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popdrabbles · 2 years

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Say You Want Me- (Rhys Strongfork/Reader)

Gn! Reader

Find me on Ao3 @ xicarusx

"You know you could just go and talk to them right?" Yvette sighed as she stabbed her fork into her salad in minor agitation as she glanced over at Rhys.

"Yeah buddy, c'mon!" Vaughn added, "I never thought that you of all people would be scared to go and talk to them."

In fact, he was always scared to talk to you. Yvette and Vaughn both assumed that was why he acted the way he did whenever he spoke to you. Like a total idiot. Rhys glanced over at his two friends before his eyes returned to you as you walked into the cafeteria.

"Nonono," Rhys hummed quietly, shaking his head, "I couldn't do that... not with all these people around."

He rested his cheek on his hand, his eyes half-lidded as he admired you from across the room. This was starting to get on Yvette's nerves. For the first few weeks, it was cute, that Rhys was so head over heels with you and crushing on you like a schoolboy. It quickly lost its charm once he started to make an absolute fool of himself. A few days ago he had nearly electrocuted himself as he tried to lean against an electrical box with his prosthetic in an attempt to seem 'more relaxed' after you had jokingly said that he seemed to be tightly wound. Vaughn had to haul him away by the collar of his shirt as he continued to rattle on to you about just how relaxed he really was. He watched as you sat down at a table by yourself, it wasn't often that you ate lunch with anyone else. Hell, you barely even joined Rhys and his friends for lunch- despite how many times he had offered. You always sat at the same table, on your own, picking at your lunch as you continued to work. He couldn't take his eyes off of you as you spread your work out in front of you, your lips moving as you spoke quietly to yourself as you read over the paperwork.

"Rhys, just be yourself! We've all seen the way they look at you," Yvette sighed as she rested her plastic fork against her tupperware container, leaning forward and crossing her arms on the table, "Especially when you act like yourself."

Rhys frowned at the second part of her statement, pulling his eyes away from you and finally making eye contact with Yvette and Vaughn. He knitted his eyebrows together in confusion as he looked at the two of them and tilted his head to the side and scoffed.

"Act like myself?! I always act like myself!" Rhys protested.

Vaughn frowned, "You told them two weeks ago that you can lift 400 pounds, Rhys. I don't think I've ever seen you in a gym before."

Yvette snorted, "And! And! The week before that, you told them that you've killed twenty bandits! You've never even been on the surface of Pandora before!"

"And then!" Vaughn started, but Rhys grimaced and held up his hands in defeat.

"Ooookay! Thanks for that you guys," He forced a chuckle, as he glanced back over at you.

He dropped his shoulders and sighed as he tilted his head to the side. Why was it so complicated for him to be himself around you? Was it because you were slightly above him in the food chain? Or was it the earnest look in your eyes everytime he spoke to you? Or the way you laughed at every single joke he would tell, even if it was arguably not funny! Or maybe it was the way you lit up everytime he walked past your desk, everytime he would ask how your day was going, or he would invite you out for drinks with him and the others. You always seemed happy to see him, even on your worst days. He still remembered the time your partner cheated on you. You came into work anyways, despite the inability to not cry for more than forty-five minutes. Everyone had been avoiding your desk all day, but Rhys was late that day, and had yet to see you. When he walked past your desk on the way to his own, you looked up at him when he said hello. Your nose was red, your eyes puffy from crying, but you perked up, giving him the most earnest smile you could possibly manage at the time, something twinkling behind your eyes as you looked up at him through your tears. Even then, with your face blotchy and tear-stained, he still felt his world stop when you looked at him. Maybe they were right, maybe if he really was just himself around you, he would actually have a chance. Maybe you would like the real him, better than the over-confident facade he had built to deflect any signs of weakness. It was a survival method here at Hyperion, but you weren't a threat, right? He chewed on his bottom lip for a moment, his eyes glued to the side of your head as you half heartedly chewed on a carrot. He groaned and shoved himself away from the table, Vaughn clapping him on the back as he stood. He stood by the side of the table, tapping his fingers against the surface before he looked back down at his friends. Yvette motioned towards you, gesturing in your direction with a tilt of her head as Vaughn gave you the most encouraging thumbs up he could manage. Truthfully they were both terrified for him, terrified that he would throw the entire conept of 'being himself' out the window.

He exhaled slowly as he took the first few steps towards your table, and then you looked over at him. Your expression changed when you saw him, a smile grew on your face as you raised your hand slightly and offered him a small wave. Well, now there was really no turning back, you had seen him. Fuck. He smiled back at you, offering a small wave back as he slowly walked over to your table. Just be yourself Rhys, they would love the real you! Just like Vaughn and Yvette said! Rhys reasoned with himself. Yeah but they also said that last time. Remember that girl, Rhys? That they said would love the real you and instead she hated it and basically broke your heart and told you to never speak to her again? Oh. Right. That did happen. Rhys paused in the middle of the cafeteria, okay. Scratch being himself, that clearly didn't work last time, so there was no way in hell it would work now. He plastered a charismatic grin on his face and began to saunter towards your table. If only he could hear Yvette groan.

"Heeey you!" Rhys called out as he approached the other end of your table, gripping the back of the chair with his prosthetic hand.

You looked up from your paper work and smiled at him, "Hey, Rhys. What's up?"

Rhys shrugged and rested his other hand on his hip, shaking his head, "Oh yanno... Nothin much just, figured I'd come over, see how your day was going."

You opened your mouth to answer, but were cut short as the chair slid away from Rhys as he leaned on it, causing him to loose his balance and fall into a flailing pile of limbs on the tile floor. The cafeteria went silent. You scrambled from your seat and rusehd to his side, grabbing him under the arm and helping him back to his feet, trying your damn hardest to contain your laughter.

"Oh my god, Rhys!" You exclaimed as you pulled him to up to a standing position, he instantly pulled away from you, laughing in order to cover up his own embarrassment.

"haha! They must have just waxed the floors in here or something!" He reasoned as he dusted himself off. He looked for another seat, pulling it out and sitting down, looking up at you expectantly.

"Lets juuuust... forget that anyone saw that happen," Rhys seethed as you sat down across from him, smiling and shaking your head.

"I think the whole cafeteria saw you do that, Rhys," You joked as you shook your head, "are you okay though?"

You sounded so genuine when you spoke to him, looking over at him with your soft gaze. He felt his breath catch in his throat as you looked at him, like your eyes were staring directly into your soul.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," he snorted, "If anything my ego is just a little bruised."

You clicked your tongue and nodded, "awe... your poor ego," you frowned, "anything I could do to help?"

This is it. This is the moment right here, he had to go for it! The worst you could do is say no, and you didn't seem like the kind to kick him when he was already down.

"Well we could-"

You spoke before he could finish, "Fuck?"

His entire face turned red, his eyes wide as he stared at you in shock as you looked at him with an expression that made him believe you were dead serious. He opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water.

"H-huh?" He finally managed to spit it out.

You shrugged, "I don't know. You always flirt with me, I figured that's what you wanted to do!"

"Y-you wanna..." He trailed off as you nodded.

"Yeah, you seem to like me and well..." You trailed off as your cheeks were tinted pink, "I mean I really like you so... whatya say?"

"Yes! I say yes!" Wow, could he sound anymore enthusiastic?! Pathetic Rhys, "I mean- I was really just thinking dinner and drinks at first... I didn't think we would just jump right into it..."

You smiled at him, gathering your papers as you got ready to return to your desk. You stood, tucking the papers under your arm and smiling down at him, "Alright then, drinks and dinner it is."

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https://archiveofourown.org/works/34327927/chapters/101159853?view_adult=true

#borderlands 3 #borderlands #tales from the borderlands #rhys the company man #rhys strongfork #rhys x reader #Rhys/reader #Rhys strongfork/reader #you will always be home #popdrabbles

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popdrabbles · 2 years

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A Knights Tale(Timothy Lawerence/Reader)(18+)

MINORS DNI! THIS CONTAINS MATURE THEMES AND SITUATIONS THAT COULD BE DISTRESSING FOR SOME READERS! YOU MUST BE OVER THE AGE OF 18!

HEAVY TW; mentions of kidnapping, isolation, imprisonment, emotional manipulation, threats of physical abuse, death threats, delusional behavior/thoughts, mentions of stalking, mentions of non-consensual drug use

Timothy sat in the corner of the room, his legs crossed as watched you from his seat. His jaw was tense as he watched you, watching the rise and fall of your chest as you breathe slowly, your form curled up on the soft mattress, a thick blanket covering your body. He sniffed and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his hands in front of his face. He watched you over his fingers, wondering when you were going to wake up. He frowned as he glanced at the clock hanging on the other side of your bed, you had been out for nearly sixteen hours, he had to hope he didn't dose you too heavily. That would not make your first meeting a romantic one... hell not even a good one. He had to get back to work soon, he had already taken enough time off to get all of this ready for your arrival. He sucked in a breath through his teeth and pushed himself out of the chair, rubbing the back of his neck as he stole one last look at you before he left the room, locking the door behind him and dropping the key into his coat pocket. He felt a bizarre tugging sensation in his chest as he began to walk out of his apartment, anxious, worried, whatever it was he couldn't quite place it. It was a feeling he had felt before, several times, but when he looked at you, or when he was around you, thinking of you, that sensation entirely disappeared. Your presence calmed something in him, all the noise in his head was silenced, his thoughts didn't race and it felt like the weight of the world was lifted off of his shoulders. But that came with issues all its own. You were also the source of much of his anxiety, his racing thoughts. Watching you as you tried to survive on Pandora drove him nuts, he had watched you nearly die more times than he would have liked, watched you fight for food, and water, to simply survive. It drove him crazy, you didn't deserve to live like that! You were too soft, too kind, too delicate to be in such an unforgiving place, you deserved so much more than that... and Timothy could give it to you. He would give it to you, even if it killed him. Timothy walked down the halls of Helios, keeping his eyes trained on the ground as he walked, terrified that if someone saw the look in his eyes they would know what he had done, that he had made himself the hero and rescued you, a poor, more deserving soul from the terrors of your life. When you phrase it that way it doesn't sound that bad does it? He sniffed and scratched the back of his neck as he wandered the halls. He wanted to be there with you when you woke up, he wanted to make sure the two of you got off to a great start! He also didn't want you to be alone in a new place... He raised his hand a little, looking down at his watch, only six hours. He just needed to make it six hours.

His fingers itched as he walked back to his apartment. He had gone all day without being near you, sure, it was a feeling he was unfortunately used to, but now it was even worse when you were right within his reach. You hadn't left his mind however, you occupied his every thought, that was one thing that would never change, regardless of how close you were to him. He pulled open the apartment door and closed it behind him, glancing down the hall when he heard the doorknob rattle. He raised an eyebrow and reached into his coat pocket as he began to walk down the hallway, the keys jingling in his hand. He stopped in front of the door and grabbed the doorknob in his hand, his heart sinking when he heard the sound of feet moving away from the door. He frowned, so you were awake finally. This was going to suck. He took a deep breath and shoved the key into the lock, pushing the door open slowly. He stepped into the room, taking in his surroundings. Your bed was empty. He closed the door behind him and barely had time to react when something hard connected with the side of his head. His world spun as he stumbled forward, clutching the side of his head as he gritted his teeth together.

"MOTHER FUCK-" He trailed off as he turned to face you, seeing you standing there, clutching one of the wooden legs from the chair in the corner of the room.

You stared at him, raising the piece of wood again as he walked towards you. He watched as your eyes flicked to the open door, and then back at him. You started towards the door and Timothy straightened himself, tearing his gun from its holster and pointing it at you, his grip firm. You stopped with your fingers on the side of the door. He motioned for you to move away from the door, his finger already on the trigger. He would shoot you if he had to, of that he was sure. You dropped your hand from the door and took several steps back when Timothy stepped forward, slamming the door shut and causing you to jump. He didn't stop there though, reaching over, not taking the gun off of you as he tore the wooden leg from your grasp, throwing it to the floor.

"Sit down," Timothy seethed as he motioned towards the bed. You licked your lips nervously, your eyes searching up and down his body, searching for any sign of weakness, anything you could use against him now that you had lost the element of surprise. You slowly over to the bed and sat on the corner, putting as much distance between himself and you as you could possibly manage.

Timothy lowered the gun, but he didn't put it away, not taking his eyes off of you. He had yet to say anything, his mind was running in circles. He reached up with his empty hand and gingerly touched the side of his head where you had hit him. He winced as he touched the skin, feeling something wet on his fingers. He pulled his hand away and looked down at the blood on his fingers, rubbing his thumb over his index finger, spreading the blood over his finger tips. The corner of his lips twitched up in a smile, he could feel your eyes boring into the side of his head as he continued to rub the blood in between his fingers. He glanced over at you and his smile fell as he straightened himself.

"Well that was-" Timothy began.

"Who are you?" You blurted out and Timothy paused, narrowing his eyes at you for the sudden interruption.

"Don't interrupt me again," Timothy grumbled as he turned to face you, his arms hanging limply at his sides.

"As I was saying-"

"No," You deadpanned, though your voice betrayed your stoic expression, and his grip around his gun tightened as you interrupted him once again, "Tell me who you are."

You were more fiesty then he thought you were going to be. Afterall, you did need to know his name didn't you? How could he possibly expect to get any farther if he kept his identity a secret from you? Maybe knowing his name would relax you... help you feel a little more comfortable around him. Maybe that's what you needed from him. You were already doing so much for him after all... He swallowed hard, relaxing his grip on his weapon again.

"I suppose the least I could do is tell you who I am, sweetheart," Timothy began with a laugh that lit your nerve endings on fire, "I am your knight in shining armor."

He heard your breath hitch as you gripped at the thick, soft blankets on your bed, "I... rescued you," He quipped, "Did all of this for you!" He watched as your eyes darted around the room, taking in the comfortable space he had set up for you... A large bed, with the most comfortable pillows and blankets Timothy swore you had ever seen in your life... there was even a desk, though the chair would now have to be replaced after your little charade earleir. He had picked out the absolutely best for you. He wanted you to have the best. You deserved the best, and only he could give it to you, of that he was sure. Only he could save you, keep you safe, how could you not see that? How did you not see that all of this was for you?

There was a deranged look in his eyes that only you could see as he flashed you a bright smile, "Thanks to me, you are now safe."

"Safe? I wasn't in danger before hand!" You argued, the look on your face made him unsettled. You didn't look happy. You looked terrified, nervous, uncomfortable around him.

"What are you talking about?" Timothy chuckled, "Of course you were. I saw the life you were living out there... constantly fighting to stay alive... That was no life for someone like you to live."

Timothy tilted his head to the side as he stepped closer to you. You inched farther onto the bed, not taking your eyes off of him, afraid that he would attack you if you tore your eyes away from him. Like a predator stalking its prey. The room was silent as he paused when he spoke, if he listened close enough he could swear he could hear your heart threatening to beat out from behind your rib cage, oh how he couldn't wait to feel your heart beat quicken under his finger tips.... He knitted his eyebrows together as he stepped closer to you, extending a hand out to you in a gesture of good will, that he was someone you could trust. Your eyes flicked to his hand, and then back up to his face. His expression was so soft, just willing for you to trust him. He would never do anything to hurt you, he wanted to keep you safe, comfortable and happy... He wanted to give the entire world and more... He would give you his still beating heart out of his chest entire being if he could.

"I couldn't just stand by and watch you live in those conditions any longer..." He trailed off, his voice sounded so soft and earnest, "So I got you out of that place... I saved you."

You shook your head, staring up at Timothy in disbelief, you looked like you were about to cry, or panic, or maybe even both. Why were you scared of him? What had he done to make you so afraid...

"Trust me!" He continued, his voice faltered some as he stepped even closer to you, nearly threatening to climb into the bed with you, "I did this so you could be safe... so we could be together and I could help make you happy..."

Your expression changed, confusion mixed with fear. Your eyes were wide, tears threatening to spill over as you slowly began to realize that you were stuck, trapped here unless you came up with some genius plan to save yourself... But there was something else behind your eyes, a softness that he had always hoped would be there when you looked at him.

"I-" Your voice wavered and you swallowed hard, slowly staring to shake your head as if you couldn't believe what you were hearing, "I want to go home..."

He chuckled, "You are home."

You shook your head again, harder this time, squeezing your eyes shut, "no! NO! I'm not home! I don't even know who you fucking are! You're crazy!!"

Crazy

You're crazy....

"Let me go!" You sniffed, opening your eyes again and looking up at him desperately, tears slipping down your cheeks, "Please! I don't want to be here! I want to go home!"

He dropped his hand and clenched his fists several times as you continued to cry, begging and pleading for him to let you go... to let you leave him. No no no no no no... You just got here! You couldn't want to leave him already! You couldn't! He wouldn't let you! A sob tore its way from your throat. He felt something twist in his stomach, a pathetic sense of guilt for doing the exact opposite of what he intended to do, no this wasn't right! This wasn't how it was supposed to go! It was supposed to be so much different than this!

"Please-" You whimpered and Timothy yelled, raking his hands through his hair and pulling at the dark arburn strands, his knuckles turning white. You saw the gun shaking on his hand, his finger hovering just over the trigger as he hunched over. He was trembling as he rested his elbows on his knees, his shoulders heaving as he took several deep breaths.

"Please," He whispered, his voice was dangerously low, his voice trembling, "Please stop..."

He heard you take a shuddering breath, the sound of you moving on the bed, as if you were moving closer to him.

"Listen!" He whimpered, his volume growing while his voice remained pathetic, "Please just listen to me!"

He raised his head to look at you, his cheeks were flushed, his eyes wide with desperation. He staggered over to your bed and kneeled down next to it, reaching out to you. Your lip quivered as you looked down at him, your face was distraught, yet your eyes betrayed you. You looked at him with such a sadness... a pitying, almost caring look behind your eyes.

"I just need you. You're the only one who could possibly understand! The things I've done. The people I've killed... I need someone to be here! Someone to understand that I'm not a monster!! You understand that don't you?" He pleaded, his eyes looked up at you. He looked so pathetic, kneeling in front of you like this... like the royalty you are. He wanted nothing more than to be your knight in shining armor... to be the man who rescued you and gave you every single thing he thought you deserved. He wanted to stay by your side constantly, defending you from anything he perceived to be a threat.

"I would never hurt you! Please... just stay.. just stay and obey me and I promise everything will be fine... No one will ever hurt you," He begged as he inched closer to you, tenteviley reaching for your hand, his finger tips grazing your cool skin as you flinched away from him. You looked so terrified, why? He was confessing everything to you! He deserved you! You deserved him! After everything both of you had been through! You deserved nothing more than to find utter happiness and bliss in each other's arms. Why couldn't you just understand that! You were shaking under his touch. He licked his lips, his mouth suddenly feeling dry as willed himself to keep speaking, maybe if he kept talking you would finally understand.

"I just need you... I need you," Timothy whimpered as he closed his eyes and released a shaky breath.

He looked pathetic, utterly broken collapsed on your floor, begging for someone, anyone to stay with him... You especially. He wanted you to stay with him. You were everything he needed. Everything he wanted... He sniffed and mumbled something under his breath as his body trembled. He felt your cool hands on his, and he cracked an eye open, looking up at you. His heart stopped when he saw the look on your face, complete and total endearment, worry and care... He watched as you took a deep breath, squeezing your eyes shut as you opened your mouth to speak, closing it again before you finally spoke.

"I-..." You shuddered as you spoke, you couldn't believe you were about to say this... that you were about to feed into this, "I suppose I should know the name of the man who saved me shouldn't I?"

You understood it... You got it. His goal had been achieved, he was able to reach you, to get you to understand and believe him that he was truly doing the right thing, that he was doing something for you, that he was going to care for you, love you and protect you just like he promised. Timothy perked up, his distraught facade disappearing so quickly that he saw you physically recoil, your caring gaze morphing into betryal and fear as Timothy stood back up, pushing himself away from the bed. He leaned down and gently grabbed your chin in his hand, leaning dangerously close that you could feel his warm breath fanning against your cheek.

"You can call me Tim, sweetheart... now be good," He purred softly, "I'll be back to check on you later."

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#Borderlands #borderlands the pre sequel #Timothy Lawrence #Timothy Lawrence x reader #Timothy Lawrence/reader #Timothy Lawrence Borderlands #Timothy the doppleganger #popdrabbles #you will always be home

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