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#luci's eyes are like. too far apart
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[belphie voice] beel listen we gotta keep this emotional support human. no i know i hate humans but like this doesn't count. c'mon man help me convince diavolo to let her stay i promise it'll be worth it pretty please
(wanted to draw something based on that thing about nightbringer belphie potentially getting attached to ik extremely quickly!)
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barcaatthemoon · 1 month
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squirt || ingrid engen x mapi leon x reader ||
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you let ingrid and mapi push you a little harder than normal.
minors dni, 18+ only, smut ahead.
"are you sure about this?" ingrid asked as she stood at the edge of the bed. mapi was in bed with you, but the question was directed solely at you. despite your reassurances that you trusted the both of them, ingrid was adamant in checking in with you constantly. you knew exactly what you were getting into for the night, and it excited you far more than ingrid was capable of wrapping her head around.
"yes, ingrid. i am sure about this. i've had a week to think this over, and if anything, all that has done is excite me even more," you assured her. ingrid swallowed back her nerves and finally let her excitement take over.
in an instant, gone was the nervous woman who had been questioning you seconds earlier. ingrid got onto the bed and crawled up to meet you and mapi. mapi's mouth moved down your body as she placed herself in between your body and ingrid's. at that, ingrid pulled you in for a kiss that clued you into just how things would be going.
ingrid masterfully set the pace with a rough kiss. she managed to pull an absolutely filthy moan from you with ease. ingrid used her hands to push your legs apart. she slotted her knee in between your thighs, pressing her own thigh against your cunt.
"shit," you gasped out. ingrid was smirking with her mouth pressed against your neck. mapi's lips curled into a smirk as well, which you could feel as she pressed open-mouthed kisses to your chest. both women felt great pride at how easily they were riling you up, despite knowing that their ultimate goal was not going to be an easy one.
a few too many drinks had some of the girls swapping sex stories. mapi and lucy boasting about their sex escapades was a fairly normal occurrence on a night out. what had surprised you was ingrid and alexia getting in on the discussion. your cheeks had been almost permanently tinted red whenever the two normally reserved women began to talk about you.
it didn't seem to matter to ingrid or mapi that they had spent countless nights with you compared to the handful alexia had. all mapi seemed to care about for the past month was the fact that alexia had managed to make you squirt without the use of toys. ingrid seemed impressed, but hadn't shown a direct intrest in purposefully fucking you like this until mapi goaded her into it.
"i don't want to be the only one naked," you told them as they began to remove your clothing. ingrid didn't make any moves to take her own clothes off, but mapi quickly completely undressed herself for you.
"bien?" mapi asked. you nodded as you reached out to touch her. ingrid huffed as you turned your attention towards mapi, but let it happen anyway. you pulled mapi in for a kiss, and the spanish woman happily returned the kiss. you wrapped your arms around the back of mapi's neck, lightly scratching at her scalp as her tongue swiped past your lips.
mapi's hands grabbed onto your hips, pinning you down as she ground against you. ingrid pulled back, seemingly content with watching for a couple of moments. it wasn't often that she had the opportunity to sit back like this. mapi had a tendency to be very needy whenever it came to ingrid, but tonight, they both needed to focus on you. they had discussed it at length before coming to you about what they wanted from this experience.
"more, i need more mapi." your voice was breathy, and you felt like a mess already. mapi moved her hand in between your legs, angling her hand so that you could grind against it. her fingers softly stroked through your folds, just barely pressing against your entrance as you rocked against her hand.
"how does she feel maria?" ingrid asked as she moved in behind mapi. for the first time since mapi had kissed you, you looked over at ingrid. she stood behind mapi completely topless, but your eyes couldn't focus there for very long. instead of admiring ingrid's body, your eyes were drawn to the way that ingrid's fingers tweaked and teased mapi's nipples.
"so good, ingrid. she's already so wet," mapi answered. you could hear the struggle in her voice. mapi wanted so badly to just melt into ingrid, but she couldn't. instead, she pushed two fingers inside of you. you were wet enough that there wasn't really any resistance, but you could still feel a little bit of a stretch.
"that's right, keep fucking her like that. fill her up. i want to see her stretched around your fingers like the good little whore i know she can be." ingrid's voice sent chills down your spine, affecting you more than her words were. mapi's jaw dropped, as if she couldn't fathom the way that ingrid was talking about you. dirty talk wasn't something that came out of left field, but that was usually mapi's thing to tell you how well you felt to fuck when she was pounding you into the mattress from behind.
"can you take more?" mapi asked you.
"yes, please. i want to be a good slut for you and ingrid," you told her. mapi let out a little whimper, a mix of your words and a rough pinch to her nipples from ingrid. the dark haired woman moved out from behind mapi to position herself over your body.
you wished that ingrid would have taken her pants off so you could have craned your neck up and tasted her. you knew that she would have threatened to tie you down with several reminders that this night was just about them making you cum. still, even the briefest of tastes would have sufficed you for the few minutes it was going to take you to cum.
mapi's fingers were hitting all of the right spots inside of you, and the added stretch of three of her fingers had you well on your way to longing for a thick strap. you opened your mouth to ask for the toy, when you found yourself being cut off. the sudden pressure of ingrid sucking your clit into her mouth had you screaming out. it felt like overstimulation, but you hadn't even cum yet.
"shh, shh. yes, that's it," mapi cooed as she angled her fingers a little differently. you could feel your body begin to tighten as you hit your first orgasm. mapi and ingrid didn't let up at all, pushing you straight into a state of oversensitivity. you wanted to scream out, both in pain and pleasure, but it felt like all of the air had been sucked out of your lungs.
"mapi… ingrid… p-please." you were panting heavily, unable to catch your breath. ingrid's hands came up to rest on your thighs, rubbing soothingly as she continued. the sensations of everything began to blur together as you found yourself being thrown into another orgasm.
this time, you could feel the familiar weight drop from your stomach. it started as a small dribble leaking out around mapi's fingers. the closer you got to a feeling of pure euphoria, the stronger the gushes of liquid spurted out of you. ingrid pulled away from your clit as mapi removed one of her fingers from the mix. you thought for a moment that they'd let up, and you were prepared to beg them not to, but then you felt ingrid push two of her fingers inside of you.
the new stretch had your stomach dropping once again. ingrid offered gentle praises about how well you were being for them as she fucked you. there was nothing gentle about their fingers pistoning in and out of you. mapi pressed soft kisses to your thighs. you felt so good that you were on the verge of blacking out, but ingrid and mapi carefully removed themselves from you before that could happen.
"go start the bath. i'm going to put the sheets in the wash," ingrid ordered. mapi slipped away quickly, leaving you afraid to be alone. you hooked your finger on ingrid's belt loop to keep her from leaving, but the attempt never came. "you did so good for us. thank you bebita."
"you were great, better than great. i love you." you mumbled your way through your words, but ingrid still understood them. she cupped your cheeks and gave you a gentle kiss. she stayed with you until mapi came to get you for the bath. you let mapi cuddle you in the hot water, nearly content enough to fall asleep until ingrid came in to get the two of you. they both helped you to dry off and get dressed before the three of you got into bed together.
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alexias-putellas · 4 months
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star struck // a.putellas x bronze!reader
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a.putellas x bronze!reader
based around this request!
-
when you told lucy you were coming to stay with her in barcelona for a while, she couldn’t have been happier. she’d never say it loud but you were by far her favourite sibling.
your acting career had skyrocketed in recent years so spending time with your family wasn’t always easy but you tried. and whilst you’d never been to one of her barcelona matches, you kept up with every single one, sending your support from far and wide.
whilst you’d supported every club lucy had been in, you’d become extremely invested in barcelona. lucy often teased you about it. but then she told you that her teammates were fans of yours too, opting to watch a movie with you in it when they had team bonding nights.
you had never met them though. well, apart from keira. so the thought of meeting the people your sister spoke incredibly highly of sent your heart aflutter and finding out they were equally as excited to meet you? euphoric.
as a nice little surprise, you decided to fly to barcelona a week earlier then intended. of course that meant lucy wasn’t prepared for you so you really shouldn’t have been surprised to find her apartment empty.
you banged on the door again for good measure, huffing in defeat. digging through your bag, you sent lucy a text before deciding keira was probably your best bet.
she texted you back instantly, letting you know that it was team bonding night and whilst she didn’t know where your sister was, she knew where she would end up.
keira was at the apartment complex in no time, pulling you into a tight hug. even after the breakup with your sister, you remained close.
“oh, kei, i have missed you.” you sighed happily, squeezing the girl for good measure before taking a step back.
keira reached into her pocket and held out a key to you. “lucy told me to keep hold of it in case you did something like this.”
“she knows me so well, it’s gross.”
you happily took what you assumed to be your new key and unlocked the door, pushing it open and motioning for keira to follow you in.
you found the spare bedroom fairly easily, dumping your stuff in there before wandering to the living room and throwing yourself onto the sofa.
“what are you doing?”
“learning to fly,” you muttered. “what the hell does it look like?”
keira rolled her eyes, leaning over you and grabbing the collar of your jumper in her hands, hauling you up quickly. “no you’re not.”
“keira!” you whined, swatting at her hands.
“you’re coming with me. but first shower, you smell like airport.”
ᡣ𐭩
alexia was running way behind schedule. she was nearly fifteen minutes late by the time she arrived at mapi and ingrid’s place. she let herself in, not at all surprised to hear laughter coming from the living room.
“ha! in your face, mapi!”
she froze. you weren’t supposed to be in barcelona for another week and her first thought was that something bad had happened. but then she heard your infectious laughter again and figured that that couldn’t have been the case.
alexia made her way into the living room, her first sight being you with your head thrown back, still laughing at something jana had said.
“ale!” you heard someone call happily.
your laughter died down as you turned, eyes widening slightly as you stared at the blonde. and if alexia had really been paying attention, she would’ve noticed how quickly lucy yanked you up from the sofa.
it did not go unnoticed by her teammates and as soon as ingrid noticed the look on mapi’s face, she leaned and slapped the spaniard with a stern ‘do not meddle, maría.’
“it’s nice to finally meet you.” you’d said as soon as lucy placed you where she wanted you, holding your hand out to alexia.
she snapped out of it quickly, taking your hand in hers. “it is nice to finally meet you too.”
you almost swooned at the sound of her accented english, praying that she didn’t notice the flush of pink on your face.
something hit you in the back of the head and you turned, glaring at a grinning keira. she motioned to mapi and you redirected your glare to her. “vamos, chica!”
you picked up the decorative pillow, ignoring the sound of protest from ingrid and flinging it back at mapi.
“impaciente!” you huffed, dropping into your previous seat and snatching a controller from mapi.
to nobody’s surprise, you beat the defender at fifa again, laughing as she grumbled under her breath. she shoved her controller into salma’s hands, glaring as you grinned at her.
after a few more unbeaten rounds, you relented the controller to an eager clàudia, standing up from where you’d ended up on the floor.
you quietly asked ingrid if you could get yourself a drink and she told you to help yourself. as you made your way over, lucy stuck her leg out, swiping your feet from under you.
there was laughter and you yelped but never touched the floor. strong arms were wrapped around you and somehow you knew exactly who they belonged to.
“thank you.” you whispered to alexia, giving her a small smile.
“de nada,” she returned the smile before looking at your sister. “be nice to your hermana, lucia.”
“yeah, lucia.”
you knew exactly what lucy was doing. helping, as she liked to call it. she’d been teasing you for months about your crush on alexia and when she’d told you that alexia felt the same way, you didn’t believe it.
but you were starting to.
it started off small. making eye-contact and smiling at each other from across the room, looking at her first whenever you cracked a joke.
then the movies began. you were grateful that they’d avoided yours in all honesty. somehow you found yourself sat between patri and alexia, a bowl of popcorn your lap.
you were hyperaware of the way alexia’s thigh was pressing into yours, pretending not to notice the way her fingers brushed your knee when she’d touch her own.
when you’d reached into the popcorn at the same time, you whipped your hand out like her touch had burned, murmuring an apology as your heart pounded in your chest.
growing up, lucy had always taught you to be bold and confident, and to always go after what you wanted. and what you wanted was alexia.
you shuffled closer to her, moving the bowl a little closer to her. turning your head, you studied her side profile, quickly deciding that she was the most beautiful woman you’d ever laid eyes on. when she looked at you, you could only hope that she felt the same way.
she did.
alexia had been secretly admiring you throughout the movie. you were too engrossed to notice.
maybe a little too engrossed. you hadn’t realised lucy had left until the lights were turned on and the other girls started saying their goodbyes.
your jaw clenched. she was helping again. and you could tell by the look on keira’s face that she was helping too.
“i can drive you home.” alexia said after also noticing your sisters absence.
“thank you.” you smiled at her, saying your own goodbyes and promising ingrid that you’d meet her for breakfast one morning.
you followed alexia out to car, slipping into the passengers seat quickly. the drive to lucy’s apartment was quiet but you didn’t mind.
“thank you again.” you’d murmured once the car had stopped.
you were reaching for the door handle when she’d reached out to stop you. you looked at her, riddled with hope.
“are you busy tomorrow?” she asked.
“no, i’m not.”
it was only a little lie. you were supposed to be spending time with lucy but you had a very good feeling she wouldn’t mind the rain check.
alexia’s fingers drummed along her thigh. “would you like to have lunch with me? i can show you around too if you would like that.”
you giggled at the pink tinge on her face, leaning in and pressing a kiss to her cheek.
“sounds perfect.”
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reminiscingtonight · 2 months
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Pretending (Pt. 2)
Aitana Bonmatí x Reader
Word Count: 986
Part One
[WOSO Masterlist]
“Do you want to get married?”
You’re soaking in the sun, a welcome change from the cloudy skies of Manchester when Aitana pops the question.
You crack open an eye. “Are you talking to me?”
“Who else would I be talking to?”
She says it with the most serious face that you start questioning if you’re the crazy one here.
“Are you asking me what my thoughts are about marriage in general or marriage between us?”
Aitana doesn’t have to say anything, she only gives you a look. 
You sigh, propping yourself up on an arm so you can face Aitana when having this conversation. “We’re not even dating.”
Aitana shrugs. “If it matters that much to you we can give it a day.”
It’s such a ridiculous proposition that you can’t do anything but laugh. “So what? We can tell our children we dated for a day before we got married?”
This time she grins, finger drifting to hook around your own. “Time doesn’t matter. We both know whatever this is, whatever we are, it’s been going on far longer than a day.”
You’ve been back in Barcelona for close to a year now. The two of you picked up right where you left off, spending almost all of your waking moments with one another. Even when night comes round, it’s rare to find you sleeping apart. 
Ona calls you both codependent idiots, Ingrid calls it something sweet, all you know is that it works for the two of you and although you’re not dating, it’s a life you can find yourself getting used to.
When the break came around and Ona announced she was going somewhere tropical with Lucy, Aitana was quick to make some plans for just the two of you. 
You didn’t question it much, happy to just spend time with the girl you’ve been pining after for years. 
At first everything was normal. Sure, Aitana’s been a bit more sentimental than usual, opting to reminisce about your childhood adventures or bring up the unofficial first dates of yours from all those years ago. But you don’t think too much about it, choosing instead to focus on not ogling all of the skin on display as Aitana’s primary activity these past couple days have consisted of nothing but sunbathing.
It’s not like you haven’t caught Aitana eyeing you up and down a couple of times too, but it’s different between the two of you. You’re still patiently waiting for Aitana to drop the pretense that you’re anything more than just friends, hence the respect you’ve been giving (though if she continues wearing two-pieces and hanging off your arm all day every day you might have to catch an early flight home before you combust). Aitana on the other hand… well you’re not really sure what she’s doing.
Though you can probably conclude that she’s not pretending anything anymore if she’s asking for your hand in marriage.
“I love you.”
Though her words fill you with warmth, you can’t help but frown at her sudden change in demeanor. Just three days ago when you were still surrounded by your teammates in Barcelona, Aitana cracked a joke about loving you when hell froze over --- though you probably deserved that comment after you let Mapi convince you to dunk her socks in the ice bucket. Although she’s affectionate with you, she’s never this affectionate.
“Aita, what’s going on?” you sit up, taking care to scoop Aitana’s hand into yours.
The smile slips off her face as her eyes drop, fingers nervously tapping by her side.
It’s automatic, the way your free hand rises, rubbing at the furrow between her brows.
Aitana melts into your touch, face leaning forward until your hand has no choice but to cup her cheek.
“It’s just me. Nothing to be afraid of,” you murmur, trying to prompt Aitana to speak her mind.
Aitana looks lost in thought for a moment. She bites at her lip before letting out the longest sigh known to man. “Aren’t you ever going to get tired waiting for me?”
You’re not able to stop the laugh that bubbles past your lips. “If that’s what you’re afraid of, you have nothing to worry about. I’m in this for the long run, even if that means waiting for you until we’re gray and old. I’m happy with what we are right now as long as you’re happy too.”
“But what if I’m ready now?” 
You blink, not expecting the sureness behind her voice. There’s a slight fire in Aitana’s eyes, the midfielder looking like she’d move mountains just for you to understand how serious she is. 
“I know I’ve always put football first but you have always been the one thing I’ve wanted to commit to. You’ve been so patient with me, loving me when I never gave you a reason to. You bring me up when I’m sad, give me reasons to smile when I just want to cry, you’re what I love falling asleep to every night, and seeing your face when I wake up just fills me up with joy.”
Your eyes flutter shut when she leans forward to press her head against yours. You can feel her breath running hot against your lips and it takes everything in you to not bridge the gap. 
“I love the way you know me and I love the way you’re you.”
When your lips finally meet there’s no other way to describe the kiss than perfect. It’s short and sweet but it’s everything you’ve been waiting for. 
“I love you. So much.”
Aitana’s giving you a teary grin when you open your eyes, and you can’t do anything but smile right back at her. 
“So will you marry me?”
---
Ona’s eyes nearly fall out of her head when she sees the matching bands on your fingers when you stroll into the locker room a week later.
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redr0sewrites · 3 months
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Being Good (sub!Lucifer smut)
the sub luci smut won the poll- ask and ye shall receive!!!! i aim to please. i desperately need more dom reader asks like omfg
🥀Cw: smut, sub lucifer, dirty talk, degrading and praise, marking, overstim, begging, reader gives him a handjob
🥀minors dni
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"ple- pleanghhh... please, s'too much.." lucifer sobbed, fat, shimmering tears streaming down his puffy cheeks. you pull away from his neck, nipping at the hickey left in your wake. "aw, this is what you wanted, isn't it luci? you begged for me to fuck you, you acted like a damn brat all day, and now its too much?" you sneer, stroking his cock as he squirms beneath you. it was true, he had been practically begging for your attention all day, from teasing you in bed this morning, to coming into your office to ride your thigh, to touching himself without permission. he had pulled all the stops in a desperate attempt to get you to fuck him, and it had worked. except now, you were pissed.
his thighs tremble at each stroke of his over sensitive dick, and his hips hump up against your hand despite himself. "aw, i thought you wanted me to stop? how many times have you come, luci?" you grab his face, forcing him to look at you, eyes teary from pleasure. "mngh, please-" he hiccuped, and you slap his thigh, causing him to yelp. "i asked you a question," you murmur, trailing his hand from his face to slowly wrap around his neck. in truth, he had already come 5 times, and every time you asked him that question, he was always just too fucked out to reply. lucifer was practically insatiable- begging for you to stop, yet crying when you did. he was apparently too far into subspace to answer such a simple question, yet conscious enough to argue with you. he just couldn't help himself, you just made him feel so good! your free hand slowly pumped the base of his aching cock, coated in his past release as precum already pearled at the tip. "i- please, mmngg-" you watched as he babbled, struggling to form a coherent sentence as his mind glazed over. "don't you wanna be good for me, luci? don't tell me you can't answer, now, how many times have you cum for me?" you lean in to suck another dark mark on his neck and he yelps, watching as you pull away to witness yet another hickey bloom on his pale skin.
lucifer whined, his nails digging into your back as you held his throat firmly. "please, 'msorry, please.." he mewls, a few more whiny moans slipping past his lips as you sighed in disappointment. "what a shame," you purr, stroking him faster as shameful sobs and whimpers fill the room. his hips grind upwards, desperately thrusting against your hand as he mewls and moans. "m'close! pleasepleaseplease-" lucifer wails, eyes rolling back as his body shivers in anticipation. however, just as he reached the brink of pleasure you oull your hand away, smirking as he lets out an undignified sob. lucifer whines, hips still jerking upwards as he thrusts up into nothing, still so, so close to the edge.
he bucks and sobs, desperate for any sort of friction as his oncoming orgasm dies. "i- 'said 'msorry!" lucifer whines, clamping his legs together and looking up at you with watery eyes. "i wanna be good, please lemme be good f'you," he slurred, gasping as the hand on his neck travels down to his chest. resting your palm over his heart, you lean in to kiss him sloppily. lucifer opens his mouth as you slip your tongue in with ease, exploring the cavern of his mouth as he whines beneath you. his breath hitches as your tongue clashes with his, hot breath fanning against your lips as he whines and moans. suddenly, you pull away, using the hand on his chest to push him back against the bed. he looks up at you with wide eyes, his golden hair tussled and messy against the satin pillows beneath him.
"you wanna be good for me? awww, how sweet," you croon, moving one hand to spread apart his thighs and the other to wrap around the base of his cock. lucifer gasps as you begin to move, slowly but surely pumping his dick at a delicious pace. breathy moans turn to whines as you pick up the pace, the coil in his stomach already tightening from the mix of overstimulation and edging. "please," he murmured, eyes glazed with list. "please master, lemme be good... all f'you..." you chuckle as he slips deeper into submission, mewling and whimpering incoherent nonsense as you bring him closer and closer to the edge. "you wanna cum, baby?" you coo, and he nods fervently, babbling sweet nothings as tears trickle down his cheeks, soaking into his skin. you pick up the pace yet again, and his eyes roll back as his cock twitches in your hand. the cum from his previous orgasms acting as lube, you speed up as you stroke him off. "go ahead duckie, you can cum," you whisper, kissing over the hickies on his neck.
you're reassurance is all he needs as the coil in his abdomen snaps, and lucifer comes hard and fast. spraying the both of you, he bucks his hips yet again, sobbing from overstimulation as he clings to you. as he comes down from his high, you press gentle kisses to his forehead and cheeks, licking away the salty tears. "shh, shh, i know luci," you coo, rubbing circles on his back as he quivers. "you did so well for me, you did so, so good duckie," you accentuate each word with a gentle kiss, and his breathing begins to slow. "was i good..?" he murmurs, turning to nuzzle into your neck. "the best," you giggle, and press a soft kiss to his hair. "now, lets get you cleaned up, okay?" lucifer sighed, nuzzling against you and inhaling your scent. "mkay... but..." you pause, waiting for his reply. "can we stay like this? just for a lil'?" lucifer whispers, melting into your embrace as you pull him impossibly close. "of course," you sigh, gently rubbing his back as he began to doze peacefully in your arms. cleaning up can wait, as long as the two of you are together, nothing could ever ruin that.
🥀
RAHHHHHHHHH SUB LUCI SMUT!!!! GUYS PLEEEEEAAASE SEND IN MORE SUB REQUESTS FOR HAZBIN HOTEL I AM BEGGING ON MY KNEES THEYRE ALL SO SUBBY ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY pls send sub vox
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ichorai · 6 months
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stitch ; coriolanus snow.
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pairing ; young!coriolanus snow x capitol!reader (gender-neutral)
synopsis ; and he clearly wasn’t thinking straight, because his feet didn’t bring him back to his own filthy, dirty, rat-infested home. he brought himself to your winged estate, gardened and manicured and polished to perfection.
words ; 8.7k
themes ; angst, action, mild fluff
warnings / includes ; themes of classism, violence/injury/death/drug misuse, foul language, lucky being lucky, a lot of kisses, coryo's paranoia, he's much more toxic this chapter someone pls save reader (aka doomed by the narrative), i tried to keep him in character as best i could </3
a/n ; thank you for all the support on this series so far! if i've planned this out right, there will be two more parts coming after this one!
series masterlist. main masterlist.
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Considering you survived numerous explosions and a metal-pipe lodged in your abdomen, you weren’t looking all that bad. Though you were still badly aching, the injuries you had sustained during the bombings strayed away from your face, save for a few small cuts and bruises that would heal in no time. It made it easy for you to pretend like everything was okay as you donned a crisp, ironed, academy uniform. A new one, that wasn’t stained with your blood and the arena’s dust.
All the doctors had advised you to stay at the hospital to rest and recover. But with the games starting in mere hours… you couldn’t leave Wovey alone. You made a promise, and you intended to keep it.
After surprisingly little begging, your mother caved and signed the release forms for you, on the condition that you’d stay on a wheelchair for the entire duration of the games—or until you were fully healed. Whichever came first. 
Coriolanus came early that morning, looking more tired than the last time you saw him, and promised your mother that he’d take care of you with a charming smile. He kissed your cheek, thumb brushing just beneath your jaw, before wheeling you off to the academy. The warm, fresh wind was refreshing against your face, billowing your hair to and fro.
“I gave her rat poison,” Coriolanus said as he pushed you along. 
The suddenness of his words startled you into a flabbergasted silence. You stared straight ahead for a few moments, lips screwing to the side, trying your best to remain calm. Then, you gritted out, “What in Panem made you think that was a good idea? If Highbottom finds out… it’ll be over for you, Coryo. That’ll be grounds for worse than expulsion.”
“Lucy Gray has to win. She can’t—on her own. I had to give her something.” Coriolanus’ hands flexed on the handles of the wheelchair. 
“I can’t cover for you forever, Coryo,” you whispered, words almost lost to the wind. But he heard.
He narrowed his pale eyes at the back of your head. “You won’t tell, will you?” There was a biting edge to his tone.
“You’re an idiot if you think I would.” You pressed a hand over your bandaged abdomen, obscured by the vibrant red fabric. “Besides—if you go down, I’d go down with you. With enough secrets of yours I bite down on… that makes me an accomplice, too.”
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Lucky Flickerman’s eyes were wide as saucers when you showed up to the academy in a wheelchair. He fluttered over to you with a reporter following close behind him, shoving a camera into your face. You loved him, truly, but it was hard to tell apart the Lucky that appeared in front of cameras and the real Lucky your mother was best friends with. A myriad of questions fell from the mustached man’s mouth, and you only managed to answer one and a half of them before Sejanus appeared, and Lucky turned to him to ask him questions about his missing tribute.
With a roll of his eyes, Coriolanus pushed you down a ramp (one that hadn’t been there until just a few hours ago, when they heard news of you coming in a wheelchair), and settled you in front of a monitor with your name on it, in the middle of the rows of seats. His was by the very edge, much to both of your dismay.
“Let me know if you need anything,” he told you, enveloping one of your hands in both of his. He kneeled down in front of you so he’d be at eye-level.
You nodded, but pursed your lips. “Why did you tell me? About the…” You trailed off, worried someone would overhear. But he knew what you were talking about—the rat poison.
He tried his best to give you a genuine smile, nudging his knuckles beneath your chin. They felt cold against your skin—a stark contrast to what the wind outside had felt like. “It’s like you said, isn’t it? Enough secrets of mine you hoard, the more you’re tethered to me.”
You couldn’t quite tell if he was joking. Your lips parted, but no words left your tongue.
Dipping forward, he pressed a chaste kiss to your forehead. “Let’s hope this is over quickly.”
Let’s hope they all die quick, he might as well have said.
“Mmh,” you told him, sparing something akin to a smile. Though, it might’ve looked more like a grimace. Coriolanus’ head was far too preoccupied to notice. You felt sick, and glanced around at all the other students who were taking their seats. Lucky was making his way to the front to get some final touch-ups, flashing you an encouraging wink.
A minute later, he waved away the makeup artists and brandished a microphone from thin air. You almost rolled your eyes—his amateur magic tricks were certainly getting better and better.
“Okay, everyone, places! We’re about to go live! Just because we’re not hosting doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. Help me out here, alright? Don’t get lost behind your screens. No yawning, no gum-chewing—keep your chins down, heads up, shoulders back, people! And—do remember to smile. It’s why we have teeth.”
Lucky began grinning from ear-to-ear as a demonstration. 
His teeth are far too white for his face, Coriolanus thought as he settled into his seat. A shade brighter and I’d surely go blind.
With a hand raised, Lucky began counting down with his fingers. He announced himself with his usual charming flair—and when the music started thrumming, low and ominous, he began wishing everyone a happy Hunger Games, before rushing off to stand behind all the students. 
The large screen in the center of the theater lit up with a shot of the tributes walking into the arena. Several dozens of smaller screens surrounding it gave the students a wide plethora of different angles. 
Your throat went dry upon seeing Wovey and Lucy Gray emerge from the entrance tunnel holding hands. They smiled at each other—one of the smaller cameras managed to catch it just perfectly—all soft and encouraging. Peacekeepers pushed the two onward with the barrels of their guns and they were forced to separate. 
“Stand on your marks or you will be shot,” the announcement system buzzed.
Some of the tributes sobbed. Some of them hardened with determination.
The cameras panned around—until one of them landed on a hanging body, strung up by bloody ropes. Your eyes widened when you recognized him as Sejanus’ tribute.
Was he dead?
His chest gave a hunkering breath, though shallow and wheezy, and you dreaded to think about how much pain he must’ve been in. 
“Guess we can all sleep better now knowing he’s off the streets,” Lucky said into the microphone. The audience of students behind you burst into sporadic cheers and bouts of laughter.
This must’ve been the last straw for Sejanus, as he got up from his desk and just about chucked the entire monitor across the theater. It fell against the stage with several clutters and thunks. Many of the students nearby flinched. 
“YOU’RE MONSTERS!” he screamed, face wrought with anguish. “ALL OF YOU!”
With that, he stormed out. Perhaps if you weren’t confined to your wheelchair or in a great amount of pain you would’ve followed him, you thought. But maybe you were just making excuses for yourself.
Sejanus was a brave man with a rash head. You were neither brave nor rash.
Lucky began to count down again. And just as he reached one, a loud, buzzer-like sound rang through the arena. Echoed into the theater from the monitors.
The tributes began running every which way. You had your eyes fixed on Wovey. At first, she seemed to jaggedly step towards the center, where a selection of weapons were laid out. But she thought better of it once she saw all the commotion and scuttled back to the rows of seats as fast as she could. She climbed and climbed, and your chest was heavy with the idea of her falling, or of someone following her. Nobody did, thankfully.
There you go, sweetheart. Hide.
The last you saw of Wovey was the top of her small head before she disappeared behind the dusty seats. Good.
Then, you turned your attention to Lucy Gray, running around and screaming for Jessup. You briefly glanced back at Coriolanus, who was looking incredibly tense. His entire face seemed to be set into a deep frown.
What is she doing? he mouthed, mostly to himself. Run!
Immediately, buzzes rang out through the theater as tributes were slowly eliminated and disappointed students got up from their seats. You tried your best to avert your eyes from all the blood and gore. The screams, however, you couldn’t escape. A girl three seats away from you puked all over the floor, much to Lucky’s irritation.
To your relief, Lucy Gray managed to find Jessup amidst the chaos, grabbing his arm and pulling him towards the hole in the ground—into the tunnels. A few angry tributes were following after them at a worryingly quick pace. Lucky made a rather smug comment about the gamemakers being prepared enough to have security cameras installed in every nook and cranny, even after the bombing “disruption”. 
You let out a large breath you didn’t realize you were holding in when Lucy Gray managed to crawl into a room through a flap in the door, Jessup hot on her heels. The tributes cursed and yelled, but no one dared follow in after the two in fear of getting hurt while trying to get in.
“Thirteen tributes remain,” announced Lucky. He looked to you and gave you a wink. “Reaper still looming large on top of the charts while Coral and her pack try to make a play. Little Wovey has done an excellent job of scaling the broken columns and hiding beneath what’s left of the seats. Let’s hope we see her soon.”
You glanced at your monitor. There were options to send her food or water if need be. But not yet. You had to be resourceful with the donations you had.
“Six tributes gone in minutes. If they keep it up at this pace… we’re going to be out of here in no time.”
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Many hours passed. It was incredibly quiet for a long time—save for Lucky moving off to the side to do some reporting of the weather. Some students even fell asleep by their monitors. 
You were growing tired too, lids heavy with exhaustion and head bobbing up and down a few times. You tried to keep yourself awake, paranoid that something could happen to Wovey if you were to accidentally doze off. To your relief, you snapped awake when a hand rested on your shoulder and Coriolanus kneeled down beside you, offering a bottle of water. It felt wrong to be drinking at your leisure when the tributes were probably parched right now. 
You took the bottle with a grateful mutter of thanks and took a hefty swig.
“How are you feeling? Your wounds okay?” His hand moved up to gently smooth over the back of your head.
“I think so,” you replied, before grimacing. “I don’t like watching this, Coryo. I never have.”
“I’m sorry,” he offered. “I can take you back, if you want. To the hospital.”
“No. I have to stay,” you protested. He seemed relieved at this, not keen on leaving any time soon. 
With a curt nod, he gestured back to his own seat. “Just—let me know if you need anything.”
“You should focus on your tribute, Coriolanus,” you told him, brushing the back of your fingers along his jaw.
“My tribute didn’t have a metal pipe sticking out of her a day ago,” he whispered. “You’re priority number one. You always will be.”
“Well, I’m fine. Lucy Gray, however, is much more at risk,” you replied airily. “If my Wovey can’t win… I’d really rather see her alive.”
Those pale eyes of his searched yours.
“I love you,” he said. It was abrupt and sounded as if someone was strangling it out of him.
“I love you, too. Get back to your seat before Highbottom finds a way to get mad at you,” you told him. With a pointed jerk back to his seat, you heavily emphasized, “Again.”
With a squeeze of your shoulder (you tried your best not to grimace, since he pressed right against a large bruise on your collarbone), he rose back to full height and headed back to his monitor. 
The arena was still silent, even an hour later. Just as you were beginning to seriously consider taking a nap, there came a rustling from the rubble. Lamina, the other district two tribute, rose from behind a large stone slab, and approached the hanging Marcus.
His blood from all the exposed wounds he’d acquired had slowly dripped down his body and formed a frighteningly sizable, semi-dried puddle down below. It was a wonder how he hadn’t already succumbed to his wounds. 
Lamina climbed up the broken stone columns to make her way to him. There were several dried tear tracks on her face, and her nose was very red. Lamina stroked Marcus’ head, and he seemed to jerk alive with her touch. His chest rose and fell in a broken, staggering motion. 
“Please…” he croaked. “Please…” 
He dissolved into gentle sobs.
When Lamina raised her hatchet, you tore your eyes away and looked downward. There came a sick squelch as she struck him and the audience gasped. Lamina cut at his bonds and watched his body crumple down to the ground. Donations for Lamina began to steadily climb higher.
Pup Harrington, Lamina’s mentor, decided to take it upon himself to be the first one to send his tribute a drone with water. Dread settled the pit of your stomach when the drone buzzed in through the broken rooftop of the arena—but it didn’t seem to slow down. No, it only accelerated faster and faster the closer it got. Lamina gave a little shriek and ducked just in time—the drone crashed into the stone column and exploded into a thousand metal parts. The glass water bottle fell down below and shattered by Marcus’ now-dead body.
How were you supposed to send Wovey water now? Perhaps you’d send her food instead—that way, it wouldn’t shatter and go to waste if it hit anything. You scrolled through the options on your monitor. Apples would be a good choice. Plenty of water in them. But you held back—Wovey might’ve been asleep underneath those seats.
A few more hours passed by, slipping well into nightfall. You took a vial of prescribed morphling from your bag and downed it in one go. You could feel it buzzing through your system almost immediately, numbing the sting of your still-healing wounds. It just so happened that Highbottom swept down the steps then, eyeing you behind those spectacles of his. You shuddered and leaned your head down onto the table. The drugs were making you incredibly sleepy.
Highbottom stopped just behind Coriolanus. “You can’t save her by watching,” he murmured to his most loathsome student. “What do you want from that girl?”
“Nothing,” the blonde gritted out. “I want her to live.”
“Mmh. And the Plinth Prize would be a happy coincidence, I suppose.”
Coriolanus’ eyes squinted at nothing in particular. “I believe I’d be entitled to it.”
“Of course you do,” Highbottom retorted, tone heavy with condescension. “And who do you think makes the final decision for the prize you so covet, Mr. Snow? Wake up. Even if Lucy Gray Baird somehow wins it all, I will do everything in my power to make sure that you don’t see a single dime. So… ask yourself this: how much do you care if she lives now?”
Coriolanus was gripping his hands into fists so tight that they turned a ghostly-white.
“And I know… if the young and talented Y/N wins that prize… it’ll go straight to you. Isn’t that right?” Highbottom’s lips twitched in amusement when Coriolanus stiffened. “So it seems that neither of you will be seeing that prize, Mr. Snow.”
His jaw twitched, and he snapped his head to the scowling dean. “You can’t punish them because of me. That’s not fair. Y/N doesn’t deserve that.”
Highbottom let out a gruff laugh, quiet enough for nobody to notice. Mostly everyone had gone home or was asleep, anyway. “It’s not like Y/N would have won anyway—not with that quiet little runt. Kid was doomed from the very start. Take a good look in front of you, boy. Take a look at those tributes—and then you come and tell me what’s fair.”
The very last word was practically spat at him. The dean turned on his heel and marched off. 
Still, hours passed by silently. Lucky was clearly growing agitated with the fact that things were moving so slowly. He’d already had to cancel two dinner appointments.
When Volumnia Gaul stepped into the academy, a dark cloak draped over her shoulders, you were already half-awake. She stood beside you menacingly, and you startled into full alert with a small noise of surprise, the bright blue of one of her eyes boring right into you. She said your name then, all low and elongated. You could barely suppress the shiver that ran down your spine. Still groggy, your blurry peripheral vision told you that practically every one had retired for the night. Save for a few straggler students and, of course, Coryo. You noticed, with muted interest, that every single screen was frozen on an image of the Panem crest, rather than the security camera footage inside the arena.
“I can smell the morphling on you,” she muttered, brows raised. “You should go home. Get some rest. Change those bandages of yours.”
You glanced down at your abdomen—a grimace made its way onto your face when you noticed that your uniform (new, mind you), was stained with a fresh bout of blood. You’d bled through your bandages. With a frown, you uneasily swallowed. It didn’t seem like Dr. Gaul was going to accept no for an answer.
“I, uh—” She noticed the way you began to angle yourself to Coriolanus. He’d fallen asleep by his monitor, in a similar fashion to you.
Her mouth pursed in mock-sympathy. “Coriolanus wants to stay. Watch over his songbird. I suggest you find someone else to wheel you back home.”
Your lips parted in surprise. A part of you wanted to protest, but you were far too tired to argue. “I can get myself home,” you told her. “Good night, Dr. Gaul.”
A creaky, amused titter fell from her throat. “Your little one is good at hiding. A shame she’s not going to make it.”
A wave of nausea rolled over you. You determinedly fixed your gaze on the ground and began to push yourself out of the academy. Volumnia watched you go with narrowed eyes. Once she was sure you were gone, she made her way to Coriolanus. 
The boy had a job to do.
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Bobbin’s blood was still all over his hands. Dried, now. Dark with time. Dr. Gaul stitched up the gash on his left shoulder blade—he wondered if you had been in this much pain when you woke up in the hospital. But it was different, because he was slashed by a little boy, and you fell onto a metal pipe. Coriolanus wasn’t sure which one was better. 
Not that it was a competition. It was all Sejanus’ fault anyway, he concluded.
He had wanted to sprinkle bread crumbs on his dead tribute’s body. What a waste.
Once Dr. Gaul had sent him off back home with his wound tightly bound, he staggered out with a heavy chest and tear-stained cheeks.
And he clearly wasn’t thinking straight, because his feet didn’t bring him back to his own filthy, dirty, rat-infested home. He brought himself to your winged estate, gardened and manicured and polished to perfection. 
This should be mine, he thought. I should have this. I deserve this.
And then, another irrational thought crossed his mind as he rang the doorbell. 
It will be mine.
The doors swung open—which mildly surprised him, considering it was very late at night—and your mother peeked her head out. She eyed him with part confusion, part surprise. Then, she caught sight of the blood on his hands. The door widened to let him through. 
Almost immediately when he stepped in, your mother roped him into a warm embrace. He inhaled and choked on air. And then, he dissolved into a fit of wracking sobs. She crooned and stroked her hand along the back of his head.
“What’s this, Coriolanus? Whose blood is this?”
He hiccuped and drew in a staggered breath. “It’s… mine. I got into a fight with a classmate about the Games. It got violent and bloody—Dr. Gaul fixed me up.” He emphasized a wince and gestured to the wound on his shoulder. He let your mother fuss over him, demanding to take a look at the gash. Reluctant, he unbuttoned his uniform again to let her see.
It seemed the commotion was enough to wake you up, because you had limped to the top of the grand staircase with sleepy eyes and messy hair. 
Once your mother caught sight of you out of bed, she pulled away from Coriolanus to chastise you, but her words fell on deaf ears. You mumbled out your boyfriend’s name in confusion, before leaning heavily against the bannister to slowly step down, wincing with the movement. 
Coriolanus was quick to move upstairs, meeting you near the top, as you had only managed to descend a handful while he jogged to you. He cupped your face first, smoothing his thumbs over your jaw the way he always did. And when you spread your arms, he just about fell into you, his nose dropping down to the junction between your neck and your shoulder. His entire form trembled with his cries, muffled into your skin. 
It was as if he’d been reduced to a child all over again. Eating paste, salty with his tears of hunger. 
“Coryo,” you whispered, gripping at his waist. “Coryo, please tell me what’s going on. You’re worrying me.”
He hesitantly withdrew his damp face away from your neck. “Can we… talk privately?”
With pursed lips, you looked down to your mother at the bottom of the staircase.
She cleared her throat tiredly. “I’ll leave you two be. But no funny business, understand? Y/N needs to recover.”
With a serious stare in Coriolanus’ direction, she turned and marched off to the Northern wing.
“Come on,” you told him. “Let’s go to my room.”
“I’m sorry,” he sighed, rubbing the space between his brows. His arm wrapped over your waist to help you up the few steps. “It’s so late, and I just barged in and interrupted your sleep—”
“Coryo, you’re covered in blood. Sleep is the last thing on my mind.”
Once in your room, you shut the door and leaned against it. Coriolanus made his way to your bed and sat on it, face buried into his hands.
“Does this have something to do with Dr. Gaul?” you asked, watching him with keen eyes. 
His head snapped up and he regarded you curiously. “How’d you know?” 
“She told me to leave. And all the screens were… frozen.” With slow steps, you limped across your room to sit right beside him. “Whose blood is that?”
Coriolanus was silent for a long while. So long that you wondered if he even heard your question at all.
“Don’t—don’t hate me. I need you.”
“I won’t hate you. I love you.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“Stop it, Coryo. You don’t get to decide whether I l—”
“It was Bobbin.” He effectively cut you off, rendering you speechless. “I killed him.���
You stared at him as if he’d grown another head. “The… the district eight boy?” With each passing second, your eyes grew larger and—wetter. Coriolanus had to turn away. “You were in the arena? Dr. Gaul made you… oh, Coryo.”
“Sejanus went in to see his friend.” The last word was sneered out in a rather demeaning manner. “The tributes started attacking us. I… I hit Bobbin with a rock.”
He left out the gorey details. How he kept bashing Bobbin’s head in even after his body stopped twitching. How it felt… powerful. 
“It was self defense, then,” you murmured, drawing closer to brush your lips against his shoulder, just above his sutures.
It was, at first. And then it… wasn’t. Coriolanus pursed his lips. 
“Bobbin… he was Wovey’s friend, I think.” Your voice wavered, and you blinked away the tears that welled up in your eyes. “I hope she’s okay.”
Coriolanus said nothing as he frowned. He didn’t like how much you cared for her, no matter how much of a hypocrite that made him. It was like Highbottom said… the kid was doomed from the very beginning.
“Are you okay?” you asked him, voice as soft as silk.
“I don’t…”
“It’s okay if you’re not. I’ll be here for you.”
“You’re too good,” he said, shaking his head. “You’re always just so… good. How do you do it?”
There was a considerable silence before you reached over to take his chin between your fingers and force him to look at you. “I’m just trying my best. And you are, too. Don’t discredit yourself, Coriolanus. You’re good for me. You always will be.”
His pale eyes flickered. Then, he kissed you. Slow and soft, begging for more but—you pulled away with a hum before he could press further against you. 
A distinct coldness fell over his expression. “You can’t tell anyone what I told you. About Bobbin.”
You studied him for a few seconds. Watched the way he folded into himself with such caution. Compartmentalize and shield the most ugly parts of himself away from you. It was a defense mechanism of sorts. You knew it all too well, and narrowed your eyes at him.
“Why do you always think that I’ll go about and tell the world everything you say to me? Do you not trust me?”
He sucked in a shuddering breath. “I do. I do, of course I do. You just—you know everything there is to know. You can destroy me completely, and it’ll be my fault because I let you in—because I let myself fall in love with you.”
Your features twisted into one of shock. “Is that what you think? That I’m seeking to destroy you? Bring you down? What—Coriolanus, why would I do that? Do you hear yourself? How many times do I have to say that I love you until you realize that I mean it?” 
“You can love me and still betray me. They’re not mutually exclusive.” There was a terse silence that stretched thick between the two of you like taffy. His brows furrowed together and he stared angrily down at the ground as he frustratedly worked his jaw. “I’m not saying you will betray me. I’m saying you could. And that… that terrifies me.”
“I won’t. You said it yourself, remember? I’m tethered to you. I’m an accomplice—I know too much,” you said, exasperated. “But there is nothing I want to take from you. I gain nothing from stabbing you in the back. I just—I want for us to be a normal fucking couple!”
Coriolanus hung his head. With another sharp breath, he nodded several times, as if he was snapping himself out of his own thoughts. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I trust you. I’m sorry.”
When your countenance softened inexplicably, Coriolanus let himself slowly tear his walls of paranoia back down. His hands returned to you then, far more hesitantly cradling your face, gripping your hips, squeezing your thighs as he kissed you. It was familiar and comforting, yet simultaneously all too much.
“Will you stay until I fall asleep?” you panted into the kiss, trying to break away as your lungs screamed for air. “I miss you. It’s been so long since we just… existed alone together.”
He nodded—because how could he say no to you?—and helped you settle back onto the bed. Let you hold onto him, let you trace mindless shapes into his arm. Watched as your eyes fluttered shut and you fell back into what looked like a restful sleep. Envy curled within the confines of his chest. Sleep graced you so easily. Why did everything come to you so easily?
Nonetheless, he dipped forward to brush his lips against your temple, before gingerly pulling away. You stirred with the jostling, but stayed deep asleep. With that, Coriolanus made his way out of your room, clicking the door shut as softly as he could, and descended down the stairs. He left your house with a heavy chest and a throbbing shoulder.
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Early the next morning, your mother came to the academy with you to watch the end of the Hunger Games—and to be there for moral support, she’d told you. She wheeled you in with a bright smile, greeting all the staring students with a friendly confidence. Once she brought you in front of the very same monitor as yesterday, she kissed the top of your head before flitting away to speak with Lucky, who was all smiles and charm. You overheard him saying that he was confident the games would come to a close soon. Your mother said something in reply, but their voices were drowned out by the swell of students entering the theater.
Coriolanus walked in only a few minutes after you, Tigris on his arm. The two of them made their way to you—Coryo was stone-faced, looking more tired than ever. Tigris appeared more worried than anything, but she was just about glowing in her new pink dress, all sharp angles and pristine fabric.
“You look beautiful,” you told her genuinely once she drew closer to you and took both your hands in hers. “I love your outfit. The color suits you.”
“Thank you,” she replied, flushing a pleased rouge hue. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been impaled by a metal pipe,” you told her with a slight grimace. “But, you know… no better way to fix that than to watch children kill themselves through a screen.”
The two cousins laughed dryly at your sarcasm. Tigris then enthusiastically told you that the dress she was making for you was ready—and you grinned and told her you were incredibly excited to come see it. With that, she nodded and left to take her seat amongst the stands, wishing the two of you good luck. 
Once she was gone, Coriolanus reached out to grasp your shoulder. Your talk with him last night plagued him for hours and hours when he should’ve been asleep. 
“Did you sleep well?” you asked him, leaning into his touch when he brushed his knuckles against your cheek. “You look tired, Coryo.”
A wry smile. “Slept like a baby.”
It was a lie, and you knew it. You frown-smiled at him nonetheless.
He bent at the waist, tilted your face up to meet his, and kissed you square on the lips. Some of the students in the stand wolf-whistled, and it felt distinctly like Coriolanus was putting on a show for them, and for the cameras. And you were, well—you were an unwilling actor.
When he pulled away, he smiled at you and gestured to his seat in the corner. “Whatever happens, I’ll be right there.”
“Okay,” you murmured. “Likewise.”
Coriolanus found himself wondering if you were hiding something from him. Why did it feel like you were drawing yourself away? Were you planning on sabotaging him?
Before he could dwell on it anymore, you gently nudged him off, as Lucky was beginning his opening remarks once again. He talked about the mystery behind Bobbin’s death (sending a cold tremor up Coriolanus’ spine), but moved on rather quickly to the stats board. 
The few remaining mentors settled down and the rest of the students in the stands quieted to watch the games continue. 
Not fifteen minutes later, commotion started brewing between Jessup and Lucy Gray. It was hisses and twitches from the boy at first, but then grew into explosive anger and panicked aggressiveness. Frightened, Lucy Gray began to doggedly run away from her friend, crawling out of the rubble-strewn tunnels and back into the main arena. 
“Something’s wrong,” Lysistrata, Jesssup’s mentor, said. “He wouldn’t turn on her like this.”
You narrowed your eyes at the hazy screen. There seemed to be foam collecting at the corners of Jessup’s mouth as he chased after Lucy Gray, demanding to know what she’s done to him. The hazy memory of Lucy Gray at the zoo mentioning a bat bite resurfaced into your mind.
“It’s rabies,” you told the two. “The foam in his mouth. He’s got rabies—the bat bite in the train, remember?”
Coriolanus and Lysistrata’s eyes both widened. 
“The same district folding in on itself!” Lucky announced into the microphone, and began rattling off some more unnecessary commentary.
“Send him water!” Coryo demanded Lyssie. 
“What?” she asked, watching in horror as her tribute tried to make a grab for Lucy Gray, but she ducked away just in time.
Impatient, Coriolanus stood up and leaned over her desk with gritted teeth. “Remember the posters in the war? Rabies—it makes you afraid of water. Send him a drone!”
Lyssie’s mouth opened and closed. “That’ll scare him!”
“Yes,” he said, tapping on her monitor. “It’ll get him away from her. Jessup is done. And you’re the only one that can get it right to him.”
With a tight frown, Lysistrata reached forward to order a water drone. Lucky was preening with all the action.
“Thank you,” Coriolanus breathed out once her order processed through. 
“Nothing to be proud of,” she said, scowling at the screen.
Lucy Gray was begging for her friend to snap out of it as she climbed up a fallen stone pillar, and screamed when a water drone came whizzing right past her ear, crashing into Jessup. Glass went flying every which way. The water had done its job scaring him—Jessup yelled and tittered with the sudden force. He fell backward and toppled right off the pillar. His body made a sickening crack as it came in contact with the ground. The audience exploded into cheers. 
Horrified, Lucy Gray slid down the pillar after her barely-alive friend, hands shaking. A terrible sense of guilt washed over you.
“Jessup?” she asked, shaking his shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere. Okay? You watched over me, now I’m watching over you. Sleep now, Jessup. Sleep.”
Jessup’s death was slow and painful. Lyssie sent a bitter glance towards Coriolanus, before storming off. 
But the horrors weren’t yet over for Lucy Gray—Coral and her pack appeared from behind a large pile of rubble, cornering her like coyotes would a lamb. They sneered and jeered at her.
You turned to look at Coriolanus, seeing his face crumple with desperation. His eyes flickered to you for a brief moment.
“Use your donations!” you called over. “She won’t fight, Coryo. You know that!”
With a frantic nod, Coriolanus snapped his gaze back to his monitor, and hurriedly pressed down on eight drones of water for his tribute. 
“Mentors allying together in such troubling times!” Lucky exclaimed, rubbing his hands together. “Will it be enough to save the songbird?”
The little machines whirred into the arena at alarming high speeds, and crashed into the unassuming tributes surrounding Lucy Gray. She ducked and covered her head with shaking hands as water and glass and metal parts flew every which way. 
“Hey!” one of the mentors exclaimed. “You can’t attack the tributes!”
“I’m just sending water,” Coriolanus retorted back, looking extremely relieved. Then, he looked back at you, and mouthed, thank you.
Taking advantage of the knocked down tributes, Lucy Gray rushed forward, grabbed a glass of water that remained miraculously unshattered, and ran off to hide behind another fallen pillar. You remembered that Coriolanus had given her rat poison—a part of you wanted her to use it to survive, and the other part of you hoped she wouldn’t ever touch it in fear of people finding out about Coriolanus cheating. That would spell the end of him.
Coral and her pack roused with groans and aches. They moaned about losing Lucy Gray, before setting their sights on Lamina and pursuing after her. It was a shame to watch her go, you thought, remembering the kindness she did for Marcus. She was stabbed in the abdomen (reminding you of your own bound bandages), and fell into a crumpled heap beside her district-mate.
While they were all busy going after her, one of the smaller screens caught Lucy Gray appearing back from behind the rubble, placing the full water bottle back on the ground. She hurriedly reached over to dump water out of any of the other bottles that hadn’t broken. 
Lucy Gray managed to escape Coral just as she began to notice what she was doing, darting up some broken stairs and into a duct, latching it shut so they wouldn’t be able to follow her in. Lucky made a sullen comment about how there were no cameras set up inside there.
Coral and the pack retreated back down to survey all the water Lucy Gray had dumped out, save for the one single bottle. You wondered if said bottle was filled with rat poison, by any chance. 
Since you had your gaze focused on one of the smaller screens, you hadn’t even noticed little Wovey emerging from a row of seats not too far away from where Lucy Gray was hiding inside the duct. 
Your eyes frantically turned to the main screen when one of the pack members exclaimed, “It’s Wovey!”
“No, no…” you muttered, leaning forward in your wheelchair, ignoring the painful sting in your side. Wovey was quick to disappear back under the seats, scampering between rows and small gaps under fallen rocks so that they couldn’t follow after her. Twisted relief clawed at your chest and you heaved for breath when they muttered defeat and decided to go back down to the ground. The group began to dissolve into an argument, which thankfully kept them otherwise occupied from going back to hunt after other tributes. To none of your surprise, Coral ended up stabbing Mizzen right in the chest. 
“And who do we have here?” said Lucky when the main screen changed to show a coughing girl emerging from her hiding place. “Ah! It’s Ill Dill. Tuberculosis on legs.”
Dill staggered towards the water bottle. Uncapped it and drank a few small mouthfuls. She coughed and wheezed. Lied down slowly, chest still rattling with coughs. It had to be poisoned, you concluded. To die right after taking that drink… it was far too much of a coincidence. Lucy Gray must have used the poison. You didn’t dare chance a glance back at Coriolanus, afraid you’d see cruel victory in his eyes.
Reaper ran out a minute later, calling out for Dill as he rushed to her. “Dill? Hey, what happened? Dill! Dill, wake up!” 
And when he realized his district-mate was dead… Reaper let out a guttural scream. It echoed and ricocheted around the arena for everyone to hear. You frowned and tucked your arms closer to your sides.
To your surprise, Reaper began to move the dead tributes’ bodies to where Marcus and Lamina were. He laid each of them carefully beside one another. Fixed their positions and brushed the dirt away from their face. Dill first, then Mizzen. Then Bobbin by the entrance—to which none of the other mentors knew who killed except Coriolanus and… you. 
Reaper tore down the long Panem flag hanging from the arena’s wall. The students burst into boos and derogatory yells. He dragged it over to the makeshift morgue and draped the dusty fabric over the corpses. 
There was a lump in your throat as you watched him stand over the bodies he had so meticulously arranged. He gave the tributes one last shred of dignity when the Capitol—you included—had so monstrously stripped every bit of it away. You twisted in your chair to look at your mother in the stands. She had a hand over her mouth as she watched on, looking every bit as choked up as you.
Reaper gazed straight into one of the cameras and spread his arms. “Are you gonna punish me now?” he asked. “ARE YOU GOING TO PUNISH ME N—”
His yells were suddenly cut off by a breaking news announcement. They still echoed about the theater, and you still could hear Reaper’s strong voice in your head. 
Volumnia Gaul sat stiff and menacing on the large screen, her single, beady blue eye seemingly ablaze with a cold fury.
“Capitol citizens, I’m afraid I must interrupt our Games to announce a tragic loss. One that affects us all. Felix Ravinstill, son of our beloved president, has this morning succumbed to his injuries sustained in the rebel bombing.” The screen changed to display a horrifyingly graphic image of Felix’s dead body covered in bruises and unhealed gashes. This was met with gasps and cries from the crowd. “Out there in the districts… they will be celebrating this young boy’s death as a triumph. I will not allow my Games to give our enemy such victory. I swear to you, here and now, before the sun goes down tonight, a rainbow of destruction will engulf our arena. Even if it means there’s to be no victor in these Games!”
Scandalized murmurs spread throughout the theater. 
Your lips parted with shock. What was the point in having the Hunger Games without a victor? You turned to look at Coriolanus, who was looking every bit as distraught as you. 
A rainbow of destruction, Gaul had said. He knew exactly what that meant. With a tight expression, he sat up and ran out of the theater. You watched him go with utter confusion, calling out his name, but your voice was drowned out over the sea of upset students.
Where was he going? To plea his case with Dr. Gaul or Highbottom? Or… no, he’d told you about the snake muttations Gaul had in her lab—while you were drowsy and delirious with pain, but you could remember it faintly—how they were rainbow in color, fast as lightning as they struck down Clemmie. Did that mean those snakes were going to be set loose in the arena? 
Your heart skipped a beat. Wovey could hide from the other tributes, sure, but small, fast, and most likely deadly snakes? She wouldn’t stand a chance. 
And what of Lucy Gray? What was Coriolanus planning on doing for her?
Fifteen minutes later, Coriolanus came running back in, sweaty and breathless. Just in time, because Coral and her pack were beginning to close in on Lucy Gray, stabbing spears through the vent flap. One of the boys down below the ducts began to cough and sputter, not in an unsimilar fashion to Dill, before collapsing down to the ground with a shudder, blood pouring out of his nose. 
Rat poison. You were sure of it. 
They stabbed at the duct some more until it buckled and broke under her weight, and she came crashing down. Hurriedly, Lucy Gray stumbled up to her feet, climbed over the dead body, and ran as fast as she could away from Coral. They were hot on her tail. Everyone watched with bated breath.
And then—the loud whirring of a carrier came descending down the center of the arena. A large, blackened cylindrical tank was being lowered into the center through the broken rooftop. You let out a shaky breath of petrification. Inside must’ve been the snake muttations Coriolanus told you about. 
The few remaining tributes stared at the tank with wide eyes, too stunned to move. 
“I’d wager that that is going to be no good.” Lucky smiled as he stared at the screen. “But wouldn’t it be fun if it was candy?”
Both the arena and the theater lapsed into utter silence. 
Until—until little Wovey peered her head up from the seats. She’s so frail, was your first thought. Slowly, she began to climb out of the rows and hopped down broken pieces of stone to get back to the ground. 
“Wovey—” you found yourself saying aloud. Many eyes drew to you. “No, no, no…”
You watched as the little girl walked towards the large black tank with wide eyes. She sniffled and wiped her nose with the back of her grimy hand. Reaper was warning Wovey to keep away, but the little girl was still moving closer.
“Is it over?” she asked, her voice trembling. “Can we go home? Please…”
“Fuck! Fu—shit, fuck! No, Wovey!” you frantically yelled as if she could hear you. Desperate to get her to stop going towards the tank, you looked down at your monitor.
Not many donations… 
But enough to send a drone.
Maybe if you sent food—it’d distract her. Keep her away.
And so you began placing an order for a food drone, much to Lucky’s commentary delight. With shaking hands, you pressed confirm.
But there was one thing you hadn’t considered. 
You hadn’t considered the drone coming in from directly in front of Wovey—with the tank right in its way. A whizz, a blur of silver metal, and murmurs of shock from the crowd. The machine drove itself against the glass tank and broke apart into a thousand pieces. Small red apples went flying every which way. Wovey stopped in her tracks for a moment. 
It was a temporary relief.
A crack formed in the tank. And then—another splinter within the glass. And another, and another, and another. They formed a terrible sort of spider web. 
“No,” you whispered, lips quivering. It was all your fault. “Oh, no.”
With that, the glass gave way to its fractures, and burst apart in a cascade of glittering shards. The snakes came tumbling out just as Dr. Gaul had said: a rainbow of destruction. They took down Wovey first as she screamed, slithering over her small body until you saw no part of her left. You had fallen silent, but your entire body ached as you violently shut your eyes, eliciting a hot tear to streak down your cheek. 
“Not candy! Down goes Wovey!” Lucky announced, though he winced with an apologetic glance in your direction. “Sorry, Y/N.” 
The rest of the snakes were quick to pick off Coral’s pack, and then Coral herself, who cried out that all those lives she took… they couldn’t have been for nothing.
They slithered around Reaper, who sat strongly by the pile of bodies he had arranged. He died alongside them as the serpents closed around his throat.
And that just left Lucy Gray.
“All colors lead to Gray!” Lucky announced, overly pleased with his wording.
Coriolanus smiled, victorious. “She’s—she’s won. It’s over. She’s won! Let her out!”
“Afraid that’s not your call to make, Mr. Snow,” said Lucky. He pointed over to Dr. Gaul, who was watching from the theater’s stands with crossed arms. 
The students all murmured and gasped. Coriolanus looked around helplessly.
“Dr. Gaul, she’s won!” he asserted. “It’s over, let her out!”
Volumnia stared at the blonde boy with narrowed eyes, but said nothing.
And then… Lucy Gray began to sing as the snakes slithered their way to her. They coiled over her ankles and into the ruffles of her dress. Over her arms and around her stomach. Along her back and draped on her shoulders. She sang and sang, her voice strong despite the itchy dryness in her throat.
“Why aren’t they attacking her?” Festus Creed demanded. 
Coriolanus set his jaw. “Must be the singing. It’s calming them.”
“She can’t sing forever,” he replied with an upturned nose.
Everyone in the audience watched, enraptured, as Lucy Gray sang her heart out, wrapped in iridescent snakes. You let out a shaky exhale, and another tear slipped down your face. Watching Wovey go was one thing—you didn’t want to watch Lucy Gray die, as well.
Anger rose in your throat. 
You turned your wheelchair away from the screen—away from your damned monitor. It was your fault Wovey was dead. You wouldn’t watch Lucy Gray die, too.
“LET HER OUT!” you screamed at Dr. Gaul. Coriolanus flinched and stared at you with wonder, along with the rest of the student body. You bared your teeth in a pained snarl, and you let the tears freely fall. They were scalding against your skin, along with the multiple cameras that had turned right to you. “She won. Who’s going to donate to your Games next year if they know you’ll just kill their victor off? Let her out, Gaul!”
“Dr. Gaul, please,” Coriolanus pleaded, nodding at your words. “Let her out.”
“Get her out!” Tigris chimed along. Your mother voiced the same sentiment a second later, her face shining at you with pride. 
One by one, students began yelling at Dr. Gaul to get Lucy Gray out of the arena until practically everyone was chanting along.
“Nobody’s going to watch your Games without a victor!” Snow told her over the swell of voices. 
With a sharp scowl, she raised her hand. Almost immediately, the crowd fell into silence. 
“Get her out,” she quietly grumbled to one of her assistants.
Lucky clapped and announced excitedly, “She’s won! Lucy Gray has won! Coriolanus Snow is the winner of the 10th annual Hunger Games!”
Victory music began playing throughout the theater—trumpets and drums and bells echoing into his ears as the students rushed down from their seats to congratulate him. Shaking his hand, slapping at his back, ruffling his hair. Tigris was at the front of it all, smiling at him so wide it was a wonder her face didn’t split into two. She wrapped him into a warm hug and he held her tight, laughing into her shoulder as the weight of realization fell against him.
He’d won.
Once he pulled away from his cousin, he pushed through the packed crowd to get to you. You were on your feet already, though your weight was leaning heavily against one of the handles of your wheelchair. You were positively overwhelmed by all the commotion around you. 
He held your face with both his hands and kissed you in front of everyone. The cheers grew louder and louder, and Snow pulled away smiling wider than he ever remembered smiling before.
But when he looked at you again—truly looked at you—there were still tears spilling from your eyes. They didn’t look quite like tears of joy, either.
“She was thirteen,” you sobbed, curling against him. “Coryo, she was thirteen. It was my fault. My fault.”
Caught up in his own victory, he’d very nearly forgotten who you were talking about. It took him another second to realize that you were crying over Wovey. Irritation clawed at his chest and he frowned at you. You should’ve been congratulating him—not thinking about your silly dead tribute. What were you expecting? Hadn’t you known this was coming?
Nonetheless, he held you to his chest with empty words of comfort murmured into your ears, rubbing a palm up and down your back in a placating manner. He kissed your forehead and the crowd swooned with the romance of it all. 
You jerked away from Coriolanus when you felt a distinct pain shoot up your stomach. You looked down, noting the darker red blotch in your uniform. 
It seemed like you’d bled through your bandages again.
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taglist: @nicksolemnlyswears, @pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy, @marjorieisreading, @emlovesya, @dallaav, @sillyskeletonpatrolghost, @sunshine-stars-12, @intoomanyfandom-s, @eclipixels, @unclecrunkle, @wotcherpeak, @dangelnleif, @freyafriggafrey, @scaraslover, @tiaamberxx, @dracuno, @c-losur3, @ashy-kit, @innercreationflower, @spear-bearing-bi-witch, @mymadokamagica, @24kmar, @cowboylikerhian, @ireallydontcareanymorebrooo, @curled-hair-red-lips, @har-rison-s, @aoi-targaryen
732 notes · View notes
sunshine-theseus · 5 months
Text
That One Cat Meme | Ona Batlle x Reader
Words: 1.6k Summary: Ona gets angry when you randomly disappear but it’s hard not to find her adorable Warnings: idk overstimulation? Hints of being neurodivergent – based on my experiences as someone who gets very overstimulated and loves routine/thinks they’re ND but isn’t diagnosed with anything. Requested by - @dandelionlibrary - i really hope you like it!
It was a mistake. A very, very big mistake. There was so much noise and light, and people were basically stuck together like glue. It was hot too. How is anyone supposed to survive in this place?
The team had begged me to join them, just once, for a celebratory drink at a club in the heart of Barcelona. After months of refusing, always coming up with excuses and waiting for Ona to arrive home in the sunless hours of the morning, I finally caved. I regretted it the moment the uber turned onto the street. Lights were flashing through the windows and the music could be heard down the block. People were lined up as far as the eye could see. There was no way I was going to have fun.
But I went.
In the beginning it wasn’t so bad. Ona was with me at all times, and we spent a lot of time in our reserved, spacious corner of the club. Until Lucy and Keira grabbed us both by our hands and dragged us onto the dance floor. I tried to wriggle free, but their determination was enough to overpower a tipsy Ona and a vulnerable me.
“Isn’t this fun!?” Ona yells into my ear. I try not to flinch at the additional noise as I nod my head.
A lie.
“Muy divertido!” (very fun)
There was a small moment where I managed to slip away into the bathroom. By some miracle it was empty and seemed rather clean for a night club, so I locked myself in a stall and just sat on top of a toilet lid. I tried to monitor my breathing and block out the bass that travelled through the floor. I couldn’t survive much longer. I needed to come up with an excuse to leave.
I slowly emerge from the bathroom and go find the group of girls huddled in the corner. I had an excuse fully prepared but as I’m making my way, someone grabs me by the waist and starts kissing my neck. I’m about to turn around and wack them with my purse when they begin to talk.
“Mi vida! Where did you go?” the familiar deep voice of my girlfriend echoes from behind me and I relax.
I stop my shaking hands by placing them over her own that rest on my hips.
“Just the bathroom. I think I’m going to head home.” I turn and give her a smile that clearly doesn’t reach my eyes.
She says something else to me, but I can’t focus on anything specific, everything was too overwhelming. Eventually Ona walks off and I’m left in the middle of a crowd again. I can feel every place on my skin where someone makes contact with me, my clothes aren’t sitting well anymore, there are too many sounds, the lights hurt my eyes. I had to get out.
-
That’s how I found myself curled up in a ball on the rather small balcony of Ona and my apartment. My noise cancelling headphones were securely on my head and I’d successfully rid myself of the horrendously tight and itchy club clothes, switching into one of Ona’s oversized jumpers and some shorts. My phone was turned off and I was just embracing the small bouts of wind and the barely visible stars in the dark night sky.
I don’t expect my girlfriend to be home until much later, so I eventually tuck myself in under the blankets. I loved our bed; it was a lot less overstimulating than a club and usually had the girl of my dreams to hold me tight. Despite the missing final aspect, I drift off to sleep.
I wake up late, Ona by my side as expected. The day off means that my schedule is simply pushed back a few hours and I have spare time to fill.
9:30am – wake up
9:36am – have breakfast + talk to Ona
10:05am – shower and get ready for the day
The middle of the day’s schedule on days off changes depending on who I’m meeting or what I plan on doing. Most of the time it involves Ona.
But Ona didn’t emerge from the room at 9:40am like she usually does, instead showing her face at almost 10. I decide I can push back my day just once to still fit our morning talk. She doesn’t greet me first. Perhaps it’s the hangover, they often mess with our order. She also doesn’t kiss me on the cheek or offer me the glass of orange juice she does every morning, despite always already having a glass in front of me.
“What’s wrong bebé?” the older girl says nothing as she sits down at the table with a bowl to fruit and a glass of water. Odd. Not her normal hangover cure.
“I don’t have anything planned for today so we can just turn the lights off and watch a movie? If your head’s hurting.” I can see her lips twitch at the suggestion, but her face remains stoic.
“Okay, I’m going to have a shower. Maybe we can talk about what’s bothering you afterward?” once again, no reply.
-
I do just as I tell Ona. The shower is set to the correct temperature and my clothes don’t make me feel like I’m suffocating once I get out. I grab some pillows and blankets to lay out on the couch and turn off the lights, settling for the small lamps on either side of the living room. The curtains help block out the sunlight that would be streaming through the windows.
Ona is still sat at the table, fruit and water finished, scrolling on her phone.
“Coriño? Con qué película quieres empezar?” (Honey? What movie do you want to start with).
Usually, I would avoid encroaching on someone’s personal space when they are upset without them asking, but Ona made it very clear physical touch was something she embraced at all times. That’s what lead me to wrap my arms around her shoulders and press kisses to her cheek gently. Hoping for some reaction.
The only thing I get in return is her arms stubbornly crossing over her chest and her lips forming a pout.
Adorable.
“Are you mad at me coriño?” another kiss is placed at the curve of her jaw.
Her lips pull taut and her cheeks flush pink. It’s hard to be intimidated by someone so cute.
“Sí.” She stands abruptly and the sound of the chair scraping against our wood floor makes me feel sick.
“You disappeared last night without telling anyone. And then you didn’t answer any of my texts! Or the girl’s! Yes, I am angry because I was worried mi vida!” Ona’s arms once again cross over her chest and her foot stamps against the ground.
Despite the sight, I begin to feel bad.
“Ona… I didn’t mean to make you worry. I got overstimulated. Everything was just too much. But I told you I was going to go when we talked outside the bathroom.” A look of confusion is clear on her face, and I sigh, approaching her again.
“You asked me where I had been, I told you I went to the bathroom and that I think I needed to go home. I don’t blame you for forgetting, you’d had a few drinks, no thanks to Mapi.”
“Yo soy estúpida. I am sorry for being angry and ignoring you. And I’m sorry I forced you to go somewhere I knew would probably make you overstimulated.” (I am stupid). Ona’s head dramatically falls forward onto my chest as she groans.
“It’s okay. You’re very adorable when you’re angry.” I press a kiss to the crown of her head.
“No I am not!”
“Sí! Yes you are! You pout and cross your arms and you even stamp your foot. Tu tambien eres muy pequeña.” (you’re also very small). I pull away from Ona and smile at the blush that still radiates from her cheeks.
“You remind me of that little kitten meme.”
“What?” I pull out my phone and search for the photo I have in mind.
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Just that you look very cute.” Another groan falls from her lips, and I laugh as I drag her to the couch.
She falls on top of me and I wrap my arms tightly around her, pressing kisses all around her face.
“You have to watch that silly adventure man movie with me.”
“Indiana Jones? You know I hate that guy. He’s so stupid.”
“But I like him, and you caused me great distress!” her laugh slips past her lips and I can’t help but smile and oblige with her request.
“You can only milk that so many times.”
“Mmmhmm.” Her head props up by her chin resting on my chest, and I lean down, pressing a kiss to her lips.
“Te amo coriño.” I smile brightly down at her as the opening music plays.
“Te amo mi vida.”
Ona turns her head to watch the silly movie, but I can’t look away from her. Her freckles seem to shine brighter despite the lack of light and the slope of her nose is so delicate. The way her eyelashes kiss her cheeks and lines appear by her lips when she laughs at some stupid joke. Her hair is in a messy bun, yet she still looks put together.
I can’t help but fall in love with her all over again.
@Y/N_L/N
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@Y/N_L/N do you guys see the resemblance?
ona.batlle there is literally no resembilence stop marialeonn16 i see it
519 notes · View notes
saberlight1 · 6 months
Text
oaths & songbirds — coriolanus snow
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pairing: coriolanus snow x fem!reader
warnings: slight tbosas spoilers, mentions of violence and ptsd, trauma, slight toxic and possessive snow, Y/N usage, standard hunger games warnings.
authors note: hiii!! i’m glad you all enjoyed part 1 to this story, it is linked here, and part 3 is here. i loved the ballad and coriolanus & lucy gray’s chemistry and relationship was so beautifully displayed, i had to write about it. also, the song Y/N sings is linked here, the girl singing is how i imagine her to sound. anyways, i hope you enjoy!
masterlist
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The bright blue sky had faded into orange and pink, you and the Covey all now scattered around the land. Maude and Lucy Gray sat on the dock, feet in the water as they sang random melodies they came up with, Issac sitting behind them drumming along with a beat.
That left you and Coryo, who were laid together on a blanket under a tree, in each other’s arms. You laid in his lap, his arms wrapped around you, a warm feeling in the both of you chest’s. You softly sang a song to him— one you had recently came up with.
In the time of the harvest, the leaves fallin’ down.
I held what my true love could reap from the ground.
But the bounty of a garden can all rot away,
Without love and protection and a hard will to stay.
I’ll never have a garden again.
Where I fall to my knees and work with the land.
Now I’m just prayin’ with two dirty hands.
I’ll never, no, never have a garden again.
You finished the song with a breath, your hands going to nervously fidget.
“Your singing is beautiful.” Coryo whispered. “Did you write that?”
“Yeah, I did.” You softly smiled. “It’s not done, but I came up with it the other night.” You looked up, hearing the mockingjay’s repeat the melody you had sang.
Coryo followed your gaze. “I’ve never seen those type of birds before.”
“Mockingjays, as we call ‘em, or as Lucy Gray does.” You explained, smiling at the thought of your beloved cousin.
“Well, I like it so far. Your songs are always beautiful.” He smiled, leaning down to kiss your nose.
You giggled, your hand going up to grab him to connect your lips. You exchanged a passionate kiss, the boy always kissing you like you were his air. He slowly broke apart, leaving small pecks on your lips before he pulled you closer.
“I wish it could be like this all the time,” You sighed.
“Me too, baby.” He brushed some hair out of your eyes, studying you for a moment. “It could be… if you came to the Capitol—”
“No, Coryo.” You cut him off with a wave of your hand. “I mean out here. In nature, away from it all. I don’t want to go back to the Capitol ever again. I don’t belong there.”
He deflated, shaking his head. “Y/N, you know I have to go back eventually..”
A breath of air left your lips, his words leaving you frowning. “I know,” your eyes casted downwards, away from his.
He bent down slightly, leaving a kiss on your lips. “I’m not gone yet, my songbird. I’m still here,”
His actions brought a small smile to your face, as your hands came up to grip his lovingly. “I.. I’m sorry I make things difficult. I’m torn, Coryo. I don’t want to be without you, but I refuse to live that life in the Capitol.”
“You don’t make things difficult, my love. I understand. You were brought up out here, it‘s your home.” He muttered, staring into your eyes with a loving gaze. “I will figure it out— We will. Don’t worry, baby.” He left another kiss on your lips, this one longer and washing all of your worries away. When you pulled back for air, the boy turned to dig in his bag, turning back to you with an orange shawl in his hand.
“What’s this?” You asked, sitting up and turning to him.
He swallowed the lump in his throat, passing it to you. “It was my mother’s, and I’d like for you to have it.”
“Oh, Coryo,” You smiled, clutching it. “Thank you, really.” You brought up to your nose, inhaling deeply. “Mm, still smells like roses.”
He smiled down at you with adoration.
“I’ll take good care of it, I promise. Thank you, sweetheart.” You said, your accent showing. “You must miss your family so much out here.”
“I do.” He answered. “I worry about them all the time.”
“…Would you really go back, though?” You met his eye again. “If you could,”
“I have to, it’s where I belong. Like how you belong out here.”
You nodded, breaking your eye contact. “Yeah, I get it. I’m sorry.” Your gaze turned back to the water in front of you.
“Hey..” He scooted closer to you.
You shook your head. “What if this was our life, Coriolanus?” You asked, and his attention was immediately on you with the use of his actual name. “Out here, waking up whenever. Catching our own food, living out by the lake— I mean, would you still feel the need for the Capitol even then?” You further went on, urging him to listen to you.
“Hey, lovebirds!” Lucy Gray called with a giggle, causing the pair of you to break apart. “C’mere! CeCe and Issac caught dinner!” She waved, as Issac held up some fish they had caught.
You sighed, shaking your head once again at Coryo before you stood up to join them, Coriolanus on your tail.
As the night went on, the previous worries were now in the back of your mind as you sang a song with Lucy Gray, a smile on your face.
However, as Coriolanus watched you, the same worries were front and present in his mind. In fact, he couldn’t think of anything else. He knew somehow, someway he had to convince you to come with him. He couldn’t leave you behind, not again.
He didn’t know if you’d still be here when he got back.
‘What if this was our life, Coriolanus? Would you still feel the need for the Capitol, even then?’ Your past words ringing in his ears as his smile dropped. If he didn’t lure you in soon, you’d fly away with the mockingjays into the wind, never to be his again.
He couldn’t have that.
409 notes · View notes
grandlinedreams · 1 month
Text
|| welcome fellow Ghoul fuckers ily
|| notes: sequel to [this], got nothin' to really say beyond reader and Cooper make the most fucked up implied pseudo parents for Lucy lmao, Canon somewhat compliant, post s1, gonna have to wait for the prequel meeting dic to know why reader knows Coop's whole name
|| warnings: weapons supplier!reader, Canon typical gore/violence, something something save a horse ride a cowboy, NSFW ㅡ fingering, edging (i had to take a lap around my house), irradiated cream pie, unprotected sex (supposedly those swimmers are FRIED but I can dream),
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The low croak of a crow echoes over the barren stretch of sunbaked, irradiated earth ㅡ and the creature itself lands on the bent, rusted post of a long gone sign. Tilts its head this way and that, blinks liquid black eyes ㅡ three of them. Then squawks indignantly when a bullet narrowly misses it, jet black wings flaring as it takes to the sky to complain in that low, creaking voice.
"Get lost," you tell the bird, glancing at the way Dogmeat tracks the creature. Then she whines, licks at her muzzle like she wants to go catch and eat the damn thing.
"Don't even think about it, pup." You inform her, soothing the disappointment with rough scratches to her head that have her nudging for more before you walk away, sharp whistle summoning her to your side. You don't know why, but she's taken a shine to you over your companions, and you're not about to push her away.
The set up for tonight isn't far off, but it's the skitter of some other creature off in the distance paired with the ominous rumble from above that gets your attention ㅡ and you click your tongue at the foreboding, electric green that rolls in the clouds, cracking with lightning. It isn't nightfall yet, but it's growing closer with that mess on the horizon.
There's a pitiful attempt at a fire being made by Lucy when you return, and she offers a smile that you echo briefly before moving to Cooper's side, nudging him with your boot. "Storm's rollin' in."
He grunts, tugs his hat from where he'd been shading his face ㅡ pretending to sleep to ignore Lucy's still-attempting-to-be-friendly rambles, you suppose. "How far out?"
You shrug, slinging your pack back onto your shoulders. "About an hour, give or take."
Lucy flicks a confused look to both of you as Cooper gets to his feet as well, and her head tilts. "Why're we moving?"
You raise an eyebrow. "You want radiation sickness, vaultie?" It's worth it for the way she bristles, and you snicker. "Come on. There's something of a building not far from here."
You're kind enough to wait for her unlike Cooper, who heads off with Dogmeat while you trail with Lucy.
The building was probably an apartment complex at one point for the squared off, honeycomb like interior, the sections that remain halfway decent.
The presence of scattered, long empty supply packaging ranging from stimpacks to tins of cram says that you aren't the first to be here though, and you split off with Cooper to scout out the place, leaving Lucy with Dogmeat.
You're just as quick with tongue and trigger as Cooper ㅡ Lucy has learned that the hard way over the last week or so. But there's still a softness to you that Lucy likes, gravitates towards ㅡ and figure that Cooper likes it too, for the way she spots him watching you sometimes, pretends not to notice when he looks up and glares at her.
"Clear," you report, pulling her from her thoughts as you toss her a bedroll and a spare blanket. Where you got them, she doesn't know. And the dark stains of what absolutely is most likely blood tells her she doesn't want to know.
What she does know is that she's allowed what constitutes as a room to herself ㅡ three walls and a roof that won't cave in are enough for her to take it without complaint. Dogmeat goes with her, and when she looks up, she knows why with the unspoken way you and Cooper split off for the same little room a couple broken spaces down from hers.
"Get some rest, Lucy," you tell her, offer a small smile that makes her beam as she settles down for the night, deciding that she is far, far better off not thinking about just how close you and Cooper actually are.
"Cute kid," you remark as you finally trail into the room after Cooper, earning an amused scoff.
"Fuckin' annoying is what she is," he grouses, and it's your turn to laugh as you shrug off your pack and kneel, digging for your own bedroll.
"Considering that's what you called me when we first metㅡ"
"No, I called you an annoying bitch."
"Potayto, potahto." You tug the bedroll free and roll it out, blinking as Cooper settles himself over it with a groan and then a sigh. "Excuse me."
He peers up at you. "What now?"
"This is my bed." You snip, jerking a thumb over your shoulder. "Up, Cooper."
"Nah." He folds his arms behind his head. "You like the vaultie so much, go cuddle up with her."
You stare. "Cooper Howard," you say, "if I didn't know better, I'd think you were jealous of the kid." He's silent, and you raise an eyebrow. "Are you?"
"No." The words is sharp, and he lifts his head to eye you. "Don't need to be jealous when I know what's mine," he rasps, "now quit bitchin' and c'mere."
You don't know what it says that you do so without fuss, settling yourself to straddle his hips as he sits up, draping your arms over his shoulders.
"There," you snip, adjusting to flick at the rim of his hat. "Better?"
He watches you with eyes as dark as an oil spill, and you don't miss the flick to your mouth and back up. "Gettin' there."
You snort. "You know," you murmur, tone dropping lower, "if you wanted to kiss me, all you gotta do is ask."
He smirks, the flash of his teeth. "Where's the fun in that, sugar? I like the chase. Besides," he lowers his tone, leans in further, "you're the one bitchin' when we can share this sad excuse for a bed. And the way I see it, you're gettin' the better deal anyways."
You roll your eyes, act like you're annoyed ㅡ but the way you don't tell him to shove it or get off of him speaks volumes enough.
Poetically, it starts raining just as you kiss him. The fingertip drum of it on the roof, sour-sweet smell of it that still reaches you because this isn't a real bedroom, just some shitty excuse for it. Doesn't matter, because this is far better than the kisses you've stolen over the last few days when you're absolutely certain Lucy isn't watching either of you.
Cooper seems to think so too for the way he deepens the kiss, cups your face as he nips at your lower lip and licks into your mouth when they part.
He squeezes at your hips, snakes his fingers back under your shirt, pinches and tugs and maps until you're squirming in his lap as he shoves your shirt off completely. He pulls, coaxes you into an arch that lets him mouth at your ribs, nip and sow sparks of pleasure in your veins as he leaves little patches of bruised pink skin in his wake.
He likes marking you, he realizes, the subtle claim without him having to say it. Mine.
He welcomes the grind of your hips against his, your body soft in all the ways that his isn't, filling in the cracks and rounding out all his sharp edges until he can't think of anything but getting his hands on you properly.
The pop of the button on your jeans is easy, the slip of his hand deliberate ㅡ you're louder this time, covered by the storm above as you whine and moan and buck into his hand and the sinful, clever work of his fingers.
And then just as you're about to crest that wave of pleasure, he stops. Smirks at the way you glare, taps your nose with his other hand. "You know you don't get nothin' for free around here, sugar."
He's teasing though, pushes you back to work his belt open, pants down ㅡ then dragging you back over him. Groans, tips his head back at the teasing glide of you before he's adjusting to line himself up and guiding you down.
The gasp he gets is music to his ears, nearly lost to the gutteral, hissed noise he makes himself at the tight, warm squeeze of you around his length. His eyes roll, and he bucks his hips up.
"C'mon sweet thing," he rasps, "don't make me do all the work. Ride for me."
The rhythm is stilted for the way he grips your hips anyways, reluctant to let you pull off of him too much ㅡ but it still feels good. Your breath matches the staccato movement, hands splayed on his chest for balance and head thrown back, looking for all the world like some sort of dedication to a long gone diety that he'd gladly worship to the end.
And he does still, reverence to the way he touches, kisses, bites ㅡ throbbing vitality in your veins calling to him, sweet siren song wrapped in those plush lips of yours. Soft skin squeezed under his fingers, forgiving for all the ways he can't be gentle, desperate as he is.
It's the throttled clamp of your warmth that says you're coming undone, gooey and wet and warm in all the right ways that has him clutching at you, cursing as his hips jerk and he fills you, mouthing at your pulse point as he does.
Heavy breathing sets the undertone of the roll of thunder outside crumbling walls, rapid beat of two hearts, and there's something dangerously soft, romantic in the way he lets you melt into him.
You drape over him, whisper soft kisses to his cheek, his jaw, his mouth until he kisses you back, slowly, selfishly, dangerously sweet.
"You," he tells you, "are absolutely no good for me." He slings an arm over your waist, softens the bite until it's nonexistent.
After all, what's one more vice?
In the morning, the four of you leave ㅡ there's a lot of ground to cover, after all. Lucy walks beside you, Dogmeat and Cooper just a few feet ahead.
"So," she begins conversationally, "what're those marks on your neck from?"
To your credit, you neither flinch nor blush, busy yourself with fussing with something at your hip. "Mosquitos."
Lucy hums. "That's funny, didn't realize mosquitos got so big. Best be careful then, huh?"
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celestialglow24 · 1 month
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•••Promise Me•••
Frank Castle x AFAB reader
You finally see Frank again after months of being apart with no explanation.
hi friends. more Frank angst because this man has taken over my mind lately and i think you all should suffer with me. please enjoy xx
The walk back home from the restaurant wasn’t too bad of a trek. You had convinced yourself it’d be alot faster than waiting around for an uber, or bothering your cousin at 12 am to come down there and pick you up.
Was it wise? Probably not. But the multiple shots of liquid courage—fueled with the desire to take a long hot shower—gave you a sense of confidence no one would have been able to shake.
So you said your goodbyes to the group you were with, telling them a little white lie that your ride was here, and began walking home.
As the loud street music and bustling noise of downtown nightlife started to fade, that confidence began to wane.
It was really quiet out here, and no one was around from what you could tell. You could see the sign for a park a little ways ahead and that managed to level your nerves.
Your cousin’s apartment wasn’t too far from there and if you kept at the pace you were moving, you could get there in 10 minutes or so.
God you hated wearing heels. You’d yet to find a pair that didn’t make you want to cut off your feet and curse the ground after only a couple of hours of use.
There was a part of you that was half tempted to take them off and walk the rest of the way barefoot, but after already passing several broken bottles along the street, you decided you didn’t want to chance a night in the ER.
All things considered you were proud of yourself for going out tonight. It had been months since you’d done anything besides: work, sleep, eat, repeat.
Save for a few weekends now and then of binge watching a true crime doc with your cousin Lucy or a trip to the dog park with her dog Penny, you hardly allowed yourself any time to relax.
Anything to avoid your mind having the opportunity to think of him. To think of your past.
So when your coworker invited you out with people from your department to celebrate their recent promotion, you decided to let yourself enjoy a night out. You felt you had earned it.
You hadn’t been working for the company very long, but you got along with everyone pretty well. It was nice of them to include you.
It was certainly more fun than you expected to have but after your brain had tried multiple times to convince you that you’d seen someone that wasn’t there—someone who you hadn’t seen in months—you knew it was time to go.
6 months.
6 months and you still searched for him in a room full of people.
It was pathetic.
Even now, as you walked the nearly empty streets you felt him. You didn’t know how— and despite logic and reason battling with these inexplicable feelings— it still felt like you could sense his presence.
Yeah, this had to be the alcohol talking.
You tightened your trenchcoat around your torso in an effort to self soothe and offered a half smile to the few people you walked by on your way toward the park.
As you rounded the sidewalk, you pulled your phone out to text your cousin that you’d be home any minute. She was probably already sleeping but you wanted to give her the heads up anyway.
Anything to avoid her attacking you with a broom like she did the one time you got home late from work.
Just as you went to tuck your phone back in your coat pocket it slipped out of your hand, landing on the ground face down with a loud crack.
“Fuck” you cried, bending down to asses the damage. Thankfully you had a screen protector, so the actual screen was fine. But man you had done a number on it. The uneven cracks that splintered the screen made it difficult to read the time and notifications.
As you rose from your squatting position, you caught a figure out of the corner of your eye ducking behind a car across the street.
You felt your stomach drop.
Slowly… you stood up taller, squaring your shoulders and trying to steady your breathing. You calmly reached for the front clasp of your clutch, thanking any god or the universe that you managed to stow your taser earlier that night.
You chose not to make any sudden movements. Instead you waited. You waited for so long you were starting to question if you had seen anything at all. Maybe you misunderstood and it was the alcohol messing with your senses.
But when you saw the tip of a black hoodie through the window of the car you knew you weren’t losing it.
“Who’s there?” you shouted.
No response.
“Listen,” your voice shook, “I’m about 10 seconds away from dialing 911 so if you’re not interested in explaining to the cops why you’re sneaking up on -”
“Ain’t no need for all that.” You heard a voice call back.
Your breath stilled. As soon as the voice hit you, it was like the ground beneath you had been ripped away. You didn’t even feel like you were in your own body anymore.
You dug your nails into your palm, trying to startle yourself awake. Surely you had to be dreaming.
But when the figure stood and faced you, their hood falling back to reveal their face, you couldn’t deny what you were seeing.
There were so many emotions swelling inside you at once. Disbelief, disappointment, anger and relief.
You didn’t know it was possible to feel so many things at once.
Perhaps the most compelling was the realization that despite everything, you still felt love. So much love that it made you feel weak.
It almost made you forget everything that’s happened.
The feelings of abandonment. The nights of endless tears. The calls and messages that would never seem to go through.
Feelings of confusion. Of constantly wondering what you did wrong.
Questioning if any of it was ever as real to him as it was to you.
You could almost forget it all. Run right across the street into his arms. Hug him and kiss him over and over. Tell him how much you missed him. How much you need him. How much you forgive him if you could just be together again.
But as quickly as those thoughts teased your mind, the feelings of anger and betrayal enveloped you like an unrelenting wave.
You couldn’t allow the love you felt to erase the hell you’ve endured. You wouldn’t.
So you swallowed the tears that threatened to spill and turned away, making bigger strides to get back to your cousin’s apartment.
You could hear him shout your name but you kept moving.
He must have crossed the street because you could hear him calling directly behind you.
You didn’t stop. You didn’t say a word. You just kept moving.
Choosing to run was just plain stupid, but it was your only resort to get away fast.
Not only was it stupid because your feet hurt like hell and you were risking a face plant any second, but it was stupid because he was the fucking punisher.
Any attempt to try and outrun him was pointless. He’d be able to catch you before you could even finish your next thought.
“Hey!” he yelled, finally catching up to you and grabbing your arm. “Just hold up would you?”
“No!” you shouted, yanking yourself out of his grasp. You took a few steps backward and he held his arms up in defense.
At this point you know you looked like a mess. The hot tears you were trying to suppress had spilled over and you could taste the salt of them on your tongue.
You wanted to hate him. You wanted to hate him so much but seeing the pained look on his face broke your heart.
To be honest he looked like shit. He looked like a man who hadn’t slept in months. His beard was long and unkempt. It even looked like he’d lost weight. And his eyes, the biggest tell of all, were sad and empty.
“I just want to talk.” he spoke calmly.
You shook your head. “How did you find me?”
When you left the witness protection program you didn’t even tell Madani where you were going. She tried to pry it out of you, swearing that it was her duty as her job and as a friend to know. However, you wouldn’t budge.
The people that were after Frank had been taken care of according to Dinah. You didn’t want to continue living out the rest of your life looking over your shoulder.
So you thanked her for all of her help and you wished her the best, but you didn’t want any ties to your life back then. You didn’t want any more reminders of him.
“He asks about you, you know?” she had said during your last conversation. “Every week like clockwork. I haven’t told him anything. Just that you’re safe and happy.”
You scoffed, “Well at least one of those is true.”
She was silent for a moment. “I hope you can give yourself a chance to be happy again. Love doesn’t always look the way we want it to and life is hardly ever fair, but once we choose to accept the pieces we are given…. we can allow ourselves to move on.”
You know Dinah meant well. And you appreciated how close the two of you had gotten based on the circumstances. But you weren’t sure if you could agree with what she was suggesting. It felt impossible to move on when your whole body still ached for him.
“Thank you Dinah.” you relented, “Who knew you could be so therapeutic?”
“Just part of the charm.” she laughed.
A comfortable silence fell between you. You were sitting on the balcony of your cousin’s apartment, and for a brief second you felt a little bit of excitement at the opportunity to start over.
Your cousin had managed to get you a job and while it wasn’t exactly what you were doing before, it was familiar work.
You’d be working for a publishing company polishing and approving manuscripts. It was boring, monotonous work but it was safe.
You thanked Madani again and expressed the hope of following up again someday in the future.
Then you changed your number and disabled your emails.
You knew doing so wouldn’t stop them from being able to find you if they really wanted to. Her and Frank were both good for that. But it gave you a sense of control for now. That you were the one deciding to distance yourself this time and the choice wasn’t being made for you.
“Could we go some place to talk?”, his voice broke you out of the memory.
You crossed your arms.
“No. You don’t get to show up out of nowhere after months of silence expecting to just talk. I have nothing to say to you.”
The words that tumbled out of your mouth were meant to be delivered with strength and conviction. Instead, they sounded more like someone trying to convince themselves that they believed them.
“I can explain whatever you want. Just let’s get out of the cold here, there’s a diner not too far out.” he said, tilting his head back towards where you came from. “We could get a cup of co-”
“No, Frank, I want to stay right here.”
He closed his mouth, but you could tell he was trying to keep his composure. You were being stubborn and as much as you hated being in the cold, you didn't want to be around other people.
You didn’t want to take the chance of losing your shit while people were trying to enjoy their food in peace.
“I get that you’re angry, but there’s a lot you don’t understand. I was just trying to protect you.” he tried to reason.
“You left me Frank. You didn’t text, you didn’t call. You left me completely in the dark.” you cried, wiping angrily at your face to rid the tears that were escaping.
“Do you know how scared I was? Having strangers show up to my house and basically tell me I couldn’t exist as me anymore? I had to move and change my name. And the one person I needed more than anything—the one person who could make all of it feel okay— wouldn't even answer a damn phone call.”
You suddenly felt like you were back in the empty apartment Madani had set you up in. You hardly knew her before that day, she was just “someone who had worked with Frank before”, according to what she told you.
But she kept giving you this look. This look that both expressed the pity she felt for you and the wonder of how you ended up in a situation like this? How you managed to get mixed up in the world of Frank Castle?
But you had met him after he had left that life behind him. And according to him, the life that he was never going back to. Things had been good for so long that you never even questioned it until that day. Now you didn’t even know what was real.
“You were in danger alright? I had angered some really powerful people. I had hurt them, did things I’m not proud of and I wasn’t about to let you take the fall for it. You weren’t safe with me.”
“I was always safe with you!” you shouted, “Who else could’ve kept me more safe than you? We could’ve worked it out together, we could’ve came up with a plan—” you stopped as you watched Frank shake his head in disbelief, “What, Frank? What the fuck is that about?”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about. Come up with a plan? Really?” he scoffed, “This isn’t team sports. It’s not some dumb escape room you sit around and solve clues in. It’s real fucking life.”
You looked down at your feet. The escape room comment was a low blow. It was something you loved doing and grumpy Frank hated. He’d go along with it if you planned it, not bothering to hide his disdain at first, but by the end of it you knew he had fun with you.
You didn’t think he’d throw it in your face as a means to mock you.
“Frank, we were partners. That’s what you do.” you replied, trying to keep your voice steady. “You work through things together. As a team. Not one person taking over and telling the other person what to do all the time, but see you didn’t ever want to do that did you? You didn’t think I was capable right?”
“Don’t go there.” he warned. You could see his hands start to twitch. In the past his agitation would have gotten you to dial it back a little. You hated fighting with him and it was never worth it.
But this time you didn’t care. You didn’t understand why he was the one so angry.
“Why not?” you probed, “You always made it seem like I was one mistake away from getting myself hurt.”
“That’s because you never took things seriously. You had no sense of danger. Too trusting, too carefree, too-”
“Stupid?” you interjected.
“I didn't say that.” he shot back. He ran his hands through his hair, trying to find some place to channel the tension. You could tell this was not how he wanted the conversation to be going either.
You couldn’t believe you were having this same fight. It was something you never got along about.
You tried to be understanding. You both had different life experiences and because Frank had a military background, he had been trained to look at things a certain way.
He was trained to look for a threat and “take it out before it took you”. Transitioning back to civilian life wasn’t always that simple. Those habits could be hard to unlearn.
It wasn’t always bad, but it wasn’t always necessary.
Not every stranger was a potential threat set out to hurt you.
Staying late at work didn’t mean you were in danger and someone was holding you hostage.
Interviewing a source for your upcoming news article didn’t immediately put a target on your back.
But Frank always anticipated the worst.
You know it was his way of expressing his love but it could be a lot at times. You just wanted to enjoy life together without always feeling like there was some danger lurking around the corner waiting to get you.
“Go ahead Frank,” you continued, “Let me hear how stupid it was for me to walk home by myself tonight. How naive it was to risk getting hurt when I should’ve called a cab.”
“I ain’t gonna act like it was a good idea, and up until a few minutes ago I’m sure you were realizin it wasn’t either.”
You let out a groan.
“I was almost home, besides I don’t think anyone would’ve tried anything with the big bad punisher stalking me.” you said, throwing your arms out dramatically.
“I mean really Frank, what was your plan? Were you just gonna jump out and shout surprise? Were you gonna follow me home to make sure no one grabbed me? Stare down the cars that drove past me? The people that passed me? What was the fucking point?”
For a moment he didn’t say anything.He kept his gaze down at his boots. The twitching of his hands had stopped, and the heavy rise and fall of his chest had slowed down.
“I needed to see you.”
The phrase was simple, but it held such weight.
You understood what he meant. You felt the desperation in his voice. And yet you couldn’t stop the anger from bubbling up.
“What about all the times I needed to see you? To hear your voice? Why didn’t I deserve the decency of a phone call, a text message, anything?”
“I couldn’t risk it.”
“Bullshit.” you spat. “You could risk asking Madani about me?”
His head shot up at that.
“Are we gonna do this all night?” he asked, the anger picking up in his voice again, “Huh? We’re gonna just keep yelling at each other? Who was right? Who was wrong?”
“Yes Frank because I’m angry with you! You made me feel unimportant. You made me feel helpless, like I had no control over my own damn life anymore.” You stepped closer, making sure he couldn’t avoid your eyes.
“You pushed me away like I meant nothing to you!” you shoved him.
“No.” he shouted, “I pushed you away because you meant everything to me!”
He turned away and let out a deep breath through his nose. The weight of his words slamming into you like a wrecking ball.
“Everyone I've ever cared about gets hurt because of me. Because of my demons. Because of the shit I've done to other people. I couldn't take that chance with you. They were so close to hurting you. I had to do something. That’s why I contacted Madani. That’s why we got you into witness protection.”
You felt the sting of the tears start to swell up again. From anger, frustration or sadness you couldn’t tell. Maybe it was all three.
“You want to know why I couldn’t say goodbye to you? Why I couldn’t call you? It’s because I knew—,” he paused and looked off to the side, “I knew that if I saw you—if I just heard your fucking voice—I’d change my mind.”
He finally locked eyes with you again, taking a step closer to you. He was testing it out, seeing how close you would let him get. To his surprise you didn’t move away.
“I couldn’t be selfish with you.” he said softly.
You didn’t know what to say. You knew the people that had been after Frank were relentless, but you never once feared for your life. Maybe there was more to it that he kept from you, and you wanted to trust him, but it didn’t diminish what you experienced while he was gone.
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry I hurt you. But I’m not sorry I did it because you’re safe. And I know it’s probably not what you want to hear, but I’d do it again in a fucking hearbeat if it meant nothing would happen to you.”
“It’s just—.” your voice trembled and you bit your bottom lip. You couldn’t look at him. You couldn’t put the words together.
“What is it?” he asked gently, taking another step towards you. This time he was close enough he grabbed the bottom of your chin and tilted it up towards him.
“I really missed you and I didn’t think you cared about me anymore.” You choked.
Suddenly you felt yourself pressed up against his chest as he pulled you into him. “No baby, that’s not true.” he soothed.
You wrapped your arms around his torso and laid your head on his chest, letting all the pent up emotions slowly release. God you forgot how good it felt to be held by him.
All the nights you longed for this very feeling. For him to hug you and kiss you and tell you everything was gonna be alright.
You could feel your unsteady breathing start to level out again and all the anger and frustration slowly disappear. It was as if he was a magnet, pulling out the deepest emotions you tried so hard to bury.
“I missed you so fucking much you have no idea.” He pulled back, tilting his head down to look at you.
You both locked eyes and without thinking twice you kissed him. He responded instantly, pulling you so tightly against him it was as if he was trying to swallow you whole.
That feeling people mention of the world standing still—you finally understood what that meant.
When you couldn’t breathe anymore you pulled away, resting your forehead against his.
“What does this mean, Frank?” you quietly asked. “Can we be together now? Do we just go back to the way things were before?”
He was quiet for a moment and you almost regretted asking the question.
“It’s whatever you want it to be sweetheart.” he finally answered, “You tell me.”
You weren’t sure what to say. One half of you wanted to be together again. The other half wasn’t so sure you should give in this easily.
What if it happened again? You didn’t doubt there were more people out there that’d like to see Frank Castle and the people he loved, hurt.
Would he push you away? You didn’t think you could survive it a second time.
“Frank, I love you. I want to be with you. But I need you to treat me like an equal. I want to be included in decisions. I don’t want to be kept in the dark again, it isn’t fair.”
Though he wasn’t speaking, you could tell the thoughts were churning in his head.
“If something like this comes up again I want to know about it. I want to have a say in how we handle it. Can you please promise me that?”
Frank let out a heavy sigh. He had to fight with the selfish side of him that wanted to say no. This shouldn’t even be something you have to worry about. He’s the one that should be responsible, not you.
But if he was being honest with himself these past several months were hell. He hated not being with you and maybe compromising would be the best thing to do after all.
He didn’t like making promises in general, but as he looked into your eyes he couldn’t bring himself to fight anymore. He needed to be with you just as much as you needed him too.
“Okay.” he agreed quietly.
“Promise me.” you urged again. You needed to hear him say it.
“I promise.”
You didn’t even realize how tense your body had become until you felt your shoulders relax. Frank pulled you into him again and you could feel the tension in him relax as well.
If anyone would have told you an hour ago you’d be standing in the middle of the street being held by Frank you would’ve told them they were crazy.
There were nights you never thought this moment would come. So as the two of you continued to stand there, holding onto each other. You realized there was probably nothing in this world that could match this feeling.
You would make sure that no matter what was waiting for you around the corner, you’d never let go again.
246 notes · View notes
barcaatthemoon · 1 month
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lullaby || lucy bronze x reader ||
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you comfort lucy when she comes to your room after rachel's last game.
you weren't the least bit surprised to find lucy outside of your room after the game. more than a few of the girls had all grouped together for comfort after rachel's last game. lucy had held strong for the camp, having been warned earlier on by rachel herself. you had also been warned, but yours was more to make it easier to look out for lucy.
"can i sleep over tonight?" lucy asked you. keira had already gone to georgia and leah's rooms for the night. you were sure that a lot more girls were piled into the captain's room than just the three best friends, but what mattered was that lucy had come to you.
"of course you can," you told her. it wasn't late enough to sleep just yet, but lucy went straight to the bed. she laid down and curled up a little, something that you only saw her do whenever she was really upset. lucy ignored you as you moved around the room, grabbing a couple of water bottles for the two of you before you got into bed with her. "do you want to talk about it?"
"i don't want to talk about anything," lucy grumbled. you frowned a little to yourself, but let it go. lucy rested her head on your chest and grabbed onto your hand, squeezing it slightly. "do something, it's too quiet in here."
you're momentarily at a loss about what to do until you remember the night that keira and lucy had truly called it quits. it wasn't necessarily a good night for anybody, but it was definitely the start of your relationship.
"she don't want me no more." there was nothing scarier to you than a teary-eyed lucy bronze. you knew that lucy had planned on going over to keira's to talk after their last little argument. they had broken up twice already, but agreed to work things out. this time, hadn't been successful for lucy.
"luce, i'm sorry," you apologized to her. it wasn't your fault, and the apology only really made her kind of angry, but you didn't know what to do. lucy wasn't one to open up emotionally, especially not to you.
for the most part, lucy had no idea why she had come to your apartment. you weren't her friend, you were keira's. that was something you had made clear every single time that lucy had messed up in the past. however, there was still the part of lucy's brain that knew things weren't like that anymore.
somewhere along the line, something that shifted between the two of you. nothing had been acted on, but lucy had caught her eyes lingering on you for a little longer than normal. you had thoughts in a similar vein about lucy, and if it wasn't for keira being one of your best friends, you would have acted on your feelings.
"i just need somewhere to be for a while. can't be getting myself in trouble," lucy said. her accent was thicker through the tears. you nodded as you pulled her into your apartment. almost immediately, your cat raced across the living room to get as far away from lucy as he could. "little rat faced bastard."
"luce, be nice!" you hissed as you swatted at her shoulder.
"i'm over here crying and getting hissed at, so you hit me!" lucy shouted. you placed your hands on her arms, rubbing gently to try and soothe her. lucy moved like she was about to shove you away from her, only to surprise you by melting into your arms completely. she broke apart into a fit of sobs as your arms moved to hold her.
"hey, hey, it's okay," you whispered softly. lucy grabbed onto the back of your shirt and tugged you closer to her. you hummed nervously, unable to move away. slowly, you managed to get lucy to let you guide the two of you towards one of the chairs in your living room.
you picked the big, comfy one. everybody teased you for it being an eyesore, but you loved it. the pattern was hideous, but you had never sat in a more comfortable recliner in your entire life. as your body hit the back of the seat with lucy's on your lap, you were grateful for the slightly oversized chair.
lucy cried in your arms as you continued to hum. slowly, the hums grew into broken pieces of songs that you could remember. lucy's sniffles and sobs slowly came to a stop. you figured that she'd want you to be quiet now that she was done cry, but she pipped up at the first bit of prolonged silence.
"no, don't stop. i like the sound of your voice," lucy told you. she sounded a little whiny, but you weren't going to tease her for it. you started in on another little song, this time stopping when you saw lucy staring at you. it wasn't in annoyance or amusement like what you had grown accustomed to. this stare was different, and it made your chest feel warm and fuzzy.
"luce?"
"don't let me ruin this, please," lucy muttered. you had originally thought it was intended for you to hear, but once lucy pressed her lips to yours, you realized that it was a prayer of sorts.
you glanced down at lucy as she laid on your chest. her breathing had evened out finally, soft snores echoing each breath. you quietly snapped a picture for your phone, something that you'd want whenever the two of you went back to barcelona and she decided to pretend that this had never happened.
there were a few texts on your phone when you checked it. the first you saw was one from keira, warning you not to let lucy ruin your shirt with drool. you chuckled quietly to yourself, almost certain that it was only a matter of time before the puddle formed. the next couple were from rachel and millie, both women asking how lucy was doing. she had worried a lot of your teammates during rachel's celebratory dinner, even though she had been actively trying not to.
"stop moving around so much," lucy grumbled as she tugged your body closer to hers. "'m trying to sleep."
"it was just rach, she was wishing me a good night's rest," you said. lucy grumbled something, but it was muffled by her face being buried against your body. "i'm sorry, what was that?"
"tell her to fuck off. this is my time with you," lucy grumbled. you smiled as you placed your hand on her head to tip it back. she looked up at you with half-closed eyes and a pout, which you found adorable. "what the hell do you want?"
"a kiss, but if you're going to be an ass, i'll just go get one from someone else," you answered. lucy obviously did not like that answer as she shot up and pinned you beneath her on the mattress.
"who told you that you could kiss other girls?" lucy asked. she was getting possessive, like she tended to on your nights out with the team, but lucy never really did much other than fuck you.
"it's not like i've got a girlfriend, now is it?" you countered. lucy furrowed her brows, seemingly ready to give in to your one demand. you had been dropping all sorts of hints, doing everything short of actually giving her an ultimatum.
"sing me another song, and i'll take you out for breakfast tomorrow before we leave. a nice little date for just the two of us, but (y/n), are you sure about this? am i really who you want?" lucy asked you. she knew that you had gotten very close to hooking up with a couple of other girls on both the lionesses and at barcelona.
"lucy, you would not be in my bed right now if i wasn't sure. do you think i just sing every pretty little bird that crosses my path to sleep? what kind of woman do you take me for?" you pretended to be offended, up until lucy cradled your face and pressed a soft kiss to your lips.
"my deepest apologies, and for the record, i think you're like some sort of disney princess. the kind that would give ingrid a run for her money," lucy complimented. "so, do you want to be my girlfriend? i think you've kind of had the position for a while, but might as well make it offical, yeah?"
"might as well, yeah," you echoed. lucy smiled, this time pulling you into her arms. you let the music resume on your phone, singing along to the songs until you felt lucy's body relax beneath yours.
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topperscumslut · 8 months
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Kiss Me With Your Eyes Closed (Sejanus Plinth x Reader)
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Summary: (Y/N) is the victor of the 9th Hunger Games and the beloved girlfriend of Coriolanus Snow, though she’s secretly in love with his best friend (in this au the hunger games progressed more quickly, for example mentors were already present before the 10th games etc etc). title inspired by Hot Freaks’ Puppy Princess!
Warnings: not much rlly tbh, a wee bit of angst but mostly FLUFFY FLUFFFFF. might write a smutty sequel if this does well (or just if i feel like it lol) but even then it would be more fluffy smut, like sweet love making rather than getting absolutely railed lmao yk? (i probably will so stay tuned if u like this and lmk if u wanna be tagged!)
spoiler free apart from references to coriolanus x lucy gray!!
ok actually it is a pretty good amount of angst nvm lmao
Word count: 2k
You sigh as you run your fingers over the tattered poster, so shiny and new only a year before, reading the now barely legible words. (Y/N) (L/N) Victory Tour, In Honor of the 9th Hunger Games, Arriving Soon in Your District. You remember your victory tour all too well. Despite the traumas you had endured as a victor, you’re grateful for how far you’ve come. Sure, you still have nightmares of your games every now and again, yet even still you have the best fate a girl from District 3 could ever hope for - you had fallen in love with a boy from the Capitol.
From an outsider’s perspective, it was the perfect love story. A doomed romance from the beginning; star crossed lovers, one might say, a Capitol boy and a District girl. When you had arrived at the Capitol for the 9th Hunger Games, near certain you had no chance of winning, your dashing mentor Coriolanus Snow had immediately taken a liking to you. He took you under his wing and coached you through your games, and when you had miraculously emerged victorious and returned to the Capitol, he decided that he wanted you for his own, and who were you to say no? Not even a few weeks before, you were just another girl from District 3, completely unknown, barely scraping by. Now you had been thrust suddenly into a lavish lifestyle with a handsome suitor to boot, adored by all of Panem; the nation’s sweetheart. After your games, you could have left it all behind. Sure, you would never be granted total anonymity being a victor, but you could have gone back to your beaten down home in District 3 and lived a relatively quiet life. After all, it’s not like the Snows had the finances to buy your freedom from your district and turn you into a full fledged Capitol citizen.
But the Plinths did.
You never particularly enjoyed Strabo Plinth as a person, but you couldn’t help but be grateful to him for what he had done for you. You had, however, immediately taken a liking to his caring wife, as well as his juxtaposition of a son, Sejanus, who clearly took more after his mother. In contrast to your rugged, analytical lover, Sejanus was gentle, complex. The two of you had become fast friends while Coriolanus had helped you prepare for the games.
And so before you knew it, this was your new life. At first you were anxious, concerned that your becoming a Capitol citizen and Coriolanus associating so intimately with a girl from the Districts would be seen as an act of rebellion and put you both in danger. However Coriolanus assured you that the nation loved you, both as an individual and as a couple. Sure, it was unexpected, yeah, it broke the (admittedly unwritten) rules, but that’s what made it oh-so fun to watch. Because at the end of the day, the games weren’t a competition - they were a show, and everyone loved an underdog.
There was only one minor flaw. You had fallen in love with a boy from the Capitol, yes, but it wasn’t the one you had so publicly given your heart to.
Your relationship with Coriolanus was practical, and that was about the only positive thing you could truthfully say about it. Neither of you were particularly wealthy or powerful individually, but together, you had potential. If you could keep all of Panem tuned in to your epic love story, you could almost certainly ensure mutual survival. You offered Coriolanus the opportunity to be known as not only a mentor to a victor, but a lover as well. And though nearly a year later his eyes had started to wander, the dapper blond had been quite infatuated with you when the courtship had begun, and Coriolanus was notoriously possessive. While his family was in the midst of financial hardship at the current moment, becoming a Capitol resident gave you the opportunity to get by still much more comfortably than you had in your impoverished home district. And who knew what volatility Coriolanus was capable of if you had rejected his advances? You had been coaxed into this very moment and had no other option but to grin and bear it. After all, all the girls you knew back home would kill to be in your position. A handsome sweetheart, financial stability courtesy of the Plinths, and the whole country all but worshiping you. Coriolanus Snow had offered you not only fame and fortune, but more importantly, security. Safety, in return for your undying affection.
Coriolanus was sweet at first. Charming, for sure. He was certainly attractive, yet he had never really had much of an effect on you. Maybe it was simply intuition. Or maybe it was the fact that he could never compare to his best friend, Sejanus Plinth.
Kind, pure Sejanus. The type of boy that, unlike Coriolanus Snow, truly made your head spin. The chemistry between you and Sejanus was unspoken, yet undeniable. However, you had already reluctantly sworn yourself to Coriolanus, and knew running off with his best friend would certainly put both you and your not so secret admirer in a treacherous situation. Sejanus Plinth was a risk you simply couldn’t afford to take.
What stung the most was that in any other situation, it could have worked. Sejanus was certainly more wealthy and influential than Coriolanus, not that that was what truly mattered to you. If you had been just a bit more fortunate, you could have had the boy you truly loved as your mentor and still have the same security and more that you were now so gracefully granted, if you had simply found your way to Sejanus before Coriolanus had set his sights on you and claimed you as his own. But unfortunately for you, your current romantic relationship was one built upon the grounds of survival rather than love.
If you were fully honest with yourself, you never truly loved Coriolanus - well, not romantically, at least. There was once a time where you had loved him as a dear friend, but in the time you had known him, he had become cruel and vitriolic. You knew from the start that he had always had it in him to become this way, though you had always naively hoped that he wouldn’t, that he would control himself, but the poison within his soul had soon taken over his cold, uncaring heart. He had become hardened by the misfortune of his family and gradually more complaisant in the ways of the Capitol, as well as secretly resentful of the great fortune of his supposed best friend and honorary brother Sejanus.
Now just over a year since you had met, the 10th Hunger Games were nearing to start. You had heard the whispers of Coriolanus sneaking around with his newest mentee, your replacement in more ways than one, Lucy Gray Baird; however it never bothered you. Lucy Gray knew that your relationship with Coriolanus was nothing more than a facade, and the two of you had become unlikely friends. You weren’t sure just how much of his affections for Lucy Gray were genuine, or how much was motivated by a desire to flatter her in an attempt to gain another victor to further his own career. Though Coriolanus’s mood was recently heightened by his new lover, he was still resentful of being assigned such an impoverished district for two years in a row and was prone to fits of rage over this perceived insult. While your home of District 3 was never much of a spectacle, Lucy Gray’s District 12 was miraculously even more down trodden, the poorest district of them all. You couldn’t help but wonder if this assignment was actually made to compliment Coriolanus, to show that if he could made a diamond in the rough out of you, that perhaps he could do the same for Lucy Gray.
As you sit alone in Coriolanus’s bed, still running your fingers gingerly along the photograph, you hear a knock at the door.
“Sejanus?”
“Oh, hey. Is Coryo around?”
You shake your head. “He’s out right now.”
Sejanus’s jaw tightens at your response. “With her?”
You nod unenthusiastically and can see the disgust and anger wash over his face as he makes his way over to you.
“It’s not her fault, Sejanus. She’s actually really sweet.”
He sits down on the bed next to you, careful to leave enough space between the two of you as to not make you uncomfortable. “I know it’s not. It’s his. Does it really not bother you at all?”
“Not particularly.”
He chuckles to himself. “You’re better than me, (Y/N). I don’t know how you put up with it. If I truly loved someone, it would kill me to see them with someone else.” He’s subtle, but you can tell exactly what he’s implying.
“Well good thing I don’t have to see it.”
“Fair enough.”
Sejanus looks sympathetically at you for a second, blissfully unaware that his kind, beautiful brown eyes are making you melt, before noticing the poster in your hand.
“Is that-”
“Yep.” You shiver, remembering your games, the things you saw… “I don’t think it ever occurred to him, the things I had to do in there.”
“It occurred to me.” He gently places his shaky hand on your knee, carefully surveying your expression to make sure you’re okay with the contact, to which you nod slightly, nearly involuntarily. “Look, I’ll say it since no one else in this screwed up place will, I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
You bite your lip, feeling butterflies in your stomach once again as he gives you that look and it takes everything in you not to lean in and kiss him right then and there. Your boyfriend could come home any moment, after all, and you quickly compose yourself, breaking Sejanus’s gaze. “It’s okay. I won. It’s the Hunger Games. It’s an honor.”
He inches carefully closer to you before speaking up again, his deep voice barely above a whisper. “(Y/N), you don’t have to pretend around me.”
You shake your head in denial. “I’m not pretending.”
“Then why haven’t I seen that light in your eyes that I love so much since you’ve left the arena? Why don’t you care that he’s always off with Lucy Gray? Why are the rules different for you than they are for him?”
And suddenly it hits you all at once. Sejanus is right. If Coriolanus is sneaking around with your friend everyday, even when they aren’t training, then what’s to stop you from doing the same to him? What do you owe him when all he’s ever done is keep you like a bird in a cage?
You don’t stop yourself, you don’t even think as you lean in and kiss Sejanus. He gets over the initial shock quickly and melts into it, cradling your body in his arms and pulling you in by the small of your back. You both pull away at the same time, not quite sure what’s gotten into you, but whatever it is, you like it.
“Coriolanus has never kissed me like that.”
“Go figure.”
His nerves kick in once again as he starts to stutter an apology before you shut him up by kissing him softly again.
“Since I first got to the Capitol… Sejanus, nothing here has felt right, except for you.”
“I could say the same about you,” he muses as he leans in once again, kissing you slow, both of you pretending the moment could last forever. If only…
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lyak12 · 3 months
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Lucy Bronze x reader please. They get spotted multiple times by fans and paparazzi that they are together but they haven’t come out as a couple yet. So when reader scores winning goal at Wembley at the euros. Lucy kisses reader. Like cute fluff
Privacy, or not?
A/N: That request was just too cute and suddenly got really motivated to write. Cut me some slack, it's not very long, not proofread, and I'm a bit rusty, but I'd like to think it's a start:) Thanks for the cute req, Annie :))
Warnings: None just pure fluff
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If there is one thing that is important to Lucy, it's her privacy.
You know that, and it's been openly communicated as you started dating a bit over a year ago. That means no love drunk posts on social media, or anything similar.
At first, you had thought this was going to be hard for you since you happily let your followers take part in your life, but you quickly realized that the beauty in this privacy is priceless.
You've never been so happy in a relationship.
---------
Lucy and you are currently walking at the beach near her apartment in Barcelona. You had quickly learned that Lucy values physical touch, and by now, whenever you were out together with no obvious paparazzi, her hand would always hold yours. Now isn't any different.
You look up at the brunette and can't help but smile. You're so happy. She notices you staring and asks, smiling, "What are you looking at?". "The person that makes me the happiest I've ever been", you just answer honestly as Lucy blushes slightly.
That's another thing you learned about Lucy early on in your relationship. She's pretty shy outside of football, and she could not deal well with being complimented.
"You're so cute when you blush", you just chuckle and cuddle into her side slightly. Lucy just rolls her eyes slightly before placing a soft kiss on your head.
You weren't surprised when the next day you were tagged in, I don't know how many tweets that show a very blurry picture of the two of you at the beach. People have been speculating about your relationship for months now.
As you crawl on the bed where Lucy is lying, you hand her your phone with the Pic. "You can not even tell it's us. They're just two blobs", she chuckles as you just start laughing. By now, it is just fun to tease the media.
You crawl into her arms and rest against her chest, cuddling close. "The paparazzi foto from the restaurant a couple of weeks ago has definitely been better", you mumble as she wraps her arms around you and holds you close. "That was a good one yeah", Lucy says as she kisses your forehead.
The euros were in just two weeks, and even though it's not your first rodeo with the national team, you always get a bit nervous. Lucy knows that, and she also knows that no matter how often she reassures you that everything will be fine, she can't get rid of your nerves completely.
"You thinking about the euros again?", she asks softly as she plays with your hair, and you just nod slightly. Crawling completely on top of her, you wedge yourself in between her legs and look up at her. "What if something happens to your knee?", you ask a bit worried. "Love, my knee is doing very well. Don't worry about me. We'll have a great tournament and play the sport we love, okay?", she asks as she looks into your eyes and caresses your cheeks. You nod and sigh softly before smiling at her.
And Lucy has been right. You both have been having an amazing tournament so far, and before you guys know it, you're in the final. All ready to win the euros. You've never witnessed the lionesses so hyped.
You got on in the 63th minute, and only minutes later, the Germans score a goal to make it even. You glance at Lucy from across the field, and she just nods at you. Telling you to stay focused. So that's what you do.
The regular time is over, so you move into the overtime. It's in the 111th minute that you have a perfect run, and you just take the shot. And it's in. At first, you can't believe it, and then you start cheering, running over to Lucy before jumping into her arms. Your other teammates jump on you too, cheering and yellin, but you only grin at Lucy.
You have never seen her look so unbelievably proud of you. She rests a hand on your cheek and kisses you. You haven't talked about it, but right now, it just felt right. And if Lucy is ready to make the two of you official, so are you.
You grin at her as you break the kiss before pecking her lips once more. You still had a game to finish. However, before you know it, the whistle is blown, and you're handed the medals and trophy. "We did it", you say, grinning at Lucy. "We sure did", Lucy says before pulling you in again for another kiss. "The fans that have been speculating and shipping us are gonna have a ball with this", you say, chuckling.
"Let them", Lucy just says, grinning and kisses you again. This is a nice way to end the tournament.
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Christmas Shopping
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Hi everyone!
Time is passing and I hope your December is going well for you:)
A little Christmas shopping with Lucy today, and if what happens in this fiction is taken from my own life, it’s obviously only coincidence ^^'
Happy reading!
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You wouldn’t know why, every year, you find yourself at the end of December running in stores to find Christmas presents. Yet, you think about it as early as July, thinking about what you can offer to your parents, your in-laws and Lucy. When you asked her what she would like, she shrugged her shoulders and said that what she likes at Christmas is to spend time with her family. And you, of course. Then she hugged you to break your bones. You love it, but it doesn’t help you choose something.
Lucy accompanies you today in the mall, you decided to join forces to find gifts. You made a list of people who are missing gifts and you had the same protein breakfast you had before your football matches. Lucy laughed and pretended that you were doing too much, but you know what a pain you’re going to get into. People are completely crazy in stores around Christmas.
It’s been almost an hour since you were in the store and you only found two of the ten gifts on your list. And you’ve already been stepped on three times. Next to you, Lucy pushes the shopping cart looking around her, studying each of the articles on which her eyes rest.
"Okay, now we need a doll set for your niece"
You turn back to Lucy, to face… emptiness. You frown and turn on yourself, looking for your girlfriend’s figure. But she’s nowhere to be found.
"Lucy?"
Frowning, you retrace your steps to go through the rays you have already crossed, wondering if you forgot to take something. But Lucy is still nowhere to be found. You end up finding her at a dried meat tasting stand, almost ten minutes later.
"Baby!" she happily cheers when she sees you "Here, you have to taste this!"
She hands you a toothpick on which a piece of meat is pricked, which you examine before carrying to your mouth.
"How delicious is that?"
Before you have time to answer, Lucy puts two packages in your cart, to the delight of the saleswoman you look at with scepticism.
"Hum" you just mumble when she says goodbye with a little too much enthusiasm to Lucy. "Are you being charmed for some food now?"
"Of course not" laughs Lucy before putting a loving kiss on your cheek.
The gesture makes you smile and forget the touch of jealousy you just felt. This may not be worth the Iberian ham you have in Barcelona, but it's true that it's rather good. You take out the empty list and take control of the shopping cart.
"Set of dolls"
********
"I’m hungry" sighs Lucy a little later
You smile and roll your eyes when you hear her. You have to admit that you are getting hungry too, but you are unfortunately far from having finished your shopping.
"We’ll go to the cafeteria after we finish this" you answer, shaking the list in front of her eyes.
"But baby" Lucy whines, in the same tone as her four-year-old nephew.
You shake your head and drag her with you into the good place to find a gift for her sister-in-law. A skincare set may not be the most original idea in the world, but your imagination is far from overflowing right now. Arriving at your destination, you hesitate a long time about the different possibilities, before turning to Lucy.
"What do you think? Coconut or… Luce?"
But Lucy disappeared again and you let your head go against the shopping cart with a sound that seems to worry a Grandma next to you.
Taking a random kit off the shelf, you go back looking for your girlfriend, grumbling in a low voice. It takes you again long minutes to find her, lost in the contemplation of Christmas decorations.
"Lucia" you sigh at her.
But she turns to you again with a big smile and you find yourself feeling your annoyance fade away. You’re far too in love with her for your own sanity.
"Look, it’s pretty! It would be nice in the entrance of our apartment right?"
"Mh yeah, maybe"
You sigh again, looking at the list. You have the impression that it has lengthened since the beginning of the day. The good news is you’re starting to see the end of the tunnel. You ignore the man who rushes into your shopping cart, leaving Lucy to glare at him instead of you.
"We still need the gift for your brother, the gift for your mother and…"
"Give me this damn list."
You arch an eyebrow but comply, handing her the piece of paper and pen that you carry carefully since you left home. Your eyes are mechanically attracted by the light effects of the decorations and it's true that it is rather pretty.
"Is that the one you like?"
Lucy takes a brief look at the one you are pointing at and nods with a slight smile. After half a second of hesitation, you carefully place it in the shopping cart, balancing on the packets of meat.
"Here" says Lucy after a few seconds.
You pick up the list she gives you, quickly realizing that she added something following what you had already written. Who did you forget? But your slightly desperate look changes when an amused smile appears on your face.
"Smile, Feed your starving and almost dead girlfriend and Let her kiss you?" you laugh softly as you look up at her.
"Yes. And we can already trace the first one."
You keep smiling when she puts her hand in the hollow of your back to kiss your temple. This woman.
"Well, let’s go feed my hungry girlfriend before she falls out then" you do mischievously.
"Yes, please. We’ve reached a critical threshold."
You roll your eyes again and it's with her hand always on you that you take the way to the cafeteria. Needless to say, at the end of the day you didn’t find everything you were looking for and you will have to come back tomorrow. At least that’s what you’re imagining, before you let Lucy convince you to order what you need online.
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afictionaladventure16 · 2 months
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Hey! I love your Tim Bradford x teen! Reader fics! Was wondering could you do another one? Reader reconnects with someone they met through the system who's had a rough go. Maybe they were in the same house for a while and relied on each other a lot in that house to keep each other safe. But as they reconnect reader doesn't realise how toxic the relationship is. Tamara knows the dodgy stuff that the kid gets up to from her time in the system and warns Lucy and Tim because she doesn't want reader to fall back into bad habits with them. Maybe reader gets in trouble and calls Tamara to save them?
Reconnections and Regrets (Tim Bradford x Teen!Foster!Reader)
The Rookie Masterlist
Warnings: Mentions of guns and drugs
Summary: After trying to reconnect with people in the past, y/n realizes quickly why the past should stay in the past.
Author's note: I feel like this one wasn't the best fic I've done so far. I really liked this idea for the fic, though! I hope you enjoy it! Send in some more Tim Bradford x Teen!reader angsty fics!
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You had promised yourself that you wouldn’t get back into your old habits. 
That you would forget your past and move forward, just like Tamara had done, and just as every other kid within the system wishes they could do. To have the ability to find someone to take you under their wing and help you forget your past. An opportunity to start over. 
But here you were, texting an old friend with plans to catch up later that afternoon. You couldn’t help but smile at the messages, you were excited to catch up with old friends. But most of all, you were excited to catch up with a special someone that you hadn’t seen since Tim took you in. 
The special someone was a boy named Jacob, the two of you had been in a foster home together when you were younger and he protected you from your foster father and well, you tried to do the same. You couldn’t help but develop feelings for him over the years. 
The last you heard about him was that he was living with his cousin, from what you knew, this cousin was bad news and you could not help but worry about Jacob living there. Especially since he stopped responding to your messages when he moved in with his cousin. It felt like he had just pushed you away. 
“What are you smiling about?” Tamara asked as she sat on the couch beside you. You had come over since Tim wasn’t home yet, and well, since Lucy and Tim were dating it now felt like you had two homes instead of one. 
“Nothing,” you responded. 
You could feel Tamara peeking over your shoulder to look at your phone, you quickly locked it and put it on your lap. 
“Please don’t tell me you’re talking to Jessica,” she pleaded. 
“Alright, I won’t.” 
She rolled her eyes, “Y/N, you know how I feel about her.” 
“Look, I’m just trying to reconnect, what harm-” 
“You know what can happen. You gotten out of that life and now you’re trying to go back? You get Starbucks on the daily, you’re in the cheer team and you go to a self-defense class for crying out loud. You’re not the same girl you used to be, so don’t think they’ll be coming at you with open arms.” 
You gave her a small glare, “Stop acting like you don’t think about going back to see your old friends from time to time.” You got up from the couch, “Maybe instead of focusing so much on my life, you should take a look at yours first.” 
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tamara asked as she followed you as you walked towards the door, “Where are you going?” 
“Out,” you stated as you walked out of the apartment. 
“Fuck,” Tamara exclaimed. Maybe she should’ve kept her mouth shut, but she felt she had to say something, otherwise, you would end up hurt. But now she felt like she had made things worse. 
On the other hand, you were annoyed by how she was right and maybe you got angry with her out of fear. Fear that maybe your friends, like Tamara had said, wouldn’t be as inviting as you think they would be. You hadn’t just changed through your personality but through your appearance too. You now had someone who would take you shopping for clothes you always wanted to wear, but never did out of fear of them getting stolen or taken from you. 
You acted like a completely different person now. A person who learned to trust a little more easily and you now weren’t afraid to just be yourself. 
On my way over, you sent it to Jessica. 
It wouldn’t take long for you to get back to the old neighborhood, it was a twenty-minute bus ride away. Or thirty minutes walking, but with the Los Angeles heat, you’d take your chances with the bus. 
~~ 
A couple of hours passed, and Tamara had not received anything from you. Beginning to worry had already surpassed, she was the definition of completely terrified of what could go wrong. She should’ve texted Tim or Lucy the second you left, but she wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, but not the guilt was eating away at her. She let out a frustrated groan and called Lucy. 
Lucy picked up after a few rings, “What’s up?” 
“Look before you start yelling, I was trying to warn her okay?” 
Lucy furrowed her eyebrows, “What happened?” 
“Please don’t be mad, but Y/N was here and I saw her messaging one of her old friends and we got into an argument about it and now she’s not responding and I’m scared she’s gonna fall back into some bad habits, especially because this girl is known for doing certain things.” 
“How long ago did she leave?” Lucy asked. 
“Like two hours ago,” Tamara confessed. 
“And you’re barely calling me?” Lucy raised her voice, but quickly let out a sigh, “Do you think she went to see this friend?” 
“I know she did,” Tamamra hesitantly said. 
“Alright, for now, we’ll just see things out. We can’t just go there all guns blazing when there is no trouble,” Lucy stated. Although, she wanted to go all guns blazing because she was worried for Y/N’s safety. 
“Are we going to tell Tim?” 
“Tim already knows,” Tim announced. Tamara could hear the anger in his voice, and the fact that he never said anything until now, meant that he was indeed angry. 
“Look, just keep us updated, let us know if you hear anything from her, alright?” Lucy said. 
“Alright,” Tamara hung up the phone. 
Lucy didn’t say anything to Tim, she waited until he did, but he remained silent. 
Lucy let out a deep breath, “do you want to talk about it?” 
“Talk about what?” Tim asked. 
Lucy rolled her eyes, “About Y/N sneaking off to see her old friends? I mean, it’s obvious that you’re angry.” 
“I’m not angry.” 
“You’re not?” She asked in almost disbelief. 
“I’m disappointed. I thought she trusted me enough to tell me things, well, I thought we had gotten to that point. Now I feel like we hadn’t made any progress at all.” 
“You know that’s not true,” Lucy began to say. 
“Is it?” Tim cut her off, “because from my perspective, it doesn’t look good. I love this kid and I want to be more than just another foster home for her, but almost every time we get close to making a breakthrough she pushes me away.” 
Lucy sighed, she felt that maybe with her experience with Tamara, she would know what to say, but somehow this was different. “Just give her some time,” Lucy suggested. 
Tim wanted to say that he had given her all the time in the world, but that made it sound like he was giving up, and he didn’t want to give up. He just wished he knew what to do. 
~~ 
You had been with Jessica walking around your old neighborhood for the past two hours, hoping to run into Jacob and it didn’t take you too long. 
From a distance, you can see Jacob at the park talking to some guys that looked to be older. 
Jessica smirked as she watched you stare at Jacob from a distance, “you know he still asks about you.” 
You scoffed, “really?” she gave you a nod, “yet he won’t return a text.” 
“He thinks he’s too tough for all that shit now, he even dropped out of school,” Jessica commented. She walked in front of you, “We should go over there,” she suggested. 
Now that you were here, you had a sort of fear lingering in the back of your head. You knew the chances of hanging out with Jacob meant that you could get into trouble, but that voice inside of your head just wanted to talk to him once more. 
You shrugged, “I don’t know.” 
“Oh come on, Y/N. Don’t act like your main purpose for hitting me up was so you could see him again,” Jessica grabbed your hand and began leading you to the park. That fear within the back of your head was beginning to get louder the closer you got to Jacob. 
“Maybe I should go home,” you began to say. Jacob was only steps away and at the sound of your voice he quickly turned around. 
“No way,” he said with a smile on his face. “Ain’t no way she came back to see us,” he exclaimed as you sighed and walked up to him. “For a second I was beginning to think you were too good for us.” 
You rolled your eyes at his comment, “How you’ve been?” you asked. 
He glanced over at his friends then diverted his eyes back at you, “I’ve been decent.” Jessica walked over to his friends, of course she would know who they were. She was quick to strike up a conversation with them. Jacob took a couple of steps away from the group, gesturing for you to get closer. 
“I heard you’re staying with your cousin,” you began. 
“You shouldn’t have come back, Y/N,” Jacob warned. “You got out and I’m proud that you did.” 
“It’s not too late for you to do the same,” you commented. 
He shook his head, “I’m too deep in this shit.” You knew what that meant. You knew that his chances of getting out of this life were gone. “You really shouldn’t have come back, people know you’re staying with a cop. My cousin knows,” he began. 
Your heart began to race, “Why did you stop texting me back?” You asked. You had to ask before you left, you knew his cousin had beef with cops and anyone associated with them. 
“You left and well, I had to go with my cousin and that meant-” 
“I know,” you interrupted, not wanting to hear him say it. To hear him say that he stopped talking to you not just for your own good, but his as well. 
“You really should go,” he began to say. From the distance you could hear the roar of an engine, it caught Jacob’s attention. “Fuck,” he whispered. 
“Sounds like your cousin is back,” One of the other guys began to say. 
You looked over at Jessica, “we should go,” you said. 
Jessica opened her mouth to say something but was interrupted by the roar of the engine, a second later a car came into view and parked in the parking lot of the park. 
A guy came out of the car and began making his way over to the group, “So the rumors are true,” he began to say. “Jacob’s little girlfriend is back,” He smirked. 
“Hey, Frankie,” you said. 
“Is that all I get? Hey Frankie?” He scoffed before looking over at Jacob, “I need you to come with me,” he began as he glanced over at you, “and bring your little girlfriend.” 
“No, Frankie. You already know she liv-” 
“Did you just tell me no?” Frankie interrupted Jacob. “Do you not remember the last time I had to put you in your place?” Jacob clenched his fists, “or do you need a refresher?” 
“Fine,” Jacob grabbed a hold of your hand, “let’s go.” 
“Wait, what? I-I need to go home,” you pleaded. 
“No, no,” Frankie began, “you’re coming with us now.” 
You felt your anxiety rise within you, this is what Tamara had warned her about. This is what she was afraid of and now it was too late. 
“Jacob,” you whispered to him as soon as you stepped away from Frankie, “Where are we going?” 
“I don’t know,” he whispered. “I told you, you shouldn’t have come back.” 
You remained silent, the best thing you could do right now was to stay calm. 
Frankie drove the two of you two a house down the street, he led the two of you inside, “Dude, what the fuck, why did you bring us here?” 
“I told you I wanted to show the business,” Frankie said. 
“And you thought it was wise to bring her here?” Jacob commented. You looked around to see equipment you couldn’t recognize and powder inside blenders. You knew what was happening here wasn’t good at all, it was a lab of some sorts. A shitty one at that. 
“I want her to see what we’re doing, if she says anything then I know who ratted us out,” Frankie stated. 
Jacob shook his head, “that is the stupidest thing you have ever said. I swear you’ve lost it since you started using.” 
“What the fuck did you just say to me?” 
“Did you not hear yourself? You want her to purposely rat us out, for what? For us to lose everything?” 
Frankie pulled out a gun and aimed it at you, “So then should I just shoot her?” 
Your eyes widen, “What the fuck, Frankie!” Jacob exclaimed as he stood in front of you. You clung to Jacob’s arm, you could feel tears beginning to well up in your eyes. 
One of the guys from earlier came running in, “We got a problem.” 
Frankie sighed and put his gun back in his belt, “what?” 
“Enrique is here and I don’t think he wants to talk anymore.” 
Frankie looked at the man with anger in his eyes, “Stay here,” he told Jacob before walking out front. You pulled out your phone as soon as Frankie left. 
“What are you doing?” Jacob asked. 
“I-I was in over my head coming here,” You began as you looked for Tamara’s contact. 
Jacob rolled his eyes, “Calling your cop dad is just going to get me locked up,” He commented. 
“You wanted me to go, so now I’m calling my friend to get me the fuck out of here,” you stated. You heard a gunshot coming from outside, before you could even ask Jacob anything, he ran outside. You called Tamara, hoping she would pick up fast and that she wouldn’t say a word about this to Tim. 
“Y/N!” Tamara exclaimed. 
“Tamara,” you choked out, “I-I need your help.” 
Tamara face fell, “Where are you?” 
“I don’t know, we were at the old neighborhood and Frankie showed up and he-he’s on something and it looked like he wanted to show Jacob a-” Another gunshot rang outside, you jumped to the sound. You ran from your spot in the living room, you found a bathroom in the hallway. 
“What was that?” Tamara asked. 
You closed the door behind you, locking it before jumping inside the tub. “Please, help me.” 
“Okay, okay, stay on the phone. I’m gonna connect Lucy okay?” Tamara quickly added Lucy to the call. “Please pick up,” Tamara said to herself. 
“Tamara,” Lucy began, “you hear anything from Y/N?” 
“Lucy,” you said. 
“Y/N?” 
“Lucy, I added you to the call,” Tamara explained. 
Lucy quickly put the phone on speaker, Tim was quick to understand what was going on. 
“Y/N, Hon are you okay?” Tim asked. 
Just hearing his voice made you feel even more guilty, you felt the tears fall down your cheeks, “I’m sorry,” you choked out. 
“Y/N, honey, it’s okay, right now I need you to tell me if you’re okay, are you hurt in any way” Tim reassured. 
“N-No,” you stated. 
“Good, where are you?” 
“I-I don’t know. Some house in the old neighborhood.” 
“Y/N, do you think you can share your location with me?” Lucy suggested. 
You placed the phone on speaker as you went on your phone to share your location, “There,” you stated. 
“There it is,” Lucy said. 
“Let’s go,” Tim said as he placed the shop in drive. 
Another gunshot ranged through the air, “What was that?” Tamara asked. 
“That sounded like a gun,” Tim stated as he drove. 
You stayed on the phone with them until they had gotten there. You had hung up the phone once they arrived, You could hear the gunshots coming from outside, meaning that Lucy and Tim’s presence wasn’t welcomed. Sirens were coming from the distance, you felt a little at ease knowing that backup was coming. 
Still, you remained in the bathroom until it was safe. The shots subsided and you heard footsteps within the house. A few seconds later someone knocked on the door, “Y/N?” Tim called out. 
You quickly got up from your position in the bathtub and opened the door. Before Tim could even react, you had your arms wrapped around his torso, he let out a relieved sigh as he hugged you back. 
“I’m sorry,” you cried out. 
“It’s okay,” He said as he gently rubbed your back. “It’s alright, let’s just go home.” 
You agreed, following him outside. You looked around for Jacob, making eye contact with him as he sat inside one of the shops. Tim had noticed, he knew that you needed this closure with your past, “hey, roll down the window,” he told the officer who sat inside the shop. He did as he was told. 
Jacob stayed silent, “I guess this is goodbye,” you began to say. 
“Next time, stay out of this neighborhood,” he warned. You gave him a nod, “And if there is a next time, I probably won’t be as inviting.” 
Tim gestured for the cop to roll up the window, he knew you didn’t need to hear more. “There won’t be a next time,” you whispered as you walked away from the shop. 
“Y/n!” you heard Tamara call out. 
“Tamara!” You ran up to her, she engulfed you in a hug. “I’m sorry for everything I said.” 
“It’s the past now,” she said. “Let’s just forget about it,” she said as she let go of the hug. 
“Tamara is gonna take you home until my end of shit,” Tim stated. “We’ll talk then, alright?” 
You gave him a nod, following Tamara to her car. 
“If there is anything I learned today, it’s that the past is the past,” you said once you got in the car. “And you’re right, I’m not the same girl I was a year ago.” 
“We’re lucky,” Tamara began, “Not a lot of us get this opportunity in life and when we do, we do everything we can to not go back.” Tamara started the car. You knew that you wouldn’t come back to this life, but something within you was going to miss it. Miss the little moments of happiness that made you feel like you had a home, but now you had an actual home. It wasn’t the ideal home, but it was a home and you had someone who gave you a sense of family even if it wasn’t picture-perfect. 
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websterss · 1 year
Text
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐎 𝐒𝐄𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐌𝐄 — 𝐀𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐘 𝐋𝐎𝐂𝐊𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃
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𝐑𝐄𝐐𝐔𝐄𝐒𝐓: Heyy! Could I request an Anthony lockwood x reader where lockwood gets injured on his side on a mission so at home reader helps him take care of it but he has to take his shirt off. Basically full of fluff
𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆(𝐒): A lil bit angsty with some fluff
𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐓: 2,881
𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: Anthony Lockwood x fem!Reader  
𝐀/𝐍: Hope you enjoy it! :) I added angst cause I couldn’t help myself. Anthony Lockwood screams angst lol.
𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓
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“Can you stand at all?” Lucy gave a once over to the boy pressed up against a stone. Lockwood grimaced as he felt an ache course up through his rib cage. He faintly nodded a yes to lessen Lucy’s worry over him.
“I think I can manage.” He smirked to mask the pain he was in. “Though I could use a hand.” He reached up, eyes falling onto George. The curly haired boy met his hand and helped him onto his feet again. A muffled grunt didn’t go over their heads. One silent glance of communication was enough to agree to head on home. A home where you currently waited for the trio in. 
“Y/n is not going to be pleased about this.” George grimaced.
“So don’t tell her.” Anthony scowled with a grimace.
In a series of cases you would accompany them. The trio originally being a quartet, but after a case with a type two and a torn ligament. Lockwood thought best to keep you under house arrest, much to your chagrin, though you happily obliged to his wishes. Staying home at least until your foot is fully healed. That meant you weren’t allowed to apply pressure to your injury, thus preventing you from doing normal human things. You did your best to offer your knowledge and help out in terms of research, but you would much rather be out there in the field, another thing Lockwood was firm about, no forms of physicality. You hated being homebound, stuck staring at the small four walls of every room in the house, though you knew as much that Lockwood would have a cow if he so much saw you anywhere else but within the apartment. The bloke nearly panicked one day after you stepped foot outside to fetch the mail. Now you wondered how he would react once he knew about your rendezvous scales up and down the staircases. Your foot was far from healing at this point though you obliged. Wanting to keep the peace.
What seemed like a never ending wait, quickly vanished as the familiar twist of the doorknob got your attention from the living room. You hastily pushed yourself up to stand, hobbling towards the entryway. Your smile greeting your tired friends. Lucy reciprocates your smile, whereas George brushes past you with a curt nod, and Anthony…well he has yet to meet your eyes. You glance over at Lucy in hopes of an explanation, but she only further replies with. “It was our most difficult case yet. I’d give him some time.” You place your hand over hers that fell onto your shoulder in passing up towards her room. Your hand lingering on your shoulder. Tucking your neck in, as you subconsciously tether on your good foot. All your weight applied to your left side.
“Anthony.” Your voice rings out but it’s a faint mutter. Loud enough to dance in and out of his ears. You didn’t dare raise an octave. Too scared to break the silence with so much as a raise of your voice. “Ant-“
“Please.” He begs, shaking his head. Not in the mood to be lectured or frowned upon, he wouldn’t be able to bear it, seeing a frown on your soft features. He already got a glimpse of your worry stricken facade. He didn’t want to add on to your concerns. He didn’t need you to strain yourself over the horrible ache in his right side, not when you had your own injuries to worry about. His breathing becomes labored, his jaw clenches. The visible vein popping against his forehead makes your smile downcast.
“You’re hurt, Anthony.” You point out the obvious. You sigh, closing your eyes for what you knew was about to be a stubborn battle that was about to commence.
“It’s nothing.” His voice shakes, making his brave exterior falter. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Show me.” You gesture to the side he holds.
“I’m fine. No need to get over dramatic on me.” He straightens out with a smirk. His arms open wide for emphasis. “You have your injuries. I have my own. Goodnight, Y/n.” You roll your eyes, letting him brush past you slowly, then watch him ascend onto the second level. You wait a second then follow after him. Your slow thudded steps are not missed by him. He stops as he reaches the last step. Watching you hold the railing to support your climb. “What the bloody hell are you doing?”
“Wondering if you enjoy pissing me off.” You retort. You land on the deck with a huff. “Wow, that does not get easier.”
“Have you been practicing?” The realization hits him hard. His jaw drops, as two and two come together. You climb with ease, quite possibly faster than he could with his injuries.
“It was either I sit around all day. Or ascend the stairs. What do you think?” You pat his chest. Walking ahead and into his room. You turn back around to face the brute still gaping at you in the middle of the hallway. “Now show me!” You gesture for him to enter. He hesitates, but obliges. Coming into his room, and shutting the door behind him. He glanced up at you, waiting patiently for him to let you tend to his injuries.
“You really ought to just head on to bed. I’ll be fine.” He suggests, rather than fall vulnerable under your now narrowed annoyed eyes.
“And you really ought to know when to shut up.” You motion with your head to his bed. He averts his gaze, looking anywhere that isn’t your hard glare. He knows you mean well, but feeling the full blunt force he received when he fell against his ribcage. He didn’t want to imagine what his side appeared as if it’s caused him this much pain already. He didn’t want to burden you. See you in such pain. Your nurturing and caring stature is something he adores. You always look after others when you should apply such tendencies to your own self. You put others needs before your own, and right now, he knew after showing you how bad he was suffering, how much he was hiding, your mind would linger on this moment for a long time, until your mind occupied something new to dwell and overthink about. It’s why he’s so hesitant to even sit on the edge of his own bed.
“When will you stop being so stubborn and ask for help?” You walk over to the corner of the room, collecting a small aid kit, you recommended Anthony keep, in times of need, and situations as such. He had the tendency to gain a few cuts and bruises here and there. Overworking himself, and hardly gaining any sleep.
“Why bother? You see right through me every time.” The corner of his lips lifts. Eyeing you carefully as you set the box beside him. You roll your eyes, bringing a vacant chair over in front of him to help you clean up his wounds. You scoot until your knees brush. You sigh once more, meeting his eyes that have yet to leave yours.
“You’re right. I do see through every bullshit attempt of feigning okay.” You nod. “Though I wish more than anything that you’d tell me instead. That you’d use your words instead of having to see pain written over your face. I wish you’d tell me, Ant.” Your eyes begin to water. As do his. He holds your gaze, letting his walls tear down to allow you a second of entry.
He nods knowing that he definitely lacks verbal communication. He nods because he knows how this all affects you. He nods because you're the only person who truly sees him. Who doesn’t push him, but encourages him to find his voice and let his guard down around you. A tear falls down his cheek. “It hurts.” He finally allows himself to admit.
You hastily nod, swallowing down the ache in your throat. You sniffle as you try to gain your composure. “Where?”
“It’s my side…” He grits his teeth. “I fell on my side.” He closes his eyes as you go to lift the bottom shirt. His hand quickly stops you from pulling the shirt upwards. “No, no, no. I don’t want you to see. If it hurts this much then it can’t be far from looking bad.”
“Anthony please.” You plead. “I need to see so that I can help you. Make sure you don’t have a broken rib or worse!”
He thinks about it before giving in. His grip on your hand lessens up. You meet his gaze for a brief second then slowly go to lift the hem of his shirt. You lift and lift until his mid section is revealed to you. Your audible gasp has him thinking the worst. You reach out to touch him but stop. “I-I need you to remove your shirt.” You clear your throat. Tears brimming your eyes again. Your teary eyes lift to meet his now concerned ones. “Can you remove it?” You don’t even need his answer, his injuries do look as bad as he says he feels. A firm shake of his head is all you need to help slide down his blazer past his shoulders. Once carefully removed. His shaky hands fumble with unbuttoning the buttons. You take over and start from the top to the bottom. Once you reach the last button, you halt your movements. The overly confident person you are diminishing in a heart heart. Your cheeks grow warm as you overthink about the compromising position you just put yourself in. A shirtless Anthony was not something you thought you’d encounter.
You undo the button and push the shirt open. His chest, now revealed and his bruising and cut now more visible. Your breathing comes out shaky as you go to grab a cloth and disinfectant spray. Your eyes fleet back to his chest, shamefully letting your eyes take in his build. Anthony was a sight that was always sure. Despite the bags under his eyes, and overconfidence, you can see past it all and gawk at his attractiveness. His ego was now surely boosted as his eyes crinkled mischievously. A smirk prominent on his lips as he watched you try and subtly avert your eyes elsewhere, like towards his injuries, but your gaze flickering between his own eyes and open chest has him finding this whole predicament amusing. 
“You’re bashful.” He teased, reaching forward to poke fun at your cheeks.
“I am not.” You scoffed at his accusation. You denied him, reluctant to let him see that he was winning and you were losing, very very badly. 
“You know if you wanted to rid me of my shirt, you only needed to ask.” His laugh broke the barrier, the evident grimace now apparent as he grunted about the pain he felt. He had to make a mental note to not shake of laughter, at least until he got better and his side wasn’t currently sore. 
“Keep laughing, see where that gets you.” You chuckled, yet the familiar twinkle in his eyes was now reflecting back at him. “Besides…who says I wanted to see you shirtless?” Your eyes fail you as you chance a look at his chest again, then to his knowing stare. You let your head fall wanting to avoid confronting him and your clear feelings for him. Though the slight lift of your chin by his own hand has you thinking that the feelings you hide might not be all so invisible to a certain someone. 
“I say.” His face inches closer, the warmth of his breath closer to your lips than you wanted. The smallest flicker down to your lips then up to your e/c irises does not escape you. Your breath hitches when he lets his head lean against yours. Heads now pressed together. His hand still lingers under your chin, never retracting or falling back down to his side. “I am so utterly grateful for you, Y/n. I don't know what my life would be like if you hadn’t walked into my life.”
“I didn’t exactly walk though now did I?” Your smile widens. Eyes crinkling at the corners as you pulled back to look at him. “More like fell.” You laugh, reminiscing over your first encounter with each other. Another one of your cases gone wrong, you fell backwards when Anthony had opened the door your back was pressed against. Two strangers meeting under a ghostly scenario. What more could perfectly describe your bond with one another? 
“You were scared that day.” He remembered. You nodded.
“I was…It was my first case. I was on my own till you showed up.” Your stomach flutters under his gaze. You fiddle with the cloth in your hands. “I’m glad you did though. You saved me that day.” You let out a breathy laugh. His eyes never faltered, never fleeting. His gaze was intense, wanting to remember every little detail about you. This life you all lived, nothing was ever truly promised, you and him weren’t so easily promised. Tomorrow could come, but there’d be the chance that you wouldn’t. He was so afraid of losing you. Losing the team, and ending up alone like how he was after his parents died. He was trying to hold onto you all until he couldn’t anymore. 
“No.” He denied it. “You saved me.” He adjusted himself into a better sitting position. Straightening up. You gave the faintest smile. Looking away in hopes to lessen your flustered state. You saved him, and he saved you.
“You okay? I bandaged up the wound as best as I could, but you’ll need another clean up tomorrow.”
He looked down to observe your masterful work of art. He nodded reassuringly that he was okay. “Nothing a few pain meds can’t fix.” He joked, but saw you hesitate. “I’m okay. The pain isn’t as bad anymore.”
“Sure?”
“I promise. You’ve cured me.” He beamed.
“I wouldn’t go as far as that but I do try my best.” You began gathering the mess you made and all the opened wrappers.
“No, you are the best doctor anyone could ever ask for.” He placed his hand over yours stopping you from cleaning up after yourself. “Thank you.”
“You don’t have to thank me everytime I bandage you up Lockwood.” You reminded him. You’d help him any day given, no questions asked. “I want to help.”
“Thank you for everything you do for us.” For me, he wanted to say. You rolled your eyes and gathered up all the trash. You moved the chair back to stand and was stopped by Anthony’s grip on your wrist again. “You okay?” Your brows furrowed, looking down at him. He strained himself, using your arm for support to stand up to his feet. His breath shuddered as he stood silent for a second. “Anthony you okay?” He nodded in response. Then he grew flustered himself. You opened your mouth to speak again but clamped it shut when he leaned forward. His lips pressing a soft gentle kiss against your cheek. Your eyes widened in surprise, and your breath hitched in the back of your throat. Your dilated pupils met his own that were widened in shock of what he had just done. Your grip on all the trash loosened causing all the scraps to fall and float towards the bottom. “Oh I uh-” You scrambled, bending down to collect all the trash. Anthony raised a hand to rub the back of his neck subconsciously. He did not expect you to react this way. 
“Sorry here let me-”
“No it’s okay I got it-” You waved him away. Though as you rose to your full height and he lowered closer to the ground, your heads budded against each other. You both groaned, touching the areas that collided. 
“I’m so sorry-” He began, grimacing as the pain in his side returned.
“It’s fine!” You reassured him, rubbing your aching headache.
“No really. I shouldn’t have kissed you. I caught you off guard and I-” He was then cut off by your own lips. You pulled back in haste. Eyes widened in shock. You reacted impulsively and your mind said to kiss him, so you shut him up. “Oh…” He was the speechless one this time. 
“Sorry-” You began. He held onto your shoulders, shaking his head to reassure you. 
“No, it's fine. I just didn’t expect it.” You nodded in response this time.
“I’m gonna go now…” You answered lamely, gesturing with your thumb to the door. “Let you get some rest.” You took a step away only to be stopped once more. The tug on your forearm causing you to turn back around to face him.
“Stay.” The four lettered word caused your heart to skip a beat.
“Stay?”
“I want you to stay.” He muttered softly.
“You want me to stay?” You breathed out softly.
“I do. Please stay…If you want to of course!”
“I do.” You nodded surely.
“Okay.” His smile grew, tugging your arm to lead you closer to him. 
“Okay.” You breathed out a laugh as you continued to let him tug you closer. 
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