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xxbimbobunnyxx · 4 months

Text

White Rabbit

Rafe Cameron x Fem!Reader

Summary: Rafe goes to Barry for help with his “pouge problem” but he gets more help than he bargained for when he meets Barry’s cousin in the most unsuspecting way. He can’t stay away from her, despite Barry’s protests, especially when she’s just as unhinged as he is. Takes place during season 2 episode 4 “Homecoming”. Wk: 6.9k.(oops)

Warnings: Gun violence(reader shoots a guy but doesn’t kill him), cocaine use(both reader and rafe), Barry is not super stoked about R and Rafe being into each other, unprotected sex, oral (m & f), choking, hair pulling, face fucking, Dom!Rafe, Sub!Reader, unhinged reader, spit kink, digration, daddy kink, a lil spanking, biting, Rafe & R are obsessed with each other, R has the nickname “bunny” & is implied to be alternative, her outfit is described but other than that no physical descriptions. Lmk if I missed any please! 18+MNDI!!

A/N: This is my first time ever writing for Rafe, so it might not be the best ever but I fell for this man so hard and I just needed to write him with an unhinged girl. Shout out to my girl @babygorewhore for not only beta reading but hyping me up/brainstorming with me through this entire fic. I might make this into a series of some sort. Reblogs and feedback are greatly appreciated!✨🖤

Rafe slammed his truck door shut as he walked up to Barry’s porch, scoffing when he saw him sitting there with his feet propped up while he read a book.

“Hey, you got my shit?”

“Shit, you’re early.” Barry closes his book and sets it down on the table in front of him, a condescending smirk spreading across his lips.

“Do you have my shit or not, man?” Rafe groans as he plops his large body down onto the rundown cushion of one of the porch chairs.

“Yeah, I got yo shit.” Barry chuckles, pulling the baggy from his pocket and tossing it on the table. “You got my money?”

“Yeah.” Rafe pulls a wad of cash from his pocket and slaps it into his hand before grabbing the baggy so he can make himself line. He snorts it, letting out a deep breath after. “I need a piece too.”

“Hooohoooo!! You need a piece? Country Club Killer now, huh?” Barry laughs, his hand coming down to slap his knee.

“Don’t!!” Rafe slams his hand on the table. “Mess with me right now.”

“Aight, what the hell you need a piece for?”

“John B is fucking back.”

“John B is fucking dead dude.”

“Nah man, I saw him for myself in the Bahamas, and just now Top saw him in town with my sister scoring beer.”

“FUCK!!!!” Barry kicks the table, sending it flying a few feet away. “Are you fuckin’ kiddin me? I’m done playing with these kids bruh.”

Barry kicks himself up from his seat, walking over to a locker on the side of the porch. He enters the combination before he pulls out a gun and starts to load it.

“You wanna be done with those little shits once and for all? You’re gonna need a lot more than just a piece. You gotta start going at this shit like a soldier.” He spins the barrel, clicking it into place before handing the gun to Rafe.

“You do this, you know I’ll take care of you, alright? You won’t be doing this shit for nothing man I’ll -“

“YOU THINK I’M SCARED OF YOU, YOU LITTLE BITCH?” A male voice came booming from behind the house.

“IF YOU AREN’T NOW, YOU FUCKING WILL BE!” Another voice followed, but this one was unmistakably female.

“Dude, what the fuck was that? Is that chick okay? Should you like - I don’t know - deal with that or some shit?” Rafe’s blue eyes scan the other man’s face for signs of distress but it was almost like if he hadn’t mentioned it, he wouldn’t have even noticed.

“Nah bro, that’s my cousin. She’s got it, stop trippin. We doin’ this or not?”

There’s a loud crash and then he hears the girl's voice again.

“I TOLD YOU TO GET ON YOUR FUCKING KNEES, YOU PIECE OF SHIT!!!!”

“Dude I’m gonna go check it out, that doesn’t sound good.” Rafe isn’t sure why he really gives a shit if this random chick who he hasn’t even seen is alright or not, maybe he’s just high and paranoid. Either way his curiosity gets the best of him and he starts walking towards the back of Barry’s place.

“She doesn’t need your help pretty boy, trust me.” Barry snorts and shakes his head as he begrudgingly follows him.

When Rafe rounds the corner the sight he sees is far from what he was expecting. The man who he heard yelling was shorter than him but more built, probably middle aged, he wore a white tank top and black board shorts and the look in his eyes told him that he was definitely one of Barry’s customers or less reliable dealers. The girl on the other hand? You were half his size, your hair in two braids with ribbons tied at the ends of them, you were wearing a tiny little baby pink tank top and black spandex shorts that barely covered her ass. You had combat boots on your feet that had little white ruffle socks sticking out of the top of them, but what was most shocking? You were holding a Glock in one of your small hands, and the collar of the man’s tank top was gathered in the other. You were standing on your tiptoes whilst also pulling the man down so he was face level with you, the Glock held to his head.

“I said, get on your fucking knees mother fucker, you got a hearing problem or some shit?” You growl at the man and it sends shivers down Rafe’s spine. You were beautiful. He watches as you shove the Glock into the man’s temple and ram your boot clad heel into his thigh causing him to fall to his knees with a grunt.

“Much better.” You smile as you tap his cheek with the gun before bringing it back to the side of his head. “Now, where the fuck is my fucking money?”

“I told you! I told you I don’t fucking have it right now I just need a little time!” The man’s voice is shaky now, his eyes traveling between you and the gun held to his head.

“Time? This isn’t a fucking loan service! Get me my money by tomorrow, or you’re fucked!” Your eyes are filled with fire and you let out a dry laugh.

“What’re you gonna do? Send Barry after me? Where is he at? He knows I always pay, just let me talk to hi-“ He’s cut off abruptly when you hit him across the cheek with the gun.

“SHUT UP!! You’re not fucking talking to Barry, you’re talking to me. If you don’t get my money you aren’t going to have to deal with him, you’re going to have to deal with me. Which I promise you don’t fucking want.” Rafe watches as you lean down into the guy's face, your eyes boring into his, a sinister smile paints your lips, and he isn’t even ashamed of the fact that he felt his cock stir in his pants at your display of dominance over this man twice your size. “Got it??”

“I don’t know how you expect me to get that amount by tomorrow I-“ The man grunts when you hit him in the face with the gun again, his face whipping to the side.

“I said, got it?” You hold the gun between his eyes, your smile never faltering.

“Yeah - yeah! I got it! I got it! Can I go now!?” The man holds his hands by his head in surrender, seemingly not wanting to argue with you further.

“I fucking mean it asshole, tomorrow, by sunset.” You glare at him momentarily before your smile returns, tapping his cheek with the gun again before turning to walk off.

“You aren’t gonna do shit bitch, you’re nothing without that little gun.”

Rafe’s blue eyes widen as he watches the man’s hand reach out and grab for your Glock. He subconsciously takes a step forward in your defense but soon realizes maybe you really don’t need help. Your body whips around, pulling the gun from the guy's reach and shooting him in the foot all in one motion. He screams out in pain, his hands grabbing onto his foot as he falls to the ground.

“Bring me my fucking money. Tomorrow. Or you’re going to be in a lot more pain than that.” You crouch down and spit in the guy's face before walking over him and into the house, letting the door slam shut behind you. Rafe stands there with his dick half hard and his jaw hanging open as he stares at the closed door you just disappeared behind.

“I told you she fuckin’ had it, and don’t even fuckin’ think about it, country club.” Barry’s voice snaps him out of his trance.

“Wha-? Think about what?”

“I see how you’re fuckin’ lookin at her dude, that’s like my sister in there. You stay your messy ass away from her, aight?”

“We should go check on her…” Rafe ignores Barry’s warning, walking towards the house despite his protests.

You let out an agitated groan as you flop down on the couch and toss your Glock on the cushion next to you. You grab a little clear baggy off the coffee table and sprinkle some of the powder onto the small mirror in front of you, using the random gift card you found in your wallet to push a portion of it into a straight line. You grab the rolled dollar bill sitting on the mirror and bring it up to your nose so fucking ready for this line after dealing with that shit head, but right when you bend over the front door slams open, causing you to jump back. Your foot hits the table and the movement makes a mess of your line. You let out a curse under your breath, your eyes rising to glare at your intruder.

You expect Barry, or maybe that fucking idiot really did want to lose a finger today. But instead of the brown eyes of your cousin, or the bloodshot hazel ones of your unreliable dealer, your eyes lock with piercing blue ones. You have to physically stop yourself from gasping at the sight of the man in front of you. He’s tall, really tall, and built, his chest and arms perfectly filling out the blue button up shirt he wore. His chestnut hair looked silky to the touch, his jaw looked perfect for biting, and his face was just all around beautiful. Especially those eyes, the look in them stern. There was something else there you couldn’t quite decipher, it almost seemed possessive.

“Are you okay?” He asks, his voice laced with concern.

“Uh - yeah? Aside from the fact that you just scared the shit out of me and made me knock my line all over the table, I’m just peachy.” You scoff, throwing him a playful smirk and roll of your eyes.

“Country Club here seems to think you’re some kinda damsel in distress or some shit.” Barry walks through the door behind him, smacking his bicep with the back of his hand and laughing loudly.

“Damsel in distress, huh? I don’t think I’d mind if a pretty boy like you came to my rescue.” You bite your bottom lip, your eyes roaming his figure.

“Hell fuckin’ nah! Quit that shit out right now, Bunny. I mean it. I told him the same shit, I don’t want this.” He gestures between you and Rafe. “To be a thing. You two are a recipe for fuckin’ disaster. This is Rafe Cameron, the dude I was tellin’ you about.”

“What the fuck did you tell her about me man?” Rafe’s voice comes out almost panicked and you find yourself wanting to comfort him immediately. You jump up from your seat and walk around the table so you can stand in front of him. He’s even taller up close, you have to tilt your head all the way to meet his eyes and you stop yourself from clenching your thighs at the height difference.

“So this is the guy that killed the sheriff, huh? Pretty boy is a cop killer? I find that kind of sexy…” You twirl a strand of your hair between your fingers, your teeth subconsciously finding your bottom lip again as you look up at him through your lashes.

“Barry, what the hell man? You told her that shit?” He addresses the other man but his eyes don’t leave yours, the look in them changed from concern to defense, and maybe a little lust? He was honestly looking at you like he wanted to choke you to death and this time you really couldn’t stop yourself from clenching your thighs where you stood.

“Hey, I’m not going to rat you out or some shit. Barry gave me the low down on everyone on the island when I moved, if I’m going to work for him I need to know the ins and outs, ya know? He trusts me, if you trust him, you can trust me. I’m cool.” You give him a smile that you hope is reassuring, you aren’t sure why but you want him to trust you.

“Alright.” His eyes search your face, almost as if he’s trying to read your thoughts, to see if you really mean it.

“Alright, we good?” You extend your hand towards him and he takes it in his much larger one, shaking it.

“We’re good.” You go to pull your hand away but he tightens his grasp, keeping it held in his. “You didn’t tell me your name though, or should I just call you, what did Barry call you? Bunny?”

“Bunny is preferred, but you can call me my real name too, if you’d like.” You let your thumb run across the back of his hand as you tell him your name, your eyes never leaving his.

“AIGHT! That’s enough of alla that.” Barry pushes past you, plopping down on the couch he grabs the bong on the coffee table and starts to load it.

“Bare, stop acting like you’re in charge of who I flirt with. I'm a grown ass woman, you're being dramatic.” You scoff, sending him a death glare.

“Seriously man, you’re acting like you’re her dad or some shit.” He chuckles when your cousin flips him off. “I’m sorry about your line by the way, I really just came to check in on you after I saw you arguing with that asshole out there. Let me make it up to you.”

Rafe brings his hand up to your shoulder, running his thumb over the blade a few times before letting it graze down your arm as he walks towards the couch. You watch as he sits down next to Barry and picks up your gift card, expertly lining the fine power back into a nice row before patting the cushion next to him. A smile breaks across your lips as you take the empty seat. He doesn’t miss the way your tits bounce when your ass hits the couch and the smell of your sweet perfume makes his cock twitch.

“For you, pretty girl.” He holds the folded dollar bill up to you with a smirk and you happily take it from him.

“Thanks, cutie.” You wink at him. When you lean down Rafe notices your hair is in your way so like it’s the most casual thing in the world he brings his large hand up to your face and sweeps the straw pieces behind your ear. He pushes the rest of it behind your shoulder and his hand stays there while you inhale through your nostril. His touch doesn’t leave you, even when you lean back against the couch, he simply adjusts it so it’s around your shoulder.

“You gonna flirt with my cousin all goddamn night or are we gonna deal with your little pouge problem?”

“Pouge problem? What’s going on?” You raise your eyebrows, your eyes traveling between Barry and Rafe.

“You remember that little fucker John B I was telling you about? His ass is alive and back on the island.” Barry shakes his head and lets out a dry laugh.

“That’s the kid the cops think killed the sheriff, right? Damn. That’s not good for you, Rafe.” You make eye contact and bite your lip nervously. “Those kids know you actually killed her, don’t they?”

“Yeah, and my fucking sister is with them. Her and John B were there, they saw the whole goddamn thing.” Rafe groans, his hands running through his hair in frustration. “I can’t have them opening their fucking mouths. I just can’t.”

“Then you know what you have to do, right? Shut them the fuck up, once and for all.” Your eyes darken and it reminded him of the way they looked outside, when you were holding a gun to your dealer's head.

“Yeah, no shit dude, that’s why I said we were going to deal with it.” Barry scoffs, rolling his eyes at you.

“Okay, I don’t know what the hell is up with you attitude Bare, but fucking ditch it.” You glare at him as you grab the couch pillow next to you and throw it at his face.

“Oh? You wanna fuckin’ go bruh?” Your cousin grins at you, gripping the pillow in his hand and swinging it over Rafe’s body, directly into your face with a cackle.

“Oh you mother fucker!” You let out a laugh, your hands go for the pillow but it’s ripped from your grasp.

“CUT IT THE FUCK OUT!!” Rafe takes the pillow in his large ringed hand and throws it across the room causing you to jump, your smile falling. “Barry, are you gonna help me or not man?”

“Hey.” Your eyes are soft again, you put your hand on his chest and rub soft circles onto his skin through his shirt with the pad of your thumb. “He’s going to help you, and I will too. We were just fucking around, everything’s alright. You’re probably under a lot of stress, huh? Poor thing.”

Rafe isn’t exactly sure how to react. No one has ever taken his anger and looked at it as more than just that, anger, yet here you are knowing him for all of ten minutes and the minute he loses his temper you see it for what it is, stress. Plus you’re kind of coddling him, and he’s never had anyone coddle him before. He almost feels speechless.

“I’m not gonna suck your dick about it like she is but I’m gonna help you man, fuckin’ relax. We doin’ this shit tonight?” Barry cracks his knuckles and kicks his feet up on the coffee table, earning an immediate glare from you. He scoffs, taking his feet off the table with a roll of his eyes. “I don’t know why you care so much if my feet are on the table dude, it’s my fuckin’ table anyways.”

“The drugs I put inside my nose are on this table, I don’t want your dirty ass shoes on it. It's common sense really.” He rolls his eyes and you flip him off, sticking your tongue out at him.

“Yeah man, tonight. I want to give this shit over with. I bet you anything they’re at John B’s. They’re stupid enough to go there.” Rafe’s hand is tapping on his already shaking leg and you can tell he’s anxious, you reach out and grab it, stopping his motions. He doesn’t look at you, but he intertwines your fingers, his hand squeezing yours. You squeeze his back and bring your other hand to his bicep so you can rub soothing circles on it. He lets out a sigh. “Once it’s dark, then they won’t see us coming.”

“Aight, let’s do this shit. Bunny, you in?” Barry raises a brow at you, his eyes lingering on the way you’re touching Rafe. “Also, I thought I said I didn’t want this to be a thing.”

“It could be dangerous, I don’t know if you should come, I wouldn't want anything to happen to you.” Rafe answers before you can, his hand squeezing yours again in what you assume is supposed to be reassurance but it actually just pisses you off.

“Okay.” Your voice is stern, your hands leave him as you stand from the couch and he immediately misses your touch. “I wanna get something straight, right fucking now. I am not some weak little girl who sits at home while all the fun shit goes down. If that’s the kinda girl you’re into, you are not going to find that with me. I’m a ride or die type of bitch. If my man is in trouble, I’m helping him. So if you want this to be a ‘thing’ as Barry is calling it, then I suggest you accept that sooner rather than later.”

“And you, have no fucking say in who I do and don’t engage with sexually or romatically. Me and Rafe clearly have chemistry and I could tell that the moment I locked eyes with him, so you’re just going to have to get the fuck over it. Are we clear? Both of you?” You look between them, your hands on your hips and that fire Rafe is already becoming addicted to in your eyes.

“Whatever, your lil ass has always been fuckin’ impossible to control. If this blows up in your face I’m gonna say I told you so, cuz.” Barry snorts.

“Yeah baby, I got it.” Rafe cuts in, sending a shockwave through your body with the pet name. “I saw you out there with that guy, you might be tougher than Barry.”

This makes you smile, your eyes turning soft as you approach him on the couch. This time you don’t take the seat next to him, you sit across his lap, facing your cousin with a triumphant smile. Rafe's arm circles around your waist and you nestle in closer to him.

“Alright then. Glad we are all on the same page now. So what’s the plan?”

“FUCK!!!!” Rafe was pissed, he threw himself into the driver's seat of his truck, slamming his hands down on the wheel. “FUCKING BULLSHIT!! THEY HAD TO OF JUST BEEN FUCKING BEEN THERE! POUGE FOR LIFE SARAH?! HUH?! I SEE HOW IT FUCKING IS!!”

“Rafe…” You approach the open driver's door, gently resting your hand on top of one of his that was white knuckling the steering wheel. Completely unafraid, despite the fact that he’s still holding the gun Barry gave him in his other hand. “Let’s just calm down for a second, okay? We’re gonna work it out, they aren’t going to fuck with you.”

“ARE YOU SERIOUS? I’M FUCKED! YOU DON’T FUCKING GET IT! YOU DON’T KNOW MY FUCKING DAD! YOU DON’T KNOW MY FAMILY, IF IT COMES BETWEEN ME AND MY GODDAMN SISTER HE’S GONNA FUCKING CHOOSE HER!!!” His hands leave the wheel, weaving through his hair and tugging, the gun pressed up against the side of his face.

“Hey.” You put your hands over his, turning his face towards yours. “I might not know about all that shit, maybe not yet at least, but I know that when I say I’m going to do something I get it done. You aren’t alone in this, I’m going to help you, okay?”

Your voice is sweet, the look in your eyes is gentle and reassuring, and your hands? They’re so soft, and cool against his face, the feeling of them soothes him in a way he’s never felt before. He lets out a sigh, relaxing under your touch.

“We are going to deal with this, but for right now we need to get the fuck out of here. Those gunshots could’ve caught someone’s attention.” You run your thumbs over the top of his hands before grabbing onto the gun, pulling it from his grasp with a smile. You tuck it into your boot and lean up onto your tiptoes to place a gentle kiss on his cheek.

“Yeah, alright.” He nods, his hands smoothing through his hair.

You walk around the front of the truck so you can hop into the passenger seat, Barry already sat in the back anxiously bouncing his leg.

“Okay, let’s take Barry back to the house and then I think you and I should go somewhere together.” You buckle your seatbelt and turn to face him.

“Yeah? Where?” He shoves the keys in the ignition and puts the truck in drive, pulling away from the Châtea and into the night.

“Just trust me, I know a spot.” You kick your feet up on the dash, reaching into your purse for a cigarette and your lighter.

“Every instinct in my body is telling me to tell you to bring your ass home with me, but you’re not gonna listen to me for shit so I’m not gonna waste my breath. Gimme one of those fuckin’ cigarettes though.” Barry leans forward, snatching the entire pack and your lighter from your hands.

“Yeah, you’re better off not arguing with me Bare. Fucking give those back though, dick.” He rolls his eyes, lighting the cigarette he took from your pack before throwing it back to you.

“Yeah whatever, just fuckin’ take me home man.”

“Okay, take a left here and on your right you’re gonna see a little road that goes through these trees.” You point out the window, directing Rafe as he drives.

“Where the hell are you taking me, huh? You taking me out somewhere quiet to sacrifice me?” He chuckles, looking over at you with a smirk.

“Mmm, I bet you’d like that, huh? Preppy rich boys like you always like the fucked up alternative girls from the sticks.” You return his smirk with one of your own.

“Ha! I guess you’re right, I wouldn’t mind if you spilled a little bit of my blood, as long as I could spill yours too…” he reaches the end of the road, driving into a clearing in the trees, a patch of lone beach in front of you.

“Yeah? That’s hot. Stop here.” He obliges, putting the truck into park and taking off his seatbelt. You do the same, turning towards him with your legs tucked underneath you.

“What’re we really doing out here, vampire girl?” His eyes meet yours momentarily before the trail down your body, taking extra time to admire your tits in your top.

“Mmm, well, I know you’re really stressed and I just thought… maybe you could take some of your frustrations out on me?” You lock eyes with him, your tongue running over your bottom lip before you take it between your teeth.

“Yeah? You brought me out here so I would fuck the shit out of you?” He licks his lips, his large hand reaches out to rest on your thigh, squeezing the meat of it between his fingers.

“Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t want to take me home after that shit you said about your family and Barry would probably either kill us both or have a stroke if you fucked me how I want you to fuck me at my place.” You said it oh so matter of fact, that smirk ever present on your lips.

“And how do you want me to fuck you? Huh, bunny?” His hand runs along the length of your thigh, stopping at the hem of your shorts. He grabs onto it, the tips of his thumb and his pinky just dipping under the fabric.

“I want you to fuck me like you hate me, take your frustrations out on me, Rafe. Use me.” Your voice comes out desperate and it makes him groan.

“I’ve barely even touched you yet and you’re already practically begging for me… you wanna be my little slut, that it?” His thumb runs down the seam of your shorts, stopping at your wet core. “You’re fucking dripping. I can feel it through your panties.”

“It’s all for you, want you, want to be your little slut so bad.”

“Fuck.” The hand not on your thigh reaches for your throat, squeezing it and cutting off your air supply in the most delicious way. “I’m going to fucking ruin you.”

He uses his grip on your throat to pull your face to his, smashing his lips against your own in a bruising kiss. You moan against his mouth and he uses the opportunity to slip his tongue past your lips. You bring your hands up to tangle your fingers through his hair at the same time that his hand on your thigh pushes your shorts and panties to the side, burying two fingers in your wet cunt with little resistance. He begins pumping them in and out of you while his grip on your throat never falters. He pulls away from the kiss, his blue eyes almost black with lust as they bore into your own. His thumb finds your clit and your back arches, a loud moan ripping through you.

“Open your fucking mouth.” You oblige, sticking your tongue out and looking up at him through your lashes. He leans over you and lets a string of spit drop onto your waiting tongue. You moan as you happily swallow it. “Good girl. Want you to cum for me.”

His fingers hook just right inside you, rubbing against your g-spot and his thumb circles your clit perfectly. You feel your high approaching fast, you push your tank top down, letting your braless tits fall free. You grab them in your hands, tweaking your nipples, it causes your eyes to roll back and you feel that coil in your stomach about to snap. Rafe’s hand leaves your throat and grips onto your jaw in one swift motion.

“Fucking look at me when I make you cum.” He squeezes your cheeks between his thumb and pointer finger, causing your lips to pout. “I own this pussy now, that means I own your orgasms too, look at me while I take what’s mine.”

You open your eyes, and the minute they meet his your high crashes over you like a tidal wave. A broken moan leaves your throat and your walls clench around his large fingers as they continue to fuck you through your high. He pulls them from your pussy, holding them up to his face to examine them. They’re creamy white and glistening in the moonlight. You grab his wrist and take them into your mouth, swirling your tongue around them. He growls in response, shoving them further down your throat. You gag and he licks his lips, the sound going straight to his cock.

“Fuck, wanna feel you gagging around my dick. Get out of the truck and get on your knees, now.” He pulls his fingers from between your lips and takes them into his own mouth. The taste of your spit mixed with the remainder of your arousal sending his eyes to the back of his head. You follow his direction, hastily throwing the truck door open and getting out. You start to walk around the back and he stops you halfway, grabbing you by the hair so he can pull your head back, forcing you to look up at him. “I’m going to fuck this pretty little mouth while you kneel in the sand like the dirty slut you are. Bet you’d like that, huh?”

You nod as best as you can with the grip he has on your head, that sickeningly sweet smirk from when he first saw you earlier that day spread across your lips.

“Yeah, daddy, I want you to use my mouth like a fucking cock sleeve.” His eyes widen and a groan rips through him at the sound of that name leaving your lips.

“Fuck. Take this off.” He grabs the hem of your tank top and you lift your arms so he can pull it over your head. He takes your tits in his hands and squeezes them, the coolness of them sending a shiver down your spine and straight to your core, your nipples hardening under his touch. “Fucking perfect tits. Knees. Now.”

You drop to your knees and eagerly reach for the button on his shorts undoing it and his zipper in one swift motion. His cock is straining against his black boxers and your mouth waters at the sight. You pull his shorts and boxers down and it springs free, thick and hard and leaking just for you. You knew he would be big, but goddamn his cock is huge.

“Mmm daddy, you’re so big, fuck.” You spit on your hand and bring it to his shaft, lightly stroking him. That bead of precum on his head is practically begging you to taste it so you lean forward and lick his slit with the tip of your tongue. You circle his tip before taking it in your mouth and sucking eagerly.

“Yeah, that’s right baby, suck daddy’s cock.” His hands grab onto your braids like makeshift handlebars and he uses his grip to push himself all the way down your throat, causing you to gag around him. He holds your head there for a few seconds before pulling you off with a pop. Your mouth subconsciously chases his taste. “Oh you’re such an eager little whore huh? You like that? You like gagging on my cock?”

You nod and his grip on your hair tightens, pulling your head back so you’re looking up into his eyes.

“Fuckin’ answer me when I’m talking to you.”

“Yes - yes daddy, I fucking love it.”

“That’s what I thought.” He smirks down at you, shoving his cock back into your mouth and immediately thrusting into your throat. You gag and your eyes water, your mascara already starting to run down your cheeks. “God. Fucking look at you, I can see my cock in your throat baby.”

So much drool is dripping out of the sides of your mouth that it’s started to run down your chest and onto your tits. You swipe your fingers through it, wetting them before bringing them to his balls, caressing them in your lubed up hand.

“Oh fuck! Yeah, shiiiiit, play with my fucking balls, that’s so fucking good.” You look up at him and his head is thrown back, his neck on display, you can see all the veins in his biceps and the moans leaving him are feral. Your pussy clenches around nothing at the sight. Your hand travels between your legs and into your little spandex shorts, expertly finding your already slick clit and rubbing quick circles over it. Your moans increase in volume and it causes him to glance down at you, taking notice of your hand in your shorts.

“Hey, what the fuck did I say huh?” He pulls you off of him, bending at the waist so his face is hovering over yours. “I said that’s my fucking pussy, that means I’m the only one who gets to make you cum. Get up.”

He lets go of your hair, grabbing you underneath your arms and pulling you to your feet. He turns towards the truck and rips the bed open, grabbing onto your hips and roughly turning you. He pushes down on your back, and you take the hint, bending at the waist so your top half is against the truck bed. The plastic floor is cool and rough against your nipples and your lower half hangs off the truck, your feet not touching the ground. A harsh smack lands on your ass, causing you to help and jolt forward.

“You’re not so tough now, huh, vampire girl? Your pathetic dealers know you’re just a little slut who likes to get thrown around? Or is that just for me?” He grabs onto your shorts and panties, ripping them down to your ankles where they pool at the top of your boots. “Look at you, you’re so fucking wet.”

He drops to his knees, his tongue licking a stripe from your clit to your asshole and back again. He sucks your sensitive bud into his mouth and his hand comes down on your ass again. You feel like you’re going to cum embarrassingly soon. His fingers run through your slick lips before they’re sliding inside you, immediately hooking into your sweet spot. You cum suddenly and hard, your whole body shaking underneath him.

“Please fuck me now daddy, please, I want your cock so bad” you voice is whiney and you shake your ass from side to side, arching your back so it’s further on display for him.

“Quit begging, I’m gonna give you what you want, don’t be a greedy brat.” He stands, two harsh smacks landing on your ass. He takes his cock in his hand and runs the head through your slit, coating it in your wetness. He pushes into you in one swift motion, and immediately starts fucking you at a brutal pace.

“Yes! Fuck! You’re so big, feels so full.” Your voice is a breathy moan, his cock feels like it’s in your lungs and the door to the truck bed is digging into your hips but god it feels so good. His hands are grabbing your hips so roughly that you think his nails might be drawing blood, and god you hope they are. You want him to mark you as his, anywhere and everywhere.

“Fuuuuck, you’re so fucking tight, gripping my cock so good. This pussy was fucking made for me. Say it.” He leans over you, practically crushing you, but his cock hits even deeper than before and his mouth latches onto your neck and it’s like he read your mind because he starts to roughly suck and bite into your skin. Definitely leaving marks behind. “Say it. Say this pussy was made for me.”

“This pussy was fucking made for you, daddy.” You arch your back, pushing your ass back against him the best you can with your limited movement, wanting to feel every ridge and vein of him as deep inside you as possible.

“Yeah it fucking was.” He leans back, his hand gripping onto your hair again so he can pull your back against his chest. The sting of the truck against your hips at an all time high. He releases your hair so he can grip onto your throat instead, his other hand coming down to rub your clit. The feelings of pain mixed with pleasure sending you closer and closer to another orgasm. “You gonna cum already? I can feel you tightening around my cock baby girl.”

“Yeah - yeah I’m - fuck - I’m gonna cum for you daddy, you just feel sofuckinggood.” You’re a drooling whimpering mess and the coil is seconds away from snapping when he stops his movements and pulls out of you, taking your orgasm with him. “Hey what-“

Before you can protest he grips onto your hips, flipping you over onto your back. He grabs your throat and pulls you into a sitting position, grabbing onto your thigh with his other hand so he can pull you to the edge of the truck.

“I told you, I want you to look at me when you cum. You owe me for that last one.” He slams his cock into you, continuing to fuck you like his life depends on it. His thumb finds your clit again and his mouth latches onto your neck, biting down so hard you wouldn’t be surprised if you had a bruise in the shape of his teeth marks. You’d get it tattooed if he wanted. You already knew at that moment this man had ruined all other men for you. He had you.

“Fuck - fuck daddy, I’m gonna - I’m gonna cum I’m gonna cum”

“Fucking cum for me, I’ll fill this little pussy up, paint your walls with my cum. Milk my cock, slut.”

His words send you over the edge, cumming harder than you have all night. Your walls convulse around him and your nails rake down his back, leaving red marks in their wake. But that’s not what does him in, it’s the fact that you never break eye contact with him for a second. Obeying him like the good girl you are.

“Fuck! Good fucking girl, best fucking pussy I’ve ever had. Never gonna leave you alone now. Never quitting this pussy.” He cums with a growl, shoving his cock deep inside you. He fucks you through his high, his thrusts never letting up, his face shoved into your neck. When he finally starts to come down he lets his softening cock slip out of you, his lips finding yours and kissing you with fever.

“Never quittting this pussy, huh, pretty boy? That’s a bold statement to make about a girl you just met.” You smirk at him, taking his face in his hands and caressing his cheeks with your thumbs.

“Don’t fucking care, I meant every word. You’re fucking mine now.” He turns his head to the side, placing a kiss on the inside of your palm.

“Does that mean you’re mine too? I don’t do one sided bullshit.”

“Yeah baby, that means I’m yours too. Come on, get your clothes on, let’s get the fuck out of here.” He places a gentle kiss on your lips, grabbing your clothes off the sandy ground and shaking them out before handing them to you.

“You gonna take me home now? Barry is just gonna love all the hickies I know you left on my neck.” You smirk at him, pulling your shirt over your head.

“Nah, I’m bringing you home with me. Gonna fuck you all night long.” He cups your jaw in his hand, his thumb running over your bottom lip.

“What about your family?” You raise an eyebrow at him.

“Fuck em, you’re my girl now, they’re going to have to get used to it. Get your ass in the truck, I wanna fuck you in my shower.”

You giggle, running around to jump in the truck. You didn’t even see his family that night. But they definitely heard Rafe making good on his promise to fuck you all night long and you couldn’t even find it in yourself to feel bad. Not that night, and not the next morning when he introduced you to his dad and step mom while they had disgusted looks on their faces. You just smiled, happily shaking their hands like you weren’t calling their son daddy until the sun came up.

Tagging moots who might be interested: @chrrymunson @emsgoodthinkin @imyourdaninow 🖤

#rafe Cameron #rafe OBX #rafe Cameron x reader #rafe cameron x you #rafe cameron x female reader #rafe Cameron smut #rafe cameron fanfiction #rafe cameron one shot #rafe cameron x fem!reader #Dolly writes

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anonymous-dentist · 6 months

Text

Or: a pirate au

Before having the nerve to turn Roier in to the Navy, Spreen had this to say:

“I have no compassion for anybody.”

And then he had leaned forward and driven both the metaphorical and literal-actual-goddamn sword in between Roier’s ribs, and he had whispered right into Roier’s ringing ear:

“You’re lucky I’m not drowning you.”

And then he had kicked Roier off of his ship and onto the Navy’s, and he had sailed away, free to live and fight another day while leaving his best friend and first mate behind.

But, well. Joke’s on him! It’s been a year since that fateful day, but Roier is alive, and he’s free, and he’s got a gun and a sword and a ship of his own, and he’s gonna make Spreen pay.

But first? Breakfast, and fast. The Navy is after him, and he doesn’t want to get captured this early in the morning. (Foolish would never let it go!)

The Barcoier docks just after sunrise, and Roier is off the ship and speeding down the pier before Jaiden even has the anchor weighed.

The island is small, so small that it’s just a town and some farms and a couple of trees and a single lake smack in the center of it all. It’s so small it doesn’t even have a name, but that just makes it all the better for hiding from the Navy on; if it’s too small to be on a map, it’s too small for those idiots with the Navy to pick up on.

Maybe Roier is a bad pirate captain for leaving his crew to tie up the ship and run errands while he gets everyone breakfast and tries not to get arrested. But also:

(“We need a chef,” Jaiden complains. “No offense, dude, but your cooking sucks.”

Roier sniffs, hurt, but he doesn’t argue. He’s a better chef on land than he is on the water.

“I’ll get us a chef,” he promises. “But only if you-” He pokes Jaiden between the eyes with a corner of his hardtack biscuit. “-get us better food! Nobody can cook with this!”

He smacks his biscuit hard enough against the table to crack it [the table.] Jaiden rolls her eyes, but she shrugs.)

Where there’s a good breakfast, there’s a good chef. And, on an island as tiny as this one is, said chef might just be desperate enough for a change of pace that they’d agree to become a pirate. (It’s how Spreen got Roier, after all.)

How hard can it be?

…Really hard, actually, especially now that the Federation and its Navy are starting to crack down extra hard on pirates. They’ve moved on from life imprisonment to public executions, and all because most of the pirates left on the seas have started to unionize under the guidance of the feared Captain Bad Halo.

But, who knows? Maybe today will be the day!

Maybe…

The town’s only restaurant is closed for renovations, but the town’s bakery is open, thank God.

The bakery, much like the town it’s based in, doesn’t have a name. It does, however, have a wooden sign hanging above the door with a donut painted on it. The donut’s center, rather than being a hole, is a bright yellow-irised eyeball. Freaky.

The door jingles like rusted keys as Roier enters. Someone swears from the back room; otherwise, the bakery is entirely empty.

“Coming!” Roier hears.

“No worries!” he responds. “Take your time!”

He doesn’t exactly have time for the baker to take, but he isn’t exactly going to get himself a chef by being rude, is he?

So Roier waits, and he takes the opportunity to look at the display cases by the front counter. Donuts, of course, some muffins. An… abnormal amount of meat pies. Sure? Why not! Every place has its specialties.

A few moments pass, during which Roier starts mentally counting how many of each item he’s gonna need, and then footsteps from the back and an apologetic, “Sorry, I’m just-”

The baker cuts himself off as Roier stands up and looks him over. He’s… handsome, okay. Okay. More importantly, he already looks more piratey than half of Roier’s crew: pierced ear, scar across the bridge of his nose, solid build. Hot.

“You’re a pirate,” the baker says, much calmer than most regular people would be. Good, he’s brave, pirates need to be brave.

Roier leans forward against the counter, propping himself up on his elbows. He smiles, head tilted juuuust so.

“Who, me?” he asks. He shakes his head. “Naaaah. I’m just a regular guy looking for breakfast, you know?”

The baker’s eyes trail over Roier’s head and shoulders like he’s memorizing him. Creepy, kinda. Hot, kinda.

Roier continues, “But I’ve never been here before, so… any recommendations?”

He winks. The baker’s eyes widen slightly, and then he smiles himself and leans himself against the counter, his arms just inches away from Roier’s.

“Well,” he says, “the donuts will last longer on a long trip, if that’s what you’re asking. Everything else has fresh ingredients in it.”

“Who says I’m going on a long trip?”

The baker rolls his eyes and pushes himself off the counter to start unloading donuts into a bag. “Please, nobody actually wants to stay in this shithole. I’m used to tourists.”

He has nice arms. Maybe he even knows how to use a sword already.

“Sooo… you want to leave, too?” Roier asks.

The baker shrugs. “Maybe someday.”

That isn’t a no…

So it’s basically a yes!

Roier beams. “What if today was your someday?”

The baker gives him a flat look. “I’m not a pirate.”

“Maybe I’m not, either. But I do need someone on my ship who knows how to cook, and you wanna get out of here.”

The last donut is dumped into the bag, and the baker ties the bag shut and plops it onto the counter. He leans over it with a raised eyebrow.

“I’m not a chef, either,” he says. “Shouldn’t you be hiring someone that can actually cook, Captain Roier?”

At Roier’s gasp, the baker nods his head towards the wall behind Roier. On it is a bulletin board with wanted posters for nearly every pirate on the seas, Roier included.

Whoops.

Whatever! The baker hasn’t called the authorities yet, so he’s fine.

Roier opens his mouth, ready to try his pitch again, but he’s rudely interrupted by a cannon ball sailing through the bakery’s front window and slamming into a cabinet full of flour.

The room explodes into white, sending both Roier and the baker reeling.

“Fuck!” Roier coughs. He fans the air in front of his face, blinking rapidly to get the flour off of his eyes.

The bakery’s door is slammed open by a heavy boot. Its owner, a Navy officer, follows it in with his sword drawn and pointed at… the baker.

“Hands in the air,” the officer sneers.

Roier looks at the officer. He looks at the baker.

The baker looks at him. The baker looks at the officer.

He raises his hands slowly, holding the donut bag with it for whatever reason.

He looks at Roier again, a small smile on his handsome, yet flour-dusted, face.

“Thank you for having me aboard, captain,” he says.

The officer just then seems to notice Roier, but the poor bastard is just a bit too late because, just as he’s turning around to slash at the very obvious pirate captain in the room, Cellbit chucks the donuts at the idiot’s head. The bag makes contact, and then it makes the officer stumble right into the pointy end of Roier’s sword.

What a shame.

Roier pulls his sword out of the guy’s stomach with a grimace, wiping the blood on the bakery’s shredded window curtains.

He turns to smile at the baker, then.

“Glad to have you aboard…”

“Cellbit,” the baker supplies.

Now, where has Roier heard that name before…?

Whatever! There’s time for that later.

For now, Roier has a ship to get to, and he has a chef to deliver to it.

#a.d.'s fics i suppose #a.d.'s fics i suppose.#spiderbit pirate au #that’s right I revamped it #based loosely off of 1 piece iykyk

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obsolescent · 6 months

Text

The Darkness and the Light

Chapter I - All Around Me

Pairing: Jill Valentine x Reader

Summary: Working nights at a gas station has its perks, little foot traffic and relatively quiet, peaceful even, until one customer shows up. There’s something about her that’s so odd, you can’t look at her for long. There’s a feeling that goes from chilling to burning like fire, coursing through you whenever she’s around. During this time of year the days are getting shorter, becoming chillier, leaves starting to fall. Something is in the air, stirring within you. You never feel alone nowadays, a feeling that was once comforting has now put you on constant edge. A presence is always lurking around the corner, right out of reach. Even if you wanted to fight it, could you? Or were you destined for its pages, years in the making, the story needing you to reach its conclusion.

Author’s Notes: Inspired loosely by songs and a book series I read when I was younger. I’m not sure how long this will become. Unfortunately this was supposed to come out before Halloween, but I got sucked into other writings, apologies. I hope y'all like a chilling story after the fact! Jill is perhaps a bit out of character for this, due to her being a vampire. RE5 Jill for this, Capcom are cowards for not keeping her look from 5. I hope you enjoy it!

Content Warnings: Swearing, AFAB Reader, gender neutral language used for reader, Jill is a vampire, eventual smut in upcoming chapters, reader has a gun, unintentional manipulation/persuasion from vampires and their powers, protective Jill, violence, mentions of stalking, depression, thoughts of losing one’s mind.

Disclaimer: Jill Valentine is trans in this story. Keep your transphobic remarks to yourself and don’t read this if that bothers you.

“Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee. — Psalm 139:12

“You got protection?”

You stop, hand hovering over the customer’s drink as your eyes meet.

“Huh?” A questioning sound leaves you. Head tilting, eyebrows furrowed.

He repeats his question, “You got any protection?”

Your eyes flicker to the gun under the register.

“Yeah, I got something.”

He chuckles, pointing to the ceiling, “From above?”

You smile, one of those big, fake customer service smiles. “I got something a little more physical.”

His eyes widened a bit, before he laughs again, nodding approvingly. “Don’t blame you, being here by yourself so late at night. You take care now, you here?”

You nod, thanking him and wishing him a good night. The door chimes when he leaves. You release a puff of air, slumping into yourself.

Another long night.

You leave your spot at the register, grabbing your rag on the way. Absentmindedly wiping down surfaces, restocking cups and lids, checking creamer and sugar levels. Your movements are almost robotic after doing this for so long, going on autopilot while performing your tasks.

You’re on your knees, the cabinets opened beneath the drink station, gathering the needed cups to replenish when the door chimes. Your mouth is opened to greet the customer when that all consuming feeling prickles the back of your neck.

Like ice cold water has been poured down your back, goosebumps forming and hair standing on end, barely able to squeak out a “Hello”.

Without looking, you know who it is.

She always comes late at night, doesn’t stay for long, doesn’t talk. At first, you didn’t notice her really, blending in with other customers. It wasn’t until one interaction, when you had been handing her change. You’re always careful to not touch the customers when doing so, avoiding direct contact, germs and whatnot. This time, your aim was off, basically smacking the change into her palm.

You couldn’t even react like you normally would, an apology on your tongue when you realized how cold she was. Though, coming into contact with her chilly skin should’ve caused your own to bristle, but instead you felt heat.

You thought that maybe she was so cold that it felt like you had been burned, but when yanking your hand back, a couple coins hitting the counter with a plink plink at the force of your movements, the flames kept coursing through you.

The direct contact with her skin hadn’t lasted longer than a few seconds. But, ever since then, if your back is turned when she enters, you feel the chill, but as soon as you turn towards her, meeting those icy blue eyes, your body is set aflame.

You hate the icy hot feeling that occurs whenever she’s here. It leaves you feeling nauseous and tired afterwards, like you’ve been battling the flu. Ugh.

She makes her usual rounds, walks through every aisle, before walking back around to the shelves lined with toiletries. She takes something from a hook before making her way to the counter.

You leave your spot, head down as you make your way behind the counter. You eye the item she chose, some lip balm. It’s different each time.

Gaze not directly meeting hers, your eyes focus on the scarf wrapped around her neck. Maybe if you don’t look into her eyes, the feeling won’t come.

It comes anyways. You wince, stomach churning, cheeks flushing. UGH, goddamn. You will yourself to crack a smile, voice wavering.

“H-hey, find everything okay?”

She nods.

Right. Of course. You tell her the total and she hands you cash, quickly getting her change ready. Your usual spill is leaving your mouth as you deposit the money into her hand, “Thankyouhaveagoodnight,” rushed out, fingers steering clear of her’s.

You’re patting yourself on the back internally for getting through the encounter quickly, but…

She continues to stand there.

Internal hand patting your back is now clenched into a fist, banging on a fictitious wall while you scream. Inhaling a deep breath, you smile and ask, “Is there anything else I can get you?”

A slight tilt to her head, blonde bangs shifting slightly.

“My name’s Jill.”

Oh.

You can’t remember a time where she uttered a word, now hearing her voice for the first time, her soft tone washes over your senses, and…The sickly feeling starts going away?

It’s like her voice soothes it, bringing forth the cure to your ailment. You feel your muscles relax once more, the way you felt before she came in, now accompanied by a soothing warmth.

Instead of being tossed directly into the fireplace, flames licking at you, you’re sitting beside it in comfort.

Your eyes flutter, confused but also grateful that horrible feeling has left you. You smile and tell her your name, knowing it’s on your nametag but now, able to look into those sky blue eyes and feel nothing but relief, you don’t mind speaking to her.

She nods, a small smile gracing her features before turning and exiting the store.

You’re struck dumbfounded, frozen while you watch her leave.

What was that???

A deep breath leaves you, slumping over the counter, body now feeling exhausted after the roller coaster of emotions that coursed through you in such a short amount of time.

You stand up straight and walk to the soda fountain, getting yourself some sort of caffeine to help carry you through the rest of your shift.

Thankfully the rest of your time goes by quickly, able to close the store and count the drawer in a breeze, locking up and walking out to your car.

The hair on your neck stands up once again, a chill running through you. The feeling of being watched shrouds you and you sprint to the car, hitting the button to open the door and jumping in, immediately hitting the lock button.

Heart thudding in your ears, the blood rushing through your veins creates such a loud sound that fills the cabin of the car only you can hear as you grip the seat, the steering wheel, anything to try to keep calm, breathing harshly.

Your eyes dart around, looking out all the windows, head whipping around as you start the car. You scramble for the gun in your bag, gripping it tightly and setting it in your lap. You peel out of the parking lot, in a frenzy to just go, go, go, get out of there.

You take a detour to make sure, taking a longer way than you normally would.

Arriving home after checking for the tenth time that no one was after you, you hurry inside and lock the door, gun in hand. Taking your shoes off once inside, you hang your keys on the hook near the door and put your belongings away. Making your way to your bedroom, you drop the gun onto your nightstand and fall onto the mattress with an ‘oof’.

The adrenaline has gone away, replaced with exhaustion once more. So many emotions have run through you over the course of the day, you’re thankful to be home and alone, solitude desired after the events of the evening.

You feel absolutely boneless, no energy left to even shed your work clothes off.

All you can muster is the wandering of your thoughts, and they lead you back to Jill.

Her minuscule smile, the odd feelings you have around her, and why you only see her late into the night.

She’s the last thing on your mind before you drift off to sleep.

Tags: @caramlizedtomatoes, @cheezbites, @dwkfan, @emilzke, @neondogs, @roseglazedlens, @scar-crossedlvrs, @xxacademy

(If you want to be added or removed from the tags, please let me know).

#not sure that i like this first chapter much but i’m going with it after fighting with it for over a week now #also em you read some of this and i tweaked it a bit sorry lmfao #o fics #resident evil #resident evil fanfic #jill valentine x reader #jill valentine x gn!reader #jill valentine x you #trans jill valentine

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angelkissiies · 1 year

Text

my anderson girl

abby anderson x reader

cw : fluff !

wc : 1.8k

proof read : no | yes

“God, this place is hell.” You stated, pushing around a pile of old clothes with the tip of your rifle, but generally referring to the radio station. It was everyone’s least favorite overnight patrol route, and you and Abby just happened to get lucky enough to be assigned to it during one of the rainiest seasons in Seattle. That meant that the ceiling had begun to leak, dripping slow drizzles of rain through old bullet holes in the plexiglass.

Abby snorted, glancing up to check that the upper floor was quiet, before letting her heavy pack fall to the floor with an obnoxious thump. “Better get used to it, princess. If the rain doesn’t let up, we might be stuck here longer.” She threw out, clicking her tongue against her teeth gently as she stowed her gun away in her thigh holster.

You made a face, pulling your rifle back around to rest against your back. “I’m gonna go check the rooms, see if maybe we have a dry place to sleep tonight.” You stepped over the pile, moving towards the west-end staircase. It was the one in better condition, seeing as the east end had cordyceps patches lining the railing that you didn’t feel like aggravating. “Will you check the side exit? We haven’t been back in a while so I’m not sure if it’s still blocked off.”

She nodded, directing her attention to the puddle of rain that had begun to accumulate near the stairwell that concealed the exit. Silently, she prayed it was still blocked- as she didn’t have the energy to deal with a shambler on a day like this. “I’ve got it, be careful up there. Okay? Yell if you need me.” She enforced, looking back up at you as you halted at the first step of the staircase.

“Aye, aye, Captain.” You chuckled, practically running up the stairs (much to Abby’s dismay). The second floor was your favorite place to be in the building, as it had windows as far as the eye could see. It gave the best view in Seattle, in your opinion, though you knew Abby would argue that the space needle would be better. Neither of you had ever actually seen the space needle, but it had been on your mutual bucket list for as long as you’d known the girl.

Just as you’d remembered, the floor was bright and completely void of any pests. Something you’d grown very comfortable with in the past few months, as the rainy season tended to thin out the hordes of infected. You didn’t know why exactly, but the logistics really didn’t matter to you. The less the better, right?

As you wandered around you made a deal of opening every door, peering in to check their sleepable status. So far, you were stuck between damp and moth-eaten. Not exactly the most comfortable, nor sanitary as you thought about it more. Your thoughts were subdued quickly, after opening the door to the main office. To your (pleasant) surprise, it was in almost perfect condition. You made a mental note to thank Leah when you got back, seeing as you knew she was one of the last groups out here.

“Abby!” You shouted, hearing a small commotion as the sound echoed through the empty building. You moved to sit your gun down and then leaned against the desk that had been pushed against the window looking in from the hallway, glancing towards the window that looked out towards the convention center. You were barely able to make out a couple close buildings due to the heavy fog that accumulated right at the cut from the first floor to the second.

Heavy footsteps carried through the building, accompanied by a mass of woman pushing through the doorway to look around hastily. Her hair was sticking up slightly and her skin was glowing with a slight sheen of sweat and rain as she gripped the hilt of her knife. “What’s wrong?” She asked in a slight huff, not taking note of any threat.

You laughed, covering it with a halfhearted cough as you took in your girlfriend. Somehow your shout to her had translated into danger, though you hadn't realized it at the moment. “Nothing is wrong, but look!” You explained, pointing to the mattress on the floor that was complete with a clean-ish sheet and a blanket that would make due. It was nothing extraordinary, compared to the bed you shared back home but it was pretty great compared to the moth-eaten pallet in the room just next door. “Blanket and everything.”

Abby looked very upset for about half a second before she moved forward to scoop you up in her arms, peppering your cheeks with wet kisses. “You scared the shit out of me, I dropped my walkie-talkie and everything.” She groaned between pecks, her tone devoid of any real annoyance. She had a tendency to imagine the worst, especially when it came to you, so it didn’t surprise you much. “Don’t do that to me, I might die one of these days.”

You shoved her playfully, giving her a sharp look. “You’re not dying anytime soon, hear me?” It was the truth, seeing as you’d do quite literally anything to keep the girl from harm's way- much to her dismay. She was beyond capable of taking care of herself, seeing as she did so for many years before you came along- but that didn’t stop you from doing everything you could to protect her, even if it wasn’t much. It always just made perfect sense to you, her life meant everything to you, so in turn you’d do anything to keep it safe.

She rolled her eyes, tossing her knife down on the table as she looked around the room. You were right in your reaction, the room was perfect. A slightly lumpy mattress, blanket, even pillows. Not to mention the eye line from the said mattress was perfect, she could almost see both stairwells. “Well, how do you feel about settling in for the night? It’s getting kinda dark.” She hummed, shedding her thick jacket before nudging you with it gently. “Temps gonna drop, take it.”

“Or,” You began, taking baby steps towards the bed, bending down to unfold the thick duvet. “We could settle into bed together, and then we wouldn't even have to worry about the cold. Body heat, y’know?”

Abby narrowed her eyes at you, watching as you let the heavy material fall flat against the plush surface before tossing yourself onto it- sinking slightly with a soft sigh. You were so captivating, always drawing her in when she knew she had other things to do. So many things to do at that. All personal requests from Issac that she’d fantasize about telling him where to shove them, she hated being his dog. His toy soldier. Though, he led her to you. For that, she’d forever be grateful, though it changed mostly nothing about the disdain she held for him. “If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were using me for my body heat.”

You feigned a shocked gasp, placing a hand over your heart. “Me? Using you? How ever could I?” You teased, rolling over slightly to make room for her.

She tossed her coat aside, kneeling down at the side of the mattress before wiggling in beside you. She couldn’t lie, it was beyond the comfort she was expecting from such a widely hated place. It was soft, albeit lumpy around the edges, and surprisingly didn’t smell like someone had died on it. Always a plus. “Man, gotta thank Leah for keeping it so nice here, this might be more comfortable than our mattress back home.” She admitted, turning to face you.

“Much comfier.” Your hands snaked around her waist, drawing her into you until you could feel her breath against the side of your neck. Close was never close enough to you, always trying to bring her nearer and nearer until she ultimately made the joke that you wanted to fuse together or something. It was always good fun though, seeing as she craved the feeling of you just like you did her. “Babygirl, you’re so warm.” You sighed, feeling her rest her head on your collarbone, hand coming to settle on the soft round of your stomach.

The woman laughed lightly, her fingers now tracing small patterns on the fabric of your shirt. Something about you always made her feel so safe, so vulnerable. You were the home she knew she could always find, always rely on. You made that very apparent through the endless nights you’d stayed awake for her, or went looking for her outside of the walls when you thought she might be in danger. It felt good, for once, to have someone care so much they’d put your safety above their own. It felt good to be seen as an equal instead of some jacked superhero. She was just as scared and tired as you, she just did a better job at coping with it.

“I love you, Abigail.” You hummed, free hand moving around to toy with the elastic holding her braid together. “You looked really pretty today, you know.”

She nuzzled her face into your neck, giggling off the comment lightly as a pink blush crept up her neck. She was still getting used to it, the whole compliments thing. After Owen, she felt defeminized- forced into a box of masculinity to fit in with anyone. “I love you too, princess.”

“I always think you look pretty, actually.” You stated matter-of-factly, finally securing the elastic on your wrist as you slowly begin to take her braid apart. You knew from her countless nights of restlessness, how easy it was for them to make her head hurt- so you made sure that you took them out whenever you remembered to. “You just looked extra pretty today, I think the sun did your freckles well.” You finished, alluding to the sunny days you’d gotten just before the rain began.

Abby couldn't control the giggles that fell from her lips as she muffled her noises of embarrassment in your neck. It felt weird, but she still loved it. Eating up every love-soaked comment you’d throw her way. Some would complain about your constant spew of compliments you had in store for her, some would say it was overkill- but for her, it was just enough. The perfect amount of too much and not enough left her teetering on the edge of her seat waiting for the next time she’d hear the praise fall from your lips.

You made her feel like herself again, after so long of putting up a front for everyone else, she felt like Abigail Anderson. Not a soldier. Not a bro. Not a dog to order around.

Abby.

Just Abby.

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fanficshiddles · 3 months

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The Redbridge Hunts, Chapter 23

Loki managed to convince Claire to stay home, where it was nice and safe, while he went to see Severus.

He didn’t know what Severus needed him for, but Loki knew it wasn’t good news. Severus very rarely called, in-fact, he’d only called him once before in the nine years he’d known him and that was for an emergency, too.

Loki dreaded to think what he was away to find as he flew to the park to meet with him.

When he got there, he found him just down from the bridge, his heart sank instantly as he turned into his vampire form and landed next to Severus. There was a body, half in the river, it was one of their vampire students.

Loki put his hand over his mouth, eyes wide at the scene.

‘It’s Halsey. She had one year left… very smart, kind girl.’ Severus said solemnly.

‘She wasn’t even interested in hunting humans, she took from the blood bank. Had no interest when Chris approached her about the traditional hunt, she came to me asking for help to keep her primal urges at bay.’ Loki said with a lump in his throat.

‘The hunters are just going for any and all vampires, they don’t care about those of us that are trying to co-exist peacefully with the humans, that aren’t causing any harm.’ Severus said. ‘It’s getting worse every year.’

Loki sighed and ran a hand down his face.

‘Well, this doesn’t look good.’ Came a voice from behind Loki and Severus.

Loki turned around with his jaw clenched, Severus didn’t bother turning, he just rolled his eyes.

‘Do you have to be here?’ Loki snarled.

Chris frowned as he walked closer and saw who the body belonged to. ‘Halsey. That’s a shame, she was a bright student.’ He said, Loki thought he even heard a hint of remorse in his voice… surely not?

‘The hunters are on a rampage.’ Loki said, worriedly.

‘This will be that hunter, Toshi. She’s up to no good, killing all the vampires.’ Chris hissed.

‘No.’ Severus said abruptly.

Chris and Loki looked at him.

‘She’s too skilled to do a sloppy job like this. Look at the body, there’s more than one gun shot. Plus, Toshi doesn’t use guns.’ Severus said firmly.

Chris frowned. ‘How do you know what she doesn’t use?’ He folded his arms over his chest.

‘I've had many run ins with her.’ Severus drawled. ‘This is not her work.’

Chris looked annoyed, but didn’t say anything more about it.

‘I’ll organise an assembly tomorrow for the vampires, we need to alert them all to the high risk we are in right now due to the hunters.’ Loki said decisively.

‘What good will that do? Apart from putting the fear of God into them.’ Chris argued.

‘It will let them know to be more aware, to stick in groups and not go out alone at night.’ Loki glared at him.

‘If a hunter wants to shoot a vampire down, no amount of vampires sticking together will stop that. Especially when they use bullets.’ Chris said.

‘Perhaps not, but if the students know about the risk, then they might opt to stay inside when it's dark.’ Loki snarled at him.

‘Loki’s right. We need to keep the students in the loop of what’s going on. Halsey has been here for a few hours, so it obviously happened during the night. If she’d known about the possible danger, she might not have been out during the night in the first place.’ Severus chimed in with.

‘Are you both forgetting that I’m the one in charge, I’m the headmaster.’ Chris growled. ‘I’ll decide when and if we have an assembly.’

Loki and Severus shared an irritated look with one another, but they knew they couldn’t do anything about it. He was right, he was the headmaster, after all.

‘Well, you don’t need to be hanging around here. Severus and I have this sorted.’ Loki said through gritted teeth.

‘I have already called the authorities, just awaiting their arrival.’ Severus said calmly.

Chris glared at the two of them, then smirked and began walking backwards. ‘Fair enough. I’m just glad that this isn’t your human pet, brother. Would be a shame to lose her so soon.’

Loki had to really bite his tongue, Severus was ready to intervene if Loki did try and attack Chris, but Loki managed to contain himself. He turned his back on Chris, and was relieved when he heard the fluttering of wings disappear.

‘I don’t know why he was here in the first place.’ Loki snarled.

‘You know he likes to stick his nose in where it’s not wanted, plus any chance to get under your skin.’ Severus drawled.

Loki just huffed in response.

Not long after Chris left, the authorities turned up to deal with Halsey’s body, to also take a statement from Severus, since he was the one that found her. They were going to get in touch with her family, too.

Loki and Severus stepped back, to let them deal with the body.

‘How is it going with Claire?’ Severus asked Loki as they watched the poor girl’s body being taken away.

‘Really well. She’s taken to the whole vampire thing like a duck to water.’ Loki smiled. ‘I am able to be myself now, though I am worried about the future. There is some truth in what Chris has been saying. She’s a human, with a much shorter life span than myself. I don’t know how I’ll cope in the future, when the inevitable happens.’

‘Have you spoken to her about it?’ Severus asked.

‘No. Not yet.’

‘So, speak to her about it. There is no point worrying about something that might be easily solved.’ Severus shrugged.

‘How might it be easily solved?’ Loki asked.

‘She might want to be turned when the time is right. That would solve all issues.’ Severus said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

‘I will not turn her.’ Loki said quickly.

‘Even if that’s her wishes? I know you wouldn’t do it unwillingly, but what if she wants to become a vampire and to live with you for eternity?’

‘Is that what you and your partner are doing?’ Loki asked.

‘We have a plan worked out.’ Severus smirked a little.

Loki sighed and paced back and fore. ‘I just fear she will be in more danger as a vampire… I mean, look at what we are dealing with as it is.’ Loki said sadly as he looked at the poor student.

‘This is just a small blip, we will get to the bottom of it. I’m sure by the time Claire would be ready to be changed, things will be a lot calmer then.’

‘I don’t even know if she would want that.’ Loki said quietly.

Severus shrugged. ‘You won’t know till you discuss it with her. How has she taken to the fact she’s your soulmate?’

Loki looked sheepish at that, he scratched the back of his head. ‘Uhh… I haven’t told her that yet.’

‘Why not?’ Severus frowned.

‘I don’t want her to think she has to be with me, if she doesn’t want to. I will tell her, in time. I just don’t want her to feel pressured or anything.’

‘Makes sense… I suppose.’ Severus hummed.

‘What do we do now, if Chris isn’t going to allow us to have an assembly for the vampire students tomorrow?’ Loki asked as he and Severus began walking out of the park, since there was no reason for them to hang around there for any longer.

‘We will need to try and convince him. Or speak to the students singly when we can.’ Severus suggested. ‘Mainly, I think we need to be more alert. Maybe we should set up patrols, to keep an eye on the city. Try to make sure the younger vampires are safe.’

Loki nodded. ‘That sounds like a good idea. You’ve put a lot of thought into this already?’

‘It’s best to be tactical and prepared.’

As they reached the edge of the park, Loki turned to Severus before they headed their separate ways. ‘Do you and your partner want to go for dinner sometime with Claire and I? It would be nice to finally meet this partner of yours.’

Severus raised an eyebrow as he looked at him, pausing a moment.

‘No.’ He responded with, then walked off.

Loki rolled his eyes and ran a hand down his face.

When Loki returned to Claire, she knew instantly there was something really wrong. He told her about Halsey, while trying not to be too upset. Though Claire could tell it was eating him up that they’d lost another student, so she comforted him as best as she could.

The following day in school, Loki was surprised to hear Chris announce an assembly for certain students.

‘He must’ve had a change of heart.’ Claire said to Loki as they made their way to the hall, for said assembly.

‘I guess he does have a braincell after all.’ Loki grumbled.

Chris explained to the students what had happened to Halsey. There was of course an outburst from the students, a mix of panic and grief.

‘Calm down, everyone. I know you’re all scared and worried, rightfully so. Now, Mr Laufeyson is going to speak, he has some ideas and thoughts on ways to keep you safe.’ Chris looked over at Loki with a smug smirk, then left the hall.

Loki clenched his jaw, he had sprung this on him, but Loki did want to talk to everyone. To put them at ease, better than Chris would do.

Loki glanced over at Severus, who nodded.

‘I know this is a scary time, but we are going to do our best to keep you all as safe as we possibly can. Staying in at night, when it starts to get dark is the safest option. If you need to be out, go in groups. Be aware of your surroundings, avoid the park and woods, stay on the busy streets. We are going to try and set up a patrol between us, to keep an eye on the city. If anyone sees anything abnormal or concerning, contact us straight away.’

One student raised their hand. ‘Sir… I saw a cloaked figure on the roof of the school this morning when I came in.’

‘I saw it too.’ Another student called out.

Loki frowned and was about to go look, but Severus jumped up. ‘No need to be concerned of that. I’ve taken it upon myself to get some security over-looking us. They are on our side.’

A few more students had questions or worries, Loki did his best to answer and assure them all before ending the assembly.

‘Who have you got on watch?’ Loki asked Severus after the students left the hall.

‘No one you need to be concerned over. Just know, they will help to keep us safe.’

‘Is this the same cloaked figure that saved Kirsten?’ Claire asked.

Severus nodded, then spun around and marched out of the hall to go start his class.

Loki and Claire looked at each other and shook their heads.

‘Come on, let’s go get started.’ Loki sighed.

‘I’ll get these chairs put away, I’ll catch up with you.’ Claire said as she motioned to all the chairs left out.

‘Are you sure?’

‘Yeah, go get started, the students will be waiting.’ Claire assured him.

Loki kissed the top of her head, then headed back to his class.

Claire sighed as she began tidying the hall.

‘Worrying times, isn’t it?’

Claire felt a little scared for a moment upon hearing Chris’ voice. Though she remembered what Loki had told her, about how Chris did respect humans that were mated with a vampire. So she calmed her breathing down, not wanting to give Chris the satisfaction of being scared of him.

‘It is.’ Claire responded, but she didn’t look at him, she just continued stacking the chairs as she heard his footsteps coming towards her.

‘Must be nice, being a human. Not having to worry about hunters.’ Chris said as he came into her view and leaned against the back of a chair.

‘Well, yes. Though I do have vampires to worry about.’ Claire said as she glanced up at him briefly.

Chris smirked. ‘Well, there is that… Though you know, having to avoid hunters is only a small fault in being a vampire. If you were to be turned, you wouldn’t have to worry about other vampires ever again.’

He stood up straight and walked closer to her. She stepped backwards one step, but he was able to invade her space quickly with his long legs. He went behind her and leaned down to her ear.

‘All it would take… is one little bite.’ He growled, his breath warm against her neck.

Claire pulled away from him and turned to face him fully, she grabbed a chair to put between them. ‘The only one biting me is Loki.’ She said through gritted teeth, trying to keep her composure.

Chris chuckled wickedly. ‘You keep telling yourself that.’ He winked at her, then, still with a smirk on his face, he left her to it.

Claire was a little shaken, but she tried not to let him get to her. He would say anything to wind people up and get under their skin. So, she quickly finished tidying up, then went to join Loki in the classroom. She knew that he could tell she was a little edgy, by the quizzical look he gave her.

‘I’m fine, don’t worry. Just your brother trying to ruffle my feathers.’ She whispered to him when she got the chance.

Loki growled a little angrily, but quickly composed himself again. He was glad that Claire didn’t seem too scared this time, he’d just smelt a little bit of unease from her. Though he still felt bad that she had to deal with his shit.

#tom hiddleston #loki #loki x ofc #fluffy loki #loki fic #vampire Loki #chris motionless #severus snape #the redbridge hunts

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podracerbarrelroll · 1 year

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One of the things that gets me about Interview with the Vampire is Anne Rice’s take on the downside of immortality. I’m especially thinking about this after reading Dracula Daily, currently reading Carmilla Weekly, and considering other vampire media. The vampire should both horrify and fascinate you, and so there should be enough of a tradeoff between a normal, human life and vampirism to make you question if you’d really want that immortality if it was offered to you.

I say if you could choose to be any type of vampire, you’d want to be a Twilight vampire. It’s literally impossible for a human to kill one. Sure, you maybe can’t go out in daylight all the time because your skin sparkles, but that doesn’t mean you can never see the sun again. You’re also fast enough to catch and kill any human unlucky enough to see you out in the middle of the woods or wherever you risked going out during the day. And as long as word doesn’t get out, the Volturi won’t come after you. Twilight also goes very easy on the obvious drawback of watching everyone you love get old and die. I don’t remember the backstory of every single Cullen, but Edward was dying, Alice literally has no memory of her previous life, and Rosalie was brutalized and left for dead by her fiance. They had no life to go back to. Bella might lose her parents eventually, but children ideally should be the ones to outlive their parents. She didn’t have any other close relatives or friends. In giving up her human life, she gets to marry someone she loves and a new family. They can also live just fine on animal blood, so you don’t have to deal with the moral implications of killing humans. And you get your own superpower! Twilight vampires don’t even have to sleep.

Compare this to earlier vampire stories. The vampires in Dracula and Carmilla lose their connection to God--which was a much bigger deal to the Irishmen writing these stories in the late 1800s than it is to a modern audience. Dracula vampires also lose their humanity and have the significant weakness of needing to return to their coffin to sleep during the day and being vulnerable while doing so. They also can be warded off by garlic and have their sanctuaries destroyed by Eucharist wafers. Dracula couldn’t even move his own coffins--he had to pay other people to do it for him, and that meant he had to leave very quickly when the poly band started destroying them. Carmilla/Mircalla/Millarca is restricted by only being able to use different spellings of her name. Her eating habits raise suspicion in any area she stays in for too long, with so many people dying of a strange “fever”, and she also has trouble going out in the daylight.

Buffy vampires lose their souls, burn up dramatically in sunlight, and have a vampire slayer (or, by the end of the series, many vampire slayers) gunning for them. Most of the vampires in From Dusk Till Dawn are stuck in an eternal position of slavery or servitude and also burn up in the sunlight, essentially forced into a new society where they have very little power and any disobedience would be punished by death. Vampires in Supernatural can survive sunlight, even if it hurts, but they have hunters to contend with, many of which won’t hesitate to cut their heads off even if they stick to animal blood and mind their own business. Increased speed and strength and eternal life might be nice, but you either become an evil, blood-hunting animal or you get to spend that eternity living in fear.

The drawbacks of vampirism per Interview with the Vampire differ a little between the book and the 1994 movie, and a lot between both of those and the 2022 television series. In the book, and save one scene in the movie where Claudia gets out of her coffin during the day to join Louis in his, Anne Rice’s vampires literally cannot be awake during the day. As they age, sunlight does lose its power over them as Armand says in the series, but they cannot be awake to experience it. New vampires are burnt to ash by the sun, older vampires are only burned by it, and the oldest and most powerful can sleep in the sun all day and come out with a nice tan. The movie does a good job of showing this with Louis, holding his lantern close to the waters of the Mediterranean at night because he wants to see it as blue as he’s always heard about. But his light isn’t enough, and the water stays black. It’s a significant drawback of vampirism that the show loses: the sun may eventually lose its ability to hurt you, but you will never experience sunlight or what the world looks like in the daytime again.

One thing the Interview with the Vampire series does keep and did do well with in the first season is showing how vampires are incapable of change. Not only that their bodies are the same forever and that Claudia will never grow up, but that they have essentially lost the human ability to grow and change as people. In the book/movie, Louis was in his early twenties and had already lost his brother (book) or wife and buried his newborn child (movie). Alone in the world save for the slaves he owned at his plantation--who rightfully hated him. He wanted to die, and Lestat jumped him and gave him what he wanted, but he also preserved Louis like that forever. He is and always will be suicidally depressed--he is both dead and wanting to die, existing in limbo. In the series, Louis will always be exactly who he was when Louis turned him. Alienated from his family, but feeling an obligation to support them. Hating the life he leads and the way he earns his money while also viciously defending it. Paying someone to sit in a room and listen to him talk, whether that person is a prostitute or reporter. Louis is stuck as who he was in his weakest moment, when he gave into Lestat, which is why he will always give into Lestat, which is why, after more than a century, he is still whining!

It’s also why aging up the reporter is a great move, because over the course of fifty years, Daniel went from a young addict to a world-renowned reporter, from an idealistic idiot to a cynical asshole. This means he’s done the one thing Louis can’t (besides go out in sunlight): he’s grown and changed as a person. That’s why Louis is fascinated by him, and why he called him decades later to complete their interview. It also calls into question if you, the viewer, would want the “dark gift” Louis offers him. Twenty-year-old Daniel, like most people that age, had no idea how much life can change you, and had no idea what he might be losing to ask for Louis to turn him at that age. Seventy-year-old Daniel knows very well what he would have lost and what he still very well might lose by letting Louis turn him, even as Parkinson’s slowly starts to take its toll on his body. Would you want to live as who you are right now, forever? Do you like who you are enough that you would give up your ability to change, to know who you might become? Would you always want to be that person who, when the vampire bared his teeth and made his offer, gave into a moment of weakness and said yes?

#vampires #anne rice #interview with the vampire #interview with the vampire 2022 #iwtv series #iwtv spoilers #twilight vampires #buffy vampires #supernatural vampires #carmilla weekly #dracula daily

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gaysindistress · 8 months

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When Night Comes - Seventeen

Summary: Who would win in a staring contest? New York’s resident mob boss and master of the side eye Bucky Barnes or the daycare teacher who really wants to go home and smoke?

pairing: Mob!Vampire!Bucky Barnes x reader

Warnings: cursing, violence, mentions of guns/blood/killing, character deaths

Word count: 1.5k

Sixteen | masterlist

a/n: I know it's short but you'll understand why after you read it.

tag list: @cakesandtom @elizacusi-blog @unaxv @hidden-treasures21 @buckybarnessimpp @vonalyn @thebuckybarnesvault

disclaimer: credits to original creator/poster of image/gif. found on Google/Pinterest

Convincing Y/N to do the spell had been surprisingly easy. With a plateful of cozonac and endless tea, Ana Cristina was able to ease any worries and express the importance of it while also swearing her to secrecy. She passed the spell off as a way to trigger a curse on Lycan, specifically Alix, and claimed that because of it’s size, the coven needed Y/N to be present. Only once did she catch herself slipping up but she recovered quickly and was able to smooth over the mistake without Y/N noticing.

As Y/N bid her goodbye and left, Ana Cristina let out a sigh of relief. Alix thought the spell would be used to kill Bucky while Y/N and Yelena thought it would mimic the original spell that banned Lycan in the first place when it would be neither. She knew that without a secure way to protect Y/N, the girl would end up dead no matter who came out on top so she came up with a life bond. During the spell, Ana Cristina would tie Y/N’s life to her own so that no one would be tempted to kill either of them. Both women were needed to perform any spell so only a fool would be stupid enough to harm either. Of course, Alix and Bucky were equally likely to act in a fit of rage but the threat of losing any chance to gain what they wanted would surely be enough to prevent that.

Luca gasped in horror and lectured her like normal when she told him of her crazy plan, “You can’t possibly think that something like this is going to work?”

Ana Cristina shrugged, “We have to try. Y/N isn’t strong enough to protect herself and Bucky will be too blinded by his emotions to act rationally so it’s up to us.”

“She doesn't even know that she’s a witch, of course she’s not strong enough to protect herself.”

“That’s my point, Luca,” Ana Cristina said, “She’s a part of our coven even if she doesn’t know it. It’s our job to protect her until she can do it herself and you know very well that Bucky will be too distracted to be of any help.”

Luca sighed and agreed much to the joy of Ana Cristina, “Do you plan on telling her?”

“Telling her what?”

“That she’s not just the doppelgänger but a witch, a powerful one at that, and a part of our coven. She deserves to know.”

“It’s not important at the moment. She has too many things to worry about so I’m not going to add one more thing.”

“She deserves to know, Ana Cristina, and you know that. I’m blaming you if and when this all goes wrong.”

“I’m well aware of the consequences if this fails, onio… Luca.”

“What is going on?”

The simple question hangs in the air as Y/N follows Ana Cristina down the stone steps into the basement of the estate. Whatever natural light that streams through the windows stays at the top of the steps and flames of candles guide the women as they descend further into the belly of the beast. The smell of herbs and the burning candle swirls around them while Luca’s singing can be faintly heard. Dressed in an absurdly long and thin white nightgown, Y/N struggles to hold the ends so she doesn’t fall and keep ahold of Ana Cristina’s hand at the same time. She trips and Ana Cristina tugs her up so she doesn’t tumble down the stairs.

“Careful please,” she whispers to the doppelgänger and continues down the stairs.

“Sorry,” Y/N mumbles as she gathers the hem of her nightgown into her arms to prevent another stumble.

Luca appears at the end of the staircase, a candle in hand with the other outstretched. He offers them both small smiles while a bead of sweat trails down his forehead. Y/N gives him a questioning look when he takes her hand but Ana Cristina is quick to stop them from talking.

“Quickly,” she says as she ushers them further into the dark and cold basement. The stone walls and cobblestone floors hold in no warmth, leaving Y/N to nearly freeze to death. Luca wraps his arm around her shoulders and pulls her into his side, hoping to provide at least a little heat and comfort to her.

“What is going on, Luca? Ana Cristina won’t say anything,” she whispers.

Luca looks perplexed and swallows hard before answering, “we’re doing the spell.”

“Then why wouldn’t she say that?”

“She doesn’t want Bucky to know.”

“Why not?” she scoffs.

“Please stop asking questions,” he begs of her and the pure terror in his voice concerns her but she does as he asks and doesn’t allow anymore questions to fall out of her mouth. She hugs him closer and grips onto the back of his shirt as they follow Ana Cristina.

The air shifts uncomfortably when they enter into what looks like an old bathing room. It’s bare aside from the metal tub in the center of the room and a table off to the side covered in what Y/N assumes to be the spell’s materials. Ana Cristina turns and takes Y/N from Luca, instructing him to start prepping while she tells the doppelgänger to undress. She gives the cook a concerned look, eyes darting to Luca who has his back turned to them.

Sensing that she might back out, Ana Cristina explains that the doppelgänger needs to be “cleansed” before they can start the spell. In other words, she has to be bathed with the help of the coven’s elder. Y/N still looks apprehensive but nonetheless does as she’s told, taking off the nightgown which leaves her bare and she quickly steps into the tub. The water is steaming from how hot it is but it’s a welcomed feeling given how freezing the room and its atmosphere is.

Ana Cristina joins Luca at the table, speaking to him in Romaninan and hushed tones so that Y/N has no idea what they’re saying. She returns to the tub’s side with a washcloth and soap of some kind in hand.

“Do you want to do it yourself?” she asks as she holds out the washcloth and soap.

Y/N nods and takes them, dipping them into the water so she can wash her and save her dignity. Bathing in front of people one barely knows is embarrassing enough but adding in that they help with it is even worse. Sure she trusts Ana Cristina and Luca but they are not Bucky or Yelena for that matter. The trust she holds for them is thin and is growing thinner by the moment as a feeling of darkness and fear creeps into the room. It’s almost as if a black cloud followed them down and is trying to swallow them whole.

Luca says something in Romanain to Ana Cristina and gestures to no one in the doorway.

However there is someone in the doorway; four someones to be exact.

Yelena’s phone pings but no one can hear it.

Juliette shoves Isabel as hard as she can to get her off and in the process, shoves John off of Yelena. Gold eyes flash with anger and John throws Isabel off of him to lung at Juliette.

“You stupid bitch,” he growls at her after he grips her throat in his hands. She rips at his hands but to no avail, John is stronger than she is. Brock lets out a blood curdling yell as the smell of metallic blood fills the air. John falters for a moment and looks to his brother. Seeing blood spilling from his stomach, John lets out another growl and presses harder onto Juliette’s throat. Two more shots ring out and one thud follows.

Isabel and Brock lay on the floor of the safehouse, chests unmoving and hearts still. John drops Juliette and turns to them, coming face to face with Yelena’s gun.

“When did Peggy and Alix leave?”

“You’ll have to shoot me,” he sneers at her.

“Don’t worry I will but after you tell me when they left.”

He pulls the gun up to his forehead so its flush against his skin, “Do it. Save yourself the trouble of torturing me.”

Juliette coughs and gasps for air but manages to get the words out, “20 minutes ago.”

Yelena smirks, “Looks like it’s your lucky day.”

One shot.

One more thud.

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random-of-random · 2 days

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The Pirate Queen

Chapter 5: I’m Alice

Author’s Note: Whhhatt? A revamped story plus a new Norrington chapter in one day? Yep! I hope you guys like it!!

Alice was sure the servants thought her state of dress was odd, but there seemed to be too much anxiety in the air to give her more than a passing curious glance. Governor Swann was no where to be seen, though Alice suspected he would be at the fort a while after what happened.

The same woman who had come to find her led Alice up the grand staircase and into Elizabeth’s bedroom.

“Lady Frances.” Elizabeth immediately curtsied as her maid left the room. The room was styled very classically. Everything neat and in it’s place. It felt very… not Elizabeth. “Your clothes-“

“Are you alright, Elizabeth?” Alice asked quickly. This wasn’t the time to discuss fashion.

“I…” Elizabeth let out a soft sigh. “I am… I’m just…”

“Today seems to have been an all around trying day.” Alice offered before encouraging Elizabeth to sit on her bed. Alice sat next to her. “You were taken hostage by a pirate, if I am to understand correctly?”

“He was using me to get out of a situation.” She begun to fidget with her hands. “He saved me. I fell off of the fort. If Jack Sparrow hadn’t…” Her voice faltered again and Alice grabbed her hand softly.

“Please continue.”

“That’s the pirate’s name - Jack Sparrow. Commodore Norrington seemed to mark him as a pirate straight away. When they were going to arrest him he grabbed me and held his gun to my head. He escaped, but only for a few minutes before they caught him anyway.”

“That must have been very frightening.”

“I don’t believe he really wanted to hurt me.” Elizabeth’s eyes turned to hers. “I think he just needed an escape.”

“More than likely.” Alice agreed. Sparrow was a lot of things, but downright cruel wasn’t one of them. “Your fall must have been scary too.”

“Oh, goodness, yes. After Norrington proposed I just couldn’t seem to catch my breath. I fainted right off.”

“Norrington proposed?” Alice asked, feigning ignorance.

“You knew he would.” Elizabeth pushed. “I am sure there is no way my father didn’t tell you that arrangement had been made.” Well, Alice had been right when she told James that Elizabeth probably already worked it out.

Alice chuckled. “He did. And now, when you’re married, you will be able to tell people how you fell for James during his proposal.” At first Elizabeth let out a small laugh, but her smile quickly faded. A far off look took over. One Alice recognized well. “You don’t love James Norrington, do you?”

Tears seemed to well in Elizabeth’s eyes. “I do not.”

“You have feelings for someone else.” Alice said calmly.

“How could you know that?”

“Because James is a good man, and you would only be this sad about his proposal if there was someone else you cared for.”

“I have no idea what to do.” Elizabeth seemed to fiddle with the chain around her neck.

“If it were up to me?” Alice started. “I would say choose your own life. Not the life you feel you are supposed to take. You are assured a good life with James. He will be caring, kind-“ her voice softened, “a good husband, but if that is not who you want-“

“So, it’s true.” Elizabeth said quickly. There was no judgement in her voice, just curiosity. “You care for Commodore Norrington.” Alice stood to look out Elizabeth’s window, before giving her a soft smile. “But you’re husband-“

“I can promise you for a fact, Elizabeth, that my husband doesn’t care anything of what I am feeling or for whom.”

“You don’t have a husband, do you?” This time Alice could tell Elizabeth’s anxiety levels were rising.

“No, I don’t.”

“Are you who you say you are?”

Alice took a deep breath in. “No, I’m not.” She saw Elizabeth start to stand. “But I don’t mean you or your father any harm. I need to make that clear.”

“Why are you here then? Are you even from England? Even nobility?”

“I have never set foot in England.” Alice said with a small laugh. “And I am certainly not nobility.”

“I had a feeling about that.” Elizabeth said carefully. Her brain was fighting whether or not to trust Frances. They had been alone enough times that if she meant harm, she could have done it.

“I knew you were smart.”

“Well, that and no noble would ever say to not marry the best social match.”

“They are set in their ways, aren’t they?” Alice asked and Elizabeth let out a small laugh as her anxiety began to calm.

“Who are you?”

Alice watched as the last of the sunset made the sky a brilliant orange and began to fade into purple.

“I can’t tell you right now. It’s getting late. It’s been a long day for you and you need rest.” Alice looked her in the eyes. “I promise you that you will know the whole story, just not tonight.”

Elizabeth seemed to think a moment and then nod. “Alright, but I will hold you to that.”

“I would expect nothing less.” Alice said with a final curtsy before she headed back out Elizabeth’s door and toward where her crew was waiting.

———————————

The sun had completely set and everything was packed. Now it was just a matter of taking the next few hours and transporting it down to the docks. A ship was already waiting to carry them and their cargo to meet her ships in Tortuga.

“We can leave nothing behind that would lead Norrington or anyone from the Navy to suspect we are anything more than what we said.” Alice called as they were doing a last search of the house. They left strategic things behind. Cases of clothing, food, instructions that they planned to return once Frances “husband” was better. In reality, a letter would come in three months declaring their intentions of staying in England. The dresses were to be taken to Elizabeth, anything else in the house redistributed.

“Captain!” Giles voice called. “You best come take a look at this!” Giles was standing on the balcony that oversaw Port Royal.

“What is it?” Alice asked and Giles handed her the telescope he was using. Creeping over the water was a dense fog. It seemed to come out of no where - the conditions had not been right for fog. More than that, it moved in an unnatural pace.

“We’ll never be able to sail in that.” Charlie said, his tone annoyed and frustrated.

“I don’t think that’s the reason we won’t be able to sail.” Alice almost whispered. A ship had come through the fog. Black sails, a pirate flag. “Tell me I’m not seeing what I’m seeing.”

Edward took the telescope. “The Black Pearl.” They had heard rumors of the Pearl. It was spoke of in hushed whispers by other pirates over glasses and glasses of rum. Except for Jack Sparrow, of course, who would tell any sod who would listen the tale of Barbosa marooning him and leaving him to die. The rumors though, the ones that started after Barbosa mutinied against Jack. The blood thirsty crew who were stronger than anyone could imagine, the ships that would aimlessly sail the seas, the mysterious island they always returned to. The question was why was it in Port Royal.

The warning bells at the fort began to ring followed by the first echos of cannon fire as the crew was gathered outside.

“What in the hell could Barbosa want with Port Royal?” Elias asked.

“I can’t imagine it’s the naval plans we wanted.” Alice said quickly. “We should get inside. Lock the doors.” The crew did as she said and they extinguished most of the lights except for in the study where they were trying to come up with new ideas. They certainly couldn’t leave while the island was under attack.

Edward was pacing. “Barbosa is so foolish to attack this way. They must want something big.”

“The best way to go about that would be to take prisoners.” Charlie added.

Alice agreed. “And the best prisoners to take would be….” Her voice trailed off as she looked to her men in horror. “The Governor and his daughter.” A gunshot fired from the direction of the Swann house.

“We have to do something.” She said to Edward who nodded. “They could be raiding houses. Everyone else, stay here. If anyone comes in, take care of them.”

“Sure thing, Captain.” Charlie promised. Alice tied her belt tightly and she put her pistol in the hostler on the side. Edward handed her a sword and the two left the front door, running for the Swann residence.

By the time they arrived they could see Elizabeth being carried down the hill by two pirates. She struggled desperately, but it seemed no use. Neither Edward nor Alice had the time to go after them as two more had come out of the house and were on them in a flash. Both Edward and Alice were trained fighters, but these pirates were strong. Stronger than either had anticipated.

The pirate Alice was flighting backed her into the house where they had to step over the body of the Swann’s butler. The sound of their swords clashing echoed in the dark mansion. Though he was strong, the pirate was sloppy. He lunged and she was able to side step and twist, pushing her sword between his ribs. As he fell, Alice waisted no time getting back outside.

Edward sat on the ground.

“Edward!” She was next to him in two seconds. His white shirt was becoming stained with his blood from a large gash on his arm. “What happened.”

“He nicked me and ran off.”

“This is more than a nick.”

“I’ll be alright.” Edward assured her.

“Get back to the crew and see that looked at. I’m going after Elizabeth.”

Edward grabbed her shoulder. “Be careful…. Something about these guys.”

“I will.” She helped him up before taking off toward the heart of the town.

It was chaos. Buildings were burning, people were running in the streets to escape the many pirates that had flooded the shore. Alice headed toward the docks. If they had Elizabeth still alive, she could only assume they were taking her to Barbosa.

As she came upon the Fort, James was out at the front. He and his men fighting off the pirates. From Alice’s vantage point she could see one sneaking up, ready to strike James. She jumped into the fray, stopping the blow. James took a moment to register who was fighting beside him, doing a double take when his mind worked out that it was Frances. Still, he didn’t have a moment to say even a word as the fight continued.

The pirate Alice was fighting laughed as their swords clanged, but then he quickly took several steps backward.

“Fighting for the Navy, are you Alice?” She took her pistol from her belt and aimed it at him, but he slowly backed up more giving her a wide grin.

A memory seemed to flash through her mind. Back from when she first came to the Caribbean, before Sam died. Sam and that man drinking at a bar.

As the man turned to run, the other pirates followed him in some sort of retreat. Alice put her pistol back on her belt and quickly helped James drag an injured man back up and into the fort where a doctor was tending to the wounded.

“What do you think you are doing?” James yelled as he turned toward her.

“Helping!” She replied before they both heard shouts of joy that the pirates were heading back to their boat.

James grabbed Alice’s hand and tore through the fort and into his office. When he slammed the door behind him the candles flickered making shadows on the wall.

“James-“

“Who are you?” He asked, his eyes trained on her. Alice clenched her jaw and didn’t answer. “You’re not a noble woman. Not fighting like that.” This time Alice let out a little huff of a laugh. “Is your name Frances Craven Somers?”

“No.” She finally said and she watched his brow furrow in anger, but then another look highlighted the emotion that had welled in him - betrayal.

“Is your husband the Viscount Henry Somers?”

“I don’t even have a husband.” With this she dropped her accent and James visibly took a step back.

“You… you’re not….” It was as if his brain was fighting with himself. His piercing green eyes focused on her again. “I will ask once more.” His voice was dangerously low, as if he dared her to lie or not answer. “Who are you?” Alice carefully took out her sword and pistol. James tensed for just a moment before she set them on his desk. Walking around him she looked where her crew described finding the documents until she found the list of pirates they were continuing to hunt.

She set it on the desk in front of him and pointed to her own name. “I’m Alice.”

#james norrington x reader #james norrington x ofc #james norrington imagines #pirates of the caribbean

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helioleti · 2 years

Text

A while ago I had this idea for a dialogue between Mike & Will in s5, leading up to their first kiss. I just typed it down without much thought on narrative, I just wanted their main expressions & lines out before I forgot the ideas I had. It reads like an unprofessional screenplay bc I didn’t wanna convert it into proper prose, but I thought I might post it here because why the hell not.

(For context: I envisioned s5 to go in a way that had the party + El needing to rescue Mike from Vecna who abducted him right in front of Will‘s eyes. Before this, Will & Mike had a fight about the painting. During Mike & El’s break up Mike learned that Will had lied about the painting, and then confronted him when they both went to investigate something near an Upside Down gate. Will, completely in panic, gave no clear answer. In his time held hostage by Vecna, Mike was terrorized by visions about his greatest fears & his guilt regarding his feelings for Will, and lack thereof for El. Hence, it really got him thinking. Now the party‘s rescued Mike (after a big battle), and they’re on their way back.)

(Will sits in the doorframe of their hideout, guarding with a gun in his lap, and watching the spores fall on the Upside Down’s Hawkins. Behind him in the cabin, Dustin, Lucas and El are sleeping. Mike however is sitting up, watching him and seems torn. His face then turns determined, he stands up and approaches Will from behind.)

Mike: Hey.

(Will looks up, surprise visible on his face)

Will: Hey. (A beat, awkward) Can’t sleep?

Mike: Yes. I mean– No– I mean.

(He holds up his hand, showing the neatly bound bandage)

Mike (clearly lying): I need help changing the bandage. It got dirty and– I mean, you’re the only one awake, so…

(Will‘s face turns into a knowing expression. He smiles.)

Will: Sure. (He shifts to make space for Mike in the doorframe) Come here.

(Mike looks relieved, smiling back. He sits, and Will rummages his backpack for a spare bandage. Their eyes avoid each other’s, but Will wordlessly helps Mike take the old bandage off his hand, then starts wrapping it with the fresh one.)

Will (chuckling): Hm.

Mike: What?

Will: Nothing, it’s just… I had to think of first grade. When you fell off the slide on the playground and sprained your ankle, but you didn’t want your mom to find out because she’d never let you go on your own again. So we went to my house and– you could barely walk, and you had me bandage it to stabilize it enough so you could hide your limp. (Pause) Do You remember?

Mike (smiling): Of course. Of course I do.

(Silence for a while. Mike looks at Will fondly, Will looks up for a second then looks down, somber. He keeps wrapping the bandage.)

Will: I‘m sorry. About the painting.

(Mike’s smile drops, but he stays silent, his eyes are on Will but Will keeps looking down.)

Will (cont’d): I shouldn’t have meddled. Not like that. It wasn’t my place. I mean… advice? Yeah. But lying… (he inhales) That was wrong. I’m sorry. You were right to be mad.

(Another silence in which Mike looks at Will, now pained, but considering)

Mike: You’re right. It wasn’t your place.

(Will stays silent, stifling an exhale)

Mike (cont‘d): And… And I guess I was mad because I just… I didn’t understand. Why would you lie? To me? To fix something that was already doomed?

(Will’s gaze shoots up, he shakes his head with wide eyes)

Will: It’s not doomed. You can still–

Mike: No, Will, that’s where you don’t understand. (His newly bandaged hand twitches in Will’s, but it stays.) I love El. I really do.

(Will nods, slowly)

Mike (cont’d): But I love her like I love Lucas and Dustin. (Looking slightly annoyed.) And Max, I guess. And Nancy. And Holly.

(A beat. Will looks at Mike, waiting. But Mike continues in a way he doesn’t expect)

Mike (cont‘d): But she doesn’t need me. I mean, she used to, when we found her in the woods, but she’s not that lost child anymore. And I’m not that little boy anymore either. And no matter how much we thought we needed each other like that– We were children. And we– We didn’t. (Pause) We never did.

(Will starts looking slightly confused)

Mike (cont‘d): And I guess I… I was also mad because it had been months back then, you know. Months with almost no phone calls… and no letters because I didn’t know how to write them to you– And… (he sighs) And I guess I just… I guess I wanted the painting to be from you.

(His hand twitches again, and this time, he lightly takes Will’s thumb between his fingers. Will tenses lightly, but doesn’t break his gaze)

Mike (cont’d, stammering): Because– Because it’s just always been you. (His breath hitches) It was always you.

#basically mike monologue pt 2 but it’s for Will & actually sincere this time #sincere AND private AND they’re actually looking into each other’s eyes AND it’s a low stakes situation #meaning it actually is the time for big feelings #as in it checks all the boxes to not be cringe unlike the midleven monologue #byler #will byers #mike wheeler i know what you are #byler fic

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streaminn · 10 months

Note

Gift to you, and celebration of the new trailer for Spider-Man 2 PS5.

Red and blue lights briefly color the monochrome clothes of one Wednesday Addams, as she begrudgingly waits to give her statement to one of the pigs officers on the scene. Some villain of the week decided to take his revenge on one of the basketball coaches in the middle of their semifinals. One ass beating by a certain spider later and the gym stood with minor damages and a bruised idiot. Wednesday wasn’t even supposed to be there, she was trying to get a copy of Yoko’s notes for Enid. (“You know Wednesday, I could’ve just texted these to her. Is this really your best excuse to go see your sick gal pal?”)

Enid had been out of commission for a couple days. She claimed to have a cold, but Wednesday knew she was still recovering from her recent fight with Shocker. The villainess was able to land a good hit, but she still lost in the end when Enid short circuited her gloves…again. Wednesday had been taking notes in her stead, and in this occasion, getting notes for classes she didn’t share with Enid. If this just so happened to also give her a reason to visit Enid, she’d never admit to it.

She watches as Spider-Beast gives Yoko two thumbs up before walking over. “Hel- Hi Ms. Addams,” the Spider says, her voice dropping an octave as she speaks.

“You know my first name, I’ve told you before,” Wednesday replies.

“Right, sorry Wednesday.”

“It’s quite alright.” The Addams looks at her costumed companion, making note that Enid has altered her costume during her recovery (Eventually she’ll learn it’s now shock(er) proof). She notices that the beast seems more jittery than usual. “Something on your mind Spider?”

“What? No, just ya know, totally pumped that I took that guy down.” Wednesday looks into the eyes of the mask, picturing Enid’s beautiful blues behind it, currently on a face with a forced smile.

“Nothing at all?” Wednesday doesn’t want to push, she can always try again when Enid’s out of costume, but it doesn’t hurt to try. She sees the hero relax her shoulders before letting out a short sigh.

“It’s just…I’ve been away on a…business trip, a spider business trip if you will, which meant I was away from…a coworker, a spider coworker.”

“You have coworkers?”

“Spider-coworkers, yes.” Wednesday motioned for her to continue, though she pocketed this coworker nonsense for later use when she herself is suited up, anything to fluster Enid. “Anyways, I’m away from this coworker, hoping they’re okay while I’m gone, and then like a second later they’re in danger at school. Not this school, a different school, coworker was at a school on the other side of town.”

“Of course.” Wednesday really needs to teach her to lie better. “I’m sure they’re fine now, probably waiting to go home as we speak.”

“I know, they’re really tough, but still, I worry. I just always want them to be okay.” Before Wednesday can respond, she’s called over to give her statement. “Looks like I’ll let you go.” As Wednesday gathers her stuff, she turns to the Spider.

“This “coworker” of yours.”

“Spider-Coworker.”

“…Spider-Coworker, maybe you should visit them later. I’m sure they’d appreciate seeing you back from your…Spider-Business trip.”

“Oh, I’d love to, but I don’t want to bother them by dropping in unannounced.”

“Shame, because after the day I just had, I believe I would personally appreciate it.”

“…what?”

“In fact, after I give my statement, I’m going to visit my best friend and give her a hug, I’ve been trying to show more affection after all. Plus, I have notes for her classes that she’s missed.”

“Oh wow, haha, that is super cool of you. You should really get on that. I’m gonna go do spider things, keeping the city safe and whatnot. Have a good afternoon Wednesday!”

Wednesday watches as the Spider-Beast shoots two finger guns at her before she thwips away into the skyline. She lets a smirk form on her lips. “See you in a few, Enid.” She can’t wait to see her smile without the mask in the way.

WEDNESDAY IS SO OBVIOUS 😭 and omygod not Enid being clingy yet trying not too and stumbling over her words, I love that

The things Wenclair do to me man.. The signs is so obviously there yet does Enid pick up on it?

No, she's too busy picking up Wednesday, literally

Bet Enid came rushing into Wednesday room and scooped her into a hug after this. Her voice frenzied as she asked how willa's doing because she heard the news

Wednesday will a hundred percent melt into the hold and humm, totally mentioning how it's better since beast stepped in

Enid beams in return and Wednesday knows that she puffed her chest a tad in pride

Cute

#wenclair #Writing #Spider Enid au #Jdwicked

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lulu2992 · 1 year

Text

I’ve previously talked about the moment John nods and smiles at the Deputy in the church during The Atonement but, honestly, I think this entire scene is awesome. So many things are happening, there are a lot of details to notice, and the actors and animators really did a great job.

So here’s a breakdown of the cutscene and a highlight of my favorite moments (under a cut because there are 25 GIFs).

1. First, there’s John’s genuinely surprised reaction to the Deputy grabbing his arm. He quickly regains his composure, but he really jumps when the Deputy moves.

2. Then, there’s his joy when he’s done tattooing the Deputy. You can see how proud and happy he is to do something he believes is right and helpful.

3. Look at how theatrically and confidently John, who knows he’s in control of the situation and in a position of strength, turns around. He’s done talking to the Deputy personally and he’s now giving a performance. In contrast, in the background, Mary May and Nick’s fists are clenched; they’re clearly tense and angry. I also like how good the cultist on the right is at handing the book to John, who barely needs to stop when he takes it as if everything is precisely choreographed.

4. Jerome’s defiance vs John’s impatience.

5. John is so dramatically annoyed.

6. When Jerome falls, Nick and Mary May try to help and catch him. Unfortunately, a cultist is holding Nick’s left arm, so he can’t do much.

7. It seems John has so much faith in his followers’ ability to protect him that he’s totally unimpressed by Mary May’s attempt at attacking him.

8. And that’s when Jerome switches the books.

9. John laughs… but he’s clearly not amused.

10. I love that he breathes a sigh of relief when Jerome finally cooperates.

11. The reactions to Nick’s “Fuck this”. Jerome’s face is saying, “Oh no, you shouldn’t have done this”, the cultist holding him at gunpoint didn’t expect that, and John just keeps unblinkingly looking at Nick…

12. …until he snaps. At this point, the two men are ready to come to blows. Thankfully, another cultist arrives to hold Nick back while the one in the background looks a bit unsettled. John, his fists tightly clenched, manages to calm down quite quickly. He’s still angry, but at least he doesn’t look like he wants to punch Nick anymore.

13. The way John talks with his hands.

14. Nick has just spit in his face and John is now visibly upset. He’s planning his revenge, and Jerome knows something bad is about to happen.

15. When John is done whispering in Nick’s ear, the cultist behind him holsters her gun. She is close enough to have heard what John said and she seems confident that Nick is going to stop resisting.

16. She even nods. Meanwhile, Nick is distressed and looks at his friends. To me, his eyes are saying, “Guys, I’m so sorry… I don’t want to do this, and please don’t judge me, but I have no choice.”

17. I like how John and the cultist who gives him the scalpel don’t even need to look at each other. How many times have they done this? You can also see Jerome is starting to panic as he understands what’s next. The other cultist might be smiling, I’m not sure… If she is, it’s probably because she’s happy Nick has finally “seen the light”.

18. As soon as John is done cutting out Nick’s tattoo, one of the cultists bandages his wound.

19. Again, we can see how well-organized the ceremony is and how efficient John’s “assistants” are. When he needs the stapler, it’s here for him to grab. When he’s done using it, the cultist is there to take it from him. Again, he barely looks at her; he trusts all of them.

20. Meanwhile, Jerome is in shock.

21. Judging by the cultist and John’s reaction, making someone Atone is pretty intense. They look exhausted, and also exalted because they see this as a holy thing.

22. While John is busy washing his hands, Jerome discreetly taps his Bible to remind the Deputy that a gun is hidden inside.

23. The intensity of John’s stare.

24. He totally agrees with Mary May when she tells the Deputy to “just say yes”.

25. And of course, I had to include the face John makes when he believes the Deputy is finally about to give him what he expects.

This cutscene is intense and sometimes hard to watch, but I think it’s also one of the best in the game. I love it.

#far cry 5 #john seed #jerome jeffries #nick rye #mary may fairgrave #the deputy #far cry 5 spoilers #gifs I made #uh-oh they make my mobile app crash #the post looks fine on pc though

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darkwaveho · 2 years

Note

The thought of y/n and Monica being in a healthy relationship just makes me melt. I usually don't like fluff, but they're something special 😤💕.

When you have time (and if you want to), can you please give us a small drabble about Monica and y/n? Maybe the two of them are living in bliss with Nat scheming while she's in prison 👀. I wonder how Nat will react when she hears y/n and Monica are in a relationship (I just know she'll have connections in prison lol). Do you think that if Nat were to break out of prison while Monica and y/n were together that she would go back to Natasha?? Would Nat go crazy when she finally finds them? I love how your AU's have AU's 🤣.

Also the lack of Monica Rambeau fics on this app sucks 😫.

Damage control

Split decisions

Parings: Monica Rambeau x reader, Natasha Romanoff x reader (Past)

Warnings: 18+, fluff, abuse, violence, cursing suggestive themes, mentions of murder, shitty parenting, hints of Stockholm syndrome.

A/n: Sorry it took so long anon hopefully you like it. I tried to add in as much as you asked for but I might’ve forgotten a few things. my bad if I did lol <3

Damage Control masterlist

--------------

Monica enters her house with a sense of uneasiness, she doesn’t know what it is, but something felt off. she assumes positions drawing her gun from her holster and walks further into the room. the living room is empty nothing there put left over honeybun on the coffee table. she falters in her steps when she hears a noise coming from the kitchen.

during this time, you were always on the couch waiting for Monica to get back from work. no matter the time you waited, she brought you a sense of comfort and stability that you never knew you needed. Monica walks into the kitchen raising her gun higher to the eye level of the other person in the kitchen, she releases a breath and lowers the gun.

“Yn? What the hell?”

“Yeah, what the hell Mon! I could’ve killed you; you know!” you yell at her for scaring you.

Monica had words at the tip of her tongue but seeing you and actually taking in your full figure she had new words forming with a burning question. “What are you even doing with that?” she points with one hand as she uses the other to safely put her gun back in the holster.

“I thought I heard something in the basement.” She takes the gun from your grasp. “Where did you even get this from?”

“I’m not telling you, you’re a cop Mon.” She rolls her eyes and moves you to the couch. “You sure this is just about a noise you heard?” She rubs your hand soft and tenderly. “Yeah of course, what else would it be about?”

“Yn, it’s okay to talk about it, to talk about her.” You shake your head. “Okay, another time then? In the meantime, please no more firearm’s sweetheart.” She holds your chin and places her soft lips on yours. “Another one.” She accepts and plants another kiss on your lips. You hum in satisfaction. “More.” She giggles and plants multiple wet kisses to your face knowing you would keep asking her for more. You pull her on top of you falling back on the couch.

“So, what else did you do today other than have possession of an illegal firearm?” You scoff knowing she’s not going to let it go and she’ll most likely press you for more information about who you bought it from later. “Watched tv, ate doughnuts.” You give her a look of mischief. “Looked through your panty drawer and I finally opened that box you have hidden away in the back of your closet.” Her eyes go wide with shock.

“What?”

“I knew you’d be surprised, you’re really freaky Monica.” You wiggle your eyebrows in a playful way. She gasps and slaps you shoulder. “I think it’s sexy. You’re a lady in the streets and a freak in the sheets.”

“That’s an invasion of privacy and I could have you arrested you do know that right?”

“Oh, you’ve been dying to cuff me haven’t you Captain?” you wiggle your eyebrows playfully as you tease her. despite you staying with Monica you two haven’t done more than just making out. intimacy was different with her versus Natasha, getting Natasha to open up more and be vulnerable was like pulling teeth you hardly ever got her too emotional and real with you.

“Shut up” she hits you with the couch pillow and laugh at the shrieking noise you make from being hit. her laughter comes to an abrupt stop when she sees the look you have in your eyes.

“Y/n, no.” she sends you a warning as she tries to pull away from you. “Why not?” you grin at her and add more strength around her waist. you pull her back on top of you and start attacking her neck with your lips.

“Fuck, b-because we-” she loses herself with the sensation you send through her body. “Because what?” you pull away from her soft neck to taunt her more before going right back in. placing your lips upon her neck you focus on her soft spot and suck right below her ear. her hands halt any advances you had running rapid in your mind, and you respect her boundaries even if they were tortious. “Mon you’re killing me here, you can’t be nice and say sweet things to me. I’m still not used to it, and it makes me horny.”

“Y/n, my mind still hasn’t changed about that.” she softly scratches your scalp with her hands tangled in your hair. once again you respected it but that didn’t mean you couldn’t come up with a compromise.

“Okay, what if we just watch each other.” you wiggle your eyebrows hoping she would get the hint. “Watch each other...” she waits for you to continue and fill in the blank.

“Yeah, I can watch you touch yourself while you watch me touch myself.” her jaw drops form shock “And I’m the freak?”

“Don’t look at me like that, you mean to tell me that watching me naked completely spread out in front of you while pumping my fingers inside of myself doesn’t make you squirm?” you trail your hand along her chest as her breaths become shorter. “Your heart is beating really fast Mon, tell me if I slide my hands in your pants will I feel the same throbbing sensation underneath your panties.” Monica lost in your seductive trance she shakes her head and clenches her eyes standing up from the couch and untangling her limbs from yours.

“I- should go check in with Darcy and Jimmy about something.” she avoids eye contact as she fetches her cellphone. “And it’s your night to pick, what do you want for dinner?” she tries to focus on anything she an in this room to stable herself from pouncing on you right now. you sit against the cushions slightly disappointed from the rejection. Monica doesn’t wait for an answer as she walks into the kitchen for her abandoned items.

“Pussy.” you mumble under your breath. “What was that sweetheart?” you hum and snap your eyes up at her waiting figure. “Oh, I said pizza.” you send her a tight-lipped smile that she knows is dripping with sarcasm and annoyance, but she doesn’t speak on it.

“Pizza it is then, I’m going to go wash the hard day at work off of me and then we’ll order, okay?” your eyes follow her every movement as she approaches the couch, the pout and scowl on your face had her feeling bad for unintentionally working you up like that. she gives you a quick kiss and runs up the stairs to cool herself off from the heated moment.

-----------

“Five minutes, so make it quick.” the guard unlocks the steel door allowing the woman to step pass the threshold. the sound of the door closing and locking on the other side alerts the woman that was staring at the cold stone wall. “Natalia.” the woman breathes out an airy response. “Melina.”

“Has she been found yet?” Natasha’s voice comes out raspier than normal, as she wets her dry chapped lips. Melina sighs doing what she never did before. she took pity on Natasha. seeing her like this at her lowest. “We’ve been looking, and word is going around that she’s...” Natasha’s eyes shoot up to the eye level of her mother’s. “She’s what?” the response comes out harsh and panicked at the same time. “That she’s been seeing that detective lady.” the ear screeching sound of Natasha’s nails scraping against the concrete floor. “No, no, she wouldn’t stoop that fucking low.”

“I’m afraid she has.”

“No, you’re lying and whoever told you that is a fucking liar as well!”

“You mind your tongue!” the voice booms through the room. everything went silent as Alexei’s voice was heard through the other side of the door. finally hearing the creaking of the steel door, revealing his figure his steps into the room. Melina parts her lips to ease the tension, she was always trying to ease the tension between them. this time she’s not winning the battle.

“Leave us.” Alexei’s voice comes out firm with no room for arguing. After quickly sending Natasha a soft smile. Melina leaves as Alexei keeps his gaze on Natasha’s unease figure. “Don’t look at me like that, you got yourself into this mess, and dragged my baby girl along with you!” Natasha clenches her eyes as Alexei yells echos through the confined room. “What was it you said to me all those years ago? hm? ‘I can handle her father; she would never do anything to hurt me or Yelena’ “Look at where you and your sister are now! he sees Natasha clenching her jaw like she wants to charge at him. “What is it? are you upset? you want to hit me? is that it?!” he snatches her up from the ground and shakes her a few times until he gets an answer. “C’mon hit me then.”

“Whose fault is this?”

“You’re even weaker than I thought, I should’ve put a stop to whatever you two had going on.” a slap was too generous. way too generous. the punch to Natasha’s face was long overdue and well deserved in Alexei’s eyes. she grunts from the contact as she stumbles to the ground. “I. asked. you. a. question.” each word followed by a slap, a shove or the angry Russian’s fist.

“Mine!” her releases her from his hold and throws her to the ground. he turns away from her and waits for the door to opened. “Is Yelena, okay?”

“You have no right asking about my daughter when you couldn’t protect her like you were supposed to! she suffers because of you, because of what you did and what you allowed that selfish bitch to do! Yelena was placed in solitaire confinement, she got into a fight, and she was also stabbed. What? is that not what you wanted to hear? you want me to lie and tell you she’s doing fine in her cell? I’m not going to help ease your guilty conscious you can rot and suffer within these walls for all I care, my only concern is my daughter.” he knocks once against the door and leaves without another word. an hour goes by before a guard enters the room, walking towards Natasha he stops at her feet and holds a cell phone out to her. she furrows her brows and takes the phone she wasn’t expecting her usual guard to be on duty today. she says her thanks and shoos him from her room to stand outside. Natasha dials the number she’s been keeping in close contact with over a month now to weigh her options. the phone rings a few times before it picks up.

“What do you need now?” The man’s voice laced heavy with his accent it was barely morning where he was after all.

“I need you to get me out of here, I don’t care how just do it, and I mean soon Rick.” she hangs the phone up and on queue the guard enters the room retrieving the phone and leaves again. Natasha wouldn’t stay another moment in this cell, in this building knowing you were out there parading around with the bitch that put her in here.

----------

“You do know I haven’t heard a word you just said right?” you prop you head up with your elbow on the table popping a few of Monica’s French fries in your mouth.

“You’re unbelievable you know that? how are you going to ask me about my day and not actually listen?” she tilts her head slightly with a smirk on her face, showing you that she wasn’t upset about it.

“What? can you blame me, you’re gorgeous.” she shy’s away taking a sip of her sweet tea. you can’t help but focus in on her lips. how soft they were and how badly you wanted them on your body again. despite the heated moment you two had in her office two months ago there hasn’t been anything that heated going on between you two. part of you thinks Monica is holding back because of lingering, pestering feeling for Natasha that wouldn’t go away. you admired her for that. for caring and having feelings like a normal human is supposed to, this was something you weren’t used to. patience. the date goes on until Monica gets a call to head back to the office. she pays and you both exit the burger joint hand in hand as you walk to Monica’s car.

“Shouldn’t I be the one walking you to your car?” that was another change in your life, you had a car now, not being escorted around all day like before had its pros and cons, but you loved the freedom to do as you pleased. “Hush Mon, I want to walk my lady to her car. My car is in the back because I couldn’t find parking and you did pay for lunch so why not?”

“So, buying you lunch makes us even because you walked me to my car? who knew this got you to turn on your gentle woman act.”

“Well, you could see it more often if you let me pay for the date for once.” you roll your eyes at her stubbornness but then again, the money you had belonged to Natasha and Monica didn’t want that kind of money being spent on her, or you spending the dirty money in general. “And I could pay you in other ways if you would just let me, you know I’m good for it.” you swing her hand and bat your eyelashes at her innocently.

“You don’t have to pay me at all y/n, I like doing things for you, just enjoy them.” you roll your eyes and fold your arms. Monica giggles at your reaction and struggles a bit to pull you closer to her. “Fine I’ll let you pick the next date.”

“And you’ll let me pay for it? I mean the entire date Mon, I pay for everything, got it?”

“Fine bossy.” she playfully rolls her eyes and unlocks her car door.

“Yeah, well you’re very stubborn.” you open her door for her and close it when she’s seated

“Takes one to know one.” one thing about Monica was that at work she could be tough and demanding but with you she could be childish and carefree. you loved it. you loved the playful banter between you two. “Real mature, Miss Rambeau.” she beckons you with her finger pulling you in for a soft kiss. “See you at home.” she gives you a wide smile as you lean away from her car repeating the same farewell as she drives off. “See you at home.”

-----------

You smile to yourself as you walk back to your car unaware of your surrounds, you’re oblivious to the car that trails you. it isn’t until you fell the hand of a person grip your jacket and spin you around to face them. to say you were at a loss for words were an understatement.

“Hello, sweet face.” your ex-girlfriend stands in front of you with excitement in her expression and long blonde hair. “Did you miss me?” you only stare at her with your mouth parted, this can’t be real she can’t be here right now. aware of your silence Natasha keeps talking anyway. “I thought about you saying how hot I would look as a blonde, do you like it?” she noticed your eyes constantly going back to the top of her head, so she answered the question for you.

“You look good, I see you’ve been playing house with that bitch. I had a lot of time to think about what’d I do when I finally got out of that place…none of them ended up being this way, with me being calm and civil.” opposite to the meaning of the words her tone came out harsh and frantic. “Do you know how much self-control I had to not slaughter her right there in that seat?”

“No letters, no calls, no visits.” hearing her entitlement after everything she’s done upset you. she could be a real bitch at times, but this was getting old fast after not having to deal with it for two months.

“I thought maybe that whore would be doing all of those things.” you shrug it off nonchalantly, while you barely hold yourself together on the inside. she grows angry with the tone and the harsh response. backing you up until you hit the brick wall.

“Nat-” you flinch as Natasha bring her hand near your face. she places her finger against your trembling lips. “Shhh, I’m not gonna hurt you.” she studies your face intently, remembering every single detail of your face right down to every pore.

“Did you miss me?” her eyes stare deep into yours, searching for an answer even if not verbal she could tell. The emotion in your eyes gave her all she needed; your body language was all she needed. part of you missed her yes, but you were still angry and hurt about what she did. if she thinks you turning her in to the feds was enough for her to be forgiven, she was sadly mistaken.

“I missed you too.” she leans her forehead against yours. she inhales deeply and quickly cringes from the scent she’s not used to. you changed things about you that Natasha loved. major things such as the way you communicated, to minor changes like the clothes you wore, or the perfume you chose. she could live with those changes and adjust but she knows for a fact that your love for her hasn’t changed. even if it is buried deep down in the pits of your heart.

“I sat in my cell thinking about a lot of things. I thought maybe I can fuck the anger away when I got my hands on you for what you did.” The calmness she showed moments ago has dissipated. “And then I found out about you and her and I know longer wanted to bring you pleasure and pain. I just wanted to bring you pain and agony for letting her fuck you!” none of it might be true but she doesn’t know that, plus you wanted to get under her skin.

“Who said she was doing the fucking? I basically have my tongue inside of her every night” Natasha’s ego dropped majorly at your response. either way you put it she would be angry but saying it in her face that you gave another woman pleasure hurt her, contrary to her doing the same thing when she cheated on you with Amber. her hand finds purpose around your neck, squeezing your airways tight as she backed you up against the cold bricks. her other hand squishes your cheeks together.

“Stick your tongue out.” you look at her with frantic eyes this was a bad idea. she sticks her finger in your mouth grabbing the tip of your tongue with her pinched fingers. you find the will to breathe as her hand releases your throat. your relief was quickly forgotten when you felt the tip of her knife against your tongue. “Maybe I should cut it out, hm?” she pinches your tongue when you don’t answer her. so much for not wanting to hurt you. Natasha moves the metal away for you pocketing the knife and releases your tongue. you release the breath you were holding on to. “I’m really, really trying here. don’t mention anything like that again!” she spits the words out calm but harshly.

“You’re a damn hypocrite you know that? You want to be forgiven for what you did but I do it and I’m the trader, I’m the cheater and I’m tarnished right?”

“No, never tarnished you just made a mistake, like I made a mistake.” her voice goes softer the anger she had fades away for the time being. placing her forehead against yours, she exhales deeply.

“You were just upset, hm? you got your payback, now you can come home.” her breathing picks up momentum. her lips attempt to graze yours seeking to kiss you after two months of being without them. turning your face to dodge each attempt. “Nat, stop.” she doesn’t listen she couldn’t her mind was too intoxicated with you at the moment. she growls from being denied and slams her lips on yours. pushing her tongue past your lips, you fight for a moment before things fizzle away and next thing you know, you’re actually enjoying her touch again. enjoying her kiss, her tongue, her. seeing you let your walls down she makes her next move, sliding her hand under your waistband. she caught you off guard, but you’d be damned if you just gave her your body so easily like this. you harshly bite down on her lip causing her to step back in stinging pain.

“Ah!” she stumbles back softly rubbing her thumb against her wounded lip. she looks at her thumb as the iron liquid runs down her fingertip. “Why so rough baby? I thought we could have a soft welcome home moment.” she says before she spits blood out on the concrete ground of the alley way. “Fuck you!”

“Well, if you play your cards right, I just might let you. being locked away in isolation really made me horny.” Rarely has Natasha ever let you have full control over her, maybe it was the fact that you mentioned having control with Monica that got her to lay the offer out on the table. the sound of the car door opening catches your attention and you can’t form words from seeing her. what could you say to make her understand your reasoning for doing what you did? your eyes follow her as she approaches, she looks more serious than before.

“Lena.” your breath hitches seeing your best friend, she stood there not giving you the time of day let alone a glance. “We need to go now Natasha we have things to do.” she sighs and nods to her sister before turning back to you. Yelena didn’t say anything to you. she didn’t yell or even make an annoyed facial expression. nothing. she treated you like you were nothing to her. Natasha turns your gaze back to her as she holds your chin.

“I want you with me, we can go anywhere, and finally go on that vacation trip. for a much longer time than we originally planned but that’s just until things cool down. We can make the most of it.” she squeezes your hand softly. a very different display of affection from just moments ago when she tried to forcefully shove her tongue down your throat.

“I’ll give you some time to think about it.” She rubs her thumb against your cheek. “Don’t have me waiting too long for an answer.” She was hoping that you would agree on your own instead of her using the backup plan to just drag you out of that house when Monica’s at work. Natasha was being civil, for now. this was how she could reel you back in on your own freewill with sweet words, hope, and broken promises. “I just got out of prison please don’t make me get my hands dirty within 8 hours of being released sweet face.” she traces your lips with her thumb, quickly pecks your lips and walks to the blacked-out car waiting for her. your heart drums through your chest as you replay everything that just happened. Natasha was free. she wanted you back, and she subtly not so subtly made a threat of harming Monica if you didn’t do as she said.

-----------

“Y/n, I have to tell you something important.” she looks for you downstairs in your usual spot that you wait in until she comes home. she tries to remain calm and push the intruding thought about your wellbeing to the side. she cautiously jogs up the stairs to her bedroom to find you frantically looking for something in the dresser. “Y/n? what are you doing up here?”

“Hey, what’s wrong love?” her hand softly caresses your back as she moves you to sit on the bed. her smile fades as she opens the door and sees the bag on the bed. “Are you going somewhere? did I do something?” you quickly dismiss her overthinking. “No, you didn’t do anything you’re perfect.”

“Okay, so what’s the problem and what’s with the packed bag?” she places her hand in yours linking your finger together. “She’s back.”

“I know.”

“You knew?”

“I came home as soon as I found out.” you hum and turn your gaze back to your linked fingers. “Why didn’t you tell me when you first found out?” you shrug your shoulders. “I don’t know, my mind was running at a million miles a minute. I thought she would be put away for good.”

“Yeah, so did I, but the evidence was dismissed even though we had the warrant and everything.” she turns your face to look at her. “That still doesn’t explain the bag sweetheart.” you sigh, releasing a shuddered breath. “I can’t.... I can’t stay here anymore Monica.”

“W-what?”

“I don’t want her to hurt you.”

“She will, she will hurt you and I’ll never be able to live with myself if I let that happen.”

“Where is this coming from?”

“After our lunch date I was walking back to the car, and she cornered me and pulled me into the alley. she said she wants me to come back home and that she expects an answer soon. that’s bullshit! she’s not giving me an option she’s only making me think that I have one.”

“Do you want to go back with her? I can protect you just don’t go, please.”

“I can handle myself...I can protect you y/n.”

“Sorry to break it to you Mon but Natasha doesn’t care about a damn badge or the law! and she definitely doesn’t care about killing you especially since we’ve been shacking up for two months!” you shoot up from the bed with Monica following right behind you. Monica might be calm on the outside right now but on the inside she was anxious. anxious of what would happen, how she could fix this, and anxious about you leaving her and her never seeing you again.

“We weren’t just shacking up, at least not on my end. In the beginning I just wanted to help you and keep you safe but, you mean so much more to me. you mean more to me than you mean to Natasha. she isn’t capable of loving you, not the way that you deserve so please, stay.” she stands in front of you with tears pooling in her eyes as she begs you to remain with her.

Two women holding special pieces of your heart makes every decision harder. did you want to stay with Monica and potentially cause Natasha to reign terror and hell on the woman you’ve grown close too over the last two months? or did your heart still beat for Natasha even after everything she’s done?

#monica rambeau x reader #natasha romanoff x reader

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0nlythrowharrybeaux · 9 months

Text

Wonderful World - Part 15^

FINALLY!

Series Masterlist

Warnings: some angst between our favorite couple 🥲

WC: 15.4K

Celeste was bummed out, she went straight to her room when she got home and got ready for bed before just looking over her phone and wondering if it was stupid to reach out to Ben. She wasn’t worried about not seeing him, she knew she’d see him at band camp in a few weeks, but whether she wanted to see him or not was the real question. She decided to text Geri to see if she was still up and willing to hear her out. Once she confirmed she called her and the line rang once before she answered.

“Hey.” Geri’s hushed voice sounded over the speaker, “What did you want to talk about?”

“It’s a Ben thing.” She said and Geri gasped.

“Oh, good did you get in touch with him? He asked me where you had gone off to because he saw you with Dr. Styles so he went to greet his cousins who had shown up and-” Celeste’s groan interrupted Geri’s speaking, “What’s wrong?”

“I think I’m an idiot.” Celeste said and Geri sighed.

“No, don’t say that.”

“It’s just that I saw Ben hugging a girl for like a long while and ummm…I thought it was another girl he was talking to so I just…bailed on him.” She explained and Geri winced.

“Ooh…OK that’s bad.” She said and Celeste whined.

“Don’t tell me that.”

“He seemed pretty bummed out. Have you tried talking to him?”

“No, I left him on read…I was upset, for no reason obviously…” she mumbled.

“Well maybe it’s not too late?” Geri consoled.

“He’s gonna think I’m so immature…” she groaned lowly and Geri sighed.

“Well this is kind of the first person who you’ve had a really serious crush on, you know? Tyler from 7th grade doesn’t count!” She said and Celeste laughed, “If he doesn’t want to try to go out with you after this well then you at least learned something right?” Geri asked her and Celeste huffed.

“Yeah, I guess so…”

“Just apologize for the mix up. Ben’s nice, I’m sure he’ll understand.” Geri assured her.

“Yeah…ugh, I’ll try at school tomorrow. Best thing to do during the last day I guess.”

“Our last day as freshmen…” Geri reminded and Celeste grinned.

“That’s true! Are we still going to get ice cream after?”

“Of course! It’s tradition, my mom said she’ll pick us up around 3:15 so we have time to say goodbye to our friends.”

“Cool. Well thanks for hearing me out, Geri. And for your advice.” Celeste said with gratitude.

“Of course, what are best friends for?” She asked and Celeste smiled.

*********

After she’d gotten home from that dinner with Celeste and Harry Diana’d started to reserve the spots for her and Harry’s vineyard date on Saturday evening. She was excited to spend time with him one on one and to sing and dance along to the swanky jazz music that just itched the right spot when it came to her live music preferences. She knew he was eclectic in his tastes and was sure that he would at least appreciate the musicianship of it if he didn’t really like the genre. She was excited that he had agreed to this because she really wanted to show him her intent to move forward. They’d kind of jumped the gun and confessed their actual feelings for each other, but this was her reassuring him that she wanted to have more with him.

Diana also wanted to talk to someone about how this affected Celeste. Was it even a good idea to talk to her about it yet? Would she ever stop feeling guilty for forcing a change in the dynamic for Harry? Would Celeste be so hurt that she’d resent her forever? There was a lot up in the air and she needed to make sure that she wasn’t risking so much for just a man. But Harry wasn’t just a man, he was a man. Mature, responsible, kind, intelligent, patient, funny, open minded, hot as fuck. So unbelievably hot that she was surprised her saw wasn’t literally on the floor when she first met him. He made her feel things she hadn’t felt in ages. She felt like herself around him. She felt happy around him. He made her feel so abundantly happy. She knew she deserved it, she had been patiently waiting her turn. And truly, in the depth of her soul, she had a feeling that he was everything she had been waiting for. She didn’t want to miss him.

*********

The next morning at school most students were just cleaning out their lockers for the end of the year. They didn’t really do much in terms of class, they had the chance to meet with the guidance counselors and advisors if needed and mostly just had activities that they could get through the day and well, the seniors did their final rehearsal for graduation, so there were plenty of people roaming the halls in their high heels to get accustomed to the feeling. Celeste hadn’t seen Ben yet, so after lunch she decided to go to the band room to see if maybe he was in there and thankfully he was. He was taking apart the drum kit and storing it away for the summer.

“Hey.” She said with a wary smile as she approached him and he looked a bit confused.

“Hi, ummm…I tried calling you yesterday? Did something happen?” He asked and she sighed and looked away from his eyes out of sheer embarrassment.

“Yeah ummm, first off I’m really sorry for bailing on you and leaving you hanging that wasn’t cool of me.” She said, “But ummm, when I went to look for you I saw you hugging a girl and I thought that maybe you were with her or whatever and I got upset-”

“That was probably my cousin, she’s visiting from Costa Rica.” He explained and she nodded.

“I know. Geri mentioned something about that to me and I just…jumped to conclusions and I’m really sorry about not saying anything to you. It was…immature.”

“just a bit.” He said with a small smile and she felt her face go red as she shook her head, “It’s alright, we’ve all been there before, Celeste.” He assured her and she glanced back up into his eyes and he was already looking at her. “And like, it’s good you bailed because I was actually not expecting my cousins to visit and so I ended up spending time with them and will probably be busy the next few weeks.”

“Are you still going to camp?” She asked.

“Yeah, they leave the day after we leave so it works out.” He said and Celeste smiled.

“That’s good that you get to spend time with them.” She smiled and he nodded.

“Yeah. What about you? Any family visits or vacations before band camp?” He asked and she shook her head.

“No, ummmm…it’s just my mom and I. My uncle doesn’t have kids yet so ummm, no cousins for me.”

“Oh? And…y-your dad’s side of the family?” He asked cautiously and she shook her head.

“I don’t actually know them. He died before I was born so there’s never really been any relationships with them.” She explained and he frowned a bit.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” He apologized and she shook her head.

“It’s OK.” She assured with a small smile, “I like…miss him sometimes but it’s not I’m sad about it because I never knew him, you know?” She said as she came a bit closer.

“Yeah, that makes sense.” He responded.

“Do you want some help?” She asked and he smiled at her.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind?”

“Of course not, just tell me what to do because I’ve only ever done this one time at that was in middle school.” She reminded and he chuckled.

“Yeah, here.” He said coming a bit closer to demonstrate, “Oh ummm, we’re good right?” He asked her before he showed her how to take apart the drum kit, “Like, you still…like me and I still…like you?” He asked and she blushed but nodded.

“Yeah.” She responded timidly and he smiled.

“OK, sick.” He responded softly and she laughed softly, “Ummm, OK, so this is what you’re gonna do…” he started explaining how to take apart the cymbals and place them in the cases.

Celeste was so glad that she had cleared things up with Ben and that he wasn’t upset at her. They talked a bit more about what he’d be doing with his cousins and he assured her that they could definitely hang out at camp since it wouldn’t really be possible the next two weeks as his cousins were visiting from so far away. But she was OK with that, it would give her time to not get too in her head about this. She’d be going to Catalina for the weekend with Geri’s family and they could talk about this all they wanted without her mom hearing things before she was meant to. She wouldn’t have a therapy session until the week before camp and she was still debating on whether or not to talk to Dr. Styles about Ben, she knew that he now knew that she at least liked him, but not the extent of it. And well…she could just tell her mom. She hadn’t been too alarmed when she brought up the question about dating, but she also didn’t want to ask her mom about kissing and boyfriends in depth. Not yet at least. She’d just…figure it out along the way and hope she made a friend at camp who hopefully had a bit more experience thank her.

*********

The rest of the week completely flew by and Harry had spent a large part of those next few days mulling over Dr. Hsu’s offer, he was very interested in that faculty position but he had just started his practice and it had been going pretty well for him. The more he thought about it, the more he came to terms with the fact that he wasn’t ready to let it go. Not yet at least. He was definitely interested in teaching more classes for the university, but his gut told him to not sign on as a faculty member just yet. He just wanted to give it another day or two to sit with the feeling of his current decision. When his alarm rang he stretched before he got up from his chaise. He’d been taking in a bit of sun before getting ready for his date at the vineyard with Diana.

He couldn’t help the smile on his face as he cleaned his body and washed his hair. After drying off he headed straight for the mirror and washed his face and then considered shaving off all of the scruff along his jaw and over his lips. But he was liking it right now, he liked the look so he decided against shaving and just got to his skin care. He was particular as he dried and styled his hair. And then as he rubbed a bit of his cologne scented hair/beard oil into his hands and then into hair, taking care to work the excess into his scruff and down his neck. He smirked as he just smeared the last bit into his bit of chest hair. And then he was off to get dressed. The weather was warm, but he knew it’d get cool up in the mountains. As he sifted through his outfit options he ended choosing an olive green suit paired with a thin black, graphic-tee, and some black dress shoes. He considered something a bit more tame, but he he wanted a pop of color because he recalled that she enjoyed seeing him in colors. His colors were usually bright and this suit, with it’s deep tone made it feel more like an evening look. He got into it and hurried to his mirror to look over the outfit and smiled to himself. He felt good, he liked the look and decided to stick with it. When his phone dinged he knew that Diana would be on her way. So he got on his cologne and brushed his teeth again before hurrying to get his shoes on.

He felt all fluttery inside because this was in fact their first real date, she had asked him because she wanted to go out with him. Harry perked up when his door bell rang and he hurried to the kitchen to grab the bouquet of white anemones he had purchased for her. He hurried to open it up and smiled wide when he saw her beaming with her own arrangement in hand. They both laughed and he moved aside to let her in.

“That’s a nice one.” He said and she giggled.

“Thanks, I was hoping you’d like it. And those flowers are beautiful.”

“I’m glad you like them.” He smiled, “Ummm, let’s put these down and head out, yeah?”

“Yeah, that’s perfect.” She agreed and she followed him to his kitchen where he set down his arrangement and then stooped down to one of the cabinets to get a vase out for her flowers. He turned around to get some water in it and she leaned onto the counter and just looked him over with a distant and lustful gaze. The slim fit of the suit showed the tapered shape of his figure, his back was so broad. She even blushed as she looked him over and just glanced down at the rings on her fingers instead. She then felt his own gaze devouring her and she flickered her eyes up and smirked as he set the vase down, eyes focused on hers with his bottom lip bitten between his teeth.

“Fuck, look at you.” He laughed softly in total awe and she looked away with burning cheeks. “Show me.” He insisted and she pushed herself off of the counter and he grabbed her hand as she straightened out her black dress. He smiled as he took her in and then smiled up at her, “Perfect.”

“You look really good too. Like this color on you.” She complimented and he smiled.

“Thanks. I remember you said you liked some of my more colorful stuff so I…uh chose it.” He said and she smiled.

“I know that we haven’t even made it to our first date, but can I kiss you?” She asked and he chuckled.

“Yeah.” He hummed, “You can kiss me.” He smirked and she gripped the back of his neck with her right hand and pulled him down as she arched up into him as their lips met in a gentle kiss. It was just a few seconds long and then she pulled away.

“Thank you.” She whispered as their noses nudged, “We should go.” She said and he hummed in agreement.

Moments later they were on the road and heading up towards the vineyard up in the mountains near the beach.

“What’s Celeste up to this weekend?” Harry asked.

“She’s spending the next three days with Geri and her family, they went to Catalina Island.” She informed and Harry hummed.

“Sounds like fun.”

“Oh yeah, I went with them last year and it was a lot of fun.”

“Why didn’t you go this year?” He asked her and she smiled.

“I’m teaching a summer class come Monday and I just need to get everything ready over the weekend.” She explained, “Also, I made plans with you before they told me about their plans so ummm…yeah.” She smiled at him before turning back to the road.

“Well I know spending time with Celeste is important to you, I would’ve understood.”

“I know, but ummm…I also want to show you that this is important to me too.” She said and then bit her lip before turning to him quickly as they braked behind a line of cars along the 101, “You’re important to me.” She said more plainly and he smiled.

“Well thank you. I ummm…you’re important to me as well.” He said bashfully and she smiled before turning back to the road.

“I wanted to ask you something…” she said after a few minutes and he hummed, urging her to continue, “So I definitely need a little bit of help figuring out how to talk to Celeste about my feelings about my love life and how to address her concerns when I get to have that conversation with her and ummm…I want to talk to my therapist about it, but like…what would be the point if I lied about it?” She said and he chuckled.

“Right.”

“Right!” She smiled, “Like…I also don’t want to get you in trouble so I wanted to ensure that like I can talk to my therapist about us without there being any repercussions towards you. So do you think it’ll be an issue?” She asked nervously.

“I mean…yeah. Well it’s really not allowed…like I could…I could get into serious trouble and potentially lose both of my licenses to practice for dating a client’s family member because it’s never justifiable to potentially harm a client by putting my own wants or needs first.” He explained and she sighed.

“Oh…like I just knew it was not a good idea and unprofessional at the very least, I hadn’t really looked up the…actual ruling of it.”

“Yeah, I mean ACA recommends a 5 year gap between romantic relationships with a therapist who’s treated your family member, whereas other associations might say it’s less time, but ummm, most of us go by what ACA says, so yeah. It ummm…it wouldn’t be good for me at all and well, I don’t think your therapist could withhold from reporting that to the board because it’s more likely that something like this causes harm to the patient than not, you know? If she’s a good therapist she would say something.” He told her and she frowned, “And it’s not like I didn’t know that, but like I can’t help what I feel and I just really hate to think about it so I pushed it aside and I should’ve been more honest with you from the start.” He said and she nodded.

“Yeah, I get that.” She responded softly, “I’m sorry too if anything I ever did pushed you to break those rules or persuaded you to-”

“I did it all on my own, love. I’m pretty sure I’ve been the one pursuing you this whole time.” He said and she shook her head.

“I could’ve at least pretended to have some resolve so ummm…it’s on both of us. I mean…do you think anything about us has caused harm to Celeste?” She asked with concern, her eyes focused on the road.

“Mostly when we weren’t on speaking terms or something.” He said, “She perceived it more as like a lack of interest in her on your end when in reality it was just that we didn’t want to see each other.” He said and she bit her lip as her heart sank.

“Right…ummm, maybe lets not talk about this now.” She said as she turned to him briefly and he nodded.

“Yeah, another time.” He assured and she nodded and they went quiet as they both just started to think about what the hell they were even doing.

Harry felt bad now, he could see just how much this worried Diana. They could pretend all they wanted and they could choose to believe that there would be a good way to do this, but in reality all that they knew right now was that Celeste wasn’t ready for Diana to date and she wasn’t interested in finding another therapist. He had a duty to Celeste until she decided that he wasn’t the clinician for her. And well, Diana couldn’t be selfish with this, she’d said it many times before. It was unfair the way that life dangled someone so perfect in front of their faces and then placed only the biggest obstacle known to the universe between them. And this was an obstacle of gargantuan scale. Harry could very well lose both of his licenses if someone were to find out about this. If that happened he wouldn’t even have anything to fall back on because he for sure wouldn’t be able to work at the university with something like that on his record.

The silence between them seemed to confirm the thing they both feared the most, but the one thing that they knew was for the best. What a depressing first date, he thought to himself, to know that everything was over before it even started. Neither of them had to say it, the tense silence between them was deafening and just like that, the exciting promise of what the evening had in store for them had dissolved into nothing. When they arrived Diana parked her car and turned to him with welled up eyes and he frowned.

“Hey, don’t cry.” He said softly and she bit her lip and shook her head.

“Why are we even here? It’s so pointless!” She vented as she reached into the console and dabbed under her eyes with a napkin and he smiled sadly.

“Because we wanted to try.” He said to her and she exhaled shakily.

“If I had known that you could literally lose your livelihood I never would have even tried to befriend you!” She said with some panic and he shook his head.

“That’s not your fault. I want you. Me. I decided.” He said and she shook her head.

“You’re really stupid for that, you know?” She sniffled as she looked at him and he smiled at her and shrugged.

“I know. I’ve just never felt like this before and I can’t help but give into this feeling that I have when I think about how good everything could be.” He said and she nodded.

“I know…I just…won’t be the reason you have to give up the work you love so much.” She said resolutely and he nodded.

“Right, I also think about Celeste often and how this would go with her…I know how she feels about this and like…it would hurt her so much if she found out I’m the person who’s seeing you behind her back.” She nodded as she listened to him with so much sadness in her heart.

“This fucking sucks.” She whispered with pain and he nodded.

“I know, baby.” He responded softly, “Let’s just ummm…let’s just break the rules one last time, OK? I know you’re very excited about this and you took the time to plan it and we’re gonna have a good time, OK?” He said and she nodded to get herself to believe that she was fine and that her heart didn’t feel like it’d just been dropped into a vat of acid.

“OK.” She responded and just exhaled harshly before unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out of the car.

Harry followed suit and soon he was offering his hand to her and she was intertwining their fingers together as they followed some other couples to the main building. After checking in they were led to a gorgeous table outside, they were seated right by the dance floor and had an excellent view of the stage. The lights outside and the decor of the place was gorgeous and romantic. Their table even had a little notecard with their names embossed in gold into the thick paper. He turned to her and offered her a smile and as much as she tried to return the gesture he could see the sadness swimming in her eyes. She’d put herself out there, he knew it was hard for her to even do that and despite her best efforts she was not even close to getting what she wanted and that hurt and it was disappointing, he knew it was. It hurt him too.

“Hey.” He appealed to her softly and she turned to him.

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t know the repercussions could be that serious.” She said to him, “And now I kind of feel like…what’s the point, I guess?” She said and he frowned a bit. He wanted to tell her that the point of it all was that they loved each other and that somehow, some way they’d make it work, but he couldn’t guarantee that.

“Yeah, that’s fair. I should’ve been more straightforward about that before.” He said and she sighed, “I’m really sorry.” He apologized again and she shook her head.

“You don’t need to apologize. And I’m not upset at you, I’m upset at myself for being so…naive and like…careless I guess with this.” She said sadly and after a beat of silence she turned to him with a slight smile, “Well now that our evening is ruined.” She said with a slightly joking tone and he chuckled.

“It doesn’t have to be. We can just…pretend it’s not.” He suggested and she glanced down at her hands in her lap.

“I think that would hurt more tomorrow.” She glanced up at him with glossy eyes again and he nodded.

“Yeah. You’re right.” He said softly. And when the band came out on stage moments later everyone started clapping and cheering, but for them it just felt like a personal attack to their situation. Like the point of all of this was just for them to get hurt.

Diana really wanted to make the most of it like Harry had said before they got out of the car, but seeing the other couples swaying to the romantic jazz music playing, having soft conversations over their wine, looking at each other with adoration, sharing their meals…it just felt so unfair. She wasn’t upset at Harry for just wanting to be loved as well, especially after he’d been cheated on, but clearly, this wasn’t as meant to be as she thought it was. That was the only way she could rationalize the obstacles. Why couldn’t things just be easy for once? Why did there have to be layers of complications over everything in her life? Why was she burdened with so much love and feeling and have no one to share it with? She abruptly stood from the table and grabbed her cloth napkin and walked off into the garden, she just needed a bit of alone time to get it together.

“Di?” She heard Harry’s voice after a minute and she let out a shaky breath.

“J-just a minute.” She responded as she dabbed under her eyes to prevent the tears from streaking her makeup. She heard him coming closer and she furrowed her eyebrows, “I just need a minute!” She called back again as she started to cry a bit more and then she felt his warm hand over her shoulder before he draped his jacket over her shoulders and that seemed to do her in because she just curled in on herself and started sobbing.

“I hate this. I hate my life so much, Harry.” She whimpered and he frowned and sat beside her. “Why am I always stuck?!” She asked rhetorically, “Why am I always last? Why am I on the back burner of the universe’s fucking list of priorities? Why can’t I just have something that I want? Just once?” She asked and he shook his head as his own tears fell silently.

“Baby, I don’t know.” He responded softly as he reached for her hand and she let him take it and intertwine their fingers.

“You know that I can’t do this because I love you, right?” She asked and more of his tears fell as he heard the words he knew were coming.

“Yeah.” He responded softly and sniffled. “And ummm, I really love you, but I also really love Celeste…” he said softly and she turned to him upon him saying that, that’s all she had ever wanted, for someone to love her and her daughter, “I could never forgive myself if I hurt her because I was being selfish.” He said softly, “You guys mean the world to me, Di. You have to know that. Like…I felt so…empty before. And you two came along and filled a void that I had given up on trying to fill. I also can’t risk driving a wedge between you two or to cultivate any mistrust or resentment.” He explained, “And like…I don’t see how we can have us without at least one of these things being impacted.” He said sadly.

“I know.” She sighed in defeat. They sat there for a bit, listening to the music from afar, holding hands and just basking in the beautiful potential before the vision completely disappeared. “I ummm…I think I just want to go home.” She said softly after the song playing ended and they heard the applause from the diners on the other side of the hedge. They stood from the bench they were on and just then they started playing a Chet Baker song, “It’s Always You” and Harry stopped.

“Let’s have a dance? I love Chet Baker.” He asked softly and she smiled up at him despite her tearful eyes and she nodded.

“I love him too. And I love this song.” She responded as she rested against his chest and they swayed quietly to the beautiful melody being sung so easily. And she smiled when the trumpeter took his solo. Harry held Diana close and chanced a glance up at the emerging moon in the sky as the sky got darker and darker by the minute. He knew the song would be over very soon and the bubble would burst. He pulled back a bit and grabbed her face and as their eyes met she leaned closer and he kissed her softly and slowly, trying to show her everything he felt with that kiss. It got teary quickly and as the song ended and people cheered for the classic, they pulled apart with hesitation. The last bit of light was used to just look into each others eyes for just another moment.

“Ready to go?” He asked her and she nodded.

“Yeah, let’s go.” She confirmed and they let go of each other and just walked back to their table. She grabbed her bag and then she led them back to the main building.

“Do you want me to drive?” Harry asked her as they made it out and she shook her head.

“I’m alright.” She assured him and he nodded. It did surprise him that she reached for his hand, but he held it tight as they made the drive back. It was nearly an hour drive and there was very minimal conversation, they were just with each other. “Are you hungry at all?” She asked as the neared their exit.

“Ummm, not really. Are you?”

“No.” She confirmed, “So just ummm…straight home?” She asked before she clenched her jaw a bit and he nodded.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” He said before letting go of her hand to grab his phone from his pocket since it had started to vibrate. He huffed when he saw it was just a spam caller and he ignored it before setting it back down, but when he glanced over to grab her hand again she had it on the steering wheel now. It hurt so bad, he literally felt a weight in his chest. He hated to see her walls slowly going back up, but he needed to do it too. He just needed to guard himself for a bit because this one hurt so much more than he though it ever could and it had barely been anything and well, that was terrifying.

As they pulled into his street the feeling started getting worse, but there was nothing that he could do to change this. It just wasn’t in the stars and he needed to accept that. As she pulled into his driveway she put the car in park and unbuckled herself to give him back his jacket.

“Here’s this.” She said with a soft smile.

“Yeah, thanks. You really do look so remarkable tonight.” He smiled.

“You too, Harry.” She responded and he sighed.

“We’re doing the right thing.” He said and she nodded in agreement.

“We are.” She said with certainty and with that he stepped out of her car. He really just wanted to plop into bed and sulk for the rest of the weekend. He was just making sure he had everything in his pockets when she rolled the window down.

“Harry?” She called to him and he peeked in, “Thank you for what we did have. I haven’t felt so happy in a long, long time.” She said to him with gratitude.

“Neither have I.” He responded with a smile and with that he backed up and let her back out. He waved one last time before she took off and the rage that he felt building up inside of him was unlike anything he had ever experienced. As soon as Harry got inside he slammed the door loudly and kicked off his shoes haphazardly before groaning in frustration. She was the love of his life he knew it, so why wasn’t it working? His anger became sadness and before he even realized it he was just sliding down the door and heaving through his sobs because this hurt more than he ever thought it could. And in his pain he just thought of her and admired her even more, she had been through so much worse and he couldn’t imagine surviving heartbreak after heartbreak, like her. He wanted to help her, not be another thing that broke her heart. He should’ve stopped himself, he knew better and now look how things had ended up. This was all his fault.

********

Diana distracted herself with setting up the modules for her Spanish class all weekend. Summer was hectic as their courses only lasted a month and in reality being this busy was a blessing in disguise because it would allow her to just fret over her online lectures and Celeste getting ready for band camp. Celeste was excited and even loved helping Diana sharpie her initials into all of her clothing item tags that she wanted to take with her. She did have an eventful week all on her own, but also with Celeste’s things.

Celeste had the bake sale in a few hours to help raise a bit more money for the camp fee for the students who needed a sponsorship. Diana had just finished her lecture so she made it out of her home office and drank some water before calling after Celeste to hurry down so they could head over to the Sprinkles store and buy the 3 dozen cupcakes she would be donating for the bake sale. As soon as they settled into the car they took off and Celeste started searching up music to play for the ride.

“You know who should open a bakery? Dr. Styles!” Celeste said with a big smile to Diana who felt her heart shrivel up at the mention of his name, but nonetheless smiled wide when Celeste brought him up.

“Oh yeah? It was that good?” She asked.

“It was amazing! Best cupcake I’ve ever eaten.” She recalled, “Hopefully he does that for all of my birthdays.” She said with a small smile and the thought of that made Diana’s stomach twist.

“God, how many birthdays are you planning to be in therapy?” She giggled and Celeste shrugged.

“I mean, you’ve been working with the same therapist since college right?” She asked her mom and Diana nodded.

“That’s true…” she confirmed and swallowed the lump that seemed to constantly work it’s way up in her throat at this point. It was a possibility for Celeste to want to continue working with him for a long time.

“I’m sure it won’t be every single year, but I’d go to him for as long as possible, it just feels like he really cares about me.” She said and Diana nodded as she listened, it was the truth. He cared about Celeste, loved her even, is what he had admitted to her. “I feel like it might be awkward to get to try and get to that stage with a new person. And I guess he never felt like a stranger, it just felt easy.” She explained.

“Well that’s great. It can definitely be awkward to get to that point of trust with a therapist, it typically takes a lot of time.” She explained.

“I bet.” She smiled, “So yeah, I mean, I’m thinking I’ll have a lifetime supply of delicious cupcakes.” She shrugged and Diana forced a smile again. “I’ll be sure to share it with you next year so you can see for yourself.” She smiled.

“Wow, thanks. So generous.” She giggled but the thought alone made her want to throw up.

“I know. Oh, I forgot to tell Dr. Styles about being gone for band camp for a month last time! I’ll tell him next week, please remind me.” Celeste said and Diana nodded.

“Yeah, of course sweetheart.” She agreed, completely forgetting that she still had to see him, but at least she wouldn’t have to after that for a whole month.

The bake sale had been going well, they had a great turn out and made enough to be able to help an 10 kids to get to the band camp, which was great! Diana was friendly with a few of the other moms that were there and they definitely provided a good distraction. Thankfully, she’d never had a bad experience with anyone for being younger or single so it was a great time chatting with them all and getting to see Celeste socializing with her friends. Soon enough she was helping clean things up a bit before they all took off.

Diana and Celeste had a good time eating dinner while they watched a show that Celeste really wanted to watch with her. So they got a few episodes in before they cleaned up and then they got ready for bed and Celeste joined Diana in her room as they waited for their face masks to dry as they continued watching the show. Diana just knew that as soon as Celeste was gone she’d get depressed.

**********

It was finally Thursday and Diana had just wrapped up her zoom lecture, reminding the students that their first exam would be the next week. She hung around in case anyone had questions, but after the last student logged out she closed the app and pulled up her portal to start to grade assignments. She was a couple in when her phone started ringing.

She glanced over and smiled when she saw Grace’s name.

“Hello?” She sang.

“Hey girl, how’s the week been?” She asked and Y/N sighed.

“It’s been…interesting. How about yours?”

“Pretty good. Ummm…I was calling you about plans for the weekend? As you know, it’s escape room day, but I really want to do something different. Maybe a paint room? Or a wreck room?”

“Oh ummm…would it be us?”

“Yeah, us and Henry, and Harry.” She cooed playfully. And while Diana’s lips twitched up at the mention of his name, her eyes grew dim and the joy she felt withered into sadness.

“Oh. Ummm, then maybe not.” She responded with a huff.

“Oh no…what happened?” Grace asked and Diana sighed.

“It’s…a lot.” She sighed.

“So?” Grace questioned and Diana sniggered.

“I just don’t want Celeste to overhear something.” She said softly.

“Gotcha. Well, lucky for you I’m down the street and come bearing some delicious Persian food…literally went downtown at this hour to pick up some Dream Kabob House because she knows it’s your absolute favorite…” she said and Diana chuckled.

“Celeste called you?” She asked.

“Yeah, she said you were acting weird? I don’t know what she meant by that, but she wanted us to have dinner and play games until she got picked up by her friend’s mom or something.”

“Yeah, they’re going to that Super Mario’s World thing or something tomorrow.” She explained.

“OK, well then good thing I have my bag packed! I was planning on spending the night with Henry…but I can postpone.” Grace said, “I mean, I will wear my cute lingerie to sleep because I’m not letting the outfit go to waste and you’re more than welcome to get dolled up with me…for bed of course.” She said and Diana chuckled.

“I think after spending the evening with me you’ll be asking me to borrow some yoga pants and a t-shirt.”

“That bad, huh?” Grace asked and Diana sighed.

“Yeah.” She hummed sadly.

“Well I hope you’re hungry for some comfort food.”

“I definitely am.” Diana chuckled.

“Is Dream Kabob House really your favorite or did Celeste play me? Because she neglected to tell me it was cash only and I had to pay nearly a $5 fee just to get you this food…” Grace added and Diana laughed.

“Yeah ummmm, it’s definitely a favorite.” She assured.

“Good. I’m turning into your street now.”

“OK. See you in a sec.”

“Yep!” Grace hummed before she hung up. Diana slipped into her slippers and headed out of her bedroom and knocked on Celeste’s door.

“Come in!” Diana heard her muffled voice and she opened up the door.

“All packed for tomororw?” She asked and Celeste nodded, “Perfect, auntie Grace is about to get here with the food.” Diana informed as she wandered into Celeste’s room. She had been practicing her guitar, as it was in her arms and her headphones were on, this set up was a gift from Damian about 2 Christmases ago so that Celeste could practice all she wanted and not be plugged into a loud ass amp.

“Oh OK, cool.” She smiled. Diana saw her close up a little journal and smiled.

“Are you trying to write songs?” She asked her and Celeste looked up with nervous eyes.

“Oh ummm…not really? I don’t know…”

“Well if you are I think that’s really cool and ummm, just practice a lot. Writing I mean, it’ll help you get better.” She smiled and Celeste looked a little shy about this but nodded. “Alright mamita, we’ll see you down there.” She said as she started to retreat.

“Ummm mom?”

“Yeah?” Diana asked as she turned back around.

“Are you OK?” Celeste asked and Diana frowned.

“What makes you think I’m not?” She asked her as she came closer.

“I don’t know…something just feels…different about you? Like you’re kind of…in your head a lot? I don’t know how to explain it…” she said and Diana sighed.

“Oh, I’m just stressed out. I’ve never had to teach a whole Spanish Language class in a month.” She said with furrowed eyebrows, she wasn’t lying because that had been very stressful, “I just ummm…I don’t know how well prepared students will be if they decide to CLEP it after they take this class. Like how much of a language can you actually learn in just a month?” She wondered.

“Well I only learned: Je m'appelle Céleste. J'ai quinze ans et j'aime jouer de la guitare et aller au cinéma avec mes amis - in the entire semester so…I would say not too much.” She said and Diana laughed loudly which made Celeste smile.

“I love you, kiddo.” Diana beamed and Celeste got her guitar off and hurried over to Diana and hugged her tight.

“I love you too, mom.” She hummed as she cuddled up to her.

And in this moment Diana didn’t feel as much hurt. She loved her daughter more than her own life, there wasn’t anything she wasn’t willing to do to keep her happy and safe. Including staving off her own wants and needs at times, just for a little longer. It was a sad reality of motherhood, it’s not like you lost parts of yourself or neglected yourself, it’s just that until your kids were old enough to have their own lives your life revolved around preparing them for that and giving them good lessons and tools and experiences to help them start becoming their own person. It was a beautiful thing, to pour so much love and attention into someone and watch them start to take ownership of that and to make their own thing out of everything you’d given them. She would never regret her ability to be a mother. It was the best thing that had ever happened to her. They were in the middle of their embrace when they heard Grace open up the front door, she had her own key to their house.

“Food’s here!” She called loudly and Celeste giggled.

“Auntie Grace is kind of crazy.” She said and Diana cackled.

“Kind of? You can say it, we all know she’s completely bonkers.” She assured her and Celeste laughed as they made their way downstairs.

Their girl time had been really nice. It had helped lift Diana’s spirits, especially after her nice little moment with Celeste. She felt better about her decision, but she knew that as soon as Celeste was gone to camp the hurt would take over. It had to, she hadn’t allowed herself to really feel it all: the shattered sense of hope, the feeling like all of it had just been some delusional & out of reach thing that she never should have put any of her energy or heart into, her anger towards timing, and more importantly, how walking away from Harry felt so wrong to do. It felt like a mistake and that’s what made it so hard. She needed to grieve everything that they could’ve been, because if fate had been kinder to them she was sure that they would be the best family. However, for now she had to remind herself that they did the right thing. This was the right thing to do.

Celeste got picked up around 8pm and that left Grace and Diana alone to talk about what had actually happened. Grace made them some mixed vodka drinks with whatever she could find in Diana’s fridge and soon they were sitting out on her balcony as Diana just sobbed her eyes out about Harry and how their first official date had been completely wrecked by reality.

“-like I have no idea what I thought would happen? Maybe I was just subconsciously convincing myself to never look into it so that I wouldn’t feel bad about what could happen to him if someone found out! I don’t know…like…he could lose everything and Celeste would be so hurt…she would feel so betrayed, Grace!” Diana sobbed as Grace nodded and listened, “I just…I know that for right now this is the right thing to do, but it feels really wrong.” She sniffled, “Like…he’s everything I never knew I needed.” She said with a sad smile, “Literally the fucking best and I just…I’m in love with him.” She confessed quietly and Grace pouted as she heard this and then Diana started sobbing again.

Grace set her drink down and pulled Diana into her chest and just held her. Diana had already been through so much, it felt unfair for her to be subject to anymore inconveniences or pains like this. It broke Grace’s heart to see her best friend in this situation.

“I ummm, I need you to do me a favor please?” Diana sniffled.

“Yeah, anything.” She assured.

“On Monday can you take Celeste to therapy?” She asked and Grace frowned, “It’s still too fresh, I just…I can’t see him and keep it together and I also don’t want him to get upset and then it’s weird in session with Celeste, like…I just think it’d be best.” Diana said and she nodded.

“Of course I’ll take her.”

“Thank you. And just a forwarning, I’m like…holding it all in until she’s gone for camp. So ummm, if the next few weeks are just weird and I’m MIA just know I’m just going through it. I just really need to be sad about this before she’s back.”

“Yeah, I get it.” Grace assured, “I’ll check in a bit, OK?”

“Thank you.” Diana hummed.

“Course. What’re friends for?”

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

Harry was in a state. He showed up to the escape room via uber because he was already stoned. He assured them it was a sativa blend so he was ready for the escape room and sure enough, they completed the room in nearly 39 minutes.

Harry warded off a lot of his unwanted feelings via his intellect. He felt really good and smart and that helped numb a lot of things for him. He needed the stimulation to be distracted and unfortunately for him, his work week was slow. So he’d been writing a lot of stuff, poems and songs, he’d been reading and started writing articles and research papers for potential publishing. He just needed to be distracted and all of that had been going really well until they were at their usual bar and he found himself standing at the exact same spot of the bar where he had talked to Diana at the first time they had hung out together. He remembers her bashfulness and coyness, how her perfume just wafted around her and made him feel like he was floating on a cloud of her all evening; he had a girlfriend then. He remembers the urge to just touch and be closer to her. He remembers feeling invincible from the amount of self-control he had that night because he definitely didn’t want to do anything that was unbecoming while he was taken, but the temptation was far too great. She was everything he never knew he needed. If soulmates were real, she had to be his.

During the night, Grace’s watchful eye on him indicated to him that she’d had a conversation with Diana already about what had happened. Henry also knew something was off with him, but he kept assuring him he was fine. However, Harry didn’t ever drink carelessly like he was tonight; The more drinks he got into him the more the vision of her called to him. He loved her so fucking much and he missed her. He couldn’t believe that this was all there was to their story. Star-crossed lovers…so typical. He regretted not being honest about the repercussions from the start…maybe it would’ve prevented them from getting closer. He had tried his best though, tried to stay away, to stave off his feelings, to ignore the inevitable pull he felt towards her, like a magnet or a moth to a flame. He got down from the stool he was on and both Grace and Henry looked at him, concerned for what he was going to do in this state.

“Relax, just gonna go - for a wee.” He hiccuped and trudged off to the bathroom. He finished and washed his hands and splashed a bit of cool water on his face which actually did nothing to help whatsoever in his state. So he made his way out and then he stopped in his tracks as he remembered Diana asking him if she really wanted them to just keep things cordial for the sake of their dual-relationship and he told her something about fearing that if they got friendly it wouldn’t be enough at some point. God, he’d been so right, he hated it - maybe he had set something in motion just because he voiced that to her then. In a moment of longing madness, sadness, and regret he made it out of the bar and leaned against the wall as he pulled his phone out and called her.

********

“Mom, Mario World was so cool!” Celeste raved as she came back down stairs from her shower. Diana was just packing away the left overs from the dinner she’d made herself.

“Yeah?” She asked with a smile.

“Yes! Can we go again soon?” She asked and Diana smiled as she snapped the glass container shut.

“Sure, mamita. We can plan something for when you come back, yeah?”

“Perfect!” Celeste beamed. Diana could hear her phone ringing in her purse at the end of the counter and she was a bit confused at who would be calling her after 10pm, so she decided to ignore it. “Can we watch a movie?” Celeste asked.

“You’re not tired after the day you’ve had?” Diana chuckled and sighed as her phone started ringing again.

“I’m on a adrenaline high right now.” She smirked, “Also a sugar high…I know you told me not to but I had at least 4 churros today and a voodoo donut on the way out.” She smiled at her mother with a coy look in her eyes and Diana smirked as she shook her head.

“You’re so stinking cute I can’t even be upset at you…” Diana admitted and Celeste smiled. “Fine, let’s watch a movie… go get something on.” She said and Celeste rushed out of the kitchen, “And you’re drinking some cinnamon tea because it’s good for your glucose levels!” She called and heard Celeste groan from the TV room, “You did this to yourself!” She shouted back and then heard her phone ring again and that did put a slight concern in her, maybe it was Grace or Damian? And with the recent event with Harry, a late night phone call seemed extremely daunting. She fished her phone out of her purse and frowned when she saw 3 missed calls from Harry, and then it started ringing again and before the temptation to answer became too great she locked her phone, automatically ignoring the call. A lump formed in her throat and she decided to just text Grace to check on him because she was worried…4 calls? Something had to be wrong. So she opened up her texts to message grace.

As soon as her message was sent her phone chimed notifying her of a voice mail and she sighed and went over to that screen. She saw that it had been him and it just put this pit in her stomach. She knew it would make her cry so she decided to just get to it later. She set the kettle for the tea and then moved on to her next task.

“Mamita, I’m going to go up and wash my face and get into my PJ’s! I’ll be there in a minute!” She called to Celeste.

“OK!” She shouted and so Diana grabbed her purse and headed up stairs.

Diana changed her clothes first and she glanced to her purse, sitting there at the bench at the end of her bed. She stopped at her bathroom door and just looked at it for a moment; her curiosity was getting the best of her. She just walked over and fished her phone out before heading into her bathroom. She saw another text from Grace from a minute or so ago and opened up the phone and just saw that Harry was fine, just got a bit in his feelings and that he was very sorry for calling her, she just ‘hearted’ the message and before swiping out to her home screen. Then another text came in from Harry and she just clicked on the notification banner and then frowned as she read over his text.

She continued to do as he asked and blocked him, the tears built up in her eyes and then she proceeded to delete their texting thread. She then opened up her calls app and pressed on his voice mail and her finger hovered over the little garbage bin icon with so much hesitation, she then quickly clicked over to the play button and brought her phone up to her ear and she sighed through a laugh at the sound of his breath coming through the speaker.

“Hey Di. I ummm…I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you from the start. I just wanted you to know that I wasn’t because I knew from the start that we would be in trouble and I just…wasn’t ready to accept that I guess. I’ve been trying so hard not to think about you, but nothing is fucking working…” he chuckled, “I’m just so sad. It sucks. I’ve gotta say that I hope it’s been…sucking for you too.” He admitted and she smiled because she knew he was smiling as well, she could just hear it in his voice, “I just needed to tell you that I love you so fucking much. And ummm, I don’t know if we’ll figure this out or ummm…if I’ll just have to keep loving you from afar for the rest of my life, but I guess it doesn’t matter ‘cause either way I still love you.” He said softly, “Ummm, that’s it. That’s all I wanted to say. Love you, bye.”

She glanced up to the ceiling as her hot tears streamed down her face before she exhaled sharply through her nose and set her phone down. Her lips were pressed together to avoid a sob from breaking through. She reached for her makeup balm and got to work on getting her face cleaned instead. After she’d finished washing everything off and getting her other products in she looked at herself in the mirror and ensured that the frown was off her face before she joined Celeste. She tossed her phone onto her bed and got into her slippers before hurrying down to serve their teas and then went into the TV room.

“Took you long enough!” Celeste said and Diana rolled her eyes as she set their teas down.

“What are we watching?” She asked as she got onto the couch.

“LaLa Land!” Celeste said with a big grin and then searched it up and pressed play. Diana swore that the universe had her in for it…and sure enough, she had never cried harder at this film.

“You always cry…” Celeste laughed lowly and Diana sniffled.

“Of course! It’s beautiful…they can’t…be together for the sake of the big picture and for the sake of their dreams, but they were both still able to be happy and they…still love each other.” She said as her stomach sank, “Even if it’s just from…afar.” She sighed before she dabbed at her eyes again.

“That’s not beautiful, that sucks!” Celeste said with a scowl, “What’s the point of soul mates if you can’t even be together?” Celeste asked and Diana sighed.

“I don’t know…”

“Mom?”

“Yeah?”

“Ummm…was dad your soul mate?” She asked looking to her, eagerly awaiting a response. And of the first time in her life, Diana wasn’t sure. She always thought he might be until she’d gotten to know Harry deeper. The way she loved Harry was different. Maybe it was just because she was older now? But he was definitely the person she’d consider to be her soulmate.

“Honestly mamita, I don’t know… I don’t think we had enough time together to really know. But what does it matter? I still have you, don’t I?” Diana said with smile and Celeste grinned.

“True!” She hummed happily and with that they both went to bed.

Diana tried her best not to think about it too much. After all, entertaining any fantasies about what she could have with anyone in her future only brought her back to Harry. To Harry who was so sad without her. Just as sad as she felt without him.

*********

Harry woke up the next morning with the worst headache. He’d definitely outdone himself and made a right fool of himself. He sat up slowly only to realize he was still in his clothes from the night before and was just plopped down on his bed. He sighed and dragged himself to the bathroom and had a quick shower before making his way to the kitchen.

“Oh good, you’re up!” Henry said with a smile.

“Yeah, hardly.” Harry chuckled breathily, “Did you stay?”

“Yeah. Had to drag you in here, get you to at least brush your teeth after we got some food in you.” He chuckled and Harry nodded.

“I wasn’t too bad, was I?”

“No, just…cried a bit on the way back from Monty’s.” He informed. There was no teasing to his tone.

“Yeah… I’m not doing too good.” He said and Henry frowned.

“Do you want to tell me about what’s going on? I’ll fix you some eggs?” He offered.

“Yeah…umm it’s about…Diana.” He said and Henry nodded as he served Harry an espresso and handed the cup over, “Thanks.” He nodded and let Harry continue, “She had asked me on a date and so we went out last week. We went up to the mountains near the beach, it’s a vineyard with jazz and dancing…” he said with a soft smile. “She decided to give me a chance, to take a leap. But she starting talking about how she wants to talk to Celeste about her love life before she properly gets into anything and she asked me if she could…talk to her own therapist about what’s going on and just get some help with how to have that conversation and I…told her no. I told her the rules and what would be at stake if another professional would find out about us. And I also told her that I felt guilty about… Celeste and that I was afraid of hurting her with this because I know firsthand how she feels about Diana dating.” Harry explained, “And well, after that honest conversation…on the way to the date, by the way… it just kind of ruined everything. We tried to sit through it but I think we both just… think too much and so we left early and ummm…agreed that that was it.”

“Fuck, I’m sorry man.”

“I love her. I told her a few weeks ago…she loves me too. And I love Celeste, she’s such a cool kid.” He said with a small smile, “And well, she told me she loved me too much to risk me losing everything I’ve worked hard for. And well of course, she loves Celeste and doesn’t want to hurt her.”

“Yeah, I think she’s great for that.”

“I just…can’t help but feel like letting her go isn’t the right thing. You told me once that when you met Grace you felt awake for the first time... that’s how Diana makes me feel. I feel alive ever since she came into my life. She helped me see everything that I was missing and how badly I’ve neglected the simple pleasures I’ve always wanted for myself. You told me I’d have to be an idiot to ignore signs like that.” Harry said with a soft smile.

“Well yeah, but fuck.” Henry said, “I want this for you, H. I do, but I have to side with Diana on this one. You can’t give up your livelihood for this. I mean, what’s the problem with just waiting a few years?”

“I would wait however long it took, but I can’t ask her to wait for me. I couldn’t. And who knows how long I’ll actually be Celeste’s therapist…the five years I’m supposed to wait could very well begin 5 years from now…I’ll be 40-something but then! Half my life would’ve been spent working and I’ll have the bare minimum to show for it. I don’t want to waste any more time when everything I’ve ever wanted is right in front of me.” He stated, “But I know she won’t let me. As much as I‘d want to.”

“I’m really sorry.” Henry said and Harry shrugged.

“Time to move on I guess.” He said with a sigh.

Yes, he was gutted but he needed to move past this in order to be able to be alright. He had to. When he saw Diana for Celeste’s appointment that would be it, his last chance to just take her in. He wondered if she was as nervous to see him as he was her. He would certainly put a bit more effort into his look and hopefully she did the same, wanting to impress him, but if only she knew that her mere existence was impressive to him, she didn’t need to try anything else to have him be in awe of her. He wanted to apologize to her in person for his behavior the night before and just…leave it off like that.

So the next morning he did get a bit more dressed up and even the idea of getting to be in her presence had significantly lifted his mood and he was looking forward to seeing her and Celeste all day.

“Alright Jerry, prescription’s in at your pharmacy and we’re all set for a month from now, alright? Same day and same time. Remember to eat with those meds!” Harry confirmed.

“Thanks, Dr. Styles. See you then.” The man said with a smile and they shook hands before he exited through the other door in his office that led to the hallway. He locked that and then hurried into his bathroom to just look himself over before he retrieved Celeste. He was nervous to see Diana, but he was happy and excited for it as well because he missed her. This is why he was already smiling as he headed to his office door and then swung it open cheerfully.

“Good afternoon, ladies- Grace?” His greeting was cut-off and his face morphed into an expression of utter confusion upon seeing Grace sitting beside Celeste, not Diana. “Where’s Diana?” He asked right away, out of pure instinct really and Grace’s eyes went wide and she shook her head slightly as Celeste stood from her seat.

“She had tutoring hours to help her class prep for their first Spanish test.” Celeste cut in with a smile and he looked over to her and smiled.

“Oh right, summer school!” He chuckled, playing off his disappointment, “How was your bake sale?” He asked and she smiled wider.

“Really good! Mom got us sprinkles cupcakes and people were really going for those.” She shared enthusiastically. “Though your cupcake was better.” She said to him and he chuckled.

“Oh really?”

“Yes, 100% honest!” Celeste said and he chuckled.

“Well I’m glad you enjoyed it. Let’s head on in, yeah?”

“Yeah.” Celeste hummed and made her way inside.

“S’good to see you again, Grace.” Harry said and she smirked.

“You don’t have to lie, I know you’re disappointed.” She said quietly with a small smile and he chuckled.

“Just let me at least pretend, Grace.” He said with a slight chuckle and he shrugged.

“Sorry. She really was busy though.” She said to him and well, he wasn’t going to tell her that he knew she was lying. “Also, here.” She said standing up and handing over some cash for Celeste’s visit, “She said Celeste often forgets.”

“Yeah.” He chuckled, “Thanks.” He said and then turned to head into his office. He was definitely in a shitty mood now. He knew it would be hard to see Diana, but he’d rather be sad after seeing her than be sad because he did not get to see her at all.

**********

Celeste was greeting Misty on her little tower as she saw from the corner of her eye that Dr. Styles settled into his seat and just reached for his notebook. He was usually a lot chattier and happy to see her and so she wondered if maybe she’d done something wrong. She was a bit insecure because she never wanted to make him upset at her and even thinking that he was upset at her about something gave her the same feeling she got in her chest and stomach when her mom was upset at her for something. She felt anxious now and she was scared to ask, so she just kept petting Misty as she asked.

“Are you upset at me or something?” She asked and Dr. Styles was frowning a bit when she finally looked over at him.

“No, I’m not upset at you. I’m sorry. It’s just been a stressful day for me and my weekend wasn’t too good so ummm yeah…sorry.” He apologized and with that she made her way over to the couch. Harry wasn’t surprised that Misty hopped off of her tower and followed Celeste to the couch. She smiled as soon as she heard the little bell on her collar jingle to indicate she was on the move behind her.

“It’s OK, bad days happen.” She said with a soft smile, “I forgot to mention last time that I’m going to band camp at the end of the week, I’ll be gone for a month.”

“Oh, that’s cool! Are you excited for that?” He asked and she nodded eagerly.

“Yeah, it’s my first time going and a few of my friends from band get to go so it should be fun. I hope…” she said nervously. She was nervous about Ben and how things would play out…was this a chance for summer romance? Would he ask her to be his girlfriend at the end of camp? Or would she maybe get to have her first kiss?

“What’re you smirking about there?” He asked with a chuckle and she immediately stopped smiling.

“Nothing…just thinking about camp.” She lied and he hummed knowingly.

“Sure thing.” Dr. Styles smirked and she went all pink in the cheeks, “I’m not gonna push on that if you don’t want to talk about it. But we can talk about whatever it is.” He assured her and she nodded and got the courage to look back into his eyes and as she did she wussed out.

“Yeah, no I don’t think I can talk about this with you.” She said after a few moments and he chuckled.

“Alright, that’s fair.” He said and she smiled bashfully. “So ummm…if we’re not going to talk about band camp what are we going to work on today?” He asked her and she shrugged.

“I don’t know, you’re the grown up.” She said with a smile and he chuckled.

“Right…” he said and before he could ask her something she spoke up.

“Can we talk about why you’re having a bad day?” She asked and he smiled.

“That’s thoughtful of you, but this is about you.” He said and she sighed.

“Well… I guess we can talk about band camp.” She said and he chuckled again, “I’m a bit nervous as this will be my first time away from home for that long. I’m worried I’ll get home sick.” She explained and he hummed, “Mom and I usually take a vacation over the summer with Grace, which I mean that’s not happening anymore since she used the money to pay for my camp so I do feel kinda bad for that. I know she looks forward to going away for a bit and we won’t be, she’s gonna be stuck at home teaching all month long. Kinda feel bad for ruining her plans.” He said and Harry nodded in understanding.

“I mean, do you think your mom regrets allowing you to go to camp?”

“Probably not…she seemed excited about it at first, but as we get closer she seems a bit sad now. I think it’s hitting her that she’s gonna be all alone for a bit.” She explained and well, that made Harry sad. Diana would definitely feel bummed and well, he knew from Henry that he and Grace were planning to go to Seattle for a week, so Diana would be all alone then as well.

“Is there anything you can do to make her not feel lonely?”

“Yeah…I think just check in with her every day before I go to bed or something?”

“Yeah, that’s a good option.” He agreed with a smile, it was forced for sure but he couldn’t help but wonder if Diana was happy about Celeste going to band camp because it meant they could have more time together and now they couldn’t have anything.

Celeste watched as Dr. Styles’ smile fell just a bit and she felt bad. She knew something was wrong because he was not at all himself today. He seemed distracted and disappointed, she was glad it had nothing to do with her, but it still made her sad to see him so low and in the dumps.

“Are you feeling OK after what happened with that boy?” He brought up to her and she glanced up at him quickly and nodded.

“It’s fine. We talked about it the next day at school. It was just a misunderstanding.” She said and he hummed.

“Do you…like him?” He asked her and she felt her face heating up again.

“A bit? He’s just a friend though so he can do whatever he wants.” She assured him as best as she could and he hummed.

“Does he like you back?”

“Maybe…” she said cooly as she reached over to pet Misty who was sitting like a little loaf under the coffee table.

“Does he know you like him?” He asked and she sighed.

“Yes, he knows. Well “like” is…a bit much. He’s just cool. It’s not like I want to like…be his girlfriend or something like that.” She said with a shrug and he smiled at her because the blush staining her cheeks said otherwise.

“Oh OK. You just seemed really bummed out by that the other week. Thought maybe you were going out or something, it seemed serious.” He said and she glanced up to him.

“Did it?” She asked and Dr. Styles nodded in confirmation.

“Had this whole thing about relationships ready for you just in case.” He said and she smiled bashfully.

“Well you can still tell me if you want because well, you never know!” She said and he chuckled.

“Sure. So ummm…I think the first thing to know is that when you’re at this age most people don’t really…take your love life seriously. They play it down because you’re young or whatever other BS reason they have. However, I want you to know that no matter what age you are, your feelings are real and they’re valid and I want you to know that I will never be the kind of person to burst your bubble. And I know for a fact your mum feels the same way because well, your dad was her first boyfriend and well, here you are, that’s as real as love gets!” He said and she laughed softly.

“I mean…I was an accident.” She said with a small shrug and he chuckled.

“A happy accident then because if she didn’t want to have a forever reminder about her love for your dad, Wes, well then you wouldn’t be here, you know?” He said and she hummed pensively, “Especially after all the hurt that him being gone caused her. I mean, she loved him for real, you know? It didn’t matter that she was a teenager.” He said and she smiled.

“That’s true.” She agreed.

“So yeah, all love is real and valid. Second thing is what I told you after we had dinner after your concert and I’ll say it again because I think this is the piece we all have a hard time getting through our heads. You’re worth so much more than to have anything less than someone’s full effort, Celeste. Every person deserves to be loved well and wholeheartedly, so if you ever feel like someone is not doing their part or they’re not reciprocating or respecting you or the relationship, or if you get betrayed by someone, as hard as it can be, letting go is the best thing for you. Sometime love requires sacrifice and compromise, but it’s only sometimes and you shouldn’t be the only one experiencing that in a relationship.” He said and she nodded.

“Last thing is just that heartbreak feels like the end of the world. It always does, no matter how many times you experience it, it never gets easier.” He said to her, “But I promise you, it’s not the end of the world. You will be OK again and you will find the strength to pull yourself back together and to feel joy and you will likely fall in love multiple times in your life. But when you’re going through that it just feels like you’re…lost for a while, I guess? Sometimes it does feel…hopeless,” He said as he just faced the reality of his own feelings, “and that’s OK. Losing a love or even the hope of a love sometimes, it can be demoralizing and it can feel so lonely. But all that matters is that you know that there will always be people who love you and that one day you’ll wake up and feel like yourself again and that’s something you can look forward to.” He said with a small smile and she smiled back at him.

“Good tips.” She said and he smiled.

“Well, I try.” He said as he glanced down at his lap with a chuckle.

“Dr. Styles, do you have a girlfriend or boyfriend or anything?” She asked and he glanced back up to her and shook his head.

“Not at the moment.” He responded.

“Do you feel sad about that?” She asked and he shrugged.

“Sometimes I do, other times I’m quite glad I don’t have anyone.” He said and she looked at him weird.

“Why are you glad?”

“Because sometimes relationships are complicated. And sometimes people hurt you and in my line of work I see that a lot, I see a lot of emotionally hurt people and I just feel relieved that there’s no chance that could happen to me being single.”

“You don’t want kids?”

“I mean…I could adopt or foster. Don’t need a partner for that.” He smiled.

“That’s right!” She said with a big smile at his response, “That makes me happy for you because I think you’d be a really great father if you ever wanted to be.” She said and he smiled upon hearing that.

“Wow, thank you. That’s kind of you to say, Celeste.” He said softly and she nodded.

Celeste was pleased that that seemed to help cheer him up a bit more.

**********

After that little heart to heart Celeste shared with Harry how she had confronted a difficult conversation with a “friend”. He knew she was referring to this unnamed boy she liked, but he was happy to break down what she did to make amends. He was so proud of her for being open and honest about her own shortcomings to this person and took ownership of any hurt she might have caused. He loved knowing that he was helping her and guiding her through her life along with Diana. He wished he could be there more. He could just see how beautifully a family with the three of them would work. And so as he walked her back out to reception he wished her luck at camp and she hugged him tight and thanked him for his help. He needed that hug so bad, so he was grateful for it. Then finally, Grace was waving goodbye with a sympathetic smile as she left his office.

Harry’s day had ended on a positive note. He finished transcribing his notes and closed out for the day and packed up Misty before heading home. He fed her and changed into something a little more causal, he felt kind of dumb for dressing up, and then headed to one of his favorite pizza spot, he was in need of some comfort food. He plopped down at the little bar and waited for a waitress to come by. He was just minding his business, trying to decide what he wanted when he felt a tap on his shoulder and he glanced back to see none other than Rebecca smiling at him.

“This seat taken?” She asked and he laughed happily upon seeing her.

“Hey!” He greeted her and scooted out of his chair and they hugged tight, “You alright?” He asked and she nodded.

“Yeah, been pretty good. Are you waiting on anyone?” She asked and he shook his head.

“No, s’just me if you want to join me?” He offered and she nodded and settled into the spot beside his. They talked about the menu first and decided to share a pizza before they placed their orders and soon were slightly angled towards each other to be able to look at each other properly. “So what’s new with you?” He asked and she sighed and bit her lip before glancing up at his eyes.

“I’m at the DA’s office now, I’m with the specialized prosecutions unit, I’m working cases involving major narcotics at the moment.” She shared and he nodded and smiled.

“That’s amazing! Congratulations, I love that for you.” He said with so much genuine pride for her, she worked really hard.

“Thank you. I ummm… am also two months pregnant.” She said and his eyes went wide.

“Oh my god! Seriously?” He asked with a bright smile and she nodded, “With Eddie? That was his name right?” He asked and Rebecca nodded.

“Yeah, that was his name. And yeah, with him…I mean, it was the last thing I ever expected to be honest.” She giggled and he nodded as he listened, “But…it just felt…right. Like when I found out I wasn’t freaking out or anything, I was happy about it. And well Eddie is still at the other firm, after I left they bumped him up to my job, but he’s about to be hired on as a lawyer there. He’s really good and he’s young so they can keep him around for longer. He was really happy about the pregnancy news as well so ummm, we’re just planning on moving in together in the next month or so.” She finished and he chuckled.

“That’s all really amazing. I’m really happy things are going so well for you.” He said and she smiled.

“Thanks, Harry.” She hummed.

“And where’s Eddie now?”

“Late night. There’s a huge manslaughter case and ummm, they’re all quite occupied with that. Opening statements are in two days so it’s all hands on deck time. I just came from there actually. Was dropping off some dinner but I just couldn’t bring myself to eat chicken shawarma, it made me so nauseous just having to transport it.” She said and he chuckled.

“You and smells have always had a complicated relationship.” He recalled.

“Even more so now!” She said with a giggle, “And what about you? How’ve you been?” She asked and he smiled lightly.

“Good.” He said curtly and she looked at him incredulously.

“You can be honest with me, you know?” She said softly and he sighed.

“I’ve been better.” He said with a more neutral expression, “The last week or so has been…rough.” He admitted and she pouted.

“Why, H? What’s going on?” She asked and he sighed.

“Just…shit with someone else. Nothing too bad.” He assured her as he reached for his beer and took a swig of it.

“So you’re dating someone?” She asked and he shook his head.

“No, it didn’t really work out actually.”

“Oh, why not?” She frowned and he bit his lip before just saying it.

“It’s my client’s mom. The girl I had started seeing at the beginning of the year, Celeste.” He said and her eyebrows arched up a bit.

“Oh.” She said and he nodded. “Diana?”

“Yeah, that’s her.” He smiled sadly, “Obviously, it can’t happen. I just…hadn’t been completely honest about the repercussions were something to go wrong and I mean, additionally I would need to cut Celeste from my client roster and I can’t do that to her. As much as I love Diana, I love the kid too and I could never just abandon-”

“You love the kid?” She interrupted and he sighed.

“Yeah…I fucked up. I know I did.” He sighed. “I got too invested and too close to them. And like…fuck, I fell for Diana so fast. It was one of those things where I was in too deep before I even realized it.” He explained and she nodded in understanding.

“Yeah, that can happen. Have you guys like…you know?” She asked and he shook his head.

“It’s been close…we’ve been together for other things…” he said and she snorted at how awkward he was being, “And like…yeah, but not everything. And ummm, we had our first date last week. This whole conversation came up on the drive over and upon arriving we concluded that we were being selfish and stupid for even attempting and like…we just ended up going home because the night was ruined and that was it.” He shared with a frown on his face now.

“I’m so sorry, Harry.” She said reaching for his hand and he sighed.

“She’s the one, Becs.” He said to her and she frowned even more, “Saying no to that has been so hard.” He said softly, “I’v never felt anything like this before. We would be so great together…” He said with a soft smile.

“Does she feel the same?” Rebecca asked and Harry nodded.

“Yeah.” He confirmed and Rebecca sighed.

“Then don’t give up, Harry!”

“I don’t want to, but I can’t pursue this! I could lose my licenses to practice if someone else found out about it. I would have to ask Celeste to find a new therapist which she has no intention of doing and she already dreads the idea of her mom dating.” He said, “My responsibility is to my client’s first. And having that more complex feeling towards Celeste makes it even harder to be selfish. She would not take it well and we would both completely break her trust…” he shook his head, “We just…we can’t.” He said simply.

“I see. Well, I’m really sorry, I hope things can get a bit more uncomplicated down the line.”

“I hope so too.” He said softly and just then their food came out and he thanked the waitress as he devoured the large Margherita pizza before them with his eyes. “No more sad talk, let’s just fuck this up.”

“Deal.” Rebecca agreed and they got to eating and made more light conversation. They stayed for about an hour more and even split some spumoni before they were heading out for the night. “Well thank you for allowing me to join you. I’m really glad we ran into each other. I’ve been thinking about you a lot, so it was fateful.” She said and he smiled.

“Yeah, it was really great to see you too.” He said as he opened his arms and hugged her for a moment.

“You deserve everything you want, H. You’re the best person I’ve ever known I swear it.” She said as she pulled back, “It’s all going to work out exactly as it should.”

“Thank you.”

“Yeah.” She smiled, “And if you ever need anything, including a friend to put away another pizza with, give me call.” She said and he chuckled.

“Thanks, Becs. And again, congratulations to you and Eddie for everything you’ve got going on. It’s really great to see you thriving.”

“Thanks, H. I’ll see you around.” She said and he smiled and waited for her to drive off before walking back to his car. He really needed that today and he walked away from that feeling better about everything. If Rebecca was thriving surely his time was coming as well. He couldn’t accept that this is just how things were supposed to be, that it wouldn’t work out with Diana. It had to. It just had to.

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

“Are you sure you have everything?” Diana asked Celeste one last time as they pulled into the school parking lot and she nodded.

“Yep, I checked every box on my list.” She assured and Diana nodded.

They got out of the car and Diana unloaded Celeste’s suitcase while Celeste got on her backpack and then grabbed her guitar from the trunk. They started heading around to where the buses parked and as soon as they made it through the gate Ozzy and Geri were waving at her like maniacs and Celeste chuckled as she waved to them. Celeste turned to her mom as she heard her sniffle and then giggled.

“Mom, it’s just a month!”

“A month is a long time! We’ve never been away from each other for that long.” She excused her tears.

“I know but please don’t cry its embarrassing.” She said more softly as they got closer and closer to her friends.

“Ughhh…you should be grateful I care enough to cry for you, my mom never cried for me.” She said with a sniffle and Celeste sighed.

“I am grateful for your love and support, but just…be cool, mom.” She said lowly as they were just 30 feet away or so now.

“Fine.” Her mom sighed through a slight chuckle.

“And you can just drop me off here.” Celeste said and Diana scoffed, but stopped walking as Celeste turned to her with a small smile. “I love you. Thank you for letting me do this.”

“You’re gonna have a blast, cariño.” She assured her with teary eyes and Celeste just smiled.

“I hope so. I’ll text you every night when I’m in bed-”

“Yeah, until you get acclimated and forget about me next week. I know you.” Her mom joked and Celeste giggled bashfully with a shrug.

“I will try my best to text you every night before bed.”

“I can accept that.” She said and Celeste just sighed as she hugged her mom tight. “Be good and follow the rules to the best of your abilities, yeah?”

“I will.” Celeste assured.

“Look at me, for a sec.” Her mom said and Celeste glanced into her eyes, “And please for the love of god, have so much fucking fun.” She said and Celeste’s smiled widened and her mom’s smile mirrored her own, “You’ve had such a rough year and you pulled through, you deserve this, mamita. I’m really proud of you and I love you with my whole heart.” She sniffled once more and Celeste couldn’t help but get a bit teary-eyed as well before hugging her mom tight once again.

“Thanks, mom. I love you.” She whispered before pulling away and grabbing her suitcase from her mom and rushing off to meet Geri and Ozzy who called out their goodbyes to her mom as well.

Celeste got her things down into the storage area and soon the three of them climbed up into the bus. There were already a few people in there and as Celeste looked around her eyes got caught on a pair of brown eyes near the back of the bus. She smiled at Ben and he smiled back at her. Geri and Ozzy slid into a row and Celeste slid into the one behind theirs and they started chatting until the bus was loaded with everyone that was signed up to go. The band teacher announced for them to find their seats so that she could take roll and Celeste was just buckling herself in when someone plopped down beside her and she turned, expecting to see a random person, but it was Ben.

“Are you saving this seat for anyone?” He asked softly as the teacher announced she was about to take attendance.

“Yeah, you.” She said with a flirty smile and he chuckled timidly.

“Celeste Beltran!” She heard her name.

“Here!” She raised her hand and then turned back to him waiting for them to call his name in a few seconds.

“Tyler Brooks…Benjamin Caldera!”

“Here!” Ben called and the teacher moved on as he turned back to her, “I missed you.” He said and she blushed.

“Ummm…me too. Missed you, not missed me because, that’s stupid.” She chuckled and he sniggered.

“Yeah, I get what you mean.” He assured her.

“How were things with your cousins?”

“Really fun. How’s you break been so far?”

“Good too, more relaxed than anything.”

“First camp is always the one where you overdo it since it’s like your first time, so it’s good you got some rest.” He said with a smile. They continued catching up a bit, but as soon as the bus started rolling away he glanced down at her hands on her legs and he just reached for it. Her eyes darted into his right away with anxiety. Sure she wasn’t bullied anymore, but people still thought she was a freak after everything.

“Are you sure that it’s OK if people see you-”

“I don’t care what other people think.” He said confidently and she smiled.

“OK then.” She said as she let her fingers slot themselves in between his. Already, things were off to a better start than she expected.

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kaminocasey · 2 years

Text

A Glimpse of Us

Summary: You thought Rex was killed in action. You tried to move on with Hunter. Rex comes back and you question if you've really moved on.

Pairing: Hunter x Reader, Rex x Reader

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI; Angst, mentions of death

WC: 3K

A/N: I heard the song "A Glimpse of Us" by Joji and KNEW I needed to write something angsty soooo here we are. I cranked this out in like 3 hours so I apologize if it's rough! But for real, go listen to that song. So good. So heartbreaking.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3A | Part 3B

“Hey what’s going on in here?” Cid shouts as you all make your way back to the bar. “Who are you?”

All of the guys have their guns drawn, waiting for the first sign of trouble. You can’t see past Hunter, so you’re not sure what’s happening.

“Rex?” You hear Echo ask.

Rex? It couldn’t be. You peek around Hunter’s shoulder and sure enough… It's him. The former love of your life. The one you thought had died during Order 66. You know Hunter can probably hear your heart pounding right out of your chest. You feel like you’re going to throw up.

“Oh great. Another clone. Just what I needed. Well, don’t get comfy. I’m done taking in strays.” Cid complains then turns to Hunter. “This ain’t a clone clubhouse, ya know.”

Cid grumbles as she walks back to her office.

Rex’s eyes go soft when they meet yours. You want to run into his arms. You can’t though. You stay beside Hunter. Your current partner. Your love. Your cyare. You notice the way that Hunter moves closer to you.

Rex puts his blaster away. You cross your arms, unsure of what to do.

“It’s okay.” Hunter murmurs to you.

You look up at him and then back at Rex. You cross the ten feet between the two of you and throw your arms around him, Rex does the same, enveloping you in his arms, burying his face in your hair.

“I thought you were gone…” You whisper, feeling your lips tremble as you try to fight back tears.

You think back to the day that Tech told you that Rex was gone… you were wrecked and couldn’t sleep for weeks.

“To be honest, so did I.” He tells you. “I’m so glad you found these guys.”

“They found me, actually.” You tell him, looking up at him but not letting go.

You were with General Billaba when the clones turned against her, against their will. You were terrified out of your mind, but you trusted the Batch. They were just as confused as you were. You had all managed to escape the new “Empire” for the time being.

“Captain.” Hunter pulls the two of you out of your moment.

“It’s been a while, boys.” Rex nods to them and then pulls away only slightly.

“Where have you been, Rex?” Echo asks.

“Hmm. That’s a long story.” Rex shrugs.

Rex proceeds to tell all of you exactly what happened to him and Ahsoka Tano and how she helped him get his inhibitor chip out and then how they managed to escape being killed by the other clones. Then, he tells you about how he’s been keeping a low profile.

“Very low. Imperial files have you listed as killed in action.” Tech tells him.

Your heart clenches at the words, even though you can see that it’s clearly not the truth. Thank the Maker.

“Being dead in the Empire’s eyes has its advantages.” Rex tells him.

He keeps an arm around your lower back as you stand next to him while he sits at the bar. You don’t know how to tell him about Hunter. You don’t know how to pull away from him after all this time. You just hope that Hunter understands.

“Well, how’d you track us down?” Echo asks him.

“Trace and Rafa Martez.” Rex replies. “They said a squad of rogue clones helped them on Corellia. They told me I could find you here. And that you were traveling with a kid and a woman. And now that I’ve figured out the mystery woman… Who's the kid?”

You look at Hunter. He doesn’t quite meet your eyes but looks at Rex and explains who Omega is and how she’s a clone just like them. The look of shock on Rex’s face is brief due to Wrecker and Omega coming back from getting Mantell Mix.

“Well, look who it is!” Wrecker laughs, loudly. “Come here, Rex.”

Wrecker picks up Rex and hugs him tightly. You take that moment to return to Hunter’s side as he leans against the bar. He smiles softly down at you in reassurance and you let out a breath you didn’t even know you were holding in. Your anxiety is starting to rise slightly. Hopefully no one expects you to be normal right now.

“Yeah.” Rex grunts, struggling for breath in Wrecker’s arms as he dangles like four feet off the ground. “Good to see you too, Wrecker.”

“I thought you didn’t like the regs?” Omega asks, confused.

“This one we like.” Wrecker chuckles as he sets Rex back down.

Rex looks over at you again and sees you next to Hunter. You can see it click in his eyes. He knows that you and Hunter are together. Which is fine. Right?

“Omega. This is Rex.” Hunter tells her.

Rex peels his eyes away from you and turns to look at Omega, kneeling down to her level.

“I’ve met many clones in my life, but never one like you.” Rex’s voice is soft, sweet even.

Omega looks at Rex as if she’s studying him. “You’re a generation one.”

“Now, how’d you know that?” Rex asks her.

“From the lines on your face.” She shrugs. It reminds you of Tech which makes you smile.

All of you chuckle with Rex. She technically just called him old. Which wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, you suppose. Clones do age faster than a regular human.

“Yeah, I guess I’ve been around.” Rex looks back at you.

“You got that right.” Wrecker grins and then groans, gripping his head. “Y/n, I need one of those med patches.”

Wrecker has been complaining of headaches for a while now. You and Tech have been keeping an eye on it, keeping him comfortable with med patches and medicine. You chalked it up to stress to all the new changes.

“You used the last one, Wrecker. I’m sorry.” You try to look at his head where he’s gripping it.

“What’s wrong?” Rex asks, his face completely serious now.

You look at him, confused.

“Nothing. It’s just a headache.” Wrecker explains.

“Which are becoming more frequent.” Echo adds.

“Is that so?” Rex asks, his voice lowering with concern and seriousness.

“If you’re concerned about the so-called inhibitor chips, don’t be. Our deviant nature seems to have impeded their functionality.” Tech chimes in. “Except in Crosshair.”

Rex’s eyebrows furrow deeper. “You’re telling me you haven’t removed your chips?”

“No, not yet.” Tech answers.

Rex steps in front of Omega and pulls back his poncho so that his hand can hover over his blaster, sending everyone else into alert mode. What’s wrong with him?

“Rex?” Hunter steps away from you, shielding you from Rex and putting his hand out.

“Those chips make you a threat to everyone around you. Even them.” Rex gestures to Omega and then you. “You’re all ticking time bombs.”

Hunter steps closer to Rex with his hand up in a non threatening way. “Take it easy, Captain.”

You feel your heart in your throat, unsure of what’s happening. You’ve never seen Rex like this.

“What’s in your head is more dangerous than you can imagine. I’ve seen what happens when the chip activates, and I don’t want to bury anymore of our brothers.” Rex tells them.

You can see the hurt and anguish in his eyes. He’s been through something terrible. You want to reach out to him and console him. You stay behind Hunter, though.

“Trust me… it is not something you can control. I couldn’t.” Rex looks down for a second and that’s when you step away from Hunter and walk back up to Rex, resting a palm on his face, making him look at you. You just need him to calm down for a moment.

The tension in his shoulders practically melts as you touch him. Just like before… When he’d come back to you, all you’d have to do is wrap him in your arms and he’d melt like putty.

When you think he’s okay, you pull away.

“It’s a risk you do not want to take.” Rex glances back at Hunter.

Hunter looks at you and then Omega. “How do you suggest we get them out?”

“Good question. I’ll be in touch.” Rex nods to Hunter.

Rex looks at you one last time before leaving the bar and you can feel your heart try to leave with him again. You look back at Hunter and you see his gaze shift away from yours. Perhaps consoling Rex was the wrong move…

“Do you think you could find out about Captain Rex of the 501st?” You ask Tech as everyone else is asleep.

“I can try.” Tech nods, pulling up his holopad and searching.

After a few moments, he puts the pad down and looks at you, pulling his goggles up on his head so that he can really look at you.

“Tech?” You feel your stomach start to sink.

Please no…

“I’m sorry…” He looks down.

“No… look again.” You shake your head.

Rex was the love of your life. You were supposed to grow old together and move to a farm and get married and have kids… The two of you had your entire lives after the war planned out. And now…

“Look. Again.” You tell Tech.

You don’t mean to sound rude or angry… but it just couldn’t be true… could it? Rex survived everything… It wouldn’t make sense for him to not survive this.

“Please…” You beg Tech.

He hands you the holopad to see for yourself. There in your hands, on the screen, is the face of the blond love of your life… with the red banner across the top: KILLED IN ACTION. You hand him the holopad and quickly walk to the fresher, letting the door slide closed behind you as you slump to the floor and sob.

Hours later, Hunter comes and scoops you off the floor and carries you to a bunk, letting you cry until your eyes go dry and hurt. You don’t leave the bunk for days. Echo kneels next to you, trying desperately to get you to eat.

“How can I go on?” You ask Echo as Hunter stands in the doorway, terrified.

“One day at a time.” Echo squeezes your hand.

He was right. Slowly, the pain just took the backseat and you were able to ignore it.

Present

Back on the ship, in hyperspace, Wrecker shakes his knee, gripping his head. You try everything you can without the med patch. All you have to offer is a warm compress to hold over his eyes. Unfortunately, Wrecker is just a smidge impatient and tosses it back to you as he gets up to pace.

“I don’t like this plan.” He groans to Hunter as Hunter comes back toward the bunks where Tech and Omega are working on Gonky as you try to help Wrecker.

Hunter glances at you and then places a hand on Wrecker’s shoulder. “We agreed to meet Rex on Bracca. That’s what we’re doing.”

“He wants to cut open my head.” Wrecker points at his head, nervously.

“All of our heads, actually.” Tech points out.

“Not mine. I don’t have an inhibitor chip.” Omega points out.

“Why not? Now, that’s not fair.” Wrecker grumbles.

You try to get Hunter’s attention but he ignores you and starts to talk to Tech about the chip scanner. You take that as your sign to leave the room and walk up to the cockpit, joining Echo at the steering panel.

“Are you alright?” Echo asks you, softly.

You shrug, leaning your head back against the seat. “Doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it matters.” Echo assures you, turning to look at you.

You roll your head to look at Echo. He’s looking at you softly. He knows about you and Rex. He was one of Rex’s closest friends. He and his brother Fives.

“Do you remember when Tech told me about Rex being killed in action and all I could do for weeks was lie awake and cry?” You ask him.

He nods. Of course he does. He was there for you every single day.

“I used to wish more than anything that he’d come back to me. And then Hunter and I just… happened. We’ve only been together a couple weeks…” You murmur softly, trying not to let Hunter hear you.

“You have to do what’s best for you.” Echo tells you.

“How do I know what that is?” You ask him.

He shrugs. “Well, no offense, but we saw the way you calmed Rex down…”

“Yeah and now Hunter is mad at me.” You groan, quietly.

When you finally reach Bracca, you land near Rex’s ship and all get out. You try your hardest to keep your eyes down, knowing it’d be hard to look at him again.

What you and Hunter have is great. You’re able to rely on each other. He is so sweet and kind. It is new, though.

“Stay here.” Hunter and Rex tell you simultaneously.

They look at each other with a furrowed brow. You roll your eyes.

“Whatever. Come on, Omega. We have plenty to keep us busy.” You tell her, sitting on the steps of the Marauder.

Omega glances at Hunter and he nods. She follows you and sits next to you as you rest your chin in your hands, watching the guys walk away. Rex glances back at you first and your chest tightens. Hunter glances back at you next and you feel the ache in your chest next.

“What’s going on?” Omega asks you.

Omega is the most perceptive child you’ve ever met. She catches on to everything very quickly, but you know this isn’t something she needs to worry about. Not to mention, it’s not appropriate to burden a child with adult matters. Granted, she’s been through more than a lot of children.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older.” You put a smile on your face as you look at her.

“How much older?” She asks you.

“Hmmm… at least five years older.” You shrug, amused.

“Ugh.” She rolls her eyes and you can’t help but laugh.

You get up as you pat her on the shoulder and go back into the ship to make yourself busy. Hopefully, they'll find what they’re looking for quickly.

About five hours in, you have music playing as you and Omega just finish up cleaning the entire ship and decide to play a board game that you secretly took from Cid’s. You feed Omega dinner as you play. You hear voices coming and go to greet the guys but find TK troopers, which means that Crosshair probably isn’t too far away.

“Hide. Now.” You whisper.

You help lift her up into the overhead unit and then crawl up there yourself, shutting the door as softly as possible. You don’t know how Crosshair could have possibly found you, but right now, your biggest concern is keeping Omega safe.

You watch the TK troopers through the vent as they walk throughout the ship.

“Ship is empty.” One of them speaks into their comm as they exit the ship.

“We’re staying here until the guys get back.” You whisper to her, softly.

She nods and starts to make herself comfortable, resting her head on her arms. You pat her softly on the back with a reassuring smile.

You aren’t sure how much time goes by, but when you finally hear the guys’ voices, relief washes over you.

You hear Hunter call out for you and Omega, panic clear in his voice. You move the vent over and let him know you’re still here.

“Oh thank the Maker.” He nods.

You lightly wake Omega up, letting her know the guys are back. She barely wakes up, just enough to let you pass her to Hunter. You jump down after and watch Hunter lay her in his bunk before returning to you, pulling you into his arms. Watching how amazing he is with her warms your heart every single time.

“I’m so sorry.” Hunter kisses you on the head.

“It’s okay.” You assure him.

“Thank you for staying safe.” He rests his forehead against yours, closing his eyes.

You see Rex in the doorway in your peripheral. He doesn’t take his eyes off of you. You can’t look away from him. Hunter notices, of course. He never misses a thing.

“Can I talk to you?” Rex asks you.

You look at Hunter and he nods, letting you go. You follow Rex outside the ship, pulling your sweater around you. It had gotten dark since you’d hidden in the overhead unit with Omega.

“I understand that you’ve moved on. I get it. I-” He starts. You interrupt him. “I haven’t.”

“What?”

“I haven’t moved on.” You whisper.

He walks toward you. You look up at him and time feels like it stops. Just for a moment. You know that you’re never going to stop loving him. You know that this man will always have your heart and anything you give to Hunter…

“Come with me.” Rex begs, softly, yanking you from your thoughts. “Please.”

You look up into those golden brown eyes that you used to get lost in once upon a time. You feel your stomach flutter at the way he’s looking at you. Like you hung every star in the galaxy. It’s the same look he’s always given you. And you know he’d continue to look at you like that for the rest of his life if you let him.

“Please stay…” You hear Hunter’s voice behind you.

You look back at Hunter. It feels like you’re stuck in place, unable to move. You know you need to choose, but the look on Hunter’s face breaks your heart all over again and you know you can’t bear the thought of hurting him. You care about him so much. Not to mention, the Batch. You love them all individually. Omega has become like your little sister. Wrecker is like your big brother. Echo has always been a friend. And Tech is so easy to chat with about things that he’s become a good friend as well. And Hunter… Well…

You know you’re going to have to make the decision now.

TAGS: @studioramekin @brynhildrmimi @madameminor @dumfanting @rain-on-kamino @wolveria @misogirl828 @rexandechosandwich @corona-one @tecker @ladykatakuri @the-sith-in-the-sky-with-diamond @shytastemakerthing @twistedstitcher27

#tcw rex #tbb rex #tbb rex x you #tcw rex x you #tbb hunter x you #tbb hunter x reader #tbb rex x reader #tcw rex x reader #captain rex #the bad batch #tbb #the clone wars #tcw

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