said you wasn't sad to see her go. Oh, no.'
You watched as he strung the cords on his guitar, watched as he played the little riff after finishing the second chorus.
'Have you heard what she's been doing, never did it for me. Picks her up at the school gate at twenty past three. She's been with all the boys, but never went very far. And she wagged english and science, just to go in his car.
They've got engaged, no intention of a wedding. He pinched me bird and he probably kicked my head in. No, now the girls a bone, but I'm sure they'll carry it on in similar ways.
Bigger boys and stolen sweethearts. Oh, I'm better off without her anyway. I said I wasn't sad to see her go, yeah, but I'm only pretending, you know. Yeah, I'm only pretending, you know. Yeah, I'm only pretending, you know. Oh, I'm only pretending, you know.'
He slowly stopped strumming, looking back up at you, an expression of worry, wondered if you liked the song or not. He hesitantly asked you what you thought about it, holding in his breath.
"Alex, I-I ... I love it, it's amazing!" you exclaimed, hugging him tightly. He let out his breath and hugged you back.
Though, as much as you liked the song, you knew that there was a reason for it, he always makes his songs have some sort of meaning, and you wondered what it was about. You pulled away from the hug and asked him, curious after you had the thought.
He breathed in deeply, exhaling before he started to speak. "Well, its about t-this girl ... that I like ... a-and before I 'ad the chance to ask her out, she told me that she was asked out by someone bigger than me and she said yes. A-and I feel as if they're going to get engaged with no wedding - a-and they've even talked about it too actually. Ever since then, Matt and them asked me if I was sad to see her with someone else, and every time I say that I'm fine, but the truth is that I'm probably not. Well, I know I'm not," he explained.
You were now more curious. Who was the girl? Did he like someone and not tell you? I mean, he told you everything let alone told the guys about who he liked. "Who's the girl?" you asked, propping your arm on your knees, holding up your head.
He didn't respond, just looked down at the floor. "Come on, do I know her?" you questioned, desperate to find out who it was.
"Well, yeah, k-kinda," he said nervously. He opened his mouth, about to say something, but the ringing of his phone stopped him from doing so. It was Matt. Alex answered and they chatted for a bit, hanging up after about seven minutes. "Alright, I'll see you in, like, ten minutes, maybe?" Alex said, putting his guitar back in the case and picking it up, grabbing his coat,
He walked to the front door and so did you, saying your goodbyes to one another. "Oh, and you're still going to the show tonight, right?" Alex questioned.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Al," you said, quickly adding that you'd be bringing your boyfriend, who you just now realized was much bigger than Alex and that you two had talked about marrying with no wedding. But that could just be a coincidence, right?
-
2005
-
You heard the door to the bathroom open, quickly wiping your tearstained face, still crying softly. "Love, are you in here?" they asked - it was Alex - and he now knew.  You stayed silent. Maybe he would just walk out, leave like everything was fine, even though it wasn't. He said your name now, wanting to know where you'd run off to, worried about you and what had happened.
You tried to conceal your cries, but a faint whimper left your lips and he heard, walking over to the stall that you were in. He opened the door, seeing you look up at him - nose red, face tearstained, makeup smudged because of the immense amount of crying you had done in only the matter of five minutes.
"Oh, love, what happened?" he said calmly, kneeling down beside you, hugging you and holding you tightly. You wrapped your arms around him tightly, crying into his shoulder, his shirt becoming damp from your tears. "Shh, shh, it's okay, it's okay," he said, comforting you as best he could, rubbing your back, trying to soothe you and calm you down. You wanted to speak, wanted to tell him what happened, but every time you tried, the tears would start to come again, making it nearly impossible for you to speak.
It must have been twenty minutes before you were able to speak and be understandable and you lifted your head from Alex's shoulder. "Do you want to tell me what happened now, love?" he asked; you nodded, wiping your face.
"Uh, umm, w-well, I went to go get me and him some drinks and when I was finally able to get them and get back, he wasn't where he last was, so I looked around for him, and when I did finally find him, I saw him w-with another bitch all over each other. A-and I walked over to him to ask what the hell was going on and instead of him answering me, that bitch did and said that they'd been fucking ever since we started dating," you explained, talking about your boyfriend -well, ex-boyfriend now - tears welling up in your eyes. You closed your eyes, a few tears trailing down your face.
"Oh, love, I'm so, so sorry," Alex said, wiping your tears with the pad of his thumb. "Well, he's a fucking dumb cunt if he cheated on you," he smiled, trying to cheer you up.
"I know, but I really liked him," you replied, hugging him again, but this time tighter. "Can you take me home, please, Al?"
He nodded and you both exited the stall and bathroom, walking past the guys and telling what happened and where you were going. They all frowned and asked if you were okay, to which you replied with a "Yes, I am."
On your way out, he came up to you and tried apologizing, but you wouldn't listen and Alex wouldn't let you stay near him for more than five seconds at a time. Your now ex-boyfriend begged you to listen to him, and to Alex's dismay, you turned around to talk to him. "Babe, I'm so sorry, I don't know what the bloody hell I was thinking. Please, forgive me," he apologized. You looked over at Alex and he shook his head no.
"I-I ... no, I'm sorry," you said, turning back to Alex, walking out of the club, walking to Alex's, and his mums, car, getting in and starting to drive home. You stared out the window the entire time and either one of you hardly spoke, what had just happened enough for the both of you.
He was the first one to speak, breaking the silence that had plagued the car for ten minutes. "Love, can I tell you something?" he asked, pulling up to the curb beside your house. You nodded and he quickly spoke. "Y-you know the song I showed you about two years ago, Bigger Boys And Stolen Sweethearts?" he asked.
"Yeah, why?" you replied, sitting up in the passenger seat. "Did you ever figure out who I wrote it about?" he asked you.
You shook your head no and asked who it was about. He just looked at you then at the floorboard. You were confused for a moment, then it hit you. You ex was much, much bigger than Alex, you and him always talked about getting married with no wedding, he always picked you up at twenty past three, and you did miss english and science to go in his car.
"It's ... about ... me?" you said in disbelief. He nodded. "Yeah, to be honest, I've always 'ad a crush on you, and the day I was going to ask you out, he did and that's why I got all mad when you told me," he explained. You blushed and slowly leaned in to kiss him.
"I like you too, Al," you smiled, kissing him softly, taking him by surprise. He kissed you back and cupped your face in his hands, yours going around his neck. He pulled away and rested his forehead against yours, looking into your eyes. He nudged your nose with his, eliciting a laugh from you. "You're so pretty," he said. "Be my girlfriend?"
"Yes," you said. He smiled and pulled away whispering a 'yesss' to himself. You laughed and decided it was time to go inside, tired. You said your goodbyes and you walked in, going to your room.
-
2006
-
"I love you," Alex said, kissing your temple.
"I love you too, Al. I'm just going to miss you," you responded, kissing his lips this time. He had to leave, his band now taking off and gaining the popularity that they deserve and worked so hard for. You didn't want him to go, but he had to.
If you didn't have uni then you would've gone with him. You saw Matt and he waved Alex over, the band yelling 'goodbye' to you. "Goodbye, love, I'll call you as soon as we land," he said.
"You better," you joked, kissing him. "Don't forget about me, Turner."
"Wouldn't dream of it," he said before walking away, waving you bye. You slowly turned around and walked outside to your car, soon receiving a text from Alex.
-
"I love you."
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theglitterypages · 3 years
Text
Title: Secret Life of Levi Ackerman Part 1
Part Two
Pairings: Levi x fem! Reader
Summary: When Levi noticed that his brats are all tired, hungry some are even injured, he decided to tell them to retreat and brought them to a village nearby and a big secret was revealed.
Word Count: 2000+
Warnings: None
A/N: Sorry if this is a bad one. There will be errors ahead so bear with me guys, I will edit it soon once I have the time.
••••••
“Levi, where are we going?" Hanji asked when Levi ordered everyone to retreat, Eren, Mikasa, Armin, Jean and Connie was puzzled too but they didn't choose to question the Captain. They trust the man and they know Levi wouldn't get them killed purposely.
Levi sighed as he looked back to Hanji, exhaustion was evident in his face. “We need to rest, there's a village nearby and we'll have some break there.” Levi plainly answered. The captain looked back at the kids and gestured them to follow, “Go faster, brats.” he smirked.
••••
You were busy cooking for your lunch when you heard horses neigh nearby. You carefully walked to the living room to look outside your window to see what was happening and you gasped when you saw a man outside your house.
You immediately opened the door just to see 6 other people that doesn't seem familiar to you, most of them were young and they were petting their horses. “Lev...I didn't know you'll go home today.” you looked at Levi and he smiled apologetically as he looked behind him, gesturing the kids behind. “These brats are probably hungry now, two of them are wounded too. Sorry if I came home like this.” your gaze landed at the kids and at the woman smiling at you.
“Well, I was just cooking. Leave the horses here and go inside.” you called them out.
Even if they are clueless, the whole squad came inside. It was a decent looking home, not that big but not small either, just enough for a family of four or five. “Sit down, all of you. Wait for me here.” Levi ordered. The kids sat down while Hanji curiously looked around her, puzzled of why Levi brought them here.
Levi followed you to the kitchen and hugged you from behind, you giggled quietly and turned to face him.
“You look tired.” you pointed out.
“Sorry, we just lost almost half of—” you cut him off by pressing your fingers in his lips, you wouldn't want to heart it because you know that talking about it breaks Levi even more. “Shh, I know. For now, give the kids some bread while I cook. I'll treat their wounds too.” you kissed his cheek and pulled away from him so you could see if the food is cooking well.
“This was not what I've promised you when we got married.” Levi whispered. It didn't look like he was saying it to you, he's actually saying it to himself.
The two of you has been married for three years, you met him when he got accidentally wounded while fighting the titans, your cousin, Erwin went home with an injured Levi and because of your knowledge in medicine you were the one who treated Levi's wounds.
Every time you'll visit Erwin, you'll be seeing Levi too, at first he would just greet you and would leave after that but when you visited Erwin one day and he was nowhere to be found, Levi accompanied you all day, he wasn't talkative but he's a nice guy, people just tend to be scared of the way he stares and the way he speaks because he's so straightforward.
The two of you became friends, got closer and closer until romance blooms amidst all of the ongoing chaos. After 6 months, he asked Erwin if he could marry you, your parents are long gone and the only family you have is Erwin.
Erwin had no complain about you and Levi that's why the two of you got married immediately, it was an intimate ceremony, only those who are close enough were allowed to witness the wedding and it was more than fine to you, the most important part is you married the love of your life. That was more than enough.
For three years, the only time you could see Levi is during weekends, the time where he would leave his squad temporarily to go home to you and if there are not much expeditions outside the wall he comes home with Erwin's permission during weekdays.
Of course, there are times where he couldn't even go home to you but you understand, really, Erwin talked to you about marrying Levi, a man who's serving in Survey Corps would be tough, especially every time that they're outside the walls there's no guarantee that they'll come back alive but you still said yes, that is how much you love Levi and you've always trust him and his promise that he'll do his best to come home.
“But I know the man I married, Levi. I know that you can only go home to me during weekends and it's completely fine, I know there's a chance you'll go home with broken hand or foot, it scares the shit out of me but as I've said, I know who I married.” you cupped his face and pressed your lips against his, a silent reminder that despite o everything happened or anything that would happen, you will stay with him.
Levi close his eyes as he snaked his arms on your waist and pulled you closer as if he's holding onto his life. He kissed you back passionately and when he pulled away, he pressed his forehead against yours.“What did I do to deserve a woman like you?” he smiled bitterly, you let out a chuckle and combed his hair using your fingers.
“We all deserve some time to rest from the cruel world, my love. I will be your rest.”
Levi didn't move, he just stared into your eyes as he holds you close to his chest, in this chaos, you're the only one that brings him peace, the only one who motivates him to stay alive so he could come home, you're the one that makes him feel normal and every time that he'll come home to you, it feels like he's a normal man, a normal husband.
And he's starting to hate himself because he realized how ridiculous the whole set up was, he loves you so much and yet you couldn't even have him by your side all the time, that fact breaks his heart and that fact also motivates him to work harder so he could eliminate the titans so he could finally put his weapons down and be with you.
That's what he wanted, a peaceful life with you.
“I love you.”
“I love you too, Lev. Go and give these breads to the kids for Pete's sake.”
Hanji looked at the kids beside her, they all look exhausted and mortified because they witnessed deaths again but it's the consequence of serving in Survey Corps, no one should hesitate to sacrifice their lives because every deaths would be an aid to humanity.
The silence was deafening, it was a silent mourning of the kids who saw their comrades die and Hanji gave them the silence that they need, they're still new to this and she understands that they'll always be shaken up.
“Oi, here's some bread and water. How's the arm, Connie and Jean?"
“It hurts but we're fine Captain." the two answered. Levi sat across from the group and he sensed that everyone has been itching to ask the questions that had formed in their head but there's one person who looks to be more excited to know everything that's why Levi called out that person. “Okay, you have questions, Eren.” he began, Eren looked up, shocked that Levi has deduced that he wanted to ask something.
He's just curious but if Levi wouldn't want to answer he would respect his decision, anyway.
“W-Who is she?" He stammered.
“I'm Y/N...” You answered as you sat beside Levi who immediately put his arms around you, in return, you let your hand rest in his thigh, slowly caressing it with your hand, it's a thing that you do that he loves so bad.
“She's my wife...” he announced. He has to say it in the most simple way, there's no need to be dramatic because their reaction would be dramatic anyway.
Hanji's jaw literally dropped on the floor while the kids were all frozen.
“WAIT...WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US?! SHE'S—OH MY GOD YOU'RE COMMANDER ERWIN'S COUSIN HOLY FUCK THAT'S WHY YOU'RE FAMILIAR OH MY GOD!”
You laughed loudly at Hanji's reaction, she's the first one to talk because the kids seems to not know what to say perhaps they're just trying to weigh things about the whole situation. It would be really shocking but it's not like Levi purposely hid the fact that he's married, you know that he's just trying to make your life as normal as it was before marrying him but marrying a man Levi would never be normal.
“Well, you know that Lev's not the type of person to talk about himself, right?” Hanji put a hand on her chest as she tried processing the information she heard just now. Now she realized how Levi would always disappear after expeditions, how he would have some things to ‘take care of’ during weekends, the way Erwin would remind him to come back alive, it was because Levi has someone waiting for him and it is you.
“Ah, I remember, who's injured?” you changed the topic as you remember Levi talking about two wounded kids.
“Us.” Connie and Jean answered in unison.
You smiled and stood up to look for your first aid kit, it's a must to have this considering your husband does come home with wounds, you hated it when he comes home injured but at least he's alive, right? “Lev, can you check if the food is cooked already?” you looked at Levi before sitting between Jean and Connie.When Levi heard your order he didn't complain and just made his way to the kitchen.
Mikasa's mouth gaped open, she doesn't really expect Levi to follow someone's order if it's not Erwin but he obeyed you too quickly to the point that she's wondering if this is the same Levi, the captain.
“What are your names?” You asked as you put a bandage in Connie's arms.
“A-Armin...”
“Mikasa.”
“Connie...”
“Jean.”
“Eren.”
“Ah...Hanji.”
You looked at the girl named Mikasa, she's really pretty but you noticed how her eyes looks so sad her eyes are beautiful but they've become dull her eyes would've been more beautiful if its sparkling because of glee.
And when you looked over at the blonde boy named Armin, the teen immediately blushed before looking down. A small smile made its way across your lips he's really cute.
“Oi, Oi, Oi, why are you blushing, brat?” Levi appeared. His tone was dangerous and Armin's eyes widened as he looked up at the Captain, the poor kid looks so scared that's why you decided to walk towards Levi and pinch him on his waist lightly, “Stop scaring him. He looks so cute and tiny, I want to adopt him, well all of them.” you giggled.
“Unfortunately, I don't want to adopt brats.” Levi snorted as he wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you close to him.
“Shut up, I know you love them. They told ne their names, they're the kids you're talking about.” You exposed him. The thing that most people wouldn't believe about your husband is that he's talkative maybe just because of you but Levi always tell stories whenever he gets home.
Most of the time it would be about his expeditions, you encourage him to tell you everything both good and bad as you don't want Levi to carry the burden alone, he may be called as humanity's strongest soldier but Levi is still a human after all. You want to make it easy for him, let him feel that he's not alone.
You saw how shocked the teens were and you smiled sweetly before placing your hand in Levi's chest.
“Don't mind Levi, he's just embarrassed to admit it but he loves all of you and he's proud of all of you like a dad.”
Levi looked away when the kids sent him a look even Hanji did but he wouldn't have to deny it because he does talk about them whenever he gets home, as much as he hates them for being all loud and messy, he just have to admit that he also loves these kids. Even if they're all brats.
“Tch. The food is ready, let's eat.”
End of Part 1
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voiceless-terror · 3 years
Text
More than Enough
For @tma-mspec-week Day Three: Polycule
Characters: Jonathan Sims/Sasha James/Tim Stoker/Martin Blackwood
Rating: Teen
Summary:
“But what if-” Once again, Jon struggles to find the right words. He knows their situation is unorthodox to most people, and the thought of Martin looking at him differently is too much to bear. “What if he doesn’t understand?”
“Then explain it to him,” Sasha relays patiently, her hand never leaving his. Things are always so clear to her, Jon envies that. “You’re my partners, you’re dating Tim, sometimes me and Tim have-”
Or: How One Became Four.
It starts with Sasha and Jon.
She’s fresh off six months in Artefact Storage, shell-shocked and stand-offish. Jon starts a few months later and they learn the ropes together. She warms up, divulges little tidbits of her time in the other department that Jon devours. He’s young, hungry for answers and Sasha’s already jaded by her few years in academia. This is just a transitional job, she assures him. It pays better than most research gigs and allows her to keep up a certain lifestyle. 
“I’m looking at other places, putting out feelers,” she confides in him one day over coffee. It’s become their daily ritual, a mid-morning break where they can commiserate on the staid academics that ask too much of them and the fanciful statements that end up on their desk. “Whatever you do, don’t get stuck here.” She leans back in her chair, gives a cynical little smile. “Or maybe you should. It’ll be different for you, you’re a man.” He starts a protest but she cuts him off. “It’s an old boys club and you know it. Besides, I know all about your extra meetings with Bouchard. He’s never done that with anyone else. Who knows - in a few years you might be my boss!”
He scoffs at that. Jon feels like he’s treading water. He’s a great researcher, sure, but he hasn’t exactly made himself popular among the others. He’s quick to bite, dismissive, blunt. It’s why he and Sasha get along so well, tucked away in their own little world. Of course she would notice the attention from Elias; Jon’s flattered by it, even if he stammers his way through every interaction. Elias seems to find this amusing, but Jon wants to impress him. 
Though not at the cost of his friendship with Sasha. “I always mention your work to him. I’m rubbish with technology, but you-” She rolls her eyes.
“Don’t, he’ll see right through that. Manipulation’s not your strong suit.” Jon stares down at his rapidly cooling drink, an embarrassed flush spreading across his features. But her hand reaches out to grasp his and a fond smile lights her features. “Thank you, though. It’s sweet of you.”
Jon likes Sasha. Their personalities occasionally clash, but never for too long. Jon’s quick to forgive and Sasha’s too fond to hold a grudge, though she’s loath to admit it. So when her roommate suddenly moves out and she’s left in a bind, it’s only natural for Jon to take her place. He’s been rent-poor, living paycheck to paycheck in a shitty studio that’s still an hour’s commute. Sasha’s closer and her flat’s substantially nicer; she offers and he accepts, easy as that. It’s a practical move, and Jon has to admit his lonely little flat is starting to feel suffocating. 
They fit together easily, like pieces of puzzle slotting in place. Sasha’s brutally efficient in her personal matters; bills and maintenance that Jon finds overwhelming and confounding she takes care of with ease. He’s heard her on the phone in that light, practiced tone of hers as she casually threatens the landlord for necessary repairs. Jon finds himself relaxing bit by bit, feeling comfortable in his own skin as she snarks at the dinner table over a dish he’s made. He used to cook for Georgie like this. Now he cooks for Sasha.
“You’re good at this,” she comments one night over chana masala. “Loads better than the frozen meals I’m used to.”
“It’s nice, having someone to cook for. Harder to do it for one.” He feels a bit uncomfortable with the admission, though he knows he shouldn’t - this is what it’s like, when you love someone.
He’s never said that to her, of course. He gets attached too easily but never knows quite how to show it. And it’s not his usual sort of love, he doesn’t want to date her. She’s more than a friend, and Jon’s never had many of those; he has no metric to measure this against. He thinks he could stay in this flat with her forever, so long as he could see her smile every morning and yawn every night. 
On a Saturday morning she stumbles out of bed and makes her way over to the kitchen. “Morning,” she grumbles, as she reaches for the coffee pot and kisses his forehead. Jon doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t need to.
On a Wednesday night Jon drinks too much. 
“Sasha,” he slurs, her arm the only thing keeping him from falling off his stool. “I want you t’ know…”
She smiles indulgently, takes a sip of her drink. “Yes, dear?”
“I-I love you.” She pauses and Jon’s heart drops. “N-Not like that, but like friends. Good friends. Very good friends. But m-maybe not.” She’s still smiling, that’s got to be a good sign, right? “I-I just love you, okay?”
And then she laughs, puts an arm around his shoulder and pulls him close. “I love you too. Stay with me forever, okay?”
He takes her hand between his and promises, with all the solemnity a drunken man can muster, that he’ll stay with her forever and then some. The next morning, while they’re both nursing massive hangovers, Jon broaches the subject again.
“Did you mean it?” he asks tentatively, trying to keep the worry out of his voice. “What you said last night. Do- do you want me to stay forever?” She turns to look at him, bleary eyes suddenly alert.
“Yes.” There’s no tease in her words as she leans into his side, a warm weight on his shoulder. “I don’t think I’ve ever meant anything more.”
Jon stays.
______
Two years later, Tim joins the Institute.
He’s handsome; charming, but subdued. He’s been assigned a desk near theirs, invading the quiet little corner that had become their world. Tim greets them both with a smile and a perfunctory handshake before settling down at his desk and powering up his laptop. He doesn’t speak to them again.
Jon watches as he goes back and forth between circulation and his desk, building an impressive stack of books- The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi, The Congress of Clowns and Other Russian Circus Acts. Sasha told him he worked in publishing, Jon knows she got that information through her usual nefarious means. Perhaps he’s writing a book, Jon says. Sasha thinks otherwise.
“He’s one of those,” she says over sandwiches and tea. She invited Tim, but had been turned down with an apologetic smile. 
“Hmm?”
“Like you.” She sets her drink down, eyes him with her steady gaze. “He’s got a reason.”
Mr. Spider doesn’t like it.
Jon shivers at the reminder. Sasha never brought it up after he initially confided in her one vulnerable night last year; she just held him through the shaking and the tears. He’s only told the story twice; once at eight, again at twenty five. It never got easier.
“No one believed me,” he whispered, tucking his face into her shoulder as his body itched from phantom legs skittering across skin. She squeezed him back.
“I do.”
They’re friendly enough to Tim, giving him his distance while still trying to be helpful. Jon points him in the direction of texts and scholars who might be useful, Sasha teaches him a few of her more invasive tricks that Jon refused to learn. Slowly, bit by bit, he opens up. Never shares his story, no- but he smiles, jokes around with them, accompanies them on their lunch breaks and eventually entices them to after work drinks. 
He’s handsome when he smiles, Jon thinks to himself as Tim regales them with stories of dates gone wrong. Sasha catches his eye and winks. He wonders if she’ll tire of Jon now that Tim’s around. He’s everything Jon’s not; good-looking, confident, secure in his intelligence. Sasha laughs so freely around him. He could ground her where Jon cannot- they can be a chaotic force, the two of them. It’s why they keep to themselves.
But at the end of the night it’s Jon’s hand she takes, swinging it gently with hers. “Stay with me forever?”
He smiles. “Forever.”
They invite him over to their flat one night in spring, when the trees are blossoming and Jon’s allergies are acting up. He’s sniffling miserably on the couch, Tim sprawled next to him as Sasha pours some wine. Despite his misery, Jon’s content.
Tim nudges him with his foot. “So what’s your deal?” he asks in a wheedling tone, though his smirk betrays an almost imperceptible anxiety. It’s strange. “You and Sash. Dating, roomies…?”
It’s Sasha who answers, handing Jon a glass of wine and standing before Tim, tall and proud. “Jon’s my partner.” It’s matter of fact, and Jon can’t help the warmth that floods him. “We’re not dating. I’m not interested in that.” She hands him his glass with a smirk. “But if you want to romance Jon, feel free.”
Jon sputters as she laughs- he’s transparent, as usual. They’d talked about it briefly- Sasha’s fine with him dating other people, but Jon’s never felt the need to. Sasha’s enough. She still is, but he can’t deny the way his heart swoops whenever Tim aims that smile in his direction. Sasha likes him too, in her own way.
Tim’s still gaping at them and Jon can’t help but join in on the laughter, as embarrassed as he feels. “Is the great Timothy Stoker nervous?” Sasha says in between giggles. “Guess we know how to shut him up now.”
“L-Look, can you blame me?” Tim says, a smile growing on his face. “You two can be very intimidating, not to mention gorgeous-”
Jon kicks at his leg. “Don’t joke.”
“No, we are.” Sasha interrupts, daring him to disagree. She turns that deadly smile back on Tim, delighting in his falter. “So what’ll it be, Stoker?”
There’s silence, Jon can feel his heart racing. They’ve got this all wrong, Tim doesn’t want him, Tim’s going to leave, Tim doesn’t understand-
“Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?”
Jon blinks. “Uh, yes?”
“He likes Thai!” Sasha calls as she walks over to her bedroom, leaving the two of them on the couch, laughing nervously. 
“So you’re bi, then?” Tim asks, scooting closer to Jon and throwing a blanket over their legs and an arm around his shoulder. It’s warm in all the right ways and Jon leans closer, the awkwardness dissipating at the touch of his hand. 
“I prefer pan,” he replies. It’s the first term that felt right to him. Georgie used to make some stupid joke about a ‘gender buffet’ and him ‘having one of everything.’ It still makes him smile. “And- and you should know I’m also ace. So there’s some things I won’t be able to do for you.” He looks for disappointment in Tim’s eyes and finds none. “I hope that’s alright.”
“Of course.” Tim smiles like he means the words and Jon feels light, almost dizzy. “Are kisses alright?”
He nods shyly, and Tim takes this as his cue to pepper him in obnoxiously loud smooches- one in his hair, another on his nose. Jon manages to bat him away after Tim almost gets him in the eye. 
So Tim and Jon are dating. Tim takes him out to dinner, the movies, one memorable night of karaoke. Sasha joins in when she wants; they go to museums and lectures. One night she laces her fingers through Tim’s, smiling at his wide eyes.
“What?” she says innocently, doing the same with Jon. “I’ve got two hands.”
On Wednesday nights Tim goes to the gym. Jon sits at the table, passes Sasha a bowl of reheated spaghetti before settling down in his chair. He fidgets, not touching his fork.
“What is it?” Sasha asks, setting her own fork down. “You’ve got that look on your face.”
“I-” he stutters, sighing as the words won’t come. Just tell her like you practiced. “I’m not trying to, well- hmm. I don’t want to insinuate anything-”
“You would never.”
“But, I’ve noticed- I’m not- Tim is very handsome.”
Sasha smiles indulgently. “Mhm. Go on.”
“And I’ve noticed. I don’t- if you wanted to-” Goddamnit. Pull yourself together. “I wouldn’t mind it, if you were to - that is, if you’d like to engage in-” He closes his eyes, purses his lips in frustration. “Please stop me.”
“Why Jon,” she replies, her voice coy and teasing. “Are you giving me your blessing?”
Jon sighs, his face warming as he opens one eye- she’s grinning, just as he expected. “...Yes?”
Six months later, Tim moves in.
_______
“Jon wants to bring a boy home!”
Jon smacks him in the arm and scowls. “Tim, don’t-”
“What, it’s true!” He leans back in his chair, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. Jon wants to knock the smile off his face and maybe onto the floor, if he can get a good kick in. “I don’t blame you and in fact, I encourage it. Martin’s a catch-”
“Martin?” Sasha perks up. “Finally!”
“Not you too-”
“Jon, he’s a very sweet boy-”
“-good-looking, too!”
“And if you want to bring him over, please do.” She reaches across the table to give his hand an encouraging, if condescending, squeeze. “I’ve seen the way you look at each other.”
“But what if-” Once again, Jon struggles to find the right words. He knows their situation is unorthodox to most people, and the thought of Martin looking at him differently is too much to bear. “What if he doesn’t understand?”
“Then explain it to him,” Sasha relays patiently, her hand never leaving his. Things are always so clear to her, Jon envies that. “You’re my partners, you’re dating Tim, sometimes me and Tim have-”
“I don’t think I’ll need to go into that much detail just yet,” Jon cuts her off, ignoring Tim’s snicker. “It’s just...what if he thinks it's weird?”
“Weird can be good. And if he doesn’t agree, well - he’s not worth your time.”
If only it were that simple.
It’s been about three months since he first ran into Martin in the break room. He’d seen him around plenty of times, but despite his hulking form, the man can make himself very, very small. It wasn’t until he quite literally ran into him, causing him to drop his newly organized files, that Jon got a good look at his face.
It was a nice face. Soft, kind, with big blue eyes and curly red hair that fell across his forehead. He wanted to touch it, tuck it behind Martin’s ear and he almost did, despite the man’s rambling apologies and meek demeanor. He stood there, frozen, even as Martin handed back the file with a bashful smile.
“Sorry, I’m pretty clumsy. Are you alright?”
Jon was fine. He should probably say that.
“Y-Yes. I’m Jon.” Wow. Smooth.
“I know.” Martin put a hand behind his neck, nervously chuckling. “You’re quite known around these parts.” His eyes widened and his face turned red. A nice red. “N-Not in a bad way, of course! You’re- you’re just very smart and- and direct- and oh Lord, that’s not a compliment, is it-”
“Thank you for my file,” Jon replied robotically, his eyes trained somewhere over Martin’s shoulder and not on his very, very blue eyes. “I have to take my leave now.” Why are you talking like this?
Their next few encounters were similarly stunted and awkward. Martin made tea at ten every morning, coincidentally when Jon got his yogurt from the fridge. He started making Jon a cup as well; he wasn’t sure if Martin was particularly excellent at making tea, or if it just mattered that he was the one making it. Jon tried not to dwell on the sentimentality of it all. 
He shouldn’t want another partner. He’s got Sasha, who he loves, and Tim, who he also loves, albeit in a different way. They should be enough for him. They are enough. But Martin makes him tea and asks him how his day is going and smiles at him and people don’t do that. He tells himself he just wants a friend, but he finds his mind wandering- Martin’s hand in his while they walk down the street, Jon nestled into his side on a movie night and Tim’s there too, because Martin is very comfy and handsome and warm. Sasha’s in her armchair reading a book because tonight they’re watching a romantic comedy and she hates those. Jon hates them too but Martin likes them, of course Martin likes them-
No. He’s getting distracted. And he’s standing in front of Martin like an idiot, saying nothing. This is going terribly. Why did he ever think this would not go terribly-
“Jon? Are you alright? You look like you’re about to have a stroke.”
“I’m not having a stroke,” Jon responds on auto-pilot. “I’m trying to think of a clever way to ask you out but you are very distracting.”
Shit. Martin stares at him, mouth open in shock. He’s got nice teeth. Very straight.
“Um- I-I thought you were with Tim?” Martin squeaks out. Oh God, I’ve scared him. Do I keep going? “Or- or Sasha, oh! I’m not accusing you of -”
“No, you’re correct,” Jon grinds out, willing himself to be calm. He doesn’t want Martin to think his frustration is aimed at him. “Sasha’s my partner and I’m dating Tim, and sometimes Sasha and Tim-” No! Abort! “-sorry. We’re together. But, um, I-I also like you, and I think Tim likes you but he hasn’t said- I’m sorry, this is going all wrong.” He looks down at the floor, clenching his jaw. “I understand if you say no.”
“I’m not saying no,” Martin’s voice is lower now and Jon feels a hope rise in his chest. He’s not? “So it’s, it’s like an open thing? You’re accepting applications?” Jon would laugh at the joke if he weren’t so paralyzed with fear.
“Not really? It’s, we aren’t dating around or anything, but I suppose it is open, in a way.” He pauses, takes a deep breath. “Open for you.”
Martin’s smiling like he can’t believe his luck, and it confuses Jon because who wouldn’t want him? Kind, handsome Martin who makes him tea and doesn’t laugh at his stupid jokes but rolls his eyes affectionately and tells his own in turn. Jon doesn’t think he’ll ever understand his humor but it makes him smile and that’s important. And now Martin’s taking his hand and he- oh fuck Martin’s taking his hand Martin’s got his hand and it’s warm, just like he knew it would be-
“I-I think I’d like that.” A squeeze. Jon dies but only a little. “Wow, this is sort of crazy for me, y’know? You’re all so, so intimidating and good-looking-”
“Yes, we are,” Jon agrees, squeezing his hand back. “But we’d like to buy you dinner, if you’re amenable.” Martin laughs and says yes, he’s very, very amenable. It feels right holding Martin’s hand. It feels right to see him with Tim and Sasha, smiling and joking. It feels right to lean into him at the end of the day, to nudge his side in the night and apologize in the morning.
Martin’s lease expires in seven months. They start looking for a new apartment after three.
ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29032062
423 notes · View notes
parkers-gal · 3 years
Note
Being tom’s costar & him setting you up with his brother, Harry. Maybe reader keeps saying no because she thinks Tom is asking her out
hello
combined with another request (hope you don’t mind)
Reader is dating Harry & Nikki like doesn’t her because she’s tom’s love interest in a movie. Harry & Tom defend reader
wc: a fat 3k (sorry lmfao took this too far)
When you were first called in for a dry run through of a script that would later be your next movie, you didn’t expect Marvel’s very own Spider-man to be there too. Of course, he didn’t expect you there either, but you were still pleasantly surprised that the director had called in for willing or suggested actors. 
The two of you immediately hit it off, clicking on screen and off screen. And though you were playing lovers in front of the camera, your relationship with Tom was strictly platonic — and you were glad he was on the same page. 
That didn’t, however, mean Tom wasn’t completely involved with your love life. After returning to your trailer directly after a date, Tom was waiting for you — and wondering where the hell you’d been. You confessed you’d gone out with someone, but the date wasn’t smooth and they weren’t your type at all. The date went pretty badly, and Tom pointed out later. Ever since then, he’d ask you if you were going on another date. 
It had been a month and a half since then, and though you were ready for a relationship mentally, you knew it might be hard with all the press you and Tom would be doing around the world. You weren’t sure why you would be going on tour, though — it was a recreation of Sandra Bullock’s film While You Were Sleeping. Tom and you were popular enough as it was — a tour simply didn’t seem necessary. But, alas, you complied with your manager’s advice. 
“Sooo…” Tom followed you into your trailer. It was around eight o’clock, and he was using the voice he used whenever he wanted something from you. “Are you seeing anybody?”
It had been about two weeks since the last time he’d asked, and you were already rolling your eyes. “No, Tom. I’m not interested in whatever offer you’re about to make.”
“But Y/N!” He whined, pouting. “I know somebody who’s perfect for you!”
“As perfect for me as Andrew from the Uncharted crew?” You raise a brow, setting your purse down while Tom huffs. 
“He wasn’t that bad! How was I supposed to know that he doesn’t wash his beard?” “That seems like common knowledge to me, Tom!” You’re trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of the conversation. “I could smell it from across the table!”
“Alright, alright.” Tom winces at the details. “I’m sorry about that one. But this time, I’m sure of it.”
“I swear to god if you pull some weird cliche shit and say yourself, I’m going to kick you out of my trailer.” You deadpan, pouring yourself from coffee from the brewer he’d just used while you were out. 
“It’s not me, Y/N/N.”
“Yeah, but you keep giving me dates with people that aren’t my type and then saying you have someone better. What if you’re buttering me up?” You smirk from behind the mug, sipping it smoothly. He rolls his eyes, but blushes nonetheless. 
“It’s not me.”
“Whatever you say, Spidey.”
He rolls his eyes again, sighing dramatically before heading towards the door. “See you tomorrow.”
“For what? Our date?”
“Quit teasing me!” He spins around, body halfway out the trailer entrance. “I meant ‘I’ll see you on set.’” You laugh wholeheartedly, waving to the brunette as he leaves you alone for the night. When you awake, you’re due early for a shower and straight to hair and makeup. You’re not sure why your character always wakes up so damn early just to work in a train station, but you comply with the director. 
“G’morning.” You greet the assistant director with a smile, bagel in one hand and your script in the other. 
“Morning,” He smiles before offering you some coffee. “Coffee?”
“Please?” You smile wider at the mention of the beverage, internally cheering as he makes your order — he’s memorized all of the crew’s by now, and it’s truly astonishing. You take up a conversation with him while you wait for your day to begin. 
Tom comes in through the double doors, spotting you immediately — with another boy. He races over as quickly as he can manage with his tired body and with what’s left of his dignity. He doesn’t want to seem too eager, but he really thinks he’s found a promising boyfriend for you. 
“Hey, Y/N.” He greets before his jaw clenches subtly. “Morning Conor.” 
Conor nods at him before pouring another cup of coffee for the Brit. You’re rolling your eyes at Tom — you know him well enough to know when he’s feeling anything but positively. 
“Excuse us,” You smile apologetically at Conor. “I have a part of the script I’d like to talk to Tom about before we start.” Conor nods understandingly, and you pull Tom aside, walking behind the sets while you angrily sip your coffee. “Y’know, you don’t have to be so dry to the crew that happens to talk to me.”
“I wasn’t dry!” Tom defends, shoving his free hand in his jacket pocket. 
“Then what do you call that?” You gesture behind you with the roll of your eyes. “I thought we were on the same page about our relationship, here. I don’t like you in a romantical way, and I’d prefer it if you’d keep that base of our relationship out of work.”
“Y/N, Y/N.” He’s wide eyed, hands gesturing for you to slow down and listen to him. “I don’t like you in that way. I just… think I know somebody who you’ll really get along with.”
You groan. “Tom, you’re a shit matchmaker. Y’know that?” He gasps at your response, feigning offense. “Look, I’m being real with you! Nobody you’ve set me up with has lasted more than a week. You suck at this job, Cupid.”
Tom rolls his eyes but stops you from walking any further, grasping your arm to turn you in his exact direction. “Look, just trust me on this one?”
You ponder the idea almost with your body, head tilting in unsureness. “I don’t know…”
“Please,” He’s practically whining now. “Please, just… one more date?”
“Fine.” “Yay.” He smiles in victory just as the two of you are called back onto set. With heavy feet, you drag yourself to set, but this time, you can’t help but feel a little hopeful. Don’t fuck this up, Cupid.
**
You’d wrapped up filming last week, and the director’s were quite positive you wouldn’t need to come back in later for reshoots. So, you were flying out of Chicago and down to Atlanta with Tom for the weekend. He was going to “introduce you to his next option.” You still didn’t trust him, but you didn’t have any immediate projects, so you agreed anyways.
Tom was due to start filming Spider-man 3 on the upcoming Monday, so you knew you’d be going to the airport alone on your last night — that is, if things didn’t work out with this new date. 
After receiving a text from Tom to be ready by eight o’clock, you’d showered and done your makeup. Settling on an outfit wasn’t as difficult because you had only what you brought with you. You were driving down to Tom’s rental home — apparently Marvel Studios always rented him that one — by seven forty-five. You were driving a rental car, and you mentally kicked yourself for not bringing a jacket in the middle of winter. 
Parking in the open driveway, you rang the doorbell. Tom swung the door open, hair slicked back and trousers fitted nicely. You rolled your eyes with a groan, and before Tom could even greet you, you complained. 
“Tom, I told you I’m not going on a fucking date with you- please ju-”
“No, no, no, love.” He laughed. “C’mon in, it’s game night with me and the boys. Your boy is inside waiting for you.”
You looked at him skeptically before walking up the steps and through the door. Tom led you through a rather modern-looking house, through an extremely large kitchen and into a back den room with a poker table. You rolled your eyes, but your facade dropped in the immediate moment where all eyes turned to you. 
“Guys, this is Y/N, my co-star in that rom-com we just wrapped.” You saw Zendaya smile and wave, Jacob greeting you with a cheerful “hi!” and then you saw a freckled boy with red hair and immediately felt butterflies tickle your stomach. “Y/N, this is Harry. The guy I told you about.”
You wanted to curse at Tom for practically keeping this guy a secret. You wanted to curse him for setting you up with all those other tramps instead of this gorgeous boy right here. You wanted to curse at Tom for-
“This is my brother, Harry. Harry, this is Y/N, the girl I told you about.”
Your eyes nearly bugged out at his words, for reasons being that this “Harry” is his brother and that he’s talked about you to him. Keep your cool, Y/N.
“Uh, hi.” You nervously laugh, stepping forward to shake his hand. Harry smirks at you, hand reaching up as his lanky fingers make contact with yours, shaking from his seat without even standing. 
“Hey.” His voice is deeper than Tom’s and it catches you by surprise. Tom had told you about his three younger brothers, but he never mentioned specific details like the ones you’re noticing now. 
“Right then,” Tom clasps his hands together. “Y/N, you can share the seat with Harry while I get the drinks.”
You nod and try not to come off as too flustered, heart pounding against your chest, palms sweating. They’ve pulled up a loveseat to the poker table, suitable for two people, or two lovers. You wince at your own self, wanting to kick yourself again. But you don’t, instead sliding in next to Harry. He smiles, removing the toothpick that was sitting on the side of his mouth, sticking out like a truck driver. He throws it, and it lands directly into the garbage bin. You bite your lip and begin the game. 
You end up staying in Atlanta for a lot longer than your two-day trip for the weekend. You’re there for a total of four weeks, and you’ve spent practically every hour with Harry. You were in a hotel for the first four and a half days before Tom had groaned at you leaving at one in the morning again, telling you to stay in Harry’s room and stop wasting your money on lousy hotels. The proposition made you giddy inside (and nervous, but they didn’t need to know that), and when Harry smirked at the idea, encouraging it too, you agreed.
So, you spent practically four weeks in Harry’s room, giggling at jokes and cuddling and watching movies and taking pictures. He’d taken you to set too, showing you around, talking nonstop about his cameras and their many different lenses. 
The Spider-man crew was dispersing for a two week break, and Harry had already decided that you were going with him and Tom back to London. 
“Love, are you ready?” Harry called for you from the bathroom connected to his bedroom. You shouted back your reply, zipping up your final suitcase while he walked back into the room. 
You knew that after your trip to London, Harry would have to go back to work and you’d have to go home before starting your next project. But you didn’t care — the two of you had already discussed long distance relationships before confirming yours; you could make it work. 
You would land in London by your two-month mark, you realized with a smile. Harry gave you a forehead kiss before talking both of your suitcases downstairs to the car. You grabbed the duffel bags and followed him out of the room where it all began. 
The flight was exhausting but nostalgic in a weird sense. You spent the latter half of it curled up into Harry’s side, asleep or watching a movie. When you finally boarded off the aircraft, you went straight to Harry’s flat without protest. Normally, you’d fight about checking into a hotel so you wouldn’t catch anyone unprepared, but you were too tired to care. 
Now, it’s been a day since your flight and you’ve promised Harry — and Tom — that you’ll go with him to their parents’ house for some lunch. You admit that you’re nervous and that it’s probably too soon to be meeting parents, but you pay no mind as you’re entering Holland's childhood home. 
“Mum!” Sam, Harry’s twin who you’ve just been introduced to, yells out. “They’re here!”
You hear excited squeals as Sam leads the three of you through and into the kitchen. Nikki’s back is turned when you enter, but she excitedly turns around to greet her sons. She’s taken off-guard at the sight of you next to Harry, but still leans in to tightly hug her sons, who she hasn’t seen in quite awhile. 
“And who’s this?” She inquires, gesturing in your direction. You’re a little taken aback at how unwelcoming she seems to be acting, but you shake it off as nerves. 
“Mum,” Harry smiles, a hand on the small of your back, nudging you a little closer to him and his mother. “This is Y/N, my girlfriend.”
The whisk in her hand seems to stop mixing the recipe in the bowl. Your smile falters slightly, but Tom fills the silence at Nikki’s ajar mouth. 
“Mum, she’s- uh, she’s my co-star in that rom-com I got casted for. Remember?”
“Oh,” She smiles a tight-lipped one, and you can tell it’s forced and fake. “It’s nice to meet you, I’m Nikki.” She wipes a hand off on her apron before extending it for you to shake. You accept the offer with a hesitant but genuine smile. 
“It’s nice to meet you, too.” She hums but doesn’t respond, instead turning her attention to Tom. You make eye contact with Harry worriedly, and he shakes his head, bewildered. He kisses your temple before sending you in to meet Paddy and talk to Sam — somebody who actually welcomed you. 
The day goes on like this, and though the tension is most obviously present, you don’t touch the subject, knowing it’s not your place or your home, especially since you came almost unannounced. You don’t want to be angry with a woman you barely know, so you try not to mirror her feelings.
“So, Y/N,” She directs her attention to you for the first time all day. You look up from your intertwined hands with a smile. 
“Yea-”
“Did you just decide Tom wasn’t good enough based on his character and then move on to my next son?”
You’re shocked, mouth ajar as you blink. “W- what?”
“Tom told me about how many ‘date failures’ you had until you finally settled on Harry.”
You want to curse at Harry for offering to refill your drink, and you want to curse at Tom for spilling the secrets of your dating life. “I- I didn’t settle for anyone.”
“That’s not what my son says.”
Just then, both boys walk in together, laughing in conversation about something. You’re already crying, but the minute the door opens you stand abruptly, nearly knocking Harry off his feet. 
He laughs at you, “Love? What’s u-” But he’s cut short when he notices your red eyes and fresh tears. He sets the glasses down, wiping your cheeks and grabbing both of your hands. “What happened? Hm?” He’s shushing you, trying his best to calm you down. “C’mon, angel. Tell me.” 
“Your- your mom just said a few things.”
Harry’s eyebrows furrows, and so do Tom’s. They turn to look at the woman in the chair skeptically, questions flying out immediately. 
“Mum? What did you say to her?” 
You excuse yourself, not wanting to be a part of the conversation just yet. You run off to the bathroom to freshen up while Harry and Tom talk to Nikki. 
“Harry, I’m just being a protective mother, okay? I didn’t say anything that bad.” 
“Mum, you made her fucking cry.” Harry’s fuming, nostrils flaring while he glares at his mom. 
“Don’t talk that way with me.” She points her finger at her son. “That girl is no good for you.”
“Mum, I introduced them.” Tom says. “I know her; she is good.”
“Not if she has to settle for Harry.” She clicks her tongue. “I remember all those dates you told me she went on, Tom.” She sighs while he scoffs. “Anyone that tries that hard to find a boyfriend is out for other things.”
“That’s bullshit.” Harry interjects. “She’s an actress, of course dating is hard.”
Nikki purses her lips but doesn’t reply. 
“Mum, she’s crying.” Tom says softly, seemingly trying a different approach. “You haven’t talked to her at all, today. I think you shouldn’t have judged her too quickly.”
“Apologize.” Harry says finally before standing up. “Apologize or we’re leaving.” He walks out of the room, heading to the bathroom where you’re hidden away, sitting on the toilet while you catch your breath. He knocks, coming in with your permission. 
He pouts when he sees your tear-stained face, face puffy and eyes red while you sniffle. 
“‘M sorry.” You grumble the words while he kneels in front of you. 
“What’re you sorry for, baby?”
“For causing all this drama.”
“Hey, hey,” His thumb rubs across your knuckles. “You didn’t do anything wrong. She had no right to say those things to you.” You look at him as he finishes, engulfing him quickly, crying into his shoulder while he catches you with his arms, holding you against his chest lovingly. After a few minutes, there’s a knock at the door, and Tom’s voice rings through. 
“Mum says she wants to talk to you guys.”
Harry makes eye contact with you apologetically, thumb still moving across the skin of your hand. 
“Well,” he stands tall. “Shall we?” You wipe your cheeks one final time before standing with him, taking the hand he offered you as you head for the bathroom door. 
“Guess there’s no avoiding this part if she’s going to be my future mother-in-law.” 
Harry sucks in a breath, and as you make eye contact with a smirk, there’s a glint in his eyes that acknowledges that you’re feeling better. He smirks back, opening the door for you as you head back into the living room. 
Keep your cool, Y/N. You inhale a deep breath, emerging into the room. Keep your cool. 
342 notes · View notes
chockfullofsecrets · 3 years
Text
Critical Role: The Importance of Timing, Ch 1
<<chapter navigation TBA>>
(Read on AO3)
Rating: Gen
Summary: Jester sobers quickly, though, pouting insistently down at them.“Four is pret-ty bad, you guys.”
Kingsley nods seriously. Thus validated, she starts bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet. “I think we need to punish them, Fjord!”
Caleb and Essek make the mistake of overworking themselves right before the Mighty Nein are scheduled for a reunion. Lessons are learned.
Wordcount: 3.6k (yeah, this one’s going to take a while)
A/N: making some more progress on my backlog of prompts (this one happens to be both from the most recent vote and this lovely anon prompt)! cross your fingers that this is going to be my first finished chapter fic lol
---
Caleb hardly remembers it, later.
It was evening - not particularly late, but after three near-sleepless nights time stretched into its own kind of viscous liquidity. Like a soup.
He laughed to himself at the absurdity of it, too tired for more than the barest expense of breath. Essek would know better than he, of course - he turned to him, intending to share the thought, and found a sheaf of notes thrust mere inches from his face.
“Here,” Essek said brusquely. Exhaustion did not lend itself to the usual smoothness of his speech. “I think I have it, finally - if we engrave it this way, the spell will replenish itself without interrupting conversation, yes?”
“Oh.” He took the papers, looking them over blearily - his eyes widened, a brief rush of vigor returning. “Oh, this is - oh, this is good! Let me just fabricate the surface smooth again and we can try-”
There was a crash from a location beyond the lab and therefore currently unimportant. Neither of them looked up.
The interruption, then, arrived unexpectedly.
“Hel-loooo!”came a lilting Nicodranian accent from the hall. “We got here early and you didn’t answer your door so we used our super cool magic powers to come in, and we should to-tally make a hammock themed room in the mansion tonight because I think Fjord is kind of land sick - Caleb, look at me, why do you look so terrible?”
Caleb knew the consequences of ignoring that voice. He looked up.
After hours of gazing at runes, his eyes refused to fully adjust and take in the three figures in the doorway. He squinted and managed to make out a bit of blue. “Jester?”
“They look tired right out, the poor things,” a purple blob pronounced from Jester’s right. “We haven’t missed out on an adventure, have we?”
“No,” Jester said, “Essek would never go out with his hair looking like that. Right, Essek? Aren’t you, like, super embarrassed that your hair’s all floppy right now?”
Sitting shoulder to shoulder with the floppy-haired drow in question, Caleb could just barely hear him hiss in protest at the interruption. “Leave, then, if it disturbs you so.”
Caleb blinked, starting to fumble together a sentence to dull the reprimand, and suddenly the remaining green blob resolved into Fjord as he put a hand on Caleb’s forehead and crouched to look into his eyes. “All right, it’s bedtime for you two. Jes, can you get Essek?”
“Wait-” Caleb grabbed weakly for the table, for his notes at least, but he was already being swept up in Fjord’s arms and carried bodily from the room. Essek sounded much more awake - and irate, frankly - behind him, trying to explain something, but it had been far too long since he had been anywhere near horizontal - with his head pillowed against Fjord’s bicep, he was asleep before they reached the stairs.
---
Waking is a slow process.
He is not alone - there’s a weight to being tangled up in someone else, the warm scent of closeness, and even without his eidetic memory he does not think he can ever forget the stony, moon-soaked smell of having his face buried in the crook of Essek’s shoulder.
He yawns lazily. Essek must be very tired, if Caleb is awake and he is not, and he is the better cook of the two of them anyway - although of course neither of them have any comparison to Caduceus, or Yasha now that it’s been several months since her last poisoning incident. He presses a gentle kiss to Essek’s jaw and rolls out of bed to get started with breakfast.
Or tries to, at least. His top half makes it out of bed easily enough, but the rest of him does not seem inclined to follow.
Something clanks at the foot of the bed as he narrowly hauls himself up from a quick trip to the floor. He props himself up on an elbow, halfway through another yawn, and finds himself staring down a pair of manacles hooked around his ankles.
He kicks cautiously. The chain threaded through his bed posts clanks again.
Panic begins to stir low in his gut. “Essek!”
There’s a sleepy murmur next to him. He twists to find Essek blinking awake - there’s not much else he can do, with his arms shackled above his head and his legs chained below in similar fashion. The cuffs are padded at least, stuffed with what looks to be worn handkerchiefs, and they’re both fully dressed in sleep clothes - their captors don’t want to hurt them, then, not yet.
Caleb scans the room frantically. The book he has been reading is still propped open on the bedside table, the door knob Essek had pried from an Aeorian ruin after Caleb had commented on its sparkle still proudly adorns the bathroom door, Kingsley is still leaning against the window-
He grins smugly as Caleb’s gaze snaps back to him. “Oh, good, you’re both awake. Comfy watch, but it’s ever so much more boring without the-” He pulls his hands from his pockets and rocks them back and forth. “Oh, and also the fish folk trying to kill us, those are great.”
“Kingsley?” Caleb demands. Next to him, Essek makes a shocked sound as he presumably recognizes that he cannot move any of his limbs. “What is this?”
“Oh, I can’t rightly say.” Kingsley saunters over and swings himself neatly up onto the mattress, worming between him and Essek to sit cross-legged at the center of the bed. “Wasn’t my idea, at any rate-”
“Jester and Fjord were here too,” Essek interrupts. “Is this - this is a prank, is it not?”
“Hush, you,” Kingsley smirks. “All I’ve got is that I’m to ensure you don’t make your way free with any spellcasting before Fjord and Jester get back. And to that end…”
He breaks the pause with a dramatic flourish of his arms, spreading them wide before laying a palm down lightly on each of their bellies. “I’m told this should do just fine, if the two of you care to demonstrate?”
Caleb connects the dots just a moment too late to throw himself back off the edge of the bed. “Kingsley - wait - ah!”
There was a time when it would take minutes for his mind to link the intruding sensation of touch to anything but wariness. Now, the instant Kingsley’s fingers start scribbling he’s flat on his back, pushing weakly at the offending limb and doing his best not to collapse into hysterical snickering at how much it - it -
“Tickle, tickle, magic man,” Kingsley teases, pupilless eyes aflame with mischief. “No, no, don’t bother fighting it. I’ve heard tales about those ribs of yours, you know. Especially how much you love letting Jester play with them, hm?”
“N-nein, that’s not-” Caleb tries to protest, but he’s already giggling just at the thought - Fjord and Jester are here, and he’s stuck, and Kingsley won’t stop tickling him-
Kingsley’s grin grows another satisfied inch as he turns back to Essek. “And you, stubborn - oh, are you trying to cast something? Is that what that face means?”
Essek is struggling, jaw working and face scrunched as his entire body trembles in time with the claw vibrating its way into his belly. Caleb can practically see the Misty Step brewing on his tongue, just a few short words between him and freedom if only he can get them out without laughing.
Until Jester tracks him down, that is. He hasn’t - they’ve been apart, and then in Aeor, and then working on their big project for the past few weeks, and Caleb hasn’t exactly gotten around to admitting that he might like Essek to - admitting anything, really. Or telling Essek that now that Jester knows he’s ticklish and doesn’t entirely mind it, any attempt to escape will only end in more retribution.
An oversight, in retrospect.
Kingsley purrs, apparently entirely delighted with his victim’s predicament. “Oh, come on now, you can do it! It’s been a while since I’ve seen a good magic show.” Essek shakes his head frantically, lips pressed together even as his cheeks puff with repressed giggles, and Kingsley grins all the wider. “No? Let’s see how long you last when I really start pressing your buttons, then.”
On his side and snickering helplessly, Caleb cannot help but feel a little jealous as he watches Kingsley tug up Essek’s shirt and wait for his eyes to widen in terrible anticipation. “One last chance, then? Cause I think this is really going to tickle.”
Caleb wants him to succeed, really, he does - but watching Essek try as hard as he can to curl in on himself as a single fingertip starts to rub at his navel, squirming and squeezing his eyes shut and finally barking out the first two syllables of his incantation before the third succumbs to high, squeaking laughter holds its own considerable charm. “Ahahaaaa - nooo, hehe! - wh -” He laughs a little more, shoulders shaking, and barely manages to gasp out the words. “Fjord - Jester - where -”
“Couldn’t take it? Oh, you are a ticklish thing,” Kingsley tells him, laughing when Essek’s attempt at protesting collapses into a breathless snort. “You’re wondering where they are? Really, I couldn’t say. Maybe they’ll be gone for hours, and I’ll just have to keep tickling and tickling-”
He’s focused in on Essek now, taking his other hand off Caleb to wiggle it menacingly over a defenseless armpit - Essek takes one look at the new threat and screams. “Caleb!”
Kingsley’s replaced his hand with his tail squeezing around Caleb’s thigh, and it tickles so badly and unexpectedly that Caleb would like to curl up in a ball and do some screaming of his own, but with Essek pleading for his help there’s no other choice.
He pulls himself back onto his elbows and flops into Kingsley’s lap as best he can with his legs chained, reaching blindly for ticklish spots that used to belong to Mollymauk - gasping through a new wave of laughter as the spade of Kingsley’s tail starts to poke at the soft back of his knee, he crowds his fingernails against the small of Kingsley’s back and yelps in preemptive terror as Kingsley starts to laugh and reaches for him instead. “Fjord! Jester!” he shouts. “Help!”
“Gah - oh, fuck, thahat’s - haaaa-” Kingsley flails for a moment, legs kicking out as he tries to shimmy away, but in the next moment his fingers are tickling mercilessly under Caleb’s arms and Caleb can hardly breathe, let alone keep tickling him. He flails to escape, trying to wrap his arms around himself and use them to drag himself away at the same time, but really that just means that Kingsley’s hands are stuck in his armpits now and he’s going to die-
“Right, right, I’ve learned my lesson, no ganging up on our little star,” Kingsley grumbles. Caleb gasps in breathless relief as Kingsley works his hands free - he’s facedown on the mattress, but he hears Essek shout for Fjord and Jester too before dissolving into another fit of giggles. Presumably Kingsley’s putting his tail to good use somewhere.
A hand grabs his shoulder, and he’s rolled over onto his back with his legs untwisting beneath him. He blinks up into Kingsley’s gaze, eyebrows raised in apparent dudgeon. “You, on the other hand,” Kingsley growls, as if his lips weren’t curving up into a fanged smile already, “I am absolutely going to need both hands for what I’m about to do to your ribs.”
“Mist,” Caleb sputters reflexively, and then, louder, “Fjord! Jester! FJORD!”
Kingsley’s eyebrows rise even higher. “Oh, it’s sweet that you think they’re going to help you. Unless - oh, did you want more hands?”
Caleb hardly hears the approaching footsteps over his own anticipatory squeal as he watches Kingsley’s fingers start to wander back down towards his ribs. “Nein! - eheeheh, oh gods, nein-”
But then, suddenly, blessedly, the fingers ghost lightly over his ribs and settle for spidering across his tummy instead. He wheezes in relief - half of it comes out as giggles, his nerves still on high alert, but he fully intends to enjoy breathing while he can.
He flops tiredly back, eyes tracking to the doorway as Fjord and Jester stroll in. “Sorry for the wait,” Fjord says politely. “Jester and I were just finishing up lunch. Because it’s lunchtime.”
“No rush, Captain!” Kingsley practically chirps. “We’re having a wonderful time, aren’t we, boys?”
Fjord looks completely unsurprised to find the two of them in chains. Jester is practically bouncing beside him. Caleb imagines this does not bode well for them.
Essek pipes up from behind him, metal clanking as he tries to move to see around Kingsley. “Did - heh - did we oversleep? I think the shackles are a bit uncalled for-”
“Oh,” Fjord says, low and dangerous. He’s not smiling, not yet, but Caleb can see it in his eyes and that is even worse. “Don’t mind those. It would be a shame to let the two of you leave your bedroom so soon when you haven’t seen it in days and days, wouldn’t it?”
With Kingsley still tickling at his waist, Caleb can’t even begin to coax his stomach muscles to let him sit up as Fjord and Jester cross to the bed and loom over the both of them. Jester claps her hands together, looking dangerously pleased with herself. “Do you like them?” she enthuses. “We got them from a pirate raid, because someone put our other set on a fish person that jumped right back into the ocean.”
“They were getting rusted anyway - I don’t think we collected a single one of those at sea, they’re not even waterproofed.” Fjord grumbles amiably. “These, though-”
He hooks one finger delicately through the chain connecting Caleb’s ankles to the bedpost and tugs, dragging one helpless foot just close enough to scoop up in a waiting hand. “Now these are made for some real seafaring shit. Could hold a body for as long as you want, as long as they aren’t inclined to use any magic tricks.”
Caleb tries to yank his foot back. Fjord just chuckles and leans over to stare him down, his yellow eyes warm and amused. “Isn’t that right, Caleb.”
“No magic tricks,” he gasps out through another fit of giggles as Fjord rubs a warning thumb over his sole. It’s hardly a concession - between that and Kingsley, he hardly has the breath to try anything.
“Good,” Fjord says encouragingly. He puts Caleb’s foot gently down and turns to Essek. “Now you.”
Caleb turns to look at him - from what little of Essek’s body language he can read, he looks wholly confused. “You’re not going to let us go?”
Fjord crosses his arms. “Oh, I’m sure we can come to some kind of agreement. Just consider this a friendly reminder that Jester, Kingsley and I are quite capable of following any… magical exits.”
Essek visibly rallies at the mention of magic, quirking an eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware you had learned how to Teleport.”
“Essek,” Caleb hisses. Fjord shushes him and stalks a single step forward, just close enough to start tickling lightly at the bottom of one purple foot.
Essek’s superior expression lasts all of a moment before his entire body starts flailing to escape the single point of contact. “Ah! No, nohoho, wahahait, I didn’t - ahaha, stop that!”
“You’re right, I can’t Teleport,” Fjord says conversationally. “Good catch, I’d kind of forgotten about that one. Jes, we’ve got some antimagic stuff on the ship, right?”
Jester interrupts herself from making increasingly dramatic faces at Essek to answer. “I think so? You know, just in case if we meet someone icky like you know who.”
“Perfect. Maybe you and Kingsley can keep Essek busy, and I’ll head back to the ship and root around for it?” He looks calmly down at Essek, kicking as frantically as he can with the few inches of leeway the shackles afford him and still completely unable to avoid Fjord’s fingers. “It’ll take a while, mind you.”
Jester perks up, dancing over and reaching for Essek’s other foot. “Yes! Kingsley, did you try his ears yet? They get all flappy and it’s really really-”
“No!” Essek rushes out, squeaking in harried protest when they still don’t stop tickling up his arches. “I - wait,” he pleads. “No! I won’t cast, I won’t!”
Fjord grins. “That wasn’t so hard, was it? Alright, Kingsley, can we give them a moment?”
Kingsley removes his hands from both of them rather reluctantly. Fjord claps his shoulder in silent thanks. “Now, would either of you like to explain why we found the two of you half-dead from sleep deprivation?”
“Yeah, you guys, we were so worried!” Jester adds. “You can’t do that when we’re not around to take care of you! You guys haven’t been doing this all year, have you?”
“We’ve only met up in the last few months,” Caleb adds, wincing a little as their eyes turn to him. He sits up slowly, wincing apologetically in the direction of Essek’s wrist shackles. “But no, we have not, we are just working on this project - it is a real ficker, there are so many moving pieces - and we are nearly done, we meant to sleep last night.”
“How many days?” Fjord asks. “One? Two?”
When neither of them answer, sharing a silent look, he hovers a hand threateningly over each of their trapped feet. “Believe me, you really don’t want us to pick a number.”
“Four,” Essek says warily. “But Caleb slept for at least an hour each night, and I don’t need to-”
“Oh, four’s a lot,” Kingsley cuts in. “Did you not learn how to sleep in shifts, not being on the ocean, or do you just enjoy each other’s company that much?”
Essek turns bright red. Caleb’s pretty sure he turns even redder. Even Fjord looks a little embarrassed as Jester and Kingsley collapse into laughter.
Jester sobers quickly, though, pouting insistently down at them.“Four is pret-ty bad, you guys.”
Kingsley nods seriously. Thus validated, she starts bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet. “I think we need to punish them, Fjord!”
Caleb can easily guess what this punishment will entail. “Wait a moment,” he says hastily, “we have not even told you about this project-”
“It will be worth it,” Essek adds. “If you would just let us-”
Fjord nods thoughtfully, ignoring their protests. “What do you say, a minute for each hour they should have been sleeping?”
“No-” Caleb starts.
“So that’s sixteen for Essek, and - Caleb’s been napping on and off, sounds like, so we’ll round it down to a neat half hour for him.”
Caleb gapes fearfully. A half hour of tickling, after months and months - he can admit to himself that he missed it a little, but- “That’s too much,” he blurts. “Bitte, you’ll kill me-”
“Really, this is unnecessary,” Essek adds, surprisingly dignified for the way he’s trying helplessly to press his feet against the bed. “Just - we are well rested now, we only need a few hours more to finish the project, there is no need!”
Jester pouts. “Oh, Essek, don’t you want to hang out with us?”
Essek flounders at that, and Caleb can’t help the soft smile that slips out of him. “I would like nothing more,” he assures her, “but being chained up and - and tortured - was not quite on my mind-”
“Well then, you shouldn’t have been so dumb, Essek,” she says cheerily. “Caleb, do you want me or Fjord to tickle you?”
His mouth goes dry. Jester will be - Fjord teases, but he is gentle at least, and Jester is - Jester-
He looks over at Essek, wide-eyed and eyes flicking between all of them in some strange combination of bewilderment and anticipation, and braces himself. “Jester.”
Kingsley laughs, delighted. “Oh, he must really love you,” he tells Essek. “He’s gone and given you the better option by far.”
Essek looks at Caleb, gaze softening. “Really?”
Caleb grimaces back at him, a little embarrassed by himself. “He’s exaggerating. And besides, I am not the one laid flat out here.”
Essek frowns. “Yes, about that.”
“Caleb doesn’t like having his wrists pinned down,” Jester says easily, scrambling up onto the bed and into Caleb’s lap. “Though you should know that already if you two are boning-”
“Jester,” Caleb pleads. Kingsley starts to laugh again.
She beams at him, darting in to press a kiss to the tip of his nose. “Hi, Caleb!”
It’s impossible not to smile back. “Hallo, blueberry.”
He looks around her to see Fjord walk over and settle on Essek’s side of the bed, patting his shoulder companionably. “It’s good to see you two, really.”
Essek just sighs.
Kingsley prods at his belly, earning a hasty yelp. “He’s in a mood, it seems. You want some help with him?”
His stomach grumbles, just then, and Fjord laughs. “Why don’t you get some lunch instead,” he suggests. “We’d have brought something up, but the screaming sounded rather urgent.”
“Aye-aye, Captain,” Kingsley cocks a loose salute and swings back off the bed with one more tickle under each of their arms, snorting in amusement as Caleb and Essek both squirm and protest. “The others should be arriving soon, I’ll keep a weather eye on the door.”
“Yes, do that,” Fjord says, waiting for him to round the corner and start down the stairs. “That guy is really into sea lingo.”
“Kingsley is great,” Jester enthuses. “Don’t you guys think he looks so much prettier now that he’s all tan?”
She’s not wrong. “Ja, sure.” Caleb says. “By the way, what exactly did the two of you tell him about-” He flushes. “About my ribs?”
“Oh, you know, just some stuff!” Jester says cheerfully. “Most of it is definitely not true by now, probably, since it’s been a super long time since we’ve seen you.”
She puts both of her hands on Caleb’s shoulders and presses, sending him flat on his back and leaning over with a mischievous smile. “Good thing we have a whole half hour to catch up, huh?”
Caleb gulps.
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jingyismom · 3 years
Text
Thoughts on Lan Wangji’s uncomfortable position during Sunshot
Rated T, pre-relationship wangxian, cw for harrassment, suggestive language, no other warnings, canon compliant
~
During the Sunshot campaign, Lan Wangji only had the reputation of being peerless and pure before the fighting began. It is entirely possible that this, plus his position and appearance, could have resulted in jumped-up heirs from lesser sects thinking him easy prey.
He came into it late, too, after leading the Wei Wuxian-finding mission with the Jiangs.
Imagine this beautiful young cultivator in spotless white appearing in a city filled with men primed for war.
Worse, imagine the fragile state of Gusu Lan and their dependence on these alliances.
Lan Wangji is politically aware, even though he's not held to the same standard as his brother. And when these men loom out of dark corners spewing lewd remarks and making even lewder requests, he wants to kill them. If the situation were different, they would come away at least maimed.
But he cannot afford to be rash. Not when the Cloud Recesses is not yet rebuilt. And he is in no real danger - if one of them tried to touch him he would feel no qualms taking a hand in recompense. So he...lives with it. For months.
Lan Xichen has other, more important troubles on his mind, there is no need to make him aware. It is just men indulging their baser instincts. It is nothing.
Except. Over time. It begins to wear on him. Its true he's only the second master of Gusu Lan, an ornament, a bargaining chip. A thing. He begins to feel like a thing. And after weeks, then months, of bloody fighting and unceasing, unseemly comments on his body, his face, his mouth - he begins to feel like a dirty one.
One night, Wei Wuxian is walking between tents during the push for Nightless City. He hears gruff voices, liquor-proud, making obscene offers not far away. He tenses and strides over, resentment rising beneath his skin. How dare anybody in this army treat a fellow soldier this way?
He comes around a corner and freezes. Lan Wangji is there, practically glowing in the black of night. Is he already taking care of the problem?
The voices continue to jeer. Lan Wangji doesn't move.
Is he...with them? It can't be possible that Lan Wangji would...hang around...anyone like this.
Wei Wuxian peers closer at him, still hidden in shadow. His face looks. It looks...weird. Wei Wuxian still has trouble reading Lan Wangji, but he knows this is...not his normal face. It's tense. Like he's angry. That, he's seen before, maybe too often. But there is the slightest furrow to his brow.
Like he's torn. Or...helpless. Which is, well. It's ridiculous. Lan Wangji is incapable of helplessness.
Still, the strangeness of it kicks him into action. He comes out into the firelight ready for a fight.
And pauses once more.
There are four men Wei Wuxian doesn't recognize facing Lan Wangji.
Blocking his path. They're saying things...the things they are saying. Are. Are far worse than any of the hushed, private joking Wei Wuxian has been privy to among friends. The things they are saying are forceful. Joyfully violent.
And they're saying them to Lan Wangji.
Lan Wangji's eyes snap to him immediately and go wide, but Wei Wuxian doesn't see it. His vision is bleeding out to tones of red and gray, Chenqing clutched tight in one shaking hand. He points it at the men. They laugh. They don't yet know what he is, what he can do. He's happy to show them.
He raises his flute to his lips, only for a hand to catch his elbow, to drag it back. He shakes it off. He's going to rip these sorry excuses for men into small pieces, and then make their ghosts thank him for it. He's going to--
"Wei Ying."
He looks at Lan Wangji's face, right beside him now. It isn't stern, or reprimanding. It only looks tired.
He stops. Looks back at the men. 
"I was just speaking with Nie-zongzhu right over there," he lies, bringing up the only name he can think might strike fear into these animals. "Shall I go and get him, and let him hear what trash is fighting alongside him in his righteous war?"
The men scowl and leave. He turns to Lan Wangji.
"Lan Zhan," he says, confused and still unsteady with rage. "What was that?"
"Nothing," Lan Wangji says. He lets go of Wei Wuxian's arm and turns to go. Wei Wuxian catches his in turn.
"Nothing? Nothing? Lan Zhan, why did they think...why did they think they could say such things to you?" He knows Lan Wangji could have ended their lives with one strike. "Why were you letting them?"
Lan Wangji does not look at him.
"Because they can," he says. He tries to break away, but Wei Wuxian holds on.
"No," he says firmly. "They can't."
Lan Wangji turns to face him at last. "Why not? They may speak as they please to the second son of a broken clan."
Wei Wuxian bridles. "A broken - Lan Zhan-"
"If Gusu Lan is to recover, it cannot afford animosity from any who might give it aid." His voice is hard and sharp as steel. "Their words are of no consequence. Their coin is a different matter."
"No consequence?" Wei Wuxian asks. "Lan Zhan. They were saying..."
"I know very well what they were saying," Lan Wangji says, and pulls away at last. He leaves Wei Wuxian staring after him in open shock. 
Lan Wangji is mortified. He tells himself he is merely concerned about what he almost witnessed Wei Wuxian do to those men, but in truth is he is shaken. Scared, and tired, and very much ashamed. That Wei Wuxian has witnessed the way mere strangers could reduce Lan Wangji so easily to nothing. For the first time in his life, Lan Wangji feels uncomfortable in his own skin. And now it is as if Wei Wuxian knows. As if he knows that Lan Wangji is just...just a blank canvas for any passing uncouth fantasy. He both is and isn't the Second Jade of Lan - He is not untouchable, not in mind, in spirit. He is neither peerless nor pure. But he is not human, either. Not real in any way that counts.
And now Wei Wuxian, almost the only person that counts, can see it.
They do not speak of it. The war rages on. They fight, side by side, and protect each other.
Wei Wuxian does his best to protect Lan Wangji off the battlefield, too. Tries to make sure he never walks past strange tents alone at night, without being too obvious about it. He knows Lan Wangji wouldn't thank him for it, and their friendship is tenuous as it is. Still, the expression he'd seen on him that night haunts Wei Wuxian. He doesn't want it to make a home on his beloved face.
After Nightless City, though, things change.
Wei Wuxian isn't respected, exactly. But he is feared. When he speaks, cultivators at least pretend to listen. They've seen now what he's capable of.
He hasn't forgotten those men. Hasn't forgotten the lurid, barbaric pictures they dared to paint over Lan Wangji's undeniable impeccability, nor the unforgivably horrible way they'd managed to make Lan Wangji feel.
But there have been other things to take care of.
Until the banquet.
After the battle, after Wen Ruohan has been killed, liquor is bountiful as cultivators and foot soldiers alike make merry, preparing to feast. Jin Guangshan, now that things are over, has opened his purse to the victors, and none of them intend to waste it.
Once Wei Wuxian has recovered, once Lan Wangji has deemed him well enough not to need healing music any longer, they lose track of each other in the busy work of cleaning out the city, of preparing to celebrate a job well done.
But when the night arrives, Wei Wuxian is hurrying back to the Jiang quarters alone to join their contingent and head to the banquet. He's late, partially because he's him, and partially because he does not want to go. But Lan Wangji will be there, and he hasn't seen him in days.
He hears voices down a parallel street. Rough and loud. Familiar.
He turns and is halfway down the connecting alley before consciously deciding to change course. Dozens of voices whisper in his ears of vengeance, of justice, and black smoke licks his skin.
He sees them, lit harshly by the bright moon, washed out, pale and ugly, leering. He doesn't care what they're doing, who they're talking to. They have to pay.
"Wei Ying."
Lan Wangji's face swims into view, suddenly close. He looks nearly wild with concern. Wei Wuxian realizes Chenqing is already pressed to his lips, the first notes of a fierce melody dying on the air. Lan Wangji is gripping his wrist.
"They are not worth your life," he says."
Wei Wuxian opens his mouth to disagree. Lan Wangji's fingers tighten. Wei Wuxian takes a deep breath, and looks away from his steady, grounding eyes.
The men are still there, daring to look at them. Brazen.
"You have nothing better to do than lower the value of this entire street by merely standing on it?" Wei Wuxian calls to them.
They shift uneasily. But one of them lifts his chin, defiant.
"Who are you to discipline us? We're not Jiang or Lan, you can't speak to us this way."
Wei Wuxian angles away from Lan Wangji, faces them fully. Lets the shadows grow longer all around him. Pitches his voice low and calm. "Oh? Can't I?"
Three of them begin to back away, but the mouthy bastard stands firm. "You've no claim on us nor that one. What, is ruining our celebration your idea of fun? He's been acting all high and mighty all the while we've been down in the mud. It's high time he takes a turn on his knees."
Wei Wuxian flinches as if he's been hit. He doesn't look at Lan Wangji. He can't manage it, can't believe he's allowed this to happen again.
"Wei Ying," Lan Wangji pleads beside him. "The banquet. Your shidi and shijie are waiting for you. Lotus Pier needs you."
Wei Wuxian's breaths have gone erratic and shallow. He cannot kill these men. He should not. It would be...there's a reason. Lan Wangji doesn't want him to. He cannot kill them.
But he cannot leave it be, either. Something dark and animal rears up inside him.
"No claim?" He repeats. "What claim could I or my sect have on miserable refuse such as you? What claim could I possibly need in order to teach you a lesson? Cutting your throats would be
counted as a service to the world. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't."
The man crosses his arms. One of his companions is pulling frantically at his shoulder. "Give me one good reason why I can't bend that pretty thing over my knee."
A vicious snarl rips out of Wei Wuxian's throat and he lunges forward, but he's held back. Lan Wangji is holding him back.
"Why are you stopping me?" He bites out at him. "Why aren't you ending them yourself?"
Lan Wangji is angry now, enraged, Wei Wuxian can see. Why is he still letting these men breathe?
"Because my duty to my family comes first. As does yours. Wei Ying, think. Alive, they are nothing. Dead, they are an excuse to deal a killing blow to both our sects."
Wei Wuxian clenches his teeth and rips his arm out of Lan Wangji's grasp. He's right. Wei Wuxian hates that he's right.
The resentment is burning him up from the inside with no outlet. But Lan Wangji is looking at him, holding him steady with just his righteously angry gaze. 
"Well?" Calls the man, who apparently has a deathwish. "I'm waiting."
"For what?" Wei Wuxian bites out, not looking at him. "Leave if you value your life."
"Waiting for you to give me a reason we can't have him. It's just one night. Who's to know? Who's to care?"
It's a ridiculous question. Beyond ridiculous. There is no single reason - the best one is that Lan Wangji would have the perfect excuse to kill them if they did indeed try. But Wei Wuxian is past thinking clearly. He sees only the worn, tired anger in Lan Wangji's eyes. 
The dark, animal thing in his chest strains against his hold, bucking and shaking, trying to get free. Trying to curl around Lan Wangji and protect him from anything that could dream of making him feel so exposed.
"One reason?" Wei Wuxian asks, then turns to look at them again. He lets the resentment free, lets it seep out into the night in curling, questing tendrils. Entirely without thinking, guided by some deep-seated, abhorrent instinct, he wraps his arm around Lan Wangji's waist. "He's mine."
He lets the thick wisps of shadows flick at the cultivators' faces, cold and burning. They claw at their own skin, crying out, and finally, finally, turn and run. The resentment chases them out of the street, and then returns to him, preening.
Once their screams have died out, and the resentment has settled back beneath his skin, Wei Wuxian comes back to himself. With a sickening start he realizes that he is still holding Lan Wangji firmly against his side. He lets go and steps away, heart pounding.
"Sorry," he says. "I'm - sorry."
Lan Wangji is staring at him, expression unreadable. Wei Wuxian cannot believe he's managed to do something so thoughtless, so stupid, so...horrifyingly revealing.
"That was stupid. I didn't mean to...I was just trying to speak a language he'd understand. I'm sorry. You're not - you don't-"
"I understand," Lan Wangji says quietly. His gaze has shifted to Wei Wuxian's shoulder. He looks strangely fragile. Tall, straight, and graceful still, but...
"No," say Wei Wuxian, "no, that was uncalled for. I should have left when you told me to. I'm sorry I made things worse."
The shake of Lan Wangji's head is slight. "No more apologies. I will see you at the banquet."
He leaves then, sword in hand, one arm neatly folded behind his back. Wei Wuxian watches him go, and can't help but feel he's made yet another fatal mistake he can't take back.
He's mine.
Lan Wangji cannot get those words out of his mind. He cannot forget the sound of Wei Wuxian's voice, the certainty in it, the firm, inarguable tone. They echo in his ears almost palpably, an illicit caress that won't let the shiver in his spine die.
He feels the ghosts of Wei Wuxian's fingers on his waist for a week. He finds himself, at random intervals, placing his own hand over them, trying to exert the exact same pressure, to feel - but it is not the same. Not without the warm, hard length of Wei Wuxian's side against him.
The alien mixture of emotions from that moment twist and mix and become ugly parodies of themselves in his dreams. He does not know what he felt, then, anymore. Does not know what he feels now.
The only thing he knows with any confidence is that every time he sees Wei Wuxian thereafter, he aches, and aches.
Aches to simply tell him that he was right. 
183 notes · View notes
dreadwulf · 3 years
Text
1. It Was There That I Saw You
He hears it over the radio that first time. 
“The Blue Angel is down.”
One of those crummy broadcasting setups that still run out of universities sometimes. Ancient amateur stations he picks up on the road while trying to plot out a route to the family compound around the Others. They announce sightings sometimes, rather like weather reports, or traffic updates. Undead on Highway 11, detour recommended.
The roads are clear that evening, and the drive is as quiet and peaceful as a biodiesel vehicle can manage, except for the news on the radio.
"The Blue Angel is down, and our world grows a little bit colder and darker," the radio man says.
Jaime switches off the receiver. He shakes his head slightly as he drives the ungainly armored car along the winding road, peering into the dusk without headlights. The radio man doesn’t know the Blue Angel. He’s some punk kid, was probably at uni when the Others first attacked and hasn’t ventured outside since. That’s who still broadcasts these days, old student outfits barricaded inside their campuses. This kid doesn’t know the Blue Angel’s name, probably doesn’t even know she's a woman. He will pay him no mind.
But he leaves the radio off for the rest of the journey.
At the Rock he pulls the car into the oversized garage and erects the usual gates and barriers behind him to keep the Others out. These precautions he can do in his sleep now, and he hardly has to think on them. He is more fortunate than most, now - living in a walled compound in a walled city offers a stability most people no longer have, one that would have been unheard of not very long ago. It gives him a more uneventful life, even some creature comforts. It's also, in his opinion, dreadfully boring. Which is why he never stays for long.
His thoughts pivot around the voice on the radio. The Blue Angel. He gave her that name, years ago, before anyone knew her at all. When it was just the two of them on the Kingsroad, and she was hardly more than a kid herself. Does the kid on the radio know that? No, he assuredly does not. The kid on the radio doesn’t know anything. 
His brother Tyrion will have heard the news elsewhere. He doesn’t listen to radio, wouldn’t have any reason to since he never leaves the compound. But he has his own sources.
His brother is the second person to tell him, when Jaime walks into the front office loosening his tie. As expected, Tyrion’s still working - it would be either that or reading, even when the house goes dark. Their generator only runs a few hours a day, and his brother keeps right on working by lamplight when the time’s up. 
Tyrion has taken over the family business, as well as the mansion and all its high walls. That happened after the rest of the family had been wiped out, while Jaime had been away. Ironic that he had survived them all, considering he had been essentially left to die when the Others came. Like many of the sick and disabled, there had not been much provision for his physical difficulties as a little person and he had been left to fend for himself. Anyone who couldn’t defend themselves was SOL in that first year. How he had even gotten himself home from uni is a bit of a mystery to Jaime. By the time Jaime managed to get himself there, his brother was already gone, and it had taken them a very long time to find one another again. 
It had been his brother’s cleverness helped him survive, not his big brother, to both of their disappointment. Said cleverness certainly keeps them in business now.
Tyrion probably hasn’t looked up from his ledgers in hours, but he looks up when Jaime comes in, and keeps looking.
“Blue Angel’s down,” Tyrion mentions casually, but he is watching him closely.
“So they say.” Jaime whirls off his long coat and throws it over a chair. He has to sit right across from Tyrion to get within the circle of lamplight.
His brother’s mind works just a little bit faster than other people’s. The software he runs on is a little bit sharper, and before you can quite get a statement out, he is already replying. He gets bored of the formality of all these extra words and niceties. He doesn’t quite realize how obnoxious this is. As a result, Jaime never needs to say much. Tyrion will have most of the conversation without him.
“You don’t believe them,” Tyrion surmises, pushing his papers aside. An ill-fitting pair of glasses slides down the end of his scarred nose, and he has to catch them before they can fall off. Even Lannisters have troubles with eyewear these days. “I know you think she’s indestructible.”
“Near indestructible.” Insolently, Jaime puts his feet up on his brother’s nice mahogany desk, which used to be their father’s nice mahogany desk. Something about this room makes him act like a rebellious teenager. “It will take more than an amateur disk jockey passing on rumors to convince me.”
“True, rumors have been wrong before. I’ve heard that you were dead too, when you rode the Kingsroad.”
They don’t speak much of that time. Tyrion hated that Jaime abandoned the family to serve as a glorified mailman for five years, as he calls it. Escorting people and messages across the dangerous countryside in the early days of the Disaster might have made his name, and eventually added to the family’s renown, but this personal betrayal his brother has never forgiven. What he really hates, of course, is that Jaime left him alone with their father. 
Jaime lets it pass, jokes with him. “I probably started that rumor myself, at least once.”
“Don’t let this distract you,” he says. Tyrion’s mismatched eyes go back to his ledgers meaningfully. “Running Lannisport is enough work, without you running off all the time. We’re trying to bring the Riverlands into the fold. I need you on task, not obsessing over a girl.”
Jaime snorts. Tyrion can hardly lecture him on distractions. Little he may be, he has no trouble acquiring female companionship. He seems to have a different lady on his arm every time Jaime comes around. Sometimes two. 
Tyrion rolls his eyes. “Don’t start. My girls are different. I’m not mooning around after them years after they’re gone. When I lose one, I find another. You need another woman, Jaime.”
“With me running off all the time? Who’s going to tolerate that?” Jaime is bored of this conversation already. They’ve had it many times before. 
“Romantics. That’s who. You’re off risking your life to join the old nation together again, you’re a dashing hero. Plus the whole Kingsroad adventure. Women love that. You could be swimming in girls if you spared them half a glance. It’s been five years, Jaime.” 
“Four,” Jaime corrects him. Four years, three months, and eleven-or-so days. 
Tyrion says this more solemnly, looking over his glasses, “If the rumor isn’t true this time, someday it will be.”
He looks very much like their father when he does that, which is unwelcome. Jaime snatches his feet off the desk and wanders away to find something to eat, the big Lannister mansion resounding emptily around him. 
He manages to avoid his brother until he can head out again - he rarely passes more than a night at a time in this house. He checks for messages, refills his supplies, gets a proper shower, all of which he can do in a few hours. Such safety he finds oddly uncomfortable, if he lingers too long. He’ll be leaving the next day, and out the door before Tyrion is even out of his bed. 
The traveling, on the other hand, takes an age. Not even he travels very fast these days. The armored car, which is more of a delivery truck, doesn’t get over 50kph, and shudders and lurches at the upper end. Real petrol might perk up his engine, but petrol is rare these days, and he can refuel the biodiesel at most settlements now. So he drives slowly and is on the road almost constantly, and stops at Casterly Rock as infrequently as he can manage. 
Soon Jaime is hearing the same rumor everywhere, in snatches. He travels through the guarded and gated villages of the Riverlands on a regular circuit, drives through miles of nothing between aettlements, edging around clusters of Others that still live beyond the city lights. As he exchanges goods, messages, and information, he hears of the Blue Angel. Edges of conversation, news bulletins, idle conversation with gasoline sellers. His hosts at Pennytree gossip over it at dinner while passing around the green beans.
Did you hear about the Blue Angel? Damn shame. 
Jaime always agrees wordlessly. People still like to feed him, remembering his own time guarding the Kingsroad in the beginning of the new era. He hasn’t been the Slayer in four years, has been a politician-cum-envoy for far longer than he ever battled the Others, but he is far better known still for the former. Arguing with his hosts would be pointless. He just finishes his meal, salvaged canned goods heated over a campfire out back. In those early days, this would have been a feast. It’s still pretty good now. Vegetables are more and more scarce.
No one seems to know exactly what happened. He hears a few variations on it; the tale is different each time. Turned by the Others, haunting the Kingsroad where once she had been its protector. Crushed in the fall of a skyscraper in the Eyrie. Slain in battle protecting a school full of orphans from robbers. The details are in debate, but there is a consistent center. The Blue Angel is dead. It's a rumor still, but one with all the authority of the old King’s Landing Times newspaper, of truth. Everyone is sure.
But they don’t know her. Not like Jaime did. If they knew her they would not believe it so easily. They would need evidence. They would need a body, a grave. Otherwise it's just not realistic that she could be gone. He is not worried. He’s not.
Tyrion passes on the same news the next time he’s at the house. No particulars, but the same word from his own channels of information. No one knows how, but the Blue Angel is dead. 
Jaime has little patience for it now. Without any details, it’s still only a rumor. A remarkably consistent one, to be sure. But not enough to know for certain. He doesn’t even stop in the office, claiming exhaustion, avoiding conversation. 
Tyrion finds him anyway. 
“If you really wanted to know, you could ask The Spider.” His brother suggests late one night, startling him awake. “He could give you the whole story.”
Jaime had been dozing in an armchair in his own study, unwilling to go to bed and too tired to stay awake. He rubs at his left eye and yawns. “What time is it? You’re the only person I know who still wears a wristwatch.”
Tyrion looks worried. He stands there a long time waiting for him to answer.
“I don’t want to know,” Jaime mumbles sleepily. “Really I don’t.”
“Try to get some sleep, Jaime.”
In the bathroom mirror he has a few more gray hairs than before, visible even in candlelight. Before long there will be more gray than blond. He pulls them out one at a time. 
It’s too bad he can’t pluck the laugh lines away from his eyes the same way. He hasn’t laughed in a long time now. They feel unearned.
Everywhere he goes for a week solid, it's a funeral. Holly branches along the road, and stray, somehow-preserved flowers. Bars full of black coated mourners, drinking morosely.
It irritates him. Makes him grind his teeth. He shouldn’t resent these people. He knows it’s irrational to feel this way. But what do they know? How dare they mourn? What have they lost? A legend, a leader, a hero? They don’t know the woman behind the stories. She is so much more than that. 
For some reason it is the graffiti that finally gets to him. Seeing it written gives it permanence. Someone felt the need to document this, on a building, for all to see. First in an alley in Riverrun - written in an electric blue that seems to float over the dull brick of the building. “Blue Angel RIP,” it says, and it sears into Jaime’s vision. He sees it every time he closes his eyes. 
Before long the makeshift walls around Raventree are covered in mismatched sprays of blue, the neat and professional swoops of seasoned graffiti artists alongside the amateur efforts of random passers by, all offering their tributes. At the center of them all is a portrait, as detailed as an oil painting rendered in spray paint, of the Blue Angel’s long cloaked form standing over smaller figures in protection. She’s holding her favorite weapon, a solid titanium baseball bat. 
He stares at this portrait for a long time. It’s very good. She must have passed this way at some point. You can’t see her face, but she mostly keeps it covered anyway. This artist captures the way she stands, the gesture of her long, elegant fingers. This artist saw her, at least once, for certain.
It’s so strange. All of these people feel like they know her, that she belongs to them. And it’s true in a way. The Blue Angel belongs to everyone, she really does. But Brienne... Brienne belongs to a very few, if anyone, and if anyone then he is certainly one of them. And he knows she cannot possibly be dead. He knows it.
He stares at the graffiti portrait until his vision blurs and he can’t see anything anymore.
Jaime cuts off the rest of his circuit after that. Drives back to the Rock, as slowly and deliberately as ever, always watching for Others that he could be leading to the compound. In the house he stays only an hour. Packs a small bag and leaves the keys to the car on Tyrion’s desk, along with all his dossiers on the Riverlands, and his appointment book. 
Then he takes out his motorbike and drives it across the Riverlands, wastes precious petrol cruising the old highways dodging the snarls of abandoned cars. Tries to outrun the news. The wind blasts through him like a cold knife. He uses up one of his few remaining chargeables to get an mp3 player playing again, painfully loud, the heaviest music he can find. Hailstorms of guitar riffs assaulting him through the earpiece. He rides until his face is numb from wind and his nerves are rattled and brittle.
The Spider’s lair moves between rest stops these days. King’s Landing is still too dangerous, overrun with Others, and he likes to be off the map. Jaime checks a dozen highway offramps before he comes across the black RVs he is looking for.
He leaves the bike some distance away, as is the custom. The sound of a motorbike will bring Others running from miles away, and it’s impolite to lead zombies to people’s front door. Jaime walks the last mile in darkness, quiet as he can. He should have brought more weapons than a single pistol. He didn’t really think this through. But if the Others came to investigate the bike, he does not encounter them walking south, and before long the pavement opens out into a runaway truck ramp and a parking lot, and he can feel eyes on him from the line of trees beyond.
The Spider’s gang greets him with guns cocking, friendly as always. Black leather gargoyles. When they emerge from the shadows into the moonlight, Jaime puts his hands up and drops down to his knees. He waits for them to decide whether he can approach or if he has to move on and try again another night. He doesn’t hear them talking, but they communicate somehow, silently. He’s determined, over the years, that they use some kind of hand signals, but he’s never caught them doing it. 
The mobile home is painted black, and it’s almost invisible in the night. The Spider doesn’t take visitors in the daytime. The gun at his back pokes him directly up to the door.
On the inside, the trailer is flooded with fluorescent lighting of the kind rarely seen anymore. After years of lanterns and lamps, it looks otherworldly. Dreamlike. The Spider, in his silk robe, seems to gleam in the artificial light, reclining on his cushion-covered couch.
“Slayer,” he says mildly, gestures for Jaime to sit in a chair opposite him. “It’s been some time. What brings you to--”
“If you know anything,” Jaime tells him flatly, staying where he is just inside the door, “you know why I am here.”
Varys looks at him with cool, calculating assessment. His bald head shines thoughtfully.
“I do. But do sit down, you’re upsetting my birds.” In their cages all around the room, crows shudder and caw. Their black eyes stare unblinkingly at the intruder. The bald little man gestures again to a cushioned seat welded into the trailer.
Jaime acquiesces only enough to take a few steps further into the trailer, standing over the Spider’s chaise lounge. Varys shrugs him off, not remotely threatened. He smiles up from his comfortable position as though it’s a deck chair at a beach, and Jaime is there to take his drinks order.
“That is a fine prosthetic you have there. I would never have known, if I didn’t know everything. The color is perfect, just perfect. Which one is it, right or left?"
The Spider doesn’t really expect him to answer. He knows that Jaime has kept a tight lid on that detail, so far. There are certainly people out there in the world who know for certain, and he will surely find out eventually, but the Spider has not gotten any of them to talk just yet. He will fish for the information just the same. It’s a reflex, at this point. 
"Where in the world did you get it? I didn’t think they made things like this anymore, not to custom. But you’re a wealthy man again, aren’t you? Even after Armageddon, Lannisters stay rich.” The spider shows a sliver of teeth. “You would think that money and influence would mean nothing in the new world, but it isn’t so. We simply deal in different currencies now. Your brother realized that faster than most. Clever man.”
Jaime remains standing. 
The Spider’s fingers drum his seat warily. “I, of course, recall how you helped me to escape King’s Landing. Have you come to call in this debt?”
“Is she dead?” He spits out the words like he will not taste their poison if he is rid of them quickly enough.
Varys hesitates. Just for a moment, but it is enough to make Jaime blanch well ahead of his answer.
“Yes. Without a doubt.”
Jaime’s throat tightens around the word. “How?”
“How else? The Others.”
Jaime takes one more breath, and chokes on it. He can’t get any more words out. 
He turns and slaps his palms against the door of the trailer so that it bangs open and he is out into the freezing night again, running, past the blurry borders of the rest-stop and into proper forest, and when he cannot run anymore he drops to his hands and knees in the mud and opens his mouth and wails until he has no voice left. 
His fists beat into the earth as though he can make it give her back.
When there’s nothing left inside him he gets up. Stumbles unseeing back through the forest. Raw and shaking, he pushes through Varys’ honor guard of former bikers, back into the Spider’s Lair.
Varys has not moved since he left him. He watches Jaime drop down into the chair opposite him as though it were only moments since he gave his terrible answer. 
“Would you like to ask for your boon now?” the Spider asks. 
“Yes.” Jaime leans forward. “I need weapons.”
***
Let me hold you in my arms dear
And let me melt in the heat of your gaze
And let the clock strike one,
Time and mind go marching on
Let our sense of selves decay
It was there that I saw you
In the heat of a summer's embrace
But as time went on
I wondered what went wrong
I wondered what became of you
“It Was There That I Saw You”, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead
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jakeyp · 3 years
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“I don’t know why I’m crying I-I’m sorry” // angst and fluff ♥︎
hi... i kind of wrote a small fic with that prompt. you can read it here or on ao3! thanks for this i really needed the motivation. i decided to write something about what happened after 8x06! <3 
Amy arrives home a little later than usual that night, overwhelmed with the events of the last few days. There are so many things to process, though the only thing she can focus on at the moment, is her husband’s suspension. She knows Jake very well, and most likely he’ll try to hide his sadness and pretend he’s fine, not because he thinks he’s weak but because he doesn’t want Amy to worry about him. Yet, she can’t help to wonder how he’s taking it.
Not knowing what to expect as she enters their apartment, Amy tosses her keys onto the couch sadly, too distracted to place them on the key hook. Jake is nowhere to be seen, so she figures he must be putting Mac to sleep, since it’s past ten already, and there are no toys scattered around the floor.
Indeed, she finds Jake whispering to his son, who lies in his crib, babbling and very, very awake, even though the lights are dimmed and it’s quiet in there.
“Hey,” Amy says softly.
Despite her tone, Jake startles, turning around, but immediately relaxes when he sees it’s just her. “Ames,” he breathes, looking down at Mac and then back at his wife, guilt taking over his features. “I kind of let him take a nap earlier and now he can’t sleep…”
“It’s okay,” Amy says, shrugging. She wants to add something else to reassure him, but her mind’s entirely blank, so she settles for a casual question. “What did you two have for dinner?”
Jake smiles. “He tried scrambled eggs for the first time. I know it’s technically breakfast food, but I read he can eat them now, plus it’s what I cook best.”
“And?”
“He loved them, duh.”
Amy chuckles. “Of course. Did you have some too?”
“I… wasn’t really hungry.”
“Oh. Well, I haven’t eaten either. We can heat some leftovers if you want.”
Jake nods with a weak smile, which widens as he turns to check on Mac. “Hey, he’s asleep! Maybe he just needed to make sure mama arrived home safe.”
Amy leans over to look at her sleeping son. Mac looks so much like his dad, when he laughs or smiles—which he’s been doing recently a lot—but especially when he’s asleep and completely peaceful.
She turns to see Jake staring at their baby with a proud smile and it warms her heart. Perhaps he’s forgotten about the suspension.
“Leftovers, then?” she whispers after a while, grabbing him by the wrist to pull him a little closer to her.
“Sure,” he says, throwing a last glance at Mac before following Amy out of their room and closing the door behind him. They’ve learned to make as little noise as possible in the last ten months, so their voices are barely above a whisper by default whenever Mac is asleep.
As it’s routine, Jake turns on the TV, not choosing a channel, and mutes it before joining Amy in the kitchen, while she gets the food from the fridge and puts it in the microwave.
From the corner of her eye, she can see Jake leaning against the counter in an awkward pose, staring at her almost anxiously.
Amy has no idea how to ask the question she’s been wanting to ask him since she got there, so she takes a deep breath and turns to him. “Babe, are you… okay with it?”
His expression tells her he’s been dreading her to ask. Yet, he plays dumb. “With what?”
“With everything that happened. Your suspension…”
“Oh,” Jake spats after what seems like hours, as if every emotion he was supposed to be feeling before was just settling in. Amy’s stomach drops. These subjects might not be her thing. “It’s fine. I suppose I can talk about it, but is it necessary?”
She shrugs. “Just tell me.” Her voice is as soft as it can be. “How do you feel about it?”
Jake puts on a poker face now. She’s usually good at reading him, but she can’t tell what he’s thinking. Amy knows how much he enjoys his job. Everything had happened so fast, though, at some point she’d lost track of it all. One second he was very excited about his ‘Speed’ situation and then, suddenly, he was in too deep.
To sum it up, it hadn’t gone well.
“I feel weird,” Jake finally admits, looking down. “It feels weird to know I won’t be going back tomorrow. But I’ll… adapt, I guess.”
“I’m sure you will,” she automatically replies, hesitating a little before placing a hand on his chest.
He seems to attempt a smile, but it vanishes right away. “I feel stupid too. Why can’t I listen? Holt told me to stay out of it and I screwed up. I screw up a lot.”
Amy frowns. “Of course you don’t. Sometimes you can be silly, yes, but there’s nothing wrong with it. This time it just… it got out of my hands too. I was really drunk.”
Jake chuckles. “Yeah,” he says shortly, and then swallows. “So five months, huh? It isn’t that much, is it? There are like thirty days in a month so it would be like a hundred days which have twenty-four hours each, so it would be like twenty-four thousand hours.”
“No,” she says, shaking her head with a smile. Math is decidedly not Jake’s strength. “It’s only like… three thousand and seven hundred hours.”
“Oh. That’s… still a lot.”
Amy sighs. His eyes are red, probably with exhaustion, and she can’t recognize the emotion behind them. It might be just deep, deep sadness.
“Ames,” he says huskily before she can talk. “What am I gonna do?”
Her eyebrows shot up, but before she can even think of an answer, Jake cuts her off again. “Things were so well yesterday. It makes me think… I can mess everything up so quickly. And it’s always my fault. What am I gonna mess up next?”
“Don’t say that,” she says, her throat knotting. “It’s okay to make mistakes, babe. And you are great at dealing with the consequences. You learn from your mistakes, you’ve always done.”
“Yeah, I keep pushing things until something goes wrong,” he argues in a trembling voice, “and until then I stop, I—” and suddenly that trembling voice breaks.
Amy’s stomach drops again as his eyes tear up, becoming redder. He immediately looks away when he realizes himself.
“Hey,” she says soothingly, cupping his face to make him look at her. “Don’t beat yourself up over this.”
“I’m sorry,” he chokes. “I know it’s a dumb thing to cry over, I just—” once more he’s unable to finish his sentence, pinching his lips shut before his voice can get any louder or high-pitched.
A single tear streams down his cheek.
“It’s not dumb,” Amy says. “If it makes you feel like this, it’s not dumb.”
“Well, I got myself into it—”
“And as I said, you will learn from it. That’s what matters.”
“I’ve been suspended like a thousand times already,” he counters, his tone bitter. "What makes you think it won’t happen again? What makes you think I couldn’t get fired?”
She shrugs, trying to stay calm even though she wants to cry as well. “I wouldn’t be less proud of you than I am today,” she says. “You’ve grown up so much and whatever you have to deal with, I have to deal with too, because I love you and I’m willing to. So please, don’t beat yourself up over this because it’s going to be fine.”
He sniffs. “How can you know that?”
“Because I’ll make sure everything’s fine. You’re not alone, babe. You have me.”
Jake stays in silence for a few seconds, and she thinks he’s going to start sobbing, but his lips curl instead. “I love you so much,” is all he says.
“I love you too,” she mouths back, afraid she’ll begin crying if she talks, and then pulls him into a hug.
They stay like that for a while, maybe five seconds or ten minutes, sinking in a silence that they don’t really mind. She pulls away from his embrace only to wipe his tears away. Jake looks so tired. Exhausted, even. She feels the same way, when minutes ago they were going to watch some TV and have dinner, though now she’s not sure she’s up for it.
Jake must have been thinking the same thing because a small laugh comes from his lips all of a sudden.
“What?” Amy asks, amused.
“I just realized we never even heated the food.”
Amy chuckles, and it only causes him to laugh a little harder. She wonders if it’s the exhaustion making such a simple detail seem so funny, and rests her head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat. It’s calmer now, it could be matching hers.
“Babe,” she says softly.
“Yes?” Jake hums.
“It’s going to be fine. I promise.”
He doesn’t answer right away, and Amy separates, afraid she said the wrong thing, but Jake’s only bowing his head like she said the cheesiest thing in the world.
“I know. Thanks, Ames,” he says, and then adds, “I love you.” Even though she hears those words coming from him at least ten times a day, he manages to make them sound like it’s the first every time.
“I love you too,” Amy whispers, leaning in to kiss his cheek.
Jake is about to return a much longer kiss on the lips when Mac interrupts the moment. Amy squeezes her eyes shut with a knowing smile—this has happened many times before. However, Jake immediately becomes alert and rushes to attend to his son.
Amy chuckles to herself, finally heating the food which is still inside the microwave and turns off the TV, because they are definitely not watching anything before they fall asleep, worn off with the events.
Like Jake would say, they’re sort of an old couple now, but she couldn’t care less. To her, so far, it’s meant that things can be so easy now.
Her husband doesn’t join her back in the kitchen so she goes and checks on him and Mac. The room feels so warm and quiet still, as Jake rocks his son softly, lulling him, again not realizing Amy’s watching. It always seems like he drifts away from reality when he’s trying to make Mac stop crying—and he’s good at it. She doesn’t know what it is, but Jake is great at it.
“I have to admit,” Amy says, startling him of course, “I’m a little jealous of you. You get to spend five months with him, all by yourself.”
Jake gives her what looks like an automatic smile, and then realization hits him. “I hadn’t thought about that before,” he huffs, stroking Mac’s soft curls and looking down at him. “Did you hear that, bud? Five months for only the two of us.”
Mac babbles, and Amy tries to ignore how awake he still sounds. “Careful, Ames,” Jake tells her. “That sounded a lot like ‘dada’, and with these five months? It’s definitely going to be his first word.”
Amy rolls her eyes with a playful smile. “Not if I train him every night.”
“Challenge accepted.”
An hour later they’re both in bed after eating dinner and Amy has already changed into her pajamas. Jake hasn’t stopped rocking Mac, who woke up once more, but his father doesn’t seem to mind, and Amy has the feeling that his suspension doesn’t sound so bad to him anymore.
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