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butterfliesluke · 3 years

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Ex trouble:

Request: Y/n and Luke are married. Luke's ex Sierra keeps bothering them tho even tho Y/n is pregnant. It goes as far as that they have to call the police.

Requested by: emmyb.allen1 (this is for a request no hate towards Sierra)

A/N: Sure thing! Enjoy!

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Y/n's POV:

The light breeze of summer air was hitting my face. My body sprawled out on the bed.

My back against Luke's warm chest as my eyes fluttered open. A smile on my lips as I felt warmth curled up against my belly.

Little paws pushed against it. Petunia has been always attached to me since the day I moved in with my at the time boyfriend.

Now Husband. But since I got pregnant she was practically guard dog.

I scratched her head smiling before turning around slightly. Luke's eyes shut closed.

His eyelashes laying against his cheeks. His hair messy against the pillows.

My finger went up to poke his cheek with a cheeky smile.

A groan leaving his lips as he opened his ocean blue eyes with a glare.

,,Just cause you are carrying my child doesn't mean you can be cheeky darling." He mumbled making me giggle.

A sudden ping interrupting my planned sassy remark.

His phone lighting up on his nightstand. I huffed annoyed.

Since Luke's ex found out about my pregnancy she apparently noticed how much she still loves him.

Don't understand me wrong. I always had respect for Sierra. But this is going to far.

,,If it's her again I will actually give birth and then jump out if the window." I laughed making Lu chuckle.

,,Don't stress about it love. It's bad for our little bean." He whispered against my lips before pressing a kiss against them.

He sat up grabbing his phone. Before slandering into the bathroom.

I sighed before turning to piggy who was now sitting up next to me.

,,Goodmorning pup!" I whispered smiling.

After we got ready for the day Luke and I decided to go out for lunch with the boys.

We all sat in the back of the little diner.

,,I'll have..the chicken Alfredo with garlic bread..but could I get the garlic bread on a different plate? I don't like my food touching." Michael murmured.

The waited giving him a side eye meaning he will definitely spit in our food after that.

Crystal shaking her head with a smile.

,,Ofcourse..I'll be back with your drinks." She sighed and turned around.

,,Why is she making such a fuss? It's literally her job!" I laughed as Luke wrapped his hand around my shoulder.

,,I don't know! Don't worry Mike." Ashton smiled patting his frowning friends back.

Whose eyes then went wide while looking behind me matching everyone's who was sitting opposite us.

,,Yall look like you saw a ghost!" Luke exclaimed turning around to.

A small curse leaving his lips making me and Calum turn around too.

,,Oh fuck no.." I spat as I watched the one person I least wanted to see walk in the diner.

Sierra. Today is not my day.

,,What the fuck is she doing here?" Kay asked confused as she walked up to our table with an annoying grin.

Luke grabbing my thighs and whispering calm words in my ear.

That didn't help my boiling self tho.

,,What a pleasant surprise! 5sos and their girls! And the one night stand that got pregnant." She teased with an smug pout.

A gasp leaving Crystal's lips.

,,Oh fuck no girl. You are not ruining our day." Luke laughed standing up.

,,Oh Luke..don't get so worked up! We both know she's just a phase." She scoffed.

What the hell. Everyone is looking at us.

,,Sierra I am literally married to him you you blind chicken." I giggled shaking my head.

,,Deaton. Leave before I fucking call the police." Calum threatened also standing up.

Suddenly a glas off tap water being placed infront of me making me realize the waiter is back.

Sierra eyeing the orange juice infront of Luke and the sprite infront of Kay.

Her grabbing them both and with a swing I felt it splash against my shirt and pants and a slap against my cheek.

A yell leaving my body as I looked at her with stunned eyes.

,,Babe! Omg was it something hot? Did it hit your stomach!? Someone call the police right now! " Luke ranted before cupping my face.

His eyes filled with worry and pain.

,,I'm alright lu. It's okay.." I reassured standing up.

,, You guys take a taxi home. We'll handle this from here." Michael spat looking at Sierra.

I nodded standing up with Luke guiding me outside.

I guess this is what it's like being married to a celebrity.

Ex trouble part 2:

Request: Can I Have a Part two where Sierra feels so Guilty

Requested by: emmyb.allen1

A/N:Ofcourse! I tried my best! Hope yall like it was very requested by all of you♥️

THIS IS JUST AN IMAGINE. THE MENTIONED TOPIC DOES NOT APPLY TO SIERRA IN REAL LIFE. WE LOVE HER (no really. I am practically obsessed with her.)

Luke's POV:

It's been a week since the drama all happened.

And I'm still worked up about it. What is the liquid would have been hot? It would have burned her skin.

No matter how much I used to love Sierra. This has gone too far.

The constant stalking, messages, drama.

I'm married for God sakes. The moment she got physical the line got overstepped.

,,What are you still fuming about?" A sweet voice asked making me turn around.

Y/n waddled into the kitchen. Her belly looked like it could explode any second.

Her signature dimply smile flashing across her face.

,,The Sierra thing..." I murmured as she sat down next to me.

Her head falling on my shoulder as her perfume went up my nostrils.

My heart beating faster by the second.

,,Oh Lu. Stop stressing. It turned out fine. She won't bother is anymore." She whispered as I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Management has finally decided to do something about this mess allowing me to be able to never let Sierra near us again.

,,I know...but-"

My sentence got interrupted by the door bell.

Y/n furrowing her eyebrows. ,,Are the boys coming over?" She asked making me shake my head.

,,Mhm maybe it's Crys." She shrugged pressing a kiss to my cheek and standing up.

Running to the door as best she could. A grin on my face. I'm so madly in love.

My day dreaming cut off once I heard a loud ,,LUKE!!" from the hallway.

The Luke that mostly comes when either she is upset with me or she needs me instantly.

My mind running a mile per hour. Did I order something stupid again?

Oh God what did I do?

Jumping up I quickly ran to the door.

My eyes widening as I saw who stood infront of the door.

,,Yeah no. What are you doing here?" I asked crossing my arms, standing next to the shocked Y/n.

Sierras guilty face dropping some more.

I know that face. She really felt bad for something.

,,Luke.. Y/n..I don't know what got into me to be honest. I was hoping I could apologize and maybe explain myself." She muttered.

Her gaze fixed to the ground.

,,There's nothing to ex-" ,,Hush! Sierra this is the last chance. If you try to pull a thing like that again I don't wanna see you again." Y/n, miss sometimes too kind hearted, said.

Sierra had a small smile on her lips before nodding. Us stepping aside and walking into the living room.

,,She better have a good reason." I grumbled making Y/n push me slightly.

,,Negative Nelly.." she spat shaking her allowing me to roll my eyes.

We sat down on the couch. Si taking a huge breath before starting to speak.

,,Firstly..I wanted to say how truly sorry I am. I should not have lashed out on you especially since you are carrying a Child." She said.

Her eyes screaming -I really mean it this time-

A small nod coming from Y/n.

,,And Luke. I really do care about you. I'm sorry for hanging on you even tho you are married." She explained.

My dark eyes turning a shade lighter as I nodded too.

,,The thing is..when I found out your pregnant...my heart shattered." She admitted.

Unexpectedly her eyes filling with fresh tears.

Y/n's face dropping as if she knew something.

,,I-I can't have kids. I found out two months ago." She cried out.

Y/n's eyes filling with tears aswell as I gasped. Even tho she practically turned my life upside down..I was still in love with her a while ago.

,,Oh my..Sierra I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed as Y/n put her hand on hers.

,,I got so jealous and I'm sorry!" She sobbed making our heart shatter.

,,oh shh it's okay..I can't imagine how you feel." Y/n cooed rubbing her shoulder.

My arm coming around Y/n's shoulder as I placed my hand on Sierra's thigh.

Y/n was my everything. My whole world. And her allowing me to have a child is the best gift in the world.

But I can tell the excitement on her face when we talk about welcoming our baby into the world.

She will be an amazing mother and her love for our child is already so huge.

So passionate.

I can't imagine how it is for a woman to find out that she will never be able to have children.

Pulling her into a hug we all stayed close to her.

And in the end...our little girl and Sierra got along so well.

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trilliastra · 3 years

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[*drops a sterek fic after two years and runs away to hide*]

It’s all Cora’s fault and Derek will remain of the opinion that his life only went downhill the moment his little sister was born.

It starts with Sara, his sister’s friend, whose boyfriend turned out to be a jerk and would not let her inside his apartment to collect her things unless she took him back. And Cora volunteered Derek to help.

Derek didn’t really mind it at first, Sara only needed a guy to look strong (which he is), angry (which he was) and able to carry her stuff from place a to place b (which he did). But some weeks later Sara met a friend with an equally stupid boyfriend and said friend had another friend and then Laura heard about it and it suddenly became a thing.

Georgia, Nelly, Carmen, Lola.

Isaac.

“I could help, you know?” Derek had said after the fifth time he noticed the blossoming purple bruises on the back of Isaac’s neck, his scrapped knuckles. “If you need to get rid of your –” he lowered his voice, “boyfriend.”

Isaac had looked at him, wide eyed, before he confessed he isn’t gay and the problem was actually his dad. “Oh,” Derek had said, thinking for a moment before adding, “I could help with that, too.”

Turns out Derek’s intimidation skills were lacking when compared to his own father’s.

“You’re doing a really nice thing, Derek.” Isaac says one night, helping him with his hand. Asshole boyfriend of the night thought he could bag a few punches before letting Phill grab his laptop back. Derek was faster, and stronger.

Isaac moved in with him and Boyd two weeks after his dad was sentenced. He didn’t want to, at first, was still incredibly shy and scared of everything, including Derek, but he opened up to Boyd pretty quickly. Despite his built (and the fact he can bench press three times his own weight), Boyd is the softest person Derek has ever met.

“Sure.” Derek sighs.

“But?” He asks and Derek sighs again, looks away when Boyd walks into the room.

“I had a date.” Derek confesses and Boyd whistles in sympathy.

“How many times has it been, again?”

“Three.” Derek winces when Isaac presses the antiseptic over the cut. “I’m – I really like him.”

“You could just tell him.” Isaac says. “He’s a cool guy, I guess.” He shrugs, smiling. “Sometimes he’s an asshole. But not in a bad way.”

Derek huffs out a laugh. “Yeah.”

Stiles is an asshole, he likes teasing Derek when they are discussing ethics in the workplace and every way capitalism is stepping over immigrants, they banter and they quote books back and forth and while some people (his sisters) roll their eyes when Derek brings up some history fact, Stiles nods along, brings up another history fact that Derek didn’t know (or sometimes pretends not to know, just to hear Stiles talking about it), hands moving around as he explains his point or badmouths a historic figure that owned so much money ‘their great-great-grandkids are still swimming in the gold they stole from the natives’.

Derek is in love.

“What did you tell him this time?” Boyd asks, munching on his chips. He shakes the bag in front of them and while Derek takes a couple, Isaac shakes his head, still not used to being allowed good things.

Some memories are hard to forget.

“That my mom had stopped by to visit.” Derek says. He hates lying, he is not even good at it. The first time he tried to tell Stiles he looked like a wet cat after he got caught up in the rain, white shirt sticking to his chest, Derek’s cheeks had gotten so red, Stiles asked him if he was okay.

“Dude.” Isaac says, shaking his head in disappointment as he finishes bandaging Derek’s hand.

“I know.” Derek gives back, collapsing on his bed with a groan.

This is all Cora’s fault.

Okay. Stiles texts back when Derek has to postpone their date again. Derek can feel the disappointment through the message, mirroring his own feelings.

How about tomorrow night? Derek tries, stares at his phone for minutes until he realizes Stiles probably won’t text him back.

“Please.” Maria says, holding her cat with a bright smile as they talk in front of a coffee shop. She is trying to convince him to accept a coffee and Derek is trying to convince her he doesn’t need it. “How can I thank you?”

Derek sighs. “I didn’t do anything.” And it is true, her boyfriend wasn’t working when they arrived at the coffee shop and when they opened the door of the apartment upstairs, it was empty save for the cat that Maria is currently hugging.

“You were there for me.” She smiles, tucking her hair behind her ear and Derek already knows what’s coming.

It’s not the first time, probably won’t be the last. He has been invited for ‘thank you’ coffees, dinners, sex. It never felt right, though. Not with the guys, and especially not with the girls.

Sorry. He always says. Some of them are attractive, he supposes, but he was, and still is, very much gay.

“I’m—” he starts, but Maria’s eyes widen and when Derek turns around, a guy is stalking towards them, eyebrows furrowed in anger.

“You bitch!” He shouts, startling most of the costumers inside and the shop and the people walking around the street. “What are you doing?”

“Taking my cat back!” She yells back and Derek steps closer, eyeing the guy’s fists as he starts to shake with anger.

The guy notices his move and turns his glare to him. “And who the fuck are you?”

Before Derek can answer, Maria chimes in. “My boyfriend.”

“What the fuck?” It takes Derek a second to realize the words didn’t come from him, but from someone in the crowd, one of the onlookers that gathered around them to watch the scene unfold.

Two seconds after that, Derek realizes the person talking was Stiles.

That explains a lot. It’s the last message Stiles sends him before blocking his number.

Derek tries to call, talk to him after class, but his friends keep him away, Lydia going as far as brandishing a can of pepper spray in front of him, eyes shining with an unspoken threat.

“You should follow him to his dorm.” Isaac offers, weakly.

“Creeps do that.” Derek says. “I don’t want to be more of an asshole than I already am.”

“You’re not an asshole.” Isaac says, clasping his shoulder in sympathy. “I could – talk to him? If you want?” The offer makes Derek smile, touched. Isaac is still extremely shy in front of strangers, but just the fact that he considered doing it for him is enough.

“It’s fine.” Derek says. It isn’t fine, and they both know it, but he will pull through. Eventually. “It wasn’t meant to be.”

It’s harder that Derek anticipated, seeing Stiles during classes and not being able to talk to him, to tease him when Mrs. Schilder glares at him for using a pun that makes the entire room burst out laughing from second-hand embarrassment.

He is beautiful, Derek thinks at least ten times a day, and smart and kind and funny and Derek could see them being together for a long time, falling deeper in love as the time passes.

He should be used to not having good things. He grew up as a middle child, as a gay teenager in a small town where some boys were so far deep in the closet, they couldn’t find their way out, he should be used to not keeping the things he likes.

So why does it hurt so much?

“Derek—”

“No.”

“She needs—”

“Call someone else.”

“You are really going to leave her—”

Derek slams his book shut, kicks his chair back as he stands up. Cora’s eyes widen when someone tells him to be quiet and Derek simply ignores them. “I need to study for a test. Call someone else.”

Helping someone should feel good, it should make him happy, not feel like a burden. He is more than an angry guy with a strong body. He doesn’t even like confrontation. He started working out to burn his energy, to let out some of this anger that he’s been constantly carrying inside and he kept working out because he enjoyed it and now – now even that is ruined.

“Why are you being so selfish?” She asks and Derek knows, deep inside, that she doesn’t mean it like that, that she’s just as angry as him, humiliated by the fact he’s calling her out in the middle of the library. Still, that doesn’t matter now. Now, Derek is angry and sad and done.

“Fuck you.” He says and walks away.

His initial plan was to make it to his apartment, bury himself under the covers and not leave his room until his mother comes to give him an earful. Because she will, undoubtedly, when Cora tells her about it.

But Derek doesn’t make it to his apartment, he doesn’t even make it outside the library, simply makes a u-turn and heads for the dark zone, a space under the stairs leading to the storeroom where couples usually go to make out. There, he collapses on the ground, taking deep breaths, and buries his face in his hands.

This has been a long time coming, he thinks. He’s been on the edge for a while. This entire experience has made him remember how awful it was to pretend to be someone he wasn’t, to be only liked for his body or for his ability to pass the answers to the test without the teacher seeing him.

Some memories are hard to forget.

“Are you okay?” Derek flinches, surprised to hear Stiles’ voice. “Oh,” Stiles whispers, noticing Derek’s red eyes, the tears streaming down his face, “bad day, huh?”

“She was not my girlfriend.” Derek blurts out, head a mess of emotions: fear, anger, loneliness, regret.

“Dude,” Stiles frowns, confused, “I know Cora is your sister.”

“No.” Derek shakes his head, frantic. “The other day, at the coffee shop. I was helping her with her ex-boyfriend, I do that sometimes. He— he was an asshole and she needed help getting her cat back and I look strong and I know how to –”

“Woah, woah, slow down.” Stiles raises his hands, alarmed, and Derek realizes his own hands are shaking and he can’t breathe. “In and out,” Stiles whispers, “can I—can I touch you?”

Derek shakes his head, focusing on his breath. Panic attack, he remembers, suffocating. No touching. “Okay,” Stiles agrees, easily, “should I keep talking?” Derek shakes his head again, keeps his eyes on his hands. Talking is too much, listening is too much, breathing is too much. “Do you want me to leave?”

“No.” Derek manages to gasp. He doesn’t want to be alone.

Stiles nods, leans against the wall next to Derek and starts fiddling with his shoelaces, twirling them around wordlessly. Derek doesn’t know how much time it passes, but he keeps watching Stiles’ fingers moving distractedly, patiently waiting for him. With him.

“I’m sorry.” Derek manages to say, eventually.

Stiles sighs. “I know.” He closes his own eyes before turning to Derek. “You don’t have to explain.”

“I—” Derek swallows heavily, “have to.” He answers, before shaking his head. No, that doesn’t sound right, “no, I—I want to.”

They leave the library together, Stiles standing up first and offering his hand to help Derek up. Stiles doesn’t let go as they walk towards Derek’s apartment, squeezes his hand from time to time as Derek tells him about everything.

“You could have told me.” Stiles notes.

“I don’t know why I didn’t.” Derek confesses. “I guess I didn’t want you to see me as that guy too. Beefy Derek.” He laughs, humorless. “That’s the nickname my sister came up with a few months ago.”

Stiles groans, stops walking, forcing Derek to stop as well. “You are so much more than that.” He assures, touching Derek’s face softly though his eyes shine with certainty. “I love your brain, your cute jokes, the fact that you get my stupid history facts because you like history just as much as I do, and especially the way you care so much. College, people, the world.” He pulls him in for a quick, assertive kiss, and Derek immediately feels so light he could fly. But he won’t, because Stiles is keeping him grounded by the softest touch, the smallest smile.

“Cute jokes?” He manages to ask, arching an eyebrow. When Stiles laughs, he smiles.

“They are.” He insists.

“Okay.” Derek accepts the words easily, because everything seems easy when it comes to Stiles. “If I ask you out on a new date,” he says, “will Lydia pepper spray me?”

“I will stop her.” Stiles reassures, squeezing his hand again. “But before,” he adds and Derek feels his stomach turning with anticipation, “you have to know that I kind of hate your sister right now.”

“Oh.” Derek says. “Okay, I can—I can see that.”

“I’m sorry.” Stiles says, though he doesn’t sound sorry at all.

“Me too.” Derek agrees.

When Derek tells him about Cora’s apology and the earful his sister got from their mom, Stiles excuses himself to go laugh in the bathroom while Derek shrugs and goes back to eating his share of the pizza.

By the time they get married, Stiles and Cora have become best friends. Derek hates it (he doesn’t).

#sterek #eternalsterek #teen wolf #my fic #HELLO GUESS WHO'S BACK WITH A STEREK FIC #IT ME #surprised? me too

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missabella · 3 years

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So this is going to be a post for my personal blog, but since it does concern Puffy and her mcyt meetup, I’m also reblogging it on puffy updates.

Disclaimer

The reason that I’m writing is because I do know that some people in the mcyt fandom (whether it be on tumblr, twitter, youtube, reddit, tiktok, etc.) are quite young and see some of those content creators as role models. This post is mostly for those young fans that are easily impressionable. Nevertheless, if my words end up changing a content creator’s behavior about this entire situation, then good for them. But if they decide to carry on with their life as before, I won’t get upset. I don’t know them, so for all I know they may take extra precautions against the pandemic behind the scene.

Additionally, I will mention some individual content creators by name in the post. I don’t want any hate to be spread toward them. If by some chance they end up seeing this post, I want them to know that I highly respect each and everyone of them and that I don’t have any ill feelings toward them

Finally, sorry if this is long and not concise. I just feel like I need to get this off my chest, and it is two in the morning where I am.

I’m a young adult that is a fan of mcyt. As some of you on mcytblr may know, my favorite minecraft content creator is Captain Puffy. I love her content and personality, and I personally identify with her since we’ve shared similar struggles in life. That being said, I actually don’t agree with everything she does in her private life, more particularly with her decision to go to the uk and to vidcon (which is now canceled) during the pandemic. But once again, that is her decision, and even though I don’t condone her decision, I wasn’t going to attack her for it.

Yesterday evening, Gee Nelly threw a birthday party; Puffy had just arrived in the UK when she attended, and other ccs (like Minx, Niki, Wilbur, and Jack, just to name a few) attended. They weren’t wearing masks, nor were they socially distancing. Some fans found out that the party was happening, and they were rightfully upset, especially considering the fact that recently Tommyinnit had gotten covid, that VidCon got cancelled because of covid, and that London (and the UK in general) had seen an increase in covid cases.

Now, before I talk about my own opinion, I would like to clear up some misunderstanding that I’ve seen on twitter. For approx. the last four weeks, you no longer have to quarantine once you arrive in the UK if you arrive from the US and are fully vaccinated. In that regard, Puffy wasn’t doing anything against UK guidelines. Additionally you are no longer legally required to wear a face mask in the UK regardless on whether or not you are vaccinated. In other words, except if someone present was actually sick with covid, then no one was doing anything illegal.

Now, here is what I have to say about this. First of all, I could care less about restrictions and guidelines. Anytime I’m in public, indoors or outdoors, I’ve been wearing my mask since March of last year. The day I’ll stop will be the day that we’ve reached herd immunity, and we are nowhere near that.

However, almost no one think the same way I do, which kind of leads to my second point; I’m not surprised at the choice made by any of those content creators in attendance. I wasn’t expecting anything more from them, for the good and simple reason that everyone in my town is doing the same thing as them. However, this doesn’t change the fact that I’m disappointed in their decision and that I would have loved for them to think more critically about this and to realize that it wasn’t a good idea.

But relatively speaking, there is little importance in what those content creators decide to do during their free time. What matters more is how we react to it. This fandom is at a point where they look up at content creators as practically perfect in every way. So of course, when a content creator messes up, individual fans will react in one of two ways.

The first way is to replicate the content creator’s mistake. This is harmful to all since neither the fan nor the content creator realize that this action is a mistake. This eventually leads to the normalization of the mistake, and once someone else realizes that it is a mistake, it may be too late to fix it.

The second way is to completely shame that content creator for that mistake. This is also harmful for both the content creator and the fan. For the content creator, this situation is stressful since they may not fully understand what exactly they did wrong. For the fan, the existence of this mistake goes against this perfect image they’ve looked up to; this will feel almost as if the entire world collapsed, because in a way, their perception of the world did indeed collapse.

As a fandom, we’ve been going with the first way for a while. We’ve tried to justify Tommy’s vlogs, Ranboo’s trip to the UK, and the Karlnap meetup. Those of us that disagreed with this behavior (myself included) have decided to stay quiet and tried to be excited and happy for them. Now that covid cases are rising globally, that conventions are cancelled, and that content creators are getting sick, we decided to start being more vocal about our disagreement. Now, I feel like this fandom is slowly starting to react in the second way.

The main takeaway from this is that we should be holding content creators and ourselves accountable for their and our own actions, respectively. Both the fandom and content creators should recognize that we should start thinking by ourselves instead of listening to guidelines or popular opinion. Those of us that disagreed with the meetups and the vlogs should have spoken up since the beginning. We should also understand that no one, even the people we look up to, is perfect, and that everyone is allowed to make a mistake. And finally, we should also stop holding content creators to such high standards if we’re not also going to hold the rest of the world, including those around us, to those same high standards.

#mcyt #covidー19 #pandemic #mcyt meetup

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librarianandguardian · 3 years

Text

Just a feeling- Saul Silva x Female!Reader

Pairing : Saul Silva x Female!Reader

Word Count : ~2300

Warnings : Fluff, brief mention of drug use and burns

Music : Un homme - Jérémy Frerot

Author’s note : Getting pretty stressed because of a huge project at school, so I wrote this to blow off some steam ! I also wanted to say that I do not agree with the way some characters are written and treated in this show. I hope I did not perpetuate these errors, and that I got Silva’s personality a bit right at least. Feedback is appreciated, may it be on the story telling or even the grammar. English isn’t my first language. Flahs-backs in italics. Enjoy ! :D

GIF ‘s not mine, and I can’t find the creator.

French First World songs resonate in the Great Hall, she is dancing. Wild and free. Her loosened hairs fly through the wind. She has traded her Specialist armour for a long flowing dress. Her feet are hammering the ground in rhythm. The crowd carries her all over the dancefloor; she twirls and claps her hands following the music.

From an ignored fairy bloodline, her parents considered her a Specialist Legacy. When her mind fairies powers woke up, everything went wrong ; she was always an overwhelmed child. No one could help her everytime she lost control. Nothing but medication: earrings to contain, and pills to attenuate. It wasn't bad. She lived like that her entire life.

Silva is sitting on a plastic chair, leaning on the table by his side, his gaze lingering. She is an exceptional fighter; dance must be a piece of cake and fun judging from her large smile. To be fair, he barely remembered her from their time at Alfea. Farah told him she was three years younger than him and seemed to have a few memories.

« (Y/N) travelled a lot to the First World prior to college. Her parents were emissaries and brought back souvenirs. Rumours said that her room resembled a cave of wonders.

-Ever went there ?»

His friend chuckled.

« Once. It was full of trinkets, books, movies, postal cards too. Ben caught interest in it, especially the giant botanic encyclopaedia throning on her bookshelf. We both agreed after a while that she might be the ray of sunshine of her Specialist promotion. But I guess she was discreet, if you've never heard of her.»

It took some memory searching, but he indeed remembered one thing. A conversation between a bunch of 1st years talking about a secret party displaying famous First World movies. A few hours later, on the training field, (Y/N) battled fiercely. It caught the attention of many students, who gathered around the platform. Curiosity taking the best of him, he had followed the crowd.

« What's that First World song that I love to describe you with ?

-By the light Clairo, is it really necessary ? »

Her opponent mocked her. She rolled her eyes, wielding her sword before choosing her fight stance.

« You son of... Maneater from Nelly Furtado. Now let's fight please.

-Alright doll, eat me up. »

(Y/N) huffed in annoyance. Clairo was a good fighter, but a little bit too flirty. He launched himself at her. The young woman stayed incredibly calm. Dodging to the right, she left him to stumble before hitting his back with the wooden weapon. He fell to the ground with a grunt. A shy smile spread on her features.

Now that he thinks about it, her earring had intrigued him : an ear chain hanging from the top of the cartilage of her ear to her lobe. Each end was composed of a lavendish round lilac crystal. When she lost control recently, those crystals lit up with a blinding light and burned her skin.

« I change the earring every five year. Every year If any several big crises occurred.

-What about your burns ? How did they clean them up ? »

Her left hand ghosted over her intact lobe, while Harvey healed the bruised flesh. Her eyes stared at the floor of the greenhouse. Saul was holding her other hand.

« They... I stuffed myself with pills. Sometimes enough to sleep through an entire day. Within the Solarian force, it was the only way for them to treat me. None of their mind fairies could calm me down. I don't think you realize how much this, she lifted her intertwined hand, helps.»

The soldier chuckles at the memory. His eyes examined his fingers, remembering how she locked hers, as she found an anchor in his mind.

« My best guess ? Your training forged your head to have a certain mindset in crisis.

-Loads of Solarian troupers could have given you that.

-Yeah. I can't really explain it, she laughed shyly, maybe because you're a teacher, that two of your long time friends are fairies or just because you're good with people.»

Their gazes crossed. The air thickened. Truth to be told, (Y/N) was so lost upon why he managed to calm her down. Farah tried to guide her, but even then, nothing positive came out. Her youth as a student at Alfea only consisted in shared side glances with him in hallways. She sure as hell found the man attractive, but she had other stuff to think about.

A loud giggle snaps him back to reality. (Y/N) falls on his laps while trying to take off her high heels. Her eyes are opened wide and a little glassy. She's definitely drunk.

« Oh by the light, I'm sorry Silva. Aimed at the table ! »

The atmosphere becomes lighter. He catches her when she nearly trips off by trying to get up, one of his arms snaking around to help. Steadying herself on his laps, she catches her breath slowly, though some giggles erupt as she looks around.

« How can you still dance, uh ?»

With a guilty smile, she leans slightly against the table.

« Alcohol ! It's the only thing keeping me up, baby !»

Instant regret shoots through her veins. Some red creeps up on her cheeks, as her hands cover her mouth. The soldier chuckles, enamoured by her adorableness. One thing that strucked him when they met was her lightness. Out of all the solarian troupers out there, or even all the specialists he ever crossed paths with, she was one of the few who stayed so bright and playful. Subconsciously, his fingers dig slightly in her hips.

« It's alright, (Y/L/N).»

She giggles a bit, but thanks him. Farah watches from a far, joined by Ben. (Y/N)(Y/L/N) has been teaching at Alfea for a year now. The entire school seemed to have transformed into a much more joyous place : students got along better, the shyest opened a tad and the roughest softened. Ben's daughter Terra found a supporter of her personal projects and a confidant. Ben himself benefited from her return. Mostly in books and knowledge but that meant already so much to him. Farah gained a daughter ; (Y/N)'s powers were a mess for her advanced age, helping felt natural. But what she loved the most was how confused Saul got with the new Specialist. Their bond strengthened with time, however the first few days rocked the Headmaster all over the place.

«(Y/L/N), what did you do to our office ? Did you... Are these books classified by alphabetic order and colour ?! »

His colleague shrugged, trying to see if he was mad or just surprised. It happened a few days after her arrival. Their shared office went under few renovations.

« (Y/L/N), why dancing classes ? »

She shot up, put her hands on his desk and took twenty minutes to explain how it would make their movements more flexible, strengthen teamwork and be a tool for future mission on the job. Astonished could not describe Silva's feeling.

An admirable change that proved beneficial to the students. These two grew very fond of each other. A lot more than they thought. Words in the hallways started to spread about their growing fondness.

« Okay, I got a question for you, soldier boy.»

Saul tilted his head to the side.

« Are you having fun ?

-Of course I am.»

(Y/N) looks disappointed. Turning around, she pours some water in her cup and chugs it down.

« Really ? 'Cause the only thing I've seen you do is sit in a corner all night. »

He lowers his head, searching for the right words. How does he say that he just loves watching her run around the dancefloor ? How she bounds with students but also keeps their respect ? The fact that she's so organised that she could plan a First World themed party and keep her teacher skills to their best ? The shortest way for that would be admitting his feelings. He zones out long enough for her to talk again.

« It's okay. »

His eyes lock with hers. How did she sober up so quickly ?

« I know you have a reputation as a serious and frowny teacher to keep. And this is a graduation party, so. »

Never mind, she did not. The woman gets up, only to kneel under the tablecloth. He panics briefly.

« (Y/N), what on Earth are you doing ?»

She mumbles before appearing back outside. Her hands are holding a package. Another bright smile shines on her face. Silva knows what's coming, and he has mixed feelings about it; between fear, excitement and confusion.

« Happy Birthday Saul. »

His heart nearly stops. Few people know about his birthday, she is now a part of them. He frankly does not mind, even wished for it for a while now. His hands gently take the package to open it. Before his eyes lies a hard covered sketchbook and a wooden box full of high-quality pencils. The cover has a crow flying in a pearly sky with a red sun. The box is made of ebony and his name carved in silver. She knows an another of his secret. He tears up. The woman worries when he starts to sniffle. Much to her surprise, the soldier puts the gifts on the table before hugging her with all his might. Thank God the students are dancing or already out of the hall to smoke. (Y/N) answers his embrace, reassured.

« Thank you so much dear. »

It's her turn to have glossy eyes. She buries her face in his shoulder. This man is constantly under pressure and she has always wondered what he does during his free time : Does he train more ? He probably reads, right ? The answer came on a regular afternoon.

Silva knocked on her quarters' door. He heard shuffling before (Y/N) opened. She was wearing a bathrobe and a towel around her hair.

« Hi Saul ! Sorry hum. I woke up late and did not expect you so soon so, hum. »

The woman looked around, making her towel fall. Picking it up, she invited him in. He indulged, though a bit surprised.

« I'll be back in a jiffy, you know, putting some clothes on and all. Okay.»

She disappeared in her bathroom, leaving him to explore her room. Many watercolour paintings covered the walls, some abstract and others from the Realms of the Otherworld. However, a few landscapes felt unknown to him. On her desk lied sketches with a horde of different pencils. He discovered portraits of Farah, Ben, Terra, Sky, Riven and finally him. The lines were thin, some shadows sharp for the warriors and smoother for the fairies. A hint of jealousy took over him, quickly brushed away by shyness. The fact that she took the time to draw him was flattering. His fingers grazed over the pencils, wondering if he had time to prepare a little surprise. He puts down the file he came to discuss. A few minutes later, (Y/N) came out, dressed but her hair still wet on the edges. Silva was leaning against her desk, file in hand, a small smile on his features. She mirrored it before asking about the important matter at hand. Twenty minutes later, he left. Her eye caught a change in her drawing material : the portrait of Farah and Ben switched positions. She shuffled them, making sure everything was here, only to find an unknown piece. A cute fox was smiling, a little bubble under him stating :

« Nice Work (Y/L/N). Nice pencils too. Wish I had your talent.»

That last sentence made her wonder if he indeed had an artistic side. Needless to say that his quarters gave her answer. Same reason as his when he came, she knocked on his door one night. Though he did not fully invite her in, her eyes caught glimpses of nice sketches lying on a table, some rudimental equipment next to it.

They stay like this for a few seconds. The headmistress and Professor Harvey look at each other. No words, no need. Terra is chatting with a second year in a corner, bur her eyes catch them. She smiles, looking away shyly, but happy Sky sees the scene too, thanks to Riven who taps on his shoulder. They can't help the smile growing on their faces. Sky's father figure finding support is definitely going to be one of the highlights of their first year. (Y/N) and Saul part. One of her hands pats his arm.

« Wanna dance ? »

He closes his eyes, sighing. There is no lack of desire but the fear of what the students will say.

« I wish but... I don't know.

-I get it. But one day, you will ! That's a promise. »

With one last smile, she strolls back to the dancefloor, leaving him sheepish. He takes the sketchbook and a pencil. He might not dance tonight, but he'll make up to it.

#fate the winx saga #saul silva #saul silva x reader #sky of eraklyon #fate riven #farah dowling #ben harvey #saul silva imagine

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oddsnendsfanfics · 3 years

Text

Unraveling in the Sheets

Genre: Fan Fiction

Pairing: Henry Cavill/OFC

Warnings: Language, Sexual Content, NSFW

Rating: M

Length: Short Story

Disclaimer: a strict work of fiction, I own nothing except the original characters and the plot line. In no way am I affiliated to any of it.

A/N: Spoiler Alert, there is smut. Be warned. It's there.

Also, I am no longer doing tags on posts. Since my list exceeds the tag limit. Please feel free to join the chat in place of the tag list.

Henry Cavill Master List

“How did you do it though?” Gliding the car into a free parking space, Henry glanced at Nell in the passenger's seat.

“How did I do what?” Eyeing him curiously, she tried to hide her gloating smile. She could be a terrible winner, even if she wasn't the winner, she had came ahead of Henry.

“You know what I mean, Nelly.”

He looked so silly, his new mustache curling when he laughed or smiled. Nell had to admit, if any man could wear the 'stache Henry did it well.

“Oh, you mean how did I suddenly leave your ass behind and finish nearly 50 positions ahead?” She laughed, crinkling her nose. “I told you, I've been working hard for this. Besides, you're too big. You move slower than I do. It's that simple. Maybe next year, you will finish ahead of me.”

“You're impossible.” Unbuckling his seat belt, Henry hurried to get out of the car and around to the other side, before Nell could open her own door. Nearly there, he frowned when she opened the door, stepping out of the Aston Martin. “You were supposed to let me open that.”

“I am supposed to do a lot of things that I do not.” Nell grabbed her hand bag. “I'll let you open the door, next time. You big dork.”

Henry was always the gentleman, even when Nell would rather rip his eyes out than speak to him in a civil manner. Not that she ever felt the former much, but on the rare occasion. Sometimes that's how things went for ex-lovers. The mid May air was growing cool, leaving a few goosebumps on Nell's exposed arms. She had expected to be back before now, which is why she'd left her sweater in the hotel.

“Well, happy late birthday. It was nice having dinner with your family. I've missed them.”

“They've missed you, too. I could tell that dad was happy you came along. He hasn't talked that much during a dinner since the last time you came over.” Henry smiled fondly. "I'm glad that you came, Nelly." Hands in his pockets, Henry sauntered along beside Nell. Approaching the main entrance, he held the door allowing her to enter.

When he'd invited her for the weekend, he wasn't confident that she would come. Wrapped up in work, Nell didn't take too much time away from Dublin these days.

"It was a nice break from work." Tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, Nell bit her bottom lip. "I know that you are busy, but do you have a few minutes to talk?"

"I always have time to talk with you." Scanning the hotel lobby, Henry tried to find a spot for them to sit and chat privately. "Should we have a seat at the bar?"

"We could, but I would really like to change. Do you mind coming up with me? We can just talk in the room. It's probably more comfortable anyway."

"Is this about the wild boy?"

"Isn't it always?"

Laughing, Henry pushed the call button for the elevator. Their son was truly something else. One day he would surely take over the world; Henry could see that coming from the day he was born. To say Ivan was Henry's pride and joy would be a massive understatement. He lived for their son. This weekend having Ivan, and Nell, in Jersey had been fantastic. A short glimpse of what life could have been. The ding of the elevator brought Henry back from his brief fantasy.

He and Nell had split up several years ago, there wasn't much chance she would feel the same as he did. Lost in the thoughts of happy little family. Allowing Nell to step onto the elevator first, Henry stood silently with his hands clasped in front of him.

“So, Ivan has been doing well in school?” He may as well get this under way.

“Define doing well,” Nell snickered. “I get a call nearly every day from his teacher. The woman is impossible, but knowing our son, he isn't making it easy for her.”

“I was like that in school. Right up until the day I left.” Henry shrugged. The elevator gently bumping to a stop, he stepped forward to hold the door for Nell.

Muttering a thank you, Nell dug for her key card, leading the way down the hall. She loved this hotel, it was the only one she stayed in, if she could help it, while visiting the Island. A great view of the water on one side, the other dazzling with a fantastic look out into the city. The first time she'd ever been to Jersey, she had stayed in the hotel and fell in love with the charm. There were days when that felt like a life time ago.

Opening the door, Nell paused to allow Henry in. “Have a seat. Anywhere you'd like. Sorry it's kind of a mess. I'm going to change.”

The hotel room was anything but a mess, minus the few sketch books that Nell had dropped on the bed. Always working. Henry took a seat on the edge of the king sized bed, casually glancing at the colour coded notes and designs that Nell had in one of the open sketch books. Costumes. A few notes detailed leather armor and Viking era clothing. She'd done well for herself, since he'd met her. The same shy costume apprentice hiding out on set of The Tudors, was now helping drive forward the details of Vikings.

In the bathroom, Nell pulled off her dress. The fabric had became clingy after a while and she needed to be more relaxed. Running shorts and a tshirt would do the trick. Sighing at her reflection, she bit her bottom lip glancing down at her top. The worn coral Nike tshirt was her favourite, it was showing the love and wear in a few spots. Perhaps she should have picked something less frumpy? She was a busy, single mom she didn't have to look the part. Ah fuck, who cared. Henry certainly wouldn't.

He was here to discuss their son, not flirt with her until she gave in to that smile. Or got lost in his eyes, those gorgeous blue eyes – the left with the flecks of brown. His charm alone was enough to make anyone weak in the knees. Damn it, she needed to get over it. He had moved on. She needed to do the same.

Blowing out a breath, Nell reached for the door, pausing when she heard Henry talking. His tone told her that he was speaking to Ivan. Quietly slipping out of the bathroom, she smiled.

“Hold on, just a sec.” He pushed the screen of his phone, allowing the speaker to connect. “Alright, wild boy. Say goodnight to your mum.”

“Mum, momma, mum.” Ivan's voice filled the room. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, Ivan. Are you being a good boy?”

“Uh huh. I love you. Good night.”

“Good night, wild boy. I love you.”

“Night dad.”

“Good night, I love you. I'm going to be back soon, you go to bed and I will see you first thing in the morning.”

“Okay. Oh, dad, can Kal sleep in my room tonight?” Ivan was fond of the large black and white American Akita. Henry laughed.

“Of course he can. You and Kal go to bed, now.”

“Okay, bye.” A little too quickly, Ivan hung up the phone. Henry laughed at the eagerness, he would talk to his mother when he got back to the house. Making sure that Ivan and his dog had gone to bed as they were told, with no fuss.

"Can you believe he is growing this fast? My god where has that time gone?" Henry rubbed his hands against his face. His mustache and subtle stubble scratching his palms.

"Time is a cruel mistress." Rubbing her hands on her shorts, Nell stood. "Drink? I have a bottle of Johnnie Walker."

"Of course you do." Smirking, Henry shifted on the side of the bed. “I had a look at some of these designs, by the way. They're magnificent. My god, Nell, you are so talented.”

“You're saying that to be nice,”

Shaking his head, Henry accepted the glass, resting it on his knee. “No, I am saying it because its true. You are one of the most talented costumers that I had ever met. Are you enjoying the job?”

“I love it.” Nell smiled, leaning against the large wooden desk in the corner. “The work is great, the people are amazing, and Ivan is really enjoying it. I'm glad we went.”

“Good, that's good. He talks about it, a lot. He really seems to love being there. I'm glad. Once things settle, I am going to try and come visit. I kind of miss it, Dublin.”

“You should.” She smiled fighting the urge to scoff and roll her eyes. Henry was always busy. He'd make it to Dublin, when Hell froze over. “So, how is work coming on this new character.”

“I can't say much, but I can say that I will be happy when I can shave.” He rubbed the mustache expertly. “It's not as bad as some of the beards that I've had to grow, but it's not my favourite look.”

“You look good with a beard. I know you hate them, but you do.”

Leaning forward to set his glass on the bedside table, Henry licked the whiskey off of his lips. “I'm glad to have that compliment.”

“Sure.” Nell nodded, tipping her glass to finish the drink. “Another?”

“Uh, I'm good.” Henry motioned to his glass. Rubbing his hands across his jeans, he furrowed his brow. “I've been thinking, since I am fairly busy the next few months, what if I keep Ivan for a few extra days? Once you leave, I will take him back to London with me, until I have to go.”

Shifting on the bed, her face warm from the second glass of whiskey, Nell sniffled and cleared her throat. “What about school?”

“What about it? He isn't going to miss much, is he? They're nearly finished up and I don't know how long it will be, until I see him. Possibly not until Christmas.”

All he wanted was to spend a little time with his son, was that so hard? His next move would have to be calculated, Nell had been known to stat arguments over less. If Henry wanted to avoid a shouting match, he would have to go about this carefully. Reaching for his glass, he downed the remaining contents in one large gulp. Sighing.

“I want to hang out with him a little. It wouldn't be more than three days extra. Then you get some time alone, as well. Nell, I know that you need a bit of a break. You work so hard and take care of Ivan, please.”

“If you want to, then I suppose I can't really say no. What kind of mother would I be, if I didn't let you see him?”

“Don't say things like that, please.” Henry reached out, his hand taking hers. Gently stroking the back of her hand with his thumb. “You are a wonderful mum. You know that.”

“Sometimes, I feel like I could do better. I really do.” Nell shrugged, allowing Henry to continue holding her hand.

“All parents feel that way, I am sure. I know that I feel like that, all the time. I guess it's natural, always wanting to do better, to be better, for our children.”

There he went again. There were times when Nell could not stand to be near him, other times she wanted to be as close as possible. Damn it. Watching him talk about Ivan and the few extras days they would be together, Henry's eyes lit up. His smile broad and the enthusiasm in his voice was one that dictated proud father. Nell nodded, only because she felt it was appropriate to the conversation.

Henry continued to chatter about how he wanted to take Ivan to a new exhibit at the Natural History Museum, in London. Leave it to the father and son, finding a day at the museum to be high on the list of fun. Nell sighed, continuing to half listen, half gaze at Henry in awe. One thing she loved – well love could be a strong word – adored? Enjoyed? About Henry was how much he loved Ivan.

Mid sentence about some Sir David Attenborough documentary that he'd watched with Ivan; Nell couldn't help it any longer. Leaning in, without warning, she grabbed Henry's face turning it to her and kissing him. Lips connecting, she stopped and jumped back as if hit by an electric shock.

Clearing his throat, Henry rubbed the back of his neck, but not pulling back. “I didn't know that the National Geographic was that exciting.”

“I'm sorry.” Hiding her face in her hands, Nell shook her head. Oh that had been a mistake. She had absolutely no right. None. Henry was crazy, if he didn't get up right now and walk out. If he was angry, then she deserved that.

Blushing, Nell shook her head. “Henry, I shouldn't have.”

“I'm certainly not going to complain.” He shrugged, leaning in his arm sliding around her shoulder. Nell glanced up, getting the nerves to look at him. Oh she had fucked up. “Next time, I would like some warning though.”

“Warning? Next time?”

“Hmm, yes. Kind of like this, close your eyes.” Henry instructed pulling her closer and kissing her. Nell sighed her body melting against him. She loved the way his lips felt on hers. Soft, with a slight force.

Straddling his waist, her arms wrapped around his neck, Nell's fingers laced together. Her lips leaving his, tracing along his jaw, nearing the sweet spot below his ear. A slight nip and he was an unraveling mess. Henry nuzzled his face into her hair, she smelled amazing. Comforting and warm. A groan erupted from deep in his throat, as predicted she had gone straight for that spot.

“Nell, Nell,” Henry cleared his throat, holding her at arm's length, “Janelle, stop.” Looking for any sort of sign that she truly felt that this wasn't a good idea, he sucked in a breath. “Are you sure about this? Because if we continue, I won't stop until...”

“I am.” She nodded firmly, “I don't want you to stop. I don't want to stop. Oh god, Henry. Please.”

“I need to know that you truly, absolutely want to do this.”

“If you don't stop talking and bend me over, I am going to kick you out and do this myself. Please, stop talking. If I didn't want this, I wouldn't have started it.”

A deep rumbling laugh followed, Henry rolled his eyes. God, she was something else. Who was he to deny a gorgeous woman what she wanted? Would this come back to haunt him? Probably. Did he care? Not much. Come morning they would once again go their separate ways, but that didn't matter right now. Right now, he could pretend that he had everything he wanted. And what he wanted was her.

Pulling her to him, Henry kissed her hard. Nell moaned, the force of the kiss was nearly dizzying. Arms around his neck, she rubbed her body against his, trying to grasp the friction that was created when she started to grind herself against his thighs.

“Henry,”

“Hold on, you need patience.” He brushed a bit of hair out of her face, “all in good time.”

Nell squealed when he stood, her legs desperately scrambling to hold onto him. In a futile attempt she huffed, when he let her go, standing in front of him pouting. Unbuttoning his shirt, Henry smirked giving her a heated stare. “Well, are you going to get on the bed or make me do all the work? Shorts off.”

Sliding the mesh shorts down her ass and along her legs, Nell made a bit of a show letting them pool at her feet. Stepping out, as slowly as possible, while lifting the old tshirt from her body. Allowing it to go where it would, as she dropped it. Sitting back on the bed, she could feel her heart in her throat and her stomach where her heart should be.

“Lie back.” Henry instructed, kneeling at the edge of the bed. Arms around her thighs, guiding her to him, he studied her for a moment. She was trembling as his fingers slid across her thighs, positioning her in just the right way.

“Oh god, Hen-Henry.” Nell's mouth was suddenly dry and her voice hoarse. His hot breath between her legs was tormenting her, in unimaginable ways. In anticipation she bucked her hips forward, trying to clench her thighs. Holding her knees with his shoulders, Henry chuckled.

“Eager.”

“Please.”

“You are...” He lingered, kissing the inside of her leg. “Gorgeous. Look at you.” He brushed his thumb against her. Nell whimpered trying to push further. “Hold on, hold on.”

“Why are you teasing me?”

“Because I want to enjoy the view, for a moment.” He shrugged, her legs lifting gently. A hand on her lower abdomen, as if holding her in place, he used the other to gently tease and trace along her calf. Without warning, his lips attached to the most sensitive part of her body with his mustache adding an extra sensation, Nell bucked her hips hard, shoving his face further between her thighs.

Nell's head was swimming, it had been a while since she'd felt this good from such an act. Sure, she'd had the odd date here and there, semi-serious relationships, but nobody could do this the way Henry could. He was a fucking magician, she was certain of it. Humming against her mound, Henry couldn't hide the laughter in his eyes, when she began to squirm and wiggle against his face. She was desperate and he was going to prolong this as much as he could.

Sucking her clit, his tongue generously lapping at her, he thoroughly enjoyed the show. Pushing his head as far down as she could, Nell was nearly in tears each time he leaned in, his mustache tickling in just the right way. Oh god, she gasped trying hard to find release. Henry was cunning, backing off at the right moments.

“Henry,” She whined, threading her fingers through his hair. “Don't tease me, I really need you to finish.”

“Stop being so impatient.” He was teasingly stern. Pushing her hands away, he locked his fingers with hers, holding them at her side. Lifting his head, he smirked, kissing up her body ending with another dizzying kiss. Nell sucked on his tongue, freeing her hands from his, she tugged him closer, pulling at fistfuls of hair.

Cleaning herself from his tongue and lips, she sighed. “I'm going to need more than that.”

“You're sure?” Henry paused, holding his weight on his forearms, resting above her. His jeans still on, he could feel the strain against the denim.

“Jeans, off.” She demanded, sitting up to watch. Shivering against the slight chill, her breasts on display giving him the perfect view of her erect nipples. Nell blushed under his gaze. She was not the tight, toned, and perky body she once was. She wasn't out of shape, by any means, but compared to Henry...

“You are gorgeous.” Henry complimented, his jeans on the floor, boxers being pushed down to join them. Stepping out of his pants, he stood at the side of the bed, in all his glory.

Nell licked her lips, reaching out to take him in her hand. Hissing under her touch, Henry involuntarily bucked his hips forward into her hand. Rubbing the head, Nell intently watched Henry while she leaned in taking him fully in her mouth.

“Fuck, Nelly.”

“Hmm,” She hummed, sliding her head back along his length. Hand wrapped around him, stroking in place of her mouth. Bobbing her head back down, she swirled her tongue around the base. He nearly choked her the first time she'd ever gone down on him. Oh how long ago that felt.

Dragging her tongue against his length, she felt her core tighten, with each moan Henry gave. His slight salty taste mixed with the aftertaste of the Johnnie Walker, Nell inhaled deeply through her nose, hollowing her cheeks around him. Gripping the back of her head, Henry tried to not force her too hard, as he began to guide her movement.

Happy to go along with what he needed to feel good, Nell allowed him control over her guidance. Her finger nails grazing the back of his thighs, she mentally checked the small victory when he threw his hips forward at the sensation of her wrapped around him and her nails on his skin.

“Good girl,” Henry mumbled, his head lulling back, his chest rising rapidly. “Keep it up, just like that. Oh shit,”

Nell's chest swelled a little, she could still make him feel good, even after all of this time apart. That was not something she would take lightly, even if this shouldn't be happening. Oh fuck, who cared? They were two consenting adults. Henry's legs quivered, his hands unsteady stroking the back of her head.

“Nell,”

“Hmm?” She glanced up at him. His face soft and his jaw slack, she could feel him tightening. The perfect time to stop her actions. “Not yet,” She smirked, wiping her hand across her chin, drool gone. “Fair is fair.”

“Jesus,” Henry grumbled. He had been so fucking close, the knot in the pit of his stomach clenched Slowing his breathing, he took a moment to think of anything else. Laundry? Running? How much longer until he had to renew his passport?

“Henry?”

“Yeah?” He snapped his head to look at Nell.

“Are we going to stand here all night, or...” She shrugged, a devious smirk on her face. Laying back on the bed, she curled her finger beckoning him to her.

“You're still sure about this?” Henry asked. His eyes on her, waiting to see if she had any hint of doubt or hesitation.

“I don't have a condom, but I'm clean. It's not like I'm getting pregnant, so....” If she were to get pregnant, there was going to be on hell of a hefty lawsuit against that surgeon.

“You're sure? I know that I'm...but I don't have.”

“if you don't want to, then I understand.”

“I do, though, but...”

Nell shook her head. “No buts. If you want me, then I'm yours.”

“Fuck, you're making this hard.”

Giggling, Nell glance down. “I think we're beyond things being hard.”

His body betraying him, Henry cleared his throat, she certainly had a point. Fuck it. What did they have to lose? Unless this, some how, came back to bite them. No, no he had to stop that. Give in, enjoy what was happening. It had been too long since he'd been able to watch her in such bliss. Bliss that he was responsible for.

“You're sure?”

Nell nodded siting up, opening her arms, “Come here.”

On the edge of the bed, Henry sighed, his large frame leaning into her. Nell held him for a moment, stroking his hair, the feel of his warmth against her sent shivers through her spine. Pushing him back on the bed, she bit her bottom lip, waiting for the go ahead. Henry gave her a slight nod, adjusting himself on the bed to get comfortable. Straddling his hips, Nell lifted herself to slowly take him.

Sheathing him inch by inch, Nell groaned at the fullness. This was her favourite part, taking him to the end, feeling him stretch her. Rocking her hips forward, she countered the motion sliding them back in the same tantalizing pace. Henry held her hips, pushing his up to meet her. Nell squeaked and giggled. She loved the way he hit all the right spots.

“You can touch me, don't be shy.” Nell winked, lifting her arms and crossing them above her head, allowing him a full view of her breasts. “Go on.” She encouraged.

His large hands cupping her breasts, Henry softly rolled her hardening nipples between his fingers, giving on a slight flick when she moved herself up on his length. Close to letting him slide out, she moved back down, her ass grinding against him.

The way her body moved against his was mesmerizing. Massaging her supple skin, from her breasts down her sides, one hand settling on her ass and the other on her hip. Henry loved the shape, even if she had changed a little since having Ivan. God she was stunning.

Hastening her pace, Nell rocked back and forth, up and down. Henry closed his eyes feeling every bit of movement, each clench. Taking in the sounds of her breathing, mixed with his, her small moans not going unnoticed.

“Henry,” She whispered, biting her bottom lip, leaning forward to touch her lips against his. “Please,”

Without having to be asked twice, he moved swiftly, turning them over to pin her beneath him. Nell sighed and stretched her arms over her head, the pull of her muscles caused another shiver. Her head now against the pillow, she reached, tracing the lines of his face with her fingertip.

“I don't know that I can be as slow as you were.” Henry nipped her finger. Holding back on his desire to pound her into the bed.

“Then don't.” Nell batted her eye lashes at him.

Somehow that was all he needed, that tiny bit of permission. Picking up the pace, Henry grunted. Nell moaned drawing her knees upward, allowing him an even better vantage to this position. As if the pent up emotions from the last few years, hours, minutes had been released the couple were lost in the sensation of skin on skin. The feeling of sparks and electricity coursing through them. Connecting them.

“Fuck, Janelle.” Henry hissed, his arm locked into position on either side of her head, keeping him from tumbling on top of her.

“Henry,” She squealed splaying her hands against his chest, tugging at the soft hairs. “Oh god. Please, don't stop. My god, oh fuck.”

“You are fucking amazing. Fuck, look at you.” Kissing her roughly, he sighed, steadying his pace. His hips slapping hers, Nell shook slightly her soft sobs of pleasure were enough to send him to an end.

Shaking with pleasure, Nell gasped trying to bring herself down from the high. Henry moaned, his head back and chest heaving. It had been a while since he had felt that good. Nell laid with her legs hooked around his thighs, no desire to move. Collapsing with his head on her chest, Henry allowed his body to rest. Sweaty and sticky, they laid tangled together. Neither one wanting to break the feeling.

Dosing in and out, Nell was the first to move. Her body growing heavy with Henry still on top of her. She needed to move, before seizing up. Pushing his head to the side, she giggled and kissed the tip of her nose when he lazily looked up.

“I need to pee,”

“Hmph.” Henry nodded, slowly rolling over. Allowing her to escape. Laying flat on the bed, while she scurried off to the bathroom, Henry pushed himself up off of the bed. He should be getting back to his parents, back to Ivan.

All thoughts of moving were squashed, when Nell came back, climbing in beside him. Her clothes still on the floor. Her body was comforting against his. “Hi,” she whispered, sliding in under his arm.

“Nell?” Henry laid with his arm around her shoulder.

“Huh?” Nell grunted, her face buried in his chest.

“I should head back.”

“If you want to. You can stay, I don't mind.” Nell yawned. Her eyes closing.

“Okay, but only for a little while.” Henry agreed, closing his eyes. In a few minutes, he would get up, shower, and head back.

With a start, Henry woke, a loud banging noise rattling him. Looking around the dark room, he squinted to find the source of the noise. Hearing someone whispering at a distance, Henry laid in bed, listening. Against him, Nell stirred, but didn't wake. Someone in the hall was talking, no doubt they had been the source of the banging. He had fell asleep, Nell wrapped against him.

Looking at his watch, Henry frowned. 4am. If he left right now, he could be back before anybody woke. If he left now, he risked Kal barking and waking the house. If he waited, he would risk walking in and having to explain himself to one or more person. Of course he could tell them that he'd ran into some old friends, had some drinks and stayed on a sofa somewhere. Too drunk to drive.

Shifting in bed, Nell sighed, her arm around his waist she snuggled in closer. She was content, who was Henry to try and disturb her sleep? He would wait an hour or two, before he made his departure. So what if he waltzed in, being faced by one of his brothers, or even his mother. He was an adult, if he wanted to stay out all night enjoying the company of a fantastic woman, then he would do just that.

Kissing the top of Nell's head, Henry smiled, sinking down further into the covers, closing his eyes.

Tag List Chat

#henry cavill #henry cavill fanfiction #henry cavill smut #oddsnendshenryfics

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vannybarber · 3 years

Text

Prank Backfired

Summary: This idiot plays too much.

Christopher Jamal Evans x Black Reader

Warnings: cursing, weaponry, mentions of cheating, threats of christopher jamal evans' life.

Chris, the most mischievous man you know, decided to upgrade that status and play a prank on you. A stupid one might you add.

You walk through the door after a long day of work. Even though you loved what you did and it paid amazing money, it could drain the hell out of you. You set everything down and kick off your shoes in the hall, heading towards the couch and plopping down.

Chris comes through into the living room and identically plops down beside you. You slackly move over to kiss him.

"Hey bubba", you say, but before you could reach his lips, he quickly leans back with a hardened look on his face. Confused you lean back as well.

"Chris, what's wrong?" He takes a deep breath, which does not help your racing heartbeat whatsoever, and starts talking.

"I'm just gonna be straight with it. I've been seeing this girl, well sleeping with her, for a few weeks now."

If looks could kill, you'd be sentenced life without parole for murder in the first, second and third degree. But hearing his words had you feeling all types of emotions. Angry, hurt, confused, flabbergasted, scared even, just to name a few.

"It was eating me up inside and I just had to come out and say it. I couldn't hold it from you anymore." He was fiddling with his hands and not even looking at you. It was quite strange because if he had something important to tell you, he would always look you in the eye.

"Who is she? Do I know her?" Your leg is bouncing and you're cracking your knuckles trying to hold it together.

"It was that waitress from Durty Nelly's on Blackstone. When you went to the bathroom, she slipped me her number."

"That bleach blonde, trailer-park trash, cousin-fucking tramp with those ugly cut out shorts and uneven boobs?" Oh there was no way in hell he cheated on you with that. Something was up.

But then you remembered. You never went to that bathroom because ew. You were considering it and you got up only to make 2 steps before sitting back down. And that girl was 2 booths down from y'all. There was no way she 'slipped him her number'. This motherfucker was lying.

"Yep.." he bites both lips. "That's her. Look babe, I'm sorry. I truly am. I don't know what I was doing. You know I have a habit on hopping from one thing to another." The fucking nerve of this fool. He finally looks at you and he honestly deserves all his success because he's really pulling this prank off.

"Well, I don't really have anything to say to you right now. I'm just gonna get my shit and go. You cheat on me with the literal definition of vile and expect me to forgive you like that? I mean out of all the people in this world, Christopher."

Still playing into his prank, you get up and walk towards the bedroom. He follows suite, totally thinking he's the shit pulling one on you, but things were about to get interesting. You turn into the bedroom going straight for the closet.

"Listen Y/N, I don't want to lose you okay? I just can't seem to let go of her. She's addicting, if I'm being honest." You just shake your head and chuckle. If you didn't know this was a prank, he'd probably be in intensive care right now.

"Baby boy, that is fine. You don't gotta worry about me anymore."

You move around his duffle bag and your never ending boxes of shoes until you find the one box you're looking for. You pull out the Yatch Club Vans box and set it on the island in the closet.

"You know, I don't know how you could cheat on me. I mean, besides the fact that I'm literally the best person over, look at me. Look at this fine black queenyou got standing infront of you. This shape is unique and very much rare. It don't get no better than this, honey. That's a fact."

You open the box and stare at your Glock 19. Yes, you had a gun. No, he didn't know about it. But he was about to find out now. You pull it out and insert the magazine. In the process, you hear Chris very audibly gasp and you smirk to yourself.

"Y/N Y/MN Y/LN! What the hell are you doing with a gun?" He absentmindedly backs up out of fear, for you were a very unpredictable person that it was actually scary.

"At first it was just for safety. I learned how to use it and everything. But since my mans wants to go out and have an affair, don't you think we should end it with something for you to truly remember me by?" By the time you're done talking, the gun is loaded and ready to be used. Only you had it on safety, of course.

"Babe listen calm down. For real Y/N. Look okay I was just joking. It's-it's just a prank. I didn't cheat I swear!" He has his hands up like he's surrendering, but pushing you away. Probably because you have the gun pointing to him. Gosh, this was so fun.

"Yeah sure it is. You can't even lie right. Well, one of us isn't making it out alive and I'm sure it's the one without the gun." You evilly smile and move closer to him. You lowkey feel really bad because your puppy is legitimately scared out of his little mind.

"Baby please listen to me. I was just joking! I would never cheat on you. I mean look at you. Why would I want that walking Pacific Ocean when I have you? I would never hurt you like that. You gotta believe me. I promise, just put the gun down please."

You tried to hold on for a few more minutes, but he was near tears and it tugged at your soft heart. You lower the gun and take it back apart.

"That didn't feel so good did it? I knew it was a prank. I just wanted to get you back." You close the box and put it back in it's place. You turn to him with your hands on your hips.

"Y/N, that wasn't funny. Why would you do that?" He moves closer to you, now angry. But oh well.

"That feeling that you had in your chest, that anxiety and fear. That's what I was feeling when you told me you cheated. You know I have trust issues and that wasn't funny at all. I wanted you to feel the same way. Maybe I went too far, but it's a done deal now."

You brush past him and back into the room. When you get into it, he is right behind you and grabbing your arm.

"I'm honestly sorry okay. I was just messing around and I wasn't being considerate of your feelings. I didn't think it would affect you like this. I didn't mean to put you in that position." You smile at his apology, knowing he was truly sorry.

"I will admit, I went a little overboard, knowing full well it was a prank from the start. You're a smart man. You know what you got right here." You trail your hands down your body playfully and pose. He giggles and wraps his large biceps around you.

"I won't do this again. I promise." He leans down and connects your lips, finally giving you what you wanted since you stepped foot in the door. You pull back and look up at him.

"To redeem yourself, you can order me take out and grab that foot massager I just bought and get to work, peasant," you giggle out while he rubs your sides.

"Your wish is my command." He grovels at your feet.

"As it should." And with that you sashay away like that HBIC you were 💅🏾.

This scenario came up in my head this morning and I wrote all of it tonight. How great is that? Now I shall work on my Andy Barber fic 😌

masterlist

#cevans #chris evans #avengers #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans x reader #captain america #chris evans fluff #chris evans x black reader #black reader #queen #chris evans fic #christopher jamal evans

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skelebonecentral · 3 years

Text

Hothouse Rose Chapter 3

you meet the boys. well, most of them

words under cut

It’s less than five minutes, and you’ve managed to find your class ring from high school, showing Papyrus all the icons on it, when someone calls, “PAPYRUS, DEAR!”

“IN HERE, CHARM!” Papy calls back, and you turn to see a skeleton in a leotard and bright pink leather boots looking in. Well, his leotard also had a huge hole cut in the center, showing his ribs and the sheet of toned ecto-flesh that matched his boots to a T. Other than that, he looked like he and Papyrus had pulled lots out of the same gene pool for sure. He looked more like Papyrus than even Sans did.

“Ah! And this must be Y/N,” he came into the room and gently took your hand, bowing and kissing it in one go, “My name is Charm, and I’m so elated to finally meet you.”

You’re a little shocked, still, but clear your throat, “Y-yeah, it’s nice to meet you, too.”

There’s a bit of a shift to your right, and you see someone who looks like a more awake and confident version of Sans looking forlornly at your soot-covered sheets, “Oh, this poor satin is ruined…” As Charm backs away, they look up and run over, “Sweetheart, you’re even more gorgeous than I imagined! I’m Boa, Papyrus’ cousin, and oooh, you’re going to be a dream to make clothes for! I’ve never had a human model before and this is going to be amazing!”

He was wearing a bright blue button-down shirt that had been tailored with a very snatched waist and open shoulders, as well as a matching feather boa (ah, his namesake maybe?) around his shoulders, echoing the color of the upside-down hearts that were his eye lights. His pants were red denim capris, and a purple pillbox hat sporting three feathers sat jauntily on top of his skull.

“BOA, AS MUCH AS I LOVE THE IDEA OF MY DATEMATE IN LOVELY HANDMADE CLOTHES, THEY’RE HAVING A CRISIS AT THE MOMENT, SO MAYBE LATER?” Papyrus gently pulls his cousin away and you just smile. Thank stars for Papyrus.

“Oh, right, sorry.” Boa bops himself on the skull gently and sticks out a sparkling baby-blue tongue. It reminds you of how you found out about skeleton’s making ectoplasm bodies, from Papyrus doing the same thing when you laughed about a candy turning your tongue orange. He’d grinned and showed you his, that it was orange all the time, and you were amazed.

Papyrus gathers his cousins close to his ‘talking corner’ where he’d spoken on the phone, “ALRIGHT. THE GAMEPLAN THUS FAR IS THAT BOA HELPS ME FIGURE OUT WHAT FABRIC THINGS CAN BE SALVAGED AND I’LL DEAL WITH THE OTHER OBJECTS SINCE I’M USED TO UNDYNE’S HOUSE CATCHING FIRE ALL THE TIME. CHARM, YOU TAKE Y/N OUTSIDE SO THEY DON’T GET OVERWHELMED WITH THE LOSS AND MAYBE GET TO KNOW THEM? THEY’RE YOUR HOUSEMATE NOW, TOO, SO IT’S A GOOD IDEA!”

“And does that mean I get a turn to be one on one with Y/n later?” Boa asked, and Papyrus nodded, “Alright, that works for me!”

Charm chuckled, then separated from them and offered you his hand, letting you notice the sleeve of his outfit was tied by a band to his middle finger, “Alright, dear, let me take you to the yard and we’ll find a sitting place to talk a bit.”

“There’s a stump in the backyard, kind of a good seat along with the one deck chair…if it’s still there,” you offer, and he nods, steering you out of the collapsed side wall and to the back, letting you take the stump and he perches on the edge of the smoke-smelling chair since one arm has melted slightly, being made of plastic.

“Alright, Y/n, you already know I’m Papyrus’ cousin, and I know you’re his datemate, but we’re otherwise strangers. Let’s change that. Twenty questions?” Charm asked and you snort a bit.

“Sure. Why not? I’ll go first. What do you do for work?”

He smiled, “I’m a masseuse, I work at the massage parlor in the shops across from campus. Of course, that’s only since I came here, but it’s good work. What about you? What paid the rent here?” He crossed one leg over the other at the knee, using his hands to hold that leg steady. He sat straight as a board, just like Papyrus did.

“Well, I work for the main library. I mostly check in returns, make sure they’re not damaged, that kind of thing. I started off as a part timer, but last semester they hired me full time and I’m really liking it.” You had to call in to work, too. But that was tomorrow. “Okay, how are you finding the town? Is it anything like Snowdin? I know that’s where Papyrus comes from, I guess you do, too?”

Charm nodded, “Well, we’re from very different backgrounds, but no, it’s not like home at all. So many humans, so much isolation from other people. It’s very different up here. But I do like it. All the space, all the life and light and sound. It’s exciting. Now, I want to know,” he grinned as he tilted his head a bit, “What’s University like? I’ve never been, but humans seem to think it’s a very exciting time of self discovery. Is it rumor or truth?”

Finally getting used to the smell of smoke, you laugh without coughing now, “Ah, well, that depends on who’s talking. For me, it’s been more about discovering other people. I spent most of my childhood just being with my family since I was an awkward kid, so I’m making friends…though it’s ended up mostly making monster friends. Humans are weird, even to other humans.”

Humming a bit, Charm seems to consider it, then asks, “And your love life? That’s the thing about university I’m curious about. Well, human love in general is fascinating to me.”

You blush, feeling awkward now, “Uh…I didn’t date, before Papyrus. So um…I don’t have one? Never have?”

He blinks, then sighs, one hand being slapped over his sockets “Oh stars, no wonder he had to call me to ask if you could move in. You’re both hermit crabs all closed up in shells. Good grief.”

A spark of irritation ignites in your chest, “Well, that and he’s a polite person. You don’t just throw someone into a home and say ‘okay they live here now’ without asking the other people who live there. That would be horrid and incredibly insulting to everyone. A breach of privacy.”

Charm winces, nodding, “I didn’t think about it that way. Privacy wasn’t a big thing in my home, my brother and I just brought people in as we saw fit but…that’s no excuse for upsetting you. I’m sorry.”

Oh, you hadn’t meant to get an apology about it. “N-no, I…I got mad for no reason. I guess it’s the stress, you’re fine, Charm. I just am very private, about most everything, so it sort of panics me to think I’d have to suddenly…without warning deal with another person I didn’t know. I can understand why one of you didn’t want to let me in and I’m kind of scared to go if we’re honest.”

Something in his expression shifted, and Charm smiled warmly as he settled into a more basic sitting position, putting his leg down as he cooed, “Oh, human, I’m very sorry for overstepping then. It’s still so new for me, I forget people keep their walls up out of self-protection. You deserve to be comfortable, and there’s no need to be frightened. I won’t be snooping in your room or things once we get you home, and neither will Boa or my brother. Or Boa’s brother, now that I think about it, since he’s just as private. Our own little hermit, Sweet-pea is.”

“His name is Sweet-pea?” you smile a little, “All of you have such unique names, I really like them.”

Charm gets a bit of his confident glow back, “Oh, yes, thank you. They’re nicknames, actually, since we either didn’t like or didn’t want to use our real ones. Sans and Papyrus are the only ones going by legal names in our house.” He laughs a bit, sounding very much like Papyrus, if softer than normal.

“That’s cool. I knew a lot of kids that didn’t go by their full name, or went by middle names or something. It’s pretty common, especially if there’s more than one kid with the same name in a class.”

His sockets crinkle, “Well, that’s something I didn’t know. It’s rather fun talking to you, you know? I see how you charmed my cousin so completely now.”

You just blush. So many compliments…

---

“Papyrus, really, there’s nothing to be done! Alphys might be able to fix the computer, and we can dry the books, but I don’t know about the rest of this stuff. We’d have to call a professional conservator.” Boa frowned. “Human furniture isn’t made to hold up against water and soot like monster manufactured stuff.”

“I KNOW BUT…I JUST FEEL LIKE I FAILED THEM.” Papyrus slumps as he drops the ruined sweater he’d been holding. “AFTER SAYING I’D HELP, AND I HAVE TO TELL THEM IT’S USELESS.”

Boa sighed and touched his arm gently, “But you did help. You got them out there with Charm, away from this mess and all the soot and grime that could hurt their human body, and you called in the only expert you knew.” Seeing that Papyrus was crying, he moved in front, holding both Papyrus’ hands, “I know it hurts, but remember, they love you and trust you to make good choices for them. They wouldn’t have asked you to be with them during this time otherwise!”

He just nodded, “I’M JUST KIND OF OVERWHELMED WITH EVERYTHING. IT’S JUST SO SAD THEY’VE LOST SO MUCH, AND I DON’T KNOW IF THEY’RE GOING TO LIKE IT AT OUR HOUSE. I’M SCARED WHIP MIGHT SCARE THEM OFF, OR…”

Boa quirked his mouth, finishing the sentence, “Or any of the rest of us with our predilection toward pleasure. Because you’re both shy little virgins despite our best efforts on trying to help!”

“BOA!”

“No, it’s true!” Boa grinned, purposefully taking this thread to get Papyrus away from being sad, “We’re all about being sexy scary skeletons! Oh, look at me!” He took a sensual pose and pouted, “Aren’t I terrifying being an inch shorter than your human and covered in feathers! Look at my very obvious boner that’s always there because I’m so sexy! Are you looking, Papyrus?” He’s teasing, expression bright as he tries not to giggle, and Papryus groans and covers his face from blushing.

“BOA, I GET IT. I’M A NERVOUS NELLIE, ESPECIALLY COMPARED TO ALL OF YOU, BUT THEY’RE VERY IMPORTANT TO ME! ALSO YOU’RE LUCKY I CAN FEEL YOUR INTENT OR I’D THINK YOU WERE HURT BY WHAT I SAID.”

Stopping his posturing, Boa waltzed back to his side and let his laughter out, “Oh, Papyrus, I’m sorry. I know reading people isn’t as easy for you as other monsters, but I had to make you smile. I did do that, didn’t I?”

He’s peeking around Papyrus’ hands, but beams as they’re lowered and a put-upon grin is on the taller skeleton’s face, “YOU DID AND I’M MAD ABOUT IT!”

“That’s my good cousin. Now, we’ll find someone reputable to help with this, but in the meantime, let’s pack everything that’s in one piece up carefully and get Y/n back to our house,” eye lights sparkling, Boa sets about doing just that, pulling various cardboard boxes out of his inventory and carefully placing things inside. “And of course we’re going to pay for the cleaning and such. Poor Y/n is still paying for school, after all. I remember how expensive that proposition was, and that was in the Underground!”

“I DO AGREE, BUT REMEMBER THAT JUST BECAUSE READER ISN’T RICH DOESN’T MEAN THEY’RE HELPLESS. HUMAN ECONOMICS ARE VERY STRANGE, BUT THEY LIKE TRYING TO MAKE IT ON THEIR OWN. I ALREADY HAD THAT TALKING TO, SO I’M GIVING YOU THE SHORT VERISON. THEY SEE US BUYING THEIR EVERY WHIM AS DEGRADING AND INFANTILIZING. SO DON’T,” Papyrus cringed internally thinking about the dressing down he got when the gold exchange finally came in. His idea of pampering was your idea of pity and it did NOT go over well. Your first fight, actually, and he was so glad you forgave him for the misstep when he explained where he was coming from. He didn’t try to buy everything for you, just gifts for special occasions, and you bought your own everything.

Boa blinked a bit, then nodded, “Oh, of course. I can understand that mindset. But…but they will let us help them a little, right? They at least have to buy new clothes…” His eyes lit up brighter, “Oh, that can be my turn! Charm got them this couple of hours and I get to take them shopping. I won’t!” he saw Papyrus’ mouth opening, “I won’t buy everything for them, but I will convince them to let us go halvesies as my welcome home present for them. That’s fair, right?”

“I…SUPPOSE SO, YES. OKAY.” Papyrus looked around the room, where he and y/n had spent so much time, where he’d first asked them to date, and felt incredibly down. Now it was just the memories left, the place stolen from them in moments. “JUST ASK THEIR PERMISSION FIRST. ABOUT PRETTY MUCH ANYTHING.”

Boa took his hand and smiled, “Certainly. Now let’s go get your datemate.”

Boa eagerly ran out and giggled when he saw what was happening.

Charm was carefully massaging you as you sat on the deck chair, skilled hands having already turned you to putty as he worked out all your stress.

“I SEE YOU TWO GOT ALONG WELL,” Papyrus is very glad someone was helping you relax, and you did look much happier. “CHARM, THANK YOU FOR HELPING. WE’VE GOT WHAT WE’RE GOING TO SEND FOR CLEANING PACKED UP, AND WE’LL HAVE SOMEONE REVIEW THE FURNITURE ONCE WE DO SOME RESEARCH.” He then turned to you, as you opened your eyes, looking half asleep, “I’M AFRAID WE CAN’T LET YOU HAVE ANY OF THE CLOTHES, THOUGH. THEY’RE ALL WET AND/OR COVERED IN SOOT.”

A flash of worry, and Boa stepped up, “But! I thought maybe me and you could go shopping to get you things to hold you over. And I could buy some of it as your welcome home present~” He grins, and you relax a little.

“Aren’t you a fabrics expert? You aren’t going to like what I buy. I’m not fashionable. If it doesn’t have a fun picture or saying on it, I usually don’t buy it.”

Hands in the air like a surrendering general, Boa nodded, “It’s true, I make fashion, sew it together every day, but Y/n, dear, you’re Papyrus’ datemate, and I would rather you be comfy than stylish. Besides, how will I know what you like to wear if I don’t see what you pick yourself? Comfort is just as important as appearance, you know!”

“Human fashion doesn’t work that way, but I’m glad you think so,” you reluctantly leave your position of bliss and get up, brushing off your clothes. “Papy, are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”

“I’D LOVE TO, BUT CHARM AND I ARE GOING TO HEAD HOME AND GET YOUR ROOM READY FOR YOU. WE’VE GOT SOME STORED FURNITURE TO PUT BACK TOGETHER AND A DEEP CLEAN OF THE ROOM AND ALL COMMUNAL SPACES TO DO!” He did come over and nuzzle his teeth to your forehead gently, “BUT I TRUST BOA TO TAKE CARE OF YOU, AND I’LL BE A PHONE CALL AWAY IF YOU NEED ME, ALRIGHT?”

“Okay. You take care and don’t overdo yourself. I want you being safe more than I want a new room,” you did worry when he started doing projects. He was strong, but you weren’t sure where his limit was and preferred being cautious about it.

“I PROMISE! CHARM IS GOING TO HELP ME, RIGHT?” He looks to his cousin, who nods happily.

“I do love a good furniture assembly. Now, you two behave and I’ll see you both when you come home.” He gave you a squeeze, then did the same to Boa before heading to the front yard.

Sighing, you motioned for Boa to follow you to the street. Both you and Papyrus had been too upset last night to drive, so your car was still sitting in the driveway, undamaged. It was a nice little thing, navy blue Taurus with a few years on it, and you sank with a sigh into the familiar seat.

“Oooh, your car is so sweet! A little sedan, so family friendly. I love it.” Boa slipped into the passenger seat and clicked his belt on happily. “Nice choice, very forward thinking.”

“What? This was one of my Aunt’s car. She gifted it to me so I could drive around school.”

“Oh.” Boa blinked, then shrugged, “Still, if you and Papy do have kids, you have the room.”

“Boa!” You blushed, glad you’d only started the engine and not pulled out onto the street, “What is with you and Charm saying all these things about my relationship with Papyrus! We’re dating, we’re not anywhere close to thinking about children!”

Boa seemed to realize something and looked horrified, “Oh stars, I’m sorry! Kids are all people I knew thought about in relationships and I didn’t realize! It was different here! I’m sorry!” His voice got small, nervous, “It’s just so different here, and I don’t know what’s appropriate outside the house yet since most of the others think like that, too. I really don’t mean to overstep.”

Steadying breaths in and out, and you shook it off, “It’s okay. There’s going to be culture differences, I get that, and I’m going to try and be understanding.” You finally got started down the road, heading to the local Poplar, a big box store and your preferred shopping experience. “So, the goal of relationships underground was more about kids than love?”

“Oh, well…kind of? Short term ones were, anyway,” Boa thinks for a moment. “There was just this pervasive idea that the end goal of any relationship was to have kids. Not that there were many kids even so, but it was still a big deal and the whole town would help raise the cutie, but…love was more reserved for older folks who were done giving their all to increase the population.”

You blinked a bit. Papyrus had told you, early on, that the Underground was way too crowded by the time Frisk set them all free. The Capitol was overflowing into the other areas of the underground, and there were worries about what would happen when everywhere was full. But? Well, you weren’t exactly in a place to call out the hypocrisies in a different society than your own. “Huh. Interesting. I’m not good at conversation, so you tell me whether you want me to talk about how humans do things now or if you want more questions on your end of things.”

He giggled, and it sounded utterly adorable, “Well, I’d like to know about humans. Your relationships aren’t all about babies?”

“Oh heck no. Most folks my age would rather jump off a bridge than have kids willingly,” you snort. “I mean, outside of a marriage, having a kid would be really hard and upsetting. You don’t have the money, you don’t have a partner to support you and the kid, you don’t have two families worth of folks who’d maybe watch the kid while you work…nah, we mostly have kids as an obligation after marriage because it’s EXPECTED that you have them.”

The silence in the passenger seat makes you look over once you’re at a stop light and Boa looks grey from how much color his skull has lost.

“Boa? Did I go too ham on you? Is…is it that shocking?” you didn’t think about it, just spouting out what you thought and your view on the subject.

He just nodded, “I…first the implication that people are having children against their will is terrifying, secondly, what….how do…is the community unsupportive of people who are single but have children?”

“Kind of, yeah. Most of those people are either divorced, or had kids before they were married, and most of them are women.” You sigh, “Society up here tends to look down on women if they do anything, but especially if you aren’t ‘pure’ or whatever and have kids out of marriage. For some reason that I never understood, the idea that a woman had sex with someone without getting married to them first is scandalous and her having a child she can’t support is seen as just punishment. I don’t get it. Not at all.”

You pull into the parking lot and park in a far slot, turning to Boa. He’s shaking, the rattling of his bones very audible. “I’m sorry if this is hard for you to learn, but I just want to make that clear to you so you can know when some human says something nasty about that subject. It’s evil, it’s messed up, and I hate it, but it’s how things are on the surface right this moment. I hope it changes soon.”

Boa sniffles, then unbuckles his belt and hugs you tight. He doesn’t speak, not for a long time, but he does hold you and you can’t fault him. Stars, coming from a world where kids were supported by everyone to a world where people genuinely didn’t care if a child was well cared for or not must be horrible. Poor guy.

After a while, he calms down and finally talks, “No wonder Sans has kept us all close to the house. I’m kind of glad my brother isn’t out here exposed to that kind of warped thinking.” He searches your face for a moment, then sighs, “But you’re good. You genuinely love Papyrus, I can tell. Thank stars he found someone whose mind isn’t full of such negativity.”

Letting him go takes some doing, since you don’t want to, but you manage it, “I know. With how much he likes platonic cuddling, people could have really hurt him if he wasn’t just such a ray of sunshine. I’m very lucky to have him, too.”

Boa nodded, then opened his door, “Okay, enough culture shock for today! Now we focus on you and your wonderful new wardrobe. Or at least a week’s worth of clothes? I’m sure between Papyrus, Sans, Charm, and I, we can find a good conservator and get your things fixed and cleaned by then.”

That works for you, and you get out and lock the door behind you. The two of you walk into the shop and Boa looks eager now, all gloom gone and his bones gleaming white again. “OH, Y/n, there are so many options! They’re all a little conservative for my taste but they’re sure to work for you.”

Laughing, you nod and get to work. Clothes shopping is always tedious for you, but you at least know that comfy shirts are one size and dress shirts are a different one, at least at this store. Your everyday shirts are your basic graphic t’s, or maybe a colorful gradient of your favorite hues, and your dressy outfits consist of black pants or slacks and a fancy shirt. You went through the wracks of clothes, choosing seven comfy shirts, seven casual shirts, and three fancy ones. Then you went to the bottoms, picking out four pairs of jeans, black dress pants, and a pair of black slacks. Boa didn’t say much, just watching you, occasionally humming.

Then you got some more sleepwear, since MTT pajamas were nice but couldn’t be worn every night for the whole of your stay with the skeletons. So, you got some warm pajamas, and some cool ones. Four of each kind. All of them had pants because you were going to be living in a house with other people, thus you had to wear pants at all times in case others entered your space without warning. No flashing people.

But as you turned and headed toward the check out, Boa grabbed your arm, “Whoa! Human, where are you going? You didn’t even try any of them on to see if they fit right!”

“I…don’t care?” you were confused. You’d always bought clothes this way. “Trying on clothes just makes me feel bad, and I’d rather do it in my own home. I can bring them back for better sizes if they don’t fit.”

His eye lights widened, mouth ajar. Then he got a very stern look on his face, “I’m sorry, but as a tailor I can’t allow you to settle for bad fits. We’re going to the changing room, and you’re going to show me what you have there. I’ll tell you if it’s good or not, and we’ll make the exchange here. If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right the first time!”

A man in an aisle across from you yelled, “Hey, monster tart! Leave them alone!”

You yelled back without even thinking, “Fuck off, asshat, that’s my roommate!”

He glared at you, then turned away and left you alone. Boa looked sort of deflated, though, and you had to ask, “Hey, are you okay? I’m sorry he called you names.”

“Oh, no…with what you told me about humans, he’s entirely correct but…it did hurt to feel how much he hated me. Um…” He was fidgeting with his feathers, wrapping them tighter around his neck.

“Let’s get to the changing rooms, okay?” you smile. It was worth you being a little self-conscious if it made up for this horrible interruption of your time with Boa.

He nodded, working up a smile again, and taking you back to the changing rooms.

It took a long time, putting on each of your outfits and coming out to show Boa. You knew what size you usually wore, but he still had to peruse your clothes in a circle before he agreed that any given item was probably the best ‘off the rack’ fit you were going to get. You did have to wave him off when he asked about your underthings.

“Nope! I’ll buy them after I send you to the car. I’m not letting you see those.”

“Huh? But foundation garments are important to fit! I’m guessing you have your best set on since you were on a date before the fire bu-“

“Boa! Personal space rules!”

“Oh. Oh right, you have those here,” he looked very frustrated, but sighed, “Okay. I’m going to be understanding of the ‘cultural difference’ too, and let you keep your foundations private even if I don’t understand why. You humored me, so I’ll do the same. I’m sorry I hit a nerve again.”

“Okay. Apology accepted.” You felt like that Jurassic Park guy fending off raptors, even if it was just Boa. “Okay. Here are my keys, go wait for me. Feel free to turn on the radio or air conditioning or whatever you need while you wait.”

Taking the keys, he suddenly seemed in awe, “Oh…oh wow, you really trust me! A car is a big investment and you gave me your keys!” He giggled and took off, waving at you as he went. Seems that little gesture was enough to brighten him back up fully.

Taking a deep breath, you turn back and go to pick up some packs of underwear and sportswear. Even if you did want to keep these garments private, it felt weirdly empty without the colorful skeleton next to you.

Boa was bopping along to some bubblegum pop when you get back to the car. You put your bags in the trunk, which he dutifully pops for you, and then come back to the front and get in the driver’s seat.

“I really didn’t meant to step on your toes at any point, Y/n,” he looked sheepish as you started the engine, “but I want to thank you so much for defending me. Papyrus really has chosen a wonderful person, if you’d stand up to someone else when we’re barely acquainted.”

“That’s just being decent, Boa. I shouldn’t need thanks for doing the right thing, but I do appreciate you helping me with my clothes so I feel like we’re even.” You couldn’t have the endless thanks. It made you squirm, someone praising you for something that just came automatically. Papyrus had learned not to go overboard quickly, and you really hoped Boa would, too.

“Alright, but I hope you don’t mind me talking you up to my brother when we get home.” Boa looked out the window and sighed, “As different as things are, I really want Sweet-pea to see the surface. Um, that’s his name, my brother.”

“Charm told me about him. He’s a homebody, right?”

Boa nodded, “He had a pretty bad relationship that made him…reclusive. I try to get him to go out, but the porch is about the limit at this point. And not even the front porch either…”

“Well, if he’s half as good a person as you are, then I’m sure I’ll adore him,” you might as well encourage him, after all. He was a fascinating little skeleton, and his energy really made you happy. That and just how vibrant he was. That cute little blue star painted on his right cheek and the little jewel you saw (glued?) on the front of his neck vertebra were adorable. “Now, you’re going to direct me to the house?”

“Oh! Yes. Here let me look, I’m a visual direction giver.”

The neighborhood the skeletons lived in was full of ostentatious mansions. It used to be part of the Greek life in the university, but had fallen out of grace and now was owned by the richer folks around town or had been turned into high end apartments. You marvelled at the nice gated carpark that your new home had, as well as the white columns and dark grey roof contrasting with the bright red brick. You could see faded areas above the door, where the Greek letters of the former owners resided, but if you squinted, it looked a bit like a sideways skull-and-crossbones. You liked that.

“We’re back, everyone!” Boa called, and there was a sudden surge of magic that left you tingling.

You were used to this by now. “Hi, Sans,” you smile as you look to your right, and there he is, standing right next to you looking exhausted. Well, more than usual.

“heya, pal.” He looked you over for a moment, then hugged you tight. “sorry, just felt like it. was still worried sick all last night.”

You hug him back and feel warm inside, “Sans, you know I appreciate that you care about me so much, but I don’t want you hurting yourself doing it. Remember, you are allowed to relax.”

“you taking Dr. Kevin’s job?”

“No. I am not your therapist, you dork,” You still kissed the top of his skull though, since he was hiding his face in your shoulder. “I’m your friend.”

“yeah, okay.”

Patting his back for a bit, he finally let go, “okay, I’ll stop monopolizing the human, as my bro is sure to say if I don’t stop.”

“I’d also say it!” Boa had his hands on his hips, looking smugly at Sans, “But it was just too cute to see you actually showing an emotion other than tired.”

“I’M COMING!” Came Papyrus’ voice from the staircase further back in the large entry hall you were standing in. There were beautiful wooden designs in the floor, lovely geometric patterns of squares and diamonds and other shapes, and a small Moroccan style chandelier above made of white smoked glass and gold scrollwork. The golden wood of the floor was matched by the slightly curved staircase that led up to the second floor (where you assumed the beds were) and where your dear Papyrus was currently bounding down.

Your giggles bounced off the high white walls as he spun you, making you glad you slipped off your shoes while looking about, “I MISSED YOU!”

“You just saw me a couple of hours ago!”

“THAT FELT LIKE FOREVER WHEN I’M SO EAGER FOR YOU TO SEE HOW CHARM AND I HAVE SET UP YOUR ROOM!”

Charm was at the top of the stairs, smiling as he leaned over, “Boa, did you make sure they did good picking out their new clothes?”

“I did! I made them try everything on first, but they wouldn’t let me help with foundation garments!” Boa gestured helplessly at you as Papyrus set you down, looking confused.

“Before you even ask, he means underthings,” you might as well warn them.

Sans, who was in the corner, turned bright navy blue all over his skull, and you grinned, “That’s how I reacted when he tried to help pick them out.”

Charm just smiled wider, “Oh, Y/n, so shy but so lovely. Has Papyrus even seen your ‘foundations’?”

“I DON’T THINK THAT’S APPROPRIATE!” the mentioned skeleton clears his ‘throat’ loudly and then pulls you toward the stairs, even grabbing the bags of your clothes with one hand, “SO, LET'S GO SEE YOUR NEW ROOM INSTEAD!”

Up the stairs you go as Boa and Charm laugh, and you hug Papyrus when he stops in front of the last door on the left of the corridor, “Hey, at least I know why you were going stir crazy when they first got here now.”

“YES, WELL, SMALL BLESSINGS.” He gave your head a pat and gestured to the door, “LET’S TAKE A LOOK?”

“Yes, let’s,” you let go and open the door, gasping.

The room itself is a nice size, though you realize it was probably meant for two students to share, but you get it to yourself, with the full bed sitting low on the floor and covered in a swirling rainbow sheet set. The walls were a soft yellow that felt like an early summer morning, and the floor was covered in a mocha carpet that felt so nice under your feet. “Papyrus, this is wonderful.”

“I TRIED TO MAKE IT NICE FOR YOU,” he points at the bed, but you’re guessing he means the mattress, “WE HAD THAT IN CASE FRISK’S HUMAN MOM WANTED TO STAY WHEN WE HAVE A SLEEPOVER. BUT WE NEVER USED IT AT THE OLD HOUSE SO WE BROUGHT IT HERE AND…WELL, IT WORKED OUT. CHARM AND BOA HAD ALREADY BOUGHT THE SHEETS BY THE TIME I GOT HERE, AND THE REST OF THE FURNITURE,” being a lovely cherry wood wardrobe that matched the bed frame, chest of drawers, and bedside table, “WAS IN OUR HOUSE FOREVER AND I DON’T KNOW WHY. THE WARDROBE HAD A BUNCH OF OLD LAB COATS, SO I GUESS IT WAS SANS’ AT SOME POINT? BUT IT’S ALL CLEAN AND SHINED NOW.”

It didn’t strike you as likely that these classy, rather old-fashioned pieces would be something Sans owned, but why else would there be lab coats in it? But you didn’t mind either way. “This is amazing! I’m just…” You throw up your hands dramatically, “Look at it! It’s so beautiful and perfect and…and oh my gosh this is my room.” You start sniffling and put your hands over your mouth. You hate how emotional you are about this, all of this, but it was to be expected, wasn’t it? Losing your home only to gain a beautiful room in your boyfriend’s house and at least two new…friends? Would Charm and Boa count as friends yet? You weren’t sure but you did like both of them quite a bit.

Carefully, Papyrus lifted you up and set you on the bed, using his softest voice as he gets on his knees in front of you and holds your hands, “Just let out anything you need to, love. I was so happy to put all this together for you, and knowing I get to see you every morning now is so exciting. I know you need your space to process, because stars knows I would, so I’ll let you put your things away. I do have to go to work for a bit, but I will be back by six tonight.”

“Okay,” You give him a kiss, giggling wetly, “I just have so many emotions right now, but I’ll sort them out while I put my stuff away.”

A cry of outrage from downstairs, “THEY TRICKED ME INTO LETTING THEM BUY EVERYTHING!!!” and you laugh.

“DID YOU REALLY?” Papyrus looked at you as he got up.

“It wasn’t intentional, but yes.” You grin, “He had to leave before I bought the private stuff! I didn’t even think about Boa’s offer until just now.”

Papy scoffs, but he smiles, “YOU’RE CHEEKY, YOU ARE. BUT IT’S ONE OF THE THINGS I LOVE ABOUT YOU. ONE OF QUITE A LOT!” Stepping to the door, he sighs wistfully, “ALRIGHT. I’LL GO NOW, BUT WE’LL CELEBRATE YOUR HOMECOMING WITH A GOOD DINNER TONIGHT. I LOVE YOU!”

“Love you, too!” you call as he walks out, and you wipe your eyes before taking the bags of your clothes and starting the process of ripping off tags.

You don’t know what to do now. You’re done putting your clothes away, you feel a little more emotionally stable, but you don’t want to leave your room. So here you are, sitting on the carpet, staring out the window on the back wall (though it’s the front of the house so…?)

There’s a knock on your door, and being used to Sans, you ask, “Who’s there?”

“maya”

That’s a new voice. Kind of soft like Sans’, more in his range than Papyrus’, but lighter and slightly higher. “Maya who?”

“maya come in and meet my new housemate?”

“Okay.” You look at the door as it opens, and are interested when it’s someone that looks like Sans but seems to be wearing a dancer’s outfit under a pimp coat. He’s got a black tanktop on that’s cropped just under his ribs, with a bright blue heart in the middle of it, purple ecto down to the wings of his hips, which stick out over his tight black capris. He chuckles and his sockets even crinkle a little as he smiles.

“heya. I’m charm’s older brother. name’s sugar.”

“Sugar and Charm…you two sound like a breakfast cereal.” He snorts and covers his mouth, laughing a little.

“I mean, mornings aren’t really my things, but midnight snacks are good for me. so you’re the human that has little innocent papyrus all flustered all the time, right? heh, it’s pretty cute. Gives my bro lots to work with on learning how things work around humans, so I have to thank you.” Sugar gestures a little, “can I come in?”

“Oh, yeah, sit anywhere. I spent hours with your brother earlier, you’re more than welcome.” You still don’t feel quite like this is actually YOUR room, even if you know it is objectively. It’ll take a while to set in, so you don’t feel intruded on.

“yeah, he told me you two had a good chat. Also told me you were one of the most tense people he’s ever massaged,” Sugar plopped onto the floor next to you, his purple jacket with blue fur trim flaring out around him, the heeled boots matching said fur clicking as he put the bottoms together, “but I can get that. you’ve been through a lot.”

“Yeah…I really appreciated him doing that massage for me. It helped me not be teary while I was out buying clothes with Boa. Nobody wants to cry in public,” you shrug, and Sugar nods.

“hehe, you’re right. and boa’s going to get you back for not letting him spoil you on that. dunno how, but he’s going to do something extravagant to get you to accept his gesture of friendship,” He’s amused, you can tell by the glitter in his purple heart eye lights. Sans gets the same glitter when he’s about to tell a horrible pun just to make Papyrus react.

“Oh, I don’t doubt it from that outrage I heard earlier. But I do hope he realizes he can be my friend without gifts?” You look at Sugar and he nods.

“yeah, but that’s one of his love languages, gift giving. Me, I’m a cuddler, but he likes seeing his friends and family get happy about cool presents,” Sugar leaned on his hands in front of him, “so, what about you, y/n? what do you do to show folks you care?”

Thinking, you giggle, “Well, I guess Boa and I have gift giving in common, but I also like to just say it. Papyrus and I have been saying ‘I love you’ since before we were even dating. Yeah, he said it first, but I think he’d probably have stopped if I hadn’t kept going. It’s just so easy to say, when you believe it.”

“ah, a vocal one. That’s good. other than my brother, nobody else is really verbal with their feelings. That’ll be nice, hearing you and pap being so cute.” He chuckled, “ah, well, I also heard you like languages. How many are you fluent in?”

“oh,” you blush, “uh…I just started my language classes last semester, so just the one. I really would like to have at least five that I can read and understand, even if I can’t speak well or maybe write it if it’s something like Thai or Mandarin.”

“That’s a pretty cool goal,” Sugar thought about it. “so what do you plan to do with that job wise?”

“I want to translate, maybe for children’s books? Some of my favorites growing up came from Germany originally and I’d love to find something great and bring it to other people,” the thought of your career dream makes you perk up more. “What about you, Sugar? I know Charm is a massage person, but what do you do for work?”

He blinked, then laughed, “Oh, I’m an entertainer. I dance mostly, but I don’t think you’d like it.”

“Why not?” you think seeing one of the skeletons dancing would be a great time. You always thought watching Sans or Papyrus move was just fascinating.

“well,” he smirked a bit, “you enjoy strip clubs?”

You felt how big your eyes became as the heat burned your face, “Oh god no!”

He laughs, “See? It pays nice, since I found a reputable place, and I feel good about what I do, but for someone as sheltered as you, I figured you’d not like it.” Getting up, he sighs, “but it’s no harm done, sweetie. I just wanted to introduce myself and say I was glad we’re able to help you out when you’re down.” With a wave and a grin, he flounces out of the room, and you blink in mild shock.

Were….were you sheltered? You hadn’t thought so, you thought you were okay and reactions like yours were normal, but you supposed you could be wrong. Thinking back to what Boa had told you, you start to wonder.

Well, time to go see if you can borrow some of Papyrus’ text books. Thankfully, you were both taking Spanish right now, so even your language text book could be borrowed. You wanted to at least know you could put your hands on it when needed.

You’d gotten the idea an hour after Sugar left, when you were bored of pondering your state of sheltered-or-not, and now you opened your door and scurried over to Papyrus’ room. It was always spotless, or it had been the times you’d been over before the Sans incident. It was weird, realizing you hadn’t been back to his house since then.

His new room was set up just like his old one, about the same size, too, and you found his bookshelf easily. It was right against the wall opposite the door, after all. So you sat on his floor and started looking at the last lesson you remembered.

You were immersed in your studies, curiously glancing at future lessons, when a deep, gravelly voice said, “well well well, we got ourselves a little mouse in papyrus’ room.”

A squeak came out of your mouth, and when you looked up you did not feel reassured. Yes, it was a skeleton, like you’d been expecting, but he was so different than any you’d met before. His teeth were sharp, every one of them, and one was replaced with gold. A huge red dog collar hung around his neck, gold spikes all over, and he wore the tattered remains of a white muscle shirt around his chest. His most obvious features was the thick red ecto that spilled over the top of his black denim shorts and out the bottoms in hefty red thighs tapering off at the knee.

“Y-you’re one of his cousins, right? I’m Y/n,” it wasn’t supposed to come out so nervous, but this guy looked like he could crush you in fifty different ways.

His grin turned a little more into a smirk, “thought so. Name’s spice, sweet cheeks.” He came in and sat himself on Papyrus’ bed. “now, what exactly are ya doin’ in here with these books?”

“Mine are damaged from the fire, so I was looking over our lessons,” why did he make you feel like you’d done something horrible just by the look on his face?

“oh. yeah, forgot about that. heh, well, ain’t that cute?” He had his elbows on his knees, hands hanging between them as he leaned over to look at you, “really are a little bookworm, huh? sansy said you’re the one who got pap to go to school in the first place. wonder how that happened?”

“I really don’t know, but he seemed interested before I talked about what I do at school.” You didn’t like how his eye lights were analyzing every move you made, or maybe they were roaming over you, you didn’t know.

“yeah, sounds about right.” he leans back a bit, scratching at his cheekbone. “sugar said you an’ pap are peas in a pod, all shy’n shit about sex.”

“SHHH!!!” you are instantly on edge, looking at the wide open door and the skeleton who seems to have no boundaries.

He laughs hard, “Oh! Oh he was right! hahaha, oh shit, you’re turnin’ into’a tomato!”

Covering your face, you feel the fluster turning into tears because you can’t handle it, to the point you don’t notice when Spice stopped laughing and went quiet.

“hey, human. hey, you okay?”

You shook your head, and he groaned, “shit, I fucked it up. I was just tryin’ ta tease ya, an’ then I go and make ya upset. Geeze, no wonder I can’t get a date. ‘m sorry, okay? please don’t be upset or pap and sansy’ll probably dust me. wait, that’s manipulative, shit!”

He got up and ran out, and you heard a door shut down the hall. It took you a few moments to contain your fluster, but you finished your cry and gathered up the textbooks. You’d do your studying in your own room now until Papyrus got home.

Still, you’d now met four out of six of Papyrus’ cousins. And you remembered that one of them had voted against you staying. Was that Spice? Or was it one of the two you hadn’t met?

#undertale fic #reader x papyrus #underlust #lustswap #lustfell

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thewanderer-000 · 3 years

Text

Letting Go...

Tagged by @mrspaigeomega

I'm not tagging anyone because I'm taking too long to get these out and I feel like I'm bothering y'all. But mostly, I feel like I'm bothering everyone.

(Note: recently edited, 18+. Language, comfort, physical(may cause triggers), angsty. Normally, I don't write like this but the story got away with me. And new FC5 OC Penelope Thompson)

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The evening set in, Jacob felt it, he didn't have to see a sunset to know evening was there. Jacob sat at his desk, blank stare at the paper work on his desk, it was another episode where he felt overtly anxious with his crowded mind. And some people of his past sat in the shadows, too bad they didn't stay in the past. Jacob especially didn't want to see remnants of Miller, and his parents as he stayed up too late. Or have them popping up like his chosen in the halls, or like her.

Deputy Penelope "Nelly" Thompson, who Jacob unfortunately was practically pried off of in a isolated incident, she struggled to breathe and failed to break his hold around her neck. After, Jacob couldn't really look at Nelly, he remembered why he did what he did. Matters were worse since he left a highly visible bruise on Penelopes neck, resistance members kept her away from Jacob. And he thought it best, Jacob wanted to block out everything as he walked away. He left quickly so as Nelly wasn't trying to follow him, or anyone else as he looked upon his hands.

It's not like Jacob would go back to choking the light from her, the incident was a giant sign no matter what, the things from his past would haunt and torture him. That he would finally let himself sink low, constantly the villain. Maybe the sinners were right, and he was just like what they painted him as, no matter what he affiliated. Regardless of what Joseph said, Jacob knew that this may be how he does himself in. Then wondering if he would snap again but who would be the unfortunate soul in his grasp next. The tormentors of his past won't stop popping up around him, and how he hated them. He was sorry, and regretted everything wrong he'd done, but it wasn't ever enough suffering, ever. These walls now felt smaller.

He didn't mean to do that, not to her, especially after the truce of peace in his bunker with the resistance members and civilians. On top of that Jacob appointed Nelly as their leader, she's supposed to be a Lieutenant. Here he almost snuffed her out unintentionally, somehow the peace was still here. More than likely everyone was afraid of him, really afraid.

Jacob obsessed, the Miller in his mind just wouldn't leave him alone, then when Miller touched him, Jacob lunged at the his former brother in arms who taunted him. If Miller wouldn't understand that Jacob wanted nothing to do with him, Jacob was going to have to deal with him. The Miller that haunted him did this a lot when it seemed like Jacob was doing good. He'd push and push til Jacob finally pushed back. This time Jacob had Miller tight in his hands as he tried to get away, soon Jacob's parents were trying to free Miller from Jacob's hold. It almost always played out the same way, Jacob attacks but Miller, then Miller is gone, long gone. And Jacob was left with the mess and try to explain himself, how was he to know.

The voices yelling didn't match his parents, Jacob didn't care as he threw a fist at them, but more of his father tried restraining him. Before Jacob knew it, a hand grabbed a fist full of his shirt then his father hit him. Bringing him back to reality. In the silence Jacob's chosen created space between him and Nelly, Jacob looked over at her as some of the resistance came rushing to her aid. Jacob was about to go to her as well, but one of his men prevented him. The feeling in his hands had Jacob realize it wasn't Miller but Penelope, he couldn't stay there, so he left to exercise himself to exhaustion. The hallway felt small before, but now it was almost claustrophobic, he was going to need space.

No one bothered him too much in the following weeks, though they still checked on both Jacob and Penelope. Jacob being monitored for any hallucinations, orders from the only doctor they had, wasn't much but the doctor did his best. Though, enough of the mental health stuff came from the Veterans Center, and tips from Veterans that joined Eden's Gate came in handy. The resistance kept Nelly away from Jacob, he wasn't ready to face her yet. Jacob made that a direct order. One of the women of his Gate informed Jacob that Nelly was fine, but that she still wanted to see him. Jacob said "out of the question", but that he was sorry for what happened, he didn't mean for it to happen. That was the only reply, even though Nelly asked every time she was around the Peggies that came to check on her.

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'Nelly asked for me many times, I knew it was a matter of time till she would come. But the pictures in her medical report, I couldn't make it possible, I can't help what's wrong with me. All the scarred are left with is coping, and sometimes I'm not sure what is going on there. I can only push on, lead as best I can, and hope that at the end of this I'll see my brothers.

Penelope Thompson, Penelope was the only one I wasn't prepared for'.

Before her was Deputy Lyric Cain Haig, a problematic figure in my recent past and now, and now I have Deputy Penelope Thompson, I martyred me. I was gone, and explaining it to Penelope, would she see this mess I hide within myself. I'm constantly fighting me, that is something she didn't need to see, nobody needed to see it. But, would I start to see her here in my hallucinations as well, after a long while maybe I would. I had a few random people come to me in my head, I anticipated this, the most I could ever do is to ride it out. Some brought out the worst in me, my one regret is Penelope suffered one with me, and she's so damn insistent about seeing me.

"Does she just go for shit that is not good for her? Considering she came here, I suppose so", 'Penelope is like that disruptive, incessant Deputy Haig deep down. Though, I think back on those nights when Penelope was in here with me, holding me in her arms, or me holding her in my arms'.

"I can't fucking focus tonight", I get up from my desk to go sit on my bed, 'maybe I'll go to bed or something'. I look at my bed envisioning Penelope and myself, I sigh, because that's not making things better. 'Forget going to bed, I'll head to the gymnasium and work out, but who am I kidding, that wouldn't help. I'm feeling something I don't want to feel, I think I'll get to the gym, fuck waiting for these apparitions to fuck off. I swear this bunker has intensified something's, or maybe it was the bliss. Whatever it's bullshit, that's what it is'.

I change into my sweats, and grab some trainers before heading out. Walking the bunkers halls I hear everyone enjoying the close quarters and each other's company. The single men's and women's quarters are full of laughter. Then some of the married couples are kinda the same, an argument here and there, nothing serious. I started to wonder how Nelly was, from everyone in the bunker, I could only imagine she is well.

'Her soft smile with a bit of a dreamy look as she giggles, her dark brown eyes smiling. That stern look her eyes make when she's confused, concentrating or training. Her full lips, and that face she makes, the one that pokes her lips out even more-'. I quickly approached the gym so as not to keep thinking about Nelly.

Once I enter the gymnasium I go run laps, do a bit weightlifting after laps, push ups, sit ups, and a little circuit training to finish. I'd stay longer but I feel an audience peering at me, and I just didn't want to be someone's form of entertainment or judgment. Being under a human's gaze is different than an apparition, I know mostly what the apparitions are thinking. Human gazes made me uncomfortable now.

I never understood how Lyric could just go with the flow with that sort of thing, but maybe she was used to it. She was one of the top soliders in Marine Corps., I made it back to my room thinking of sister Lyric. I don't know why, 'the little sister I never wanted', much like Faith but I think she's deadlier. Then I wonder if I'd need all of these files after it all, I imagine not if we're all to build on a new world. I walk around my room reading all the files, but the sweat on my clothes was starting to bother me. I undress, tossing my soiled clothing into the laundry basket, leaving my sweat pants on.

At some point of reading files, I fell asleep. I woke hours later, I didn't dream which is great, my dreams only seemed to turn into nightmares. Or take me back to an old reality, but before I could left myself sink, I get off my bed to shower. Refreshing as ever, I welcome the hot water and scrub myself clean, afterwards I looked myself in the mirror thinking about getting rid of the beard. 'Nah, I still like it'. Towel around my waist comes off as I dress, I look at the time and I'm up super early, again. 'And it's fucking Sunday, so nothing is happening, or- fuck'. My door opened and quickly closed as I looked at the calendar, I turn to see Penelope, still by the door.

"Jacob, we need to talk" she stood there looking anywhere that wasn't my face, something was on her mind and she wasn't going to let it go. I wanted to go to her and touch her, have her wrapped in my arms once more but I don't dare. The look on my face fades, knowing that I really fucked up what could have been. Shes afraid and I'm the reason why, and I can't help her.

"Yeah, we should, Penelope. You want to sit down?" I ask, unsure if I should have asked that, but she sits on my bed. I register where she sat but wondered if she's ok with me next to her. I take a shot at sitting next to her and she's stayed, so I assume it's fine enough. She doesn't flinch or move away, but then she looks at me and we just look at each other.

"Jacob, are you ok?" I'm surprised, I couldn't respond to that, 'I suppose, I shouldn't be surprised, she's always been that was since we've been in the bunker'.

"Me? I know I'm not, but you-" I reach out to point at "it", my marks on her neck. She makes a face like what the hell then she sits up unzipping her hoodie to let me see. Not what I wanted but she seems ok, I'm not trusting that facade though. I gently touch, feeling the bruises, my eyes tracing as my hands are.

"Fuck, Penelope. How are you here? I'm surprised that you decided to come near me at all, babe.. Maybe this isn't good, may-" she pulled away before I could finish that sentence, she's gonna be a horses ass now. I exasperated this, or I'm yet to do so.

"Jacob! You've been through the wringer and each time we've been sleeping together you-" Penelope stopped and sat better and took a breath, she had point. 'Though, I didn't know I talked about others in my sleep'.

"You mentioned Miller, and during the incident you mentioned him, again. I just-" I couldn't help but stop her, I didn't want this to consume her.

"I know we talked about your boys, your family and I've been enamored with you, and especially that new years kiss. But Miller is my problem and I don't want that part of me consuming you, because it's only going to end badly. I care about you too much to let it get you like it's got me" I felt like I broke my heart, I'd rather not kid myself and cut her loose before things get worse. I felt like I did when I was homeless but worse because I wanted her, and a future with her and her family.

"Jacob" she said pulling me to her, I was weak and went to her, just once more I wanted to feel her kiss, once more feel her in my hands. And feel her holding me before I severed our bond.

#Jacob Seed #Far Cry 5 #Fanfic #Fan Fiction #writing #short story #Letting Go...#Lyric Cain Haig #Penelope Thompson #Far Cry 5 OC #Far Cry 5 OCs #Far Cry 5 Deputy #18+#triggers #physical #comfort

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ladyfogg · 5 years

Text

Cold is the Night - 10/20

Fic Summary: You and Pat have known each other for years but this summer, everything will change. As the two of you start to grow close, your matching tempers threaten the foundation of your rocky friendship and prevent both of you from realizing your true feelings. Cold is the Night Masterpost.

A/N: You guys have been so amazing, I am blown away by your messages and responses. I can’t believe how quickly this has taken off! I love this story and it makes me all warm and fuzzy that you guys seem to love it too.

Fic Song: Cold is the Night by The Oh Hellos. Fic playlist can be found here.

Pairing: Pat Murray/Female Reader

Rating: NC-17

Warnings: Language, Slow Burn, Eventual Smut, Multiple Chapters

Gif by @joemazzellos-blog

By some miracle, you didn't get fired. Mostly your boss wanted to make sure you were okay and to ask for the complete story so he could write up a report for the managers. Drunk Guy wasn’t allowed anywhere near the bar and he was determined to let the others know why.

You were still furious with Vinnie and Pat. You had had the situation under control until they jumped in and made everything worse.

Vinnie stepping in was understandable. He was your big brother and though you and he fought constantly, he would be damned if someone else tried anything.

You were more bothered by Pat stepping in than you thought you would be. Part of it definitely had to do with possibly losing your job. But it was much more than that. At least it felt like it was. You couldn’t quite put your finger on it and you didn’t want to get into a discussion with Pat until you could fully explain your feelings.

So, you did what you always do. You turned your phone off and gave yourself time to fume.

When you turned your phone on Monday morning, you had several missed calls and texts from him. But they didn’t keep coming, and you weren’t sure if you were happy or bummed about it. You distracted yourself with work and arranging your house. It helped. Somewhat.

On the day of the game, you couldn't bring yourself to go. You wanted to, badly, but you were worried about getting into another fight with Pat. Or worse, seeing him and instantly forgiving him. You had done that in the past before and it always came back to bite you in the ass.

"Nellie, it's all a fucking mess."

You were currently slumped over your kitchen table as Nellie cleaned the coffee mugs you two had just used. It was the day after the game and while you wanted to talk to Pat more than anything, you still couldn’t figure out your feelings.

"Yes, yes it is," Nellie said. "You want to know how to fix it?"

"Yes, please tell me."

"Fucking call him."

“You know I can’t do that. Not yet.”

“Why not?”

You sighed heavily and sat back in your chair. “Because I honestly don’t know what to tell him. Every time I think about it, my anxiety goes through the roof and my mind goes blank. Also, what if he doesn't want to hear from me?"

"He does."

"How do you know? I was pretty bitchy to him."

"He’s crazy about you, he’ll understand. Besides, he’s been more than bitchy to you on numerous occasions.”

You were torn. One part of you told you to hold strong to your feelings, another said to let them go and just forgive him. The latter part of you came from years of keeping your emotions bottled up and you were working on telling that part to fuck off. Your emotions were valid, no matter how confusing they were.

“He's going to want to know why I reacted the way I did. How can I explain it?" you asked.

"Just be honest," Nellie said. "You were right to be pissed that he picked a fight at your job."

"It's more than that though," you said. "When he threw that punch, I just had a flashback of my ex doing the same thing."

"Pat's not your ex. And if he says it wasn't jealousy, then you should listen to him."

"My ex said the same thing too."

Nellie sighed your name. "Don't blame Pat for the past actions of someone else."

“That’s easier said than done. I can’t just undo years of emotional abuse.”

“And I’m not asking you to. No one is. But you can’t approach Pat like he’s your ex. He doesn’t deserve that. He’s his own person, this is a completely different situation. You have to try to remind yourself of that. I’m not saying to up and forgive him. I’m just telling you to talk it out.”

She was right. Pat had reacted instinctively. He had no idea what you had been through. How could he? You hadn't told him.

But what if you did tell him and he didn't understand? What if he thought you were too much work and decided he wasn't up to dealing with your baggage?

While talking it out seemed like the most logical step, anxiety didn’t play nice with logic. It took your worst fears and convinced you they were the truth, no matter how hard you tried to remind yourself they weren't.

Just then, a knock came at the door. Confused, you went to answer it only to find a delivery woman holding a large bouquet of flowers. She said your name in confirmation before she handed them over.

"These are for you."

Stunned, you took the bouquet, your heart racing. “Um, I didn’t order any flowers.”

“Someone ordered them for you,” she smiled. “He was pretty insistent they be delivered today.”

He.

Pat.

It had to be. He was the only one to ever give you flowers.

Burying your nose in the rose petals, you inhaled their scent with a smile. “I’m sure he was.”

“Where should I put the others?”

“The what now?”

Ten minutes later she left and you found yourself in the living room, every surface covered in various flower arrangements. They were a rainbow of colors, all bright and fresh as if they had just been cut that morning.

In the largest bouquet, you found a small card written in untidy handwriting. All it said was: I’m ready to talk when you are.

Nellie came in from the kitchen just as you set the card down. “Vinnie just called, he’s--holy shit! Who died? Oh my god, did one of us die?”

You laughed, face flushed. “No one died. They’re from Pat.”

Nellie gave you a smug smile and crossed her arms. “I told you he’s crazy about you.”

“Apparently so.”

She plucked a flower for herself, tucking it behind her ear. “I was going to ask if you wanted to come with Vinnie and me to dinner but I think you have a phone call to make.”

“Yes, yes I do.”

"What are you going to say?"

"I have no fucking idea."

Nellie left a short while later, but it still took you some time to work up the nerve to grab your phone. Even when you did, you quickly put it back down. You admired the flowers, realizing Pat must have ordered every arrangement they had. While it was overkill, it was incredibly sweet. And very Pat.

You glanced down at the sweatshirt you were wearing, the one he had left the day after your party. You had worn it every time you were home. At first it was because it smelled like him, even after you had washed it. Once that faded, you kept wearing it because it reminded you of him.

Finally, unable to stand it any longer, you took a deep breath, picked up the phone, and called him.

It only rang once before he answered breathlessly. “Hello?”

Just the sound of his voice made your heart skip a beat. You swallowed thickly before answering. “Hey, Murray."

He paused, almost as if it took him a moment to register it was actually you on the other line. "You called."

"I just got your little presents.”

“Do you like them? I didn’t know what kind of flowers you liked so I just got them all.”

“Uh, yeah, I can see that.”

There was a beat of awkward silence before he spoke up. “I’m really glad you reached out,” he said, sounding relieved. “I thought you wouldn’t.”

“I’m sorry for ignoring you. I just...I needed to work some stuff out.”

“Are you home? Can I come over? I want to see you.”

“I want to see you too,” you said. “But, we shouldn’t right now. I still need some space.”

“Oh...okay. Of course. Whatever you need.” Pat sounded like he was trying to come across as understanding but you could tell he was hurting just as bad as you were.

It brought tears to your eyes and you squeezed them shut, trying to will them away. The last thing you wanted was to hurt him.

Hearing his voice was so much worse than you thought it would be. How had this happened? How had Pat Murray become so important to you that just hearing him made your heart try to leap out of your chest?

Pat said your name when you didn’t respond for a while. “Are you still there?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m here, sorry,” you said, clearing your throat.

“We don’t need to talk right now if you aren’t up for it,” Pat said. “I don’t mind staying on the line. I’ve got nowhere else to be.”

You couldn’t help but chuckle. “You just want to sit in silence on the phone with me?”

"Yes."

"Why?"

“Because at least I know you’re there.”

“Murray, why do you have to say such cute shit when I’m being emotional? How dare you?”

“I’m terribly sorry,” he teased. “Let me fix it.” He cleared his throat before speaking in a forced, nonchalant voice. “It’s whatever, babe. I mean, you can just call me later. It’s cool.”

“Ugh, never talk like that again. You sound like Barone."

Pat chuckled, speaking regularly. “Noted. I wanted to punch myself if that makes you feel better.”

“A little.”

Silence followed again, this time more comfortable than before. You absentmindedly played with one of the roses, thinking of how the softness of the petal reminded you of Pat’s lips.

“For what it's worth, I really am sorry,” Pat said in a soft voice. “I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

“I know you didn’t, Pat. Besides, I didn’t actually get in trouble. So it’s okay.”

“No, not it’s not okay,” he said. “People are always telling me to get a grip on my anger and I don’t care if it affects me personally, but I care if my anger affects you.”

In that moment, you realized how incredibly different Pat was from anyone you had ever been with before. His consideration in the face of his own shitty behavior made you want to take stock of yourself and make sure you also owned up to your actions.

“Thank you. It means a lot to me to hear you say that.”

“You’re welcome.”

More silence.

"So…" You didn't know what to say but you felt like you should say something. "How was the game?"

"Ugh, fucking miserable."

"I'm sorry. Did you guys lose?"

"No. We won."

"Then why was it miserable?"

Pat didn't answer right away. When he did, his voice was quiet. "I was distracted."

Well shit.

"I'm sorry, Pat. I didn't mean to…"

"Don't. It's not your fault," Pat interrupted, stopping you from blaming yourself. "If I was better at baseball I wouldn't get distracted so easily."

"Don't do that. Don't put yourself down. You know I hate when you do."

"I can't help it."

"Well try. For me."

"For you? Anything."

You smiled, hugging your knees to your chest. You happened to look at the clock and sighed when you caught sight of the time. “I need to get ready for work,” you said sadly. “I should probably hang up now.”

“Can we...are you comfortable texting me again? I miss talking to you.”

You almost said no, but you knew deep down it wasn’t what you wanted. You missed talking to him too much. “Yeah. We can text again.”

“Cool...great.” You could hear him smiling. “Have a good night at work.”

“I’ll try.”

When you hung up, you felt much better. There was still a lot you needed to figure out on your own, but knowing Pat would be there waiting made all the difference.

#undrafted #pat murray #pat murray x reader #pat murray x you #joe mazzello

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crazy-little-cool-cat · 5 years

Text

Hand in Glove - Chapter 22 | Ben Hardy x OFC

A/N: I saved a bat earlier this week, and the feels got me writing up a storm. For reals. Also, a lot is going on in this chapter, and you might get whiplash. Sorry, not sorry.

Warnings: the usual, but things might get a bit weird there for a hot minute. Again, not sorry.

Wordcount: ~4.7K (does this count as a fuckton, as well?)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11, Chapter 12, Chapter 13, Chapter 14 , Chapter 15 , Chapter 16 , Chapter 17 , Chapter 18 , Chapter 19 , Chapter 20 , Chapter 21

Annie stared out the passenger side's window, tears silently falling down. Ben's gone. As soon as they untangled themselves from their embrace at the airport, the reality of it all hit her like a ton of bricks. Her Ben is gone, and she's not quite sure when he'll be able to come visit, and she wasn't quite sure she can manage this. She clasped her hands and squeezed them between her knees.

"Banana?"

Annie turned to face her cousin and saw his heart break at the sight of her face. Nose red and cheeks splotchy and wet from weeping.

"Oh, Annie." Gwilym reached over and squeezed her thigh gently. "You wanna talk?"

Annie shook her head and pursed her lips. Rory was in her carseat, cooing, clapping and kicking happily as she chewed on a toy.

"Do you want me to stay over with you tonight?"

"I don't know."

Gwilym licked his lips and nodded solemnly. He turned the radio on for some background noise. Ironically enough, the riff to Queen's "Under Pressure" started playing.

"Bloody hell." Annie breathed out what sounded like a chuckle. "Is this for real? Is this really happening? That better be Vanilla fucking Ice."

However, Annie’s wishes did not come true. Freddie Mercury’s Um bum ba be soon followed the familiar bass riff, eliciting a dramatic groan from Annie. She did not appreciate the symbolism of the song with her current situation.

"Pressure!" Gwil belted out, "Pushing down on me, pressing down on you, no man asks for!"

"Gwilym..." Annie closed her eyes and shook her head.

"Under pressure!" he started snapping his fingers to the beat as he sang, "that burns a building down, splits a family in two. Puts people on streets."

"Um ba ba be..." Annie sighed in defeat, rolled her eyes and joined in.

###

“God, you’re beautiful.”

“You don’t have to say that every single time!” Annie scoffed and readjusted Rory on her lap, stretching her arm out in front of her, holding her phone.

“I was talking to Rory.” Ben smirked cheekily.

“Sod off!” Annie stuck her tongue out over Rory’s head.

“Did you have a good day today?” Ben asked, the scenery behind him changing as he walked. “Tell me all about it.”

“Well, I worked.” Annie switched hands. “Rory spent the day with her uncle Rami this time.”

“Alone?”

“Indeed.”

“How did that go?” Ben chuckled.

“He tried to play peek-a-boo with her, but that seemed to terrify the living daylight out of her.” Annie smiled. “So much so, that he had to bring her to my set. She was inconsolable.”

“Oh no.”

“Oh yes.”

“Poor Rami.”

“He was mortified.”

“How was work?”

“Same as it always is. I think I fell asleep while I got my hair and makeup done.”

“You think? You don’t know?”

“I mean, everything is such a blur.” Annie shrugged. “I have no idea what’s been happening since you’ve left. I only have bits and glimpses of memories, sort of.”

“It’s only been one week, Annie!”

“Which is the same amount of time I haven’t gotten more than four hours of sleep at best, Ben!” Annie shot back. “Don’t you dare berate me. You don’t know what it’s like for me -”

“I wasn’t. I’m sorry.” Ben smiled softly. “You’re honestly killing it. I don’t know how you do it.”

“Me neither.”

“I found an apartment in Phoenix today!” Ben beamed. “No more hotels!”

“Finally!”

“Yeah! So, lots of table-readings this week and I don’t know, pre-production things going on. I’m working out for hours on end. So exhausting!” Ben scratched his blond locks of hair. “I’m doing my own stunts.”

“I had no doubt in my mind that you would.” Annie smirked. “So other than the peek-a-boo incident, our day was splendid.”

“Good, good!” Ben said and lit up when he finally got Rory’s attention. “What else did you do?”

Annie continued to tell him about the day’s events while he, waved, made funny faces at blew kisses at the camera. He glanced to the side every now and then, reacting to some of the weird looks he attracted from passers-by.

###

“Right, baby!” Joe clapped before he picked Rory up from the play-mat and bounced her on his hip. “Your parents clearly stated that it’s bath time, and I do not want to face the Supreme Leader’s wrath when she gets home and I failed to follow instructions.”

Rory tilted her head as she listened.

“Please don’t snitch.”

“Apppfffffft.” Rory replied and looked down at the floor, pointing at her toys.

“Oh God, you’re second in command, aren’t you?” Joe squinted as he carefully bent down and picked up as many toys as he could in one hand. Rory clapped and slapped his shoulder. “Alright, alright! I’m doing the best I can here!”

Joe walked, nodding and “you don’t say!”-ing as Rory babbled on and on. He tossed the toys in the designated plastic bin and started up the stairs towards Rory’s room.

As she rambled on, Joe picked a onesie for her to sleep in, took a diaper out of a drawer and proceeded to the bathroom.

“Ah, fu-” he stopped himself when Rory’s baby blues stared at him innocently. He blinked and shrugged. “Uck!”

He forgot to set up the baby-bathtub in advance.

After lots of manoeuvring, swearing and threatening to eat Rory’s cheeks unless she stops being so cute, he finally got the tub up and ready with perfect-temperature water.

“S’hot in here.” Joe mumbled as he set Rory down on the counter. A lightbulb seemed to light up over his head. “So hot in here!”

Rory kicked and waved about as she laid on her back on the counter, a towel underneath her.

“Wanna lil’ bitta ah, ah,” Joe started singing, shaking his bum for emphasis, “and a lil’ bitta ah, ah!”

Rory shoved her fist in her mouth and cooed happily.

“I said!” Joe bellowed on as he took Rory’s clothes off. “It’s gettin’ hot in here, so take off all your clothes!” He tickled Rory’s bare belly. “I am gettin’ so hot, I wanna take my clothes off!” he continued in a high pitched voice, fanning himself with one hand and removing Rory’s diaper with the other.

Rory bubbled with laughter.

###

The house was dimly lit when Annie trudged through the front door, greeted by a yawning Frankie.

“Hey, girly.” She walked over to where Frankie laid and scratched the dog’s head. “Joe?”

“Kitchen!”

Annie walked through her home, dazed, her nose filled with the smell of tomato sauce. When she entered the kitchen, a steaming plate of ravioli waited for her as Joe washed the dishes.

“You shouldn’t have…” Annie mumbled as she shovelled food in her mouth.

“Oh, but I should.” Joe snickered to himself. “And I did.”

“How were they?”

“Pure angels.” Joe turned the faucet off and shook water off his hands before towelling off. “Gwil and Rami were so well behaved when we met at the park earlier! Rory and Frankie were okay, too.”

“Ha, ha.”

“She’s the best damn baby I’ve ever sat on.” Joe said, causing Annie to raise a confused eyebrow. “Because babysitting… oh God, please don’t tell my nephews I said that.”

“Your secret’s safe with me.” Annie snorted. “Rory didn’t tear holes in your eardrums?”

“No, but I might’ve torn holes in hers when I started singing.”

“Singing?”

“Apparently, she’s a big fan of Nelly.”

“Nelly? The rapper?” Annie almost choked on her food. “The one with the band-aid?”

“Yeah!” Joe nodded. “Hot In Here is her new favourite song!”

“You didn’t.”

“Why not?!”

“It’s inappropriate!”

“You think that’s Inappropriate? How 'bout taking a shit in the bath,” Joe retorted. “You don’t see me scolding her for that, do you?”

“You should’ve waited for her to poop before you put her in the tub.”

“Well, I’m sorry for trying to stay on schedule, Your Majesty!” Joe crossed his arms, “and by the way, I cleaned the mess up. You’re. Welcome.”

###

“Uh, Annie?” Gwilym’s voice shook slightly as he tried his best not to hurl. “Annie, I need some help, please!” he raised his voice slightly and covered his nose and mouth with his sleeve. He looked down and Rory, splishing and splashing happily in the tub. “Oh, you’re just loving every bit of this, aren’t you? Little sh-”

“Call my daughter a little shit and I’ll personally break your neck.” Annie’s voice interrupted Gwilym’s tirade. “What’s that smell?” Annie sniffed and grimaced. “Oh no.”

“She pooped in the tub, Annie!” Gwil cried in between gags. “She pooped in the tub and - oh God.” Gwil’s face seemed to turn slightly yellow as he looked down at his chest. “Oh God, she splashed it on me.”

“Look, Gwilly, she can’t control her sphincters yet, alright?” Annie walked over to the tub and rolled up her sleeves. “Now either you make yourself useful or I’m dumping the shit-water all over you.”

Gwilym’s only response was the loudest, wettest burping gag Annie has ever heard.

“Good grief! It’s just poo!” Annie rolled her eyes. “Should’ve invited Joe over instead…” she mumbled as she picked Rory up and held her as far away from her body as she could.

“Excuse you!” Gwilym muffled from behind his sleeve. “Rude, much?”

“He handled bath-time poopies like a pro a couple of days ago, so…”

“You mean she’s done this before?”

“She’s a baby, Gwilym.” Annie set Rory on a soft towel on the bathroom sink counter. “She poops whether she wants to or not. Now, kindly dump the water from her tub into the big tub and refill it with clean water, please.”

“I am not touching the shit water.”

“Oh, my God!” Annie pressed her fingers to her temples. “Fine. I’ll bloody do it. Just make sure she doesn’t roll herself off the counter.”

###

"Annie, are you okay?"

Annie's eyes shot open.

"Did you just fall asleep standing up?" Mike put a reassuring hand on Annie's shoulder and pulled her in. She leaned in to rest her head against him. "Do you even sleep? Are you okay, Annie?"

"I try to." Annie yawned as she spoke. "I wake up so early to get Franks and Rory ready and then it's my turn and I always get in last minute for wardrobe, hair and makeup..." Annie sighed and closed her eyes again. "I really wish the season would wrap up already."

"That keen to get rid of me, huh?" Mike bumped his hip against Annie's.

"Oh, bugger off." Annie giggled. "I'm so bloody sleepy. Ben's been gone for... Um..."

"Alright! Boleyns!" the director yelled and clapped his hands. "Break time's over! Get in your places!"

Annie shut her brain off and worked on auto-pilot; a skill she aquired around two weeks after Ben's departure. She didn't quite remember how many takes she had to do and how many times she repeated her lines, over and over again. She felt like she left her own body for the duration of filming the scene and Anne Boleyn had taken over. In the weirdest sense, Annie was greatful for that. It finally gave Annie a chance to put her mind on ‘sleep mode’.

Yet, the very second the director shouted "Cut!", Anne had left and Annie's mind came rushing back. She made lists of things she needs to do still. Finish filming, go to ASDA, pick up Frankie from doggy-daycare. Come home and relieve whoever watched Rory of their duty. For the life of her, she couldn't remember if it was Lucy and Rami's turn, Joe's or Gwilym's.

When Annie reached her trailer at the end of the day, she had 20 unread texts and 3 missed calls, two of which were from Joe. The other one was Ben, followed by a ‘you're probably filming, call me when you can?’ text message. Scrolling through the rest of the texts, she noticed most were from Ben. She glanced at the time and then looked at the time of the missed call. It was 8pm as she gathered her things to leave work, and Ben called around 11am, London time. Meaning, he was awake at 3am in Arizona and tried to reach her.

It only took two rings before Ben's smooth, sleepy voice came through the bluetooth speakers in her car.

"Annie?"

"What were you doing up at 3am on your day off?" Annie asked as she flicked the indicator handle up, signaling she was about to turn. "Were you blitzed again?"

"No, just missed you. Couldn't sleep." She heard sheets rustling in the background. "Time's it?"

"Quarter past 8 here. Wanker!" Annie cursed and flipped off a driver as he cut her off. "Sorry. Not you. Some arse."

"Fucking hell." Ben mumbled and rubbed his face. "I slept through my alarm. It's noon."

"When are you due on set?"

"It's just fittings and wardrobes stuff, I still have time. You're not home yet?"

"Obviously not."

"How much longer before you wrap up?" Ben sat up and leaned against his headboard. "Shouldn't be too long now."

"I really don't know." Annie chuckled softly. "I don't even remember who has -"

"Joe."

"Aw yes!" Annie pumped her fist victoriously, "ravioli night! Motherfucking arsehole! Use your blinker!!!"

"Fun." Ben's voice was flat. "Well, I'll leave you to it, then. Let me know when you're home, yeah? FaceTime, maybe?"

"Of course." Annie relaxed into her seat. "Joe will be thrilled!"

"I'm sure." Ben laughed. "Talk later, yeah?"

"Yes. I love you."

###

“Honey! I’m home!” Annie called dramatically as she shut the door behind her.

“Hello, dear!” Joe peeped from around the wall, where the arch to the living room was, baby in hand. “How was your day?”

“T’was lovely.” Annie yawned and kicked off her shoes. “Fell asleep standing up!”

“That’s on you, bub.” Joe switched Rory’s perch from one of his hips to the other. “We all asked you if you want us to spend the night after babysitting and your stubborn little tush just keeps refusing.”

“Stubborn… little… tush?” Annie’s face twisted in confusion. “What?”

“I’m trying to avoid bad words around her because she keeps giving me that face whenever I use… uh… profanities.”

“Does Ben know you’re here all day, thinking about my tush?” Annie smirked.

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Joe scoffed, “Rory’s tush is far superior to yours. That’s the only tush I care about.”

“Well, Creepy Uncle Joe has arrived!” Annie rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Shut up, you know that’s not what I meant.” Joe sulked.

“I’m just pulling your leg, bub.”

“I asked Ben if he’s cool with me spending the night, y'know.” Joe passed Rory over to her mum’s waiting arms.

“Ah.” Annie nodded. “That explains it.”

“What?”

“Your name came up while we were on the phone and Ben was just… Meh.”

“Meh?”

“Yeah, meh. Told him you’re making me ravioli whenever you’re here and he was all -” Annie lowered her voice to mimic Ben, “- fun.”

“Can you blame him?” Joe set about cooking dinner. “My ravioli is probably the best in the world.”

“Modesty becomes you.” Annie joked. “Although it would be nice to have someone else go check on Rory in case she wakes up.”

“Tell you what.” Joe waved the wooden spoon. “I’ll stay for as long as you want me to. Not necessarily sleep over, just hang out until you kick me out.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

###

Beer bottles scattered the coffee table and living room floor. The only sounds and lights came from Rory’s baby monitor and the television. Frankie was sound asleep, her head right next to Annie’s lap. Annie, too, was asleep - her head resting on Joe’s shoulder. Joe’s head was thrown back, his mouth open as he snored softly, an arm wrapped around Annie’s shoulders.

It was Frankie’s barking that woke them up. Joe’s head flew right back to upright position. His cheek collided with Annie’s forehead. She tilted her head up a bit, her eyes fluttering open.

They lost count of how many beers they had, but they both still felt the effects of the alcohol in their system. Annie wasn’t sure if she’s just dreaming or if whatever was happening was, in fact, happening. She missed Ben dearly, in every possible way. Having close human contact like that made her feel lightheaded in the best way she could imagine.

Joe’s brows furrowed. There was some sensation going through him, but he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. He was absolutely sure, however, that he was still drunk. He turned his head slightly at the same time Annie cuddled up closer to him, the tips of their noses bumping.

What they were doing was wrong. Annie knew she was just taking advantage of a drunken opportunity she’ll definitely regret later, and Joe knew that doing this will mean crossing a line that shouldn’t be crossed. Yes, they played “House” together while Ben was gone, but it was just that - playing.

But her body was so warm against his, and her skin felt so soft against his stubble. He could almost brush her lips with his. He moved his arm so he could put his hand against the column of her neck.

Their lips weren’t even a millimetre apart now. All it took was for one of them to make the move. They could feel each other’s breath fanning over their face.

And Joe burped. Right in Annie’s face.

“You are disgusting.” Annie’s voice was still raspy, her face contorting after a whiff of garlic slapped her in the face. “Revolting.”

“Well, I mean…” Joe mumbled drunkenly.

“Go easy on the garlic next time, maybe?” Annie turned her head and fanned the air in front of her face. “Jesus.”

Annie’s phone started buzzing on the coffee table, indicating an incoming FaceTime call.

“You would not believe what your disgusting husband just did to me.” Annie said as soon as Ben’s face appeared on the screen.

“He’s still there?” Ben wondered.

“Yeah, we had a few beers and watched some Netflix.” Annie shifted so Joe would be in the frame as well. “Ben, he burped in my face.”

“He… What?”

“He held onto my face and bloody belched right into it!”

“It was an accident!” Joe protested. “It just came out!”

“Why were you holding Annie’s face?” Ben was visibly confused.

“We fell asleep on the sofa and -”

“For fuck’s sake, Annie!” Ben lamented, his nostrils flaring as he got more and more upset. “I know where this is going.”

“Ben, listen to me,” Annie pointed at the screen, “he burped in my face. Almost melted my eyebrows right off.”

“I’ll go check on Rory real quick.” Joe stood up, a little wobbly. “Give you two some privacy.” He rubbed his hands together. “Yeah.”

Ben waited until Joe was out of earshot - or at least he had hoped Joe was out of earshot - before the proverbial gloves came off.

“Are you fucking serious, Annie?” Ben barked at the screen. “Are you actually fucking serious?”

“Ben, calm your bloody tits.” Annie groaned.

“Don’t tell me to calm my bloody tits, Annabelle.” Ben hissed. “We talked about this. I told you this is what scares me the most and then you go and almost snog my best mate!”

“But I didn’t!”

“Because he did the right thing!”

“He was going to kiss me just as much as I was going to kiss him!” Annie fired back, her speech slurred from exhaustion and alcohol. “Fuck!”

“He should’ve puked in your mouth.” Ben retorted, a bit calmer. He knew that had Annie been sober, Joe would have gone home long ago. “And being drunk is a piss poor excuse.”

“Ben, I wasn’t going to -”

“But you were!”

“Will you just listen for one bloody second?!”

“What?!”

“I’m horny, alright?!” Annie cried. “I’m a bitch in heat. It was human contact that wasn’t work-related or baby-generated!” she carried on, “I’m sorry but I’m so bloody horny and I miss you and -”

“Yikes.” Joe’s voice interrupted her.

Annie looked over her shoulder to see Joe standing with his hands in his pockets, his face beet red.

“Ben, I’m so horny.” Annie shrugged Joe’s presence off and carried on. “I’m losing my bloody mind. Everything is a turn on. A gust of bloody wind and -”

“Hello! Hi! Still here!” Joe stopped her.

“Well, fuck off then!” Annie waved her hand in Joe’s general direction. She squinted angrily at the screen. “Why are you laughing!?”

“I’m just -” Ben was shaking with laughter.

He put his phone down so all Annie could see now is a ceiling, and clutched at his side. All Annie could hear was her boyfriend, howling and hollering. Whenever he thought he was finished, another wave of laughter hit him.

“Ben!” Annie called, a childlike pout on her face.

Ben picked up the phone and felt his heart melt. Rory looked so much like her when she made the same face.

“Joe, mate,” Ben dabbed at the corners of his eyes with his finger, still giggling, “do me a solid and fuck my girl back into sanity?”

“While I do agree that this bitch be crazy,” Joe said, very matter-of-fact, “and it is very unfortunate,” he scratched at the corner of his mouth pensively, “nope, no. Nuh-uh. Not if you paid me.”

“You’re just going to pass me around like that?!” Annie gasped.

“I’m just trying to help here!” Ben snorted and chortled again. “Joe?”

“Yeah, buddy?”

“Go away. I need to take care of my girlfriend.”

“First of all, you two are disgusting.” Joe planted his hands on his hips. “Second of all, I thought you’d never ask and then I’d have to listen to you two weirdos get freaky on FaceTime.”

###

“I’m sorry, what?” Gwilym blinked at the screen and then looked at Joe, standing next to him. “You almost did what?”

“Yeah, mate, he almost snogged my girl.” Ben struggled to keep a straight face.

“Almost?” Gwilym tilted his head and furrowed his brows.

“Yeah.”

“I, uh, burpedinherface.” Joe mumbled.

“Sorry?”

“I burped in her face!” Joe spoke louder. Gwilym and Clara exchanged one look and cracked up, laughing hysterically. “Yeah, yeah, ha, ha, very funny.”

“Granted, I almost had a fit, yeah?” Ben continued the story. “But poor Annie. She kept saying how horny she is. She pouted!” Ben chuckled. “Couldn’t stay mad at her.”

“In her defence,” Clara chimed in, “she is not herself when she is horny and you are an ocean away.”

“That doesn’t make it alright.” Gwilym countered.

“I’m just saying…” Clara shrugged.

“You’re just saying?” Gwilym blinked at his girlfriend in shock. “Well, then, remind me to buy a vibrator for you before I go on press tour.”

“Can we please stop talking about this?” Joe asked and caused the other three to double over in laughter.

Ben didn’t notice his hoodie slid off his head.

“Oh, my God.” Clara covered her mouth with her hand.

“Oh, wow.” Gwilym mused.

“What the fuck did you do?!” Joe shrieked.

“Fuck,” Ben hissed and took the hoodie off completely, “it’s for the role, alright?”

“No, it’s not alright!” Joe snapped. “The fuck is this?!”

“It’s called an undercut, Joey,” Clara rolled her eyes, “blimey.”

“Looks good, man!” Gwilym gave the camera a thumbs-up.

“You look like such a douche.” Joe lamented.

“You tried to kiss the mother of my child and I’m the douche?”

“Ugh. Fine.”

“Anyways,” Ben brought everyone’s attention back to the topic at hand, “I’m coming home.”

“You are?!” Joe beamed. “For how long?!”

“Just for a few days while we still have press to do in London. I leave back a couple of days after you go travel the world without me.”

“Here we go again…” Gwilym muttered.

“Oh, Annie must be so excited!” Clara clapped happily.

“See, yeah, she doesn’t know I’m coming.” Ben scratched his chin. “I’m gonna need your help.”

“A surprise?” Clara’s eyes were as wide as saucers. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. She’ll like this one.”

“So, what do you need from us, then?” Gwilym asked.

“Right, so here’s the plan.”

###

Another day, another dollar. Well, another quid.

Annie grabbed her bag and took one last look in the mirror before leaving her trailer to pick Frankie up from Doggy Daycare and head home to Rory. She almost dropped Clara flat on her ass when she collided with her outside of her trailer.

“Whoops!” Annie grabbed Clara and steadied her. “Oh my God! Rory!”

“Gwil popped by and brought her with him, thought we’d surprise you.”

“You sure did!” Annie cooed at her daughter. “Hi, baby!”

“Ahem.” Gwilym said monotonously. “I’m here too.”

“Yes, yes, hello, Tree Man.” Annie rushed and tried to take Rory from Clara’s hands.

“No!” Clara turned so Annie won’t have access to Rory. “I, uh…”

“She’s feeling a bit motherly.” Gwilym came for the rescue. “Let her.”

“Ugh. Fine.”

They started walking towards the parking, chatting about how Rory had spent the day with Gwilym until they had just showed up. From the corner of her eye, Annie thought she saw someone lean against the side of her car. After taking a second look, she sprinted towards the cigarette flinging figure.

“Ben!”

She leapt into his open arms and wrapped her limbs around him, saying his name over and over again, peppering his lips with kisses. She inhaled his scent and relished the warmth radiating from his body. She almost didn’t notice his hair.

“I missed you.” He mumbled against her lips as she reluctantly untangled herself from him, her feet touching the ground. “God, I’ve missed you.”

“Is this real?” Annie’s cheeks were flushed, her head spinning. “Is this really real? Your hair!”

“Do you like it?”

Annie couldn’t form a coherent sentence if she tried. All she could do was smile and nod frantically, grazing her fingernails against the shaved sides, making Ben purr.

“Shall we just leave for dinner without them or…?” Gwilym said loud enough for Ben to hear him.

“We’re coming.”

“Save that for the bedroom, mister.” Clara said pointedly. “The world does not need to know about your climaxes.”

###

“They’ve been at it for hours.” Gwil spoke in a hushed tone. “You’d think they’d need air, or food, or - you know, sustenance. But I guess not.”

Clara, Gwilym and Rory had finished eating, while Ben and Annie’s plates were still full, and now, cold. They couldn’t keep their hands or their lips off each other, public place or not. They couldn’t be bothered.

“Guys, seriously.” Gwilym tried for the umpteenth time. “Your food’s cold, people are staring.”

“Let ‘em.” Ben grunted while Annie nibbled on the crook of his neck.

“Well, we already asked to doggy-bag your dishes because you will get hungry, hopefully.” Clara said. “And it’s getting late.”

“Mhm.” Ben and Annie hummed simultaneously as they kissed.

“Ben, sweetheart,” Clara tried again, “the food isn’t free.”

“Fuck’s sake.” Ben muttered and pawed at his jeans, fishing for his wallet. “There!” he dropped it on the table, “just take however much you need to cover our part.”

“Well, well, Mr. Hollywood.” Clara’s teasing went unheard. Gwilym took money out of Ben’s wallet and handed it back to him. “Okay, you’ll need to stop leeching off each other’s faces long enough to get to the car.”

“Ben, mate, don’t forget to drop us off, yeah?”

“Jesus Christ almighty!” Ben groaned. “Fine! I heard you! We’re going!”

They all filed out of the restaurant, Ben holding Rory in one arm and wrapping the other around Annie, who kept staring at him in pure awe. The drive back was filled with idle chit-chat in low voices, since Rory had fallen asleep in her car-seat. When Ben pulled up to Gwilym’s place, he almost punched him in the face.

“What in the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?” he asked as Gwil unfastened Rory’s seatbelt and picked her up. “You’re not taking my baby anywhere.”

“Yeah, I have a feeling you’ll need some alone time?” Gwil carried on.

“Touch my baby and I’ll kill you with my bare hands.” Ben retorted. “Try me.”

“Ben,” Annie leaned over the middle console and placed her hand on Ben’s thigh, edging upwards. “Let him take her. Just for tonight.”

“I’ll bring her back bright and early!” Gwil said already out of the car, Rory’s head resting on his shoulder. “Have fun, you too!”

Ben couldn’t drive home fast enough.

##########

TAGLIST: @ramibaby @xgoingdownx @qweenly @violetpond @sweeterthancheese @drummerqueenrmt @westansstuff @justgivemethekeys @blondecarfucker @cheeseedreams47 @rogerspoison @deacy-dearest @pinkmarvel @onceuponadetectivedemigod

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chasseurdeloup-retired · 4 years

Text

The Witch, the Wolfsbane, and the Hunter || Bea and Kaden [Chatzy]

Kaden liked the woods. Not cause some bullshit like because they were oh so peaceful like some people thought. No, it was the exact opposite. The woods were wild, especially in White Crest. He could always find an adrenaline kick in the woods. Well, in theory. Today the forest was eerily quiet. Like this was the one spot of the forest the monsters dare not came. Boring. He'd just have to keep walking. He was sure to see an argopelter or a chickcharney at the very least. He swung his machete idly back and forth through the buses on the side of the almost invisible path through the trees. It wasn't to clear the way so much as keep him from falling asleep. "Yoo hoo," he called. "Anything out there? Anything at all?" Kaden stopped dead in his tracks when he realized he wasn't alone. Finally. But it wasn't the monster he was hoping for. Well, as far as he knew at least. It was just a woman across the way. Why the hell was someone wandering alone in the woods?

Bea made it a habit to go herb and flower picking in the woods once a week at minimum. Nellie had her garden in their backyard, but Bea thought that some things had to be picked wild. Wolfsbane was one of them. She didn't often use wolfsbane, but it was always an important herb to keep in her witch kit and Bea never liked being unprepared. She had donned her outfit in the morning carefully, she hadn't wanted Nellie to see her going out into the woods wearing her turtleneck and red skirt and call her a hippie again. Bea was not a hippie, even if she liked doing hippie-esque things. She had been carefully picking a stem of wolfsbane when she heard a male's voice. She didn't recognize whoever had just spoke and so she was rather ready to fight (or flight) at any given moment. She carefully placed the flower in her basket as she turned to him fully. "It's impolite to stare," She said, in hopes that this was just going to be an awkward encounter in the woods and not a fight. She didn't want to ruin her white shirt.

Kaden didn't exactly expect to find anyone out there in the woods. Unscathed, too. "Uh, sorry. Just thought I was going to be alone out here." He put his machete away and walked a little closer, tried to see what it was she was doing. His brow furrowed. All she had was just a bunch of flowers in a basket. "Seems like a long way to go for some flowers," he said, nodding towards her crop. It gave him a moment to get a closer look at what exactly she was gathering. Was that...? Yeah, sure looked like wolfsbane alright. "You know, it's not always the safest out here. You might want to be careful."

Bea eyed the machete with clear judgement. Who walked around the woods with a machete? She had seen a lot of strange things in White Crest, and this didn't even land in the top twenty, but still it was an unusual occurrence. "I don't usually run into people here either," She glanced at the wolfsbane and fought the urge to tilt the basket away from him. "Best place to get flowers is in the wild. Can't grow them as well in a garden." She fought the urge to laugh at the irony of a long man holding a machete telling her it wasn't safe in these woods. "I can take of myself generally and I haven't had a problem out here yet."

There wasn't a whole lot of use for wolfsbane that Kaden knew of beyond poisoning. Unless someone was a werewolf. Or knew a werewolf. He gave the woman a closer look, tried to hone in his hunter senses, see if he could pick up anything. There was nothing. No weird tingle. No super senses. But that didn't mean anything. He'd been wrong before. It wasn't a fool proof system, just weird feelings. He'd have to run through all the tests anyway, feeling or no feeling. "So, sounds like you're out here often. Strange you haven't run into any of the, uh, weird aggressive animals out here. Got some calls about them recently." If he were remotely professional, this was when he'd flash a badge. He wasn't anything close, however. "Animal control. Not on duty right now but, uh, yeah." Machete back in its sheath now, he pointed at her basket. "Animals or not, you should definitely be careful with that stuff. Poisonous as hell."

Wolfsbane was one of those plants that Bea and her sisters kept far out of reach and locked in a closet that none of the cats were allowed in. With her parents and grandmother getting older, she was often in charge of keeping more herbs and flowers at her place just in case they needed something. So while she rarely found use for wolfsbane, her family might need it and so she kept around just in case. She was sure Nellie would call her anal for having everything just in case. "Maybe they just like me more than other people." She had to resist putting her hands on her hips and staring the man down in front of her. "I've been living in these woods for a long time. I know how the animals here are and I certainly know what plants I'm picking. Thank you for the concern though."

Kaden did his best not to cast too much suspicion on his face. He wasn't quite sure he succeeded. Here he was, trying to help humanity and just keep shit safe and he was getting shit from some hippie probably werewolf in the woods. "Fine. So is there a reason you want a whole bunch of poisonous plants? Trying to off someone?" He wanted to find a way to try silver on her, see if it reacted on her skin at all. No clue how he was even going her name at this point, though, let alone close enough to even try a basic werewolf test.

There were few moments in Bea's life where she felt that Nellie would be truly proud of her for letting herself be chaotic for once and she had feeling that if her and Nellie were speaking, her sister would get a great kick out of this conversation. "Yes, actually I am," She answered with a sweet smile and rather satisfied shrug,"Most women go for poison, so I didn't feel like breaking that stereotype." She nodded to his machete,"If we're asking random strangers in the woods what they're doing, what's the machete? That standard for animal control?"

Kaden's eyes narrowed at her answer and his stare hardened. "Very nice. Hope it's quick and painful for them, then." Two could play at this. He wasn't about to let this weird woman in the woods getting in his damn way of hunting get the last quip in. And he wasn't a fan of being questioned, especially not about why he was carrying weapons in the the forest full of monsters. "No. But I needed a way to cut through some of the underbrush and shit out here." He may not have a great pokerface when it came to hiding his frustration or anger, but Kaden never had any problems lying on the spot. It was practically the second most important thing he learned growing up. Aside from hunting techniques, of course. He sighed. This wasn't going to get him anywhere. "You're really not going to tell me why anyone would need that much wolfsbane?" he said, trying to lighten the mood. "Can I at least get your name?"

That would be ideal. Any suggestions on how to make it the perfect amount of painful?" Bea asked, making sure she kept up her smile. She almost felt like she was performing, as she was trying to get a reaction out of him. With all the bull crap that she had had going on recently, it was fun to mess with someone a bit. She knew that was wrong, but she couldn't stop herself. "Sounds like you aren't that used to being in the woods then, I've never needed a machete to get around," She retorted. She was sure it made things easier, but she refused to admit that. "I find the flower pretty," She replied, knowing that she couldn't just say that her coven might need it eventually. She appraised him for a moment, Winston had just had their name stolen, she had to be careful. Problem was she wasn't sure how that whole thing worked. She'd have to ask her grandma. "You can call me Beatrice. What's your name?"

"I try not to make it a point to poison people so no suggestions from me, sorry," Kaden replied. He tried to check, make sure she really was just joking and pushing his buttons. Then again, town like this, just as likely that she was serious. And even more likely, she wasn't human at all. If only he could get one clear sign that she was a wolf. A reflection in her eye, anything. "Ah you caught me. I'm not a local. What gave it away? The machete or the accent?" He didn't buy her comment about the flower for a second. A cover up if he ever heard one. And he'd heard plenty. But it was a good opportunity for him. "Pretty, huh? Interesting reason to collect poison. Must be your favorite color to go out of your way for it like this." Wolfsbane was purple. Not a great test to see if she was red-green colorblind but it was worth a shot. "Kaden," he said, holding out his hand, silver ring on his finger, to shake hers. Probably a terrible idea if she'd just been touching poisonous plants. But he had to try.

"Tragic," Bea hummed. She didn't really ever plan on poisoning anyone, that seemed like a rather wasteful way to kill someone considering she wanted to try necromancy soon. Though, she wasn't looking to kill anyone at the moment, she just was going to make sure she made their death count if she was going to do it. "I was going to say it was the hair, but the accent helped me figure it out." She glanced at the flowers, red was her favorite color by far, but she supposed purple wasn't the worst color in the world. "Purple's nice enough, but definitely not my favorite." Bea took another moment to look at his hand, weary of the man still, but she grasped his hand in a firm shake.

Kaden cracked a smile. "The hair? Huh, didn't know it was French. Well, not specifically, at least. And here I thought it was just hair." So she knew the flower was purple and not blue and he was back to square one. That's fine. The could just be memorization or knowledge that wolfsbane was purple whether or not she saw it that way. Sure, that skirt she was wearing was red but that didn't mean she knew that. For all he knew, it could be her favorite color of yellow that just happened to look red to everyone else. "Really? Still seems like a whole lot of work for a mostly useless plant." He definitely didn't have enough information to call this test a failure. When she hesitated to shake his hand, he thought for a moment it might be proof, or at least suspicious if she had refused. Then she surprised him and shook back. He did his best to try to maneuver his hand so that his ring touched her skin, trying to see if she'd flinch or react in any way. It was awkward and he wasn't quite sure he'd managed it, but he did try to squeeze a little extra hard, hoping it'd make contact.

Bea smiled a little more sincerely back when she saw he actually seemed to appreciate her joke. "Hair can tell you a lot, you just gotta know what to look for. I swear once you figure it out, you'll always be able to find something in the hair." She supposed that if she was in his shoes, she's be rather suspicious of him too. Coming across someone randomly picking a plant known for poison without a good reason would be weird. "Maybe I like useless plants," She replied, knowing that all her lies were thin. She wasn't the best liar on her feet, but at least it wasn't as bad as that one time she tried to pretend a necromancy tome was for a book club. Her face scrunched back up into a rather confused face as she pulled her hand back from the handshake,"Is your hand okay?"

Kaden watched her hand as they shook. Did she flinch? React at all? Was her hand all burned or covered in rash now? He tried to see, but he couldn't tell at all and it was hard to know if she pulled away or acted oddly given how clumsy he'd been just then. Merde. "What?" he asked, forgetting he was in a conversation and not just lost in his own thoughts. "Oh, yeah. It's fine. Sorry. I just, uh..." What? That was a lot of fumbling, Langley. Come up with something! "Ring, it got loose, so I just..." He tried to make a motion with his hand that resembled whatever the hell it was he had attempted during the handshake, trying to make it look like he was trying to keep the ring from slipping or something. It was a mess, he had to admit. Not his best. "Sorry, like I said, didn't expect to talk to anyone this morning, forgot how to behave like a normal human being."

Bea tucked her hand into her skirts pocket after their uncomfortable hand shake. She felt weird keeping it out after that whole interaction. She wondered if he worked in animal control because it meant less human interactions he'd have to deal with. Her head tilted a bit as she watched him stumble through his words. This was not how she pictured her day going at all. "Well, I guess, it's a nice ring, so it makes sense that you wouldn't want it to fall off," She was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt, but she had a feeling he was always this weird. She nodded,"Yeah, I can see that... Do you need a minute to regather your social brain?"

Kaden took a deep breath as if he could cleanse the awkward encounter away, pull himself together a bit. Usually he was better at this. Then again, he didn't normally have to try to charm wolfsbane picking hippies in the woods. Maybe this would have to be a long game. None of his current tests were landing, he'd have to try again later. "I think I've got it back, don't worry," he said, adding a smile. "I'll just blame on the lack of decent coffee this morning." He wanted to grab his knife, give it a spin, just to give his hands something to do while he stood there but he thought better of it. She was already skeptical of the machete, he was pretty sure she wasn't going to give him a pass for the arsenal he was carrying with him. Instead, he ran his hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face. "You said you were a local, right? Or at least you've been here a while? Maybe you know where I can find a cup of coffee that doesn't taste like sad, brown water."

If Bea had been talking to Nellie at the moment, she would have had a ball telling her about this man, but they weren't talking and so she didn't even have that to look forward to after this. She readjusted the basket, now so that it sat on her hip, she didn't want her arm to go dead from holding all the weight, just in case this conversation was much longer. "Coffee will do that to you," She agreed, knowing that she was rather useless in the morning without her cup or two. "Been living here for twenty three years and most of my family's from here, so I'd say I'm a local, yeah. Coffee plus is good, that's where I go. Though, sometimes it's just better to brew your own."

Kaden spoke without even thinking "You survived here 23 years?" Mon dieu, he hadn't been this off his game since he was a teenager. Maybe spending that time with the medical examiner had rubbed off on him. "I mean, lived here. You know. I just feel like most people I've met so far are new in town. It's good to finally meet a local." And it was good to know his foot was taking up a residence in his mouth. "Coffee Plus, though. Noted. Maybe I'll see you around there sometime." And maybe he'd find a way to prove she was in fact a werewolf. "Hopefully with less poison in tow."

"Well, more than six months if you're lucky." Bea told him with another sweet smile. "Yeah, we got a lot of turn over in these parts. The moose are just so vicious," She teased, clearly implying some thing else was astray in the town of White Crest. While it was a strange and awkward interaction, she didn't hate it. He was nice enough to her, even if it was weird that he he carried a machete around and wandered the forest when he was off duty. "I think I'll be fine. You have a safe... Wander through the woods, Kaden," She told him as she adjusted her basket once again and began to make her way past him to get home.

#chatzy #writing #beatriceblaze #bea #the witch the wolfsbane and the hunter

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themoonandotherslikeit · 5 years

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The Daughter of a Righteous Man - Chapter 5

*SEQUEL TO THE LOOK IN HER EYES*

After her husband is drug to Hell, Ava Winchester and her brother in law Sam try their best to do right by Dean and raise her daughter, only to find that good intentions aren’t always enough. Loving someone isnt always enough.

Chapter Five, Anything for You

Sam

"Dean...Dean!" Ava was crying out in her sleep again.

I got out of bed, and rushed to the living room. I hoped I'd wake her in time so she wouldn't wake up the baby.

"Hey, Ave." I said, crouching next to the couch. I gently shook her shoulders. "Hey, wake up. It's okay."

Nel was a month old, and we had finally settled into a routine at the house. I picked up work at a body shop, glad that Dean had taught me what he had about cars. Joey, the shop owner, saw the Impala and hired me on the spot. Ava was staying home with Nel, but eventually we hoped she could go to work in the Sherifs office in town.

"Sam?" She croaked as she opened her eyes. I wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Yeah, hey."

"Hi." She sat up slowly, holding her head.

This happened every night. She would cry out his name in her sleep. Sometimes I could get her back to sleep, sometimes I couldn't. We recently purchased Netflix, and we'd been making our way through an impressive number of shows. She would wake up screaming, and we would play Friends and drink coffee. There wasn't a lot of sleeping with a newborn anyway, so we took what we could get.

This time was different. She was shaking everywhere, like she was cold and couldn't warm up. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

She shook her head. "I don't remember it."

She was lying to me. I knew that face at this point, but I didn't want to push. "Okay." I said quietly. I examined her eyes, searching for some kind of clue to what she needed.

"You can go back to sleep, I'm really o..okay."

I frowned and shook my head. "Only if you come with me." She looked startled, and I laughed quietly. "Not like that, Ave."

"Oh."

"I meant just... maybe we could both use the company."

She considered this for a moment before shrugging. "Okay, sure."

She swung her legs over the side of the couch, wrapping her blanket around her, and we made our way to my room. I laid on top of the covers and she laid next to me. We both faced each other. We laid in silence for what seemed like an endless amount of time in the darkness. Just when I thought she was asleep, she whispered into the darkness. "Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think I will ever be okay again."

"You will be."

"How?"

"Time, Ave."

"But you've seen your Dad. It's been over twenty years, Sam, and he's still a mess." She whispered, her voice afraid.

"You are so much stronger than John Winchester." I laughed humorlessly.

"I don't know if I am." She admitted.

"You're wrong." I said, reaching out to touch her arm. I needed to feel that she was there. That she was listening to me. "Dean believed in you. He always told me you were the strongest person he'd ever met. I agree with him. You can get through this. We can."

Her hand covered mine, and I heard her suck in her breath. "When he would say that stuff to me I couldn't not believe him. He would look at me so intensely. He would get so serious that... well I knew he wasn't lying. He really believed it. He believed in me. I don't know what I did to deserve it."

I laughed again and shook my head. I was beginning to make out her shape in the darkness. I scooted a little closer so I could see her a little better. "You're a Winchester now, which basically means you won't believe it when people say you're amazing or special. Dean never did. I sure don't, but you. We always knew you were better than us. That we didn't deserve you. You're good, Ava. You have this way about you that makes people want to try harder. You made us want to be better."

"I don't think you two could be any better than you already are."

"I hope you're wrong about that."

"You're right. It must be a Winchester curse. Can't take a compliment."

"Welcome to the family." I laughed.

Ava leaned forward, grabbing my face in her hands. My heart sped up. It thumped in my chest. I wanted to ask her what she was doing, but I couldn't bring words to my mouth.

I could feel her breath on my face as she turned my head and placed a gentle kiss to my cheek. "Thank you." She breathed. "I'm feeling a lot better."

She moved her hands. Heat traveled up my face, the print she left on my cheek tingling. She rolled onto her back and let out a deep sigh. I reached my fingers up to my cheek to touch where she kissed.

Ava

"Why are we always in bed?" I asked Dean, as I stared at him. We were laying on our sides facing each other.

"Sex is your favorite memory of me."

"Oh, please." I rolled my eyes.

I was dreaming, I knew I was. He wasn't real, not any more. I reached forward and touched his cheek. The mind was a powerful thing. He felt real to me. I could feel the prickles from the hair growing in on his face. "You need to shave."

"You like it."

"I do. It goes with your whole, grungy 90's look."

He raised his eyebrows, looking offended. "I do not have a 90's look."

I laughed and shook my head. "Oh please. The flannel, the boots, the rocker t-shirts? Classic grunge."

"Would you rather me wear a polo?"

"I do like the suit." I teased him, letting my fingers slide under his shirt.

I worried eventually I wouldn't be able to conjure him in my mind like I could now. I worried I wouldn't be able to trace his stomach and his chest in my mind. Each scar raised on his skin. Would they disappear inside of my mind?

"I hate it"

"I know." I said pulling him closer to me. "I like the flannel."

"I can tell." He said, pulling at the one I was wearing.

"Sam gave it to me."

"You still haven't gone into our room?"

I shook my head. "I can't, Dean. I'm too scared. I won't be able to keep it together."

"Take your time, love."

I sighed.

Love. He wouldn't call me love.

"I wish you were real."

"I am real." He put his hand on my heart. "I'm real in you."

"That sounds sexual."

"It isn't sexual." He said before lowering his lips to my ear. "But it could be... if you wanted."

My heart raced. I did, but it wasn't real. It would never be real again. "I'm sorry." I whispered, pressing my forehead to his like I had a million times before.

"Don't be sorry, sweetheart." There we go. "Maybe it'll just make it worse."

"Maybe."

"Try to go into the room today?"

"I'll try." I breathed.

"Don't forget what I told you."

"What did you tell me?"

I jumped slightly, my eyes slowly fluttering open. I woke up too quickly, and I grabbed at the dream. He was there, in my mind, and I felt like I was losing him all over again. I rolled over, just to catch Sam an inch from my face.

I'd slept every night with him for the last week. I noticed I slept better when I wasn't sleeping alone. I only woke up screaming every other night. It was progress. Sam looked tired. He looked young. I smiled at the innocence he held when his expression was relaxed. I knew he spent a lot of time worrying about me. Maybe it was our friendship, or his promise to Dean. I didn't have a way to tell. But in reality, it didn't matter. We were all we had, so it had to be enough.

I slowly slid out of bed and snuck out of the room. I crept into the kitchen and dug the pancake mix out of the cabinet. Just add water. I wasn't much of a cook, but the boys always loved it. Considering they spent most of their lives without a kitchen, they were easily impressed.

I whisked the mix and poured some into a skillet. I hadn't been myself. I still wasn’t, but something had changed. I wasn't as much of an empty shell. I was trying.

Flip.

A soft cry came from the back room and I smiled. Sweet girl. I walked to the back room to grab her while the pancake settled on the pan. "Good morning." I said leaning over her crib.

She looked up at me with big blue-green eyes. Her bottom lip trembled. "Aw little one." I said, picking her up. "You're wet." I commented, feeling her diaper. I walked her to the changing table and laid her down. Six little snaps held her pajamas in place. I slid her legs and arms out and tickled her belly.

This seemed to make her more upset. She cried a little harder. Poor thing was tired, wet, and hungry. "Aww come on, Nellie. Smile for Mommy."

I peeled her diaper off of her, and wiped along every crevice with the baby wipe. Powder for her pink tush. Snap the diaper back in place.

"What do you want to wear?"

Her eyes were red as she sniffled. I pulled out a pair of black stretchy pants and a green sweater and slid them on her little limbs. Fuzzy socks to match. Her eyes looked even greener with the sweater on. She looked like her dad.

"Hey." Sam said rubbing his eyes. He leaned against the door frame.

"I tried to let you sleep." I sighed picking Nel back up. "I'm sorry."

"It's Fine." He yawned. "I usually wake up early I guess I just needed a little extra sleep."

"I wanted to make you breakfast... shit!" I said, running back into the kitchen. I tried to hold Nel in one arm and move the burning pancake away from the stove. It was smoking but not enough to set off any alarms.

"Ow, fuck!" I shouted, causing Nel to cry. My hand stung from the burn. The handle of the skillet was too close to the fire from the stove. Grabbing it singed my flesh.

"Hey, I've got you." Sam said, taking Eleanor from my hands. He put a pacifier in her mouth, and laid her in the swing. He came back to me and took out burn cream from the cabinet. He lead me to the counter. "Let me see." He said, looking at my palm.

I winced as my hand flattened, palm up.

"It doesn't look too deep." I applied the burn cream, making my fingers twitch from the sting. "You have to be careful, Ava."

"I know." I sighed.

"What were you doing?"

"I was trying to surprise you with breakfast." I met his eyes. "That's the least I can do for all that you've done for me. For us."

Sam wrapped a bandage around my wound and took my hand in his. "You don't owe me anything, Ava."

"I owe you my life. If you weren't here I don't know where I would've ended up." I admitted.

I turned to see Eleanor content, staring at the mobile above her swing. "I mean look at her. You hold her for a second and calm her down. She loves you."

He stroked the skin on my wrist, right above my burn. "I love her too. She is my family, you both are."

Family. The ultimate compliment from a Winchester brother. Dean had said it countless times to me. "We are one weird little family." I met his eyes with a smile.

He smiled back and squeezed my wrist gently. "Yeah." He agreed.

"I'm sorry I burned breakfast."

"I forgive you."

Nel plopped the pacifier out of her mouth and let out a whimper. "Sounds like we are all hungry." I let out a dry laugh.

"Feed her." Sam said, letting go of my wrist. "I'll make the pancakes."

"Okay." I said, still feeling tingles where his hand left my wrist. I picked up my daughter and settled into the rocking chair. I slowly let my breast out and guided her lips to my nipple. They were swollen and sore. She began to suckle and I exhaled in relief. It was still a weird, alien experience, but also beautiful. I loved the connection it gave me to her. It was indescribable.

"You know," I gasped. "You won't be able to do this forever."

Dean held my breast in his hand, he looked up at me, releasing my nipple from his lips. "Who says?"

"Eventually I'll have milk in them." I said, breathlessly. They were already really sensitive, so his lips leaving kisses were making my head spin. "Do you want to have breastmilk in your mouth?”

He raised an eyebrow. "Not exactly, but I don't know if I can stop now that I've started." He left another kiss next to my nipple.

I smiled widely. "Well I guess we will see."

There was something unspoken between us. He didn't think he would have to worry about that. He wouldn't be here. I hoped otherwise.

"You have the most perfect breasts." He lifted it a bit in his hand, feeling the weight. "Every time I think they can't get any better, they do."

I rolled my eyes. "Well I'm glad you're enjoying my pregnancy body."

"I am." He said closing his eyes. He ran his tongue along my nipple causing chills to run along my skin. "I love it."

I glanced up from Eleanor to Sam flipping pancakes in the kitchen, he glanced at me, catching me looking at him. He quickly averted his eyes. He was getting more comfortable with me feeding her around him. We were getting more comfortable around each other. He was my friend. He was my family. He was the brother of my husband. But yet, in everything he gave me peace. His smile was becoming calming, and I couldn't help but relax under his touch. He wasn't Dean, but he held a piece of Dean within him. He was raised by him, after all.

"Hope you're hungry." Sam said sweetly.

I moved Nel to my other breast, to keep their fullness even. She looked tired, and I knew at any moment she would be passed out in a milk coma. I recognized the face as Deans when he had too many beers. Half open green eyes, slack jaw. I smiled and ran my fingers along her puffy cheeks.

"I am, but I think little Nel has a bit to go."

"Here." Sam said, walking to me. He held a plate in his hand. He cut a piece of pancake, dipped it in syrup, and offered the bite to me.

I smiled and opened my mouth, welcoming the sweet taste. Our eyes locked. "Thank you, Sam."

"Anything for you, Ave."

—————

Chapter Six, When Time Stood Still

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niallismymuse · 6 years

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Chapter 8

By the time Sadie had found the will to get up from the watery sidewalk and go home, the sky was black. She was freezing, teeth chattering as she took step by wretched step back towards her dorm room. Her thighs were chafing because of her sodden jeans, but that was the least of her problems.

It was warmer inside thankfully. She was leaving puddles all over the floor. Sadie didn’t care. She took off her wet clothes and left them on the bathroom floor, somehow having the mental fortitude to dry herself off. After pulling on a thick pair of gray sweat pants and a nondescript t-shirt, she collapsed in bed and pulled her blanket over herself completely.

Lighting struck, and thunder crashed, briefly illuminating her dorm room. She could see it through the material of the blanket, though it darkened too quickly for her to register anything. Sadie laid there, breathing, letting her body warm up enough until she wasn’t shaking anymore. Well, until she wasn’t shaking of cold – there was a different sort of tremble wrecking her bones.

Sadie thought briefly about pushing her head clear of the blanket, so she wouldn’t suffocate from lack of oxygen or pass out from heat stroke. Her breath was making the air around her face too hot and damp. Finally, she pushed her head clear, relishing in the quick coolness washing over her head.

I should have stayed under the blanket.

She almost called Becca, to tell her younger sister that she had fucked up and ruined everything, to tell her that she was a fucking monster incapable of having a relationship, that she was worth nothing. But that would have required talking, so Sadie slept instead.

She didn’t wake up for her class the next day, which normally would have freaked her out, but Sadie couldn’t bring herself to care about that either. When she woke up, the only thing that flashed into her mind was the total devastation on Niall’s face: he had laid himself bare, and she had ripped him apart.

Now, it seemed, she could at least think the l-word. I love you, I love you, I love you Niall, I’m so sorry, I love you I love you love you love you love love love.

After rousing herself enough to check her somehow perfectly fine cell phone, Sadie found it empty of notifications. Not that she had been expecting anything, but she was so used to seeing at least one message from Niall. Her heart sunk even further down than her stomach, resting somewhere near her toes.

Sadie called Becca, not caring what time it was or even what day; her sister probably had class. But, to Becca’s credit, she answered.

“Sadie, what’s up?” she greeted, voice light and calm, like it wasn’t strange at all that Sadie was calling at 10:02 AM on a Friday. Sadie normally had class right about now herself, which Becca was aware of – she had sent Becca her schedule for the semester when it was finalized – and at any rate, she normally called in the evenings.

Sadie tried to speak and found that she couldn’t. She cleared her throat, felt the rawness and the ache that came with it, and tried again. “I fucked up.”

A beat of pure silence. Then, “what happened? You sound awful. Do you have a cold?”

Most likely. She had sat out in the cold rain for hours last night, like the dumbass she was. But she had deserved it. She deserved the cold she was inevitably going to get too. “I…Becca, he told me he was in love with me, and I…”

Sadie couldn’t finish her sentence, because all of a sudden, a loud banging sounded from the door. Hope flared in her chest. Niall. It had to be. He was literally the only person who ever came to her dorm, besides her RA, and she never pounded on the door like that. Niall would have every right to.

“Come in,” Sadie croaked out, about 95% sure she had forgotten to lock her door last night. The door opened, and in stalked Nellie, looking righteously angry and simultaneously disappointed. The hope in Sadie’s chest exploded into sadness and the tiniest amount of fear.

“Sadie Fraiser.” Nellie’s voice was hard and loud; she could have been a commanding general about to humiliate a squadron. “What in the hell did you do?”

“Sadie,” Becca whispered, undoubtedly hearing the unrelenting authority in Nellie’s tone, “what did you do?”

Sadie put Becca on speaker and opened her mouth. However, Nellie beat her to it. “Actually, you don’t need to tell me what you did. I am already completely aware of the fact that you just shattered Niall Horan’s heart into a million little tiny pieces. You know how I know that? Because Niall went over to Louis’ last night and cried. And Louis told me this morning. So here we are.” She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot, clearly waiting for some sort of explanation.

“I…” Sadie couldn’t imagine Niall crying. The closest he had ever gotten to it was the time he was drunk and sleeping over on her floor, and he had told her about his mom. That had been way before they had ever started dating.

She, on the other hand, didn’t cry regularly, but often.

And she was about to do so now.

When Nellie saw the tears brim in her eyes, she softened, clucking her tongue and sitting on the edge of her bed, brushing a hand over her back. “You poor little broken thing.”

Sadie could only agree, tears finally shedding as she began to cry.

After sobbing uncontrollably for around twenty minutes, Sadie got it together enough to speak. She took in a shuddering breath and nearly choked on it. “Okay. I think…I think I’m done.”

Nellie clucked her tongue again and stroked the hair back from her face, completely her transformation from angry general to mother hen. “Oh, love.”

Sadie grimaced and glanced down at her cell phone. “Becca, are you still there?” She had completely forgotten that her younger sister was on the line, and hence did not expect her to still be listening. She was, after all, in class.

“Yes,” came her cheerful response. Sadie blinked.

“But you’re supposed to be in school.” She had a terrifying thought: Becca sitting in class, listening as Sadie cried over the phone, all of her classmates listening too. Some of those bastards had made her cry themselves.

“Well, while you were crying, I went back to my teacher from the bathroom and told her I was having a family emergency. And then I left.”

Sadie huffed, wiping at her eyes. “My emotional breakdown isn’t a reason for you to leave class, Becca.”

“Well, I do have a project due tomorrow, so this will give me time to work on it.” Sadie laughed against her better judgement, and then realized that had been Becca’s goal all along. “Now, what exactly happened? I’m still not connecting the dots here.”

“Well…” There was a hollow, aching sensation in her chest. “Niall told me he was in love with me, and I left…without saying I loved him back…I just left him sitting there…”

Nellie was gazing at her seriously. “But you do love him. Don’t you?”

“Yes.” Sadie whispered.

Becca cut in this time. “So why didn’t you tell him? Why did you leave?” There was no judgement in her voice, but Sadie felt it anyway, felt herself compress as a result.

Nellie lifted an eyebrow, as if to say, my questions exactly.

“I can’t do this if you two are going to be rude about it,” Sadie snapped, wrapping her arms around herself. “I couldn’t tell him because he could still leave me. And if he left me after I admitted I loved him out loud, I would…” her voice cracked, and her eyes watered up again. She had thought she had cried all of her tears out. But she found the strength to finish her sentence: “It would kill me. He was the best thing in my life here.”

“Is,” Nellie corrected gently, “he still is. You can fix this.”

Sadie shook her head. “I can’t. He knows how mentally fucked up I am now. He won’t take me back.”

“So, let me get this straight,” Becca spoke, her voice made of pure steel, “you couldn’t tell Niall you loved him because you were afraid he would eventually leave you.”

Sadie swallowed harshly. “Well, when you put it like that…”

“It’s stupid.” Becca finished for her. “Completely idiotic. He loves you, Sadie. You are a wonderful woman, and he knows that. I can’t say that you two won’t ever break up, because I can’t tell the future, but even then, having him now is worth it. And you might have him for the rest of your life.” Her voice softened. “Don’t self-destruct like this, Sadie…you are not a worthless person. You deserve love and happiness. Quit telling yourself you don’t and quit running from things that might not ever happen.”

Nellie looked at the phone with newfound respect in her eyes. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.” She pushed the fading purple bangs out of her face, frowning slightly. “You can still fix this. Niall’s a mess right now, but if you go and plead your case and throw yourself on the floor in front of him, declaring your love for him, he won’t tell you to leave.”

Sadie looked down at the bed. “I would tell me to leave if I were him.”

“Yeah, well he’s not you, and he’s put up with your bullshit before, so he’ll probably do it again,” Nellie snipped, and Sadie winced. Nellie took a deep breath and blew it out harshly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. You have your problems, yes, but you’re working through them. And you need to try. Don’t let him go.”

Don’t let him go.

Sadie nodded her head slowly, repeating the words in her mind. “Okay. You guys are right. Okay.” She stood up on wobbly feet and walked into the bathroom. She was a wreck – hair messy and knotted, eyes bright red and swollen. She started to run a brush through her tangled mane, cringing at the pain of pulling out the knots. But it focused her. “I can do this. I can fix this.”

“Hell yeah you can,” said Becca from the phone on the bed, voice echoing.

Nellie tossed a fond look towards the phone, then at Sadie. “You’re a mess, kid. But you can fix this. He loves you. Tell him you feel the same.”

Sadie took a deep breath and nodded. She roughly yanked her hair up and herded it into a bun, thought about changing her clothes, decided against it. Sweatpants and a t-shirt were going to have to work. She had never presented herself any differently for him, and that wasn’t about to change now.

“Go get your man.” Nellie firmly stated, and Becca cheered “Yeah!” loudly through the phone, making it crackle.

“Yeah,” Sadie nodded in agreement, grabbed her bag, and whirled out of the room, leaving Nellie and Becca behind to wait.

She stood outside of Niall’s dorm room for fifteen minutes, loitering and shifting her weight from foot to foot. Every now and then, she raised her hand to knock, then let it drop. She knew Niall was inside – she heard someone moving around in there, and he lived alone like she did, so it could really only be him.

Sadie just couldn’t bring herself to knock.

It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since she had shattered his heart. Since she’d seen that utter despair ring clear on his face. How could she waltz right back in and demand forgiveness, claim that it wasn’t him but her, that she actually did love him? Would he even believe her? Sadie wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t.

Her courage was starting to fail her. If she didn’t do it now, she never would. She would leave and suffer with the consequences.

Taking a deep breath, Sadie knocked hard on the door, letting her fist fall back to her side after three sharp hits.

She heard shuffling on the other side of the door. Then, heavy footsteps approaching. Finally, the lock clicked, and the door opened, and Niall stood there. He looked at her, frowning, and blatantly not surprised.

“I don’t want to see you,” he said hoarsely, and he looked like shit as he said it. His glasses weren’t even on, giving Sadie a clear view of the redness in his eyes, the bags purpling the skin beneath. It had hardly been a day, but Niall looked like he had barely survived the plague. That’s what she had done to him.

“I know,” she answered, voice thick. Sadie felt like crying already. Niall didn’t deserve the mess that she was. He deserved someone better, someone stronger and more in control of herself and her emotions. “I know, but…I want…no, I need to see you.”

Niall leaned against the doorway, looking inclined to stay there and hash this out in the hallway. She cringed – that’s how upset he was with her. Upset enough that he didn’t invite her in to hide this from his nosy dorm hall friends. That’s how badly she had fucked up.

But he stayed. That had to count for something. He stayed and watched her warily, clearly waiting for her to speak.

So, she spoke. “Yesterday, that…that was…not you,” she whispered, hating herself even more strongly as his eyes shuttered. That blue she loved was cloudy, that smile not even close to breaking out. “That was me. That was me, and how incredibly, incredibly fucked up I am. I…I shouldn’t have left.”

Niall stared down at her, boring into her with those depthless eyes. “No, you shouldn’t have.”

Something inside of her shrunk. “I shouldn’t have,” she echoed hollowly, twisting her hands together. Her guts were twisting right with her hands.

He merely lifted a brow at her. This wasn’t the Niall she had come to know and love – this was the Niall that only emerged when every good thing had been sucked out of him. They didn’t coexist in the same space; one came out, and one disappeared.

Sadie took a deep breath. This – whatever this was, it was slipping through her hands like grains of sand. “I love you, Niall Horan,” she finally admitted, and something inside of her chest seemed to lighten and disappear with the words. “Not only do I love you, but I am in love with you. And…and I will always be choosing you over everyone else, because I am in love with you and you are my home.” The words released even more of the tension in her chest, until her shoulders were loose, and she felt lighter than air by speaking them.

“And I get it, if you would rather slam your door shut in my face, because it’s what I would do to me if I were you. But I can’t let you think that…that I don’t love you. Because I do. I love you so much that the thought of not having you in my life takes my breath away. I panicked, and I ran, and that was so fucked up of me, and I know that. But I love you. I love you.”

Niall didn’t say anything for a long time, and Sadie wondered distantly if this is what it had felt like when he had been waiting for her to respond to his declaration of love yesterday. She eventually couldn’t look at him any longer, so she dropped her gaze and stared at the floor. And waited.

She felt his fingers, the touch of them gentle, brush against her chin, then tilt it upward. Sadie let him. She looked at him, and his eyes were simmering with anger. “You shaved about ten years off of my life,” he murmured, and she cringed, “but I love you. You know that?” At her nod, Niall continued. “I love you because of your flaws, not in spite of them. And, yesterday…that was one of them shining through, and one I think we’ll have to work on.”

“Yes,” Sadie agreed, scarcely breathing out of the fear that she would accidentally turn him away or make him leave, “I have this…this fear that…one day you’ll finally realize that you deserve someone better than me. And you’ll leave me because of it. I’ll have opened up and let myself love and trust, and it’ll all have been for nothing.”

“That’s going to have to go,” he muttered, and she laughed humorlessly. “Sadie, I’m not going to dump you and run off with some other woman. I love you. I would never have told you that if…if I wasn’t in this for the long run.”

Sadie’s heart beat started to pick up in her chest. She looked up at him, felt her eyes burn with tears that were so far unshed. “Really?”

That anger that had been resting in Niall’s eyes finally vanished. “Really. I’ve never told another woman that I’ve loved her. You’re my first.”

“Oh,” Sadie croaked out, even though it made sense, because he had told her before that his previous relationships had never been that serious.

“Yeah, and to be honest, it could have gone better.”

She swatted at him on instinct. He laughed, which made her smile. Then he leaned down, cupping her chin now, and kissed her. She kissed him back, not very effectively, because she was smiling too hard to focus.

It just made Niall laugh even more, and Sadie knew – he was back. And he was hers.

“I’m picking you up at six tonight, remember?” Niall leaned down to peck her lips. “Make sure you wear something nice – I mean, you always look nice, even in sweatpants, but try to look better – I mean, not better, just…” Seeing the laughter in her eyes, he stopped. “Don’t laugh at me,” he pouted.

“You’re just so funny when you ramble and dig yourself deeper in the hole,” Sadie replied, smirking at him. He rolled his eyes and pressed a quick kiss to her forehead, as if he couldn’t help himself. Niall waved, and then strode briskly in the way they had just come, heading for his own class. She often suggested that she could ‘drop him off’ first, but he never agreed, the stubborn idiot.

She headed into her last class of the day, though she knew she wouldn’t be able to focus. Ever since she had stood outside of Niall’s dorm room and proclaimed her love for him, they had both been taking things slowly. Slower than usual; those two quick pecks were normally what Niall chose to do to express his affection, to express his love, as if he was afraid he’d scare her off by doing anything different.

Sadie missed the longer kisses, but this part of their relationship, this ‘I love you’ part, was so newthat she just dealt with it. They would work their way back up.

And maybe tonight was the first step in working their way up. Niall had asked her on a date yesterday – a date, something they had never done before. Normally, they just spent time together in each other’s rooms, or at the Holy Bagel. They had never gone on a date before, much less anything that required fancy dressing. Which was why Sadie was a bit panicked.

She had one dress, and it would have to work. It was a wine-red halter-style dress that clung to her shape, ending below her knees. She had bought it on a whim while out shopping with Nellie, who had smirked and commented, “I think Niall would spontaneously combust if he saw you in that.” Sadie, blushing, had bought it for that specific reason, and then stuck it into the back of her closet, waiting for an opportunity to wear it. It wasn’t like she could have just put it on and wait for him to show up at her room; okay, she totally could have done that, but it would have been awkward to show him the dress in that manner.

After class, Sadie hustled back to her dorm room and shut the door, checking the time. It was three; she had three hours. That was enough time for an hour nap to energize herself and then makeup and hair.

So, Sadie did just that. She napped, somehow calming her mind enough to sleep, and then she woke up and glanced at her disheveled reflection in the mirror. Time to beautify that.

She hadn’t touched her makeup in a long time – she had done Becca’s for Christmas, using red and green themed items, but beyond that, she just hadn’t…felt like it. Sadie hadn’t felt like painting herself up, or anyone else, though Nellie had once begged for a makeover.

Now, though, she stayed simple: neutral eyeshadow, black eyeliner, and bright red lips, her signature. If she thought hard enough, she could remember back to that party, the first time things had gone terribly wrong; the red had given her confidence, and Nellie had told her she looked great in it.

So red it was.

Sadie often pulled her hair up, so she decided to leave it down for once. She finger-combed it, twisted a few curls, and voila, she was done.

Sadie checked her phone. 5:47.

She strode to her closet and pulled out the dress, laying it carefully on her bed after unzipping it. She stripped and then pulled it on, yanking the fabric down before it bunched up around her hips. Sadie tried, and failed, to zip it completely up, and, sighing, knew she would have to ask Niall to help her finish it.

Taking a deep breath, she looked at herself in the mirror. And was stunned.

She…Sadie was beautiful.

The dress fit her just right. It accentuated her curves, every dip and sweep of them. It left her shoulders bare, and while she normally hated exposing her arms, it just worked. She felt, for the first time in a long while, happy with how she looked in a dress. It had been a good look in the store, but now it was perfect.

Right on cue, a knock sounded from her door.

A bit breathless, Sadie quickly strode over and pulled it open. Niall stood on the other side, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. His lips parted, and his eyes slowly swept down her body, from her face down, then back up. Flames engulfed her entire body at his stare. She swallowed nervously, shifting on her feet as the silence stretched on.

When his eyes finally made it back to hers, he grinned, still looking a little dazed. “I…wow, Sadie. You are gorgeous.”

Huffing out a breath, Sadie took the offered bouquet and stepped back into her room, Niall following. She tried not to act like her heart hadn’t just melted, snipping, “Oh, I know,” that was only half-fake before setting the flowers on her desk. She filled a coffee mug with water and set the bouquet inside of it. She didn’t own a vase, so the mug would have to work. The only ever bouquet she had been given before had been edible, so she hadn’t needed a vase.

“Do you want me to zip up your dress the rest of the way?”

His question made her pause. She had forgotten about that stupid zipper. Sadie looked over her shoulder at him, biting her lip. “Yes, please.”

Niall stepped up behind her, and Sadie stilled as she felt the warmth of his hand on her back. She gathered her hair on the other side of her shoulder, making sure it wouldn’t tangle with the zipper. It also gave Niall access to her neck, something he definitely noticed, because his thumb brushed the base of her neck immediately, despite the fact that the zipper was a few inches below. She sucked in a breath, held it.

Pulling the zipper up completely only took a second, but Niall’s fingers lingered, and then she felt his lips press against the base of her neck, his hands coming up to cup her shoulders. “There. Absolutely perfect now.”

Sadie spun in his arms, thankful she hadn’t put her heels on yet. “You…you are too much,” she breathed out, entire face hot. Niall smirked and pecked her nose in response.

He stepped out of the circle of her arms and fiddled with the flowers he had gotten her, arranging them properly. It gave Sadie the chance to study him – he was dressed in pressed black pants with a long-sleeve, button up, baby-blue shirt that matched his eyes. If she hadn’t already been breathless, he would have stolen the air right out of her lungs.

As if feeling her gaze on him, Niall turned and smiled softly. Sadie was a goner for him. “Are you ready to go?” he asked unhurriedly, still smiling.

“Yes,” she smiled back, reaching out to take his hand. He gripped hers and helped her to her shoes, pausing while she slipped them on and grabbed her purse, then Niall led her out of the dorm. He guided her towards the dormitory parking lot, and Sadie suddenly realized she didn’t know how they were going to get to dinner. “Niall, where are we going? And how?”

He winked at her. “I’m not telling you the first one. But I borrowed Louis’ car for the night.”

Sadie lifted a brow, then raised it further as Niall gestured to the sleek, electric blue BMW waiting for them. To confirm that it was their ride, he dangled the keys and then hit the unlock button. The corresponding chirp made her laugh. “God, he’s loaded.”

Niall chuckled quietly and opened the door for her, letting her settle in before closing it. He hopped in the other side and grinned. “And off we go, madam.”

They drove for twenty minutes before pulling up in front of an upscale restaurant, upscale enough that a valet waited for Niall and her to exit. Sadie’s eyes widened as she got out, Niall quickly coming over to her side and taking her arm. They walked together up to the front doors, which he opened for her. Inside was all crystal and glass, sparkling light shining everywhere she looked.

“This is…a lot,” Sadie murmured softly, trying her best not to feel intimidated. But as they approached the hostess, she couldn’t help but feel judged. She did not belong here.

The hostess smiled and asked for the name the reservation was under, Niall replying, “Horan.” She remained chipper as she led the couple to their table in a large dining area, smack dab in the middle. Niall pulled her chair out for her and scooted her in before claiming the opposite side. The hostess deposited two menus and swept away gracefully.

Sadie carefully, ever so carefully, lifted her menu. It was heavier than she expected, and it fell open with a thunk that had her wincing. “This is quite the place,” she said, looking at Niall across the table. She thought maybe Niall was just as uncomfortable as her, judging from the stiff way he held his body up straight.

“It is,” he agreed, eyeing the heavy-looking silverware set out.

Sadie looked down at the menu in front of her and her mouth dropped open. “And expensive,” she ground out. How in the hell would they afford this?!

Niall nodded once. “Yeah, I was prepared for that.” His voice was quiet suddenly, and Sadie gazed across the table at him.

“This…isn’t us,” she finally said after a long minute.

Niall shook his head. “I wanted…to take you somewhere special, somewhere nice, so I could treat you like the queen that you are.”

Her face softened, and she had to press her lips together to stop from screaming about how cutethat had been. “Oh, Ni…everything we do together is special for me. You don’t…you don’t have to take me some fancy place, pay too much money for too little food. I love what we do together, laying in our rooms or at the Holy Bagel. This isn’t us,” she repeated, saw that spark begin to glimmer in his eyes again.

Their waitress appeared, smiling brightly. “Good evening, my name is Michaela. What can I get you two to drink?”

Niall looked at her, nodded to himself. “Actually, Michaela, we were just leaving.” Standing, he offered his hand to her, ignoring the raised eyebrow and pursed lips of the waitress. Grinning, Sadie took his hand and rose up, grabbing her purse. Together, they strode out the way they had come in just two minutes earlier, and they both pushed the doors open.

The valet, probably having just dropped off their car, merely held his hand out for their ticket. Niall handed it over, still gripping her hand, giving it a squeeze. The valet disappeared, coming back with their car – Louis’ car – only minutes later. Niall let her in again, their actions repeating, and then he drove towards the road that had brought them here.

“Where to?”

“Let’s just find somewhere more our speed.” Sadie suggested, smiling over at him. Her heart was racing in her chest. “I can’t believe we just left that place,” she added after Niall got onto the main road, grinning once more.

Niall burst out laughing. “Did you see our waitresses’ face?” he crowed, laughing hard enough that tears watered up in his eyes. He brushed at them under his glasses, and she squealed out a quick “eyes on the road!”, making him laugh harder.

“Yes, I did see her face,” Sadie giggled quietly, lifting a hand to cover her mouth. “She looked personally offended. I bet they’re going to put us on some sort of ‘do not let enter’ list.”

They laughed together and just drove, Niall choosing the directions, until they found a little diner tucked off of the road that looked exactlylike what they wanted. Niall parked and they both got out. “We are totally overdressed,” she muttered, smiling at Niall’s chuckle. For some reason, she wasn’t embarrassed at the thought.

They walked inside, and Niall pointed at the sign that instructed them to choose their own seating. Sadie chose a booth near their windows, giving them a view of the road and the trees surrounding it. Their menus were placed next to the wall, held by a metal bracket. A far cry from their original dining place.

This was perfect. Even though they were overdressed, it was perfect, and it was them.

The older woman who came to take their drink orders either didn’t notice or didn’t care that they were both in their finery, even though every time Sadie looked at Niall sitting in the cracked, red upholstery in his button-up, she had to fight the urge to laugh. There was a no-nonsense look on her face, thin lips pressed into an even thinner line, so she bit her lip and asked for a water. Niall ordered a coffee, and the waitress briskly moved to the next table. She hadn’t even given them her name.

Sadie looked at Niall, and this time she started laughing uproariously, Niall joining her, even as the rest of the customers in the diner looked and stared. She couldn’t help it; this whole scenario was so different from where she and Niall had just come from, how could she not laugh?

The waitress, a few tables down, merely rolled her eyes and muttered something about college kids.

Niall and Sadie laughed even more as they ate, edging towards the line of hysteria. They never crossed it, instead calming down a bit before starting up again. “You look so ridiculous and over-the-top,” Niall snickered as he took a bite of his waffle, pausing just enough to chew before continuing to laugh. They had both decided on breakfast for dinner – Niall ordered a waffle with sausage, and Sadie ordered a chocolate chip pancake with cheesy, greasy, hash browns. Everything was delicious. She was considering living here.

“Whatever, Mr. Button Down,” she snapped back, pointing her fork aggressively across the table at him.

Niall snorted and batted her fork down with his own. “That was lame.”

“You’re lame.”

Obviously, eating the food was more of a priority to Sadie than snark was.

They finished their dinners in companionable silence, holding hands. It was this – this sense of comradery, the contentment, that Sadie loved. Even when they were bickering, they were enjoying themselves. He was her everything, and it was insane to contemplate that there had been a time where she hadn’t liked him, where he hadn’t been hers.

In the space of a moment, everything settled for good inside of her. There would be no running from this, no turning back. She looked across the table at Niall. “I love you.”

He smiled widely enough that his eyes crinkled, and it made her smile grow bigger in return.

The waitress chose that moment to drop off the check, definitely dampening the moment but not ruining it for good. “I’m paying half,” Sadie warned, already reaching for her wallet, and Niall shook his head.

“Absolutely not. I’ve got this. It’s not expensive, like, at all. Besides, I make good tips at the Big O because I’m such an attractive donut salesman.”

Sadie reached across and smeared her thumb across the lens of his glasses, ignoring his squawk of outrage as she sat back down. She was trying not to smirk – that had been something she had wanted to do since day one. “You’re a loser. I bet you’re a terrible donut salesman.”

Niall glared at her, squinting as he took his glasses off and cleaned them with his shirt. “You can cover tip.”

After glancing at the bill, Sadie pulled out the appropriate amount of money (plus some; she recognized that she and Niall had been annoying) and laid it on the center of the table. Right as Niall set down his bills, exact change, the sky opened up.

Lightning cracked, and thunder boomed, lighting up the dark night sky. The rain struck the metal roof almost rhythmically before increasing in speed and force, until there was nothing but the constant beat of water striking aluminum.

“Well. It’s raining cats and dogs out there.” Niall stated, turning to look out the window. “You want to stay and see if it slows?”

Sadie shook her head. Glancing outside, she couldn’t even see the moon, so the storm was probably large enough for it to take a while to pass. “Want to make a run for it?”

Niall smiled crookedly. “Sure.”

Sadie slipped her heels off and stuck them haphazardly in her purse, standing up and heading towards the door, trying not to think about the floor she was stepping on barefoot. “Is the car unlocked?”

Headlights flashed in the parking lot. “It is now.”

“Okay,” Sadie blew out a breath, clutching her purse tightly, “3, 2, 1…go!”

Niall, like the dumbass he was, stopped to hold the door open for her, and since the rain was coming in sideways, the entranceway of the diner became wet. She barreled past him, nearly slipping on the slick tile, but charged on into the storm, Niall following close behind. In a single second she was drenched, hurtling towards Louis’ car like a lion zeroing in on a gazelle. She only had one target – inside.

Sadie threw herself in the passenger’s side, panting and dripping. Niall was in a millisecond after her, soaked to the bone as well.

“You got…” she paused, trying to calm her breathing, “you got a little bit of water on you there.”

Niall laughed, shaking his head hard enough that water sprayed off of his hair, making her squeal. “Oh, stop, you’re already soaked, you drama queen,” he muttered as he turned the car on, giving her a playful eyeroll.

“Can you even see?” Sadie asked suddenly, genuinely fearing for her life. “Your glasses have water all over them. And you can’t see without them.” Niall frowned, eyes locked on the speckled lens.

“No,” he admitted, “trade with me?”

Sadie sighed and nodded. After turning the car off so they wouldn’t hit any buttons or accidentally step on the gas pedal and send the car careening into the forest, Niall ended up crawling into the backseat. She climbed into the driver’s seat and began adjusting the seat and mirrors. Once she was situated, he pulled himself into the passenger’s seat. “Your old seat is wet.” He told her disdainfully.

She flicked his shoulder.

Sadie turned the car back on and started the careful drive home. She could see Niall watching her out of the corner of her eyes, and finally asked, “what?” She didn’t dare take her hands off of the wheel due to the weather, but she was tempted to grab his hand. Just because she could.

Niall shook his head and glanced. “I’m wondering how we’re going to explain to Louis why his car is so wet.”

Sadie eyed him for a nanosecond, then focused on the road. “Easy. We tell him exactly what happened. Besides, he probably won’t even know. The seats are leather; they’ll dry by morning. What are you really thinking about?”

He was quiet for a few moments, but then he reached over and placed his hand on her knee, permeating her skin with his warmth. She nearly shot down on the accelerator. Niall, seeming to know her reaction by her stuttered breath, smirked. “I was thinking about how this was an incredible first date, and I would like to do it again sometime.”

Sadie pressed her lips together to hide what would be a too-wide smile. “So…I’m getting a second date out of this?”

Niall’s hand crept a little higher. She wondered what his goal here was, though the feel of his fingers on her skin…she was tempted to let him continue. “And a third, I hope. And many, many more.”

She grinned, felt those fingers brush her thigh, and then moved her hand briefly off of the wheel to hit the button that would make Niall’s window roll down. He shrieked and began to curse as the first touch of the cold wind and rain hit him, and laughter nearly made her swerve down the road. Sadie slowed down to a snail’s pace even as she rolled her own window down and stuck her hand out of it, letting the rain strike her skin.

Something like glee sent a thrill through her skin as Niall, seemingly over his hissy fit, copied her movements. That was joy on his face – he was soaked and cold, but there was pure joy in his smile at her. So, she smiled back, and that smile turned into a laugh as she continued to drive with her hand out the window, getting hit by the rain. It wasn’t safe exactly, but it felt like an adventure.

And Sadie knew there would be many adventures to come, hundreds if she bothered to count them. She would go on them all without hesitation, so long as he was going with her.

It was funny how mere months ago she had dreaded his company, and now she yearned for him constantly, even when he was right next to her. Funny how, despite both of their mistakes, they were still here, like it was meant to be.

Sadie liked that thought: that they were meant to be.

Because at the end of the day, there was no one else she would rather have beside her than Niall Horan, glasses needing to be pushed up and mega-watt smile in place.

The end.

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sassycassie-s-series · 6 years

Text

All My Fault 2

By: SassyShoulderAngel319

Fandom/Character(s): DC, BatFam - Damian Wayne/Batman

Rating: PG

Notes: (Masterlist) @batboys-and-other-messes was beta-reading this and mentioned that no one likes to read just the filler chapter (as chapter 2 seems to be) but it’s so LONG to combine chapters 2 and 3. So my solution is to put them up on the same day so you can move on immediately.

Tag List (Open): @welovegroot @probsjosh @nanna-the-batmum @batboys-and-other-messes

Chapter 1

^^^^^

Angrily, Damian shucked off his overcoat to reveal his Batman body armor—the bat-shaped emblem on his chest familiar but updated from the one his father wore. He threw his coat off to the side and stormed over to the med-bay, peeling the top of his body armor off as he did so. Baring his torso revealed a patchwork of scars, fresh cuts and bruises, and faded Henna tattoos.

“Baby bird,” Dick tried.

“Don’t, Grayson,” Damian snapped. “All the fear and heartache over losing her is all my fault. Me. Now. Because I wanted to let you all exchange farewells. My heart got the best of me and I ended up causing all that pain.”

“Damian, there may still be a way to change the past—” Jason started.

“Yeah, time can be fluid, remember?” Tim put in.

“The timeways are shut,” Damian retorted, whirling around. “There is no possible alternative to returning Cloudburst to the past!”

“Dami—”

“Shut up!” Damian interrupted.

“Enough!” I shouted, catching everyone off-guard. “Enough. We can talk about this later. Tim, see what else you can find, yeah?”

He nodded. “Of course.”

Dick moved to go talk to Damian, but I caught his arm. “Let me try first,” I requested.

“Alright,” Dick relented.

I went over to Damian—who was angrily wrapping up the bleeding cut on his arm. “Here,” I offered gently. “Let me.” I took the gauze from his arm, removed what he’d already done, cut it off, and started again. He sat on a stool with a huff and refused to look at me. I disinfected the slice in his skin and wound the gauze carefully but firmly over the cut, making sure it wouldn’t leak. “I don’t blame you, Damian,” I continued quietly.

“Tt,” he tutted, but didn’t say anything else.

I set my jaw. “This is not the childish behavior I’d expect from Batman,” I pressed.

He shot me a glare of green fire. “I don’t need your scolding, McCloud,” he snapped.

“I'm not scolding you. I'm telling you as a friend that you’re acting like an idiot,” I retorted, tying the gauze around his cut and sitting down on another stool. “We’re the same age right now, Damian. So, I'm talking to you as a true equal and a friend. Are you going to listen to me as one?”

He looked away from me and refused to meet my gaze.

“Hey. Remember when I chewed out Jay for an hour after he got himself shot in a chink in his body armor?” I asked. Damian smirked—and tried really hard not to. “I’ve always been the one who cares too much. Maybe even more than Dick. I just… I want you to be okay. All of you. I worry because I love you guys. And I want you to stop blaming yourself. Contrary to your belief, this is not the worst thing that’s happened to me.” I put my hands on my knees. He finally met my gaze. “C’mon Damian. Admit it: you’re happy to see me.”

He scoffed. “Tt. Have you ever known me to be happy?” he retorted.

I grinned. “I seem to recall a night when you were twelve and we both stole ice cream out of the freezer at four-AM, sat at the counter, and gossiped for an hour,” I remarked. “I’ve never seen you smile that much before or since.”

Damian’s eyebrows twitched closer together and then relaxed. “I recall the occasion,” he said.

I leaned over and nudged him in the arm. “C’mon, Damian. You’re happy to see me.”

There was a moment of silence. “I am. I am relieved that you are alive as well,” he replied.

I grinned.

Something grabbed me around the neck and yanked me off my stool. “Whoa—ack!” I exclaimed.

“Father, stand down!” Damian ordered, leaping to his feet. “She’s no imposter!” I gagged against Bruce’s arm against my windpipe. I’d been in his chokehold before once—during training—so I reacted accordingly, flipping him off of me and dropping into a fight stance. He landed with a heavy thud on the floor of the cave.

“Bruce, it’s me,” I said, putting my palms out in a “Whoa Nelly” sort of gesture. “It’s Cloudburst.”

“Cloudburst disappeared eight years ago,” Bruce pointed out, picking himself back to his feet.

“It was my fault, Father,” Damian said. Bruce rounded on his son. Damian sighed and explained what happened. Bruce turned back to me. His sharp blue gaze no longer contained hostility, but there was always something intimidating about him.

Especially when he approached you.

Slowly.

I backed up a step, trying not to freak out. I knew Damian standing behind him was Batman now, but to me Bruce Wayne was still the Dark Knight and it was terrifying when he was standing over you. Jason once described him as a nightmare in a cape.

I heartily agreed. Even when he wasn’t wearing the cape.

He took another step closer.

“Please don’t snap my neck,” I squeaked, unsure of what else to say and not knowing how to read his expression.

Another step closer.

He hauled me unceremoniously into a hug. Crushing me.

“Hey Cloud, didn’t I tell you once that B always loved his girls more than his boys?” Dick called with good humor.

“Shut up, Dick!” I called, giving Bruce an awkward hug back. “We all know I'm not actually part of the family.”

“Close enough,” Jason remarked.

Bruce let me go. He was not a hugger—even less so than Damian—so he must have actually missed me to initiate the hug. He looked me up and down before turning to Damian. “Take her back to her room. You both need rest. Time travel is hard on your bodies.”

Damian gave Bruce a curt nod. “Yes, Father,” he said. He jerked his head at me for me to follow him. Dick would have offered me his arm. I smirked at the thought and followed Damian upstairs. “Your quarters are just as you left them. They—we—could never bring ourselves to clean it out.” He slid the clock shut behind us. We started to cross the foyer.

“I'm glad I was missed. Honestly, I never felt like I belonged.”

“No, you belonged,” Damian promised, not meeting my eye. “Dick would be the first to admit he loved you as family.”

“Of course he would. It’s Dick,” I replied, trailing up the stairs. Damian snickered.

“A fair point, to be certain,” Damian agreed.

We walked in silence for a moment down the halls.

“Cloudburst, if you return to the past… this future as we know it may no longer exist. I… I don’t know what will happen.”

“Let’s not worry about that tonight, okay?” I suggested. “You’re tired. I'm tired. Get some sleep. We’ll see what we can figure out in the morning. Tomorrow is a new day.”

He pursed his lips. “Alright,” he relented.

We reached my bedroom. “Good night, Damian. See you in the morning.”

“Goodnight, McCloud,” he replied, turning on his heel and leaving. I went into my old room. Apart from a layer of dust, it was literally exactly how I left it. My jewelry—that I never wore with my suit—was sitting on my desk.

I smiled, went to the bathroom, showered, pulled on my pajamas, and got in bed.

^^^^^

Knock-knock! Soft knuckles tapped my door. I woke up.

“Who is it?” I mumbled.

“Me,” Dick said.

“Come in,” I replied.

The door opened.

Dick in his mid-thirties looked mostly the same as Dick in his late-twenties, who I was used to. He had several more worry lines on his face, but for the most part his bright cheerfulness was still intact. “May I sit down?” he asked.

I moved over so I was no longer on the edge of my bed. “Feel free,” I replied.

He perched on the edge. “It is good to see you, Cloudy,” he said sincerely. “Jason nearly tore the world apart looking for you. Tim overheated the Bat-computer twice—something B thought was impossible—trying to find where you’d gone. I missed you like crazy. But, to be honest, I think Damian missed you the most. Whether you were ever formally adopted or not, this family loves you.” He ruffled my damp hair.

“Thanks, Dick,” I said. “I love you guys too.”

“I’ll be honest, it is weird seeing you and Damian the same age.” Dick chuckled. “I bet he’s freaking out about it. Finally taller than you.” I snorted. “He’s always looked up to you. Both literally and figuratively.” He paused thoughtfully. “Actually, he passed your height when he was fifteen,” Dick added.

“He’s taller than Jay and even Bruce,” I commented.

“Yeah. Shortest to the tallest in less than eight years. It was kinda weird. I’ll always see him as my tiny little Robin.” Dick smiled fondly at the row of framed pictures I kept on my dresser—one photo of me with each member of the Bat-family, and a group picture. “Tim and Jason were both so offended when he passed them up.”

“I'm sorry I missed it.”

Dick set his hand on my knee through the covers. “We’ll find a way to get you home to your time, Cloudy. I promise,” he said.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, big bird,” I teased, giving him a hug. “Even if I can’t get back to the past, at least I'm still with you guys.”

He squeezed me. “Good point.” He let me go. “I’ll let you get back to sleep now. ‘Night kiddo.”

“G’night Dick,” I replied as the eldest son left my bedroom. I burrowed back down in my covers and dozed off again.

^^^^^

“Weird seeing her again?” Jason asked Dick quietly as they slipped down the hall to their rooms.

“Yup,” Dick replied honestly. “Weirder still seeing her and Damian at the same age at the same time. Like, she was supposed to be twenty-nine with you. Not still twenty-one.”

“Bet Damian’s excited about it though,” Jason remarked mischievously.

“What? Why?” Dick wondered.

“Oh come on, big bird,” Jason retorted. “He totally had a crush on her when he was thirteen—same as you having a crush on Babs.”

Dick’s jaw fell open and he smacked Jason in the chest. “No way!” he protested. “Damian was never the kind to—” Dick stopped and thought about it. He shook his head. “No. I don’t believe you.”

“Oh. So you don’t remember him showing off around her?”

“Damian always was a showoff.”

“More so than usual when McCloud was around?”

“No,” Dick said.

Jason rolled his eyes. “This is why Tim is the observant one,” he muttered. “Damian totally crushed on Cloudburst the same way he did on Supergirl for a while—except no one ever asked about it.” He nudged Dick in the arm. “Maybe ask him later. Tell him I mentioned it though, so he’s not tempted to throw something at you.”

“He’ll throw something at you instead.”

Jason shrugged. “Yeah. But I’ll probably catch it,” he commented casually. “Plus, now that they’re the same age and she’s stuck here… Meh. Just ask him about it. ‘Night Dickiebird.” Jason ducked into his room before Dick could say anything.

Dick rolled his eyes and went to bed. “I am definitely not asking Damian if he had a crush on her,” he muttered.

#All My Fault #All My Fault Chapter 2 #Chapter 2 #Damian Wayne #Damian Wayne Imagine #Damian Wayne FanFiction #Batman #Batman Imagine #Batman FanFiction #DC #DC Imagine #DC FanFiction #Robin #Robin Imagine #Robin FanFiction #BatFam #BatFam Imagine #BatFam FanFiction

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wreathedinscales · 6 years

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(This hardcore got away from me)

Summary: For all that they love each other, it takes a kidnapping for Ray to move in with Leo.

Leo collapses onto his bed, making Ray literally bounce awake.

"Roy rescheduled my morning meetings," he mutters into the pillow.

Ray flops onto his stomach too, throwing his arm around him. "That's because he's a good secretary."

Leo heaves a full-body grunt.

"Come on, Leo. You've been working nonstop arguing taxes with the state. You need a break that lasts longer than scarfing a sandwich."

Leo sighs, turning his head. Ray traces the dark circles under his eyes.

"I'll text Marjorie, tell her I'll be there at lunchtime."

"Think you'll get away with that?"

Ray scoffs. "Are you kidding? She adores you. Plus, you're the mayor. I told you that's a good excuse."

"Ah, so you just want me for an excuse."

"Well I'm definitely not here for the puns."

They kiss, slow and sweet, pressing their forehead together afterwards.

Leo sighs again. "I suppose I can take one morning."

Ray smiles, stroking his cheek. "Go back to sleep."

Leo gives him another savoring kiss before he rolls over. Ray gropes for his phone, lost somewhere under the bed 'cause it's a dick. He texts Marjorie, citing last month when he'd taken on Don and Dawn for a whole day for her. She replies that he's lucky she likes him. She doesn't specify which him.

When Leo tugs at him, he follows.

At 10 am, Ray feels like a new man. Holy shit.

With a spring in his step, he bounds to the kitchen and gets some scrambled eggs going. His computer science degree didn't leave much room for cooking, but he can at least make breakfast without the smoke detector tattling on him.

He's about to plate them when Leo wraps around him, sleep soft, swaying them a little.

Ray laughs. "Ketchup?"

"Always," Leo says, lips pressed against Ray's throat.

Leo doesn't say much as they eat. The nap clearly only made him realize how exhausted he is, interrupting his bites with long yawns and eye rubs. Ray occasionally caresses his face with the back of his hand, eliciting a tiny smile.

"Okay," Ray says when they're done, "back to bed."

Leo offers minimal protest, letting himself get dragged. Ray gently pushes him down.

"Need anything?" Ray asks.

Leo flicks his eyes over him. He licks his lips.

Smirking, Ray crawls on top of him. Leo locks his hands behind his head and kisses him soundly.

As Ray drops to his elbows, Leo kisses up to his ear and whispers, "Fuck me?"

Ray nuzzles the crook of his shoulder. "One condition." He looks up at him. "You lie back and let me take care of you."

Leo's pupils blow wide. He quickly nods.

Ray pecks his lips and sits back on his heels, fumbling for the nightstand drawer.

"Get two," Leo murmurs, snuggling into the pillow, "Don't feel like changin' the sheets yet."

Ray chuckles. "Sure."

He fucks him slow, what Leo likes best, one of Leo's legs on his shoulder and the other around his waist. Whenever Leo tries to lift his hips, Ray holds him down with a murmured reminder to relax.

He kisses his knee and adds, "You tell me what to do."

Leo shudders. "Faster."

Thank God, 'cause Ray doesn't know how long he'd've been able to keep the slow pace.

Leo clutches the sheets, moans harmonizing with Ray's balls slapping against his skin.

"Kiss me," he hisses.

Ray bends him in half to reach his lips. Leo cries out, muffled by Ray's tongue. He claws Ray's back, leaving red marks.

"Touch me," he growls.

Ray barks a laugh. "Thought I was."

Leo scrambles for his hand, wrapping his fingers around his cock as best he can between them. Ray pushes up a little for a better grip. Leo's moans pitch higher.

"I'm gonna―"

"Mhm," Ray whispers, licking up Leo's throat, "Let go, Leo." He presses his lips to his ear. "I love you."

"Ray," Leo whines.

Ray lets him buck into him as he comes, stroking him through it, murmuring sweet nothings against his cheek.

Then, through dazed eyes, Leo breathes, "Fuck, Ray, come inside me."

A few more thrusts, and Ray's keening Leo's name.

"I love you," Leo says, voice absolutely shattered, "I love you, I love you."

He smells like sweat and sex and Leo.

The room's filled with their breathing and kisses.

Slightly hoarse and slurred, Leo drawls, "I should take more mornings off."

Marjorie gives Ray a Look when he arrives humming a light tune. Ray beams at her.

"You're especially sunny this morning," she remarks, in the midst of coloring with Katie. Or, for Katie, scribbling yellow all over everything with Marjorie trying to stop her from covering the table too.

"Yeah, well," Ray says, following Nelly Dean and Sammy's cajoling, "I got to stay in bed longer."

Marjorie rolls her eyes.

At five, Mr. Allen picks up Don and Dawn, swinging them out of their sprints as fast as the Flash herself. He thanks Marjorie and Ray kindly as ever on his way out.

Ray stretches before joining Marjorie in clean up.

"You got a party tonight?" Marjorie asks.

Ray groans. "Always."

"Mayor gonna be there?"

"No, actually. Though it's at Palmer Inc's Central hotel again, so I'll be seeing Chef Rory."

Marjorie smirks. "Say hello for me."

"He's married," Ray reminds her again, "To two men."

"What? I'm just saying hello through a friend. What were their names again?"

"Ray and Nathaniel. Ray as in not-me-Ray. Apparently he insists on Rory calling him Ray instead of Raymond."

"And you've never met either of them?"

"No. Rory and I don't see much of each other. But I've heard enough of his Ray and Nathaniel that I feel like I've met them. Ray's always busy, Nathaniel writes articles. They both like to ramble, and they call each other 'bro' every other second. Also they try to give him vegetables, and he hates vegetables, even though he cooks with them."

Marjorie hums.

Ray pauses by the cubbies. "What?"

"Nothing, just―sounds like Raymond Palmer and his husband Nathaniel."

Ray pulls a full stop.

"...wow, I'm such an idiot."

Marjorie's eyes are widening too. "Well, don't feel too bad. I only just figured it out myself."

"Yeah, but you don't work with him."

"Well, like you said, you don't work with him that often. Doesn't sound like he's given many specifics outside their habits either."

Ray scrubs his face. "I guess I'll ask him tonight, just to be sure. Be subtle about it."

"Oh, honey," Marjorie says, "you don't have a subtle bone in your body."

Ray points to her. "Excuse me, who was able to get Don and Dawn to play with those blocks today?"

"How's the mayor, Ray?"

Ray opens his mouth. Closes it and reaches for the paper towels.

Ray probably should've factored this in when he started dating the mayor.

"This" being grabbed and pistol-whipped on his way to his second job, then waking up bound in the backseat of an old car.

Shock proves to be one helluva drug when all Ray can think about is how he hopes they didn't mess with his uniform. Also he cries a little.

There's no creepy warehouse, but an apartment. They put a jacket over Ray's shoulders to block his zip-tied hands. One guy puts an arm around his shoulders and tells him between his teeth that if Ray tries to struggle or scream, they'll put a bullet in his head.

Ray thinks they're bluffing, since there's gotta be a reason they kidnapped him. Fear freezes him under his captors' arm.

A woman is waiting for them, brown skin wrinkled and slightly sun-spotted.

"Sorry for this," she says flatly, "but we gotta get the mayor's attention. Nothin' against you."

Ray's ushered to the one beaten couch. He can't stop staring at the guns in the others' twitchy hands.

"Stay there, nice and quiet," the woman says, "and you'll be fine. Understand?"

Ray nods shakily. Shock makes him think of his waiting job again. He wonders if Rory or Jax will notice his absence enough to ask. Jax is a good friend; he might. Ugh, he'll have to wait to ask about Ray and Nathaniel now.

One of the guys carries Ray's duffle bag in. He takes out Ray's phone while the woman manhandles Ray to cut his ties.

"Now you're gonna send a text," she instructs, "One to a co-worker sayin' you're sick, and one to the mayor with this address." She relays it. "Add whatever lovey-dovey shit you want. Make 'im desperate to find you."

Ray clenches his fingers, willing them to stop trembling. He takes his phone.

Jax tells him to get better. Despair tightens Ray's throat.

It's Leo's turn.

>>Ray 40th and 1st, apartment 1E. I'm cooperating so they promised not to hurt me. Don't come here half-cocked. I love you.

Relief trickles through the fear when Leo takes a few minutes to reply. He knows him. It means Leo's planning―or someone forced him to stop and plan. Lisa, probably. He'd told Ray he was going to dinner to meet her new girlfriend tonight.

Unfortunately, the interim makes the others twitchier and the woman's eyes narrower.

Finally, Ray's phone vibrates.

>>Leo I'll be there.

The guns relax. Ray breathes out.

Leo walks in calmly. His nostrils flare when he sees a gun pressed to Ray's head, but he otherwise remains composed.

"So," he deadpans, closing the door behind him, "I assume you have complaints bureaucracy wouldn't let you state."

The woman nods. "Call me Janice, Mr. Mayor. These are my sons, Jimmy, Connor, and Dan."

"Pleasure," Len says curtly, crossing his arms. "But before we start this conversation, I'd be obliged if you―"

"Took the gun outta your boyfriend's face? Go ahead, Jimmy."

Jimmy steps away. Ray swallows. He must look like a mess, but he forces a relaxed nod to Leo.

Leo scrutinizes him a second. Janice sits at the tiny table in the corner. He joins her.

Next, Leo takes out a small notepad and pen and hands it to Janice. "Tell me while you write it all down. I promise to do my utmost to meet your points."

Janice stiffens in surprise, but starts listing. She takes up two and a half pages. Ray has no sense of time, so he doesn't know how long the meeting lasts.

Leo takes the notepad, peruses it, then puts it back in his pocket. "One: I've been working nonstop haranguing the state on taxes. Two: would you and some people be willing to attend one of those meetings? Three: would you and those you represent also be amenable to my appointing a committee to serve as a direct line to me?"

The family's eyes pop out of their faces.

Leo glances at Ray. "I'm not gonna lie, Janice. I want to disarm one of your boys and knock all of you bloody for what you've done. But the fact is, I would've done the same thing. I was almost a criminal, you know, until my dad got mixed up with the Families and was gunned down. My sister and I went into the system, held onto each other. My mother Constance fought and fought until we got to go home. My brothers Mickey and Terry helped my pick-pocketing habits and we all got to graduate college. All because of one event in my life.

"I don't want this event to change your lives like mine could've been changed with my dad still in the picture. So you let my boyfriend come over to me, and I'll get my sister and her girlfriend to tell the police that you went to him without guns and asked him to contact me nice and peaceful."

Janice's eyes are shining, but her spine is straight. "I'll hold you to your word, Mr. Mayor."

Ray stands on jelly legs. Leo stands to meet him. They clutch each other's hands with white-knuckled grips.

Without looking away from Ray, Leo says, "Come to my office in two days with whoever wants to join my next meeting. I managed to haggle for next week instead of next month. Me and my secretary are pretty good at political jargon. We can help you state your case in a way that'll make them listen. Select a few honest people to propose members of the committee. I'll arrange a walk-in appointment for them."

The three brothers keep swiveling their heads between their mother and Leo like they don't know what's throwing them off more.

Janice stands as well, folding her hands in front of her. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Mayor."

Leo glares at her. The room goes cold.

"If this happens again," he snarls, "I will not be so merciful."

Janice clenches her hands nods.

Softer, Leo says, "Come on, Ray. Let's get you home."

Ray can't look at anyone but him.

A car's waiting outside. Lisa and a black woman are in it.

"Dr. Shawna Baez," the woman says. Ray gives her a shaky handshake. "Count your breaths, okay? You're out."

She helps Ray with the counting while Leo gently presses his hand to his abdomen, breathing with him. Ray chokes a few times, leaning heavily against Leo. Meanwhile, Lisa knocks twice on the barrier and the car pulls away from the building.

The moment the car fades into focus, Ray collapses against Leo.

"I almost killed them," Leo says. Suddenly Ray realizes he's shaking too. "I almost killed them, Lise."

Lisa reaches across to squeeze his arm. "But you didn't, Lenny. Right?"

She's looking at Ray.

Ray shakes his head. "Even let 'em off easy."

Leo sighs. He pulls him closer. "I'm sorry. What they did to you was terrible. I didn't―"

"Leo. Just for a second, could you. Shut up?"

Leo kisses his hair.

"Well," Shawna says, "I hope I'll have more time to butter you up on our next dinner, Leo."

Ray snorts.

There are not two, but six people in Leo's apartment when they get back.

"Ray!" Mr. Allen cries, devastated, "Are you alright? I'm so sorry this happened to you!"

"Don't worry," Detective West-Allen says, "I've got a squad car coming. And if it's alright with you, I'll stay the night."

Most surprising, though, is Chef Rory calling from the kitchen, "You good, Sunshine?"

Ray blinks. "What...?"

"Hi!" Raymond Palmer says. Ray recognizes him from television and from a distance in a few parties. "Ray Palmer. I've got guys coming too. They'll be outside the door."

"And I'm Nathaniel," the floppy-haired guy from countless tabloids says, "Sorry we kinda tagged along."

"Pleasure to have you," Leo says. He sounds like it's not a pleasure at all.

Jax rushes to Ray. "I can't stay long. I just wanted to see if you were okay. I'm sorry I didn't do anything when you texted me, man."

"It's okay," Ray says. He tries for a smile, but it feels wrong on his face. He goes for a shoulder pat instead. "I, um. I had to keep it inconspicuous."

Jax looks far from assuaged, but he nods.

"Mick," Leo calls, "you better not be burnin' anything."

"Oh, Lenny," Lisa says, "as if he'd dare."

Ray rubs his eyes. "You two...you know each other?"

Rory grunts. "Met in the system. He was a twig. You're gettin' soup, by the way."

Ray's heard enthusiastic things about Rory's soup. He decides to focus on that for now. Well, that and―"So you're really married to that Palmer and Heywood?"

Raymond and Nathaniel grin. "Yep!" Ray chirps, "We met at―"

"Ray," Nathaniel says, rubbing his Ray's arm, "Somehow I don't think he's in the mood for our backstory tonight."

Ray's still clinging to Leo's hand. "Yeah, I'll―I'll hear it some other time."

"Of course," Raymond quickly replies, "Sorry, yes."

"I'm Shawna, by the way," Shawna says, giving Raymond the chance to change topics.

"Come on," Leo murmurs.

The bedroom door closes on Rory's, "So you're the new girlfriend."

Ray's legs can't hold him anymore.

"I'm sorry," Leo whispers from the edge of the bed.

Ray, now with comfy sweats and a tray of heavenly soup, shrugs. "Not gonna lie, I'm a little upset that you brushed it off so easy―"

"I didn't want to," Leo snaps. "As soon as I walked in there, I had a plan to break one of their wrists and take their gun. I know how to shoot someone, Ray. I know where to aim. How to make them scream."

Ray sits in silence.

Leo looks at the wall. "My dad liked to teach me lessons. Well―he called 'em lessons. When he was assigned a target that wasn't money or jewels, he'd show me things. I never shot anyone―" Ray blows out a sigh, "―but it's all still there. Eidetic memory, you know."

"Yeah," Ray croaks, "I know."

Leo closes his eyes. "He would've tried teaching Lisa, too." Quieter, he adds, "My baby sister."

He turns back to Ray. "So no, I didn't wanna let 'em off easy. I didn't mean to minimize what happened to you." He leans forward. "But I wasn't lying. If someone takes you again, I won't fucking hesitate."

Ray sees real, cold murder. The hardened criminal Leo could've been if his father had taken one more measure to protect himself.

He kisses Leo until the look is gone. Though something in him, something he never thought was there, had relished in it.

The next morning, Ray calls Marjorie. She curses and yells at Ray's kidnappers and commands him to take the week. She's pretty awesome.

"You've been early since we started dating," Leo says, "I'm sure your dedication helped."

Ray hums, unwilling to leave the bed. "Well, commute's easier."

"...you could make that permanent, you know."

Nevermind, Ray's up.

"Come again?"

Leo's eyes wander around him the way they do when he's nervous. "I gotta spare key. You spend so much time here already, and you keep telling me how much you hate your apartment."

Ray really does hate his apartment. His landlord is a jackass and everything breaks at least twice a day. Ray's pretty sure he could make a living as a repairman now.

"Plus, you could do a better job search. I know you like the daycare, but. You could put those computer skills to work, and Central's got plenty of opportunities. Would help if you lived here. And after...after last night, I realized―"

"Leo."

Leo finally looks at him.

Ray smiles, head tilting. "That's a great sales pitch, but if I'm gonna move in, it's because I want to live with you."

Leo smiles back.

In between kisses, Ray says, "I don't think I'll be able to offer much for rent, though."

"Well," Len says, "consider the offer revoked."

They laugh.

Then Ray sits on the bed. "...shit. I was kidnapped."

Leo's expression hardens. "It won't happen again."

"You don't know that, Leo. And I know what you're thinking. You're not gonna assign me a guard, either."

Leo glowers.

Ray sighs, gripping the edge of the mattress. "I don't want you to shoot anybody. If you killed because of me, I don't know if I could bear it."

Leo cups his face. "I can do a mean pistol-whip too. But Ray―if you're so sure about this, then next time it might not be a handful of citizens just wanting their voice to be heard."

Ray hugs his waist, burying his face in Leo's stomach. "I know."

"...if you don't want to―"

Ray snaps his head up. "I'm not leaving you because somebody stole me off the streets." Leo's shoulders relax. "I'm just. I'm scared, that's all."

Leo kisses him. "I wish you didn't have to be."

"Comes with the territory, I guess. Really, I should've seen it coming. You don't date the mayor without putting a target on your back."

Leo closes his eyes. He looks as haunted as before, when he'd talked about his dad.

Ray takes a deep breath. Fiddles with the hem of Leo's shirt. "But."

Leo opens his eyes.

Ray looks up at him. "But I can deal with that. You're worth it."

Leo's face crumples. Their next kiss tastes like salt.

"I'm gonna sign up for self-defense classes," Ray tells him.

Leo kisses him again. "That'd been my next question."

#coldray #ecriture

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