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notyour-valentine · 8 months

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Hi Val! Sending you a lovely wintry scene to help cool you down during the under bearable heat! Isn't it beautiful? I'm not sure what lies beyond the door, but it seems mysterious and I like that 😉

Come Hell or High Water

[Masterlist]

Summary: Tommy remembers something, albeit a little late

Note: I believe we had 30°+ when this snowed into my askbox and truly made me giggle. I had to take some time before completing this, but I still hope you enjoy it nonetheless- it's not my usual forte. It's a bit of a crack fic/nonsense but here we go. Thank you so much @zablife for sending this in and making my day

All my writing is produced by an adult and created with an adult audience in mind (18/21+). You are responsible for your own media consumption. I do not consent to my work being translated, copied or posted elsewhere on this platform or any other.

Wordcount: 518 words

“Fucking hell!”, Tommy cursed, pulling his hand back from the door handle and shaking it in the air. “Thing’s practically boiling.”

“Well, the sun’s been shining on it for hours, so…”, she reminded him, trying to swallow a smile. Poor Tom. His palm was already reddening. For all his skills with numbers and horses and wires even, sometimes he was so horrifically inept. As if this whole thing wasn't already comically enough.

Speaking of wires - she only caught the last bit of his suggestion, partly fueled by his quite recent, quite painful experience.

“...blow it up.”

“Tommy!”, she gasped. “You can’t blow the door up - it’ll make the wall come down like a house of cards.”

He only shrugged, spitting on the palm of his hand to ease the burning sting.

“You want the door open, I’ll get the door bloody open.”, he muttered again, glaring at the side entrance to the rose garden as if it had personally insulted him.

“I wanted the door open in december.”, she reminded him as gently as she could while still suppressing a giggle.

It had been then, with snowflakes the size of coins swirling in the air and their breath summoning smoke creatures, when the large square stones that led to the main entrance to the rose garden had gone slick and slippery with thin sheets of ice.

Even in winter the rose garden had been a beautiful place to be, to see the branches and the statues covered in delicate blankets of white, to see the pond frozen over like the mirrored entrance to another world. No cold could keep her away. The only fear she had was slipping on her way there.

The last thing she had needed was a broken wrist or twisted ankle. The last thing Tommy had needed was yet another thing to concern herself with.

So she had turned to the side entrance, but the icy cold had made the door freeze in place where it was, unused for all this time.

She had asked Tommy for help, and he had promised her, but then so much had happened, and it had gotten pushed into the far corner of his mind. Before too long snow had turned to rain, only for that to grow scarcer and scarcer with the relentless march of the seasons, and she had been sure he had forgotten all about it.

Until lunch, a few hours ago, when Tommy had stared at her in the middle of a sentence, his aquamarine blue eyes widening.

“You wanted the door open!”, he had remembered. She had tried to assure him that it was of no matter, that it was summer now and truly no chance of snow and ice.

Still, Tommy had assured her despite her giggles that if she wanted the door open he would get it open.

Of course, why her husband chose the warmest day of summer to try and open a door that had been frozen shut in december, she did not know. Well, she’d say that when describing the hilarity of the situation to Polly, Ada and Lizzie, but in truth she knew exactly why. Because she had asked him to.

There we are, I hope you enjoyed it and if you are suffering a heatwave, remember to drink lots of water and keep your head in the shade xx

Taglist

Overall

@lilyrachelcassidy @jyessaminereads @chlorrox @watercolorskyy @books-livre @quarterpastmidnight @lilyevanswhore @polishcrazyone @zablife @just-a-harmless-patato @stevie75 @flyingjosephine-blog @runnning-outof-time @cillmequick @babayaga67 @butterfly-skinnylegend @shelbydelrey @mrkdvidal1989 @raincoffeeandfandoms @midnightmagpiemama @adaydreamaway08 @kmc1989 @trixie23

Tommy

@knowledgefulbutterfly @babayaga67 @signorellisantichrist @lespendy @geeksareunique @look-at-the-soul @lothbrokcore @rangerelik @elenavampire21 @evanore

#valentineswritings #tommy shelby #thomas shelby #tommy shelby x reader #tommy shelby imagine #thomas shelby x reader #thomas shelby imagine #peaky blinders #tommy shelby / reader #thomas shelby / reader #tommy shelby x you #tommy shelby / you #thomas shelby / you #thomas shelby x you #come hell or high water

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imaginedreamwrite · 1 year

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Come Hell Or Highwater: Part 1

With his feet propped up on the corner of the desk and a lit cigarette hanging between his lips, he had felt momentarily content. The buzz from the tobacco had hit him, a welcomed kind of high that made the lingering silence in the room seem less egregious than it was.

Ari and Steve had received the call and the order to be reassigned from the case they were on, the directive had come from the captain of their specialized team and within an hour they had been ripped from one case and moved to another.

Their replacements had landed in the safety zone to relieve Steve and Ari, the two of which had been pulled directly into their top boss’ office.

“She’s 22,” Steve cursed and slammed the file against the desk, stalking around the desk and turning sharply to lean against the edge, “witnessed a high-profile murder on her way to the apartment from university. A hell of a thing.”

Ari drew in a puff and held it in his mouth for a moment before slowly exhaling, the dart between his fingertips glowing at the burning butt. He didn’t speak until he leaned forward and tapped the edge against the ashtray.

The pile of ah had been growing and he had been putting off dumping the tray in the trash like he should have, although he knew that he would eventually have to clean the glass. As he sat back, Ari finally addressed his brother.

“Wrong place at the wrong time,” Ari drew his gaze away from the ashtray and the file he had been pouring over, watching Steve tap his fingers against the edge of the wood, “22 is a hell of an age to have this kind of target on her head.”

“Fucking animal.” Steve cursed and momentarily twitched as if he could still feel Sister Mary’s switch against his knuckles, a repeated punishment they had all received from catholic school.

Their ma attempted to straighten out the triplets’ boyish and troublesome nature if only the switches and the punishments had worked.

“He’s carved men twice as big and tough, this girl-“ Ari lifted a picture of the woman they were assigned to protect and hide away, his captivating gaze studying every inch of the image in his hand, his lips forming a deep frown.

You were enrolled in a bachelor of music and composition course, and almost finished your degree with just over a year to go.

You had been kept late at campus while helping a friend create a composition that was going to be recorded for a final grade. You stayed behind because he asked you to and when it had come time for you to walk home to your apartment, you denied his offer for an Uber or an escort home.

You claimed you didn’t have long to go, and you didn’t. It should’ve been uneventful, it should’ve taken you less than fifteen minutes. Hell, you even had pepper spray in your bag in case something happened. You were, for all intents and purposes, protected one way or another.

And then your roommate asked if you could stop at the drugstore on the way home because she forgot to pick up her prescription and you were close. You were a sweetheart, you wouldn’t have let her suffer so you agreed. You took a detour because she asked you to because she was your friend.

Your errand had almost gone off without a hitch until you stepped out of the drugstore and took a side road, one that would’ve saved you a few minutes. You happened upon the assault, robbery and murder of a high-profile dignitary. The politician was recognizable, even if you weren’t involved in politics in any possible measure you would’ve recognized him.

And you had.

Not only had you recognized the infamous man, but you had also bared witness to him and his partner being robbed, attacked and brutally murdered.

You heard the twisted and sickening gurgle, you had felt the air shift as someone had taken their last breath and another was holding on for dear life.

You listened and you tried to help after coming out of hiding. You were a gentle soul who had called 911, you had waited and done all you could to support the man struggling for his life.

It was a twist of fate, a simple errand that had altered your course in life because you were a good person.

The men you witnessed from your hiding place hadn’t been aware that you were even there watching them, frozen in place and fearful that you had been next. They had killed their political target, and they had later killed the man in the hospital room. They thought they had eliminated every witness, however, they were innately wrong.

You were the only living and breathing person who could attest to their horrible acts, and that had placed a detrimental target upon your head. Once it was found out that there was a living witness, your life would be on the line and so would the case that was being built against their criminal empire.

With your safety in check, the triplets were called in. Ari Levinson, Andy Barber and Steve Rogers had all worked for the Witness Protection Program, triplets who had given themselves different last names in order to add another layer of personal protection.

Ari and Steve were the best the WPP had for agents.

The two of them were ex-navy SEALs, two men who were battle-hardened and incredibly skilled with as many weapons as they could get their hands on. They had taken every opportunity given to them to become deadly soldiers hellbent on protecting those that needed them most.

They had become out of the brotherhood and deadly them that had encroached upon some of the most terrifying and deadly missions that were thrown at their squad. They had served and served their purpose well, and only after retirement had they continued to do good with another agency.

Andy had chosen to go to law school instead of joining the military like his brothers had, choosing to take the avenue of criminal prosecution and the courts. His intent was just as noble as Steve and Ari’s, he had felt that drive and need to protect people who couldn’t protect themselves.

It was after he had graduated from law school, becoming more seasoned as a lawyer, that the three of them joined the program.

“-she’s safe. Andy is with her getting more details about that night. They’re waiting to hear just like we are, we need confirmation that the safe house and all the documents are ready.” Steve crossed his arms over his chest before he turned his head, gazing at the clock hanging off the wall.

They were called to their director’s office and told to bring what they needed for a long-term stay with no foreseeable end date.

They had been ripped off one case, set upon another and given little detail as to where they were going or what the game plan was. Even with the files they had read, and what they had been told, there was still so much hidden from them.

“Orders.” The door to the office opened, and one of their team members entered with a manila envelope for each of them, closing and locking the door behind herself. “Star witness is ready for transport and you two have gotten your alibis.”

“Married?” Steve exclaimed in surprise, turning over the fake IDs, the faux passports and two sets of keys. “This is the ploy?”

“You’re headed for an isolated, almost self-contained town in the middle of nowhere. You got married last year and are seeking relocation to escape the rush of the big city, you’re wanting to settle down somewhere quiet to raise a family. Ari is gonna be foreman with local lumber yard, Steve you’ll be working from home as an online editor, both of you are skilled with your hands.”

“And Y/N?” Ari had reached for the cigarettes to his left, flipping open the lid of the box to grab a white filtered dart, his fingertips grasping the end as he yanked it out.

“She has to be with one of you at all times. If she’s not with Steve at home, she’s with you at the lumberyard.” The agent and their longtime friend had come to rest her hands on her hips, watching the two men as they thumbed through the envelope they were given, looking at the necessary paperwork for their new lives.

“Where does Andy fit in?”

“This town you’re going to,” the agent drew in a breath and huffed it out in a short burst, “the entire town is made of polyamorous units. It’s the perfect cover for having three men living with or visiting her. No one would bat an eye at having a young polyamorous family like the one you’re acting as-“

“Polyamory? Won’t that attract more attention from these sick fucks?” Steve raised an eyebrow, gaze flitting toward Ari.

“There’s more of them out there than you think. Besides, the world is a big place and there’s a lot of rumours that she headed into Europe.” With a final look at the marriage certificate, the drivers licenses, fake passports, housing deeds, the story had been set.

“Andy travels for work, he spends more time away than home. Long stints abroad, a week here and there at home.”

The question that hadn’t been asked had received an answer and then their friend and agent nodded her head. “Let’s get you boys some wedding rings and get you settled at home.”

“And where’s our young bride?” Ari questioned, shoving his paperwork back in the envelope.

“With her third husband, waiting for you two. Let’s go.”

Permanent Tags List: @jennmurawski13-writes @beardburnsupersoldiers @rebekahdawkins @supraveng @bookfrog242 @old-enough-to-know-better73 @loveitorleaveit20 @alexakeyloveloki @socalgem1124 @mogaruke @dreamlessinparis @frisky975 @dispatchvampire @hereforbuckyandsteve @jesgisborne @fairybnha3 @hallecarey1 @tang082646 @mrslokibarnesrogers @deputy-videogamer @posionivy0061 @loving-life-my-way @kaylamcd2000 @mercyy98 @rootcrop @whatinthestyles @slutforsteve @cornmousequeen @rededfoxy @yagurl-snow @glimmering-darling-dolly @patzammit @buckymydarlingangel @missusbarnes-rogers @andy-is-gay @nervousfandom @rileyloves5 @emi11ie @carelessreadersstuff @readingandwritingandreading @cynic-spirit @inkedaztec @gh0stgurl @cats-and-sheep @pono-pura-vida @seitmai @teambarnes72 @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory @miss-rebel-without-applause

#ari levinson x reader angst #ari levinson imagines angst #ari levinson x reader fluff #ari levinson x reader smut #steve rogers x reader fluff #steve rogers x reader #steve rogers x reader imagines #Andy barber x reader #Andy barber x reader angst #come hell or high water #come hell or Highwater series #come hell or Highwater masterlist #reverse harem #reverse harem au #navy seal!steve rogers #navy seal!Ari Levinson #witness protection program!reader #witness protection!Reader

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endrbaby · 2 years

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so much happened wth😭

#come hell or high water #comehellorhighwatertheywillwrite #ao3fic #ao3 authers are a different breed #ao3 author #fanfic #woah woah woah #drama #so much is happening #come hell or high water they will write #Bats and the undying by Jason_Rose

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chohwcomic · 25 days

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new chapter is starting!

#chohwcomic #chohw #come hell or high water #webcomic

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kaurwreck · 8 days

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I get why people like the idea of Chuuya with corruption scars, but I find it so casually devastating that he canonically only has (1) the scars from intensely serious wounds that have reached him despite his ability, which would include Shirase's betrayal and N's torture, and (2) the graphite in his wrist that evidences he had the same spitfire as a child that he has as an adult, that he is who he's always been even without his memories.

Especially in the context of Kafka Asagiri's response to an interviewer asking about change as a theme:

Interviewer: I believe one of Bungo Stray Dogs' themes is that people can change....

Asagiri: I want to correct this a bit because one of the themes of Bungo Stray Dogs I want to stress is that there are things you cannot change about people.... Because of that, there are certainly other ways that character can really shine and stand out. The struggle that many humans have to overcome within themselves is something that is told over and over again in works of literature. I find that it's something that a lot of people can relate to.

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd chuuya #there are some things you cannot change people #come hell or high water #chuuya is who he's always been #his slightest scar doesnt matter because it means he's human #it matters because it means he's always been *himself*#loyal fierce and ready to throw down for those he loves #and that's all he needs to be assured that he's enough for whatever may come next #there is something inside of him and it is so profound and steadfast that it can cage a storm #and his promise to himself that he'll never back down is etched in graphite on his wrist

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papermint-airplane · 2 months

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Prepare your buttholes, everyone. New story post coming tonight no matter what I have to do to make it happen.

#ramblings #just simblr things #story update #come hell or high water #😤😤😤

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sweepweep · 9 months

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@comehellorhighwatertheywillwrite

#come hell or high water #ao3 stuff #ao3feed #ao3 fanfic #ao3 writer #ao3 #ao3 notes #frog #good luck

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nana-glass-chillhop-radio-hour · 5 months

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🌈🤲

🌈 i found writing a prose novel in response to audio fiction SO challenging. I had to do several "studies" where I wrote a novelized version of an existing TSV scene and make some baseline decisions about how to handle the POV character's interiority before really starting to sit down and draft come hell or high water. Just like... adaptation is kind of hard I guess!!

I also really struggled with transitioning from the second act to the third act in that work, and I fear it shows. Alas.

And I was very proud of the Carpenter monologues in 'My Song Cries Prophecy and Doom'! I honestly don't have much experience writing horror but I really enjoyed just like, mimicking that classic Ware horror monologue cadence with lots of multisyllabic Latinate words and complicated clauses while Carpenter recounts the MOST vivid childhood trauma in a disingenuously blase register despite the fact that her trauma is quite literally slowly killing her lol. And I actually really enjoyed the voice acting too. I had zero confidence in my ability to pull off an accent from outside the US so I just tried to lean into my natural vaguely Pennsyltuckey Appalachian American accent and hope that it conveyed to accent-oriented listeners the same sense of 'this character is, in fact, from a place' that Méabh de Brún's Carpenter conveys to me 🥰🥰🥰

🤲 writing both original fiction and fanfiction has always been a way for me to work out what I think about things! Especially things that I care about so viscerally that it's hard to approach head-on. My fiction very often goes down the same rabbit holes about like. The sins of the father and human rights and queer aspec people navigating getting their needs met in quasi-romantic relationships and coming to terms with disappointment in God and engaging in self-destructive behavior and breaking cycles of trauma. These themes have literally been coming up in my writing since I was thirteen. I like having a place to play out different permutations of those ideas and see what sticks. I think that is what I get most from writing, the opportunity to tease apart my own feelings and thoughts. It does also mean sharing work feels very vulnerable but that's baseball for ya.

Thanks for the ask! 🥰🥰

#fanfic writer ask game #the silt verses #come hell or high water #my song cries prophecy and doom

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spidernana · 2 years

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I have questions about axefell. How did fell sans react when he found out that aliza was his daughter?

"i'ma keep ya, safe, angel baby. y'ain't never gonna be alone again. and ain't nothin' gonna take ya from me, neither... nothin'."

#axefell #big daddy #and his baby angel #he'd tear flowey apart with his bare hands if he even looked at her #come hell or high water #that baby is staying with him for good

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scullys-scalpel · 10 months

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Imminence: Come Hell or High Water & Desolation

Have we talked about how not only are these songs bangers but the sheer artistry of these two companion pieces is breathtaking

#Imminence #desolation #this album is going to be so killer #metalcore #they continue to out due themselves #music #music videos #making more shitty cell phone gifs #come hell or high water #the band imminence

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nillial · 8 months

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working on the come hell or high water epilogue Guys is it still funny to make jokes about kravitzs first name being lenny . is that wrong . should i include that

#hush lillian #come hell or high water #i cant decide if both the two sunned planet and faerun had lenny kravitz. plane walker lenny kravitz #im like maybe 40 percent of the way done w the epilogue btw MAYBE. i will update again when i am closer to publishing the final few chapter #sometimes i wish i had the dawg in me that i had at 17/18 . there was something wrong with her

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thecommunalfoolboy · 1 month

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I genuinely think fic writers could be stabbed and bleeding out on the bathroom floor and with a pale shaking hand they’d press publish on their laptop

#tw blood #tw blood mention #blood mention #cw blood #come hell or high water #they will write #come hell or high water they will write #the devil works hard but fic writers work harder

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imaginedreamwrite · 1 year

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Come Hell Or Highwater: Part 2

“We can start from the beginning, from when you first left the campus.�� Did he introduce himself already?

Did he tell you his name?

Did you remember what he said or when he had even come into the room?

You were lost in your mind, you were distracted by your torrid thoughts barraging your nerves with the constant reminder that you previously had blood on your hands. You swore you could still feel the eerie warmth and the way it seemed to stick to your skin.

You could remember it all as it had just happened, from the smell of dank moisture that crept into your senses to the feel of wet concrete below your knees as you tried to help him. You can remember crawling out of your hiding place with adrenaline coursing through your body.

But you couldn’t remember his name.

You couldn’t remember asking for water or getting water. You couldn’t remember using so many tissues as you sat across the lawyer in this room, or why your voice was so hoarse. It was a blur, it felt like a blur to you, and yet you could remember the scene you happened upon while trying to do something nice for your roommate.

You could remember the phone falling from your hand when one of the officers at the station told you that the man the ambulance had taken to the hospital had died from someone screwing with his IV. You could remember the panic and fear, even the chill of the leather seat in the police cruiser as they escorted you to the station to answer a few more questions.

That had all been a lead-up to the moment you were transported further and set into this room, under the watchful eye of some federal agents since you were the only living witness to the crime that wouldn’t be completely unsolved.

You were the only living person who could have aided the case against someone you had never heard of, the man who ordered the hits had assumed it had gone off without a hitch until it was reported that someone was still living and someone was a witness.

It was just the two of you in the room although there was an audible and video motion capture camera hanging on the ceiling that was watching you. The room was bare and seemed dim despite the bright lights that beat down on the two of you.

You found yourself unable to focus on anything but the piercing blue eyes that were fixated upon you, the colour striking and bold. You couldn’t have been sure if you remembered his name correctly but those eyes…

“Y/N, I want you to know that you’re safe here. You’re safe.” He reminded you twice before, constantly reassuring you that nothing and nobody was going to harm you while you were here. His reassurance was stalwart and steady, it was as ironclad as you could have expected, almost as if it was his creed to keep you shielded.

“What’s gonna h-happen to me?” You were on the verge of tears again, your breath hitching in your throat as hot stinging tears obscured your vision.

You had wiped your tears and drew your hands back to the table, rubbing your fingertips over any wall scratch or chip that you could find.

Your mind was both your ally and your enemy, the testimony of that night was engrained and vividly being replayed in your mind over and over, and yet another part of your brain was telling you that you were going to meet your end. “I don’t want to die-“

“You’re not going to die,” he reached forward and rest his hand upon yours, his gaze soft and protective, “you’re not going to die. I promise you’re going to be safe.”

Your bottom lip trembled. Your breath had become strained and you turned suddenly in your seat, facing away from him as you bit down on your bottom lip to stop yourself from letting every verbal sound fall from your tongue.

You were riddled with fear, you were in a violent cycle of panic and anxiety, and the resulting surge of emotional weakness was grating to you. You didn’t know what to say or how to react, all you could feel was the acid in your stomach churning as if you were going to succumb to the feeling of nausea.

“Look at me, Y/N. You need to look at me so I can tell you what’s happening.” His voice was like honey, smooth and sultry. Slowly you turned to look at him through blurry vision and with your hands balled into your sweater, knuckles tucked under your chin.

“You’re going into the Witness Protection Program, you’re going to be relocated. There are two agents who are going to take you somewhere safe. There’s a whole story contrived and created to protect you and not raise suspicions about the three of you in one house.”

“I don’t…” You angled your head and wiped your cheek against your shoulder, the trail of tears that had rolled down your cheeks and neck had almost been dried before your latest bout. “What kind of place is this?”

“You’ll be moving there under the guise of a polyamorous marriage. It’s an easy way to explain two men and a young woman moving in together, no one will ask questions. No one would think anything of this situation you’ll be in.” His voice never wavered from comforting or supportive, his eyes had never once lost their comforting lustre or empathy, even as he dove into the explanation of what your temporary future would be and you were left feeling conflicted, he was kind.

His eyes, which you had been so enthralled by, had remained as light as when he first sat down. He had given you his entire attention, focusing and fixating everything on you. There had only been one instance when he stepped away to take a phone call, and even then he kept a watchful eye on you from across the room.

You were in and out of thought, either completely silent or quietly stewing and mumbling to yourself, a clear divide between acceptance of the mess you were caught in and disbelief.

“Y/N,” he spoke again after a bought of quietude, pushing his chair back to stand, “we have to go. They’re ready for you.”

The chair scraped against the floor with a sound that made your ears hurt, the squeal reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard and you’d visibly winced. You tried not to recreate the same sound when you pushed the chair out from under the table between you, your eyes flickering toward the movement you caught through the window of the room.

“I promise,” Andy stopped you from moving too far, holding you in place with his sturdy and husky rasp, “you are going to be okay.”

A knock sounded on the door, the rapping of knuckles was another indicator that your life was going to be uprooted and held in someone else’s hands. You were going to have to put your trust and faith, your entire future, into the people destined to keep you hidden and safe from the clutches of whatever devil wanted you dead.

“Ari, Steve.” Andy had greeted two men across the threshold of the room, standing at a half angle toward you, allowing the two guards you’d be relying on to get their first look at you.

You took in the stock of the men, you took in the similarities with wonder and mild confusion. You were already rattled, your mind already seemingly frayed and debilitated by what screwed-up mess you were in, and it had taken you longer than you would’ve liked to realize that they were almost direct carbon copies of each other.

“You’re triplets.” You mumbled, clutching the sleeves of your sweater as if it was some kind of comfort or shield for you to cling to, and your stipulating statement was confirmed correct with a nod from Andy.

With few differences like one of the triplets having a clean face while the other two had beards, and the man with a clean face having more blonde in his hair than not and the same blonde having more green, they were almost like clones of each other.

Although Andy appeared to be the smallest in physical size, he was no less tall than his brothers and the three of them had conductively made you feel like a rag doll compared to them.

“We have to leave,” the blonde spoke, holding the door open further for you, “Andy we’ll see you in a few weeks.”

You couldn’t stop staring at the ring on your finger, the foreign piece of jewellery carried weight that you hadn’t expected and it was with silence that you’d observed and studied the object. It was simple and minimalist, the metal carved and formed to look like branches made of rose gold that extended to the claws holding the gem that was at the centre of the ring.

The claws were set in forms of three all equally spaced around the centrepiece, holding it into place securely, giving the ring an ornate and unique design. It was smooth against the pads of your fingers as you played and toyed with one of the pieces given to you as part of this grand act you would be required to keep up.

The ring was just part of it, a small detail as you crossed into the unknown with the two men who were agents part of the witness protection agency. They were ex-Navy SEALs and had done tours in some of the most dangerous and deadly territories in the world, completing missions that were more than your imagination could handle.

They were your protection as you fled to a small polyamorous town to be shielded until you could face trial as a witness, the two of them would be your only hope in avoiding death by whatever means this faceless phantom had wanted for you.

You didn’t even know who was after you, you didn’t even know the man who ordered the hits that had wiped out two lives. You had only bared witness to the men who committed the crime and the orders that came from above their station were like a faceless monster hiding in the closet.

Steve, Ari and Andy knew although they wouldn’t tell you. They wouldn’t give you any notion of who wanted to eliminate you, and you wondered if it was because you were already dealing with enough as it was.

“You can ask later.” The statement given to you by Ari, the eldest of the three, had been a directive to what was temporarily hidden from you.

It was one of the few things they had said to you before you were given the keys to an older truck that would take you from the city to whichever small town you were destined for.

The truck itself was unassuming and heralded rust spots near the bumper and the wheel wells, giving the truck an aged appearance that wasn’t captivating enough to draw attention. You didn’t know much about vehicles beyond the basics, and you had no detailed opinions on the transportation that was part of the overlying picture.

To you it was another token that added to this story they were trying to convey, it was as fake as the passport and identification you had been given while your real ID was kept safe or destroyed. It was as false as the ring on your finger, as the marriage certificate that legally bound you to Steve and the ‘open relationship’ you were in with Ari and Andy.

For the time being, you would be putting on act. For the time being while you were under their protection, you were settled in this polyamorous relationship and your performance in this situation would either aide their efforts to keep you safe, or it would be one of the things that tore you apart.

“Ari’s back.” Steve’s voice had pulled you from your daze and your hands fell back to the seat, fingers gripping the seam when the other statuette man started walking back to the vehicle from the doors of the gas station.

His eyes were focused, his head was tucked ever so slightly to keep his face as disguised as possible from the cameras that had been set up for security in the parking lot. His long strides had brought him back to the driver’s side of the vehicle, before opening the door he had looked to the left and the right as another security measure.

The door popped open and he tossed one of the bags back to Steve without a word, a seamless action that didn’t require much thought. The plastic bag was snatched in one fell swoop and set on the seat beside him, tucked between the duffle bag behind your seat and his right thigh.

“I got you something to eat, I didn’t know what you wanted.” Ari had stolen your attention off of Steve by holding out another plastic bag for you to take, the thin material weighed down by a bottle of water and a container with a whole sandwich held between the folds of the container.

You reached out and grasped the handles of the bag, bringing it toward yourself with uncertainty, and then you rest it in your lap. You peered at the contents inside, studying the generic label on the water bottle and the nutrient contents of the simple ham sandwich with a lack of hunger that didn’t do much for you.

“Thanks.”

“You should eat something.” Steve leaned forward as he spoke, his fingers folding the handle of the bag down to peer inside. “There’s not much, you need to eat.”

“Is that an order?” You ripped the bag away from his, snapping at Steve with sudden and biting fire that was rooted in your helplessness. “Are you ordering me-“

“You haven’t eaten all day. We still have hours to go.” Steve hadn’t reacted with anger or aggression, he had almost seemed to absorb your anger and your irritation with ease, and not a single beat of retaliation had come from him. “You’re not doing yourself any favours-“

“I didn’t ask for this. I don’t want…” You yanked the bag into your lap and turned away, your eyes trained and fixated on the pillars of the gas station as Ari began pulling away, the rumble of the engine not overshadowed by the quiet crooning of the voice on the radio.

Music played as silence had fallen between the three of you again.

It had been a relatively quiet trip, even between the two who had switched out driving halfway through the trek. They made conversation with each other at times but you had never felt the need to enter into it. You seemed to be happier in your silence and quietude, thinking endlessly about your life and what you had to leave behind.

“I know you’re scared,” Steve spoke again, his voice and his attention on you even if you weren’t giving him the time of day, “Ari and I are going to keep you safe. This is our job.”

“I shouldn’t have done it, I should’ve told my roommate no. If I would’ve said no…if I would’ve gone straight home…” You whispered to yourself, your hands twisting the plastic bag while you watched the scenery morph from slight urbanization to rural again.

It was a far cry from the city, a far cry from the constant noise and steady stream of traffic and people who were involved with each other’s lives whether they knew it or not.

The concrete streets and steely buildings had given way to nature and greenery, to the dense and towering pillars of mountainous terrain that would be your home for the unforeseeable future. You were put in a position where you had to trust Steve, Ari and Andy because if you hadn’t you would end up dead.

“Y/N, this is not your fault.” Ari had relayed his own message of comfort and reached out with his hand to rest it on yours. “None of this is your fault.”

You bit down on the inside of your cheek and screwed your eyes closed. It was all playing out in your mind, relaying over and over again like a broken record. You were the cause of your own breakdown, or at least it had felt that way.

“You need to eat,” Steve’s voice was thick as honey and as comforting as a warm blanket, his directive sinking into your bones with a gentle demand, “do you need help opening anything?”

“No,” you reached into the bag and yanked the sandwich out, using your nails to tear the sticker off the enclosure, “I can do it.”

You returned to silence as you lifted one half of the sandwich out of the plastic, nibbling on the bread while the radio played in the background. You ate like they wanted, taking your time while feeling their eyes on you occasionally, their steady gazes delivering a sense of warmth and resignation that staved off some of the chill in your bones.

“We promise, sweetheart.” Your teeth dug into your cheek when Steve whispered a vow to you.

You knew you had to get used to the pet names that were standard for any relationship, you knew that when you arrived at this new place, people would be expecting you to be in love and recently married. It wouldn’t help your cause if you flinched or reacted negatively when they addressed you as their wife.

“We’re all here for you.”

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