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winterarmyy · 10 months

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Around My Scars

Glimpses of mafia!bucky and his wife's arranged married life.

Summary: A careless decision leads to Bucky almost losing his wife.

Note: Read 《 Plot Twist 》 for backstory of the couple.

Words: 5.1k++

Pairing: beefy mafia!bucky x female!reader

Warnings: 18+ content, no minors allowed, nsfw, physical assault (not from bucky), sexual assault (not from bucky), graphic violence, reader is lowkey a badass, pussyjob, reader on top but bucky in control, p in v, unprotected sex, creampie, extra soft!bucky, fluff, tiny angst, etc.

P/S: If you have not read the original story yet. You can read it first for backstory. If not, you still can read it as standalone. And for those who came from plot twist series, I noticed there's a lot of you wanting more from this couple. So here's one of the glimpses of what happen somewhere in the future. Enjoy ♡

Read my other works here: Masterlist

All her life, she never thought a kiss could be this gentle. In fact every time Bucky's lips graced on her skin, it was impossibly tender. His kisses trailed along her bare back, from the center of her waist up to the back of her shoulder.

His lips followed the surrounding shape of her scarring wounds, as if he was tracing the shadows of them. His hot breath fanning against her cold skin and the deep, and subtle hum of his voice lulled her to near slumber.

Unlike his soft pillowy lips, his hands however were the opposite. His right was calloused and warm while the other was smooth and cold. Yet both of them were cupping her bare breasts perfectly; they felt so good on her skin.

It felt good like this; nothing in between them. Not even a single piece of clothing separating them apart. Bare and naked.

"Bucky..." a quiet moan was drawn from her lips as his hands squeeze her softness before they roamed around her frame.

Bucky only tightens his hold on her upon hearing her voice. It was if he was afraid that she was not real. As if she was just an illusion he was despretely holding onto.

He pulled her impossibly closer, his metal arm wrapped around her waist, gripping on the side while his right hand palming her chest, right above where her heart was beating.

She's real. She's here.

His own voice reassured his doubtful mind.

However, Y/N was getting nothing from her husband. Only grunts and growl and him snuggling into her, "Bucky, baby? What's wrong, honey?" she coaxed him softly as her hand reached back to played with his hair.

It took a few moments of silence before Bucky finally replied, his voice sounded like regret, "It's my fault, y/n."

~ ~ Flashback ~ ~

It was a normal day for the couple. A lovely day, in fact. They were on one of their 'undercover' dates. At least, that what Y/N called it. A name she came up with that makes Bucky rolled his eyes and shook his head.

Apparently, after the diner date they had before, they find themselves wanting more of it. The normality of life outside of the reality they lived in. And they surely made it a weekly schedule. Not that it was chore for them though, it never was, never will be.

After visiting the Brooklyn Book Festival and basically almost hauling the displays, they were planning to eat the new cafe near the location. But, as soon as they find the seats, Bucky got a call.

He was not supposed to even received any call.

That was one of the rules he set himself; no business during their dates. For whatever reason, this one got through him.

"Probably something huge." Y/N guessed as she watched Bucky excuses himself to pickup the call.

And her hunch was true. It was a huge deal. Especially when she saw his expression when he was approaching their table.

"I'm sorry, sweets. I really hate to leave you like this." He apologized when Y/N said she was okay to eat lunch alone.

"It's okay, I'm already here so it'd be a waste to completely cancel the plan." She continued to justify her decision for the reasons that the new café was hard to book a table, as if Bucky couldn't just book the whole goddamn café everyday for the rest of their life for her.

But, in the end, she did managed to persuade him. Bucky gentlely pulled her by the chin, before placing a soft kiss on her lips; whispering promises to make it up for her.

As his promises were laced with sweetness and sin, Y/N couldn't help but to smile against his lips, humming in agreement before watching him jog to the car.

She waved him a final goodbye and smiled at Steve who came to pick him up. The car drove away, leaving two of Bucky's men behind to look after Y/N.

If only Bucky knew how careless his decision was to leave those particular men in charge of his wife. Both were high on drugs and was not in a condition to be on duty. Especially a duty as important as protecting the lady of mansion.

At first it wasn't clear why she felt a little out after her lunch. She thought she would be fine after a little walk at the nearby park but she was wrong. Utterly wrong; especially when her vision went dark all of the sudden.

When she woke up in that basement, it clicked her. Her drink or food must have been spiked.

How long has it been since? How far away is she now from Bucky? Y/N woke up knowing nothing. Not knowing the place she was in nor the duration she had passed out.

Her heart was pumping fast, all the while her body was deadly cold. She was expecting to be tied up on a chair, at least she could try wiggle herself out of it but luck wasn't on her side.

Metal chains securely cuffed around her wrists as well as her ankles. Her movement was limited as the end of the chains were attached to the wall behind here. Anxiety threatens her to cry but she tried to stay calm.

Y/N looked at her surroundings. It seems to be a run down basement. There's lack of natural light source; the very little lighting were coming from the dim fluorescent lamp right above her head and another two in different location.

Clearly some empty bottles of alcohol were scattering all over the place. But none of those items were close enough for her to reach out to. Y/N heard laughs from behind the rusty metal door. It had two distinct voices; one deep and another was rather squeaky.

A clacking sound seemed to indicate that someone was unlocking the door. As the door opened, a man in his mid 30s walked in with a cruel smile.

He walked closer followed by two other man behind him; both were armed. Y/N frantically crawled back to meet her back to the walls behind her, the metal chains rubbed with each other, breaking the silence in the room.

"Stay back!" she warned.

The brutal man took a chair and sat in front of her. He looked like that type of person who would do anything for power. He had nothing but fiery eyes.

He look down and said "What's your name, sweetheart?" his voice demand nothing but a clear answer.

Y/N glared up to him, "I'd tell you, but I don't like being labelled." If hatred was visible the air would have been scarlet. The man could see she was not afraid to bite if he reach his hands out.

He chuckled darkly, "You're funny..." But unfortunately, he wasn't the type to reach out, he's more likely to; lash out.

The silenced room was once again tainted with sound, but this it wasn't just the moving chains but there was also the sound created from the impact of the harsh slap across Y/N's face.

The back of his hand hit and she fell with the force of it, "Urghh.." she groaned as she fall flat on the ground. The man continued, "... but not funny enough."

She can taste the coppery liquid on her tongue; she must have injured herself. Her cheeks stings as hell but Y/N was never the type to stay quiet and cry in front of people, especially to her enemies.

She giggled eerily as she sat back up, the undying flames in her eyes burn brighter, "Well that was fucking weak." she spat out the blood right on his shiny black shoes.

The man slipped out hysterical laugh, "I see why he like to keep you around." he smirked and stood from the chair. He dragged the rickety wooden chair away and threw it farther away than the original position.

Y/N had her gaze as strong as her will to live. The man look back to the tiny woman on the dusty floor before walking away. "Sir, what do we do with the girl?" One of the guards asked.

The man stopped midway through the door and stay silence for awhile, a wicked thought came through him, "Do whatever you want to do. As long as she remains alive." he snapped his head back to display a meaningful malicious grin and closed the doors behind him.

It was just a second of a glimpse, but the man clearly saw Y/N's despair in her expression. Too bad he had to go so soon.

As the doors closed, the two man look at each other and back to Y/N. A person doesn't need be a genius to read the mood. She knew exactly what's going to happen and for the first time a long time, she was petrified. For the first time in forever, she was scared for her life.

She couldn't breathe, it felt as if someone was choking her. Her heart was racing and all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and wait for someone to save her. But no one would, no one was there.

A choked cry for help forced itself up her throat, "Get away! Don't come any closer!" she felt a drop run down her cheek. It seemed as if this was the end of the road for her.

"Get the fuck away from me!" Y/N roared hoping the two man had a little bit fear but considering her position, that obviously not going to happen.

The man fearless and shamelessly grabbed her despite she was crying out pleads. "Come now, sweets. Make this easy for us."

Sweets. It sounds so disgusting coming from another man.

One of the man grabbed a hold of her wrists while another took his time feasting her with his eyes.

"P-please don't d-do this..." she sniffled as her strength were getting weaker, despite all of the quarrels and battle she had gone through before, she should be fearless.

But, when one is looking into eyes that lurked with such dark lust as those she was seeing right now; fear is bound to creep in. No matter how strong-willed a person see themselves as.

"Don't worry, we'll be gentle if you behave." he licked his upper lips as he run his hand along her waist up to her chest.

It was disgusting, every cells on Y/N's body was rejecting his touch; her throats seemed like it was trying to force her to puke something out but there's nothing but the nausea.

Tears kept falling down as they escape from the corner of her eyes. She was beyond terrified, even with her struggling; it seemed to be useless.

The man grabbed on the fabric of her sundress that was framing her collarbone and forcibly ripped them apart, exposing Y/N in her bra. The man scanned her body once more, cock straining in his pants.

Damn, she looked like sin.

He managed to gripped her hands together in one hand before she could protest even more. His other hand reaching to her breast.

No.

His rough grip on her breast was only bringing her pain than pleasure. But he was rather enjoying the tenderness of her body.

No.

He dipped in closer; he stuck his tongue out to lick the valley of her breasts, leaving trails of his disgusting stickiness behind.

Stop.

He hummed in satisfaction, approving the way she tasted. His bulge rubbing against her clothed core, humping for pleasure. Y/N couldn't look at him.

Please, stop.

But the moment she looked away, she made eye contact to the other man behind him. He had his cock in his hand, lazy strokes and a wicked smile when the tears fell down from her eyes.

"So pretty, baby" he mouthed.

For a moment there Y/N stopped struggling. She sat still like a doll who loses its' battery power, the man's statement rang in her head in an infinite loop.

"You're beautiful, y/n" Bucky's voice resurfaced in her mind.

"You're always going to be mine." the voice continued.

"I'm always going to be there to protect you, sweets."

The flashbacks run through her head faster than a bullet train.

Seeing how Y/N stopped moving, they thought she gave up. But then again, some people never learn. Don't ever underestimate your opponent.

She get the hold of herself, pulled her head back and headbutt the man in front of her. She didn't even care if she could get a concussion herself from the impact. The man ended up falling back on his ass as he grunts in pain.

"Stay. The Fuck. Away. From Me." She threatened.

Though her defiant only spark anger from the man, rather than fear. When he regained his balance, he slipped the leather belt from his pants, "You asked for this little girl. So be it." he grunts as he pulled a hand back.

His palm strikes her on already stinging cheeks, making her fall on her chest. Before she could pushed herself up, she was forced to stay down as the man pressed his boots at the back of her head.

"You need to be trained like a bitch. And I'm gonna give you exactly that." His words only sounded like a warning to her.

Which was exactly it, when she felt the first strike of his belt across her back. It was one of many mean and harsh whipping on her delicate skin. Until she was aching, bleeding.

As sick as he was, enjoying the thrill of torturing a defenseless girl, the other man was much more twisted, as he kept stroking himself as he watched Y/N bleed and whimpered.

It was disgusting, it was painful; And at one point her hands were reaching around only to clung on the man's other foot.

Surprisingly he stopped, "Learnt your lessons yet, mutt?"

Y/N can hear his sinister smile despite her face planted on the floor. She didn't reply, the only sound can be heard from her, is her unstable breathing.

Wanting as answer, he foolishly pulled his foot away from her head, "Are you deaf? Answer me!" He pushed.

Foolish he was.

Y/N fought against the agonizing pain on her back and took the advantage to pull his leg as hard as she could, making his fall on the floor. She was swift with her next move; she hit the man's groin with her elbow, automatically lower the protection his other part of his body.

As he was busy tending his wounded balls, Y/N slide behind him and wrapped the chains around his neck, she yanked the man as she tighten the crossover metal chains.

"You better stay the fuck away from me or he's dead." She warned the other man who was trying to get to her, he called her bluff. He took a step closer, still pushing his luck.

Y/N strengthen her grip as well as pulling the chain as hard as she could, practically strangling and knocking out the breath out of his throat. "S-Stop. S-stay there." the dying man stuttered.

The other obliged and had his hand up in the air as a sign of surrender. Y/N glared up to the man, "Lay your filthy hands on me again, I won't hold back." she growled in his ears before drifting his head towards the wall, knocking him unconscious.

Upon seeing his accomplice slouched to the floor with a bleeding head, the other man tried to grabbed and hold her down. But she quickly grabbed the gun from the unconscious man, and pulled the trigger.

Her aim was off but enough to disarm him. His right shoulder now had a hole through it. He grunted to agonizing pain on his shoulder, but he should've known to not let his guard down. Then, it hits him. Another hole through the shins of his left leg.

He screamed and wailed, sucking air in and out of his mouth, holding on to the last cliff of his life as he fell into his knees and down to the floor.

Despite the lack of protest from the man, Y/N didn't let her guard down as she still holding on the gun in her grip.

At this point, Y/N was losing more than just her blood, but her strength and vision too. She blinked slowly, waiting for glimpse of threat from the entrance.

Even if the two men were rendered immobilized, however she knew gunshot will alert the others. Anyone could barge in at any point of time. And she needed to be ready for them.

The door was getting blurry in her point of view and the cracking headache greeted as painful as the other wounds all over her back.

The dark silence didn't last long as Y/N can clearly heard a lot of movements from the level above her. One time she heard multiple footsteps running around and another she heard loud cracks much resembles a sound of a "Gun shots..." she breathed.

It took a single kick on the rusty old metal door; Y/N's body jumped out of reflex to the sound of the door fall from it's frame. As the door fell down, it revealed the face of a man who Y/N thought she could never see ever again.

His face were painted with the colour of crimson, almost covering half of his beautiful features; but his sapphire eyes shines the same. Even if her hearts was pumping fast, it seemed like the man was more desperate for air than she herself.

A sense of relief hit her like the crashing wave as she called out his name, "Bucky..."

Bucky stood there,dark and dangerous; just a few steps away from the woman he claimed as his. His heart seemed to stop for a split second; there she was — crawled in the corner of the dim lit room, both hands and legs chained to the wall behind her.

It's not that Bucky couldn't see there were others in the basement besides her; he knew that, he could see them but the nudity of his wife's chest caught his attention and he could see the pieces of her torn clothes were near her wounded ankles and wrists.

The cuts on around her skin, cause by the metal cuffs symbolizes her struggles. The bright pair of eyes that Bucky had always admired; they glint, however, in pain and tears.

A sight that Bucky never wanted to see.

Frozen in his spot, Y/N gathered all the strength she had left, to shout his name once again, "Come here, Bucky..." the sound of the strained metal chain echoed along with her shaky plead, as she reach her arms out towards her husband.

Pleading for his touch, his warmth.

It took less than a second after hearing her calling, for Bucky to sprint towards her. Completely ignoring the riot of bullets echoed from above them, even stepping on the men on the floor.

He had lost her for less than seven hours, but it felt like forever. Bucky fell down to his knees as he wrapped his arms around Y/N, pulling her head to his chest. He hold onto her tightly, as if someone was trying to rip her away from his grasps.

It was slight, but Bucky could clearly feel her body shivering body in his embrace as she cried to his chest, a piercing pain struck his heart, "I'm here. I'm here." he whispered softly.

His hand found it's way to her back, wanting to give her a tender stroke of reassurance but he found himself frozen to the sensation on his palm.

At first he felt it; wet and sticky. But when he brought his hands up to the light, he finally saw how his whole palm were covered in blood. Her blood. His wife's blood.

A wave of pure rage reigned his whole being and what happen that day had become one of the things Bucky's men will never forget.

Bucky made sure it rain blood that day.

And it was truly a gruesome sight to see.

~ ~ End of Flashback ~ ~

Since the day Y/N woke up in their bed, Bucky never left her side. Not even for his business, for weeks now Bucky had temporarily place the authority to Steve and he had spend his day tending his wife as he should.

Now, weeks later from that day, Bucky is claiming that it was his fault that she was kidnapped?

No, it absolutely was not. Far from it. How is y/n getting kidnapped is his fault? How is y/n getting tortured is his blunder? That does not make any sense. Not in any universe.

"I should've been there with you." He explained.

Bucky's kisses took a halt in the crook of her neck, he relishes the sweet scent emitting from her as his lips rested on her weak spot. Where does the scent coming from? Was it from her body lotion or from her shampoo. Eitherway, it was intoxicating.

He almost felt guilty for finding a calming relief from it. He wasn't nearly worthy enough to find peace in her. And yet here he was; selfish and greedy for the friction of her touch, the influence of her scent, the melody of her moans, all of her.

Y/N release herself from his embrace and swiftly changed her position to straddling him. His eyes searched her face, wondering if she was uncomfortable and how can he please her.

She run her hands through his hair as she chooses her words carefully, "Yes, you should. But that doesn't justify why you blame yourself for it." She leaned into him, brushing the tip of her nose on his.

Before Bucky can protest, Y/N shuts him up with a kiss on his lips, "It was not your fault. No one knew that they going to spike my drink. No one knew that they managed to drug up your men. Honey, it was an accident. It was not your fault, it never was and never will be." She was only speaking the truth, even Bucky couldn't argue.

He leaned his forehead on her before speaking up, "I just hate seeing you get hurt, sweets." Bucky sighed, as a frown formed on his face.

Y/N does not want Bucky to dwell in this darkness again. He kept doing it for the past weeks, and though some days she managed to pull him out, some other she failed. This worries her; it scared her.

Bucky might not notice it right now since his mind was blurry with worry; but if he was more aware of his surroundings he might just notice how Y/N was slowly leaking on his cock. His girth was slotted perfectly between her pussy and the sight of it turns her on.

It's been awhile since they feel each other; due to her injuries Bucky was constantly worrying about hurting her during sex.

And she was desperate for him, she want him to remove all the bad memories of that day. Douse her with his touch, mark her body so the traces of the man will no longer bear any meaning to her.

Her cunt twitches to the thought, she couldn't help but to grind her hips. Letting his cock glides through her folds; getting it wet from her fluids, "Then love on me, Bucky." It was an instant respond from Bucky, his cock was growing hard on command.

His gaze briefly fell on where his cock was buried between, before looking up to her hazy eyes. "...If you don't want to see me hurt. Then make love to me, let me show you how good you make me feel." She coaxed as her hips continues to grind on him.

Each movement causing throbs of need on her clit. She kept brushing it along his length, presses a little force when it reached to the tip of cock. Bucky moaned in sheer pleasure everytime she did that.

"Please, Bucky I miss you..” She mumbled softly, rolling her hips a bit, making him groan as he melted, "I miss you too, babydoll." He breathes out deeply before placing a sweet kiss on lips.

Bucky held her by the side of her hips and pushes her down further, as he slowly thrusted his hard throbbing cock in between the wet slit of her pussy.

The immense sensation on her was beyond words to describe. She thought she knew pleasure before but turn out she was wrong. Unable to even utter a single coherent word, Bucky on the other hand wasn't planning disappoint her.

Bucky's thrusts get faster and rougher by time until he started to hump her almost uncontrollably, letting out these little desperate groans.

"Feel so good, Buck-- ah shit--" Y/N moaned, her face flushed pink, mouth hanging open as her pussy throbbed against his drenched cock. Every time he push forward, he could feel himself spreading the lips of her pussy apart.

His pace did not drop as his goal is to make her cum just by him fucking through her folds alone. He want see her feeling good. And sure enough, she began to whimper, "I'mma cum. Bucky, please don't stop. I'm cumming."

Bucky leaned into her ears and whispered, "Go ahead, babydoll. Cum for me. Let me see your face when I make you cum. That's it baby, hmmm, so pretty. Can feel ya clenching. Feels good doesn't it, sweets. Yeah you do." He held her still as he thrusted against her slick again and again, letting her ride her high; his pace was faster and maybe a bit more desperate than before while she from her orgasm.

Bucky caught her from falling back into the mattress, he leaned her body towards himself. Letting her rest on his chest. Slow drag of his cock on her pussy felt so good, she might have had a mini orgasm from it.

"Babydoll, gonna make you feel even more better. Gonna stuff your pussy full. Can I? Promise it'll make you feel so good. Want that, sweets?" Bucky coaxed her with sinful temptation that she couldn't resist.

"Yes please. Wanna be stuffed and full of you and your cum. Please?" She didn't need to beg like that for Bucky to comply.

His hand searched for hers before he interlock her fingers with him. He sit her up on her knee, using one of his free hand to line the tip of his cock at her entrance.

Y/N's whole body trembled when he thrust himself up into her one swift movement. He watch as her eyes are furrowed shut, lips parted in pleasure. Her knuckles whiten as they grip the sheets and his hand.

Oh she was so full. So full of him.

Bucky bite his lip at the feeling of being inside her, the clenching her walls around his needy cock. He lift her up off him slowly, ceating a slow but deep pace, she let the sounds of his deep groans fill her ears. He’s not noisy, but just very vocal, every breath coming out as moan of pleasure.

"You’re so good for me, Bucky." She praise breathlessly. "So good".

His hips buck up and she hiss as he inadvertently thrusts into her deeper than before. "God," he almost whined, lost at the feel of her warm cunt.

Y/N was also feeling as good. The sting of the stretch was amazing. She bite back her moan as he rubbed all over her favourite spots inside, "Hmmpph! Buck- ahh. please, ahh-- fuck me so good." She let out a breathy mumbling noises as he continue drill his cock in and out of her.

"Feels amazing being inside you, sweets. So warm, so wet. Fuck-- yeah just that, milk me like that yeahh" Bucky's hips moved upwards and downward as he fucks her rough and messy, holding her tightly against his body as he bounces her up and down on his cock.

Both of the pair of eyes never left each other. Eyes roaming to stare either at each others fucked-out face or to where their sex was connected.

How lewd it was; the way he languidly pumps himself in and out of her. How her small little hole could swallow his cock perfectly in each of his hips thrusts. How beautiful the sweat glistens across her skin;

The way Bucky dips his head into her to pepper kisses on her neck, the way his brows furrow when he gives a particularly deep thrust. Every single thing about it was beautiful.

Bucky felt so thick inside of her and he's hitting so deep, it felt fucking incredible. She can feel the pressure building inside of her, "i'm gonna cum again... oh god, bucky baby,-- ahh fuck-- "

Bucky encouraged her with with low growl and she moaned raggedly as she came on his cock; squeezing him tight, and his thrusts become even wilder, "fuck yes, squeezing me so nice. Gonna cum inside ya, sweets. Will have my load leaking from your pussy baby." his groan were starting to sound more desprete.

Still high on orgasm, she nods in agreement, "yes, Bucky. Wanna feel you leaking please" She pleaded as she felt another wave of pleasure was trying to burst.

Bucky's thrusts loses it's pattern as he chased his high, "oh fuck, i'm cummin' inside ya, sweets! Fuck fuck fuck" strings of curses spilled before he let out a long moan as his cock burst on his high, filling her to the brim with his thick hot cum.

Naturally, she came as well, accompanied by a sweet mewl as her walls pulsed around him while he empties ropes and ropes of his cum inside her, whimpering into her ear.

When he's finally finished he gives a long, contented sigh he slowly lay on the bed, gently bringing her along as he rested her head on his chest. With his cock still resting in her throbbing pussy, Bucky thought of going for round two.

But when he heard the soft snores coming from his wife, he put that thought in a backlog, and instead decided to help clean his babydoll up so she could get a better rest as she deserved.

By the time she was well taken care of, Bucky scrolled through his text messages with Steve. The 'temporary in charge' was apparently also in charge of depriving life out of the two men who had assaulted Y/N.

"Are they dead yet?" Bucky prompted.

"No. They beg to though." Steve replied.

"Then, let them beg to death." Bucky ended the conversation, before placing his phone aside.

Though he takes pleasure in torturing his prey with his own bare hands however nothing is more important than being by his wife's side when she needed him the most.

Besides, those scum will live long enough for Bucky to come down there and bring hell to them himself. He will make sure of that. But until then, nothing matters to Bucky than being here for his babydoll.

End.

Read my other works here: Masterlist

P/S: I love reading feedbacks so drop your comment in the comment section or reblogs.

There is no actual taglist. So, I only include those who reblogged with comments and/or commented on the previous series. However, do tell if you want or do not want to be tagged.

Taglist: @melsunshine @splendidreads @florence-end @spn-obession @my-lady-of-the-various-sorrows @buuuuuuucky @raevyng @kamaria-sweet-writes @chemtrails-club @just-another-writer-05 @touchstarvedforbuckybarnes @thezombieprostitute @wifeofbarnes @oldermenaremyreligion @bemysugarbean @thischubbydumpling @barnes1031 @winterslove1917 @barnesstanbucky @butterflyimmortality @iamfandomwasted @goldensunflowe-r

#winterarmyyfics #plottwistfic #mafia!bucky #mob!bucky #bucky barnes au #mafia!bucky x reader #mob!bucky x reader #arranged marriage #husband!bucky #beefy!bucky #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you

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scoonsalicious · 1 month

Text

Unwanted: Chapter 9, Unselfish - Pt. 3

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Avenger!Fem!Reader

Summary: When your FWB relationship with your best friend Bucky Barnes turns into something more, you couldn’t be happier. That is, however, until a new Avenger sets her sights on your super soldier and he inadvertently breaks your heart. You take on a mission you might not be prepared for to put some distance between the two of you and open yourself up to past traumas. Too bad the only one who can help you heal is the one person you can no longer trust.

Warnings: (For this part only; see Story Masterlist for general Warnings) Language, mentions of past trauma, Pocket's self esteem issues.

Word Count: 1.8k

Previously On...: Jade's really doing her best in insert herself into Bucky's life. After forgetting all about you when he walked off with her at Central Park, you and Bucky have a talk, and he seems to see where you're coming from. Hopefully, you've reached an understanding.

A/N: FINALLY! Some quality Pepper Potts. I weirdly love writing her, for some reason, and she played a larger part in my original draft of this story, so I am so happy to finally give her some time to shine. To everyone getting hit by the Nor'Easter this weekend, I feel you. Currently snowed in and freezing. It's supposed to be Spring, damnit!

Banner By: The absolutely amazing @mrsbuckybarnes1917!

Thank you to all those who have been reading; if you like what you've read, likes, comments, and reblogs give me life, and I truly appreciate them, and you!

Taglist: (Please let me know if you’d like to be added!) @jmeelee @cazellen @blackhawkfanatic @les-sel @marcswife21 @buckybarnessimpp @mrsbuckybarnes1917 @erelierraceala @hayjat @capswife @itsteambarnes @jupiter-107 @marygoddessofmischief @sebastians-love @learisa @lethallyprotected @rabbitrabbit12321 @buckybarnesandmarvel @fanfictiongirl77 @calwitch @fantasyfootballchampion @selella @jackiehollanderr @wintercrows @sashaisready @missvelvetsstuff

The next day, you called upon the one person you knew had been in your shoes and you hoped could help you make sense of your emotions. You knocked on the door of Pepper’s office, letting yourself in when she called out an invitation to enter.

“Pocket!” She put down the file she was perusing and stood up, walking around her desk to embrace you. “To what do I owe the pleasure, honey?”

“Hey, Pep,” you said, returning her hug with all the affection you felt for her. “Do you have a minute? I was hoping to talk to you about something.”

“For you?” she asked, motioning for you to sit in one of the armchairs that sat near the windows. “Always.” She called for her assistant to bring you both a pot of tea and you made idle small talk while you waited for it to arrive.

“So,” she said once her assistant brought the tea and poured you both a cup, then departed with orders to hold all Pepper’s calls, “to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Is it business or personal?”

“Personal,” you told her, taking a sip of the Earl Grey.

“Did something happen with you and Bucky?” she asked, concern lacing her voice. “Did he do something?”

“No,” you laughed, though there was no real humor in it. “God, no. Bucky’s been perfect. I’m worried that I’m the problem.” You put your cup down and looked at her. “Pep, when you and Tony first got together, how did you handle it?”

Pepper leaned back in her chair. “You’re gonna have to be a bit more specific, honey. Tony’s given me a lot to handle over the years.”

You snickered at that. “Yeah, fair enough,” you said. “I guess I’m not really sure how to word this. We both know that, before you, Tony was a… well…”

“A giant slut?” Pepper offered.

“I was going to say something like ‘amorously adventurous’, but yeah, ‘giant slut’ also works,” you said with a laugh. “Even after you two became an official couple, women were still throwing themselves at him. How… how did you deal with it? Sometimes I just get so angry, so jealous, I want to scream. I hate feeling like this.”

Pepper reached across the coffee table and took your hand in hers. “Oh, honey,” she said, her voice conveying her sympathy. “I’m going to tell you something that took me a lot of time and pain to learn: You can’t control what other people are going to do. I won’t lie to you, it wasn’t easy for me. Every woman who made a pass at Tony, I kept thinking ‘she’s prettier, she’s smarter, she’s younger; why would he choose me when he could have any or all of them?’"

“But,” you began, “you’re Pepper Fucking Potts. You’re amazing.” The thought distressed you. If someone as absolutely wonderful as Pepper struggled like that, what hope was there for you?

“That’s what Tony said.” Pepper offered you a wistful smile. “I had to realize that it didn’t matter what any of those other women did, how they threw themselves at him. The only thing that mattered was how Tony reacted to them, and whether or not I trusted him. And I trusted him. So, you have to ask yourself: Do you trust Bucky?”

You nodded fervently. “With my life,” you said.

“No offense,” Pepper began, “but he’s your teammate. Yes, you trust him with your life, but you could say the same about Thor, or Clint, or even Rhodey. Do you trust him with your heart?”

“I do.” There was no ounce of hesitation in your answer, no pause for consideration. You trusted Bucky implicitly, with every fiber of your body and soul.

“Then you have to hold onto that,” Pepper said. “Like I said, you can’t control what other people are going to do, but you can control how you react to them. If you trust Bucky, then why waste your energy worrying about what someone else might do? Especially if you don’t have any doubts about how Bucky feels about you.”

“I know,” you sighed, “but it just feels like it’s so much easier said than done. Like, I know he loves me, but I’m so scared that one day, he’s going to wake up and realize that I’m just not worth it. That he could do so much better. Or that I’m holding him back. Did you know I’m the first person he slept with since the ‘40s?! What if he decides that he wants more? That, even though he loves me, I’m just not enough to keep him satisfied?”

Pepper exhaled and scooted forward in her chair to be closer to you, taking both your hands in hers. “Honey, I might be biased because you’re essentially my sister-in-law and I love you so much, but you are, by far, more than enough. I know you get caught up in your head, and that all of this relationship business is brand new to you, but you’re extraordinary. Look at everything you’ve overcome and where you’ve gotten yourself. Do you know how many people who have been through what you’ve endured would have just given up? Or settled for so much less?”

You halfheartedly shrugged your shoulders. “If it hadn’t been for Tony, though, I–”

“That’s bullshit and you know it,” Pepper interrupted gently. “Tony just saw what was already inside of you. He saw your drive, your raw talent. He knew you were starting from behind the finish line, and he just provided the resources to help you catch up. If you had been brought up the way you should have been, the way you deserved, with the love and support that parents are supposed to provide, I have no doubt that you would have found yourself here on your own eventually, with or without any assistance from Tony.”

Your throat caught with the weight of Pepper’s words. You held the CEO in the highest esteem, and to hear her speak of you this way filled your heart. “I wish you and Tony had been my real family,” you whispered, hoping to keep the cracks in your voice in check. “I love you both so much.”

Pepper’s face softened. “We might not be your blood family, honey,” she said, her eyes growing glassy with unshed tears, “but never for a minute think we aren’t your real family. You’re the family we chose, just like I hope we’re the family you chose.” You nodded in agreement– they were the family you chose– the entire team was, but Pepper and Tony were special. “I wish you could see what we all see whenever we look at you,” she said.

You swallowed thickly. “I wish I did, too.”

“Can I make an observation?” Pepper asked gently, as though afraid of overstepping. When you nodded, she continued: “Being loved has always been transactional for you. You were never allowed to just be loved for who you were; your sad excuse for a mother and her monster of a boyfriend made you work for it in the most horrible ways imaginable. They gave you less than the bare minimum, and only if they felt you’d earned it from them. That’s no way for a little girl to grow up. And it breaks my heart, because now that you’re surrounded by people who love you for you, and a man who would literally die for you, who sees no other woman than you, you’ve been so conditioned to think that, if you’re not actively working to earn that love, you don’t deserve it. And Pocket, honestly, nothing could be further from the truth. You make all of our lives better just by being in them.”

You looked down at where she still held your hands in hers. God, you wanted to believe her. She made it sound so fucking easy.

As if sensing your hesitation, Pepper went on: “I’m going to make a recommendation,” she said. “I’m making it not just as your friend, but as a sister and your boss, because I think it would be beneficial in all aspects of your life right now. You’re free to do with the recommendation whatever you like; I only ask that you seriously consider it.”

You looked at her, anxiety beginning to course through you as you ran through all the possibilities of what she could possibly have to say. You nodded for her to continue.

“I want you to consider getting yourself back into therapy,” she said, gently squeezing your hand. “We can all tell you how wonderful you are, how worthy of love, until we’re blue in the face, but it’s not going to do any good until you actually believe it.”

You looked down, ashamed to meet her eye. You had been in therapy for years while you were in college and when you first started working for Stark Industries, but you’d prided yourself on your progress and had stopped attending sessions a long time ago.

“I know you’re private when it comes to your past,” Pepper continued, “and that you don’t want anyone thinking less of you or pitying you because of what you’ve been through, but honey, it’s not healthy for you to go on this way. You’re in a whole new phase of your life right now that should be filling you with joy, but you’re unhappy. I’m not saying that to make you feel bad, or to make you feel like you can’t handle it, but don’t you think it would be good to have some help? Maybe you could talk to Tony about accessing his Virtual Therapy program. That way, you’re not divulging your secrets to a real person, but you’re still getting the help you need.”

You looked at her, considering her suggestion. It had a lot of merit, and you wouldn’t have to open up to an actual person, just FRIDAY. And Tony had created it, had trusted it with his own issues, so you knew the system would be secure, and just as good, if not better, than speaking to a human therapist.

“Yeah, okay,” you finally agreed. “I’ll talk to Tony and see what we can set up.”

The relief on Pepper’s face was palpable as she stood, pulling you up so she could embrace you again. “You’re so important to me, Pocket,” she whispered. “To all of us. None of us want to see you trapped in your head. You don’t deserve that.”

“Thanks, Pep,” you said, squeezing her back. “I’m so thankful to have you in my life.”

“I am, too, honey,” Pepper said, stepping back and releasing her hold on you. She brushed away a strand of hair that had fallen into your face. “Anytime you need anything, you know where to find me.”

You nodded, thanked her again, and made your way out of her office. Once back in the hallway, you pulled out your cell phone, dialing Tony’s number.

“Hey, kiddo,” he answered. You could hear the sounds of DUM-E extinguishing something in the background; he was obviously down in his lab, setting something on fire. “What can I do for you?”

“Hey, Boss,” you began, taking a deep breath, “I need to ask a favor…”

<- Previous Part / Next Chapter ->

#bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky x you #bucky x reader #bucky fanfic #bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky x female reader #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fanfiction #james bucky buchanan barnes #james buchanan barnes #mcu bucky barnes #james barnes

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impishtubist · 3 months

Text

happy birthday @lynxindisguise , originally this was supposed to be a cracky little fic about Crowley meeting the werepuppies and then getting high with Remus, but then this happened instead. love you, bar wench!

---

“Remind me again why I agreed to this,” Sirius said as he flopped down by the fire.

“Because Harry’s eyes get all big when he asks you for something, and you’re incapable of saying no to him.” Remus didn’t even look up from his book as he spoke. “I think he casts an Imperio on you, honestly.”

“He’s six.”

“He’s been doing accidental magic since he was two, it’s not out of the question.”

Sirius scowled, because Remus had a point. Harry had started summoning his toys at the age of two, and by four he would appear on top of bookcases or even roofs when he was trying to avoid Sirius and bathtime. Sirius blamed Harry fully for the silver threads he’d discovered in his hair at the ripe old age of twenty-three. Mourning his best friend and raising his godson had been hard enough, but the fact that said godson was apparently an exceptionally powerful wix was going to be the death of him.

Thankfully, said exceptionally powerful wix had passed out in the tent after a full day of hiking and causing minor mayhem, leaving Sirius and Remus with a few hours to themselves.

“Thanks for agreeing to come along, by the way.”

“Unlike you, I actually enjoy camping. I’m having a wonderful time.” Remus turned a page in his book. “Besides, I like a man in flannel.”

He winked at Sirius, and then went back to his reading. Sirius blushed furiously, and then frowned at himself. What an odd reaction to have to his friend.

***

Harry had forbidden them from using magic on the camping trip, wanting to do things the way his Muggle mum would have, which was why Sirius was up early the next morning to chop wood for the fire.

He had just cleaved another log in half when Remus stumbled out of his tent, hair in disarray, tugging a sweatshirt over his head. Sirius continued to chop wood while Remus groggily started a fire, heated some water, and made himself a cup of tea. It was odd for Remus to be up this early, but maybe he just wanted an hour to read in peace before Harry woke up.

Instead of sitting in his customary chair overlooking the lake, however, he dragged it over to face Sirius.

“Thought you liked the view, Moony,” Sirius said. He brought the axe down on another log.

“Oh, I do.” Remus licked his lips, staring rather intently at Sirius’s bare chest. Sirius looked down at himself. He was covered in sweat, sure, but he’d already washed away the previous day’s dirt and smoke in the lake. He had no idea what Remus could be looking at. He mentally shrugged, and went to fetch another log.

***

“Is he gonna be okay, Moony?” Harry asked, eyes wide with worry.

Remus lifted the towel he had pressed to Sirius’s forehead, and Sirius winced.

“Yes, Harry, I think he will,” he said solemnly. “Could I have a couple of band-aids, please?”

Harry dutifully fetched them from the first aid kit while Remus cleaned the small scrapes. He helped Remus apply them to Sirius’s forehead.

“There we are, good as new,” Remus said cheerfully. “I don’t think Padfoot’s going to be up for swimming this afternoon, though. How about you change into your swimsuit and we’ll go together?”

Harry hurried off to the tent he shared with Sirius, Sirius’s injury completely forgotten. Remus caught his scowl, though, and grinned brightly at him.

“Cheer up, Padfoot,” he said. “It could have happened to any of us.”

Sirius huffed. “Any of you could have tripped over a root and fallen twenty feet down a hill?”

“Well…probably not,” Remus conceded. “You’re not as suited to the outdoors as Harry and I are. How’s your head?”

“Stings,” Sirius muttered. “You could heal it, you know. Harry isn’t looking.”

“Ah, but that would be cheating,” Remus said. “Would you like me to kiss it and make it better?”

Sirius stared at him. What.

“Remus,” he said finally, “have you been flirting with me?”

“Only for the past six years.”

“Six!”

“But now that you’re all caught up,” Remus said, “yes or no to that kiss?”

“Moony!” Harry cried in dismay some minutes later. “Are you gonna kiss Padfoot all day? I wanna go swimming!”

#wolfstar #sirius black #remus lupin #harry potter #wolfstar raising harry #good godfather sirius black #lynxmas #it's still technically your birthday in my time zone so this still counts

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mamaestapa · 1 year

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Late Night Chat

•pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

•series summary: Y/N Y/L/N moved to Cincinnati, Ohio for a new start. Move in day arrives and she discovers something terrible...the apartment complex gave her the wrong lease. Instead of living with who she originally was supposed to, she's now living with the hottest quarterback in the NFL, Joe Burrow. Y/N is stuck living in the same apartment with him for a year...which the two are not thrilled about. However, as time goes on, they realize that maybe this wasn't the worst thing that could happen to them. Will Y/N and Joe stay enemies, or will they find themselves falling in love?

•chapter summary: There’s a storm in Cincinnati and you and Joe realize maybe the other isn’t so bad after all…

•word count: 3.4k

•warnings: sexual themes, slight angst, lots of fluff, i think that’s it?

series masterlist

——————————————————

November 2, 2022

You tossed and turned for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes. The heavy rain, light flashes of lightning and loud rumbles of thunder have kept you awake since the strong storm started a couple hours ago.

You tapped your phone, huffing out a sigh of annoyance when you saw the time: 4:13 am.

You pulled the comforter off of your body and got out of bed. You took your phone off it's charger and grabbed your soft white blanket before walking out of your room and into the kitchen.

You decided to make a cup of hot tea. Your mom would always make tea for you during a storm when you were younger because something about it helped calm you down. You never have been a fan of strong thunderstorms. You love rain and a little thunder here and there, but when frequent lightning, severe storm warnings and tornado watches are added into the mix, then you get nervous.

As you were getting the tea bag out of the container from the cupboard, the power flickered. You knew it was bound to happen soon, considering how strong of a storm it is. Once the power goes out completely though, any hopes of falling back to sleep any time soon will be gone.

The Keurig beeped, signaling that the tea was done. You grabbed a spoon from the drawer next to the dishwasher and as soon as you placed the end of the spoon into the coffee cup, the power went out. The apartment was now pitch black and completely silent. You felt around the counter for your phone, but you didn't feel anything. You sighed, realizing you left it on the chair in the living room with your blanket. You placed the coffee cup back down on the marble countertop, deciding to find your phone first before you tried to walk anywhere with the hot tea in your hands. You slowly walked out of the kitchen, careful not to-

WHACK.

You gasped at the sudden feeling of your body hitting another body. You let out a yelp, fearing the worst. This would be the perfect time for someone to break in and MURDER YOU!?!

You screamed as you felt a hand reach out and touch your arm.

"Y/n, hey! It's just me."

Your heart was pounding against your chest as you sighed in relief. It wasn't an intruder, just Joe.

"Thank god," you breathed out, placing your hand on your chest, "I thought you were some psycho that broke in."

He chuckled, "I might be a little crazy, but I wouldn't say i'm a psycho. But I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

You nodded, even though you knew he couldn't see you, "It's okay."

"What are you doing up right now?"

"I couldn't sleep. Storms like this have always made it impossible for me to sleep."

Just as you finished your sentence, a loud crack of thunder shook the apartment. You jumped under Joe's touch, causing him to grip your arm tightly, yet so gentle at the same time.

"Hey, you're OK," he said softly, "promise."

"I know, I've just always gotten a little scared over severe weather."

You heard Joe sigh as he removed his hand from your arm, "Well, I'm afraid this storm won't stop anytime soon. Did you try to get any sleep?"

You shrugged, "A little. I came out here to make some tea and sit on the couch for a bit until I could fall back asleep, but now that there's no power I don't think I'll be able to."

"Stay here for a second. Do you have your phone?"

"No, it's on the couch."

Joe's face lit up from the light of his phone screen. He turned the flashlight on causing your eyes to be drawn to his lit up body.

His dirty blonde hair was messy and his blue eyes looked tired. He didn't have a shirt on, just a pair of gray joggers. You looked away from him as he walked into the living room and grabbed your phone from the chair. He walked back into the kitchen and handed it to you.

"Here. Go sit in the living room. I'll be right back."

You turned on your flashlight, grabbing your tea from the counter and heading into the living room. A big flash of lightning lit up the apartment as you placed the mug down on a coaster and sat on the chair. You had just thrown the blanket over your legs when Joe walked back into the living room, holding onto a lantern, lots of candles, and a lighter.

He sat the lantern down on the table, along with the many candles.

"Where'd you get all those candles?" you asked.

Joe picked up the lighter, lighting each candle one by one.

"You want the real reason or?" he trailed off with a smirk.

"I knew it. Pre-game orgy right?"

Joe chuckled, "Damn, I guess you caught me. I'll have to tell Ja'Marr to cancel next weeks then."

You laughed at his response before taking a sip of your tea and asking him, "Okay but seriously, why do you have all these candles?"

Joe had a somber look on his face as he looked down at the candles. He sucked in a breath as he lit the last candle.

"Every year my ex-girlfriend and I would light these on our anniversary. It was tradition for us. One of us would come home and have some sort of romantic dinner set up for the other," he examined the candle as he continued speaking, a soft smile appeared on his face, "and we'd light these candles, put them out on the table or the bedroom." he put the candle back down, "was very romantic."

You frowned, feeling terrible for making him bring up his ex.

"I'm sorry Joe, I didn't mean to-."

He cut you off, "Don't be sorry, you didn't do anything wrong. You asked, I answered." He picked up the lantern that looked like it would be used for camping and turned it on. The light from the many candles and lantern made the living room light up with a soft yellow glow.

Joe placed the lantern down in the middle of coffee table and looked at you, "There, now I can see that beautiful fa- light."

You looked at Joe with raised eyebrows as he stood by the couch, rubbing the back of his neck. It almost sounded like he was going to say face and not light...but who knows, you’re probably just hearing things.

"Well, I think I'm going to try to get some sleep. Good night Y/n.”

He started to walk away, getting ready to walk into his bedroom when you called out to him.

"Joe?"

He stopped and turned around, "Yeah?"

"Stay? Please, I don't really want to be alone right now." you said softly as a blush made it's way onto my cheeks.

Joe slowly nodded and smiled softly at you.

"Okay. Let me grab a sweatshirt first."

He disappeared into his room and a few minutes later came back into the living room wearing his pink Nike sweatshirt and carrying a gray blanket. He plopped down on the couch and draped the blanket over his legs. As the two of you sat in silence for a few moments, the storm continued. The rain grew heavier and the thunder more frequent. Joe noticed you had started to get tense.

He cleared his throat, "You know, we've lived together for almost two months now and I feel like I don't know you."

It's true. You and Joe have been living together for a few months now, but neither of you have taken the chance to get to know the other. You weren't on good terms for a little while, but you think you both have started to warm up to each other. You have to get to know each other at some point if you’re going to live together for the next seven or eight months. Now would be the perfect time to do that.

"What do you wanna know?" you asked, tucking your legs up onto the chair.

He shrugged, "Tell me about yourself."

"Usually I'd start with my name, but you already know that," you smiled, making him chuckle softly, you continued, "I'm twenty five years old, I was born in Denver,Colorado. I grew up in Arizona though. I moved to Tucson when I was two. I lived there my whole life, went to college at the University of Arizona and graduated with a bachelors degree in fashion design. Um, I moved to Phoenix when I graduated and I worked for a fashion magazine for a few years. I took a lot of work trips, Cincinnati was one of them, and I fell in love with the city so that's how I got here.”

Joe nodded, "Nice. Do you miss Arizona?"

"Sometimes. All my family and friends live there, but I needed a change. There's better opportunities for me here in Cincinnati."

Joe just nodded. You decided to ask him the same question he asked you.

"Okay your turn, tell me about yourself."

He sighed and sat up on the couch, looking at you as he spoke, "I'm twenty five, I'm the quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals, I'm a Heisman trophy winner, a national champion,"

You smiled as he rattled off all of accomplishments. He had a lot to be proud of.

"Yeah, yeah I know all that stuff. Tell me something I wouldn't know."

He smiled, "Okay. Well, I was born in Iowa, but I moved to a small town in Ohio called Athens when I was a few years old. I grew up there and then when I graduated high school I went to Ohio State."

"Did you play football there?" you asked, genuinely curious since you only knew he played at LSU.

"I'm getting there, hold on."

You chuckled and let him continue.

"So while I was at Ohio State, I redshirted my Freshman year and was a backup during my Sophomore and Junior year."

You raised your eyebrows, "So you didn't play at all?"

"I mean I played, but not as much as I wanted to. I didn't want to be on the bench for my whole college football career, so I transferred to LSU after I graduated from OSU with my bachelor degree."

"Did you want to leave Ohio?"

He shrugged, "I mean I didn't want to leave, but I thought it was best for my career."

You nodded, showing him you understood. You thought the same thing when you left Arizona to come to Ohio.

"So I moved to Louisiana. Became starting quarterback for LSU and was working towards my Masters degree. Um, In the twenty nineteen, twenty twenty season, our team finished with a fifteen and 0 record and we beat Clemson in the National Championship. I graduated from LSU with a Masters in Liberal Arts and then I moved back home to Ohio, lived with my parents for a bit and then I got drafted by the Bengals."

You didn't know a lot of the stuff Joe was telling you, so it was very nice to here his story and get to him better.

"You've got a good story Joe."

He smiled, "Yeah. I wouldn't be where I am without the people who got me here though. My story may be pretty awesome, but I wouldn't be here without them. But," he stretched, causing his voice to be strained, "that's a story for another day."

He brought his arms down and changed positions on the couch so he was facing you. Both of you were wide awake now as the storm continued to rage on.

"Let's play twenty questions." Joe stated, "we go back and forth, they'll be simple. I'll go first."

"Okay, sounds good." you giggled, picking up your tea and taking a sip.

"Favorite color?"

"Y/F/C. You?"

"Ohhh, fancy." Joe teased, "I like orange."

You rolled your eyes.

"What?" Joe asked, a wide grin on his face.

"Orange, seriously? It's only because your teams color is orange isn't it?"

He laughed, "No, no. I've always liked the color orange."

You laughed, "Sure. Okay next question, um...other than football, what sports did you play in high school?"

"So I played football obviously, and I also played basketball."

"Ah," you nodded, "quite the athlete."

He chuckled, "Yeah. What about you?"

"I ran cross country my Junior year and played soccer all four years of high school. I didn't enjoy cross country, but I loved soccer."

"You play in college?" Joe asked.

You shook your head, "No, it was just something I did in high school."

"Yeah, that's how I felt about basketball." A smirk grew on his face as he spoke, "I got one. Do you have any tattoos or piercings?"

"I have three piercings, my ears and belly button. And one tattoo," you hesitated, "that is in a location that I won't name."

Joe smirked, "Oh?" his smirk dropped and eyes widened, "Do, do you have a tramp stamp?"

You let out a laugh and covered your mouth as your laughter continued. Joes smirk turned into a grin a the sound of your laugh. You composed yourself and shook your head, "No! Oh my god, I don't have a tramp stamp."

Joe cocked his head to the side, narrowing his eyes at you, “Then where is it?

You face turned red as you said, jokingly, "If you're lucky maybe you'll find out."

"I'll hold you to it," he winked.

You rolled your eyes as a small smile made its way onto your face. You were actually enjoying your time talking to Joe. It was nice to get your mind off the storm, plus, it was nice getting to know him.

You continued to play twenty questions for the next hour or so as the storm continued and the was power still out. You told Joe that your favorite movie is How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, your favorite takeout is bar food, and that you had a dog named Lola growing up. You learned that Joe likes cats more than dogs, he enjoys watching Game of Thrones, and that he secretly loves Taylor Swift.

You think playing this silly game has made you realize maybe Joe isn't so bad after all.

You think there's a chance you and Joe could be friends after tonight.

"You know," you said, a playful smirk on your face, "you're not as bad as I thought you were, Joe."

Joe chuckled, "I could say the same about you."

You smiled at him and pulled the blanket closer to your body as you snuggled further into the chair, leaning your head on your hand. You could feel your eyes starting to grow heavy, but you stayed awake for a little while longer.

"So Joe," you smirked, "you talk to Amelia lately?"

Joe shook his head as a smile pulled at his lips.

"No, I haven't spoken to her since our date."

"That's too bad."

He shrugged, "Eh, I knew it wasn't going to work out. It's not a huge deal."

You just nodded. He knows what he wants. That's good, I guess?

"You meet anyone special yet?" He asked, seeming like he was genuinely curious.

You smiled, "Yeah, there's a few." you felt your face heat up as you thought about Evan, specifically. The two of you have started to talk more and more as the weeks have gone on.

He even asked you out on a date.

Which you said yes to. You figured it wouldn't hurt to go out on a date with Evan. He is such a sweet guy. It would be nice for you to go downtown for an evening, and going with Evan makes it even better.

The only issue though: you haven't told Joe about the date.

He doesn't really need to know though. It's none of his business who you go out with it, right?

You’re just going to go out with Evan to see how things go. If there's something there, there's something there. You don't want to force anything or rush into a relationship too quickly either.

But, you have nothing to worry about. You have a really good feeling about Evan.

Joe smiled, "Well I'm glad you're starting to meet some people.”

"Yeah?" you asked, a small smile making its way onto your face.

"Yeah." He stated with a nod as his soft smile was still displayed on his lips. Even though he was smiling, you could see Joe carried a slight sense of disappointment in his demeanor.

Weird... you thought to yourself. You shrugged it off, figuring you were just mistaking his tiredness as disappointment.

You and Joe continued to make small conversation for the next twenty minutes as the storm passed. As he was telling you a story about his Junior prom, you felt your eyes grow heavier and heavier. Soon, you were taken over by a peaceful slumber, falling asleep and staying asleep on the chair in the living room for the rest of the night.

Joe's pov:

"And then we went back to my best friends house and..." I let out a chuckle as I saw Y/n had fallen asleep on the chair. I smiled softly as I watched her chest rise and fall with each breath she took.

She looked so peaceful, yet so uncomfortable at the same time.

I threw the blanket off of my body and stood from the couch, stretching my limbs. I was exhausted. I could have easily slept through the storm, but Y/n asked me to keep her company, and I couldn't say no.

So I stayed up for an hour and a half just talking to Y/n. It was nice. I've learned a lot about her and I think it's safe to say she and I have both realized maybe we're not so bad after all. We started off on the wrong foot, but things are already looking better after our conversations from tonight.

I blew out all of the small candles on the table before grabbing the blanket and my phone from the couch. Items in hand, I walked over to Y/n, who was curled up on the chair with her head resting on her arm that was draped over the arm rest. I smiled to myself and pulled her blanket up further so it covered her bare shoulders. The movement of the blanket caused her to move in her sleep. I grimaced as I saw her move, thinking I had just woken her up. She only snuggled further into the couch, adjusting her arm so it was more comfortable for her to lay on.

"Goodnight, sweets. Sleep well." I whispered, knowing she was sound asleep so she wouldn't hear me.

As I started to walk away, I heard a faint voice say, "G'night Joe."

I stopped in my tracks and turned around, seeing Y/n re-adjust herself once again before falling back to sleep. I smiled. She probably didn't even realize she woke up momentarily to say goodnight to me. I turned back around and made my way back into my bedroom. I got into my bed, getting under the covers and laying my head down. I let out a sigh as laid in bed and looked up at the ceiling. My thoughts wandered to the last couple hours. It made me happy knowing Y/n and I were finally—well hopefully finally, on good terms with each other.

I did exactly what Logan told me to do if I wanted to make things better between us.

Just get to know her.

So that's what I did. I think it's safe to say it worked. Y/n isn't so bad after all and I think she feels the same way about me now.

I don't know what exactly it is that I'm feeling about Y/n, but I do know one thing.

I care about her a lot more than I should as just her roommate.

hey loves!

so you and joe are finally starting to get along, we're going to see some drama soon…it's gettin' good!

this is definitely my favorite chapter i've written so far for this story!

i hope everyone is enjoying this story, it's been so much fun to write. i appreciate all of the comments, votes and views. your excitement for updates and love for the series makes me so happy!! i appreciate every single one of you🤍

tags:

@jackharloww @ilovejoeburroww @dandelionwrites8 @ijustcrypretty @sinners-98-world @a-moment-captured @stainednailpolishremover @spooky-stoner

#joe burrow #joe burrow x reader #joe burrow x y/n #joe burrow x you #nfl imagines #nfl #imagines #welcome to the jungle

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ghostcathedrals · 5 months

Text

// catholic guilt, sacrilege, nsfw, fluff (what), perversion, stalking, mention of blood, corruption

devil!toji vampire priest!toji do things to me actually

devil!toji who was supposed to possess and wreak havoc in a community church but ends up meeting a young nun/priest/celibate who is newly ordained or welcomed into solemnity. so entranced, he decided to stray away from his original plan and watched over them. of course this isn't fully domesticated or whatever. he watches their every move, their every prayer, his ghost stands before them, atop the altar they pray to. with his ghostly touch, he will thrust out his arms and let his hands cup their cheeks. moving closer, he pecks their lips.

they feel the cold sensation on their cheeks and lips, suddenly scrambling away from the altar. confused and nervous, they look around the room searching for something or someone, but toji only looks at them amusingly. he then falls to the floor and cages them with his legs and arms like a veil. his breath coldly against their ear, he whispers, "believe in me, and only me."

"w-what?" they ask, fear rising up to their mouth like bile. "w-who are you?"

the questions themselves give way for them to finally see the ghost ⎯ devil ⎯ who has been bothering them in the middle of their prayer. his sinister grin towering over them and blocking everything else brings tendrils of shiver down their spine. "you're pristine like flowers, but i can easily stain you like blood coating snow."

"whoever you are, my faith is stronger and i am not afraid of you."

"really?" he purrs, dropping lower so his slowly personifying figure is weighing them down further. "let me know if you're faith is stronger in two weeks, 'kay?" then he pulls away.

"whatever do you mean, two weeks?"

toji merely grins and response before disappearing into smoke.

so they carry burden of a devil always behind them, watching their every move, even when they are in the bathroom. oftentimes they get flustered when they can tell they're being watched. then they end up begging toji not to stalk them, but of course they have a price to pay for that. you can imagine what the price is.

but there are times when there are strict and mean superiors, or like churchgoers who gossip behind them, so when one time they got too sad/cried about it, toji made sure he went back to their plan and became the people's nightmare.

apparently, no one gets to hurt the devil's angel.

#jujutsu kaisen #toji fushiguro #toji #toji x reader #fushiguro toji #toji headcanons

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wri0thesley · 2 years

Note

omg omg I have no idea if this is necessarily lore accurate (I’m pretty new to genshin!) but I can’t get the idea of one of these men on some kind of undercover mission seducing the lovely and lonely wife of their mission’s target, either to try to get information (the professional version) or just because they can lol (the nasty version) after all, if you leave such a sweet, innocent young thing like yourself unprotected, who knows what could happen?

oh, anon . . . not exactly what you're talking about, but this has childe written all over it. after all! he sometimes does take on debt collection missions - and though he'd originally come to your abode in search of a fight, it's something else that gets his blood pumping hot in his veins when he discovers you there instead.

cw; afab reader, cheating (not on childe), reader is in an unhappy marriage, dub-con-ish. fem reader, gendered pet names (princess). not sfw, minors dni.

(send me a genshin kink thought/thirst for elucidation and drabbles. this one is not a drabble. it got away from me.)

Your husband had never even mentioned taking out a loan, much less one from the Northland Bank. Though the Fatui endeavoured to keep their more disagreeable affairs clandestine, rumours are bound to spread - and you have heard of what happens to those who do not repay their debt.

You protest weakly to the red-haired, friendly young man who comes to your door with bright blue eyes to have what he terms as a 'friendly conversation' about the money you didn't even know that you owed. You can feel your lip trembling, your eyes filling with tears, even as your voice dips and quavers. You are not too proud to beg, you don't think, when your life is on the line--

But the young man has seen through you.

"He didn't even tell you?" He asks, watching the way your hands are shaking like leaves in the breeze. "Aww. That's a low move, princess. Why would you even want to stay with a man like that?"

(Because you have nowhere else to go. Because, despite how he ignores you and leaves you lonely, he does support you. Because it's what's expected of you.)

"I--I--" You try and open your mouth to come back with a rebuttal, but he's moving closer and closer to you, eyes burning brighter and hotter. "I s-suppose . . . I don't have anyone else."

A brief coldness descends over his gaze, but it's gone as soon as it arrives, and the young man reaches out and cups your trembling cheek in a gloved hand, sympathy rolling off him in waves.

"You poor thing," he says, "family is supposed to take care of one another, you know. And your husband . . . well, he's just left you all alone here, hasn't he? Knowing that he's made a major faux pas . . . Oh, his business probably won't recover from this. The Northland Bank don't give second chances, you know." You look up at him beseechingly, the tears that have been threatening to spill from your eyes finally making good on the promise. "Archons, he might never even bother coming home. Just leave you to deal with the fall-out. Doesn't it make you so angry, princess?"

The thought of your husband making a run for it and leaving you to face the cold harsh truth of everything alone has never occurred to you before - but even as the young man says it, you realise that it wouldn't be entirely out of character for him. And that . . . yes. That makes you furious.

Something on your own expression must change, because he grins at you suddenly like a cat who has found themselves with a glut of mice to hunt and feast upon. This time, when he smiles, there's a glint of desire making itself known in his gaze.

"I'm Childe, by the way," he says, as that hand moves down from your cheek, trailing a finger down your neck, the hollow of your throat, to where your shirt is open. " . . . I think it's high time you got to have a little fun of your own."

Childe's idea of fun, as it turns out, is goading you onto straddling him on one of your battered kitchen chairs. His idea of fun is kissing you like he's battling with you; teeth biting at your lower lip, his hands roaming all over your hips and your waist and your chest, tugging at your clothes with little care about how you hear stitches pop and seams rip.

"M-my clothes," you say, breathlessly, breaking the kiss to look at him hazily-eyed and swollen of mouth. Childe pouts.

"I'll buy you new ones," he tells you, as if that's a foregone conclusion. "What can I say, sweetheart? It's nice to be a little bit rough with toys, sometimes."

Against your will, your thighs clench at the pet name, at the brazen confession that he's considering you a toy to play with - and Childe doesn't miss it, his pout quickly fading into a grin.

"Come here," he orders you, as if you aren't currently straddling his lap. He yanks you closer, making sure that the hot part of you burning between your legs is pressing against a stiffness in his trousers that is abundantly obvious. "I hope that cute little spark of defiance won't go out when I'm inside of you."

Your cheeks heat. Instead of responding, you reach down between the two of you to tug at your skirts yourself, and Childe groans as you also reach for the placket of his trousers. Before you can get any further, he's suddenly got his hand around your face; thumb and forefinger squishing your cheeks together, forcing you to look into his eyes. That bright, burning hunger is there again.

"You're cute," he tells you, sounding entirely earnest. "You're really too good for your husband, you know. I think I'll take you with me when we're done here."

Childe's idea of fun, as it turns out . . . is lowering you down onto his cock, inch by slow, aching inch, holding onto your hips with a strength that his lithe frame didn't bely and chuckling when you squirm.

His idea of fun is only letting you have another few tantalising tenths of an inch every time you beg him, until you're trying to push down in his grasp so that you can take him all inside of you and your nails are digging hard into his shoulders. To your surprise, the feel of your nails digging in (your fingers like claws, your squirming getting more and more desperate) makes Childe hiss in a breath and growl low in his throat.

"Well," he says. "You fitted it all in, princess. Colour me impressed." He reaches between the two of you, delving between your thighs to pinch the pearl of your clit between two fingers. You squeak, heat washing over you, curling further around him so your head buries itself in the crook of his neck. He chuckles. "Why don't you see if you can impress me even more, huh?"

He's goading you.

But you have, for so long, been expected to be pretty and mild and sweet. You have never thought there that much fire in you; you are, for all intents and purposes, a perfect and modest little wife. But Childe . . . he seems to want to draw out what little anger and heat has been left to smoulder inside of you and kindle the flame. When he kisses you, he bites at your lip. When he squeezes you, he does it hard enough to leave bruises. And when you begin to slowly fuck yourself on his cock, the wet sounds of your sex sucking him in echoing around the kitchen, he groans aloud and begins to thrust his hips in tune with yours like you are dancing.

You lose sight of anything except the feeling of his cock drilling into you. Your slick dripping down your thighs and down his shaft, heat roiling through your body to converge low in your stomach. Childe's lips brushing your neck, teeth tugging at your ear, growling and groaning--

And you respond to his noises with soft mewls of your own.

"You feel incredible," he murmurs against your collarbone, before he bites down hard enough into yielding flesh that you yelp even as you realise you like it. You'd never thought pain could intermingle with pleasure in that way - your own hands reach around Childe, tugging at soft locks of his hair as revenge, and you swear you feel him twitch inside of you. "Shit. Mmm, I could do this for hours--"

"I'm n-not-- stopping you," you breathe out, bouncing on the balls of your feet and re-angling your body just so, so that with every bounce and thrust of yours and Childe's body his cock rubs along a sweet spot inside of you that you don't think has ever truly been stoked like this. "Ahh-hnn--"

"Have things to do . . ." Childe groans in response, even as his own hips begin to jackhammer inside of you. You don't recall how long the two of you have been enmeshed like this, but you also don't really care. If your husband does come back and find you fucking the man sent to collect his debt, you doubt even that would make you feel guilty for the pleasure that Childe is wringing from you with every movement of his body. "Would rather be doing this, though, believe me--"

You reach down between you this time, to toy with your clit. You'd never dare be so shameless normally - but Childe's eyes watch everything you do with fervent admiration, and you cannot help but be bolstered to be wanted so terribly.

"I'll speed it up for you," you say to him, sweetly, and he growls low again. As retaliation, he begins to truly jack-hammer his hips up into yours with a desperate need that permeates off of him. Your own fingers swirl around your swollen nub, playing with it in sweet circles that you know from experience will send you over the edge sooner rather than later. That pressure inside of you builds to an all-consuming need, hot behind your eyes and in your chest.

"You're going to come, huh?" Childe says. "Go ahead, princess. Let me see how pretty you look. Let me feel how good it is."

So you do. You let the orgasm wash over you - you let your toes curl, your mouth shape a perfect 'o' of pleasure. You feel yourself clench and pulsate around the cock inside of you, the rush of your own release.

And Childe follows suit, the sweet way your inner walls are clinging tightly and throbbing around him simply too much for him to resist. You feel a thick, wet heat fill you as he shoots ropes of his come deep inside of you. You grind and rock against him to eke out the last few pleasurable shudders and shivers of your orgasm, your still-sensitive clit rubbing against the flat plane of his pelvis in a way that makes you wonder, if you tried, how many more times you could come today.

Eventually, though, you're left with no choice but to collapse onto his shoulder, gasping and panting, feeling his come dripping down out of your sex even where you're stretched taut around him. From the steady noise, there's probably some of it on the kitchen floor beneath you--

"I wasn't kidding, you know," he says, quietly, after the two of you have caught your breath. "Come back to Liyue Harbour proper with me. I'll take care of you. A damn sight better than anyone else would, I'd bet."

It's a tempting offer. You think about being Childe's. On the arm of one of the Fatui, you think people would avoid you - your old connections would not want to see you ever again, perhaps, knowing what he's capable of.

(But don't you find that thrilling? The thought that the hands currently tenderly running over your body have blood staining them? You might not have admitted it before today, but . . . you do. And did your connections, your friends, your husband - did they ever ask what you wanted?)

"Yes," you murmur to him, and he lets out a noise of pure pleasure. You pull back from him, your eyes half-lidded. You bite down on your lip, walking your fingers shyly over his chest.

"But first," you say to him. " . . . My ex-husband gave me a very nasty surprise today, I'd say. I think I'd like to leave him one, too. We've made a mess of the floor already . . . I think I'd like to do it to every surface in the house."

Childe lights up like Lantern Rite.

"Oh, sweetheart," he purrs, with not remotely disguised pleasure. "You and I are going to wreak havoc."

#childe x reader #genshin impact smut #tartaglia x reader #childe smut #tartaglia smut #not sfw text #drabble #ask game #fem reader #genshin impact posting #not sfw #dub con for ts #cheating cw #this is 2k sorry it got away with me. as always #writing

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nocturnesmoon · 4 months

Text

I was an adventurer like you

Mhm you know what time it is? It's time for more of my random thoughts piled together into something I hope is coherent.

Today we are taking our lovely couple consisting of Simon and johnny and catapulting them into Faerun along with you.

Despite it's supposed glamour in the bigger cities, the realm of Faerun is quite the brutal one. Different species at war, the overlap between realms, the creatures and monsters that roam. It's quite the chaotic place to be, full of dangers and mysteries.

By the natural order of things, it's no surprise the number of adventurers that exist within these lands. There's rarely a shortage of them, as they seem to pop up everywhere, with new ideals, goals, and incredible powers. The young and aspiring adventurers quickly ends up taking the place the older retired ones.

Simon and Johnny were once such young and aspiring folk, a smile on their faces, excitement in their hearts as they went on unimaginable adventures. They fought creatures they'd never imagine; they fought devils, slayed dragons, and laid waste to goblin hoards.

They became quite renowned in their time under the aliases of Ghost and Soap. Songs and tales were written about them, big inns knew them well, and they became quite the role model for the younger adventurers.

That was a long time ago now, feels almost like an eternity ago. Though the circumstances of their retirement came unexpected to Simon, it eventually became clear it was a good decision for them both. Especially since Johnny took an arrow to the knee and was ready to settle, Simon saw it wouldn't be quite the same without his partner out there on the road.

Though they aren't active adventurers anymore they're still quite known, the young might not recognize them anymore but the older still hold their images in their heart. And though they are no longer out felling demons, they have their own way of getting by.

It was originally Simon's idea, but one that Johnny quickly took over. They opened a small potions shop just outside of a small town. Simon wanted somewhere with peace and quiet, and Johnny still wanted to hone his absurdly good craft of creating things. The compromise was quite easy to make from then on.

The shop became a trademark of the town, though business wasn't always through the roof, they made enough to get by. Anything between potions, ingredients, food, and general supplies could be bought there, making it a good pitstop for adventurers.

They managed to make quite a comfortable life here for themselves, even if they had to retire early by Simon's standards. Johnny tends to the shop and does most of the social bit, selling and buying, the whole lot. While Simon takes care of the garden out back and the miscellaneous maintenance around the house that's bound to occur with Johnny's experimenting.

It has become a weekly occurrence that something tends to blow up spectacularly, and while Simon is used to the sudden twists and turns of an adventure, these minor explosions might give him too many white hairs too early.

Despite the hiccups along the way, it's a quiet life that they're able to live out in peace. At least it was quiet until that fated day where you crossed their path.

It's nearing the evening, closing time for the shop and around the time where Johnny tidies the front desk up while Simon sits down with a cup of tea, and they talk. The door is almost thrown off its hinges as its being barged in, startling them both into action.

When you stumble in it's clear you won't make much of a threat even if you wanted to. You looked beyond drunk, stumbling in, knocking one of Simon's precious flowers over and shattering the bowl. Your sword was drawn but not to antagonize, merely so you had a support as you looked up at them with droopy eyes, pleading for help.

Simon is the first to recognize the familiarity in your face. He remembers you from all those years ago, a battle against a horde of goblins, back when you were all young and bright eyed, with that spark for adventure that kept you alive. Though you didn't adventure together for long, you fought alongside each other well.

You had fought bravely, even taken a hit that was meant for Simon. He suddenly remembered he never got to thank you. Though with the dark no-nonsense presence he gave off back then he doesn't think you expected a thank you if you even remember.

You liked them both quite a lot back then, if his memory doesn’t betray him, though sadly you weren't able to join them on future adventures, and they hadn't seen you since. Simon would be lying if he didn't occasionally think about you, Johnny would be too. They both knew there could've been something special there if they had let it grow before taking off.

He wonders what in the world happened to you, during all those years. Clearly you kept your career as an adventurer alive, a lot of battle scars littering your body and face that he doesn't believe you had back then.

Johnny doesn't seem to recognize you as quickly, not that there's much to see when you fall face down on their wooden floor. "Ach c'mon I just washed the flooring," Johnny exclaims as you topple over, your bloodied sword scattering off next to you and creating a splatter.

They both look at you cautiously, as if to see whether or not you were gonna get back up. When you don't move Johnny takes a few steps forward, crouching down next to you as if to see whether you were even alive.

"How much did ye drink," Johnny scoffs and carefully rolls you over to see if you were awake and faking. "Bloody idiot-" he cuts himself off when he sees the wound in your side and the pooling blood beneath your body.

All it takes is one look between them before Simon springs into action, walking over to a medicine cabinet they keep in the shop's storage area. Johnny carefully hoists you up, hooking an arm under your knees and one on your back to pick you up.

He takes a moment to take in your actual state, you looked pale, sickly so. You'd likely been wearing armor once upon a time, but your breastplate had been ripped clean off, only leaving the leather binding underneath. Your clothes were torn and dirtied with either blood or mud. It wasn't an unusual look for the adventurers that came in to shop, but admittedly they normally didn't collapse on the floor either.

Johnny carries you out of the shop area and into the back where the rest of their house is. He gently gets you situated on the couch as Simon comes with different sets of supplies, they needed to stabilize you. While Johnny went to work on your wound, Simon went back out to the shop.

He had intended to clean up the flooring, so Johnny didn't need to bother, but was promptly interrupted when he realized the shop wasn't empty like they left it. An Orc was bustling about, tall enough to barely fit in there with the lower ceiling.

Simon held back a string of curses that wanted to bubble up, he had nothing against the orcs, but they were closed and had a bleeding out person in the back, this was too much. "Excuse me" his voice sounded out and caught the attention of the orc, "We're closed."

The orc grumbles something incoherent glancing back outside briefly before fully turning their attention on Simon. He noticed the several other orcs waiting outside the shop, it made him grit his teeth. If they brought trouble here it wouldn't be good, even if he was quite skilled once it's been a while since he picked up an axe or a sword.

"We're looking for someone that came through here," the orc grumbles again, Simon starts to realize it's just their speech making them harder to understand, some sort of accent. "They're likely injured," the orc continues "And we need to take them with us."

They then proceed to give him a long description of the features on the person they're pursuing, and it doesn't take a genius to realize it's you. It makes Simon really start to wonder what in the hell you were up to, and whether or not you were really worth the trouble.

"Ain't seen anybody," Simon grumbles back, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks the Orc up and down. If it came down to it, he could reach for the knife on his belt and spin it into the orcs uncovered neck, then make a beeline for better equipment.

"Don't kid us" the orc starts to sound irritated, "we're not dumb we see the blood on your floor, just hand them over and this will go fine."

They didn't seem to want to go easy, but Simon wasn't about to get violent just yet if he didn't have to. "I don't know what you're on about, that's fluids from a broken potion, i was just about to clean it up," Simon rides it off, keeping himself stoic to pass off the lie.

"Then where's the glass," The orc asks again dumbfounded, seemingly questioning their own judgement now that Simon brought up a different possibility.

"I…cleaned that up already…" Simon answers, looking on to see if the orc buys his lie, no matter how flimsy it might seem it is still believable.

"Hmf alright…if you see them come find us…" the orc says it's final and then leaves the shop once more. Only when the door closes, and the orcs are well on their way does Simons shoulders relax again.

He lets out a sigh and continues his work of getting the floor cleaned of your blood before it soaks into the wood. Luckily there wasn't a lot to clean, and he took the courtesy to wipe off your blade as well, putting it off to the side so you could take it back later.

By the time he's all done and joins Johnny again, you're all patched up and snoring away. Your wound wasn't severe but would likely still need weeks of rest before you could do any adventuring again.

They let you rest, discussing amongst themselves what to do with you while they make dinner together. It's only later that night when you wake up again, Simon had almost fallen asleep sitting in a different chair, Johnny sitting on the floor next to the couch they had placed you on.

Johnny was quick to assure you of your safety, explaining how you ended up here as far as they know, and that they got you patched up. You thank them profusely, feeling rather embarrassed at the whole deal.

They let you stay the night, getting you filled up on water and food and making sure to tend to the wound as it needs. The night ends up quite entertaining for the three of you even with the rather grim start of it. You all catch up on each of your adventures, they find out what you've been doing since all those years ago and what accomplishments you've gotten.

They're very impressed as well, even if they had seen the potential in you, so many with good potential die young. To see how far you've gotten, only a few years younger than themselves, and still going, it's something to be proud of.

Neither of them mentions it, but part of them regrets not making a longer friend of you all those years ago. You were easy to talk to, excitable, and eager you would've made a good companion when they were still adventuring themselves.

They're once again reminded of what brought the three of you together in the first place, what kept you guys talking even once the battle was over. You couldn't lie to yourself either, you had missed a connection like that, a thing you hadn't found anywhere else, with anyone else.

After you've gone to sleep on the couch again, and they've retrieved themselves to their bedroom, they find themselves unashamedly scheming on ways to have you stay. They saw something in you they haven't seen in anybody else, something sweet and caring, while still adventurous and wild.

Maybe they could have you come back at least if you didn't want to stay.

The next morning however you awake in agonizing pain, having Johnny absolutely panic that his remedy wasn't working, and immediately getting to work on a new one. Meanwhile Simon does his best to soothe you, moving you into their bed instead of the uncomfortable couch.

They close shop for the day, spending most of it tending to you, trying to get you stabilized again. Worst case scenario they'd have to go find a healer of some kind, there was a cleric that would sometime pass through town, and they could ask around.

By the end of the day things are looking up once again, the pain isn't as bad and one of Johnny's remedies seems to have worked for you. They insist you stay the night again, so they're sure you're healing okay.

They end up falling into bed with you, though it's soon you seem to not mind it. Having them on either side of you to make sure you didn't roll around on your wound, and to protect you should you need it, found itself to be quite comforting in your state.

From then on you don't really make any incentive to leave during the healing process. It's slow and grueling, with a few setbacks it felt too long at times, but it eventually got better. Once you did, you slowly started helping around the shop, trying to repay a debt you insisted on owing them despite how much they assured you it was fine.

You helped clean up after Johnny's experiments, restocking the shelves, and even assisting Simon in the garden when it wasn't a lot of physical labor. You enjoyed the mindless activities, being able to make conversation with them while doing it was usually the best part.

You enjoyed Johnny's quips, and excitement over his passion for potions and remedies. In contrast to the quieter time spent in the garden with Simon, you enjoyed his jokes and his insightfulness when it came to the plants. To see him have a gentle touch with them, much the same how he handles his partner (and you in turn), it was heartwarming to see for how brutal he used to be in your eyes.

It took quite a while for you to get back to your full strength, and by the time you did you had found a place with them. A place where you could explore the connection that attracted you in their direction, what made you so good for each other.

Even as you started up smaller adventures to get yourself back on track, you were never gone for long. The once pitstop, became a full stop for you, a new home with them that slowly developed into something beautiful, that you couldn't stay away from.

Mmhm the things i'd do to see these two fight dragons...too much

I kinda have some more ideas for this, in a fantasy dnd kind of setting, but i dont know if im gonna make it into anything.

I'm also working on a different actual series that i hope to share the first chapter of soonish, if i can get myself to actually plan it out and fully finish the first chapter. Exciting things :))

(I read through this a few times but i have an urging feeling i missed a mistake somewhere so if you find it i apologize)

#noctmoon fics #simon ghost riley #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley x reader #john soap mctavish x reader #ghoap #ghost x soap x reader #soap x ghost x reader #ghoap x reader #ghoap au #soapghost #Dungeons and dragons au #Forgotten realms au

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quibbs126 · 10 months

Note

For a fan kid request, can you do Dark Choco and Earl Grey?

Here you go, this is Dark Tea Cookie

So fun fact, she has been done for like, at least a month, if not more. The only thing that was stopping me from posting her was that I had no idea what to do for her sketches, but I didn’t want to just do nothing, since I always draw them for others, so she’s been stuck in this limbo for ages. But last night I finally came up with some ideas, and now I can show her

So she’s named after dark tea, which is different from black tea, due to it being fermented or something? I don’t really know. But dark tea is darker than black tea, and in the east, their names translate to “red tea” for black tea, and “black tea” for dark tea, since they’re named for the color of the tea themselves, not the leaves

I dunno, the whole situation is confusing. Just know that it’s because of the whole “Dark” prefix for Dark Choco’s family, and because Earl Grey is tea, and it’s not the same thing as black tea

Dark tea:

So to be honest, I don’t remember much of the design process. I made her hair black because of the tea, and I gave her the streaks because Dark Choco has them, but made them the same color as Earl Grey’s hair

I made her eyes blue because of the whole “I give too many Dark Choco kids red eyes” thing, but I ended up darkening the color because I thought Earl Grey’s eye color was just too light and didn’t look right. I think it looks fine now though

I do remember that I’m pretty sure the bottom of her dress was supposed to resemble a tea cup, since well, she’s made of tea

I think at one point I was planning on basing her design off of Alice from Alice in Wonderland (the original Disney movie one), but after looking at the designs again, it doesn’t seem I went for that route

But all in all, I think her design does look good. I liked drawing it in the sketches I did

Anyways, so let’s get into her as a character

So she lives at Earl Grey’s hotel (hence why her outfit more resembles something from him than Dark Choco)

I’ll admit, I don’t have much on her, or at least whatever I made up of her originally I didn’t write down. But she’s a shy young girl who just sort of lives in the hotel, probably trying to do some of the upkeep in the hotel, or at least as much as she can

But last night I thought, what if I leaned more into the Alice in Wonderland inspiration? And so, I’m considering that she has a story where she ends up in some sort of weird world (perhaps she accidentally gets transported into whatever weird chess dimension Chess Choco seem to have going on, at least in their Trial), and is sort of the normal girl in this place of madness

In the left sketch, she’s supposed to be trying to get the other people to act less…crazy, saying that’s probably not a good idea. My idea is that she’s got a set of morals on her, and she can’t stand injustice, but she’s usually a bit too timid to do anything about it. Maybe this other world is how she learns to be more assertive

Also, she will fight if she absolutely has to (though she’s incredibly nervous about it), though to everyone’s shock, she packs an incredible wallop in her punches. She might not be totally aware of this fact, so she’s just wildly swinging punches hoping she lands a hit, and when she looks she’s taken out an entire crowd or enemies

And honestly, I think that’s about it

*sigh* To be honest, I really feel like I could do better on her character section. The only person she has any notable connection to is Earl Grey, and all she seems to have from Dark Choco is looks and strength, but I have no clue what kind of relationship she has with him, if he’s even there. And that’s not to mention the Chess Choco twins, who would be there as older siblings

I don’t know, I feel like I could do so much more with the proposed family dynamic, especially since I originally put this one up because I was thinking about the potential of this ship. I was going to do it purely because I wanted to, and then someone happened to request it so it’s a win-win. But I feel disappointed that I haven’t tapped the potential of it. Which sucks because I really like her design, but I have no clue how to work her as a character into everyone else

Maybe I’ll do another shot at this ship sometime, but currently I’m just not sure what else to do

Well regardless of all that, I hope you enjoy her

#cookie run #cookie run ovenbreak #dark choco cookie #earl grey cookie #do they have a ship name?#cookie run oc #fankid #fanchild #my ocs #my art #requests #answers #dark tea cookie

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boundinparchment · 2 years

Text

Tell Me Who You Wanna Be {And I Will Set You Free} - IV

“You threw me down a fucking cliff just to see if my Vision would reignite?” “As if you had any better ideas on how to reclaim your power. You refuse to touch a Delusion.” The last thing either of them wanted was to be stuck in a safe house with the other. In the middle of a snowstorm in Snezhnaya. Il Dottore x Original Female Character. Will be explicit in later chapters that will solely be posted on AO3.

He woke within the hour, his bones popping alongside the new, dry log just thrown onto the fire. The initial crack and snap of the heat breaking through the wood tore him out of his stupor, although the telltale scent of fresh coffee would have done the trick just as easily. Dottore’s neck and legs protested at the position and as he sat up, he felt the tickle of fur against his cheek, the familiar weight of his winter cloak settled against his back.

The Harbinger’s gaze flicked over the Warden. She sat in front of the fire, as she had hours prior, her hands holding what he could only assume was a cup.

They were going to be here longer than either of them hoped for, sadly.

Dottore let out a whisper of a sigh as he gave the devices on the table another look. The Akasha system was usually reliable regardless of weather. As long as one had a clear mind, it was near impossible to not reach one’s intended recipient. He built his Segments around this very system and could access them without issue for as long as he could remember. Even if, for whatever reason, his Segments were unreachable, the Harbinger should have been able to reach other parts of the network, even the nearest operator to direct the signal.

The Harbinger rose from the chair and stretched his neck to one side, and then the other.

It didn’t make sense.

None of this made sense.

The Akasha device was operational.

They should have made it back to the Palace with time to spare.

And by all accounts, her Vision should have ignited again. He’d been presented with the perfect opportunity to observe divinity’s spark and it refused to touch her.

Was she like him? Disgraced? Forsaken?

What did it mean that someone with immense inner strength and determination lost not their ambition, but something else that even Celestia wouldn’t deign to approach? Or what if it wasn’t Celestia at all, but self-inflicted?

He ran a hand down his face, stopping to pinch a tense spot between his eyes. None of these were questions with tangible, quantifiable answers. There was no point to them. He was no closer now than he was in all the years he’d tried to understand this particular challenge. He’d built a god with his own two hands and yet…

“Lord Harbinger?”

Dottore looked over his shoulder, hand still pressed to the bridge of his nose. She always looked at him with a stern stiffness in her brow, wary and defensive; it was no different now. Fear was never part of the equation with her. Perhaps that was due to her martial training and previous experience with a commanding officer who took advantage of her naivety, to say nothing of her run-in with his Segment.

Strange how he could read her so easily sometimes and yet her circumstances eluded even him.

“I cannot get a signal,” Dottore admitted, gazing at her without turning towards her. “We will need to wait until the storm passes entirely to make our way back to the Palace.”

The Warden (for he could not deign to consider her name in his mind, the way the syllables began so harshly and ended on a gasp of air) was about to protest but thought better of it and turned back to the fire. Fontaine used a similar system for decades, a more crude and less effective Akasha system; he could count on a single hand the number of people who would know that the very scenario they found themselves in was near-impossible. She was one of them.

Better her than Sandrone, he supposed, if only because both Harbingers could think themselves into circles.

His teeth ached from the tension in his jaw. Nothing to work on. Nothing to do. A genius like him stuck between four walls with…

What was she, exactly?

Other than a thorn in his side, proof of his own imperfection and inability to truly grasp what made allogenes so special?

Almost as bad as that Traveler he sent his Segment with.

No, perhaps the Warden was worse of a conundrum. She made no sense. Anyone could wield a sword, follow orders, sew competently if taught properly. Losing one’s family was a part of the life cycle, as was being abused by authority. Teyvat was not a kind world and any who thought otherwise needed a long lesson in history and the Celestial Cycle.

Nothing remarkable.

Incredibly irritating.

And yet he found that the days she arrived in his lab or assigned to his division were on par with when his experiments took a turn for the better, when his long-awaited hypotheses were reproducible, capable of becoming theory provided they were accepted…

There it was again, that sickenly tight feeling in his chest, followed by those awful palpitations.

As if he looked forward to their verbal spars, to seeing her usually stoic expressions crack and reveal the embers beneath, still burning. Her spark was still there, he knew it, and if she would just let it come to life…

Dottore inhaled deeply and let go of the bridge of his nose to rub his jaw, the joint popping slightly as it always did (the result of a strong kick to his face from his Academia days).

Fine. There was little else to do but wait out the storm anyway. Perhaps a different approach was in order.

He pulled his shoulders back and crossed to the fireplace in a few strides before taking a seat next to her, draping the half of the cloak nearest her across her shoulders in one fell swoop. She threw him a suspicious look as she poured coffee into another cup; a mere courtesy, he imagined. As soon as she set the pot down, her hand was already reaching for the edge to pull the cloak off.

“Chevalier, it may be more efficient to simply share the cloak and retain body heat than relying on the fire,” Dottore explained.

“I’d rather freeze.”

As expected. Like him, she didn’t trust very well. She hadn’t been given proof that others were reliable. They really weren’t, of course, but they were both awake and both cold, this solution just made sense.

“Your pride will kill you one day.”

“So will your unhindered erudition,” she shot back, eyes meeting his again. “It almost did in Sumeru.”

Dottore gave a deep chuckle at her point. The Gnosis transfer to the Balladeer had gone a little haywire, never mind the politics of the situation. When Omega pulled the plug on most of the Segments, he’d already been back in Snezhnaya. He’d survived, mostly in part due to the woman next to him.

“That’s what I have clones for, so they can take the danger for me. You didn’t put in all that hard work and suffering for the past few years only to die of hypothermia, now did you?”

She seemed to relent a bit, her hand bringing her half of the cloak tighter around her.

“Was that so hard?”

The Warden didn’t reply but Dottore swore he caught her hunkering down a little and brushing her cheek against the fur collar. It was soft. He gave Regrator credit for knowing the importance of quality.

Tucked so close together, it was impossible to not take notice of the other. Their arms and legs were pressed side by side, not oppressively so, but he was keenly aware of each flex of muscle, of the rise and fall of her shoulders with every breath. He brought the cup she poured him to his lips, not that he needed the edge of the caffeine now that he was keenly aware of the faint smell of sunsettia and jasmine nearby; she managed to make something more than palettable out of poor supplies.

“Usually this stuff is absolute swill,” he muttered. “It actually tastes like proper coffee.”

“I couldn’t rightly be from Fontaine and not know how to make coffee,” she replied, her tone a little lighter than before. “Probably not as strong as you prefer it, I’ve seen your Segment make what I can only classify as pure acid.”

She wasn’t wrong. Not really. But she’d never had Sumeru coffee, if he recalled, and nothing ever compared. Fontaine made things pretty, dainty, sweet and light; the very opposite of the nation itself but somehow, most of Teyvat enjoyed such things.

“He was a defect. I’ll have you know I actually perfected several variations that maximize stimulant release and flavor, thank you very much.”

Dottore felt the quick shake of her shoulders. He pushed away the disappointment that he didn’t get to hear a proper laugh.

“You’ll have to prove it to me one day, then. Provided you don’t drug it.”

“You wound me, Warden. I wouldn’t waste such resources on you.” He caught the tug of a frown across her lips and then clarified, “You’re more useful outside of the lab and I don’t have the wherewithal to deal with my colleagues over such trivialities.”

It didn’t come out the way he meant for it to but he couldn’t discern if he considered his resources too precious to be wasted on her or if he didn’t like the idea of seeing her tainted with such substances. He longed for his mask, discarded and out of reach. He was never good with this kind of interpersonal banter, not when it didn’t revolve around a purpose or a goal.

She was a Vision-user, an allogene, nothing inherently special, he reminded himself.

They just had to make it through the worst of the storm. And when it passed, they could move on, return to the Palace and go their separate ways.

Easy enough.

#genshin impact oc #genshin impact original character #fanfiction #fanfic #genshin impact fanfiction #genshin oc #OC: Karina Alexandre #il dottore x oc #dottore #enemies to lovers #slow burn

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stardewey · 1 year

Text

I posted 516 times in 2022

That's 331 more posts than 2021!

41 posts created (8%)

475 posts reblogged (92%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@almond-milk-man

@bunny-carrothunter

@campyvillain

@dorinahv2

@imposter1491625

I tagged 162 of my posts in 2022

#shit post - 20 posts

#wordgirl - 15 posts

#shit repost - 6 posts

#gotham - 6 posts

#oswald cobblepot - 5 posts

#spooky month - 5 posts

#bob velseb - 5 posts

#ow - 4 posts

#spooky month art - 4 posts

#overwatch 2 - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 74 characters

#the collector is basically if moondrop and sundrop’s personalities swapped

My Top Posts in 2022:

Ms. Teavee: What is your biggest weakness?

Willy Wonka : I can be uncooperative.

Ms. Teavee : Okay, can you give me an example?

Willy Wonka: No.

————

Mr. Salt Mr. Wonka was banned from the chicken shack, so we had to go out of town to get some.

Willy Wonka: Well, they shouldn’t say “all you can eat” if they don’t mean it.

Mr. Salt: Mr. Wonka, you ate a chair.

————

Mr. Salt: Mr. Beauregarde, what do IDK, LY, and TTYL mean?

Mr. Beauregarde: I don’t know, love you, talk to you later

Mr. Salt: Ok, I love you too, I’ll just ask Ms. Teavee.

————

Charlie Bucket: Date someone who will drag you outside at 3am to look at the stars.

Mike Teavee: If anyone, and I mean anyone, wakes me up at 3am to go look at the damn sky they will be removed indefinitely from my life.

————

Charlie Bucket, holding a python: Guys I impulsively bought a snake, what do I name him

Ms. Bucket: You did WHAT–

Willy Wonka: William Snakepeare

31 notes - Posted November 11, 2022

Normal I don’t like Yandere stuff

But

My Favorite Employee is an exception

( I made some art for it, though I used two oc I made for Spooky Month- the one in mask is named Jacob and the employee is named Delilah )

See the full post

38 notes - Posted December 6, 2022

I love Stu so much ❤️

I used Vicky to romance him when I originally played it

I love this stoner gargoyle

53 notes - Posted December 14, 2022

Thirsty?

Otto Octavius x reader

Sometimes love can start from the little things, sometimes they start by bumping into someone. This was simply started because a joke about saltwater.

Otto struggled as he tried to untie his robotic tentacles. He sighed as it didn't help much, it might've even made it tighter against him. He narrowed his eyes at two people, Spiderman... he was also known as Peter Parker, but it wasn't the one he knows and a person by the name of Y/N.

He of course was displeased by Peter, but he didn't mind the other's company as much.

“Y/N, I'm gonna need to check up on something, so stay here with Dr. Octopus, okay?” Peter had said.

Dr. Octopus?

DR. OCTOPUS?

Really? Otto thought the child could've just called him by the name... he had already told him his name anyway!

“Oh, sorry about him! He likes to joke, umm... thirsty?” Y/N had asked. Was she actually trying to be nice to him? He wasn't sure very much sure.

“Umm... I suppose so”

“Okay, do want fresh or saltwater?” Y/N tried to joke, but the joke didn't seem to land on him well by the look on his face.

“O-Oh.. sorry- since your an octopus... nevermind. Fresh it is then.”They went into a near by kitchen and started to fill a cup with some fresh water from the tap, she even added a little bit of ice.

Otto actually kind of felt.. bad? He didn't mean to upset them, maybe he should apologize? Y/N soon came back with the water, he had drank the water before starting,

“Sorry-” The doctor had began, “I didn't mean to well... upset you.”

“Don't worry, I wasn't thinking when I made the joke.” Y/N chuckled out. This was strange.. were the doctor and Peter's friend getting along? Were they even…in love? Yes, it wasn't to hard to see. Luckily, once he is back to himself again, they won't have to hide their love from themselves or anyone else.

Hopefully you liked that! This was my first ever fanfic, so I’m pretty sure there are mistakes

I’ll be posting this on Wattpad, deviantart, and Commaful.

Wattpad and Commaful username is stardewey

Deviantart username is Stardewwy

75 notes - Posted March 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

So Bob Velseb, but It’s Cold Outside?

No one?

I guess I will, others can join though lmao

See the full post

90 notes - Posted December 4, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

You simps ( For Bob Velseb and Otto Octavius )

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #You simps

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mamaestapa · 1 year

Text

The Queen City…and a not so fun surprise

•pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

•chapter summary: You take the day to explore downtown Cincinnati. When you get home you find Joe engaging in some activities with a girl….

•word count: 3.3k

•warnings: language, allusions to sex

Series Masterlist

——————————————————

September 20, 2022

You pulled out your tumbler from the cabinet above you, filling it up with coffee. As you opened the fridge to grab the vanilla coffee creamer, you heard Joe's door creak open. When you closed the fridge, he walked around the corner and made his appearance.

"You're up early." he said with a yawn.

You nodded, "Figured I'd go out and explore today. Look for a job, maybe try out that coffee shop downtown."

He sat down on the barstool, rubbing his tired eyes. Joe got back from Dallas yesterday, spending most of the day in the living room watching the film from the game and harshly critiquing himself. The season just started and the Bengals weren't off to a great start being 0-2. Joe and the guys obviously aren't happy with how the season is starting, but you are confident it'll get much better for them.

Even if you’re not on the greatest terms with Joe, you still want him to be successful. Plus, you live in Cincinnati now, so you have to root for the Bengals.

Joe slouched down in his seat, leaning on his right hand as he watched you make your coffee.

"There's still some coffee left if you want some."

He nodded, "Yeah, I might get some in a minute."

"You got any plans for today?" you asked after you took a drink of coffee.

He stood up from the barstool and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a coffee cup as he spoke, "I have practice until two. After that, I'm actually going out on a date."

"You actually got a girl to go out with you?" you questioned in a teasing tone.

He chuckled, "Shocking, I know." He smiled softly, "But yeah, yeah I did."

You slowly nodded, giving him a small smile. You both kept eye contact for a moment as no words were spoken between you.

"Well," you said, grabbing your tumbler and keys, "enjoy your day."

"Thanks. You too."

You walked past Joe and left the apartment without saying another word. You couldn't wait to finally explore your new home: the city of Cincinnati. You got into your car and pulled out of the complex, heading to downtown Cincinnati. The complex is maybe 25 minutes from downtown, so it's not a bad drive at all. You plugged your phone in and turned your playlist on, smiling as the song Pursuit of Happiness by Kid Cudi began playing.

As soon as you got into downtown Cincinnati, you parked in a parking lot behind a few stores: the ice cream parlor, a sporting goods store, and a women's lingerie shop.

Joe's three favorite things.

You got out of the car and walked over to the sidewalk, deciding to see what stores were around where you parked. There wasn't much except the three shops you mentioned before. You decided to go into the sporting goods store and buy a Cincinnati Bengals t-shirt since you don’t own any. After you bought the shirt, you went next door to the lingerie store. It never hurts to buy something special for yourself every once in a while. They had a sale on panties, buy three get two free, so you figured you would buy some since they're on sale. You also bought a silk nightgown that was black and lined with lace. It's super cute and looks very comfortable!

After walking out of the lingerie store you decided to go across the street and go to a boutique that sat at the corner called "CincyStyles". It seemed like a cute clothing store, so you figured you would check it out.

"Hi, welcome to Cincy Styles!" A brunette woman around your age greeted.

You smiled, "Hi."

"Can I help you look for anything?"

You shook your head, "No, I just thought i'd look around."

She smiled, "Well if I can help you with anything, just holler. My name is Macee."

Macee. She seemed like a very sweet girl and someone you could be very good friends with.

You started to look around at the different clothes the store sold. There were many cute pieces and the prices were reasonable too. That's why you love shopping at boutiques like this. You picked up a pair of mom jeans in your size and draped them over your arm as you continued to look around the store. You found some cute tops that were perfect for fall, along with a brown and white oversized flannel. As you were looking through the clearance rack, Macee came over stopped by the rack.

"You seem to have a good eye for this stuff." she said as she was hanging up t-shirts.

"Oh, thank you." you pulled up a shirt and put it with the clothes you were buying, "I used to work for a fashion magazine in Phoenix for almost five years."

Her eyes widened, "Wow. What made you leave, if you don't mind me asking?"

You smiled, "I just needed a change. I visited Cincinnati for a work trip while I worked with them and I fell in love with this place."

"It is a great city," she nodded, "with a great football team."

You laughed, "Yeah, I've heard."

"Have you been to any games?"

You shook your head no.

"Oh girl, you have to go one! They're so much fun, plus the players are super cute."

Little does she know you live with one of them...

"I plan on going to one, but I'm not sure when. Probably once I get settled here. I still have to find a job."

"You could work here!" Macee grinned, enthusiasm lacing her voice.

You smiled, "I would love that."

"Awesome," she said with a nod, "Come over to the checkout and I'll get you the paper work."

You followed Macee over to the checkout. She went behind the counter and gathered some papers to give to you. She grabbed a paper clip and put them together, handing them to you with a smile.

"This is the application. I won't require you to have an interview because I already plan on hiring you."

You laughed, making her smile as she continued, "but you still have to fill all this paperwork out. Is there any way you can get this to me by the end of the day?"

You nodded, "Definitely. I have no other plans but hanging around downtown."

"Perfect!" She said, smiling sweetly, "Are you ready to check out?"

You nodded, placing the clothing items on the counter. The two of you made some small talk as you paid for the clothes.

"Thank you so much for your help Macee. I really appreciate you offering me this job."

She smiled, "Of course..." she trailed off.

You realized you never told her your name.

“Y/n.”

"Y/n." she said with a nod, "Well, you seem like a really sweet girl, I'd love to hang out sometime!"

You nodded, smiling widely, "I'd love that! It's probably pretty obvious, but I don't have any friends here."

"Well, you do now." She said, pulling out her phone so you could exchange numbers. After you exchanged numbers, you thanked her one last time before heading out. You felt like a huge weight was lifted off your shoulders. You have a new job in an industry you love and you just met Macee, who you know will become your best friend.

You think you’ll do just fine here in the Queen City.

Ahem. Lets rephrase that.

You think you’ll do just fine here in the Queen City when you’re not at the apartment with Joe. You’re hopeful it’ll get better at some point...but right now? It's pretty shitty living with him. Half the time he acts like you’re not even there. Which you guess isn't a bad thing all the time, but sometimes it would be nice to feel like you’re not a burden to him. You think he forgets that you don't want to be roommates with him just as much as he doesn't want to be roommates with you.

He should be thankful though. At least you don't leave your underwear all over the apartment like he does. If you wake up one more morning and find another pair of underwear laying on the kitchen floor, you will not hesitate to throw out every pair he owns.

You could rant about living with Joe all day. But, you won’t. Just know, living with Joe Burrow isn't all that.

Anyways, after you left the boutique you decided to go get a coffee and bagel at the coffee shop you found earlier. You figured you would fill out your application for CincyStyles now so you could drop it off to Macee before you left. You still needed to do some grocery shopping for yourself, which you haven't done since you moved in.

A girl needs her coffee and snacks! Plus, you want to be able to make dinner for yourself and not have to rely on take-out or doordash. That's getting old.

And you don't expect Joe to cook for you. All he makes most days is chicken with peppers and onions, and rice.

That's pretty boring. But, you get it. He has to keep that NFL QB physique.

Here you go again talking about Joe after you said you wouldn't complain anymore today. Come on Y/n, quit! You scold yourself.

It didn't take you long to fill out the paper work, so after you finished eating the bagel sandwich you decided to go back to the boutique and drop the paper work off to Macee. You walked into the store, seeing a few girls looking at the collection of vintage Bengals t-shirts and sweatshirts that lined the wall in the back.

"Hey Y/n!” Macee greeted with a smile.

You smiled at her, "Hi! I brought my application for you."

"Great, I'll take that."

You walked over to the check out counter and handed her the papers.

"Now, I'm not sure when you'll start. Definitely within the next week or so. I'll text you a couple days before if that's okay?"

You nodded, "That'll work just fine."

"Awesome," she paused, her eyes widening, "oh! That reminds me."

She leaned down and picked up a grey sweatshirt. She handed it to you with a sweet smile on her face.

"I figured you needed a Bengals sweatshirt if you're going to go to any games while you live here."

"Thank you, Macee. That's so sweet of you. You didn't have to get this for me." you said, grateful for her kind gesture.

She shook her head, "It's no problem. I have the same one, figured maybe we could match someday."

You smiled, "I'd love that."

She walked out from behind the counter. You gave her a quick hug and said thank you again.

"I think you and I will be good friends, Y/n."

You nodded, "I think so too."

She smiled. You looked at your watch and saw that it was almost two o'clock. You still needed to go grocery shopping before you went back home.

"As much as I would love to stick around for a bit, I do have to do some grocery shopping."

She nodded, "I understand. I do too after I close. But," she said, smiling, "you have my number so feel free to text me if you need anything."

You smiled, "Thank you. The same goes for you."

You bid farewell and after you walked out of the store you decided to text Joe. You figured you’d be a nice roommate and see if he needed anything at the grocery store.

Tues, Sep 20 at 2:03 pm

You- Hey, I'm going to the grocery store. Do you need anything?

You put your phone in your pocket and walked across the street, back to the parking lot where your car was parked. Once you were buckled you pulled up the GPS to look for the nearest grocery store. There was a store called Meijer about fifteen minutes from downtown, so you decided to go there.

You were walking out of the store when you felt your phone vibrate in your pocket. You pulled it out, seeing it was a text from Joe:

Tues, Sep 20 at 3:40 pm

Joe- Nope. Maybe some paper towels and gatorade. I took my last one to practice today.

You sighed as you read his message. Of course he decides to respond once you’re finished shopping. You liked the message and responded.

Tues, Sep 20 at 3:41 pm

You- What kind?

Tues, Sep 20 at 3:41 pm

Joe- Yellow or blue. Thanks

You liked his message and put your phone down, shutting the car off so you could go back inside and get Joes gatorade and paper towels. After checking out, you decided to go home, drop the groceries off and freshen up before you went to grab dinner somewhere.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~time skip~~~~~~~~~~~~

You pulled into the parking lot, seeing that Joe's car was parked in its usual spot.

You just got back from eating dinner at Rasing Canes. If you've never gone, you definitely recommend it. You cant go wrong with chicken tenders and fries!

You got your key out once you got to the door, placing it into the deadbolt and unlocking the door.

You walked into the apartment and gasped, "Oh my god!" you covered your eyes, not believing what you just walked into.

Joe was on the couch, with a brunette girl laying underneath him. He was shirtless and she was wearing nothing but a thin lace bralette. He kissed her neck while her hands were pulling at his hair. He had one hand on her thigh and the other one...well, you couldn't see where the other one was.

Joe's head snapped up at the sound of your voice. He looked up at the door, seeing you standing there with your hands covering your face.

"Shit," he breathed out. He got off the girl, causing her to whine.

"Joe, why'd you stop?"

He picked a shirt up off the floor, handing it to the girl. She sat up with a huff and put the blue blouse on over her head. She still hadn't realized you were standing at the door.

You opened your eyes, knowing they were both at least decent.

Joe picked his shirt up from the floor. You couldn't help but look at his toned chest and buff arms. This was the first time you had ever seen Joe shirtless before.

His face turned red in embarrassment. Either from the situation or you very obviously checking him out. After he put his shirt on, he cleared his throat and said, "I didn't think you'd be home yet."

The brunette turned around and looked at you, a frown appearing on her face.

"Who are you?"

"I'm his roo-."

"Sister," Joe said, cutting you off, "she's my sister."

You raised your eyebrows. Sister!? What the hell?

"I didn't know you had a sister?" She said, standing up from the couch. You were about to cover your eyes again, thinking she was completely naked. Thankfully, she still had her panties on.

Thank god, you did NOT need to see that.

"Yeah," you said, giving Joe a look of amusement, "I didn't know you had a sister."

Joe rolled his eyes and hung his head in shame. The brunette furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"What the fuck is going on? Joe?"

You smiled sincerely at the girl, "I'm Sorry, I'm Y/n, Joe's roomate. I'm assuming he didn't mention me."

She shook her head, "No, he didn't." She looked over at Joe with a look of anger.

Joe sighed and reached out for the girl, "Amelia, I-."

"Save it." She snapped, picking up the condom wrapper that sat on the coffee table, "Maybe you should use this on her instead." Amelia threw the condom at his chest, picked up her pants and stormed out of the apartment without saying another word.

You and Joe both stood still, your eyes wide. You didn't even know what to say. You pulled your lips into a thin line. You should probably apologize. You figured If it wasn't for you barging in, maybe Amelia and Joe would've been able to continue their activities.

"I'm sorry. I should've texted you to let you know I was on my way." you said quietly, playing with your gold necklace that had your first name initial dangling in the middle. Joe looked at you, his blue eyes bore into yours as his mouth quirked up in a soft smile.

"It's okay. It's not your fault. If anything it's my fault, we shouldn't have been on the couch."

"Heat of the moment, I get it."

"Yeah," he said, chuckling softly, which made you smile.

"How'd your date go?"

He shrugged, "S' alright. My friend Sam set me up with her. She was sweet, just, not someone I think I'd want as a girlfriend."

"So you brought her here to hook up instead?"

"We're human, we have needs. And like you said," he smirked, "heat of the moment."

You rolled your eyes and walked past him, going into the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. He followed, sitting on the barstool just like he did this morning.

"How was downtown?"

"It was great!" you exclaimed, a smile pulling at your lips.

Joe smiled, "Yeah?"

"Yeah," you nodded, "I bought some clothes, drank some of the best coffee I think I've ever had, and I got a job."

"Where?"

"A boutique downtown."

He nodded, "Nice."

There was silence between the two of you. Neither of you knowing what to say next. Joe stood from his barstool, "I'm gonna shower. Try not to burn the place down."

"Awe," you said in a teasing tone, "how'd you know my plans?"

He chuckled and walked away to his room. You sighed and looked at the clock on the stove. It was going to be an early night for you. You thought about the events from today as you walked to your room.

You explored the beautiful city of Cincinnati. You met Macee, someone who you know will make your time living in Cincinnati so much better. Plus, you got a job doing what you love most. Oh, and you cant forget about how you walked in on your roommate almost having sex on your couch. You have a feeling that won't be the first time You’ll catch Joe on the couch with someone. But, you just have to keep reminding yourself. It's only until next September.

For now, you are just going to enjoy your time in the Queen City and not worry about your living situation. As long as you stay positive, you’re confident that you really think you’re going to like it here.

hey loves!

i don’t have much to say, just that i’m almost caught up with transferring chapters over to tumblr. i just have one more (and it’s VERY long lol)

i hope you’re all enjoying this story!

OH ALSO

look at this shirt i have, i figured you’d all appreciate it ;)

I LOVE IT AND JOE SM<3

#joe burrow x reader #joe burrow #joe burrow x y/n #joe burrow x you #imagines #nfl imagines #nfl

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whipplefilter · 1 year

Note

this is the same anon that asked about the tangled au lolol

I really like the ideas the you put out! For this au I feel like Harv wouldn’t be totally evil, I mean he only had two choices: either take the kid that has healing powers (yes lightning has healing powers at least in the way I envisioned this au) or become an old hag and die. How is he supposed to work with that?! So of course he took him, though it was cruel, what else was he supposed to do?

The hard part was having to deal with a child in general. Harv sometimes had the urge to take lightning back to his real parent, but that wasn’t an option for him anymore. So he had to deal with it, at least he still had his youth.

When Lightning asks if he can go outside, there’s and automatic answer: no. And Harv isn’t saying this just because he wants lightnings powers. If lightning did go outside, he would immediately be faced with dangers he never faced before, of course Harv doesn’t want something as fragile as his “son” to get hurt now does he?

When Harv finds that Lightning left, he panics. And I mean he panics. Flipping over couches and yelling out his name only to find that he’s nowhere to be seen on the premises. The only thing that he finds is a piston cup, neatly tucked into a vase.

When he spies on Lightning talking to Sally (that’s one of the people that I think should be Flynn), he suddenly feels, jealous. Betrayed even. Maybe it was because of how long he and Lightning had been together, and seeing Lightning being with someone else and being so happy about it made him frustrated. He knew that he had to get Lightning back, and he had to do it quickly.

Though he usually worked alone, somehow he formed a working bond with two lemons and a tow truck (the blue on from cars 2 not mater lolol). It was no wonder that they decided to ditch his well organized plan and try to kidnap lightning themselves. He should’ve expected that, especially from some lemons. He should also have expected lightning falling into his arms and collapsing into tears. He wasn’t very great at comforting others.

Harv knew that this was going to happen someday. But he was still so shocked from it. How could Lightning figure out his origin, to figure out that he was kidnapped for his whole life? With all his other options of manipulation gone, he could only resort to physical force.

Stabbing Sally in the back was no issue for Harv, it was dragging Lightning into a dark basement while the kid was chained and gagged. And when Lightning presented his deal to Harv, he thought it was ok. Good even. He gets what he wants and sally leaves them be. He didn't think that Sally would click the off button permanently on Lightning’s powers.

Man, I wish I knew how Tumblr operated, because my version of Tumblr is definitely stuck in the dark ages where asks I send can only be like, 300 characters. XD Since it's not an ask per se, this definitely seems like something you should make sure to save as a post on your own blog, if you haven't already!

I enjoy Tangled as a movie, but if I were to do some thing differently, I think it'd be the characterization of Rapunzel's mom. I'm not necessarily into the "apologist era" of Villain Ladies--I haven't seen Maleficent or Cruella or any of those--but I really liked Rapunzel's mom and I wish her motivations could have been a little more complicated, because I absolutely think she has that potential based on her opening song with Rapunzel. I think she could have more complicated motivations and still be 100% antagonist. Since you expressed an interest in not making Harv just totally, generically evil, your AU seems like it could be a great opportunity to build some of that out via Harv's role here.

#asks

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arcanatranslations · 12 days

Text

CotEA-Chapter 9

————————–

The sky had darkened, and there were no candles lit in Jiang Baiyan's room.

The entire courtyard was shrouded in darkness, with only a clear moon hanging in the sky, casting a thin halo of light.

The stray strands of hair on Jiang Baiyan's forehead seemed to be dampened by the moonlight. As Shi Dai focused her gaze, she realized it was sweat glistening.

According to the memories of the original soul, these days happened to be the time when the blood gu was supposed to act up.

Blood gu.

As these two words rolled through her mind, Shi Dai clenched her sleeve.

From the few words revealed in the <Records of Mortals>, the Jiang family massacre from years ago was very complicated and shrouded in mystery.

Jiang Baiyan was determined to uncover the truth, and the blood gu was the shackles he had placed on himself in order to stay at the Shi residence.

Who could be so ruthless to themselves?

As she asked the question, Shi Dai tilted her head back. Her gaze scanned Jiang Baiyan's face and noticed his slight tremble, confirming her guess.

She had heard that this type of poisonous gu was sinister and vicious, causing excruciating pain almost to the brink of death.

To think Jiang Baiyan could still calmly converse with her in the midst of a blood gu outbreak, he was indeed quite tough.

Across the wall, Jiang Baiyan stood at the window, watching her.

The dark tide within his eyes were suppressed, and the killing intent dissipated.

Even though his heart was filled with the desire for slaughter, when he spoke, he remained gentle: "Hm."

The way he looked sent a shiver down A'Li’s spine.

Jiang Baiyan... must have been considering whether to cut open Shi Dai's chest or snap her neck just now.

To him, the blood gu was not only a form of imprisonment but also an indelible shame, especially considering that the original soul had gone to great lengths to make things difficult for him.

In Jiang Baiyan's heart, he must harbor extreme resentment towards Shi Dai.

Sensing danger, the fox’s tail couldn't help but stand up high.

A'Li raised its head, locking eyes with Jiang Baiyan.

It was a pair of beautiful peach blossom eyes, carrying an unfathomable smirk that made one's spine shiver and scalp tingle.

Jiang Baiyan was looking straight at it.

Did he... notice something wrong with its demeanor?

As a fragile remnant of the Heavenly Law, it relied on its last bit of strength to barely attach itself to this fox's body.

If one day it were to be slain by Jiang Baiyan...

With a shudder in its heart, the little white fox pretended to be clueless and obediently nestled back onto Shi Dai’s arms.

Because Shi Dai worked at the Exorcism Bureau, she always carried jinchuang ointment and a short dagger with her. Without hesitation, she pulled out the short dagger, its blade gleaming, and rested it across her fingertips.

As the name implied, the blood gu would make Jiang Baiyan crave her blood, like the instinctual urge of a vampire.

However, vampire stories mostly came with a sense of tragic romance, where the main characters either bit the other party’s fingers or nibbled on their necks, creating an ambiguous and inseparable atmosphere——

It was a far cry from her interactions with Jiang Baiyan.

Given the original soul’s guarded attitude towards Jiang Baiyan, she would never let him touch her.

Every time the blood gu acted up, it was the original soul who cut her own palm, dripped blood into a cup, and handed it to Jiang Baiyan.

From the memories, cutting her palm seemed like a blink of an eye, but when it came down to doing it...

Shi Dai's right hand holding the dagger stiffened.

Living in the peaceful 21st century, her most serious injuries were from accidentally cutting her finger while chopping vegetables and tripping during an 800-meter run.

Every time she watched a vampire-related movie, the first thought that flashed through Shi Dai's mind wasn't romance but rather, how painful it must be.

A perfectly fine person treated like a duck neck to be gnawed on, how could it not hurt?

Seeing her hesitation, Jiang Baiyan handed her a shiny black-gold dagger:

"This dagger is sharp. Young Miss Shi only needs to use it to cut her fingertip, and then return it to me."

Shi Dai: "Fingertip?"

How could a little bit of blood from her finger fill a cup?

Feeling puzzled, she looked up and saw Jiang Baiyan's trembling long eyelashes.

He was obviously in great pain, with no hint of a smile in his eyes. His lower lip had been bitten at some point, revealing a bright red gash. The blood stains spread, falling on the small mole on his lip, making it particularly conspicuous.

It was like a silent urging.

Seeing him in this state, Shi Dai didn't dare delay. With gritted teeth, she swiftly cut her fingertip with his dagger.

The pain arrived on schedule, but it was nowhere near what Jiang Baiyan was enduring. As she handed the black-gold dagger to him, Shi Dai couldn't help but think:

If she were Jiang Baiyan, in that much pain, she would have surely shed tears long ago.

Taking back the dagger, Jiang Baiyan lowered his head and put the blood-stained blade into his mouth.

His thin lips pursed, his tongue touched the hot and viscous liquid on the blade.

Like a cat lapping up stream water, he lowered his eyelids, rolling the blood onto his tongue.

Watching his movements, Shi Dai inexplicably felt a bizarre illusion, as if Jiang Baiyan wasn't licking blood from the blade but applying lipstick.

Because he was in so much pain, his lips were pale and thin. At this moment, they were casually pursed, stained with the bright red blood droplets from the blade, resembling the blooming peach blossoms on the blade.

Sensing Shi Dai's gaze, Jiang Baiyan raised his eyes, meeting hers.

Shi Dai looked openly: "Young Master Jiang, are you feeling better?"

Jiang Baiyan‘s throat rolled, swallowing the blood droplets, and he raised the corner of his mouth.

Being in so much pain, he had no strength left and could only lean against the window, nodding: "I’m fine. Thank you, Young Miss Shi."

Shi Dai was applying jinchuang ointment to the cut on her fingertip, slightly hissing.

"It's good that you're fine. But since your blood gu has acted up, why didn’t you come find me? If I hadn't happened to pass by here with Qingqing, wouldn't you have been in pain all night?"

Her cut wasn't as painful as she had imagined, so she breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiang Baiyan remained noncommittal, looking at the scar on her fingertip.

Shi Dai had cut too quickly, and the wound was somewhat deep, but for him, it was barely even a scratch.

Such a wound was already causing her discomfort?

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#webnovel #cnovel #romance #supernatural #fantasy #martial arts #action #mystery #anime #manga #manhua #manhwa

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finelinevogue · 3 years

Text

he’s so vogue

Description - you are the journalist for the new Harry Styles December Vogue Issue

A/N - how is everyone doing? hope you enjoy! if you have any requests please feel free to ask. love you all and have a lovely rest of the week!

warnings: swearing

[masterlist]

Being a journalist for Vogue was probably the biggest flex you could ever make.

After 3 years of studying English Literature at Surrey University, you never thought, only a year after, you'd be working as an apprentice at Vogue UK. If it weren't for your Aunty, who worked in the fashion design section at Vogue HQ, then you'd no doubt still be a broke-ass, single, lonely student. Ok, lonely you still were but your job was so full-on that you didn't have time for a relationship.

Two years into your apprenticeship you were promoted to an official member of the team, and then another two years later you got promoted to team leader in your department of journalism, and editing; The Media - or as you like to call it - "The Celeb Goss". You were beyond happy with your job and found such passion in every article your wrote. Whether it be about a new celebrity romance or the collapse of one, you found a way to story-tell in such a meditated way that everyone loved your pieces.

That's why the Harry Styles had requested you to be the one to interview him.

Of course you'd written about A-list celebrities in the past, producing articles on pregnancy rumours, or engagements, or breakups, but you'd never met them before authoring an article. You'd met plenty of D-list celebrities who thought they were mega famous, but if you mentioned their names people would turn around and ask "who?".

This is why interviewing Harry Styles was a massive thing for you.

Not very often did you get to do work out in the field, especially in these covid infested days, but nevertheless it was your favourite part of the job. Getting to meet the people you were writing about was completely refreshing, allowing you to obtain a clearer outlook on which direction to take on your journal piece.

You were asked to go to Stonehenge, where the photoshoot was being filmed, as your office of interview. Even though you'd lived in the UK all your life, you'd never actually been to Stonehenge. It wasn't really on your bucket-list, but it was a pleasure to get to see it all the same.

Being the prepared interviewer you were, you'd prepared an array of questions that you were set on asking Harry. You'd never met him before, but after much googling and youtubing of him prior to meeting him today you would already be confident in saying he's the most brilliant man to ever exist. You were really nervous that you were going to screw this interview up and make a terrible mess in front of Harry Styles.

"Lisa! What if I accidentally say something I shouldn't?" You ran your stressed hands through your hair.

This whole morning had been frantic. It had started off by you waking up late, no thanks to Lisa, your best-friend and co-worker, pressing snooze on the alarm. You wanted to look professional today so you'd put on your best shirt - only to spill coffee down it ten minutes later. So now, you smelt of coffee and were wearing what was left in your wardrobe - and it wasn't much. The only things left clean were a pair of pink corduroy flares and some, pastel coloured, graphic t-shirt to go with it.

"You won't. Stop being so negative." Lisa rolled her eyes, probably fed up with the amount of winging she'd heard from you this morning - and you'd only been awake an hour.

"My outfit is hardly professional either." You huffed, pouring the rest of your, second, coffee down the drain.

"Well I think you look gorgeous." Lisa stated, whilst putting her breakfast bar wrapper in the bin.

You and Lisa were back and forth about you stressing, and such, for about half an hour before you had to leave. You had a great panic about losing your glasses too. You could see without them up close, but for long distance viewing and reading you were practically blind. You were taking Lisa's car, since she didn't think you were emotionally stable enough to drive. Lisa was the creative director on the set, and thank goodness she was so you could at least ramble to someone.

After a two hour drive up from London, you arrived at Stonehenge and it was freezing. Although the sun was out, it did nothing to keep your body heated. The journey up had been nice because you sat in your nicely heated car, chatting away with Lisa and blasting some Harry Styles out of the speaker. You'd made it through the first album, and the second one up to Canyon Moon before reaching your destination.

Upon arriving you could just about, without glasses, make out about 15 other cars, arranged at the bottom of a hill. There was an array of Audis and BMWs, a few Range Rovers, which you placed your bets on one was Harrys, and a green, vintage, Jaguar which was most likely belonging to the fashion editor or something. There was also a modern barn, perched at the foot of the hill, which was where Harry would be getting changed in to his various different outfits.

It took you a moment to register that Lisa had parked and was already clambering out of the car, making you look a little idiotic still blankly staring at the beautiful scenes in front, and around, of you.

But it was still bloody freezing.

You jogged a little to the boot and whipped out your white cardigan. Originally you'd thought that this would've been enough to keep you warm, but now you were starting to think otherwise.

The atmosphere here was amazing. People were rushing around left, right and centre loading, and unloading, various pieces of equipment and clothes. You caught sight of brightly coloured fabrics being carried to and from various places. There were the camera crew, and presumably director, all chatting amongst themselves. The smell of the very fresh air was so lush that you'd forgotten what it smelt like - especially after years in London.

You grabbed your bag from the boot, which had your notes, recording kit and laptop stuffed inside, before locking the car and following Lisa in to the barn.

It was lovely and warm inside - a completely different climate to than the outside. It was as if it was Bali inside and Antarctica outside. Better Bali than Antarctica though.

"Ok. Let's put our stuff down over here and then go find people we need to meet and such." Lisa instructed, you still too in awe of the place to fully comprehend what was going on.

You followed Lisa and you two ended up dropping off your stuff next to some other bags. You took a liking to the purse next to your stuff. Next to your bag, it made yours seem ancient - like it was worth nothing more than a penny. It was luscious and a beautiful baby blue colour. You softly ran your hands over it, finding satisfaction in how smooth and subtle it was.

"Hope you're not planning on stealing that, love." A manly voice appeared from behind you. You whipped around to see who's bag you'd been messing with, and it was just your luck that it was to be Harry Styles'. Of all the people's it could've been it had to be his.

Perfect.

He looked dashing. He was in black flares and his iconic 'But daddy i love him', t-shirt, along with a huge green anorak. His hair was prettily clipped back with a pink clip, presumably placed there to gave his curls greater volume. In his hand he had a pink toothbrush and you guessed he'd come back over to put it away in his bag - only to find you caressing it instead.

"Oh - no, no. Not at all. I - uh - I just thought it was beautiful." You stammered over your words, choosing them carefully to try and make you look less like an active criminal.

"Mhm." Harry nodded whilst looking you up and down, most likely judging why a peasant like you, in comparison to him, was touching his expensive property. "Well, I love your flares darlin'." Harry looked down at your trousers, his compliment making you blush a little.

"Thank you. That wasn't professional, and neither is my outfit, I know, and I apologise." You added, because you knew that if your boss knew you turned up today the way you did she would give you a right bollocking - and potentially even fire you.

"Never apologise for flares. You look amazing." Gemma perked up, making you feel more self conscious surrounded by all these other beautiful women. Gemma was in a slouchy, knitted, jumper and basic jeans - no doubt all from shops beyond your budget - and yet she looked like a model fit for the runway for Vogue.

"Okay, sorry." You apologised again, to which you, creepily, got the exact same, stern, look from the Styles siblings at the same time.

"My stylist, Harry, introduced me to big pants. He offered whether I wanted to try a pair of flares, and I was like, 'Flares? That's fucking crazy'!" Harry laughed as he told his story, earning a laugh out of you too. "Now they're my favourite item of clothing. Have a whole wardrobe dedicated to them."

"I wish he was joking." Gemma laughed at her brother and his flare obsession.

"Well you do look handsome in them, so I understand why." Your words rolls off your tongue before you could even comprehend what you were saying. Only after you finished your sentence did you completely intake what you'd just said.

"Good start." Lisa giggled to you, before turning to walk over to the coffee station. It was a help-yourself coffee bar and you knew that you were going to bed at least five cups to get over the last five minutes alone. You'd probably drain the station before letting anyone else have any.

"Oh god." You awkwardly mumbled, not daring to see how weirdly Harry would be looking at you, before walking off outside.

You had spent less than 10 minutes here and yet you'd never felt like a bigger clown. Joining the circus had never been so easy.

The outside wind hit you like a powerful leaf blower, and your hair blew around like crazy - most likely compiling into a birds nest on the top of your head.

Today was supposed to be the start of something great. Your hopes were set on a promotion from your written masterpiece, whilst enjoying the company of one of the most handsome, most lovely, most talented men of this century. Those hopes seemed a little too distant now. They seemed to mock you, as if to laugh at how you ever thought you were going to be any more successful. You'd completely, in more ways than one, made a fool of yourself in front of your interviewee, you were so underdressed, you were caught fondling his Gucci purse and you were still bloody cold.

It all felt too unprofessional for a job where professional was practically the driving force of the company.

You leaned against the barn, taking a deep breath to try and calm yourself. You were a master in over-thinking, but unfortunately that wasn't something you could add to your resumé. You let your eyes close and the other senses come alive for a few moments. The sounds of distant sheep and the smell of the cold wind were just two of the senses that allowed you to take a step back for a minute, and breathe.

"Thank you." A voice interrupted you from your attempt of quick meditation. You looked to your left and noticed Harry standing there, still in the same outfit as before.

"I'm sorry?" You asked confused, taking a step away from the barn to considerately pay more attention to him.

"Thank you - for saying I look handsome in flares." He repeated, smirking when he added the second part.

"Oh." Was all you could respond, feeling too embarrassed to take the conversation any further. "I should—" You pointed back to the barn, using it as an excuse to leave before yet screwed up anymore.

"Lisa told me you're the interviewer." Harry added, and it only occurred to you that you'd never actually introduced yourself. "So it's lovely to finally meet you Y/N." He stuck out his hand for your to shake, which you did willingly. His hands were a lot softer than you'd expected.

"Ho... You know my name?" You asked surprised.

"Of course. I also know you're the best writer in Vogue right now." He flattered you, which made you blush. You had a feeling he'd make you do that a lot today.

"Sure." You rolled your eyes as you spoke sarcastically.

"Well I chose you for a reason, didn't I?" He rhetorically asked.

"I mean.. I, well.. I don't know?" You stumbled over your words, making yourself look like a larger fool than you did already. Today was just turning out to be exactly what you didn't want it to be. "Sorry."

"Stop apologising. You do it too often." He told you, nearly making you apologise again but he gave you a jokingly stern look, as if he knew what you were going to say, and so you decided otherwise.

"Harry!" You both turned to see there was a man waving towards you both, but specifically to Harry. "Come get changed!" The same man shouted. Harry lifted his thumbs up, as if to signal he'd be there shortly.

Harry turned back to you and noticed you shiver a little.

"I'll start the interview after I come back from the dressing rooms, yeah?" Harry asked, taking off his, khaki green, trench-coat in the process. He handed it to you before you could oblige against it.

"Wait what?" You confusedly looked down at the coat and back up to Harry.

"Gives me a piece of mind knowing my interviewer isn't going to die of hypothermia before actually interviewing me." He smiled, obviously attempting to crack a joke and you have to admit you did laugh.

"Thank you." You say, before he runs off to where he's being called to.

••••

You'd been sat inside for a little while, waiting for Harry to come back. It gave you time to perfect your questions though.

Thinking up questions to ask Harry had been a challenging task, but one that you'd been fully invested in. You loved creating questions to ask him that were going to get to understand him on a deeper level. He was a very private man, and you completely respected that. If you crossed any boundaries, with the questions you'd ask, you would write them out of the interview. You liked to think you hadn't thought up a question that would make him feel uncomfortable though.

Pissing off Harry would be on another level of shame.

"Coat kept you warm?" Harrys voice disengaged you from your notebook.

"Hm?" You asked then replayed what he'd just asked in your mind. "Oh, yes. Thank you very much." You stood up, from where you'd been perched on the floor, picking up your nearly finished green tea as you did so.

Only when you stood up did it come to your realisation that Harry was now in costume. He was dressed in luxury. Each item looked like it cost more than your rent, and that was saddening. He looked rich and luxurious. To be quite honest, you were finding it rather difficult to take your eyes off him.

"You think the outfit is Vogue enough?" Harry asked, striking a few poses, which made you laugh. It was refreshing to see him act so relaxed and carefree, rather than a stuck-up-prick you knew some celebrities to be.

"Completely. I love it!" You exclaimed, appreciating the twirl he did for you.

He was wearing a kilt-like skirt and he looked beyond beautiful in it. Fuck toxic masculinity. Fuck being a manly man - like what does that even mean? Harry was embracing gender fluidity and experimenting the ways in which there was no definitive line between men and women's clothes anymore, and you thought it was marvellous. Revolutionary, for times as politically and socially troubled as these.

You started removing the coat in attempt to give it back to him, but he refrained you from doing so by holding on to your forearm.

"Keep it. I thought we could go outside to start the interview, so you'll be needing that." Harry told you, and you agreed - however reluctantly that was. You couldn't really complain though, because the coat did kept you warm and, what's better, it smelt divine - just like you'd imagine Harry to smell.

"Okay. Thank you. Do you want to go now?" You asked hesitantly, not knowing whether he was busy for someone else right now.

"Whenever you're ready, love." He answered, making you feel more relaxed. He was going at your pace and was making you feel settled - he was even more of a gentleman than people described him to be.

The two of you had walked around the backside of the barn in silence, enjoying the comfort of each other's presence. Well, at least you were. It was a blessing no one was back here. It was just you, Harry and the scenery that surrounded Stonehenge.

You approached a bench and you plopped yourself down on one end, whilst Harry sat on the other. He respected the fact that there was a pandemic going on, and didn't want to make you uncomfortable in any way. You still had your mask on, so Harry had taken that as you were very conscious about the virus - which he admired.

You pulled out your glasses, from the depths of one of the coat pockets, and placed them on your face, probably making yourself look even geekier than you already felt. Today was just one of those days you wished you had good eyes...

You opened your spent notebook, musty pages practically falling apart, and turned to the section of questions you needed for that interview. You were so nervous already and you hadn't even asked anything yet, all because of the previous interactions with Harry today. Your shaky hands shuffled through the pages and you cursed under your breath when you struggled to find what you needed.

"Shoot. Come on." You mumbled quietly under your breath, hoping it would make this terrible situation end faster. You mustn't have been as quiet as you thought though.

"Y/N." Harry's name broke through your clouded mind of self-disappointment.

You looked up at him to see him softly smiling at you, blowing all worries away from you away with the wind. "Yes?" You timidly asked, pushing your wind-swept hair out of glasses - where it'd gotten caught.

"You’re alright, love. You don't have to be professional around me, alright? We're just two strangers having a conversation, to get to know each other, okay?" If his words didn't calm you enough, the soothing sound of his husky voice certainly did.

"But that would mean you asking me stuff too?" You replied, confused at his implications of the phrasing 'getting to know each other'.

"Mhm." Harry nodded his head.

"Oh I don't know Mr Styles, i'm not a very interesting person." You answered as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, pushing your glasses back up the bridge of your nose from where they'd fallen.

"I refuse to believe that." Harry chuckled, making a quick smile appear on your face. "And please call me Harry. Just Harry." He begged, obviously finding it weird you calling him by his professional title. All you wanted, ever, was for your interviewee's to feel comfortable and safe, so if Harry wanted you to call him Harry then so be it.

"Ok, Harry," you sarcastically said, earning a shake of the head on his behalf, "you can ask me a few questions throughout the day." You told him, but you knew he'd struggle to find even two questions when he realises how bland you are.

"Does that mean you only get to ask me a few as well?" Harry smirked, already knowing the answer to that question. Unlike Harry, you had to write an article about today when you got home and so he knew that you'd have to dig as much dirt as possible from him.

"No, sorry. I don't particularly want to lose my job." You paused to look down at your notes, squinting a little as you did to see better. "Okay. Tell me your experience with corona virus."

"Sorry I didn't quite catch that, love." Harry apologised, leaning in slightly to see if he could hear you a second time around.

"Sorry." You looked down to fiddle with your fingers - a habit you'd undertaken when you're embarrassed. "Um..," you cleared your throat, "would you mind if I took off my mask?"

Your timid voice sent tingle down Harrys spine. He didn't think anyone could ever be this sweet. "Not at all, ‘course you can." He replied, again, wanting to make you feel as comfortable as possible.

You hesitantly took off your face mask, feeling like you were in some dramatic movie where they face revealed someone. You kind of liked having the mask on, because, for one, it kept you warm, and for two, you were a little self conscious with how you looked compared to all the other women here today. You shoved the mask in your pocket, with trembling fingers, before looking back down to your notes.

"Woah." You heard Harrys voice being mumbled under the wind. You eyes shot up to his and you noticed him staring right back at you.

"W-what? Is my acne playing up? I knew I should've—" You self-consciously run your hands over the areas you know you got acne. The masks really didn't help when it came to skin care.

"Hey, stop. No. You just... You look beautiful." Harry complimented you, and a roaring blush arose on to your cheeks. You'd never been called beautiful before, and so you were taking the compliment like such a 13-year old.

"Oh, uh, thank you." You awkwardly answered, not really having any other words come to mind in that moment. Harry chuckled under his breath, still keeping eyes on you for some reason.

"Would you mind repeating your last question, I didn't quite catch it?" Harry asked politely.

"Sure. Um, tell me how you've experienced corona virus." You repeated for him, gripping ahold of your pen to start copying what he says and pressing start on your recording device in case you needed it later.

"Well, it's been tedious that's for sure. However, I just want people to be safe and for life to return back to normal, so therefore i've been very MIA for a lot of the time. Keeping to myself mostly. I only went out for hikes or bike rides. All my meetings were online, so it's been very lonely." Harry kept eye contact with your figure the entire time, and if it weren't for you concentrating on writing what he was saying then you'd probably melt away under his gaze.

For such soft eyes he sure was intimidating.

"I presume the loneliness sent you crazy at times." You laughed, because you sure felt that way through lockdown. Curse being single.

"You have no idea." Harry laughed along with you, making you, slowly, feel more at ease.

"Actually, you'd be surprised." You looked at him unsure, before returning down to your notebook.

"Okay then, first question from me," Harrys words made your head shoot up, "How can someone as amazing as yourself be lonely?" He asked and you made a mental tally of how many questions he'd asked.

"Could ask you the very same question, Harry." You slyly replied, avoiding the question by answering with another question. It was a tactic you'd learnt, throughout your years of journalism, when you wanted to dismiss something .

"That's cheating." Harry pointed at you and raised his eyebrows, but you couldn't take your eyes off the big, cheeky, smile perched on his face. You shrugged you're shoulders in defence and returned to your questions. "But you did just call me amazing, so I think i'll let it slide this one time." You blushed, again, when you understood what he meant.

He was amazing though - that was the truth.

"You were in L.A. for the majority of quarantine, am I right to say?" You already knew the answer but your manager had just wanted confirmation.

"Yeah, but L.A. feels like holiday, whereas London feels like home." He answered, which you appreciated. He hasn't got lost in the way that Hollywood could let people. He'd stayed grounded.

"So what did you entertain yourself with during quarantine?" You asked curiously, slightly side-tracking from your pre-written questions - just because you were intrigued (nosey).

"Not much, not to be boring. I ate a lot of bread. I worked out pretty much every day. I wrote quite a bit actually." He used his fingers to pinch his bottom lip, something you'd noticed he did in interviews.

"Does that mean a new album on the way?" Your inner fangirl was screaming at the thought of HS3.

"Can neither confirm nor deny." Harry smirked to himself, like the cheeky bugger he is.

"That's a yes then." You joked, pretending to write it down in your notes.

"You're impossible, you." Harry laughed and shook his head. It made you feel all funny the way you could make him smile like that. You were the source of his happiness for just that moment, and that was enough to make you feel happy for a lifetime - not that he felt the same.

"Next question," you stated, moving swiftly on because you knew you had limited time, "How's your experience with Vogue been so far?"

"Wonderful. Everyone has been so welcoming and that makes it so much easier for me to have fun. It's daunting going at things alone, but i'm getting slowly used to it now." Harry sniffled a little, probably due to the freezing cold weather here.

"Must be strange, not having four best friends around you, all the time, anymore." You stated rather than asked him, sure that he was missing his bandmates. I mean, you were - so he definitely would be.

"Brothers." Harry replied, making you look up at him confused.

"I'm sorry?" You asked, giving him your full attention.

"You said four best friends. Well, actually they're my brothers." His words actually caused a rift in your heart. You could feel it being pulled apart and torn in to two. If you wrote this in to the magazine the fans would have a worldwide passing-away-party.

"Harry." You said softly, slightly tearing up at his words. "God, I swear i'm not normally this emotional." You chest your throat and try to establish your dignity - however there wasn't that much left anymore.

"Oh shut up." Harry looked away obviously trying to hide the fact that he was tearing up too. You laughed at him but didn't draw any more attention to it than you guessed he would've wanted.

"They mean a lot to you then?" You asked, hopefully not treading on any unwanted territories.

"Much more than a lot, yeah." Harry nodded his head, turning it back to face you. He could tell this conversation was now off-the-record because of your closed notebook, your undivided attention towards him and the fact you’d turned off the recording device. He liked being able to look at you, rather than the top of your head. He swore you were the prettiest girl he'd ever seen.

"You still see them often?"

"Not as often as i'd like. Niall did come around the other week to drop off some old guitars he didn't want anymore, and then we ended up playing around with some music for a bit." He admitted, which stitched your heart back together.

"So does that mean a Narry collab?" You teased, biting your bottom lip in anticipation.

"Narry? You so are a directioner." He laughed along with you.

"And you just avoided my question, therefore there is a song out there written only by you and Niall." You concluded, which shut him up.

This conversation was going a lot better than expected. Certainly a lot better than earlier. You will be permanently scarred by the way you spoke to him and handled his belongings. It was going to haunt you forever - and yet he'd forget about it by tomorrow. Or maybe he wouldn't, which is why you felt the need to apologise.

"Harry?" You asked, clearly indicating this was still a conversation away from the interview.

"Yes Y/N?" He watched you intently, listening to your every word.

"I, um, just wanted to apologise for my behaviour earlier. I was just really nervous to meet you, and to be honest still am. I didn't mean to touch your stuff without your consent and I certainly didn't mean to make you uncomfortable with any of my comments. So, i'm sorry. I can only imagine the awful, yet true, things you must think of me." You rambled really quickly, that you were uncertain whether Harry even caught one word of what you'd says.

"Do you know why I asked for you to interview me Y/N?" Harry asked, which wasn't the first thing you expected him to say after your apology.

"No. I...well Lisa told me it was because I can write well or something." You suggested, not wanting to sound egotistical.

"I mean you do write perfectly, but no." You were intrigued now. "I asked for you because I, and this is not for your magazine, have a secret - but not-so-secret - crush on you." This time it was Harrys turn to blush.

"Harry... you don't have to say that to—"

"I'm not saying it for anything. I sincerely think you are the most delightful, most prettiest, most fucking sweetest person i've ever met." Harry exclaimed, which you were taken aback by. Never, ever, did you think that Harry Styles would proclaim his likeness towards you. Ever.

"Harry don't mess with me, please." You shyly spoke, tilting your head down in disbelief that the Harry Styles was smitten about you.

He shuffled along the bench, stopping a little way from you but close enough to reach out for you. Your heartbeat increased when you noticed his hand move closer towards you. It didn't stop till he reached your face. He took his time, courteously, pushing your hair behind your ear before removing you of your glasses. He held the right-eye frame and slowly pulled the glasses off your face.

Once he'd successfully taken them off he folded them up and placed them alongside your closed notebook.

"Can see those pretty eyes now." He whispered quietly, but loud enough for you to hear.

"Don't lie. They're so dull." You mumbled, lifting your head up slightly. His face was still away from you.

"Not to me they're not." He retaliated, looking deep into your eyes as you did his. "I hate this corona virus."

"Why?" His words were so out of the blue sometimes, it gave you whiplash.

"Because I can't be as near to you as I want to be." Harry told you. And yeah, you hated corona too. It was getting a little laborious now.

"Smooth, Styles." You chuckled. You wondered how many new and weird pick-up lines could be made from covid.

"I know." He winked, which honestly would have made you throw up if it were any other man on the planet. Somehow, though, Harry just made it seem attractive - along with every other thing that man ever did. "After this, would you like to come back to my house for a cuppa tea?" He asked sweetly, like a five year old asking whether you wanted to play together.

"Okay. Lisa was my ride though." You said more to yourself than anything else, debating on how you'd even get to Harrys. Uber? Taxi? Lisa? Walk?

"I'll drive us, it's fine. I have to drop Gem off, but i'd be more than happy to chauffeur you." Harry kindly offered, to which you were internally screaming about. You were literally, and metaphorically, having a field-day with all this Harry content and interview.

"Are you sure? I don't want to be a burden." You question politely, not wanting to overstep any boundaries - especially in these covid infested times.

"Of course. I wouldn't have offered otherwise." He protested, waving his hand at if to say it was no bother. You were already trying to work out, in your head, how much petrol money you were going to owe him.

"Then i'd be honoured to have a brew with you Harry." You giggled at how cringe you were being, even if this was just your normal self speaking.

"Great." Harry genuinely smiled, teeth and all. "My shoot should take a couple of hours, but feel free to continue to write and journal. I'm looking forward to reading this particular article." He winked at you before standing up.

"Wonder why?" You sarcastically asked, knowing full-well it was due to his exposure of his own feelings towards you. Even though you'd never says anything back you were quite in agreement on how you felt about him, like he did you. He would be a narcissist to say he knew you liked him the same, out loud, but he knew. And you knew that he knew.

"Wonder why indeed." He gave you one last smile before he'd disappeared for the rest of the afternoon, leaving you to digest and relive the past half an hour or so.

Being Harry Styles' crush was probably the biggest flex you could ever make.

••••

After Harry had finished up his shoot he was quick to come find you again.

You'd watched parts of his shoot and he looked magnificent. There wasn't a good enough word to describe how amazing he looked. Harry, his stylist, was probably the best stylist out there. His fashion choices were unmatched and you wanted him to be yours. You were not rich enough nor fashionable enough, ironic for working in a a fashion company, to hire a stylist, but you would if you could.

You were so proud to see what he was achieving now as the person that he was. Harry was just being Harry, without the devilish control of shitty managements or ridiculous amounts of PR stunts. Harry was more free than ever, and it definitely showed just how much he was enjoying it.

You were certain that this Vogue magazine would break the internet - his fans were good at doing that. This could be a turning point for many people, with their outdated and ignorant views. There was no room for people with racist or homophobic or transphobic or xenophobic - and the list does go on - views anymore.

You were waiting by the front door of the barn, to catch Harry as he walked past. You caught sight of him in a white robe, presumably to get changed back into his everyday clothes. He looked really pretty in the robe - very domestic actually.

Today had been a good day.

Harry asked you to send over the more specific Vogue questions to him via email, so he could devote more time in to answering them in a lot more depth. You thought he meant you'd be sending them to some PA in his team, but you were shocked to understand he'd given you his personal email.

People were walking back to their cars and packing away the filming kit. You saw Lisa and the director talking to one another, no doubt discussing some in-work gossip.

"You ready?" Harrys voice reminded you that you'd been waiting for him. You looked to see he was back in the same clothes as this morning, only this time without his coat.

"Here?" You offered, having him over the coat once again but he declined.

"Looks better on you anyways." He winked at you, before walking through the car park and to his car. You were very surprised when you found out Harry was the one to own the green Jaguar. You assumed all celebrities drove the Range Rover, but no. The vintage car added to Harrys immaculate vibe and just made him that little bit more hot.

Harry properly introduced you to Gemma, who was equally as lovely as Harry. They were both amazing people and they were crazily alike. From the way they looked, down to the way they phrased their words, they were mistakingly twins. Gemma explained how Anne, their mum, didn't know they were doing this photoshoot and that it was going to be a surprise, which you thought was so cute.

Gemma spilt a lot of gossip on Harry, to which he got very embarrassed over. You learnt that Harrys first word was Cat. You learnt that Harry is godfather to multiple children, which you found heartwarming. You learnt Harry used to be a baker - which was something he elaborated on for a good half an hour. Harry was just a fountain of memories and Gemma was the one sharing them all with you.

The drive back to London was relaxed. You sat in the back, listening to Harry and Gemma pointlessly argue whilst an Arctic Monkeys album played in the background. You forgot that people like Harry drove, and listened to music, just like other regular people. You often misplaced celebrities in society, thinking they had everything done for them but in reality that (often) wasn't the case - at least not for Harry.

Gemma was dropped off quickly before Harry drove to his. It was no surprise that the Styles siblings didn't live too far away from each other. Harrys house was beautiful. Bigger than anything you could ever dream of buying. It was a palace compared to your cupboard-sized house. You were unbelievably jealous. He gave you the tour of the house, showing you where the toilets were, and even his panic room if necessary.

You migrated to the kitchen for a bit, talking about anything and everything. Getting to know the minuscule pieces of information that no-one else was trusted with, made you feel special. Harry made you feel special - even if he weren't meaning to.

Every moment held a spark. Every touch set off a firework. Every laugh was an electric burst. He made you feel so alive.

"We can go to the living room after this has boiled." Harry said, pointing towards the streaming kettle. He wanted to show off his fancy tea collection he had, and let you have a try if you wanted to. Harry was boring and chose the basic green tea, but, after much deliberation, you chose the cranberry green tea. It intrigued you and it sounded delicious.

"Why the extensive tea collection?" Not even you, a certified caffeine addict, had this much tea in your house. Coffee was a different story and one in which you didn't want to talk about.

"They help me with my meditation." He took the teabags and placed them in his glass mugs. They had a delicate Gucci stamp on them, and you just imagined that they probably worth the same amount as your daily salary.

"You meditate?" You were slightly surprised that he did.

"I try to yeah." Harry nodded, focusing on pouring in the boiling water into the mugs. "I've got very tight hamstrings and so it helps if I meditate twice a day."

Harry finished making the tea, in the light-filled kitchen, before showing you around to the open-lounge area. Everything was modern and chic. It was exactly how you imagined it, but better. The open, red-brick, wall was a beautiful feature and one that you were a whore for! It reminded you of New York and the memories you'd made there one summer.

The sofa was a beautiful velvet, green, sofa. It was soft and gentle, a lot like Harry when you thought about it. The whole house was an architectural masterpiece and you'd be lying if you said you weren't jealous. You sat on one end and Harry went to go and sit on the other end.

"I don't bite you know?" You joked, self-consciously wondering whether he didn't want to be sat near you.

"I know, I just don't want to step on any of your covid boundaries - which is perfectly fine by the way." He added, apprehensively taking the spot next to you.

"No, not at all." You ushered him to sit next to you, as you took a sip from your steaming hot cup of fruity tea. "If I smell though, do tell me!"

"Yeah, you smell bloody awful!" Harry sarcastically remarked, but laughing afterwards to assure you he was joking. The atmosphere went quiet for a minute, only the sounds of passing cars and deep breaths being heard.

"Y/N can I ask you something?" Harry turned the tone of the conversation. It sounded like he wanted to be more serious than you two were being beforehand.

"Anything." You encouraged him to continue. You placed the cup of tea down on the table, deciding it was too hot to drink right now, and gave him your full attention.

"Do you believe in love at first sight?" Harry questioned. You didn't think you'd be having a conversation this intense - especially if you had different opinions - on your first day of knowing each other, but here you were.

"I believe you can love someone at first sight. I don't believe you can be in love with someone at first sight. Why?" You were curious as to how his brain had journeyed to this particular topic. You'd never really had this conversation with anyone before, mainly because you were unaware of the true power, and meaning, of love.

"It uh... It doesn't matter." Harry shook his head and you could tell by his body language that he was shutting you out. Maybe you'd made him uncomfortable.

"Sorry I didn't mean to—"

"No, no. Please don't apologise. It's just - I like you a lot more than you may think." Harry shyly told you, which made you all soft inside. He was being vulnerable and that was something you admired in a partner. You didn't just need love, affection and trust in a relationship. No. You needed vulnerability and heartbreak too, and Harry was revealing that part of him to you.

"I like you a lot more than you think too." You repeated, not because you felt bad for him but because you truly did like him a whole lot. Love was a weird yet wonderful thing, and if you were to hazard a guess you'd say you loved Harry.

You couldn't wait to be in love with him.

"Does that mean I get to crown you my girlfriend?" Harry excitedly asked. Harry happy was something that should be made a constant, and you were more than happy to be in control of that.

"At least take me out first." You bargained, wishing for nothing more than to go on a date with Harry. Where you'd go, you had no idea. Everything was closed right now and there was still the chance of becoming sick with corona, but no doubt Harry would think of something not only clever, but special.

Of course you'd love to be Harrys girlfriend. However, you wanted one more, official, opportunity to really get to know him - unprofessionally. You wanted to make sure that you knew, and he knew, that you wanted to be with him because he was the charming Harry you've come to love, not because he was Harry Styles.

"So you're allowing me to take you on a date?" Harry smirked like a little child, your heart fluttering at how excited he was to be able to treat you to dinner.

"Yes, Harry. Yes I am." You answered sweetly, offering him the cutest smile you could.

You can't believe what a turn of events today has been. You've gone from nearly writing yourself on Harrys enemy list to writing yourself on to his 'people he's dated' list. Who knows what the future would offer you. At the start of the day you had wished this whole day to end and for the ground to just swallow you up, now you never wanted it to end. It was too perfect to be true and yet it was.

Harry was the most wonderful human to exist and you were beyond surprised to be the one to catch his attention. You didn't understand why you were so special, but it was nice to feel like this for a change. It was nice to feel wanted.

�� ••••

A few months later and you were officially Harrys girlfriend.

It had been such a crazy few months. Harry religiously took you out on dates every week. Whether it be to grab a hotdog at a local diner, a coffee from a quaint cafe, a walk in Hyde Park or a late-night drive around London - which normally ended up with you falling asleep before you could make it back to yours. On sleepless jet-lagged nights he'll still drive through London's quiet streets, seeing neighborhoods in a new way, just as an excuse to spend time with you.

Harry often stayed over at yours. Even though you looked like you lived in a shoebox compared to Harry, he liked it. He liked the subtly and normality of it all. He wanted your life to remain as normal as possible and, apart from the occasional paparazzi incident, it did. You never had anything to complain about. Of course the online bullying created emotional wounds, at the start of your relationship, but it was nothing that Harry couldn't repair with a bit of love.

Lisa has nominated herself to be maid-of-honour when the day comes - if the day comes. Harry has already pinky sworn that you are it for him. The one, as some may say. You were utterly flattered, but you certainly unsure of what the future help for you both.

You loved Harry, you do love Harry and you will forever always love Harry.

It was ridiculous to think that all this stemmed from you working at Vogue. From you studying English Literature in a city away from London. From you dedicating you extra hours gaining work experience and money to be able get in and afford university. So many moments in life have you stopped and said 'i wish i hadn't have done that', but now you were convinced that they were the best things to have happened to you - because they lead you, all, to Harry.

And, being Harry Styles girlfriend was probably the biggest flex you could ever make.

866 notes · View notes

luminari-mc · 3 years

Text

(Mammon x MC/Reader)

Prompt: "She doesn't compare to you. No one does.”

Genre: Angst, hurt(emotional)/comfort.

Pairing: GN!MC/Reader x Mammon

Summary: You and Mammon finally get to enjoy a well-deserving shopping trip just between the two of you. Just as you are about to hit the next shop, your attention is caught by an image advertised in the street.

Warnings: N/A

A/N: I wanted to try my hands at a prompt that is tagged as "fluff", but of course I ended up turning it into something angsty instead. But I like sad stuff, so that still works for me.

-------------------------------------------

It wasn't often that you got to spend time with Mammon without having any of his brothers around to bother you. But you had made it very clear to them that these few hours after school would be spent with Mammon, and only him. And for today's trip, you two had decided to go shopping in one of the busiest streets in the Devildom.

Clothes and jewelry stores, malls- you had done them all. When most of this time had been spent doing window shopping, Mammon had still insisted on getting at least a few bags of purchased goods for each of you by the end of the day. After all, what was the point of going on a shopping trip, if you didn't end up emptying your bank account only to regret it later?

And so, thanks to the demon's wonderful influence, your arms had now several bags hanging off of them. There was a certain guilt still looming over your head as you realized way overboard you might have gotten with your purchases, but Mammon promised he would take care of any financial problems you could encounter in the near future because of that. You still wondered how he was going to manage it, him being Mammon and all...

"Damn, now THAT'S what I call a good haul! Look at ya!" The white-haired demon grinned as he watch you hop out of the store, the glass doors opening automatically at your presence to let you out. He placed his wrists on his hips as his own bags dangled in his hands. "What'cha got for yourself this time?"

"They actually had that jacket I saw in a magazine the other day!" The doors closed behind you as you showed the white bag which contained the jacket. "You were right, that store was amazing. I can't believe you never showed it to me before."

"Ha! Told ya the Great Mammon knew where the best treasures were! Consider it an exclusive info, because I ain't gonna share more if any of my brothers are around next time." Mammon turned around before flipping a few of his bags over his shoulder, as you instantly began to trot to get to his level.

"What? So all this time you knew about it and you didn't tell me? Just because Asmo comes with us sometimes?" You expressed shock, right before your eyebrows joined together. "Really, as if you couldn't have told me over text or something."

"And have you go without me?! Nah, ain't gonna happen- you'd just get lost and end up in the worst store possible." Mammon glanced your way, and you could only smirk at his poor excuse.

"Sure, you're right. I forgot that humans don't have the same flawless sense of orientation as demons do." Despite your obviously sarcastic tone, Mammon didn't seem to register it as he nodded at your words.

"Exactly! Even if I gave you the full address, who knows where you'd end up? I don't want ya to come and complain to me afterwards, so it's gotta be with me or nothin'."

Even as you rolled your eyes, you noticed Mammon's face slightly turning away from yours, probably to hide the extra shade of color that had appeared on his cheeks ever so discreetly. Even when he was in his usual tsundere mood, it was endearing to see how concerned he was for your safety. And just how badly he wanted to be alone with you.

"So, where to next?" You asked without really thinking, surprising yourself that even after your extensive purchasing, you still wanted to do more. Or maybe it was that you didn't want this date to end right away. The past few weeks had been nothing but the brothers interrupting each other when any of them found themselves alone with you, so getting to spend some alone time with one of them, especially with Mammon, deserved to be extended a bit more.

"Glad ya asked!" As if a battery had been plugged into him, the demon brandished his arm into the air, the bags swinging by his face and missing him by a few inches. "I got this whole place where they're sellin' tons of stuff for pretty cheap, but it's actually authentic branded things. See, they're actually sold to that one guy who then has to sell them to another guy, and..."

As you listened to Mammon explain how he was able to find "authentic stuff" (probably not that authentic, you were pretty sure about that) for less than a quarter of its original price, your eyes found themselves drifting to an impressive ad plastered on a building the two of you were walking by. Recognizing the habit of Majolish to put their models on display for everyone to see was pretty easy, but that wasn't what caught your eye in the moment.

What tuned Mammon down completely in your ears, were the models themselves. The second born, sitting on a stool with a ripped shirt and pants, a few accessories hanging off his neck and barely covering anything of his exposed chest. He looked serious, staring straight at the objective- and at you, while the light shined on him to completely capture his frame for the picture.

And sitting down in the middle of the shot, between his legs, was a female demon wearing a red leather dress, her head resting on top of Mammon's leg. The clawed hand dangling off his knee- covered in golden rings, seemed to taunt you, as well as the piercing yellow eyes she had. Saying she wasn't beautiful would be lying. In fact, she was absolutely stunning. A perfect model for a perfect shot. Just looking at her made you feel small, like a prey that was about to be devoured by a hungry beast, the longer you were looking at her.

But that's what demons were supposed to make you feel like, right?

"Hey!" Mammon called out from the distance he had put between the two of you since you had stopped walking beside him. "Yo, MC!"

Watching as you kept staring into nothing, Mammon rolled his shoulders with a furrowed brow before walking back toward you, his head tilting to the side as he noticed your dead expression.

"Huuh hello, Devildom to MC? In which realm did ya get lost this time?"

"They replaced it." The words that left your mouth were weak, almost too silent for him to hear. It's as if all of the energy you had had evaporated from your body in an instant.

"Huh?" Mammon grew a bit concerned at this sudden change. His eyes perked up at the ad you were looking at, as you continued.

"The shoot we did together." Finally, you spared yourself from the sight, your gaze dropping to the ground. "They already replaced it with another one."

As soon as Mammon understood why *this* ad in particular seemed to be upsetting you so much, his jaw was already clenching. He remembered the stars he had seen in your eyes the previous week when you saw yourself on the Majolish ad, posing beside him- a shoot opportunity you had gotten while accompanying him after RAD a few days prior. In the middle of his shoot, he practically didn't leave any choice to his agent and had insisted that you be included in the shots to promote one of the new pieces of jewelry the brand was planning to release in the upcoming months. Asmo, who was there to witness your reaction on that day the three of you went out, had even taken a hundred pictures or so of you posing in front of the ad.

Except that, the jewelry you had posed with, was now present on the new model posing alongside Mammon.

He had made sure to engrave that smile of yours in his head at the time, even going so far as to snap a picture of your face while you were too focused on Asmo to notice him. But now, there was absolutely no trace of that same happiness anymore.

"The fuck?" The snarl that left him shook the walls of his throat. "That wasn't supposed to be advertised before another month! Why'd they have to take ours so soon?!"

"It's okay, Mammon." The demon stopped growling as his eyes lowered on the hand that was clutching his arm. "I mean... I'm not a model. Figures they wouldn't put it up for long... I-I mean, look at me. Seriously, who would want to see my face being exposed for longer than they can bare? It's hard to imagine. I wouldn't probably have sold their product anyway, so... it's okay."

The look on your face was devastating. Despite trying your best to smile, the tears pricking in your eyes were threatening to roll down your cheeks at any second. Mammon felt his heart being stabbed with a thousand invisible daggers, he couldn't bear to watch you feeling insulted in such a way.

His bags were immediately dropped onto the floor, the demon no longer caring for any of the fragile items he may have bought. His hands swung forward to cup your cheeks, forcing your face up to look at him straight in the eyes.

"Hey hey, MC. C'mon, look at me."

You did your best not to let your vision turn blurry because of the upcoming tears, and stared back at Mammon, your bottom lip trembling weakly.

"I don't care what anyone, model agents or not, can say- you'd sell a thousand more times than any fuckin' models out there, okay? In fact, you're worth even more than their stupid jewelry!"

His thumb quickly brushed away a tear from the corner of your eye as his other hand came to rest on your temple.

"They just put that one up there because that model is famous. They don't care about what's really beautiful, they just want to boast their popularity to the rest of the world." The blue of his eyes seemed to radiate the closer he moved towards you. "But I know what's beautiful. And her? She doesn't compare to you. No one does."

You could only look down in shame as his hands never left you, closing your eyes shut to let a couple tears out before Mammon grabbed a tissue from his pocket to dry your face. He patiently waited a few seconds for you to calm down, soothing you with slow caresses of your hair until your shoulders stopped shaking.

"I'm sorry..." you muttered, sniffling as you passed a wrist over your eyes. "I don't know why that upset me so much..."

"Ya got nothing to be sorry about." Mammon retrieved his hands from your head, only to grab the bags that were hanging off of your arms. He somehow manages to hold them alongside his own behind him, before wrapping the other arm around your shoulder.

"Hey, I'd call this a day. How about I prepare ya a bath when we're home? Courtesy of the Great Mammon."

You nodded, your lips arching into a smile as you grabbed the hand hanging off your shoulder. The day was cut too short for your liking, but you didn't feel up for any additional purchases, or to properly enjoy your outing anymore.

"Will you wash my hair?" You entertwined your fingers with his as he gave them a gentle squeeze.

"Pah, of course! Who else but me could do that?" He huffed through his nose, shaking his head at such an obvious question. Your laugh ringing in his ears gave him a brief moment of respite.

But the demon furrowed his brows as he lead you into your walk back home, keeping you snuggled at his side. Holding the bags in his left hand, his white nails sharply digged into his palm the more steps he took alongside you.

Making them cry? Such a big, big mistake. One thing was sure, Mammon wasn't about to let that one pass.

"But before that..." The hiss that escaped his throat went unnoticed by the two of you as your head rested against his shoulder.

"I'll have a few calls to make."

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