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iamcalmdammit · 1 year

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Trust issues || [David "Section" Mason x reader x Phillip Graves]

Summary: As Russell Adler's daughter, you were used to your father's scheming. But when he interferes with your relationship with your boss to help your ex get you back, you begin to lose track of what you want.

Length: 7.7k words

Characters: David "Section" Mason, Phillip Graves, Russell Adler, Frank Woods

Note: I've been working on this for a while, but something always came up. Now here you go. What do you think? I love all of these guys. All of them. // Me? Proof-reading? Never. I'll die on that hill (one day.)

The private conference where Phillip was giving a keynote speech was about to begin shortly, but he was still standing outside in the hallway, going through some stats with his most trusted employee. You watched him out of the corner of your eye as you tried to finish the conversation you were having with your sales contact from the organizers.

Once he finally apologized and left you there, you quickly made your way to your boss who was now on his own, his blue eyes fixed on you in a way that made your skin burn. You nervously tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear and tried to think of anything but that look he had in his eyes.

"How's my tie?" he asked when you got there.

"Perfect."

"Hair?"

You couldn't help but laugh at this. When did he become so vain? "Everything's good, don't worry," you assured him.

"I'm not worried."

You pursed your lips and raised your eyebrows upon hearing his statement. It came a little too fast and he sounded suspiciously sure of himself.

"What was that look?" he asked the moment he saw your expression.

At first you wanted to ignore his question. He was giving good speeches, he never had a problem with that, but today he seemed a little fallen apart, as if his mind was somewhere else. You were sure there would be no problem, but it still made you worried about him. Something was wrong, you just didn't know what.

"Sweetheart."

Someone placed a hand on your shoulder and you almost jumped out of your skin. When you turned to look at who it was, your lips curled into a smile. "Dad, hi," you told him as you quickly hugged him. "I didn't know you would be here."

"It was a last minute change of my plans," he replied then looked over at your boss.

"Oh, right. Dad, this is Phillip Graves, the CEO of Shadow Company. Phil, meet my dad, Russell Adler."

Phillip shook your father's hand and said, "It's nice to meet you, sir."

"Likewise." Something was off, you could feel it. He was about to say something you wouldn't like and soon you were proven right by him. "This must mean you're the one who makes my girl work so much," he pointed out.

But Phillip didn't seem to pick up on that because he sounded pretty chill when he replied. "Quite the opposite, I'm usually the one telling her to go home," he pointed out.

"Is that so?"

"Dad, can you not?" you tried, putting a hand on his arm to make sure he wouldn't ask any more questions.

"I see you're working for the government," Phillip spoke up, pointing at the text on the badge in your father's neck.

He nodded. "As an advisor, yes."

"That's great."

But he didn't seem interested in keeping up a conversation with Phillip because he quickly turned to you and asked, "Can we talk?"

"Sure. Will you be okay?" you asked, turning to your boss.

"Don't worry about me."

"I'm not worried," you told him, maybe a little too quickly.

"Okay, I get that look now," he said with a laugh. "I'll go find my PA to check my schedule for the day."

"Good luck." Once he disappeared with his phone in hand, you turned back to your father. "What did you want to talk about?"

"My birthday's coming up."

"I know."

"You'll come over this year, right?" This again. Great. You'd been missing out on his birthdays in the past few years, but it's not like it was intentional. You usually went there, only a few weeks later. "Y/N, I'm getting older, who knows how many more birthdays I'm gonna have. You've been working on my birthdays in the past years, let's celebrate together this time."

He was right and you knew it. "Fine, I'll see what I can do. I promise," you added.

"Thank you. Now, tell me how you are. You look tired."

"I work a lot, it's been crazy in the office."

"Do you want me to talk to your boss?" he asked with a laugh.

"Thanks, but I can handle it."

"Sure?"

"Sure."

Your father fell silent and it made you uneasy. Whenever he gave you the look he had in his eyes now, you knew he was about to tell you something you wouldn't like to hear. "There's something about this boy that I don't like," he finally said.

The last time you had heard him say this was back when you were dating a guy from college and decided to introduce them to each other. It was a bad idea. "What would that be?" you asked anyway, by now curious to hear what he had against Phillip.

"I can't really tell," he said with a shrug. "It's just a hunch."

"He's not that bad," you tried.

"If you say so."

Oh, no, you knew this tone. "Wait, it's not just a hunch, you know something."

"Just be careful, that's all I'm saying," he said, holding up his hands. "And I still like David more than any other candidate."

"Dad, David and I broke up last year. Get over it."

"But you still talk quite a lot." Before you could respond, a chiming sound could be heard. "Oh, I believe it's time for the section your boss is in. Let's sit down."

As you were walking towards the chairs in front of the podium, you tried to get some answers out of him. "Do you and David talk about me behind my back often?" you demanded.

He looked at you then sat down, patting the chair next to him so you would do the same. "Your name comes up sometimes," he replied in the end.

"You're scheming and I don't like it," you told him in a whisper.

"Let's pay attention, okay?"

You hated this so much. He had worked for the CIA for a long time--hell, you were quite sure he was still working for them and this government advisor position was bullshit--and he often acted like raising you was one of his missions. He wanted to know every detail, every person you kept in touch with, where you went and what you were doing.

He always did a background check on your boyfriends and so far the only one who managed to pass his test was David. But you knew it wasn't only because of him as a person, but his background as well. He was the son of Alex Mason, someone your dad had worked with back during the Cold War, and he was raised by Frank Woods, another man your father closely worked with in the past.

Soon you were snapped out of your thoughts by a delicate applause from the crowd as Phillip stepped on the podium. He looked around, but then his eyes landed on you and he watched you as he began his speech. You couldn't hide your smile and you lost track of his words after a while. But every time he looked at you for a brief second, your breath caught in your throat.

Later you said goodbye to your father, promising him you would have dinner with him, then went to look for Phillip's PA so the two of you could talk to some people together, hopefully booking interview appointments.

'I'm at the bar. Come down and join me.'

That was all your boss' message said late at night. You weren't sleeping yet so you thought you could just as well go down for a drink and see what he wanted. While you looked into the mirror in the elevator, you suddenly realized that you were like a dog answering its owner's whistle.

Pathetic.

But at the same time you didn't really mind. You liked his sense of humor, the excited way he could talk about work, and how he always made time for conversations with you. He was nice to all of his employees, but you weren't sure if there were more than a handful he talked to outside of work as well.

He was sitting by the bar with a glass of bourbon in front of him. "I was beginning to think that I lost you," he said with a smile.

"I had dinner with Dad," you explained as you sat on the barstool next to him.

"I hoped we could eat together."

You let out a quiet laugh. "Maybe some other time."

"It's hard to make it happen if you always say no." There was something about his tone of voice that immediately made you look at him. You hoped he would tell you what he meant by that, but he didn't elaborate and changed the topic instead. "Anyway. I was wondering, how old is your dad?"

"Almost eighty-two," you told him.

"And he's still working as an advisor?"

Nodding, you took the cocktail you had ordered from the bartender then turned back to him. "Retirement isn't for him, especially since my mom died."

Phillip looked down at his glass. "What did he do when he was younger?"

"He worked for the CIA."

"For real?" Once again, you nodded and waited for him to explain why he looked like he had just had an epiphany. "That explains the way he looked at me."

Oh, fuck, he picked up on that. But you decided to play dumb for now. "What way?"

"He was suspicious."

"I'm sure he wasn't."

"He was, trust me. But I'm an open book, I have nothing to hide," he stated before finishing his drink and looking at you.

There it was again, the look that burned your skin. "If you say so," you said after clearing your throat and tearing your gaze away.

Phillip ordered another round of bourbon then took a sip with his eyes still on you. "Did you get any feedback about my speech?"

"It was good," you began, happy to talk about work instead of your private life. "Jeff and I already scheduled a few of the interviews we had talked about."

"Why aren't you talking to me about that?"

"Because that's why you have a PA?"

He suddenly reached out to put a hand on top of yours. "Oh, no, I want us to talk directly to each other about these things, okay?"

"You mean you want to schedule them yourself?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying, yes."

"As you wish," you told him as you pulled away your hand and stood up. "Well, I only came down because of your message, but I'm tired so I'm off to sleep. See you tomorrow, I guess."

"Come on, stay a little longer. You can't leave me here alone," he asked, almost begging you.

"Pick up some woman. I'm sure it wouldn't be that hard," you let the first thought slip out of your mouth.

Shaking his head, Phillip stood up as well and took both your hands. "Please, don't do this. I can't be any more obvious."

"You're my boss."

"And? I'll talk to HR if that's what you want."

"I can't do this. Just think about how it would affect our work relationship."

A smile suddenly appeared on his lips. "I think things have been better since that kiss in Zürich," he noted.

"That was a mistake," you told him, although in reality you often thought about that kiss and wished you could repeat it.

"Are you sure? Because I'm not." He let go of your hand and cupped your face with his hands instead. "One chance, that's all I'm asking for."

Your eyes were locked with his blue ones, and you were slowly getting lost in their depths. "Why is it so hard to say no to you?" you whispered more to yourself than him.

"It must be my boyish charm," he replied with a laugh. "You wouldn't be the first one to complain about it."

"Is this how you sweep women off their feet?"

Letting out a sigh, he shook his head. "No, actually it was my mom who always said that."

Giggling like some stupid schoolgirl, you said, "I imagine you always got what you wanted."

"I worked hard for everything." His lips were suddenly close to yours, getting slowly closer as he carefully examined your reaction. But you couldn't resist, you wanted him to kiss you so you closed the gap and took the lead. "Why don't we go up to my room? I'll prove you made the right choice," he said with a wide grin.

•••••••

Two months after you officially started dating, you were sitting between his legs on the floor, leaning your back against his chest as you sipped your wine. You were watching some overrated indie movie neither of you had been paying much attention to lately.

Phillip had one hand around your waist, and another under your unbuttoned jeans, teasing you despite your constant begging for more than that. At one point he admitted that he wasn't planning to do anything serious just yet, at first he wanted to see how you reacted to him teasing you while the movie lasted.

It was a stupid experiment, but you knew that once it was over, he would satisfy you over and over again for sure. He was an overachiever in bed, you knew that, and when you had pointed that out, he didn't even try to deny it.

Then your doorbell rang, bringing you back to reality. "Don't open it," he whispered in your ear when you tried to stand up.

"Our cars are outside and the lights are on. It would be rude to ignore whoever it is," you pointed out with a laugh.

"You're ruining our fun." You turned your head to look at him and once your eyes locked, he let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, I'll let you go for a short while, baby, but make it quick," he told you before he licked his fingers clean.

You turned around to be on all fours in front of him and gave him a soft kiss before you stood up and said, "I'll be right back."

You looked out of the window on the way to the door and noticed the silhouette of a familiar car in the dark. When you opened the door and saw your guest, you immediately knew why it was familiar.

"David, hi," you greeted him with a surprised look. "What are you doing here?"

He took a deep breath and thought about where to begin, but until he spoke up, his hazel eyes gave away that whatever it was, it really bothered him. "I need to vent and I don't know who else to go to," he finally admitted.

Before you could ask him what the problem was, he simply walked inside, leaving you standing there. "Sure, come in," you said quietly.

You followed him to the kitchen where Phillip was busy pouring another glass of wine for himself. "That was quick," he noted without looking up. But once he turned to you with a seductive smile, it all disappeared and he watched David cautiously. "Oh. Hello?"

David turned to you. "I'm interrupting something, aren't I?" he asked.

"Yes," Phillip replied impatiently.

"No," you said at the exact same time.

Your ex shook his head. "I should go."

"Wait, why don't you just tell me what's wrong?"

"Frank," was all he said in response.

You began to laugh at this. "Ooooh."

"Don't laugh, he's getting on the nurses' nerves and I'm the one getting the calls. I have to talk to him about it, but I need reinforcement. He adores you, Y/N. Come with me."

There was something about the way he said it that made you think. Could it be that Frank didn't know the truth? "You did tell him we broke up, didn't you?" you asked with a questioning look.

David groaned and looked up at the ceiling for a moment. "Look, he's old, I didn't want to shock him."

"David!"

"Okay, what if we tell him together? I'm sure he will have questions and it would be better if I didn't have to answer on your behalf," he tried.

"My dad isn't young either and I managed to tell him alone. When it happened, not a year later," you added.

"Come on, Frank would be happy to see you again. Please."

"Ugh, fine."

"Thank you," he said as he reached out to quickly squeeze your hand.

That was the moment Phillip cleared his throat and looked at David expectantly. "We don't know each other, do we?"

"No, I don't think so. I'm David Mason," he introduced himself as he extended a hand.

"Phillip Graves." He shook your ex's hand then pointed at the bottle on the kitchen island. "Can I get you a glass of wine?"

"Thank you, but it's time for me to go. Sorry for disturbing you."

Phillip laughed. "No worries. Have a good night."

You walked David to the front door and watched as he sat in his car and drove off. So Frank was causing trouble again. You laughed while you closed the door and returned to your boyfriend in the kitchen. When you got there, you saw him looking at you with an upset look on his face. Was he jealous?

"What?" he suddenly asked.

"You're jealous."

He let out a laugh. "Me? Of this guy? Don't be ridiculous."

"Then what was this all about?" you asked him.

"I just offered him a drink since he was your guest." Tilting your head to the side, you gave him a disapproving look. He had been playing some stupid power game with David, it was obvious. "You don't believe me?"

"No."

Phillip walked over to you and put his hands on your hips as he examined your face. Then his hands began to move up your side, gently stroking your skin under the shirt you were wearing. "Too bad. But I have nothing to worry about, right? I mean, you're mine after all. I own every inch of this gorgeous body of yours," he said once he took off your shirt and began to place kisses all over your chest. "I love you," he murmured against the hollow of your throat.

The way he ruled your mind and body was nothing new, but even now you were surprised by the power he had over you. You already forgot that you had a visitor that night, all you could think about was him. And how despite all this you could never get yourself to say that you loved him.

•••••••

The Vault was a strange place. You didn't really know why, but you never really felt safe there, this is why you had always visited it with David by your side. You never had to tell him about this weird fear of yours, he instinctively knew and paid more attention to you while you were there.

Now that you had to go back there to see Frank, this probably irrational fear returned. But even though you weren't together anymore, David still stayed close to you, and took your hand to guide you away from an unruly patient outside in the garden. And after that, he didn't let go, he just wrapped his fingers tightly around yours and walked towards Frank's room as if you were in last year.

Then you finally reached your destination and you couldn't hold back a smile when you saw the old sergeant. "Frank," you greeted the man.

He turned the wheelchair around and let out a heartfelt laugh. "Y/N, it's been so long. Where the hell have you been?" he asked as he reached out to take your hand in his.

"I'm sorry, something always came up."

"David's right, you work too much," he stated once he rolled back to take a better look at the two of you.

With an annoyed groan leaving your lips, you folded your arms over your chest and gave him a sharp look. "Not you too."

"Your old man?" Frank asked with a laugh.

"He always tells me that too, yeah."

Next to you David huffed loudly enough for you to hear it. "And we're right," he noted.

Before you could say anything in your defense, Frank cleared his throat to stop the upcoming fight. "How are you, kids? I'm sure there's a reason why you both came here after such a long time. Here to announce your engagement finally?"

"No, we're not. Quite the opposite."

"We broke up last year, we--well, I just didn't know how to tell you the truth," David admitted. He sounded sad and you couldn't decide if he was trying to guilt trip you or really felt like that.

Frank closed his eyes and nodded. "Too bad, you were sickeningly cute together. What happened?"

"It just didn't work out," you replied.

"Because you work way too much." You turned to David, ready to defend yourself, but he changed the topic before you could say anything. "Anyway, we're also here to talk to you about your behavior," he said, turning to the very man who had helped raise him after his father's death.

He remained silent for a short while, as if he was having trouble remembering things. "What are you talking about?" he asked innocently.

David dropped on one knee to get on eye level with him. "The staff called me. Poker parties? For real?"

"Do you have any idea how boring it is here?"

"And you call one of the nurses Nurse Batshit?" David asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, because she goes batshit crazy whenever I want to smoke," Frank explained.

"You shouldn't do that."

"Don't tell me what to do, I'm old enough to decide on my own."

You couldn't do it anymore, you couldn't keep a straight face. So you finally let all of your emotions out and started laughing, even getting a tissue out of your bag to dry a few stray teardrops.

David let out a sigh and turned to look at you. "Why are you laughing?" he asked seriously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I know this is serious, but," you began before losing it again. "Nurse Batshit? I can imagine you wheeling around in your chair screaming that nickname."

"She never listens," Frank noted.

"Because it's rude."

This time David gave you a confused look. "Then why are you laughing?"

"Because it's also hilarious."

"Thanks for the help, Y/N."

"I'm so sorry." After breathing in and breathing out a few times, you could finally calm yourself enough to speak seriously. "Okay, but for real, you should be nice to the staff. And don't organize poker parties, if you need money--"

"I don't need money, I want to have some fun," the old man interrupted you angrily.

"Frank, there are rules here, okay? Please, try to adapt to them," David tried.

"I'm too old for that, I won't change, son."

You put up your hands. "We tried."

"You give up that easily?"

"Look, he did a lot for our country, he deserves to have a peaceful and… fun retirement," you tried to reason with him.

Frank's lips curled into a satisfied smirk as he looked at David and pointed at you. "Listen to her," was all he said in the end.

The three of you chatted some more but things became weird when Frank began to ask both you and David if you were seeing anyone now. David explained that he was focusing on work and his girls, while you… Well, you lied and said you were also alone at the moment. You didn't know why you said that, it just came out like that.

Once you left the building, David stopped you by a bench in the garden and motioned you to sit down with him. "You weren't too much help, but thank you for coming," he said after watching you for a few minutes in silence.

"I'm sorry, but Nurse Batshit," you said, although your voice faded as you started laughing again.

"Okay, you're right, that's funny." David was now laughing too, finally appreciating Frank's sense of humor. Just as suddenly as he started laughing, though, he fell silent again then said, "I miss you."

"David…"

"I'm serious. But tell me this--why him?"

"You mean Phil?" you asked the obvious.

He nodded and you could tell he was furious by now. "Yes, your goddamn boss of all people," he pointed out. "Can't you see that he's using his position to get what he wants from you?"

But you only shook your head and ignored his anger. "It didn't happen from one day to another," you said, keeping your voice down to calm him down a bit.

"Oh, trust me, I know. It all began when we were still together."

"It's not true."

"I remember what it was like. I remember his fucking voice from my nightmares because you always put him on speaker when he called," he finally snapped. "It didn't matter if it was late night or the weekend, or if we were out on a date. You always answered his call. Always."

It was true, you couldn't argue with him, but there was something that you knew he didn't want to say out loud. "I never cheated on you," you informed him, hoping you answered whatever theory or question he had in his mind.

"I'm sure you didn't, at least not physically. But emotionally? That I'm not so sure about." Could he be right about this? So much had happened since then that you didn't even remember the details. "Tell me, is he treating you right? Or does he talk to you in private as if you were any other of his employees?"

"Don't do this," you said weakly.

"Answer me." He watched you intently, probably trying to read your face in case you didn't answer. And you didn't answer. You didn't know what to say because a part of you knew he was right. "You can't even answer this simple question. Leave him. Do yourself a favor and throw him out."

"And go back to you?"

"I wouldn't mind. I tried to be friends with you but that's not enough."

Letting out a sigh, you looked into his hazel eyes and wondered why he suddenly said these things. For months you only had casual conversations, you never suspected that he still had feelings for you. If you had known, you would've kept your distance for his sake.

Before you realized what was happening, he reached out and pulled you into a kiss. A hungry and passionate kiss you knew all too well, one he usually reserved for post-mission meetings. You were so surprised that you instinctively returned the kiss, something you definitely wouldn't have done if you could think straight.

But as terrible as it was to admit, you enjoyed it, and memories you had forcefully pushed into the back of your mind in the past months now returned--date nights, lazy mornings in bed together, trips to the zoo with his daughters. It had been so good to be with him, it was definitely more domestic than the relationship you were currently in.

Then your phone began to ring and when you looked at your watch, you freaked out. "Shit, it's Phil," you said in panic.

"Leave it," David told you before he kissed you again.

It didn't last long this time because the call brought you to your senses and you pushed him away. "No, wait, what the fuck am I even doing?"

He watched you jump up and take a few steps away from him then flashed a cheeky smile at you. "Following your heart."

"How poetic."

"You wanted this."

"You're confusing me."

"I couldn't confuse you if you really loved him."

You did love Phil, you knew that deep down, but you couldn't deny that you wanted this. A part of you still missed David, still regretted having those fights back in the day. But there was something else you needed to remind him of. "You threw me out to begin with!" you snapped at him.

David stood up and walked over to you. "Because of him! Because of whatever the fuck was happening between you."

"I need to answer this," you suddenly remembered your ringing phone.

"Go ahead, I won't stop you."

"Stay quiet."

"Why?" he asked with a laugh. "He knows we're visiting Frank together, doesn't he?"

You gave him an angry look. Not because he was wrong, Phil knew you didn't come alone, but he made it sound like it would be fun for him to piss your boyfriend off by talking in the background. It wouldn't be beyond him to do something like this.

"Hey, Phil," you said into the phone after you answered the call.

"Babe, it took you so long to answer. Is everything okay?" he asked almost worriedly.

"Yeah, I was just looking for a quiet place to talk to you," you lied, earning a disapproving look from David.

"Are you still there?"

"Yeah, we just finished."

"How did it go?"

"Not well, but we kinda knew he wouldn't change."

"And your ex?"

Shit. "What about him?" you asked as if you didn't know what he was talking about.

"Did he behave?"

"Jealous?" You laughed, although it wasn't a happy, but more like a nervous laugh.

"Like I already told you, I have no reason to be," Phil replied confidently and you could imagine the smirk on his lips now. "See you tonight?"

"Yeah. I'll be waiting."

Once you put the phone away, you took a deep breath then turned around to face David. He was watching you with his arms folded over his chest, burning a hole inside you with that glare. "He knows that you shouldn't be with him, that's why he's so worried about you coming here with me," he suddenly said.

You gulped loudly while you thought about what he said. "He's not worried."

"I heard you asking him if he was jealous. So what would be the better word then? Insecure?" he asked with a laugh.

"I won't stay here and listen to you talking shit about my boyfriend," you told him angrily before turning around and walking away.

•••••••

Russell had been through a lot throughout his career, but despite not acting like the best father in the world most of the time, you were one of the things about his life that he was truly proud of. Not saving the world or getting rid of bad guys. No. You.

So when your boyfriend called him to say he had plans for your birthday, that he would throw a party to celebrate you, he knew he had no choice but to play nice. He didn't like Phillip, but you loved him and that was enough for now.

At the party you looked truly happy and chatted with every single guest eventually. You were talking to one of your neighbors when he found you again, although he only watched you from afar, appreciating the sight of you having David by your side again. Russell remembered that old lady, David had sometimes helped her around the house while you were together.

"They are adorable together," he noted happily when he noticed Phillip standing next to him out of the corner of his eye.

"I beg to differ, sir," was all he said with a surprising level of confidence, although Russell was able to tell it was just an act and he was probably nervous under this calm surface.

"Of course you do."

Phillip let out a sigh and licked his lips as he turned to him. "I have a question for you. Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you, son, I just don't trust you. I want my daughter to be safe in a relationship," he explained.

"So you think I can't protect her?"

It was clear from his reaction that he wasn't a parent yet, especially not the father of a girl. "I'm sure you could protect her from physical harm, but I'm talking about emotional safety. I doubt you could give her that."

"But you think he could," Phillip said, pointing at David.

Russell nodded. "I know he can. She has known him for many years, she was by his side after the divorce, she went through hell to get his eldest daughter to at least like her, and they spent four years together," he listed.

"And despite all this they still broke up."

"All because of you."

Upon hearing this answer, Phillip raised an eyebrow and turned to him. "What does it have to do with me?"

"The two of you have been close for a while now, haven't you? Maybe a little too close for David's liking. Late night calls, weekend calls, business lunches and dinners, business trips--you knew exactly what you were doing."

The younger man laughed. "You think I'm that calculating?"

"You might as well be."

"Well, I think your daughter knows best who's the better choice for her, so I suggest you step back and let her decide on her own," Phillip told him coldly.

Who would have thought. This kid could still surprise him. "Is that a threat?" he asked calmly.

"No, sir, just an advice," your boyfriend replied with a smile before walking away, going straight to you.

You greeted him with a smile when Phillip put an arm around your waist and handed you another cocktail. He gave David a cold look, who in return excused himself and left the group. A smile crept on his lips. Good, he knew his place.

He kissed your temple, hoping this gentle gesture could get your attention. When you gave him a questioning look, he asked, "Baby, do you have a minute? I have another surprise for you."

"Another?" you asked in a surprised tone.

"It's not a big deal." Once you reached an area that was less crowded, Phillip reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box that he then handed to you. When you saw what was inside, you looked up at him, expecting answers. "Keys to my house. Move in," he explained.

While he thought you would be happy to see it, in reality you were unsure of the whole thing. "Isn't it soon?"

"Why would we waste our time?" asked Phillip as he took your hand. "Come on, things are great, this is the next step."

"Can I think about it?"

He was confused, he didn't understand why you weren't glad to hear he was ready to move forward with your relationship. But he didn't want to push you so he had to be patient this time. "Sure. I'm not trying to force you here, it's just an option," he replied with a smile.

You finally smiled at him and wrapped your arms around his neck. "Thank you," you whispered against his skin.

"I love you more than anything, Y/N. You know that, right?"

"I love you too." Then you let go of him and stepped back a little to look at him. "So how was working with Dad on this little party?

It was a nightmare, he wanted to say. "We had our differences about the guest list," he began, intentionally not mentioning David's invite, "but other than that it went well."

"I'm glad to hear that. I know how difficult he can be."

"No, it was okay. If things go that well we might be friends one day," he lied.

With a warm smile you fiddled with the collar of his shirt. "Look how confident you are."

"I would say optimistic."

•••••••

You didn't know what you were doing in front of that door, but something led you there. It was a thought in the back of your mind, telling you to come and see him again. You knocked and waited, hoping he would open the door soon.

"Y/N? What are you doing here?" asked David in surprise.

Looking down at your hands, you thought about how to answer this. Really, what the hell were you doing? "I don't really know."

He flashed a small smile at you as he stepped aside and fully opened the door. "Do you wanna come in?"

"Only if it's okay."

"You're always welcome here, you know that."

The two of you walked inside to the kitchen, briefly passing by the living room. "Oh, yeah, Savannah and Jessica are with me this weekend," he explained when you noticed the tops of the girls' heads.

Without thinking, you said, "Hello, girls."

They didn't respond, just kept on watching some animated movie. Once you reached the kitchen, you leaned against the kitchen island and watched David with a sad look on your face.

"Is everything okay with you?" He put a finger under your chin and made you look at him "Come on, you can tell me."

"Phil asked me to move in with him," you admitted after some thinking.

"Will you?"

"I don't know yet."

"Do you want this?"

"I'm not sure."

"Why?"

It was a tough question. Sure, you loved Phillip and things were great, but something was missing. And there was another thing too. "I can't get you out of my head since that kiss," you admitted with a guilty expression.

David's lips turned up into a smile. "Is that so?"

"Don't look that smug," you said with a laugh.

"I told you he's not good enough for you," he pointed out quietly.

But just saying this wasn't enough for him. David swept a strand of hair out of your face and slowly leaned closer and closer to kiss you. You should have resisted the temptation, you should have pushed him away, but you couldn't.

"I wish I didn't want you this much," you admitted after he kissed you.

David put his hand under your shirt that began to move up your spine. "Let's do something about that," he whispered into your ear.

You looked back into the living room and saw the two girls still sitting on the couch without paying attention to them. "Your daughters are here in the living room."

"They just started that movie, they won't leave the room until it's over. We'll be quiet. Come with me," he said as he took your hand and began to lead you to his bedroom.

You didn't resist, you let him do whatever he wanted to do. It was a mistake and you were aware of it, but you had trouble thinking straight in his presence. Everything came back from the time you'd spent together and you began to wonder if being with Phillip was a good idea.

In the end you stayed until the morning and performed the walk of shame on the way to your car. You were an idiot. How could you do something like this? And things got worse when you got a message from your boyfriend, asking to meet you in his home.

"What the fuck does this supposed to mean?!" he snapped at you the moment you entered his study where he was waiting for you.

You glanced at the laptop screen he was pointing at and noticed a video of you and David from the night before. "Where did you get this?" you asked worriedly.

"What does it matter?"

"You sent someone to follow me around?"

Phillip took a deep breath as he turned the laptop back to himself and stopped the video. "You've been acting weird, what else was I supposed to do?" he asked.

Laughing, you raised up your hands. "So that's how much you trust me."

"That's rich coming from you. You cheated on me!"

"Look, it only happened once--"

"I don't give a fuck about your excuses or how many times this happened," he told you angrily. "This is a video from yesterday night, when you canceled our date because you weren't feeling well. And he's been bombing you with messages for months now--to what you always answer. I read them, I know exactly what you're talking about."

He crossed a line with this. "You what? Those are private conversations," you pointed out. This is what you got for being with someone who was good at this stuff.

"I don't give a fuck! What matters is that you lied to me. You told me you loved me while you were screwing your ex."

"Phil, let's calm down and have a normal conversation."

"Sure. Then let me tell you about your dad's little scheming. I checked his call records and messages from the past year and he has been communicating with your ex a lot more since we got together. He didn't even try to hide it whenever we talked that he prefers him over me, so I wouldn't be surprised if he was trying to convince him to try to get close to you again."

"You're seeing too much into this."

"Oh, I don't think so. Here, let me show you something," he said as he pushed a few buttons on the laptop then turned it to you.

Based on the logs, these were chats between your father and David. The snippets Phillip collected for you were all about your father trying to convince David that your current boyfriend didn't deserve you, that he was a bad guy for ruining your relationship, and that maybe you should be together again.

Fuck. Why couldn't he stay out of your life?

"Believe me now?" Phillip asked as he put a hand on your cheek to make you focus on him. "Listen, baby, I love you despite all this shit. If you are willing to go no contact with Mason, I might even forgive you. But you need to make up your mind for good," he said, leaning so close that he almost kissed you.

Prying his hands off of you, you took several steps back and buried your hand into your hair as you thought about what to do or say now. You cheated, it was obvious why Phillip was mad at you and you couldn't blame him. But what he had showed you, the truth about your father and David…

"It's too much, isn't it?" he asked, as if he could read your mind.

You were almost crying by the time you got to answering his question with a nod. "I know why you're so angry and I'm so sorry."

"Hey, they manipulated you," Phillip cautiously said as he took your hand. "This asshole got close to you again so he could break us up. But I have faith in us, okay? We can get through this."

"I'll talk to him."

"Setting clear boundaries, I believe." When he saw you look down at your shoes instead of answering, he got worried. "To set clear boundaries, right?"

"I just want to know what he was planning all along first. But," you began upon seeing the look on his face, "maybe I'll visit Dad instead. Yeah, that's what I'll do."

"Good girl," he said before placing a soft kiss on your temple.

•••••••

A few days later you were sitting in your father's living room with a warm cup of tea in front of you. He was sitting in the armchair next to you and watched you with an expectant look on his face, after all the two of you had been sitting there in silence for over five minutes now.

"You've been scheming again, Dad," you finally said. He raised an eyebrow, as if he had no idea what you were talking about. "Come on, I saw the messages you sent David in the past months."

"Look at my little girl, snooping around in other people's business," he told you with a proud smile.

You shook your head at this. "No, I got the messages from Phillip, he's the one who got his hands on them. What were you thinking? That I would go back to David after everything that happened recently?"

Rolling his eyes, Russell took a sip of his coffee. "Your relationship with your boss can't last long. He's using you, I know that."

"You hate him since the moment you met."

"That's not true. I already hated him before that," he admitted with a shrug. "You and David broke up because of that guy. You threw away a relationship that worked so well and what you worked so hard for."

Breathing in then breathing out, you tried to calm yourself. "David was the one who sent me away, don't forget this," you warned your father.

"Because of him. All of this happened because of him. If you and David gave your relationship another shot, you could be happy again. You could quit your job and look for something that comes with less stress, something far from Graves and his manipulation," he tried.

"Why can't you just accept that I'm happy with him?" you tried with your face buried in your hands. "Phil loves me, he even asked me to move in with him."

"Yet you kissed David when you visited Woods," your father pointed out.

You looked up with a shocked expression on your face. "How do you know about that?"

"Woods. Someone saw the two of you and told him about it," he explained.

Damn it, not him as well. Pushing the thought of your father not only scheming with David, but with Frank as well aside, you tried to figure out how to convince him to stay out of your love life without getting into a fight. It was a tough one.

Then he cleared his throat and said, "Okay, I can see you don't like me pushing this… David propaganda. Fine, I'll stop. But answer me this. When you think of getting married and spending the rest of your life with someone, who would you really like to see there with you? David or Graves?"

*******************

Note 2: What? It's over like this? The answer is yes, it's over like this. I couldn't pick one, I love them both. The readers need to make the final decision.

#call of duty #david section mason x reader #david section mason #david mason x reader #phillip graves x reader #phillip graves #david mason #modern warfare #black ops #russell adler #frank woods

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