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plus-size-reader · 1 year

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Never Ending Proposals

Steve Harrington x Plus size!reader

Word Count: 2267 words

Warnings: none

Summary: Steve really wants to marry the reader, and will NOT give it up but at a certain point, he has to face reality.

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“Steve…no”

“No”

“No Harrington”

“God, what is wrong with you? We are not getting engaged”

With the way you just kept repeating yourself, you were sure that someone was going to have you committed but it wasn’t entirely your fault.

He just wouldn’t drop it.

No matter what you tried to tell him, Steve refused to accept that you weren’t ready to be his wife yet.

You got it, you really did. You had heard his fantasy over and over again, about all the kids and the camper van and all that.

It sounded nice… after you had secure careers and could actually afford a camper full of Harrington's. Until then, you were just going to keep saying no, and it didn’t matter how sweet Steve was, or how much he genuinely meant each proposal.

As far as you were concerned, Steve Harrington was still a child, and so were you. Neither of you had any business getting married or starting a family yet.

Just last week, you’d lost Dustin in the mall, and you were confident he was easier to handle than an infant. At least, you hoped he was, considering how much trouble he caused the two of you all by himself.

How were you supposed to juggle everything you already did on top of marital responsibilities? You couldn’t.

There was no way to feasibly make it work.

Not that your partner saw that as clearly as you did, as evidenced by the fact you were once again talking about it, this time driving down the road.

“I just think it would be nice, y’know?” Steve hummed, getting that dreamy look in his eye again, even though you’d already shot this particular fantasy down once this week.

You smiled in spite of yourself, enjoying the fact that he’d clearly given the more romantic parts of his plan some decent thought. In every way except the practical, he knew exactly how it would go down if you agreed.

Unfortunately, you had your focus placed firmly in reality, where there was no ring on your finger and you liked it that way-for the time being, at least.

“It would be nice, but we aren’t ready” you reminded, resting back fully against your chair, turning your head to meet his gaze before he returned his to the road.

That wasn’t he wanted to hear.

Part of you felt bad for shooting him down so readily. You understood the sentiment, and it would be a lie to say that his insistence on being with you was romantic but it was also crazy.

If you went through with it now, it would be like playing house. It wouldn’t actually be something you could sustain all on your own, and that was just the marriage part. You were even less ready to be parents.

You didn’t even have reliable parents of your own. You wouldn’t know how to be them.

“Why not? We always make it through, together,” he kept going, muscle memory almost entirely driving him now, as he ran his left hand through his hair, only partially focusing on the road.

From where he was sitting, it made perfect sense.

Sure, getting married young like you were was a little unorthodox, but it wasn’t entirely uncommon, especially in a small town like Hawkins. Besides, if anyone had any hope of making it work, he was sure it was you.

The two of you, getting through things together and making it work, no matter what. That was who you were and who you’d always been, for one another.

Marriage was just a formality.

A way to make it permanent, forever.

“We could definitely handle marriage” Steve shrugged decidedly, taking your silence as as much of an answer as he was going to get for now.

He knew you weren’t ready, but it didn’t bother him. You were worth waiting for and if waiting was what you wanted to do, you would do it.

…but he wasn’t going to stop proposing.

Steve made up his mind. He wanted to marry you more than he’d wanted anything in a long time and he wasn’t about to let you forget it.

Not that you could even dream of something like that.

You were painfully aware of the situation at hand, sometimes to the point that the pressure nearly crushed you. After all, Steve had dated a lot of girls before you, and of all of them, you were the one he chose to propose to and not just once.

He had proposed to you more times than you could keep track of, though the most memorable ones had certainly carved out a place in your mind.

The first time, for example, you and Steve had gone to the park and halfway through your walk, he’d made up his mind, and dropped to his knee right there.

Then there were the most elaborate schemes of all; like the time he’d sent a single slip of paper to your house every day for a month, all with the same proposal penned into the paper in blue ink, or when he’d hidden his grandmother’s diamond in a soda can.

Each and every one was crafted with so much effort and care, and he’d put so much time into every individual moment and detail.

It was a beautiful testament to how much he cared for you, and part of you wanted to say yes.

…but you couldn’t.

Wouldn’t. Not until you knew the time was right.

“We could. But first, we have to handle the video store” you reminded, pressing a soft kiss to Steve’s cheek before ducking out of the car entirely, leaving the man you loved to once again ponder over another failed conversation.

“I can handle the video store” he muttered, content to enjoy another day by your side, even if it was just as your boyfriend.

“Hey Steve” you called, rounding the corner to the horror section where he was restocking inventory, finally making up your mind, once and for all.

As endearing as he was, and as genuine as his feelings were for you, something had to change.

The pressure of all this marriage and babies stuff was going to drive you crazy, and you couldn’t feel like he was just constantly waiting for you to say yes, like you were keeping him from the one thing he really wanted.

Like being his girlfriend wasn’t enough anymore.

As soon as he heard your voice, the man stopped dead in his tracks, glancing at you over his shoulder, a huge grin on his handsome face.

“There’s my favorite girl. How were the romantic comedies?” he hummed, referring to the section you’d been assigned for the night.

Right now, it was just the two of you on the floor, given the fact Robin had drawn the short straw and was currently locked in the back room. Normally, that would mean a fair amount of sneaky kisses and misquoted movies, but not tonight.

Tonight, you couldn’t stop thinking about the talk you’d had on your way in and you needed some closure, before you drove yourself crazy.

“They’re fine. I was just thinking and I wanted to run something by you” you tried, watching as Steve immediately put down the box he’d been working on and turned his fullest attention to you, as if there was nothing else in the world.

Which, to be fair, there may has well been, in Steve’s mind.

“Sure, what’s up?”

His words hung in the air for only a moment before you finally blurted out what you’d been thinking about all day, without any of the tact you’d been hoping for.

“I need you to stop proposing to me” You started, slightly panicking now that it was all out in the open. Almost instantly, you felt that weight on your chest, no doubt punishment for crushing whatever happy family dream your boyfriend had for the two of you.

Understandably, there was silence between you for a moment as Steve tried to process what you were telling him.

Thankfully, you stepped in again before he could let his brain run wild with this new information. You wanted to make sure that he understood that you weren’t telling him no forever, or ending things, all you wanted to do was wait a little bit longer.

After all, you had ever intention of marrying him, as soon as you reasonably could.

“I love you, more than anything, and one day, you will be the most amazing husband. I just want to wait a little while longer” you cooed, speaking as quickly as you possibly could.

More silence.

By this point, you were sure that you’d upset him, maybe more than you ever had in the course of your relationship.

There was no way to know for sure considering Steve, the most expressive person you’d ever known, wasn’t actually saying or doing anything.

Until, of course, he did.

All at once, the man you loved was standing in front of you, holding your hands gingerly in his own as if you may actually slip through them if he wasn’t careful.

“What is it? Are you worried about your parents? Or my parents? Is it money? Because I can take more shifts. I’m just saying, I could definitely support you, we can figure it out” Steve assured, squeezing your hands, his face so close to your own that you could see the slight flecks of green in his eyes.

Which, of course, nearly melted you.

While you knew it was a bad idea, it was moments like this that made you want to marry him that much more.

He was so amazing.

You knew that there was nothing Steve wouldn’t do for the people he loved, and somehow you’d found yourself in the middle of that…you were lucky to be in love with him, you knew that.

All you were asking was to be with him, in this moment, instead of constantly yearning for a future that you weren’t prepared for yet.

“It’s none of that. I just can’t handle the pressure of it. I don’t want to feel like I’m letting you down” you sighed, deflating at his earnestness.

You loved him so much, and you just needed that to be enough for now.

Steve nearly scoffed at that before forcing it down. Clearly, even though it made no sense to him, that was how you were feeling and he had no right to take away from that.

“You could never let me down,”

Say what you may about Steve Harrington, but he was nothing if not determined to be happy and nothing brought him more happiness than his girl. You were his everything, and if he had to give up every other one of his vices to make you his, then he would just have to learn to live without the rest of it.

It was unbelievable to him that you were actually his girlfriend, and even a smile from you could brighten his whole day and send away the rain.

No matter what you two went through together, you had always been by his side, and the truest love he’d ever had.

The least he could do was try to return that favor for you.

That being said, this morning when he brought it up, he knew that you weren’t going to be happy with him but he didn’t really care. He wanted you to be his wife, and would do whatever it would take to get to that point.

Which wasn’t fair.

At some point, he should have considered the position he was putting you in, and since he hadn’t, Steve was grateful you’d brought it up.

The last thing he wanted to do was make you uncomfortable, or make anything harder for you. That was quite literally the reason he wanted to marry you in the first place, so that he could make sure you were always content.

“I love you, that’s what this whole thing is about. So, if you aren’t ready, we’ll wait” he decided, a flood of relief washing over you in an instant.

That was all you needed to hear.

That he wasn’t angry with you, and that he was okay with putting off any greater life planning until you were actually prepared for them.

Steve wasn’t thrilled about it, of course, but he knew what you were saying. In fact, this was one of the reasons he loved you so much. You were so much more realistic than he was, and if he didn’t have you, it was possible that he wouldn’t be able to function even half as well.

“I love you” he repeated, wrapping his arms around you fully now, in what had to be the most comforting hug you’d ever shared.

Not that you could be shocked, even now.

Everything that Steve ever did made him feel that much more irreplaceable to you and he really was. It warmed your heart to know that he was so serious about all of this, and that he really did love you as much as he claimed to.

“I love you! We’ll get there. I promise” you whispered back, giving him a strong squeeze before pulling away almost completely, though not far, considering the fact that you could still feel his breath fanning your face.

“Okay, then I have a promise for you,” Steve grinned, tapping his chin, almost as if deep in thought, before he finally made up his mind.

“I promise that the next time I propose will be the last time”

#steve #steve harrington #stranger things #st #steve harrington x reader #steve harrington x ps reader #steve harrington x plus size reader #steve harrington imagine #st x reader #st x ps reader #st x plus size reader #st imagine #stranger things x reader #stranger things x plus size reader #stranger things x ps reader #stranger things imagine

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updownlately · 11 months

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i wish i could be like you

| alexia putellas x reader | angst | 1.8k | inspo: be like you by tyler shaw | a/n: first official song fic let's go! this one's just complete angst to be honest. i've been meaning to write for alexia since this ask came in and while i have a few fluff ideas for future fics, i randomly heard this song today and decided to play it on repeat for *checks watch* 3.5 hours as i wrote this. didn't edit this one so hopefully there aren't too many errors!

~~~

I know I Should have asked you to stay Should've fought a little harder, when you said you need space

You’d been going back and forth for weeks, the same fight each time, the same result each time. Or so you had thought. While the argument you both had had today seemed worse than others in the past, you believed that you both could fix this. You could fix the missed dates. Fix the number of nights you went and woke up to an empty bed. Fix the amount of two person dinners that you cooked that turned into leftovers for you. You loved her. She loved you. It had to be enough, right? Love always wins, right?

It wasn’t easy dating the Alexia Putellas, but that didn’t mean you weren’t going to very damn well try your hardest to make it work. You’d thought you were doing your best since the start, the opportunity to date Alexia not one that you wanted to waste. You had tried to be accommodating, to let the first few times she cancelled at the last minute on your plans slide. You tried to be understanding, both of you being footballers, her being the top in the world. You understood her importance on and especially off the pitch, how vital she was to growing the game. Yet, it didn’t magically hurt less, like you had expected, and as time went on and you saw her less and less.

What you didn’t realise in your blindfold of love was that this was the beginning of the end, the last drop before the tension broke, before the dam you were working tirelessly to patch came crashing down.

So when Alexia, out of breath, tears of frustration streaming down her face, had asked you for a break after the fight you had just had, you couldn’t help but agree and hope it would help you both. Your love would pull you through you’d naively believed. This wasn’t the end, it was just a break you’d thought. You had let her walk through the doors of your apartment, unbeknownst to you that it would be the final time.

I know I Maybe I held you too close And when we started to fade out, I feel in love with your ghost, yeah

You’d always loved hard, or so you were told.

For you, loving was easy. It was everywhere. It was in the way that the sun would shine on the streets of Barcelona as the city would quietly wake up. It was in the way that someone would smile at another as they passed by on the street. It was in the way that coins were thrown into the fountains, each representing a wish for a love, be it for something or for someone. Love was around you and you cherished it.

When you and Alexia had started dating, you didn’t shy away from sharing love with her, from loving her. You’d share your love as much as you could, whenever you could. Be it visiting her randomly to accompany her through the most menial tasks or sending her good luck texts even though both of you were set to play in the same game on the same team, you chose to present her with fistfuls of your love at any given moment.

You never considered it would be overbearing, that it would feel suffocating. When she broke up with you, told you that you wanted too much of her, that your love felt like a room that was getting increasingly smaller, like running out of oxygen, you didn’t understand. You didn’t know how love could feel like anything but the warmth sun on your skin and forehead kisses from your favourite people.

When she left and you didn’t know what to do with yourself, you did what you knew best, you continued to love her, albeit from afar. You chose to love the ghost she had left you with. The ghost that haunted you while you’d mope in your empty shell of a home. The ghost that sat quietly beside you when you couldn’t bring yourself to look away from the two coffee rings that stained your island, without a doubt from when you’d both forgo the coasters and spill your drinks no matter how careful you were. The one silently hugging you as your favourite shirts still smelled of her perfume. The one holding your hand as you played with the promise ring you were going to give her just a few days before she had broken up with you.

Took some, time but I'm finally feeling alright 'Til somebody said your name

You knew the team knew. How couldn’t they? The pair of you once always attached at the hips now on separate sides of the pitch was telling enough, the tear stains consistently marring your face only a confirmation. They did their best to not make things awkward, to stay professional, to not mention her name to you, knowing that you’d silently break into a million pieces.

When three months had passed, and you had finally felt that you could breathe again, you thought you were fine. That the love you had for the football phenom had finally worn off. That the fondness had passed, making a home in your heart now as grief for what was and what could’ve been.

So when your friends from back home called, unaware of the shattered pieces of your heart laying around the streets of Barcelona, asking if you and her would visit at any point during the steadily approaching off season, you couldn’t suppress the stifled sob that escaped. Nor could you hold back the tears that appeared, much less the way your already cracked heart found a way to shatter just a little bit more and your body caved in on itself.

And when you walked in the room Hand, in his hand Only took a minute To bring it all back I wish I could be like you Falling for somebody new I'm alone in my head Praying that you Could love me instead I wish I could be like you Falling for somebody new

It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. You were at an afterparty after the team had just won the league. The night was going great, drinks flowing, friends and teammates dancing. You hadn’t even thought about Alexia an absurd amount of times, a win in your eyes. That had changed quickly however.

It was as she entered, hand in hand with another girl, another girl that for sure wasn’t a teammate and definitely not just a friend that the drink in your hand was immediately downed by you. Looking away you couldn’t help but let your mind wander, wondering why you weren’t enough for her, why you loved so hard, why it wasn’t you holding her hand. You had been doing good till now, great even, her barely on your mind. Yet all it took for that to come crashing down was a minute, a second of her walking in, a not-you shaped space beside her.

You had felt physically fine all day, elated even, with the win earlier today still coursing through your veins. You’d felt fantastic till about five seconds ago. Now? Now all you felt was your chest tightening, the muscles in your stomach tense as it took everything in you to not throw up there on the spot. Screwing your eyes shut, you willed the sting in your eyes to go away, quietly begging the universe to speed up time enough for you to go home, to go away, to leave before anything hurts anymore.

Beside you, Mapi witnessed the whole encounter. The way your eyes initially trailed over Alexia, a mix of love and sorrow in your eyes before your gaze wandered over to the held hands. How your jaw immediately clenched, the hand on your drink tightening. How you downed the rest of your rum and coke as if it was water, the tears in your eyes for reasons not pertaining to the burn in your throat.

So as any good friend would, she slowly pulled you away and you let her. And as Mapi thrust another drink into your hand, you prayed that the universe was playing a cruel joke. You wished that you could be like her, already over a relationship that had been six feet under for ages.

I wish I Wish I could hate you so bad But under the surface, you were the best that I had And sometimes I wake up thinking you're next to me I keep on staring at the empty side where you used to be

It was the next morning that the universe decided to continue to toy with your heart. You’d just woke up, mind reeling from the effects of last night, throwing you a year into the past, before you realised the nightmare you were having was reality. You’d reached your arm across the middle, meeting cool sheets that hadn’t been once warmed for months. You’d opened your eyes to a pounding headache and a faint memory of the days the both of you would lie in bed for hours after a night of partying, relishing in each other's touch, staving off the headaches that would be ever-present.

Soon the memories of last night came crashing back to you. How you’d seen Alexia with another girl, hand in hand. How Mapi had given you drink after drink and Ingrid had let you ramble about how unfair the universe was, how you hated it, how you hated her, how you hated yourself for hating her. You recalled the sideways glances they had given each other, the way Mapi gently took the final drink from your hands and led you towards the doors, the pair taking you home. Most importantly, you recalled the way you had felt so horribly sick to your stomach when you realised she wasn’t yours anymore, not that she was for the past six months, this moment reminding you vividly.

Now it was just you in a bed that hasn’t felt comfortable in months, a house that hasn’t been home, and a city you once loved, now just a reminder of everything you’d lost.

In the very bed that you had once long ago wished that she’d be the girl you’d marry and grow old with, you now wished that the hole in your chest could go away, that she could come back and love it closed, that you could be like her, that you could be okay. And when you walked in the room Hand, in his hand Only took a minute To bring it all back I wish I could be like you Falling for somebody new I'm alone in my head Hole in my chest Praying that you Could love me instead I wish I could be like you Falling for somebody new

#woso imagine #woso x reader #woso fanfics #alexia putellas imagine #alexia putellas x reader #alexia putellas #be like you #song fic #angst #my writing #fic #iwicbly

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deepouterspacecandy · 3 months

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Chronicles of Ember: Part One

Violence and sexual themes. 18+ only

Sometimes, when you’re alone and feeling nostalgic, you travel back to the memory of her simply to remind yourself it happened. It was real. Her touch engraved in your mind and hidden at the depths of your soul.

A towering pang wrenches at your chest every time you let yourself remember, really remember the brush with fate you experienced that morning.

The universe gifting you more than you bargained for during an otherwise dreadful scavenging effort. And it’s the skiff you notice first, with each trip down memory lane.

The way the pebble-strewn shore had nearly swallowed it whole. You can still taste your salt-bitten lips as you approach the small boat, gnawing at the dry skin you’d long since given up finding a consistent remedy for.

You weren’t sure what you’d find as you crept closer. History and hard lessons failed to remind you to scope it out from a higher vantage point before making your approach.

Sure, the scene appeared harmless from a distance, all wrapped up in giant swaths of dried kelp and peppered with barnacles.

A beautifully cruel trap. A stroke of dumb luck between strangers at the darkest edge of a desolate coastal town.

__________

“Holy shit.”

There were no supplies inside this boat. No ropes, no fishing line. If there was ever food, it would be difficult to find proof of it.

Instead, and to your utter amazement, there lay two frail bodies with just enough colour left in their cheeks to prompt you to check for a pulse.

“Holy shit,” you repeat, louder this time. The emaciated forms don’t so much as twitch and you’re not as relieved as you might otherwise be.

Huddled together, they appear lifeless.

You check for obvious signs of infection and its feeble work. Something, or someone, riddled one of the motionless bodies with injury. You knew a knife wound, or two dozen, when you saw them. These weren’t bites or scratches. But maybe you were just hopeful.

“Can you hear me?”

It had been weeks since you’d seen another living person.

You climb inside the boat and lose your footing, algae thick beneath your shoes. You catch yourself before you end up in the same unfortunate condition—piled on top of them like a soggy bag of laundry.

Your knee catches the sharp-set limbs of the woman below you and you hear her groan.

“Oh god, I’m so sorry!” you say as you kneel beside her. “I swear I’m not trying to hurt you.”

Deep-set scars paint the face of the boy curled up next to her, the rest of his body littered with lacerations, many healing badly. A side effect of a brittle immune system, you suspect, but you’re no doctor.

This world is unkind to most everyone in it, and you presume these two have survived more horrors in recent months than most face in their lifetime, based on their physical condition alone.

The harsh reality of the matter is that there’s no workable way for you to transport both to a safer location. It’s a twenty-minute hike to your current hideout, and that’s on a good day. Today didn’t feel like one of those. Rain is coming down in a drizzle, but it’s only a matter of time and you’re sure the screams you hear beyond sight belong to an unwelcome visitor or two.

“I don’t know what to do,” you say.

The bodies inside the boat offer no suggestions. Another shriek rings out from afar and your heart hammers inside your chest.

“If you can hear me, please open your eyes.” You wait for the flicker of eyelids or a cough. Anything to show there’s something left to save.

The scream you hear next sends a frigid chill down your spine. You twist awkwardly to investigate and immediately regret the decision. One hundred and fifty feet away, maybe less, you see it, extremities flailing in the distance like gangrenous, water-logged tree branches.

“I think he’s blind, but we don’t have much time,” you say, mostly to yourself. “Hey! You need to wake up. Now.”

The woman groans again as you shake her ailing body. You squeeze her shoulder harder and while you wish there was time for a gentler approach, you also recognize the abject danger you’ll face in about six seconds if you don’t make an escape.

“I really need you to get up—do you hear me? He’ll tear us all apart.”

You swear the woman mumbles something, but the sky tears open, giving leave to sheets of rain that thrash against the boat like a drum.

It’s impossible to focus through the pounding in your ears.

You lean in, close enough to feel her erratic breath on your face.

“Lev,” she rasps. “Take Lev.”

“What?”

She grimaces and clenches her teeth, her trembling hand weakly pushing the small body next to her.

You gripe, “I can’t move him by myself,” but she falls quiet and a sobering realization dawns on you.

She may have used her final breath to save this kid. It’s worth attempting, if for no other reason than to pay tribute to her last wishes.

You turn around once again to gauge the distance between you and a brutal death when you notice the weather has given you a leg up. Raindrops reverberate off rusty debris on the beach, disorienting the plague-ridden creatures that inexplicably travel in packs during your most vulnerable moments.

Although you’re not built for hauling the sick and wounded, you lift the boy until the boat lets out a deafening creak. It immediately draws the attention of a writhing monster, whose click-clack squalls turn your stomach sour.

You strip the coat from your back and place it over the woman you’re forced to abandon.

“I’m so sorry,” you say. “I’ll try to lure them away from you.”

******

Embers explode from the firepit and land directly onto your lap. You leap from the mossy log and flail around as if they have set you on fire.

His laughter booms.

“You little shit,” you say, and it only serves to make him laugh harder.

“My bad,” Lev smirks, proud to overuse the phrase he adopted from your experience with the old world. “It was my turn. I’m just trying to be useful.”

“Oh yeah? And you figure setting me on fire is the best way to accomplish this?”

Lev giggles and drops another log onto the flames, this time with more precision. “You’re being dramatic. It wasn’t that bad.”

“Tell that to the hundred tiny holes in my pants. I think you singed my leg hairs.”

He shakes his head, but the smile hasn’t left his face. In the year or so you’ve been travelling together, this might be the happiest you’ve seen him. You’d gladly accept another bucket of embers in your lap to witness it again.

“I guess we better try that camp after all,” Lev says. “Maybe they’ll have clothes. You’re going to need new pants.”

“And all thanks to you.”

“You’re welcome,” Lev retorts.

While his sense of humour has only improved, this kid has always made you laugh with a combination of his sheltered upbringing and naturally playful disposition. There’s darkness in the experiences he’s endured, but it hasn’t altered his humanity.

Which is more than you can say for most people you’ve encountered on the road.

“You’re probably right,” you say. “We’re running low, and I don’t think we’ll last much longer out here without better shelter.”

Lev’s smile fades. “They have tents. Good ones.”

It was the first thing you noticed. A group with large canvas tents and an abundance of ammunition, unlike any you’ve seen outside quarantine zones.

“It’s dangerous,” you say. “We’ll have to wait until it gets dark and even then, we’re walking a thin line.”

“What line?” Lev asks before shooting you another playful smirk.

He understood more than he let on sometimes.

“If we only take what we need, we should be able to get in and out of there before anyone notices.”

Lev nods, his attention lost to the pop and glow of the coals. He collects a handful of leaves, damp from the forest floor, and balls them up in his hands. They sizzle when he tosses them onto the fire, and you watch as their edges curl. He repeats it until there aren’t any leaves within arm’s reach.

“You doing okay?” you ask.

He frowns and ponders, pulls his knees to his chest to rest his chin. You figure it’s a step in a healthier direction. A few months ago, he might’ve recited the easiest answer before changing the subject.

“I miss her.”

“Your sister?” you ask.

“Everyone, I guess. My mom. My sister,” Lev says as he reaches for the crooked stick he’d been using to poke at the campfire. “Abby.”

You resist the urge to ease his grief with a string of useless discourse, but it rakes at your soul to see his expression fall. If there’s anything you understand at your core, it’s the anguish and despair the loss of a loved one can leave behind. You find it hard to swallow as you wrap your arms around yourself and listen.

“Sometimes I play it out in my head over and over, you know? Trying to figure out what I could’ve done better or quicker, or—I don’t know,” he explains, blinking back his sorrow. “Everything always happens too fast.”

He’s right. Between survival and catastrophe, there’s rarely time to pause and even less time to calculate. It’s a breakneck world where the infected aren’t the only ones looking to cause destruction.

You wish it could be different for him.

“I’m scared something will happen to you,” Lev says. “And then I’m alone. I don’t want to be alone.”

Your vision blurs and you concede to spilling a few futile words. “Well, I’m not going anywhere. Not if I can help it, okay? We’re in this together.”

“Even when I try to set you on fire?” Lev says, rubbing his palms against tired eyes.

“Yeah, even then,” you chuckle. “But you better watch yourself, because I hold one hell of a grudge.”

Lev sticks out his tongue in mock defiance before curling up to get some rest.

You wonder where he learned it from.

Based on his stories from his life with the Seraphites, you doubt it was a tolerated form of communication, even between siblings.

“Thank you for not leaving,” he whispers, and it strikes through you.

You wait for the easeful rise and fall of his chest before letting yourself shed silent tears. One for every collective piece of heartache, neither of you will find time to heal.

“Thank you for giving me a reason to stay.”

----------

If there were such a thing as past lives, it’s unlikely you were a notorious thief or covert operative—especially since you’ve spent an excessive amount of time lurking around a camp you planned to rob with zero advancement.

The makeshift barracks are crawling with soldiers draped in military fatigues, their bedraggled boots bludgeoning the muddy ground with every step. It has you frozen in place, sweat dripping down your back against the subtropical air.

“Food, shelter, disappear,” you chant under your breath, eager to feel that surge of effective fear Lev always talks about.

Instead of valuable terror, what you discover is that it would take multiple trips from the base camp to your small plot of land to manage building a complete shelter and a fierce pit settles into your abdomen.

You kneel and observe. If you’re sneaky about it, you’ll have a better chance leaving with a backpack full of ammunition and a stray weapon or two. Perhaps a hearty meal to boost your energy reserves so you can both return in better shape.

Or maybe it’s finally time to think about moving on and going about searching for a more permanent home. Before the thought of disappointing Lev can permeate, the whiz of his arrow flies past your head and sinks into the canvas behind you.

You spin on your heels to find yourself face to face with an angry gunstock. A burst of intense pain radiates through your jaw, accompanied by the metallic taste of copper pennies and a warm trickle down your ragged shirt.

Another arrow lashes the canvas, this time with a soldier pinned to it by the bulk of his shoulder. He cries out for his comrades and if you weren’t so dazed from the blow to your face, you’d have the good sense to run.

“Don’t you fucking move,” a stern voice warns. The frigid muzzle of a pistol presses into the base of your skull, the heat of a formidable body searing you from behind. “You move, and I end you where you stand.”

You struggle to snap back, reaching an instinctive hand up to your face instead. Your chin is a throbbing, tender orb as you slip your tongue across your teeth to check if there’s been any casualties behind your split lip. Thankfully, not. Dental care wasn’t exactly abundant in these parts.

The troop gathers instantaneously, surrounding you and your captor, and your body becomes a strained rope threatening to break. You’re acutely aware of the hand at the small of your back constricting your wrists. Maybe if you just twist—

“Don’t,” she snarls before yanking you closer.

Your shoulders ache.

“Who are you with?” she asks. “How many?”

“None,” you croak. “Nobody. I’m on my own.”

A gruff soldier trudges toward you, and you’re confronted by his rancid breath. “Bullshit,” he all but spits in your face. “Someone is slinging arrows and you either tell us where to find them, or we find them and make sure it’s the last arrow they shoot.”

“Please, just let me go,” you say.

The soldier pinned to the canvas seems to have a much worse go of it, his breaths becoming laboured as his gaze loses focus. It’s a frenzy of tending to his wounds and searching for the person responsible.

Lev has the astonishing gift of becoming a ghost when he needs to make himself scarce, but this group has clear militance and strategy that the two of you lack, especially in your bloodied state.

“We need a plan, Anderson. He’s bleeding out.”

A huff of breath hits your neck, and it’s miraculous her grip hasn’t eased up. Your shoulders and wrists are desperate for respite.

“Let me go,” you say. “I won’t be any trouble. You won’t see me again.”

The woman sniffs and clutches you harder. “I’ve heard that before. Fool me once.”

Her anger radiates with every twitch of her tight restraint, and you understand. But this fury feels deeper than it should.

When a soldier calls out from the field about a boy with a recurve bow, you lose composure and resist her stranglehold, lunging yourself forward. She fumbles but uses it to her advantage, taking you to the ground.

Gravel and twigs grate the skin on your arms as she flips you onto your back.

You shout in the face of the woman holding you hostage. Wriggle and try like hell to drive your knees into her back as she straddles you.

“Relax,” she says, and it’s an order. You crane your neck, desperate to locate Lev among the bedlam. “Hey—fucking relax!”

You don’t relax and you do not stop trying to break free. She grabs your face to redirect you and it’s the first time you cry out in pain. It shocks you both, her hand retracting so fast she takes her whole upper body along with it.

“I won’t let you hurt him. I swear to God if you touch him, I’ll kill you myself,” you spit and she’s still staring down at you like she can’t believe she caused pain to a stranger that, let’s face it, she is well within her rights to accost.

“Nobody is killing anybody,” she says, her brows furrowing into an irritated arch. “But you did this, okay? You and whoever you’re with. Why the hell wouldn’t you just approach our camp like a normal human being?”

“Oh, hilarious,” you retort, back to writhing against the unpleasant grip of her iron thighs. “I’ve seen your group, and every group like it. You’d have killed us on site.”

“You’re wrong,” she says, her tone arctic and deep. “We’re not all the same.” She gestures to the injured soldier being transported into a Humvee on a cobbled together stretcher. “But this shit has consequences.”

The Humvee is past its prime, but it starts up with a roar, soldiers packing in like a clown car. Your hip bones are raw from the friction of this brawny woman on top of you, and you’re not all the way convinced she won’t knock your lights out, so you relinquish any attempt to escape.

“What kind of consequences?” you ask.

She narrows her eyes at you. “What would you do in our boots?”

“I wouldn’t be in your boots,” you grumble. “I don’t fuck with community anymore—people are untrustworthy,” you continue, giving her a once-over, “and violent.”

“Are you referring to people who roll up and steal shit for no reason, or just the ones who hold you accountable for your stupid ass choices?”

Before you’re able to retaliate, her gaze wanders into the far distance and her unforgiving grip on your body slackens. Her eyes become fixed on the only person on this planet you care to protect.

“No. No! Please don’t,” you beg, but she’s on her feet faster than you can blink.

You scramble to put yourself upright and slip on the muddy ground before regaining composure. Your heart falls through your body as you watch this woman barrel toward Lev, helpless to prevent it.

You run toward them, fuelled by the ice-cold panic coursing through your veins and suddenly you’re clinched to her back, arms around her neck, weightless against her force but determined to take her down.

She’s agile in her movements and shrewd in combat.

You’re on the receiving end of her expertise.

The soldier holding Lev separates the two of you before the world shrinks in a way you never expected.

“Abby,” Lev chokes out. His bottom lip is wobbling, and you’re fighting to catch your breath before it clicks.

Abby is on her knees by the time Lev wraps himself around her neck, this time with no threat of bloodshed.

This is the person Lev has been holding out for all along—the person preventing the two of you from moving on to a more stable environment and you get it now.

You see why he needed to check the beach often. You understand why even after all these months and the deterioration of hope, he still dragged you down there from time to time.

What if she made it out? What if she comes looking?

You notice her for the first time when she spins to look at you. Steel-blue eyes, red rimmed and damp, raking over your form. She is rugged, and scars of every shape and size carve her face. But when she tilts her head, she becomes feather soft.

“You’re the one who saved him,” Abby says, her voice high and thick with emotion. “I thought it was a fever dream.”

Speechless, you feel yourself shrug.

She frowns at you, and then you hear it. The most melodic amalgamation of joyful laughter between Lev and Abby, while the combatants still lingering in the camp, gather in relative confusion. The soldiers murmur among themselves, and you’re suddenly overwhelmed by the worry of what to do with your hands.

“What now?” you ask.

Abby dips her head before finding your gaze. “I don’t know. We head back home.”

“What—what exactly happens when we do that?” you stammer.

“Well, we ask the boss how to handle you,” she says. “Maybe get this kid a bite to eat.” She gestures at Lev but locks her eyes on yours.

“Is your boss the scorched earth type? Because we didn’t mean to hurt anyone, and I’m not looking to walk us headfirst into trouble.”

She tucks a tuft of hair behind her ear, tidying up the mess you made of her low ponytail. Abby looks nothing like the frail human you found at the water’s edge. She is a mighty force, restored and rosy-cheeked.

Your fingers are a pretzel, and she studies the way you twist them together to soothe your nerves.

“I’ve got you,” Abby says. “Both of you.”

“What about your boss?”

“Right. Scorched earth and whatnot,” she smirks. “I think you’re safe for now.”

“You think? Well, that’s great.”

If you grab Lev and run for the hills, you might have a fighting chance at survival. Perhaps you’re overestimating your ability to outrun this absolute behemoth of a woman, but you’ve never been one to throw in the towel.

Abby orders her group to call for transportation and to prepare to move locations. They all seem to scatter in the wind, gathering supplies and organizing their gear.

Oh.

“You’re the boss,” you say.

“Yes ma’am,” she says, stripping off her sweater and handing it to you. Underneath is a tight black shirt you’re loathed to linger on a little too long. “Something like that. Play your cards right, and I might just show you how well we operate.”

Lev beams at you. “You can trust her,” he says.

Abby gave you the shirt off her back—that counts for something. You turn it over in your hands and there’s a patch stitched neatly below the collar. You skim over it with the pad of your thumb and let out a deep breath.

----------

The drive to their settlement calms your racing heart. Despite a serious reluctance to leave yourselves vulnerable, there’s comfort in an armed and disciplined group surrounding you.

Abby and Lev shift between gabbing and sharing their stressful trials and tribulations. You overhear bits and pieces about the weeks leading up to their separation and it adds up to exactly the state you found them in. You try to mind your business, but the journey Abby traversed just to get both feet on the road to recovery captivates you.

She slept for nearly a week after reuniting with the Fireflies. You suspect she battled profound grief the moment her eyes opened back up. If Lev’s own voyage is anything to go by.

“You like cats?” Abby asks. It isn’t until Lev elbows you that you realize she didn’t mean the question for him. “You know, with the whiskers and the purring?”

“No, I know,” you say. “Uh—yeah. I mean, it’s been a minute since I’ve spent time with any. Cats are alright.”

She chews on your answer without breaking eye contact.

Heat creeps up your neck.

“Cool,” she grins.

You need a quick distraction and make a point of staring through the windshield, sitting rod straight in your seat. You swear you hear Abby chuckle in tiny, quiet puffs of air, but it’s simpler to concentrate on the weathered trail nature has reclaimed.

“Almost there,” Abby says, tapping on the driver’s shoulder. “We’re going to hang back for a bit. I’ll bring them around in the morning.”

He nods and surveils you through the rearview mirror.

“Hang back where? You’re not separating us,” you say. “I’m staying with Lev.”

“Easy,” she warns, but she appears oddly gratified by your proclamation before giving Lev a nudge. “Quite the guard dog you’ve got here, huh?”

Your antics, as usual, amuse Lev. “Yeah, we’re not a bad team.”

“I can see that. Got room for one more?” she asks.

Lev grins, and before you know it, you’re the three musketeers.

The military vehicle lurches to a squealing stop, and you’re ushered onto a driveway overrun by weeds. Beyond it is a decaying structure snaked through with vibrant vines. Broken windows reveal the interior’s abandonment, but on the porch, a beautiful wind spinner catches the light.

“It’s a little rough, but it’s got potential,” Abby explains. “Good bones, as my dad would call it.”

“You live here?” you ask.

“I do. Well, sort of. I’m needed in town, so I stay there sometimes, but I’m trying to build something more permanent, I guess. I was going a little nuts without a project.”

A makeshift greenhouse rests to one side of the property, busy nurturing plants and vegetables you notice through the glass. Your stomach growls.

“Plenty of that to go around,” she says, nodding at her garden. “Venison too. We just got back from a buck hunt, so you’re right on time.”

“I could eat a whole deer,” Lev groans.

“Oh, yeah? I might be able to arrange that,” Abby chuckles. The steps that lead to her front door are rickety and she reaches her hand out for you to grab.

You hesitate before accepting her assistance.

“Thanks,” you breathe. “I’m pretty clumsy.”

“I figured,” she says, and her smile rivals the wind spinner.

Abby is a gorgeous woman, and the acknowledgment of it deposits a hard lump in your throat that you’re forced to swallow around. If you hold her hand all the way into the living room, it’s strictly for safety reasons.

“Home sweet home,” she announces, dropping her arm around Lev’s shoulders. “You’re getting tall, kid.”

“And you owe me a deer if you want me to keep growing,” Lev says. He leans into her and your heart squeezes.

Their bond gives you hope that chosen family still matters in this world.

Abby gives him a playful shove toward the staircase. “Go grab a shower, Goober. You stink.”

Pure excitement breaks out all over his face and he’s upstairs in record time. You haven’t set up camp near fresh water in ages and the thought of a hot bath is ecstasy.

“Any chance you’ve got a tub?” you ask, toeing at the dusty carpet.

“You bet,” she says. “I’ve gotta be honest—I didn’t take you for a bath girl, but it makes sense. Being clumsy and all.”

“You’re quite the comedian.”

“That’s what they call me. Abby, the comedian,” she titters. “The water tank is about as magnificent as this house, but it’ll do the trick if you wait a while. I can boil some water if you want.”

You fidget, and she picks up on your lack of enthusiasm. It’s a long-broken habit to accept any favours.

“It’s the least I can do,” Abby continues, and she mirrors your anxious hands.

“I tried to rob you.”

She draws her bottom lip between her teeth and steps closer. A breeze drifts through the fractured window and lifts her woodsy scent. An intoxicating blend of fresh pine needles and the sea helps your shoulders drop from your ears.

Abby raises a slow hand to your chin. “I’m sorry we did this.”

“You did nothing. I earned it.”

When she disappears into the other room, you take inventory of the few luxuries she’s placed around her home. A shelf packed with war-torn medical books. Another, littered with novels and wrinkled magazines. Oddball lamps, placed strategically around furniture to indulge her hobbies.

Maybe the two of you have more in common than you expect.

“Here!” Abby announces, and you jump nearly an inch off the ground. “Shit, sorry—I didn’t mean to spook you.”

“It’s fine.”

She flames up into a crimson red, peppered down her neck and onto her collarbone. “Sit down,” she orders, gesturing to a lonely Lawson chair. “Please.”

“Why?” you ask.

When she huffs in what you can only perceive as annoyance, you fight back a smile. Lev and Abby share characteristics only you would likely notice. Little idiosyncratic behaviours buried from the naked eye.

“I’d like to clean that up for you, if you’ll let me.”

“Is it that bad?”

Abby winces. “I don’t want it to get infected. An ounce of prevention, a pound of cure. It’s more relevant than ever lately.”

You amble past the couch and pause when you hear her slide a chair across from yours. It’s shrill as it drags across the floor, and your breath catches.

“You startle easily,” she says, and it’s to herself more than anything—reminiscent of a doctor taking notes to save in your personal file folder. “I promise I won’t hurt you, okay? Please let me take care of this. I’ll be gentle.”

“Gentle Abby. Any association with Comedian Abby?”

“They’re one and the same. I’m extremely dynamic.”

Your uncertainty fades as you drop onto the reading chair. It’s rather comfortable for a piece of furniture you suspect is on the wane. She taps your outer thighs, and you make room for her between your knees.

“Wow. You’re pretty confident for a nerd,” you tease. “Do they know their boss reads romance?”

Her mouth quirks up into a half-smile. “You’re awful nosey for a scaredy cat.”

“I’m observant,” you correct. “One of many skills I’ve gained.”

“Now who’s the cocky one?”

Lev, for an archer of stealth, shocks you both into submission with his thunderous jaunt down the stairs. His hair is a porcupine, sticking up in every direction. Haircuts have been sparse and poorly done with a dull knife until now, but it has made for some funny conversation along the way.

“Can I eat?” Lev asks, making his way into the kitchen. Cupboard doors squeak open and closed, and he hollers to make up for the distance. “Oh man, look at all this food! What’s this brown leather stuff?”

The corners of Abby’s eyes crinkle as she gazes up at you. She hollers back, “Jerky.”

“Can I eat it all?”

Abby’s glee strikes a match to your chilly skin and melts you like ice. You want her to take her time mending your wounds and the thought sets free a butterfly net of flutters between your ribs.

“Knock yourself out,” she shouts.

“What does that mean?” he shouts back, muffled by the jerky you suspect he has shoved into his mouth with both fists.

Abby wrings out the cloth she’s been using to clean the dried blood from your face. She soaks it in a basin of warm water before repeating the process, pressing it to your lower lip. Your eyelids fall as she dabs and glides the spongy cotton along your chin, collecting stray droplets of water as they escape down your neck.

“Is this okay?” she murmurs. “Does it hurt?”

It’s a concerted effort to speak. “No.”

She stops.

“I mean, yes, it’s okay. It feels good—or you know. It doesn’t feel bad.”

Hidden behind your sleepy eyelids, you avoid the embarrassment of your tangled words. Her hand cradles your jaw as her breath chills your wet skin. A deep ache blooms at your core and you catch yourself squeezing your knees against her in response.

It has been a lifetime since you’ve experienced euphoria from human connection. You gnaw on the lip she’s trying to mend, and she delicately scolds you.

“Tired, sweetheart?” she murmurs, and you’re fading fast.

Staying alive has cost you the lavishness of meaningful rest. Inside the walls of Abby’s peaceful home, knowing that Lev is safe, you are losing the resolve to combat sleep. You whimper as the heat of her body abandons you, but before you can protest, you’re off the chair and in her embrace.

“What’s wrong?” Lev asks. “What’s happening—she’s okay, right?”

Abby’s whisper reaches your ears, but your energy has drained from every muscle. “She’s okay. Exhaustion has a way of catching up. I’m going to get her to bed.”

“Good idea,” you hear Lev say. “Make sure a blanket covers her feet. She won’t stay asleep if you don’t.”

“Gotcha. Thanks,” Abby says.

The creak of the old wooden stairs and a pair of powerful arms lull you into a potent slumber.

#abby x you #abby x reader #abby the last of us #abby tlou #tlou 2 #abby anderson #abby x fem!reader #abby x y/n

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intoanotherworld23 · 10 months

Text

Pick Your Battles XII

Pairing: Reader x Bradley Bradshaw

Warnings: None

Summary: Bradley broke your heart when he accused you of betraying him, and you haven’t seen or spoken to him since. Until you are both called back to Top Gun to help with a dangerous mission that nobody’s ever attempted before

I do not own any rights to the characters or movie this is just purely for reading entertainment. Hearts, reblogs, and comments are encouraged and appreciated! If you wish to be added to the tag list please let me know! Thank you so much guys and enjoy! XOXO

Part 11

Check out my other works on my Hall Of Hunks

The next day literally dragged on for what felt like days. Both Jake and Bradley constantly looking over at you, but neither one of them saying a word. Of course you didn’t give neither of them so much as a smile.

It wasn’t a good day of training either. Nobody was communicating with each other, and they weren’t acting like a team. Maverick and Admiral Simpson were both disappointed and frustrated. The mission was only a couple weeks away, and everyone still wasn’t learning.

Admiral Simpson was also getting on you about choosing a team leader for this mission. He suggested Jake, but you argued that he would get his entire team killed if he led the mission. It was like you were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Today though you were completely distracted, and your head was in the clouds. Right now you couldn’t think or make any type of decision. You felt like you needed to escape from here.

Ever since that night going on your somewhat date with Jake, and running into Bradley. Only to hear the truth, and both men wanting you to choose them. It was hard and that’s why you decided to go home alone. Bradley being kind enough to drive you home.

You didn’t kiss you didn’t hug. You just said your goodbyes, and laid in bed until it was time to get up. Mind going crazy over everything that’s been happening, and wondering what you should do.

Standing next to Maverick as you watched the pilots strolling in to take their seats. Pete asking you if you were okay, and of course you lied not wanting to burn his ears off with everything that’s been going on.

Admiral Simpson and Solomon walked in with Simpson taking a seat in the back, and Solomon walking up to the podium with a stoic look on his face.

“Good morning pilots.” Warlock greeted everyone. “The mission will be operational earlier than expected. The new shipment will be delivered within about ten days time. As a result your mission has been moved up one week.”

Everyone including Maverick looked nervous hearing this news. It was unexpected and quite honestly terrified the pilots.

“But sir nobody has successfully flown a low level course.” Coyote spoke.

“You’ve been ordered to move on.” He responded complete silence filling the room.

Looking across the room you saw that Bradley was already staring at you. You could tell by the look on his face that he was worried. Instinctively you cracked a smile for him in reassurance. He mimicked you as you turned away to look back at Warlock.

“Captain.” He signaled to Maverick who now stood in his place placing his hands on the podium.

“We have one week left to focus on the most dangerous part of the mission. It’s a pop up strike with a steep dive requiring nothing less than two miracles.” A heavy sigh leaving your lips. “We need to focus on this mission, and you need to listen to every instruction that is given to you.”

Maverick looked to you to speak now making you step forward clearing your throat. Your mouth so dry it was like the Sahara desert.

“Two pairs of F-18s will fly in a welded wing formation.” All eyes now focused on you. “Team work. Precise coordination of these aircraft are essential to this missions success and your survival.”

“As you have read this plant rests between two mountains.” Pointing to the screen behind you showing a simulation of what it’s going to look like. “On the final approach you’ll invert directly into a steep dive. This allows you to maintain the lowest possible altitude, and the only possible attack angle.”

Looking at the pilots expression you could see them all twitching and fidgeting in their seats. They tried to put on brave faces, but you saw the fear behind their eyes.

“Your target is an impact point less than three meters wide. The two seat aircraft will paint the target with a laser bulls eyes. The first pair will breach the reactor by dropping a laser guided bomb on an exposed ventilation hatch. This will create an opening for the second pair.”

“That’s miracle number one.” Maverick interrupted before you could say anything more.

Some shook their heads in disbelief, and others looked around at the other pilots making sure they heard all this correctly. It sounded easier than it was going to be.

“The second team will deliver a kill shot and destroy the target.” You finished as Bradley gave you a encouraging smile.

“That’s miracle number two.” Maverick raised two fingers this time. “If either team misses the target.”

Looking over at Maverick who had a very serious expression.

“The mission is a failure.” Bowing your head down to the thought of them failing or losing their lives because of this mission.

“The mountain is a very steep high- G climb out to avoid hitting this mountain.”

“A steep climb at that speed your pulling at least 8 G’s.” Jake spoke up saying what everyone else was thinking.

“9 minimum.” Maverick responded.

“Has anyone actually ever achieved that?” Jake sounded skeptical.

“I did.” Maverick sounded proud of his achievement.

You remember that day very clearly too. Maverick pushed 10 G’s, and pissed off almost every Admiral that was watching. Laughing to yourself as the cursed mutters in the room, while some of them were chuckling at Mavericks bold action.

“To survive this mission you will pull beyond that. Even if it means bending your air frame.”

Looking over to see Admiral Simpson closing his eyes, and shaking his head at Mavericks words. You knew Simpson wanted this mission to be as clean as possible, but with Mavericks reputation you knew he’d tell them to push their limits.

“You’ll be pulling so hard you’ll weigh close to two thousand pounds. Your skull crushing your spine. Your lungs imploding like an elephant is sitting on your chest. Fighting with everything you have just to keep from blacking out.”

You could feel a lump forming in your throat at the thought of Bradley struggling in the jet. Imaging the worst case scenario. The last thing you would want is for that to happen to him, and Bradley loses control and crashes.

“And this is where you’ll be at your most vulnerable. This is what we’re calling coffin corner.” Bob looked like he was either going to throw up or pass out.

“Assuming you avoid crashing into this mountain you’ll climb straight up into enemy radar while losing all of your air speed.” Everyone now focused on the screen as they showed another video demonstration.

“Within seconds you will be fired upon by enemy SAM’s.” Those were powerful missiles and everyone else knew that too.

This was a mission that couldn’t go wrong. They don’t want to fail, but they also didn’t want to lose any pilots. That’s why they wanted the best of the best. Pilots that they felt could achieve this and survive.

“This is gonna take you and your aircraft to its breaking point.” Mavericks tone was almost like a warning.

“Sir is this even possible?” Natasha spoke up this time.

“The answer to that will be up to the pilot in the box.”

Maverick was speaking to everyone, but his words were meant more for Bradley. The pair stared at each other for a few seconds like they were having some sort of silent conversation. Maverick didn’t want to lose Bradley either, and wanted him to know how serious this was.

“We have created a flight path just like the one for the mission. You will learn this path, you will think about this path even in your sleep.” You said as confidently as you could. “First pair will be Coyote as lead pilot, and Phoenix and Bob second.”

The three pilots nodded as they were dismissed by Maverick. Watching as they were escorted to where they needed to go.

Everyone else left the room to listen in on what was going on. Jake tried to remain in the room as long as he could, but when he saw that Bradley wasn’t moving he gave up, and headed towards the door. Bradley remained in his seat as you stood there, and waited until the room was empty.

Nothing was said between the two of you. Picking at the skin around your nails out of habit. While Bradley just watched you curiously like he wanted you to speak first. Both of you had so much to say, but didn’t know where to start.

“How are you?” Bradley asked as he stood up.

“As good as one can be.” Giving him a pathetic smile. “You?”

Not realizing that the two of you were each stepping towards the other closer and closer. Like some type of magnetic force was pulling you to him.

“As good as one can be.” Repeating your words making you smile.

“How you feeling after that little speech?” Crossing your arms across your chest as you two now stood practically in front of the other.

“Nervous as hell.” Answering honestly as he wiped the palms of his hands against his pants. “Do you think we can honestly pull this off?”

“Yeah I think with the right pilots we can.” Bradley actually valued your opinion on certain things.

“Who do you think should be leading this mission?” It was a question you were hoping to avoid with him.

“Bradley come on.” Scoffing as you turned away from him.

“No seriously I want to hear who you think should be leading this mission.” Softly grabbing your hand so you looked back at him.

“Honestly.” Taking a deep breath before you answered. “None of you.”

That answer seemed to shock Bradley as he didn’t say anything and just looked at your face. It was the honest truth, and quite frankly you didn’t want him leading the mission anyway. He meant too much for you to lose.

“None of you are really ready for this mission, and they need someone who can lead it successfully.” Shrugging your shoulders at him as you further explained.

“You’re right.” Finally speaking. “You’re totally right.”

“It’s not that I don’t think you can’t do it.”

“I know what you mean. It’s what you and Maverick have been telling me from the start.” Hearing him mention Mavericks name surprised given how he felt about him. “I can’t play it safe.”

“You’re a good pilot Bradley.” Placing a hand on his shoulder as he weakly smiled.

“So are you.” Taking your hand from his shoulder and holding it in his hand his thumb tenderly rubbing the skin back and forth.

Bradley’s gaze lingering on your face as you both smiled at each other with adoration. Neither one of you doing or saying anything, but just enjoying each others presence. It was like a roller coaster with you two. Constant ups and downs, and you didn’t know when it was going to end.

“We should probably be there with everyone else.” You spoke up as you dropped your hand from his.

“Yeah right.” He stuttered as you walked in front of him Bradley placing a soft touch on your back as he followed right behind you.

Once you got into the room everyone looked stressed and terrified. Some of them had their head in their hands, and others mouths open wide. You and Bradley looked at each other confused to what was going on. Whatever happened it wasn’t good.

“Where the hell have you guys been?” Payback exclaimed everyone turning towards you both. “You guys just missed it.”

“What happened?” Asking as you walked away from Bradley.

“Coyote went into G lock and Phoenix and Bob crashed.” It was like the air left your lungs and all you heard was crash.

“What?” Bradley shouted in disbelief.

You could hear muffled voices but you had no idea what they were saying. There was a ringing in your ear as you stood there like a deer caught in the headlights.

Staring at him wide eyed saying nothing your legs moved before your mouth could say anything. Running out of the room as quickly as you could before you burst into tears. Those same feelings and fear were coming back, and you couldn’t handle something like this happening to you again.

Running into an empty room as you sat down trying to catch your breath. Your breathing was shallow and erratic, and you felt that same anxiety before you had a panic attack. The room was getting smaller, and it was getting much harder to breathe. Like at any moment you could burst into tears.

Bradley quickly followed behind you hearing you as he ran down the hall, and quickly came into the room. The sight before him nearly broke his heart.

He took one look at you, and sat right next to you. An arm wrapped around you while he held your hands. Leaning your head against his shoulder as he tried to help control you. Whispering comforting things in your ear.

“It’s okay just breathe in through your nose, and out of your mouth.” His chin resting on top of your head. “Breathe with me baby.”

Trying to get you to follow his breathing patterns in a slow and easy pace. Hoping that his calm presence would help, and would make you feel better. He hated to see you like this, and wishes he could take all this pain you felt away from you.

“That’s it. Just breathe like that for me.” He whispered once he felt your breathing slowing down. “That’s a good girl.”

Closing your eyes as you suddenly felt exhausted. Pressing yourself deeper into Bradley’s body loving how warm and safe he felt. Bradley wasn’t going to let you go either. He wanted to hold you in his arms for as long as he could.

“Better?” He asked looking at your face.

“Yeah. Thank you.” Weakly smiling at him as you pressed your face into his shoulder. “It’s been so long since that’s happened.”

“I understand.”

The doors came bursting open as a worried Maverick came into the room. Looking at the way Bradley was holding you and seeing the expression you had on your face he knew what happened.

“Are they okay?” Bradley asked.

“There gonna keep them both in the hospital over night for observation. But there gonna be okay.” A sigh of relief left your lips hearing that news.

“That’s good.” He responded not moving an inch.

“It was a close one.” Mavericks voice cracking at the thought of how much worse it could’ve been.

“I’ve never lost a wingman.”

“You’re lucky. Fly long enough and it’ll happen. There will be others.”

“Easy for you to say.” Bradley letting go of you to stand up now. “No wife. No kids. Nobody to mourn you when you burn in.”

“Bradley.” Whispering for him to stop knowing this wasn’t the time or place.

“Go home.” Maverick responded not really in the mood to have this discussion. “Just get some sleep.”

“Why did you pull my papers at the academy?” Bradley asked Maverick before he could walk out the door. “Why did you stand in my way?”

“You weren’t ready.” Maverick kept his voice low and soft.

“Ready for what? To fly like you.” Bradley was raising his voice as he stood face to face with Maverick now.

“No ready to forget the books and trust your instincts. Don’t think just do. You think up there your dead. Believe me.”

“Well my dad believed in you.” Bradley said with such malice it even shocked you. “I’m not gonna make the same mistake.”

As the two of them stared at each other you could tell Maverick was affected by his words. Standing up this time as you wanted to say something, but it was between the two of them. They needed to be work this out themselves.

Before anything else could be spoke the door opened, and Admiral Solomon and Simpson were standing there with weird looks on their faces. Thinking they were there to lecture Maverick, but there focus was on you.

“Y/N.” Warlock waving you over both Maverick and Bradley watching you.

“What is it?” Asking when they shut the door behind you.

“Your fathers gone.”

#miles teller #miles teller smut #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #miles teller x reader #bradley bradshaw smut #miles teller fanfiction #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley bradshaw imagines #top gun #top gun fanfiction

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storiesofsvu · 1 year

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A Dangerous Game Ch 22

Emily Prentiss x reader warnings: language, alcohol, smut. Okay so i did say we were gonna wrap at 25 chapters but I'm smooshing things together cause I didn't have enough meat to fill out chapters and am getting lazy. SO! ONE more chapter after this one. Hopefully soon, but also I work the next two days so we'll see how that works out LOL. Plenty of other stuff in the wip pile otherwise and some bingo squares actually started on so you have content to look forward to, promise.

Both you and Emily were incredibly thankful when there was no last minute new case on Friday, leaving the two of you (and the rest of the team) free to head home right at five. You had enough time to wind down from work, shower and get ready before Emily was knocking at your door. She let out a quiet swear when you pulled open the door and you giggled, kissing her cheek gently before setting the alarm and locking the door. You were in a dusty pink casual yet flirty dress, the neckline enough to tease Emily while still being modest, the hem of the skirt flowing across your mid thigh.

“You know I could’ve met you there.” You commented as you slid into the car, “less back tracking for you to do.”

“Yeah, but I figured I wanted to do this the right way.” She smiled softly at you, her hand naturally finding home on your thigh as she started the car, backing out of your driveway. “You look absolutely gorgeous by the way.”

“Thanks.” Your cheeks flushed, glancing over to her with a warm smile, “so do you.”

Emily hadn’t planned much, not wanting to go too crazy or come off overbearing, telling you just to dress nice but casual was fine. She’d made dinner reservations at Iron Gate Restaurant, a cute little place that was a prime spot for date nights that wasn’t too fancy but just fancy enough. It was warm enough outside that the two of you ended up at a corner table on their back patio, fairy lights strewn overtop of the gardens and candles on the tables to embrace the ambiance.

You started with a round of cocktails while you looked over the menu, the waiter offering wine suggestions when you placed your food orders. The table started with focaccia, cremini mushroom arancini and a citrus salad while the two of you gossiped about work that week, laughing over the stories that Emily had missed out on while trapped in her office.

“I can’t believe you told Morgan about the jet.” She laughed, taking another sip of her drink and you joined in on her laughter.

“Listen, I was hungover as fuck, I needed that couch.”

“Well now he’s insistent on bunking with you on trips to keep us apart.”

“Okay.” You shrugged with a grin, “never stopped us before. He can give us an hour for privacy or he can suffer. Or I’ll bribe Savannah. If he’s gonna cockblock us, I’ll cockblock him right back.”

“You’re cruel.” She chuckled.

“No.” You insisted, “I give back the same energy I’m given.”

“Ah, the changing of a few crucial words and you get away with it.”

“It’s worked so far.” You replied with a teasing shrug and she laughed again, her free hand sneaking across the table top to grab yours before laying a kiss on the back of it, fingers remaining tangled when they hit the table once again.

Wine and dinner came out shortly after that, Emily teasing you for your choice of seafood despite your absolute hatred of crab. You scoffed, pointing out that they were completely different tastes and textures, and that this would be delicious. The playful argument was completely unneeded, but the way it brought a spark to Emily’s eye when she looked at you was all the excuse you needed to dig into her when she ended up liking your choice of dinner better than her own.

You opted to take one of each desserts to go and Emily was obviously insistent on taking care of the cheque. You attempted to open your mouth to object and the look she shot you was enough alone to know she definitely wasn’t going to give in, no matter what you said. You thanked her, kissing the back of her hand before the two of you were gathering your things, making your way out of the restaurant hand in hand. She faltered in her step as you reached the back of the car, turning back to you with a smile on her face and you leant in, kissing her gently, lips lingering against hers a little longer than normal for being in public.

“Thank you for dinner.” You murmured, “it was really nice.”

“It was.” She smiled, pecking you lightly, “should do it again next week.”

“It’s a date.”

“Now…. Am I taking you back across the river?” She raised a brow at you and you laughed.

“We got dessert to go. What did you think? I was just gonna run off with it? Besides, Sergio’ll throw a fit if I don’t come say hi.”

She laughed, rolling her eyes about Sergio, considering you were completely correct and kissed your cheek softly before nudging you in the direction of the passenger side door.

The moment the elevator doors slid shut Emily had you against the wall in a bruising kiss, lips moving with fire against your own. Your arms quickly looped around her shoulders, fingers threading through her hair, your body relaxing into hers. A thigh found its way between your legs, pinning you to the wall and you let out a whine into the kiss when her hands grasped at your hips, grinding you down against her.

“That’s it angel…” she murmured, her breath hot on your skin as she kissed across your jaw, her muscle flexing under you and your head dropped back against the wall, “feel good?”

“Yes daddy…”

The elevator pinged and you barely had enough time to tear away from each other before the doors slid open and you fumbled your way down the short hallway to Emily’s apartment. Once the door was locked behind you Emily’s hands were on you again, shoes were kicked off and her lips found yours, tongue daring to slide into you mouth and you bit back a moan. Your hands slipped under her shirt, whimpering when she broke the kiss to pull the offending fabric over her head before kissing you again, a happy sigh escaping you that she swallowed down. You quickly got rid of her bra, tossing it to the floor and began squeezing at her chest, lips curving up into a grin at the way she practically melted into your touch. Emily’s hands wound around you to find the zipper of your dress, letting the clothing fall to the floor and she pulled back from the kiss, letting out a low swear when she saw the set you had on underneath.

“Christ princess….”

“Figured I should dress up for you.” You shrugged with a playful grin and she chuckled, her eyes darkening as they dragged up your body.

“You always look so pretty for me.” Her hand reached out, brushing a piece of loose hair behind your ear, “but this is… wow…”

“Yeah?” Grinning, your fingers curled into her belt loops, tugging her closer to you so you could kiss her, “I have a feeling it’d look even better on your bedroom floor.”

“Can’t argue with you there.” She smirked, hands ghosting up your sides to grope at your chest through the lace, pinching at your nipples and you sucked in a breath, your back arching towards the touch. Your hips ground against her and you gasped, a small laugh leaving your lips.

“Why am I not surprised you’re already strapped?”

“Didn’t want to waste any time.” She murmured back, her lips beginning to trail down your neck as her hands made quick work of your bra so you could let it fall from your body. Her hands pinched at your nipples as she bit into the crook of your neck, nudging you back onto the bed. “Good girl.”

She undid her pants, kicking them off, cock springing out before she leant over you, fingers in the waistband of your lace panties and she pulled them down your legs. Her hands smoothed back up them, spreading you open for her and her tongue darted out to wet her lips. The moment her mouth lapped at you, your head fell back into the pillows, a happy moan leaving your lips. One of her hands slid up your hip and your own quickly found it, fingers interlacing as she continued to eat you out. Her nose brushed against your clit and you gasped, your hips rocking up to the sensation as your free hand tangled into her hair, holding her gently to you.

Emily’s tongue darted out, pulling your juices into her mouth, groaning over the taste she adored so much, her free hand pressed down your thigh, spreading you even further open for her, just the way she liked. Her mouth sucked at you, moaning against your pussy, the vibrations shaking through you deep into your core. She shifted up, latching around your clit, letting her tongue trace patterns across it while two fingers slipped into your pussy. Her eyes flicked up so she could watch the way your body thrived against the bed, whimpers and whines escaping your lips while her fingers pumped and curled within you. Your pussy was soaked, fluttering around her with each brush of her fingers.

“Fuck… oh god daddy… feels so…so… fuckin good.”

She sucked harder on your clit, tongue pressing down heavily on it while her fingers curled right against the spongey spot inside of you and you cried out, coming undone, thighs shaking around her.

“Good girl.” She praised, kissing just above your clit before pulling her fingers from you. Before she could even blink, your hand wrapped around her wrist and you were sitting up, pulling her slicked fingers into your mouth, sucking them clean of your juices.

“Please fuck me daddy.” You mewled, nearly pouting as you did so and she swore again, knowing that you were likely going to be the death of her.

“Lie back princess.” She urged after stealing another kiss, watching the way your tits bounced when you did as she asked, spreading your legs even wider for her.

She ran the tip of her cock through your folds, smearing it with your juices and your eyes fluttered shut, breath catching in your throat. She lined the toy up, sinking into you inch by inch until she was completely buried within you and you let out a low moan when she circled her hips. She leant over you and your hands instantly wrapped around her, fingers digging into her skin as she began to move her hips. Her mouth wrapped around a nipple, sucking it into her mouth, teeth scraping against the sensitive skin as she set a steady rhythm. Each thrust her cock seemed to hit every inch of your pussy that you needed and you let out a whine, one of your legs wrapping around her to pull her even tighter to you.

“Harder…” you moaned, “please.”

She bit down harder in the same moment that her hips heavily rocked into yours and you gasped, your hands digging deeper into her skin, pulling a moan from her. She braced one of her hands on the bed, fucking deeper and harder with each thrust of her hips, your whimpers and whines getting louder and longer with each push of her cock. Your hips began to rock up to meet hers eagerly, begging for more,

“God… fuck…oh fuck!”

Emily’s teeth sunk into the curve of your breast, her tongue lapping out to soothe the burn but you both knew there’d be a mark for days to come. She licked across your collar bone, placing a kiss on it before making home in the crook of your neck, mouth licking, biting and sucking while she continued to fuck you.

You were a whimpering mess by now, your entire body on fire and completely consumed by her. Her cock filling you so precisely in only a way she could, her fingers pinching at your nipple, tracing patterns across your skin, your senses were overloaded with Emily, her perfume surging through you, bringing tingles to your skin with each inhale you took. She could feel the way your thighs were beginning to tremble around her, the shake in your breath and her lips formed a smirk on your skin.

“Gonna come for me angel? Come all over daddy’s cock?”

“S—so close.” You whimpered, gasping when her cock thrust heavily into you.

Emily’s hand vanished from your chest, sneaking down in between your bodies to find your clit, pinching it when she did so and your legs tightened around her, a loud moan leaving your lips. Her fingers began to rub in time with her thrusts, pressing harder and harder with each roll of her hips.

“That’s it princess… let go…” She husked into your ear, biting at the lobe and you cried out, shaking in her arms as your orgasm washed over you.

Your body shook, tensing around Emily, nails digging into her skin, burying yourself into the crook of her neck in an attempt to be fully absorbed by her, wanting to feel nothing but her in that moment of pleasure that continued to wash over you, wave after wave. You could hear her voice, but were completely unaware of what she was saying, everything was a haze until you could feel the drag of her cock in your pulsating pussy and let out a shuddering breath, letting go of her and collapsing down into the pillows with a sigh. She gazed down at you with a happy smile, her hips stilling against yours as her hand caressed at your cheek, thumb rubbing at your skin until she was certain you’d had enough of a chance to catch your breath. Leaning down she kissed you softly, lips moving with grace against yours and there was no place in the world either of you wanted to be in that moment. She slipped out of you, leaving the strap to be dealt with later and rolled onto her back, wrapping an arm around you in the warm embrace that you gladly accepted, curling around her body.

Your leg nestled between hers, head resting on her chest and your arm lazily strewn around her while you slowly came back down to earth. Emily’s hand came up to the back of your head, gently scratching at it, playing with your hair and she left a tender kiss on the top of your head. Everything felt right, felt peaceful, comfortable and despite the air cooling as the night wore on, a warmth was wrapped around the two of you that you knew wouldn’t be leaving anytime soon. The silence took over the room, only the sound of your breathing and happy little hums as you simply basked in the embrace of each other.

You let out a happy sigh, nuzzling into her body deeper, kissing at her bare skin and she hummed softly, kissing your head once again. A warmth bloomed throughout her as you nestled against her, pressing gentle kisses to her skin. Her eyes drifted down at the feeling of your finger tips on her skin and she caught the way they were softly tracing the pattern of the scar on her stomach, ghosting over the white lines and Derek’s words from the other day replayed through her head.

“Hey…” she whispered softly, gently squeezing at you.

“Hmm?” You replied without looking up.

“I wanna tell you something. Something that should help make sense of why I did things the way I did…”

“Okay..”

“Years ago…. I was the target for someone, someone who wanted to see me in pain before actually killing me. Meaning they were going after my team first and I decided to be dumb, I thought the only way to protect the people I cared about was to go take care of it myself, go straight to the source of the violence.” Your fingers stilled in their pattern, shifting off the scar as your head tilted up at her and she stalled in her words at the expression on your face.

“I know about Doyle.”

“What?” Her brow furrowed and you shrugged.

“It’s not every day an FBI agent comes back from the dead. Everybody knows about the legendary… or… reckless depending on you who ask, Agent Prentiss. I’d just never heard a first name or seen a picture. So yeah…” you nuzzled back into her chest, letting out a happy sigh at the feeling, “I know the Dewald thing kinda just brought you right back there and you didn’t want to repeat history, especially with me in your place.”

Silence overtook you, your hand curled around her waist this time, thumb rubbing across her soft skin as you waited for her to absorb your words. She kissed your head, her lips lingering on you before she spoke once again,

“Is that why you never asked about the scar?” She felt her brow furrow and you shrugged.

“I’ve been in law enforcement long enough to know not to ask about scars. Hell, even before I started this job. You never know if it’s gonna bring up some super painful memory or if it’s from something like falling off the swings as a kid.”

“Hmm…” She replied and you could feel the wariness flowing off her, so you shifted up onto your elbow to look up at her again.

“Emily…” your voice was soft and hearing her name on your lips like that made her heart nearly stop, the adoring gaze in your eyes completely melting her. “We’re good. Okay? You don’t need to be constantly apologizing or explaining yourself or buying gifts. Give it another month and we’ll be arguing over something trivial like whose turn it is to take out the trash.” Your smile brought a laugh to her lips, worry washing away as the sparkle in her eye returned while you leaned up to kiss her. “We’re more than good. Okay?”

“Okay.” She smiled brightly, letting out a happy sigh when you nestled back into her chest, “as long as you know that I’m in this for the long haul, that I want it to really be something and mean something.

“I do.” You murmured.

“So much so that I may have mentioned something to the director earlier today.” She winced at the way your body tensed against her.

“And… what would that have been?”

“I didn’t specify things, I just brought up that something was… blooming and I wanted to get in front of it professionally.”

You propped up on your elbow again and Emily frowned at the worry wavering in your eyes, “are they gonna transfer me?”

“No!” Her hand shot out, cradling your cheek, “no baby, no. I didn’t even mention you by name. We’ll have to go in and sign some paperwork on Monday, there will be some situations where you report to the section chief or director directly instead of me. Any evals or performance reviews will be done by them instead, and they’ll likely keep a closer eye on us in the field for a bit, but we can do this.”

“Good.” You smiled, leaning in to kiss her, “because I really like this job. And I also really like the idea of not having to sneak around or be worried about it all the time.”

“And we won’t have to.” She kissed you softly, lips curving up against yours as she did.

“When do we tell the team?” You asked and she sighed heavily.

“Let’s give it a bit? If that’s okay with you?”

“Please, Morgan and Garcia are already having field days with it, let them get the major teases out before everyone’s in on it.”

“Knowing Garcia that’ll only take the rest of the week.” Emily chuckled and you laughed.

“Well then let’s make the week worth it.” You murmured as you leant in, your lips brushing her skin as you caged her into the bed and she let out a chuckle, eagerly accepting the kiss.

______________________

@mickey-gomez @momlifebehard @melindawarnersgf @itisdoctortoyousir @emilyprentiss4life @somethingimaginative17 @temilyrights @alexxavicry @daddy-heather-dunbar @aliensaurusrex @rustyzebra @ilovemycrayons @thegrantwater @leftoverenvy @kades95 @dextur @m00nkn1ghts @supercriminalbean @daffodil-heart @msvenablesbitch @its-soph-xx @going-gray @just-a-torn-up-masterpiece @hopelesslyfallenninlove @peanutbutterprincess @kdaghay @emilyprentisssluvr @lex13cm @awolfcsworld @zizzlekwum @emobabeyy @riveramorylunar @s1ut4nat @midnight-sapphic @scorpsik @prentiss-theorem @unsubologyy @strongsassysexysloane @svushots @overtrred28 @happenstnces @sapphicprentiss @heidss @geekyandgay98 @pagetboobstarcomments s @onmykneesformarvel @inlovewithemilyprentiss @aws-l

#emily prentiss #emily prentiss x reader #criminal minds #a dangerous game #emily prentiss series #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fic

183 notes · View notes

maknaeswrld · 7 months

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when you loved me | l.mh

You never thought you’d fall in love, and you never realized you already had.

wc: 2.5k

genre: best friends to strangers; idiots in love; angst; no happy ending here

cw: old writing/rewrite; open ending; Jun isn’t based off anyone in particular it’s just a name I picked; mentions of depression, heartbreak, etc.; y/n lowkey kinda stupid I’ll admit it; please let me know if I’m missing anything

Love had never been very high on your priority list. To be completely honest, you thought you could care less about it. You had goals, aspirations, plans, and you’d seen how your high school friends would willingly drop theirs for the boy they loved. You thought it was dumb, how could they so easily forget about what they wanted all because of a relationship that likely wouldn’t last.

That was always what confused you the most.

And of course your best friend, Lee Minho, being a complete fuckboy who taught girls the meaning of love and the pain of heartbreak all within a single weekend, made the whole ‘not being into relationships’ thing that much easier for you.

No, you didn’t need a significant other, the exhaustion of a relationship, or even the simplicity of ‘being in love’. You didn’t need or want any of it, or at least you didn’t think you did.

After graduating top of your class from your school and getting accepted to your dream university, you and Minho drifted apart from each other due to leading very different lives.

At first the two of you had kept in contact, keeping updated and it was just like high school except he couldn’t bring you McDonald’s at the drop of a hat. But of course, as all cliches must, the ability to stay in touch became more and more difficult as your schedules got busier and busier. Chatting every night while you studied turned into once a week, then once a month, and soon enough maybe a dry text strand asking how life’s been.

It was easy to not notice immediately. You were so swamped with finals and thesis papers and paying tuition as well as rent, that you didn’t register the emptiness of losing your best friend. By the time you noticed, his contact in your phone looked like a strangers and when you saw him on tv you knew you didn’t have a part in his life anymore. You’d much rather leave your friendship with him at the happy memories than make it seem like you were only reaching out because of his newfound fame.

You supported him silently. Every local concert, you could be found somewhere in the stands, pride swelling your heart as you witnessed how far your best friend had come. You’d bought his bands merch when you had extra spending money, you’ve even helped clear fangirls away to make a path so that he and his members could have some space, but you never actually reached out to him. It had been too long and you acknowledged you weren’t a part of his life anymore.

You never thought too much about it, the few times you had led to you crying yourself to sleep in his dance team jacket from high school that he had given you ‘officially’ as a graduation gift.

You figured you just missed your best friend, you never once thought of it as being anything more than that. Until one chilly fall evening, at least.

You had gone to your favorite coffee shop, as you did most days, needing a caffeine boost so you didn’t crash after a long day at work, knowing you still had a concert to attend. There, you ran into your old friend, Jun, who was on Minho’s dance team in high school. You, Jun, and Minho had been fairly close knit in high school. The two of you laughed about the odds and sat down to talk and catch up. Time flew faster than you had anticipated and you noticed you were late for meeting up with your roommates. Swearing under your breath, you excused yourself, much to Jun’s confusion.

“I haven’t missed a show yet, and I really don’t want there to be a first. I know we aren’t friends anymore, but I still like supporting him.” You had explained shyly. Jun’s eyes lit up in realization as he checked his phone and also started panicking.

“Shit! I was supposed to be there ten minutes ago. Um, would you mind some company on your way? Since we’re already heading to the same place.”

You nodded in agreement and with smiles on your faces, you both headed out to cheer on your mutual friend.

Upon arriving at the event, Jun took you in through the back door where staff members usually go.

“I’m sorry, I’ll only be a moment. I’m not supposed to be performing tonight, but I still need to check in with the managers in case I’m needed.”

“It’s fine, take your time. I need to go find my friends anyway.” You smiled at him and turned to head for the stairs that lead to the general public area when you saw something out of the corner of your eye. It was the familiar build of the boy you missed more than you’d ever care to admit, standing more confident than he ever did behind BTS. He was laughing about something and the painfully familiar sound made your heart swell with happiness.

But the happiness you felt upon seeing him so close was short lived as Jun, who was previously blocking your full view, moved enough for you to see a girl next to him, also laughing.

You weren’t sure why you felt like your heart dropped, and you couldn’t explain the tears welling up in your eyes, all you could do was turn around and make a mad dash for the door you had entered through moments earlier.

“Oh, Jun! I didn’t know you were gonna be here tonight.” His voice traveled through the hallway as you turned tail and ran, the sound you had heard every single day back in highschool and not once since hurting your heart that much more. You stopped paying attention to everything around you, zoning out everything they were saying, focused only on leaving the building and getting back to the confines of your apartment as soon as possible. You hated when people saw you cry and you hated even more when you couldn’t stop yourself from crying.

Time felt like it was in slow motion, your brain couldn’t piece together why you were so upset. Once you finally made it home, you slid down your door after shutting it and cried into your knees, sobs wracking your body violently.

Your roommate that worked late and couldn’t make it to the show came running into the living room and you knew she was trying to talk to you, but you just couldn't hear her. You couldn’t pay any attention to anything, images of him laughing and her smiling lovingly at him etched into your mind.

You didn’t really comprehend what was happening, but you were jolted harshly back into reality when your feet were suddenly submerged in warm water. Looking around in confusion, you noticed you were no longer on your living room floor, but naked and being gently helped into a bath. You were shaking and you felt tear streaks on your face.

“Thank you.” You whispered as your friend washed your hair and massaged your scalp. Your voice was horse and you almost didn’t even recognize it yourself.

Eve was a caring soul and your best friend. The two of you had met in university and when you graduated you both decided to move in together. She had been there for you through thick and thin, and she knew you better than anyone else on earth, except maybe Lee Minho.

“Anytime, sweetie. So do you wanna talk about it or sleep it off?”

“I think I need to sleep it off. To be completely honest with you, I’m not a hundred percent certain what ‘it’ even is.”

“I’ll let the others know to keep it down when they get home, you just focus on resting up.”

She smiled kindly and wrapped a large fluffy towel around you. Gently rubbing up and down your arms as she looked you over, she nodded in agreement and left to grab some clothes for you to put on.

Sluggishly putting on the sleep shorts and tank top she left for you, you felt like a zombie as you walked to your bedroom.

A part of you was wondering how Minho’s show was going, and if he noticed you as you left. You shook your head, trying to rid yourself of all thoughts of the boy.

Your bed felt cold and your mind wouldn’t quiet down. All you wanted to do was sleep and forget the indescribable pain that filled you. Sighing in defeat, you threw your blankets off you and moved to your desk, figuring you could get some work done since you couldn’t sleep anyway.

Curling up in your desk chair, you noticed a familiar material draping out of your laundry bucket. You reached out and grabbed the jacket, pulling it to your chest and taking a deep breath. It didn’t smell like him anymore, it stopped smelling like him after the first two washes, but the ghost of it was enough to bring you peace. You hesitantly put on the jacket, zipping it up and burying your face into your knees once again. It was the first time all night that the sadness lifted from your shoulders, even if it was just a tiny bit. Soon enough you felt exhaustion flood your senses, and before you knew it you were awakening to early morning sunlight peeking through your curtains. You had fallen asleep in your desk chair and felt hungover and extremely sore.

Thankful for it being the weekend, you stretched out and moved to your bed, hoping to curl up and sleep the headache away.

As you laid on your side, you heard a soft crinkle. Sitting up, you checked your blankets and sheets for a piece of paper but there wasn’t one. You shrugged it off, etching it up to your mind playing tricks on you, and laid back down.

It had to have been your hypersensitivity to everything because you had never heard the sound before and just heard it twice. You checked your pockets in confusion, thinking maybe you left a receipt or something in it, but both were empty.

Now determined to find the source of the crinkling, you unzipped the jacket and shook it lightly, waiting for something to fall loose but nothing did. You inspected it further after a small glint in the sunlight and noticed a barely visible zipper that blended in seamlessly to the inside of the jacket.

Cautiously unzipping it, you discovered a small hidden pocket that you were certain you had never seen before. You opened it and peered in, taking note of a very worn out, folded up piece of paper.

You unfolded it and immediately recognized Minho’s handwriting, which was now very faded and bled out from it going through the wash, but you could still make it out.

Y/n,

I’m not really sure if I want you to find this or not, but I want to put it here anyways. Jun told me I needed to be brave and, well, when it comes to you, I’m just not. So this is me trying to be brave, for you. I know how you feel about relationships, and I know you never saw me as anything more than your best friend, but I’ve been holding this in since the day you tripped over your own two feet while I was trying to teach you a dance, knocking me to my ass along the way. I’m not sure if you even remember that, but I always will, because it was the day I realized how in love with you I was.

I’m not sure what our futures will bring, a part of me still hopes that it’ll bring you to your senses and us together, but I respect you and your dreams too much to do that to you. Hopefully, at the very least, it won’t pull us apart. I’m not sure if I could handle a life without you in it, I think I’d be too sad.

I genuinely hope I’m by your side when you find this, and I hope we can laugh about it together, but if by some chance future me lets you get away, I want you to know I never had a serious girlfriend because I always thought one day it’d be you, and I also hope you learned to love. It may not be with me, but I hope you’ve found the joys of being in love with someone. I hope you’re happy and doing well.

I know this is really cheesy, that's why I put it in the inside pocket I had made, in hopes you wouldn’t find it. But obviously you did if you’re reading this.

Anyways, happy graduation, Y/l/n Y/n. I’ll always be cheering you on.

Minho

p.s. if you do somehow find this, I’ll buy you a McFlurry :)

You had tears in your eyes as you finished reading the note. Everything started to piece together like a puzzle, you weren’t hurting because you missed your old best friend, you’re heartbroken because the person you fell in love with was happy, but not with you.

You felt so stupid for not realizing it sooner, you were starting to wonder how you had ever passed off anything for it being platonic. You’d watched all your friends fall in love and never once picked up on the signs that you already were.

You were in love with Lee Minho and you had no idea what to do about it. There was a glimmer of hope he was still in love with you, but then you remembered the girl by his side last night. The girl that could make him laugh and put a smile on his face, the girl that was likely by his side before every concert.

Sure, he loved you in high school, but even someone as loyal and stubborn as him must have their limits, and no one would wait for someone they weren’t even in contact with anymore. Just as you come to your senses and accept what your heart had been trying to tell you all along, was when you had confirmed what your heart feared the most.

Love in highschool is fleeting, it’s not the real world, falling in love genuinely with your best friend as a teenager isn’t something that lasts the rest of your life. You’ll graduate and take different life paths and realize that it wasn’t true love in the first place. You’ll grow up, meet new people, and fall in love again, but permanently this time, and any semblance of hope that high school lovers will prevail, shatters like a broken mirror.

You felt even more depressed as you held the note to you, wishing you could turn back the clock and find the stupid hidden pocket sooner. That you could go back and slap yourself for being so blind and naive to think you weren’t in love with your best friend.

But you couldn’t. No one can change the past, only march into the future.

a/n: there’s two separate ways this could end and yes I’ve written them both🤭 thanks for reading, please tell me your thoughts🫶

#lee know #stray kids #stray kids x reader #lee know x reader #lee minho x reader #skz x y/n #skz x reader #stray kids fanfic #stray kids fics #skz fanfic #lee know x y/n #stray kids imagines #stray kids x y/n

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myouicieloz · 7 months

Note

Hi! I just found your blog and I’m looking forward to your works. Could I request a Seulgi angst fic; where you and Seulgi have been in a happy, loving, fulfilling, committed relationship for the past 3 years, but one day when she came back from practice with the girls you two got into a heated argument about how she’s always canceling dates with you because work related things come up that she “can’t miss” and she ends up bringing up something that you had confided in Her about awhile ago and uses it against you; to which she immediately regrets and tries to take back and can you take it from there? Thank you! I look forward to it:)

Missing you

Kang Seulgi x reader

Warnings: toxic!relationship, angst (dw it’s all good now)

Word count: 3.7k

Notes: hi!! sorry for taking long <3. I kind of struggled to think of a motive of them arguing bc it kept getting too dark (as in they wouldn’t be able to get past this lol) and I kinda wanted a happy ending. I hope this is to your liking!! Kisses mwah mwah.

Your gaze flew to the clock for the 30th time in a spam of five minutes, making you sigh in defeat. Seulgi had promised you she’d meet you at your favorite restaurant for dinner, as a way to make up to you for being so busy over the past weeks. Yet there you were, sitting alone with a glass of bitter wine for over two whole hours before you finally gave up and went home, realizing she wouldn’t come. Again.

Babe <3

Hey baby, rehearsals are going up until late since we still have so much to work on

I won’t make it to dinner. Sorry.

Next week, though? I’ll make it up to you. I promise.

I love you

You got into your apartment just as her message lit up your phone. You threw it over the sofa, preparing yourself a long bath to try to relax. You took a deep breath before entering the warm water, the bubbles and the silence easing your tensed muscles. You tried not to think about your girlfriend or your relationship, knowing it’d only make you even more upset, but your thoughts didn’t seem to let you rest.

You and Seulgi loved each other, you knew that much. You’ve never loved her any less in those three years you’ve been dating, but it pained you to see how much you’ve drifted apart lately. You felt like you were the only one trying to spend time with her, and it wasn’t like you weren’t busy yourself: being an intern in one of Seoul’s top hospitals while studying for residency was tiring and difficult, specially since you’ve always been a bit behind your colleagues, having to push yourself harder than the most to simply be at their level. Still, you always made sure to make some time for Seulgi. Why couldn’t she do the same? Were you not important to her?

Those thoughts made you sigh, your body immersed in the water until it went limp and the water grew cold. Part of you wished you could be somewhat more imposing: demand more from her, confront the woman over your issues, telling her how you felt. You couldn’t, though. You were too weak for that. Which was the reason you dragged yourself to bed, rolling over to set your alarm on your phone before allowing your body to be dragged by sleep.

It’s ok.

Next time, then

Gnight love

Seulgi’s reply came hours later, although you were fast asleep.

Sweet dreams, dearest.

To say you were having a bad day was a euphemism. Your preceptor had given you the biggest, shittiest lecture over nothing (so what if you couldn’t get the stupid procedure done at the very first try? He had no right to scream at you to get out of the OR like that, let alone yell at your face for over half an hour about how dumb and unprepared you were, compared to others. Preposterous piece of crap). You nearly fell down the stairs on your way to lunch and, to make it better, your umbrella broke, making you run all the way home after being dropped at the bus stop to try to get less soaked. It didn’t work, and you entered your place with chattering teeth and the feeling of the wind carved deep in your bones. Your body was trembling so much from the cold and the stress, you dropped your keys twice before you managed to open the door, finally sighing in relief.

That relief, however, ended just as you spotted your girlfriend’s silhouette leave your kitchen and enter your living room, smiling as if she hadn’t fucked up hard by leading you on for so long.

“Jesus baby, you’re soaked.” She frowned, giving you a peck on the lips. Your body went rigid at her touch, exhausted from everything, which made Seulgi confused. She was finally able to make some time and come see you, so why weren’t you happy?

You simply murmured something along the lines of hello and so nice to see you, before hurrying to your room to get rid of the wet clothes that clung to your body. You took the hottest shower of your life, trying to wash all the discomfort away, which didn’t work in the slightest.

You loved Seulgi so much it hurt, but the last thing you wanted for the day was to see her. You felt drained, your body ached, and you so desperately wanted to hide under your sheets and cry yourself to sleep. You didn’t want to talk about your day—about anything, specially not to her. It’d demand too much energy to explain what was going on with you over the past few weeks, since you never seemed to properly talk to each other, anymore. You had no energy for that.

And you’ve always sucked at communicating, anyway.

You forced yourself to leave your room, dragging your feet in tiredness, and found Seulgi setting up the table for two. You sat down, still silent, and watched as she put some Tteokbokki for herself.

“I’ve already eaten at the hospital.” You told her, returning her stare with a shrug. Seulgi sighed at your pettiness; perhaps you did get mad at her for canceling on you on the prior week, unlike you’d told her. And the week before that. And-

Ok. She might deserve a bit of your cold shoulder. But you simply had to understand her: she was working so hard with the girls to prepare for their comeback, and there were still many things to be adjusted. Their expected date was approaching, and you’ve always been so comprehensive. Sure, she knew you often masked your feelings or simply dismissed them to try to please others, but she’d asked you about it so many times. If something was making you uncomfortable, you’d sure tell her. Right?

“So,” She grunted, adjusting herself in the chair. “How was your day?”

“It was fine, thanks.”

“Okay.” Seulgi murmured, not touching her food either. She was beginning to get irritated at your distance now. Sure, she knew being a doctor was exhausting and time-consuming, but it wasn’t like she wasn’t having one hell of a week, either. Her fingers twitched under the table, and she no longer stood the awkward silence between you. Rolling her eyes, she added, “Are you just going to be a bitch all night? Because I got here straight from practice, I’m tired as fuck and the last thing I want is for you t—“

“What are you doing here, then, Seulgi?” You interrupted her, feeling the anger rise on yourself too. “Don’t you have rehearsals and recordings to be too busy with? Or should I just be so fucking grateful that my girlfriend decided to grace me with her company? Am I not paying enough attention to your liking?” You usually tried your best to not be rude to others, keeping your sarcastic thoughts to yourself, but your sudden anger flared up and forged a cloud over your mind, making it hard to see clearly through it. “Should we call the others, then? The girls you spend all fucking day with?”

Seulgi rose from the table, her face heating up at your words and suggestions. You played low at that, you both knew it, but now you’ve gotten her way too pissed to think about consequences.

“What the fuck, Yn? What’s gotten into you?” She screams, leaning forward so you two were face to face, “I know it was not ideal at all to skip our dinner.” Multiple ones, you both knew it, but neither pointed it out loud. “But you know I can’t miss work. Please understand.”

Seulgi was just so mad and frustrated. Her times with you were always stress-relieving to her, but lately all you’ve been doing is either argue about minor stuff or simply not talk at all. It was taking a toll on her when it shouldn’t, not with her comeback so close and her stress levels already escalating. It wasn’t good for you either, with your crazy work routines and weekly exams at the hospital. She knew that.

But you couldn’t seem to make it work.

“What’s gotten into me?” You stood up yourself, too, towering over her. Since you were always so sweet and patient, Seulgi would often forget how much taller you were— in fact, it was one of the things she first noticed when you first met; it had gotten her attention instantly. She hated it now, though— how small it made her feel. “What’s gotten into me is that it seems like I don’t even have a fucking girlfriend anymore! You ignore me all the time like I’m just some friend and not someone who matters! I don’t even know what you’re doing half of the time, with God knows who.” You threw your hands in the air, exasperated.

Her expression turned into a scowl, and she rolled her eyes, palms curling into fists to shake the urge of grabbing you by the shoulders and shaking your insecurities away. Seulgi hated when you implied such things. You were the love of her life, and she’d never, never cheat on you, no matter how distant you were. But you were (deeply) insecure, and she knew that. She was also so, so enraged and stressed.

“Jesus, why are you always so fucking dramatic?” she was quick to snap back, defensive. “Acting like I’m going to leave you for the first person I see in the stree…” Seulgi’s words died on her mouth, immediately realizing the power of her words, making both of you gasp. She tried to reach out to you, but you pushed your chair roughly to get away from her.

Your body went rigid, countless memories of you crying to her flagged your mind. You’ve confessed to her many times about how much it bothered you to not have her around as much. You missed her deeply, and even though you trusted her completely, your mind was always playing tricks on you — not only about her, but with everything: how you weren’t enough at University, always behind your friends in grades; not interesting enough to make long last friendships, as you often saw in big groups of friends; not pretty or talented enough for your girlfriend, who was constantly around so many amazing people. That’s just how your mind worked 24/7; constantly wondering.

And now, Seulgi made sure to tell you just how much she hasn't forgotten any of that. Any of the things that made you deeply insecure.

“Get out.” You told her, hugging yourself to hide the urge of running straight to her arms.

Seulgi took a step forward, but it only made you back away twice as much. “Baby, I’m so sorry… listen, I—“

“I said get out!” You screamed this time, the tears you were fighting so hard to contain rolling freely on your face.

All the sensations you were suppressing all week erupted, boiling over your surface as you brushed past the hallway to try to get to your room, to the bathroom, anywhere small were you could be confined and finally let it all go. You were straight up sobbing now, your body hot from moving roughly alongside your heavy breathing. You were so sick of everyhting. Work, your friends, her. Her words hurt, and all you wanted was to disappear. You didn’t quite feel your body as the tears clouded your eyes, and suddenly very light, delicate hands were lifting you up —you now realized you’d simply sunk in the middle of the hallway, hugging your knees as strong as you could— and guiding you to your bedroom. Seulgi helped you to get under the covers as she lay down beside you, careful to not overwhelm you even more. When the older woman saw you’d settled down a bit, she opened her arms, making you cling onto her immediately. You knew you shouldn’t, but it was so comforting, and you loved her so much… You’d allow yourself just that, only for a few moments.

“I-I don’t want to do this anymore.” you muttered against her neck, wetting her shirt with your tears. “I’m so tired, Seulgi. I can’t.”

You felt her tense before you for brief seconds before her soothing touches went on, kissing your forehead ever so gently— almost as if you were made of glass. You certainly felt like it, at the moment. Like you were a glass full of cracks, threatening to shatter.

“Shh, it’s ok.” She cooed, running her hands under your shirt to draw small circles on your bare back, as she knew it soothed you and made you sleep almost instantly. “You’re too tired right now. Sleep, ok? I’ll be here when you wake up, then we’ll talk.”

You didn’t like the idea of talking things out with Seulgi. It would be too tiring, and maybe, just maybe… you were postponing it for so long because you feared what the outcome would be.

You were too afraid to lose her. So you’d rather leave things as they were, no matter how broken and uncomfortable they might be.

Your eyes, however, were already closing on their own, the warmth of her body making it so easy to just give in and rest.

“Okay.” You whispered, hugging her closer. “Tomorrow.”

You fell into a sleep without dreams soon enough.

The first thing you noticed when you woke up was how messy the right side of the bed— Seulgi’s side was. You’d missed the wrinkled sheets and how it always looked like a hurricane had passed over your bed whenever she came over, from how much she moved in her sleep. It made you smile to yourself as you got up, bare feet on the ground, while you hesitantly looked around for her, too scared to call her name out loud and find her gone.

It wouldn’t be the first time she broke a promise, after all.

You’d forgotten how much all the little things with her made you happy.

“…Hello?” You asked— secretly relieved, at the sight of your girlfriend kneeling on the ground, little wrinkles adorning her face as she tried hard to shove too many clothes on your washing machine.

She looked up, startled by the sound of your voice, but quickly smiled. “Hi. Did you have a good sleep?” Seulgi sounded genuinely concerned, making you curse yourself silently for worrying her.

Are you ok? She wanted to ask you. Seeing you so distressed had gotten her so guilty and concerned. She hated to see you like this, and it killed her to know she was to blame. I care.

“Yeah, I did, thanks.” You shrugged it off, standing awkwardly at her sides. “You don’t have to do my laundry, you know.”

“Well, someone has to.” Seulgi scoffed, rolling her eyes as she finally managed to close the machine’s door, even if with a bit of an effort.

You opened your mouth, faking being offended while bringing your hands to your heart. “I was going to do it, okay? On…”

“Saturday.” You both finished, together. Saturdays were laundry day for you, though you rarely followed your schedule through. It made you smile, to know she remembered it, and you said nothing, trying to not break the nice moment you were having.

“So, do you want to have lunch? We can go out, if you’d like.” Seulgi suggested, her tone careful as she fidgeted the hem of her big sweatshirt.

You simply stared at her, confused. Lunch? Had you really slept for that long?

“You slept for 13 hours, babe.” She clarified, looking at your confused face, making you quickly check your phone to confim the truth: it was, indeed, nearly lunchtime.

You’ve never been so grateful to be on your day off as much as you did now, or else you would’ve sure missed your pre-rounds at the hospital.

“Oh, ok.” You answered, a bit ashamed for dozing out for so long. “Let’s have lunch, then.” You realized she must’ve been skipping work, too; which was why you added, frowning. “Don’t you have to be in the company? It’s ok if you do. I can wait until nigh—“

“Don’t worry about it.” Your girlfriend clarified, motioning for you to get ready. “Let’s just have lunch, ok?”

You took a deep breath, knowing what she meant; it was urgent for the two of you to sit, talk and solve things. Giving in, you followed her, changing from your pajamas and fixing your hair as she grabbed some of your clothes (that were too big on her, as always. she loved it.) to go out.

“Ok.”

You played with your hands, sitting in front of Seulgi at a local restaurant near your house as you waited for your food to come. The cozy atmosphere didn’t do much to easy your discomfort, and you tried hard to not bite your (already deeply bitten) nails off. Seulgi’s eyes were trained on you, making you feel as if hundreds of tiny needles were piercing your skin through her gaze. To your surprise, not once had she checked her phone, unlike all the times you’ve been together over the last few months. Instead, her sole attention was on you, like you dreamed of so many times in those last weeks.

Now, however, her current focus only makes you want to throw up, from the nerves of the situation.

“You haven’t been taking care of yourself.” She expressed, as a matter of fact. It was true, but her accusation made you defensive, eyes snapping to her as you took a deep breath.

You were tired of arguing, and this was one of your favorite places: you’d rather not cause a scene. “Seulgi.”

“Am I lying?” Your piercing gaze was enough for her to roll her eyes, hands up to show you she wasn’t looking for a fight either. “Ok, let’s not go there.” Her tone dropped an octave, “I just worry, ok? You seem to be having it pretty tough.”

She wasn’t pressuring you to say anything before the two of you actually discussed your issues— you knew it as much. It as just hard for you to express yourself, now even more to do so without crying. And you didn’t want to cry in front of her.

“This rotation has been tough, like I already knew it would be.” You told her, refusing to meet Seulgi’s eyes. “It’s ok, though. It’s nearly over, now. Things will get better, then.”

You’d talked about it before your rounds started, Seulgi remembered. Flashes of you, worried, flashed through her mind, with herself assuring you she’d be by your side to help you on each step of your journey.

The memory made her want to throw up, too.

“Look at me, baby.” You heard her say, yet you still refused to meet her eyes. Instead, you felt her hands holding yours, her touch firm. “Yn, look at me.”

You closed your eyes to prepare yourself for whatever was about to come, a few quiet moments amidst the storm of both of your minds. When you opened them, she was ready to welcome you. “I’m sorry, ok? I truly am so, so sorry for those last couple of weeks— hell, these couple of months. I’m such an idiot for leading you on like that and for not treating you like you deserve it. I love you, God, I fucking love you more than anything in this world, Yn, and I can’t stand the thought of losing you.” Her grip went tighter, but you didn’t care. You could only listen to her words. “I promise I’ll do better, to show you how much you matter to me. I’ll be here for you, just like you’ve always been, for me.” She murmured, taking your hands to your lips as she kissed them gently.

Little droplets of tears still threatened to fall from your eyes as your voice faltered, a bulge forming in your throat. You loved Seulgi and needed her like the air you breathed, and sure missed her every second of the day, when you weren’t together. But her distance had hurt you, deeply.

She was crying, too. You realized you’ve actually never seen her cry, in the 3 years you’ve been dating.

“Your distance really hurt.” You managed to voice it to her, between hiccups. “I-I felt like I was doing something wrong all the time.”

“You weren’t. You’d never, baby.” She reassured you, running her hands through your hair to get it out of your wet face. “It was my fault. You’re mine and I’m yours, ok? We’ll start over, and I’ll show you how much you matter to me. I won’t fuck up our relationship anymore.” She looked at you timidly, adding, “And I’m sorry for what I said yesterday, too. It was not my place to use something you confined at a moment like that. I was such a huge bitch.”

“It’s ok.” You muttered, though still hurt.

“No it’s not.” She exclaimed, serious. “It was horrible, and I’m deeply sorry for that. It’s not going to happen again. Ever.”

Instead of answering, you lunged forward, kissing her urgently— fuck the restaurant and etiquette. Seulgi kissed you with equal fervor, savoring your taste. God, she’d missed you so much.

“I love you.” You told her, smiling as you ended the kiss, leaning on the chair. She pouted, but opened a big smile as she saw yours. “And I don’t want us to end. We’ve been through so much. I want to be by your side, with anything that comes.”

“I love you more, Yn. We’ll be together, always. Nothing will fuck us up anymore. No rehearsals, recordings… nothing.” Her hands brushed your lips as she stared at your face, enamored, before adding. “Now tell me about everything I’ve missed. And I mean everything. Don’t save your words.”

You laughed at her, nodding as you quietly started from the beginning: you’ve told her every bit she missed, and Seulgi told everything about herself, too. You ate your food with content, exchanging every single moment with her until hours had passed, and you’ve decided to return home.

And as you walked in the park together, the windy breeze calmed your soul, and with your love by your side, you felt much, much better.

As it should always be.

#red velvet #red velvet angst #red velvet imagines #kpop smut #kpop x reader #kang seulgi #red velvet seulgi #seulgi angst #kpop angst #seulgi x reader #seulgi x yn #red velvet x you #red velvet x reader #kpop x y/n #kpop x you #sol writes #sol’s works #seulgi smut #kang seulgi smut

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cinnajun · 2 years

Text

ᵕ̈ ೫˚∗: something new | ljn

summary | in a freak chance, your boss’ top makeup artist falls ill right before new york fashion week, and you’re the only intern who could even begin to take over for her. so, you spend a couple of days as lee jeno’s personal makeup artist.

genre | lee jeno x fem! reader, idolverse/real world, nyfw! jeno x makeup artist! reader, (emotional) fling-ish…i realized i didn't tag this w an actual genre its like angst-ish with a bit of fluff lol

warnings | there’s like one suggestive line, y/n had an embarrassing kpop phase in high school

wc | 4.4k

a/n: i literally need to be sedated. his heels … his heels … HIS HEELS … i need a lobotomy rn fr. shout out to my bff for life rin for getting me through the past two days

ft. people i made up

YOU FELT LIKE PASSING OUT.

Thank god you were relatively close with Stella, because, if you weren’t, you’d probably have been trampled a long time ago. It had taken nearly an hour to even get into the hotel due to the scale of fame most of its residents had, and, even after you’d made it in, making it to the room where you’d be working was even harder. Being an intern makeup artist for a fashion brand was fun, up until you’d actually had to go to an important event.

Quickly, you took out your bottle of water, taking a few sips before you really did throw up. When you’d originally been told about this, about your emergency subbing in, you’d felt over the moon—now, you wanted nothing more than to go to your dingy little apartment in Newark and watch a random reality TV show.

“I want to go home.”

“Oh, come on,” Stella groaned, looking at you. You envied her nonchalance, but her lowballing of your anxiety upset you quite a bit—she’d been doing this for ten years, and you were an intern who’d been doing it for four months. “Bossman said he was going to give you someone easy, yeah? Probably a guy. Someone who only needs light foundation and enhancement. Be glad you aren’t Yuri.”

Yuri, one of your other superiors, was taking over for the best makeup artist in your lineup. Two days ago, she’d produced a shiny, new, positive COVID test, leaving your entire team in shambles—and, given the short amount of time, they had to fall back on the interns. They had to fall back on you.

Finally, you made it to your destination—the front of a line to get into the hotel room. The security guard motioned to see your IDs, which both you and Stella produced with ease. The moment he verified, he stepped out of the way, allowing you to enter a world of absolute, utter chaos. People ran around with safety pins and eyeshadow pallets, and you could’ve sworn you heard yelling.

Luckily, your boss had been waiting for you both, it seemed. “Girls!” he exclaimed, coming up and placing a hand on both of your shoulders. “So glad you’ve arrived. Welcome to your first fashion week, [First]! Play your cards right and you can get a permanent hire, I’ll bet.”

“Yeah,” you said, laughing nervously. Your boss patted your shoulder twice, giving you an almost nostalgic smile.

“Stella, you’re over with the women, as always. Have fun! [First], you speak Korean, right?”

You furrowed your brows, wondering why this was relevant. “Uh, yeah?”

Your boss removed his hand from your shoulder, clapping excitedly. “Lovely! I’m giving you a very, very special job that not even Miss-COVID-Positive could pull off.”

He sidestepped past you, and you paused, blinking a couple times before you spun around and rushed to catch up with him. He walked right out the door you’d just waited nearly twenty minutes to enter, strutting down the hall in red-bottomed heels and the most expensive suit you’d ever seen. You struggled to keep up, suddenly feeling self-conscious about the less-than-fancy clothes you were wearing (black sweats that looked like dress pants and a loose t-shirt); then again, Stella had looked worse for wear than you had.

“Where are we going?”

“Peter Do has a very special guest this year, and we need a Korean speaker to follow him around and make sure he looks perfect during the whole event. There’s worry he might not have the easiest time making it around as most of the models do.”

You wondered what that meant. Jokingly, you asked, “Is an idol coming, or something?”

Your boss didn’t respond, he just kept walking, stopping once you reached the elevator. He swiftly pressed the “up” button, waiting for the elevator to finally appear. You stopped next to him, more nerves rising in your stomach. “Sir, please don’t tell me I’m going to have to follow a k-pop idol around.”

“Why? Is that bad?”

You cringed, remembering your high school days—you’d been obsessed, listening to every group under the sun and spending your free time tweeting about those same groups. As such, you knew more than a little bit about how idol lives were, and what they had to endure.

“People are taking pictures of them for every single second they’re out and about,” you said, beginning to overthink as you stepped into the elevator. Your boss pressed the 15th-floor button, but you barely cared, at that point. “One mistake, one slightly-off line, and it’ll be documented forever. Forever, boss. What do I do then? Sit and cry? I’ll never survive that. And if people see me with them? What if there are, like…weird rumors?”

“You’re overreacting,” your boss said. The elevator doors slid open faster than you could comprehend that you were going up, and, suddenly, your boss was emerging into the hall. You, once again, nearly got left behind, stumbling out of the elevator to try and stay with him. This floor was incredibly quiet, with not a single sound echoing through the halls. It was eerie. You would’ve thought it would make you feel better, but it hadn’t—at all.

He stopped in front of room 1567 and knocked. You stood behind him, almost hiding as the door swung open to reveal a woman in her early 30s if you had to guess. “Come, come!” she exclaimed, stepping out of the way to let you in. You followed your boss, a sense of dread overtaking you.

And then you made eye contact with Lee Jeno.

He was standing in the middle of the room in front of a huge mirror, with three people fussing over his outfit. You stood there in shock, flashbacks of being a 16-year-old girl and fussing over “Chewing Gum” filling your mind, and your very short time as an NCT fan. He was just as gorgeous as you’d remembered him being, with jet black hair and a physique any man would die for. You looked over his outfit, impressed with what Peter Do had done, and—

He was shirtless.

You looked away almost instantly, feeling your cheeks burn at the realization. You decided to tune into your boss’ conversation with who you’d assumed to be Jeno’s manager as they talked vigorously. “[First] is our best intern, and is essentially already part of our team, so I wouldn’t worry. She’s also fluent in Korean, something Stella was not, and will be able to heed anything the client wants or doesn’t want. I wouldn’t worry at all.”

“Lovely,” his manager said, turning to you. “We have a little area for you to get set up if our preliminary setup wasn’t to your liking. We have a few instructions for what the designer is looking for as well. After his appearance tonight, we’d like you to demo tomorrow’s look so that we can accept or deny anything. He’s nearly done with outfitting, so it shouldn’t be long.”

It was standard protocol, stuff you’d heard every time you shadowed Stella or Yuri at similar events, yet you felt like you didn’t understand a thing. Nevertheless, you smiled and nodded, bidding goodbye to your boss and following her to your station.

They’d set it up perfectly, allowing everything to be easily grabbed among a sea of products and tools. There was a sleek, black chair in front of you, and you were easily able to lower it to a better height for you. His manager left, and you sat in the bathroom, alone.

The first thing you did was take out your phone and enter a mostly unused group chat that hailed from your high school days. The last time someone had talked was last year, and it was discussing how an old classmate was already married with two kids—they were not gonna believe this one.

“My client for New York Fashion Week is Lee Jeno from NCT.”

Instantly, texts began flooding in, ones of disbelief and shock.

“No fucking way, you liar!!!”

“Make him fall in love with you!!!”

“Kiss him for me omg.”

You smiled, giggling at your phone. Then, the sound of heels clacking on the ground like mini-earthquakes caused you to practically throw your phone on the counter. You dropped your purse next to it, standing up straight and hoping you didn’t look too much like a deer in headlights. He walked in, wearing the most intense heels you’d ever seen and, once again, not wearing a shirt.

“Hello,” he greeted, and your mind immediately switched over to Korean-mode. You hoped you wouldn’t fail at speaking it, given you hadn’t spoken it much since you’d started working this job.

“Hi!” you exclaimed, hoping you didn’t sound too idiotic. “Um, go ahead and sit down, and we can start.”

He nodded, following your orders to the T. His manager stepped in, leaning against the door while she scrolled on his phone. You picked up a piece of paper, reading over what today’s directions were.

Natural with a slight enhancement of features, exactly like Stella had said. You could do that easy-peasy.

“Is there anything in particular you want me to focus on?” you asked, picking up the sheerest foundation they had. It was certainly a shade too light—you nearly frowned at this, but kept your composure—but you hoped the transparency of it would obscure that.

Jeno thought for a moment before shaking his head, smiling at you. “Do whatever you think is best.”

“All right,” you nodded. “Oh! By the way, I’m [First], and I’m your main makeup artist for this week.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” he replied, relaxing in the chair. “I’m glad I’ll have one familiar face around.”

“Me too.” You began to paint the foundation onto his face, basking in the moment of shock you went through. You were doing Lee Jeno’s makeup—Lee Jeno, who you’d fawned over and loved all throughout your high school years.

“You’re new to this?” he asked, looking at you while not moving his face at all. You swear your heart palpitated at his question, even if it was a meaningless formality more than it was actual curiosity.

“Um, I guess? I’ve been interning for about eight months now. Hoping for an official position once the year-long residency is up,” you said, laughing nervously for the ninetieth time today. “You’ve been doing this for six years now, right?”

Jeno’s eyes widened for a split second, and you wondered if that had been the wrong thing to say. You doubted he wanted to hear that you were an NCT fan way back when, given how awful the sasaeng presence was for his group.

“Wow, you know?” and a smile blossomed on his face, causing your heart to beat even faster. “I didn’t think I’d run into anyone who knew NCT while I was here.”

“Oh, give me a break,” you said, putting your foundation brush down and picking up an eyeshadow palette. “NCT are huge. Up there in terms of international fame. I’ll bet most—if not all—people here know who NCT are or have heard the name. Plus, a bunch of people will come to see you. Promise.”

God, you probably sounded immature and awful as you said that. You finished lightly outlining his natural features with a very light brown, uncomfortably setting down the palette. Suddenly, an idea came to you, and you hoped it didn’t look too stupid.

“I guess you’re right,” Jeno finally said, his smile dropping in the slightest. He must’ve been nervous; you would have been too. In a new country, alone, with none of the seven people you’d spent your whole adolescence with…you’d be horrified too.

You scoured the cart for any sort of brown eyeliner, feeling a bit calmer knowing Jeno didn't think you were an embarrassing idiot. Taking the brown eyeliner, you paused, biting your lip.

“Um, would you mind if I kind of…held your face for a second? It would just be a second, not too long or anything.”

“No, no.” Jeno shook his head. “Go right ahead.”

Softly, you pressed your fingers against his face, trying to keep your hand as steady as possible. You gently pulled his skin, widening the range in which the eyeliner could reach. His skin was impossibly soft, and you could only begin to wonder how long his morning routines must have been. He was perfect.

As cleanly as possible, you pressed the tip of the eyeliner to the beauty mark right under his eye, filling it in as dark as possible. That was his most noticeable and memorable feature, in your opinion, and having it stand out seemed ideal to you.

You pulled away, staring at his face for a second. He almost looked better before you’d started, but you shook off the feeling and smiled. “I’m just gonna put on some tinted lip balm and you’ll be on your way.”

You picked up the small tube, twisting it up so that the slightest bit would protrude from it. You placed your fingers on his face to steady your hands once again, gently brushing on the light pink gel.

If you were insane enough, you would have kissed him.

“You’re all good!” you announced, smiling. “Go out there and wow the world in your 90cm heels.”

He chuckled at your joke, standing and instantly towering over you. You practically had to look straight up to see him comfortably. “I’ll see you soon, [First].”

He and his manager left the room, leaving you alone. You assumed you should just wait until he returned, so you sat down in the makeup chair, basking in the warmth he’d left behind.

—

To no one’s surprise, you’d fallen in love—or, had a really intense crush on—with Lee Jeno over the two days you’d worked for him.

Every time you were left alone with him, taking his makeup off or retouching it before he went back out into the world, he fired questions at you and you fired them back. You felt like you’d known Jeno for years, even if it had only been two days.

When he left, you knew he’d stop thinking about you, too—in a world surrounded by the country’s most beautiful people, you didn’t stand a chance at occupying even a sliver of his mind. Or, maybe you did; maybe your absolute unremarkableness in a sea of greats stood out to him.

You saw him walk in through his reflection in the mirror, alone, manager not in tow. He wasn’t supposed to be here, so you didn’t move from the makeup chair, simply looking up from your phone and staring at him through his reflection. “Did something happen?” you asked, finally looking towards him. A simple sweep of his face showed no flaws in his makeup, so he had no reason to be here. “I don’t see anything wrong.”

“Will you meet with me tonight?” he finally asked, looking at you with a sort of desperation in his eyes. “I want to see you before I leave. I won’t be back in tonight. My manager’s about to come tell you that you’re free to go home, but…please don’t go home.”

You sighed, thinking about how idiotic it would be to ride the train home, alone, to Newark at night. If you were thinking reasonably, you should’ve said no. If you were thinking reasonably, you would’ve considered the chance that all eyes were on Jeno right now, and being caught sneaking into his hotel room past 7pm would have resulted in your face all over the internet.

“What time?”

“If you’re okay waiting, I’m staying at this hotel, so…I could let you into my room after my manager tells you. Room 1911 on the nineteenth floor. Okay?”

You should’ve said no. You really should’ve said no.

Instead, you nodded, mumbling a quiet “okay.” The smile that appeared on his face after that was brighter than you’d ever seen him smile over the past two days, and, with that, he disappeared from the room. You picked your phone up off your lap, wondering what your friend would say to you after hearing all of that.

“Girl, bring a pen,” she joked, causing you to roll your eyes.

“Nothing’s gonna happen. I won’t be signing any NDAs. I’m not going to initiate anything, and I won’t let him initiate anything. We live thousands of miles away from each other, and I don’t want to kill myself with emotion.”

“You say that…” your friend trailed off, giggling. “Well, I guess I should hang up then. Seems like the manager is coming to let you down gently—d’ya think she knows?”

“I hope to god she doesn’t.”

The line went dead, and you slowly lowered your phone from your ear, staring at the wall. If you could sit down in a room with your sixteen-year-old self and tell her, “In six years, you’ll be having an emotional fling with Lee Jeno from NCT,” she’d laugh and call you too lame for that.

Just like it was forewarned, Jeno’s manager came in with a smile on her face and a small, pink gift bag in her hands. “[First],” she began, watching as you stood up from the chair to face her. She handed you the small bag, which had an interesting sort of heft to it—you wondered what it was. “I’m happy to let you know that we’re done for today, and you’re officially relieved of your duties. I’ve let your boss know that you did a wonderful job for us and for Jeno, and to certainly consider upping your position from intern to an official employee.”

“Thank you so much,” you smiled, half-bowing. “I’m thrilled to have the opportunity, and I had a wonderful time working for you.”

“Well then,” she said, wiping her hands together. “You’re off! Have a safe trip home, and treat yourself well!”

“Thank you!”

And you slipped out the door, practically running towards the elevator. You bobbed and weaved through people in the halls and realized it would be a better idea to take the stairs up, so that’s exactly what you did. The sheer adrenaline of sneaking up to a top idol’s room fueled you to keep going up and up, even if it felt like the air had been suffocated from your lungs.

Each new step made you feel more insane. This bond you’d formed with a boy you barely knew—it felt ridiculous. It felt dangerous. Nevertheless, you kept going—up, and up, and up. Up, towards an impending doom you could’ve avoided.

Reaching the door with the big nineteen on it must’ve been what people felt like when they reached an oasis in the desert. You pushed the door open with ragged breaths and a weak physique, trudging down the hall with heavy legs. You counted the numbers on the doors, finding yourself at the one in the middle of a dead-end hall.

1911. You knocked twice, and the door was thrown up—Jeno grabbed your arm and tugged you inside, slamming the door shut behind you. “Not to hold you captive or anything,” he said sheepishly, looking through the peephole of the door. “But you need to stay here until, um, 7ish? You can watch TV or something. The room’s already been swept for bugs, so feel comfortable…okay? I’ll be back.”

Someone knocked on the door, and you wondered whether or not you would’ve been dead meat if you hadn’t been fueled by pure adrenaline as you walked up the stairs.

“Jeno! We need you now!”

Jeno ushered you out of sight from the door, grabbing his keycard off the decorative table that sat near the door. “I’ll see you soon,” he said, half-nodding at you. You both stared at each other for a second, with you still trying to catch your breath from your 7-flight hike up here.

Then, without any warning, Jeno walked up to you, grabbed your shoulders, and pressed a feathery kiss to your lips. It was fast, chaste, too quick for you to understand what was happening before someone was banging on the door again and he was rushing out to meet them.

The door slammed shut behind him, and you stood there, wondering what in the world you’d done to deserve this.

–

It was 7:30 now, and Jeno hadn’t shown up. You were beginning to get antsy, making sure the curtains obscured the whole room every twenty minutes and attempting to focus on the TV show you decided on. Of course, it never worked, and you were constantly picking up your phone and trying to find anything to keep yourself occupied.

So, when the door opened and a boy with 5-and-a-half-inch heels stepped inside, you felt a sudden wave of relief rush through you in waves. You stood up from the bed, letting your phone fall onto the duvet as you watched him walk deeper into the room. Jeno practically ripped the shoes off, sighing in relief now that he was finally free from the heels.

“Sorry,” he said, a bit out of breath. You would be too if you had to walk in those heels.

“For what?”

“Earlier.” You mentally took yourself through those chain of events, remembering the first 30-minutes of alone time in which you had attempted to process it, and then the succeeding 3-and-a-half hours in which you had tried to forget it. “I didn’t ask.”

“Um, it’s okay,” you said, trying not to shrink into yourself. “I didn’t mind that much.”

If you were more honest, you would’ve said, “It haunted me a bit, but then I learned to live with the shock.” Were you angry? Not at all. Was being kissed by a celebrity, an idol with a manicured personality, that you were in love with in high school shocking and hard to process? Yes.

You sat down on the edge of the bed, turning away as Jeno pulled his fancy polo shirt over his head and opted to change into an SM Town concert t-shirt. When the rustling of clothes was over, you looked to see him in complete lounge wear rather than just a new shirt, and now you were thinking about how Lee Jeno changed in the same room as you.

He took a seat next to you on the edge of the bed, and it was silent again. You could practically feel the warmth radiating off of him, or maybe it was your mind making it up simply because you were so close to him. Your heart was beating out of your chest, and you felt like shoving your face into a pillow and screaming like a teenage girl.

“Look,” he started, suddenly turning towards you. You half-mimicked his action, knowing that, if you looked him in the eye, you’d practically melt. “I don’t know why, but I feel like I’ve known you my entire life. I feel like I was always meant to cross paths with you, like—like it was destined, or something. I know it’s only been two days, and I know I’m flying across the world tomorrow, but can we please keep in touch?”

You cleared your throat and, inexplicably, you felt like crying. This felt impossible—no amount of bad sleep schedules and bad planning would keep you two in the know with each other. And, every time he came back to New York, you’d repeat this cycle over and over again. Even then, you couldn’t bring yourself to say no.

“I guess, but…” you felt bad feeling him relax and then immediately tense up again beside you. Mustering up all of your courage, you turned towards him completely, locking eyes. “You have to promise me you won’t forget about me and leave me cold turkey, okay? My life isn’t like yours. It’s slower. It’s easier to build connections. So, if you…if you just promise—”

“I promise,” he cut you off, faster than you could even comprehend it. Once again, he cupped your face in his hands, looking at you with such gorgeous eyes that you could’ve passed out right then and there. He was the son of Aphrodite, the living manifestation of pure and unbridled beauty, the type you can't contest even if you wanted to. He was everything you were not, and, yet, he still seemed so infatuated with you.

“Okay.”

Jeno pressed his forehead against yours, and for a moment, you just stood there. You draped your arms around his neck, and, for a moment, you just sat there. Basking in the presence of each other, something you wouldn’t get for a long time after tonight. If there even was an “after tonight,” that is—there was always the chance that you’d never hear from Lee Jeno again after this, and you’d fade away into nothing but a memory in his mind.

Or, maybe it was the opposite. Maybe you’d talk every day, sending pictures and calling when viable. Maybe you’d look at makeup artist listings at SM Entertainment without telling, applying and destroying the whole world you’d worked so hard to build here in New York. Maybe you’d send him a picture of you on a plane and a time, and you’d fly, and you’d land, and you’d be met with him in his full glory.

Maybe you’d have one of those romance-movie moments, the type of moment you’d see on a Hallmark Christmas movie, where you ran and hugged each other, where he lifted you off the ground and spun you around. Where you kissed amongst a huge crowd of people, trying to get to their final destination and glaring at you stopping in the middle of the walkway.

Or, maybe you were delusional. You didn’t care, because, as Jeno connected his lips with yours for the second time tonight, much slower and more thought out, you couldn’t help but think that maybe—just maybe—this was something new.

thank you for reading!

#cinna.nct #lee jeno x reader #jeno x reader #jeno fluff #jeno angst #nct dream x reader #nct dream angst #nct dream fluff #nct x reader #nct fluff #nct angst #jeno x you #jeno x y/n #ljn x reader #nct dream scenarios #jeno scenarios #nct scenarios

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avengerscompound · 2 months

Text

The Interview - Chapter 13

The Interview - A Captain America Fanfic

Masterlist PREVIOUS //

Rating: E

Warnings: smut (MF, vaginal sex)

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Melody Danes

Word Count: 2887

Summary: Melody Danes gets the break of a lifetime when as a lowly intern, she’s assigned to write a profile piece on Captain America. Steve Rogers is a hard man not to fall for and as she and Melody get closer and Melody’s career takes off, jealousy leads to sabotage, and the potential to bring her whole world crashing down.

Chapter 13

Melody’s promotion went through very quickly and by the end of the month, she was juggling three different jobs and earning three times what she’d been working at the start of the month. While the new job came with new friends and new employees who hadn’t known that six months ago she’d been an unpaid intern, the people at the Daily Bugle who had seen her meteoric rise through the ranks weren’t all supportive.

Some were fine. Ben Ulrich was happy in his job as an investigative journalist and always would be. The Bugle could go through every change in focus possible, as long as he could expose secrets in the superhero world, he'd be happy. Peter Parker was excited for her, especially given it meant he was getting more regular work that fit around his rather bizarre schedule.

Some of the others resented her for the fact she’d somehow become Jameson’s golden child. The person who couldn’t seem to hide her disdain the most was Norah Winters. The views-obsessed writer hated the fact that Melody was such a popular choice for celebrity and superhero interviews, nor the fact she’d been given the job as lead editor of what was now officially known as the Blast. She thought that was her rightful job given how much she’d done to get the kind of clickbait content the Blast would run off. It shocked her that her mean-spirited clickbait was not the vibe that Jameson had wanted for the new website. Besides, Melody being so young and new to the industry meant he could pay her so much less than the more seasoned Norah.

Two weeks after Melody had started the job, she was well underway curating the new content, she’d found an apartment with two bedrooms that she and Bobbi could afford. It was a large percentage of their combined income, but that’s how New York was, and they had been getting by until now. It was also six blocks further up, so there was now three minutes more travel time and they were further from the parts of Central Park that they liked best, but it would all be worth it when they moved in and had their own rooms.

Steve and Bucky had been helping the women move in, going so far as to borrow a van from the Tower and load it with their stuff in the few hours a day all four of them were free at the same time. It had been slow going, but tonight they were bringing the last of their things over, including the beds. As soon as she was done for the day Steve would pick her up and they’d head over there.

“We’re never going to beat the puppy interview,” Melody said as she packed up her things for the day. “But we definitely need something that people are excited for. I wonder if we could ever convince people to try different kinds of alcohol or edibles because that would be hilarious.”

As she spoke to the other members of staff who were working on content of The Blast, Peter Parker came out of Jameson’s office and made his way through the bullpen. “Pete,” she called. “You know, Spider-Man. You think he’d do an interview while doing shots or trying different edibles?”

“Ahh… no I don’t think so,” he said, pausing and looking over the top of her cubicle. “You’re close with Captain America, why don’t you ask him?”

“His metabolism is too high, he processes drugs and alcohol too fast for them to affect him,” she said.

“That must be fun when he’s injured,” Jasmine, the new intern said.

Melody shrugged. “Yeah, it’s probably not fun,” she agreed. “Okay… what about something like a scavenger hunt?” she suggested. “We ask questions as we go around the city looking for clues.”

“Spider-Man might be into that, but it sounds like it would be a long interview. It might be hard to lock most celebrities down for the time you need,” he said.

“And knowing Spider-Man he’d just leave halfway through because someone would have robbed a bank or something,” Jasmine added.

“Hmm… well we could put it on the docket as a possibility if we have more time with the people. If we get a really fun host and start with people we know, it might work,” Melody said. She made a quick note in her notebook to work on the idea. It might be a good one for Bobbi to host. “What about something where we get them to try different snack foods? Potato chips from around the world. All those different KitKat flavors. Pizza slices from around the city.”

“Now that Spider-Man would be totally down for. Hawkeye would do the pizza one in a heartbeat,” Peter said.

Melody looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. “You know Hawkeye too?”

“Uhhh… everyone knows Hawkeye loves pizza,” Peter said quickly. “I better go. Photos to take, homework to do.”

He hurried out toward the elevator and Melody checked her phone for the time. “Shit. I gotta get out of here too. If you have any ideas, we’ll workshop them on Monday. Have a good weekend.”

She grabbed her bag and dashed to the elevator. Peter was nowhere to be seen but Norah was stepping into the open elevator car. Melody ducked in beside her and moved to the back. The doors closed and Melody looked up at the display showing what floor they were on.

“I know you're dating Steve Rogers,” Norah said.

The statement took Melody by surprise. Not because it was a secret she was dating Steve, just that the accusation was so banal. If Norah had accused her of breathing air she might have been just as surprised.

“What?”

Norah turned to face her. “I know you're dating Steve Rogers.”

Melody kept facing forward, not wanting to engage. “That's not a secret, Norah. I've never tried to keep it a secret.”

“It's not exactly well known though either. I mean you talk. about him in that little column of yours but you never mention his name or what he does. And I don't see the paparazzi hounding you. Shit, even your X posts lack the weirdo obsessives trying to make you want to break up with him. So far you've been flying under the radar,” Norah said.

It sounded like a threat, but Melody wasn't sure what the woman was threatening. She couldn't stop her from posting the gossip. Shit, she'd been expecting someone to.

“What's your point?”

“My point is, I know you must have something on Jameson. He'd have been telling you that you had to dish the dirt if you didn't. Not to mention this promotion that should have been mine.”

Melody rolled her eyes and thankfully the elevator opened on the ground floor. “You're paranoid. Jameson knows that if I keep things quiet I might have better access to the Avengers for the fluff things I write. You're the one that writes the kind of gross shit that would end a relationship, not me. And the promotion was more about saving money than anything else. You know he's a Scrooge. Go home and relax. There's no grand conspiracy here.”

“Yeah well, I think you've had too good of a ride,” she said. “But thankfully you've given me a great idea.”

Melody stopped and watched Norah leave through the large glass doors at the front. She didn't like the sound of that, but she had no idea what the woman could be planning other than outing a relationship that wasn't in any way a secret.

She shook her head and went out the side door to the alley. Steve and Bucky were waiting for her in the large silver van. The side door slid open automatically when she approached and she jumped in, kissing Steve on the cheek before buckling up.

“You ready to spend your first night in your new apartment?” Steve asked.

“You know I am,” she said. “Let's do this.”

It didn't take very long to get the last of Melody and Bobbi’s things over to the new apartment. Having two supersoldiers made moving furniture a lot faster and a lot less effort. Plus, Melody found it extremely hot seeing Steve just hoist her bed base on his shoulder and carry it up the four flights of stairs to her apartment like it was nothing.

Steve got the bed situated in her room and when the last of the things were in the apartment he came in and helped her make the bed.

“So how does it feel?” Steve said as the two of you shook the sheets out over your bare mattress. “Having your own room?”

“It’s so good,” Melody answered. “I could do whatever I want in here.”

They each hooked the fitted corners over the edge of the mattress and smoothed out the fabric, before grabbing the pillows and putting them in place. “What kind of things would you want to do?” Steve asked.

“I could strip down naked,” she said, grabbing her quilt and shaking it out over the bed. Steve grabbed the other side and smoothed it down. “Dance around. Put on music without my headphones on. I could take my sheets and walk to the kitchen and put them in my new washing machine.”

“While you’re still naked?” Steve chuckled.

“Maybe,” she laughed. “Maybe I’ll have fresh clean pajamas in the drier and they’ll be toasty warm when I put them on.”

He laughed and came around to her, his hands sliding over her hips as he wrapped his arms around her. His hands splayed out on the middle of her back as he pulled her hips flush with his. “Anything else you’d do in this bedroom?”

She smirked. She knew exactly what Steve was hinting at. She wanted it too. She wanted him to fuck her right here right now. She wanted to order takeout and eat it in bed and have him fuck her all over again. She wanted him to spend the night and wake up in his arms only to have sex one more time before they went out for the day. She was also enjoying the playful teasing and wanted to drag it out. She put her hands on Steve’s chest and looked up into his blue eyes. “I could have the window open and the fan on while I sleep,” she said.

“You couldn’t have done that before?” he asked.

“I could,” she said, dragging the word out. “But Bobbi always complained that the living room got too cold.”

“Well, you can’t have a too cold living room,” he said, ghosting his lips down her neck. “Is that it?”

She tilted her head, exposing her neck to him. He took the invitation, kissing her neck slowly. He sucked softly and his tongue swirled over her skin, making it break out in goosebumps. “I don’t know,” she half moaned. “I feel like I forgot something.”

“Maybe I should remind you,” he said.

He lifted her suddenly and tossed her on the bed. She squealed in delight and quickly pulled off her shirt and threw it in the corner. Steve slowly approached her, the expression on his face almost predatory. It fed her need and where he moved slowly, stripping off his body-hugging t-shirt and throwing it with hers, she moved frantically. She unfastened her pants and pushed them down and off and then moved on to her bra. Steve was still in his trousers when he leaned in to kiss her, guiding her back up the bed. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and when her head was on the pillow, she spread her legs and welcomed him between them.

It was hard for her to slow down, she wanted him so badly. She’d never actually had sex in her bed yet, and now this was happening she wanted it so badly she ached. Placing her hands on Steve's shoulders she pushed him, wanting to take over, and put an end to the drawn-out teasing.

Thankfully, he took the hint, rolling over for her and pulling her on top of him. If he'd chosen to ignore her, there wouldn't have been anything she could do, pushing him was like pushing a brick wall. When she was on top of him she couldn’t help but just sit and gaze down at him.

He looked so perfect stretched out under her, looking up with lust-blown eyes and waiting for her to do something. She pushed his hands above his head and pressed his fingers to the headboard. “Keep your hands there,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am,” he said, licking his lips. He clenched his fists, making the muscles in his arms flex and the veins and tendons stand out. She took a shaky breath in and held it as she skimmed her fingers down his arms, mapping his skin with her fingertips. When she reached his shoulders, she leaned down and kissed his neck. Her lips moved slowly down, tracing along his collarbone and onto his pec. Her hands smoothed down his sides to his pants and she unfastened them, reaching into his boxers and pumping his already hard cock. His foreskin moved back and forth over the head with each stroke of her hand and his hands tightened on the headboard and he moaned softly.

“Condom?” Melody asked.

“Left pocket,” he said.

She bit her bottom lip and fished in his pocket, pulling out the condom and sitting back. She looked down at him as she tore the packet open and placed the rubber between her lips. She crawled down his legs pulling his pants down as she went. His cock sprang up hard against his stomach and she took it in her hand. “What are you doing?” Steve asked.

She winked and lowered her head and using her lips and tongue she rolled the condom down over his shaft. His cock was so large she gagged before the whole condom was in place, and she had to roll the last part down with her fingers. The effect was not lost on Steve, he moaned and arched his back, his eyes glued on her.

She crawled back up, wiggling out of her panties as she did and when she’d straddled his waist, she lowered herself down, guiding his cock into her soaking cunt. They both moaned as he entered her.

There was a moment, where Melody just sat, appreciating how full she always felt when Steve was inside her. He was the biggest guy she’d ever been with by far, and in a lot of ways that wasn’t always a good thing, but the way he filled her - that little sting as her cunt stretched to take him, it was a unique feeling and she liked to savor it. That brief moment was all she could do before her need took over. She began to move, bouncing on his cock - up and down, up and down, faster each time until she was leaning over, riding him like she was in a race.

Steve let go of the headboard and his hands moved to her hips, one slid around to her pussy and he began to rub her clit. He pushed himself up onto his elbow and leaned in, kissing her neck and breasts, and she wrapped her arms around his head, holding onto him for dear life as she continued to move.

“Oh fuck, Steve,” she mewled. “I’m so close.”

“That’s it, Mel,” he praised, his hips bucking up to meet hers. “Let it happen.”

His finger moved faster on her clit and their bodies slapped together with each bounce. All her muscles clenched up in sequence, like cords, and wrapped around them and pulled tight. When they relaxed she came, her body shuddering on top of him. “Yes, Steve! Fuck!” she cried, burying her face in Steve’s neck to smother the sound.

He flipped her suddenly, pulling her legs up so they were pressed up against her torso. His thrusts were erratic, but so much deeper than before. Melody gasped and cried out as she felt him hit her cervix. He pulled back a little but kept thrusting, chasing his release.

“Fuck… Steve… please,” Melody begged. She wasn’t even sure what she was begging for. She just knew if he kept going the way he was she was going to shatter.

She pulled him down into a hard kiss. Their tongues danced together, and she sucked his bottom lip. He ran a hand up into her hair as his hips began to stutter and as his fingers tightened in her hair. It sent a jolt through her, setting off another orgasm. As her cunt clenched and squeezed Steve’s cock, it brought him over with her. He groaned into her lips and ground his hips, pushing in deep as his cock pulsed with his release.

“Fuck…” Melody moaned as her legs fell down on either side of Steve’s. “I guess my bed’s broken in now.”

Steve started laughing, and he kissed her, rolling onto his side. He pulled back and looked at her, amusement written all over his features. “Worth the wait?”

She cupped his cheeks and looked into his eyes. “With you? You know it was.”

// NEXT

#marvel #avengers #marvel fanfic #steve rogers #steve rogers fanfic #captain america #captain america fanfic #steve rogers x oc #fanfic #fanfiction #ofc #smut #the interview

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mangoshorthand · 4 months

Text

Arrow of Time- [Five Hargreeves x F Reader]. Chapter 2 (Hard Feelings Part 5)

SUMMARY: When the mother of all teenage tantrums causes time itself to fracture, Five has to travel back to 1831 to repair the damage. But will he be able to cope with what he finds there? On to Chapter 3 >> << Back to Chapter 1

Aoife cheats on her math test...with disastrous results.

Blue balls for Five ahead.

Chapter 2: The Bike Shorts

When you enter the bedroom, Five’s lying on top of the sheets, still in his cycling gear (minus the helmet).He looks almost entirely calm now, chest rising and falling only slightly harder than usual. He flashes you his most charming smile, however, patting the bed beside him.

“Aoife ok?” he asks.

“Fine. Back to rolling her eyes.”

“Good,” he grins up at you, “well that was a shitshow.”

You flop down next to him and melt into his embrace.

“What brought it on?”

“It was stupid. I rode past the Argyle Public Library.” he runs his fingers through his hair, “it’s been demolished.”

“Oh.”

You understand immediately. It had been his and Dolores’ home base, enough of the internal structure left standing to provide them with shelter to sleep. It had been the closest thing he’d had to a home for him for forty years: the longest he’d ever lived anywhere.

“Wanna know something funny? They must be halfway through: the way they pulled it down, it looked exactly the same. The same parts were left standing.” a bitter smile pulled at one corner of his mouth, “the more things change, the more they stay the same.”

You know his mind now almost as intimately as your own: he’s not just talking about the way the two timelines rhyme.

“It’s been ten years since I had a freakout like that,” he says, resentfully. “I been to therapy every two weeks minimum , I take the damn pills religiously and still I lose my ever-loving shit over a building.”

You ease his hand out of the fist he’s screwed it into. You take a breath to respond to him but he plows over you.

“And I know what you’re going to say: the state I was in when we got together, it’s amazing that I haven’t had a major freakout for ten years. Maybe if I weren’t taking the pills, I’d be losing my mind every damn day, and I know therapy isn’t a cure-all, it just helps you work with what you got but…”

He pauses for a second, frustration on hold as his conscious mind catches up with what he’s said. Then he gives a rough laugh.

“And you’d be right,” he rolls to face you, smiling genuinely now.

“You said it all for me,” you shrug, smiling back at him.

The realization seems to have bolstered him:

“So, all in all, I give myself five stars for that panic attack. Threw it off like a champ.”

“You did,” you smile, leaning over and kissing his lips gently.

He’s always thought you have the sweetest lips. Maddening, in fact.

Even after all these years, the lines of your body are still the delight of his eye, particularly the ones that have developed since you’ve been with him. Everything you’d tell yourself is imperfection is, for him, just another object of devotion. After all, the stretch marks, wrinkles and reduced elasticity are all products of the fifteen years you’ve given to him: sixteen Christmases; fifteen fourth of Julys; fifteen whole trips around the sun that you chose to spend with him when you should have run a mile right at the start.

He wants to celebrate that, wants to love you physically and worship your body with his.

The kiss you give him is only just beyond a peck, but he leans into your perfect mouth and works his way between your lips. You pull away before he’s half done.

Honestly…it’s been a while. He’s kept his frustration quiet: work has been troubling you. It’s fine: it’s just a matter of feeling stressed on top of getting a little older. He knows it’s not because you love him any less…academically, at least. He can take care of himself ok and even if you never had sex ever again that’s perfectly fine: he’s in this for the long haul, no matter what.

He’d cope…he’d adapt. He’d find a way to not ogle you, mouth dry, every time you get undressed. He’d spent most of his life having, (with all respect to his first long-term partner), sub-optimal sex. Now he’s had fifteen years of amazing sex, it’s almost unbearable to imagine having to just ‘make do’ again. But he will if he needs to.

He hates feeling needy. It’s a form of vulnerability he’s not yet able to reconcile in himself. It doesn’t feel so long ago but he remembers how you used to look up at him with needy eyes… Maybe tonight can break the dry spell.

“Say…how about you and I…”

You look at him with amusement, “Really, Five?”

“Come on….” he adjusts his body so he’s leant against the headboard and you can see his hand skimming down his body towards his crotch, “you know you like the bike shorts.”

“You’re seriously going straight from a major panic attack to horny?”

In answer, ghosts his fingers over his package. The shorts certainly are tight… Were you in the mood, something about them would make you want to reach in there and root around to see what you can find. They cling attractively in all the right places, stopping an inch or so above the knee. As if his bulge wasn’t enough, the way they sculpt themselves around his muscled thighs and perfectly peachy ass is…noticeable, to say the least.

“I’m a little tired.” you say, not wanting to burst his bubble but hoping he’ll take the hint.

“I can be quick,” he says, trying to keep the slight plea out of his voice, “you could call me daddy again, if you want. Aoife hasn’t called me that in years now.”

“Nice try, Five,” you smirk, “maybe next time.”

“Oh, I’m not trying,” he says, rising to a kneel, turning and straddling your thighs, “I’m succeeding.”

He’s half-joking but nevertheless trying his luck, deliberately raising a rock-hard tent beneath his hand. Then, he rises on the bed into a high kneel.

Even in your totally unaroused state, the look he fixes you with almost makes you feel like a hooked fish being reeled in. He looms over you, head tilted and arrogant smirk firmly in place. He looks down his long nose as he paws at his boner, circling his hips. The shorts really are obscene. They would only have to be one iota tighter for them to cling to every single vein on his fit-to-burst shaft. As it stands, the lycra outlines the bell-shaped tip of his cock in minute anatomical detail.

It's a beguiling sight, but not beguiling enough.

“You’re still one hot grandpa but I’m sorry, I’m really not feeling it.”

He gives a small smile of acceptance and kisses your forehead before he swings his leg over and gets off you, heading for the ensuite bathroom.

“I’ll take care of myself,” he says as he peels off his cycling gear.. Then, in a final bid, he adds, “guess I’ll have to take a shower, lather up real good, lean up against the tiles and whack myself off with the suds…”

“Yeah, guess you will.” you say, picking up your reading glasses and the book off your nightstand.

Five stifles a sigh and enters the bathroom; boner leading the way like a perky seeing-eye-dog. As he shuts and locks the door behind him, he leans against it. It looks like it’s another night of jacking himself off into the shower tray. He tries not to feel hurt, tries to keep in mind all the reasonable thoughts from before. The humiliation of trying so hard only to be rejected? Rejected kindly, lovingly, but still rejected. He’s not going to degrade himself so far as to beg for sex. He’ll never be that pathetic.

Thank god for his left hand: it’s been there for him for nearly 80 years now and it’s always in the mood whenever he is.

The Trevor Dalton school covers PreK through to 12th grade. You’d initially felt conflicted about sending Aoife to private school but, for Five, only the best education money could buy would do for his daughter, regardless of your ‘commie bullshit’. You couldn’t help but agree emotionally; she deserved the best.

Overall, you’d been pleased with her progress: she had a firm group of friends and she enjoyed her extracurriculars- particularly band. Despite this, her math scores worried you both. Though Five had taken to tutoring her himself, she was showing little improvement in school. You’d both been pleased, therefore, to see how much time Aoife had spent holed up in her room studying for an upcoming math test.

Aoife certainly has been studying for her math test…just not in the way you and Five might think. She’s been practicing religiously every night before sleep. Every time, her temporal jumps are getting longer and without the need for all that stupid math. Last night, she managed to reverse an entire hour without even turning a hair. She can do it quickly too- she doesn’t have to force herself through the seconds like her dad seems to: she can just do it. He won’t know what’s hit him when she shows him what she knows.

Were she to sit down and analyze her feelings, she’d be unsure precisely why she wants this so much, whether she wants to make him proud or piss him off. Most of all, she wants to prove that she’s not a baby. All she can do is imagine the look in his eyes when she jumps through time with him along for the ride.

The math test will be her first time using her skills in the real world. She never blinked at school, (she’d learned early on that letting too many people in on the fact you have superpowers doesn’t end well) but jumping through time was different: when you went backwards, you’d erase anyone’s memory that you’d done anything unusual.

The test was in-class, and Aoife had taken care to discover the format before the big day. Mr Douglas would put the questions up on the board, the class would have thirty minutes to answer the questions and then, at the end, they would pass their answers to another student to mark and he would reveal the answers.

Sitting at her desk now, she’s full to bursting with nervous excitement. She can barely concentrate during the test, (not that she needs to), but she fills in stuff anyway. When Mr Douglas calls time and reveals the answers, she’s trembling so much that she’s surprised nobody’s noticed.

She passes her piece of paper to Izzie seated behind her and takes Jack’s from up ahead. Ignoring his paper, she grabs a fresh sheet of her own and begins to write down the right answers. This is what she’ll hand in…now she just has to make sure that this piece of paper is the one she passes to Izzie.

Holding her correct answers in one hand to exempt it from the reversal of time, she reaches easily into the abyss. It’s second nature now; couldn’t be any easier. It’s cool to watch. Alone in her bedroom, it was hard to see the effects; it's different in a crowded classroom. Jack’s pen reverses, going from right to left; eventually, he turns and takes his test back from her desk while Izzie hands Aoife’s over her shoulder. This, Aoife screws into a ball and drops into her backpack. The answers on the smartboard disappear as Mr Douglas moonwalks into his chair and the booger Kevin Simmons flicked across the room returns to his finger and he places it back up his nose.

Aoife lets go. Only somebody watching her closely would notice her jolt.

“And that’s time,” said Mr Douglas, “pass your test to the lady or gentlemen behind you. Ladies and Gentlemen at the back, bring your tests to the front of your row.”

Grinning all over her face, Aoife passes her new answers to Izzie.

Five spent most of the day with Luther who, for once in his life, has had a brain wave.

They’d been in Five’s bedroom, using the huge dry-erase and a plethora of colored post-its to plot out his idea: a non profit focused on helping male survivors of sexual violence.

Five helped mainly out of solitarily with Luther: arranging support groups and having to break the ice with the story of his own rape wasn’t exactly appealing, but Luther’s bright blue eyes were so alight at the the possible scope of the idea (that he dubbed ‘The Umbrella Foundation’), that Five was willing to put his misgivings aside for now. He'd suck it up if he had to.

When Aoife gets home from school she barrels into the room when he and Luther still stand, contemplating the timelines and tenuous organizational structure they’ve drafted.

After a quick hug for Luther, she passes Five her test and smiles coyly at him.

“What’s this?” he says, smiling back.

“Unfold it and see!”

He does so and his eyes light up, even as he affects to look casual. He stands with one hand in his pants pocket and his hips loose

“An A+? Jeez, where was this the other day? And not a single wrong answer?”

“You’re surprised, right?” she smiles up at him

“Surprised? Proud is what I am.”

He grins and pulls her into a full hug which she, for once, reciprocates.

“Ben fatto, tesoro. Hai lavorato sodo.”

“ Grazie papa.”

She has worked hard for this. Maybe he wouldn’t think of it that way, but she has.

“Well done sweetheart.” smiles Luther, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“You see what you can do when you set your mind to it?” says Five, kissing her forehead and holdung her at arm’s length, “How about I take you out this weekend? Maybe we take Izzie too? What do thirteen-year-old girls do these days? The...mall or whatever?”

Aoife snorts laughter at this, “yeah sure Dad, we’ll go to the mall.”

“Well I don’t know what you guys like to do. You’re the first teen girl I’ve spoken to for fifty-five years!”

Five’s never sure why, but he never feels as old around anyone as he does his daughter. Despite speaking seven languages, Teen Girl is one he can’t get his head around.

When Aoife bounds out of the room again, Luther turns to Five with a significant look on his face.

“She just runs into your bedroom...without knocking?”

Five knows exactly what he’s referring to.

“Yes,” he says, testily before looking sidelong at Luther and lowering his voice, “not exactly much for her to walk in on these days.”

Luther gives him a sympathetic look and turns back to the dry erase.

When you arrive home, long after Luther’s drifted downstairs, you’re instantly more skeptical than Five. To go from a D+ average to an A+ with no steps between? You smell bullshit. Perhaps it’s a fluke…but something about the way Aoife shows you the test sets off warning bells in your head. You don’t want to accuse her if this really is the product of hard work, but you’re worried you’ll have to. While she practices the drums after dinner and you sit with Five on the couch, already feeling guilty about raining on his parade.

“This math test…pretty surprising, right?”

From the tone of your voice, he immediately realizes your implication. Fifteen years of a relationship has given you so many little shorthands and layers of implication that would be lost on others. The line between his eyebrows deepens as he considers.

“You think she cheated?”

“I don’t know, but it seems a bit too good to be true. When her homework’s been so poor and she could barely do simple algebra last week?”

His lips pull inwards. He’s by nature a rather cynical man, tending to believe the worst in people until they prove him wrong, but he has a blind spot the size of Jupiter when it comes to his daughter.

“She knows how important it is that she learns. She wouldn’t mislead me.”

Really Five? You raise your eyebrows at him incredulously.

“She’s a teen. Pushing boundaries and lying to their parents is what they do.”

His scowl deepens, “I still don’t think she’d lie about this.”

You sigh.

“Well, I’m going to go talk to her. You’re telling me she didn’t seem weird to you? Like she’s got a huge secret?”

He nods slowly, considering.

“Do you remember when she was six and stockpiling candy under her bed? She was pulling the exact same face.”

Reluctantly, Five follows you as you knock at her bedroom door. It’s amazing she hears you over her drumming, but she does. When you both walk into the room together, she stiffens and puts down her drumsticks

“Hey honey,” you say, Five at your shoulder but skulking slightly behind, “we just wanted to have a talk.”

“What about?” she says, too quickly. She’s immediately on the defense and even Five notices.

“Well, we were just talking, and we’re concerned.” you cross to the bed and sit down on it, trying to appear less threatening. Five remains standing, hands (as ever) in his pockets and head tilted. You catch his eye and prompt him.

“Did you cheat on that test?”

Great job Five. Subtle as a flying brick.

Immediately she looks panicked.

“No!”

“Just tell us the truth and we won’t be mad," you say, trying to keep your voice calm.

“I said I didn’t!” she snaps, firing up immediately.

You move to placate her: it suddenly strikes you how unjust this would be if she actually did earn her score.

“I know you’ve been studying this week and if you’ve got this score because you’ve worked your butt off then we couldn’t be more proud of you, it’s just…my Mom senses are tingling. I know when you’re hiding something.”

“I’m not!”

“Okay,” says Five, stepping forward and grabbing a notebook and pen from within his jacket pocket. He scribbles rapidly and then slaps both down on her dressing table.

“How about you prove it? Expand this.”

He looks more pissed than she’s ever seen him directed at her. Feeling a mixture of shame, anger and injustice Aoife stands and approaches looking down at the scrawled problem:

5(12c + 7) - (1 - 55c)

There it is. The familiar panic that sets in when she encounters numbers in almost any context. She picks up the pen. She knows where to start but when she tries to perform the expansion, it’s like her brain crashes. She tries to concentrate and can’t…especially with both of them staring down at her.

“That’s way too hard!” she whines, “I can’t do that one. The test was easier. You just make them way too complex because your brain is all weird about math.”

“Oh, well that's interesting.” Five’s voice is dangerous- almost a whisper. “Now I know you’re bullshitting me. Wanna take a quick guess how?”

She doesn’t answer, even when he jerks his head towards her.

“No answer, eh?” he turns from her to you, “Do you want to know how I know she’s bullshitting us, Mom?”

You frown in slight disapproval of this theater, but it’s about time Five stepped up to be the bad guy so you keep your mouth shut. He turns back to Aoife, teeth slightly bared,

“That was a question ON the test, genius.”

Her face heats up and eyes prickle. Five just gives a disdainful scoff, shakes his head and looks away from her.

“Tell us the truth, Aoife,” you say, sternly, trying to keep your own temper under control, “you cheated, didn’t you?”

She turns to you and stamps her foot in a way you haven’t seen since she was six, “Just shut up Mom!”

As Five gives a sharp reprimand for her speaking to you that way, you speak over him,

“First you cheat and then you keep denying it? You’re still lying. I’m so disappointed that you’d be this dishonest.You’ve not just cheated us, you’ve cheated your classmates and you’ve cheated yourself too!”

Suddenly, Five turns back to her, shoulders rolled and hunched in the awful posture he adopts when stressed or angry.

“You know, I couldn’t give a rat's ass that you cheated. I’m just still trying to get my head around the fact you lied to me about this !” he begins to pace distractedly, “you know how important it is that you UNDERSTAND basic mathematical principles. It’s a matter of life and death! ”

You turn to Five, angry with him now.

“So you don’t care that she lied at school, only to you?”

Five tosses his head and returns his gaze to his daughter standing between the pair of you. Hormonal rage courses through her. Right now, she’s as erratic as Five ever was in his prime.

“I don’t even need math to be able to use my powers! It’s not my fault your head’s so far up your own ass that you can’t jump a few minutes without filling a whole wall with equations!”

“Aoife!” you rebuke, shocked by this attitude towards her father, but she ignores you.

“I did cheat, okay? And you wanna know how I did it? I just wound back time-”

Five blinks at her, dumbstruck. He looks as if he’s been clubbed over the head.

“-and you know what, Dad? I’m still here. I didn’t end up years in the future and get stuck there like a dumbass! ”

You spring up from the bed, grab her shoulders and turn her to face you. Her eyes are wild with anger, face red and teeth bared even more than Five’s had been only a minute or so before.

“How can you speak to your Dad like that? How dare you? After-”

But the rage that’s been building in her bubbles over. All she wants is for you both to get out of her room. You think just because you’re her parents that you know better? You don’t: you especially don’t get it. Always so far up your own ass, judging her for every time she falls under your ridiculously high moral standards. Nothing short of sainthood is good enough for you.

She can feel full-body tingles growing as anger descends over her. It makes her grab your forearms. If she’d been less angry, she might have noticed the crackle of electricity or the feeling of polarity accessed in her mind…the feeling of the last jigsaw piece slipping into place…

“JUST GET AWAY FROM ME, MOM!”

…but the whole puzzle explodes as she pushes you abruptly. She only means to shove you in the direction of the door, but the portal that erupts swallows you whole, collapsing in on itself before you can even stumble.

Tag list: (please comment to be added or removed.) @dilfjohhny , @sunsunhe, @w4stedtr4sh, @nevbrooke-555, @theredvelvetbitch, @td-miley01, @five-hxrgreeves, @rorygi1more, @jamiebower88

On to Chapter 3 >> Masterpost

Alternatively, join me on A03. Here is a link to the whole series

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anabdaniels · 4 months

Text

Family reunion

Paring: Agent Whiskey x Female Reader (works for plus size reader)

Word counting: 1.7k

Rating: +18

Warning: Clothed sex, squirting, fingering.

A/N: This is the part 2 of Choosing gifts.

Main Masterlist | Cowboycember Masterlist

“Honey, calm down.” Jack said probably for the fifth time.

“I’m trying, but it’s not that simple.” You sighed while Jack parked in front of his family’s ranch.

“Darlin’ ain’t the first time you spend a day with my family.” He said while turning off the car.

“But it’s the first time I'm doing it on Christmas and after finding out that a few of your relatives don’t like me.” You raised your eyebrows, making Jack chuckle and cup your cheek with his hand.

“Just to remind you that just less than half of my relatives will be there because not even my parents like their siblings and my mother already told you that if was a choice, I’d be the one kicked out of family parties instead of you.” You couldn’t hold a quiet laugh since your mother-in-law in fact had told you that.

“Alright, you’ve made a good point here.” You finally agreed shaking your head.

As you two got out of the car, Theo, the family dog was the first one greeting you, followed by the figure of your sister-in-law, already looking excited and not thinking twice before wrapping her arms around her brother.

“Hi, little one.” Jack said while also holding Julia tight as it always happened between them.

“I was missing your old ass.” Julia said pretty sincerely, making him chuckle.

“We saw each other yesterday, Julie.”

“I don’t care. Your Mary Poppins service in my childhood is showing its consequences now.” She winked with a smile, looking very much like Jack, then letting him go and turning to you “Hi, sister.” She said already hugging you tight, making you smile widely, besides being only 15, Julia seemed to like a lot to spend time with you.

“Hi, darling.” You hugged her back, feeling Theo sniffing both of you animatedly.

Exactly as Jack had told you a hundred times, everything worked amazingly; all his uncles and aunties were amazing with you, just like his parents and cousins, you felt more at home than ever and Jack’s mother spent the whole day talking about how much she loved the necklace you gave her.

After an enjoyable cozy day, you and Jack were back home, accompanied by the tone of gifts his family had given to both of you, letting everything on the living room floor and getting comfortable on the sofa.

“I wonder if your mother had taken off the necklace.” You said with a soft chuckle taking off your shoes.

“Knowing her, I’d say that our dear Olivia will stay with it for a week.” Jack affirmed while letting his hat resting on the coffee table “But now we need to talk about your Christmas gift.” He said with an excited expression.

“Yes, we need, because I’m dying in curiosity.” You said holding your hands together.

“Gimme a second.” He walked through the hallway and entered his office. No more than two minutes later Jack was back with a box of considerable size and sat next to you. “I hope I got the best option.” He said while giving you the gift.

“Knowing your skills to choose gifts, I already know you’ve made an amazing choice.” You answered with an excited smile while carefully opening the wrapping paper, getting more curious when it revealed a white paper box with no identification and not thinking much before removing its lid, smiling widely as you saw the content of it. “There’s no way.” You said while grabbing what was inside the box, a deluxe edition set with all seasons of your favorite show ever. “Jack Daniels, you’re the best husband in this world.” You left your gift on the coffee table and leaned forward, sinking between his arms and holding him tight.

“I’m glad you liked it, honeybee.” Jack pressed a kiss on the top of your head with both arms around you.

“I loved it.” You affirmed sincerely and leaned your head back to look at him “And I should warn you to not have high expectations about your gift.”

“Just the fact that you spent time on it is more than enough to already make me happy with it.” Jack said with a warm smile, kissing your forehead.

“Very well then.” You smiled and got up, grabbing him by the hand and walking upstairs. Once in the bedroom, you made him sit on the edge of the bed. “You wait right here, ‘cause we don’t want any spoilers.” He nodded promptly despite dying out of curiosity and with what you had in mind. You walked inside the closet, feeling butterflies in your stomach with the realization of what you were about to do. Trying not to overthink it, you got dressed, took a look to make sure your hair was in place, and then took a deep breath to create the necessary courage. “Close your eyes.” You said before taking another deep breath.

“Alright.” Jack answered closing his eyes, dying in curiosity about what your plans were and completely clueless about what could it be. You walked inside the bedroom, trying to keep your composure and control your mean thoughts that insisted on telling you that you were being ridiculous doing that. Jack tilted his head slightly when he felt the familiar weight of your body on his lap and couldn’t resist his curiosity anymore, opening his eyes and smiling widely as he saw you in that black lace nightgown, looking like the best thing he had ever seen in front of his eyes.

“I tried to think about an actual good gift, but I couldn’t think of anything, so…” you got interrupted by Jack’s thumb resting on your lips.

“My love I can assure you that nothing in this world could be a better gift than my dear wife looking so beautiful.” Jack answered sincerely resting both hands on your waist, caressing the sides of your body. “Just for the record, I don’t mind getting the same gift next year.” He stated while shamelessly checking out your cleavage.

“You’re way too kind with the pathetic things I do.” You said quietly, looking down.

“Hey, hey, hey.” Jack grabbed your face between his hands “Don’t talk like that about such an amazing surprise and your amazing look. You’re a stunning woman and for sure the best gift I could ever receive.” Before you could form a retort, he leaned forward and kissed you, passing one arm around your body and pulling you closer, letting you feel the restrained erection inside his jeans, giving you the assurance that he meant every word he said.

Before you could realize it, Jack’s hands were all over you, groping hands full of your curves as he kissed all over your jaw, neck, and chest, inhaling deeply to enjoy the scent of your skin mixed with your perfume. Laying one hand on your hip, Jack smirked against your skin as he noticed you had nothing under the nightgown, making Jack even more turned on. With no ceremony, Jack undid his belt and zipper, freeing his throbbing cock and looking at you with a desirous gaze.

“I promise you I’ll give you all the attention you deserve later, honeybee, but I need you now.” Jack said in a hoarse voice, pressing a gentle kiss on your lips, taking a moan from both of you as he rubbed his cock against your wet cunt, slowly sliding inside you.

Your hips involuntarily moved forward to meet his thrust, making you clench around him and grab the collar of his shirt tight. Heavily carried away, Jack grabbed your hips, making you move at a steady pace on his lap, giving you not much options beyond whimpering and contorting on his lap, leaning your head back with your eyes closed hard.

“Fuckin’ Christ, I’m starting to love Christmas.” Jack said in a heavy breath, admiring the vision of your body bouncing so beautifully on his lap. Eager for everything he could get, Jack slid the shoulder slings of your nightgown down your arms, gently pulling the fabric of your cleavage carefully, releasing your breasts and grabbing both of them, thumbing your nipples and kissing every inch of skin around and between your breasts.

To be honest, you didn’t expect that to have such an effect on Jack, and it was ruining any self-control you could have, making you ride him intensively, sinking your hips on his lap, taking every inch of him inside you unbelievably effortlessly, as you kept your head leaned back and your fingers twisted on the collar of his shirt.

Immeasurably catch by the whole moment, Jack was aware that at every move of your hips accompanied by those sweet moans, his rationality was being thrown out of the window and he knew that holding back wouldn’t be possible for much longer, so Jack took the most reasonable decision, moving one hand to between your legs and rubbing your clit at the same time he leaned forward and kissed you, everything at once almost overwhelming you and pushing you over the edge, resulting on you whimpering against his lips and clenching unbearably much around his cock as you felt your body making his jeans wet as you sank into your orgasm. Completely mesmerized by everything going on, Jack let himself go, moving both of his hands to your back to keep your body pressed against him. He bit your lower lip softly while erratically thrusting deeply on you, strongly sinking his hands on the soft flesh of your back as he came, filling you up while letting out a hoarse groan.

Keeping you in his arms, Jack let his body collapse back on the bed, letting you rest comfortably on his chest as both of you got your breaths back. After a few moments, he caressed your hair and kissed your forehead while nestling you better in his embrace.

“Sugar, can I ask you something?” too lazy to do anything else, you simply nodded and waited for him to proceed “Don’t wanna sound like a leech, but I’d love to have the same gift for my birthday.” You couldn’t hold back a genuine laugh at his brutal honesty, shaking your head slightly and getting more cozy against him, aware that he was serious about it.

#agent whiskey #agent whiskey fic #agent whiskey x reader #agent whiskey x you #jack daniels #jack whiskey daniels #Kingsman: the golden circle #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedrostories

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whereianonymouslypostfics · 11 months

Text

The Flip Side Part 3

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~8.4k

Summary: Your motivation to continue working as a mobster in Chicago is dwindling after the birth of your daughter.

A/N: For the anon who asked, there should be 14 or 15 parts to this series if all goes according to plan! There will likely be an interruption to the update schedule soon, but I’ll get into that more when we’re closer to the date. Ignore any typos, I’ve had a headache for days and can’t be bothered to proof read. Enjoy!

Warnings: Death, blood, angst, reference to alcoholism, teasing, suggestive content

You look to your friend, your big sister with a sigh before admitting how you’ve felt recently. She knows about how things are changing for you at work, but you’ve kept your cards close to your chest recently as you tried to work everything out. You realize how unhealthy this is, and clearly your friends have picked up on it as well. You need to share what’s bothering you, so hopefully you can get some advice, or just share the stress so it’s not all on you.

“I’m going to need a drink before I talk about this.”

Nat frowns at you and shakes her head without missing a beat. She doesn’t like where this is going, but she is at least glad that you’re not brushing her off.

“That’s not funny, yet. You need to be at least ten years out to say that shit.”

You groan under your breath but just nod in agreement. You suppose it is a little too soon, especially considering how many times you’ve imagined drinking this month, and it’s only the first week. You kick the dirt at your feet with a scowl as it gets on your shoes before getting to the point.

“I’ve just been stressed trying to decrease my work load.”

Nat watches you fidget as you consider saying more. She hopes you do because she’s a little confused by this. She assumed that you’d be less stressed by getting all of this off your plate. It’s not until you mention what’s stressing you out that she realized she should have known better.

“Putting all of this out of my hands is making me feel out of control. Like I don’t have a handle on anything anymore.”

You feel Nat shift so she’s standing hip to hip with you and then an arm is wrapping around your shoulders. Nat takes a deep breath beside you and you wait for her to gather her thoughts as you try to relax against her.

Nat’s known that you’ve always been a bit of a control freak and that’s what made you so good at your job. You were on top of every little deal and anything that was scheduled was always on your radar. It was exhausting sure, but it had allowed you to be successful and bring in billions of dollars in revenue over the years. Your attempt to take a step back was proving to be more detrimental than expected.

“I didn’t realize how difficult it would be for you. Maybe we can work something out with Saunders.”

You frown at the mention of the brunette’s name. She was someone that you’d hired to oversee operations, and with her team of maybe a dozen people, she kept record of everything that happened within your territory. It was all in code so if anyone found it, they wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of it, but you honestly didn’t work much with her. She was there to keep things organized, but maybe Nat was on to something. Maybe talking to her about keeping you more in the loop would help. That said, you didn’t want to tip anyone off that you might be trying to leave.

You’re not sure how to say this to Nat without tipping her off, but for the second time today, you underestimate her. She’d put two and two together rather easily and she pulls away slightly so she can shoot you a curious look. She’s a little surprised that you’ve already started preparations to break free from the mob. It’s not something you’d ever mentioned doing, but given that you had a daughter to worry about now, it made sense. She just wasn’t sure how practical it was at this point.

“That could help short term, but you’re more interested in finding someone to take over, aren’t you?”

Sometimes you hate being surrounded by people who are smarter than you. It can be embarrassing when you’re the last one to figure out what the answer is, but in this case you just feel depressed. You know what you want to do, but you’re not sure you’re smart enough to figure it out. Who would want to take over this shit show for you? Better yet, how likely are you to be able to break away from it without consequence. It’s hard to have the answers to these questions, and even with your friend’s help it’s not something you expect to find out until you’ve already done it.

“I do, but that’s a ways off, isn’t it? I think the first thing I need to focus on is dealing with this extra stress.”

You feel your eye twitch at the mere thought of the immense amount of stress you’ve put yourself under. You need to make sure that everything you’ve worked on over the years is enough to keep you on the right track with this new and inconvenient change. You pause at the thought of this, and when you scowl Nat sees it and frowns herself.

The change in your life was your daughter’s birth. That’s not something you want to resent because it’s only made your life better in numerous ways. You feel closer with your wife, your brother-in-law that you’re sure doesn’t like you, and you feel like you’ve accomplished something for the first time since marrying Wanda. You were very successful with your work, every day you made money and progress, but it was starting to feel like empty victories. You didn’t want to feel like this anymore and you needed out. You wanted out for your family, and you wanted out for yourself.

You just needed to figure out how to do this.

She pulls you in for a hug and you sigh in relief as she squeezes you tightly. You take a moment to breathe in Nat’s scent and bask in her presence. You’re not alone in this. There are people who are willing to help you figure this out. You’d realized this years ago when you were at your worst, but sometimes you forgot that it wasn’t a bad thing to ask for help. You know they’d be there for you.

“I’m here for whatever you need, Y/n. Okay? Just let me know how I can help.”

You nod in answer before you turn so you’re hugging the redhead properly. You just spend a few seconds in her arms before you sigh in defeat. You’ll figure this out, but for now you just needed to remember that Nat had your back.

“Thank you, Nat.”

She merely hums before she pulls away to smile at you. You laugh when she grabs you by the shoulders and pretends to give you a stern look.

“You’re welcome. As a thank you, I expect to be invited over soon. I need to see my goddaughter.”

You’re on your way to see Yelena when you get a text from Bucky telling you that Logan will be free to meet you in an hour. You respond at a red light and you breathe a sigh of relief that this is settled. You aren’t looking forward to talking to him about what happened last night, but you want to see if you can get a little more information from him.

As you pull into the parking lot behind the warehouse that Yelena and Kate had completely redone to serve as their home base and literal home, you wonder where Bucky is. He’s always around, but you rarely see him unless you need him by your side. You’d reduced your security detail to just him and one other guy who truly tailed you everywhere in the last year and so far it hasn’t bitten you in the ass. You let Bucky track your phone and Carter tracks your car to keep an eye on you. Knowing this is mostly just a friendly visit, you figure they’ll keep their distance until you go see Logan.

You walk up to the side of the building and immediately hear menacing barking. You swear that if anyone was faced with this and didn’t know these dogs personally, they’d high tail it out of here. You smiled at the cameras that Yelena had set up all around the area before waiting patiently for the door to open.

“Yo.”

You’re greeted by your friend and her three rottweilers. You smile at them widely before you step inside and drop to your knees to greet them all individually.

“Hey there girls, how are you doing today.”

You scratch all three of the adorable block heads in front of you before you wipe their fur off of you and greet your friend. She’s shooting you an annoyed look even though you know she’s really amused by your ability to always have a smile ready for any animal you meet. Except snakes. Those freaked you out.

“And you, how are you?”

Yelena rolls her eyes before leading your further into the building with a sigh. She’d been busy figuring out the numbers for the loans she was collecting later today, so she’s happy to have the reprieve. She hates dealing with money, but honestly getting to be the one to collect it all gave her a thrill like nothing else. She sees that her cat is trying to chew on some of the papers crowding the table and she reaches out to grab her.

“Cyka, get off.”

“Don’t be mean to Blanche!”

Yelena rolls her eyes again before she heads to the kitchen to clean up a little. She’d just finished lunch and she knew if she didn’t clean it up now her dogs would come find it and break some dishes again.

“I wasn’t and I’m fine. Getting you money as usual.”

You smile at this and briefly forget about greeting your friend’s cat as you sit down at her table. You groan as you stretch out your back while glancing at the confusing diagrams and numbers Yelena’s written down. You ignore her as she tidies up as you try to make sense of what you’re looking at. You don’t succeed and you’re too tired to bother, so you just turn your attention back to the trio that have followed you with a smile.

“Hi girls. You’re just so sweet, huh? Have you been good doggos?”

You continue to pet Yelena’s dogs as she sneaks a bottle of vodka into the cabinet before coming over to see what you’re up to. She brings you a bottle of your favorite soda and watches as you continue to fawn over her truly useless dogs. They are all named after the Golden Girls, and they are all rescues from various animal shelters that you and Kate work with. Despite looking scary and having intimidating barks, they don’t serve any purpose other than as companions for the couple. They’d been rescued from abusive owners and they were more timid than any dogs you’d met, but they were so loveable that you couldn’t help but want to steal them.

“Thanks.”

Yelena nods as she sits across from you and moves a good deal of her work to one side of the table. You don’t remember what you wanted to ask her initially as you take a sip of your drink. You hadn’t realized how thirsty you were, and you have to force yourself not to down it all immediately.

“Nat said you’d be stopping by. Is this dog-related? Should I get Kate?”

You shake your head as you briefly glance to the stairs where Kate might be working. She usually listens to music, but you don’t hear any drift down making you think she’s not here. Yelena reads your mind as she tells you that the brunette is sleeping. She’d also had a late night, but she was lucky enough to get to work with dogs. A few years after getting established with the mob, you’d figured out how to do something you really enjoyed. It was all anonymous as far as the government was concerned, but you and Kate had contacted animal shelters and figured out a way to keep dogs alive long enough for them to get adopted. You provided funds to the shelter for their care, and you’ve actually fostered close to 2 dozen dogs yourself. Milo and Rudy, your jack russells were foster fails that you’ve had for a couple of years now.

Kate had a golden for a while, but after he died, she and Yelena rescued the rotties who were more than enough for the time being. Being so young, they had a lot of energy and they went with Kate almost wherever she went just so they got exercise and better socialization.

“It’s okay. This is actually about your next collection. I have a feeling I know what you’re going to say, but I needed to give it a shot.”

You tell Yelena that last night had put you in a difficult position. You needed to get rid of the senator, but you didn’t have the funds to reorganize a hit right now. Even if you just asked another one of your employees, you didn’t have enough to pay them at the moment. Your money was in so many different places, and unfortunately not very accessible at the moment.

“I’m just wondering if it would be beneficial to move it up any.”

Yelena frowns as she considers this. Her sister had warned her that you’d probably ask this, and despite the fact that she wanted to help she’s not sure she could this time. She’s had a set schedule for so long that she wasn’t quite ready to go out and collect debts. Not only that, but the business owners that paid them likely wouldn’t have everything they owed you so it would be a waste of time and an unexpected stressor if she tried to go early. You understood this and despite not liking it, you accepted it because you knew Yelena was the expert. She was the one who dealt with this every day, and you were just going to have to let this go.

“If it makes you feel any better, we’re expecting a little more than usual this cycle.”

She shows you’re her calculations and you have to admit that an extra 1.2 million makes waiting seem worth it. That was basically Nat’s fee for doing the job for you. You sigh as you lean back in your chair and think about your options. Yelena is basically telling you no, and you don’t feel the need to override her on this. She knows better than you anyway, so you suppose this hit will have to wait a little longer.

“What happened with the hit last night anyway?”

Of course, Nat had told her a little about it, but she mostly wanted to hear your opinion on it. It’s no secret that you’ve been on edge recently, and you were really looking forward to checking Jacobs off your list. She watches silently as you finish your drink before rolling the bottle between your hands. You’d had more time to think about it on the drive here, and you’d concluded that you were missing something very important; namely who tipped off the senator. You’ve been stuck on the reporter that he’d supposedly been talking to, and after scouring the web you hadn’t been able to find any recent publications about him that didn’t involve his horrible new policies. You didn’t know what to think, and you were eager to figure out as much as possible.

“Unsure at this time but someone tipped him off, and I want to find out who.”

You reminded her of who you’d asked to carry out the hit and you watch as she frowns at the mention of his name. Yelena, along with Steve, were the ones who did the most recruiting for your mob, and despite hiring him quickly Yelena had her reservations about the blonde. She knew he was smart and he did what he was supposed to, but he’d always been a little squirrely which to her translated to easily manipulated.

“I don’t trust him to tell you the truth, but hopefully he proves me wrong.”

You hadn’t expected your friend to say this and you place the bottle down on the table before shaking your head. You weren’t the only one who was paranoid in your friend group, and you had a feeling you knew what this was about. She’d questioned your decision to give this job to the blonde, but he’d been an employee for years, and he’d yet to disappoint. This was his opportunity to impress you, and although it didn’t work out you hoped that it was for reasons beyond his control.

“I know how you feel about him, but he doesn’t strike me as the mastermind type, Yelena.”

Yelena frowns at the subtle hint at the last person who tried to steal from you. That had been a mess and you’d had to kill him rather publicly to make sure that no one else followed in his footsteps. You scowl at the thought of the dead blonde before you shake your head again and cross your arms over your chest.

“He’s not going to turn into another Vision, and with any luck I’ll figure out what happened soon.”

It’s only an hour or so later that you end up cursing yourself for saying these words. You left Yelena’s after confirming that she’ll come over when Nat does for dinner at the end of the week. You’d let Bucky know where you were going and he told you he was right behind you. You take the almost 20-minute drive to recall your conversation with Yelena. Although you were leaving without a promise of money sooner rather than later, you were more relaxed than you thought you’d be. You credited this to the time you got to spend with Yelena’s dogs. You always felt comforted by a dog’s presence, and you almost think getting another younger one you can travel with would improve your mood.

As you arrive at Logan’s apartment building, you consider what Yelena said about him earlier. You don’t think that he would betray you. He didn’t seem brave enough. Then again, you had thought the same thing about Vision only to find out that he had been plotting against you for nearly a year.

He’d been brought in to help you manage money. That had been your first mistake. You still stand by your belief that your second mistake was not firing him the first time he hit on your wife. He’d been an awkward, yet overconfident man who had visited you one day at Wanda’s restaurant. He’d spent most of your conversation staring at her, and you’d immediately started trying to figure out how to fire him. Wanda had convinced you to let it go and she promised to just be scarce whenever he was around. Except Vision made a point of showing up at her work at random times, or rather when she was there, but you were busy with something else. He flirted relentlessly despite Wanda telling him off, and she’d only told you this after you had him killed for trying to steal from you.

You forget all about Vision as you step out of your car and head for the main entrance. It’s just starting to get dark, so you’re still cautious as you follow Logan’s instructions and head for the side stairwell immediately. You count the number of flights and wonder if you’d be in better shape if you actually had time to work out. Your legs are sore by the time you get to the sixth floor. You remind yourself to work out later tonight as you open the door to the hallway and look the nearest apartment to see the number.

“635”

You’re looking for 602, so you probably should have gone to the other stairwell. You arrive to his apartment and you knock three times before stepping back a little as you wait for him to answer. You’re tapping your foot impatiently as you look around the hallway. You can hear music coming from a nearby apartment but you can’t tell where. You knock again, and when he doesn’t answer a second time you frown before raising your hand a third time.

“Logan, are you there? Hello?”

You wait for a few seconds before deciding to try calling him. You wait as the call connects and you hear his phone ringing on the other side of the door. You frown and can’t help but become suspicious as you reach for the door. You remember last minute to wrap your shirt around the doorknob so you don’t leave prints as you slowly turn it only to find it’s open. You slowly push the door open and the ringing phone becomes louder as you enter the apartment.

“Logan? I know you’re here. No millennial leaves their phone at home.”

You leave the door cracked behind you as you venture into the dark and dingy apartment. You follow the sound of his phone through the living room and it leads you to a room down the hall. You have a hand on your gun by the time you push the door to the last room open slowly. When you see Logan lying in bed half dressed with his throat slit, you’re pulling it from your hip.

“Fuck.”

You don’t bother to see if he’s alive. There’s so much blood that you’re certain he’s not, and you hang up before dialing Bucky’s number. You glance around the room and then check the others to make sure that there’s no one else here. You nearly jump out of your skin as you walk back into the living room and see a cat sitting on the coffee table. It’s a fat black cat and you just stare at them angrily as you try to calm your breathing.

“Y/n, what’s up?”

Bucky’s voice reminds you that you’d called him and you check the kitchen and the dining room before you answer him. Your chest is tight and your voice hoarse as you speak up.

“Bucky, there’s been a development.”

Wanda is pleasantly surprised when you’re home by 7. She’d finished dinner and Natalya was fed and off to bed, but you were still home earlier than she thought you’d be. When she hears the elevator, she smiles as it’s quickly followed by pattering of dog feet as they run to greet you. Milo leads the way followed by Sully and Boone. When they disappear down the hall, she doesn’t think anything of it, but when she hears Milo bark she frowns in confusion.

“Y/n?”

Wanda leaves the kitchen and heads down the hall to find that you’re already halfway to the kitchen. You’re looking down at your dogs as you hold something in your arms. Wanda thinks it’s a jacket or your purse, but as you walk closer to her and under the living room lights, she realizes that it’s an animal.

“Is that—is that a cat?”

You offer a sheepish smile as you struggle to hold the squirmy cat that you’d decided to take on a whim. After calling Bucky upstairs and showing him what you’d stumbled upon the two of you made yourself scarce. You’d decided to send an anonymous tip to the police so they’d find Logan, but you did nothing else as you tried to figure out how this had happened between the time you talked to him this afternoon and stumbled upon him this evening.

You nod before walking toward your wife who looked more shocked than angry. There was plenty of time for this to change though, especially given what you were about to tell her. You frown slightly when you realize that Natalya must already be in bed, but you’ll worry about that after you catch Wanda up.

“Yes, I rescued him from an employee’s place. She was abandoned.”

Wanda had several follow up questions, but the most important ones were disregarded momentarily as she watched you put the rotund cat on the ground. She watches as she wobbles around and sniffs the ground before coming to sniff her.

“She?”

You look up with a shrug before mentioning that you’re just guessing. You hadn’t exactly looked and there was no collar on them so you just picked a sex and went with it. You didn’t think you’d be able to see anything through all her fat anyway.

“Yeah, I figured there’s enough testosterone in this house.”

Wanda would usually laugh but as she watches the cat hiss at Rudy and then run off to hide in the living room, she wonders how this is going to work out. You must see her worrying because you reach out for her and pull her into a hug. You hadn’t greeted her properly and you’d like to make up for this now. You kiss your distracted wife before offering an apology for the unannounced guest.

“I’m sorry for not calling, but it happened rather quickly. It will only be for a couple of days then I can take her to the shelter if you’d like.”

Wanda doesn’t respond immediately as she’s too preoccupied watching the fat cat try to jump on the couch. She doesn’t let any animal on furniture, and if she truly felt that the poor cat could make it up there, she’d run over to stop her. Instead, she just flops back on the ground with a quiet thud, and Wanda turns to you with a sigh.

“What’s her name?”

You’d spent too much time considering this on the way home, but you don’t want to give yourself away as you shrug again before heading toward the kitchen to see what your wife cooked.

“I was thinking Fat Louise, unless there’s something else you liked better.”

Wanda looks at you in astonishment before she turns to see that Fat Louise has curled up into a ball, and she honestly looks like a giant furry blob.

“That’s-that’s not very nice.”

You’re lifting the lid of the pot on the stove as Wanda says this and you offer her a smile before looking around for a spoon.

“You have to admit she’s fat, but like I said you can change her name. I’m not particularly attached to it.”

Wanda thinks about her options as you get dinner reheated for both of you. You take Wanda’s to the table while she gets your drinks. After the soda you had a Yelena’s and then the excitement earlier this evening, you feel a little hyper. Your leg is bouncing by the time that Wanda comes to sit across from you, and when you look up, she’s frowning slightly.

“Long day, detka?”

You’ve started to eat already and you’re chewing as you nod in response. The day wasn’t super long compared to others, but you did a lot of talking, and airing out your concerns always stressed you out. Finding Logan dead and realizing that someone was trying really hard to cover up what happened last night also exhausted you. You would worry about this tomorrow because maybe you’d have the official police report and if you’re lucky it will tell you something you don’t know.

“A lot of catching up with people, but not too bad. How was yours?”

Wanda smiles at the thought of her day, and she tells you how she cooked for a lot of it, but also spent time outside with the dogs.

“It was such a nice day out, and Natalya got to spend some time with her brothers.”

You smile at your wife’s word because although you were the first one to refer to the dogs as Nat’s siblings, Wanda had continued to do so. You’d initially meant it as a joke, but you were glad to see that she also wanted to see them all get along. It was easiest with the older boys for sure because they were more patient and tolerant. The last time you’d tried to have one of the terriers sit with Nat, they’d gotten a little too rowdy.

“That’s wonderful. I wish I could have been here for that, but I did get to spend a little time outside.”

As you say this you take a long sip of the water that Wanda had brought you. You hadn’t realized how dehydrated you were from sitting out in the sun and then running around trying to deal with Logan. You’re thinking about getting some more when Wanda speaks up. She’d been glancing between you and your pets periodically to make sure they were all getting along. Fat Louise was just lying on the rug while the dogs mostly ignored her. Wanda wondered if she was actually larger than their terriers.

“Did you sunbathe as well?”

Wanda’s mostly kidding but when she sees your smile, she realizes there is at least some truth in her words. She wonders if it was with Nat or Yelena that you’d done this, but she doesn’t have to wonder long as you nod in answer.

“A little. I laid out on my car while talking to Nat.”

Wanda chuckles under her breath at the image because she has no doubt that you did this. You could sleep almost anywhere if you put your mind to it, but your car was actually one of your least favorites. She stops short of asking a follow up question when she sees that you’re frowning slightly as you think back on your conversation with Nat.

“She and Yelena are coming over for dinner this weekend, if that’s okay? They wanted to spoil their goddaughter/niece.”

Wanda merely nods as she smiles at the idea of you inviting your friends over. You both wanted them to spend time with Natalya, any maybe if Kate tagged along, you’d get your way about interrogating her. This thought leaves Wanda’s mind as soon as you clear your throat and shoot your nearly empty plate a nervous look.

“We also talked about work in general and how it’s been stressing me out a lot.“

Wanda waits for you to elaborate, but your focus has shifted to your food in an attempt to distract yourself or avoid this conversation all together. Wanda takes comfort in the fact that you’d brought it up at all, so she’s careful not to push too much as she asks for a little more detail.

“In what way?”

Wanda knows that there are a lot of ways that you could answer this question. Your work has always been stressful and ironically the illegal aspect of it wasn’t the main factor. You always found having so many people in your employ stressful because you were responsible for all of their decisions, their actions and unfortunately, they didn’t always do what you asked. Not being able to have a hand in every important decision was definitely something that you were struggling to get used to. It’s only recently that you’ve decided that as long as you’re not caught and sent to jail, or murdered before you can find someone to take your place, it will be fine.

You just wanted to do this on your own terms, and that is where things became a little tricky.

You don’t want to tell Wanda all of this because she would just worry with you. You’d talked to Nat and then Yelena a bit so you were already feeling better now that you had a solid plan. That said, figuring out what happened to Logan and dealing with a possible sabotage was throwing a wrench in your not-so-best-laid plans.

“I’m trying to take a step back as you know, but it’s just a little harder than I thought.”

Wanda doesn’t respond immediately because she’s trying to figure out exactly what you mean. You’ve never told her much because she honestly didn’t want to know, but as long as she knew that you were being as safe as possible and not drawing too much attention to yourself, she wouldn’t complain. The rare visits from the police were always disturbing but luckily, they never turned into anything more than visits. She briefly wonders if you’ve chosen someone to take over for you, but she nearly shakes her head at the thought. That was too much to ask for, and since you’ve given her no indication that you were on your way out, she wouldn’t get her hopes up.

“I know letting go of control is difficult for you, Y/n.”

Your wife frowns when you only nod silently, and she wonders if she’s missed the mark. It’s hard for her to figure out what the real issue is, and short of you sharing it with her she’s not sure she’ll ever know. You know that what Wanda’s saying is right, but it’s only part of the issue. You’re considering opening up more to her when you both hear the soft cries coming through the baby monitor.

“I’ll go check on her.”

You feel a little guilty about how quickly you try to flee this conversation, but this fades as Wanda stands up as well. She’s obviously not done talking about this and you are reminded once again of why you love this strong, stubborn woman.

“I’ll come with you.”

You smile as you reach out for her hand to lead her down the hall toward the nursery. You cast a cursory glance over your shoulder to make sure that the trio in the living room are still behaving. You turn around again missing how Rogue gets up to join you two. Wanda merely smiles before waving him along with them encouragingly. It’s rare that he wants to interact with Natalya, but more often than not he likes to follow Wanda around.

“What story did you read tonight?”

You’re mostly asking out of interest, not because you believe that Wanda’s choice wasn’t a good one. A couple nights a week, Natalya will go to sleep easily, but then wake up later because she’s hungry or lonely. You’re not sure which it is tonight, but you won’t pass up on the opportunity to spend some time with your daughter.

Wanda shakes her head as you both enter the room and leave the door open so Rogue can follow behind you. She hadn’t read one of Nat’s books tonight. She’d decided to tell her a story about her childhood, but since she wanted to eventually teach Natalya her native language, she’d told it in Sokovian. You smile widely as you reach into the crib to pick up your fussy daughter. You kiss her on the cheek before turning toward Wanda.

“That sounds like fun, did you learn anything, Little Nat?”

As expected, she doesn’t do more than just coo for you as she reaches out for Wanda. You smile before squeezing Nat gently as you hand her over to her mother.

“Such a mama’s girl.”

You smirk as Natalya makes grabby hands at her brunette mom’s hair. You smile as she accepts her daughter with a smile of her own that quickly turns into an exasperated sigh as her hair is immediately tugged on. You take pity on her and quickly help untangle Nat’s fingers from her hair. You put it behind her shoulders for her, and watch the duo greet each other. In Wanda’s case, she leaves a kiss on her baby’s nose, but Nat just starts to whimper as she practically smacks Wanda in the face.

“Nat, honey, that’s not nice.”

Wanda leans away slightly but it doesn’t do much good as Nat continues to whimper threateningly. You see a tantrum coming on and you would like to prevent it as much as possible, so you’re already running toward the kitchen for a bottle.

Your wife is on the same page and she follows you out of the room just at a much slower pace. Rogue whines but follows Wanda out as she heads back to the kitchen with a smile.

“Are you hungry, milaya?”

Natalya’s only response is to grab at her shirt and tug furiously. She has frustrated tears in her eyes and Wanda hates to see her so upset. She’s glad that by the time she arrives you’re warming up a bottle for Natalya and waiting impatiently for it to finish.

“Just a few minutes, baby.”

Wanda’s bouncing her baby and luckily, she’s distracted enough to just hold Wanda’s shirt in her tiny fist instead of trying to rip it. You recognize the signs of Natalya being hungry, and you can’t help but smile as your lean against the counter.

“She’s insatiable, isn’t she?”

Wanda can’t fight the smirk that tugs at her lips as she walks over to you. She kisses your cheek before checking on the bottle. 3 minutes left. She leans against the counter with you briefly checking on the pets before falling into you slightly.

“She certainly is. I wonder who she learned that from.”

You grin widely as you reach down to pet Rouge who comes to stand at your feet. He’s sniffing around for second dinner, but everything is out of his reach and he just huffs before heading for the living room. You don’t miss how he stops at the dinner table, but you and Wanda had mostly finished at this point, and Rogue wasn’t a huge fan of Sokovian food. He had stolen a steak from your plate once and you’d been so shocked and angered you’d chased him around the living room trying to get it back. Needless to say, you were unsuccessful and you ended up just watching him eat your steak with a scowl and a wife who was laughing at you from the kitchen.

“I’ll take the blame for this one, Wands.”

Her response is just to laugh as you turn toward her and Little Nat to see the former sucking her thumb. She still has a few tears in her eyes and you frown as you reach out carefully to wipe them away. You just stare at your beautiful daughter until you hear the warmer beep behind you. Wanda turns to grab the bottle, but you shake your head before walking toward the oven to grab a towel.

“Let me.”

You take the bottle out and wrap it in the towel so it’s not too hot before holding it up to Natalya.

“Little one, are you hungry?”

You spend the next five minutes feeding and burping your daughter, you start to clean up dinner while Wanda heads back to the nursery. You hum under your breath as you wash dishes and put up the leftovers from dinner. You’re thinking about what to do with the rest of your time before going to bed when Wanda returns. She’s watching you with a smile as you move around the kitchen in that quick, practiced way of yours. You’re almost finished before you spot her spying on you, and you shoot her a smile.

“She asleep again?”

Wanda nods as she gestures to the baby monitor, she’d left on the counter and you both listen to how quiet it is on the other end.

“She is. Hopefully it’ll stick this time.”

You dry your hands off before coming around the counter and reaching out for your wife. You’re tired, but not sleepy, and you want to get your mind off of work. You consider watching a movie, but your mind wanders easily if you don’t have to focus on what you’re doing. As if reading your mind, Wanda asks you what you’d like to do now. You decide that tonight is a perfect opportunity to spend some time with your wife.

“I was thinking about working out a little.”

You don’t have to look at your wife to see her eyes darken as they look you up and down. She will admit that she isn’t really in the mood for that type of exercise, but if doing so allows her to watch you get all hot and sweaty, while half-dressed, well she’ll just suck it up. She looks up at you with her bottom lip between her teeth, and you have to stop yourself from kissing her right then and there.

“Mind if I join you?”

You would never complain about your wife’s company. After a long day away from her and the amount of stress you’ve been under recently, you would love nothing more than to unwind with her. You nod, not that your expression isn’t answer enough for Wanda before leading her to the bedroom to change.

“You don’t have to ask, Wands, and yes I would love if you joined me.”

Ten minutes later, you and Wanda have changed into workout clothes and you’re struggling to leave the bedroom. You’d been fine and hadn’t noticed Wanda’s appreciative glances, until Wanda started changing into leggings and a sports bra. You’d chosen to wear a t-shirt for comfort, but the sight of your wife’s exposed skin made you regret your decision to work out tonight. Still, you steal a few kisses and touches before Wanda practically drags you from the bedroom.

“If we don’t go now, we’ll never get started.”

You can’t argue with this and after making sure that your new cat is separated from the dogs, you and Wanda head to your in-home gym.

It hasn’t gotten as much use lately because you both have been short on time, but sometimes, depending on her tolerance level, Wanda will walk on the treadmill or even use one of the bikes with Natalya sleeping on her back. It’s been a while since Wanda was in here to do more than that, and she almost forgot how many options there were. You were already figuring out where you wanted to start when Wanda sits down on a rowing machine.

“Do you want to turn on the television, detka?”

You’d stopped to stare at her as she stretched a little before sitting properly on the seat. You don’t realize that you’d been caught looking until Wanda’s voice registers and you’re flushing in embarrassment as you walk over to the side of the room for the remote. There’s a large television on one of the walls that sometimes you’ll turn on just for background noise. You usually just listen to music, but since you need an ear open for the monitor, you decide that this is better.

“Sure thing, Wands. Any requests?”

After choosing something to watch, you and Wanda start working out mostly in silence. The only communication between the two of you is the occasional smile or glance in the other’s direction. You are already sweating as you continue to work on your upper body. Your arms are pleasantly sore as you continue to push yourself while you focus on your breathing. You found working out, as long as it wasn’t in public, relaxing most times. It was both productive and cathartic, and getting to watch your wife do the same nearby was just an added benefit.

You find yourself watching Wanda more than focusing on what rep you’re on. It’s not your fault she’s so distracting. She’s moved onto to a machine that lets her work on her legs and abs, and the way she’s grunts in effort with every other rep—it should be illegal. It’s obscene.

“Y/n, you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing.”

It’s not a question and it only takes you a second to realize that she’s right. You’d stopped in the middle of a rep to watch Wanda, and you quickly release the weights before standing up. You try to get the sight of your flushed and sweaty wife out of your mind as you switch over to a new machine.

“Right, right. Sorry. “

Wanda just smiles at you watching as you glance at the television and stop in your tracks to watch the show for a minute. She decides to focus on herself for now and she nearly groans at the thought. She knew it would be difficult getting back into exercising after taking so much time off. It’s been months since she’d done anything strenuous and at least a couple of weeks since she’d been able to work out without Natalya nearby. She realizes the further she gets into this how important it is to make sure she has time for herself throughout the day. She’s a paranoid, first-time mom, but maybe she can carve out a little time each day to do something solely for her benefit.

“Ah fuck.”

You’re doing pull ups a little bit later when you hear your phone beep from where you’d left it on the table near the television. You are about to use this as an excuse to drop down to the ground and take a break, but Wanda’s voice catches you off guard.

“I’ve got it, detka. Keep going, please. I’m enjoying the show.”

You roll your eyes and meet Wanda’s gaze through the wall of mirrors in front of you with a playful glare. She sends one back as she climbs to her feet and heads towards your phone. The fact that you don’t even seem to mind that she’s grabbing it for you makes her think it’s not work-related, or at least that you don’t expect it to be. It’s hard to know sometimes, but you don’t even turn to ask as you do another couple of pull ups.

“Is it anything important?”

Wanda hadn’t intended on checking for you, but she doesn’t hesitate to unlock it and check your most recent text. She frowns slightly before looking back up at you.

“It’s Bucky apologizing for ratting you out to Nat.”

You consider ignoring the message for now because you are a little ticked a Bucky, but you eventually just shake your head and drop to the ground with a huff. Wanda holds your phone out to you, and you smile wickedly as you take it and start to reply.

“I’ll tell him not to sweat it because I’m currently here sweating with you.”

Wanda shoots you an incredulous look as she reaches out to grab your phone back. You pull it out of reach and laugh as she just glares at you before crossing her arms petulantly.

“Y/n, don’t tell him that!” “Why not? It’s true. “

You keep pretending to type as you wait for Wanda to protest again. She doesn’t let you down and it only takes a few seconds for her to huff in annoyance. You smile cheekily as you look up from your phone, and somehow Wanda manages to look even more ticked.

“You’re teasing me.”

You don’t even try to deny it and you nod before stepping away as Wanda reaches out to slap you. You thought so at least, but she just holds out her hand and you quickly realize what she wants. You hand her your phone with a smile until she sets it aside before pointing back to where you’d been doing pull ups.

“Just for that, you’re going to give me 10 more.”

You raise an eyebrow in question, but your wife just walks over so she’s standing beneath the bar before she beckons you towards her.

“I’m serious.”

You’re unfortunately not one to refuse a challenge, so you walk over to where she is to stand toe to toe with her. She doesn’t back down as you look up at the bar and then back to her with a sigh. You didn’t expect her to budge, and after a few seconds of contemplation you decide to just do it.

“Alright, Wands. Whatever you want.”

You reach up and grab the bar and pull yourself up with barely a groan of effort. You feel the strain on your arms by the fifth one, and you reach the 7th before Wanda is reaching out for you. You look down at the hand on your stomach and jump down when Wanda speaks up with a smile.

“Come down here, please.”

You are about to argue and say that you’re not at 10 yet, but Wanda’s tugging on your shirt so you give in quickly. You drop down to the ground and open your mouth to ask Wanda why she made you stop, but she doesn’t give you a chance. She pulls you forward by your shirt until you’re close enough to kiss her. You hadn’t expected this so you’re pleasantly surprised. You reach out to hold her too, but she breaks away before you get the chance.

“Since those were so easy, how about you try something different?”

You wonder what she could be thinking of as she pulls you into another hug before jumping up and wrapping her legs around your waist.

“Uh…” “Only three more.”

Wanda’s clinging to you like a koala and despite her not being that heavy, you aren’t sure if you can lift both of you. You feel her legs hold you tighter and you just sigh in defeat before giving it a try. As you complete your first pull up you realize it’s a lot harder than you thought. You barely do it a second time before you drop back to the ground and breathe raggedly as you shake your head.

“I don’t think I can do another one, Wands.”

Wanda considers this for a second before shaking her head with a smile. She kisses you quickly before giving you the incentive you need to get this over with.

“One more and then we can shower and go to bed.”

You groan under your breath, but you nod a couple of times before grabbing the bar one last time.

“Alright, but I’m getting cuddles for this.”

Wanda rolls her eyes and holds back her remark about how you always get cuddles as you lift her up along with you one more time. You nearly stumble as you drop to the ground when you’re done, and Wanda’s quick to release you so you can balance. She smiles proudly as she grabs your numb hand and drags you out of the room.

“Good job, detka.”

Any snarky remark you’d had in mind leaves it as soon as Wanda kisses your cheek. You sigh in frustration at the fact that you can’t hide how your cheeks flush at her words. You can’t even pretend to be annoyed as you squeeze your wife’s hand with a smile. You know you’d do anything for her if she asks, and in the grand scheme of things, pull ups are likely the least difficult thing you’ll ever have to do.

Masterlist

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda maximoff #wanda x reader #wanda x you #the flip side #mob au #pietro maximoff #yelena belova #natasha romanoff

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jigujellee · 2 years

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THROUGH WITH YU -> karina yu hates your guts and you don't really know why. | read part 2 here!

karina x reader angst word count: 3.8k warnings: there might be a swear word or two, nothing crazy

a/n: wow, another fic in less than 2 weeks? who is she? lol i'm jk but the first part to the karina enemies to lovers college au is here! there's only two parts, so hopefully, i should be able to get it out soon. don't worry, i'm also working on the requests you've all sent me so please look out for those. take care everyone, thanks for reading!

smu was home to numerous intelligent and hard working students who were slowly losing their sanity every day in order to achieve their future. if they weren’t burying their faces in their laptops or textbooks, students were drowning themselves in caffeine as they desperately try to work through the hell known as university. it’s definitely not easy for most, but then there are people like karina who make the university life look so easy.

karina yu graduated from kwangya high as valedictorian and received a full grant scholarship at smu where she is now a biomedical student with a dream to pursue a career in medicine. she also manages to maintain the top spot in the entire school while being the captain of the swim team and balances a part time job. the girl’s credentials are unmatched, you’d think she doesn’t have a social life but no. everybody and their grandmothers know exactly who karina is, and with a god given face, brain, and talent like hers, who wouldn’t be drawn to her? dubbed as the campus goddess, she captures the hearts of anyone who glances her way. karina could care less about the title though. she was nice to everyone she encountered and remained humble despite being treated like royalty at school. so when everyone’s attention is focused on something else, or rather someone else, karina suddenly becomes intrigued.

“alright class, that wraps it up for today. don’t forget, your assignments on DNA mutagenesis are due next Friday so i hope most of you have at least started on it”

as soon as the campus goddess finished typing up her last few notes, she sets a quick reminder for herself to finish the references for the assignment. karina’s work ethic was something every student dreamed to have in a perfect world, hence why it isn’t uncommon for students to ask her for help every now and then. her best friend ningning is a perfect example of these said students.

“so you’re going to help me with my assignment, right?” the blonde says, not even sparing a glance to karina as her eyes remained glued on her phone.

“ning, why do you still have to ask? i’ve been helping you with your assignments since we were in high school. but let me remind you that you’re smart enough to do it on your own. maybe if you spent less time on your phone, you would’ve gotten it done early”

“thanks for the ted talk but you know i gotta stay updated with the tea around here”

“right, so what’s new gossip girl hm?”

“well, jeno recently got injured after their last basketball game so he’s sitting out for the next few. then there’s yeji and ryujin who got into a pretty nasty fight and people are saying they still haven’t talked it out”

“isn’t it gonna be their 3 year anniversary in a few weeks? i hope they resolve things soon”

“well well well, would you look at that? seems like someone is fairly updated too” ningning chuckles and finally tears her eyes away from the phone to find karina putting her stuff away into a tote bag.

“you live and breathe tea and drama, and unfortunately, i’m the only one who has to hear all of it since i’m pretty much the only friend you have,” karina jokes.

“you make me laugh miss yu,” her best friend says dryly as rolls her eyes and continues to scroll through her phone once more. “oh, and there’s a new student coming in today. apparently they’re coming all the way from canada,” ningning turns off her phone and grabs her bag before sticking her arm out so that karina could link arms with her. the latter didn’t care much about the new transferee, not with her empty stomach practically ringing in her ears.

“yeah yeah whatever, let’s go grab lunch. i’m starving” she links her arms with ningning and the two make their way to the campus cafeteria.

they were greeted with crowds of students, which wasn’t a new sight to the two. almost all of campus knew karina ate in the cafeteria during lunch so they would always have an audience as they ate in peace. what was surprising to karina was that the students weren’t swooning over her like they usually do. instead, they were running right past her and making their way to the table where karina and ningning usually sat. confused, karina looks over at her best friend.

“why is everyone rushing to get over there? we’re not even there yet”

“you think i would know? i was beside you this entire time. but it looks like someone is sitting there already, i can’t see who it is though”

a girl in front of the two overhears their conversation before realizing who it was and immediately moves out of the way to let them pass. everyone else followed suit and the two manage to get a clear view of who was causing such a big crowd. they walk towards the table, but even as they get closer, they are unable to put a name to the face sitting in their usual spot.

as soon as they approached the unfamiliar person, ningning doesn’t hesitate to speak, “hi! i’m ningning and this is my friend karina!” the purple haired girl’s eyes widened at her friend’s sudden introduction, but not wanting to be rude, she just smiled and gave a small wave.

“hello! i’m y/n, it’s nice to meet you both” you say with a big smile plastered on your face.

“ah! you’re the new student, right? from canada?” you eagerly nod your head and continue to answer ningning’s never ending questions about your home country. meanwhile, the girl beside her stayed silent and just stared at you. you couldn’t tell what she was feeling, her face remaining stoic the entire time you were talking with her friend. you open your mouth to address her and try to include her in the conversation, but another student calls your name and invites you to eat lunch with them.

“karina and ningning usually sit here, so just sit with us for lunch” the student then whispered in your ear. you look back at the two girls and realize that they’ve been standing this entire time, so you immediately get up and allow them to sit at their respective table.

“well i’d be glad to answer your questions about canada some other time ning,” you chuckle. “i hope to see you both around more! sorry about taking your seat,” you say as your gaze lands on karina, who just quickly bows her head out of respect before taking a seat at the spot you were just in. ningning quickly hands you her phone for you to put your number in before letting you go. as you leave, you turn to take a look at the purple haired girl one more time.

you now understood why she was called the campus goddess.

funnily enough, the campus goddess wanted nothing to do with greek gods and goddesses, or any greek mythology in general. she hated history classes. the only reason she was taking it is because she needed an elective that wasn’t related to her major, so she chose ancient greek mythology and apparently, it was a really easy course. but even if this course was super easy, she got bored so easily. it was the only class that she rarely paid attention in and it made her want to fall asleep.

it doesn’t help that this class was a dreaded 3 hours of her professor going on and on about information that had nothing to do with what karina wanted to do with the rest of her life. oftentimes, her thoughts loved to wander off during class, and to her surprise, you are the one currently taking up space in her mind. karina couldn’t help but think about your smile, your dark brown eyes, your soft voice, the way your hair sat perfectly against-

“miss yu?” karina shakes her head and brings herself back to reality. was i really just thinking of the new student just now?

“sorry sir, what were you saying?”

“i asked which two groups fought during the battle of cynoscephalae?”

karina couldn’t bring herself to answer. she should know this, she did her readings on it so why couldn’t she remember? oh right, because some new girl was distracting her, that’s why.

“it was fought between the romans and the antigonids,” you spoke up after minutes of silence from karina. she looked back in shock, finding you three rows behind her. great, the person who’s been wrecking my train of thought is also in the same class as me.

you shoot her a wink with a smile, causing karina to immediately turn back around to the front, hoping you wouldn’t see her cheeks heating up out of embarrassment.

“that’s correct y/n, thank you. pay more attention karina, this isn’t like you”

“yes sir, it won’t happen again” karina sinks into her seat and groans internally for letting herself get distracted and embarrassing herself in front of you… and the class.

and now, she despised you for making her feel this way and decided that she wanted nothing to do with you.

so any attempt you made in trying to be her friend, whether it be buying her snacks, coffee, cup noodles, and even a whole cake, or trying to follow her on instagram and her other socials, karina shut all of it down. she couldn’t afford to be embarrassed like that anymore and she tried her best to avoid you, but she quickly learned that you were stubborn and you weren’t going to stop until you two were at least acquaintances.

“hi karina! i grabbed you a triangle kimbap and a choco pie in case you were hungry,” you hold out the snacks in front of her, hoping she’ll actually take them this time. but as usual, she just stares at them and her hands remain still by her side.

her eyes shift from your hands to your own eyes, and you could feel a bitter coldness being emitted from her dark brown orbs. “i’m going to make this very clear, y/n. i do not care who you are or where you came from, but i do not need you around me. buying me snacks is not going to get me to be friends with you, so drop the act. we are never going to be friends,” she says, words hitting you like a knife. your hands that are filled with snacks drop to your side as you watch the campus goddess walk away from you. from that moment on, you do your best to avoid her, hoping that you are finally giving her something she actually wants.

it’s only 9 in the morning, and karina is already having a horrible day.

“what? what do you mean i’m failing? that’s nearly impossible-”

“calm down karina, you’re not behind by much. with a little tutoring and some catch up assignments, you’ll be able to bring your grade up in no time,” her english professor says.

karina huffs in frustration. how could this happen? she swore she handed in all her essays on time and they were all done very well, so she had no idea how could she be failing the class.

“i asked the student who will tutor you to come in today so that i could introduce you two,” and as if on cue, there was a knock on the door.

“perfect timing. come in!”

karina doesn’t bother turning around to see who it was, still trying to rack her brain over how she could possibly be doing badly in english class.

“you wanted to see me professor lee?”

the purple haired girl’s eyes widened and her mouth falls slightly agape. she didn’t need to look at who it was; the voice said it all.

“thank you for coming, y/n! i wanted to introduce you to karina, have you met before?”

“yes, we share a few classes together” you say dryly.

you were aware that you had to tutor someone, but you didn’t know it’d be her. from where you were standing, you could see that she didn’t want to be in this setup either. she was avoiding your presence, putting all her attention onto the stack of papers on the professor’s desk and studying it as if it were the most intriguing thing in the world right now.

“with all due respect professor lee, i’m sure there are a number of other students who would be willing to help karina out. not to mention countless other students who speak english at a much higher level than i do, such as aeri, chaeyoung, jennie, yunjin, jisu, seungkwan.. need i list more?”

for the first time since entering the office, karina looks at you with a confused expression; she didn’t expect you to turn the opportunity down, not after all the nice things you’ve done for her just to be her friend. your focus remains on the professor as you wait for a reply, ignoring the other girl beside you who was trying to figure you out, the stack of papers on the desk now long forgotten.

“nonsense y/n, what better way to learn english than from someone who’s just transferred from canada? besides, english is your first language, correct?” you nod your head, unable to lie because the records were right there in front of the prof.

“then it’s settled! think of it as a way to get closer to one another. karina, i promise you won’t regret this and your grade will improve in no time! you two are dismissed, i’ll see you both on wednesday”

both of you bow your heads, and karina is the first one to get up and leave. you follow suit, rolling your eyes once you’re at the door because she didn’t even have the courtesy to hold it open for you. once you’re both outside of professor lee’s office, you’re about to retreat to your own dorm but karina stops you.

“hey”

you say nothing and just turn to look at her, waiting for her to continue what she wanted to say.

“2pm tomorrow at the library. don’t be late,” she says sternly.

with no ounce of emotion on your face, you turn around and leave the purple haired girl standing in front of the prof’s office.

you hoped this tutoring session will go somewhat smoothly.

no, it’s not going smoothly.

karina was the one who said not to be late, yet she’s the one who came almost 20 minutes late. she blamed it on ningning for asking her to accompany her while she talks to one of their other professors.

and now, karina hasn’t spoken a word to you since she got here. she didn’t bother asking for any clarification or any questions and just began working on her assignment, but you couldn’t care less. if she didn’t want to fix her grade, then so be it. you allowed yourself to enjoy this quiet time by catching up on your favourite book, but unfortunately, it doesn’t last long.

“here, check this for me”

you scan the paragraph writing assignment she had to do. with a pencil, you lightly circled her mistakes and even wrote down some comments on things that could be improved. when you hand it back to her, you watch as her eyes scan over the paper and she huffs in frustration. you continue to watch the campus goddess scribble onto her paper, erasing and rewriting things every other second. your eyes move to the paper and you notice her making the same mistake again.

“you did the same thing aga-”

“shut up, i got it” but even after she erases it, she does it again. this time, she realizes what she wrote.

“not a word, y/n”

“rina look, i just-”

“first of all, do not call me that. we’re not close, okay? and second, i don’t care that you were asked to help me. i just need to pass english and then i’m through with you,” without missing a beat, she continues writing her assignment.

you won’t lie, it hurt whenever karina dismissed you like that. you don’t even understand why she hated you so much. was it because you answered for her in class? or was it because you stole her seat on the first day? whatever it was, it still hurt. but if she was going to be like this towards you, then you figured you should be the same back.

and that’s how the rest of your tutoring sessions go. you both arrive at the library, not uttering a single word to each other. you immerse yourself in your book or in other school work, and you only say something if karina asks you. as you meet up more and more, however, you notice karina is slowly starting to ask more questions and actually initiate conversation but you always gave her a dry reply, not even bothering to look up at her as you answer. why should you? you were just here to help her.

after one of your tutoring sessions, you were walking back to your dorm when you suddenly receive a phone call. the caller ID was enough to make you decline the call, but you answer it anyway. you don’t bother saying hello, and just wait for the other party to say something.

“not even a hello? wow, who do you think you are?”

“what do you want?”

“jeez, what’s gotten into you? i just called to check up on you”

“i never asked you to check on me”

“god, you’re unbelievable. you should be thankful i’m even checking up on you even after what you did to your-”

“stop trying to act like my mother. you are not her and you will never be her, so just shut up and leave me alone,” you angrily say as you hang up, not letting her get a response in. you shove your phone back into your pocket and stormed off to your dorm, but you don’t notice the girl behind you who heard everything.

she didn’t mean to eavesdrop. if anything, she blames you for stopping in the middle of the hallway and answering the call, and even putting it on speaker phone. but she heard it either way, whether she wanted to or not. karina watched as you stomped away and she felt a heavy feeling in her chest - it was guilt. she’s been rude to you all this time when all you wanted was to be her friend. you even agreed to tutor her (though it was pretty much forced) and she was still acting like such a bitch to you. but after hearing the conversation, she couldn’t help but feel sad. she didn’t have the best relationship with her mom either, so in a way, she kind of related to you. she starts thinking that maybe you weren’t so bad after all.

a few more tutoring sessions and three assignments later, karina manages to get her grade back up. once she hears the good news from professor lee, she immediately goes to find you.

“y/n!”

you turn around to find an ecstatic and smiley purple haired goddess coming your way. she crashes into you and wraps her arms around you, but you just stand there and look straight ahead, leaving your arms glued to your side.

she finally lets go of you after what seemed like minutes of hugging, and she shoves a paper in front of your face.

“look! i got my grade back up, and it’s all thanks to you!”

“good. now we can go our separate ways,” you try to walk pass her, but she grabs your arm to stop you.

“wait! let me treat you to something to eat! as a thank you for helping me”

“i’ll pass,” and you try to walk by her again. she doesn’t stop you this time, but she starts following you instead.

“how about tomorrow? or next week? i’m free whenever, just let me kn-”

“what’s your deal, hm? why are you so nice to me all of a sudden? just because you got your grade up or what?”

karina’s smile fades and a nervous expression appears on her face, scared to tell you why she was acting this way. she fidgets with the paper in her hand, avoiding your gaze and biting her bottom lip.

“so what do you want?” you ask, trying to get an answer out of her.

“i..” she starts. “i overheard your phone call with your mom. i didn’t mean to, it’s just you were right there and you even put it on speaker phone so i just happened to hear everything..” you say nothing, and you wait for her to continue.

“i feel bad for how i’ve treated you all this time. the truth is, i get it. i know what you’re going through, and it’s okay to-”

“stop,” karina looks at you, and she looks scared but she’s not scared that you were angry, she knew you’re probably pissed at her. what was scaring her is the lack of emotion you were showing. she wanted you to scream at her, to cuss her out for being such a bitch, but instead you’re as calm as ever and it terrifies her to her core.

“she’s not my mother. that was my stepmom who tries way too hard to be my mother,” you say calmly. you start making your way to her, making sure that she hears what you have to say next loud and clear. once you're right in front of her, you continue.

“don’t act like you fucking know me just after hearing one phone call. if you’re being nice to me because you feel bad for me, then just save it. i don’t need your pity and i don’t need you around, got it? i’m through with you” you’re close enough to feel her breath on your lips, but you back away as soon as you’re done talking to her and you leave her in the middle of the hall with people were staring, but you didn’t care. you didn’t need karina or her pity, and the campus goddess got that message loud and clear. but it still hurt her. it hurt enough to make tears fall from her eyes, and karina rarely ever cries. she wipes away whatever tears were on her cheek and starts making her way to meet with ningning.

karina didn't want you to be through with her, but she deserved it. especially since she's the one who said it first.

#kpop scenarios #girl group scenarios #kpop imagines #gg scenarios #gg imagines #aespa #aespa karina #karina yu #yu jimin #karina angst #karina scenarios #karina imagines

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