#Brian: okay *turns the entire room dark*

[jewish-skitter]

Undersiders seder would be so fucking funny.

#Taylor: okay so here’s the part with the darkness #Brian: okay *turns the entire room dark* #Taylor: and here’s the part with the swarm of locusts—

[rainbowstargazerlilies]

Okay, so for the year anniversary, I opened up comments for some non-canon bits. I said if people didn't ask for something specific, they'd probably get something weird. I ended up doing a multi-part non canonical bit, which I love very much. You can hunt through the comments in the chapter for it, or you can enjoy it here under the read-more. Hope you like it! And hey, if you want to see more in this little AU story thread, comments are still open.

Part 1:

Marius wasn’t entirely sure what direction this day had taken, but he wasn’t necessarily happy about it.

“And who exactly are you?” he said, gesturing at. . . well, there was a lot to gesture at. The insanely curling hair, and the far too pointed smile. Usually, nobody else on the Aurora was supposed to be here. Usually, people knew better than to interrupt Marius when he was– not PINING, per se, but heavily considering how to talk to Lyf in the near future, or trying to figure out where Brenn might be. He’d retaliated enough to make them form the habit.

“You can call me Michael,” the creature said, and its smile deepened. “You must be Marius.”

“Yes, now you can stop bothering me. Go find Brian or someone. He’s probably not that busy.”

Well, that wasn’t entirely correct. Brian was just being annoying and not inviting Marius to whatever secret conversations were going on. Extremely rude of him. Marius could afford to be a little petty.

Instead of responding, Michael turned his hand, and a voice started echoing from nearby.

Wait.

Wait, Marius knew that voice.

““I know you’re not here,” the far too familiar voice said from the corner of the room, just past what appeared to be a yellow door, “but you know what, Marius? It would be so good to hear your voice right now.”

Marius, as it turned out, could run very fast when prompted. And Lyf, saying something like that? He didn’t care if it was impossible. He just wanted to see Lyf. He wanted to be there, and to say anything, and to make Lyf smile again, because they sounded so tired and upset and more than a little scared. If he could be there for ANY of it, then Marius was going to take the chance.

The door was locked. The door was fucking locked, and the creature in the center of the room kept laughing.

Slowly, Marius turned back to stare at ‘Michael’, who’d come up behind him.

“Open the door.”

“They’re not really here, you know,” Michael said, almost singsong. “They were there, though. And they talked about you, baron.” It reached down and tapped his nose lightly. “Now, if you hurt them–”

“If you know where they are,” Marius said, beyond frustrated, “then let me see them.”

Michael considered. “They did want to see you,” it said, twisting its hand once again. Once more, Lyf’s voice echoed beyond the door.

“I . . . I don’t even know if you’re real or not, and I still wish I could see you again. Pathetic, maybe, but. . . you made the darkness bearable, somehow. Nobody’s done that before. And you held my hand through it all, whether it was snakes or squamous things, or outer gods rearing their heads. And I just wish. . .”

Somehow, the doorknob still wasn’t working, and neither was trying to break through the door, no matter how long and hard Marius battered at it. Stupid, really. Michael had said that Lyf wasn't inside, but. . . but for all Marius knew, Michael had lied about that, and Lyf was in there, still tired and sad and wishing for him to be there. If there was one thing that Marius had learned from those dreams, it was that he always wanted to be there when Lyf needed his help. “What the fuck do you want from me?” Marius asked Michael finally.

“I just wanted to inform you,” Michael said, with an amused look at Marius’s efforts to break down the impossible door, “that if you hurt the inspector, you will have to deal with me. And I have ways to deal with even the most. . . stubborn of creatures.”

Then, it opened the door, stepping inside before Marius could. “Now, goodbye,” it began, but–

But Marius was still fast. And Lyf had been inside this impossible door. Maybe, if he went through it, he could find Lyf on the other side, no matter where it ended up.

It was a matter of seconds to stick his foot in the doorway, dart by a startled-seeming Michael, and make his way into the corridor.

Part 2:

“What are you doing here,” Michael said from behind him.

Marius just kept walking. “You know exactly what I want here,” he said, not bothering to turn. If he turned, then he had the feeling that the corridors would only get worse. 

So, maybe entering the yellow door hadn’t been the best idea. The corridors seemed impossible, and they kept changing whenever Marius looked around, and there was nothing to say that any of this was meant to make sense at all. Quite the opposite, actually. 

But then, there were two reasons that had Marius continuing to walk forward, no matter what Michael offered. The first was that Marius happened to be very stubborn. The second, though. . . 

Michael knew Lyf. Knew Lyf well enough to have had some sort of echo of their voice on the other side of that door. There was no sign of Lyf themself so far, so Marius was assuming that it was probably some kind of recording, but if Michael knew Lyf, then that meant that Lyf was still alive, and that Michael could take Marius right to them. And Marius dearly, dearly wanted to see Lyf and know they were all right. 

“And you think you can navigate my corridors,” Michael asked, and. . . well, that was a problem, wasn’t it? Marius might not be the member of the crew with the worst sense of direction (that honor still went to Tim), but whatever this place was, it seemed to completely define mapping.

“I can try,” Marius settled on. “Lyf deserves it.”

Michael was quiet for a bit. Good. Marius could use the quiet to try to figure out which corridor to go down. There were so many twists and turns, and if he just found the right one– well. Lyf had said they’d talk once Marius was on the same planet. Marius was looking forward to it. 

“How did you meet the inspector?” Michael finally asked. 

Oh, Marius could talk about that for days. He grinned. “I was a prisoner, and they were a police inspector, and they brought me and the others lunch one day, and they didn’t even blink at our mechanisms. Mentioned their sister, I think. She’s got a mechanical arm, same as me. Hope she’s okay.”

Michael blinked. “Sister.”

“Yes, Brenn. She’s. . . I don’t even know where she is, but she’s fantastic. And Lyf. . . Lyf was the best. It wasn’t quite love at first sight, but it was very, very close. I mean, they’re –”

Michael stopped walking, and after a moment, Marius stopped walking too. 

“Go through this one,” Michael said finally, and they pried the mirror out of its frame with those very, very long fingers.

“What?”

“Go through this one,” Michael said, sounding testy, “and you will be closer. I will go find my sibling, and you can try to explain yourself to your inspector. A metal arm, you said?”

“Brenn? Yes, a metal arm, and she’s got rainbow freckles, and a bunch of curly– and you’re gone.”

Marius stared at the mirror frame, considering it. It might get him where he wanted to go, true. But it also felt very, very much like doing what was expected of him, which didn’t rub against him the right way after all. 

Finally, he shrugged, and went through the mirror next to it. It’d probably be close enough, and if Michael had been lying the whole time, it only made sense to not go through the one Michael had pointed out. Trusting something that owned a place like this one just seemed like a terrible idea. 

He emerged, oddly enough, on a London street. The door had apparently come out on an alleyway, and Marius could see a park nearby. And across the street. . . across the street was a flat building that only gave him a headache. It shimmered and blinked in the corners of his vision, and it only got worse if he looked at it head-on.

“You there,” a voice said from nearby, and Marius turned to see an older woman, arms full of groceries.

“Hello?” he tried. 

“Baron von Raum, yes?” she asked, and smiled at him. “I’m Mrs. Wilton. Help me bring in my groceries, please? I think we should have a talk.”

Part 3:

Apparently, when someone like Mrs. Wilton said that they should have a talk, she meant tea. 

In theory, Marius didn’t mind tea parties. He’d participated in several over the years, whether it was one thrown by the Toy Soldier with fancy hats galore, or something smaller from Ashes where the “tea” wasn’t anything of the sort. But in practice, right now . . .

Mrs. Wilton’s flat was in the strangest building Marius had seen in a fairly long time. The outside walls had chalk markings and what looked to be colorful glints, and looking at it for any length of time left him with a headache. As he’d gotten into the flat itself, well. . . 

There were so many rainbows. Why were there so many rainbows? Was Lyf nearby, and if so, why was Marius wasting any of his time on drinking tea?

“So,” he said abruptly, putting his tea cup down. “How have we met before?”

“We haven’t,” Mrs. Wilton replied. She looked almost startled at the thought. “No, you rappelled past my window once, and one of your family members made all the right apologies.”

Marius frowned. He thought he’d remember rappelling past someone’s window like that. Sure, it was a move he’d pulled before, but. . . at a building like this one? Surely it’d have stuck in his memory. 

Unless. . . 

“When was this,” he began to ask, but Mrs. Wilton was faster. 

“Now, what exactly are your feelings towards Lyfrassir Edda?”

Well. That was unexpected. How many friends had Lyf made that they just hadn’t mentioned in the dreams? They’d mentioned an Oliver and a Gerry, and Nastya to boot, but. . . surely they’d have mentioned if they’d adopted a grandmother at some point. 

Then again, it wasn’t like Marius had told Lyf every detail of his life since they’d last seen each other in person. There had never been enough time for that sort of thing, and there were far more important things to try to say. Like explaining to Lyf that he actually liked them, or asking Lyf whether they were still single. 

“I’ve been in love with them since. . . maybe the second time I saw them?” Marius said as honestly as he could, tapping his chin. “The first time was far too short to fall in love with a person, but I definitely wanted to get to know them better. And it was within that first year of knowing them that I knew I was in love with them, but I’d definitely– right. I want to be sure they’re all right, and to make sure they know how amazing they are, and if they wanted, I’d jump at the chance of staying by their side for the rest of immortality.”

Mrs. Wilton nodded slowly. “I thought so,” she said, and took another sip of tea.

“You. You thought so.”

“Well,” she said gently, “at first I was wondering who the young ruffian Lyf was complaining about was. You didn’t make the best first impression, duck, climbing out a window like that. But they’ve talked about you long enough that I got the shape of the story. Biscuit?”

Mechanically, Marius took one. “So. So they are alive.”

“Of course,” she responded, looking a bit startled. “I messaged them when we first sat down to tea. They should be at the door any moment. But first, I wanted to tell you that if you hurt them. . .”

“If I hurt them, you’ll come after me?” Marius asked, looking her up and down. It didn’t seem the most threatening at first, but then again, he’d seen enough grandmothers in his time to not take the threat lightly. 

“I have my contacts,” Mrs. Wilton replied. She nodded to him. “And Lyf has their friends, too. I would be surprised if you did not end up getting more conversations like this one. They’ve been hurt enough.”

“Yes, they have,” Marius said softly, remembering Lyf over those dreams. The way Lyf’s face had broken into tears again and again, and the ways they kept getting hurt. “I promise, Mrs. Wilton, I’ll do my best to never be one of the things hurting them.”

“Good,” she said, standing up herself. “Because they should be at the door now.”

The door was in fact swinging open, and Marius could hear someone saying, “Mrs. Wilton? Your text was not the most precise, what did you need me for–”

And then there Lyf stood, feet away from Marius, staring at him, and Marius. . . 

Marius managed a wave, and a quiet, “Hi,” before suddenly they were hugging, and Marius didn’t even know who had started it. All he knew was that he never wanted it to end.

#the stars claim them #now we are derailed #this is NOT canon but I enjoyed it

[candykamikun]

Hii!!! Kikuo Anon is back!

Thank you so much for the other requests you made for me! I really appreciate it, your a very nice person and a great writer!! so on with the request!

Could I request all the CreepyPastas with a reader who has a Malice Mizer Personality??

Thank you :D

HIIIIIIII HOW ARE YOU ??? You're welcome haha it's my job my dear! Aww it's normal to be Nice ! ;) i wan't to be a great mom/dad later so uh yuh ! AND TYSM IT'S SO NICE

Nda : sorry it's very short.. and not very good

Warning : some UHM.. NOT NICE WORDS

CREEPYPASTA WITH A S/O WHO HAS GACKT'S PERSONNALITY (from Malice Mizer)

You were quietly listening to music, your earphones in your ears when you left your room, having finished cleaning it. You took a bag, putting away the things that were important and useful to me before going down the stairs quietly. In the living room a little further was BEN playing Mario Kart and a few meters further the front door.

Ben wouldn't tell you anything, would he? He doesn't care, does he? The worry went away as quickly as a draft in summer when you passed behind the sofa to access the exit.

"Are you going for a night walk?" The fact that he spoke very suddenly made you jump. "Uhmm.. yeah." "I'm coming, I have nothing else to do and then a few others also came out." He turned off the TV, took his switch which was right next to him and got up to join you To tell the truth, the short distance you did was pure silence, at least not entirely.

"What are you listening to ?" You lowered the sound of your headphones "Yes?" "You listen ?" "My time to shine - Dreams come True." "I like it! It's a good group!" "Oh really ?" "Yeah, the singer has a pretty simple voice." Without looking ahead, you suddenly got a tree in your face. BEN really wasn't shy to laugh about it, of course. And that's how Brian showed up, coming out of a tree top. "Haha, are you okay at least?" "Ouch.. Yeah, I'm fine.."

He took you by the hand to help you climb the big tree, at the very top there was a very big cabin, held in the air with four trees quite close together. "It's not a villa, but it's better than outside!" Pointed out Liu discreetly, he offers you a smile that you return to him on your face before landing on the ground followed by Ben. "It's a little dark though.." complained Jane before you pulled a pretty candle out of your bag, taking the lighter and lighting it to help, you had two, two skeleton-shaped candles.

And so you see the room a little more clearly. Ej in a corner, a little apart to listen, Toby looking out the window of the cabin, Virus very close to him, Masky sitting near the entrance and especially far from Toby, Smile Dog near Jeff who is at your left, Jane further to your right, Liu across from you sitting on a table and Nina next to him, swinging her feet happily.

"So no one can sleep, right?" "Other than the absent, well none of us can sleep a wink.." sighed Cody who looked tired. "Jeff has ruined eyelids so..good." you notice "Why aren't we all equal when it comes to sleep? Jeff, burn everyone's eyelids, so we'll all be the same!" Nina always had forbidden words. "Don't give him bad ideas!" Jane retorted, visibly displeased. "Shall we calm down? If you want I have some crystals to give you." While Liu was still trying to work things out.

Jeff's eyes widened even more at everyone's amazement "[Y/N].." "Yeah..?" "Between you and…" you peek under the floor, between you and Jane to see a Cockroach. Jane doesn't react while you let out an ardent cry that echoes throughout the forest.

"FUCK THIS SHIT !"

[christinesolstice]

That's The Way Of It

Chapter 3: Confusion And Accusations

Summary:

The men finally know her name, but will she trust them or fear them?

Jungkook is shocked.

Hoseok is like the sun.

Who could really resist Jimin's eye smile?

Notes:

The third chapter! Only confusion can take place right now.

:TW: Mentions of blood and bodily harm/injuries.

"How is she doctor? Will she be okay?" a voice says into the darkness that is keeping Brenna's head captive. But this time she hears the voice, or at least a part of it.

'Wait... Whose...whose voice was that?' Brenna's sluggish mind struggled to place it. She tried to open her eyes but was unable to so she continued to lay there, drifting in and out of consciousness. She was only about to catch snippets of the conversations that were being held around her.

"She seems to have several cracked ribs, a severely twisted ankle, multiple contusions, an injury to her head and now she's running a fever. I'm going to give her a shot of antibiotics, but other than that, keep her warm until she wakes up and then we can go from there. I will send the blood work to the lab and when she regains consciousness we will need to do a few x rays."

'Is he talking about me?' Brenna wondered silently as she regained enough consciousness to catch the last few sentence befoere going back into the world of darkness..

~*~

Brenna awoke to the feeling of fingers lightly touching her cheek as someone sat down on the bed beside her. She tried to turn her face into the comforting warmth but her head felt so heavy.

"How is she doing?" asked the male voice that was beside her, that she somehow felt that she recognized.

"... the same I guess.... Do you really think she's going to be okay?" asked another male voice from somehwere else in the room.

the voice beside her sighed into the room, "I hope she will be. The doctor seemed optimistic earlier when I talked to him outside. We have been able to get a nurse to come here every day to check on her since we are refusing to let them stick her in a hospital with people we don't know. Joon said that Brian has been on contact with th epolice but so far, no one has reported a missing female that resembles her."

There was a pause before Brenna heard the other voice say, "...Yeah... that's... that's good, right? Or is it? I don't even know how i feel anymore. I just wanted her to be okay, you know?"

"I know Jk, I know. It's okay." There was the sound of someone's back beign slapped and the Jk voice spoke, "Thanks Yoongi, i really needed to hear everything."

'Yoongi.... his....voice..... I remember it....."

Brenna slowly feels her consciousness slipping back into the darkness.

~*~

An entire night and day passed by while Brenna slept deeply, only coming in and out of consciousness for a short amount of time. During that time there were several male voices that came in and out. Sometimes a hand was placed on her forehead, sometimes it was a wet cloth. Throughout the process though, Brenna would slip back into the dreamless sleep quickly and there she would stay until the next time that she was roused by a sound or a touch.

~*~

Brenna felt herself finally coming up out of the heavy and insisstent fog that had taken over her existence. When she first woke up, she laid completely still, not daring to move just yet, keeping her eyes tightly closed and her breathing even. She listened closely to the sounds around her, straining her ears to see if she could hear any movement in the room. She didn't know why she felt the need to be so careful but.. something in her gut told her that this was the right way to go about things.

She could hear someone slightly snoring across the room but that was the only noise that she was able to make out.

She slowly opened her eyes, blinking them rapidly to clear her cloudy stale vision. The light coming in from the window curtains made her wince in pain as her eyes adjusted to being open for the first time in almost two days.

The room very slowly came into focus for her and that's when she realized that she did not recognize anything in the room. At all.

'Where am I?? What is this place?'

Brenna struggled to push herself up into a sitting position on the bed, a sharp hiss escaping past her teeth from the pain in her ribs. Her hand clutched her side as she managed to scoot herself back against the headboard. She slowly looked around the room in confusion. Realizing that she can't even remember the smallest detail from before she woke up. She remembers her name but... other than that.... nothing...

'Why can't I remember anything? What the hell is going on??'

Her gaze passed over a reading chair by the window of the room and she discovered, to her dismay, that there was an unknown man sleeping in it.Fear immediately shot through Brenna and started coiling low into her stomach.

The man had dark brown hair, a row of earrings on the earlobe that she could see and a sleeve of tattoos on one of his arms that had slipped out from underneath a blanket that was covering him. Brenna looked at him over in apprehension and confusion, her teeth catching her bottom lip and she ran her tongue over one of the healing splits.

'Why don't I know who he is? I SHOULD know who he is,.... right??"'

Brenna's brow furrowed as severe pain shot through her head when she tried to recall the events that had taken place. She grasped her head in her hands and her vision started swimming as nausea began to hit her in waves, making her breathless.

"Oh God, I think I'm going to be sick!'

Brenna took a few slow, steadying breaths, as deeply as her ribs would let her, and quietly pushed back the covers that were piled on top of her. With a few shallow grunts and some teeth grinding, she was able to turn her body to the side and slide forward to the edge of the bed.

Keeping one weary and untrusting eye on the sleeping man in the chair, she used the bedside table to help herself stand up.

A severe pain shot through her right ankle and her knees began to wobble. Brenna paused shakily, closing her eyes and throwing up a prayer to whatever deity might be listening.

Brenna carefully and slowly limped towards the bedroom door, only pausing when the man in the chair shifted in his position, his head falling back and loud snores emitting from his now open mouth. She grimaced again at the pain shooting in her head and silently crept out of the room.

It didn't take Brenna long to find the door to a bathroom and she was extremely thankful for that. She didn't know exactly how long it had been since she had peed last but she knew her bladder was about to explode if she didn't get to a bathroom ASAP.

Pushing down her pants to sit on the toilet she made the discovery that she was not wearing her own clothes. At least, not any clothing that she could remember owning. She had been dressed in gray sweat pants and an overly large black t-shirt. She fingered the edge of the worn t-shirt while she finished peeing, racking her brain to come up with any answers at all.

Stepping to the sink to wash her hands, she looked into a mirror and let out such a horrified gasp that she caused her ribs to bark at her in distress.

Her reflection staring back at her was downright frightening. A swollen and bruised face looked back at her. A dark bruise had formed along her right cheekbone and a yellow bruising had started all along the left side of her face, from her temple down to her chin. Her lips were were in the process of healing from multiple splits and were swollen in every part. She had a cut down her left cheek that and there was bruising all along her neck and her collar bone. Her hair was matted in places with what looked like dried blood and there was a huge dark circles under right eye that making her look almost dead.

Her dry throat clenched as the nausea came back again and hit her with it's full force.

She leaned over the trash can, heaving, tears springing to her eyes from the pain in her body, but nothing would come up except bile.

With shaking hands she rinsed her mouth out in the sink and splashed water over her aching face. Patting her face dry on the hand towel, she suddenly remembered the man that was sleeping in the chair when she awoke and her body tensed up, her heart started racing. She clenched her good fist in both anger and in fear.

''Is he the one that did this to me?'' she wondered, wishing for any memory at all to come back to her, struggling to keep her fear at bay.

Her breathing started becoming erratic as she tried to force herself to remember, her anxiety shotting through the roof. The more she tried, the worse her headache became, pounding furiously in her temples and soon, she was gasping for air and her vision started to go dark.

'No! Not again!' That was the last thought she had before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and her weak body collapsed onto the floor of the bathroom.

~*~

As Brenna slowly started to come back around, the first thing she noticed was a warm and gentle hand cupping her bruised cheek. She groaned and tried to turn her head away from the touch, afraid it belonged to someone who would try to hurt her.

"Ah! There you are! Come on, wake up for me. Go ahead, come on."

The sweet voice calmly spoke to her, helping her back to consciousness, even though the person behind the voice was feeling anything but calm. Her eyes flickered opened and she looked up into the warm golden face that was above her.

The man leaning above her saw her eyes open and he smiled widely down at her, his relief evident all over his face.

"There we go! I'm so glad you're waking up, you had me really worried! I didn't exect to come back and to find you sprawled in the bathroom floor. Did you get in here by yourself? Are you feeling that well enough already?" he blabbed on, his nervousness getting the best of him.

Brenna took in the man's auburn hair, dark brown eyes, beautifully pert and upturned nose, and his wide and bright smile. His smile immediately put her at ease, there was such a warmth and comfort radiating from him, almost like the sun itself was staring down at her. Brenna could feel the the knot of tension and fear in her stomach slowly subsiding.

The man backed up, worried that being to close to her face would make her panic, and instead, held his hands out to her to help her up off of he floor. She hesitantly grasped his hands in hers and he slowly helped her up off of the cold tiles.

Every little movement caused great spasms of pain in her body and by the time she was standing, she was grimacing again, finding it a little hard to breath and stay standing.

The man bent down to her level, put her arm over his shoulder and helped her walk down the long hallway and into the living room. Carefully he lowered her onto the couch and made sure that she was comfortably positioned against the couch pillows.Fussing over her like she was his sole responsibility.

"I'll be right back okay?"

Brenna nodded at his words and looked around the living room while he was gone. She recognized absolutely nothing that was around her and it started to worry her again. She, again, tried to recall the last thing that happened to her but nothing would come to mind except for the pulsing headache.

The sunshine man reappeared and handed her a sealed bottle of water. On his arm he carried a small throw blanket that he draped over and around her shoulders.

"I know that your fever broke earlier today so I want to make sure that we keep you warm, okay?"

She slightly nodded and tried to open the bottle of water. She struggled to open up the bottle as her strength had waned since she had walked around for the first time in over 24 hours. Noticing this, the man with the smile took the bottle from her hand, twisted the lid off in a single try and then handed it back to her.

She smiled gratefully, and a little bashfully, at him and then took a small sip.

The cold water felt like nirvana against her dry mouth. As she swallowed, the water became caught in her parched throat and she started to sputter and cough. The man gently rubbed her back until the coughing subsided, noticing that she was clutching her side and wincing.

"Are your ribs still hurting? The doctor said he thinks you may have a couple of cracked ribs."

Brenna nodded slightly, unsure if she could trust the man enough to tell him the full extent of her pain, and took another small sip, eyeing him out of the corner of her eye.

The man excused himself got up to quickly walk back to the kitchen. He returned a few seconds later with a small bottle of pills.

"The doctor gave us these to give to you when you woke up, if you were in any pain. He said they are equal to extra, extra strength Tylenol. Do you want one?"

"Please", She nodded her head and gratefully took one from his hand, murmuring a quick "thank you". She was barely able to get it down with the water but she eventually managed and leaned back against the pillows on the couch to try to get comfortable.

The man had pulled a chair up and sat on the chair in front of the couch, his body turned to face her as he watched her slow progress with drinking the water, a concerned look on his face.

"My name is Hoseok but everyone calls me Hobi or JHope." he grinned at her again with that 1,000 watt smile.

She gave a small smile in return.

"I'm Brenna...I think..."

Hoseok tilted his head while looking at her, his confusion clearly showing across his features.

"You think? Don't you remember?" he gave a small confused laugh.

Brenna shook her head slightly, looking down at the water bottle in her hand. "I .... I actually don't remember much of anything....." She admitted quietly to him, deciding to try to trust the man who was the equivalent to the sun.

Hoseok just looked at her, his eyes widening in shock. "Are you serious? Like... You can't remember anything that happened?!"

Brenna nodded and looked away from his gaze, she could feel the hot tears creeping into her eyes and she tried to keep them at bay. Why couldn't she remember who she was or where she was at or for the love of the gods what the fuck happened to her??

Hoseok sat up in alarm when he noticed a tear running down her cheek. He quickly moved to sit beside her on the couch and wrapped a comforting arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his side. He pulled her head onto his chest and began stroking her hair softly and she silently cried.

"Shhh.. it's okay. Everything is okay. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset." He soothed. His other hand thumbing away the tears rolling down her cheeks. She shook her head gently, as his comforting embrace started to seep it's peace into her.

"I'm not upset with you..... I-I just.... I really c-can't remember anything and when I try to, I have this searing pain in my head and it s-scares me. I.... I don't know what's going on or....or where I am or who you are, or what happened....to m-me....."

At the last part of her sentence her voice cracked with her high emotions and she began to sob in earnest.

Hoseok hugged her tightly to him and rocked her back and forth, allowing her to soak his shirt with her tears. His hand petting her head softly and gently in comforting strokes.

"Unbelievable! Hobi, I'm gone for three hours and you're already making women cry? Tsk Tsk" A voice said from behind them.

Brenna jumped in alarm at another male voice coming from behind them. Hoseok saw the panic in her expression and rubbed her hard comfortingly before replying.

"Jimin," Hoseok said to the voice behind them, "I didn't make her cry, I was trying to help!"

The man called Jimin came around and sat on the coffee table in front of the couch and leaned forward to get a better look at Brenna. His eyes crinkled shut when he smiled and Brenna immediately thought, 'If angels exist, this is what they would look like.' She immediately felt like she could trust him.

"Hey, if Hobi made you cry, you can tell me, I'll kick his ass in a heartbeat for you, I don't care if he's my Hyung or not." he winked at her and it caused Brenna to finally give a tiny smile and a hiccup.

"H-he, he really d-didn't make my c-cry." Brenna said in a quivering voice. "I'm just.. so overwhelmed and..and..confused."

She leaned away from Hoseok, suddenly realizing that she was clinging onto an unknown man. "Do I ...do I even know you guys? Who are you? Do you know what happened to me?"she asked, her voice cracking in desperation for knowledge.

Jimin looked at Hoseok with a thoroughly surprised expression, his face losing the eye smile. "Hyung... what's going on?"

Hoseok sat forward and placed his elbows on his knees and rubbed his fingers over the bridge of his nose.

"Apparently our guest here has had a bit of a memory loss."

Jimin looked at Brenna sharply, concern etched into his features.

"Wait ... Seriously?" He asked

Brenna nodded before looking nervously down at her hands. They sat there in awkward silence for a few minutes, all three lost in their own thoughts, before they heard the front door to the suite open, and loud voices that followed after that.

Brenna unconsciously shifted closer to Hoseok and looked behind her to see four other men walk into the room, arms laden with with what looked like all types of shopping bags. All of the men stopped dead in their tracks in absolute shock and surprise at seeing Brenna sitting on the couch beside Hoseok.

The tall man with black hair and thick lips dropped his bags to the floor immediately and raced into the living room. He knelt in front of Brenna and peered deeply into her eyes.

"You're awake!? Are you okay!? How are you feeling!? We brought medicine! NAMJOONA! Bring the medicine! Have you eaten?! You need to eat! We bought food! NAMJOONA! BRING THE FOOD TOO!" The man started speaking so quickly that Brenna could barely keep track of what he was saying from one sentence to the next.

Brenna leaned back into Hoseok, overwhelmed by the fast talking man and his closeness to her person. Jin noticed her movement away from him and he frowned, shaking his head.

"Hey, hey hey. It's okay! I'm Jin, I just want to help you, okay?"

Brenna looked at Hoseok and Jimin and they both smiled encouragingly at her. She nodded slowly and hesitantly took his hand when he offered it to her. "I'm Brenna."

"Ah!" Jin exclaimed happily. "We have a name! And what a pretty name too! I think it fits you perfectly! I love it!"

"Give her some room to breath, Jin Hyung," said a tall man whose eyes made Brenna immediately think of a dragon for some reason, as he walked into the living room.

He was followed closely by a man with curly dark brown hair. They both stopped beside where Jimin was sitting and the dragon-eyed man knelt down beside the table to get a better look at Brenna now that she was awake.

"I'm Namjoon," he said then waved to the man that had followed him, "This is Taehyung." Brenna nodded shyly to both of them, she looked around at the men surrounding her and noticed how attractive all of these men were and she suddenly felt absurdly shy and unkempt, remembering the matted bloody hair that she was sporting.

"I-it's nice to m-meet you." she rasped, her voice coming out hoarsely.

Namjoon frowned at her weak-sounding voice and put a palm on her forehead.

"You're fever is still gone thankfully. Is there anything you need? Are you thirsty? Hungry?" Brenna went to shake her head no but her stomach growled loudly, interrupting her head mid-shake.

"Yah! Food first, the rest of the questions can wait a while now that we know she is going to make it." said a firm yet quiet familiar voice from behind her shoulder.

Brenna looked up at the man coming around the couch and her breath caught when she saw his face.

She suddenly had a memory come back of that voice speaking to her, soothing her, calming her while it's owner held her hand.

"Y-you.. I...I remember your voice..." The man paused as he was sitting the to-go bags on the table. He looked over at her and their eyes connected, he gave her a big gummy smile and reached out to ruffle her hair.

"You remember me, huh?" Brenna nodded and a part of her was a little sad when he removed his hand from her head.

"I'm Yoongi but most people call me Suga."

"Yoongi...." Brenna said, trying it out on her tongue. Yoongi grinned and started taking food out of the bags and laying it on the table.

"Yah! Jimin move your ass." He said and playfully pushed Jimin from where he was sitting. Jimin huffed and came to sit on the other side of Brenna on the couch, putting his arm over her shoulders when he noticed she was slightly shaking from nerves.

"So Brenna, can you tell us what happened to you?" Namjoon asked from where he had decided to sit cross-legged on the floor. Brenna went to speak but Hoseok interrupted, speaking for her, much to her throat's happiness.

"Joon... Brenna actually doesn't remember anything except from the time she woke up. She's lost her memory it seems."

Namjoon frowns and his eyebrows furrowed and nods once. "The doctor stated that it could be a possibility with her head injury but still, we need to call Brian and ask him to contact the doctor. Now that Brenna is awake, he can do a more thorough job of examining her injuries." The other boys nodded but Yoongi pushed a cup into Brenna's hand and sat a small bowl of mashed potatoes in her lap.

"I agree, but first, food. There's no telling how long it has been since she has really eaten anything. So Brenna, eat slowly okay?"

Brenna nodded, her eyes wide as she couldn't help but stare at Yoongi, then she realized what she was doing and quickly looked down the bowl in her lap. Hoseok noticed and looked over her head at Jimin who had noticed as well, both of their mouth quirking up into smiles.

The smell of the food hit Brenna's senses and she closed her eyes as her stomach began to growl in earnest.

Brenna and the men dug into their food quickly, she had never seen men eat so fast, well that she could remember anyways.

Jin sweetly reminded Brenna to eat slowly and carefully when she became choked a second time when trying to swallow. She winced and flinched back, expecting to be berated or worse and yet not knowing why she felt that way. The men around her all noticed

but no one said anything, not wanting to embarrass her or give her a rough time. When nothing else happened or was said a out it, she nodded and felt a flush go through her at their attentiveness to her.

The room was extremely and awkwardly quiet except for the sounds of everyone eating. The men kept looking back and forth between each other and Brenna, silently communicating with their eyes, trying to make each other talk first. Brenna was just about to try to break the awkward silence when a loud bang happened down the hallway.

Everyone jumped and turned their attention to look down the hallway where the noise had come from. Jungkook came running out of the back bedroom, struggling to put his jacket on as he did, in a complete state of panic.

"Fuck! Guys! She's gone! Help! She's gone and I don't know wh-...'

Jungkook's yells trailed off as he took in the full scene before him. Brenna was sitting on the couch in between Hoseok and Jimin with the other members sprawled out on the floor and the chairs.

Brenna watched Jungkook rush down the hallway and immediately her fear returned, a sudden headache overtook her and a scene flashed before her eyes. She remembered pain, someone yelling at her, someone...someone hurting her. She saw in her mind, a dark alleyway, the feeling of blood trickling down her face and.. the face of the man that now stood before her.

She started trying to climb backwards, barging into Jimin accidentally. She hissed from the pain in her side at her sharp movements.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Jimin asked her worriedly, placing his hands on her shaking arms.

"D-Don't let him hurt me! Please! Not again!" Brenna cried, burrowing her face into Jimin's collar bone, shaking in fear. Clinging to him as she sobbed in terror.

Jimin's arms immediately went around her and all of the men looked speechlessly between her and Jungkook. Jungkook had begun smiling at seeing her, but now.... He stopped in his tracks and stared in disbelief and shock at Brenna's words.

Chapter 2:

Chapter 4:

#jeon jungkookie #jeon jungkook #jungkook #jungkook fanfiction #jungkook fanfic #bts crossover #bts fanfction #bts fanfic #alice in borderland fanfic #alice in borderland crossover #alice in borderland #ateez crossover #ateez fanfiction #ateez fanfic #ateez #namjoon #taehyung #jimin #hoseok #yoongi #jin #mature themes #mature

[thelastdj]

One Day I’ll Go Back

Requested (on wattpad): Ohhh alright then :) so maybe a Brian May imagine? And it's basically a imagine about Y/n finding out her real parents and Finding out Brian likes them? Could be interesting I think :)

Warning(s): none!

masterlist

Today, my parents had summoned me all the way to Birmingham to sort through boxes of old stuff I had left there when I moved to London.

"You did not wear this." Brian said, holding up an embarrassingly frilly blue dress.

"Oh. My. God." I gasped, "That still exists?"

"You're telling me that you actually wore this? It looks like cotton candy."

"Every single day. I used to love this thing." I laughed, "As you can see, my fashion sense has gotten better since I was 8."

Brian smiled his adorable little smile and set the dress aside. I turned back to the box I was inspecting. Definitely one of the more boring ones, it was filled with old papers, drawings and a dusty folder bound in leather. That intrigued me more than my rather unprofessional drawings of Kermit and Elmo. I carefully opened it, inside were official looking documents, yellowed with age but still perfectly intact. One in particular caught my eye.

BIRTH CERTIFICATE

I always wondered at exactly what time I was born. With a small smile I studied the paper, the print still dark against the white background. Before I could find the 'time of birth' category, something else distracted me.

MOTHERS NAME: Alicia Ferry

Alicia Ferry? That can't be right. Susanna White was my mom's name. Then I looked at the supposed name of my father, Victor Ferry. My dad's name was Jackson White. There must've been a printing mishap, or the certificates got swapped accidentally. But my name fit.

"Everything alright there, love?" Brian asked, seeing my expression as I read those words over and over again.

I could feel my lungs closing up and my vision tunneled. This couldn't be true. No. No no no no no. I started flipping through the other papers in the folder. Finally I found it. The thing that was both the answer to my questions, and the confirmation that my whole life had been a lie.

ADOPTION CERTIFICATE

Adopted. The two people who have raised me weren't my parents. The woman who had fed me, bathed me, and eventually taught me to walk in heels wasn't my mother. The man who read me bedtime stories, taught me to play the piano and scolded me for my short skirts wasn't my father. These...These... strangers were my parents. Could I call them strangers? They knew me almost better than I knew myself and it felt wrong to dismiss them as strangers, even though that was essentially what they were.

I jumped when I felt a hand on my shoulder, "Geez, Brian, you scared me."

"(y/n)? Are you feeling okay? You look a little pale."

"I...umm..." I couldn't find the words to explain exactly what was going around in my head, so I handed him the documents, "Here."

His concerned gaze lingered on me for a moment longer before turning to the papers.

"Adopted?" he asked incredulously.

I nodded.

"When did you find out?"

"About two minutes before you did." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair,

"Are you alright love?"

"How could they have hidden this from me?"

"(y/n)-"

I didn't wait for him to finish before heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Brian called after me.

"I need to ask them why the hell they hid this from me." And with that, I disappeared through the attic trapdoor.

"(y/n)-"

I ran down the stairs, almost tripping and breaking my neck on the last few steps. My parents were sitting in the living room, my father reading the evening paper and my mom reading one of those cheesy romance novels that teenagers and people in a midlife crisis enjoy so much.

"Mom, Dad?"

"Yes darling?" my dad said, looking up from his paper.

I handed them the birth certificate, "I just found this."

"I knew this day would come," my mother sighed.

"(y/n)-" my dad began.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I yelled.

"It was never the right time..." my father trailed off.

I didn't speak the entire way home. Brian didn't try to force a conversation, which I was unspeakably grateful for. I didn't even know what to think. What on earth was I supposed to say, anyway?

"(y/n), are you okay?" Brian asked again when we were about to go to bed.

"This is like the thousandth time you've asked me this today darling." I laughed.

"Sorry, love." Brian said, "I promise not to ask again."

He turned off the light and pulled me close.

"Goodnight, (y/n)." he whispered and pecked my cheek.

I was so lost in my thoughts, that I completely missed what said next.

"Hmm?"

"I know them." Brian repeated.

"You what?"

"I know them. Mr. and Mrs. Ferry. They lived down the road from my parents."

"What were they like?" I asked quietly.

"Your parents?" Brian asked.

"Yeah"

Brian pondered for a moment, "They were nice people. Mrs. Ferry used to make cookies every weekend and give them to the neighborhood kids."

"Do they still live there?"

"I'm not sure," he said, "I could ask my mum and dad, if you want?"

Now it was my turn to stop and think. Did I really want to see these people again? They were the ones who gave me up for adoption when I was just a kid. Did I really want to know these people?

"Yeah," I finally said, "Could you do that for me?"

***

"You don't have to do this now, love." Brian said as my hand hovered above the doorbell.

"No, no. I'm fine." I said, but my voice shook, "I need to do this now, or I'll never do it. And I want to meet them. I think."

And finally I rang. It took a few moments, but then a woman in her late forties opened the door. She seemed to. recognize Brian.

"Brian? Is that you?"

"Mrs. Ferry. How have you been?"

"I've been well, darling. Last time I saw you, you were still in college."

"And who are you?" she asked me. She didn't seem unfriendly, just curious.

"I'm (y/n) White. Your daughter."

The woman froze. That clearly had not been answer she had been expecting.

"I... umm, found the birth certificate a few weeks ago." I began, "And I wanted to meet you."

"Come...come in, darlings."

I tried to recognize myself in her, but it wasn't easy. We had the same eyes, maybe, but that's where the similarities ended. Mrs. Ferry... mom, no that sounded wrong. Mrs. Ferry led us through the long hallway into a parlor. An old fashioned parlor. With crisp white couches and a low coffee table and fireplace covered with photos.

She asked us to sit, and then left the room, returning shortly with a tea tray in her hands. A man timidly followed her, carrying an assortment of sweets. After introductions had been made and cups of tea had been poured, we finally got down to business.

"We were young when we had you. Victor and I, we were barely 17. There was no other options that made sense." Mrs. Ferry began.

Mr. Ferry... my father... the man whose genes I had, continued, "We wanted to meet you, but we signed some papers that forbid us contact with you until you were 18."

Mrs. Ferry continued, "And by then you were in college, and we didn't want to reveal any information that might throw you off course. Your parents told me about what a bright future you had. We could never have offered you what they could. It was the best for all of us."

All those things I had been feeling. Then sadness, the betrayal, the strange sense of relief that made no sense whatsoever, all blended into one. Anger. I had never felt more angry at two people in my entire life.

"That's what everyone keeps telling me." I snarled, "That it was 'the best decision for everyone.' But was it really such a good decision to separate a child from her rightful family? Was it really such a good decision to keep it hidden from said child, only for her to find out twenty five years later when she's cleaning up the attic?"

They were silent.

"Look, I understand that you two couldn't raise a kid at 17, and I even understand why you didn't want to contact me when I was in school, but why didn't you do anything when I graduated?"

"(y/n)-"

"You know what? I need to leave." I picked up my coat and stormed out.

I heard Brian apologizing or something, but I didn't care. I ran out of the house, to our car and dug through my bag for the keys. Naturally, Brian had them. I was forced to stand in the cold air until he came out. Neither of us spoke on the way home, but unlike last time, it felt uncomfortable. I knew I had messed up, I knew I shouldn't have shouted, I knew I probably shouldn't have screamed. It was too confusing, much too confusing.

"They're good people, you know." Brian said, briefly taking his eyes off the road.

"Yeah, I know. I think I let out all my anger on them. It wasn't fair."

Brian nodded in agreement.

"I think," I started, "I think that one day, I don't know when, but one day I'm going to go back there."

#brian may x reader #brian may imagine #queen x reader #queen imagine #brian may oneshot #Brian May #freddie mercury #roger taylor #john deacon #mattie writes #fanfic

[slutforben]

Can you write very fluff headcanons of X-virus with his s/o 👉👈?

oh sure!! cody's one of my favorite pastas so this will be fun to write

also these kind of turned into general fluff headcanons but i swear his s/o is in there

x-virus/cody fluff headcanons

---

- in my headcanon, cody is actually a pretty affectionate person; his love languages are acts of service, physical touch, and gift giving, but he's actually pretty uncomfortable with words of affection, giving and receiving. he'd much rather show than tell

- i like to think of him as one of those people who wants to romanticize their life; everyday he tries to find something to look forward to and find joy in, and a lot of the times that's you!

- cody's a total love bug, but he's got conflicting feelings about romance

- a lot of the times he isn't comfortable with being shown/showing affection; he thinks that it's because in his childhood he wasn't really shown that much until he was adopted; he basically just never really got comfortable with it

- it takes a lot of trust and bond between you and him for him to open up and start being affectionate romantically; he wants to show you that he loves you but sometimes he gets uncomfortable, and it makes him feel like he isn't the best boyfriend

- on another note, he'd do anything for you; literally anything. he'd spray paint slender's face if you asked him to, although you'd have to pay for the medical bills afterwards lmao

- but he'll sit there, dorky dumb little look on his face, covered in bandages after being thrown into a wall, looking at you with all the love in the world in his eyes and a stupid lil smile

- he just loves you, even if you're the cause of him with two broken limbs and a minor concussion

- usually after missions, cody's drained. it takes a lot of work to poison then beat someone to death, sometimes entire households. he's burnt out afterwards, so what does he do to deal with that? a food date then naps <3

- his favorite thing to do is " borrow " brian's car at 2:30 in the morning, then drive into town with you, blasting 2000's pop and picking wherever you guys wanna get food

- his favorite places are old diners; the places that don't really look like anything from the outside, but on the inside there's a big-ass desert display and stoned teenagers eating their weight in pie and fried food; those are the places that make memories

- you bet that he's ordering half the menu; he just robbed and killed some poor family, of course he's gonna take their money then spend it all on pie

- his order can range from a number of things, but usually he gets a strawberry milkshake, a mushroom-swiss burger, and garlic fries, topped with ranch dressing and honey mustard sauce

- he'll sit with his food across from you, chowing down like a starving madman, and occasionally flick a fry or a dollop of whipped cream at you, just to mess with you a lil bit

- don't throw anything back though; cody isn't afraid to start a food fight in this diner

- after he's done eating his weight in garlic fries, you bet that you're gonna drive back to the manor and pass out with each other. cody's tummy is full and he's tired; all he wants to do is lay with you, covered by a bunch of blankets in a freezing cold room

- and you bet that's exactly what's happening

- let's set the scene: you get back, belly full, feeling tired, and wanting to pass out with cody. it's three am, the sun is still hidden but the moon gives you enough light to navigate cody's room; a giant bed infront of you is covered in throw blankets, all a range of dark colors, numerous large pillows, both silk and plush, and a weighted blanket to top it off. it's raining as well and the room is cold, you're so tired that you don't want to move, but cody grabs your hand and drags you over to his bed.

- first he gets in; he throws all the blankets back and climbs in. he's wearing black sweatpants and a dark grey sweater, and his hair is messed up and wild. he settles down then motions for you to join him, and you so gladly do.

- you climb in next to him and grab the blankets he previously moved. you pulled them over yourself and him, and layed down so that you're facing him. he stares at you for a second, then grabs you and pulls you into a tight hug/death grip. you die. the end

- no im kidding you don't die; he holds you while you sleep together; the rain is pounding on the window and all you can hear is his breathing and wind howling, but while you're in his arms, safe and cozy, nothing can beat this moment

---

sorry if it sucked lol i don't really know how to write fluff that well LMFAO okay but this was fun and i wanna get better at fluff but right now all i can think about is ticci toby angst

#creepypasta #creepypasta blog #creepyasta headcanon #creepypasta x reader #x virus creepypasta #x-virus x reader #creepypasta fluff #x-virus fluff

[lokifantasies]

The Trial PART 1

Summary: The long awaited trial against Evan Nichols has started, and the foundation of the case against him has been laid out.

WARNING: GRAPHIC TORTURE AND SEXUAL ABUSE EXPLAINED.

Character(s): Loki, Thor, Jade, & Evan

Read the Mischievous Life series here!

Follow Jade, Loki, and Reader!

Join the Discord here!

Taglist! (click here to join a taglist!)

Strikethrough means I can’t tag you for some reason.

@1marvelnerd3000 @agentkinghorn @angeldarkness95 @arypesanchez @chaotic-neutral-queen @donttouchmylaevateinn @emerald-alone @eyesbluelikethetitanic @fa-me @ferriswheel97 @geeky-politics-46 @holdmytesseract @iris-shihabi @itsybitchylittlewitchy @jeongadelarinia @lokistoriesblog @lougy @melianisnothere @mqrvelbvnch @mm2305 @mortallythoughtfulgurl @nms224 @prettysbliss @shraddhadeveshvikram @xoxoloverb @you-will-find-peace-someday

The trial is here. It's the day that your family has been waiting for since this whole nightmare started. Unfortunately, Loki and Jade are both adamant that you remain on bed rest for the sake of the growing baby, and you ultimately end up losing the argument when you try to force them to let you come. Loki assures you that he'll be by her side for the both of you – supporting her the entire time.

In the back of your mind, you know the stress of hearing and seeing the evidence would be too much for you, and no one wants to see anything happen to your baby. Thankfully, Thor also appears to support his niece and brother – sitting on Jade's right as Loki sits on her left.

"I don't wanna see him," Jade mutters – looking down to the floor when Evan walks into the courtroom with his parents.

The teenager looks like he's injured – his leg has a slight limp, and his eye is swollen and dark. However, the seventeen-year-old has a smug smile on his face – his ego being stroked when he sees the television cameras on him. He takes his seat in between his lawyers, and they group together to discuss something quietly. Loki, Thor, and Jade try their hardest to hear what they're saying, but they're speaking far too quietly.

"I don't understand how he could have a defense," Thor says to you and Loki. "How can anyone deny that he did what he did?"

You shrug. "I don't know, Uncle Thor. I just want this to be over with."

The prosecution begins their opening statement by laying out all the facts of the case and making it clear what Evan Nichols is being tried for. His charges are as follows:

- 1st degree aggravated kidnapping

- 1st degree sexual assault (with forcible penetration)

- 1st degree sodomy

- Conspiracy to commit a kidnapping

- Conspiracy to commit a felony

- Felony stalking

- Harassment

- Attempted murder

- False imprisonment

- Assault with a deadly weapon

The first few witnesses to testify are the first responders who saved Jade from the small space she was being held in.

"Could you please state your name for the court and how you became involved in this case?" the prosecutor, Mr. Jeff Bards, began to question the officer.

"Brian David Wilson. I'm an NYPD SWAT officer who responded to the 911 call to 4892 E Graves Road," the witness explains.

"What happened upon arriving at the address?"

The officer took a deep breath before speaking. "We, the SWAT team, forced our way inside the house, and we started searching. I began to hear some muffled pleas for help, and when I followed them, I came across the fake wall in the home's basement. After removing the fake wall, I discovered that there was a small crawl-space type room."

"Can you confirm what the photo on the screen is?" Mr. Bards asks – a photo of the tiny, dark space where Jade had been held showing up on the screen.

"Yes, that is the crawl-space," he confirms

"And where was Ms. Lokisdottir located?"

"She was located in the back corner of the crawl space. She came out from hiding when she saw me, and I pulled her out of the space," officer Wilson stops to take a deep breath and gather his thoughts – trying to push his feeling aside. "Afterward, I carried her out of the house and to the ambulance that was waiting outside."

There's silence as the officer exits the witness stand – looking towards Jade and Loki as he goes to take his seat in the rows. The other officers testify – stating similar things to what the first one did. Then, everyone hears the fateful words.

"The prosecution calls Jade Pandora Lokisdottir to the stand, please."

Loki and Thor wrap their arms around the shaking sixteen-year-old – remind her that they're right there, and if she needs to, just look at them and they'll help her.

"You can do this, my love," Loki says softly. "Just pretend you're having a conversation."

"Okay," Jade nervously breathes out.

Thor hugs his niece close before she stands up. "You are so strong, Jade...just like your parents. You got this."

Jade exhales and nods – trying to walk up to the witness stand without falling. On the way, she refuses to look at the defense's side of the courtroom – disgusted as to how anyone could defend Evan.

Oh well, everyone has a right to a defense.

For a moment, Jade looks towards Evan. A smirk appears on her face when she sees his injuries – wondering who she needs to thank for the revenge. Before Jade turns her attention away, Evan takes the chance to blow a kiss towards her – excited to watch the goddess relive the nightmare he put her through.

"Could you please state your name for the court?" the prosecutor asks – looking directly at Jade.

"Um," Jade's voice is soft against the microphone. "Jade...Pandora Lokis-Lokisdottir."

"And can you tell the court how you came to know the defendant?"

Jade takes a deep breath and exhales – looking towards Loki and Thor for support. "Ye-yes. Um, we met at the mall when my parents took me shopping before the school year started. That weekend, we went out on a date, and then we started dating."

"Were you and the defendant ever sexual?

"Not...really," Jade answers. "Um, we only ever had oral sex, but that's it. I wa-wasn't comfortable with ever going any further than that."

"So, there was never any consensual sexual intercourse?"

"No."

"How long were you and the defendant dating?"

"Four months."

"During that time, did the defendant act inappropriately towards you in any sort of way?"

Jade exhales. "Yes. The last night we hung out together, he tried to force himself on me, but he ran away and drove off when I yelled for my dad."

"Ms. Lokisdottir, can you walks us through the day of September 3rd?"

Jade shakes her head and exhales nervously – looking towards Loki and Thor for their support. This is the first time she's ever spoken about what happened to her, and hopefully, it'll be the last.

"I was...at school, and Evan told me he wanted to speak with me privately, so I followed him out into the parking lot to smoke marijuana and talk in his car. When we got to his car, though, he locked the doors, and he took off from the parking lot." Jade swallows hard before continuing. "Um...I begged for him to stop and turn around – just let me go back to school, and I wouldn't tell anyone. But he didn't. He kept driving – pulling a knife from under his driver's seat and holding it to my throat. I tried to do as he said – hoping that he'd let me go, but he never calmed down. When we arrived at his house, no one was home. H-he led me into the basement and pulled a dresser away from the wall. It was a secret room behind the wall, and he made me...uh...he made me take all of my clothes off, so I was completely nude. He put a collar around my neck, and he connected it to a bolt in the floor so that I couldn't move much. He left for, I guess a couple hours, and he left me in the dark room. I remember how cold it was. It was freezing...especially since I didn't have any clothes. When he came back, he started to...do things."

"Could you explain what things were done to you by the defendant?"

Jade's eyes begin to tear up – her breathing becoming staggered as she thinks about how to word the horrific abuse she had been put through. The looks of support from Loki and Thor, however, give her a strength that she didn't know she had.

"There was...a metal bar," Jade begins quietly – biting her bottom lip to keep her thoughts going. "He had a long lighter with him, and he started to heat the bar up. He was laughing when he pressed the hot metal to my thigh – smiling at me while I screamed in pain as my skin started to burn. There's still a burn scar on my left thigh. When the bar finally cooled down, he threw it to the side. He grabbed me by the chain leash and forced me down to my knees. With his other hand, he...took his penis out of his pants and pried by mouth open. He grabbed the back of my head and used my mouth to get himself off. No matter how much I cried, and begged, and pleaded, he didn't stop. He found it entertaining. It turned him on." Jade looks out to see Loki and Thor becoming angrier by the second, but they're trying their best to remain calm for Jade's sake – knowing that they need to be her support. "After he was...finished, he uh, forced me to lie on the dirty floor. I tried to keep my legs closed, but he punched me in the face, which caused me to jump. Before I could try to close my legs again, Evan had them spread, and he began to...force his mouth...on me. I felt his teeth bite me, and I knew I was bleeding, but it seemed to turn him on even more. H-h-he reached over and grabbed the metal rod again, and h...I'm sorry...can I just...a moment?"

"Take your time," the prosecutor assures Jade – maintaining a professional composure.

Jade exhales deeply – closing her eyes and trying to gather her courage to continue.

"H-he began to use the metal rod to...assault me. He shoved it inside me – giving me cuts and bruises. I was bleeding, but he continued to thrust it in and out of me until he was satisfied. I thought he would finally be done, and I thought he'd take me home, but then I felt him begin to...insert himself...his...penis...into me. I tried to kick him off, but he held my legs as tight as he could to stop me from moving. It...I'm pretty sure he was trying to cause me pain. Finally, I stopped fighting – wanting him to just hurry up and let me go. I tried to stop crying because I didn't want him to be anymore satisfied with himself, but when I felt his fingers start to go into...the other side, I started fighting again. He pulled me up by the chain, and he forced me to look into his eyes. I remember he said that I was now his slut, and he was going to break me until I learned to love it. After a couple of minutes...he...ejaculated into me, which later resulted in a pregnancy. Evan was still wanting more though, so he turned me over and held my face to the floor as he entered my backside. Again, ignoring my cries and screams for him to stop. I lost track of how many times he did this...I think I may have blacked out or something, or maybe my brain made me forget in order to protect me from the memory, but the next thing I remember was being alone, redressed, and I heard the police officers calling out for me."

"Thank you, Ms. Lokisdottir," the prosecutor says with a proud smile.

#loki laufeyson #loki fanfic #loki fandom #dad!loki #loki x reader #loki x you #mischievous life #ongoing series #requests open #send requests #jade lokisdottir #loki family

[imagines4thefandoms]

Oliver Queen x Daughter! Reader

“(Y/n) its time to go,” your father called as he walked through the front door.

Your eyes almost popped out of your head when you heard your father’s voice. You quickly jumped out of bed and locked your bedroom door. Scanning the room you were looking for a place to hide. The sound of your parent’s footsteps made you pick the spot under your bed. There was a knock on your door and the doorknob jiggled a little.

“sweetheart open the door please,” your mother called.

“(y/n) is not here at the moment please leave a message at the beep. BEEP,” you yelled from under the bed.

“Princess I know you’re scared but we need to go,” your father called.

Your father was bringing you to get your wisdom teeth out, not just out, surgically removed. The thought of being put under and having someone cut into your mouth scared you. You tried to beg your parents to let you not get your wisdom teeth out but they said that they needed to get taken out. This procedure has been rescheduled three times and your parents said that you need to get it done today. Your bedroom door opened and you just guessed that your father picked the lock.

“I know your scared baby but if you don’t get your wisdom teeth out you will be in pain,” your mother said as she walked into your room.

Your parents looked for you in your bathroom, closet and under the pile of clothes that are just sitting on the floor. You watched their feet move across the floor when another pair of feet walked into the room.

“She’s freaking out again,” your brother William asked.

“your sister is hiding and she need to leave for the appointment,” mom said.

Your parents and William were whispering about something. The next thing you knew the covers on your bed and your father’s blue eyes. He held out his hand and helped you out from under the bed.

“Traitor,” you glared at William.

“Lets go. I promise that everything will be okay,” your father said looking in your eyes and grabbing you by your shoulders.

“But what if it’s not. I’m going to be vulnerable. I don’t want to be put under,” you replied to your father.

“She is your child, Oliver,” your mom said rubbing his back.

Your father grabbed you and wrapped you into a giant bear hug. Your father always gave the best hugs. In that moment, you felt a little better because he is a lot of things. He is a business man, father, husband; he is arrogant and the Green arrow. But your father never breaks his promise. If he says that you will be okay, you will be okay. After your father let you go you walked to put your shoes on.

“Let’s hurry up before I freak out again,” you announced as you started walking out of the door.  

Your parents and brother followed you out of the room and your brother handed you your glasses. He laughed and messed up your hair. William always said that “(n/n) stop forgetting your glasses. I don’t know how you keep forgetting them, you're blind as a bat.” After you put the glasses on your father got his keys and the two of y’all headed to the car.

The entire drive to the dentist you were freaking out. Your legs were bouncing and you couldn’t keep your hands from shaking. Your father turned on the radio for you but the music didn’t calm you down.

“Dad, have you ever been scared,” you asked him as you turned down the radio. “I mean I know you haven’t never mind.”

“Of course I have been scared,” he replied.

“Dad, you’re the Green arrow you can’t be scared.”

“I was scared on the island and I’ve been scared ever since. It’s why I do what I do. Im always scared but instead of letting that fear take control of me, I control my fear and I do something about it. I fight to protect you, your brother, your mother, and the rest of star city.”

With that knowledge, the knowledge that even the mighty Green Arrow gets scared made you feel better. You gave a look to your father letting him know that you were ok. The two of you walked into the office and a nurse brought you back to the room. The room looks like a normal dentist office but there was this electricity in the air reminding you that you were about to have oral surgery. You sat in the chair and laid back both wanting to get the surgery over with and for the surgery to never happen.

You handed your father your glasses and then he left the room. The Doctor placed a mask over your mouth and you started to get sleepy. You woke up in a giant pink bubble. Tina the unicorn popped the bubble and let you out. A voice entered your head and it was Tina telling you to follow her. Tina lead you to a fountain full of (favorite candy). At the fountain there was an orange panda, green elephant, and purple eagle. The three colorful animals were having a tea party when a yellow monkey started jumping on the table.

“Would you like some tea (y/n),” the purple eagle asked flying over to you holding a cup of tea in his talons.

“Brian, the girl wants cookies not tea,” the orange panda replied walking on his back two paws carrying a plate of (favorite cookies).

“Hannah, leave the girl along. If you keep distracting her she is gonna mess up her sculpture,” the green elephant told the panda.

In that moment a giant pole of wood stood in front of you. A silver stake and a small hammer appeared in my hand. The yellow monkey stood next to you cheering you on. You looked to your left and saw the other animals standing in front of their own wooden polls except for the monkey. You were in a wood carving contest and the winner gets a ten foot lollipop. Little shavings of wood flew through the air as everyone started carving. You were starting to carve when a thick fog rolled in and you couldn’t see five inches in front of you. The fog was so thick that everything went dark.

You tried to open your eyes but it felt like they were glued together. After two more attempts to open your eyes they finally opened. The fog started to clear but everything was blurry.

“I can’t see i’m blind, you said freaking out.  

Your father placed a cold metal object on your face and everything cleared. Suddenly your fathers face was right in front go you making you jump and let out a little yelp. He was moving his lips like he was talking but you couldn’t hear him. You slowly sat up and your father walked over to you.

“How do you feel princess,” he asked you.

“Where is everyone? What happened to the contest,” you wondered.

“What contest?”

“The wood carving one for the giant lollipop. I want the lollipop.”

Your father let out a small laugh and he helped you stand up. The two of you walked out of the doctors office and to the car. Your father helper you into the car and buckled you in.

“Wait dad we can’t leave without Tina. She helped me get out of the bubble,” you yelled as he closed the door.

“Who is Tina,” your father asked s he climbed into the car.

“The unicorn dad. Duh. Wait no she’s competing for the lollipop leave her we have to go now,” you said stepping on the imaginary gas in front of you.

The entire ride you kept talking about the tea party and the wood carving contest. Your father gave little nods and gave a ‘yeah’ ‘really’ every once in a while.  When the car stopped at a stop light you were mesmerized by the colors. The light turned green and a realization came to you.

“I know who the green arrow is. but I can’t tell you it’s a secret,” you shouted sitting up straight.  

“Oh yeah,” he replied with a smirk.

“If I tell you, you will be in danger and the yellow monkey likes you.”

You didn’t notice when your father pulled into the driveway. He had to come to your side of the car and open the door for you. He helped you out of the car. You walked up to the front door and knocked. Your father was about to open the door but you stopped him.

“You can’t just walk in. The green arrow lives here,” you whispered.  

You knocked again and this time William opened the door confused. He looked over at y’alls father and saw him make the crazy sign. William laughed and nodded as he let you in. You were walking to the couch to lay down. As you were laying down William brought you a blanket. Suddenly you shot up right.

“I can see. My eyesight was cured,” you shouted. “Tina fixed my eyes.”

“Who is Tina,” William asked.

“Her unicorn friend,” your father replied.

“Do you have the video,” William asked dad.

Your father handed your brother a phone and they watched something on it. Your mother walked out of the kitchen with a bowl of chicken broth. She placed it on the coffee table and walked over to dad and William. All three of them looked at the phone a laughed at it.    They looked up from the phone when you started crying.

“They took my teeth mommy. Those monsters,” you cried.

“Its okay sweetheart,” she said walking over to you. She sat on the couch and held you in her arms.

“You are the best mom ever. And you have the prettiest hair,” you said playing with her hair. “Wait mom did you know that dad is the green arrow?”

She laughed and nodded. Your jaw started to really hurt so you laid back down. William brought you an ice back while your father gave you some pain pills. You were starting to fall asleep when you heard William say, “She is going to love this video.”

#oliver queen x reader #oliver queen x daughter #oliver queen imagine

[strawberriestyles]

Chapter 23

(Banner made by sweet sunshine @harry-nofookingway-styles​)

Harry X OFC (AU)

Sequel to Brutality: In which Melody and Harry must relearn how to navigate one another among a flurry of changes.

Read previous parts here.

Author’s note: HELLO EVERYBODY. BIG APOLOGIES FOR THE LONG ASS WAIT BUT HERE SHE IS. PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. I AM STILL WORKING ON THE NEXT CHAPTER AND I CAN’T PROMISE WHEN I WILL POST AGAIN, BUT HOPEFULLY IT WILL BE SOON. HOPE YOU’RE ALL WELL!!! (If you feel so inclined, I do have a ko-fi now, and coffee sure does help me on writing sprees. *wink wink*)

“Mel.” Harry skimmed a hand down the side of her neck to the bandage that covered her small cut, where she’d been sliced by Colton’s knife. For all intents and purposes, she appeared dead to the world, but she usually did when she slept this late into the day. “Melody, wake up.”

Her eyes fluttered open, vision blurry. And she jumped when she felt Harry’s hand shift on her throat, pushing him away with a gasp.

“‘S me,” he told her gently, crouching down beside the bed until he was at eye level with her, watching her face relax in realization. “‘S only me.”

“You’re okay?” she whispered. She hadn’t been able to speak to him at all the night before. He’d been whisked away for an MRI the moment they’d stepped foot in the hospital, and when she’d been allowed into his room, the pain meds they’d pumped into him had already knocked him unconscious. At some point in the middle of the night, he’d woken her and coaxed her out of her chair, into the hospital bed with him, but they’d both been too tired to speak more than a couple words before falling back to sleep.

“‘M fine,” he answered, nodding.

Melody sighed in relief. She watched Harry rest his chin on the edge of the mattress as she shifted onto her back, then rubbed at her tired eyes. “Did you hear what Brian said?” she whispered. It was almost too quiet to be a hospital. She wasn’t surprised when she glanced at the door and found it closed.

“Not last night,” he said. “Didn’ hear anythin’ anyone said last night. I was completely out of it.” He paused and then nodded slowly. “But he told me this mornin’.”

The air felt heavy. Melody had so many thoughts, but she didn’t know what any of them were. Her mind was a jumble of string, and she couldn’t find an end to yank and untangle.

“Are yeh okay?” Harry asked. He reached for her hand, dragging it across the bed and pressing his lips to her knuckles, gentle with the dark bruises from when she’d hit CJ. “Mel, yeh don’ feel bad, do yeh?” His voice was quiet, gentle. It was so different from everything she’d heard leave his mouth the day before—when he’d argued with CJ, when he’d snapped at her in the car, when he’d spoken so urgently to her and Colton. “He wouldn’ have felt bad if he hurt yeh. He didn’ regret almost killin’ me.”

Melody shook her head, sitting up. “No,” she muttered, pulling the strap of her tank top back up her shoulder. “No, of course not. It’s just...complicated.”

Harry agreed. None of this was simple. “Yeh wanna get dressed, love?” he asked. “Bea and Josie are here. And Sean went downstairs to grab us some breakfast.”

Melody glanced toward the door, nodding. “Is Vanessa here?”

Harry stood, dropping Melody’s hand to reach for the bag that Bea had brought for her. He dug beneath her dress—now rumpled and bloody—for the fresh clothes Bea had packed, tossing a t-shirt and leggings onto the bed. “She wanted to stay until yeh woke up,” he said, “but she worked a double yesterday. She went home to sleep. She said to have you call her when yeh feel like it.”

Melody glanced at her phone on the table beside the bed. Somehow, Bea had found it in her suitcase before leaving the apartment. But Melody hadn’t taken a moment to check her notifications. She knew that she’d have to talk to her mom. Speaking with Vanessa sounded a lot less dreadful, but despite the deep sleep Harry had woken her from, it was as if she had no energy left to explain what had happened. She barely had the energy to process it herself.

Trying not to fall into the vivid memories of the night before, Melody slipped her tank top off and switched it for the t-shirt Harry had laid out for her. When she’d changed her pants and raked her hands through her hair, she found Harry staring out the window, his arms crossed, his eyes unfocused.

“Are you okay?” she whispered, lifting a hand to touch his shoulder when he didn’t respond. “Harry?”

“Hm?” he murmured. He glanced down at her, dazed, and nodded. “Yeah, ‘m fine. Uh, Brian needs me to identify the body.”

Melody’s stomach seized up. If she had eaten anything since early yesterday afternoon, she might’ve been sick.

“Do you...” she began, sitting back down on the edge of the bed. “Uh, do you need me to come with you?”

“No.” Harry shook his head fiercely. He watched relief spread across her face. “No, you can just go home with Bea, yeah?”

Melody clasped her hands in her lap, her brows knitting together. “Are you sure?”

“Of course ‘m sure,” Harry said. “I can do it alone.”

The minutes of panic from the day before raced through Harry’s mind again—minutes that had seemed to last for hours. Despite his efforts to shake them, the memories had flashed like strobe lights since he’d woken up. Melody’s terrified face, Colton’s grin, the gleam of the knife, the feeling of sheer uselessness, of helplessness. And the apologies afterward, like Melody had expected to take Colton down single-handedly.

“Melody,” Harry said quietly, uncrossing his arms to press his palms into the mattress, “yeh know I didn’ expect yeh to turn around and knock him out, right?”

She pulled her lip between her teeth and turned her head away from him. Like she was embarrassed. He shook his head slowly, confused and exasperated.

“He had a fuckin’ knife to your throat,” he reminded her.

Melody sighed, staring at the wall before her. “But I—”

“But nothin’, okay?” Harry interrupted. He caught her chin, turning her face toward him. “If all yeh ended up with was this little cut,” he continued, running a finger down to the edge of the bandage on her neck, “then I don’ care. Yeh’re okay. Tha’s what matters to me.” Melody blinked silently, shivering as his fingers drifted over her skin. Harry drew in a deep breath. “And ‘m sorry for snappin’ at yeh in the car,” he added in a whisper.

Melody’s lips pursed. She reached up to grip his wrist, dragging his hand away from her neck, where his touch still tickled. “It’s fine.”

“No, ‘s not. It wasn’ fair,” he protested. “Yeh weren’ doin’ anythin’ wrong.”

Melody studied the tense lines of his face. Their conversation before arriving back at the apartment was the last thing she was worried about. It seemed weeks ago, rather than only a few hours. “How’s your head?” she asked.

Harry nodded softly. “Okay. Still aches a little, but ’m fine. How’s your hand?” He reached for the one in her lap when she merely shrugged, bending her fingers, gentle. “That hurt?”

Melody’s wince answered him. She pressed her lips tightly together. “Mhmm.”

Someone knocked at the door. Melody stiffened.

“Can we come in yet?” Bea asked, poking her head into the room. “Is she awake?”

“I’m awake,” Melody assured her, drawing her hand out of Harry’s and relaxing her sore fingers.

“Oh, good.” The door swung open as Bea entered the room, closely followed by Josie. Sean trailed after them, his hands full, hugging cups of coffee to his chest. They all looked just as tired as Melody felt, and the unbridled worry in their eyes had her fighting back a rush of tears.

“Hi,” Sean murmured, stepping in front of Bea and Josie to hand Melody some breakfast—a bagel and a container of fruit. She took the cup of coffee he handed her with a sigh of thanks. But it was quiet as he passed another breakfast off to Harry, like everyone was wondering where to start a conversation.

“Um,” Bea began, scratching at her temple, where a curl was tickling her, “how did the visit go?”

Melody took a sip of lukewarm, watery coffee and shook her head.

“Oh, no.” Bea glanced at Harry, her eyes narrowed in accusation. “What’d he do?”

Josie barked out a laugh and then clapped a hand over her mouth, turning toward the door. But the damage had already been done. Harry cocked his head at both of them, raising an eyebrow in offense.

“It was me, actually,” Melody said. She watched Bea shoot Harry a short, apologetic look and then avoid his gaze. “CJ showed up.”

“Yikes,” Bea hissed. Her nose wrinkled in distaste. “I thought he wasn’t going. Didn’t he have a tennis match or something?”

Maybe it shouldn’t have bothered him, but hearing Bea talk about CJ so casually rubbed Harry the wrong way. When had she and Melody talked about him? How did Bea know that CJ had a tennis match? And if CJ’s presence or absence was so important, why did Harry feel so out of the loop? But instead of wondering aloud, he only muttered, “Of course he plays fuckin’ tennis.”

Josie gave a dry snort, side-eyeing him. “What’s wrong with tennis?”

“Do yeh play?”

“No.”

“Then, why does it matter?”

Josie rolled her eyes and turned toward Melody. “Well, we’re kind of having the same issue,” she said, tipping her head in Bea’s direction. “My parents won’t even let me in the house.” When Harry looked blankly at her, she added, “Very religious family.”

Harry frowned, raising a brow. “Yeh work in a bar.”

Josie scoffed. “And you’re unemployed,” she snapped back. “See how rude it sounds?”

Melody set her coffee to the side and pressed a hand to her forehead when Harry opened his mouth to speak again. She was relieved that everyone was avoiding the topic of Colton, of the entire reason they were in the hospital to begin with, but this was not the sort of conversation she wanted to hear instead. “Can you both stop, please?” she muttered.

Bea sighed. “Do you wanna go home?” she asked Melody. “You’re ready?”

A swift nod later, Harry was stuffing her dirty clothes back into her bag, zipping it up and handing it over to Bea. Josie reached for Melody’s coffee.

“I’m gonna stick with Harry,” Sean said as Melody climbed off of the bed.

For the first time since she woke, she let her hand drift to her neck, to her bandaged wound. She could feel the slightest sting when she applied pressure. It was a small cut—insignificant, really—but that didn’t stop her mind from wandering. What if Colton had kept a better grip? What if she hadn’t slipped so perfectly from the circle of his arm? And what if Harry hadn’t been so lucky? What if he’d suffered more than that skull-splitting headache?

“Melody,” Harry whispered. She blinked and he was standing in front of her, rubbing his chin, the skin smooth and shaven so neatly for meeting her parents. He lifted his other hand and his fingers circled her wrist, drawing her arm back to her side. She hadn’t realized she’d still been touching the bandage. “Are yeh still here?”

“What?” she murmured back.

He drew in a slow breath and shrugged. “Yeh space out when yeh’re stressed,” he explained. “Sure yeh’re okay?”

Melody glanced down at his hand, still looped around her wrist, his thumb dancing across the thin bones. “Yeah,” she said. “I’m fine.”

He nodded briefly, though he didn’t believe her in the slightest. “I’ll go right back to the apartment when ‘m done here, okay?” He waited for a nod or a hum, some form of acknowledgment, but it didn’t come. “Mel.”

She shook her head, as if waking from a daze, and looked up to meet his eyes. “Okay.”

Harry pressed his palm to the side of her face, thumbing over her cheekbone. The skin beneath her eyes was dark and swollen, her lips raw from all of her constant chewing, the bruise at her chin only just beginning to yellow. She looked like she’d been dragged through hell, and maybe she had. Maybe this was her personal hell.

“See yeh soon,” Harry breathed, ducking to press a swift kiss to her forehead. He stepped aside so that Bea and Josie could usher her out of the room, and he watched until they disappeared around the edge of the doorway.

“Are you ready?” Sean asked when they were alone, clapping Harry’s shoulder with a firm hand. “Might as well get it over with, right?”

“Right,” Harry muttered. He dragged a palm down his face, setting his shoulders. Even if he wasn’t ready, time wasn’t going to pause until he could collect himself, so he would fake it. The same way Melody faked that calm stolidity.

“Let’s go.”

***

The following days were uncomfortable. Melody’s apartment, the place she’d made her own, the space she’d spent so much time occupying, no longer seemed to belong to her. There was a dull spot in the floor where Bea had scrubbed at Colton’s dried blood. And no matter how hard she tried to remember that he’d only spent minutes inside, whereas she’d lived there for years, Melody couldn’t stop picturing him in the kitchen, imagining him stepping through the door behind her while she was letting her suitcase topple over, unaware. Somehow, he seemed so much more present when his actual presence was impossible. He was no longer a distant figure standing in the shadows, but he’d already come and gone, and forgetting how it had felt to be pressed against him, his clammy hand tangled in her dress, was not going to happen overnight. He was a ghost, lurking in the corners, breathing down the back of her neck.

Harry was at a loss. When he’d helped ease Melody’s nightmares those months ago, he’d felt purposeful, useful, maybe even needed. But nothing he did now seemed to lessen the strain. He could comfort her when she woke in a fit, but he couldn’t keep Melody’s bad dreams at bay. And it was eating at him. He wished she could share with him, that he could press his forehead to hers and lighten the load she carried, or that he could at least understand the terror that still gripped her while she slept. That same agonizing helplessness that he’d felt when Colton had tried pulling her out of the apartment—Harry felt it spark in his gut each time Melody awoke in tears.

And to add to it, Colton’s face seemed permanently etched into the backs of Harry’s eyelids. Not his sneer or his chafing laughter, not that sharp smirk that he liked to wear—the cold, lifeless face he wore in death. It was the calm face that had appeared when the coroner had unzipped that black body bag in the morgue. Harry had never seen Colton look so peaceful and still. He’d always been moving. Even in sleep he mumbled and twitched. Seeing him so utterly devoid of noise and movement made the finality of it all almost palpable.

Harry’s mind was constantly churning now. The length of time for which he could focus seemed to wane as his thoughts flitted by like frames in a film reel. He was somewhere else entirely when he felt the electric force of Melody’s right-handed swing through the mitt she aimed for.

Her next punch came harder.

His eyes, which had been passively following her form—watching her muscles twist and her limbs stretch in order to gauge where to position his mitts—snapped to her face. Her skin was sheeted in sweat, strands of hair plastered to her temples. The red in her cheeks only highlighted the raw, torn skin of her chewed lips.

“Mel,” Harry tried. She wasn’t looking at him. He wasn’t sure if she was even registering that he was behind those mitts or if she’d simply clocked out. Her torso twisted back and forth with the brutal speed of her alternating hits. “Melody,” he tried again, raising his voice to cut through her stupor, “tha’s enough.”

Melody redirected her arm mid-swing. The change in course threw her off-balance and she stumbled sideways, toward the boxing ring beside them. Harry caught her with an arm around her waist before she fell completely. The two of them froze for a moment. Then Melody’s head swung, her eyes darting about the gym until she was satisfied that nobody was watching them.

A strangled whimper passed her lips. Harry’s arm tightened on her sweaty torso, pressing her into his chest. “Shh,” he murmured softly, batting the mitts from his hands with a couple of impatient flicks, “shh.” He stepped backward, lifting her off her feet and swinging her into the hallway that led to the locker rooms. It was quieter here.

Harry set Melody down, propping her against the closest wall. He took a short step back and leaned down until he could see her face clearly, brushing hair away from her cheeks, noting the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

“Yeh’re fine, love. Wha’s wrong?”

Melody swallowed, then blinked, and in the next second she was tearing at the velcro of her right glove and flinging it to the floor, then closing the space which separated her from Harry, grasping the back of his neck as he began to draw away. She pulled at him until she could reach his lips and kissed him with a firm mouth. His palms tightened on her jaw for a moment, his lips stilled with surprise. There was a moment before he kissed her back, and then it only lasted for a heartbeat. He reached behind him for her wrist, withdrawing her fingers from his hair, his other hand slipping over her side.

“Melody,” he breathed, pushing against her hip to add space between them. “Mel, hey.”

Melody relented, flattening against the wall, squeezing her eyes shut. “I’m sorry,” she whispered as she tipped her head back, peeling her eyes open to look up at the ceiling. The tears that had collected began to drip down her face, one by one.

Harry shook his head in confusion. “Wha’s goin’ on?” he asked gently, reaching for her face again. He drew his thumbs through the wet tracks streaking her cheeks. “I thought yeh’d feel better.”

Melody let out a garbled sob, twisting her head until she could see out into the rest of the gym. Everyone else continued on, oblivious.

“Melody,” Harry pressed.

“It’s not fair!” she cried, dipping her chin for a moment and finally freeing her other hand from its glove. When she looked up again, she met his gaze head-on. “It’s not fair that he almost killed you and now he’s just gone. And I still close my eyes and see his face like he’s right in front of me. And what he did to you and what he did to me, we have to live with that for the rest of our lives and he just gets to—” She cut herself off with a hiccuped gasp. Her eyes dropped to the collar of Harry’s shirt. She could see the pulse in his neck before his face lowered into her line of sight.

“Die?” Harry finished, a deep, troubled divot between his brows. “He’s dead,” he said slowly. “Yeh’d rather be dead?”

Melody deflated beneath his stare, shaking her head.  “No,” she whispered.

“No,” he repeated. His fingers traced her cheekbone. “Yeh’re safe, love.”

“I don’t feel like it.”

The words felt like a wicked blow. It was merely weeks ago that she’d said differently. You make me feel safe, Harry. But he schooled his features and nodded curtly.

“Maybe yeh don’ feel like it yet, but yeh are.”

Melody shut her eyes, collecting herself. She felt Harry’s lips at her temple, but then his phone rang, loud and shrill, and both of them jumped. She wiped her lingering tears with the back of her wrist as Harry stepped back, glancing down at the screen. She met his pause with a frown.

“Who is it?”

Harry cleared his throat, flashing her a brief, vague look. “‘S my mum.”

Melody drew in a breath, nodding. “Answer it.” She waited for him to move, but he seemed frozen, still as a wax sculpture. “Harry,” she said, “answer the phone.”

He gave a sharp nod and then spun around, bringing the phone to his ear. Melody watched him move further down the hall, his voice a low murmur, and then she stepped back into the main area of the gym to offer him a modicum of privacy. His mitts lay abandoned on the floor. She pressed her shoulders into the wall and slid down to sit, stretching her legs out before her.

It seemed like only minutes had passed before Harry stepped around the corner. Melody glanced up at him, but he was staring across the room, his expression drawn, impassive. He slid down the wall beside her, settling on the floor, and threw his arms over his crooked-up knees.

“What’s wrong?” Melody asked. She reached for his hand when he didn’t respond, her heart pounding so hard that her chest ached. “Harry?”

“She’s in remission.”

Melody froze, her fingers partly intertwined with his. “What?”

He nodded, confirming that she’d heard him correctly.

“That’s great,” she said. She studied his profile—the hard set of his jaw, the troubling, cool stare. “That’s incredible. Why don’t you look happy?”

Harry let out a dry laugh, his fingers closing around Melody’s, still avoiding her eyes. “She called to tell me good news, and then we had to talk about how her son is dead.”

Melody licked her dry lips. She hadn’t even considered that Harry might not have spoken to his mother since everything had happened. And she certainly hadn’t thought about his mom’s heartache. She’d been consumed by her own fear and the lack of good sleep she’d been getting. And now she felt guilt gnaw at her.

“What did she say?” she whispered.

“Not much.” Harry’s jaw tightened. He reached up to rake a hand through his hair. “I don’ think she really has any words.”

As she watched him, Harry’s stone face cracked. It was small, just a rapid blink and a twitch of his mouth, and anyone else probably wouldn’t have noticed, but Melody reached for him. She turned her body, pressing a kiss to his cheek, sliding an arm around his neck and stroking his hair. Harry closed his eyes, effectively blocking out everyone around them.

“Just—‘m not upset that he’s gone. ‘M relieved.” He sighed, shivering at the tickle of Melody’s hair on his neck. “‘M so fuckin’ relieved. And that feels wrong when my mum has to grieve for him.”

A wave of frustrated anger swept through Melody. The same feeling that had her swinging mindlessly at Harry’s mitts. It wasn’t fair.

“It’s not wrong, Harry,” she said firmly. She pulled back enough to look at him, but his eyes remained closed. “He was her son but he wasn’t your brother. You experienced a different person from the one that she knew. You’re allowed to feel whatever you’re feeling, okay? But what you don’t need to feel is guilty.”

His eyes opened again. He watched the men in the boxing ring, one backing the other into a corner, a rapid duck as a fist swung, just missing its mark. He could feel Melody’s gaze.

“You never say anything back,” she muttered. “Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Yeah.” Harry nodded. He turned to look at her. “Yeah, I do.”

Her deep frown softened, her brow relaxing. “Good,” she said.

“‘M not—” Harry’s gaze swept over the room once more. Melody watched his jaw shift. “I don’ wanna be here.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, drawing in a loud breath and climbing to her feet. “Let’s go.”

Harry pulled himself up to stand beside her, and together they collected their equipment, stuffing their gym bags, and trailed through the city back to Melody’s apartment.

#harry styles #harry styles writing #harry styles series #harry styles fluff #harry styles angst #harry styles au #harry styles x ofc #boxer!harry #boxer!au #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles ferocity

[tuiccim]

Solace (Part 9)

Pairing: Bucky X Reader

Words: 2375

Warnings: Angst.

Summary: You are Bucky’s source of comfort and he’s your source of heartbreak.

Solace Complete Series Masterlist

After a slightly awkward lunch that afternoon, everyone moved to the drawing room as usual. You had planned to ride into town for some errands. When you mentioned this to the group, Bucky immediately asked to go with you. 

“Oh, um, do you know how to ride?” You ask. 

“Ride what?” Bucky asks, confused. 

“A horse.” You say. 

“Not really.” 

“We’ll start your education in the morning.” You laugh, “Bri, can I borrow one of the cars?”

“Of course. You know where the keys are.” Brian replies. 

You smile wickedly and walk quickly to the door. 

Brian immediately clarifies his statement, “Not the Healey!”

“Did you hear something?” You ask Bucky. 

Bucky, catching on, says, “Not a thing.” And ushers you out the door with a hand on your back. 

You hear Brian’s voice as the door closes but can’t make anything out and giggle as you head to the garage. Once inside you go over to the lock box and type in the code. You retrieve the keys for the Austin Healey 3000 and smirk at Bucky, “I’ve never gotten to drive it.”

“Brian seems a little protective of it.” Bucky says.

“It was his grandfather’s. He loves this car.” You show Bucky to the dark green, vintage car. “I’m surprised you don’t know how to ride a horse.”

“I’ve ridden one before but it’s been a while.” Bucky says almost defensively. 

“Oh, okay. What did you need from town?” 

“Nothing really. I just wanted to get some time alone with you.” Bucky covers your hand resting on the gear shift. 

“Oh.”

“Are you still angry with me?” Bucky asks. 

“Yes and no. I’m angry you wouldn’t talk to me and at the same time I understand your fears. I’m feeling very ambivalent.”

“Ambivalent? I thought that meant you didn’t care.” Bucky says.

“It means you have strong contradictory feelings.” You say.

“That means you have strong feelings for me at least.” Bucky teases. 

You let out a sharp laugh, “Yeah, yeah, it does. I missed this side of you. You know, the side that talks.” You jab him in the ribs with your elbow. 

“Me, too. I appreciate that you never turned me away. All the times I needed you. And I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you in the same way.”

You nod unsure of what to say. You get to the small town near the manor and stop at a few of the familiar shops. Some of the owners know you from your youth and greet you as an old friend. When you enter the little bookshop you've frequented whenever you were in town the owner, Mr. Cavendish, greets you enthusiastically, "Why, our American girl has returned to us! How are you, dear?"

"I'm very well, Mr. Cavendish. How are you?" You smile at him.

"Fit as a fiddle and happy as a clam." He says. "And who's this strapping young lad with you?"

"This is my friend, Bucky Barnes. He's visiting from America." You supply.

"Hello, sir." Bucky says.

"Hello." Mr. Cavendish looks at you again, "Boyfriend?"

"Mr. Cavendish." You chide.

"Well, you know we're all waiting for you and Lord Falsworth to finally get hitched. I was wondering if this good looking lad was the reason you hadn't!" Mr. Cavendish chuckles to himself.

You put your face in your palm and just shake your head. "I'm going to go look for… something." You wander the store and gather a few items while Bucky stands at the front thumbing through a book. Mr. Cavendish minds his tongue while you check out and you and Bucky head back to the car. "I'm sorry about that. Small town life. Everyone's in everyone's business and rumors and speculation fly wild."

"They aren't too far off base, are they?" Bucky looks at you. 

"Oh, there are others who would be appalled at the Lord of the manor marrying the American orphan." You roll your eyes. 

"What was it like growing up here?"

"Uncle Michael was good to me. He took in a 14 year old he met once and helped me deal with my parents dying and having my entire life changed. He was a very good man. Sometimes I wonder if I hastened his death though. He had a heart attack and died in his sleep when I was 17. The Falsworth's took me in for the remainder of schooling. They were wonderful to me. Jackie was already my best friend. We kept each other in check. Didn't let the other get too wild. We still managed to get into plenty of mischief though. Most people here were wonderfully kind. I love it here. To me, it's home."

"Would you ever plan to live here again?" He asks.

"Well, I'm blessed that I have dual citizenship in the UK and the US. So, I have the option. My plan has always been to retire here. Where's home for you, Bucky?"

"Brooklyn, I guess. Really, wherever my family will be when I have one." Bucky shrugs.

"You want kids?" You ask.

"Yeah."

"A Bucky, Jr.! Oh my goodness!"

Bucky chuckles, "What about you? Do you want kids?"

"Yeah. I do. Always have."

"I bet you'll be a great mom."

"Thanks. I'm sure you'll be an amazing dad." Your heart flip-flops at his beautiful smile. You turn away to put your things in the boot of the car. Bucky's hand on your arm turns you back to him. He's looking at you with a tender expression and cups your face.

"Can I kiss you, please?" Bucky asks. 

You glance around nervously before nodding. Bucky kisses you gently. His lips flirt with yours for just a minute before he pulls back aware of the public setting you are in. "I've been desperate to do that."

You take his metal hand that's still holding your face and pull it to your lips for a kiss. "We need to head back."

Bucky nods and walks around to open the car door for you. Your heart is pounding. Your mind is a jumble of confusion. And there's a part of you that feels so wrong for having kissed both Brian and Bucky within hours of each other. Shame wells in you. You text Jackie quickly telling her you are on your way back and you need to talk. 

You walk into the hall and Jackie is waiting for you.

"There you are, dearest! I'm in need of your expertise. Bucky, the boys are in the library playing pool if you'd like to join them."  She says.

"Okay, thanks." Bucky takes the hint.

As soon as the door to your room is closed, Jackie asks, “What’s going on, dearest?”

“I kissed Brian and Bucky in the same day. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know who to choose. I’m going crazy and trying to stay calm on the outside, but I think I might…”

“Okay, okay. Dearest, take three deep breaths for me.” Jackie says calmly, stalling your torrent of words. You comply immediately realizing you had been babbling incoherently. “Good. Do you feel a little calmer?”

You smile at your best friend, “Yes, I’m sorry.”

“Start from the beginning. The beginning of Brian. I saw you two dancing in the drawing room the other day. We hadn’t talked about it. Start there.” Jackie directs.

You tell her about the dance you shared in the drawing room, the almost kiss earlier in the day, the appearance of Bucky, the discussion with him, the crying on Brian’s shoulder and the kiss, and finally the trip into town and kiss there. “I feel like such a jerk.”

“It was just a kiss, dearest.” Jackie says.

“I actually meant that I feel like I’m being a jerk to you. I’m talking about your brother and your boyfriend’s best friend.”

"Steve's not exactly my boyfriend." Jackie corrects. 

You roll your eyes at her, "Right. I'm so confused, Jack. I have feelings for both of them. I never thought Brian felt that way. I mean, I always had a little crush on him when we were younger but he was my best friend's older brother. Of course, I had the hots for him! And Bucky, I had this amazing connection when we met and even after he stopped talking to me it was still there. Every time we were together. I really have so many feelings right now."

"And they're not going to resolve themselves in the next five minutes. It's going to take a little time to sort them out. And both have agreed not to pressure you and give you the space you need to figure it out. Take a couple of weeks to really get through your feelings. This isn't a small decision." Jackie says calmly. 

"Brian said that no matter what I decide I'll still be family." You look at Jackie apprehensively. 

"Whoever you choose, you're my sister. No matter what." Jackie wraps her arms around you. 

"Jackie…"

"Yes?"

"They're both really good kissers." You look at Jackie and the two of you dissolve into giggles. 

--

At dinner that night you look over and Steve and Bucky and ask, "When do you have to go back?"

"Day after tomorrow." Steve says.

"I hope none of you mind. I reserved a box for us tomorrow evening at the theater. We'll go to dinner, see the show, and perhaps go to a club afterwards." Brian smiles at you as he speaks. 

"We can stay at the brownstone. It will be closer to the airport." Jackie says.

"The brownstone?" Steve asks.

"Yes, we have one in London." Jackie says. 

"That was very kind of you, Brian. What show?" You ask, excitement clear on your face.

"Noises Off." He smiles at you, knowing it's one of your favorites.

You light up, "I love that show!" You turn to Steve and Bucky, "It's hilarious!"

"Sounds like fun, Doll." Bucky smiles at you. 

"Are we all going riding in the morning?" Brian asks. 

"I told Bucky I'd educate him a bit on riding. You'll go too, won't you, Steve?" 

"Of course." Steve gives a stiff smile.

"It'll be fun." Jackie smirks. 

The rest of the evening is quiet. A few games of pool and a couple of drinks before everyone decides to turn in. The brandy is working it’s usual magic and you drift off to sleep quickly. It was a couple hours later when a knock sounds at your door. You’re shaking the grogginess from your mind when the door opens and Jackie’s silhouette is framed by the light in the hall. 

“Jackie? What’s the matter?” You say.

“Bucky. He won’t ask for you but he... he’s having a rough night.” Jackie says, her arms wrapped around herself.

When you enter Bucky’s room you find him hyperventilating on the floor beside the bed with his knees to his chest and Steve beside him with his arm around him.

“It’s okay, man, just breathe.” Steve says to him.

“Bucky.” His eyes snap to yours as you kneel in front of him. You take his flesh hand and put it over your heart so he can feel the rise and fall of your chest. “Breathe with me, baby.” Bucky’s eyes stay locked with yours as he manages to slow his breathing to your rhythm after several minutes. “Good. Come on, Buck.” You encourage him to stand. Steve helps him and then retreats to the doorway with Jackie. You climb onto Bucky’s bed and put your back against the headboard with your legs out in front of you. Bucky follows you onto the bed and lays down with his head on your thigh as he always has. 

“We’ll leave you guys alone.” Steve says and you nod at him. Jackie gives you a small smile and leaves with Steve.

You run your fingers through Bucky’s hair, rub his scalp, and trace his hairline with your fingertip. He wraps a hand around your lower leg, rubbing his face into your thigh and breathing deeply of your scent. After some time he whispers, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay, Buck. I’ve got you.” Your hands continue to work through his hair. 

“I love this. This time with you. I savored it every time it happened. I had to force myself to get up and leave. I never wanted to.” Bucky tells you. 

“You didn’t have to. You could have stayed. I would never have turned you away.” You respond sadly. 

“I know that now. I’m so sorry.” Bucky squeezes your leg gently. 

“You’re forgiven, Bucky. I understand the why behind it. It still hurts but I forgive you.” 

Bucky turns his head to place a kiss on your thigh, “Thank you.” Bucky sits up and pulls you into his arms. He looks at your mouth and then to your eyes as if asking permission. You give a slight nod and his mouth melds to yours. He pours all the passion he’s bottled up the past months into the kiss. His tongue demands entry and you willingly comply. He pulls you as close to his body as he can. Fitting you together as if you were two puzzle pieces. Your hands twine in his hair as you explore each other's mouths. You feel your body ignite as Bucky kisses you but in the back of your head you feel your emotions warring. Bucky shifts and lays you under him while never breaking the kiss. His hand presses to your waist and you feel him slowly moving the hem of your shirt up. Your hand flies to his and stops his progress. Breaking the kiss, you push Bucky back up into a sitting position. 

“No.” You say gently. “We can’t.”

“I’m sorry, Doll. I just want you so much.” Bucky says as he captures your lips again. You allow him one more kiss.

“I won’t do that to Brian under his own roof.” You say firmly. “Especially since I haven’t decided yet.”

“I’m sorry, Doll.” Bucky says again. “I’m trying.”

“I know. I should go.” You slide off the bed and walk towards the door. 

As you open it to leave you hear Bucky’s voice, “Hey.” You turn back to him. “I love you.”

“Sleep well, Bucky.” You whisper as you close the door.

Part 10

@bubbabarnes @badassbaker @thefridgeismybestie

Solace: @supernaturalwintersoldier @selinbaskaya @putinovertime @smokeandnailz @fallenoutofrose @chipilerendi @fanfuckingtastic04 @youaremyfiveever @kolakube9 @captainamerica-is-bae @dora-the-grownup   @wakeupjackthisisntfair

Masterlist

#bucky #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky fanfic #bucky love #bucky angst #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes fanfic #I love Bucky #marvel #marvel fanfic #marvel bucky #avengers #avengers fanfic #solace #tuiccim #winter soldier #the winter soldier #love triangle #writing this is killing me #union jack #brian falsworth #spitfire

[wendystales]

Memories - lrh (Chapter Sixteen)

Memories (also on Wattpad)

Chapter Fifteen ※ ※ ※ ※ ※ Chapter Seventeen

Luke pov.

“Do it again.” Ashton asks, staring at me intently.

We were about to leave my house for my surprise party, which I discovered in less than an hour. I was rehearsing a face of surprise so as not to end the surprise, cause I know everyone worked hard for it.

I widen my eyes, breaking into a smile.

“I can't believe you deceived me.” I say with my voice altered by the ‘surprise’.

“Don't say that, it will be very obvious that you know. Says ‘I can't believe you threw a party for me’.” he suggests.

"I can't believe you threw a party for me." I redo the entire acting.

“Yep! Me either. But what doesn't M&Ms ask, that I don't do?” Ash dries the water bottle with a shrug. “I'm just kidding.” he laughs after seeing my face.

“Speaking of her…” I fill my glass with some more wine, since it's too early for us to go. “Something new?” Ashton denies, frustrated too.

“I commented that she was acting weird, but she just changed the conversation and said that she's been busy and that she was nervous about the party.” he sighs. I massage my forehead, annoyed.

"Am I going to have to put her against the wall to get something?" I look at him, not knowing what to do.

“You know this isn't going to work. She's going to run away, you're going to fight, she's going to walk away and you're going to be more annoying than you already are.” I appreciate my friend's attempt to change the mood with provocation, but it has no effect.

"I can't find any reason to give me any sign of what's going on. Was it my fault? I knew I shouldn't have stayed with her that Saturday, I pushed the situation too hard and now she's pulling away, avoiding me-”

“Oh shut up! Don't even start with that.” Irwin raises his voice, cutting mine off. "Marnie isn't like that, she doesn’t do these things. If she wasn't comfortable she was going to talk. You said yourself that she asked you to sleep there. She let you pick her up on Monday and asked you to take her home, even after you dedicated Best Years to her. She didn't run away there, because it was remarkable how much she liked the song. You should pay more attention to the way she looks at you.”

A silly laugh escapes my lips when I see Ashton imitate her looking at me and smiling. My heart warms at the possibility that she is actually falling in love with me, just as I already am with her.

"Luke, if she didn't want to get back together, she wouldn't open up so many gaps and opportunities for you to be together. She must just be confused about the feelings. That's how it looked for the first time. Look, let's analyze her behavior today, after all the stress of the party and then we get stressed.”

I agree with my friend. I'm freaking out over something that shouldn't be very important. Maybe it's all the pressure with finishing the album. The release date is approaching and sure enough, Jim freaking out in my ear for the publicity trip we were supposed to be doing, but we're still going against it due to Marnie's accident.

I don't know how many times I have to tell him I'm not leaving LA yet. This delay wasn't hindering anything, so I don't know why he makes such a point.

“Go, get rid of that dead face and let's enjoy your party.” Ash slaps my shoulder.

We left the house, heading to Jack's house, where the party would be. I've been training my face the entire way, wanting it to be as realistic as possible, even though everyone already suspects that I know.

Even if I didn't know it, the moment I see the street full of cars, I realize that I would find out there. Irwin tells them we're coming and I notice the noise of the music fade away. Discreet.

We entered the house, finding everything quiet and tidy. But when we turn to the kitchen and garden, a lot of people scream in surprise. I take a step back, like I'm really shocked.

"I can't believe you did that." I look at Ash, wanting to see that I did well. But his expression ‘so so’ disappoints me.

“In the car it was better.” he says before walking away and letting people get closer.

I don't know how many people I hugged, but I know the only one I wanted to see was the last one to arrive. I hold my breath, seeing her in a black leather skirt and a transparent black blouse, highlighting her tattoo between her breasts.

I swallow hard, cracking a nervous smile as she approaches with a huge grin, almost jumping into my lap. Unlike yesterday, where I just got a congratulations message, M&Ms hug me, leaving a lingering kiss on my cheek.

“Happy Birthday!” the gleam in her eyes proves to me she's already a little high.

I resist the urge to steal a kiss from her lips, just kissing her cheek back but giving her waist a squeeze, pressing her against my body. She seems to notice my intent, drastically changing her breathing.

"I wanted to talk to you later. If possible.” I say against her ear.

“About?” her eyes sweep me for any clues.

“Surprise.” I reveal, seeing her roll her eyes in agreement.

I watch her walk away with the girls, but she doesn't fully break eye contact with me, looking at me from afar. I let out a breath, realizing it's going to be a long night and another long battle to resist her and the urge to take her to a dark corner.

In the kitchen, where most of the drinks are, I start my work, drinking the alcohol, enjoying the burning sensation that the liquid leaves in my throat. I get distracted with video game conversation and allow my mind to relax with lighter, more relaxed topics.

The party had been going on for a few hours. My head is already light, due to the high alcohol content my body retains. I know I'm laughing at some bullshit Brian is talking about, even though his words don't make any sense in my mind. Maybe I've already had too much to drink and it's better to stop for a while. I don't want to be sick at my own party.

The term vibrates in my mind and I start searching the crowd for the cotton candy hair, worried about her condition. The feeling pulls my head out of the air, sobering me up for a few minutes.

I find her dancing hand in hand with Noah, laughing at the older man's exaggerated steps. I stare at the scene, happy that she is enjoying herself. Unlike at the beginning of the week, Marnie is now upbeat and not acting. Maybe Irwin is right and she was just stressed about the birthday party.

I push my thoughts away, concentrating on yet another beer pong game. I've played more times than I could count and I'm starting to doubt the two arms Jack has won since my last drink.

“Problems.” Michael sings beside me, pointing to the door. Pam walked in smiling excitedly, holding hands with a guy who sure as hell didn't want to be there. It's not possible…

Sobriety hits me like a cannon. All the alcohol and smoke that was in my body is gone and I am able to think clearly for the first time since I arrived.

I massage my forehead, bringing my gaze to Marnie, who's already staring at Pam without a specific expression. I cross the room with incredible ease, reaching for her, hugging her waist, pulling her to me.

“We can talk now?” Marnie didn't even seem to hear me, still staring at Pam, who was greeting some people. "M&Ms?" I call closer to her ear, but no effect. “Hey!” I drop a kiss to her temple, squeezing her waist.

Her green eyes cross mine and I can palpate the insecurity in them. Marnie just nodded, letting me lead her out of the room. We went up to a room, being alone. I look at her face, still half lost, and I approach slowly, feeling that little box weigh tons in my pocket.

“What do you want to talk about?” she gives a slight smile, turning her full attention to me.

“First I wanted to apologize for Pam. I didn't know what she was going to come.” Marnie rolls her eyes, shrugging.

“It’s OK! No need to apologize. My head is so full I don't even care about her anymore.” she sits up in bed, crossing her legs.

“And I believe she won't even mind us today, after all, she came with someone” I sat beside her.

“Yeah! Poor guy.” I let out a laugh at her pity for the poor boy. “It was just that?”

I lose myself in her eyes for a few seconds, wondering if that's all. I draw her face in my mind once more, recording every feature I fell in love with. My lips tingle as I landed my eyes on her mouth, slightly reddened by the drink.

At another time, right now she and I would be locked in some bathroom or bedroom, succumbing to desire and the alcohol in our blood. My fingertips ache amidst the memories of all the times I have run across her skin, feeling it burn under my touch.

My mind starts to cloud and the flashes of the two of us become more and more vivid. I try to push those thoughts away, but they seem to sink into my mind with force. My body heats up with every scene my mind plays. I feel the blood running the wrong way and I don't know how to stop it.

"Luke?" I'm startled by your touch on my hand. Marnie was looking at me with a mixture of curiosity and concern. “Are you okay?” I watch her hand squeeze mine, like she always did when I was angry or upset.

And just with that touch, everything stops inside me. The fire is gone and now I'm seized by a gigantic pain and rage in my chest, a rage for her being ripped from me so abruptly. I stare at her fingers moving gently, transmitting a caress throughout my body.

"Luke?" now she was looking at me extremely worried.

“Sorry. I think the drink hit.” I open a smile, trying to calm her down. M&Ms don't seem to buy much, but she smiles smugly.

“I already told you you're drinking a lot. In a little while you'll be passed out and won't even enjoy your own birthday party.” my smile widens in the midst of her care. "Don't give me that smile." she pushes my face away. "Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

“No!” this time I answer faster. “Actually, I wanted to give you something.” I fish the little white box in my pocket, feeling my fingers as soft as jelly. What if she doesn't like it? What if she gets angry?

“You know it's your birthday, right? You're the one who should get presents, not give. Especially for me.” she looks at me angrily, not wanting to accept the box.

"Well, it's my birthday and I'll do what I want, in which case I give it to you." I place the object in her hands. “I wanted to wait until your birthday, but it's still far away and I can't take it.” I lift my shoulders quickly, making her laugh.

Taking advantage of the fact that she was involved with the present, slowly, I move closer to her body, contenting myself with the least contact we have. I notice Marnie hold her breath at the sight of the blue quartz necklace, just like the one she had.

With no more reaction than that, I start to convince myself that I've fucked up and she hated it. It wasn't the time yet, as much as everything was going well, it wasn't the time yet.

“I can't believe you did this.” her voice comes out in a breath in surprise. I let my mind race to our first Christmas, where she gave me my necklace and I gave that star to her.

“If you don't like it…” my voice trails off as I see her eyes watery and filled with joy. It was the right time.

I'm not afraid to advance towards her, covering your lips with mine in a short kiss. The cherry taste becomes my favorite for the rest of the night. Marnie wipes her tears as she calls herself pathetic for crying.

"I know we used it as a dating ring, but it doesn't have to be-”

"Could you put it on for me?" she interrupts me, not caring about my fear. With my hands still trembling and cold, I close the necklace around her neck, enjoying the scene of her smiling enchanted by that stone. “Thanks!”

This time it is she who steps forward, stealing a kiss. The mood changes drastically. The screams outside seem to die in my ears, leaving only silence. The music that used to burst had ceased to exist.

That little kiss breaks, but she doesn't pull away, keeping her forehead still glued to mine. I'm startled when her eyes return to mine, I can see her perfectly there, in front of me, in my arms. I recognize that glow, that look and what it wanted to convey.

It was her there. The reason I get up every morning. The reason that makes me want to be better and better. The person I always want to impress. My girl. My Marnie.

I bring my hand to the back of her neck, bringing our lips together once more. I feel goose bumps as our tongues touch and her hand cups my face, holding me there. If she knew the last thing I want is to run away…

I'm surprised I feel despair on her side. The urgency on her lips. The need for the touch of her hands, the way they ran through my hair, the back of my neck and chest.

Easily, I pull her onto my lap, moaning, feeling her body against mine after so long. The fire that had previously ceased inside me, runs again through my veins, making everything too cloudy. I can't reason whether this was right or not. We both drink too much. She still hasn't given me full openness to so much attitude, even though she's still here, kissing me.

I try for a few minutes to clear my mind, to be a little rational and not get carried away by emotion, but the sound her mouth makes when I touch her neck with my lips ruins whatever train of thought I was building.

I touch the exact spots that make her moan and scramble for more friction. I watch thirstily as her eyes roll back and her lip is bitten in an attempt to control the moans. Her nails scratch the back of my neck, releasing an electric current that migrates between my legs.

I gasp when I feel her rub against my groin, spreading a current throughout my body. I want to beg her to do it again, but it's not really necessary, she knows and she does. So excruciating, but so good. Again I am startled to find that glow that I knew so much. I wonder where this Marnie was all along.

I shove my hand inside her shirt, enjoying her burning skin. I stroke the spot below her bra with my thumb, wanting not to frighten her. I suck the skin under her ear, lapping it with my tongue. My body combusts as she stirs and presses her crotch harder against mine. I cup her breast with enjoyment, hearing her call my name the way I liked it best.

Her desperate hands run inside my jacket, wanting to throw it away. I was ready to help when a heavy knock on the door disrupts our moment.

"What the fuck is it?" anger rips up my throat, causing a very angry scream. So much time to interrupt.

"It's time to cut the cake." I hear Calum's voice and feel like throwing him from the second floor.

“Serious? Stick the cake in your-” two small hands cover my mouth, preventing me from continuing.

“We're on our way, Cal.” Marnie yells louder and breathless.

I watch your body soften, lost and, I fear, even regretful. She is no longer there. She avoids looking at me, perhaps out of shame.

“It was better this way.” her sweet voice comes closer to a whisper.

“Was?” I stare at her, not wanting to accept that I was the only one to feel it. I know I wasn't, because her expression tells me I'm right.

“Was! You know it was.” her tone is still sweet, but her gaze is hard. "I think we'd better go downstairs." she gets up carefully, getting out of bed. I throw my head against my hands, visibly frustrated.

"Go ahead, I need to get both heads in place." I throw my body against the mattress.

“Sorry, Luke.” I can't stand her feeling guilty when she's the biggest victim of all this.

"M&Ms?" I leap out of bed, grabbing her before disappearing through the door. “It's not your fault. I'm the one who lost control, I'm sorry. You didn't give me the opening to attack you like that and I let myself go…” her lips silence me.

“It wasn't anyone's fault, can we do that?” I nod, stealing the last kiss before I let her go. "I'll wait for you downstairs." she announce.

I turn around, heading back to bed, still feeling frustration coursing through my veins.

“Hey!” I turn to see her there, standing in the doorway. My chest races with yearning from the many times I've seen her do the same scene. My ears and heart ache wanting to hear those words that always came next. Those three words that were so beautiful in her mouth. “Thanks for this.” she smiles and leaves.

I stare at the wood, snapping back to reality. I'm such an idiot for thinking she was going to say she loves me. I hide my face, exhausted. I look across the bed, able to see the two of us there, so given to each other.

I replay the scene in my head, tasting her kiss on my lips. Feeling my body tingle, still wanting her touch. The pressure on my pants becomes bigger and more uncomfortable. I need to make this go away. I scramble my mind for many things to calm myself down, but I can't. I can still feel her hands running around the back of my neck and her groin against mine.

"Shit!" I give up, going to the bathroom and locking myself in there. I don't care if I'm late, or what they think. I won't be able to eliminate this with thoughts alone.

I lower my pants and underwear, releasing my already throbbing member. I run my hand over it, making my body vibrate in relief. I let my mind flood with all thoughts and memories with her, feeling my body inflate further.

I increase my speed, being able to feel her touch through my body. I punch the wall, feeling my stomach contract. I rest my forehead against the cool coating, letting out several sighs. Her eyes flash in my mind.

The many times I've seen her face twist in pure orgasm under my touch. That smirk and that vulgar glow she always lets off before pulling me aside. And I always did, like a puppy.

My breathing gets out of control as I reach my orgasm. A wave of relief and lightness overcomes me, along with a wave of guilt. It must have been the 15th time since it all happened.

I can't have her. I can't stand the idea of ​​looking for someone else, even though we are not officially together, so I have to get by with baths and my bare hands, but as a result I feel like the dirtiest human being, as she doesn't even suspect.

I walk down the stairs, not attracting any attention. I find her sitting on the couch, on Leah's lap, laughing at some imitation Ashton was doing. I approach the group, who make no fuss about my delay.

I pick up the bottle of white wine on the coffee table, flipping half the contents. I feel her green eyes burn on me and I don't even have the courage to reciprocate by ignoring her.

“Is everything OK? Sorry if I messed something up.” Hood says next.

“It's OK! In fact, it was better, if you didn't show up, we would have done something stupid.” I say dry.

"Is that why this sour face?" he raises an eyebrow.

"I'm feeling awful for almost bringing her to this and not having the conscience to stop." I reveal a part of the guilt that burns in me.

“Luke, you are not complete strangers. And maybe she really wanted to go further, she just didn't know how. After all, at that moment she was supposed to be your f-”

"I know!" I cut it off, not wanting to hear the rest of the sentence.

For my salvation, someone starts to sing happy birthday and the matter is closed. I open a smile disguising the shit my head was on. Michael puts a little purple hat on my head, blowing a plastic horn, very excited.

The scene makes me laugh, relieving the stress. I watch Leah and Kyleen swing colorful pom poms behind Marnie, who is holding a small cake with several candles.

I look deep into her eyes, noticing her happiness to be there and somehow mine too. After all, she's here, even if she doesn't remember much, she's still here. The accident could have been a lot worse and I could have lost her forever.

I push the damn thoughts away, blowing out the candles and driving everyone crazy. I'm surprised when Marnie leans in, stealing a kiss, not caring that she's in front of everyone. Her rosy cheeks manage to steal a smile far bigger than Michael did.

In the back of the room, I notice Pam with her arms crossed and sulking. I don't know if Marnie did it on purpose, intent on teasing, but something she did, and if Pam is pissed off, we're happy.

The clock was already showing around 5:00 in the morning. I've already fluctuated my alcohol level more times than I can count. While the boys filled me with rum, M&Ms filled me with water and food, afraid I would go into an alcoholic coma or whatever. Of course I took advantage of her concern and all the attention she was giving me.

At some point during the party, Michael took over the DJ's table and there we were, jumping up behind him, singing I Want It That Way at the top of our lungs, with the lost girls trying to do the choreography. That was definitely the best thing about the party, right after my moment with Marnie in the bedroom.

Right after his moment commanding the party's playlist, Clifford decided to climb on the roof to jump into the pool. Something that was already taking a while to happen. What he and no one expected was Marnie yelling at him, worried.

“It's comical, because if it weren't for the amnesia and the lack of alcohol, she would be the one on the roof.” Irwin comments lying beside me, watching the scene of her yelling at Michael, asking him to come down.

“And we called the fire department because she got stuck again.” I shake my head, wanting not to laugh at the memories. “Good times.” I'm toasting my friend, still watching her worriedly behind the older one.

Sitting in the garden, talking to some friends, I watch the girl laughing in a circle with Noah and Calum. She gets up, walking into the house, returning in a few minutes. I watch her come around, stopping behind me.

“Now the one who needs to talk is me.” she whispers in my ear. I don't think twice about taking your hand and heading out of the wheel chat.

I can see a large package in her hands and the idea of ​​being my gift makes me anxious. A little farther away from the mess that remained, she hands me the black box with a gold bow on top. Before opening it, I take a look at her excited smile, letting out a laugh.

I find five rings and three necklaces arranged around the box. I can't hold back the smile, seeing what she's chosen. I know I might look like an idiot for some jewelry, but it's amazing jewelry she picked out.

“You liked?” she bites her lower lip, curious.

“I loved!” I hug your body, thanking her. I know she has no intentions other than to give me a birthday present, but of course I will wear these rings and necklaces with more affection than usual. “Thanks.” I mean, still ecstatic.

Hand in hand, we approached the crowd again, bumping into Kiki, Sophie and Michael.

“We were thinking about going to Michael's house. The party is already boring and I'm hungry.” Kiki comments. I look a little offended at her, after all, that was my birthday party. “Oh! Nothing personal.” she laughs, slapping me on the shoulder.

“What do you think?” I ask the M&Ms, who shrug their shoulders. "Have you talked to the rest?"

“Leah was going to call Noah and Ash, we were going to rescue Calum.”

“OK! We'll get our stuff and meet you at the door.” Marnie agrees and so we disperse.

Still holding hands, we walked back upstairs, looking for her bag. In the kitchen, I grab a bottle of vodka, a tequila, and a whiskey, trying to put everything in my bag, but it doesn't quite work.

“We should take advantage of the gathering and have your liver funeral.” I turn to Marnie who glares at me, seeing three bottles in my arm and me struggling to open one of beer.

Easily, we made our way to the front door, finding Kiki and Sophie. Gradually, everyone arrived and so we left the party, without saying goodbye to anyone.

“Uh, tequila?” Hood comes towards me, hugging the bottle.

Michael's house was the closest and, having drunk too much, we thought we'd better walk.

On the way, we stopped at a bakery, buying a bunch of things to eat. The day was already showing signs of life when we arrived at Mike's house. At the dinner table, we spread out the stolen drinks and food, starting our round table, as well as picking up several board games that Michael kept.

“I wanted to propose a toast to Mr. Luke Hemmings.” Noah draws the toast, making everyone raise their glasses and bottles. “One of the few people worth meeting in this hellish city where you can't trust anyone. The other people are unfortunately not present…”

A shower of paper balls and food flies towards the 20 minutes older twin. I'm surprised when I watch Marnie leave my arms, standing up.

“I also wanted to give a speech.”

“You didn't have to, babe.” I say, shaking her hand that still had our fingers intertwined.

“It's not about you.” she sticks out her tongue, causing everyone to scream.

“Ouch!” I put my hand to my chest, accepting the blow and still feeling my heart race.

“Shut up.” she screams, laughing. “Well, I wanted to make this toast in thanks to all of you. I know it's been three years of friendship, but for me it's only been a month and even with all the confusion and breakup.” her fingers squeeze mine and I move them, giving them a light caress. “You still took me in and took great care of me. I am eternally grateful for that. Leah doesn't even start crying, I need to get this over with and if I cry it's going to go wrong.” the mood breaks a little with the laughter. “Bottom line, I just want to say that whatever the future holds, I like you all a lot and that this isn't just a bunch of crazy friendship the universe threw at me, it's the family I've been looking for. As Noah said, you're the few people worth living in this hell of a city and I love you all so much. Cheers!”

Everyone raises their glasses once more, toasting her speech. I cross my gaze with Leah, who has also noticed something odd. She still hadn't commented on Monday's episode and I still had it hanging around in my mind.

It was very visible that something was troubling her. Her eyes wandering lost, her disappearance since Monday until today, claiming to be super busy and out of time. Everyone was sensing that something was wrong, but she wouldn't let go or comment on it.

“Especially you.” I focus my attention on her, who settles back into my arms. “Regardless of our future, I like you very much.” she whispers, before pressing her lips to mine. “Please never forget that. Promise?”

I get lost in her eyes, noticing a hint of fear and pain in them. It's horrible to see her like this and not know what to do. For nothing in this world I want her to feel unprotected or alone, she said herself that we are a family, so she wouldn't have to face anything alone.

“Only if you promise me you'll tell me what's going on.” I play hard, not caring if this becomes an issue between us, or if it pushes her away a little.

“Luke…” my name comes out in a painful sigh.

"Marnie." I say her name harshly, wanting her to understand that I won't change my mind.

“I'll tell. Just not today. Today is your day and that's what matters to me. So please let's enjoy?” she begs. As always, I surrender, nodding. I drop a kiss to her forehead, before pulling her to my chest again.

Hastings still looks at me suspiciously and unfortunately I only have reason to agree with her. Something was up with Marnie and she didn't want to tell us.

A minute of silence, our baby is turning 25 today and I am not knowing how to handle it.

#5sos imagine #5sosedit #luke 5sos #5sauce #calum 5sos #5 seconds of summer #5sos blurbs #5sosfam #5sos fanfic #5sos #ashton 5 seconds of summer #ashton 5sos #ashton fletcher irwin #ashton irwin #calum 5sauce #michael gordon clifford #calumthomashood #calum hood #michael clifford #memorieslrh #michael 5sos #luke hemmings fic #luke hemming imagines #luke robert hemmings #luke hemmo #lukey #luke hemmings smut #luke hemmings #lrh #5sos smut

[ineloqueent]

the weight of the world

Roger Taylor x Fem!Reader

gif credit bc i do not have that kind of talent (x)

synopsis: Roger’s got the weight of the world on his shoulders. Or maybe it’s just the drumming.

word count: 1.8k

a/n: ‘self-control’ is not in my vocabulary, and so this is based off of all those times roger has done that thing where he pushes his hand under his shirt and rubs his shoulder because poor bby drums too much okay bye

⭒

Working in catering certainly had its benefits.

For one, it meant that you got to see the members of a very well-known band on a daily basis, greeting them as casually as friends. 

For another thing, it meant that Roger Taylor frequently professed his undying love for you. 

Well, okay, so maybe that wasn’t exactly how he put it, but that was what it sounded like. 

Studio sessions that spanned both days and nights commanded the sort of dedication and attention of the musicians which meant that they frequently forewent the basics of life in order to get something done. For instance, once, when they hadn’t finished until three o’clock in the morning, they had left the studio yawning and slumping, John muttering something about having entirely missed both lunch and dinner. But you’d been there to hand out jam sandwiches, even when every other tech and crew member had gone home for the night. Because in a way, you felt it your duty to take care of the four boys. They really were like teenagers— up at all hours, doing whatever the hell they wanted, forgetting to eat when they weren’t reminded. 

Roger was the worst of all, leaving the studio last and stopping on the kerbside to stare aimlessly into the distance, a jacket slung over one arm as a hand rubbed his other shoulder. He always looked dazed when he left, overly exhausted, from the hunch of his gait to the way his head dropped slightly to his chest when he didn’t pay heed to hold it upright. 

He would stand there and breathe in the crisp night air, and from a distance, you would stand and wait for him to be on his way before you went on yours, because you didn’t entirely trust him to not wander off in the wrong direction, lost in his drowsy haze. 

From afar, you would see him off, a guardian angel standing watch in the shadows for the flaxen-haired musician who would sigh and let the silence carry away his woe. 

And in the morning, when he turned up with a crooked grin and dark sunglasses, and accepted the plate of breakfast you offered to him, you smiled back and pretended you knew nothing of how the world weighed on his shoulders. 

You would enter the studio with the announcement of lunch, and Queen would slowly gather themselves together and file out the door and into the daylight. 

Roger would ruffle your hair and call you his favourite crew member as he passed you, or settle for a wink and a remark about how nice it was to see his best girl. 

When you knocked to bring the intrusion of coffee, Roger would leap up. 

“Sweetheart, you’re a lifesaver!”

You tutted, “It’s just coffee, Roger.”

You handed Freddie and Brian their black coffees, and John his with one sugar, and finally Roger his. 

“Oh, but you remembered my one-and-three-sevenths.” He canted his head to one side and pouted softly, in a manner which more resembled a child than a 36-year-old man. “Thank you.”

You shrugged, repeated yourself. “It’s just coffee.”

Roger only shook his head. 

One incident that stood out to you in particular was the recording of ‘One Vision’, in which Roger and Freddie argued back and forth concerning a certain line and the drum fill to go with it, losing each other repeatedly in the translation from word to rhythm, and vice versa. 

The day had been spent in laughter, but now that night was settling in, the four of them were growing tired and short-tempered. And stressed. 

Roger was stressed, you could tell. 

He was bouncing up and down in his chair, tapping his foot against the pedal of the kick drum even when it wasn’t necessary, and subsequently being scolded by Freddie when he ruined a take because of it. 

Between lapses of thought, he rubbed at his eyes, and kept his sunglasses on even then, slouching and batting away a yawn like a tired kitten helplessly batting at string. 

His favourite habit, it seemed, was to slip his hand into the folds of his shirt to rub at his shoulder, rolling his neck as his fingers found his pulse. Whether he did it purposely or absently, you weren’t sure, but the creases between his eyes made you want to walk over to him and take his hands and demand he leave to get some rest. 

You finally did, on an evening when the others had gone out for a beer but Roger had insisted on staying late in order to finish something he claimed he just couldn’t get down. 

He didn’t notice you leaning against the doorframe with folded arms, until his drumming gave way to a sigh and his usual habit and you wandered over. 

“Your shoulders hurt, don’t they?”

He startled at the sound of your voice, but his easy demeanour returned when he realised your presence. 

He flashed you a smile as brief as the face of a coin catching light, and nodded. 

Then he yawned, sleepily fluttering his eyelashes. “Sorry,” he said. “Awfully tired and not even close to done.”

You glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. “It’s past midnight,” you told him gently. 

“And..?”

“Roger,” you said. “You’ve got to take care of yourself. You can’t just be up at all hours, going without food and rest, because then you’ll be running on empty when it really matters.”

He sighed again, and you eyed him pitifully. 

“And how do I do that?” he asked you then, in a curiously honest manner, peering at you over the drum kit with that tilted head and those big, blue eyes. 

“Let me help,” you murmured. At his nod, you slipped between the wall and the drums to join him behind the fortress of instruments. 

He swivelled on his stool to face you, but you shook your head and walked around behind him. 

Slowly, you pulled his hand away from his chest, laying his fingers on his knee instead. Then you placed your hands on his shoulders and began to apply a gentle pressure.

He hissed through his teeth at the contact, muscles tensing. But when you made so as to pull back, he stopped you, turning his head till the pale stubble of his jaw brushed your hand. 

“Don’t stop,” he said quietly, and his exhale fanned across your skin. 

A tingle skittered along your arms, your own shoulders growing tense as the knots you intended to ease from Roger’s. 

You’d never touched him before, save for a handshake upon initial introduction, where you’d threaded your fingers with his and stared at him a little too deeply for a little too long, when the heat of his skin had briefly become yours.

But now he relaxed beneath your hands as you pushed the heels of your palms into his upper back, working the strain from his muscles with a steady rhythm. It came to the point where he was leaning against you, his back pressed to your torso and thighs as you rubbed his shoulders, and a soft groan escaped his lips. 

“Alright, Rog?” you asked. 

“Mmm,” he murmured. “Your hands are cold.”

“Sorry.”

“No, no.. It's nice,” he said. “You’re nice.” He sat up and turned around, and your hands slipped from his shoulders, reluctantly. He looked up at you. “Why are you so nice to me, Y/N?”

You drew a breath to speak, but then closed your mouth promptly because you did not know what to say. 

His eyes were wide, even behind his sunglasses, and you longed to slip them from his nose so that you might stare into that lovely abyss of blue. 

You glanced down. 

Why were you nice to him? 

Because he knew when a joke would lighten the mood of the room, or when a simple smile was better suited to the situation. Because he was stupidly stubborn and always upheld his morals, even when it lost him no end to points in popularity. Because he knew what to say, and when to say nothing at all. Because his eyes lit up when someone remembered how he liked his coffee; he was touched by the intimacy of how they had memorised a piece of his soul. And memorised a piece of his soul you had, for shards of it came to you when your thoughts wandered or when your head grew empty and your heart more so, plagued by the loneliness inherent to your being. Because he worked harder than anyone you’d ever met before, and though he claimed to have no modesty whatsoever, his humility was as much a part of his being as loneliness was of yours.

“Because you deserve to have people be nice to you.”

He laughed, “But that’s not your job, love. Your job is catering and generally putting up with us and our silliness, but no one said you had to be nice.”

You smiled slowly. “Well, I’ll stop being nice, then.”

Your words were met with silence, and you raised your eyes. 

Roger was gazing up at you.

“I like you being nice to me.” 

His voice had suddenly a gentle husky quality to it, a roughened edge to its highness, and at his unblinking stare, your breath hitched in your throat and a flush of heat spread through you.

Then he dragged you down to him and his lips caught on yours, sending a spark of flame to your skin, the feel of a match struck between your mouths. You were vaguely aware of the gentle pressure of his fingers at your waist, but for all else you were lost, because Roger smelt of soap and rain and ink and earth, and tasted of spun sugar and memories of summertime. 

His kiss was firm, but he yielded to you when you pulled him up to stand, emitting only a faint whine when your lips briefly eluded his. He needn’t have worried; you curled your arms around his neck and nudged him closer, and he held you against him like a tide pulling you out to sea, though you felt more sound in his arms than you ever would have atop the rolling waves. 

His touch was dizzying, and you swayed when he drew back, pressing his soft, wetted lips together as his eyes flicked over you.

“Sorry,” he murmured dazedly, his hands falling away from you. “I— don’t know what came over me—”

You tugged on the open collar of his shirt, bringing him to you so that your noses brushed and your words fluttered across his lips. “It was good, Rog.”

He inhaled sharply, and his breath set your senses alight, hyper-tuned to his movements.

“I like you too,” you whispered, curling your fingers into the baby hairs at the base of his neck.

He leaned into your touch with a contented hum, “That’s the best news I’ve heard all year.”

You smiled against his pretty lips when he kissed you again, intoxicating and bruising, yet comforting and sure. 

Sure, because never in your life had you been surer of anything than the sweetness of his mouth on yours. 

#tina's writing #roger taylor x reader #fic

[atths--twice]

Finding Light in the Dark

A call sends Mulder, Scully, and Faith on a road trip back to the house in Quonochontaug. Mulder is feeling somewhat nervous, but is determined to replace the pain of the past with happiness in the present.

This story is the next in the Year of Prompts. A friend on Twitter asked for a story where Mulder visits the house in Quonochontaug with Scully and Faith. I, of course, fell in love with that idea as I simply adore writing them as a happy family. I set out to have it be a Valentine's story as the story presented itself to me. It took *just* a day longer than planned, but I hope it was worth the wait. ❤️

January 26, 2021

Mulder hung up the phone and sighed with a slight frown. Putting it down, he walked to the laundry room where he could hear Scully humming as she folded clothes.

“So, uh…” he said, standing in the doorway. She looked at him and smiled with a nod. “I just had a call from the rental agency.” She frowned at him and then nodded in understanding.

“Is everything okay?” She picked up a flat sheet, handing him an end, and together they started to fold it.

“Well, Brian from the agency said that with the virus, they aren’t getting as many people staying at the house. No one is traveling, as you know, and they’re losing money.” He took the sheet from her and finished the folding. She nodded and crossed her arms as he set the sheet in the laundry basket.

“So…”

“So, they’re considering letting it go, which means it falls on me to make a decision. If I want to find another rental company or… if I should sell the house and be done with it.” She stared at him, sighing as she nodded slowly.

“Is that what you want to do?” she asked softly and he let out a deep breath.

“I don’t know. That house… honestly I forget that it’s still there most of the time. It’s been… Jesus, twenty years.” He shook his head and sighed. “I…”

“Hon,” she said, stepping toward him and touching his arm with a smile. “I know how you feel about that house. I don’t want you to think you have to go there. We can ask the agency what would be best and not ever have to go.”

“I appreciate that, but… I think I need to go check-“

“We. We need to go. I’m not letting you go there alone.” She held his arm and stared at him with another small smile. “Would leaving tomorrow morning be soon enough?” He smiled and cupped her cheek, his thumb rubbing softly across it.

“Let’s start thinking about a plan.”

________________

January 29th

He made phone calls to the rental agency, letting them know they would be coming up to check on the house and decide what they would do with it. Brian sounded relieved and said he would leave the key in the lock box, giving him the combination to open it.

A heaviness weighed upon him as they packed and readied for the trip. He tried not to let it show, but Scully‘s hand lightly grazing his back, arm, or waist let him know that she noticed. She never said anything, but her touch meant everything; his thoughts often far away.

They left the house at seven thirty, hoping Faith would sleep for most of the journey, and not become cranky sitting in her car seat for such a long period of time. Nearly seven hours was long for anyone, but especially for a two year old.

Once again, Grey was dropped off with Violet and Denis, along with the house keys so they could stop by and feed the fish while they were gone. Violet stood at the window, holding Grey and waving goodbye with her little paw, as Faith waved back and yelled goodbye.

She chatted with Bella who sat beside her, her head resting on the arm of the car seat. Faith patted her head and told Bella it was dark.

“See stars, Bell? It’s dark. See stars!” She pointed as she looked out the window, continuing to pet Bella’s head. Mulder smiled as he watched her in the rearview mirror, catching Scully’s eye as he looked back at the road. She smiled at him and he nodded as he drove down Henderson Road, heading toward the Parkway.

“Do you think we should stop at a hotel on the way? I don’t think we can just show up these days,” Scully said, reaching for her phone. “Halfway… that should put us about…” He saw she had opened her map app, looking intently at it, and he shook his head.

“We don’t need to stop. I can make it. Quonochontaug is only seven hours.”

“No. We can switch. No need for you to drive the whole way.” He nodded with a smile, knowing he would be the one driving the entire way. “I’m serious, Mulder.”

“Okay. But I’m good for now.”

“Hmm,” she hummed, Looking back at Faith, who was looking out the window, now holding her baby doll in her lap. “You okay, love?”

“Baby, mama. Baby seeping.” Mulder saw her touch the baby's eyes that opened and closed. “Shh. Baby seeping.”

“She’s sleeping? Okay then, we’ll be quiet.” She turned her head and smiled at him and he smiled back.

Within two hours, an audiobook playing quietly after Faith’s usual bedtime music, everyone in the car, save for Mulder, was sleeping deeply. He smiled as he glanced at them and then sighed as he looked back at the road. The navigation was set and the book playing, but he was no longer paying attention.

He was heading back to a house that held many memories, both good and bad, and now that they were physically on their way, he was lost in thoughts of the past; his childhood and the questions that had never been answered.

After his mother had died, he had been the one to handle her personal belongings and the selling of her house. She had left everything to him and one long weekend, he had gone up to clear it all out, readying it to be sold.

The house itself held very little personal items. Not many pictures and signs of the past. No, those were kept in the basement, almost as though they were something to hide and of which to be ashamed.

Saturday morning, after he had spent Friday going through the basement, sadness and anger causing tears at times, the doorbell had rung. Believing it to be the donation organization coming to pick up the agreed upon items, he had opened the door to find Scully.

She had smiled, a bag of donuts and two coffees in a carry out holder in her hands. He had been surprised, but opened the door to allow her to enter.

“I thought you could use some help,” she had said softly and he had nodded with a relieved sigh. She had smiled and after they had eaten, they had begun to work.

Then… he had decided it was time to deal with the house in Quonochontaug, something he had put off for years. No one had been in the house for a couple of years, him being the last one, and the reason was one he wished to forget. He had asked Scully to accompany him, no hesitation, knowing that house would be harder to face.

They had driven out together on a Thursday evening, planning to stay all weekend. It had been a long drive, spent mostly in silence. Halfway there, they had stopped to eat at a diner, the silence remaining, though her eyes had said a lot.

They arrived late, the house chilly. Looking around at the things still covered in plastic, the mess he had never completely cleared up, they had both sighed.

“It’s a lot, but…” she had said, a hand on his back as she walked further into the room. “We can be up early, get some breakfast, and then…”

“Yeah,” he had whispered.

They went to the bedrooms, Mulder insisting she take the master bedroom and he would take the smaller guest one. The rooms smelled musty, plastic covering the beds and other things.

“Uh, I don’t know about the state of the sheets. This place hasn’t been used in such a long time,” he had said, standing in the doorway and looking around the room she would be using.

“Blankets will be fine,” she had assured him and he nodded, going to the hall closet and taking out the equally musty smelling blankets, wishing he had thought to bring something better.

“I’m not sure the blankets are much better, in regards to smell anyway.”

“It’s fine, Mulder.” She had smiled and taken the blankets from him. “We’ve been in worse places than this.” He had nodded and she rubbed his arm. “Good night.”

“Good night,” he had whispered and walked to the guest room.

Dropping the blankets onto the bed, he had used the bathroom, shivering as he walked back to the bedroom. He had changed his clothes and gotten under the covers, sighing as he closed his eyes, too many thoughts in his head. Turning over, he had fallen asleep, his dreams dark and confusing.

In the morning, he had woken up early. Leaving Scully to sleep a little longer, he went to pick up the trailer he had rented and to get breakfast for both of them.

She had been awake when he returned, just coming out of the bedroom, yawning and stretching. She had smiled as she cleared the table and he set the food and coffee onto it.

After they had eaten and thrown out their trash, they looked around, deciding where to start.

“Before we do anything,” she had said and he looked at her. “I’ve been thinking. What if you didn’t sell this place?”

“I don’t want or need it,” he had answered.

“No, I know you don’t. But…” She had walked to the back door and opened it. “It’s beautiful here. The water right outside the door… it’s a perfect place to get away.”

“Scully-”

“You could rent it.” She had smiled at him and he looked around the house and back at her. “Fix it up a little for sure, but…” She had shrugged and he let out a sigh. “It’s just an idea.”

“Yeah,” he had said with a nod.

“Think about it,” she had said quietly, touching his arm.

They had worked methodically, moving from one room to the next, stopping a little after one to go out and get something to eat and stopping at the store to get something for a simple dinner.

Things that held memories, had been set to one side and then carried to the trailer. Pictures mostly, a few boxes of family items, a couple of lamps and one end table Mulder had “ruined” when he did not use a coaster for his glass of ice water.

“My mother would cluck her tongue and sigh every time she saw it. Never saying anything, but letting me know how I had messed up.”

“You’re still pretty bad about remembering,” she had teased and he chuckled softly in agreement. “How about I go make dinner and open that bottle of wine while you make a fire?” He had nodded and she went into the kitchen

He had cleaned out the fireplace, checking to make sure the flue was open, and then went to find some wood outside. It was not much, but enough for a small fire. He brought it inside, smelling garlic and onions, and his mouth watered.

As the fire began to build, she had walked into the room holding two plates of pasta tossed with garlic and parmesan cheese. She set it on the fireplace, rubbing his back as she walked back to the kitchen to get their glasses of wine. Kneeling down, she handed him his glass and set hers beside her plate.

“The fire feels nice. It’s surprisingly cold at night.”

“Not exactly a selling point for a vacation rental,” he had said, taking a sip of his wine.

“Not until you upgrade it a bit.” She had smiled at him and he nodded, but did not smile back. “You don’t want to do it?”

“I don’t want to think about it tonight.”

“Okay.”

“This is good,” he had said, taking a bite of the pasta. She smiled and ate her food as the fire crackled and warmed the room.

When their plates were empty, he had taken them into the kitchen and brought out the bottle of wine, refilling their glasses as they moved to the couch.

They had watched the fire, his head resting on the back of the couch, his fingers lightly caressing her shoulder. She looked at him and then she set her glass on the coffee table and turned to him. He had swallowed, setting his glass on the small table beside him.

She had leaned closer to him, a hand on his thigh. He cupped her cheek, her eyes closing as she sighed.

“Scully,” he had breathed. She opened her eyes and he shook his head slowly. “I…”

“Mulder,” she had whispered, moving until she was in his lap, her arms loose around his neck, fingers rubbing softly in his hair and down his neck. He held her waist, closing his eyes as her forehead rested against his, her breath smelling sweetly of wine.

“Scully… I… this-“

“I’m not asking or expecting anything from you,” she had whispered, kissing his temple as he sighed. Then his other temple, forehead, cheeks, and lips. Every kiss soft and tender.

He had kissed her back, his hands gripping her hips. Their kisses slow, their breath mingling, her tongue gently touching his, silently asking for permission.

He had pulled back, licking his lips, Breathing hard as their foreheads once more pressed together. Her fingers scratched softly at his neck as they sighed simultaneously.

“I’m sorry. I just… this house…”

“You don’t need to apologize,” she had whispered. “Not for anything.” He sighed again and she wrapped her arms around him, her face pressed into his neck. He held her tightly, his eyes closed, sighing with relief at her understanding.

She had pulled back, kissing him once more, before rising and taking their glasses into the kitchen. He sighed as he watched her go, hearing the water running as she washed the dishes. He scrubbed a hand down his face and stood to his feet.

Walking into the kitchen, he had rubbed her back and picked up a towel to dry the dishes, working together in silence. When the last plate was clean and had been put away, she bid him good night, rubbing his arm as she passed.

He had sighed as she left, walking back and sitting on the couch, staring at the slowly dying fire. As it went out, he had risen and used the bathroom before lying down in bed and staring into the darkness.

His door had opened quietly a few minutes later, the faint light from the living room lamp momentarily casting a soft flow across the bed. The door had closed and the room was once more dark.

The covers were lifted and the bed squeaked as Scully slid in beside him, snuggling close. He had let out a breath as he raised his arm and she lifted her head, lying on his shoulder and wrapping an arm around his waist. She brought her leg up, resting her knee against his thigh and side softly.

“Was your bed not warm enough?” he had teased quietly and she hummed.

“No, this bed is much warmer.” He had hummed out a quiet chuckle and they fell silent, their breathing the only sound in the room.

He had shifted, turning onto his side and pulling her close, their forehead’s touching as they had done on the couch.

“There are bad memories here. Broken ones. Ones I… I’m not sure are real,” he whispered and she hummed as she stroked his face, her hands warm. “But, there are also good ones. Ones of games and laughter. My mother singing. Parties and music. My father telling some story and all the men laughing. I had my first taste of hard alcohol here.”

“Really?” she had whispered with a soft laugh.

“Not on purpose,” he chuckled, hooking a leg over hers and breathing in her scent. “I had been running around and grabbed what I believed was my cup and took a big drink of what I thought was water, but what was actually vodka.

“Oh!” She had laughed, her head falling back and they looked at one another in the darkness. “What happened?”

“I was sure my throat would burn forever, my stomach on fire, and then I gagged and threw most of it up onto the grass. One of the men thumped me on the back and laughed. I was so embarrassed to throw up in front of them, but Jesus Christ, it was the only option.”

“Hmm,” she had hummed, moving closer, her lips at his throat. “How old were you?”

“Eleven, nearly twelve,” he had said, his fingers running softly up and down her back.

“Maybe that’s why you don’t like it much.”

“Hmm. Could be.” He thought back to that day, the way his head had spun as his mother led him inside, Samantha crying and holding his hand.

“So, does that go in the good memory column or the bad one?”

“I’ll consider it both.”

“Hmm.” Quiet again, she moved even closer, kissing his throat and then sighing.

“Good night,” she had whispered, and he nodded, closing his eyes and kissing the top of her head.

“Good night.”

He had slept soundly, waking up spooning her, his nose buried in her hair.

As they ate breakfast, he had looked around, thinking about the possibility of remodeling the house and renting it out as a vacation home.

“It would take a lot,” he had said out loud and she frowned at him. “If I was to remodel it. This place is good, but… what would they find once they started working on it?”

“What are you saying?”

“We… I own the land surrounding here. Would it be better to tear it down? Start over from scratch?”

“Good question for a developer.”

“Yeah.” He had smiled and she gripped his hand. “I think I’ll call some people, see what they have to say.”

“I think it’s a good idea. I like it here.” She had smiled and he nodded. “Wouldn’t mind coming back.”

“That could be arranged.” He had leaned forward and kissed her softly, holding her chin with his thumb and index finger.

“I’d like that,” she whispered, kissing him once again. “Maybe when it’s a bit warmer out.” He chuckled and nodded again.

All personal items packed inside the trailer and the rooms cleaned, they had packed up their bags, taking out the trash and setting it in the back of the trailer to drop at a nearby dumpster as they left.

They never did go out there again. Not together anyway. He had, on his own, to meet with developers who suggested ways to improve the house. Things were moved out and he saw the beginning of the remodel before he had disappeared and was gone for nearly a year.

When he had returned, he’d had more time on his hands. Only once had he seen the place completed before never coming back. Life taking over and stopping him… them from coming out there again.

He had left it in the capable hands of a rental agency, the money from it deposited into a separate checking account created by the gunmen, and transferred over to his primary account only when needed.

Scully hummed in her sleep and he blinked his eyes, shaking his head as though clearing away the past. The audiobook was chapters ahead and he made no effort to go back to what he remembered, deciding starting it over would probably be for the best.

“Oh.” She stretched and he glanced at her with a smile. “Oh… I fell asleep. I’m so sorry.” She reached over and patted his arm as she glanced back at Faith. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep… oh my god, it’s 11:30?! How long was I sleeping?”

“I really don’t know.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah. Just thinking.” He smiled at her and she reached for his hand, lacing their fingers together.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

“I’m okay. I do need to pee though and we’ll need gas soon.”

“Yeah, I need to pee too.”

A quick stop at a gas station, they took turns using the bathroom, letting Bella out to relieve herself. He got them each a coffee and restarted the audiobook as they drove away. This time they both paid attention, laughing and discussing the story quietly.

Soon, they exited the interstate and drove down the road toward the house. He felt nervous and calm simultaneously as they pulled up and parked in the driveway.

“Wow,” Scully said, staring at the house in the shine of the headlights. “It’s different. I like it. It’s not as dark.”

“Light is always better,” he agreed, turning off the car and smiling at her.

“Absolutely.”

“You stay here, I’ll go open the house and turn on the lights.”

“I could do it”.

“Nah, I got it.” He kissed her and got out, closing the door quietly. Using the flashlight on his phone, he found the lock box, punched in the code and took out the key to unlock the door.

Walking inside, he took a deep breath, happy that the house was different, the changes allowing for better memories to be created. He shivered in the chilly room, intent on turning on the heater when they were all inside. He turned on some lights and went back outside.

Nodding at Scully as he opened the back passenger door, he let Bella out, holding onto her leash as he opened the back of the car.

“I’ll set up Faith’s bed real quick and we can lay her down,” he said softly and she nodded.

“Sounds good.”

He grabbed the portable crib, and the bag with the sheets and blankets, bringing them and Bella inside. He set up the crib in the guestroom and quickly made the bed, setting Faith’s favorite stuffed animal, the grey alien with a pink belly, in the corner.

Heading back outside, he saw that Scully was taking Faith from the car seat, shushing her when she began to cry. They walked inside while he unloaded the rest of the luggage, bringing it all inside.

He put their bags in the master bedroom and went to the kitchen to unload the food they had brought for the morning. It was mostly stuff for Faith, not taking any chances of being caught out with no food. They planned to make a trip in the morning to stock up for a few days.

He could hear Faith fussing and crying as Scully sang to her, shushing her softly. Once he was done, he called out to Bella, taking her out to pee one more time, giving her a treat when they came back inside.

It was quiet and he smiled tiredly as he searched for the thermostat, setting the heater to seventy to see how that temperature felt. He heard it kick on as the toilet flushed and Scully came out to join him a moment later.

“I like the house very much. It’s the same, but with some changes. And it’s brighter and happier.”

“It is,” he agreed, looking around the white walls, the dark wood paneling gone.

Taking her hand, they walked through the house, looking at all the changes. Some even he had not seen, twenty years being a long time between visits.

The furniture was all done in soft grays and blues. The coffee and side tables were dark oak, with bookshelves that matched. Games and puzzles filled one and random books filled the other.

The kitchen cupboards were steel blue, the countertops done in white marble. Different sized bowls set upon them, one now full of bananas and apples. A white rectangular table with a bench and two chairs sat in the corner, a vase of fake flowers in the middle.

A small laundry room with a stackable washer and dryer and a counter to fold clothes, was just off the kitchen. The side door lead to the wraparound front porch, though they did not venture further than a quick glance.

The floors throughout the house were a light wood, with colorful rugs of grays and blues upon them. The room where Mulder had nearly broken beyond repair, was now a cozy sitting room. Large windows with sheer drapes faced the water which would let in beautiful sunlight in the morning. A dark wicker basket of toys sat beside a red bookcase with children’s books and pictures of the surrounding area sitting upon it.

She turned to him and smiled, which he attempted to return, but failed. She came close and hugged him, holding on tightly. He closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, trying to block out memories of the past.

“It looks beautiful,” she said quietly, pulling back to look at him. “Much better than before.” He nodded and smiled slightly. Let’s go to bed. It’s late and you know our girl won’t be sleeping in.”

He nodded again and followed her to the bedroom, turning off the lights and locking the doors along the way. Bella was asleep on her bed and paid them no mind as they passed.

As he laid down, Scully’s head on his chest, he let out a deep breath. “No more,” he whispered, stroking her hair. “No more darkness.”

“No,” she whispered back. “No more.” He kissed her head and closed his eyes. “Good night, Mulder.”

“Good night, love.”

_________________________

January 31st

The fire crackled and Bella stretched, letting out a deep sigh. Mulder smiled as he watched her, the fire warm, and no doubt she was exhausted.

They had spent the majority of the day outside in the snow, the depth of it more than he could have imagined, the storm blowing in and taking them by surprise. Bella had jumped and dove into it, coming up covered in the powder, her tongue lolling out happily.

Faith had been a little more hesitant, unsure what to think of it. Bundled up in many layers to ward off the cold, she had tripped once, her hands landing in the snow. She had shook them, trying to get the snow off of her mittens, but to no avail.

Scully had laughed as she bent down beside her, helping her wipe them off. When she had looked at him, picking Faith up, her blue eyes shining with happiness, he had never felt more in love with her.

Even as he was happy to be there with them, his light in the darkness, he had been unable to completely stop thinking of the past. The house being different helped immensely, but there were still spots within it which held some pain.

One of them, the loft where he and Samantha had slept when they were younger, had been a space he specifically asked the developers to turn into something different, though he did not have an actual idea of what he wanted.

What they had done was better than he could have imagined.

A skylight had been added when they put in a new roof and the dark loft was now a cozy reading nook with natural light spilling in. A small television sat in the corner, a VCR and DVD player on the shelf of the stand it sat upon. A storage bench ran the length of the low wall, colorful pillows in blues, grays, and muted greens brightening the space further.

Toys, blankets, and movies were inside of the bench. Two light turquoise bean bag chairs sat atop a striped rug of greens, blue, and tan. The railing had been changed, and now included a thin piece of plexiglass, keeping the view clear, while creating a safe space from little arms, legs, or heads from becoming stuck.

He had brought Faith up there, playing with and reading to her. She had loved the beanbag chairs, climbing on them and then giggling as they moved with her. She had also loved looking down and waving at Scully, calling for her to look up at her. Bella whined as she watched them, wanting to join them so badly.

Sitting in the little loft, the sunlight coming in through the skylight, he had felt his sadness lifting. Faith smiling at him and her laughter helped to replace the pain of the past with the happiness in the present.

“She’s exhausted, isn’t she?” Scully said, pulling him from his thoughts. He looked up and saw her smiling at Bella. “I don’t think I have ever seen her so still.” She smiled at him and he chuckled with a nod.

“It was a busy day.”

“Yes, it was.” She turned her head and looked out the window as he did the same, smiling at the snowman family they had made, now covered in even more snow.

Three different sized snow people were wearing extra hats and scarves from each of them. Faith’s was her height and she stared at it from all sides before she hugged it, surprised by the coldness on her cheek when she did. She touched her cheek and looked at him, her brow furrowed.

“Snow is cold, my love,” he had said, bending beside her, touching his cheek to the snow person and then placing his cheek on Faith’s. She had pulled back and touched her cheek again as he laughed, kissing her cold nose.

“May I join you?” Scully asked and he looked at her, confused.

“Of course, why would you… oh.” He chuckled as she joined him in the overstuffed chair in which he was sitting, her head on his shoulder, an arm around his waist, her legs on top of his.

“So by join, you meant sit on my lap, not in the chair beside me?” he asked, his fingers in her hair.

“What would be the fun of that?” she asked, letting out a deep sigh. He chuckled again, nodding and kissing her head.

The fire popped and Bella jumped, standing and staring at it before she stretched, yawned, and laid back down. They laughed quietly, her toes pressing into the seam of his jeans along his calf.

“You okay?” she asked quietly and his fingers paused for a second before running through her hair again.

“I am,” he answered with a slight nod. She lifted her head and pulled back to look at him, her eyes searching his own. He smiled as she touched his cheek and side.

“You’re sure?”

“Mm-hmm.”

She nodded and stroked his face, her fingernails scratching gently at the beard he had been growing for a few weeks. She took a deep breath and licked her lips.

“I like your beard like this,” she whispered and he fought back a smile.

Oh, he knew.

When he had started letting it grow, no longer wanting to shave every morning, she had made comments about his scratchy beard and ducked away as he attempted to rub his cheek against her neck.

But she would always giggle as he did it. He knew she did not really hate it.

When it had grown in, he had noticed the way that she touched it often, her fingertips scratching beneath it, her eyes dilating and her breathing increasing, sex inevitably occurring wherever they were at that moment.

Yeah… he knew.

But he would play it cool.

“You do, huh?” he asked, giving her a curious look.

“Hmm. I do. I didn’t in the past-”

“That was different,” he said quietly, leaning into her hand and staring into her eyes. “I was different. That was a depressed beard. It was ugly and unkempt, no care over how I looked. This is different.”

“I know,” she whispered, her hand stroking softly. “I like it. It’s sexy.”

“Sexy?” he asked, wrapping his arms around her waist, locking his fingers together, and opening his legs enough to allow hers to slip in between.

“Mm-hmm. Very sexy.” She bit her bottom lip and he smiled.

“I think I may have noticed,” he admitted and she stared at him.

“I like it. Especially on my thighs.” His hands slipped as his body jerked and she grinned.

“Yeah?” he asked, clearing his throat.

“God, yes,” she breathed, her eyes closing. “It’s so stimulating, it makes me…” She shivered and he chuckled, causing her to open her eyes.

“Yeah, I noticed.” He smiled and she narrowed her eyes at him.

“Always observant, you are.”

“When it comes to that, you bet I am.”

“Hmm,” she hummed, dropping her hand down to the button of his thermal shirt and fiddling with it. “How quickly can you put out the fire?”

“Which one?” he teased, unlocking his hands and placing one on her ass. She laughed and kissed him, her tongue stroking his as she shifted onto her knees, her hands on his face.

“This fire is close, but that one needs some attention. You take care of it and meet me in the bedroom.” She kissed him once more and climbed off of his lap, heading to the bedroom, lifting her sweater over her head on the way. “Hurry up or I’m starting without you.”

He jumped up and hurried to put out the fire with the ashes in the metal bucket beside the fireplace. Once he was sure it was out, he walked toward the bedroom, unbuttoning his pants and removing his layers of shirts.

She was on the bed, already naked, her knees bent. She was moaning quietly and he saw she was squeezing her breasts. His clothes dropping to the floor, he tugged at her feet, pulling her legs apart as he climbed onto the bed. He kissed his way up her legs, heading toward his goal. He rubbed his beard against her thighs, one then the other, and she arched her back, his name said breathlessly.

Closer to her center, he breathed deeply, smelling her arousal. He kissed her pubis and she whimpered, her legs tightening around him. Rubbing his chin on her inner thighs, she cried out, grabbing his head and gripping his hair.

“Mulder,” she gasped and he smiled.

“Yes?” he asked, kissing her pubis again, rubbing his face across it back-and-forth. She pulled his hair and he chuckled, raising his head to look at her.

“You’re a shit,” she said, her chest heaving.

“You said you were close and I can tell you are. Nothing wrong with showing some restraint and prolonging that pleasure.”

“Fuck that,” she said through gritted teeth, attempting to push his head where she most wanted it, but he stopped her.

Pushing up, he rubbed his face on her stomach, feeling it quiver as he kept moving up her body, kissing and rubbing his beard against your skin. He reached her breasts and ran his lips across her nipples, then his beard, her legs gripping even tighter as she whimpered.

“Jesus, Mulder. You keep that up, I’m going to come.”

“Is that a complaint?” he asked, knowing the way in which she truly wanted to get there.

“No. Not at ohhh, at all.” She moaned as he came up, nuzzling at her neck and her lips. “Kiss me.” He lifted his head and kissed her lips, her tongue running across his teeth, the kiss hot and needy.

He pulled back and resumed his nuzzling at her neck, back tracking down the path he had taken up her body. He paused at her stomach, enjoying the way it quivered under his touch.

“You’ve known all this time?” she asked quietly, her breath coming out heavy through her nose.

“Of course I have,” he responded, his tongue running from her navel to the top of her pubis. “As if I could not notice.”

He moved, opening her legs and rubbing his beard against her inner thighs once more, her fingernails scratching at his scalp. Her arousal was more evident now and he breathed in her intoxicating scent.

“Mulder, please…”  she begged.

And he did, taking his time, making sure she got there.

Twice.  

_____________________

The next few days, the snow sticking around, they went for long walks, Bella rolling and sliding in the snow. They went close to the water, throwing sticks in and watching them float away. There were plastic sleds in a small shed out back and they made a small hill, packing down some snow, to let Faith slide down, Mulder catching her at the bottom. Her happy laughter echoed around them, Scully smiling from the top of the little hill, as they trudged back up to do it all again.

They went into the little town, walking along the streets, looking in the windows and stopping in a few places that remained open, masks on and keeping their distance.

In one shop, Mulder found a little pop-up playhouse shaped like a toad stool. It was red with white polka dots on top and a squat round bottom with a curved door and circular windows on the sides. Deciding to keep it for a couple of days, as Valentine’s Day was approaching, though Scully stated it was a rather silly day.

“As though people need a specific day set aside to express their love,” she had said as they walked out of the store, the playhouse in a bag.

“Scully,” he had started to say and she interrupted him.

“I don’t mean that a gift or flowers isn’t nice, but couldn’t someone do that on February nineteenth just as well as the fourteenth? It will cost less on that day which means you could buy even more.” She had shrugged and he smiled, pulling her into his arms and lifting her off the ground.

“I love you,” he had whispered and she laughed.

“See? A few days early even. And that’s all I need.” She had pulled her mask down and kissed him before he set her down and they continued on their way.

The afternoon before Valentine’s Day, after discovering the box of pasta they had planned to eat for dinner that night had not made it home, Mulder had volunteered to go back to the store to get it. Scully insisted they could eat something else that night, as they had just purchased another week's worth of groceries, but he insisted more and with a kiss to her and Faith, he left.

He had an ulterior motive for going, one he did not want her to know about just yet.

While they had been out earlier, he had seen something in a florist shop he wanted to buy for her. It was simple, but it had made him smile when he saw it and he knew he needed to buy it.

Stopping quickly at the store, he bought a bag of Valentine’s chocolate kisses before he picked up the pasta. He drove to the florist shop and went inside, smiling as he saw what he had wanted was still there.

It was a wooden stand with two small glass nearly heart shaped test tube vases, hanging from a metal pronged holder. At the base of the stand was a wooden heart with the word Love written upon it. It was perfect in its simplicity, exactly the kind of gift he knew she would enjoy.

“Those are quite popular, I only have those two left.” He turned and the florist nodded her head at them. “You better grab it while you can.”

“I saw these when we walked by earlier and I had to come back when it was more covert.”

“Understood,” she laughed and pointed to the stands. He nodded and she picked one up with gloved hands and he followed her to the register.

“Do you have any violets? Just a few to set inside the vases?”

“As it happens, I cut some for a bouquet this morning, I always save the extras. Never know when they will come in handy. I’ll get them for you.” He nodded as she walked away, glancing at his watch and seeing he still had time before he began to draw suspicion.

“Here we are, I’ve tied a small bunch together and you can distribute them between the two vases when you get home.”

“Thank you.”

She wrapped the vases and the stand and placed it in a brown gift bag, tied with twine. The flowers were wrapped and he asked for a heart balloon as well- for Faith. She nodded and filled a shiny pink mylar heart with helium.

Paying for it and getting into the car, he smiled at the balloon dancing on the front seat. Such a small thing, but he knew Faith would love it. He could not wait to see her happy smile.

As he got onto the main highway, the street was packed with cars. An ambulance drove past him and he took a deep breath. Most likely an accident and traffic would be backed up for a while. He put the car in park and took out his phone, texting Scully to let her know what was happening.

Take your time. Get home safely. ❤️

He smiled at the heart and put his phone in the cup holder. Turning the heater up a bit, he then turned the volume up on the radio and leaned his head back on the headrest.

A song began to play, a soft strum of a guitar and he was immediately pulled in, as he closed his eyes.

Take it If she gives you her heart Don't you break it Let your arms be a place She feels safe in She's the best thing that you'll ever have

His eyes flew open and he sat up straight, listening intently to the next part of the song.

She always has trouble Falling asleep And she likes to cuddle While under the sheets She loves Pop songs And dancing, and bad trash TV There's still a few other things

She loves love notes and babies And likes giving gifts Has a hard time accepting A good compliment She loves her whole family And all of her friends So if you're the one she lets in

Take it If she gives you her heart Don't you break it Let your arms be a place She feels safe in She's the best thing that you'll ever have She'll love you If you love her

On days when It feels like the whole World might cave in Stand side by side And you'll make it She's the best thing that you'll ever have She'll love you If you love her like that

“Pull to the right. We will be detouring you. Pull to the right. You will be detoured.” A voice said over a speaker and Mulder jumped, looking to his right. A police suburban drove by, lights flashing but no siren.

He turned the car on, missing the rest of the song as he concentrated on following the detour. The words remained in his head however, his thoughts of Scully and how it sounded as though the song had been written especially about them.

Pulling into the driveway a few minutes later, he turned the car off and picked up his phone, searching for the song with the words he remembered hearing.

He found it on the second search, listening to its entirety before purchasing it with a smile. Moving the gifts to the back of the car to bring in later when Scully was busy with something else, he grabbed the pasta and walked inside, a plan for tomorrow beginning to formulate. ______________________

February 14th

“Oh! So pretty!” Faith exclaimed as she stood in front of the toadstool playhouse and clapped her hands happily. She ran inside and squealed when she saw the pink balloon floating inside. “Heart. Pink heart. So pretty.”

They both bent down and watched her exploring, looking out the windows and calling out hello. Mulder unrolled the door and she popped out from behind it shouting boo! and running to him. He caught her and fell back, feigning fear. She laughed and ran back to scare him again.

“I’ll go get breakfast started,” Scully said with a smile, rising from her knees beside the playhouse.

“No wait!” he called out and stood quickly to his feet. “I uh… I can do it.”

“You’re playing with Faith. I don’t want to disturb the fun.” She smiled anew and started to walk to the kitchen when he stopped her again. “What are you doing?”

“Just… I…” He sighed heavily and shook his head. “We said Valentine’s Day wasn’t important, but… I got you something and it’s set up in the kitchen.” He sighed again and she smiled slowly, licking her lips and rolling her eyes as she shook her head.

“Well then, I’m just as guilty.”

“What?”

“I said it wasn’t important, that it was just a day, but… I got you something too.”

“Whoa, I’m having a crazy feeling of deja vu,” he murmured, thinking about a Christmas morning, opening gifts together in his apartment. She laughed, which ended with a sigh, her shoulders lifting in a shrug and a shake of her head.

“Together?” he asked and she nodded, reaching for his hand.

“Together.”

He scooped up Faith, wanting her to share in the festivities and they walked into the kitchen, his eyes on Scully to see her reaction.

“Oh! Hearts!” Faith shouted and he chuckled, glancing at her before looking back at Scully.

She shook her head with a smile, letting go of his hand to look at the numerous cutout hearts hanging and spinning slowly from the ceiling, some single and some intertwined. They were all made from white notebook paper, the house not exactly full of crafting materials.

“When did you do this?” she asked and he smiled.

“Last night after you fell asleep. You are a heavy sleeper sometimes, as you know.” He set Faith in her high chair attached to the kitchen chair, buckling her in as Scully came to stand beside them.

“Mulder, this is so beautiful. And violets…” she said, touching the flowers in the vases, rubbing his back as she did. “Thank you, love.” She kissed him and he smiled as she pulled back.

“You’re welcome. Check out the counter.”

She turned around and laughed as she walked to the counter and saw the heart shape he had made from the chocolate kisses.

“You and the kisses,” she teased, and he knew she was remembering years ago when he had left the chocolate kisses in and with various people at the hospital, letting her know it had been him doing it only when she had arrived at home.

“Chocolate kisses are sweet,” he responded and she laughed softly, foregoing the candy, and coming close to kiss him again.

“Dada. Na-na, please.”

“Of course, my love. I’m so sorry.” He took a banana from the bowl and peeled it, cutting it into pieces and placing it in a bowl. He gave it to her with a small fork and kissed the top of her head. “That should buy us a few minutes.”

“Right, let me get your-”

“Did you see what was on the hearts?” he asked, stopping her from getting his gift. She looked up at the hearts and then back at him. “Oh right, they’re up quite high. Let me help you reach them.”

“You’d better watch it,” she said, reaching up, but he was ahead of her and he cut the twine with some scissors, a single heart fluttering into her hands.

“Stubborn,” she read and looked at him, with her eyebrows raised.

“Oh… whoops. That wasn’t supposed to be the first one. Let’s try this one.” He cut down another single heart and she caught it.

“Empathy. That’s much better.” She gave him a look and walked to the next single heart, waiting to catch it. He grinned as he snipped the twine and once again she caught it.

Five more hearts were released from the twine, and when she had them all, she laid them on the counter.

“Intelligence. Empathy. Compassion. Beauty. Stubborn. Understanding. Loving. Sexy.” She looked at him with a grin and he raised a fist.

“Nailed it. First time truly celebrating in a loooooong time and I hit it outta the park.” He danced around, Faith laughing as she watched him, bananas squished in her hands and on her face.

“Yes, you did good. Now it’s my turn.”

“Bring it on, honey.”

“Dada, milk please.”

“I’ll get it,” Scully said, opening the fridge quickly and taking out her cup of milk.

She handed it to Faith and kissed her head, before opening the pantry and taking out a gift wrapped in pink paper with anatomically correct red hearts. He laughed as she handed it to him and she smiled.

“Gotta have some authenticity to it,” she stated with a shrug. He nodded and carefully unwrapped the box.

Lifting the lid and then the tissue paper, he drew in a breath. Looking up at her, she smiled softly and he shook his head as he looked back at the gift she had given him.

It was a collage of pictures held within a frame, in the center of which was a drawing of a grinning heart overflowing with other smiling hearts. Underneath was written, My heart is happy.

Every picture was from their visit. A picture of the house on its own. Him and Faith in the loft reading a book. Faith mid sled, him smiling happily with his arms out wide to catch her, the house in the background. One of them all by the fire, a squishy selfie they liked to call it. Another selfie in the snow, all of them red cheeked and grinning. Down by the water, him showing Faith how to throw sticks. Bella jumping out of the snow as Faith laughed. The snow family. Him and Faith asleep on the couch, her laying on his chest.

“I wanted you to see. To see the happiness I’ve seen in you,” Scully said quietly and he nodded, looking up at her with a lump in his throat, understanding the many layers to the gift.

“Thank you,” he said hoarsely. She grasped his forearm as he let out a deep breath, looking at the pictures again.

So much thought had gone into the choice of pictures, always showcasing the house and how happiness had outweighed the sadness previously held inside the walls.

“The best thing that you’ll ever have,” he whispered, shaking his head with a sigh.

“What?” Scully asked and he looked at her with a smile, setting down the frame and picking up his phone from where it was charging on the counter.

“I heard this yesterday and I…” He queued up the song and set the phone down, reaching for her hand and pushing play. “I swear it was written for us.” He watched her face as the first chords of the song began.

Take it If she gives you her heart Don't you break it Let your arms be a place She feels safe in She's the best thing that you'll ever have

He smiled and she scrunched her chin, her eyes shining. He took her other hand and pulled her close as they began to sway slowly.

She always has trouble Falling asleep And she likes to cuddle While under the sheets She loves Pop songs And dancing, and bad trash TV There's still a few other things

He felt her chuckle and he held her tighter.

She loves love notes and babies And likes giving gifts Has a hard time accepting A good compliment She loves her whole family And all of her friends So if you're the one she lets in

Take it If she gives you her heart Don't you break it Let your arms be a place She feels safe in She's the best thing that you'll ever have She'll love you If you love her

On days when It feels like the whole World might cave in Stand side by side And you'll make it She's the best thing that you'll ever have She'll love you If you love her like that

So many thoughts and moments in their lives flashed in his mind. He heard her sniffling and he knew she was thinking of them as well.

Kiss her with passion As much as you can Run your hands through her hair Whenever she's sad And when she doesn't notice How pretty she is Tell her over and over So she never forgets

Take it If she gives you her heart Don't you break it Let your arms be a place She feels safe in She's the best thing that you'll ever have She'll love you If you love her

On days when It feels like the whole World might cave in Stand side by side And you'll make it She's the best thing that you'll ever have She'll love you If you love her like that

He pulled back and stared at her, cupping her face and rubbing his thumb across her cheek, as the song continued, speaking without saying a word. She shook her head and took a deep breath, closing her eyes and laying her head on his chest as the last lines of the song began to play.

On days when It feels like the whole World might cave in Stand side by side And you'll make it She's the best thing that you'll ever have She'll love you If you love her like that

As it ended, they remained swaying in each other’s arms, his arms holding her tightly.

“Mama. Dada. More food. Na-na all gone.” They both laughed, the private bubble they had been in popped, as reality came calling.

“More food?” he asked, pulling back from Scully, rubbing her arms as he did. “Did you make banana art today, or actually eat most of it?” Faith grinned at him and he shook his head at the mess she always made.

“Time for pancakes, I think,” Scully said, taking the premade bowl of batter from the fridge.

“Faithy look! It’s pink! Pink pancakes!”

“Yay! Pink pa-cakes!”

The heart kisses were moved into a bowl, Mulder opening one and offering it to Scully, who took it with happiness shining in her eyes. He found a Valentine’s Day playlist on his music app and they sang along and danced as they worked together to make breakfast.  

“You’re simply the best!” he sang into the spatula as he flipped the pink pancakes. “Better than alllllll the rest!” Scully laughed and Faith wiggled in her high chair.

Sitting down to eggs and pink heart shaped pancakes, Scully having purchased a heart cookie cutter at the store unbeknownst to him, they smiled at each other, toasting a successful Valentine’s Day.

As they ate, he glanced at the gift Scully had given him and looked around the kitchen, at the changes made for the better, and he made a decision.

“I’ll call Brian tomorrow, see if we can’t figure something out to keep this place as a rental. See if he has any suggestions for what we could do. I… I’m not quite ready to let it go just yet.” Scully smiled slowly and reached for his hand.

“I think that’s a great idea. I wouldn’t mind coming back.”

“I think that could be arranged,” he said, his words from years ago, holding more weight. A promise he intended to fulfill.

“Maybe when it’s warmer though. Perhaps when there is a little less snow.”

He laughed and nodded, imagining coming there in the summer, and the many activities they could do in the warmer weather.

“Yes, we’ll definitely have to come back when it’s warmer.”

“I’d like that,” she said and he nodded.  

“Me too.”

And he meant it.

____________________________________________

The song in this story is If You Love Her by Forest Blakk. I heard it and knew I had to include it in a story somehow. It’s such an MSR song.  

My friend who asked for the story makes MSR videos and asked if there was a song I would like her to use. I told her THIS song and she created an amazing video. I’ve included the link and you should all go check it out. It is simply beautiful. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEoHZiRNrGM

#The X-Files #XF Fanfiction #Family #Road Trip #Past Memories #Caring #Love #Winter #Remodeled Home #Making New Memories #Snow #Snowmen #Sledding #Cold Weather #Fire #Mulder with a sexy beard #Confessions of enjoying said sexy beard #Enjoying said beard #Sexy Times #Valentine's Day #Happy Hearts

[rexisnotyourwriter]

by @rexalexander and @postcardsanddaydreaming​

After the Atlanta child murders, the Behavioral Science Unit is as busy as ever. With a new team member by their side, they take on what feels like a growing number of active serial killers as well as continue their interviews of already incarcerated subjects. Bill tries to track down Nancy and Brian with the hopes of repairing his marriage, while Wendy tries to take on a more active role in their research with an eager budding protégé at her side.

Read on AO3

*If you enjoy this, please like/reblog on tumblr and/or leave kudos/comments on AO3. Your feedback helps keep fic writers writing.*

Notes: As always, thanks to my beta fish @hardythehermitcrab​

Chapter 1: The Restless Summer Air

The girl watched the toast pop up from the mint green Burlington toaster mere seconds after emitting the smell of the now charred breakfast. The toaster almost perfectly matched the vinyl covering on the kitchen chairs and the geometric pattern on the off-white linoleum flooring. The whole house, in fact, looked like it came straight out of a magazine, which, in all honesty, it had. Her mother had dog-eared the pages of the latest styles before they even bought the house. The kitchen, as noted, was mint and off-white themed. Clean and crisp. The living room, which flowed out from the kitchen, featured wood flooring adorned with a large ornate rug with a velvet baby pink couch and loveseat. The one piece that didn’t quite match the room was her father’s green-ish recliner. It was the sore thumb of the room that he refused to part with. The fireplace was surrounded by a brick mantle, on top of which was a wooden clock that ticked loudly. It was very nearly time for her to be on her way to school.

She sat in her usual seat at one end of the table watching her mother, who looked at the slightly charred toast with little regard and tossed it onto a plate. She watched as her mother haphazardly slathered it with strawberry jam. She was doing it wrong, again. 

Across from the girl’s place at the kitchen table was a full breakfast plate - two fried eggs, two pieces of (unburnt) toast, buttered, and three sausage links - next to a cup of coffee. The sun shining in from the living room illuminated the steam willowing out from the top of the mug like smoke from a chimney. It curved and swirled upwards, slithering almost, until it disappeared.

“Ed!” her mother called, for the fourth time, more shrill than the previous three. 

She plopped the plate of toast in front of her daughter before grabbing her “secret” pack of cigarettes from the kitchen drawer. When the girl heard the back door open and the strike of a match, she got up from her seat to grab the jar of jam and knife that were still on the counter. She dipped the knife gingerly into the jar and spread jam into the forgotten corners of the toast, but not so near the crust that her fingers would get sticky when she ate it. Then, she cut the toast diagonally. 

“Morning,” her father smiled at his daughter as he entered the kitchen. She smiled back, but her mouth was too full of toast to return his greeting. He was in one of his nicer suits today, the dark blue one, with a silk paisley tie. His coat was already swung over his arm, his hand clutching his briefcase beneath it. He blew quickly and gently on his coffee a few times before gulping some down, wincing. Still too hot. He gave up on it, and turned to leave. The girl’s smile dropped.

“What are you doing?” her mother’s voice came from behind her.

“Going to work, dear, like I do every morning,” he replied cheekily. 

“Aren’t you forgetting something?”

He paused, annoyed by the delay. His eye spied the full plate of food at his spot. 

“I’m sorry, I really don’t have time to eat.”

He moved to leave.

“You’re supposed to bring her to school today.”

“Hun, I’ve got a meeting first thing. I really gotta go.”

“I have a hair appointment-”

“Oh, for God’s sake, Kat-”

“Ed, you promised that you-”

“I hardly think your hair is-”

“That’s not the point-”

“Don’t forget who pays for your hair to look like that.”

“Here we go.”

“I’m not doing this now, end of discussion.”

He grabbed a piece of toast from his plate and shoved it into his mouth before leaving out the front door. 

Her mother slammed the back door shut. She hastily untied her apron and threw it on the counter, then rushed off to the powder room to fix her hair and put on some make up. 

The girl finished her toast in almost complete silence, but for the steady ticking of the clock.

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

The Academy basement was almost always dark when Gregg got in. Today was no exception. He enjoyed being the first one there. The more work he got done sooner, the better change he had of making it home for dinner. Granted, he didn’t always make it, but he made the effort, and that was enough for his wife. Plus, the mornings were quiet. He could get settled, organized. It was a different kind of quiet from the late nights. The morning quiet felt promising, hopeful in a way. The evening quiet was a slow drag, your thoughts muddled with too much information that had accumulated over the course of the day into a tangled ball of yarn. 

They had a coffee maker now, and an electric kettle. Some of the perks of the increased funding and attention the Behavioral Science Unit had received. Gregg would make a strong pot, stronger than he liked it. He was the odd one out in the team who preferred weaker coffee, so he would make it strong for their sake and add hot water to his mug until it was tempered to his liking. 

On this particular morning, Wendy was the next to arrive. She and Gregg exchanged silent greetings as she hung up her coat before retiring to her office. A stack of files was waiting for her on her desk, but it was only a partial set. The remaining files were in her briefcase, having been read the night before. She took them out and placed them in their own pile on her already busy desk. The “done” pile. Though not “done” as in finished with; “done” as in read and flagged with numerous Post-it Notes. 

The interviews had been behind ever since the Atlanta case, even though that was closed over a month ago. The phone had been ringing almost constantly with police from every county thinking every slightly disturbing murder was the work of a deranged psychopath. Poor Gregg was getting the brunt of the phone duty, which sucked up his time on more important work. They did get an answering machine, but between checking the tapes and the stacks of unsolicited faxes that would come through, it was becoming a full time job to sift through it all.

Wendy heard the main door open and wondered if it was Bill. She got up from her desk to check. She needed coffee, anyways. 

It was Holden. A few weeks ago, he would’ve asked her if Bill was in yet, but his late arrival was a regular occurrence by now. They exchanged their usual good morning head nod as Wendy exited to obtain her caffeine fix. 

Some papers floated off the edge of the fax machine tray, which was still spitting out pages.

“How long has this been going on?”

Gregg, fully immersed in a recording, didn’t hear Holden.

“Gregg,” he said louder.

Gregg paused the tape and removed his headphones.

“When did this start?” Holden asked, picking up the pages from the floor and stacking them, along with the rest, next to the fax machine.

“I’m not sure. It was empty when I got in this morning.”

Holden sighed as he gave a few of the pages a cursory glance. Nothing excited him.

Wendy returned armed with two cups of coffee. She gave the coat rack a scan for Bill’s coat, but it was still absent.  

“Hey,” Holden said, making his way over to Wendy. “Do you think we should’ve told him yesterday?”

“He had already gone home.”

Holden looked at the second coffee cup in Wendy’s hand, waiting for her to offer it to him. 

“Yeah, I know. But should we have called him?”

Wendy shook her head.

“He doesn’t need to be dealing with work when he’s at home.”

The hypocrisy of her advice isn’t lost on either of them. Holden’s not exactly innocent either. 

“I just don’t know what to do.”

“There’s not much we can do.”

Holden looked at the coffee again. This time Wendy noticed. 

They’re interrupted by the sound of heavy footsteps coming from the hall. Moments later, Bill walked in, without a coat, looking slightly worse for wear than usual, with a manic glint in his eye.

“Morning, Bill,” Wendy said.

“Morning,” he responded reactively, not bothering to look in her direction. 

He stood at the coat rack for a moment before realizing he didn’t need to be there, then headed to his office. 

Holden and Wendy shared a look. She’s got this. Wendy followed Bill, both cups of coffee still in her hand, leaving Holden to fend for himself. 

Wendy leaned against the doorway of Bill’s office while he settled himself. She half expected the inside of his briefcase to be a slough of loose files, but he pulled out a single tidy, albeit thick, folder. 

Wendy said nothing. 

Bill sighed and finally looked up at her.

“Look, I appreciate the concern.”

“Bill-”

“I do. But what I really need right now is to not be treated like I’m a…a bird with a broken wing, or a child.”

He paused. 

“Or some other helpless thing, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I know I look like shit.”

“I’ve seen worse.”

He almost smiled. 

“While Holden and I share some…concerns,” she continued. “That’s not entirely why I’m here.”

Wendy stepped inside his office, closing the door behind her, and took a seat, placing one of the coffee cups in front of Bill.

“Gunn came down here yesterday, after you left-”

“Shit.”

“He knows there’s something going on, more than whatever it is you’re telling him.”

Bill leaned his forehead into this hand, rubbing his temples. 

“He really likes playing us off each other, doesn’t he.”

“It’s actually rather smart, if you think about it,” Wendy responded wryly. “He knows by now that we talk to each other about this kind of stuff, and that Holden and I have a better chance of getting through to you than he does.”

Bill finally took note of the coffee in front of him and gulped some down. 

“What did you tell Gunn?” he asked.

“Nothing. I said I wasn’t specifically sure what was going on outside of work and assured him that we were catching up from time lost during the Atlanta case.”

“Is that true?”

“Marginally.”

He scoffed.

“But that’s not your fault,” she added.

They sat in the silence of a mutual understanding that nothing either of them could say would change the reality of the situation. 

Wendy shifted in her seat, about to stand up, when Bill interrupted her.

“Brian answered the phone this morning.”

She opened her mouth, but no words formed.

Every day since Nancy left with Brian, Bill had been calling her parents in Connecticut. There was nowhere else she could’ve gone to. She had no siblings, and had too much pride to confide in any of their friends. 

“I called this morning, expecting to leave another voice-mail, but after two rings it stops. I hear breathing. Background noise from the kitchen. Bacon sizzling.”

Each word is harder for Bill to say out loud, but he keeps his composure. Wendy can feel it, though. 

“And then I hear Nancy freak out, telling Brian to hang up the phone. Then…”

He imitated a dial-tone.

“I don’t know what to do, Wendy.”

She exhaled softly. She wasn’t sure either. 

“I’m sorry, Bill.”

“Thanks for the coffee.”

That was her cue to leave. She paused in the doorway, and turned back around.

“You don’t have to tell Gunn everything. Just, something with a grain of truth. Enough that he feels you’re being honest with him and will give you some leeway.”

“I will.”

“Sooner rather than later.”

Bill nodded.

“He’s out today, yeah?” She nodded back. “I’ll tell him next week. Promise.”

Wendy left him with a sympathetic smile. 

Holden was finally settled at his desk when Gregg interrupted him.

“I’ve got an Arthur Osborn on the line. Alaska State Trooper. He’s got a case that I think it worth looking into.”

Don’t they all.

“And he asked for me specifically?”

“You or Bill, but I figured…”

“Yeah, sure, put him through.”

A moment later, Holden’s phone rang.

“Special Agent Holden Ford.”

“Agent Ford, thanks for taking my call.” Osborn’s voice was deep and had a midwest lilt. Definitely not a native Alaskan. 

“How can I help?”

“We’ve had four young women found dead in less than two years. All of them under 21. The youngest,” his voice cracked, “was eleven.”

Holden waited for him to compose himself.

“They were noted as missing before the bodies were found,” Osborn continued. “Two months ago, Lori King, 18, was reported missing. We think it was the same guy. We want to find him before she ends up like the others.”

“Of course. What condition were the bodies in when they were found?”

Osborn took a deep breath. “There was significant decomp by the time we found them.”

“Anything notable in how they were staged?”

“Staged?”

“Yes. Positioned. When you found them, were they sitting up, lying down, what were their arms and legs doing…”

“Nothing particular, really, I don’t think. We have photos.”

“Good. It’s possible this is the same unsub, but I’ll need to look at everything you’ve got on it.”

“Yes, Agent Ford.”

“Did you already fax us the files?” Holden was already dreading having to dig the related pages out of the stacks.

“What? No, no. We thought we better call first.”

“Good thinking. Send them through when you get a chance. We’ll take a look.”

“Thank you.”

Less than thirty minutes later, the fax machine started printing.

Later that afternoon, Holden gathered the rest of the team in the war room to review the Fairbanks case files. It turned out Osborn was right in his suspicion that this could be the work of the same unsub.

“Our first victim is Glinda Sodemann, 19. Newly wed and a new mother. She went missing from her home in North Pole on August 29, 1979.” 

Holden pinned a photo of Glinda onto the board.

“Her husband came home to the baby asleep in the crib and Glinda gone. There were no signs of foul play, and no indication that she would have had a reason to run away. Two months later, her decomposing body was found near Moose Creek, just over twenty miles south of Fairbanks, in a gravel pit near the highway.”

Next to the smiling black and white yearbook photo of Glinda, Holden pinned the photo from the dump site. 

“She was shot in the face with a .38 caliber. The pistol cartridge was found next to the body. There were no signs of sexual assault.”

“Did they look into the husband,” Bill interjected.

Holden nodded.

“He was their prime suspect for a while. Even failed a polygraph. But there was no evidence.”

The next photo Holden put up was of an even younger girl.

“Almost a year after Glinda disappeared, 11-year-old Doris Oehring goes missing from North Pole. Her and her older brother were riding their bikes on June 11. She had ridden ahead of him, and when he caught up to her he saw her talking to a man with a blue car. The hood was popped open as if he had engine trouble. As soon as her brother got closer, the man slammed the hood, got back in his car, and sped off. Two days later, Doris disappeared.”

“Were they able to get a description from the brother?” Gregg asked.

“They got a rough sketch,” Holden answered, adding said sketch to the board. “The brother said he thought the man was wearing a blue shirt that looked like a uniform.”

“Military?” Wendy suggested.

“Air Force.” 

“There’s a base in Fairbanks,” Bill added.

“They found Doris’ bike hidden in the bushes near her home. A witness said they saw a blue car near that area around the time of her disappearance. The driver appeared to be struggling with someone or something in the seat next to him.”

“Fuck,” Bill muttered under his breath.

“They also said it looked like he had a military haircut. Now, based on all of the descriptions of the perpetrator, the state troopers got a list of every single blue car that was registered to drive on the Eielson Air Base. Anyone want to guess how many names are on that list?”

They looked around at one another.

“One hundred?” Gregg suggested.

“550,” Holden responded. “They questioned Glinda’s husband again. This time the polygraph was inconclusive.”

The team collectively rolled their eyes at that cursed word.

“They brought a polygraph expert in after that to question him again. They said that he had an irregular heartbeat that made it impossible for him to pass a polygraph. It would always show either as failed or inconclusive. Due to lack of alternative evidence, they had to remove him as a suspect, at least for Doris’ disappearance.”

They fell silent, processing the implications of this information. How many people failed a polygraph because of a heart condition?

“The third disappearance happened January 31,” Holden continued. “Marlene Peters, the oldest victim so far at age 20. She was last seen hitchhiking from Fairbanks to Anchorage to visit her sick father. Now, initially, there wasn’t enough reason to think that her disappearance was connected to the others. Five weeks later, Wendy Wilson, 16, goes missing. She was also last seen hitchhiking, and a witness saw her get into a white pickup in Moose Creek. They found her body three days later, over thirty miles south of Fairbanks. She had been strangled and then shot in the face. Two months later, Marlene’s body was found in similar condition, not far from where Wendy’s had been. Which also happened to be very close to -”

“Eielson Air Base,” Bill finished.

“Bingo. The latest disappearance occurred a couple days after they found Marlene’s body. Lori King, 19.” Holden puts Lori’s photo on the board. “She was last seen walking alone in Fairbanks.”

“Did they ever find Doris Oehring?” Wendy asked.

“No. They’ve searched near the air base and all the areas where the other bodies were found, but no sign of Doris, or Lori.”

Holden took a step away from the board, indicating his descent into theorizing.

“He’s single. Lives alone. Definitely has issues with women.” The team all nodded in agreement. “Probably has a hard time holding a job. He has a history with the military, but I don’t think he’s part of the Air Base.” 

“Even though it’s close to the dump site of the victims,” Gregg inquired.

“It’s more notable that the bodies were dumped off the highway. It doesn’t feel like it’s about the proximity to the Air Base,” Holden replied. “So, why does he shoot them in the face?”

“To hide their identity?” Gregg suggested.

Wendy shook her head.

“It’s more than that,” she said. “It’s a relatively tight knit community. People know that these women are missing, and identifying them wouldn’t be that difficult, even after their faces had been shot. It’s more about substitution. He’s taking them and killing them in place of the person - woman - that his aggression is actually directed at. Once they’re dead, he sees that they didn’t fulfill the fantasy in the way that he wanted, so he disfigures their face to erase their identity in order to satisfy his illusion.”

Gregg nodded.

“I disagree about the military aspect, however,” she continued. “I think it’s highly likely he does work at the Air Base in some capacity.”

“Because of the haircut and the blue car?” Holden responded.

“And the uniform. The location of the bodies. The evidence we’ve accumulated from other cases. He likely has disciplinary issues, maybe even a history of abusive behavior towards women.”

“Okay.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he also had a history of institutionalization,” Bill added. “He feels tangibly unhinged.”

“Okay,” Holden repeated. “I think we’ve got a good basis for a profile.”

Holden faced the team, hands on his hips.

“Hey, we should grab a drink later. It’s been a while.”

“I got to get home to the family,” Gregg replied.

Holden gave him an understanding smile as Gregg grabbed his notebook and left the war room. He turned and looked expectantly at Bill and Wendy, his real targets.

“Come on, it’s a Friday. We’ll go to The Fern.”

“I don’t think so, Holden,” Wendy declined.

“Yeah, I’m not really feeling it tonight,” Bill added.

Holden shot Wendy a look. For Bill’s sake.

She contemplated, and gave in.

“Alright,” she conceded. “Come on, Bill. I’ll go if you do.”

He sighed. “Fine.”

“My other condition,” Wendy added, “is that we find a new place.”

“What happened? I thought you liked going to The Fern?” 

She shrugged.

“It wasn’t as great as I thought it was.”

Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May” was playing upon their arrival at The Velvet Arrow. It was not as full, or as dive-y, as The Fern, but it was certainly more bizarre in its decor. The walls were covered in a mix of Native American art and 1950s advertisements. The bar stools, true to the name, were covered in red velvet (and stains) that reminded one of movie theater seats. Thankfully, the booths where they chose to sit were vinyl.

“I’ve got the first round,” Holden offered. “Bill?”

“Bourbon.”

Holden turned to Wendy.

“White wine. Thanks.”

When Holden was safely out of earshot, Wendy leaned in towards Bill.

“Did you tell him about this morning?”

Bill shook his head.

“Okay.”

It was understood that the phone call with Brian stayed between them. They both agreed that Holden needs to know enough of what’s going on to not be a dick, but not so much that he gets too involved. 

“It really feels like we’re his parents sometimes,” Wendy noted.

Bill exhaled loudly through his nose.

“That kid, I tell ya.”

They shared a small laugh as Holden returned with their drinks.

“What’s so funny?”

“Wendy just told a great joke,” Bill replied.

She cut him a glare, tempered with a smirk. 

“Wendy told a joke?”

“Is that so hard to believe?” she replied, more defensively than intended.

“No, I mean -” Holden flustered. “You’re…funny.”

She raised an eyebrow at him.

“Why do I feel like I was the joke,” he added.

“Couldn’t tell ya,” Bill grinned.

Wendy sipped her wine. At least it was better than whatever they had at The Fern, not that The Velvet Arrow’s was in any way exceptional. She scanned the rest of the bar. It was mostly men, military looking men at that. A few of them were here with what appear to be girlfriends, or at least hopefuls. 

Her heart stopped. A woman at the bar, a customer, back turned. Her slight frame and long straight brown hair were familiar. No. It couldn’t be. 

She gulped down more of her wine, unable to turn her eyes away, just in case the woman turned her head to get confirmation or denial. 

“How about it, Wendy?” Holden asked.

She turned to look at him.

“What?”

“Darts. Wanna play?”

“Um...”

“Come on,” Bill coaxed.

“Fine.”

While the men got up, Wendy stole a glance back at the woman. Her profile was in full view now, and it was a face she didn’t recognize. She let out a small sigh of relief.

“You coming?” Holden asked.

“Hmm? Yes.”

She anticipated how poorly she’d do. Bill and Holden assuredly had low expectations.

“Ladies first,” Bill said, handing Wendy a dart. 

She slowly shook her head at him, a slight smile on her face, and took the dart. It was heavier than she expected. It was just like archery, right? She did that once, at a summer camp. Poorly. 

Wendy stared down the dartboard. 

Square up. Shoulders to the pins.

Kay’s voice came into her head. She positioned herself.

Now, put your weight on your left foot.

She did.

Take a deep breath and just do it.

Wendy fired the dart.

It stuck two inches from the center.

Bill and Holden didn't bother to hide their surprise, nor their delight.

“40 points,” Holden exclaimed.

“Nicely done, Dr. Carr,” Bill beamed.

“Looks like we’ve got to step it up, Bill,” Holden added.

The game ended with Bill winning both rounds; Wendy and Holden earned a second and a third place ranking each. The trio walked out to the parking lot in the warm summer air. It still smelled like smoke, but it was fresher than inside the bar at least.

“See you Monday, then,” Holden said.

They waved their goodbyes and entered their respective vehicles. Wendy was about to pull out when she heard an engine struggling. 

It was Holden’s. 

She looked around and saw that Bill had already driven off. Holden looked at Wendy from across the parking lot. Their eyes met. There was no escaping now.

She got out of her car and walked over.

“Need a jump?”

Holden sighed. “I think so. Bill’s gone already?” She nodded. “Do you have cables?”

“I can check.”

Wendy looked in the back of her car and the trunk, but no luck. She returned to Holden empty handed.

“I’ll call a tow truck,” he concluded.

“At this hour?”

Holden shrugged.

“Come on, I’ll drive you home,” she offered. “You can deal with it in the morning.”

Holden willingly agreed.

Wendy turned on the radio, hoping it would keep Holden’s small talk at bay.

“So how do you think Bill’s doing? Like, really?” he asked.

She thought about it.

“I think he’s handling it as well as he knows how. I mean, how is someone even supposed to cope with your wife leaving with your child while you’re gone, with no contact whatsoever?”

“I offered him one of my Valiums the other day,” Holden said casually.

“You did what?”

“You know, just to maybe help take the edge off.” Wendy shook her head. “He declined, by the way.”

“You really shouldn’t be offering prescription drugs to people.” As if it needed saying.

“Well, when you phrase it like that,” he smirked. “Left up here, then I’m on the right.”

Wendy turned and pulled up to Holden’s building. He took off his seatbelt, but didn’t get out of the car.

“Thanks for the ride, Wendy.”

She smiled politely. He smiled back, still not making any move to leave.

“Do you want to come in?” he offered. “For a cup of coffee, or something?”

“Uh, no. Thank you.”

Holden wasn’t phased by the rejection, which only made Wendy more convinced he would keep trying.

“Okay.” He opened the door to leave. “Drive safe.”

She nodded. He closed the car door behind him.

Wendy saw him in her mirror standing outside, watching her drive away, before disappearing inside.

#op* #mindhunter #mindhunteredit #mindhunter fic #a tide in a city #wendy carr #bill tench #holden ford #gregg smith #ted gunn #it has been 84 years since i posted a fic

[brianc521]

Bad Boys Bring Heaven To You | Brian Craigen

Warning; This Fic contains smut and unprotected sex. Wrap it before you tap it yall! Enjoy.

They were a walking cliche. Always have been. From the ages of 7 to now 22, they were always polar opposites. Which is why they worked so well together. 

Brian walked around the halls of their high school with a leather jacket, ripped black skinny jeans, dirty white t-shirt, and a busted lip or black eye. He smoked cigarettes and drank too much. He almost never attended class, he really only ever showed up to school to make sure no one ever messed with his Anna. 

Susanna, named after her grandma, started going by Anna when she met Brian in second grade. He’d told her that Susanna was an old lady name and promptly started calling her Anna, saying it was ‘much prettier.’ 

Anna is a fair skin wild-child. She was stick thin as a young child, but as they grew she suddenly thickened out, and filled nicely into a curvy body. Her dark blonde hair sometimes looks a bit reddish in the sun, and the freckles on her nose gave her such an innocent look when paired with her big brown doe eyes. 

She’s Brian’s weakness. Always has been. He’s been head over punches for her since the day he met her. He’d pushed her down on the playground and when she skinned her knee and started crying softly, his bad boy facade fell. He’d walked her to the school nurse and sat with her, holding her hand, as they cleaned the dirty muddy scrape and bandaged her up. 

“Please Brian?” She asks with a pout, blinking her eyes at him in a way where he can’t refuse. 

“Sweetie, I don’t want you to get hurt.” He caresses the side of her face. 

“But,” She sticks her bottom lip out. “I just wanna try.” 

He sighs, hanging his head because man she really knows how to get what she wants. 

“We’ll take the backroads, the last mile is all yours okay?” He offers, holding his hand out. 

“Okay!” She grins, taking his offered hand to swing her leg over the seat of his motorcycle. 

He looks back, getting a small glimpse of her creamy thigh. She’s always wearing these short sundresses now, and they love to make his mind wander into the gutter. He reaches back when she’s settled up nicely against his back. He can feel her breasts pushed up against him, and he can tell she’s not wearing a bra today. 

His hand lands on her left thigh, and he slips his fingertips under the hem of her skirt for a minute. Biting his lip he lightly scratches his fingers down her leg and he can hear the intake of her breath in his ear. 

That only revs his engine further. He knows he just promised to let her drive the last mile home, but he doesn’t know if he’s gonna have the patience to let her. He was barely able to handle watching her walk into her college lecture when he dropped her off earlier.

He makes the decision to break his promise when she holds his waist tighter on a curve, and when she squeezes her thighs against his. She’s warm, and squishy, and he can’t wait. 

He takes a sharp left to take them down the road to his place, and she whines in his ear. That alone almost makes his eyes roll into the back of his head. 

“You promised.” She loosens her grip on his waist. 

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise.” He yells so she can hear him, dropping his right hand from the handlebar to rest on her hands.

He pulls the bike up into the driveway of his own little run down house. It’s nothing special, just a workshop with a bedroom and bathroom attached. It was his Grandpa’s, and when he passed he took it before the rest of the family could sell it. 

When he turns the bike off they sit for a moment, he doesn’t move. He does in fact smirk though when Anna clutches his shirt. The bike’s vibration does rile her up. His hand that’s still on hers pushes them down, just so she can feel that he’s riled up too. His left hand goes back to her thigh, this time caressing it. 

“Please.” She whimpers. He can’t handle it, he gets up off the bike and turns to her in a flash. Her cheeks are flushed red, lips a bright pink, hair messy. Her legs seem to be shaky already, so he crouches down and lifts her easily into his arms. 

Her legs wrap around his waist, his hands resting just under her ass to hold her up. He walks her into his place, kicking the door shut behind him when they enter. Once in his room he sets her down, lifting her dress over her head revealing her white lacy panties underneath. 

“Damn Baby.” He husks, devouring her with his eyes. She’s staring up at him like he’s the only man in the world and it’s just making him harder. “What do you want Baby?”

“You.” She answers so quickly. 

He grins, gives her a ‘come hither’ motion and when she does he plants a sinful kiss to her lips. One that has her at his mercy. He sits on his bed, breathing heavily as he looks her up and down again.  She stands between his spread thighs, and he bites his lip as he stares at her naked body. 

“You’re so sexy.” He hums, palming her breasts in his hand. She moans at the rough feel of his hands on her sensitive nipples. 

He trails his fingers slowly down her body, dipping them down into the front of her panties. He groans at the feeling. 

“You’re so wet Baby.” 

She’s groaning at how he’s teasing her. Clutching his shoulders so her knees don’t buckle from beneath her. His thumbs hook into panties at her hips. He shimmies them down her thick hips and thighs, and that fateful tattoo stares right back at him. It’s the sexiest thing he’s ever seen. The black inked ‘B’ on her hip stands out on her pale hip. He leans forward, planting a small kiss to his initial and she keens in his hands. 

He pulls her down onto her lap, making her straddle him. She gasps at the feel of the fabric of his jeans on her bare mound. He’s bulging, and when he grabs her ass she jumps into him. She moans at the feel and he grins. 

“Come on Baby.” He licks his lips. He pulls her close again so she rubs against him. Her eyes roll back and he knows she feels good. He likes making her feel good. So he keeps holding her hips, making her roll against him. 

Her thighs start to squeeze him tighter, and she starts to take control of the speed leaving him a panting mess beneath her as she rides him. 

Her back arches, moaning his name, nails digging into his shoulders as she stutters. It ripples through her, sending a shockwave through her entire body. When she finishes she slumps against him, and he kisses down her neck. 

“Good job.” He mumbles into her ear, tugging on her earlobe. 

“That was new.” She breathes out, yelping when he rolls her over onto her back. “You’re wearing too much.”

“I was wearing enough a minute ago.” He snides, and he snickers as she hides her face from him. “I love when you hide from me, as if I don’t know how you taste or how you look when you cum.” 

“Stop!” She whines, rolling into his pillow. 

“Uh huh,” He tsks, grabbing her legs and rolling her back to her back. “'M Not done with you.” He says, hovering over her. 

Her eyes flick open at the feel of his warm skin on hers. She didn’t even see him undress, but here he is in all his glory over her. 

“Ready?” He asks, receiving a nod in response. With that he slips in, growling at the feel of her warm walls around him. “Oh god Baby.” 

Her head is thrown back, legs coming up to wrap around his narrow waist. He grabs her hands that go to wrap around his neck. He plants them on the bed, keeping his fingers intertwined with hers. 

“Been waiting to feel you all day.” He moans, starting a slow deep rhythm. “Since you sent me that dirty text this morning.” 

“Faster.” She pants out, tugging him in closer with her thighs. 

He speeds up, changing out how far he comes out. Making it deeper. 

“God you’re so warm.” He drops his head into the crook of her neck. “I can feel you sucking me in.” 

“Please Brian, please.” She pleads with him, not being able to come up with other words. 

“Oh god, oh god.” He croons, feeling the tickle go down his spine. 

“Please, please.” She moans, holding his hands tighter. She clenches when she feels herself get closer, making Brian throw his head back and growl. His growl vertebrates through her making her back arch off the bed. 

“Come on Baby.” He speeds up even more. 

“Brian!” She yells out when he hits that spongy spot inside her. 

Her jaw drops when she comes, and he watches as her eyes squeeze shut and her body goes stiff and then lax. He groans lowly, holding her tighter as he cums. They hold each other as they both come down from their highs. 

He pulls back after a few minutes, slowly pulling out of her. She gasps at the loss of him, and then at the feel of him leaking out of her. He watches, finding it extremely sexy when he can see his cum drip down. He pushes it back in a few times with his fingers, until she pushes him away from being over sensitive. 

He promises he’ll be right back with a kiss on her forehead and rushes to his bathroom to clean up. While he’s cleaning himself he’s got the shower water running to heat up. Once he’s clean he grabs a small wash cloth from the cabinet and drenches it with the warm water. 

“Let me clean you up baby before we shower.” He whispers as he nudges her legs back open. 

“Sleepy.” She mumbles. 

“I know, but we gotta get all cleaned up. Then we can take a nap okay.” 

“I have to write a paper tonight.” She talks out loud, suddenly remembering the world outside of their relationship. 

“I know, I’ll set an alarm for 5. You start on your paper and I’ll make dinner.” 

“You’re gonna make me dinner?” She asks with a small pout as he tosses the washcloth into his hamper.

“Mac and cheese?” He offers.

“Yum.” She nods. 

“Come on.” He lifts her. 

“You’re so cute.” She whispers, playing with his hair.

“For you.” He looks at her as he sets her down in the bathroom. 

“My Brian.” She sighs, staring up at him.

“Yours.” He responds by kissing her lips softly.

#brian craigen #brian craigen imagine #brian craigen smut #brian craigen fluff #brian craigen angst #brian craigen blurb #brian craigen fanfic #brian craigen fic #briancraigen #briancraigen imagine #briancraigen smut #briancraigen fluff #briancraigen angst #briancraigen blurb #briancraigen fanfic #briancraigen fic #shawn mendes #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes smut #shawn mendes fluff #shawn mendes angst #shawn mendes blurb #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn mendes fic #shawnmendes #shawnmendes imagine #shawnmendes fluff #shawnmendes angst #shawnmendes blurb #shawnmendes fanfic

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Guardian of Creatures; AU! Queen x oc female x reader Chap. 14

*Author’s note*

Well it has been awhile since I did an update with this series but I finally took some time and finally came around to do this chapter.  Now idk when I’ll do the next chapter but I hope it’ll be soon. I really don’t wanna give up on this series and I hope you all haven’t given up either. I know the Queen/BoRhap fandom’s been almost silent lately but I hope we stand strong.

Warnings: swearing, torture, abuse, animal (in this case magical creature) cruelty/abuse

Chapter 14,

Kidnapped, tortured and broken

Taglist:

@plethora-of-things​

@simonedk​

@waddles03​

@psychosupernatural​

@ixchel-9275​

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​

@queensdivas​

@queen-paladin​

@queendeakyy​

@glitter-at-the-panic​

@geek-and-proud​

@kinole009x​

_________________________________________________________

All you saw was pure darkness.  All you could hear was the sound of your heavy breathing and you thought you could also hear the shrill of a woman’s voice.  Suddenly your vision came back to you however you found out that you were forced down on your knees with your arms behind your back.

“So this is the so called human savior that my foolish nephew Crowley found eh?” you looked up and saw the familiar crazed curly hair of John’s mother Bellatrix Deacon.  Seeing her up close and personal was like you were looking at a rapid animal.

Her pupils were so dilated you could barely see the brown color in them, hell if you didn’t know any better you’d say she could pass off having black eyes.

“Indeed it is.” The shadow wizard wearing glasses and had sleeked back black hair and piercing cold light blue eyes said.  She scoffed. “Filthy muggles. Thinking they can learn our ways of magic! The world would be better off without ‘em!”

“Madam has such a sharp sense. Clever in every sense…..” a large fat, bald male said.

“Shut up Gollum!” she snapped at the creature.  Gollum, oh yeah you remember reading about them in the Magical creatures book.  They’re basically slaves to Wizards but never mistake them for weak.  They may look fat and slow but they are able to lift things 50x their own weight, and can snap a person’s spine in half if they are ordered to do so by their master.  The Gollum submitted and whimpered fearfully at Bellatrix’s fury. “Did you find the others?”

The man snapped his fingers and soon more shadow wizards came in, coming beside them were cocoon-like shadows.  One large one stood beside you and the other looked smaller, soon enough the smaller one revealed itself to be Roger and the taller one was Thor. From Thor there was Brian and Seraffel. And from Roger there was John and Ardeth.

“Hello sweetie, you miss me?” Bellatrix said to John.

“I could say a lot of things about you and not one of them would be anything in the ties of family feeling.” She did a slight tick.

“Is that any way to speak to your mother!?”

“I think we have very different definitions of being a ‘mother’.” Her right eye twitched then she slapped John across the face, the slap actually echoing throughout the entire room.

“DAD!!” Thor and Seraffel cried out.

“You psychotic bitch! Touch him again and I’ll freeze your ass so thick that not even a blue flamed dragon will be able to thaw you!” Seraffel growled threateningly.  Bellatrix then turned to Seraffel and even gave him a slap across the face.

“You do that and you and your brother will be locked somewhere where not even the crows can land their droppings on you.” She hissed into his face.  “What of that snake beast that’s always with them?” she said as she stood back up and paced in front of you all.

“We’re taking care of him. In fact I gave him a special little concoction of my own design. He’ll be out of commission for a while.”

“Excellent. And what of little Serafina? Your brothers having their way with her?” she cackled softly with a sickening grin.

Jesus this woman….if you could just move your arms you’d sure would like to wipe that grin off her face.  How dare she speak of Serafina like that!

“She was not with us when you sent these mages to collect us.” Ardeth spoke.  Bellatrix cackled and she said.

“As if I would ever believe that, Arabic dog!” She leaned down towards Ardeth.  She stood back up and walked towards the shadow wizard wearing the glasses and continued, “Now come on enough games where is she? That little wench has been clingy to my poor excuse of a son ever since they could walk. Wherever he goes, she’s sure to follow. Like a good little puppy.”

“I’m—afraid he’s not lying.” She turned to the man.  Her facial expression in a stoic gawk.  Her eyes wide as she let out a whisper.

“She wasn’t there?” the man shook his head. Bellatrix then began to frantically pace around the nearby fireplace which was roaring with a huge fire.  

Then in a flash she raised her wand and fired a green fire blast at the fireplace which made the fire explode behind her, her hair fanning out like a deranged demon.  With a flick of her wrist with her wand, a whip came out and attacked the shadow wizard standing behind John.

“How dare you—” a female shadow witch proclaimed but she was silenced when the whip wrapped around her throat.  She was the flung out the window before Bellatrix attacked another male shadow wizard that stood behind you.  She forced him across the room, hitting the wall.

“GO! FIND HER! FIND HER YOU MONGRELS!!!!!” she roared out in pure anger.  Not even wanting to test her again, the shadow wizards disappeared all except their leader. “Corvus! Put the creatures in their cages! I want to have a little conversation with my sonny boy. Mummy to son!” She said as she went up to John and actually pulled him free from his shadow binds, pulling him right up to her face.

You as well as the others were soon being forced to walk out of the room and towards what you would assume would be the dungeons.

“Dad! No dad!” the boys called out.

“John!” you called out.

“I’ll be okay you three. I’ll be okay.” Was the last thing you heard him say to you before the last thing you saw was his mother smirking maliciously at her own son.

You were then pushed into a cage and heard it lock behind you before the shadow wizard known as Corvus walked away after sending the others into their own cages.  Already you could hear Thor and Seraffel trying to bust down their cages.

“It’s no use boys.” Brian said.

“What you’re giving up already Uncle Brian! You know who our dad’s with we can’t just leave him alone with her!” Seraffel said.

“I understand your concern for your father ice dragon. But these are not ordinary cells. These have been engraved with ancient ruins. Which means we can’t use our powers and no amount of strength can break these bars.” Ardeth explained.

“So-so we’re just gonna stay locked away down here!?” Thor asked is disbelief.  You wanted to agree with them but upon closer inspection you saw that what Ardeth had said was true.  Ruins aligned the bars; they were small and faint but you could somehow see them carved into the iron.

You sat down with your knees to your chest and thought about John and prayed to God that he’d survive whatever torture his mother was about to do to him.  You also prayed that wherever Serafina was, she’d hear him and come save him as well as the rest of you.

*3rd Person POV*

John collapsed to the ground.  His whole body trembling after being hit repeatedly and mercilessly with the Crucio curse.  He was then spun onto his back while his mother hovered over him with the very same knife she’d use on him as a child.  He once again felt like that frightened child as she held that knife right up against his cheek, allowing him to feel the hauntingly familiar steel blade.

“That wench of yours has never once left your side and now she just pops off to Merlin knows where! You will tell me where you sent that FILTHY HALFBLOOD WENCH!!” she first started off in an icy whisper before finally screaming in his face.

“Don’t know……she went……I swear! I don’t know where she is!” John pleaded with his mother.

“Oh I don’t believe you.” Without hesitating, she held down her son’s head with her left hand and with the right, she began to carve out a word under John’s forearm.  Echoing throughout the entire mansion, John’s agonizing screams pierced the air.  Mixed in with his mother’s sadistic cackling it was like being in an insane asylum.

Below in the dungeons, everyone could hear the agonizing screams of John and Bellatrix’s insane cackling and demanding screams. Thor and Seraffel shook in pure anger before they decided to hit their cages as hard as they could with their bodies. Slamming against the iron bars trying to break free (even though it was pointless).

*2nd Person POV*

Hearing John’s screams just made your heart stop and your stomach drop.  There was nothing you could do.  It was almost too painful for you to listen to John’s screams anymore, so you closed your eyes and covered your ears but you could still hear his agonizing screams.

Goddamnit Serafina where are you!? Can’t you hear your husband’s pain? You guys are already connected so you should feel it right!?

Footsteps soon came down the corridor, through whatever light could be seen from the moonbeams that shined in the dungeons, you saw that it was the Deacon’s Gollum as well as the glasses wearing Shadow Mage known as Corvus.

“The dragons, the elf and the Nokk. You four are to come with us.”

“Oh yeah? And where’s that?” asked Roger.

“Let’s just say your presence is needed—elsewhere.”

“And just what do you mean by elsewhere?” Seraffel demanded.

“That is none of your concern dragon. Just know that if you refuse to cooperate,” that’s when you felt something beginning to squeeze your heart.  Your throat clumped up and you could literally hear your heart beat ringing in your ears, “The muggle will die.”

“You sick bastards let them go!” Seraffel shouted.

“They’ve got nothing to do with this!” Thor tried to reason.

“Oh you’re right. They do have nothing to do with this, after all—they’re nothing to us. Just another, worthless, pathetic muggle born.” Corvus’ eyes turned to you.

From what you could see, his blue eyes were nothing but ice cold as the pain in your chest continued to grow and grow.  Your heart racing even faster, pleading for air. You tried to speak but it was as if your voice was silenced permanently.

“Alright we’ll comply!” Brian shouted.  Corvus turned to Brian’s cell. “We’ll comply with you. Just don’t hurt them.” Corvus’ lips turned up into a slight grin and just as suddenly the pain was in your chest, it was released and you let out a loud, desperate inhale of air.

You began coughing and felt something warm land on your lips, you raise your fingers to see just what it was only to see the familiar thick red substance of blood staining your fingertips.

“(Y/n), you alright?” Roger spoke to you worriedly.

“I’m—I’m okay.” Soon you heard the cell doors open and out came Thor, Seraffel, Brian and Roger.  The Gollum tied up Brian’s hands with rope while Thor, Seraffel and Roger were given chains around their necks.  Soon the four of them were led out like dogs on a leash until they disappeared up the stairs.

“Ardeth?” you call out.

“I’m here.”

“Do—do you think…..we’re gonna get out of this alive?” he was silent for a long moment.

“To be honest, I do not know. But we cannot allow them to break us, Shadow mages pride themselves in their arrogance. And harming others is what gives them that ego boost.”

“But what about Brian and the others?”

“I wouldn’t worry about them. All of them are clever and strong. They won’t break as easy as the Shadow mages think they will.”  You hope he was right.

*Roger’s POV*

We were lead outside the manor and saw a bunch of other Shadow Mages outside, however unlike the ones that captured us, these guys had a jaguar brands on their arms.

“As promised, four new toys to try out.” Corvus stated.  A female Shadow mage with silver hair and piercing honey-like eyes came up to Thor and lifted his chin up.

“The dragons and the Nokken will be most useful. The elf, maybe not so much.”

“As I’m sure you’re aware of Celina, Elves are notorious for their healing abilities. Perhaps he can be used to heal some of your clan members.” Celina smirked before releasing Thor’s chin and she said to Johnathan.

“Alright Corvus, you’ve got a deal.” She gestured one of her boys to come forward and he handed Johnathan a sack of sorts.  Johnathan opened it to reveal about 200 pounds. These sick, twisted Mages, they’re selling us like cattle!

“Pleasure doing business with you Felidae.” Johnathan said with a smirk before he and the Gollum walked back towards the manor. Soon each of us were pulled by our binds and forced to walk with these mages now.

My nephews and I were the ones who tried to break free from our bonds.  Chaining us up like we were no more than human dogs to them, I especially hated the feeling of being bounded by something.  Minus Serafina’s magic, having being bound by something whether it’s magic or chains it’s like—being molested by an unknown force that keeps a tight hold to you and will never let go.

For days we trudged on the open country side of jolly ol England.  I don’t know whether they were trying to break us this way or just tire us out, either way it was a foolish way.  Once I trekked the entire land that would soon become both North and South America twice without rest.  Brian’s kind, they can last several days without rest since Elves have a slower metabolism, basically they’re super human and don’t break that easy if they don’t get food or water for a few days.

And of course with Thor and Seraffel being dragons, they’ll last since Ardeth’s people supplied with a dragon sized meal for them.  But I knew their bonds must have bothered them as much as it did me.  For the Mages also decided to bind them by their backs, preventing them from spreading their wings once in a while.

You know how you’ll see birds shake themselves out by flapping their wings, well that keeps blood circulating through their wings and keeps them healthy.  When dragons are in their human form, they have to every once in a while spread their wings out for the same reason, cause if they don’t it causes them serious back pains and can even paralyze their wings if bounded long enough.

By day 5, I could already see from the lads that their backs were starting to ache them as they would shift their shoulder blades, roll their shoulders, anything to try and ease the aching muscles in their back.

It even got to the point where Thor was so uncomfortable, he actually created a thunderstorm right over us.  Not any rain but there were definitely some thunder and purple lightning flashing the sky.

“Oi Storm dragon! Yah might wanna cease this yammerin in the sky yah?!” one of the Shadow mages spoke with an Irish accent.

“He would if you would allow us to stretch our wings out you damn eejit.” Seraffel defended his little brother.  The Irish shadow mage turned around and was about to punch Seraffel across the face when he was forced to stop mid-walk by none other than Celina.

“My husband paid good money for these beasts. If any of them are harmed, it’ll be your head Seanie do I make myself clear?”

“Yes ma’am.” She freed him which made him drop to the ground.

“Keep moving, I promised him we’d be back in 6 days with his prizes.” She ordered the rest of the shadow mages.  They obeyed her with a ‘yes ma’am’ and forced us to continue walking.

The next morning I smelt something in the air.  It smelt like—brimstone? And…..horse manure? As we came over a hill that’s when we saw it.

A fortress like structure with walls well over Thor’s dragon height, steal iron and it even had runes on them.  What do I mean by runes, well I mean magical ruin, symbols that date back to the Anglo-Saxon era of man.  Serafina told me that only the witch or wizard that cast them can use their magic.  So even if you are the most powerful creature on earth, if you’re trapped within a rune binding, you’re basically a sitting duck.

We got closer and closer to the fortress, meeting some other Shadow mages with the same Jaguar symbol branding on their arms, and even the fortress walls bared the Jaguar shadow symbol on a flag.  

One shadow mage took control over Brian’s body using his shadow sorcery, 10 men came up to handle Thor and Seraffel (five shadow mages each took care of them) while 4 handled me.

I shifted into my white horse form trying to give me some more weight for them to try and drag them down but they held my chains firm.

“Open the gates!” Celina called out and when they did, we were greeted with an awful sight.

Obviously this place was bigger than it looked.  A fight ring on one side of the fortress, a corral on the other, and a stable that went all the way around the entire fortress. Dragons from fire drakes, to the peaceful Asian water dragons were kept in cages, being whipped or forced to submit to the Shadow wizards that stood at their cages.

Elves in chains forced to be slaves as they walked back and forth making weapons or potions to probably benefit Grindelwald’s followers and maybe even harm us magical creatures.   I turned around and watched as the gates were sealed shut and lit up with the runes, locking the doors permanently.

“Separate them!” the Irish mage Seanie said and soon the boys were taken towards the East end of the fortress while Brian was forcefully escorted to the upper levels of the fortress to be put to work.  Meanwhile I was forced to walk straight ahead, and that’s when my heart dropped.

As we walked along further into the fortress, I could hear the sound of thunderous footsteps.  But they didn’t come from any dragon or giant, not these steps I knew all too well.

That was the sound of a Nokken army.

And that’s when I saw them.  All of my brothers being ridden on like actual horses, all of them walking as a single unit, looking down and obeying these Shadow mages commands. My younger brothers were now slaves to these brutes.

All of them—broken.

I let out a frantic, desperate neigh as I called out to them hoping they would recognize me.  That’s when a tall, skinny black stallion looked up and nickered surprisingly.  Tommy, my youngest brother in the pod.  Back before I left the pod to join Fred and his cause, he and his twin brother Nikki were just colts.

But now he was practically a juvenile standard of Nokken. Black stallion (contrary to popular belief, we have to earn our white coats with age and experience. We’re first born as black stallions, then slowly become brown before finally we turn white).

That’s when I saw that bumping behind him was none other than his twin brother Nikki.  No just how many of my younger brothers do they have here? What did these shadow wizards’ need us for? The Shadow Mage riding on top of Tommy gave him a whip to his behind to get him back in position.

I pleaded one more time to my brothers but this time none of them even looked up at me.  They just kept marching, and marching, and marching.

Rage boiled up inside me till I just lashed out and tried to make a break for it.  The shadow mages that held onto me, tried to pull me back but I was a true fighter, I wasn’t gonna obey them.  I bucked, kicked, reared, stomped, anything I could to intimidate them.

That’s when a Bombarda spell came down just barely a foot in front of me stopping me in my tracks.  Before me was (who to me) looked like the Shadow mage in charge.

He had sleeked back dark brown hair, piercing cold blue eyes much like Johnathan Corvus did, he wore a fancy black dress suit and tight leather gloves on his hand.  Around his neck was a silver broach with (you guessed it) the Jaguar family crest.  I huffed at this wizard as I bared my teeth at him, flicking my tail angrily telling him I meant business.

“What seems to be the problem cousins?” he spoke in a pure, rich British tone.

“We got us a wild one this time Malcolm.” Said one of the shadow mages that held me.

“Deacon and Black’s pet Nokk cousin.” A Scottish shadow mage spoke up.

“Really?” Malcolm piped in arrogantly.  He walked up towards me, took out his wand and lifted my chin with it.  “We’ve broken many stubborn Nokkens in our life time. This one will be no different.” How dare he……

I then took his wand between my teeth and snapped it in half before spitting it down to his feet.  For someone who takes their shadow abilities based off the animal of humans, he definitely wasn’t no jaguar.  Malcolm smirked at me, picked up his wand and snapped it till it was completely in two before carelessly tossing it aside.

I stomped my front right foot as a challenge for him but he looked at me as if I were nothing but a worthless dog, all bark and no bite.

“Conduct him like the rest of his brothers.”

“Yes cousin.” Just looking into this guy’s eyes alone I was thinking—sea snake.  I huffed and snarled at him, keeping my eyes on him till he left me alone with his cousins.

I was dragged towards some sort of preparation stable. They placed me between these two iron-plated gate and wrapped my chains around the poles of them.

“Alright Graham, he’s all yours.” Said another Irish shadow mage.  I reared my head downwards giving him a snarl as he jumped back trying to dodge my teeth. “Be careful though, he’s a wily one.” A deep chuckle came out from a blacksmith shop nearby.

A pudgy, fat old wizard soon came out wiping his hands of the grease and grime.  Thinning white hair and a little tache above his upper lip and he spoke with a thick Irish accent.

“See ‘ow wily he is once I’m through with ‘em.” He took out a pair of scissors.  Oh fuck no! he came right up to my mane and was about to cut a chunk of it off, but I quickly turned and bit him in the hand.  He jumped back grabbing his hand and checked it out.  I huffed and gave him my best stick eye.

No one but Serafina Deacon-Black touches this mane.

“A fighter eh?” next thing I know, my head was forced down into a bagged muzzle and I could only watch as each strand of white horse hair fell down onto the ground.  The fat bastard chuckled as he continued to cut my mane but then another idea came into mine.

They may have pinned my neck and head, but these mages sure as hell didn’t take my whole body into consideration.  So I simply just leaned a bit to the left, pinning his hand against my body and the iron cage.  The fat mage cried in pain as he tried to free his hand and fell to the ground in the process.

Once he was free, I nickered out a laugh through the bag as I looked him in the eye.  He gave me his best glare as he muttered.

“Alright.”

*3rd Person POV*

After completing their marching exercise, two of Roger’s brothers that he had seen Nikki and Tommy took notice of their older brother’s games with the old fat bastard (as all the Nokks referred to Graham).  Nikki nickered curiously as Tommy turned and followed his older twin’s gaze.

Due to that little stunt, the shadow mages now used a spell to paralyze Roger’s whole body so that Graham could continue his work.  Now taking a small knife, he picked up Roger’s front right hoof and began cleaning out all the gunk, dirt, coral, anything that could be trapped underneath his hooves.

Now he wouldn’t know at the time, but he managed to move that leg out of Graham’s grasp and quite literally, kick him in the ass. Leaving a well deserved hoofprint on the old geezer’s trousers.  Roger laughed again through his sack-like muzzle.  From their spot, Nikki grinned while Tommy whinnied out a laugh, remembering just how much Roger loved to toy with wizards, especially the male ones.

A shadow witch came and bound Roger’s leg that kicked Graham with a chain this time.

“I told yah, good ol iron will always do the thing instead of relying on magic too much!”

“And I told you yah old geezer, we don’t know how his leg got free! No one is ever able to break our shadow paralyzing spell.” The younger witch snapped at him before leaving.  As Graham went back to work, this time hammering a new horse shoe onto Roger’s hoof.  Roger nickered softly and soon felt his back foot raise up ready to kick Graham right in the face.

“Graham watch it!” another witch called out to him but it was too late.  The second he looked up, Roger’s back leg socked him in the eye sending him onto his back.  Nikki and Tommy both let out whinnies of laughter at their older brother’s games which soon caught the attention of the other Nokks as well, including Roger’s twin brother Vince.

Graham grunted and rubbed his head before glaring back at Roger who glared at him.  This was the last straw for Graham, playtime was over.

He had all of Roger’s legs triple chained up to ensure that he couldn’t escape this time.  In his shop, Graham was pumping up the brand of the Felidae family and was going to brand Roger with that very mark on his side.

“Yah bloody wanker this ‘ill teach yah to mess with me.” He muttered.  Nikki cringed out a worried nicker while Tommy lowered his head bending his ears back so that he wouldn’t hear the painful roars to come.  

In Vince’s stable he lowered his head, many Nokks, including him have broken once they’ve been branded.  Being water creatures, any source of heat is painful for them if it gets on their skin, and this guy brands this in blue dragon fire which makes it twice as painful and more torturous than any Nokken could ever take.

Graham came onto Roger’s right side, holding the flamed poker with the brand at the end, chuckling arrogantly.  But Roger wasn’t going to go down without a fight.  He wriggled and wormed his head around until finally he got free of his muzzle, his head hovering straight over Graham’s entire body.

He let out a gasp while Roger smirked at him before giving him a well-earned, hard, painful headbutt, knocking Graham out cold.

“Graham, you alright mate?” asked a shadow mage as Roger snorted at him, claiming his victory.  Nikki, Tommy and Vince all whinnied out laughter at their brother’s play.

“This Nokken is unlike any of the others. He’s even managed to slip pass our spells.” Said one witch.  “How is this possible?”

“I don’t know.” Said another female witch as they both stared at Roger, who raised his head up high, glaring at anyone who dared try to brand him next.

“Elizabeth, Robyn, you two rally your brothers and—tell them to take this Nokk to the stables.” Said a male shadow wizard.

“Not the stables James.” Malcolm’s voice soon spoke up. The three of them turned to face the head of the Felidae shadow clan.

“Malcolm?” James asked.

“The corral. It’s time we broke this beast.” Malcolm’s final command was.  And whatever the head of the house says, the others must obey.

*Roger’s POV*

The corral huh? Break me? Heh, good luck with that.  I was taken to the corral and as if I were a normal horse, they saddled me up and forcefully tried to pry my mouth open so that I was forced to feel the touch of their shadow reins.

Let me tell you it felt and tasted revolting.  Try to imagine a thick stripped down rag being gagged between your teeth that felt as hard as steel itself.  I gave them a fight but one of them just had to cheat and give me a good, hard shock to force my mouth open.

I reared and shook my head as I felt the first shadow mage get on top of my back.  All right, you Mages think you can break me? Well come on then, let’s ride!

The second that gate opened, I bucked madly which shook the young male wizard on top of my back like a ragdoll.  I made an erupt stop and he slammed right into the back of my neck making him disoriented.  I quickly spun around before giving him one final buck, sending him flying into the air and landing right on his stomach in the dirt.

I gave him an arrogant huff before turning to Malcolm who only gave me a glare.  Next in line.

The next rider was a slightly older male shadow mage sporting both a tache and beard.  Arrogantly he thought he could last longer than the other guy, yeah right.  I took him out quicker than the last one, sending him right on his arse.

Of course as I walked away he shouted a profanity at me. Calling me a ‘lousy piece of horse shit’.  And like hell I was just gonna take that lying down, I charged head on at him to which he ran for his life.  Barely making it out of the corral before I gave him a quick bite to his arse.  From the nearby stables, I could hear some of my brothers laughing out, I turned to see it was none other than my brothers Tommy, Vince and Nikki.

I nickered to them thanking them before trotting back, my tail flicking with pride and my head held high.  Once I got back to my so called ‘kennel’ I snorted out at the witch who stood in front of it, making her reel back in disgust as I got back into place, nickering arrogantly.  Next!

“This one will break ‘em.” A Welsh witch spoke as a big Scots shadow mage came at me with a horsewhip in hand.  Please like he’ll be any different.  I threw that big lug off of me under just one second.  All it took was one good leap and he went soaring through the air, even knocked another wizard who was sitting on top of the corral fence.

Even some of the witches tried to ride me but just because they were girls didn’t mean I gave it to them any easier.  In fact I made sure to buck those bitches off of my back even harder, because like I’ve said before.

The only witch who I allow on this stallion’s back is Serafina Deacon-Black.

Now to really show these bastards I meant business.  I charged at one end of the fence baring my teeth and stomping my hooves aggressively.  I then charged towards another section of the gate, scaring the shadow mages there, even knocking some of them into a trough.  Finally my eyes turned to Malcolm, I charged head on right towards him.  

The mages around him backed up but he stood firm with his hands behind his back and his eyes narrowed with hate as I growled right in his face, my breath even making parts of his short hair flow freely from its sleeked back form.

I stood face to face with Malcolm panting heavily.  My eyes piercing red at this point, my blood boiling and my heart racing.  You have proof yet you cocky little shit?  I don’t go down without a fight.

“Celina!” Malcolm called out.

“Yes Malcolm?” the woman who brought us here stood by Malcolm’s side.

“Take this Nokken down to the boiler dungeon. No food or water. 2 weeks.”

“With pleasure my darling. Plus with a little more fire power from those fire drake’s we got, the boiler room will be extra hot for this one to—cool down.” She said with a sadistic smirk.

Next thing I know I was trapped within a cell and all I could feel was hot air surrounding me.  It was also strange that I could feel that my legs weren’t chained up at all, nor was my snout or neck.  But still it was scorching hot in here.

I laid down in my cage, smacking my lips already starting to feel my mouth growing dry.  I huffed and nickered softly.

Damnit Serafina where are you? And Freddie, what happened to him? Was he here with us or was he still at the manor with John, (Y/n) and Ardeth? And just what the hell was this place exactly? Why would the Shadow mages want all of us creatures for?

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