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#and then he said good night but switched to 'or well good day i suppose' cause he's somehow heard about me not sleeping until afternoon
itsabouttimex2 · 18 hours
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Oooh how about some yandere headcanons of Tang , Redson and Azure lion with a reader who’s very reckless? They’re always throwing themselves into danger whenever the team is fighting, and reader just insists they’re trying to help. Please if not no worries XD
Sure thing! Also, I think I’m going to grind out a few more requests before I wipe my inbox. I let it grow shamefully out of care during my hiatuses. Then I’ll open up Character x Character (still platonic) requests for a while.
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“Y/N, I find that I have warned you many times about this kind of behavior…”
You look up to the leonine demon with a frown, gripping one of your upper arms as a form of self-support. How many times have you heard this lecture? How many times would you hear it in the future? Every time that you so much as try to help him in a fight, you’re sat down for this same spiel.
But you don’t remember him ever being this stern. In fact, he seems-
“Cub,” the lion says, carefully taking your chin between two massive fingers. He says it pointedly, as though preemptively arguing his stance- you’re young and small, still a child to him. One he sees as worthy of his love and protection, even if you might try to reject it.
“Y-yes, Azure?”
“I would like you to pay close attention when I’m talking to you, please.”
Even upset, the demon remains polite and gentle, if rather firm. His fingers are soft to the touch, claws carefully sheathed. He’s never used them against you, not even once. Nor has he even threatened you with them.
His massive hand shifts to your hair, stroking the unruly strands back into place. His metacarpal pad squishes into your cheek, and you can’t help but lean into it, savoring the brief moment of warmth he offers during this long scolding.
“It seems I must switch my methods- clearly, my words will continue to fall on deaf ears if I continue down this path.”
Azure outright scruffs you- snags you by the cape attached to your pauldrons and lifts until your feet leave the ground.
“Come along, cub,” the lion says, as though you have a choice at the moment. All you can do is dangle from his blue-furred hand and try not to squirm, hoping that your cape won’t rip and sending you tumbling.
The training grounds are a familiar sight, hours and hours spent here together, learning all of Azure’s skills.
He presses a wooden training blade into your hands, then takes up one of his own.
“If I cannot teach you, perhaps a full day of training will. We will be sparring from this moment to your bedtime,” he sternly informs, a blush creeping up your face at his final word. That your mentor saw you as so young that he enforced a strict bedtime was…
Well, you tried to tell yourself it was reasonable. After all, if you were growing stronger and exhausting your body, you’d need lots of rest, wouldn’t you?
Didn’t justify the constant checking on you through the night, tucking you in every time the blankets come loose, and ensuring that all the windows were shut and locked.
And you had no doubt that was where you’d end up, exhausted and face-down on your bed, letting Azure gingerly knead out your aching muscles with his massive paws.
But all of that was for later. For now?
You had a full eight hours of training ahead.
Good luck, Y/N.
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“No.”
“Wuh- what the hell do you mean, no?! I haven’t said anything yet!”
“And the answer is still no, brat.”
This is the most frequent conversation you and Red Son seem to have, constant preemptive denial of whatever scheme you’re dreaming up.
He’s viciously protective of you, serving as an ever-vigilant guard. Not only is your every move tracked and monitored, but your actions are under constant and fierce scrutiny.
“I see you went to that cheese tea stall, Y/N. After I told you that you weren’t allowed to go.”
“Red, they moved it to the inner city! It’s way safer there, so all your arguments before don’t even matter anymore!”
“…hmph. I suppose I’ll let this slide, then. But I’m not going to be so merciful next time.”
Constant restrictions on where you go and what you do, which could theoretically be lessened to some degree, if only you’d just stop being such a damn fool.
To him, your actions are proof of immaturity, preventing Red Son from genuinely trusting you or letting loose the stranglehold grip he’s taken on your life.
To you? You are genuinely just trying to help the people you love, if a bit recklessly.
But Red doesn’t see it that way, and even when you try to make a convincing argument as to why he should, it’s promptly shot down.
So with debate and brute force both proving pointless in changing his mind, you switch to stealth and subterfuge instead. Expect to get caught about fifty percent of the time, then forced back inside and placed under lock and key.
He loves you, dammit! Why do you have to be so stupid?! Why do you have to try and sneak out?! Why can’t he love any other idiotic mortal around?!
Why does it have to be you?
Red Son can’t imagine that he’ll ever find out why he came to cherish someone as small and weak and stupid as you… but he does.
And since he can’t force himself to stop caring, he’ll just have to impose harsher and harsher restrictions until you finally submit to his care.
Maybe then he’ll finally be able to berate thoroughly talk you out of your heroic ‘delusions’. Maybe you’ll crack and break down, finally discouraged from your kindness.
Just this once, he’ll let you cry into his shoulder.
It’s the least he can do for the person he loves most.
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Oh, this poor man. Weak ankles, frail body, fragile heart. You are not doing him any favors by acting recklessly.
“Y/N, NO! Put that down! You- you can’t just go around swinging random swords- stop spinning it!”
“It’s fine, Mister Tang! Mei’s been teaching me!”
“Teaching you to what?! Get yourself killed as quickly as possible?!”
Yeah, he’s constantly on the verge of falling apart. Given that the scholar genuinely just wants to keep you safe and sound, it’s absolutely nerve-wracking for him to deal with you.
Expect him to turn to the Noodlefam for help eventually. Given that they cherish Tang as much as he cherishes them, it’s not hard to rally them into lending him a hand.
He’ll speak to MK about the whole matter, talking him into keeping an eye out for you. He might even convince the young hero to whip up a clone to keep surveillance on you, trying it’s hardest to keep you out of trouble.
As for Pigsy, well… if Tang sees you as a child, let’s be honest- so does the chef. Man has a ladle locked and loaded for the backside of your head, and a sharp remand to go with the sting. “Enough messing around, Y/N! Put the damn sword down and help me with these dumplings already!” And at his words you reluctantly clamber down from the windowsill you were crawling over, settling back at the counter to help the porcine demon prep a meal.
All three of them together have zero issue with keeping you under control, but Tang is clearly the most dedicated here, and sometimes on his own in tending to the matter.
You have to sit through hours of scoldings and lectures. When he’s finally done trying to impart upon you why what you’ve done is dangerous, Tang sends you off to bed with his worried words ringing in your ears.
He’ll stop by to tuck you in, of course. Even when caught in the maddening throes of obsession is Tang kind, always looking to dote on you in some way.
There’s definitely worse people to be dealing with, at least.
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nsharks · 5 months
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bleeding blue | apocalypse au
part fourteen —other parts
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pairing: Simon "Ghost" Riley x fem!reader words: 3k tags: death. blood. cannibalism mention. zombies of course. AFAB reader. single dad ghost. there will be sex but it isn't here yet. slow burn!!! enemies to lovers. summary: After losing your companions, you run into a skull-masked man and his daughter. They are your last hope for survival.
Blue holds her arm out, stopping you from taking another step.
"Sh. I see one."
Up ahead, a squirrel stills on a tree, beady eyes unblinking. In a matter of seconds, Blue throws her knife and pins it to the bark through the stomach. 
"Nice," you comment. "You got it on the first try this time."
In your hand is the other squirrel she killed for you. Ghost started working on your bow yesterday. He didn't say anything to you about it, but you spotted him sitting on the porch chiseling away at a hunk of oak. Until he's finished, you've struck another deal: helping Blue skin the rabbits in exchange for her killing squirrels with you. She's better at killing them with a knife than you are. 
"This is good practice for me." She wriggles the knife out and hands you the kill. "Poor guy didn't see it coming."
"Probably better that way."
She slips the knife back to her ankle. "Do you need more? Or is two enough."
"Two is enough. I saw these flowers by the trench that I think are edible."
"You can eat flowers?" She makes a face. The two of you begin heading back toward the camp. You didn't go off too far with her. Ghost said she wasn't allowed to go past the pond without him. Truthfully, you were surprised he let her go with you at all. 
"Yeah. Pink Sorrel. They taste lemony, and I'll add the leaves, too. Like a salad."
"Yum," she says sarcastically. "Did Paul teach you that?"
You nod. "He knew a lot about plants."
"Are you sure he didn't like you?" 
"Blue," you almost groan. "You've asked me this twice now."
"Well, you seemed to have spent a lot of time with him, and he taught you a lot of things."
"You can spend time with someone and learn things from them without... liking them."
"I wouldn't know," she shrugs, waving her hand around. "There are no boys here for me to spend time with besides Ghost." 
"Paul didn't like me in that way," you reaffirm. "Besides, he's dead."
There is a lingering pause as a cloud rolls over the sun, turning everything dim before it passes. The weather these past few days has been fluctuating like true spring. Cold showers in the morning, intense sunlight by noon, and clouds that come and go. The cabbages Blue planted have sprouted fat, juicy leaves. You've mentally scolded yourself for not including seeds in your deal with Ghost. 
"So when are you and Ghost going to start training or whatever?" Blue speaks up, switching subjects.
"Training?" you repeat.
"He told me you wanted to learn some things." She glances at you. "Look, let me just warn you, he can be a real hard ass. One time, he made me climb up and down a tree twenty times without stopping. And another time, he made me throw knives over and over until I hit the exact same spot on the tree again."
Right. Somehow, that last request you made of him has slipped your mind. You did ask him to teach you how to better defend yourself against other people.
It's been over a week now, and the two of you still haven't talked much except for the necessities. Honestly, it's probably best that way. Maintaining a clinical relationship with him should keep the peace and maybe even earn more of his trust. You're growing confident that he doesn't see you as much of a threat anymore. Last night, you ran into him again after waking up from another dream, and all he did was walk past you, step outside for a cigarette, and then go back to his room. He didn't seem suspicious of you being up at all.
That said, the reminder of the 'training' he's supposed to give you makes your teeth snag onto your lip. 
When you don't respond, Blue adds, "What exactly do you want him to show you? I hate to say it, but I don't think he'll give you one of his guns."
"No," you shake your head. "I don't want that. It's not Greys that I'm as worried about. As long I've got distance, I can use my bow for them. It's more about... other people. They get close. Too close."
"Well, you can always bite their nose off," she gives a bump to your shoulder.
You cringe. "I'd rather not have to do that again."
She pauses, looking at her boots. "What did it taste like?"
"Fucking awful. Probably the grossest thing I've ever experienced."
She looks up. "If you were a Grey, you would've loved it."
"Well, I'm human still, and I much prefer these guys." You wag the dead squirrels in front of her face and she laughs. If you could replace all her tears with that sound, you would.
"You still haven't answered my question," Blue tilts her head. "When are you getting started? Because I have some training in mind for you, too."
You arch a brow but don't question it. "Um. I don't know. Ghost hasn't said anything to me about it, and he's busy working on my bow right now."
"Why don't you ask him, then?" She shoots you a knowing smirk. "Are you scared of him, Twix?"
"No," you say all too quickly. "No... I'm not. I just don't know how to talk to him. He's not exactly approachable."
"Just do what I do. I say whatever I want to him. Except when he's pissed, then—" she freezes for a moment and lays a hand on your shoulder. "—it's better to shut up and listen. Believe me."
You speak under your breath. "Noted."
It's another dream that night which pushes you to actually confront him. The loud voices sharpen into images— a bloodied knife at your throat, a toothy smile, carved body parts. You wake up and grab your neck, expecting to feel severed tissue. Instead, you feel damp skin. Something bubbles up your throat and fills your mouth. Squirrel and Pink Sorrel. The taste makes you shudder, but you swallow your dinner back down. The dark, quiet living room mocks you. 
The morning after that, you find him on the porch. It's not raining, but the air pricks the back of your neck with dew. You've already bathed and woven your hair into braids, which is growing longer by the day and bordering on an inconvenience.
Ghost tilts his head the second a wood plank creaks beneath your footsteps, tearing his gaze away from the assortment of carving knives in his lap. You've caught him in the moment before he's started to work on your bow again.
He is wearing that balaclava that makes him look more man than ghost, along with a black hoodie and faded, brown jacket. The whites of his eyes are visible, slowly sliding up to yours. You fully realize he isn't going to greet you with a hello, and standing there in an uncomfortable silence doesn't interest you, so you bite the bullet.
"I want to start that other thing I asked you for."
He seems to know what you're referring to. "Right now?"
Your nails dig into your palms, realizing that you should've waited for a time when he wasn't preoccupied. Though, he's hardly ever not doing something. 
Blue was right. Something about him has you subconciously on the defensive; it's something you want to get over if this living arrangement is going to be long-term, which you'd prefer it to be. It was about two months ago now that he nearly killed you, and since then, he has kept you alive ten times over. Maybe you should focus on that: on the hand that pulled you up, on the warm jacket over your shoulders, on the bow he is making.
"Whenever you have the chance. But— now, if we could."
Ghost lowers his eyebrows and seems to think it over. "Now is fine. Your bow will have to wait a bit, then."
"That's okay," you speak as you exhale. "I don't mind."
It's at that moment Blue pushes through the front door and you almost startle. "Can I come with you guys?"
Ghost folds his knives up and responds in a firm tone. "No. You have work to finish up."
"But my leg is hurting," she retorts lightly. "I'd rather sit and watch you guys."
"Your leg was just fine yesterday when you were hunting and climbing trees." 
"That was yesterday. Today, it hurts." She bites her lip and shrugs.
"How convinient." He gives her a dry look.
"So is that a yes?"
"It's a no."
With a groan, she goes back inside. 
Ghost escorts you out of the gate and towards a small clearing nestled within a circle of trees. As you follow behind him, you find your eyes straying to his broad back and for a moment, you wonder if maybe you've changed your mind— or maybe you want to tell him to wait until Blue can come join.
But you remind yourself that survival is a proactive game; you can't laze around and keep getting sick from the memories. You need to shut them away into that box you've made, and in the meantime, get stronger.
"Here is good," he says, stopping.
It's been awhile since you've done anything like this. There were plenty of times Paul 'trained' you. He used to make you shoot at the trees until your back muscles were practically immobile. As an ex forest ranger, he wasn't much of a fighter. His advice was always this: "Don't let anyone or anything get close enough to where you have to fight them."
Clearly, his advice can only go so far.
In the five years you were at your old camp, you managed to keeps things at a distance for the most part. A few Greys had snuck up on you, resulting in thrashing and wrestling around to avoid bites. But there were only one or two times that you had to engage in close combat with a human. The few other survivors you encountered were usually punished by Paul's rifle or your arrows. 
You shed your jacket and hang it on a branch, left in just Ghost's shirt and your jeans. "So, um, what should I start with? Running laps?"
"You want to learn how to defend yourself, not run a marathon."
"Right." You nod and rub at the gooseflesh that sprouts on your arm. You turn to face him. "I was joking."
Ghost ignores your comment with a pensive expression, staring you down across the short distance. You put on a blank face and meet his eyes expectantly. 
The silence stretches for a second longer than what would be deemed normal. Is this just how he is, then? Or is it only with you? You're about to say something to put an end to it when he suddenly crosses his arms over his chest.
"You were a nurse." It should come out like a question, but it's more of a statement. His voice nearly makes you jump. 
You can't help it; you look away. "Um. I... wasn't, actually."
Why is he bringing this up? Never once has he asked anything about you. In fact, you sometimes toy with the thought that he might have forgotten your real name by now.
"Figured," he says.
You frown, flashing him a confused look. "What? Why?"
"You're a bit too young to have been a nurse five years ago."
You think back to the moment he found you with an inward wince. "So you knew I wasn't telling the truth?"
"It didn't matter if you were or not."
That's right. I don't need a nurse, he said. 
"It wasn't a total lie," you clarify, dropping your arms at your sides. "I was in nursing school."
He rubs his chin. "You should understand the body, then— its weak points."
Your fingers flex before they gesture to your face. "The nose and eyes are obvious ones. But... but if someone grabs me from behind like," you forcefully inhale, "Like you did, then I won't be able to reach them."
He gives a short nod, then looms closer. You will your boots to remain planted in the damp soil despite the overwhelming proximity and intimidating mass of him. You blink up as he points a gloved finger to the hinge of his jaw. "There's this, too. Pretty easy to dislocate." His fingers move to side of his corded neck. "And here. The throat is weak and vital."
"I still wouldn't be able to reach those," you point out.
"You have more than just your arms, Twix."
"So my head, then?"
"That's one way." He moves a step back and you release a breath you didn't realize you were holding. "Why don't you show me what you'd do— give it a try."
The suggestion should be expected given what you're asking of him— of course he would have to touch you at somepoint. Yet, it makes you stiffen. He motions his hand for you to turn around and with great hesitance, you comply, until you hear the crunch of twigs beneath his boots as he closes in behind you. You stare straight ahead at a tree and focus on breathing. 
"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you."
His flat tone makes your eyes twitch in irritation and you are glad he can't see them. "Yeah. I know."
Just as he did all that time ago, his burly arms wrap around you, though not as firm and threatening. Your feet don't hang and you're not skin and bones this time, but once again, you are imprisoned against a hard chest. Your lungs pick up their pace and an artery in your neck jolts. 
"Just show me what you'd do," he says slowly, warm breath fanning across the top of your hair. "Don't worry about hurting me."
You wriggle against him, but even without issuing all his strength, it's useless. You stomp on his foot, figuring that toes are pretty vulnerable, but his thick boot hurts your sole more than you could possibly have hurt him. Your eyes begin to sting. You suddenly find yourself panting in frustration. Before you can even think about trying to use your head, full-blown panic unfurls in your chest. 
"Let go," you say under your breath. He must not hear you. Your voice turns to a snarled hiss. "Fucking let go of me."
His hold immediately loosens and you stagger forward, creating much-needed distance. Heavy breaths scratch up your throat. You wipe the back of your hand over your forehead and close your eyes for a moment, seeing blood and burnt skin against the backs of your lids. When you reopen them, Ghost is staring at you. The humiliation sets in as a red flush on your cheeks.
"Sorry," you shake your head and stare up at the clouded sky. "Just— maybe we should go back." Your arms hug around your stomach to keep its contents contained. "We can start this another day."
Throwing up in front of him again is low on the list of things you'd enjoy doing. He's already seen you near-death— no need to add a mental breakdown to your repertoire. Your lips press tightly together as you head to the tree for your jacket, but his gruff voice pauses your fingers against the embroidered flag on its sleeve.
"This isn't going to work if you don't tell me what is bothering you."
Your hand drops. "What?"
"What happened when you went to get the ammo, Twix?" he presses.
"I..." 
To tell him would be to pry open that box you've made and let him peek inside. He has never even asked a single question about you until today, so you press onto the lid, tight, and turn to face him with pleading eyes. "I don't want to talk about it with you, Ghost. Don't make me."
In response, he lifts up his hands in resignation. "Alright." He lowers them. "Why don't you at least tell me how you handled it?"
"Why?"
He taps a finger to his masked temple. "So I can understand how you think. How you keep surviving all this shit."
The wave of nausea settles as you form your response. "I... I burned him. He cleaned the bite on my arm with some alcohol. I distracted him a little and then smashed the bottle on his head. I had my lighter, so I used it."
Slowly, he nods, as if your words are not all that surprising to him. "And how about at the base when I left you?"
"There was that Grey," you remind him. "I bit the guy's nose and pushed him into it. If it hadn't been there, Blue and I would be dead. You see? I survived because I was lucky. I hardly know what I'm doing."
Ghost argues. "You survived because you saw opportunities and took them. You were smart about it."
"And what about when there are no opportunities? I will just panic like I did now." The tightness in your chest turns into something that has you roughly grabbing the jacket and sheathing your bare arms. "Let's just go back now.”
This time, he doesn't protest. The silence that clouds the short walk back is expected on his part, and purposeful on yours. 
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genshin-scenarios · 3 months
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A Leyline Incident (Wanderer x Reader)
Summary: A leyline mishap has transported you and Wanderer into his memories – aka back to when he was still Kabukimono.
This'll wear off in a few hours, but you don’t know how long you can last when Wanderer’s acting like this.
Established relationship/you’re already together. He’s just pushing your buttons as usual.
Content warnings: Rated teens and up!
Wordcount: 1100+
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“Move to the side. Am I just supposed to sit on one inch of this chair?”
“What are you talking about?! I’m about to fall off here!” Your indignant whisper quickly turns into a strangled sound when Wanderer slots himself to your side, pushing his body against you.
There are countless more places he could sit, but of course he chooses the most inconvenient one to stay close to your side. After you’d been found together at the edge of the village, Wanderer had quickly introduced you as a traveler he befriended from his foraging trips.
Considering how even his clothes were transformed into the white and purple garb he used to wear, you were the only oddity in the situation. With a defeated sigh, you played along, letting Wanderer adopt the demeanor of his past self as he loops your elbows together, leading you into Tatarasuna.
But even if he was friendly as Kabukimono, wouldn’t the villagers still find it weird if he’s so attached to you?! Granted, the swordsmiths and workers milling about are fragments from his memories, but they’re still fully capable of interacting like normal.
Katsuragi turns to the both of you, handing Wanderer a bowl of soup. “Just let us know if your friend needs anything else. It wouldn’t do for us to count them out of dinner, after all.”
“Thanks, Katsuragi!” Wanderer switches his tone effortlessly, wearing a smile so innocent that your stomach turns in disbelief. “They’re a little tired, so I’ll show them to the guestroom later.”
The idea of being stuck in a room when Wanderer’s dressed and acting like this is enough to make you stand up, trying to escape despite how dark the sky is. “Actually, I feel fine. So maybe I can help with serving—”
“—But didn’t you say you’ve been traveling all day?” Wanderer interrupts. His brow furrows in worry, raising a spoonful of soup to you. “You should eat and rest. I’m sure the villagers won’t mind!”
“Any friend of Kabukimono’s is a friend of ours.” Katsuragi confirms. “It’s only a night’s stay, after all. If you’d still like to help out, we can discuss it in the morning.”
Worst of all is the expectant look on both of their faces as you sit, frozen, staring at Wanderer’s hand still offering to feed you.
There’s amusement glimmering in his eyes even as he retains that sweet smile. “The grannies are really good at cooking, so you should try some!”
You grit your teeth, mustering all the patience and peace in the world as you lean forward and take a bite. It’s surprisingly good, though that might have to do with Wanderer’s memory of the soup rather than anything you’re actually consuming.
After that, you manage to save your dignity a little by taking the bowl from him and finishing the rest yourself, just so you could excuse yourself and retreat away from the villagers. Wanderer brings you to one of said guestrooms, where you immediately round to berate him.
“Just because this is one of your memories doesn’t mean you can go ahead and—”
“Mess around?” He takes the words right out of your mouth, lips quirked with mirth. Here stands the Wanderer you know. But what you don’t expect is for him to drive the point forward, taking a slow step towards you with every sentence. “But don’t you find it endearing to see me acting like that? Wide-eyed, well-meaning… Willing to do anything for you with a smile?”
“The leyline must’ve dropped you on the head before we woke up here.” You panic, realizing that your back has just hit the wall. He’s too close, and the glint in his eyes spell nothing good for your wellbeing. “Heck, you could even be lying about your old personality, and I wouldn’t have a clue.”
“Hm. Regardless, I’ve gotten you into quite a spot.” Wanderer leans over you, and you think he’s about to kiss you for a second before he simply lingers there, giving you a smirk.
“You know what? We’re done.” You slide down to sit on the ground, trying to avoid his gaze because there’s no way you started leaning in and he had the audacity to tease you. Your deadpan is a giveaway that you’re simply flustered, covering your face with your eyes shut and words muffled. “I don’t know you anymore. Goodbye.”
“Well that’s rather hurtful.” He crouches so you’re at the same height, propping his chin atop his palm. “I was going to let you choose how I’d kiss you.”
You allow yourself to peek at him, curiosity winning over. “…In what way?”
“As in,” Wanderer leans closer, moving his hand to tug at the end of your shirt. “Would you like Kabukimono, lovesick as he asks if he can kiss you?”
He mimics the pose, face tilted just enough so that he’s the one peering up at you. An image of something desperate and hopeful flashes through your mind — wide eyes and pleading for you to melt and say yes.
“Or, maybe you want me to promise I’d never leave your side.” In a cheerful, exhilarating realization that he loved you. Exclaiming it with a laugh bubbling on his lips, knowing this emotion for the first time.
His hands shift to cup your face on both sides. As Wanderer shuts his eyes, they flutter open again with a different weight to his gaze; half-lidded, he’s close enough that your lips are brushing, but doesn’t quite press them into a kiss.
“Fast forward things a little, and it’d be like this.” He traces the shape of your cheekbone. “Maybe I wouldn’t ever want to let you go, and ask for your heart to be mine.”
He’d steal it from your chest, if he really had to. You’d believe it, in the current state he’s emulating – remembering the stories he told you about his past after disaster struck Tatarasuna. When he was lost to a color of the world that struck him cruelly, believing he’d been betrayed once again.
Your hands reach up to take Wanderer’s wrists gently, pulling him out of his stupor with your touch. As his eyes clear, he leans into the kiss you tilt your lips up for, letting you take the lead as he melts into you. It’s soft and sweet — a little reassurance in the way you wrap your arms around his neck, keeping him close even after you part.
“I’ll take any version you give me, though I prefer the usual Wanderer a little more.” You smile, earning a bemused huff.
“Because I’m already yours?” He guesses.
“Because you seem happier.” You correct. “Or at least, that’s what I assume, with your own fanclub at the Akademiya and all.”
“They’re ridiculous.” Wanderer says, gaze softening. “As are you.”
For loving him, he means. But that’s been an affliction you’ve had for a long time now, and you had no intention to stop.
“Maybe another kiss will knock some sense into me?”
“Hah. As if that’s worked before.”
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f4riedimples · 7 months
Text
one of the girls
Pairings:Sam carpenter x f!reader
summary:truthfully ,after months of hooking up you never knew if Sam would ever officially be yours.
Inspired song:one of the girls-Jennie,The Weeknd,lily-rose depp.
a/n:(reader is 19, Sam is 25)
warnings:friends with benefits?,small smut/suggestiveness, secrets, jealousy
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‘We don't gotta be in love, no I don't gotta be the one, no I just wanna be one of your girls tonight’
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Yes, you had feelings for Sam but you’d never thought it’d turn out like this.
I mean- why would she decide to do this herself anyways? It all felt so unreal. you’d known each other since before she left her home 5-6 years ago.
and ever since she was back you couldn’t help but have feelings for her. She was everything that you wanted.
“Right there- right there, fuck.” She had whispered to you as you continued to please her, switching to whatever you knew she truly wanted deep down.
she loved to be dominant but you knew she’d also love to be taken care of so you decided to do whatever you can to please her.
‘Give me tough love Leave me with nothin' when I come down My kinda love Force me and choke me 'til I pass out’
after you made her feel good you both just would simply put on your clothes. No aftercare, sometimes no words.
nothing.
after you both came out of her room you helped yourself to a bottle of water in her fridge. You really needed it after all.
If you were gonna be honest as much as you loved doing whatever Sam asked of you, you wanted so bad sometimes for more. A real relationship. You hated how attached you were getting.
You at least would’ve loved some sex that felt soft, loving, and of course comforting. Not just sex that’s more…freaky. Not just the degrading words that would turn you on, the way she would spank you, the way she made you feel the way no one else could.
it felt good in the moment but you wanted more.
but you might never speak on that.
“hey y/n.” You turned around as she said your name, waiting for what she was gonna say next.
“can you hand me a bottle of water?” She panted as she wiped a bit of sweat off her brow. You handed her some water and she eagerly almost chugged it before chuckling.
“hey is it okay if I take a shower real quick before Tara and the others come back?” You asked almost shyly before she sent you a smile.
“of course.” You smiled and made your way to the shower trying not to think about everything running in your head.
after getting out of the shower you quickly threw on some clothes and excited the apartment, giving Sam a rushed good bye as you power walked out of the apartment.
Sam on the other hand…well. She didn’t know how to feel. Or what she felt.
the next day you had come over with the rest of the group to hang out before going out to the club that night. As soon as you arrived and Sam answered the door you saw Danny in the room.
you stared, almost glared at the muscular boy before Sam interrupted all the thoughts that were coming to your petty little head.
“y/n, come in!” She smiles seemingly not knowing what you were staring at. Once you had got in and set your bag down you hugged Mindy before sitting on the couch next to her.
You guys had quite a fun time for a while. All until when you weren’t paying attention Sam was taking Danny to her room.
your eyes widen as it felt like your worst fears were coming true right in front of your eyes.
no one noticed at first until you had this almost upset look on your face. Chad turned to you concerned thinking that you were about to cry or maybe even scream.
“Y/n? You okay? You seem pretty tense.” He asked concerned as you just shook your head and sighed with a chuckle.
“I’m fine. Thanks Chad.” You sent him a smile at his caring nature and also because to night was supposed to be fun.
and besides, Sam wasn’t yours anyways. Why would you be mad over someone who doesn’t belong to you?
once Sam and Danny had came out of the room after what felt like an eternity you had all went to the club.
while there you had some shots but decided to separate from the group.
In the corner of your eye you had saw Sam dancing pretty suggestively with someone else. There was so many people around you that you could only focus on Sam in the face she was making as she was touching the person.
“she’s not yours, she’s not yours, she’s not yours…she’s not…” you said in your mind as your eyes filled with tears. You didn’t know wether you wanted to tell that to the person or how much you were telling it literally to yourself.
she wasn’t yours. She wasn’t anybody’s.
you were just lucky your friends weren’t currently seeing you. You made your back to the bar and ordered another shot.
“thank you!-“ you almost squealed trying to be happy and cheer up. As you took the shot and felt the alcohol burn your throat you tried to get out of the sad mood and shake it off.
you felt a tap on your shoulder. You didn’t wether or not you hoped it was Sam before turning around to reveal…
some random guy.
he had a smirk like smile on his face and you already knew he wanted to dance.
you really wanted to roll your eyes.
“sorry. I’m not good at dancing.” You lied as you tried not to have an attitude. But of course he wouldn’t let up that easily.
“oh come on sexy. I saw you dancing a few minutes ago. I know you got moves.”
you sighed. “Sorry I just really don’t wanna dance right now.
the guy rolled his eyes with an attitude.” Cmon! I could really make it worth your while. Besides…maybe if you want we could go back to my place and you could experience some real fun.” His breath reeked of alcohol. You could tell by his clothes, scent, messed up tattoos and teeth that it wouldn’t be happening.
he was clearly fucked up in more ways than one. He yelled at the bartender to get you both shots of one of your least favorite alcohols.
You tried to be patient and talk out of this. “Listen man I’m just not interested. You’re not my type. Keep your shots for yourself. I can buy my own.” You argued with a slight attitude.
he couldn’t help but groan. “Damn. Why don’t chicks like a real man who’ll take care of you?” He then mumbled under his breath as he started to walk away. “Ugly bitch.”
you gripped the bar table in anger as you tried to keep a your emotions from the past weeks at bay.
you quickly turned around and ordered another shot from the bartender Toni who had a really sorry look on their face feeling bad for you.
as you took your next shot you heard Tara shout your name happily.
“y/n cmon! Why are you just sitting there by yourself?” It wasn’t anything to be rude or sarcastic but you still felt angry at it. But you knew that it wasn’t her fault for the predicament you were in.
you turned around and sighed before taking another shot and smiling. “Let’s party!”
now you were currently dancing with Mindy in not a too suggestive way. Everyone around you could tell it was just playful and friendly.
she was behind you as you two danced to the current song that was playing. It felt so good to let loose that you started to forget about the whole Sam situation.
that is until she took your hand and led you to another part of the club.
you were shocked and confused in your drunk mind. “Sam? What are you doing?”
“dancing. With you.” You could tell that she was probably not too happy but you ignored it and made sure not to make her mood worse. you guys were dancing like a couple who were ready to get it on. You felt her hands on your body and saw how she sent a slight glare at Mindy.
was she jealous? Couldn’t be. Her and Mindy probably just had an argument recently or for all you could know it probably wasn’t even aimed directly at Mindy.
you were almost getting turned on with the way Sam was dancing against you and grabbing you. It made you wanna kiss her so bad. And you almost did until you realized how angry could be.
‘Lock me up and throw away the key *She* knows how to get the best out of me I'm no fools for the world to see Trade my whole life just to be’
you were so ready and hoping Sam would take you back to her apartment right then and there when everyone got back and wouldn’t notice. But after a few minutes you saw her staring on another direction with a much different gaze.
you knew that this would probably be the end of your dancing now and you were right as Sam pulled away and walked off.
you were sad again. You weren’t gonna do anything crazy to get her jealous again. No. You were just gonna go back over to your friends and dance in a much more friendly and less provocative way.
you were once again trying to feel better but everyone around you could tell that was a mask to hide how you truly felt.
‘Top of the world but I'm still not free It's such a secret that I keep Until it's gone, I can never find peace Brace my whole life just to be’
when you all got back to Sam’s your drunkenness had already died down from all of your emotions on everything.
you so desperately wanted to talk to Sam before you all got back into the car.
but you’d just embarrass yourself or at least that’s what you felt.
you wanted so badly to move on. Get away. Stop it. But you knew that it would be such a bitch to leave. Not when you and Sam had already done so much.
you were just thankful that she didn’t try to bring back whoever she was dancing with at the club.
you hopped into the shower first and got rid of all the little bit of sweat from your time parting at that club. even as the drunken state your mind had was fading you couldn’t help but think about if Sam came in her right now.
seeing you like this. But not just for some hook up to end the night. No. Maybe to…finally be official?
You knew it was beyond stupid so you tried to get that hopeful thought out of your head.
as you came out of the shower you realized that as everyone was mostly asleep Sam had her door wide open.
she pulled you inside. “There you are princesca.” She whispered lustfully before kissing you passionately.
at least you were her girl for the night.
663 notes · View notes
yuyusboyfriend · 7 months
Text
⋆ Get On Mic ⋆
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pairing: Mingi x gn reader ft. Yunho
word count: 2,3k
content: Mingi likes your, and his best friend's, voice a little... too much and isn't very good at hiding it
warnings/tags: mxm, sub!mingi, dom!reader, switch!yunho, phone sex, voyeurism, possessive mingi, I can't really think of any others, tell me if there's anything else
a/n: just incase, wyd= what you doing ,vc=voice chat, also this isn't proof read so!!! sorry
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Mingi: you busy?
You: just finished some work, why wyd?
Mingi: jump on vc lets play, you promised. and the guys miss you
This was the 3rd time this week you had abandoned your 'finished' homework for Mingi. You would've said not tonight as said homework is due tomorrow, but for all the boys? You supposed you could play for a little while.
Mingi had been acting differently for a few weeks, nothing obvious, but you had noticed he had become much clingier with you. "Did one of your anime characters die or something?" you asked the giant that was wrapped around you as you made lunch for the boys.
"Hm? Oh, no, you're just so comfy. This hoodie new?" he grumbled into your shoulder, putting his hands in the front pockets as you tried to maneuver the both of you around the kitchen.
"No it's Jongho's, he said I could borrow it for the day-"
"Wear mine instead." Mingi unravelled himself from you and marched off to his bedroom with purpose, emerging with a hoodie of his own. It was your favourite of his, and he knew it—a tattered grey one that Mingi had owned for years, and he looked so pretty in it; you complimented him on it whenever he decided to wear it. You had actually been seeing it more often these days than you used to.
"Alright Mingi, whatever makes you happy princess" You didn't question his actions; Mingi's clingy days were quite endearing to you if you were honest. He clung to you like a koala to a tree, despite his stature and the fact you could hardly move when he did.
"I'm not a princess y/n,"
"You sure act like one? It's okay to be my princess Mingi, I'll look after you, hm?" Mingi huffed grumpily and slipped his hands under Jongho's jumper to pull it over your head, before realising you weren't wearing a shirt under it. Despite his beet-red face, he slipped his hoodie over your head, and took a step to admire his work; the way you looked in his clothes.
"See that's much better!" He yelled loud enough to smother the noise of his racing thoughts.
"I'm right here Mingi!" You rubbed your ringing ear as he apologised for nearly bursting your eardrum, "You are right though, this does look better. Could you give this back to Jongho when he gets home for me?"
He sighed sarcastically, "Anything for you my y/n." That left you with a weird flutter in your stomach, you weren't used to Mingi using endearing language like that. You wouldn't mind it again, though.
"Thank you, princess!" You laughed and ran away hearing Mingi's heavy footsteps not far behind.
You opened the voice chat to hear Woo and Joong fighting over who got who killed in their last match. "YOU LITERALLY-Y/n! You're here!" Wooyoung yelled down the mic and diverted his attention to you, with a slew of greetings coming through from the boys, Mingi's voice pitching in last.
"You made it," you could practically hear the grin on Mingi's face.
"Here he goes again" Yeosang's voice chimes into the conversation.
"Shut up Yeo."
You look at your screen, confused as to why Yeosang would say that and what it meant; why Mingi's tone had turned deep and icy at the statement, but before you even had a chance to question the situation, Seonghwa beat you to it. "Let's play! San I'm gonna beat your ass."
"We're on the same team??"
After playing a few rounds for a few…hours…the boys finally called a 20-minute break so they could go stretch and raid their kitchen for whatever they had bought on a late-night shopping trip. Well, you thought everybody had gone anyway.
"Y/n?" You almost missed Mingi's hushed voice down the mic, he sounded so soft. You hoped you could go and see the boys after all your assignments were handed in; you missed Mingi's hugs-turned-cuddle-sessions-turned-sleepovers.
"What's up princess, you okay?" your gentle tone sent shivers down the boy's spine. He felt hot when you called him sweet names through the phone, and while he wouldn't admit it to anyone, the way you called him princess got to him. Bad. Like bad in the way that was making him shift in his chair as the fabric on his plaid pyjama pants felt tighter by the second. Fuck, he felt so guilty, letting your sleepy voice get to him like this, but he just couldn't help it. He loved it, he loved the way you made noises when you stretched in your chair, groans slipping out of your mouth-
"Mingi? You there?"
He accidentally huffed a little down the mic, trying to conceal his whimpers as he pressed down into his growing hard-on, trying to gain some friction with the palm of his hand while he answered your worried tone. "yeah yeah,, I'm here. Can you just… talk? Tell me about your day,,, please?" Now that he had started, he just couldn't stop himself from reaching into his trousers now grinding up into his palm through just his boxers.
"Yeah, sure Mingi. So you know that assignment? I actually haven't…." The warmth of your voice spread like wildfires across his burning skin as you told him about… he totally wasn't sure what you were saying. His head was too fuzzy, too high off of your voice that he could barely register your words when he wasn't concentrating.
"Mingi are you okay? You sound out of breath, should I tell one of the guys to check on you-"
"No! No, I'm hh, fine y/n,, c-carry on please" Mingi knew he would get caught any second with the noises escaping his mouth, but he just couldn't help it, he wanted you so fucking bad, he was so desperate for you to just make a move on him after weeks, months of teasing and touching; hell, he had 3 wet dreams and infinite cold showers after he took Jongho's hoodie off your body, his eyes absorbing every detail, curve, scar, blemish, beauty mark—whatever his eyes had access to at that moment.
"Princess. You should've just told me you needed my voice." Busted. You could hear Mingi rhythmically shifting and huffing, his chair squeaking every once in a while. In all honesty, you had caught Mingi doing this a couple of times now, You could always hear the sound of Mingi's hand smacking the base of his cock as he stroked himself to your voice. It lit a heat in your stomach so strong that after the first few times, you wouldn't be able to stop yourself from reaching into your underwear and playing with yourself; Slow enough as to not cum on the call but by the time it had ended you'd be writhing and squirming into your mattress. The thought of him taking in your body with greedy eyes any chance he could had your legs shaking as your orgasm hit you like a truck, crying out his name into your pillow.
"Wh- what? What do you mean?" Mingi's movements came to a halt on the other side of the call.
"Mingi, do you think I can't hear what you've been doing? How all of a sudden when it's just me and you, your breaths become heavy? Oh, princess, you're cute." you couldn't help teasing the poor man, you didn't think you had done too much till you heard the giant whimper into his mic, hands moving at a faster pace than before.
"Answer me, baby, tell me what you're doing, please?"
"Ah- I'm… fuck I'm sorry. Just—your voice is so hot, I couldn't help it—ngh" Before you could you heard a phone camera click, followed by a notification on your phone—Oh.
Mingi's veined hand was practically suffocating the base of his angry cock, precum leaking out of his tip. God, it was a beautiful sight that made your mouth water-
"Mingi. You didn't send that just to me…"
Yunho: did you mean to send that to the both of us or should I just pretend I didn't see anything?
Yunho: Either way, Impressive👍
Mingi squeaked at Yunho's messages out of embarrassment, and being kind of turned on at his friend's words.
Right? You like what you see, Yunho? Come join the call again…
You had a sneaking suspicion that they both had a little more interest in each other than just lifelong friends, and while you liked Mingi a whole lot, his best friend was just as pretty. The two of you had also shared some drunken kisses and touches one night after helping a blacked-out Mingi to bed. You wanted to dress them up in matching outfits and parade them around the house-
"Mingi? Y/n?" Yunho cautiously called out your names, his voice more gruff than usual.
"Yunho… help…" Mingi was barely able to get his words out, between the shame of getting caught out, and the way it was making him more needy by the second, his brain felt as though it was becoming mush.
"Mingi, are you really rubbing one out in the call again? You were bound to get caught, this is on you." Ah, so you weren't the only one who had caught onto his antics. To be fair, when it was just late-night calls between the 3 of you, he wasn't sly at all. All the shuffling and coughing to cover up his sounds, and the way he would mute himself for a suspiciously long amount of time with no warning, all to come back with a groggy voice and shallow breaths.
"Again?! Ah-What do you mean again-" Mingi gave up on trying to stop his whimpers and groans between speaking, letting them fall out of his bitten lips.
"Mingi, you could've just told us you needed our help, I'm literally in the room next to yours." Yunho can't help but let out a throaty laugh at the boy's predicament.
"Don't you dare Yunho, if you're gonna touch him then I better be there for it." Your body heat rises at the thought of the two of you teasing Mingi's aching body till he cums for you both. As if Mingi was thinking the same thing, his sweet noises increased with each stroke, one hand reaching up to play with his sensitive nipples. He was so desperate to cum after unintentionally edging himself two times, both of your words mixing with the fuzz in his brain making.
"Guys I don't mean—mean to stop the bickering but—please help,,," Mingi grabbed his phone and threw himself on his soft bed. Since his room was already darkened, the only sources of light emitting from his gaming setup and phone screen thanks to the blackout curtains, he turned the camera on for you and Yunho to see his tired and red face huffing into the darkness.
"Pretty," You heard Yunho whisper under his breath, so quiet you weren't sure if he had meant to say it out loud, but Mingi's little whimper as he rutted against his bed reassured Yunho either way.
"You think so Yunho? You think our princess is a pretty boy?"
"So pretty. Arent you Mingi?" He cried out so loud Yunho could hear him through the wall. He began to beat his cock harder with each stroke slapping his skin louder than the last.
"Oh Mingi, you're so worked up sweet boy, you gonna cum for us?" you whispered sweetly, bringing Mingi closer to his edge.
"Y-yes fuck please I'm so close please keep going" The boy moaned out into the bedsheets, craving his nearing release. He imagined two sets of hands on his aching body, Yunhos larger pair raking across his chest while one of yours grips the surface of his hip, the other dragging up and down his weeping cock.
"Im gonna- I- I need to cum-" You could hear Yunho's breaths becoming shaky and uneven too, the sounds coming from the two almost making you cum untouched at the thought of them getting off to this.
"Yunho, you ready to cum with Mingi? I wanna hear you both cry" You say with a smile, rolling your hips into your pillow.
"Y-yeah, Mingi fuck cum princess" Yunho tried to say in a stable voice, faltering as he and Mingi came into tightened fists, cum streaking against their surroundings. Mingi cried as he spurted white liquid from his tip, what felt like hours of edging coming to an end finally, his orgasm hitting him so roughly he had managed to get cum on his face and the walls from the buildup. Yunhos had been a little less explosive but he had still been desperate for release knowing what his roommate had been up to for so long. After a minute or two of no talking, you checked in,
"You boys okay now?" You approached the situation cautiously.
"Y/n, can you come over? We'll help you with your essay just- please come over?" Mingis's groggy voice pleaded, Yunho carrying on his thoughts.
"I'll pick you up and take you to college in the morning too, we miss you." Maybe it was how soft they sounded in their haze of post-nut clarity, but you really couldn't say no to them.
"I'll be ready in 5 but take your time getting here… Also, I didn't get to cum so are you guys gonna fix that orrrr?" You hear the call end as you finish your sentence and suddenly feel embarrassed.
Mingi: be there in 4.
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I'm sorry this is so ass tbh😭😭😭😭 it's done now though thank GOD
867 notes · View notes
jasmines-library · 2 months
Note
Hello ml !! How’ve you been? <3
I was wondering if you’d be up for writing smth with the batfamily, and maybe their reaction to reader coming back home from a sleepover at their partners house, and telling them that they got cheated on?
Have a great day/evening/night <33 🫶
Heartbreak Doesn't Feel So Good.
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Hello Hello! Thanks for requesting again, I always love to see you in my inbox. I hope you have been well. Sorry it's a little on the shorter side but I wanted to get this out for you today.
Word Count: 1k
⛤ BATFAM MASTERLIST ⛤
The first thing Jason noticed when you stepped through the door was that there were tears running down your face. He had always been observant, but he knew you well. He could tell that your mascara ran beneath your eyes from the way your shoulders were hunched to match your slow movements, gaze firm on the ground. And if he listened carefully enough, he could hear the sniffling that you failed to conceal as you tried to wipe away the evidence of your upset. 
“What’s that matter?” He was up in a second, moving toward your side. His face and voice were laced with concern. 
You had stayed the night round your partner's house and weren’t supposed to be back for at least a few hours. Jason had seen the way you left, grinning as you carried your bags to the car. But now you stood crestfallen, dropping your bag on the floor in defeat. Something had clearly gone wrong and Jason was determined to get to the bottom of it. 
“What happened?” He frowned, helping you remove your jacket. 
“I-” Your lip trembled as your eyes filled with tears again. Jason pulled you to his chest and let you weep. 
After a tender moment, he guided you over gently to the couch where he sat you down and took your hand in his, repeating his question. His heart nearly broke when you looked up at him. 
“They…They cheated on me.” your voice broke as you stuttered out what happened. 
Jason felt his fingers clenching to fists.
“What?!” The voice hadn’t come from Jason. It had come from Tim who was passing by the room on his way back from the cave.
“I don’t know what happened…” You sobbed. “I thought we were fine. And then they left for a moment… their phone kept going off. So I checked it. I didn’t want to impose…but I thought it might have been something important. And then I saw her name. And the messages.”
“I swear to god-” Jason nearly growled. 
“And when they came back into the room I confronted them. And they didn’t even try to deny it!” More tears streamed from your face, falling hot like acid. Like a lingering reminder. A cruel joke. “They just told me that ‘they didn’t love me anymore’. That they had ‘found someone better’. What kind of an answer is that?!-”
Tim tried to soothe you by placing a gentle hand on your arm. “Shh. It’s gonna be okay kid.”
“But…I don’t understand what I did wrong.”
“What’s going on?” Dick had arrived with young Damian in tow. The pair had been sparring and had decided to check up on Tim following his absence, but were starstruck to find you bawling on the couch. 
“What’s wrong little bat?” Damian asked. His voice was surprisingly gentle and held much more concern than you thought was ever possible for the stubborn boy. 
All four eyes watched you, anticipating you to speak. But you just couldn't, your mind was too busy and you didn’t dare utter the words that you were trying so hard to believe weren’t true. You knew that the moment you said them again all of your walls would come tumbling down, torn from whatever remaining supports were keeping them upright.
“They cheated on her.” Jason spat. 
“What an asshole.” Damian jeered. He had seen how happy the pair of you were and the thought of someone switching up that quickly made him feel queasy. 
“Oh y/n/n.” Dick sighed “I’m so sorry. That’s unfair.”
You shrugged. 
“Didn’t even give her a reason.” Jason continued. You could practically see the steam coming from his ears, despite how he tried not to lose his temper for your sake. But the more you revealed the harder he was finding it. “Just left her at a snap of their fingers.”
“It’s their loss. They didn’t deserve someone like you in the first place.” Dick told you. 
“Exactly.” Damian nodded in agreement. “You’re totally way out of their league.”
“You think so?” You sniffled.
“100%. You’re worth so much more than anything in this world and that asshole didn’t deserve any of you.”
A smile upturned at the corner of your lips. Tim reached out and wiped the tears away from your eyes.
“Hey. No more of that crying okay? It’s gonna be fine.”
You nodded, though you still couldn’t shake the sadness from your bones. 
“Wanna watch shitty movies and eat ice cream?” Dick asked, sensing this.
“Please?”
And the four of them moved quickly, gathering pillows which they chucked onto the couch to create a pillow fort of sorts. Damian ran into the kitchen to grab ice cream, though he was uncertain of what flavour so he grabbed two alongside a handful of spoons and a plate of brownies that Alfred had just finished making. Then they made themselves comfortable on the couch, surrounding you in their embrace before letting you decide on a film to watch.
And so the five of you sat there for hours, watching chick flicks and trying to devour tubs of ice cream before it melted completely. As much as they would never admit it, Damian and Tim were mouthing along to the lines of the cheesy films, or singing along to the songs. One of their guilty pleasures. Jason seemed engrossed in the movies too, surprisingly. Though you weren’t sure if he was pretending to be interested and was actually plotting the inconspicuous murder of your partner as revenge. The thought made you chuckle. The five of you stayed bundled up on the couch until slowly, one by one you began to drift off and your heartbreak had been forgotten for a few hours at least.
When Bruce arrived back from his late night patrol and found you all together, his heart warmed. They were always going to take good care of you.
BATFAM TAGLIST:
@aestheticdaisies
@hell-o-kittys
@xxrougefangxx
@mamapucket
@hearts4robs
@harleycao
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detachedminxsfics · 5 months
Text
Caught In The Act
Masterlist
Characters: Max x F!Reader
Summary: When your landlord Max offers to do you a favour you come home to a pleasant surprise when you get off work early
Word count: 3.3K
Warnings: NSFW - Voyeurism, brief handjob, oral (m recieving), vaginal sex, creampie, riding, praise, dirty talk, soft dom/switch max bc he's a cutie
A/N: This is just what we all wanted to do during the bathtub scene. Enjoy :)
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The alarm on your bedside table blared restlessly as you attempted to pry your eyes open, rolling over to stretch your arm and aimlessly fumble for it until you felt it beneath your palm and slammed your hand down on top, silencing it. With a huff you managed to haul yourself out of bed to get ready for work, making sure you had everything you needed in your bag and slipping your shoes on when you heard a knock at the door, which you hurried to open when you got your other shoe on. It was your landlord and next-door neighbour Max whom you'd grown rather close with over the past few months of living in the building. He'd been a good friend to you when you needed him most and you'd spent plenty of nights since you moved in getting takeout and watching movies together or even him cooking for you, which he often insisted on doing when you'd had a particularly stressful work week. His eyes lit up a little when the door opened to reveal you, a small smile on his lips before he started to speak.
"Hey, I know it's early but I was thinking about that leak in the kitchen you told me about and was wondering if I can take a look at it for you, and fix it up if I can?"
Max was wearing a navy blue t-shirt with some slightly baggy charcoal grey work jeans, which you could tell from the way they were splattered with various shades of paint. He'd been wearing them when you first came to view the apartment, the moment when the man practically changed your life by offering you the place.
"Sure, but I've gotta go to work. Last minute shift change." You sighed as you stepped away from the door to grab your bag from the small glass table in your hallway, which prompted Max to enter the apartment.
"Well I can fix it up while you're at work and lock up when I'm done, I've got a key." He suggested, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he watched you make a last minute check of the items in your bag.
"Really? That would be great, thank you."
As you made way for the door you stopped to lean in and plant a quick peck on Max's cheek, the stubble of his salt and pepper beard slightly scratching against your lips when you did. His eyes were closed when you pulled back until they fluttered open to look back into yours, a smile creeping onto his lips again as you continued towards the door.
"I'll see you later, Max." You said as you grasped the door handle.
"Have a good day at work." He simply replied with a polite nod of his head, watching as you closed the door and listening to your footsteps get further and further down the hall.
He was just thankful that the way his hands were shoved into the pockets of his jeans concealed the way they started to shake when he felt your lips against his skin.
Since you came in last minute on what was technically supposed to be your day off you managed to convince your boss to let you leave early when things got quiet, a sigh of relief leaving your lips as you rode the elevator up to the floor of your apartment and headed down the hall once the doors opened. You tested the handle of your door to see whether it was locked only to find that it wasn't, the door swaying open meaning Max must have not locked up since he hadn't finished up in the kitchen yet, not that it bothered you that he was still inside. You stepped in and quietly closed the door, kicking your shoes off and starting to make your way to the kitchen when you heard it, stopping in your tracks the moment the sound reached your ears. Groaning. You followed the sound down the hall and into your bedroom, but when you peered into your bedroom there was nothing there until you turned and stole a glance through the doorway of your en suite bathroom and finally identified the source of the sound. Max was lying down in the bathtub, his head resting back on the porcelain rim and his hand buried beneath his jeans. Low, raspy groans fell from his throat whilst his hips bucked up slightly with every stroke of his hand, his chest rising and falling as his breaths started to get heavier and faster. It was hard to believe what you were seeing, but you couldn't possibly bring yourself to look away. The way his eyes were screwed shut and a stray strand of hair curled against his forehead, the way his lips parted to let out the soft grunts that were progressively turning into more desperate, drawn-out pleas, the way the veins decorating his hands bulged as he shamelessly tried to bring himself to his release in your bathtub. You couldn't get enough of it. Sure you had treated one another as friends these past few months, but you could never shake the suspicion that Max harboured feelings towards you that made him wish you were a little more than just friends. You'd held off on the idea of developing feelings for him in the worry that if things didn't work out between you two you'd be stuck living in the same building and having an ex as your landlord. It wasn't practical, but with the way the man was touching himself before your very eyes you weren't sure you could keep up with doing the right thing, the smart thing.
"Max?"
Your voice made his eyes shoot open before he sat up, cursing under his breath and awkwardly trying to tuck himself back into his pants, his eyes darting between you and his hands fumbling with the open fly of his jeans.
"Hey you're, you're back earlier than I thought you'd be." He stated breathlessly with a nervous smile, but there was no way for him to cover up what he was doing.
"Clearly." You teased as you started towards the tub causing him to glance up at you, his eyes filled with a mixture of worry and surprise.
Wordlessly you leaned down and started to palm the clothed bulge straining against his jeans, his hips jolting up at the contact and his hand gently closing around the wrist of the hand you were using to touch him.
"What are you doing?" He asked, seemingly more taken aback by how forward you were being rather than opposed to the idea.
You only hushed him and slid your hand over his groin until you reached the fly of his jeans, carefully undoing the sloppily half-up zipper and delving your fingers beneath the denim and the waistband of his boxers until you felt your fingertips graze over his shaft. His skin was hot to the touch and he hissed through his teeth as you gave it a small squeeze, the reaction making you bite your lip at how sensitive he seemed to be. Wanting more of him you started to tug down his jeans and boxers prompting Max to lift his hips to help you slide it down easier, his cock springing free once he did, and what a treat that was. Max was big with just the right amount of thickness, his tip swollen and glistening with pre-cum practically aching to be touched aside from his already desperate, strained anticipatory breaths. You lightly ran your thumb over the tip to gather the stickiness, a contented moan escaping his lips as you circled it before lifting your thumb to your mouth and sucking it clean with a pleased hum. Then you leaned back over the tub once again, bracing your hand on the edge of the bath whilst you wrapped your other hand around the base of his cock and started to stroke, his mouth falling open at the sensation as a bunch of throaty moans followed. Still working him with your hand you turned your head to the side to press your lips against his, his lips moving back against yours instantly and his tongue lightly sweeping over yours. After a moment you broke the fervent kiss, parting your lips just enough that they were still barely grazing against his.
"You're so noisy." You playfully remarked with a small giggle, your comment making his brows bounce up.
"Do you want me to be quieter? I can be quieter." He pleaded against your lips clearly flustered, which only made you shake your head and smile.
"I never said it was a bad thing. Besides, what's the worst that could happen, someone puts in a noise complaint?" You whispered against his lips, brushing your lips over his teasingly.
You brought your mouth against his again, his hand reaching up to comb his fingers through your hair and deepen the kiss. You continued to enjoy his mouth some more, even pulling back slightly to lightly nip at his bottom lip before kissing over it and then leaning back up again, unwrapping your hand from his shaft.
"Sit up." You ordered, to which he complied and leaned up until he was sitting in the bath.
You swung your leg over and climbed in, lowering down into the space at the bottom of the tub and laying down on your stomach, your head hovering over his lap.
"I wanna taste you."
You wrapped your hand around the base of his cock and swept your tongue over his swollen tip, the warm wetness of your tongue making his hips bounce up at the feeling and a grunt rumble from his throat. Then you licked a stripe from the base to the tip, your tongue running over the vein bulging in his shaft and swirling over the head once you reached it again, the salty taste of pre cum coating your tongue.
"Please." Max begged as you ran your tongue over him, his hands trembling at his sides as it took everything in him not to coax it past your lips, and he practically looked like he was about to explode any minute.
Removing your hand you kept your eyes on his, slowly sliding him past your lips and into your mouth, taking his cock as far down as your throat would allow.
"Shit. Oh, baby." He moaned out, slipping his fingers into your hair and caressing the strands as you bobbed your head.
You loved how vocal he was, the way he threw his head back when you enthusiastically moaned around him, and how responsive he was from even the smallest of touches.
"Your throat feels even better than I imagined." He rasped, the flattery making you drag your lips up his cock sucking a bit harder as you did, before sliding your mouth all the way back down on him.
You didn't mind that Max had imagined this before. Truthfully, you'd indulged in a fantasy or two involving him once or twice when you first moved in, you'd just never entertained the idea of it after that. Oh, how wrong you were. He started to grow restless, the hand stroking your hair stopping to gather some in his hand as he started lifting his hips in time with your mouth, chasing his release with his heavy lidded chocolate brown eyes fixed on yours.
"Sweetheart, I-I'm gonna-" He drawled, cut off by the way his orgasm seemed to hit him and his cock twitched in your mouth, his hips stuttering as his whole body shuddered.
You moved your mouth off of him just enough to be able to swallow, warm ropes of his release filling your mouth and coating your tongue, lightly sucking him through it and milking his cock until he seemed to be empty and softened a bit in your mouth. Carefully you slipped him from your mouth and swallowed it down, some beads of cum still having escaped from your lips trailing down his cock which you leaned down to lick off.
"You are perfect." Max added breathlessly while reaching out to caress the side of your face, his thumb tenderly stroking over your cheek.
You leaned into the touch with a smile, his hand still on your face as you crawled over him until you were hovering over his lap and then sat down, his semi-hard erection resting against your clothed crotch. His free hand reached up to start stroking over your thigh, caressing it as he went and then moving to take hold of your hip. He used the hold on your face to crash his lips against yours, the grip he had on your hip growing firmer as you moved your lips against his, and his hips subconsciously rocked beneath you in search of friction.
"You wanna fuck me?" You whispered in between kisses, to which he pulled back just enough to breathe his sentiment into your mouth.
"More than anything." Max murmured eagerly, and you smiled against his lips before leaning back to take hold of the hem of your top, crossing your arms and lifting it over your head.
He did the same, throwing his navy blue tee over his head and tossing it onto the floor beside your tub, a pile of clothes starting to form as you reached down to get your pants off, sitting up enough that you could push them past your thighs and roll them down to your ankles. You kicked them off once you got them down your legs then turned and reached behind you to help Max get his boxers and pants off from where they had gathered at his calves, throwing them to join the heap of clothes now on the floor. He took hold of your hips again, and you hovered over him just enough to feel the way he was hard and ready against your inner thigh. You reached down to guide him to your entrance and then began slowly lowering yourself down onto him, the stretch around him making a pained moan fall from your mouth.
"Mm, Max." His name rolled off your tongue so wantonly, every inch of him gradually filling you.
He pressed his lips against yours to muffle your cries, one of his hands coming up to cup one side of your face again, his other still resting over your hip.
"It's okay, it's okay." He cooed between kisses as you tried to adjust to the feel of him, and soon your ass was pressed against his thighs as you took him to the hilt.
Letting go of your face he took hold of your other hip and moved slightly, the first lift of his hips enough to make his mouth fall open and a husky groan follow suit, mirroring him as a needy whine spills from yours. Bracing your hands on his shoulders you started to roll your hips, creating a slow, rhythmic bounce that Max aided with his grip on you. You moved your hand to his chest, caressing your way up to his shoulders and then to the nape of his neck, slipping your fingers into his thick brown locks as you leaned forward and started pressing kisses on his neck, languidly working your way down to his collarbone and the generous curls of hair sparsely adorning his chest. Your other hand smoothed over the top of his arm, running your fingers over one of the many tattoos his body was littered with and lightly squeezing his bicep which made him hum appreciatively. With time you began picking up the pace, sliding all the way up and then coming down on him hard, the wet slapping sound of skin on skin echoing throughout the bathroom as your ass smacked against his thighs. His hands moved to your ass cupping it firmly as you bounced on him, caressing it as he rocked his hips in time with your movements.
"Good girl, god you're so tight." He praised, moaning out as your walls massaged his cock.
Your knees started to ache, feeling bruised from the way you'd been kneeling on the small space of porcelain on either side of him. You slowed your movements to mumble through your strained breaths.
"My legs are gonna give out." You whispered with a giggle.
Max seemed to get the idea, repeatedly pressing his lips against yours as he gripped your thighs and leaned forward, gently laying you down on your back and hovering over you, your legs draped over his hips. He didn't waste any time in moving again, thrusting his hips as he fucked into you deeply and his mouth found its way to your jaw, kissing along it and allowing his beard scruff to scratch against your skin. You wrapped your arms around his neck, your hands resting on the nape of his neck and playing with the curls of hair above it. His lips trailed kisses along the side of your neck, then over your throat and down to your collarbone, affectionately marking you in whatever way he could. Eventually, the pressure in your abdomen started to build and you wrapped your legs around his waist, locking your legs at all the right times to try and spur him to go deeper. He listened to your wordless request, burying his cock into you and pumping into you with hard, bottomless thrusts.
"Max, Max I-" His name tumbles from your mouth in the form of a plea, repeating his name over and over again amidst a string of curses.
"I've got you, it's okay baby." He hushes you, coaxing you to your orgasm with soft reassurances and it's more than enough to tip you over the edge.
You cling to him as you let out an unrestrained, sweet cry, your whole body trembling beneath him as he holds you and fucks you through it. With his eyes fixed on you and wholly focused on your expression he succumbs to his release too, his hips stuttering and guttural groans spewing from his throat. He spills into you, filling you with his warm release and then lightly collapsing on top of you, careful not to put too much weight on you. He collects himself for a moment before propping himself up on his elbows and reaching up to stroke your cheek.
"Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, right? I wasn't too rough?"
Before the endless list of paranoid possibilities he was babbling continued you silenced him with your lips, pressing them against his and kissing him softly. After a moment of just basking in the feel of him you broke the kiss, cupping his face and resting your forehead against his.
"I love you, Max. I should've said this sooner, but I love you."
His eyes widened a little, a smile of genuine, unbridled happiness playing on his lips. He couldn't believe you had finally said those three little words that he'd only ever dreamed about hearing.
"I love you too, so much."
Your lips met again, your arms wrapping around his waist as you embraced him. You stayed like that for a little while, the once cold porcelain beneath your back now warm from your skin, and Max's hands were all over you like he wasn't sure he'd ever let you go. Eventually, he broke the kiss, his nose still brushing against yours as he spoke.
"Why don't I draw you a bath, make us some dinner and then we can watch a movie, hm?"
He suggested, nuzzling his nose against yours and making you laugh.
"Okay okay, but only if you'll get in the bath with me, and one with actual water this time."
Max snorted his laughter and swept a strand of hair behind your ear.
"Deal."
441 notes · View notes
paintingwhiteceilings · 8 months
Text
❃Seventeen and s/o switches languages during an argument❃
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a/n: Firstly, thank you for sending my very first request; I hope I did it justice! After discussing it together, we decided to make it a more general prompt. This was such a fun prompt to try my hand at, as a fellow EU carat, it was amusing to imagine how they would react to their partner switching languages. Some of these may have become a bit, more like very, long as a result so, well, grab your popcorn I suppose :')
Anyway, it is a bit longer and more serious than my other posts but I hope that you will like it regardless!
TG: some of these are slightly angsty and DK is naked
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Scoups/Seungcheol
❀ In all fairness, the two of you tend to bicker every now and then, mostly because Coups is the pettiest and poutiest person alive. As a result, you tend to be quite used to having irrelevant arguments with him. Neither of you gets incredibly upset; the arguments are mostly harmless and, at times, can be quite amusing.
❀ This time, however, you had quite a stressful day at work and were in no mood to playfully bicker with him. Apparently, you had absent mindlessly borrowed one of his jackets, and he had been missing it all day, giving Hoshi an earful as he believed he had gone out of his way to borrow his stuff again. After he discovered that Hoshi hadn't been the culprit, he texted you, but in the chaos of work, you had forgotten to reply, leaving him on read. Truly, in his eyes, how incredibly offensive. How can his love, his light, his everything leave him on read just like his members do???
❀ Cue a ton of whining and pouting when you walked through the door, wrapped in his precious jacket. He didn't seem to get the hint that you were in no mood for his dramatic antics. It didn't take long for you to snap at him, effectively shutting him up. He didn’t shut up, however, because you actually got angry at him, but because you unconsciously switched to your native tongue in your exhaustion. He had forgotten that was a thing you could do.
❀ He has dealt with the foreign line switching languages during arguments enough to know that you weren't having his tantrum. It is enough for him to realize to knock it off, but he will be pouting the rest of the evening. Not because he is still upset about the jacket, but because he has no idea what you said and he is too prideful to ask until the next morning.
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Jeonghan
❀ Jeonghan rarely gets mad at people, meaning that arguments between the two of you tend to be infrequent. The only times the two of you tend to bicker is when he finds yet another way to cheat during game nights. The cheating is all in good fun, and more often than not, you find yourself impressed with his quick-wittedness. 
❀ That being said, losing five times in a row because your boyfriend found another loophole in the game rules really tested your patience. You had been playing Uno together when he decided that whenever he plays the reverse card, it means he gets to go again. Somehow, he stocked up on a ton of reverse cards, and he had been getting rid of most of his cards without you being able to do anything about it. 
❀ Naturally, you started arguing with him, trying to convince him that it was against the rules. It was no use; he knows the rules better than you do. Thus, in the heat of the moment, you couldn’t help yourself, and you cursed at him in your native tongue. He was mighty confused for a second, but was aware from looking at your face that you were not complimenting his quick thinking.
❀ He ended up laughing at you, finding it hilarious that he somehow managed to trigger you that much. Be prepared for him to never let you live it down. Every game night, he will cheekily ask you whether it is okay for him to cheat or whether you will curse at him in your native tongue again. From now on, he will up his cheating antics as well, trying to get a rise out of you again. 
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Joshua
❀ You and Joshua usually don't let your grievances get to a shouting match. Before it can get to that point, one of you sits the other down to calmly talk things out. However, every once in a while, whenever one of you is stressed about something, things tend to escalate. So when Joshua comes home late after a gruelling recording session for the sixth time that week, leaving you to do all the house chores after a stressful work day yet again, you get into a heated argument.
❀ Neither of you wanted to admit to being in the wrong, leading to you bickering back and forth. Joshua had been angrily smiling at you for the past half an hour, trying to explain his side of the story, whilst you were trying to do the same. Arguing in Korean wasn't necessarily your strong suit, and despite English being a lot easier, you couldn't help but switch to your native language as you were trying to find the right words to explain your side of the story.
❀ To be honest, I can't really imagine Joshua being surprised when you switch languages during an argument. Having lived in an environment where he has to speak a second language constantly, he probably is all too aware that when people get emotional, they switch to their mother tongue. He has had too many quarrels and fights with the other members where he kept throwing in English, unable to remember the corresponding Korean word.
❀ Instead, your argument becomes a poly-lingual discussion where the two of you keep switching between all the languages you are familiar with. Joshua doesn't even blink when you switch to your native language anymore; he is used to deciphering what you are saying through context clues.
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Jun
❀ Jun is an absolute homebody. He loves to lounge on the couch for hours with his phone in hand, playing mobile games and scrolling on social media. It is the perfect way for him to de-stress after his busy schedule, where he has to constantly be on the move. Usually, you enjoy the domesticity of it, but lately, you can't help but feel like all the two of you have been doing is staying at home. It isn’t like you constantly want to be out and about, but a part of you wants to go on a proper date where you get to dress up and be lovey-dovey with your boyfriend. You have been trying to find the right time to bring it up, aware that Jun doesn’t do well with subtle hints.
❀ However, when the day finally came where you asked him to go on more dates, it ended up in you two fighting. It had all started when you found yourself bored out of your mind with Jun being on his phone again, absorbed in his own world. For the first time in a while, he got to enjoy a bit of a break as promotions had finally ended, and he intended to spend most of it relaxing on the couch. It was a much-needed break from the constant dancing and travelling. Naturally, when you proposed to go out for the day, asking whether he wanted to check out a café that had just opened up in the city, he immediately responded that he didn’t want to.
❀ Perhaps both of your fuses had been short that day, and soon an argument ensued between you two. Jun stubbornly maintained that he wanted to rest and that being at home together was enough for him, whilst you tried to explain that you felt like he didn’t want to make time for your relationship. The two of you argued back and forth, both making valid arguments but unwilling to hear the other out.
❀ Jun was already mixing some Mandarin with his Korean as he got more and more frustrated. It didn’t help either that Jun had started to speak quicker the more agitated he got, making it even harder for you to decipher what he was trying to say. Thus, as the fight reached a boiling point, you started to yell at him in your native language. Jun had never heard you speak your mother tongue at length before, so you completely caught him off guard.
❀ Jun doesn't know what to say in response to your yelling, not knowing what you yelled at him in the heat of the moment. Similarly, you are surprised at your emotional outburst. You switching languages is enough for the both of you to realize that neither of you was listening to the other anymore. After a moment of silence, the two of you decide to leave the argument for the night and calmly talk about it after a good night's sleep.  
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Hoshi/Soonyoung
❀ Hoshi has been trying to convince you that his native language is growling, being a tiger, and all that. As much as you try to support your boyfriend’s tiger agenda, you have attempted to dissuade him from growling at you constantly as a way of communicating. You gently told him to stop as, first of all, you can't understand what he is trying to say when he is growling, and, secondly, it is very embarrassing when he does it in public.
❀ Still, he is waiting to find any excuse to growl at you, and you have noticed that whenever you slip into your mother tongue, he sees it as a green light to start. As a result, you try to be extra careful about using your native language around him in public or when other people are visiting. At home, you feel comfortable enough to, at the very least, scold him without anyone else having to bear witness to how shameless this man can be.
❀ It had all gone downhill when you and Hoshi organized a game night with the other members. It wasn't the actual game night that resulted in you yelling at him. Oh no, it had to do with the fact that Kwon Soonyoung has the habit of leaving the toilet seat up despite you having asked, on multiple occasions, whether he could lower it after he finished his business. For the past few days, he had been doing a good job remembering, but with all the excitement of the game night, it had slipped his mind. He was reminded, however, of his mistake upon hearing a splash and a blood-curdling scream leave the bathroom door.
❀ You were livid upon entering the living room and reminded your boyfriend yet again to lower the god-damn thing. In your anger, you slipped into your native tongue without being aware of doing so. You didn't even register it until you saw Hoshi's stunned and guilty expression morph into one of absolute delight.
❀ He growls. At you. In response.
❀ It is safe to say that the other members have to hold you back before you kill your boyfriend.
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Wonwoo
❀ Usually, you loved having a gamer boyfriend as it meant that you got to focus on your own hobbies, happily existing in the same space without having to constantly have to do things together. Lately, however, you had been trying your hand at some of the games he had been playing. It was a fun pastime, and you especially liked games that didn’t require a fast reaction time, allowing you to explore a world or story at your own pace without it resulting in you constantly dying. Not to pat yourself on the back, but you had become quite skilled at the games you often played. Recently, you and Wonwoo had even started to play games together; you couldn’t help but smile whenever you saw your joined beds in Minecraft.
❀ So, when Wonwoo asked you to play Keep Talking & Nobody Explodes together, you had expected the two of you to do rather well. However, it couldn’t be further from what ended up transpiring. The game required seamless communication, with one person trying to disarm a bomb whilst the other consulted a manual on how to, unable to see the actual bomb. The first level had been easy enough, but you guys immediately got stuck on the second level. Each level was more complicated than the last one and was making your way through the game rather painfully slow. For some reason, your communication was completely off, resulting in numerous retries. It didn’t even matter who the operator or who the bomb disarmer was; you simply couldn’t get into sync.
❀ You could tell that Wonwoo was getting incredibly agitated when you were taking way too long to read the Korean instructions to him, unable to understand one particular word, causing the bomb to explode yet again. He had played the game with some of the members before, and it hadn’t been this hard. It didn’t help that he kept trying to give you tips and tricks on how to play the game. It felt a bit condescending. Moreover, you could tell he was partly blaming your Korean when he sighed yet again at another failed attempt due to you fumbling over your words. It wasn’t as if this was only your fault. As a result, you snapped at him that he should try to play in your native tongue and see how easy of a time he had with it. Except, you accidentally snapped at him in the wrong language.
❀ As you continue rambling under your breath, venting to yourself that your boyfriend and the game are both stupid, you don’t notice that you switched languages. Wonwoo, in the meantime, has fallen incredibly quiet, unsure how to react. He realizes that it might have been a bit unfair to play a game that requires you to communicate complicated instructions in Korean. When you are finally done ranting in your native language, he will quietly propose playing a different game, muttering a quiet apology when you two agree to switch to Stardew Valley. He makes sure to give you lots of gifts in-game, trying to show that he appreciates you playing with him even if it doesn’t always work out well.
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Woozi/Jihoon
❀ You were aware that when you started dating Woozi that he was a bit of a workaholic and that there would be times when he would prioritize his work over your relationship. For the most part, you loved his dedication to producing music; you enjoyed hanging out in his studio, watching how he expertly produced a new track. You always felt in awe as you watched him tinker on the piano, trying to figure out what chords to use for the song. In turn, he loved having you there; your questions and curiosity reminded him of the wonder he felt when he first started producing.
❀ However, his passion for making music sometimes did make you feel like a third wheel in your relationship, especially when a Seventeen comeback was nearing. He would be cooped up in the studio for weeks, ignoring all the messages you send him. Where he normally loved having you around in the studio, he would become easily agitated with you watching over his shoulder as the deadlines neared. The expectations of the members and the company would weigh heavily on him, and having you be there as another watchful eye was simply too much for him to handle.
❀ So, when you went to the studio after a concerned Coups had called you, noticing that Woozi hadn’t bothered to eat that day, your presence put Woozi over the edge. It had been a couple of weeks since you had last seen your boyfriend, and you had hoped that seeing you would cheer him up. However, he barely acknowledged your presence when you stepped into the studio, his attention captured by the screen in front of him. Whenever he did respond, it was often curt and borderline insulting. You knew it was due to him being under a lot of pressure, but you couldn’t help feeling hurt.
❀ It got to you, and before you knew it, the two of you were fighting. Woozi, who already was feeling immense stress, couldn’t deal with the intense emotions and, hence, defensively threw out a painful insult without thinking. Feeling the tears sting in the corner of your eyes, you asked yourself why you were even still here when he obviously didn’t want you there in your native language before turning to leave. He didn’t understand what you had said, leaving him momentarily speechless.
❀ By switching languages unexpectedly, it gets through to Woozi what he had said and how hurt you were by his words. By being unable to understand what you were saying, he is able to solely focus on your tone and emotions. He feels incredibly guilty about his behaviour, and it doesn’t take long for him to chase after you to profusely apologize.
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DK/Seokmin
❀ Although fights do not often happen with DK, he sometimes can be a bit prideful, only recognizing he is in the wrong when the other person gets noticeably angry. You encountered his pridefulness on a normal enough day. DK had texted you that he would be over at your place after practice, so when you came home and heard the shower running, you were delighted at the prospect of spending the evening together with your boyfriend. You briefly called out to him that you were home before waiting for him on the couch to finish showering. It didn't take long for him to be done. When you saw the door swing open with your handsome boyfriend only wearing a towel around his waist, you got up to properly greet him with a hug.
❀ However, before you could do so, you smelled a familiar scent drifting out of the bathroom. You see, one of your friends had gifted you a very expensive body wash that you had been gingerly using whenever you had had a particularly stressful day. Due to it being so expensive, you had asked DK to use the other ones in your shower, just so you could enjoy it a little longer, as you weren't really going to buy it for yourself once it ran out. He hadn't listened. Cue one of the pettiest arguments ever.
❀ In your defence, you weren't even upset about him using the body wash, but instead were hurt that he hadn't respected your wishes. DK, in turn, argued that it was only body wash and that he had simply wanted to smell like you. The argument escalated without either of you meaning to, and before you knew it, a towel hit you in the face. In surprise and anger, you yelled at him in your native tongue, which made DK effectively realize what he had done. He knew that you would never switch languages without being incredibly upset and he felt mortified, recognizing that he had not only let his emotions get out of control but also had parted with the only thing covering up his body.
❀ As you threw the towel back at him, venting in your native language some more, you finally noticed DK standing before you in all his glory, looking both guilt-ridden and like he wished for the ground to swallow him whole. Seeing him standing there butt naked was enough for you to crack up, breaking the tension from the argument. DK, on the other hand, wasn't sure whether to profusely apologize for throwing the towel at you or hide for the rest of eternity.
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Mingyu
❀ Mingyu often feels like the perfect boyfriend; he loves to cook and clean and lives to pamper you whenever he is able to. He takes your teasing very well, enjoying when you cheekily poke fun at him blatantly showing off his trained physique in front of fans. Although staying in Korea can sometimes be overwhelming, he truly makes you feel right at home. He strives to introduce you to his friends and tries to make as many new memories with you so that you wouldn’t have to miss your home country too much.
❀ When you guys moved in together, you had been ready to have it be another cherished memory. That was until Mingyu dropped a very precious ceramic bowl. The bowl had been a present from your family when you moved out, and you had dragged the bowl with you all the way to Korea. It was a meaningful keepsake you had taken with you from your home country, allowing you to have a piece of home in a foreign place. You had mostly used it as decoration in your previous apartment, and you were incredibly careful when using it, knowing that once it fell, it would be incredibly difficult to replace.
❀ Consequentially, when you watched your boyfriend drop it onto the floor, shattering your treasured keepsake into a thousand pieces, you felt a part of yourself fracture simultaneously. Mingyu didn’t seem to recognize what he had broken, sheepishly apologizing to you before jokingly remarking that the bowl had been rather ugly anyway. You knew he wasn’t aware of what he had broken and that it would be unfair for you to get mad at him, as it had been an accident after all. Nonetheless, seeing something so important to you not only get broken beyond repair but also mocked, set you off.
❀ As a result, you started yelling at a stunned Mingyu, who wasn’t expecting your explosive reaction at all. In turn, he got aggrieved, feeling like your reaction was disproportionate to the situation. Voicing that, however, only made you more upset, and as you tried to pick up the broken pieces to throw them out, you started crying, sobbing to yourself that it truly was beyond repair in your native tongue.
❀ Mingyu, in retrospect, doesn’t know whether it had been your crying or you switching languages, but as he watches you tearfully throw out the pieces, his anger completely vanishes, only to be replaced by an intense feeling of guilt. He will hug you tightly, apologizing for breaking something that had obviously been very important to you. After you explain what the bowl stood for, he will try his hardest to get you another bowl as a surprise, contacting your family to have them send over a new one.
❀ In the end, all is well, and to be honest, you might love the new bowl a lot more as it reminds you of how much Mingyu genuinely treasures you.
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The8/Minghao
❀ Minghao and you had decided to go on a wine painting date; you had stumbled upon it not too long ago, excitedly proposing it to your boyfriend, knowing it combined two of his favourite things. Minghao had been looking forward to the date for the past week, feeling giddy despite the exhausting dance practices. He would tell anyone that would listen about the date, gushing over how well his girlfriend knew him.
❀ It was an absolute surprise to both of you when the workshop ended with you arguing. The workshop had started innocently enough, with you guys following the instructions, laughing whenever a brushstroke failed to turn out how you had intended. The wine tasted great, and both of you were amazed that the workshop was pouring such luxurious wine.
❀ However, as the workshop progressed and the teacher made his way past all the other participants to check on their progress, things turned sour pretty quickly. The moment the teacher laid eyes on you, he was enamoured and absolutely oblivious that you were on a date with your boyfriend.
❀ At first, you assumed that the teacher was only being nice when he lingered longer at your station than others. You presumed that he was being friendly and that, with you and Minghao being the last people he needed to check up on, he stayed to kill time until he needed to introduce the next set of instructions. You failed to notice that Minghao had grown awfully quiet as you conversed. When the teacher reached over to guide the paintbrush in your hand, you started to get the hint that the teacher was trying to hit on you.
❀ Minghao, on the other hand, had been noticing the glances from the teacher since the beginning of the workshop. Although he prided himself in rarely being jealous or upset, the wine made it harder for him to let his gnawing feelings go. He knew his anger was unfair and misplaced, but it didn't make him feel any less upset. Even when you gently let the teacher down by telling him that you and your boyfriend could figure it out yourselves from here, the hurtful feeling persisted.
❀ Thus, when you turned to him afterwards to check on why he had been so quiet, only to be met with a curt Minghao, you began arguing. You knew he was jealous, but he had started to take it out on you. Thus, you did the only thing you knew that could possibly cheer your boyfriend up and shake him out of his jealousy. You took his face gently in your hands, rambling sweet nothings in your native tongue.
❀ Minghao loves hearing you speak in your native language to him, feeling like nothing is more intimate than only him being able to understand the sweet nothings you are saying. He will momentarily blank as he tries to process your sweet words. It is enough to melt away his jealous feelings, making him feel a bit stupid for letting it influence his actions and words (as well as any hope the teacher had to get your number afterwards).   
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Seungkwan
❀ We all know that Seungkwan likes to nag and tease, not a stranger to playful bickering. Nevertheless, Seungkwan strikes me as someone who is very open with his emotions, preferring to discuss what is bothering him rather than bottling things up. Thus, you two rarely get into actual fights, as he ensures that you two regularly talk about the problems you experience as a couple. At the same time, Seungkwan is a bit of a sensitive boy, and sometimes it is easy to get into arguments with him without either of you meaning to let things escalate. A joke might not land and instead hurts his feelings, leading to an angry and butthurt Boo. 
❀ During some of your playful fights, he noticed that you struggled to keep up with his Korean, switching to your native language in frustration when the Korean escaped you. He couldn’t help but feel slightly bad about you having to constantly accommodate him, which is why he devised a plan. Without you knowing, he spend a significant amount of time online skewering the internet to search for basic sentences, mildly insulting phrases and not-too-harsh curse words that he could use if you guys got into another playful argument. Instead of only you having to struggle in Korean, he felt it was only fair for him to wrestle with your native tongue as well.
❀ He finally gets to use it when you guys have a heated discussion over which coffee is the best on one of your many coffee dates; he keeps maintaining that Iced Americano is the best coffee that exists, something that you wholeheartedly disagree with. At first, you are able to respond to him in Korean, easily countering his arguments. However, as the discussion progresses, you can’t help but feel like Seungkwan intentionally is using advanced and eloquent Korean, using words you have never heard before. It doesn’t take long before you start switching out Korean for your native language, trying to hold your ground in the discussion.
❀ It is kind of comical when Seungkwan whips out a list of standard phrases, curse words and insulting sentences in your language, way too eager to use them. Rather than you surprising him by switching languages unconsciously, he is catching you off guard by using your own language against you. He is reading the sentences one by one, and although his pronunciation leaves a lot to be desired, you can tell he put a lot of effort into learning it. You don’t even know whether to be impressed by the fact that he poured so much work into arguing with you in your native language or offended by the, albeit mostly harmless, insults that he is hurling at your head.
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Vernon
❀ Vernon strikes me as an emotionally mature person. Therefore, the two of you rarely argue with each other, if at all. Vernon is such a chill guy; it takes a lot to truly get him riled up, and even when he gets emotional, he is capable of maturely handling his emotions. Because of it, you haven’t had any real fights, only mature discussions on how to best navigate whatever problem you two were experiencing in the relationship.
❀ However, there was one thing that you and Vernon could argue for hours about, films. Usually, your film discussions are very civil, with each respecting the other’s opinion even if the other wholeheartedly disagrees. Hence, you guys have made it a routine to put a film on every other night, spending the rest of the evening talking about what you liked or disliked. Both of you enjoyed watching films together in this manner, with the discussions often taking up as much time as watching the films did.
❀ Tonight, however, you made the mistake of putting on a film you adored for nostalgic reasons. The film had been produced in your country, and after searching for it for a while, you had finally found a version with English subtitles. You were incredibly excited to be able to show Vernon the type of films you had grown up with. At first, you thought he was enjoying it; Vernon seemed absorbed as he watched the screen, nodding to himself when he appeared to like a particular scene. Nevertheless, once the film had ended and you eagerly turned to ask him whether he had liked it, he briefly hesitated before calling it mid.
❀ You stared at him in confusion, wondering whether you had been watching the same film. How could he call one of your favourite films mid? Sure, the budget might not have been spectacular compared to a Hollywood blockbuster film, resulting in some questionable CGI and cinematography choices. Still, it was a great film, in your opinion. When you asked him to explain himself, he shrugged, explaining that he simply thought it hadn’t been that good and that both the plot and cinematography left a lot to be desired.
❀ You were greatly offended, and before you knew it, you were heatedly arguing with him. Vernon remained calm rather than matching your energy, explaining that it was okay for you to like a film that just wasn’t his taste. Somehow his indifference annoyed you more, and before you knew it, you were ranting at him that he simply didn’t get how innovative the film was despite the constraints the director had to overcome. Perhaps by being exposed to your native language for such a long time, you brain got reset, and without you being fully aware of it, you had started using your mother tongue. Where before Vernon had been attentively listening, he now seemed lost, alerting you to your accidental mistake.
❀ It was the first time where you had switched languages in his presence, and he realizes that perhaps he had been overly critical. He will gently propose that maybe he was unable to fully enjoy the film as much as you did due to things getting lost in translation. You know he is mostly humouring you, but regardless, it is enough for the one-sided argument to dissipate. How can you stay mad at someone who is the definition of calm and respectful?
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Dino/Chan
❀ In retrospect, you should’ve listened to Jeonghan’s warning when you decided to order Soju during dinner. Neither of you had expected to drink, but after a busy workweek, the two of you had decided, “Why the hell not.” You were massively regretting it now, having to deal with a drunk and stubborn Lee Chan.
❀ He refused to do anything you asked of him, and you were practically dragging him through the streets of Seoul, whilst he kept repeating that he wasn’t drunk and could take care of himself. Yeah, sure, he definitely did not keep stumbling over his own feet and was only kept from falling by your grip on his arm. It didn’t help that he kept trying to dislocate himself from you either, claiming that, as your boyfriend, he should be helping you.
❀ It all came to a boiling point when you decided to hail a taxi, too tired and exhausted to continue carrying him. Jeonghan had told you all about stubborn drunk Dino, but you had hoped that you, as his significant other, held enough sway over your boyfriend to coax him into the taxi. Spoiler alert, you didn’t, and instead, the two of you got into an argument. No matter what you said, he kept repeating that he could hail his own taxi. He’s a big boy now.
❀ Maybe it was your sore muscles from carrying him, perhaps it was Dino stupidly refusing your help the entire time or possibly it was the taxi driver warning that he would drive off if the two of you didn’t get in, but suddenly in the midst of your sentence, you switched to your native tongue. In an attempt to get him moving, your tipsy, fuzzy brain resorted to the easiest language for you to yell in. Apparently, that was all it took for Dino to shake himself out of his stubbornness.
❀ The poor guy will be so confused that he’ll easily let you drag him by the arm into the taxi. He can’t determine whether he is truly so drunk that your words have become illegible or that you actually spoke a different language. At the very least, for the time being, you have managed to break through stubbornly drunk Dino, and he lets you guide him whilst he is trying to figure it out in his fuzzy brain.
❀ He will definitely be asking you about it the next morning whilst nursing a massive hangover, thinking it was all a dream.
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yelena-bellova · 1 year
Text
Twenty Years Later: Joel Miller x F!Reader - Chapter Seven
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Chapter Seven: Hands
Plot: Y/n and Joel work to escape the ambush with their lives, sharing an unexpected tender moment after.
Word Count: 7.6k
Warnings: tlou ep.4 spoilers, language, graphic description of injuries, canon-typical violence, death, blood, guns, knives, insinuated a**ault, (16+)
A/N: THERE WAS ONE BED. Sorry, I’ve been waiting five days to say that. Anyway, this one was super fun to write. As always, this series is 16+ and I will not be tagging anyone unless your age is specified in your bio. Gotta look out for younger eyes 👀
Enjoy, and good luck to all going into tonight’s episode 🙏🏻
——————
June 6th, 2002. Austin Texas.
Summer in Texas brought a brutal heat, but once the sun set, it was bearable to a point of enjoyment.
Y/n’s fingers drummed anxiously against her steering wheel as she drove to the fairgrounds. If she’d been nervous about her first date with Joel, this was worse. If she couldn’t fit in with the family, there was no point in them going any further. The night had to go well.
She pulled into the dirt parking lot, taking a deep breath before switching off her car. Sarah and her had already gotten along when she’d driven her home. And Tommy already felt like an old friend. Everything would be fine…probably.
Tommy, Joel and Sarah waited at the front of the fair, the latter two peeking through the sea of people for one specific person.
“Can’t tell which one of you’s more excited,” Tommy chuckled, looking between his niece and brother.
“I’m excited,” Sarah replied, standing on her tiptoes to get a better look, “Dad’s nervous.”
“I am not nervous,” Joel stated, his fiddling thumbs over his pockets contradicting his words.
Before Tommy could get in a jab, the three of them spotted Y/n’s head bobbing through crowd. Sarah and Tommy waved wildly, Joel tried to keep his restrained.
“The yellow rose of Texas,” Tommy cheered, beating Joel to give her a hug.
Y/n laughed as Tommy spun her around. “Nice to see you too,” she grinned.
Sarah jumped forward, unable to contain her excitement any longer. “Hi, Y/n!”
“Hey,” Y/n greeted her, unsure whether or not she was supposed to hug her or if it was too much or-
Her excessive thoughts died in thin air as soon as her and Joel’s eyes met.
He sheepishly walked forward, hoping it didn’t seem like he wasn’t enthusiastic about her being there. He was just so fucking nervous.
“Dad,” Sarah piped up, “Doesn’t Y/n look pretty tonight?”
“Yeah,” Tommy added, taking Y/n’s hand and twirling her around, “Better make a move before she realizes she can do better.”
Joel nodded along, “Alright, alright,” he took Y/n’s hand, “Hi.”
“Hi,” she smiled, all her anxiety suddenly seemed worth it.
“Should we get this show on the road?” Tommy asked, slapping his hands together and pulling Sarah along with him.
Joel and Y/n’s fingers stayed interlocked as they walked in.
“She’s been bouncing off the walls all day,” he admitted, “Couldn’t wait to see you.”
Y/n forced a laugh, “You’re doing wonders for my anxiety…”
Joel laughed, sneaking a kiss to Y/n’s temple while his family’s backs were turned.
The night, however, ended up going better than either one of them expected. Sarah was glued to Y/n’s side all night, barely acknowledging her uncle or Joel. She insisted that Y/n sit with her on all the rides, even grabbing her hand on one of the coasters. Y/n made an effort in between attractions to find out Sarah’s interests, finding common ground in music mostly. Joel’s daughter was witty, smart and a downright joy to simply be around.
Joel watched the whole thing, his heart bursting with affection for them both. Under the glow of the carnival lights, he wasn’t sure what he had been so worried about. He had the two most incredible girls in his life and it was crazy to think they wouldn’t get along.
They’d walked nearly the entire fair before Sarah spotted the ferris wheel. “We haven’t done that one yet,” she said, “Y/n?”
“Well, if your dad’s recovered from the tilt-o-whirl,” Y/n shrugged, smiling smugly at Joel.
Joel pointed a finger at Y/n, “Don’t even mention that death contraption.”
The four of them made their way through the line, zigging and zagging. Somewhere along the way, Sarah drifted behind Joel and Y/n to walk alongside Tommy, forcing the two of them together. They filed up the steps and into the cart, expecting Tommy and Sarah to be right behind them.
“Oh,” Sarah put her hands to her stomach, “I’m not feeling great.”
Tommy grabbed his niece’s shoulders with great concern, “Oh, no. Maybe we should go sit you down.”
Joel, though already barred in his seat, tried to stand up. “Sarah, I-“
“You guys go ahead,” she waved her dad off, “I think I just need some water or something.”
“Well, no,” Y/n said, trying to push the bar up, “We can just-“
The wheel creaked to life and began to lift Y/n and Joel up into the air.
“Well, fuck,” Joel muttered, frantically looking around as if he could somehow stop it in motion, “I wonder if it’s somethin’ she ate.”
Y/n peered down, searching out Tommy and Sarah’s forms. She chuckled when she finally spotted them. “Something tells me she’ll live,” she tapped Joel on the shoulder and pointed downwards.
There, back in line for more greasy carnival food, was Sarah, nearly bouncing beside her uncle as they watched Y/n and Joel.
Joel threw his head back in relief and laughter, blindly seeking out Y/n’s hand.
“Your daughter might just be an evil genius,” Y/n smirked.
“She’s diabolical,” Joel replied, turning to face Y/n with a lovesick grin, “She loves you.”
Y/n folded her other hand over Joel’s, “She’s magic. Just pure sunshine.”
“No, I mean,” Joel sat up straighter, “She’s never taken to anyone like she has you. It’s just been us and Tommy her whole life and the way she’s accepted you is just…”
Neither one needed to say it, they could both feel it. Sarah had taken Y/n in like she’d always been there.
“I’m honored,” Y/n beamed.
Joel felt like he was locked in a tractor beam, Y/n’s eyes drawing him in further and further. The two of them startled when the ferris wheel creaked again and they stopped moving, having reached the top of their climb.
“So,” Y/n started, “Did I pass the Miller family test?”
Joel took the opportunity to wrap his arm around her shoulders, dragging her frame closer to him till they were pressed against one another. Y/n interlocked her fingers with his, her stomach nearly in her throat from the closeness.
Joel knew that the next seconds were crucial. If he kissed Y/n, he was signing away his future. There would never be another woman his eyes followed across the room. The room would empty as soon as she walked in. There would never be another first date, sweaty palms and racing heartbeat accompanying. The nerves would morph into different firsts, ones of far more significance. If he gave his heart fully to this woman, it would never again be his.
Joel rubbed a thumb against Y/n’s shoulder and smiled, “Flyin’ colors, Rosebud.”
Y/n was practically glowing, relief radiating out of her. She knew that Sarah was the final puzzle piece to her and Joel, and it had all come together gloriously. There were no more obstacles, there was only them.
Joel’s eyes flickered to Y/n’s lips, the signal that meant something beautiful was about to happen. She held firm, not wanting to move and upset the electricity of the moment. Joel’s head slowly drifted forward, his nose gently sliding against Y/n’s. She couldn’t hide her shaky exhale as their skin finally touched.
Joel allowed a few seconds, for the possibility of her backing out, before letting himself lean in fully and kiss her.
The pure relief that ran through their bodies paralyzed them, their lips pausing as if the commit the feeling to memory. The shock wore off and Y/n pushed her lips deeper against his, seeking out the second kiss. Joel met her, bringing his free hand up to hold her cheek in place. His fingers spread across the side of her face, two brushing against her jawline. It was nearly a lazy kiss, like they knew this was just the first of a million and they could take their time with it.
There, above a sea of noise that faded in their ears, Y/n and Joel felt their uncertainties turn to stone. They were each other’s future.
—————————
2023. Kansas City, Missouri.
The crash could have been worse.
“Ellie?” Y/n panted, reaching blindly behind her.
“I’m okay,” Ellie grabbed hold of Y/n’s arm.
“You’re not hurt, nothin?” Joel asked both of them, his eyes frantically scanning them for injuries.
Ellie shook her head, “I don’t think so.”
“Good,” Y/n confirmed, checking Joel’s face and hands for blood.
Inevitable gunshots began to hit the truck, sending them ducking for cover.
“Belts off,” Joel shouted, “Fast!”
They unbuckled and Ellie crawled out her side of the truck, Y/n and Joel following. Y/n had the good sense to grab her backpack as she slid out. They crouched down behind the truck, Joel reaching back in to grab Y/n and his shotguns.
One of their assailants called out to them, “Let’s see you, motherfucker! Give us your shit, you make it through this! I promise!”
A lie.
Y/n and Joel loaded their guns in preparation. They could fight, but Ellie couldn’t.
Joel spotted a hiding spot through the wall. “Hey,” he caught Ellie’s attention, “You see that hole? Can you squeeze through?”
A couple warning shots caused them all to flinch, Y/n throwing an arm over Ellie’s body instinctively.
“When I say go, you crawl through that wall,” Joel instructed, “And you squeeze through, and you don’t come out until we say, okay?”
A bullet flew through one of the truck’s windows, the shards of glass raining around them. Y/n was directly under its stream, her adrenaline blocked the feeling of the small cuts.
“And they’re not gonna hit you,” Joel kept going, Ellie was already turning in concern towards Y/n, “Look at me!”
“Ellie,” Y/n urged, “Listen to him.”
Ellie turned to Joel, he drove the promise home. “They’re not gonna hit you.”
Another bullet came too close for comfort.
“You stay down, you stay low, you stay quiet,” Joel instructed, trying to give her as much information as possible in an attempt to soothe her fears.
“Mm-hmm,” Ellie nodded, Y/n squeezed her hand for reassurance.
“Okay,” Joel said, looking over to Y/n. The two of them had to be perfectly in sync for the plan to work. Y/n gave a confidant nod and he returned it.
“GO!”
On cue, Ellie began to belly crawl across the floor while Y/n and Joel got to their feet. When one of them took a shot, the other would stay down. They timed their reloads so that someone was always up and firing.
While crouched behind the truck, Y/n glanced over at the hole in the wall, the only thing left visible was Ellie’s leg being pulled through.
“She’s in,” Y/n told Joel, popping up as he went down and firing a shot at one of their attackers.
Joel was making up their escape route on the fly, trying to find a place safe enough to take cover behind. “Come on,” he muttered, leading Y//n behind a large piece of equipment.
Y/n crouched beside Joel, her mind racing with grim possibilites as the crunching of glass came closer. Joel was the better shot, without question, but her fear for Ellie’s life made her much quicker to the trigger. Joel motioned for her to stay down, he would take the shot.
Waiting for their attacker to be in perfect position, Joel rose to his feet and fired a deadly bullet.
Joel exhaled, he’d been holding his breath as they’d lay in waiting. He offered Y/n a hand, which she took, and pulled her to her feet. He went to reload the shotgun, but it had become jammed.
A body burst through the door, barely leaving Joel and Y/n time to react. Joel smacked the butt of his gun into the assailant’s, the almost-fatal shot hitting the ceiling instead. Y/n backed up and took aim, but the man swung around and knocked the shotgun out of her hands. Joel was trying to draw him away from Y/n, but as she went to attack him, she was thrown into Joel and they were backed up against their shelter. They struggled against the man as he tried to shove his gun against their throats.
Even though there were two of them, he quickly overpowered them and pulled them to the floor. He pinned Y/n and Joel down, the rifle big enough to dig into both their throats.
“Now you’re gonna pay, motherfuckers,” he threatened, “What you fuckin’ did, you killed yourself, motherfucker!”
Y/n and Joel began to feel the oxygen drain from their lungs, both of them kicking wildly in a sad attempt to free themselves. The sounds of Y/n’s struggles cut right to Joel’s heart, making him fight harder.
Y/n tried with her remaining strength to push the gun away from them, but without her and Joel at their best, it was fruitless. She gagged, her eyesight was beginning to blur. Their journey couldn’t end here, not like this…
Desperately trying to comfort her in what was assuredly their last moment, Joel’s hand, that was barely brushing Y/n’s, fought to slide a finger over hers. If they were going out, they were going out together.
And then suddenly, the weight lifted from them. Y/n fell onto her side, Joel landing up against her with an arm resting against her convulsing abdomen. They sputtered for air, coughing and hacking as it refilled their chests. Y/n held onto Joel’s arm as she wheezed, gripping him for traction as she tried to draw a true breath.
Joel forced himself up onto his arm, turning around and seeing their salvation came in the form of Ellie and a pistol. He should have known that she wasn’t going to listen…
“No, no, no, no, no,” Joel and Y/n’s attacker cried as Ellie took a step towards him, “It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s over. We’re not fighting anymore.”
Finally gaining enough oxygen to see straight, Y/n leaned up, coming face to face with Ellie. Her heart broke at the sight of her, so young, having been forced to make an irreversible decision.
“I’m gonna go home,” the guilty promised, “I’ll tell everyone you’re good,” he began to cry, “I don’t know what to do. My legs don’t work.”
Joel’s protective arm remained around Y/n the whole time.
“My mom isn’t far,” the man continued to bargain for his life, “If you could get me to her.”
Y/n tapped Joel’s hand, shrugging his arm off as they got to their knees. Joel looked down at their hands, blood smeared on both their palms. The slow stream was coming from the back of Y/n’s hand, the spray of the truck’s glass window had cut her up good.
“We could trade with you guys,” the man tried to reason with a teary-eyed Ellie, “We could be friends. I didn’t know. I’m Bryan, I’m Bryan. What’s your name?”
Joel and Y/n helped each other up, steadying one another as they got to their feet. The sound of their assailant speaking, trying to be friendly to Ellie set Y/n off. She took a threatening step toward him, Joel had to hold her back by her hips.
They turned to Ellie, who looked like she was somewhere between relieved and tortured. Joel held out a hand, silently demanding the gun still shaking in her palm. She handed it over without hesitation.
Bryan had begun to weep behind them, as if that made any difference to the people whose lives he’d been ready to steal. Joel turned slowly, stuffing the gun in his jacket pocket and pulling out his own pistol.
“Wait, wait, wait,” Bryan sniffled, picking up the knife he would have most likely killed Y/n and Joel with and dropping it at their feet, “You can have it. It’s a good knife.”
Joel bent over to pick it up, turning to Ellie after. “Get behind the wall,” he growled.
“No, no, no, no,” Bryan cried, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. Please, please, we could just talk. I’m sorry! I’m-“
Ellie looked between him and Y/n, who nodded towards the hole as a back up to Joel’s order. Moving mechanically, Ellie hurried back through the hole to the others side of the building.
Bryan continued to beg for mercy, something Joel had been short on for twenty years. Y/n, usually the more reasonable of the two, stood over the sniffling young man, seething. He’d been ready to kill them like they were nothing. He’d have killed Ellie, or worse, taken her and allowed his friends to commit unspeakable acts to her. He didn’t deserve her forgiveness.
Joel didn’t bother asking Y/n for her opinion as he stalked forward. He ignored Bryan’s pleas, the shrieking cries for his mother. As he brought the knife down on him, Y/n turned away, desiring justice but unable to watch its delivery.
When it was over, Joel looked over to Y/n, who was turned towards the wall. He didn’t have time to feel any guilt over causing further damage to their past selves. He made his way over to her and took her hand into his, examining the bloody cuts.
“Window,” she choked out, pulling away from his touch, “I’ll clean it later.”
Joel nodded, there were no other options. “Ellie,” he called out, “We gotta get in there. We can’t fit through.”
“There’s some stuff against the door,” she replied.
“Well, can you move it?” Joel asked.
Y/n and Joel hurried around the back of the laundromat and to the side entrance to the building Ellie was hidden in. They leaned their collective weight against the door, the screech of a desk sliding on the other side. They burst through together, slamming the door shut after.
“Let’s go,” Joel hurried to help Ellie, “Fast.”
The three of them slid the desk back against the door, barricading themselves for the time being. It left them with nothing other than the reality of what happened sinking in on them.
“I’m okay,” Ellie was quick to say, reaching for her pack, “I’m good. I, uh, got some food in here still, and I got your light still.”
“What now?” Ellie asked.
“We go up,” Joel answered, already on the move.
“To get a better look?”
“Hopefully we spot a clear route out,” Joel opened the door that would lead them outside, “Stay close.”
Ellie nodded, “Got it.”
The three of them moved through the back room of the building, daylight greeting them as they found their way outside. Joel led them along the alley, finding cover behind an old car. They could hear the attacker’s calls for Bryan and the subsequent ones of terror when they found his body.
Joel cut across the street, shining his light through the opposite building’s door. Deeming it safe, he gestured for Y/n and Ellie to meet him. They ran through it, closing the door quietly behind them.
“Stairs?” Y/n asked, pulling out her pistol while Joel manned the flashlight.
Joel led them through the dark, the three of them flying up the steps in order to try and seek some vantage point. When they couldn’t find one, they headed back to the first level.
They snaked through holes, doors and carefully across streets, always avoiding whatever noise was just a few blocks over.
Eventually, they landed in a bar with newspapers plastered against the windows. It was the quietest street they’d found yet and safe for the time being. Joel monitored the city through the small chunk of exposed glass as sounds grew closer, watching as trucks and tanks rolled down the street.
Y/n was seated at the table, the first aid kid open and her hand stretched out. There were at least a dozen small shards of glass stuck in her skin, blood slowly trickling around them. It was going to be a bitch getting them out.
“They’re not FEDRA,” Ellie recounted the discussion they’d just had, “They’re not Fireflies. Who are they?”
“People,” Joel answered as he continued to watch.
“Are we okay in here?”
“Yeah, for now, but we gotta keep-“ Y/n’s gasp interrupted her sentence as she poured rubbing alcohol across the back of her hand. “We gotta keep moving,” she strained.
Joel’s attention was drawn away by Y/n’s cry of pain, but he made sure to look back through the window one more time. “Looks like they’re checkin’ out apartment buildings first. But they’ll be comin’ through these places soon enough.”
“So we zig when they zag,” Y/n stated, sanitizing her pair of tweezers.
Joel got up and Ellie took his spot at the window, he moved towards the table.
“There’s a really tall building, like, four blocks away,” Ellie reported.
“Yeah, saw it,” Joel replied.
“So that’s the one?” Ellie asked.
“As soon as we don’t hear a truck,” Joel said, “We move. Fast as we can.”
Joel came to sit across from Y/n, watching as she carefully began to pull pieces of glass from her skin. She was trying her best to hold back tears, her lip trembling as she bit down on it. His fingers practically twitched to help her, telling himself to hold back as much as he could.
Y/n’s hand began to shake as she reached for another shard, whimpering when she accidentally nudged it deeper into the cut.
“Here,” Joel offered, though it was more an order. He held out a hand for the tweezers.
“I’ve got it,” Y/n mumbled wetly, speaking past the lump in her throat.
“I know you do,” Joel replied softly, the softest tone he’d taken with her in twenty years. He looped his fingers through the vice-like grip she had on her tool, gently pulling it down to the table. “Here.”
Y/n was in too much pain to fight, and she knew Joel would get it done quick. She allowed him to take her injured hand into his, the sensation of his touch against her palm sending a jolt through them both.
Joel worked with precision, carefully pulling each shard out of each cut. Y/n would let out a small whine every once in a while, but he didn’t stop to look at her. The faster he moved, the faster her pain would end.
Y/n tried to focus on anything, anything other than the pain. That thing ended up being Joel’s hands. The rough callouses against her wrist, the occasional brush of his knuckle as he worked, the length of his fingers in comparison to hers. In the heat of misery, she couldn’t see what a dangerous place her mind was in. All she could see was Joel.
Once he was done, Joel collected the bloody shards in a piece of gauze and stuck them in the first aid kit. They couldn’t leave any trail. Y/n reached into the box and pulled out a bandage roll. Joel placed a large gauze pad over the back of her hand and unrolled the spool. He pulled Y/n’s hand closer to him across the table, lifting it up as he wrapped it in the material. He handled her with all the delicacy he could muster.
Y/n watched him wrap her hand, thinking of the last time he’d been this soft with her. For as rough around the edges as Joel had always been, there was a tenderness that had only ever been reserved for her and Sarah. To feel it again was to travel twenty years into the past, to feel their fingers intertwine as they laid in bed or walked down the street…
She almost forgot about her anger, just for a moment.
Joel secured the bandage and gently set her hand back on the table. They peered up at one another, the cautious look in their eyes saying more than their lips ever could.
“Thank you,” Y/n muttered.
Joel simply nodded, retracting his hands back into his sides. Reintroducing the feel of Y/n’s skin was dangerous, muscle memory was sure to seek out and seek more and more of it. He balled up his fists and set them in his lap.
Settled, Y/n glanced over at Ellie, who was seated against the wall with her knees to her chest. With a minute of calm on their side, they were all trying to deal with what had happened after the crash.
“Are you guys okay?” Ellie asked.
Y/n held up her bandaged hand, one side of her mouth twitching upwards.
“I’m all right,” Joel answered, looking anywhere but at Ellie as he struggled, “Are you…all right?”
“Yeah,” Ellie mumbled quickly.
Joel fiddled with his hand, there was a duality to him he didn’t know how to properly function out of. Twenty years of burying your feelings could leave you severely impaired by the time you needed to access them again.
“Thing is, I didn’t hear that guy comin’,” he sighed.
“Neither of us did,” Y/n looked up, her and Joel’s eyes meeting again in mutual guilt.
Joel turned back to Ellie, “You shouldn’t have had to…you know.”
“Well, you’re glad I did, right?” Ellie asked, needing reassurance that she’d done the right thing.
Good and bad were so muddled, post-pandemic. Y/n was glad she’d kept her life, but it came at the expense of another piece of Ellie’s innocence. What was she supposed to say?
“Thing is, you’re just a kid,” Joel said for the both of them, “You shouldn’t know what it means to…” he diverted his eyes, desperately searching for the magic words to make her feel any better, “It’s not like you killed him. But shootin’ or…” he sighed, “I know what it’s like, first time that you, uh, hurt someone like that.”
Y/n stayed quiet, unable to watch Joel’s painful attempt. She knew the moment he was referring to, and it hadn’t been the dick in the bar all those years ago.
“If you, uh,” Joel tried, stuttering on consonants after, “I’m not good at this.”
“Yeah,” Ellie numbly agreed, “You really aren’t.”
“I mean it was my fault,” Joel rushed out, glancing over to Y/n, “Our fault. You shouldn’t have had to,” he made sure to look in Ellie’s eyes, “And I’m sorry.”
“I am too,” Y/n added, her throat nearly clogging up.
Ellie soaked in their words, hurriedly wiping away at the tears welling in her eyes. It only made Joel and Y/n feel worse about their mistake.
“It wasn’t my first time,” Ellie spoke up, not looking in either of their directions.
While they were both emotionally guarded, Y/n was the more available between her and Joel. Her heart still beat for those in need. She got up from the table and came to Ellie, sliding down the wall until she was sitting next to her. She didn’t reach out, she just wanted Ellie to know that she wasn’t alone.
Joel’s way of showing he cared bled through in the way he protected. If he could ensure his people were safe, he could breathe easier.
He got down on his knees in front of Ellie, unloading her pistol from his pocket and handing it back to her.
“Show me your grip,” he said, “Finger off the trigger.”
Ellie held up the gun, barely concealing her joy at finally getting to learn.
“Now who taught you that?” Joel asked.
“FEDRA school,” she answered.
“Figures,” he muttered, Y/n scoffed alongside him. He maneuvered Ellie’s fingers, “Your thumb over your thumb. Left hand squeezes down on the right.”
Y/n reached out with her good hand, tucking one of Ellie’s stray fingers in. “Pinkies in,” she smirked, “There’s no princesses here.”
“There you go,” Joel sat back, “Look it.”
He tugged on the gun, trying to pull the gun from Ellie’s grip, but it held. She giggled as he yanked her forward.
“Okay?” Joel said sternly.
Ellie nodded, a smile still painted across her face.
Joel loaded the cartridge back into the weapon and safely handed it back to Ellie, who went to stuff it in her pocket.
“Uh-uh,” Joel shook his head, “You put it in your pack. You’ll shoot your damn ass off.”
Y/n turned her head away and snickered, still not wanting to give Joel the satisfaction of getting a laugh out of her. Joel got to his feet and extended a hand out to her. Y/n begrudgingly took it and let him pull her up.
Noting that outside had gone quiet, Joel nodded towards the door. Him and Y/n headed over and began ripping off the rotten wood boards nailed over the entrance. They had one clean shot at the high rise, they couldn’t make any missteps.
They paused when Ellie approached, both of them wanting her to trust that they’d get her to safety.
“We’re gonna be okay,” Y/n said, trying to make herself believe it too.
“I know,” Ellie muttered, the levity of the past moment having disappeared.
Joel and Y/n’s gazes met, neither one sure of what there was to say. They were developing their language through their silence, the nail biting seconds between safety and risking their lives. It was a level they had never connected on, because there had never been a need.
“Let’s go,” Y/n said softly.
Inhaling, Joel opened the door and they filed out into the empty street, bolting for the building they hoped would shelter them…
—————————
The journey to the high rise didn’t go as easy as they’d hoped, having to dip and duck into abandoned shops and restaurants. With the dark having blanketed them on the way, their arrival felt like an even bigger win when they got there.
There was the small task of getting in to the building.
Joel, Ellie and Y/n stared up at the vent that would grant them access to unlock the door.
“Alright, short stack,” Y/n announced to Ellie, “You’re up.”
Ellie, eager to be a part in any way she could, stepped forward. Joel nabbed a loose piece of wood resting against the wall and handed it to her.
“We’ll brace you,” Joel said, “Be careful going through, could be a long drop.”
“Got it,” Ellie nodded.
Joel bent down, locking his hands together. “You’re just gonna put your foot there,” he instructed.
“Okay,” Ellie breathed. Y/n was standing by, waiting to be needed.
“One, two,” Joel counted before lifting Ellie up.
“Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit,” the girl said, panicked. Y/n jumped in and steadied her hips.
“Straighten up,” Joel directed, “I got you.”
Ellie stiffened her body, getting traction in the safety of Y/n and Joel’s arms, and rammed the wood into the vent. It clattered to the building’s floor. Joel and Y/n helped thread her through the hole, dusting off their hands after.
“Okay, I’m in,” Ellie called.
“Take a look around first,” Joel told her, the sound of her sneakers hitting the floor defiantly, “Ellie!”
“Come on,” Y/n grumbled, following the clattering noises Ellie made straight to the door. It swung open.
“Where would you be without me, huh?” Ellie asked proudly.
“By now, Wyoming,” Joel replied as he and Y/n walked through.
“Oh, yeah,” Ellie admitted, “Walked into that one.”
They carefully made their way through the mess-ridden building, it looked like it had once been a loading dock. A stray car, multiple signs on the walls with instructions and packing materials scattered across the floor.
“All right, we’ll make our way up,” Joel laid out the plan, “And come morning, I’ll take a look at the city and find our way out.”
Y/n walked ahead and pushed open the door that led to the stairs, Joel shining his light behind her.
“We’re going up 42 flights?” Ellie asked.
“45,” Joel answered, flicking the light upward to reveal the dauntingly tall structure, “But no, not all the way.”
“How far then?” Y/n asked.
Joel heavily sighed, “As far as I can make it.”
Ellie laughed while Y/n rolled her eyes, their fate was to be determined by Joel’s knees.
The cockiness should have been saved for later, or ignored entirely.
After the tenth flight, Y/n was huffing and puffing along with Joel. Years of fighting and manual labor hadn’t been kind to either of them, but the day’s exhausting circumstances weren’t helping.
“Not so easy, is it?” Joel quipped, following Y/n’s panting, hunched over form.
“Fuck…” Y/n drew a deep breath as she turned another corner, “You…Miller.”
“Hey, you know that guy who said he was hurt?” Ellie asked, changing the subject, “How did you guys know it was an ambush?”
Joel and Y/n paused on their respective steps, feeling weight drop on them for different reasons.
“I can’t speak for him,” Y/n answered, drawing a breath, “But when I made my way up to Boston, there were all sorts of people trying all sorts of things. Stories get through the QZ too. People saying that they lost loved ones to raiders…” Y/n shook her head, “It’s a fucking disgusting business.”
Joel almost grimaced, resting against the railing. How the hell was he supposed to answer now?
“I’ve been on both sides,” he admitted, “It was a long time ago, we did what we needed to survive.”
“You and Tess?” Ellie asked.
“And the people we were with,” Joel continued, not knowing which bit of what he was about to say would affect Y/n more, “My brother, too.”
Y/n was braced against the railing, gripping the bar so tight she knew her knuckles were white. Joel was different now, a completely transformed man from the one she’d known. She had watched him kill, torture and separate entirely from his heart. But much like when he beat up the FEDRA guard back in the QZ, there was a part of her that didn’t want to believe the man she’d loved was fully gone.
Maybe it was inevitable. Maybe no one could stay pure in a world of bloodshed.
“Did you kill innocent people?”
Ellie’s question gave Y/n the burst of energy she needed to get up the next flight of stairs and she fled the conversation
The thing about knowing someone better than you know yourself is that the connection is forever. No matter how many changes either person goes through, no matter how much life beats them down and time rusts them…there are inherent pieces of their personality that remain the same. In each footstep that carried Y/n up the stairs, Joel felt the shame of his past choices ache a little more inside his soul. Somewhere, six layers underneath her bitterness, lay the heart of a woman who wouldn’t naturally hurt a fly. And here he was, having undergone a hideous transformation that could have given fairytales a run for their money.
If Y/n was a gentle sweep of rain, Joel was a hurricane, bringing death and destruction wherever he went.
“C’mon,” he said to Ellie, the only answer he could manage.
They climbed a little longer before Joel called out to Y/n, one flight above them. “Stop.”
Y/n paused, reluctantly descending to meet them where they were. Joel opened the door to their designated floor, out of breath and willpower.
“Holy shit,” Ellie breathed, short on oxygen, but better than Y/n or Joel.
Joel backed up against the wall, sliding down to the floor in exhaustion. “Yeah.”
“Thirty three floors,” Ellie continued cheerily, “That’s good.”
Y/n was bent over, bracing herself against her knees as she tried to catch her breath.
“It’s gonna have to be,” Joel panted.
Ellie extended a hand to him, “Come on.”
“Gimme a minute,” he complained, he wasn’t even sure he could move.
Ellie wasn’t having any of it, she knew what would motivate Joel. “Get up, you lazy ass.”
Y/n snorted, earning a glare from Joel. She didn’t shy away from staring back at him.
Joel reached up and took Ellie’s outstretched palm, “Lazy ass,” he grumbled, walking past both girls, “Fifty six years old, you little shit.”
Ellie laughed, Y/n patting her on the back as she walked past.
Joel grabbed a fire extinguisher from the wall and rammed it into the glass door of one of the apartments. He let Y/n and Ellie in first before entering himself.
“Oh, sweet,” Ellie exclaimed, dropping her backpack in the middle of the room, “There’s a couch.”
“Hallelujah,” Y/n replied, setting her bag down as well, while Ellie began rounding up the cushions.
Joel pulled out a drawer form one of the cabinets, carefully collecting the glass shards he’d created and shaking them across the floor. Y/n acknowledged it was a good idea, a makeshift alarm system, while she helped Ellie build their beds.
“Joel,” Ellie called, confused as to what she was watching. He didn’t reply. “Joel…”
Y/n spoke up, “Joel.”
He turned quickly, “What?”
“What are you doing?” Ellie asked.
“I don’t want someone sneakin’ up on us while we’re sleepin’,” he explained.
“Oh,” Ellie elongated, “I get it. Crunch, crunch, crunch. Are you sure you’re gonna hear it?”
“Of course I’ll hear it,” Joel replied, impatiently, “That’s the damn point.”
“Okay,” Ellie said, laying down on her couch cushion bed.
The dilemma Y/n faced was simple: two beds, three people. The easiest thing was to share with Ellie, which she was on her way to do when Ellie starfished, blocking any extra room she had.
“Come on,” Y/n urged, nudging the bottom cushion with her boot, “I’m exhausted.”
“There’s a perfectly good bed over there,” she nodded towards Joel’s section of the floor.
The ex-lover’s eyes met, panic in their gazes.
“Absolutely not,” Y/n stated, turning back to Ellie.
“Why?” Ellie replied, faux innocence in her tone and a smirk on her face, “Shouldn’t be a problem if you two are getting along.”
Every part of Y/n’s body wanted to jump through the apartment’s window and take her chances leaping to her death. Anything was preferable to sharing a bed with Joel again.
Joel felt the same way, he didn’t need to feel any more confused around Y/n than he already was. Laying beside her again would just be another punishment from some higher power.
“I’ll take the floor,” Joel reluctantly offered.
“What, so we have to listen to you complain about your back all day?” Y/n replied, “No, I’ll take the floor.”
“You’re gonna be fuckin’ miserable if you do,” Joel brought up, “And you’ll slow us down.”
Y/n paused, taking a deep breath, trying to get over herself enough to realize Joel was right. They both needed rest.
“Fine,” she conceded, “Back to back.”
Joel nodded, the two of them kneeling down beside the cushions and balling up their jackets.
It was an awkawrd dance, trying to maneuver themselves onto the narrow bed without touching too much. Y/n had to wiggle around, clinging to the edge of the cushion so she wouldn’t fall off. Inevitably, the entirety of their bodies ended up pressed together like magazine pages. Twenty years ago, it was the moment where one of them would flip over and wrap their arms around the other as they drifted off to sleep. Now, they lay stiff as boards, trying not to set off any memories or sensations.
“Well, goodnight,” Ellie said, comfortably curled up in a ball.
“Yeah, goodnight,” Joel grunted.
“Goodnight,” Y/n was facing Ellie and her smirk, “You little shit.”
Joel shut his eyes, trying to force himself to fall asleep quickly. But there was an unfinished part of his day that he couldn’t let go of.
“Ellie,” he called.
“Yeah?”
“When we were talkin’ about hurtin’ people,” he recalled, “What did you mean it wasn’t your first time?”
Ellie stiffened, rolling over onto her back, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”
Y/n watched the girl’s countenance change, for as much as they’d gotten to know each other the last few weeks, they didn’t actually know anything. There was blood on both their hands and Ellie wanted the dark of night to hide hers. Y/n couldn’t blame her.
“All right,” Joel conceded, only for a second, before rolling over on his other side. Y/n could feel him shift and knew he was trying to face Ellie. She flipped onto her back so he could see across the room.
“You don’t have to,” Joel continued, trying to keep his body as compact as possible, “Just sayin’…it isn’t fair, your age…havin’ to deal with all this.”
Y/n tried to steady her inhale, Joel’s warm breath fanned over her face, setting her nerve endings alight. The window idea was looking better and better…
Ellie turned her head to face the adults, “So it gets easier when you get older?”
“It never gets easier,” Y/n spoke up, attempting to release some of the pressure inside her from her own sins, “It just…you shouldn’t have to deal with this stuff yet.”
Joel’s eyes traveled over Y/n’s face, seeing all the pieces of her he couldn’t recognize. There were two decades of her life he had been absent for. Just as he carried stories and scars earned over time, she did too. It still hurt to see her hurt.
“The reason I asked whether you’d hear the glass or not,” Ellie flipped over to face Joel and Y/n, “Is ‘cause I’ve noticed you don’t hear too well from your right side. Is it cause you were shot there?”
Y/n twisted her head to get a look at Joel’s ear. She’s gathered enough information to make an educated guess, but years of fighting had taught her that it took more than one bullet to take out someone’s hearing.
Joel glanced down at Y/n, their breaths mingling in the small space left between them. It would have been so easy to lean down, or even just touch her cheek. Such intimacies belonged in their past life, but Joel could feel his resolve slipping with each second he spent in bed with her.
Y/n felt the draw too. She felt weak for admitting that through her anger, she was still as drawn to Joel as she had been the night they’d met. He may have changed in every way conceivable, but with the small taste she was getting of his body, she knew his firm frame was the same as she remembered. Something about that tortured Y/n more than if he’d completely transformed.
They were wading in dangerous waters.
“Probably more from shootin’,” Joel answered, swallowing hard and turning back over on his side, “So if you wanna keep your hearin’, you stick to that knife.”
The action of moving brought Y/n out of whatever trance she’d been in. She felt fucking weak, feeling any sort of attraction to the man who’d broken her heart. Rolling back onto her side, she shut her eyes and tried to calm her body down.
“Joel,” Ellie said softly, “Y/n.”
They answered at the same time, “Hm?”
“Did you know diarrhea is hereditary?”
Y/n carefully moved the sleeve of her jacket to block her twitching mouth.
Joel barely turned over, “What?”
“Yeah,” Ellie replied, “It runs in your jeans.”
He twisted to get a look at Ellie, who was smirking at them both, and fell back onto his side.
Y/n was desperately trying to contain her giggling, practically holding her breath.
Facing away from them, Joel smirked and muttered something to himself. A whisper of a chortle escaped him. “That is so damn stupid,” he admonished.
“You laughed, motherfucker,” Ellie giggled.
“I didn’t laugh,” Joel shot back.
“Yes, you did,” Ellie replied.
“I’m losin’ it.”
“You’re losin’ it big time,” Ellie grinned.
Y/n snorted, unable to hold it in any longer.
“I knew it would work again,” Ellie exclaimed, lording the two-time award winning joke over Y/n’s head. It was the only one in the book that got her to crack.
“It’s so fucking stupid,” Y/n laughed, digging her entire face into her jacket.
All it took was hearing the sweet melody again, and Joel was pushed over the edge. He had been on pins and needles since meeting her again, naturally waiting to hear Y/n laugh again. In their life, circumstances didn’t occur often that gave you the opportunity to find humor. He’d accepted he may never hear it again. And now, with her back shaking against his, he couldn’t stop himself from joining in.
As soon as Joel’s shakes being to reverberate off her body, Y/n felt a wave of grief and relief come over her. To hear his giggles, a sound only she’d ever been privy to, felt like coming home after a long day. She wanted to fight it, to rage against all pleasant memories of him, but she wanted a moment of peace more. She wanted to laugh.
Ellie was the loudest of them all, reigning victorious over Joel and Y/n’s stubbornness. It was so needed after the day they’d had.
“Go to sleep,” Joel said, his chuckle contradicting his order.
“You go to sleep,” Ellie laughed, rolling on her bed.
“Both of you go to sleep,” Y/n snorted, her voice lighting up the darkest parts of Joel.
There were two more rounds of giggling, one started by Ellie and one by Y/n. Joel couldn’t stop from joining both. It was the first moment of joy, true joy, that he’d felt in twenty years.
——————
At some point in their sleep, Y/n and Joel inevitably turned over. Y/n had been keeping her hands close to her chest, cradling the injured one. And somewhere in the timeline of the evening, Joel had unconsciously reached over and placed one of his hands over them both. How he blindly found it, how he knew she was trying to protect it, those answers belonged to the blanket of night. But Joel’s fingers wrapped around her bloody fist, protecting her even in his sleep.
He had also rolled over on his good ear.
“Y/n…Y/n.”
Y/n jumped at the call of her name, looking down at her and Joel’s intertwined hands and pulling back. She twisted onto her back, jumping back at the sight of the child standing over her, pointing a gun at them. Her peripheral vision caught Ellie with her hands up in surrender and a man with his own weapon aimed at her.
“Joel,” Y/n raised her hands, kicking her ex in the shin, “Joel!”
He startled awake.
——————
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yeoja-dream · 3 months
Text
Found/Fated/Forever
Part 1
Pairing: BTS OT7 x Reader
Genre: Fantasy, eventual smut, porn with plot, slow burn, hurt/comfort
Characters: Supernatural!BTS, Vampire!Jungkook, Supernatural!Reader
Content Warning: Woman in danger, roofie mention
Word Count: 3,500
It was a miserable fucking night. Granted it had also been a miserable fucking day, The rain had come down in sheets all throughout the day and well into the night, bringing the temperature down considerably. It was certainly summer, but as your thigh-high boot clicked against the wet sidewalk, you swore you could see your breath. 
I just had to fucking go out. You grumbled internally, shivering in your mini skirt and leather coat. It should have been plenty warm enough for a summer night, but even the weather seemed to be flipping you off today. Let’s just get black-out drunk, hook up with a stranger, and forget today ever happened. You hyped yourself up while rounding the corner to your favorite nightclub. 
The line was sparse, on account of the rain you supposed. Not that you ever really had to wait in line for this place anyways, you knew all the bouncers and if any gave you a hard time, you’d flash a little cleavage and be on your way. 
Despite the minimal line outside, indoors was as lively as any other Saturday night. The DJ tonight was someone local, you overheard, not bad you mused, moving through the crowd to an empty bar seat. Mostly trap beats, but his remixes were decent and the dance floor reflected his musical proficiency. 
“Y/N” The bartender, a salt and pepper man in his 40s regarded you warmly. “What will it be tonight?” 
“David.” You said back. “I thought you had a date tonight? I was expecting to see Vanessa. Sure the usual.” You slid your card forward, starting your tab. 
“You drink so many cosmos we are going to have to start calling you Nebula, you know,” David said, picking up the ingredients to your drink. ��Vanessa and I switched. Date bailed. She must have known you were coming in and got jealous,” He added with a wink. 
“You flatter me.” You replied. “Nebula is too metal of a knick name for such a girly drink.” 
“Eh,” David replied, sliding your glass toward you. “I’ve seen you, you could out-drink any man in this place. Makes me feel bad for your wallet.” 
“You and I both.” You said, sipping on the pink liquid. “It’s good. Strong. Make yourself something, it’s on me.” 
“And that’s why you are my favorite customer, cheers,” David replied, before sliding off to the other end of the bar, busily helping other patrons. 
The bar seats here spun, a trait you always appreciated for easy people-watching. Picking up your drink and swiveling your seat around, you surveyed the crowd like you did most weekends. Mostly, it was boring. You watched them have fun, be messy, get into arguments, meet new friends, new lovers, it was fun, like watching a TV show of what your life could have looked like if things had been different. Some nights you’d spot a creep, someone slipping drugs into drinks or stalking ex-partners and you’d alert the bouncers to kick them out. Some nights you’d chat with someone silver-tongued and deep-pocketed to keep you interested, some nights that person would talk you into bed. 
It was cyclical if you had to really psychoanalyze yourself. The theme: unfulfillment, dissatisfaction, and unhappiness. It was easy, much easier anyway, to find comfort in these fleeting, temporary flings, to find purpose in playing superhero and saving a drunk woman from a creep, to find community in the transactional relationships held with people like David. But maybe you were thinking too much about things again, what the hell did you know? You were there, in that nightclub, just like everyone else.
You swiveled around again, signaling to David you were ready for your next cosmo. He had it ready just as soon as you could raise your hand. 
“Looks like you got something on your mind tonight. I’ll keep ‘em coming,” David said handing you your next drink. 
“Thanks.” You said, taking it from him. “Don’t forget to make something for yourself!” You called after him.
“I love drinking on your dime, don’t worry about me~” He replied with a hand wave. 
Before you can turn back to your self-centered musings, a zip of light darted through your periphery. Magic? It had been a minute since you had seen someone else use it, but surely you had to be mistaken right? Why would a place like this have magic?
You snapped and turned to the side, scanning the patrons carefully, but it only took a few seconds to realize who it was who had been casting. A man stood in the corner, tall with dark, masculine features, his shoulders were broad, his chest and torso the perfect V. He wore a plain, dark, fitted t-shirt that showed off large, corded arms. He was the picture of masculinity, attractive by anyone’s standards, and as you regarded him now, he was entirely silhouetted in magic. The silver, translucent aura was unmistakable. Glamour magic. 
He had to be an incubus right? The only other creatures capable of glamour magic like that are the tirions, but those were exceptionally rare. You could relate to that. As you pondered the possibilities, you noticed a small, curly-haired blonde woman, undoubtedly human by the way she seemed in awe of this male. You needed to get closer, you decided slipping off your seat and pushing through the bodies until you were in earshot. 
“So, why don’t you finish your drink and we can enjoy a few more at my place?” The male voice spoke. 
“Well, I - I - I uh, f-f-friend I, uh…” The female voice spoke, a mix of slurred speech and nervous babbling. 
Another wave of magic pulsed from him. 
“I think we should get out of here, beautiful.” He insisted again. 
“I think… that is… okay.” The female replied voice halted, disconnected. Stiffly and robotically you watched her put her drink on the bar top, then equally as robotically begin turn around and begin to exit.
Incubus or tirion, you would be damned if you would let them feed here. You too put your drink down on the bar top and made your way to the exiting couple. 
“Hey! Girl we were looking everywhere for you!” You walked right up to the woman, placing a hand on her shoulder. You were admittedly a bit rusty, but your connection to magic was as inherent as the ability to breathe. You called forth your magic from deep in the ground, willing it to run through your body. You could see the magical charm this male held on this woman, and while willing your magic into a sword, you severed the charm. 
The woman blinked up at you, dazed and confused. “The rest of us are dancing over here!” You now link arms with the woman, her considerably smaller frame putting into perspective how powerless this woman was to this male. As you begin to walk away with her, the male voice calls out from behind you. 
“Hey.” The voice is stern, flat, and deep. More noticeable to you, however, is the overwhelming rush of glamor magic that washes over you. You will your magic up, shielding the smaller woman from its power. 
“Hey sorry!” You turn around. “We came out as a girl's night and we wanna keep it that way! No hard feelings!” With that, you pull the woman with you and away, towards the exit. 
“It’s time to go home, sweetheart. Are those your friends over there?” You ask the woman. She nods in response. 
“Come on, let's say goodbye and then I’m going to walk you to a cab.” You lead the woman to her friends, who all in a drunken stupor thank you for taking care of their friend, and forget to ask why it is she needs to leave. It is probably better that way anyway. 
You lead the woman out the door, up the stairs, and out into the cold rainy night. You held the umbrella for the two of you, walking in complete silence. 
“The taxi rank is around the corner, but this time of night and the weather I’ll bet it's empty, so I’m just going to call ahead.” You said to no one in particular. You weren’t sure if she was really listening, but you felt better saying something. 
Sure enough, when you rounded the corner, the taxi rank was completely abandoned. 
“Figures,” you grumbled, watching the poor, shivering woman stand next to you while you waited, the sound of the rain hammering on your shared umbrella punctuating your silence. Wordlessly, you shed your leather jacket and place it over her shoulders while you wait, willing the magic from the ground to keep you warm. It was totally against the rules, but hey, it had already been a weird night. 
“Do you remember your address?” You asked the woman. She nodded in response. 
“Do you have enough money to get home?” Another nod. 
“Did you drive to the club?” A shake this time. 
She didn’t want to talk, obviously, and another extended silence descended upon the two of you. 
The woman broke the silence this time. 
“What happened to me?” She asked, voice sounding hollow, hurt, and confused. 
“You were roofied.” You replied, matter-of-factly. “The man you were talking to was very bad, which is why I’m making sure you get home.” 
“I’ve been roofied before. It didn’t go away in one second. I spent the whole night puking. You touched my shoulder and the fog lifted. Isn’t that crazy?” She spouted off, looking up at you for support answers. 
You knew what she was looking for, and yet you couldn’t give it to her. “They’re coming up with new drugs all the time. Maybe this one clears your system crazy fast. I am really sorry this happened to you.” You replied. 
“Thank you for helping me.” She replied, and as if ordained by a benevolent ruler, the taxi pulled up. You helped her into the car, wished her a good night, and saw her off before turning on a heel and marching back to that nightclub. You had a bone to pick. 
-----------------------------------------------
Where the bumping music of the club before gave the area a cool, hip-hop vibe, now contributed to your fuge state fueled by rage. The male, miraculously, was stood in the same spot, tied up in conversation with another man. An accomplice perhaps, you thought. You’d figure it out as soon as you rocked this dude's shit. 
Pushing passed the crowd and shoving the man he was locked in conversation with aside, in a flash you willed your magic up to protect your fist and you let loose the meanest right hook you could muster, for that woman and all the other women you were sure this scum had victimized. 
Your fist collided solidly with his jaw, knocking him over and staggering him. You hit him hard enough that the bystanders around you audibly reacted. The male straightened back out, rubbing his jaw in pain. Looking down at you in what could only be described as bewilderment. 
“I would say there is a special place in hell for people like you, but you would know something about that, wouldn’t you?” You spit at the male. 
“So what if I do?” The male replied, voice rich and baritone. “What’s it to you?” 
“There are clubs for people like you.” You replied venemously. 
“And you…?” He replied, lifting an eyebrow.
“I am not here looking for prey.” You said, looked at him with a disgusting look. “Just because you can’t hack it in the supernatural clubs doesn’t mean you can just come out to the human clubs looking for easy pickings.” 
“Do you condemn the wolf for breaking into the lamb pen? Or do you just understand that the wolf, too, needs to eat?” 
“Ask a sheep farmer what he does to wolves in the lamb pen.” 
“Is that what you are to them? The farmer? Watching over the little sheep? Or perhaps you are just a little puppy, barking at the big bad predator” He leaned in closer. “There will come a day when your pathetic little yaps won’t be enough to chase away the big bad guy, what will you do then, little puppy?” 
“Get. Out.” You said through gritted teeth. “Or so help me I will put you back where you came from.” Rage, pure rage coursed through you, mixed with magic, you felt it zapping and prickling at your skin, your hair standing on edge as if the lighting was about to strike. 
“Now now, no need to get so wound up.” He started pushing past you, before stopping to continue. “I was going to hurt you, for taking my dinner. But now, now I hope to meet you again very soon, little puppy.” He finished, walking out the front door, a swagger in his footsteps that made you want to blast him from behind with every bit of radiant damage you could physically muster. 
“Hey.” A different male voice snapped you to the present. “You’re going to call attention to yourself. Just accept it.” 
Another wave of glamor magic washed over you, a different spell though, a calming one you readily identified having used it before. You allow the stranger's magic in, the new stream slipping in, soothing your breathing, calming your heart rate, and slowing the stream of magic through your body, before exiting. 
“You were about to make us all do the electric slide.” The man said with a chuckle. “Sorry, dated reference. I am kind of old.” 
“Me too.” You commented, still internally reeling from the events of the last hour. “It was funny, thanks for the hand.” You turned to him, finally. The man who was keeping the incubus engaged. You were calm, but you were still warry. You regarded him more carefully now, he too was exceptionally handsome, but in a less brutalistic way than the incubus was. He was also shorter than the incubus and considerably more lithe in his frame. His baggy streetwear and half up half down hairstyle betrayed a surprisingly strong body, you were willing to bet, however. “With that being said, who the hell are you?” 
“That is a complicated question with a complicated answer.” He replied. “I am sure you can relate. Shall we?” He gestured to two conveniently empty seats sitting on the corner of the bar. 
“You drink cosmos, right?” He said handing you a pink cocktail. You looked at him incredulously. 
“On a normal night, I don’t accept drinks that I didn’t watch David make, after all that what makes you think I’m going to accept this?” 
“Oh my god, you are so right. You know what I will drink this don’t even worry about it, I’ll flag the bartender and you order whatever you want and I’ll pick it up.” He replied, pulling the drink back to him. 
After a few minutes, David walked up to your end of the bar, regarding the two of you silently. 
“What will it be, sir?” David asked the man. 
“Whatever the lady will have.” 
“Whiskey. Top Shelf.” 
“Coming right up, ma’am,” David replied, pouring a glass and sliding it to you. With that, he made himself scarce. 
“How do you know the incubus?” You asked the man, keeping your tone flat, disinterested in case they were buddies. 
“Not at all, to be frank” He replied, sipping on his Cosmo. 
“When I walked in after getting that woman home, you seemed to be engaged in lively conversation with that man.” You said, bemused. “What was it that you were discussing?” 
“How we were going to hurt you.” He replied, matter-of-factly. 
“And how was that?” You asked. 
“Well, he was angry when you left with that woman, really angry. I had a feeling that you’d come back and I wanted you to get your revenge, so I placated him with stories of how I would help tear you limb from limb and eat your insides in front of this whole club, the usual.”  
“Uh-huh.” You replied, skeptically. “And why should I believe that? Maybe the two of you are waiting to jump me as soon as I leave out that door.” 
“Nah, you’d kick my ass.” He replied. “Besides, I have this.” He held up a clear, tear-drop-shaped glass pendant on a cord around his neck. Suspended in the glass were a clear liquid and a red liquid, yin and yang. “Because of this, it is impossible for me to lie.” 
“Obviously you are going to have to prove it.” You replied, scoffing and sipping your whiskey. 
“Easy.” He replied. “The sky is purp-” Before he could finish, red and blue light pulsed from the pendant, and the man doubled over in pain, grabbing his chest. “Pigs can fl-” and again, before the man could finish the sentence, he doubled over in pain clutching his chest. 
“You could have programmed it to react that way with certain voice commands.” You replied back, still skeptical. 
“Hard to convince, that’s fair enough.” He replied, shrugging. “Tell me to say something, and I will say it, scouts honor.” 
“Okay…” You replied, thinking for a moment. “Tell me I’m ugly,” you said with a smirk. 
“You’re ug- ak!” The same reaction as before. 
“Thank you I know.” You said, flicking the hair off your shoulder. A devilish smile crept across your face as another prompt crossed your mind. “Say this one and I will believe you.” 
“Anything.” 
“Say I have a tiny penis.” 
He looked at you incredulously, but nonetheless began “I have a tiny pe- ah! Enough please believe me this hurts!” 
“Good to know~” you chuckled. “Alright George Washington, what are you doing here anyway? What are you?” You asked him. 
“I am a vampire. As for what I am doing here, that question is a bit more difficult to answer.” 
“Are you looking for prey? Just like that incubus?” 
“What? God. No. I don’t need to look for prey thank you very much. I am very much mated.” 
“Mated? But you’re hanging out in a human club?” 
“Something like that.” 
“Okay, start the bigger picture then if the smaller picture is hard. What is your name?” 
“Jeon Jungkook. A pleasure.” He extended his hand. 
“Y/N. It is steadily becoming a pleasure as well.” you shook his hand. “What brings you to this city, Jeon Jungkook?”
“I live here with my mates,” he replied. “Most of us work in the city, myself included. I sing.” 
“Oh wow!” you recoiled in surprise. “What do you sing? Do you perform?” 
“No, it's a little hard to be a public persona when your face is never changing, ya know? I do backup vocals and I am the voice behind a few recording artists, some big some small.” He shrugged.  
“Some big?” You asked. 
“I can’t really talk openly about it. I’ll tell you another time.” He added with a wink. 
“Fair enough.” You replied, taking another sip of whiskey. 
“I was right behind you, by the way.” 
“Hm?” You replied. 
“Maybe I should back up a little.” He started. “I’m here, in this human club tonight, because I was called to be. By whom or what I do not know, but I knew I needed to come in. I arrived shortly after you did, I think. You were already drinking at the bar, people-watching. I saw the magic too, and I saw what he was attempting to do to that poor woman. You and I stood up simultaneously.” 
“You want a congratulations for thinking about stopping a rapist?” You scoffed at him. 
“No. No, I am explaining myself poorly. I am trying to say I had your back. I wouldn’t have let him hurt you.”
“Oh. Thanks.” You said, giving him a half cheers with your glass. 
“At first I thought that this is what I was called here for, to save you or to dispatch this creep, then I could fuck off home and be the hero. But then I saw how powerful you were. How readily the magic came to you, how you bent it to your will like you were folding paper. It was only then I came to understand, that I think I was called here to meet you. And I am extremely glad I was.” 
You glanced at his chest and then, at the pendant hanging on his chest. The light remained dark, and when you slid your gaze up to meet his, there was an intense sincerity there that made you blush and shy away. 
“I am not really sure I understand what it is exactly you are getting at.” You state looking down at the melting cubes in your whiskey. 
“I think I might, but I will need you to go with me on this one.”  --------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi-ya this one has been cooking in my brain for like 3 years so enjoy plz! I am just going to post parts one and two consecutively because fuck it they're finished and the Ritalin hit and so I WROTE. I'm working on Intertwined, I just had to get it straightened out from this story because of their similar themes but we good, let me cook. I will update the tags as WHAT each member of BTS and Y/N as it is revealed but for now, no spoilers eheheh. Put what you think they're going to be below!
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tantei-chan01 · 4 months
Text
The Giver. Mute Branch Au
Notebook talking has this "-"
Sign language is this "*"
Xxx
A scrapbook opens as Poppy narrates, "Years ago, on the night of the Harvest Moon, a mysterious troll paid our village a visit and delivered gifts to everyone becoming known only as ... the Giver." On the page, a little troll in a hoodie leaves presents in the pods, stopping to pose in front of the moon. "Every Harvest Moon since has been the same, leaving presents under the veil of night."
The little trolls in the pod leave for a moment, missing the Giver leaving them a gift, "Yay!"
"Which everyone loves...." Poppy suddenly shuts the book, "but it drives ME completely insane!"
A crowd of trolls looked at her in confusion, chattering amongst themselves.
"When you give a gift, you’re supposed to receive a thank-you card. It’s what separates us from the animals. And this Troll is making a mockery of the whole thing. " Frustrated, Poppy throws the book on the mushroom, Smidge behind her with a stern look. "Ugh!"
The crowd gasped, Biggie covering Mr. Dinkles eyes. Branch tapped a dazed Suki's shoulder and held up his brown notebook, "- I think I might missed a step from being in my bunker the last decade. Does she do this every year?-"
Suki shrugged, "Pretty much. I just nap through it. Thank goodness, I learned to sleep with my eyes open, right?" She snores with her eyes open, making Branch gasp and drop his notebook.
"Well, listen up, Giver. You may have escaped me in the past, but this year I’ve rigged the entire village with hidden alarms." She points to Smidge, who pulls a conveniently placed vine. Red and blue bell like flowers beging blaring out an alarm. "Which means I will catch you and will get what’s coming to you."
Smidge pulls out a purple bat (which I hope is actually rubber) with an eager face. "Yeah!"
"This!" Poppy pulls out a blue thank-you card and opens it to show off her card, making skills
Smidge nervously laughs and hides the bat. "Uh, yeah, that."
"So this is your last chance. Come forward now and take your thank-you like a troll." The crowd looks at each other, but no one comes forward. Poppy then hears a certain breathing pattern that she definitely recognizes as laughter, "Something funny, Branch?"
Branch signs, "*Yes, you.*"
"Hm…"
"*I realize I’m new to all this, but if “the Gifter” wants to remain anonymous, shouldn’t we respect that?*"
Biggie excitedly asks, "OH! Can I try translating?" Branch nods to the gentle giant. "Okay, you said something about making cookies for the Giver."
"Meep."
Biggie looks at Mr. Dinkles, "What do you mean I'm not even close?"
Reminding herself to help Biggie with translating later, Poppy responds as Smidge seems to be counting trolls, "It’s “the Giver.” If you’re gonna be a know-it-all, get your facts straight."
"Uh, Poppy, just did a hair count, and Satin and Chenille are absent."
Poppy quickly turns to her, "Absent?! On the Harvest Moon?" Her face switched to determination, "Let’s go, Smidge. We’ve got a new lead suspect."
"Uh, there’s two of them."
"We’ve got a new lead of suspects. "
Xxx
The scene switches to Satin and Chenille's pod, only to reveal Satin sick in bed.
Satin sneezes and then blows her nose into a tissue, tossing it into a pile next to her. "I love being sick. It’s like my body has a whole other side to its personality for me to get to know. Don’t you think?" She turns to Chenille, who's wearing a gas mask and carrying a spray bottle.
Chenille sprays at her twin, "Back, vessel of pestilence! Back!"
Poppy and Smidge sneakily walk up to the window, "You ready to bust these gift-giving punks, Poppy?"
Poppy pulls out the card and preps it. "Locked and loaded." She hears crunching and sees Branch sitting in a chair, eating a bag of popcorn. "Ugh! Don’t you have better things to do?"
"*Than watch you make a fool of yourself? (munches) Please, I cleared my whole day.*"
Smidge looks at him, "OK he definitely said something about you embarrassing yourself." Branch tapped his nose twice. "Cool." She smiles, then turns her attention back to Poppy, "Ignore him. How do we get ‘em to talk?"
"By using the oldest Troll interrogating technique there is-good cop, great cop."
Smidge uses her baseball bat to shine light into Satin and Chenille’s pod. Directing it to face Satin.
She flinches for a moment and then relaxes into it. "Ah! Ooh, that sunshine feels so good."
Poppy leans in close to the sick troll. "You know what else is good?" She takes out a cookie. "Cookies. And you can have them if you tell me what I want to know."
"Ooh."
She pushes the cookie closer, "Or if you don’t, either way."
Satin smiles. "That’s so nice."
"Oh, yeah?!" Smidge pulls a cake from behind and lightly slams it on the table, "I’ll give you an entire cake, no strings attached!"
Satin feels a bit conflicted, "Wow, I feel like I should at least tell you something."
Poppy gets right in her face, "Well, I’ll give you a back rub."
"I’ll write you a haiku."
Poppy bangs on the table, "I’ll be your best friend!"
Satin holds her head in what seems to be guilt, "OK. OK. I confess. I color my hair! I’m not a natural purple." She then points to her sister as the lights come on. "Neither is Chenille."
Chenille's eye twitches in disbelief, "You...are dead to me."
"Hold on. So you’re not the Giver?"
An unfamiliar laugh distracts the four, turning to see Branch leaning on his chair laughing, "*Bravo, Poppy. You really broke the case of the purple hair wide open.*"
Poppy growls, feeling a little conflicted, seeing as he'sactually laughing for others to hear. Chenille comments, "I only understood purple hair. "
Satin smiles a little, "Well, it's nice to actuallyhearhim laugh. "
Branch leans to far bach on the chair, knocking down the curtains, revealing what appears to be red wrapping papper. Poppy gasps, "That looks like the paper the Giver uses." She turns back to Satin and Chenille. "Explain yourself… ves!"
"That paper’s not ours."
Chenille explains, "Yeah, it’s so five years ago. Do you think we’ve been living under a rock?"
Smidge licks the paper, "It’s definitely the same-quality pulp, hand-cut edging," She then points to a logo, "and look at the insignia. It comes from Sky Toronto’s Party Shop.
Poppy turns back to the twins, "Ladies, I really hope Sky doesn’t tell me you’re the Giver, or so help me, I’ll thank you like you’ve never been thanked before." She walks backward and arrives at Sky Toronto’s Party Shop.
She walks with the older glitter troll as he gives out orders, "It’s crunch time, people. I need 200 piñata ideas on my desk by tomorrow morning." The workers walk away. "Queen Poppy, I’m honored, yada, yada, but let’s cut to the chase. There are 18 parties, 12 soirees, and at least five shindigs on an average Troll night all supplied by me, Sky Toronto." He snaps his fingers. "So time is glitter."
She holds out the wrapping paper, "Do you recognize this?"
Sky stops as a worker approaches him, "Pause."
The worker holds out the confetti samples, "Mr. Toronto, the new confetti designs for your approval, sir."
Sky throws each sample to inspect, "Pass, hard pass, too cliché." He stops at the fourth one. "Ah, that one. That’s the confetti of the now." The worker leaves, and he turns back to Poppy, "Yes, I recognize it. Not popular, except with one troll who picks up about 100 rolls once a year."
Poppy gasps, "Once a year?!"
Another worker walks up to him with a disco ball in her hand, "Hey, S.T. The boys in decorations just cooked up this new color. Thoughts?"
Sky thinks for a moment, "Hm. Not bad. But disco balls aren’t testing well. How about disco… cubes?" The worker gasps and walks backward, her mind blown.
Poppy tries to get his attention, "Let me get this straight. The Troll who gets this paper, you’ve seen him in person?"
"Many times." An explosion catches his attention and sees some workers running from it. "Don’t mind that. Accident in the trick candle division. We try to put it out, but every time we do…" Trolls bring in water and fire extinguishers to put it out, but the explosion gets worse. "I should ask Branch to see if he can come up with something to put it out."
Later, Smidge is getting a cup of water in the meeting room while Poppy is talking to Sky with Harper sitting with him.
"Okay. Just give Harper here a physical description."
Sky begins the description, "Body of a warrior. Earlobes of a poet. Butt that shimmers like the night sky. We done here?"
Poppy looks at the picture groans, "Describe the mystery Troll, not yourself." She turns Harper's clipboard to reveal a drawing of Sky.
Sky takes the picture Harper drew and hands it over to one of the workers, "My mistake. But I’m keeping that. The troll had dark eyes, a shrouded face, and hair the color of mystery."
Harper shows Poppy a picture of the Giver. Which is only a troll in a hoody wearing sunglasses. Poppy stammers, "What is this?! This isn’t helpful."
"I said I saw the Giver, not that it’d be helpful."
Harper takes back the picture she drew, "Wait. I’ve seen this Troll."
Xxx
Later that night, Harper Poppy and Smidge go to find the Giver, "I saw the Troll down here this morning… over by the tree roots." She points to a large tree. They continue to walk as the fog clears. Poppy gasps to see several gifts ready to be delivered.
Smidge is a bit suspicious, "Uh…"
Poppy looks on in awe, "The Giver’s stash. They’ll have to come back here before delivering tonight’ gifts. This is where we make out stand." As she tries to walk away, she hears squishing sounds.
Smidge looks up at her, unimpressed, "Uh, we’re standing in mud."
The royal moves away from the mud, "This is where we make our stand.
An owl is heard hooting in the background. Poppy and Smidge are hiding in the bushes. "It’s just a matter of time. Eventually, our Mystery Troll will have to come back to get the gifts, only to find…"
Smidge pops out of some tall grass, "Whammo! It’s a stakeout, boy!"
"Oh, yeah!" The two hear rusting. "That’s the Giver now!" The troll appears and seems to go to the gifts. "Gotcha!" She pulls a vine, and many flowers pop up. They shoot balls and streamers along with a thank-you banner.
Spiders jump down and sing, "Thank you!"
Poppy runs out of her hiding place, "Ha! I thanked you! I thanked you so hard! Yes, yes, yes!" She turns on a flashlight and pulls away the flowers. "Now, what do you have to say for yourself?!" The flowers reveal that it was only Cooper.
Cooper gives them a clueless smile, "You’re welcome."
Poppy is shocked, "All these years, it was you? W-why did you - When did you…" She puts her flashlight away and tries to calm down. "You know what? Just start from the beginning and tell me everything."
Cooper looks at her, "Everything? Okay. Darkness. Then I emerge from the womb, wearing this very hat."
(5 minutes later)
"And then the theme of my 7th birthday party was invisible friends. It was very well attended."
(2 hours later)
"And then, after years of hard work at graduation, my classmates finally turned to me and said, “You’re not in class.” (chuckles) We laughed."
(Another 2 hours later)
"And then some weird Troll told me if I came out here, I’d find some empty boxed for my empty-box collection. And then you trapped me and said, “Tell me everything.” And then I said, “Darkness. I emerge from the womb”-
Poppy stops him, "Whoa! Just answer this question." She takes out the picture Harper drew. "Are you or are you not the Giver?"
He taps the picture, "That’s the weird Troll that sent me here."
They looked at him in disbelief, "The Giver sent you here?"
A random green spider set down a package and pulled back up. "Special delivery from the Giver."
Smidge opens the present and reveals a letter. “Dear Poppy, I’m sorry. This was the only way. From, the Giver.”
"It’s a setup. The Giver wanted us to come here!" She hears the alarms sounding in Troll Village.
Smidge looks over the horizon, "Oh, my Guh."
Poppy quickly runs toward the village, "Halt! Halt in the name of gratitude!" She looks up at the pods to hear the Trolls cheering because their gifts were delivered. She falls to her knees, leans up towards the sky, and exclaims, "THANK YOU!"
The Trolls are celebrating their given gifts while a sad Poppy sits at her pod. "The giver won, Smidge." She opens her card. "No point in holding on to this anymore. She rips the card to pieces.
Smidge tries to cheer her up, "Come on, Poppy, at least you got a present, huh?"
Poppy takes the present, "A horribly wrapped present. Who uses so much tape?" She sighs, "Chenille was right. This Troll really must live… under a rock! (gasps) Trolly-moley. I know who it is!" She gives her present to Smidge and runs. Then she comes back to pick up her destroyed card. "I really regret doing that." Smidge takes both presents to her pod for safe keeping.
Xxxxx
We return to the tree to see a dark figure heading towards a cave hidden amongst the vines, "Hold it right there, Giver."
Poppy walks towards the figure and grabs their shoulders, "It’s time for you to be finally thanked." She turned them around to reveal, "(gasps) Mr. Dinkles!"
The hoodie falls off to reveal the cute little glow worm on top of some other pets. Smidge pops out of the bushes, "Wait, so it wasn't Branch?"
Poppy shakes her head, "If you're here, then who's with Biggie?"
Xxxx
We quickly go back to the village in Biggie's pod, "Isn't this wonderful, Mr. Dinkles?" He pulls out a brand new camera, showing it to a doll that looks like Mr. Dinkles, with a poorly hidden tape recorder on its back. "Meep"
Xxxx
"So if all of you are the Giver, why keep it a secret?" Poppy asks.
"Meep."
Poppy cooed, "Aww, you all just wanted to show your love for everyone by doing something nice."
Smidge pulls out a present from her hair, "Well, that explains the massive amount of tape. Must be pretty hard to wrap without thumbs."
Poppy cleared her throat, "OK guys, I still want to thank all of you, so how about you all come to my pod tomorrow for some special treats?"
The pets all agreed and waved goodbye to the two trolls as they walked back to the village. Once they were gone, they quickly ran into the cave. Dinkles flipped over a rock to reveal a pass code lock, he typed in some numbers, and a hatch opened. They all jumped in, landing in a very familiar living room.
"Meep." Well done, everyone. They all turned to see Branch taking off a dark hoodie and special night vision sunglasses. "Meep." She doesn't suspect a thing.
"Meep." Correct, Quiet One. Now, I believe we are to receive our payment.
Branch smiles and pulls out his special, pet friendly, triple fudge brownies. As he watches them enjoy the treat, he laughs silently, 'Sorry Poppy, but this is one secret I'd like to keep to myself for a while.
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nsharks · 5 months
Text
bleeding blue | part fourteen preview
Blue holds her arm out, stopping you from taking another step.
"Sh. I see one."
Up ahead, a squirrel stills on a tree, beady eyes unblinking. In a matter of seconds, Blue throws her knife and pins it to the bark through the stomach. 
"Nice," you comment. "You got it on the first try this time."
In your hand is the other squirrel she killed for you. Ghost started working on your bow yesterday. He didn't say anything to you about it, but you spotted him sitting on the porch chiseling away at a hunk of oak. Until he's finished, you've struck another deal: helping Blue skin the rabbits in exchange for her killing squirrels with you. She's better at killing them with a knife than you are, and you needed something to get you off the couch, anyway.
"This is good practice for me." She wriggles the knife out and hands you the kill. "Poor guy didn't see it coming."
"Probably better that way."
She slips the knife back to her ankle. "Do you need more? Or is two enough."
"Two is enough. I saw these flowers by the trench that I think are edible."
"You can eat flowers?" She makes a face. The two of you begin heading back toward the camp. You didn't go off too far with her. Ghost said she wasn't allowed to go past the pond without him. Truthfully, you were surprised he let her go with you at all. 
"Yeah. Pink Sorrel. They taste lemony, and I'll add the leaves, too. Like a salad."
"Yum," she says sarcastically. "Did Paul teach you that?"
You nod. "He knew a lot about plants."
"Are you sure he didn't like you?" 
"Blue," you almost groan. "You've asked me this twice now."
"Well, you seemed to have spent a lot of time with him, and he taught you a lot of things."
"You can spend time with someone and learn things from them without... liking them."
"I wouldn't know," she shrugs, waving her hand around. "There are no boys here for me to spend time with besides Ghost." 
There is a pause as a cloud rolls over the sun, turning everything dim before it passes. The weather these past few days has been fluctuating like true spring. Cold showers in the morning, intense sunlight by noon, and clouds that come and go. The cabbages Blue planted have sprouted fat, juicy leaves. You've mentally scolded yourself for not including seeds in your deal with Ghost. 
"So when are you and him going to start training or whatever?" Blue speaks up, switching subjects.
"Training?" you repeat.
"He told me you wanted to learn some things." She glances at you. "Look, let me just warn you, he can be a real hard ass. One time, he made me climb up and down a tree twenty times without stopping. And another time, he made me throw knives over and over until I hit the exact same spot on the tree again."
Right. Somehow, that last request you made of him has slipped your mind. You did ask him to teach you how to better defend yourself against other people.
It's been over a week now, and the two of you still haven't talked much except for the necessities. Honestly, it's probably best that way. Maintaining a clinical relationship with him should keep the peace and maybe even earn more of his trust. You're growing confident that he doesn't see you as much of a threat anymore. Last night, you ran into him again after waking up sweaty at some odd hour, and all he did was walk past you, step outside for a cigarette, and then go back to his room. He didn't seem suspicious of you being up at all.
That said, the reminder of the 'training' he's supposed to give you makes your teeth snag onto your lip. 
When you don't respond, Blue adds, "What exactly do you want him to show you? I hate to say it, but I don't think he'll give you one of his guns."
"No," you shake your head. "I don't want that. It's not Greys that I'm as worried about. As long I've got distance, I can use my bow for them. It's more about... other people. They get close. Too close."
"Well, you can always bite their nose off," she gives a bump to your shoulder.
You cringe. "I'd rather not have to do that again."
She pauses, looking at her boots. "What did it taste like?"
"Fucking awful. Probably the grossest thing I've ever experienced."
She looks up. "If you were a Grey, you would've loved it."
"Well, I'm human still, and I much prefer these guys." You wag the dead squirrels in front of her face and she laughs. If you could replace all her tears with that sound, you would.
"You still haven't answered my question," Blue tilts her head. "When are you getting started? Because I have some training in mind for you, too."
You arch a brow but don't question it. "Um. I don't know. Ghost hasn't said anything to me about it, and he's busy working on my bow right now."
"Why don't you ask him, then?" She shoots you a knowing smirk. "Are you scared of him, Twix?"
"No," you say all too quickly. "No... I'm not. I just don't know how to talk to him. He's not exactly approachable."
"Just do what I do. I say whatever I want to him. Except when he's pissed, then—" she freezes for a moment and lays a hand on your shoulder. "—it's better to shut up and listen. Believe me."
You speak under your breath. "Noted."
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starb3rrys · 5 months
Note
I've read your Tecchou breaking down... so would you mind doing the same but for Chuuya?(if it hasn't been done yet)
Like our baby needs to, considering how much he had gone through...
(Also, the comforting person can be either a genderless person or maybe Dazai... your choice)
Thank you ❤️
Aww, you’re right, poor Chuuya needs more love! I have never read stormbringer so take everything I write with a grain of salt. In addition, I apologize for the long wait but I do hope you enjoy this! \(٥⁀▽⁀ )/
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Tired Nights
Chuuya x GN!Reader
Slight angst, Fluff/Comfort
Scenario: The death anniversary of the flags was right around the corner, Chuuyas mood always seemed to be at an all time low around this time of year. Hateful thoughts, regrets, and pain flooded his mind...I suppose even the strongest of people could admit defeat at the eyes of the past || Tecchou Ver.
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☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆
On a quiet afternoon, the sun dipped low on the horizon, casting long shadows across the numerous graves of once lively people. Your eyes scanned the quiescent area, locking onto a familiar figure sitting by five lone tombstones atop a hill.
Leaves crunched under your feet as you walked, alerting the once calm man. "Oh, it's just you.", the man said with a small sigh. "Yep, just boring old me.", you said with a neutral tone as you sat on the grass next to the man. "How'd you even find me here? Stalking me now?", the man said with an unintentionally annoyed tone.
"Oh come on, Ive known you for how many years now, Chuuya? I know you like the back of my hand...just like how I know that around this season, every year without fail, you disappear without a word and come to this graveyard.", your voice was confident as you looked at Chuuya, taking notice of his tired eyes.
Your gaze switched to the five untouched gravestones, each reading a different name but sharing the same death day. "Were they close to you?", the question left your lips in a quiet whisper. Chuuya scoffed, "That doesn't even scratch the surface...", Chuuyas hand softly swiped some dirt off one of the gravestones. "They were like my family, honestly, the only real family I've ever had."
Your once confident smile faltered into a small frown, it was rare to see Chuuya like this as you could practically hear the sadness dripping in his tone. "What happened to them?", you asked curiously.
Chuuya let out a shaky breath, "Selfish acts made by selfish people.", he grimaced. "Do you miss them?", sympathy present in your voice.
"Of course I do.", Chuuya said with a serious yet gentle tone."They were good people--maybe not in the eyes of others--but they lived fighting for my happiness...and died for my well-being...", his voice wavered. "Hey...it's not your faul-" "BUT IM NOT INNOCENT EITHER!!", Chuuya cut you off.
Your eyes widened at the sight of Chuuyas face; tears streaming down his face, teeth clenched as his eyes were glaring at you.
"I SHOULD'VE BEEN THERE! I SHOULD'VE KNOWN!", Chuuya let all of his frustrations out. "Chuuya you couldn't have known-" "BUT I SHOULD'VE! I SHOULD'VE DONE MORE! IF I CANT EVEN SAVE THOSE CLOSE TO ME, THEN WHAT IS THE POINT OF HAVING THIS OVERPOWERED ABILIT-Mnh...", Chuuya is cut off as he felt your soft lips on his, after a few seconds he melts into the kiss, instantly calming him down. You pull away and caress his hair, tucking a strand behind his ear, "Its okay...".
Chuuya tears up and moves into your arms, his head resting against your chest as quiet sobs left him. "I miss them so much..." "I know, shh... I know...".
Chuuya let out a broken chuckle, "If they could see me now, they'd probably laugh."
You kissed the top of his head, "They definitely would, you have a lot of snot and boogers right now", a giggle following your playful comment.
Chuuya rolled his eyes and sniffled against your chest, "Shut up..."
"You know you love me, Chuuya~", "Do I?", he asked sarcastically.
You both snickered, bodies close to one another as night overtook the sky...
EXTRA:
"The flags would have definitely liked you..." "Really? How so?" "Cause you're a huge pain in my ass, they'd find you funny." "I mean- not to BRAG or anything, but I make one of the port mafia executives laugh on a daily." "Really? What idiot would laugh at your lame jokes?" "I WAS TALKING ABOUT YO-"
☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆★ ☆
I love the pookie Chuuya, sadly I'm too lazy to read the translated version of stormbringer without the pictures. I always like making the reader playful yet kind with the characters, mostly because I find that dynamic funny. (Im sorry.) Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this story I did in the backseat of my car...16 hour roadtrip!! SEND HELP
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knoxic · 6 months
Text
A kiss may ruin a human life.
Oscar Wilde
-Masterlist- part 1 / part 2 / part 3 / part 4
wc: 2,1k
warnings: miscommunications (but really there's almost no communication at all), self deprecating thoughts, mentions of death, ptsd, insomnia, anxiety, grief(?), angst,
i think that's it but please let me know if there's anything else!
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a/n: this work implies that Hotch heard Haley's last breath. timeline is around season 6-7 but it doesn't really matter. this is heavily based on my own experience from death and hearing someone's last breath. Hotch is a little out of character but it'll get better i promise, this was supposed to be something just for myself but i decided to post it, that being said, im already writing part 2!
no use of y/n!
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He was distant.
He kept avoiding you, every day, even when you got back to the hotel and had no other choice but to be around each other, he showered and said some casual phrases that he could damn well say to a stranger.
You tried to understand, he was stressed and haven't slept well in days but, fuck, wasn't it happening to everyone else? And they weren't avoiding you...
Asking if he wanted something to eat or if he wanted that shitty coffee just got you a cold and empty answer. "No, thanks.", "I've had enough for today, thank you.", "I'll just finish some files," and etc. Sure he was polite, you don't think he could be rude even if he wanted to, not with someone he was close to at least, but he was always so gentle and warm, had you done something to make him mad?
...
It started off just as every other day started, new case in a city you've never been to before. Sharing a room with your boss meant a different routine than if you shared with anyone else in the team, late nights and early mornings, the sound of pen scratching paper being the first thing you heard when waking up and the last when you were drifting off, you wondered if he even slept at all.
The answer was no, he barely ever slept during a case, especially if he could hear you breathing all night.
He was scared, scared it would happen again. It was unrealistic and he knew, it happened too many times already, but, twice, like that, was terrifying.
Terrifying to the point he was paralyzed, every night you whispered that sweet "Good night, Hotch." and it flipped the switch, he would now spend the night awake to make sure that you would tell him "Good morning, Hotch" in a gentle yet strong voice. That whisper sounded enough like the gasp he heard that one time, and it always immediately set off every trigger he had of that unfortunate day.
Every night he spent with you in the same room he tried to distract himself enough not to hear your steady breaths, finishing random files that weren't so important and sometimes even going as far as writing them twice. When he got tired enough to black out he laid out and hoped the second his head hit the uncomfortable pillow he would be asleep. That never happened.
He kept listening. You sometimes tossed and turned in your sleep and he knew it meant you were probably having nightmares but it always soothed his mind, if you were moving it meant you were still alive, and it blurred the agonizing sound of your breath.
Sometimes he slept, but even when he did, he kept listening, gun shots echoed inside his head, his aching hands clad with blood holding her body, the sound... the horrific, terrifying, agonizing sound of her last breath.
He thought it had stopped, he has triggers of course but, it wasn't always that they were set off like this, usually it happened sometimes when Jack slept on his chest and that meant carrying him to bed, but he normally allowed himself a bit of self care and went to his own room, far enough from his child to hear if he called but not close enough to hear his breaths. Being stuck in a hotel room did not allow him that. He tried soundproof headphones after the second night they spent together a couple years ago, he quickly figured it was somehow more agonizing than being able to hear.
Now, three days into the case he was desperate for a night alone, to drown in complete silence and darkness, thankfully, not what he wanted but close to it, you had gone to Emily's room to discuss something, he didn't know what it was and apparently you didn't care enough to tell him, or you just didn't want him to know.
He held himself back from sprinting to bed right after you left the room, surely it wouldn't look so good if you were to come back because you forgot something or for any other reason, he let 2 minutes pass by, anxiously, getting up quickly to take the fastest shower he could manage and jumped into bed, he almost decided against clothes before reminding himself that sooner or later you would come back, it took more time than he'd like but finally he was now in bed and drifting off quicker than expected.
...
"Emily..." you whimpered.
"Come on... it's Hotch," she rested a hand on your shoulder, "He's probably just going through something, i heard him tell Rossi last week that Jack were having some trouble with school, it might be that, right?"
"Yeah, but i feel like..." Emily was the only one who knew about your confused feelings for Hotch and still you hesitated, "i feel like it's something else... he's been avoiding me and barely looks me in the eye when we're alone."
Emily went silent for a few seconds, looking away and seemed to be deciding carefully what to say.
"Listen, you know i love you and support anything you decide to do, but..." oh god "You should talk to him, not me."
"I came to you exactly because i don't want to talk to him, even if i tried i don't think he would answer" You gave her the most pleading puppy eyes you could manage.
"There's only one way to find out, honey."
After a few more minutes of licking your wounds you gathered yourself enough to face Aaron, walking a little too fast to your shared room just to make sure you wouldn't have time to back down and run back to Emily. Thinking too many things and nothing at all just to distract yourself you ended up opening the door loudly, scaring yourself when the lights were off and you could barely make out the person under the blankets.
Had you really just opened a random door? Fuck!
Until, in your panic state your eyes caught a glimpse of Aaron's bag close to his bed, some files slipped out if it when he drastically dropped it earlier. Relieved, you slipped into the room and closed the door quieter than you had opened it, unsure if Aaron was indeed asleep or if he was pretending just so he wouldn't have to talk to you, a shower seemed to be the best thing to do.
It was weird, a part of you knew he was tired and going to sleep without someone else in the room is sometimes a lot easier, but, the bigger part of you kept thinking that he was doing this just to avoid you, to not have to force out a "Good night." when both of you knew it wasn't good for him, and it hurt.
Shower was indeed a good thing, the warm water doing wonders to your aching muscles and the sound of the water running was a good background for your mind to organize your thoughts. That same sound was what Aaron woke up to.
Looking around searching for what had woken him, he saw the light coming from the bathroom, the door didn't close all the way sometimes, you had to close it hard and he supposed you didn't want to make noise. He also searched for his phone to see the time, check how long it took for you to come back, but in his hustle earlier he had forgotten to pick up his phone, wherever it was he didn't feel like getting up to search for it.
In his sleepy state he had turned to watch the door, not really paying attention to what he was looking out for until he got a glimpse of you wrapping a towel around your body, he hadn't even noticed the sound of the water had stopped, snapping himself out of whatever this was he turned away from the door, right before he saw the light getting brighter and your quiet barefoot steps getting closer, a zipper being opened, rustle of fabric against fabric and the zipper being closed, steps again but this time going away and the room getting darker again.
It didn't take long for you to come back, he could smell the soap you always used, it only took him a couple days sharing a room and a bathroom with you to know every soap or perfume you owned smelled the same, peaches.
It almost physically pained him to not be able to smell it directly from your skin, he had hugged you and stood close enough to smell your perfume but, he knew it wasn't the same as your fresh out of the shower scent. It already smelled so comforting from this far, he was certain he'd go insane if he ever got the chance to hug you like this, out of any police department or hospital smell, just you.
He was so lost in thought he hadn't realized you had already settled in bed.
"Good night, Hotch..." he heard you whisper, so quietly he almost missed it, it made his heart stutter and beat faster.
Did you know he was awake? Did you see him looking at you through the opening door? He didn't see anything but the skin of your arms! Should he answer? No. Stop it, you idiot.
You turned again, again and again. The mattress was hard, the blanket felt like it kept scratching your bare legs, the pillow made you feel like a stone would be comfier, not to mention the discomfort of your mind telling you how uncomfortable Aaron must be to have you around that he even went to bed earlier just so he wouldn't have to see you, you must be pathetic to even have wished him a good night when he clearly didn't want you here-
"Are you okay?" There it was, his husky voice, he was sleeping and you disturbed him.
"Uh- yeah, sorry to wake you up." wow, that came out so weak, he definitely thinks you're pathetic.
The sound of his body turning and his voice that seemed to be right beside your ear made you shiver.
"You keep tossing and turning, your breath is faster than normal," he sighed. "So I'll ask again, are you okay?"
It's now or never.
"Have you- you have been avoiding me." you could hear Emily's voice saying it wasn't so hard was it?.
"No i haven't." that came out way too fast to be true, Hotchner.
"Yes you have, and you can barely even look at me when we're alone, you give me empty words and talk better to a rookie you will never see again," you were rambling but now there was no way you would stop. "If i did something to upset you, please tell me because, i can profile you but i cannot read your mind yet, and i can't apologize if i don't know what i did wrong."
"I-" gosh you were so self deprecating. "I'm sorry i made you feel that way, you did nothing wrong." he said in a weirdly soft voice.
"That- that doesn't make me feel better..."
"I'm sorry... it's... not something you did..." well, if you were talking than he should too. "It's you."
A couple seconds passed but they felt like minutes.
Your heart dropped, "What?" it couldn't be... you knew you weren't perfect but, to know your mind was right yet again felt... nauseating.
"Wait! wait," he was sitting up now, back to the headrest, his hand has making a gesture that you read as a calm down, he did that once with a child, to make them stop their rambling, you really were pathetic.
"Not you, i meant... ah fuck, it's complicated."
Now that you were already broken, you might as well just finish this, for once end what made you anxious, even if it meant losing your hopes of being with Aaron.
Your breath was harder and lost its rhythm. You could be going into a panic attack right now but Aaron was relieved, after hearing the way your voice got so... pained, he thought he ended this, that you would get up and leave him and the memories came back in a rush that made him dizzy, but you were still here, and breathing hard, unlike the breath Haley-
"Then tell me, unless you have something to do at 2am i think we have enough time, tell me. Whatever it is, I'm sure it's not as complicated as what we had going on." your voice was steady, no longer the panicked and embarrassed girl who just got rejected by their crush, that was the voice of a woman who took down seral killers for a living, who could damn well talk face to face with him if they were to fight. Now he felt small, he could tower over you if you two were standing up but he knew you were the bigger person.
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wraithlafitte · 2 months
Text
maps
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pairing: soulless!sam x f!reader
CONTENT: SMUT, marking, daddy kink, choking, dacryphilia, s&m, unprotected piv, cum control, light degradation at the end
word count: 1.6k
a/n: takes place in the same week as crazy on you. valentine's day oneshot from this prompt by @iamasaddie. sorry it's not a pedroverse character! it fit this series too well to pass up, and i still wanted to participate 😭
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Sam's dark hair brushed against your stomach as he ghosted his lips down your torso. Goosebumps rose on your skin from his feather-light touches, and you shivered. Sam glanced up and smirked at your reaction, then set to work on what he meant to do that night: cover your body in bruises that marked you as his, for the time being.
You moaned softly, pressing your head back into the pillow, as he connected his lips to the soft flesh of your stomach. He sucked and nibbled gently at first, but Sam could never be gentle for too long. He couldn't keep himself from biting down voraciously, scraping his teeth over as much skin as he could get his mouth around at once. You hissed from the sting and squirmed underneath him.
Sam ignored you, attaching his lips to your sternum and focusing his efforts between your breasts. He was making a trail for himself. A map of his favorite places on your body, the places he had found to be your most sensitive nerve endings.
Your breasts were certainly one of those places. His hair tickled your skin as he kissed up the side of your breast, and you giggled and squirmed again.
Sam flicked his eyes up to you and lifted his head to speak. "Stay still." He punctuated his command by holding your hip firmly, pushing you into the mattress.
"Sorry, sir," you said breathlessly. "Just... it tickles." You giggled again as his tongue darted out to tease your nipple.
"Remember what the rules are today?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Oh," you remembered. "Sorry, daddy." You smiled innocently at him.
Sam growled and returned to his efforts, licking and biting away at the soft swells of your chest, leaving pinkish-purplish splotches in his wake. You hummed with pleasure, reflecting the pleasant hum filling your body at his touch. One of your hands carded through his hair, holding him close.
At once, Sam jerked up and snatched your hand away, glaring down at you. You shrunk a little. You had forgotten another rule: don't touch unless given permission. You were supposed to be a pillow princess today, just lying there and taking whatever he gave you.
"Do I need to tie you down?" he sneered. "Or are you gonna be a good girl?" He cocked his head like an animal.
You gasped, a wave of arousal plummeting to your core. You loved the way he switched up just like that, like he was suddenly no longer pretending to be nice.
"I'll be good, daddy, I promise," you rushed. Your need for him skyrocketed with every twitch of his eyebrow and quirk of his mouth. You stilled your trembling body as much as you could, looking at him pleadingly.
Sam gave you a look like you'd better and bit down on your shoulder. His hair tickled in the sensitive crook of your neck. That, coupled with the feeling of his mouth on your skin, almost made you flinch away, but you managed to stay still.
You could feel his hard cock dragging against your thigh. You had to be good for him so he would give it to you.
Your other shoulder jerked into your jaw as Sam lightly ran his fingers up your neck.
"Oh- not fair," you whimpered as Sam raised his head to meet your eyes in a disapproving glare. "You did that on purpose."
"Seems like someone has no self-control," he said. The offending hand crept around your neck slowly.
"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," you whined.
"You need to learn some control," Sam decided. The glimmer in his eye made you wish you had no reflexes and that you could lay perfectly still for him. But he had played dirty, which you were beginning to suspect was his plan all along.
Sam's hand tightened on your throat as he simultaneously pushed his cock into your dripping hole. You moaned raspily, at once feeling so full of him. You didn't think you'd ever get used to his size. He wasn't massive, but he was definitely bigger than the toy you usually used on yourself. And most other men you'd had the displeasure of sleeping with, you thought.
For a moment, you really couldn't breathe, and a tear squeezed past your lid. You stared at Sam desperately and were met with a look of apathy as he leaned his partial body weight onto your throat. He stayed like that, completely still, for what felt like minutes. He had a curious expression on his face, like an addict presented with his vice, fighting the temptation to give in. You found yourself wondering if he was actually about to strangle you.
Then he dropped his weight onto his elbow and began fucking you, hard and fast, keeping his hand around your throat. You heaved great breaths in but the force of his thrusts kept knocking the wind out of you. Tears fell freely now, but it was more of a reflexive bodily response again. You weren't exactly afraid, and you didn't know why.
Sam shifted slightly and then he was hitting a spot deep inside you that had you seeing stars. Your gasps became moans as pleasure began to build rapidly inside you. The hand at your neck applied slight pressure that had you feeling lightheaded, like you were soaring away on a cock induced out-of-body experience.
"I'm gonna come," you choked out, gasping and whining against his neck. The ceiling went blurry and your core tightened around him. "I'm gonna- oh fuck, daddy!"
You writhed in his grasp, and Sam once again met your eyes with a firm expression.
"Hold it," came the command.
Your eyes widened. "I can't! It's too much, oh fuck-" You arched your back into him, pressing your chests together.
Sam held your gaze, his strong hand around your throat directing your face toward him. "Do not come until I say you can, understand?" His face scrunched up and he groaned as your cunt clenched tightly around him.
You whined as he pounded into you, now focused desperately on your new task. Your face screwed up with effort as you tried to deny your body what it wanted so badly; what it was made to do. His cock bruised your cervix, hitting so deeply again and again. The blinding pleasure you felt was painful now as you struggled to hold off your incoming orgasm.
"Hurts," you whimpered, sobs beginning to overtake your body. "I can't do it anymore daddy, I can't I can't-"
Sam cut you off with a deep kiss, thumb loosening his iron grip to brush gently over your chin and wipe away the droplets accumulating there. "Shhhh," he soothed when he broke away, smiling in that strangely unfeeling way.
The knot inside you threatened to snap at any moment. Every muscle in your body was taut, ready for release. They shook with effort as your will overpowered them... for now.
"Please," you tried again, tears now streaming down your face.
“Baby, you know Daddy only hurts you because you look so pretty when you cry.”
A sob wracked your body. Your eyes began to sting as you blinked the tears out, letting them fall down the sides of your face, running into your hair, your neck, your ears.
Sam rewound his hand across your throat, applying the pressure that made you feel like you were flying. "Almost there," he cooed.
Your orgasm felt like it was about to explode through you, and you suddenly thought this might be how Mt. St. Helens felt before she blew her lid. Sam's thrusts became rougher, signaling that he was nearing his end as well.
He reached down with his other hand and started rubbing your sensitive clit, shifting his weight back to the arm holding your neck and increasing the pressure. You gasped as best you could and your hands flew down to wrap around his wrist before quickly letting go, remembering the no-touching rule. "I won't be able to- fuck, daddy, I can't hold it!" you cried brokenly.
"Good," Sam breathed, voice gravelly. "Come for me, baby."
You tried to relax at his command, and it only took seconds before your body took over, sending your orgasm roaring through you. You could see why he insisted you hold it, and not just to train you - the combination of his dizzying grip and the orgasm shaking your body almost made you black out.
A string of whimpers and moans fell from your lips as the overwhelming pleasure became almost painful, too much to bear. You became vaguely aware of the hot, liquidy feeling of Sam's cum seeping into you, but the pleasure rushing through you had wiped your mind of any thoughts or implications that might have.
You felt Sam pull out, and you blinked rapidly to clear the white fuzz clouding your vision. Your ears rang from the force of your orgasm. You turned your head weakly to the side, where Sam lay panting. He turned his head and looked at you, smiling without that unfeeling bullshit from before. You smiled faintly back, proud that you had brought some semblance of a happy feeling to him.
Sam leaned forward to kiss you, then pulled away, leaving your sweaty forehead pressed to the damp hair covering his. "Such a good little slut for me," he praised softly, making you shiver. "Gonna have more self-control, now, right?"
"Yes, daddy," you half-said, half-moaned, spent.
He smiled and snaked his arm across your waist to grab you by the hip and pull you into his arms. "Good."
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dividers by @cafekitsune
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justmeinadaze · 1 month
Text
"I'm Just a F**ked Up Girl Looking For Her Own Peace of Mind"
I'm currently experience this and struggling with it so I wrote a little thing here. *sighs*
TW: Mental health (anxiety and depression), child abuse, mentions of suicidal thoughts. Reader has a breakdown and the guys help her through.
Eddie firmly barreled open the front door as he powerwalked into the house. Steve had texted those two words he dreaded every time he got a text from the former jock. 
“Bad day.”
When they started dating you, you told them about your past. About the hospital stay and medication… the depressive lows and manic anxiety episodes… the thoughts that pushed through your head from time to time even though your life was so much better now than where it had been. 
“I’m not…easy…to be with.”
“That’s ok, honey, neither are we.”
You three had laughed at that at the time. 
The first time they experienced it broke their hearts for you. People always mentioned “feeling depressed” or “oh I’m so anxious about this thing!” but they discovered the true meaning of those words during your first break in front of them.
They hadn’t moved in with you yet so you were able to hide the fact that you hadn’t been sleeping. Your mind constantly reminding you of things that needed to be done and how you were a failure for not doing them. Nightmares plagued your dreams at all hours so you just gave up, scrolling through your phone instead as the mental illness continued to whisper.
“Do better. You’re lazy. May as well just get it over with and end the burden you put on people.”
That following evening you had a date night with them at their place and you couldn’t cancel. You genuinely wanted to see them but you were so tired…
“A good girlfriend goes out on dates. Go ahead. Cancel. Let’s see how quick they leave you for someone better.”
Through the first half of the movie they put on, your leg never stopped moving. Steve watched as your eyes never stayed focus in one place. Eddie felt your erratic energy radiate off you as you switched from holding his hand to letting go every few minutes. 
“Baby? Is everything ok?”
“Yeah.”, you responded a bit too enthusiastically. “Yeah, Ed, I’m fine. I’m just…I’m just a bit tired. It’s ok. I’ll get over it.”
Steve paused the film and as his hand petted your head you broke down. 
“I’m sorry. Fuck! Why can’t I be normal?! I’m ruining everything. You should just leave me and find someone better.”
“Hey, hey. No. Sweetheart, no one is better than you.”
“Talk to us, honey. What’s going on?”
You sobbed as you told them what had been happening over the last few days. The listened intently, comforting you anyway they could think of in that moment. 
“They don’t go away, Steve. Those thoughts never go away. Most days I can manage them but they are always there. W-Who can I tell? If I tell a therapist or a doctor they will put me back in the hospital even though I’m not going to do anything… I can’t tell my friends because I feel like I’m burdening them or they just don’t care. I can’t tell people in general because then I’m being ‘overdramatic’. I can’t take time to heal because I’m supposed to ‘suck it up’. So I do… Eddie, I want my brain to just stop telling me I want to die because I really don’t. Some days, though, on bad days…it’s so loud…”
The metalhead yanked you to his chest as you cried, crying with you as he tightened his grip as if he could squeeze all your broken pieces back together. He’d give anything to take your pain away, they both would. 
Today was a manic day and Steve picked up on it fast. Today was his day off and as soon as you woke up, you barely said a word. He asked you if you wanted breakfast and you shot him an angry look as you walked away. Turning on the tv, he put on the game but after a few minutes you came around the corner snapping at him to turn the noise down. Even when he muted the sound, he could hear you growling and swearing under your breath as you moved around the bedroom. 
Other people would see it as you being a brat; causing drama for the sake of drama. 
You wished you could make the world understand that was the opposite of what you wanted. In an episode like this everything was just…amplified…and for some reason your brain insisted it was on purpose. Steve was purposely turning up the volume to get under skin. The birds chirping outside knew you were on the edge so they gathered outside your window with intent. Even the clock on the bed side table was mocking you. 
Both men tried to handle days like this by themselves but when it got to a certain point, they knew they needed to come together to help you. That point came when you abruptly screamed and threw something hard against the wall. 
When Eddie entered the bedroom, Steve was off to the side watching you as you angrily paced, fluttering your fingers with eyes squeezed tightly closed. 
“What happened?”
Your eyes open at the sound of his voice as you shrugged and threw your hands in the air. 
“What happened? What the fuck happened?! Oh, I don’t know. Where do we start, Eddie?! This house is a fucking mess. I tell you guys all the time I need fucking help! I’m not a maid! I’m your girlfriend! But who fucking cares right?! We can just live in trash and be unhappy!”
They knew better than to respond. Before you three moved in together, you had suggested they come to therapy with you and they were surprised with some of the things they learned. They and even you knew they were more than accommodating when it came to housework and splitting household chores. When you were growing up, however, it was never enough.
“Jesus Christ, Y/N, look at this mess! Did you do anything today?!”
Little you looked around at the immaculate living room wondering what else you could have missed. 
“I work and I slave all day at a job I hate so you can have food and a roof! The least you could do is fucking get off your ass and clean a bit!”
“I-I’m sorry, mama.”
“Don’t be sorry. Just do your job! We’re a team remember? I need you to pull your weight.”
They could almost see interactions like that replaying through your eyes and it killed them. They also saw how fast the logic brain took over as you realized what you were doing before the depressive brain abruptly took over.
“I’m sorry. I-I don’t mean to… I know I’m being crazy…I just…” You lean your back against the wall and slide to the floor with your hands over your ears. 
Both men descend with you, crawling closer to you and as soon as Steve’s hand touches your bicep you head shoots up with eyes full of tears. 
“I’m sorry. You two don’t deserve this. I’m a terrible girlfriend.”
“No, baby, you’re not terrible. Everything’s ok.”
“I-I-I appreciate…e-e-every…everything you guys do. Fuck. Everything is so loud, Eddie. I can’t… I couldn’t…I just wanted to scream…”
“Then scream.” You laughed at his response as you wiped your eyes but he insisted. “I’m serious, sweetheart. Just let go.”
“What about…about the neighbors?”
“Like they don’t get an earful almost every night.”, he jokes, grinning when you laugh again. “Go ahead. Just lean back and let loose.”
You roll your eyes as you do what he says but it’s a small shout that barely echoes in the room. 
“Wow. That was both adorable and pathetic. Come on now. Steve, why don’t you try?”
Chuckling, he struggles to stop smiling making you giggle harder before finally closing his eyes and letting out a good scream that makes the metalhead clap. 
“That’s the king of Hawkins right there! Now try again princess.”
Sighing at his antics, you do as he says actually letting go while they scrunch their face and cover their ears. 
“Woo! That was like Banshee from X-Men! Way to go!”
“What about you, nerd?”, you ask as he smirks.
Eddie doesn’t even hesitate as he leans his head back and howls loudly like a wolf. 
“I love you both.”, you softly grin as you reach for both boy’s hands. “I’m sorry for being…me.”
Wrapping his arms around your shoulders, Steve tilts you closer to him and kisses the top of your head. 
“Don’t ever apologize for being you, honey. We love you. Every part of you.”
“We know everyday you’re trying, baby. Unlike your mother who insists on being an evil little gremlin.” You giggle at Eddie’s interpretation. “Like your wizard of a therapist said, healing takes time and we’ll be with you every step of the way.”
“Jesus, Munson, you ARE a nerd.”, Steve jests. “But the other stuff he said I agree with.”
“Oh please! Tell me her doctor doesn’t sound like Gandalf from time to time.”
“I still have no idea who that is.”
After rising to his feet, the metalhead grabs your hands and pulls you off the floor. 
“Well, I know what we’re doing tonight.”, he announces with a mischievous smirk before kissing your lips and running back towards the living room. 
“I’ll make dinner.”, Steve murmurs as he leans down to kiss your lips as well. 
“Oh, you know he won’t allow that. He’s going to want you in front of the tv so you don’t miss anything.”
“True. Hm. How about Enzos delivered?”
When you nod, he caresses your cheek before disappearing after his friend. 
As your eyes glance around the room again everything seems different than it did before. Instead of seeing a mess ridden, dark empty area, you saw a bright room filled with memories of the men you loved making you laugh and feel loved unconditionally. 
“But for how long? It’s only a matter of time.”
“No, it’s not.”, you whisper. 
Taking a deep breath, you head towards the living room where Eddie and Steve greet you with a comforting smile. 
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