#ash is just saying it because he was nice to her for five seconds and she doesn’t know how to deal | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

seeingivy · 7 months

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donuts

megumi fushiguro x f!reader

content: IMPLIED MANGA SPOILERS, hormonal pregnant reader, dad!megs, gojo being a dad to megumi

an: dad gojo this, dad gojo that. WHAT ABOUT DAD MEGUMI. anyways im sick and I am 90% sure I have covid but alas I spit this out before I study. it's like a reward.

recently, megumi has been letting things happen.

and by recently, he means two years ago, when his little star boy was born. or even at large, five years ago, when he met you, his sun. an fellow sorcerer who he easily fell for, like it was something inevitable. something necessary, involuntary even - like it was the air he breathed or his heart beating.

and since then he’s been letting things happen. he’s been letting gojo come around - so that he can spend time with ash. so that ash can have a grandfather, not that megumi would ever say that out loud.

he lets nobara and yuuji spoil him rotten, lets maki teach him self-defense (which is just swatting at this point), and yuuta explain the rules of chess to him for hours even though ash barely has coordinated motor functions.

he lets things happen. especially when ash asks him, the pouty face that he’s entirely gotten from you pressed on his face. like today, when he feels a little fist tugging on the end of his shirt.

“yes, ash?”

“i want donuts.”

megumi squints, like he’s questioning him. every bit his son, ash has fully inherited the full breadth of megumi’s dna - dark hair, green eyes. but every one of his expressions, those are all all you.

“ash.”

“yes?”

“do you want donuts or does mommy want donuts?”

ash stands there for a few seconds, deep in thought, before answering.

“sticky wants donuts!”

megumi sighs, picking him up and dragging him out of the room with him, to find the culprit of this entire plot - you. that deliberation means that ash was trying to remember what it was you had told him. and truly, only you would use his unborn daughter against him.

he finds you splayed on the couch, a heating pad pressed into the small of your back, as you talk, directed down to your stomach to tsumiki. or sticky, as ash calls her since he can’t pronounce all the syllables just yet.

“megs?”

“yeah?”

“i thought of a name for her.”

megumi leans against the counter, half turned away from you, where he watches gojo and ash snuggled up on the couch, ash excitedly explaining the plot of his current favorite movie to gojo. gojo’s all too absorbed, though he does get offended every time ash says that elsa is cooler than him. and even more offended that when gojo calls elsa pretty, ash says that elsa would never like him.

“well. ash is our little star boy. his name is perfect for him. and you’re my blessing so megumi is perfect for you. but our little girl-”

you reach forward for his hand, placing it on top of your teeny tiny bump, which just started protruding, as you squeeze his hand.

“she’s precious. she’s our only girl and, and she’s so gentle already. ash was a little heathen, always kicking and excited in there. but she’s so soft, i already know she’s special. she should have a name that reflects that.”

megumi reaches up, cupping the side of your face, where tears are now sprouting out of your eyes. one of megumi’s favorite things about you being pregnant, besides the disgusting concoctions you eat because of your cravings, is this. your out of whack hormones that have your lip jutting out, that little whiny, cute pout he fell in love with on your face at all times.

“what’s the name, sweetheart?”

“tsumiki.” you whispers.

you look up at his green eyes, wide and filled with an emotion that you can’t quite discern. and you can feel the immediate panic at the reaction and try to backtrack as fast as you can. surely, he’s simmering with rage under there.

why would you name your daughter after his dead sister?

“megs. i-i just thought it would be nice because i never got to meet her and i know she was special to you. i’m not saying she’s replacing her, but i just-”

megumi puts his hand on your mouth, his finger brushing across your soft lips, as he pushes you into his embrace, hugging so hard he’s sure even the baby, tsumiki, must be feeling it. he holds you there for a while, not saying much, as his hands rub into the small of your back.

and you wait for it, because you know megumi like the back of your hand. touch first, words second. and right on cue, minutes later, you hear it, the soft whisper on your skin that makes your cheeks burn.

“my tsumiki would have really loved you, you know that?”

you look up from the conversation you were having with tsumiki - telling her that she always has to side with you and ash instead of megumi - to find him standing there, glaring at you.

“hello, love of my life.” you say, tapping the spot on the couch next to you.

megumi takes the seat, trying to hide the smile on his face, as he gives you a suspicious look. he places a kiss to your temple before placing his hand over your bump, something he does every time he walks into the room. it’s his way of saying hello to her.

“sweetheart.”

“yes, megs?”

“ash is telling me that sticky wants donuts.”

“stickyyy does want donuts. and ash does too.” you respond, giving him your best smile.

“you know, if you want something from me, you don’t have to use my son and my unborn child against me to get it.”

“how dare you bring tsumiki into this. she wants donuts, that’s why i’m craving them. take it up with her.”

ash crawls into the space between you two, resting his head in your lap and his legs in megumi’s as he reaches forward to tickle his sides, eliciting a screaming laugh from ash who is begging him to stop. you smack megumi’s hands off, running your hands through ash’s dark black locks as he calms down and looking at megumi. you pinch ash’s side a little, giving him a non-discrete wink.

“daddy. I really want donuts.”

“oh im sure you do ash. i’ll go get them” megumi responds, swinging his legs off and standing up.

“can i come?” ash asks, excitedly wrapping his hands around his knees.

“buddy. it’s nap time. you have to sleep.”

ash juts his lower lip out, mustering the frowniest face he can, as his little green eyes look up into megumi’s. and of course, he immediately gives in, because he can never say no to his little star boy.

“fine. get your shoes.”

ash turns excitedly to you, giving you a grinning smile.

“did i do good, mama?”

“perfect, star boy. just like i taught you.”

ash excitedly runs off as megumi gives you a soul crushing glare, which you pointedly ignore. the two of them shuffle out of the apartment, the smile spreading across your face as you watch megumi swing ash onto his back to close the door.

an hour later, megumi walks into his apartment to find you, yuuji, nobara, and gojo on his couch. the three of you are crouched over the table and he can see that your face is all pink, surely from crying.

ash runs into the apartment, taking turns giving everyone a big hug, before climbing into gojo’s lap, and reaching up to play with gojo’s hair. megumi sets the box of donuts down and takes the seat next to you, wiping the wetness away on your cheek.

“hi y/n.” he whispers.

“h-hi megs.” you whisper back, interlocking your hands with his to squish.

he smiles as he reaches for the box of donuts, equipping you with the maple bar he knows you’ve been craving, as he watches you nearly inhale it in five seconds.

“god. you’re like a vacuum.” nobara says, a horrified look on her face.

“s-not me. miki.” you respond, now pounding through your donut.

“are you really blaming it on your unborn daughter?” nobara asks.

“she blames everything on her. yesterday, she made me come all the way out here just to hand her the remote because it was too far away. claimed that the baby really wanted to see me at that second.” megumi deadpans, earning laughs from the group of them.

“she did.” you respond, defensively.

megumi leans his arm against the back of where you’re sitting, twisting one of your locks of hair in his fingers. he looks over at the table to find an array of colorful ribbons on the table, which he’s sure is the culprit of your crying since the baby section at target always works you up.

“what’s that?” he asks.

“nobara and yuuji gifted us a ribbon set for the baby. we can use it when tsumiki’s hair gets long, do little ponytails in her hair and put cute little ribbons in them.” you respond.

megumi can feel his throat constricting at the thought of it, the wave of emotions that have been resurfacing lately reaching his cheeks. he gives gojo a look and you a kiss on the cheek, before he stands up and heads to the kitchen, focused on brewing a cup of coffee for himself.

you frown as you watch him walk away, nobara and yuuji halfheartedly asking him if he’s okay as he waves them off. you turn to gojo, giving him an inquisitive look, as gojo places ash in between nobara and yuuji.

“is he okay?” you whisper.

“let me talk to him first.” he responds, giving you a reassuring smile. you watch gojo run off behind him, the two of them leaning against the counter as they talk in hushed voices.

“it’s the ribbons isn’t it?” gojo asks, watching ash play rock paper scissors with an overly enthusiastic yuuji from afar.

megumi doesn’t respond, instead focusing on stirring the spoon through the coffee he freshly brewed.

of course, it’s the ribbons.

after gojo took tsumiki and megumi in, megumi made it a point to not ask gojo for much. a facet of his childhood stubbornness, of course. though gojo was more than willing to throw his money in any direction, megumi was in no part receptive to that. except in april, when tsumiki’s birthday came around.

after watching her stare at ribbons in windows as they passed, complimenting strangers on the train on how pretty ribbons looked in ponytails, megumi made it a point that when he could, he would buy them for her. god forbid, she would never get them for herself.

so he asked gojo, awkwardly knocked on his door well after bedtime and shyly asked. and of course, gojo never disappoints, buying every color, array, fabric of ribbons for tsumiki to wear in her hair to school now. and he watched her do it a hundred times - the satisfied smile she gave herself in the mirror every time it fell perfectly before walking away.

and the thought of watching his daughter, being the one putting the ribbons in her hair and getting that little smile on her face, is too much for megumi at the current moment.

“don’t ask dumb questions, gojo.” he responds.

he turns around to face the same way as gojo now, watching the four of you have the most intense rock paper scissors battle he’s seen yet. granted, you’re all letting ash win but trying to predict his moves gets more difficult as time goes on.

“did y/n tell you what we’re naming her?” megumi asks.

“no.”

“tsumiki.” he responds, not missing the soft smile on gojo’s face.

gojo smiles, squeezing megumi’s shoulder. one of the nice things about megumi becoming a father is that he finally understands gojo’s frustrations. of what it feels like to see your kids in pain and not being able to do anything about it.

“not my idea, by the way. all y/n.”

gojo focuses in on you, on how you look over and give megumi a big smile which he returns, before focusing back on ash.

“i guess these things always have a way of working themselves out, megumi.”

“what do you mean?”

gojo inhales, twisting his sunglasses in his fingers before placing them in his pocket.

“tsumiki always had a way of reading your mind. every time you and i would argue, she was always the one who soothed you down and not me. i-i was never really good at that. and you lost her but you got y/n. and she does it for you now. ash does too. i-it just worked out megs, that’s all.”

and megumi looks over - at his sun, his star boy, and soon to be the most precious thing he’s ever had. and he knows that gojo is right. That he’s been letting things happen lately, because that insurmountable heaviness that’s been on his chest for years has finally been lifted. that it’s there, but he can breathe through it now.

not that he would ever tell gojo. he'll just enjoy a donut with his coffee instead.

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illicitlimerence-writes · 1 year

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the 1 | c. leclerc

pairing: charles leclerc x ex!reader word count: 4k words (how the hell did that happen?) request: yes, by anon: “hi, can i request a story with charles and reader based on driver’s license by olivia rodrigo? maybe high school sweethearts that broke up because they couldn’t handle long distance (for charles ascending career). fluffy ending with them maybe getting back together years later and him being proud because reader is actually a really nice driver” prompt: character a and character b broke up, but now they meet at a christmas party. from this prompt list. not my prompts, credits to the person who created it!warnings: language, flashbacks, a ton of references to taylor swift and olivia rodrigo. THE AGES AND YEARS MIGHT NOT MAKE SENSE BUT I TRIED MY BEST lol a/n: day 6! i really didn’t plan this to be so long. what can i say… i have no self control. REMINDER THAT MY REQUESTS ARE CLOSED, EVEN IF IT’S FOR THE SPECIAL. pls, i don’t want to close my askbox but if i keep getting i’ll have to turn it off.

my masterlist / 25 days of christmas masterlist

there was a time when sneaking around was fun, exciting. when their worlds revolved only around each other and the only worry in their minds was keeping their relationship a secret.

their friend group was a close knit one, they knew each other since they were kids and had grown up together, and when they’d reached the age of first boyfriends, girlfriends, and other partners, they’d all made a pact to never date someone from the group.

the fact that it was forbidden only made things more interesting for them.

what fools they’d been, hoping for a forever at such a young age, thinking their love would be eternal and nothing could ever come between them.

they thought they were in the clear, for so long their friends were unaware of the relationship between the two of them, they would reach an age where they would never care that they’d been hiding the truth for so many years.

six years together was enough to know they’d never feel a love like theirs.

but he was a passionate person, and whilst she loved when that passion was directed to her, on other occasions it felt as if she were the second option. the other thing to occupy his mind when he got tired of racing.

teenage daydreams turned into nightmares. their young age meant they felt everything. and everything was intense and fiery and red.

how ironic it was, that the color that had best described their secret relationship turned into a color that would chase him around wherever he went. that right when his career seemed to go the up, when his future looked gold, his personal life had hit an all time low, when the scarlet fire that burned between them had turned into ashes.

she always knew he was destined for greatness. and he was so determined and focused and so in love with racing that it was only natural, only obvious that he’d climb his way to the top teams of his sport in a short time. his talent was one that she’d neverseen in anyone, and he loved showing it off, not in a braggy way, but he knew what he was capable of, and he wasn’t afraid to show it, he saw no reason to hide it.

age 18.

“slow down!” she yelled as she laughed, holding onto the side of the car door. all the windows were down, as was the top, they were finally putting to good use charles’ convertible car.

“don’t listen to her, charles, speed up!” one of their friends, nate, added from the back of the car. the five of them were celebrating charles’ birthday, he was the first in their group to turn 18 and he’d just gotten his driver’s license, finally free to drive around wherever he wanted.

charles laughed, speeding a little before settling for a constant speed that wasn’t too fast or too slow.

“it’s a great thing your parents gave you a car, now we have a personal chauffeur,” she said, throwing a teasing smile his way. they were seating in the front, with their three friends in the back, but somehow it felt as if they were the only ones there.

“no, none of that. you have to learn how to drive, too, otherwise what are you going to do when i’m gone?”

“go with you, duh,” she rolled her eyes.

“hey, that is true, because at least we all know how to drive, we’re ready. but you don’t… why don’t you?” another one of their friends, elise, asked.

“i don’t know,” she shrugged, “i’ve never had the need to. and to be honest, i don’t know how good of a driver i’ll be if i ever sit behind the wheel.” she admitted.

“yeah, we’ve all seen you play mario kart, you always seem to find the wall.” charles laughed, making her hit his shoulder with a fist.

“shut up. keep that up and i won’t learn how to drive just to spite you.”

they laughed, enjoying the moment of freedom, just the five of them, five friends since birth, friends til death. five friends, two lovers.

it had been years since the five of them were all back home for the holidays, sometimes either only one of them was gone, or they were all away, but after three years, they were all back home at the same time. and that was something to be celebrated. they’d all seen each other throughout the years, but never the five of them at once.

charles arrived first, the christmas dinner was taking place at elise’s apartment, she’d just moved into her new place, so this worked both as a reunion and a housewarming. he’d decided to walk there, since it was on the same street as his building. he took the elevator and knocked on the door, he heard shuffling of feet approach and wrapped his fingers a little tighter around the neck of the wine bottle he’d bought.

“hey, charles, i wasn’t expecting anyone to be punctual,” elise laughed, moving aside to let him in.

“i’m the first one here?” he asked, raising the bottle, “this is for you, by the way. congrats on the new place,” he smiled.

“thank you! welcome, make yourself at home, but do take your shoes off because that white rug is new,” she smiled, walking to the kitchen, “and yeah, but nate called like two minutres ago, he and marie are on their way.”

“oh, and…” he didn’t finish, and it was finally hitting him that he’d be seeing her again.

“(y/n) is going to be a bit late, she had to go to the museum in nice so she’s probably going to be stuck in a little bit of traffic,”

“she’s- she didn’t take the train?” he asked.

“no, she drove there.”

“she drives?” he asked, sounding completely surprised by that. she was always so apprehensive whenever that topic arose in conversation.

“yeah! you didn’t know? she’s… you remember how we always used to joke around with her always crashing once she learned how to drive?” charles nodded, prompting her to continue, “she actually aced her driving test, both the technical and the written tests.”

“oh, i… i didn’t know that,”

“what happened with you two? you used to be inseperable. like, yeah, all five of us were close, but it was always charles and (y/n), and then us.”

“i- i’m not sure. i guess… distance and responsibilities was just a lot for our friendship.”

“well maybe you can rekindle that friendship now. it’ll do you both good.”

“yeah,” charles said, and right then the doorbell rang.

he felt like he needed some peace and quiet to think, but with his two friends arriving just then, that seemed impossible to get.

if he was honest, he hadn’t given himself much time to think about her. at first, of course, she was the only thing in his mind, they’d spent six years together, and he couldn’t believe how it was all slipping from his fingers so easily.

age 21.

she sighed as she heard the automatic voicemail message, she had been trying to call charles for the past five minutes and all she was met with was his pre-recorded message.

“charles, you better pick up this damn phone. i can’t believe you, how could you miss this? i asked you time and time again, even moved this three times for you. and where are you? not here. i- i don’t know if i can keep doing this. you always promise that i’m your priority, but that’s just not true. if you don’t want to be with me then just say it, i’m a big girl and i can handle it. but i don’t deserve this. i don’t deserve to be someone’s second choice. and i know that your career is important, trust me i know that better than anyone. all i asked of you was one night, one night for you to actually be there for me. you know what? forget it, don’t even bother coming. not to the museum, or to my apartment. and don’t worry about me, i’ll find my way home. i don’t need you to drive me around anymore.”

she hung up, staring out to the city of nice. it was the opening of a new exhibit in the museum of modern and contemporary art, an exhibit that she’d been a big part of, probably her proudest achievement, considering she was still a student in university. everyone was there for her. her parents, friends, classmates and workers from the museum. well, almost everyone.

charles hadn’t replied since earlier that morning. he didn’t wish her good luck, or even acknowledged the opening of the exhibit. he just said ‘see you tonight’. and that was it. he was in italy, had been for the past week. ever since the announcement that he was making the switch from sauber to ferrari she’d been seeing him even less than when he started racing in f1. she understood, of course, that there were certain responsibilities that came when being a ferrari driver. she knew that, she was his biggest supporter, but she wished that he was as passionate about her achievements as she was of his. or even acknowledge them and congratulate her.

many times she’d told herself that she was being selfish, of course things were going to change once charles made it to the big leagues, but things were changing too fast. he spent more time away from home than with her, and when he was home he was practicing on his simulator, or preparing for an interview, a ferrari event.

this was the last straw. it was a long time coming, and him not showing up, not even bothering to text back, this was enough.

she walked back inside, but stumbled into a waiter passing by, causing him to drop his tray on top of her. her dress now sported a wine-colored stain right in the middle. it was a dress charles had gifted her on one of their anniversaries. it was poetic, how the dress was now ruined, as was their relationship. she ran to the coat room, wrapping her black coat around her. she wasn’t going to let anything else ruin this night.

the next morning, she signed up for driving lessons.

two weeks later, she was getting perfect marks on both tests.

she once said she wouldn’t learn to drive just to spite him, but this was better. to show him that she didn’t need him anymore.

the four friends were having a nice time, drinking wine and eating chips and other snacks as dinner was cooking.

“elise, i swear, next time we’re hanging out at my place because finding a parking spot is impossible around here,” a new voice said, walking in through the front door.

there she was.

wearing a tan, long coat, a briefcase-style bag hanging from her shoulder, all black turtleneck sweater, leggings and boots on. makeup done to perfection, a deep shade of red on her lips.

“hello everyone,” she smiled, tossing her bag on the floor and walking to the dining area. “what did i miss?” she asked, and everyone started filling her in on their previous conversation topics.

she hadn’t even glanced at him. not once.

charles didn’t even know if she knew he was coming, if he was there at all.

it wasn’t until later, when everyone’s cheeks were flushed from the wine, when the leftover food was growing cold in the forgotten plates, and they were all sitting around the living room, sharing stories and memories of years’ past, that they talked to each other.

“... and the museum is doing a really cool charity event in late january, so that’s where all of our focus is right now,” she finished catching everyone up to speed about her job in the museum. ever since college that place had become her home. “you’re all invited, of course, we need all the help we can get.”

“when is it?” charles asked, he couldn’t deny the fact that he was impressed by everything she was handling in the museum, she did a little bit of everything, but those little bits eventually turned into big, great things. he was impressed, however, not surprised. he always knew she could do it, she’d fallen in love with art in her teenage years, the first time they visited a contemporary museum. they’d gone together, of course, and charles couldn’t forget the way her eyes widened, the way she clearly understood what the artist wanted to say, it was love at first sight.

“the 21st,” she turned to him. charles had expected a reaction from her, but she looked at him like he was just her friend.

“we’ll be there,” nate said.

“you’re not busy, superstar?” marie joked, looking at charles.

“i don’t think so. and if i am i’ll just move whatever to a different day.”

“you don’t have to do that,” she said, and this time charles caught something. her voice sounded a little harsher.

“i want to, we haven’t seen each other in so long, and you’ve done a lot for me, it’s only fair that i return the favor,” he smiled, wanting to get something more out of her, he got nothing, only a nod.

age 19.

“come on, you’ve been, quite possibly, the best person i ever could’ve asked for. it’s only fair i return the favor.” charles said, keeping his hand over her eyes as he led her to the surprise he’d prepared for her.

“you know i don’t need anything,” she chuckled, and he could feel her smile, the apples of her cheeks rising.

“well, this is more something for me, but it’s going to be good for you, eventually,”

“what do you mean?” she asked, still up for whatever he was planning. he removed his hand from her eyes. “what-”

“it’s your very own private driving lesson,” charles explained, making her laugh.

“charles, i don’t need to learn how to drive,”

“of course you do! you have to at least know the basics,”

“gas, brake, turn to the right, turn to the left, lights… i think i got it.”

“come on,” he chuckled, wrapping his arms around her, “why don’t you want to learn?”

“i don’t know. i guess… i enjoy having you to drive me around, i like singing in the car with you, with the wind blowing in my hair, or just sitting in silence and watching the landscapes outside. i like doing that with you. plus… i’m afraid of having control of a car, because what if i lose control? what if the brakes fail, or someone crashes into me… it’s a lot to think about all the time. i think i’m just not made for driving.”

“well, lucky for you i was made for driving, and i like having you as my co-pilot, there’s no one else i’d rather have by my side.”

“it’s gifts time!” nate said loudly. “i’ll start,” he declared, standing up and picking a bag off the floor. “for you,” he started, handing a white envelope to (y/n), “and you,” he said, giving charles a small box, “and you,” he gave elise a wrapped gift that resembled a mug in shape, “and finally, you,” he said, giving marie a thin, long box.

they all opened theirs, marie got a hand-made friendship bracelet. elise got a new mug, charles got a pair of boxers with lightning mcqueen all over them, and (y/n) got a ticket to an exhibit in a parisian museum.

elise was next, then marie. as marie sat down, after handing everyone their gifts, charles pulled out his phone, sending a few pdf files to their groupchat.

“merry christmas, guys.” he said as all their phones rang. they all opened the files, each named after one of them, they were confirmations to a hotel booking, as well as a scanned picture of what would be their vip passes for the italian grand prix in monza.

“charles!”

“no way!”

“italia, mio home, here i come,” nate said, pinching his fingers together.

she gave him a small smile, muttering a ‘thanks’ as she stood up.

“well, now i wish i hadn’t been last, nothing can top that off,” she said, “but i hope you all like these. merry christmas, i hope we get to spend many more years as friends, and more evenings like this.” she said, handing them all their gifts and sitting down to watch their expressions. she loved giving gifts.

nate received a new gaming headset, eloise got a tea set, marie got a sweater, and charles got a replica of an f1 car, he inspected it closely.

“it’s made out of carrara marble,” she explained.

“wow, it’s… beautiful, thank you.”

“you’re welcome, i’ve… nevermind,” she said, charles was about to ask her what she wanted to say but was interrupted with nate announcing he was leaving. marie left with him, and not long after she was saying her goodbyes too.

“i guess that’s my cue to leave, too.”

“i didn’t see your car,” she said, she would’ve remembered seeing his car parked somewhere.

“i walked here, i didn’t see the point in driving,”

“huh,” she said, grabbing her bag and hanging it from her shoulder. charles frowned as she walked to elise, hugging her. “well, i’ll give you a lift if you want.”

yes, yes, yes, please. yes. go with her.

everything inside of him lit up at her offer, part of him couldn’t believe she was even offering in the first place. he said goodbye to elise quickly, rushing after her.

“wait up,” he said, jogging to catch up.

they didn’t speak as the elevator went down, she could feel his eyes on her, shifting away to try and be subtle. as they exited the building he had to follow her, he didn’t even know what car she drove.

“you’re shitting me,” he said, looking at the silver logo in front of the car.

“what? not all of us can afford a ferrari,” she said, “what? you can’t be seen inside a mercedes?” she smirked. out of instinct, charles walked to the driver’s side, but stopped in his tracks as she unlocked the door and watched him standing there. “i know this is usually your side, but you’re a passenger for these next minutes,”

charles was left speechless as he walked to the passenger side, it felt so foreign. especially when she was the one behind the wheel. he closed the door as he got in, and waited for her to turn on the car. he turned to her when she didn’t.

“seatbelt,” she reminded him.

charles couldn’t stop the small chuckle that left his lips.

“you’re a really responsible driver,” he said.

“of course i am. no one knows what might happen.”

“i- i have to say, it’s really weird seeing you like this,”

“i know. but… turns out i’m a damn great driver. it helps me relax, and it’s… thrilling, to work in sync with the right machine to get from point a to point b…”

“now you get what i feel with my cars.”

“i always got that,” she clarified. “i always knew how important driving is to you. it just hurt to know that it was more important than me.”

“it wasn’t- it-”

“oh, please,” she chuckled humorlessly, turning on the car, she checked the mirrors before leaving the parked space. “i’ve made my peace with that a long time ago, it’s okay to admit it. i’m but hurt. not anymore.”

“but it wasn’t i-”

“listen, i don’t… i don’t want to discuss this, racing was your number one priority and that’s completely fine, i get it. it’s normal to get so caught up in it that you forget about everything else. i’m sure i used to do that too, with the museum and all,”

“you did, but not like i did. and i… i’m sorry, for… making you feel like that.”

“like i said, i made my peace with that long ago, i don’t need an apology.”

“well, i still feel like i owe you one.”

“it’s fine, you don’t have to feel guilty. we were young, dumb, still feeling like we were teenagers, pretending to even know what future was like. we were each other’s first love, it’s normal to still have feelings.”

“do you?”

“what?”

“have feelings? for me?”

“i feel a lot of things, charles, and six years, plus so many more as friends, are not easy to forget. it would’ve been nice, you know.”

“what?”

“if you would’ve been the one. it’s a story just straight from a movie. do you think-” she cut herself off.

“what?” charles asked, and he remembered the other thought she’d stopped herself from saying out loud back at elise’s.

“do you think that… if one thing had been different… everything would be different? today? now?”

charles stayed quiet, thinking about every little thing he would’ve done differently.

“maybe. yeah.”

“yeah,” she repeated.

she’d been driving around in circles, they’d reached charles’ building about five minutes ago, but she hadn’t stopped driving. she kept doing the same four turns over and over again.

“what were you going to say… when you gave me the car?” he asked.

“oh, that. it’s… nothing, really. just… that i’ve had that for a long time.”

“since we…”

“it was going to be your birthday present.”

“and you never threw that away.”

“it’s made from the same material as ‘david’, i wasn’t just going to throw that away. or give it to someone who wouldn’t cherish it.”

“well… thank you. and congratulations on being a great driver, though… i don’t think the cameras will agree after seeing you pass here for the seventh time,” he said as she was making a right turn.

“thanks. and i guess… i have to thank you, too. if we… if we’d never broken up i… i never would’ve become me.”

“that… hurt,” he admitted. “but i get it. i should also thank you. you… did so much for me, gave up so much that i… i guess i took you for granted. and it only took having you away from me to really know how much you did for me without me even noticing. so… thank you. and i like this new you. you seem… happy.”

“i am. but still… i can’t shake the feeling that i’m missing something.”

“what?”

“you. even though you made me grow up, i still feel like i need to have my teenage side, and… there’s so much i want to do, but new me is responsible, she’s proper, she’s professional. and sometimes, i get tired of all of it. you always made me feel like a kid, in the best way possible, you made me feel like everything was possible, that it’s okay to let loose and have an adventurous side. i need that, i miss that.”

“well, i’m staying here all month. and i’m more than happy to help you rediscover your wild side.”

“don’t say it like that,” she laughed.

“no, no, i didn’t mean it like that, but-” he chuckled, “i guess that offer stands, too.”

“not happening. not now, at least.”

“so there’s a chance?”

“i don’t know. we’ll have to see.”

“i know. here’s adventure number one: drive to the harbor.”

“the- why?” she asked, driving there, anyway.

“we’re about to take a midnight stroll,” he explained.

“okay, but… why the harbor?”

“it’s not your typical stroll, we’re not the ones doing the walking.”

“then?”

“have you ever seen ‘sedici’?” he asked.

“what’s that?”

“my yacht.”

“a midnight boat ride?” she asked, a smile on her face.

“what do you say?”

“you better be a damn good captain as i am a driver,”

“you’d be surprised.”

“i’m ready to be surprised.”

1K notes · View notes

randomshyperson · 2 years

Text

This Love - Wanda Maximoff x Reader - Chapter One

Summary: The Blip took away your most important person, but when Wanda returns, you need time to heal from the loss of other Avengers. You do that in space, and when you come back, it's the Scarlet Witch who welcomes you.

Warnings: (+16) mild angst with happy ending, mutual pining, friends to lovers, mentions of past abusive relationships, some make-out and kissing, with fluff confessions, reader being a little shit who teases Wanda for fun, hurt/comfort, general fluff | Words: 7.707k

A/N-> Instead of getting a decent amount of sleep, I wrote this until two in the morning. The story has the same vibe as the powerpoint one, it's just me trying to fix the canon and give Wanda some love. I hope you like my attempts at humor as well. I may have also written a smut during a work meeting, but it's really short so I don't know if anyone would like to read it. Good luck with this one for now.

General Masterlist | AO3 | Wattpad | Series Masterlist

--//--

No matter how many times you took a deep breath and tried the knot again, your fingers were still shaky and you kept failing.

With a frustrated sigh of resignation, your tie fell open against your chest and you stared at your reflection.

The vivid flashes of the battle popped into your head in the same second, and you sighed again, lowering your face for a moment.

Wanda knocked on the half-open door.

"Hey, are you ready?" her voice was weak and tired but gentle. No matter how tired she was, Wanda was always gentle with you. This was one of the things you loved most about her. "No, I'm fighting with my tie." You mumble annoyed like a child. Wanda smiles, however, moving away from the door to approach you.

You both know that she could charm the knot with a simple movement, and yet, neither of you steps aside.

"It's a nice suit." Wanda comments and you blink away from counting her freckles, shifting the weight of your feet and smiling at the way she gives a warning tug on your tie.

"It was Tony's." You confess in a whisper, and her touch hesitates, her eyes returning to yours in search of any discomfort. You swallow dryly and lower your head. "All my things were in the compound. I wanted to wear something special, and Tony was the only one who had a house..."

"I understand." Wanda interrupts you gently because she realizes that you are about to cry. She offers you a tender smile and pats the knot. "There you go. It suits you."

You give her a weak smile, nodding softly.

"Come on, Wands. It wouldn't be polite to be late for a wake." You joke, getting a small chuckle out of her that is enough to keep you going for the rest of the ceremony.

It's all so heartbreaking. Thanos took everything from you, even if the Avengers won this time. When the memorial was over, you saw Wanda talking with Clint from a distance, but you didn't join them. You were finishing the final arrangements with a certain Nordic god. Wanda came to meet you sometime later in the kitchen when the house was almost completely empty and Happy had taken Morgan out for hamburgers. And Tony's body had already turned to ashes.

Her presence in the room pushes your thoughts away from that.

"Hey, stranger." She greets you with a humorous nickname. It makes you smile. You return a frame to the shelf - the photo of the Stak Expo you showed Peter before he left, so the boy would have some idea of how much Tony really cared about him - before looking at the approaching redhead.

"Hey, magic fingers, are you hungry?" You ask and get a weak laugh at her nickname. You bypass Wanda to walk to the kitchen and she turns around, leaning on the counter to watch you.

"I'm not sure." She says truthfully. "I'm not in the mood for food, but I think the last time I ate anything was dry crackers on the Quinjet on the way to Wakanda. That was about..."

"Five years ago." You complete with a chuckle that makes Wanda sigh.

"Yeah. Five years." She agrees sadly. You stare at her for a full moment before clearing your throat and starting to move.

"I will prepare your favorite then." You say and politely ignore her comments that you don't have to until Wanda smiles in appreciation.

It is strange to have her back. You both know that this moment is fragile and superficial. There are wounds in your relationship that started before Thanos but got worse after him.

"Something's bothering you." Wanda declares into the silence that has settled after several minutes of small talk and light jokes, as you step aside to wash the dishes of the delicious dinner you have prepared for the two of you. Wanda returns to her original position, her back resting on the counter as you lather up the sponge with your back to her.

"I have to tell you something, but I don't know how to say it." That's how you respond, sincere though not so direct. There was no reason to deny to your telepathic best friend that you were anxious. She could literally feel it.

Wanda lets out a small laugh, "Just say it at once." She suggests. "Like ripping off a band-aid."

Her joke gets a short laugh out of you. Both plates are cleared before you sigh and say. "Thor is leaving and he invited me to go with him again. This time I said yes."

There is a big pause. You both let it stretch out as long as it can, each waiting for the other's reaction. The dishes are cleared and you wipe your fingers on the dishcloth before turning away. Wanda has not moved from her seat but is looking at a point on the wall, twirling the rings on her fingers with a distant expression.

You swallow dryly and decide to explain why, imitating her position of leaning her back on a surface, in your case on the sink behind you.

"Wands, I know for you it's like no time has passed. But for me, a lot of shit has happened in those five years." You start trying to keep the emotion under control, although you could already feel your eyes burning. "I lost you. And Sam, and Bucky, and Peter. I was devastated. I know we didn't have time to talk about it, but it was bad Wands. I just...lost myself on some levels. You must have heard the whispers about Clint, or I don't know, you may have even been able to read what people were thinking and you know what he did as Ronin was bad and I guarantee you that I did infinitely worse things."

"I don't mind-" Wanda tries but you deny it with your head, your eyes full of tears.

"But I mind." You interrupt with a tearful laugh. "We both know what it's like to lose control. To have a force that can overwhelm you, until the anger is all you see and Wanda I was furious. And I wasn't the only one. There was no shortage of people to encourage me in what I was doing, asking me to burn the world all to the ground and I was listening. I just... Really missed you." You confess and Wanda sniffles softly but doesn't interrupt. "When I went too far, I regretted it. Natasha found me and accepted me back into the compound despite everything. She wanted to do the same for Clint, but he disappeared. And well, she was there for me and I wanted to return the favor. At some point, Nat and I happened again." The confession took Wanda by surprise. It shouldn't have, she knew about your history and saw the way you were shaken up, or how you took care of everything and went to Ohio for a few days with someone named Yelena. Something hot burned in Wanda's stomach at the confirmation, however.

You didn't notice anything in her micro-expressions, busy playing with the loose threads of your clothes.

"Natasha was all I had in this empty world that Thanos left behind. She loved me and forgave me despite everything I did. And now I've lost her too." You pause with the last sentence to keep from starting to cry, sniffling a little and that's the breaking point for Wanda to come closer and take her hands to yours, caressing your skin.

"I'm so sorry, detka. I really am." She says and you nod tearfully.

"I know, Wands, so do I. For Vis." You say, and the name makes the redhead hesitate a little. She hasn't been talking about it.

You take a deep breath, releasing one hand from her to wipe your face. "I just need to get out of this place Wanda." You continue as calmly as you can. "I keep losing people and losing control with it. I don't want that. Thor can help me, even if Asgard doesn't exist anymore, he knows his magic. I just need a little time out there."

Wanda nods in understanding, holding your hand tightly. "It's okay, I get it." She says but you know her well enough to hesitate.

Your hands squeeze hers back.

"I need to, but if you ask me to stay, I'll stay without a second thought." You retort seriously, looking at her without hesitation. Wanda's eyes widen slightly in surprise. "Tell me it's too much, that you can't be alone now after losing Vision and god, after losing Natasha too. Or tell me whatever you want, that you simply don't want to have turned to dust for five years and now have to watch me leave too. I will stay. I'll bury those doubts down, never do magic again and stay with you."

Your offer only proved to Wanda how much she needed to let go. That was the way you used to love Natasha too - Overwhelmingly and without limits - You loved Natasha until it hurt you. Even if it was too much, even if it wasn't healthy. Endless sacrifices until your relationship broke like glass, as fragile as your health.

Part of Wanda envied the dedication, another hated Nat for not freeing you at once. And that is why Wanda insisted that you leave. She didn't want to love you the possessive way Nat did. She didn't want to hurt you. So she let you go. And you loved her infinitely more for it.

"It will be quick, I promise. I'll be back before you can miss me." Those were your words on the day of your departure. Wanda bit her tongue to avoid saying that she was already missing you now.

Since the compound no longer existed, you and Wanda were staying at Pepper's house. Little Morgan was the most adorable and crafty child in the world, but she was causing some unfinished business to scratch in the back of Wanda's mind, a thing she was ignoring to spend your last days on earth with you.

She smiled at your words, retorting with a teasing "And who says I'm going to miss you?" to get your adorable pout and to keep herself from begging you not to go anywhere.

You hugged her tight for a moment that, though long, didn't seem long enough. And then you left.

And Wanda realized how alone she really was.

She has tried to ignore the old deed they recovered from the rubble but a few days after your departure, she thinks she has run away too much.

-//-

You return to earth on a Monday. It is raining very hard and all your clothes are soaked. After mentally cursing Thor for the storm, you make your way leisurely through the yard to the house.

"Y/N? Oh my god, you're here!" Happy welcomes you with great enthusiasm, and although you are glad to see him again, you are more eager to see someone else. Morgan has grown up and is becoming as sarcastic and intelligent as her parents. Pepper is working and asks you to visit her at Stark Industries.

You don't waste time in doing it of course, but every second you are more annoyed by the lack of response about what really interests you.

Where is Wanda?

This is why you interrupt Pepper about the news. She hesitates and sighs before moving to the phone.

A moment later, they bring you a tablet.

"A lot has happened around here since you left, Y/N. From giant beings sprouting in the middle of the ocean to mind-controlling gods of Egypt." Pepper narrated completely surprising you. The tablet was placed in your hands, and it was open to a file with an icon of a sword, and the title was Anomaly Maximoff. "About the last one, our friend made some mistakes. Recovering that information from SWORD was a billion-dollar courtesy, Y/N. And I'm already warning you, it's even weirder than it sounds."

As soon as the Westview recordings started happening you felt an immense pain settle in your chest. The files had barely finished and you were already getting up.

"I need to find Wanda." That's what you said to Pepper, who didn't try to be too insistent, figuring this would be your reaction.

But it took you long enough to irritate yourself to make any progress. Until you realized that if your magic was failing, it was because Wanda was running away from you.

So you showed up at the one place with other mages that she might not be able to avoid. "Sorry, am I interrupting...?" You announced clumsily as you arrived at a scene that looked like the preparation for a battle.

Stephen Strange was the only one there that you knew, and he, as soon as he recognized you, widened his eyes and raised his finger in your direction.

"She's our answer, Wong! She is the solution!" Declared the sorcerer, to which you and the others raised confused eyebrows.

"Is it some kind of riddle, Strange?" The Wong fellow asked. The doctor denied with his head, approaching you and gently pushing you by the shoulders into the center of the room. "Kamar Taj, meet Miss L/N, former Avengers and Half-Argardian Sorceress, also, our last hope to stop the Scarlet Witch without a fight."

You frowned. "Sorry, I don't know any Scarlet Witch."

Stephen laughed, patting you on the back. "You have a lot of catching up to do, space girl. Let's start with New Jersey...."

Wanda was not having a good day.

The voices were impatient. And mocking her for failing to fool Strange. A very low part was glad that she had failed, a hope of the plan not working and the child being safe. But the other voices silenced that very quickly.

She was being reasonable, they said. Offer them the chance to surrender. If they don't, it's their fault if she hurt them.

She just wants the boys back.

The Kamar Taj was strangely peaceful when she arrived, however. Wanda was not stupid, she expected at least a position of defense.

However, she arrived to magicians reading and teaching, and polite smiles from those who met her gaze.

Without any resistance, she can walk through the front door.

"Miss Maximoff, welcome to the Kamar Taj." Greeted an Asian man that Wanda quickly recognized as the Sorcerer Supreme.

Doctor Strange approached beside him. "Wanda, welcome." He said gently, and the scene was very odd to her. Wanda expected the hostility from before, but she recovered quickly and raised her chin.

"Thank you. But I'm here for-

"America, yes." Strange completed with a fake smile. "She's inside, I believe you are merciful enough to let her have one last meal, yes?"

Wanda clenched her jaw. Whatever this passive-aggressive pretense was, it was getting on her nerves, but she played along. It wasn't as if anyone there had the power to stop her.

She followed the magicians inside and was led into a study room. Before she could ask where the child was, a voice was speaking.

"The Scarlet Witch can also be given the title Queen of Chaos." Your voice made Wanda shudder from head to toe. Something hot burned in her chest, and she felt her eyes fill with tears. But she dug her nails into her palms and held them in. Strange and Wong used her shock to sneak out of the room.

You swiveled the chair you were sitting in, and seeing you again was almost as overwhelming as hearing you. The sentence you said was clearly from the book in your lap, and you raised your eyes from the page to Wanda, a smile playing on your lips. "And to think I was right all this time to call you a princess, Wands."

She wanted to laugh. God, Wanda wanted to cry. To hold you and relieve the yearning in her chest for your presence. But something fought for control.

"I'm not here for you." That's what she said between her teeth, trying to keep her tears in place and her emotions under control.

You paid no attention to her aggressiveness, closing the book and returning it to the table before rolling across the top to cross the room quickly.

"I'm not here for you, jeez, someone is in the emo phase again." You scoffed as you did an imitation of her serious voice and accent and Wanda locked her jaw, her eyes reddening. You just chucked at her reaction. "Don't do that, Wands. A vast galaxy and I have failed to find green eyes as beautiful as yours. Bring them back, I've missed it." Wanda choked, failing to contain the redness in her cheeks.

You were different, it was evident. That was flirtatious, brazen and charming. But you were not the only one who had changed.

"They think you can stop me?" She deduces then, her brain screaming at her to find a way to escape your presence and do what she came to do at once. You laugh short and Wanda is twiddling her fingers as you continue to move closer.

"I don't care what they think or want. I am here for you." That's what you say to her and Wanda finds it amazing that she’s not crying. It must be because you are close enough to touch her and this possibility makes her completely still. You look at her with a tenderness that Wanda feels she doesn't deserve and asks in a tone way too gentle to deal with someone who had plans to tear this place to the ground. "I really missed you and I would like to hug my friend. Is it okay if I do that?" Wanda feels her cheeks wet and lowers her face at the same time, hoping to hide the tears you've already seen. She closes her eyes and nods, and the next second your arms wrap around her.

She only realizes how much she has missed human contact when she has it again. Her breath catches in her throat and the soft caresses you do on her back don't help the sighs that want to come out to fade away. Wanda feels warm and ashamed, but you just keep holding her.

"Can you pause your evil wizard vibe for five minutes, Wands? I wanted to take you out like we used to." You ask lowly.

Your invitation makes her hesitate, and that makes you let go. Wanda almost asks you to do more than a hug when she finds your gentle eyes so close, but she swallows dryly and retorts: "I'm busy, Y/N. And it's important. I have to-"

"Steal the girl's powers, yeah, the mages told me the story." You interrupted, and despite the severity of the facts, you kept smiling at Wanda and looking at her as if she deserved the world. "Can't you eat something before you break the multiverse?" This time your joke gets a breathless chuckle from her and it's enough to make your smile even wider. You give a little jump of excitement, your eyes insistently searching Wanda's until she sighs and agrees and you let out another exclamation of celebration.

Your hand glides into hers with naturalness and Wanda has to dig her nails into the other one so as not to melt with a single touch.

"This place is huge, witchy, but I've already learned almost all the secret passages." You confide in her as if no time has passed, and you are on a fun ride.

On the way out, you wave to Strange and Wong, who seem tense to see how things were going, and Wanda has to push the voices telling her to finish the job away, and it's not hard with your warm hand in hers.

You take her through the busy streets as if you were at home.

"Can you believe I've never been to Nepal? To think Natasha made me go all around Asia, but never here." You commented casually and Wanda almost shudders at the sudden mention of Nat. She hasn't heard that name in a long time, and hearing you speak so calmly makes her realize that your time away has helped you with your grief. And that's exactly what she says to you, to which you let out another light laugh. "Well not everyone can create a sitcom life." Your response is not a provocation or repression, but Wanda is so shocked that she stops walking at once and pulls her hand hard against her own chest.

Regret fills your face in the same second, but it is she who speaks first. "How did you...?" "The first thing I did when I came back was to look for you." You begin to explain before she even completes the question. "SWORD recorded the whole thing, and Potts recovered the files. An exchange of favors I imagine. That's not relevant. What is relevant..." you say, approaching her and making Wanda hold her breath. Your gaze is serious and intense, and one of your hands meets her cheek. “Wands. You swore you were fine, that I could go. Do you realize how guilty I am feeling for leaving you alone?"

Wanda closes her eyes for a moment, letting the tears fall as she takes a deep breath. "I am not your responsibility, Y/N."

You hesitate, frowning slightly. "No, you are my best friend." You retort still without sounding angry, and Wanda shudders when your other hand reaches for her cheek. "Most of the time, you are more."

"God, I can't do this right now." Wanda breaks the moment at once, her voice husky and affected as she pulls away with wet eyes. You let your hands fall to the side of your body, biting your lip as you watch her. "I asked you to leave because it was the right thing to do. I kept fighting because it was the right thing to do! I killed Vision because it was the right thing!" She begins to blurt out. "And I freed Westview, I lost my family, my boys-" Wanda broke into a sob, needing to pause for a deep breath. "I am all alone. And I just want my children back."

But you sighed impatiently, and the reaction surprised her completely. "Children who don't exist."

Wanda locked her jaw and raised it in defiance. "They exist, in every other universe."

"They are not your children then." You reason without hesitation, and Wanda stares at you indignantly. But you are moving, and because you keep talking, she has no choice but to follow you. "Think about it, princess, just as you are not the Wandas from another universes, Billy and Tommy are not your twins. By the way, I love the choice of name, which of the two is your favorite?"

Wanda babbles in astonishment, trying to absorb your words, and you take advantage of her reflexive shock to buy food.

You reappear at her side with delicious snacks and guide her to a bridge. Wanda accepts neither the food nor your arguments.

"I will leave this world and live in one where I can be with my children." She declares and you chew leisurely.

"I thought you quit that whole fake life thing." You sneer and she huffs in offense, her eyes glittering. You bite back a smile, raising your hand to touch the tip of her nose playfully. "Just messing with you, grumpy witch. Bring back the lovely green." Wanda grunts in embarrassment, but the color returns to her eyes along with a pink to her cheeks.

"It's not fake. I'll make things right." She tries but you giggle again.

"You will steal someone else's life, lie and manipulate everything and everyone to continue in a universe that is not yours, in a family that is not yours. It feels like a lie to me."

Wanda swallows dryly but does not hesitate.

"They are my children, Y/N." She insists and you swallow your food before asking:

"Speaking of them, that part wasn't clear to me with the three hundred edits your subconscious made to the Westview transmission, but, are you some kind of virgin Mary?" Wanda choked in shame at the realization, stepping forward to slap you on the arm that only made you laugh. "Hey, hey, I have a point okay, as far as I know, RoboCop doesn't have a dick and, you know how babies are made right, little witch?"

Wanda grunted in shame, sinking her face into her hands for a moment. "God, I had forgotten how terrible you are." She muttered to herself before looking back at you, a smile threatening to break her serious posture. "For your information, not that it is any of your business, I am not a virgin. Vision could change into a human form and that means-”

"Oh my god, I'm gonna puke!" You interrupt with a forced frown and are so childish that Wanda can't help but giggle. "Fuck, the mental images I've gotten now. Not yours of course, you are adorable, but he... urgh, I'm going to have nightmares."

"Shut up." Wanda laughed shaking her head in disbelief at your reaction. You just kept up with her, and you were so pleased to have made her laugh that it wasn't long before you were looking at her in that way that makes her legs wobbly, so Wanda had to clear her throat. "The kids are mine, Y/N. Having a family was part of the fantasy but the pregnancy happened. My boys are real and I want them back."

You nod in understanding, and look out over the landscape, wiping your hands on a napkin now that you have finished eating. The market is full a few streets behind you but the bridge it was almost completely empty, and you could see the pier clearly, and it was beautiful. Not as much as the woman next to you.

"I like the crown. It suits you." You tell her suddenly and Wanda feels she’s blushing, one hand instinctively going to adjust the icon on her head. Before she can say thank you, you straighten up again and one hand holds her wrist. "The containment spell is here, isn't it? I can feel it. I imagine it's for carrying that evil book of yours anywhere you want." Wanda swallows dryly. Your touch is so soft and doesn't match your firm tone. Part of her wants to pull your hand back, another part wants you to never let go. "I think Westview is my fault." You state next and Wanda sighs.

"It wasn't." She says taking a step forward. "I can answer for my actions, detka. I've made mistakes, and people got hurt. But you have nothing to do-"

"I bought the land, Wanda." You interrupt by lowering your face and releasing her wrist. Wanda blinks in surprise and confusion.

"W-what? No. Vision bought..."

You cut her off with a laugh. "Wanda, get real for the love of God. Vision was a machine. He didn't even have any papers, let alone money. He wasn't even a human being for a job. But I don't know, you cared about him and because I loved you, I took care of both of you." You blurt out. "Do you think I couldn't see how tired you were getting from having to run from one hotel to another with him? Damn, I couldn't even blame him for not noticing, the guy didn’t understand human needs like sleeping in a bed, or having decent meals. And I knew you. Your desire for a normal and peaceful life. I bought the land, and I told the microwave to give it to you as a place to grow old because you would, and he wouldn't. And I never said anything because you refused to see it, Wanda. It was a life with no future for you two, but you would rather pretend you could spend years in the suburbs with an electric oven than think about the possibility of moving to space with me."

Wanda is in shock at the confession, but only for a few seconds.

"Vis never told me that." She says and you give a short laugh, turning your body toward the bridge again.

"Of course not, things weren't supposed to be that way." You mutter mysteriously and Wanda frowns.

"What do you mean?" She asks but at your lack of response, she grunts impatiently, poking you in the ribs. "Y/N, what do you mean?" She insists and you sigh loudly.

"Damn it, Wanda, what do you think?" You blast back. "I thought we had a chance! I thought... I don't know. I bought you a house so you could have a real home. I turned down Thor's first invitation to stay here with you, even though you and Vision were just starting to try. The whole team knew how I felt, except you. And he was the last to notice, Vis understood when I handed over the keys. He didn't want to accept it, thinking it wasn't right, but I insisted that he keep the house. All those years and you never looked at me the same way, but I just wanted you to be happy, even with someone else. That's what I told him, and he kept the story to himself as I asked."

Wanda's heart broke in her chest. She choked softly, and you looked away again. "B-but you and Nat-" She tries to argue, but you just give another sad laugh.

"We didn’t work out. It never worked out." You say shrugging. "We started out bad and we ended worse. And when I lost you, we held onto ghosts of our relationship for some comfort, and don't get me wrong, I would love Natasha forever, just not in the same way as the first time. The only person I love like that is you."

Wanda needs to sit down. But she thinks the whereabouts of the bridge are support enough for the moment.

You sigh sadly, twisting your fingers together. "I'm sorry I didn't say all of this sooner. I was scared and insecure. You know how I am, and all the things that have been fucked up in my past." You continue to speak, looking at the landscape. "And you were my best friend. You were easily the most important person in my life, and I was afraid of messing that up and being alone. So I chickened out and hid what I was feeling, how much I was falling in love. When everyone on the team knew, I thought about confessing. Steve tried to convince me, he was always great at speeches.” You recall with a sad laugh without meeting the eyes of the shocked Wanda next to you, who listens to the story without interrupting. "Even Natasha told me to move on. She had just found Yelena again and talked about lost time. And I almost did, Wanda, I swear I did. So many times. And all those times I lost my nerve, listening to my insecurities instead of my friends. Until the blip happened and you were just gone out of my life at once."

The redhead swallows dryly, reaching up to take your hand on the ledge. You look at her with contact, and your eyes are moist like hers.

"Can you forgive me?" You ask so small that Wanda sighs.

"Detka, I have nothing to forgive." She says affectionately. "You always put everyone's feelings before your own, ever since I met you. I understand why you did that, I wish you would have told me but I understand because I did the same thing." She confesses and you widen your eyes in surprise, receiving only a tearful smile. Wanda brings her free hand to your cheek, "How can you think I don't love you back? After all we've been through together, what we've done for each other. I wanted you the second I saw you. You were the only person who could make me laugh after I lost Pietro, and I loved your company even though it took me a while to let you know it. I wanted to kiss you so many times, detka. In my room watching TV or cooking together. But you weren't mine. I knew that whatever existed between you and Nat was important and hurtful, but it was still there. And your friendship was all I had and I couldn't risk that. So I kept silent, and I was selfless. I let you free and I let you go, every time." Wanda lets out a short breath, releasing her hand to hold your face with both now. "And all this time you loved me back?"

You nod, ready to break the distance, your face tilting instinctively. Wanda's eyes almost close as your lips brush hers, but despite shuddering, she pulls her face back gently. You almost apologize, but she speaks before you can. "I could have had you all this time if I had been selfish for once. I keep losing all that’s mine, detka. I'm tired of it. No one is going to take anything from me again, ever."

You frown slightly, trying to think of what to say next, but all words fail you when Wanda's soft lips reach yours. She kisses you gently, but only for the first moment. As soon as you sigh, Wanda pulls away only to dive in hard, her hands firmly on your cheeks. It's hot. And fucking sexy. Her tongue asks permission on your lip, but she barely waits for confirmation to slide inside, hungrily devouring and exploring every inch of your mouth, making you shiver. Wanda controls the kiss with ease and mastery, and your legs go wobbly, so you hold her waist tightly, both for support and to feel her against you. She smiles into your lips, sighing in satisfaction at the new closeness.

When air is needed, Wanda pulls away with a long sigh, and you are equally breathless, your mind half clouded with attraction. She gives you a few long kisses before opening her eyes, but it takes you another whole moment to do so, blushing a little as you find her gaze shining with mischief as she watches you.

"Come with me." She whispers close to you, against your lips. You blink in confusion, and she swallows dryly as she clarifies. "I want you with me. Leave this reality by my side."

It's your turn to swallow dry and to remain unresponsive. You open your mouth, but can't think of what to say, and your hesitation makes something sparkle in her eyes. "Wanda, I can't..." You started but she firmed the grip on your face.

"You said you loved me." She recalls with a fury shining in her green irises and you almost shudder. You bite your tongue to keep from giving away how affected you are now, it wasn't fair that Wanda was so beautiful. "Prove it."

You grunted softly, moving one hand to her forearm and stroking the skin until she sighed and released the grip, letting her hands fall away from your face.

You don't let her go completely, holding one of them against your chest.

"I love you." You assure looking into her eyes, watching the anger fade from her irises and her serious expression falter. "With all my heart, Wanda. Always and forever. You know that, I'm sure you can search every corner of my mind and find the evidence. I will follow you anywhere and support you in your decisions. I would if destroying worlds was your heart's desire, but I know it's not."

Wanda frowns, trying to pull her hand back but you don't let go. "Maybe you don't know me well enough." She challenges but you just give a sad smile.

"I know you too well even." You retort. "Much better than the demons in your head, I assure you. The mages told how it works, the whole corruption thing. It shows your children to use the pain as a trigger. I bet they told you to burn Kamar Taj to the ground for the girl."

"I need her powers to reach the boys-"

"Do you really?" You interrupt in the same challenging tone. "Or is that all the voices told you? Because I don't know if you've heard, but there are plenty of spells that take you to another universe. Strange himself was playing around with that sort of thing a few months ago, and he's not even the supreme. And you are the Scarlet Witch, my dear. Don't you find it the least bit suspicious that the demons want to limit you to a child's portals?"

Wanda hesitates, confused and indignant. You're right, but the voices are screaming at her not to listen to you, and it's hard to ignore them.

"I-I..." She tries but you interrupt her by licking your lips.

"They told you to destroy this place and kill a child. You, Wanda. The girl who would fall asleep on my shoulder when we stayed up late watching Bewitched in the tower or always put extra syrup on her waffles. And does a terrible mimic of all the Simpsons characters and can name all the members of the countless bands she listens to." You listed tenderly, making Wanda blush. Your face turns sad. "Before you arrived, they explained everything to me and gave me the books and I asked them not to fight. Of course, they would have no chance of winning, but besides, I didn't recognize the person they were talking about. This terrifying Witch of legend. God, Wanda, they told me to be careful. With you! My best friend. 'Don't mention Westview', 'don't be aggressive, don't challenge her. Rules and protocols, and all I could remember was the girl i kept hugging while she cried for two whole days after Lagos." Wanda chokes, looking away with tear-filled eyes but you pull her back to you, a hand on her cheek.

"I'm not that person anymore, Y/N. You have no idea..." She began with emotion. "There is something in my chest. A fury, and a pain. And I feel like it has completely consumed me. I don't want to hurt anyone. But I will. I'm tired of losing everything."

"I know what it's like, Wanda." You insist, squeezing her hands. "I wanted to burn the whole world when Thanos took you from me. And I was going to. Until I crossed the line and hurt innocent people. It was rock bottom for me. I was becoming worse than the people who hurt me in Hydra. I was becoming someone that you wouldn't know how to recognize. And even without you, I came home and tried to continue being the same person you loved, because there was still hope in my heart that you would come back to me. At worst, I would die helping what was left of the Avengers and find you in Valhala."

Wanda wrinkles her nose tenderly at the mention of the Nordic paradise, knowing that this was Thor's influence in your life, but doesn't interrupt. You smile at her, sighing deeply before continuing to speak:

"You don't have to hit rock bottom too, I'm here for you. And I don't want you to go back to that place where you hated yourself. I can't let you keep hurting."

Wanda hesitates, studying your face for a moment. "You can’t stop me." It's her last resort, the dark hold influence forcing the last argument with the clear loss of control of the witch's mind. You just give a sad smile.

"Would you hurt me, Maximoff?" It's a challenge in jest, but just the possibility makes Wanda shiver. Still, she raises her chin.

"I could if I wanted to."

You hum, narrowing your eyes before tilting your head, your lips finding her jaw and kissing their way to her neck. Wanda melts at once, completely losing her serious posture and having to steady one of her hands on your biceps.

"What a mean little witch you have become..." You sneer, teeth scratching at her skin, and Wanda wants to push you away, overwhelmed with affection and attraction, but all she does is dig her nails into your skin, tilting her neck and giving you even more access. "Kind of kinky this pain thing, but I can learn to like it."

"Can’t you..." She tries, choking on her own breath as your lips firm and start sucking hard enough to bruise, sending a straight heat wave to her belly. "Take anything seriously...for five...ah-minutes?" The delicious sound that escapes in the middle of her sentence makes you tighten your grip on her waist, and Wanda struggles to keep her eyes open.

"I'm sorry, baby, but you're too beautiful for me to think of anything else but kissing you every time I look at you." That's what you say, pulling your lips away to look at her so lovingly that her heart races just as fast as when you touch her. "And when you've seen someone in slippers or singing the opening of looney tunes, it's hard to give credence to their villainous era."

Wanda forms an annoyed pout, and this only adds to your smile. She tries to break your embrance, but you kiss her again and she sighs before giving in to the sensation. It is calmer than before but just as intense. When her body heats up again, the feeling of your tongue on hers bringing butterflies to her stomach, you pull away, licking your lips with dark eyes, which sends a strong wave of arousal all through her body and leaves her speechless for a second.

"I can't believe we wasted so much time not doing that." You confess in an affected whisper, rubbing your nose against hers and making her smile. "Can I kiss you until you forget about the multiverse?" The suggestion makes Wanda let out a short laugh, shaking her head and trying to bring some reason to herself.

"Tempting, really, but I need to find my children." She manages to say, nudging your shoulder for you to release her.

"We can make new ones." You joke receiving a sigh of indignation and a pinch in the rib that makes you pull away as you laugh softly.

"Idiot." Wanda mutters in fake annoyance. She turns and walks back toward the Kamar Taj and you sigh before following her.

"I would not dream of interrupting your determined march, your majesty of Chaos, but may I suggest a proposal other than the murder of a child and the destruction of worlds?" Your causal tone makes Wanda laugh faintly despite the seriousness of her words. She was going to say that she wasn't going to hurt anyone, but she didn't correct you because the conflict in her mind was making her nauseous. At her nod, you continued, "How about we burn the evil book, order some pizza, and hang out with the warlocks and the portal girl? She's pretty cool, you know? She's a little bit inquisitive, and she asks some funny questions. She also speaks Spanish..."

"You're trying to make me like her so I'll give up stealing her powers." Wanda interrupts with a puzzled expression, and you let out a soft sigh, shrugging in confirmation as you continue to follow her. She also sighs. "What do you suggest as a way to travel through the multiverse if not her powers?"

The question makes you make a thoughtful expression. "Well, from what I've read about you, being the Scarlet Witch is a pretty big deal. You can alter reality at will, right? Super cool, by the way. Can't you, I don't know, create a machine that has her abilities?" Wanda frowns slightly. "Humm... I don't know."

"You didn't even try, did you?" you retort with a chuckle. "That's what I'm saying, Wanda. These voices in your head are using your fears to manipulate you. I've been here for five minutes, and I've already brought an alternative solution. You don't have to hurt anyone to get your family back. You can find another way, and I will be here to help you."

Wanda stops walking, holding her wrist with some hesitation. Her eyes scan your face for any sign that you are trying to trick her, as the voices say you are, but she only finds sincerity.

"If we're going to do that, I can't stay here." She says looking at the entrance gate for a moment. "America's presence might tempt me. I'm not... trustworthy. Not when I can still hear them."

You swallowed dryly, nodding in understanding. Wanda looked away, so you brought your hand to her cheek.

"We need to fix this first then, Wanda. You wouldn't want to bring those demons to your children, would you?" It's a rhetorical question, but one that Wanda answers in the negative with an immediate nod, a bitter feeling on the edge of her stomach. You stroke her cheek. "Don’t you know anyone who has dealt with that sort of thing? The only witches I've met are a couple of galaxies away and I don't have a spaceship..."

Wanda laughed softly, leaning into your touch for a moment before letting out a soft exclamation, remembering. "Actually I do know someone. The woman I got the darkhold from. She was an experienced witch, hundreds of years old. She didn't seem the least bit affected by use."

"Let's go to her then." You said, kissing the tip of her nose, which made her smile, before walking away. Wanda was about to complain about the lack of closeness, but you intertwined your arms and gestured into the air. "Go on, do your Wiggly Woo and teleport us, scarlet witch." You scoffed in jest, managing a small laugh.

Wanda conjured a portal, and realized, by the way, you were holding her, that you would not leave her alone again. And she was infinitely grateful for that.

--//--

Part Two | Series Masterlist

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader #elizabeth olsen x reader #scarlet witch x reader #past natasha romanoff x reader #marvel imagines #canon divergence

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lumiolivierlithium · 1 month

Text

So is the Life of a Pirate (4/?)

Series: One Piece

Chapter: 4/?

Word Count: 3326

Rating: T

Pairing(s): Sanji x OC (Reader)

A dalliance six years ago has a funny way of catching up to Sanji when the Straw Hats stop to restock the ship.

a/n: Hi. I'm sitting through a torrential thunderstorm. I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again, but here we are as I live through the curse of an Ao3 writer. Anyway, have a new chapter.

[1] [2] [3]

The next morning, Cordelia woke up in her bed, desperately hoping that wasn’t a dream. She wanted nothing more than to still have Sanji underneath her. But alas, he was gone. And it made her heart hurt. It’s probably for the best. The last thing we need is for Sanji to come out of my room and for Ash to start asking questions. I mean, I know I’ve gushed enough about the man for Ash to start putting the pieces together that there was once something between us, but…But then, a sweet, yet earthy smell caught Cordelia’s nose. She pried herself out of bed and shuffled her feet into the kitchen.

“Good morning, Mama!” Ash stood on a chair next to the kitchen counter, his arms covered in flour up to his elbows.

“Good morning,” Cordelia looked over at the sink. And of course, Sanji never left, “What’s going on in here?”

“Ash woke up about an hour ago,” Sanji told her, “And I was just coming in from a smoke, so he asked me for apple juice. And I thought it’d be nice if we made breakfast for Mama. He said cinnamon rolls. And far be it for me to tell him no. Actually, Ash, check the pans. See if the second rising helped.”

“Ok,” Ash got down from his chair and peeked under the bread towels. Sure enough, they rose, “Sanji, they’re huge!”

“That’s the plan,” Sanji felt the inside of the oven, “And it’s definitely hot enough for them to bake. What do you think? Say…Twenty? Twenty-five minutes?”

“I think twenty-five,” Ash decided, “Just to make sure they’re done.”

“Hold on,” Sanji stopped him, “Because we don’t want to over bake them.”

“You mean, burn them?”

“No,” Sanji shook his head, “Over bake them. Because if you bake them too long, they’ll get tough and no one wants that.”

“So,” Ash thought, “Start at twenty and check in on them?”

“That’s right,” Sanji approved, “But they’re missing something. What are they missing?”

“Um…” Ash looked them over. It took him a second before making his declaration, “Heavy cream!”

“That’s right!” Sanji handed off the carton, “Be careful. And just a splash on each one, ok?”

“I got it,” Ash’s hands were a touch shaky, but he got the hang of it. And because he knew better than to put them in the oven himself, he handed each pan off to Sanji once they were ready.

“Nicely done, Ash,” Sanji praised, “You and I have successfully made breakfast. And now, we just need to wait.”

“Aww…”

“What’s the matter?” Sanji got down to his level, “You didn’t think they were just going to be ready when they’re raw, did you? It’s not going to be very long.”

“Ok,” Ash pulled his chair back to the table and looked over at Cordelia, “Mama, why are you crying?”

“No reason, baby,” Cordelia wiped her cheeks, “I’m fine. Nothing you need to worry about. Sanji. Outside. Now.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Sanji nodded, “Ash, let me know when the timer goes off, ok?”

“Ok,” Ash sat on the floor in front of the oven, patiently waiting.

All while Sanji went outside with Cordelia. He felt around his pockets for his cigarette case and his lighter, “Did you need some-”

Cordelia grabbed Sanji’s face and pulled him in for the most incredible, deep kiss the two had ever had. Right on the front porch in front of any neighbors who dared to look their way. Never in her life did she see someone so sweet with her son. Let alone his own father. When Cordelia saw Nami in the marketplace barely twenty-four hours prior, she never thought it’d be like this. She swore up and down that it would’ve ended in disaster. That the Straw Hat Pirates wouldn’t have even thought to stay another day after their restock, let alone be at her kitchen table. Or for her to be blessed the next morning, not only with Sanji’s baking, but with Ash at his side.

“Good morning to you, too, sweetheart,” Sanji smiled, “What was that all about?”

“And you were all worried about being a good dad,” Cordelia melted into Sanji’s arms.

“Hold on,” Sanji thought back, “I never told you about that.”

“I’m pretty sure you did,” Cordelia jumped on that same train. Although, she was coming up short, too.

“No,” Sanji shook his head, “I didn’t. I did get drunk with fucking Mosshead one night and tell him that in confidence. I’m going to kill him, Cordelia. I’m going to fucking kill him.”

“No, you’re not,” Cordelia stopped him, “Because you don’t have to worry about that anymore, Sanji. I saw you two in there. No man I’ve ever brought home has treated Ash like that.”

“They also weren’t his dad,” Sanji pointed out. Although, Cordelia’s words made him freeze up, “Cordelia, how many men have you brought into this house?”

“Just one,” Cordelia assured him, “Well…I can up that count to…Let’s see…You, Luffy, Usopp, Zoro, and my ex-fiancé.”

“Your what?” he gasped, “You were engaged?”

“I was pregnant and scared,” Cordelia shrugged, “I didn’t know how to get a hold of you, so I started seeing someone. And we got engaged because I told him I was pregnant. He thought it was his, but we all know better. And he left me shortly after that. And it’s been Ash and me ever since.”

“You know,” Sanji lit his cigarette and put an arm around Cordelia, “I would’ve come back for you. You know that, right?”

“Of course, I do,” Cordelia cuddled into his ribs, “Because you already did.” You just didn’t realize it. Remind me to kiss Nami next time I see her.”

“Excuse me?” Sanji’s heart skipped a beat.

“She’s the one that brought you guys here,” Cordelia explained, “She’s the one I found in the marketplace. If it weren’t for Nami, who knows if we would’ve ever met up again.”

“I’m glad we did,” Sanji blew out his smoke and kissed the top of Cordelia’s head, “Damn glad we did.”

“Me, too,” Cordelia smiled.

“Sanji!” Ash called out, “The timer went off!”

“I got it,” Cordelia gave him one last kiss.

“Thank you,” Sanji let her go. Only to stop her in his next breath, “Hey, Cordelia?”

“What?” Cordelia cranked her neck back.

“Do…” Sanji dropped it, “Never mind. Go before they burn.”

“Ok,” Cordelia ran back into the house while Sanji stayed and finished his cigarette.

Do you think he’ll ever call me Dad…? While Cordelia helped Ash inside, a very exhausted, very hungover man dragged himself up the stairs. And Sanji couldn’t wipe the smirk off his face, “Not feeling well this morning, Mosshead?”

“Fuck. You.” Zoro trudged inside, “Cordelia…?”

“Good morning, Zoro,” Cordelia chimed. But then, she noticed the state he was in, “Oh, Zoro, honey…One, way to destroy the sweet, domestic moment. And two, what happened to you?”

“Ask Nora,” Zoro grumbled, throwing himself on Cordelia’s couch.

“And shore leave claims another,” Sanji came back inside, “Well…I’d blame it on shore leave if this also wasn’t you when we were out at sea, too.”

“Again,” Zoro growled, glaring a hole through Sanji, “Fuck. You. Curly brow.”

“Love you, too,” Sanji looked over at the pans on the counter. And the big, beautiful cinnamon rolls fresh out of the oven, “Do I need to feed you or are you just here to crash on Cordelia’s couch? And hopefully use her shower?”

“Shower might not be a bad idea,” Zoro thought, “I’m not going to put her out.”

“Please,” Cordelia insisted, “Put me out.”

“See?” Sanji gave him a nudge, “You’re not putting her out.”

“Either you go,” Cordelia dropped the ultimatum, “Or I’m taking you out in the backyard and spraying you down with my garden hose.”

“Fine,” Zoro mumbled into the arm of the couch, “I’ll go.”

“You want some breakfast?” Cordelia offered, “Ash and Sanji make cinnamon rolls.”

“God, yes,” Zoro hiccupped a bit, hoping he wouldn’t throw up.

“Ash?” Sanji asked, “Do you remember how I told you to make the glaze for those?”

“Powdered sugar and milk?” Ash assumed.

“Powdered sugar and milk,” Sanji repeated, “Go on. Go make some. Because someone decided to spend a little too much time at the tavern last night.”

“Like Mama does?”

“No,” Sanji shook his head, “Not like Mama does. In the way the people who keep Mama at the tavern do.”

“Speaking of Mama being at the tavern,” Cordelia looked over at the clock and knew what she needed to do, “I have to go to the tavern and talk to Nora. Can I trust you three alone for a while?”

“I’m sure we can handle it,” Sanji promised, “Go ahead, Cordelia. We got it.”

“Thank you,” Cordelia, without thinking about it, stood on her toes and snuck a quick kiss on Sanji’s cheek, “Play nice. Both of you.”

“No promises,” Zoro shut his eyes.

“I’ll do my best,” Sanji swore, “But I’m not going to say my best is going to be up to your caliber.”

“Sanji…”

“Fine, fine,” Sanji dropped it, “Go.”

Cordelia took a quick shower and got dressed before kissing the baby goodbye. But Cordelia was no animal. She had a batch of cinnamon rolls on her kitchen counter. She wrapped one up and threw it in her bag. Cordelia ran off to the tavern where Nora was just about to flip the open sign for the day. Granted, she wasn’t going to start serving alcohol until at least noon, but that didn’t mean the tavern wasn’t a community hub.

“Morning, Cordelia,” Nora ushered her in, “Please tell me you’re working today. I can feel it in my bones we’re going to be swamped.”

“I have a trip to prepare for, Nora,” Cordelia reminded her, “I didn’t think I was supposed to work today.”

“Please, Cordelia,” Nora begged, “I’ve already set up your trainee and she’s not supposed to be in until tomorrow. I don’t want to throw her into fire on her first day. Please? I will pay you double if I have to. Just don’t make me have to work this alone.”

In that moment, Cordelia had an idea. A wonderful idea. Or possibly a horrible idea, but she knew what she could do, “Alright, Nora. On one condition.”

“Anything, honey. Name it.”

“If you sit down,” Cordelia brought Nora to the other side of the bar and dug her present out of her bag, “And eat something before you spiral yourself into passing out. We don’t need that.”

“Where did you get something like this?” Nora gasped, appreciating the beautiful pastry in front of her.

“My kitchen,” Cordelia threw her apron on and left her bag under the bar, “That’s what I woke up to this morning.”

“Lucky you,” Nora ripped off a piece and started eating. And her eyes lit up, “Cordelia, seriously, where did you get these?”

“I’m serious, Nora,” Cordelia swore, “I got those out of my kitchen this morning. When I woke up, Ash was half covered in flour and Sanji was putting those in the oven.”

“Get him,” Nora demanded, “Get him right now. Go back to your house. Go get Sanji. Drag his ass here.”

“Are you sure you want to do that?” Cordelia worried, “People are already starting to file in.”

“All the more reason to have him here,” Nora insisted, “Go. We’re going to need all the help we can get and I want that boy in my kitchen. Hurry up.”

“Ok,” Cordelia wasn’t going to question it. She kicked her shoes off and ran as fast as her feet would take her. And when she got back home, she was lucky she could still breathe.

“Cordelia,” Sanji caught her before she could fall to the floor, “What’s wrong? What happened? Look at me, sweetheart.”

“I’m alright,” Cordelia struggled to catch her breath, but she got there, “I need your help, Sanji. No one else can do this for me.”

“What is it?” Sanji asked anxiously, “What’s going on?”

“Nora…” Cordelia blinked the blurriness out of her vision. How hard did I just push myself? A little too much, but it’s worth it. I hope, “She wants to know if you can come work for her for the day.”

“Seriously?” Sanji looked at her strangely, “That’s it?”

“Yeah,” Cordelia nodded, “Ash, come on. Zoro’s in no shape to watch you. I’m sure Nami’s got her hands full with Luffy and Usopp, so I don’t want to have to ask her to watch you. You’re coming to the tavern, too.”

“Ok,” Ash ran back into his bedroom.

“Hey,” Sanji picked Cordelia’s chin up, “I’ll get Ash taken care of. I’ll be at the tavern as soon as I can. Go back to work. Ok?”

“Ok,” Cordelia let out a heavy sigh of relief, “Thank you, Sanji.”

“You’re very welcome,” Sanji slipped Cordelia a quick kiss, “I love you.”

“And you’re saving my ass,” Cordelia wrapped herself around Sanji’s waist, “I love you, too.”

“When you two are done being gross,” Zoro mumbled into the arm of the couch, “Some of us are still trying to sleep.”

“And I’m sure someone else owes Nora some kind of apology,” Cordelia kissed the top of Zoro’s aching, throbbing head, “But instead, he’s trying to pass out on my couch.”

“And not succeeding because someone won’t leave me alone.”

“Oh, Zoro,” Cordelia awed, “I missed you. But I need to get back to work.”

“See you soon,” Sanji grabbed the door for her and just as she did when she got there, Cordelia ran back to the tavern.

When she got there, the amount of people doubled. And as comfortable as Nora was at the bar, she had to get back to work, too. And lucky for Cordelia, there were a few new, yet familiar faces sitting in a booth by the window. But despite wanting to see her friends, she still had a paycheck to earn.

“Alright, Nora,” Cordelia hopped back behind the bar, “I got him. He’s getting Ash ready and he said he’d be here soon.”

“It’s nice having an extra pair of hands with the baby, isn’t it, Cordelia?” Nora smirked, well aware there was something going on.

“He’s his dad,” Cordelia shrugged, “Who am I to say no?”

“His mom.”

“Fair point,” she let it slide, “But we can talk about that later. Right now, we have a tavern to run.”

“And I got a table of miscreant pirates by the window,” Nora pointed out, “If you want to be so kind and take care of them.”

“Why?” Cordelia giggled, grabbing some menus from under the bar, “Because the only one who can take care of the big, scary, miscreant pirates is another big, scary, miscreant pirate? A former one anyway.”

“That’s the spirit!” Nora sent her off, “Go on. Go make me proud.”

“When don’t I, Nora?” Cordelia walked up to the table of those alleged miscreant pirates, “Hi, guys!”

“Hi, Cordelia!” Luffy smiled, gladly taking a menu. Skimming it was merely a formality. Cordelia already knew what he wanted, “I thought you weren’t supposed to be working today.”

“And I thought you were supposed to be keeping an eye on Zoro last night,” Cordelia retaliated, “You were supposed to be his impulse control and to keep him from getting completely wasted.”

“He seemed fine last night,” Usopp shrugged, “I didn’t see anything wrong with him.”

“Oh, yeah?” Cordelia looked over at Usopp, “And how many did you have last night, Usopp?”

“Hey,” Usopp backed off, “Even I know better than to try and keep up with Zoro. His tolerance is inhuman. I’m not touching that. I’d prefer to live.”

“Which explains why neither one of you are in the same state as him,” Cordelia assumed, “Because I have Zoro currently passed out on my couch and wildly hungover. And ruining my sweet moment of domesticity.”

“What moment of domesticity would that be, Cordelia?” Nami let out a sarcastic little gasp, “What happened after I left last night?”

“I thought it was weird we didn’t wake up to breakfast cooking,” Luffy noticed, “That’s usually a Sanji thing, right?”

“I don’t think Sanji came back to the ship last night, Luffy,” Nami smirked, “Care to share with the class, Cordelia?”

Ding, ding!

“Hi, Mama!” Ash attacked Cordelia’s leg.

“Hi, baby,” Cordelia scooped him up and put him on her hip, “Alright, so, should I just bring you one of everything, Luffy?”

“Yes, please,” Luffy beamed, “Hi, Ash!”

“Hi, Luffy!” Ash wiggled his way down Cordelia’s body and back to the floor. Only to squeeze in next to Usopp, “Hi, guys!”

“Hi, Ash,” Nami melted a little inside.

“Hey, Ash!” Usopp chirped, “What are you doing here?”

“Mama has to work,” Ash explained, “And Zoro’s in no shape to watch me. And Sanji’s working here today, too, so I get to hang out with you guys!”

“Wait a second, Asher,” Cordelia slowed him down, “I never said you were-”

“There’s no harm in it, Cordelia,” Luffy promised, “It’s fine with us if it’s fine with you. We can keep an eye on Ash today.”

“Really?” Cordelia gasped, “I mean, you don’t have to, Luffy.”

“I know we don’t have to,” Luffy assured her, “But we get to. That’s not a problem. If you need us, you need us.”

“Nami?” Cordelia looked over to her, “This rests on your shoulders more than the others. Since you got the other two babies to look after.”

“We can look after ourselves, too, Cordelia,” Usopp clutched his chest, “I can’t believe you’d think-”

“I pulled a splinter out of your finger the other day and you cried like a baby,” Nami reminded him, “Would you care to rethink that?”

“I…” Usopp kept his mouth shut.

“Thought so,” Nami dropped it, “It’s Ash, Cordelia. He’d be the least of my worries. It’s fine with me.”

“Yay!” Ash wiggled in his seat, “Can I have breakfast, too, Mama?”

“You just had breakfast,” Cordelia shook him off, “I’ll bring you apple juice, though.”

“Thank you!”

“I got everyone else, too,” Cordelia wrote down their order, “And I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

“Thanks, Cordelia!” Luffy waved her off.

Yeah. You’re not the one that has to bring this order back to the kitchen. Fortunately, the guy we got back there is used to feeding you in the first place. Cordelia pushed through the kitchen doors and handed off the order, “Guess who just walked in?”

“Hmm…” Sanji read over the receipt and smiled a bit, “One of everything, huh? Could this just be for one person?”

“That obvious?” she giggled to herself, “You want some help?”

“No,” Sanji shot her down, “But thank you. I want complete and total solitude. You and Nora can run the front of the house. I’ll take care of everything back here.”

“You sure?” Cordelia cringed, “Sanji, that’s a lot to take on by yourself.”

“Oh, how quickly you forget,” Sanji grinned, “I’ve been needing a challenge anyway. And Luffy’s appetite will always be a challenge. Trust me, Cordelia. I have everything covered here.”

“And?” Cordelia added, “You do realize we have other customers, too, right?”

“I know,” he nodded, “But again, even on nights when the Baratie was slammed, I could still manage it by myself.”

“But you weren’t by yourself,” Cordelia reminded him, “You had a whole kitchen staff.”

“Cordelia,” Sanji took her face between his hands and gently kissed her forehead, “I know you’re worried about me. But you don’t need to. I have everything under control back here. Like I said before, you and Nora can take the front of the house. Let me cook.”

“Alright,” Cordelia didn’t have to like it, but she would respect it. She knew what Sanji was capable of. So, instead of pestering him about it, she went right back to the front where she belonged.

#one piece #one piece fan fiction #one piece x reader #sanji x reader #sanji x you #sanji x y/n #accidental pregnancy #so is the life of a pirate #one piece brainrot

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metamorphosisff · 1 year

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|Chapter 4| Something Good

Picked up another shift. Please watch Papi.

I groan as I look at the time on my phone. In ten minutes I’m supposed to be leaving to go to this stupid meeting and now I would have a plus one. There was no way I could back out of either commitment so I texted back: No probs. Taking him with me. We’ll be back before you.

Being that she is at work, I don’t expect her to text me back. I take a quick glance at my outfit, high rise baby blue shorts, obnoxious cowboy belt that belonged to my father, a baby doll t-shirt and on my feet are a worn pair of navy Converse. My hair is pulled up into a ballerina bun of braids because it’s too hot for anything else. I managed to coat my eyelashes with mascara, add a pinch of blush to my cheeks and some gloss. It’s the best I can do and all I have time for since I’m now babysitting. Grabbing my purse, I lock up my apartment before going across the hall and letting myself in.

“PAPI,” I yell from the doorway.

He has a Lil Baby song blasting from the direction of his bedroom but he’s still able to hear me. His ears are trained to listen out for our voices. Within seconds I hear him jogging out of his bedroom.

“What’s up Auntie?” he asked. I’m glad to see he’s still dressed in a Marvel Avengers t-shirt and basketball shorts. Typical fifth grader attire.

“Go grab your backpack and your shoes. We’re going out and we need to leave like now if I’m going to be on time,” I replied, looking at the time again on my phone.

“Aight, I’m going,” he said, heading off to do what I said. He is used to being dragged all over the place and knows not to question it.

It takes us five minutes to reach the train because I make us speed walk to cut down the time. We barely catch the F but we do. I’m thankful the meeting is in Midtown because the train switches to express after a few stops. On the way to the church we stopped at McDonalds so that I can get Papi, a double cheeseburger and some fries for dinner. I’m now flat broke but it’ll only be for two days so it’s fine. Hustling him along, I spot Jazz outside of the church smoking a Newport which she ashes once she sees Papi is with me. Her long nails glitter in every direction.

“You have a son?” Jazz asks, with a raised brow while tucking the wavy jet black strands she normally wore in braids behind her gold jeweled ear.

“Nephew. Sorry to keep you waiting,” I said, which she waved off.

“I just got here myself and people still arriving take a breath,” Jazz says to me before turning to Papi. “Hello young man. I’m Jazz.”

“Hey, I’m Papi,” Papi says.

I watch as they share a fist bump and run my fingers through Papi’s dense curls. “This is a meeting for adults so I’m going to give you my headphones. I want you to eat and then do your homework,” I said.

He nods his head and together we all walk inside. We follow the other two people who enter with us to the basement and into a large room on the right. The chairs are all set up in a circle and there is a table for refreshments where people are loading up on sweets and cups of soda. Xavier spots us immediately.

“Hey ladies, glad y’all stopped by. Who’s this?” Xavier says, smiling down at Papi.

“Name is Papi, who is you?” Papi asks, stepping in front of me. Jazz has a good laugh at this little boy's brazen behavior. I place my hands lightly on his shoulders as a silent reminder for him to mind himself.

Xavier chuckles and says, “I’m Xavier lil man. Nice to meet you.”

“Mhm I’ll be the judge of that,” Papi says.

“Alright Papi that’s enough, this is my friend, drop the machismo act,” I said, lightly tugging on a curl.

“Mhm well friend, jury is out on you. Where can I sit?” Papi asked, scanning the room like I previously had.

“There’s actually a room next door with some more kids with Ms. Marsha, a deaconess here at the church, keeping watch,” Xavier said.

“Papi go and please spare Ms. Marsha that mouth,” I said, turning him around by his shoulders.

“Fine but I’m telling Ma’ you hiding a man. You don’t have friends,” Papi scoffs, before scurrying out of the room.

“Little brat,” I said with a shake of my head. He’s wrong about the man thing but not about the fact that I don’t have friends. Damn, did he need to blurt my business like that though?

“Brother?” Xavier asks with a chuckle.

“Nah, nephew. He’s ten going on forty,” I said with a shake of my head, refusing to let a kid embarrass me. My eyes scan the room again.“There’s a lot of people here, you don't need new recruits.”

“Eh it’s a rotating cast. I see the look in your eyes, give it a chance,” Xavier urges.

“Right, give it a chance,” Jazz says, mouth filled with a powder donut. “I’m going to go take a seat. You are not allowed to sit by me.”

I stare at Jazz sashay away with an open mouth while Xavier chuckles beside me. “I’ve been hustled.”

“The old school way too but it’s okay. You can sit by me,” Xavier says.

“Sure, just give her what she wants,” I say with a roll of my eyes. He doesn’t follow me as I fill a plate up with pastries that will most likely also double as dinner. I choose water over soda to help balance out all of the sweets.

By the time I’ve finished, almost everyone has taken a seat. Jazz, true to her word, makes sure there are people flanking both of her sides. I shoot her an evil eye as I sit in the folding chair Xavier has saved for me. All that earns me is an air kiss blown in my direction.

“Alright, I think it’s safe to begin now,” Xavier starts, clapping his hands twice to gain everyone’s attention. “Welcome to anyone who’s new,” a glance in my direction causes me to roll my eyes again which he smirks at before continuing, “We don’t exchange names here unless you want to. Please refrain from dropping any other name but your own. Other than that, who wants to kick off ‘That Bullshit’.”

The name of the group is accurate as I listen to at least ten people describe what “that bullshit” was in their life. The stories ranged from petty offenses attached to neighbors and heart breaking ones that dealt with abusive exes. Though through it all, this group recanted things through the lens of humor. All of the situations were shitty in their own right but no one had a ‘woo is me’ attitude about it. They owned what they were going through and some even owned their parts in the situations. It gave me a lot to think about as Xavier finally called the meeting to a close. Jazz so wonderfully offered to get Papi from the room next door in order for us to talk.

“So what did you think?” Xavier asks, shoving his hands into the pockets of his shorts as we step out into the night.

The air is thick, slightly cooler than before but still warm enough to break into a sweat if one tries hard enough. I let my eyes meet his as I shrug my shoulders. “I’m not sure, I am still processing everything that I heard. Why did you want me to come?”

“Honestly?” he said, to which I nodded my head. “You look like you keep a lot inside. Like the quips you dole out are masking what you can’t yet find words for. I thought coming here might show you that there's a way to get some of that out of your system free of the expectation to say the right thing.”

His explanation hits me right in the chest as it is exactly what I had admired about the group. Everyone spoke from the heart without shame or fear or anything really. It looked freeing. I had been in my cage too long to join them but I did take note.

“I do,” I breathed out, crossing my arms over my chest. “The way I’ve come up, it’s easier to eat the punches than to keep fighting against them. I swallow my anger until someone or something pushes it out and then…

“Then you end up with a snazzy orange vest on the side of the road with me,” he jokes.

“Precisely,” I smirk, not able to help it. I’m finding that it is easy to talk to him. “This is a first and last type of thing. I don’t plan on going through this again.”

“Well maybe one of these Thursdays you’ll speak and get a chance to blow some steam to keep that from happening,” he says.

“This was a one time deal Xavier. I plan to start a new job soon once my orange vest stint is over and I doubt I’ll have time to come,” I reply.

“All the more reason for you to text me back. I’ve been told I’m a good listener,” he says, wearing a small smile as he takes a step closer to me.

Pushiness is in his nature as much as stubbornness is in mine. He is hell bent on being my friend and he might be wearing me down because I say, “I’ll think about it.”

Before he can say more, he’s being stiff armed back a few steps by a ten year old.

“You a little close friend,” Papi says, sliding between us.

“If you ever need a babysitter for this one, send him on the 2,” Jazz says to me with a cackle before turning to Papi. “C’mon let me show you how to not be in grown folks' business over yonder.”

Papi shoots Xavier one parting glare before allowing Jazz to lead him over to where the fence is. He positions his body so that he can keep his eyes directly on us.

“He is very protective of you. That’s a good kid right there,” Xavier chuckled.

“I’m protective of him too. He’s the only good thing I have, him and his mom,” I said.

Retaking the steps Papi pushed him out of, Xavier locks eyes with me and quietly says, “I’d like to be a good thing too over time.”

I don’t know if it’s his proximity or the way those big eyes under thick lashes blink at me but I believe him. There is a kindredness to his spirit that intertwines with mine, refusing to be ignored. “In the words of Papi, the jury is still out on that.”

He cracks a grin. “I look forward to hearing the verdict. I’m a patient man.”

“A corny one too,” I smirk.

“You like it.”

“ALRIGHT LOVERBOY I HAVE A BEDTIME, WRAP IT UP,” Papi yells through cupped hands, causing everyone who’s lingering around to laugh.

“On that note, good night. Let me know that y’all got home safe,” Xavier says with a smile.

“Will do, good night.”

We hold each other’s gaze for a few seconds more before I make my way down the stairs. When I get close, I pop Papi lightly on his shoulder, “Must you show out?”

“Must you? Since when do you smile?” Papi says, causing Jazz to holler and give him a high five.

“Papi,” I say through gritted teeth and he jogs ahead before I can reach out to pop him again.

“That lil boy read you,” Jazz chuckled, linking her arm through mine as we walked towards the train station. “You two looked mighty cozy.”

“We were just talking Jazz since you practically left me for dead,” I said.

“I didn’t leave you for dead but I did encourage you to fly little Birdie. That’s what I’ma call you Birdie,” Jazz says.

I hate the nickname but telling her won’t make a difference. Instead I ask, “You think I can trust him?”

“There’s only one true way to find out but I think he’s worth the risk. Opening yourself to people, to this world ain’t easy but most of the time it’s worth it. The rest? Is that bullshit like they said,” Jazz said.

We spend the rest of the walk in silence and telling Papi to look where he’s going as he walks. I mull over her words and save Xavier’s words to examine for later. When we part ways, Jazz pulls me into a hug and lets me know she’s going to work. Though I don’t have the right to, I ask her to tell me when she gets home, and she promises.On the train Papi lets me know that he thinks Jazz is cool and how he learned about women like her in school. He makes me proud using the correct terminology and in moments like this I find myself wanting to protect him even more. There’s a real chance for him to make it out of our neighborhood and be somebody. I make another promise to a God I’m not on the best of terms with to look out for him. By the time we get home, Papi is practically sleepwalking. I let him back into his apartment and helped him get ready for bed before going into mine. It’s then that I see Xavier has texted me as I step out of my shoes.

Are you home?

It was sent a half hour ago so I’m late in my response.

Yeah just got in and put Papi down. Tired kids are heavy.

I head down the hall, texting Marissa letting her know that we’re both back in as I’m entering the bathroom. I peel out of my clothes and dump them into the hamper. The shower I take is quick because I’m exhausted and have to wake up again in five hours for my shift at the warehouse. As I’m sliding into bed, I read over the last texts Xavier sent.

Tell me about it. My little sister feels like a grown man sometimes.

I know it’s late so sleep well.

He sends the last text with the face in cloud emoji and in the privacy of my own home I allow myself to grin at his never ending corniness. Before I can think too much about it I send back: You too.

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#metamorphasisff #black romance #black fiction #slow burn romance #zendaya x mjb

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vendetta-if · 1 year

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Just finished reading chapter four and I love it! The talk with Yvette was very aggravating! (The fact that she came asking for help from the child she abandoned) But it was satisfying at the same time, I chose to still hate her, and I’m glad we get the chance to give her a piece of our mind. Couldn’t give her a second chance. Especially knowing that at Viktor’s funeral, Luka gave her a chance to take MC and acknowledge him, and she refused! And the fact that her only reason for abandoning her child is protecting her career and fame. And every time she says this excuse and brings up Belladonna, it makes me nauseous. She didn’t even deserve the chance Luka gave her at the funeral, but fine, she was the only parent left for MC now, so it makes sense for Luka to give her a chance in case she wants to raise her child now. But she still REFUSED! UNBELIEVABLE! I’m just very thankful for Uncle Luka and think he has all the right to prevent her for visiting MC at all. Anyway, I’m rambling 😂 because I’m so angry at this mother! XD I still chose that I agreed to the arrangement to help her too though. Even though I hate her, I don’t want her dead because then I won’t be able to hate her anymore.

Now Santana

DAMMIT SANTANA !

HOW?! Just.. how?

I was so set on romancing Ash. I had no doubt that I WILL romance Ash and Ash alone. But THEN SANTANA CAME! And now I don’t know anymore! How can there be such a character in this book? He’s too pure for this world ;; And I thought no one can beat Ash in adorableness 🥹

So, I was thinking. My MC is ruthless but for some reason Santana makes me not wanna be ruthless. He’s so pure and I want to protect him so he stays that way. I want to help him and give him hope that he can succeed in this city with an upright moral compass. So I was wondering if we can maybe.. have Santana talk with ruthless MC about… their ruthlessness XD and then have a counter for when we pick merciful choices after that. Or when we avoid unnecessary killings and such. And have it acknowledged by people around MC that they changed after meeting Santana or something 🙈 I dunno why I want that it’s just Santana makes me want to be nice 🥺 You might have a totally different approach in mind though! So I’m so sorry if it sounded like I’m imposing what I’d like to happen. You can just totally ignore my suggestion. 🤣

Oh, one last question, during the mission after killing the police commissioner. We encounter five people. We kill four of them while one (their leader) escapes. Does she always escape or does it depend on our choices? (My ruthless MC don’t wanna leave loose ends 😈)

That’s why I released the Luka & Yvette Funeral Talk side story first; because I think it is quite important. Although, for now, I’m planning to also add an option for MC to ask Luka why he wouldn’t allow Yvette to visit in the next chapter, and he would basically tell the short of what happened in the side story.

Also, I’m glad that your MC still doesn’t want her dead, although for a less than ideal reason behind it 😂 Hey, Yvette will take it, alright.

As for Santana… Does this mean that Ash has been dethroned from your and your MC’s heart by Santana? 🥺🥺😆

As for your merciful suggestion… Hmm 🤔 It’s interesting, but also, could complicate some things. I’ll see once we’re nearing there and as I ruminate more on it 😄 If I were to implement it, I might implement similar thing with Skylar too, considering Skylar is the one who has the “I can fix them” mentality when dating Ruthless MC 😂 Thank you for the interesting suggestion! I’ll keep this in mind ❤️

#asks #anon ask #if: vendetta #suggestions #char: yvette #ro: santana #ro: skylar #char: luka #if game #if wip #dashingdon #choicescript

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ferniliciousness · 5 months

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Ok part two of Mass Effect chaos run... And things are interesting... To say the least lmao

To start out with, the council meeting actually went... Well. Esmea yelled at Saren and got a little sassy but was otherwise amicable. Stay neutral through most of it. She did not however want to recruit Garrus in any way.. she has a thing against Turians apparently 🤦(how I have no idea something is def wrong with her)

She was very nice to Udina and Anderson. Like extremely nice to them. (Ass kiss)

She met Harkin and I was honestly amazed she didn't punch him for his comment, but her niceness lasted for five seconds. As soon as he called her princess it was over lmao. She was nice to Wrex when we saw him.

After this she went to the med clinic. Biotic slammed everyone there lmao, then was an absolute bitch to dr.michel. idk why since she obviously doesn't like Garrus but what ya gonna do. When Garrus said he wanted to join the dice got vetoed and he was added to the crew. After that she was pretty nice to him, airing on neutral.

She went to pick up Wrex next and was pretty nice to him, but I don't think she knows about Krogan sarcasm lol. She decided not to take him to get Fist, didn't want to deal with him trying to kill him and what not. Managed to get everyone in the bar and scared the shit out of the warehouse workers. Impressed Garrus😏. She spared Fist simply because she didn't want to deal with him.

After this she ran off to save Tali, and when we found her they quickly became besties. I swear Tali was the person she has been the nicest too the entire time. Then they all went all the way back to the council and Esmea was mortified with the conversations Ashely and Tali were having behind her. Like... Ashley.. really... Garrus was nicer to her. Council finally saw sense and Esmea went full bitch mode over them not believing her and not taking Saren seriously. Took Spectreship like a boss lol.

After all of this she went wide mission crazy, or at least tried. Most of the time she didn't want to deal with people's problems. 🤦 (Goodbye xp)

She was convinced to help Jenna at the bar however and Chellick and her... Well let's just say they didn't get along... She did finally agree to help him but then... I honestly don't know what happened. She took the shipment and then just refused to pay him... Her excuse was that... She didn't like him.. and then proceeded to have a full blown fire fight in the market... So... That was fun..

That's the most of what happened today lmao. Other then her just being an absolutely terrible person to Ashley my god. She has not said one nice thing to her this whole time I swear.

#mass effect #mass effect chaos #mass effect dice challenge #this is chaos #literally #wtf is happening #i have one paragon point #one

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heartfullofxfright · 4 months

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@babyitsmagic sent five times left: ( five times the sender and receiver parted ways ) - for eli/max or ro/ash OR a mix of both if you wanna!!!

this was very obviously inspired by the similar one you wrote about ash/ro but i went with a mix <3

i. one of the hardest things about being immortal is never being able to truly set roots. the constant moving around can be exhausting. thankfully, eli and rowan have each other. it’s not as lonely as it could be, but sometimes they both wish they could have something more. their prayers seemed to be answered when they met ash and max. while they hadn’t become inseparable or the absolute best of friends, they had seemed to be on their way to something special, if only they’d had more time. but eli and rowan had already been there too long. it was difficult to have to say goodbye, to have to move on to the next town when they’d finally found others who might understand, but they were hopeful their paths would cross again someday.

ii. they should’ve been happy to see each other again. but things are different. eli and max are captaining pirate vessels with rowan and ash as their second in commands and that means there can be no playing nice. their crews wouldn’t allow it even if they’d tried. so instead of hugs and drinks and reminiscing, they’re lunging at each other in a fight that should end with two of them dead, but no one seems to be willing to take it that far. so their reunion is short lived, with no pleasantries exchanged. they fight hard, but not as hard as any are really capable of. once they’ve put on enough of a show, they part ways with reputations in tact, but at a hefty cost.

iii. rowan knows this was a mistake. not that she regrets it. she thinks she'd always be too curious to know what it was like and they both needed to get it out of their systems. but watching him sleep as she dresses quietly, she feels her chest ache in a way it never has before when she's slipped away into the night. she finds a scrap of paper and writes a quick note: "until we can sneak away again." she leaves the note on top of his clothes and hurries out of the room before she can do something stupid like convince herself it would be okay to wait until morning to leave. she hopes ash won't hate her too much for it the next time they cross paths, even if it would be easier if he did.

iv. when he sees max, eli curses under his breath. he might not be captaining a ship anymore, but that doesn't mean there's not a hell of a lotta history between them that max might want to hash out. but then she's grinning at him from the bar and next thing he knows, they're buying each other rounds of drinks and laughing at old stories. it's not the max he's used to, but it's a max he likes. he hears them calling his name from the door and he knows it's time to go. he pays for another round for max to apologize for calling the night short and leans in, pressing a kiss to her cheek to say goodbye. he thinks the fact that it had to be unexpected is the only reason he makes it out the door without max kicking his ass.

v. after giving the kids one last kiss and a big squeeze, rowan makes her way over to her brother and gives him a hug. "i'm not asking if you're sure because they've been here for five minutes and probably given you just as many reasons to try and back out, so thank you for taking them. if they do anything absolutely disastrous, you know how to find us." she honestly still can't believe she somehow conned max and eli into watching the kids so she and ash could have a breather, but she's not going to question it. eli brushes off her thanks and as they're walking out the door, he calls to them, "just remember this means you get ours next time!"

#babyitsmagic #v; we can have forever #pairing: rowan x ash #pairing: eli x max #the last one seems maybe too domestic #but too late now #hope you like this!!!

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theflowerofthecommonwealth · 2 years

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Companions and What Happens When They Watch Jasmine for a Day Part One

Includes: Piper, Deacon, Danse, Hancock, and X6.

Nick honestly does not want leave Jasmine alone as they are in a unknown settlement with only one of the companions and a bunch of settlers. But he just got a heavy case that Jazzy can’t tag along for and he can’t put off for later. “Hey, I kinda got a long case to follow, do ya mind watching for Jasmine while I’m at it?”

(Note: This takes place after Jasmine accepts the companions as family. Otherwise my girl would just hide in a tree for all eternity)

Piper Wright:

Big sister mode activates as soon as those words leave Nicks mouth.

Bro has been training her whole life for this moment to arrive.

She catapults over to the teen girl who is stacking up rocks into little houses.

Piper: “We are having a girls day today, kiddo! What kinda things did prewar girls your age do?”

Jasmine: “A lotta cartwheels and handstand contests...”

Hearing that, Piper immediately decided to give it a try and scoots back to give herself room.

She holds a handstand for about five seconds before her arms collapse in on itself, making her slump awkwardly onto the floor like melted butter.

Jasmine then chooses to point out that it’s not fair for a competition because she has physical enhancements and will last longer.

Piper gets up with a huff and challenges the teen to do a handstand anyways.

Just like she said she would, Jas is able to hold herself up with no problem.

Girl even shows off by taking away one hand and doing the splits midair.

Much to Pipers great annoyance.

Jasmine stands down with a cheeky smile, offering to help the older girl nail it down.

Piper first must crack out her arms and legs that have become overly stiff with the last attempt.

Jasmine: “Phhhfft, like a little old lady!”

Piper: “Oh, ha-ha, very funny.”

She keeps getting a face full of grass and dirt at every new attempt.

Jas ends up lifting her up by the waist whenever she is about to fall.

She tries teaching Piper several balancing techniques to try to help stabilize her.

But it proves fruitless in the end.

Eventually the teen just lets go without warning to see what would happen.

Piper somehow does a perfect back bend when she drops backwards.

Task failed successfully.

However, she has to get help in getting back up onto her own two feet.

Still, Piper is pumped about it, silently freaking out on how well she did.

Piper: “Oh geez look at the time, we should get something to eat.”

Jasmine: “I don’t like food.”

Piper: “Ah well, too bad you need it to keep living and to do your handstands. Cmon, I’ll make you something real special!”

Piper leads her to the kitchen and starts making a loaf of her famous soda bread with dried up mutfruit for the girl to try. (An actual thing in the Fallout Official Cookbook)

Luckily, she doesn’t burn it to pure ash this time and the house fills with the pleasant smell of freshly baked bread.

Jasmine gets to work on their main course, preparing Braised Deathclaw Steak served over what looks like rice.

Piper: “I’m a little afraid to ask what that actually is…”

Jasmine: “Ehh, it’s close enough to the prewar stuff I think.”

The two girls sit around the table with bottles of Nuka Cola and each of their dishes evenly distributed.

Pipers soda bread has biscuity and slightly sweet tang to it, the mutfruit doing wonders for it. (Although Jas can’t taste it)

And Jasmine somehow got the Deathclaw steak to be so soft and buttery that it magically melts in their mouth.

Safe to say that the course was a full on success, with Piper packing away the leftovers for later travels.

After that, Piper insists that Jazzy should allow her to do her hair.

Well kept curly hair is a rarity in the Commonwealth, even more so when it’s very magically long.

She sits Jasmine down in a chair and brings out a comb, some water, and some hair ties.

Carefully, Piper does the teens hair into a nice updo that she saw in a magazine back home.

She does a decent job, only leaving a few fly aways and mistakes.

Nothing that can’t be fixed with some bobby pins.

Jasmine: “Well by girlish law, now I have to do your hair in exchange.”

Piper: “Was that an actual rule back then?”

Jasmine: “Yup, at least in my town and among the girls.”

They switch places and Jasmine takes control of the comb.

Jasmine: “Don’t peek until I’m done, it’s a surprise.”

Jas sections off her hair and makes two small fishtail braids that meet in the back, lightly curling the rest of Pipers hair and leaving it loose.

She even puts in a few fancy hairpins to give it a extra touch.

The Reporter gets overly delighted when she finally is allowed to look in the mirror.

She starts to run her fingers through it constantly, admiring it at every angle.

Until Jazzy tells her that doing that will ruin it sooner.

Then she makes sure nothing touches or snags it, putting up her arms around her head when she walks close to something.

The two girls change into pajamas and drag out sleeping bags around the fireplace.

Jasmine starts doodling little cartoons while Piper watches with interest.

Piper: “Who are you drawing?”

Jasmine: “Hancock.”

Piper: “His hat isn’t that big.”

Jasmine: “Neither are his boots. It’s a cartoon, everything is exaggerated.”

She continues her drawings while Piper starts recounting a story about the time a bird flew over Diamond City and pooped on Crazy Myrna.

Jas grins wildly and starts drawing a cartoon of that, comedically recapturing the scene in detail.

She gives it to Piper so she can make copies to secretly distribute to the other companions.

At 10:00pm sharp, Piper loudly claps her hands together like a teacher.

Piper: “Alright kiddo, time for you to tune out for the night.”

Jazzy sighs super dramatically at this, tucking her sketchbook back in her bag and laying down on the sleeping bag with a pout.

Although she herself is tired, Piper is determined stay awake until Jasmine falls asleep.

So she keeps rambling about potential cover stories and leads until the teens eyes start blinking shut.

A little part of her wonders if she had bored the kid to death.

Piper scoots her sleeping bag closer so she can lay a comforting arm around the younger girl while she slumbers.

Its quite a sweet scene to see when Nick returns early in the morning.

Deacon:

He is a bit of a wildcard when it comes to this sort of thing.

Right on the fine line of being completely reckless and being completely levelheaded.

He takes being the favorite uncle very seriously.

So Nick is wary on leaving Jas behind with him, they might end up with another baby deathclaw on their hands.

Deacon: “Relax Nicky, I’m the very definition of innocent and wholesome fun-...”

Nick pins Deacon by the shoulders and make him swear to his face and daunting glowing eyes that he won’t get Jazzy into any real trouble.

Top five scariest moments in Deacons life.

He’s kinda shooketh when Nick finally let’s him go and leaves.

Its not like he was planning on doing anything too extreme or cause too much chaos, but he definitely is second guessing.

Nevertheless, he marches up to the teen girl who is messing around with a frisbee.

Deacon: “Hey there small fry, ready to cause some trouble?”

She grins wildly at Deacon and holds up a colored powder bomb she had been saving.

Nothing is gonna be safe from these two.

As long as it’s harmless fun Deacon is all for it.

Deacon: “Now how do we get the Brahmain onto the roof?”

Jasmine: “With a lot of duct tape and critical patience...”

The settlers start getting more and more bamboozled as the day progresses.

Especially when a they find googly eyes stuck to a bunch of inanimate objects.

Deacon: “The pink glitter will stick out more if you use on the plungers instead!”

Jasmine: “Yeah but if I do, what color do I use for the chickens?”

Deacon: “Try periwinkle.”

Jasmine: “THATS FOR THE MANNEQUINS!!”

Both of them deny having anything to do with the balloon animals with scary drawn on faces in the showers.

Or the Sentry Bot guard in a wig and oversized dress.

They get so carried away with their little tricks that Deacon forgets to check the clock.

Deacon: “Ooops, way past meal time, you hungry there Tootsie Pop?”

Jasmine: “No, and how the hell did you come up with that one?”

Deacon: “Great! I’ll whisk us something scrummy!”

Jasmine: “…Is that even a word?”

Usually when Deacon makes food, he does it in a way that makes the dish look wacky and almost unrecognizable.

Buuuuut, with Jazzy that’s not the exactly the bestest thing to do.

So he makes little sandwiches decorated and shaped into interesting characters and scenery.

Deacon gets too into it during preparations and comes up with complex backstories for each one. (And maybe got attached for comedic reasons)

Jasmine: “So… Do you want me to eat this or not?”

Deacon: “Just make it quick for Sir Reginald, the guy has suffered enough hardships…”

Jasmine: “Uhhh, do you need mental help?”

After that drama is all sorted up, the two of them gather up toilet paper, paint, and a bunch of rotten mirelurk eggs. (You can already see where this is going)

That group of Brotherhood soldiers stationed nearby never even saw it coming.

All it took was a big enough distraction, and fast feet to pull it off.

Jasmine: “YOU HAVE TO DO THE PAINT BEFORE THE EGGS DEACON!”

Deacon: “IM TRYING TO AIM FOR THEIR BUTTS!”

Deacon ALMOST got caught red handed.

But a perfectly timed powder filled balloon saved his ass.

By the time they are done causing their destruction and running back to the settlement, it’s well past midnight.

The parental side in Deacon half panics at the time, but he remains cool.

Deacon: (Loud fake yawn) “Okay curly girlie, time to hit the hay.”

Unfortunately for him, Jazzy is hyped on adrenaline and coffee so it’s gonna be a hassle to get her to sleep.

It takes him a half hour to drag the girl inside and shove her some pajamas to change into while he starts the clean up.

More like scrub the evidence.

Deacon gave her a death bunny onesie to wear and she looks totally adorbs, but still psyched up as hell.

Like bouncing off walls kinda hyper. Just dressed as a bunny now.

Somehow he gets her to lay down on the sofa, teasing the teen with her stuff bear by keeping it out of reach.

Another mistake because Jas sits up to snatch it back while smacking his head with her pillow.

Deacon: “Okay, okay, you got me. Seriously though, no more horsing around until you get your beauty rest.”

Jasmine: “What about you?”

Deacon: “Who, me? I never need sleep! Had that redundant function removed way back when.”

He parks himself besides her and recounts his totally 100% true tales of being the amazing and incredible Deacon.

Yes, Jazzy is skeptical of every word that comes out of his mouth, but she slowly falls into a slumber to his tall tales.

Nobody said that Deacon didn’t feel at least a bit touched and emotional, wondering what he had missed out on with Barbara.

Maybe a few stifled tears were shed in that moment….. Or many loud tears. (Give this man a hug)

He doesn’t notice Nick coming in a few hours later until the synth steps closer to them and Deacon is forced to quickly plaster on a smile again.

Deacon: “See Valentine, you had nothing to worry about. She is still in one piece and so is the settlement!”

Danse:

Straightens himself up and accepts without much hesitation and a whole lotta confidence in his voice.

That is until Valentine is actually gone, then the doubts and uncertainty start to creep in and he starts to look a little lost.

He’s had experience with Brotherhood Squires in the past, but this somehow feels completely different.

Danse goes back to tinkering with his Minuteman issued Power Armor, looking up from time to time at the young girl who is playing around with a can of homemade bubbles.

At one point, he gets a little too occupied with the tune up, going a good hour without checking up.

When he finally does, Jasmine is perched on a dangerously high building like she is Batman or something.

He drops everything and runs over, gruffly ordering her to; “GET DOWN RIGHT NOW!”

It’s overly harsh on the tone so Jazzy shrinks back on the ledge with a yelp.

Danse is more overly frightened about her safety and not actually mad.

He quickly apologizes and asks in a much softer tone if she can carefully climb down, in which she obeys.

Danse: “Please refrain from ever doing that again...”

Jasmine: “I’m looking out for those molerats who ate the melons!”

The former Paladin can only sigh at the teen and rub his head while she stares at him with wide eyes.

Danse: “Lets… obtain us something to suitable to eat.”

He honestly has no clue on how to deal with this.

Danse sets up a grill and starts cooking them both a juicy Radstag.

The meaty aroma attracts some wild mongrels so Jazzy runs over to deal with them while Danse continues.

He serves the Radstag alongside mashed potato’s and freshly cut corn.

A solid 10/10 wasteland meal.

Jasmine finishes her food first and she stands up to continue blowing her bubbles.

Her eyes get all big and sparkly while she giggles and tries to pop them all in the gentle breeze.

Danse watches the bubbly girl jump around with a smile on his face and his plate in his lap.

He almost forgets to eat while his food is still warm.

Its quite peaceful so he lets himself sit back and relax.

That is until Jas drops her bubbles and breaks out into a full on sprint across the settlement.

Danse: “Where are you going?!?”

Jasmine: “THE FUCKING MOLERATS ARE BACK!!”

Confused, Danse gets up from his chair and bolts after the girl.

And he learns that Jas can practically break the sound barrier with how fast she can run.

He catches up to her as she is trying to shank said molerats who are eating away at the crops.

Jasmine: “SAVE THE MELONS!!”

They all squeal and retreat back into their den once they see the red fury of the girl.

Of course, Jazzy tries to go in after them but Danse tugs her out before she can get very far.

Danse: “No you can’t go in there! The structure could potentially collapse in on itself!”

No way in heaven is he losing the teen to a molerat den of all things.

Danse tosses in a few live grenades just to ensure she won’t try and rush back in.

Danse: “There, that should do away with last of them-...”

He catches himself subconsciously tenderly wiping some dirt off the teen girls face with his hand.

My guy almost short circuits then and there.

Jazzy didn’t notice until he froze because Nick and almost everyone does it when she gets messy.

She snaps her finger a few times in his face to pull him back into reality.

Danse: “I- uh, sorry…”

Jas shuffles over to her bag and pulls out her frisbee, holding it up questionably to Danse to offer a game.

Its her way to break the unnecessary awkwardness.

He backs up and holds up his hands, still looking a little confused.

The two start flinging it back and forth to each other.

Progressively getting further and further apart.

Only once was Danse bonked on the head when he miscalculated his catch.

The look of shock on his face sent Jazzy into a fit of giggles.

After their game, Danse goes back to fixing his Power Armor while Jas starts playing around with a bouncy ball.

Eventually, he gets back up and searches for the girl to get her inside for the night.

He finds her sitting on top of an old garage playing on her Pip-Boy.

Jasmine claims she isn’t tired, so he tells her to run laps around the settlement with him.

She goes for much longer than he originally expected.

He's almost tired out himself by the time Jazzy finally starts slowing down.

Danse: “Ready to turn in for the night?”

Jasmine: “M’kay...”

To another surprise, she jumps up into his arm while she sleepily yawns.

He shuffles back to their chosen house for the night to set her down in front of the bathroom to change.

Jazzy is barely able to hobble in and slip into her pajamas before she collapses onto the sofa in a deep sleep.

Danse quietly does alterations to his guns on the other side of the room while she sleeps.

Jumping up in a pure panic when Jas starts crying out in her sleep.

Poor guy doesn’t know what to do in that moment other than awkwardly start patting her shoulder with some reassurance that it was alright.

Amazingly, this works and she doesn’t wake up sobbing at him for once.

You might as well have given Danse a million caps, cause he feels overly accomplished like he just had finished a successful mission.

He is still wide awake when Nick walks in at around 3:00am, politely greeting him and stating that the day was a success.

Hancock:

First Hancock must endure a series of exams and tests by Nick to ensure that he is not high/drug and sane enough to take on the job.

Nick is a prewar cop, he knows what he is looking for in the Mayor.

Once he is satisfied with the results, he gives Hancock one last glare before leaving.

The Ghoul strides over to the teen who is bouncing a kickball against a wall.

Hancock: “Okay little sister, it’s just you and me here for now. Whatcha wanna do first?”

Jazzy holds up a jump rope out of nowhere with a small smile.

She ties one end to a fence, and take ahold of the other while gesturing for him to take place in the center.

It takes Hancock a good few tries before he can jump over the rope at a reasonable pace, and Jas starts singing a rhyme to start a game.

Jasmine: “Ice cream soda, cherry on top, who’s your lover, I forgot. Is it A, B, C, D, E, F-…”

Hancock trips and falls flat face on P.

The first name that pops in both of their heads is Piper.

Although something tells Jasmine that she would be horribly disgusted by this.

But Hancock is hysterically cackling face down on the ground and says that its a “sign” from above.

Jasmine: “Please don’t tell her that Hancock, if you value your life…”

He stands up and offers to swap out places with the girl for the next turn.

Jas decides to choose a little harder skip rope song for herself.

Jasmine: “Texaco, Texaco, Over the hill to Mexico, Where they do the splits, splits, splits. And do high kicks, kicks, kicks. And turn around, round, round. And touch the ground, ground, ground. And get outta town, town, town. And get back in, in, in. And do a little spin, spin, spin. And do it all over again..”

By the end of the third time, she carried out each extra movement perfectly, leaving the Ghoul jaw-dropped.

Jasmine: “To be fair, I had more practice on the schoolyard playground.”

She doesn’t think it’s too impressive, but he is still in astonishment for some reason.

After a few rounds of different jump rope games, Hancock realizes they should probably go find something to eat.

They basically run around the entire settlement and take up anything edible that they could get ahold of.

Jasmine slams it all together to make a casserole that smells heavenly in the oven.

Hancock piles together all the sweet rolls and sugar bombs to make an almost cake for dessert.

Hancock: “You think that you're gonna get sick with all this food?”

Jasmine: “Nah, I’m feeling pretty upbeat right now, so I think I’m in the clear.”

Nope! She vomits moments later and crumbles onto the floor in pure defeat.

Hancock kneels besides her and slowly rubs her back until she calms down a little.

Jasmine: “Fuck my life…”

Hancock: “Aww, don’t say that. It’s just a little momentary mishap.”

Big brother Hancock will fight death itself to hype her back up again.

He just starts singing overly exaggerated covers of her favorite songs until the girl starts bursting with laughter.

Hancock: “So bongo, bongo, bongo, I don't want to leave the congo, Oh no no no no no!!!!”

No one can keep a straight enough face to that, especially when he starts dancing to it. (Imagine that for a second)

Soon enough, he’s helping a beaming giggly Jazzy up, fixing her hair, and leading her to the living room.

Hancock brings out Blast Radius for them to play for the remainder of the day.

It was immediately agreed that the original rules were too plain and boring.

So they came up with their own wacky twists to spice things up.

Hancock: “Ooop baby sister, now you gotta do a handstand while singing Yankee Doodle!!”

Jasmine: “I can’t concentrate if you keep giggling like a Dimwit!!”

They both progressively get more and more tired with each new round, but are having too much fun to turn in for the night.

Thats how Nick found them upon his arrival.

Passed on the floor in front of their unfinished game with Jasmine curled up in Hancocks arms.

He chuckles and slowly picks them both up, fondly tucking them into bed.

X6:

To the surprise of most, he is one of the best babysitters out of the group.

My dude takes the job to his heart and God help anyone who tries to get near the girl.

He watches Jazzy from a distance while she messes around with throwing a boomerang back and forth.

Jas ends up doing cartwheels and flips to catch the boomerang with her feet or midair while jumping.

He only intervenes with her game when a two wild Yao Guai appear and one of them snaps the toy in its jaws, leading Jasmine attempting to tackle it.

She doesn’t like it when things that make her happy are stripped away and she is determined to express that.

The Courser scoops Jas up and carries her away before she starts a brawl, being one of the few who can actually do this without dying even if she kicks and protests.

X6: “You can’t start a tussle with them and expect to win without a mark.”

Jasmine: (Demonic screeching and hissing)

No. She isn’t very happy when she is set down on a lawn chair a block away and she makes it very clear.

Jasmine: “I totally would’ve won that fight!”

X6 patiently tells her to wait there while he goes back and exact vengeance on her behalf by exterminating the two Yao Guais.

Returning with blood on his coat and casually stating that they should find something to eat.

He has zero idea how to cook something that is meant to be flavorful and appetizing.

So he walks up to any motherly/fatherly looking settler and states “The child needs sustenance,” while offering them a handful of caps to cook Jas something.

The entire time said settler is preparing the meal, X6 is watching menacingly from the sidelines to ensure they don’t slip anything suspicious into the food. (Poor settler person was shaking like a tree)

He hands the plate to the teen and simply says “Consume.”

And my girl can’t argue with that logic so she willfully does.

Later on Jazzy ends up throwing up behind a tree and she starts crying from it.

X6 is done about to go strangulate the settler with his bare hands then set their house and every possession they owned ablaze.

Jasmine physically stops him and hastily explains that it wasn’t their fault.

He still has a murderous look and grumble even after the reasoning.

Instead Jas asks him to help her with something once she is sure that he isn’t going to commit homicide and arson.

X6 says nothing, letting her take his hand and drag him away from a very terrified group of people that had gathered around.

They sit down at a picnic table outside a shack and Jazzy starts teaching him how to do origami with scrap paper.

She starts with the simpler ones like the fortune teller and the paper boat.

X6 gets really intrigued by this pastime and memorizes each set of instructions the girl shows him.

He gets overly frustrated on the swan, not able to get the smaller folds or the wings perfectly even.

Each imperfect model he makes gets excessively burned to ashes.

The settlers walking by are very confused and disturbed, wondering if it's some kind of passive threat.

It probably is.

The moment it turns 9:45, X6 suddenly looks up from his work.

X6: “You should get ready for sleep now, no arguments.”

Kinda scary when he talks because it’s pitch dark with only Jazzy's pink Pipboy light glowing.

The girl is not intimidated though.

After careful consideration, X6 finds and leads her to the safest and warmest place in the entire settlement.

Bro ain’t messing around, he does half a dozen security laps around the settlement before coming back to start up a fire.

He straight up almost melts inside at the sight of the girl in adorable fluffy pink pajamas and clutching her stuffed bear to her chest.

X6 hastily stands up from setting up a fire and states that he will give the perimeter another once over, leaving with his rifle drawn. (Nothing will hurt the precious child on his watch)

Upon his return, Jas is already falling asleep curled up sweetly on a sofa.

So he takes post on the other side of the room by the window and door, giving her a glance every now and then.

When she starts thrashing in her sleep a few hours later, he carefully walks over and strokes her head until she calms down, muttering soft words of comfort.

X6: “It’s alright starlight. You are out of harms way here… I will protect you.” (She awoke long enough to hear that. Awwww)

If anyone barges in during this moment or wakes Jas up, they will never see the light of day again.

Nick returns early in the morning to find his daughter cozied up and peacefully asleep.

He gets a fully detailed report on the entire day from the moment he left from X6.

(I wanted to do all the companions in one but it got way too long so I had to split it sorry)

#Idk who would be considered the best sitter out of the group.#They all did good in their own way.#Only two of them didn’t get Jas in bed on time.#The Deacon one is pure chaos and I love it.#You can’t even really tell what’s going on.#fallout #fo4 #fallout 4 #fallout oc #fallout companions #paladin danse #danse fo4 #fo4 danse #danse #deacon fallout 4 #fallout 4 companions #x6 88 #piper wright

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astraphone · 2 years

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wayfarer microfic challenge, part 3

prompts taken from here! pt 1, pt 2

Travel

As their ship pulls into Rona's harbor, Sereia isn’t overly impressed with what she sees.

“It doesn’t look like much,” she comments.

Leaning against the railing next to her, Aeran raises an eyebrow. “That doesn’t sound like you, Reia. Where’s your sense of adventure?”

Traveling was always one of Sereia’s favorite parts of being a Wayfarer. She loves the thrill of a new horizon—even the swampy ones that look like they’re about to fall into the sea.

But she much preferred it when she had somewhere to return home to. She is tired these days, and she sometimes finds herself dreaming of a place to rest, not a new adventure.

Saying as much to Aeran will not go over well, though. You’d think something was chasing him, he’s so reluctant to stay still lately.

Sereia doesn’t fault him for it; she’s familiar enough with trying to outrun ghosts. She forces a smile. “You’re right. Let’s see what we can make of it.”

Shoes

Aeran comes home from the market to find Sereia diligently scrubbing mud off her boots.

“Feels a bit futile, in this rain,” he remarks.

“Mind your business,” Sereia says without looking up. Her tone is light enough, but there’s an edge to her voice that tells Aeran not to push it.

“I’m just saying,” he shrugs anyway, because he’s Sereia’s best friend and can get away with it. “We live in a swamp. We’re surrounded by mud. Embrace it.”

“I will not,” Sereia says primly. “A little effort into your appearance goes a long way, you know. You should try it sometime.”

She sounds so much like Varyn sometimes. He’s about to make fun of her for it, but then he notices that her hands are shaking, just a bit.

Sereia tries to hide how much she hates Rona, but Aeran knows her better than that. The dirt constantly caking her boots is just another reminder that they’re stuck in this place.

Aeran may not be able to get them out of Rona, but he can help with this, at least. He holds out a hand. “Here. Let me help.”

Sereia looks at him, furrowing her brow like she does when she’s trying to get a read on him. It scares him sometimes, how easily she does it.

Finally, she nods and hands him a shoe. “Thanks, Aeran,” she says quietly.

They work in pleasant silence, and when they’re done, Sereia’s hands are steady.

Sleeping

Sereia does not dream often, but when she does, it’s almost always of the Spire.

She may not have seen the Spire fall, but her subconscious is excellent at imagining it for her. Some nights she wakes with the clashing of weapons and the screams of the people she loved so much echoing through her head.

But other nights Sereia dreams of it as it was, or as it might still be if everything hadn’t gone so horribly wrong. These dreams are bittersweet, but not unwelcome, and for the first few seconds before awareness returns to her, she remembers what it feels like to be home.

She’ll gladly stomach the nightmares, in exchange for those few blissful moments of the world feeling right again.

Darkness

Sereia is generally of the opinion that the best revenge is moving on. As such, she does not dream of vengeance. Of finding survivors, of salvaging what she can and someday rebuilding something from the ashes, but never of revenge.

This is true for five years, until she sits on a barge with the Grand Archsage and finds herself thinking if we ever find proof that your order killed mine, there will be no place in this world where you are safe from me.

She plays nice, of course. It’s what she does best. Let them think you’re charming and open and willing to bend to their whims. Don’t let them see what dark thing lurks beneath the sunny surface until it’s too late. Then go for the throat.

So she smiles politely and answers his questions and even draws her sword for him. If Quirinus falls for it—if he sees her as a curious oddity, not a viper biding her time before striking—that’s his mistake.

First light

“Reia.” Sereia knows instantly that it’s too early. There is no light streaming into their tiny apartment as Aeran shakes her awake.

“I think we should get started early today,” Aeran says by way of explanation. “If Nalos wants to see us tonight…”

He doesn’t need to finish the sentence. They have made little progress on their contract, and their employer revels in violence. Meeting with the Count as things stand right now is likely a death sentence.

Sereia sits up, blinking sleep out of her eyes. “Yeah. Let’s get to it, then.”

They get ready in silence, but Sereia can practically feel dread radiating off of Aeran. She grabs his shoulder and smiles as he meets her eyes, hoping to alleviate some of his unease. “Hey. We have leads to follow. We’re going to figure it out.”

After a minute, Aeran returns her smile with a small one of his own. “And then we’re going to get out of this shithole.”

Outside their window, the sky is beginning to lighten. This could be taken for a bad sign; every hour will be crucial today. But Sereia, despite everything, is still an optimist at heart.

Another dawn. One day closer to a better future. She will make sure of it.

“Come on,” she says. “There’s a lot to do, and the sun is rising.”

#wayfarer if #wayfarer fic #wayfarer #WOOOOOOOAH WE'RE HALFWAY THEEEEEERE #this was a hard one. shoes prompt my beloathed #but we got there #gonna put these on ao3 eventually but i wanna wait until they're all done so i can organize a bit #cleo writes #sereia varyn

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percontaion-points · 1 year

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Covet chapters 64-67

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 64

It’s difficult, though, especially with the specter of Cyrus breathing down Hudson’s and my necks. And why he wants us off the chessboard so badly.

I kind of have the same opinion about all adults in YA novels who are obsessed with teenage girls. Like… bro. Chris Hanson is here to see you.

Heather still hasn’t texted me since I told her not to come to Katmere for a visit, and that hurts even more today. I thought maybe she would break her silence to wish me a happy birthday, but she hasn’t. She is really pissed.

I know that Heather is barely a character… but still. It’s barely been a year since Grace’s parents died. Did it ever occur to Heather that her friend is going through a lot of shit?

It isn’t until much later, back in my own room with Macy, that I realize Hudson never gave me my second present.

Chapter 64 summary: Two days have passed since they escaped back to the school. In that time, in between cramming for finals, Grace worries about everything that’s going on recently.

She goes down to another study group in Hudson’s room, only for them to throw her a surprise party for her 18th birthday. Most of the chapter is glossed-over party stuff, which I’m not going to get into. Jaxon gives her the Klimt that was hanging in his room in the first book, and Grace says that it’s way too much.

Chapter 65

“This,” he snarls, right before he slams his mouth down on mine.

Chapter 65 summary: Grace aces two of her finals, but she still feels like she’s going to flunk her history test. Jaxon had promised to tutor her, but things have been feeling more and more weird between them recently. So she asks Hudson for help instead.

They meet up at the front doors, and he says that it’s so nice outside, they should go out and study instead. He gives her his jacket, so that she doesn’t have to go back to her room to get her own.

They go outside where they talk about history for exactly two seconds before they start fighting again. I don’t give a shit about what they’re fighting about, because I don’t give a shit about them.

Hudson goes to leave, but Grace stops him. He tells her that she’ll regret it if she doesn’t move out of his way. When she challenges him as to what he’d even do to her, he kisses her.

Chapter 66

They send flames racing down my spine, burning through my body. They melt me from the inside, turn my blood to lava and my knees to ashes and still it’s not enough.

Please let the record state that we got two goddamned pages about how kissing Hudson made her feel.

TWO.

FULL.

PAGES.

After another minute of squeezing, he opens his hand and, where there once was a chunk of carbon, there is now a diamond—and not just any diamond. This one has to be at least five carats.

You know what? Fucking fine. Vampires can squeeze a rock so hard that a perfectly cut and polished diamond comes out? WHY THE FUCK NOT.

“You’re very, very welcome.” His grin turns softer, more intimate, more…vulnerable than I’ve ever seen it. At least until he reaches for my backpack and says, “Now, about those Witch Trials…”

Chapter 66 summary: Anyway, after those aforementioned pages where they finally stop kissing each other, Grace says some stuff about wanting to get to know Hudson better. That she feels bad that he knows everything about her, but what little she does know is tied around his shitty father.

He says that he has a second present for her, and invites her to pick out an ordinary rock. She does, and then he squeezes the rock so hard that a goddamned perfectly cut and polished diamond pops out. THAT MIGHT AS WELL HAPPEN, TOO.

Hudson then reminds her that they should get back to studying for her history final.

Chapter 67

“I need to go home this weekend.” He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. “And I want you to come with me.”

Chapter 67 summary: Grace finishes with her finals. Outside of her last classroom, she runs into Flint, who was waiting for her. He invites her to go flying with him, which she does. Most of this chapter is nothing but “Plot? What plot? We’re on page 361/874.” Then in the literal last line, he says that he needs to go home that weekend, and wants Grace to come with him.

#Crave series #Covet (Crave 3)#Chapter 64 #chapter 65 #chapter 66 #chapter 67 #Cyrus Vega #shitty adults are shitty #chris hansen #random background characters are random #Grace (Crave)#Shitty friends are shitty #Hudson Vega #jaxon vega #padding padding everywhere and no story to be found #editors? who are they!#this might as well happen #Flint (Crave)#plot? what plot?

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elenadeveraux · 3 years

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Ashwini: This may shock you but not everyone here likes you

Janvier: Sounds ridiculous

#who am i kidding everyone loves janvier #ash is just saying it because he was nice to her for five seconds and she doesn’t know how to deal #love these idiots #ashwini taj #janvier x ashwini #janvier #archangel’s shadows #guild hunter #guild hunter series #nalini singh #gh meme #guild hunter meme

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syllvane · 3 years

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home- yelena belova x reader

a/n: wrote this whole thing in about an hour, black widow spoilers obviously!

Yelena doesn’t know what home means.

For a time, it meant Ohio, a life with her sister and her parents. It meant playgrounds and mac n cheese and American Pie.

For much longer, it was blades and guns and a ledger soaked with red.

Now, it was you. It was taking her coffee the exact way you took it so that you could reach over and take a sip of her mug when you didn’t think she was looking. It was the way you woke up every time she woke up from a nightmare, always being there to reassure her that she was still in control, that the Red Room was gone. It was the little sticky notes the two of you left around the apartment, the little reminders of your love.

It was home, at least until you had woken up one day to a pile of dust next to you instead of your girlfriend.

You didn’t know what it had meant- why would you have? You thought maybe that she had accidentally burned breakfast maybe or that there was a hole in your ceiling. You thought of everything except what had actually had happened.

The apartment changes slowly, as you and the world around you realize that this is permanent. That this is a nightmare you won’t wake up from.

You can’t even remember the last words the two of you said to each other- ‘I love you’, probably, or maybe discussing the next day, time you didn’t realize the two of you didn’t have.

You reach out to Natasha and when you tell her, you see your own grief mirrored on her face- in her defense though, she doesn’t start bawling as you had.

Her grief is stoic and stray tears. Yours is sobbing and nightmares, waking up and reaching over to the other side of the bed for someone who isn’t there.

You don’t think you’ll ever get the feeling of her ashes off of your fingers.

Five years pass slowly, dragging you and everyone else who was desperately clinging to the past along with it.

You help dissolve what is left of the Black Widow agents, giving them the freedom that Yelena had always longed to give them.

You vow that Yelena’s mission won’t die with her.

You’re making dinner when you hear footsteps coming from your bedroom.

You grab the gun that Yelena always kept behind the pots, turning around and pointing only to see the woman herself standing there, taking in everything.

She faltered for a second before smiling.

“Is it a crime to oversleep now?” Yelena asked, her eyes never leaving yours.

She looks exactly like you remember her.

“You can’t be real.”

“If that’s the start of some cheesy pick-up line, I am going to walk out of that door,” She said, although there was no real threat behind the words. You set the gun down.

She could be a stray Widow, luring you into comfort before ultimately killing you.

At that moment though, you don’t really care.

It’s been five long years and you are tired and so you run over to where she is standing and you hug her tightly as if she will simply disappear through your hands again.

“Woah! What’s the occasion? Is it our anniversary or something, is that why you were holding the gun?” She asked and you didn’t respond.

“It’s you,” You said, tucking your face into her shoulder. “You’re back.”

Yelena pulled a face, not that you saw.

“Back? Where did I go?”

That was genuine confusion in her voice- she had no idea that she and half of the Earth’s population had disappeared for five years.

“Just don’t go there again, please. Just don’t go where I can’t follow.”

She doesn’t say anything- she doesn’t fully understand why you’re sobbing into her neck, but that doesn’t matter right now.

There will be plenty of time to talk about it afterwards but for now, she does one of the things she’s always been best at and she just holds you.

The excitement of Yelena returning is overshadowed a few days later by the news of Natasha’s death.

“We won’t… we won’t even have a body to bury,” Yelena said, her eyes welling up with tears as you held her, and you are reminded of your own grief in the first couple days after she had disappeared.

This time though, you do not cry.

You wanted to- Natasha had become one of your closest friends in the five years that you had lost Yelena. Your loss bound the two of you together in ways you hadn’t thought possible.

You wanted to and you do not because this is Yelena’s grief first and foremost and it is yours second.

You will not cry in front of a woman who has just lost her sister. Instead, you will hold her close and you will tell her stories of her sister from the past five years, five years that you had refused to speak about.

“She loved you so much, Yelena. She wasn’t the best at showing it, but she loved you so much.”

“Then why didn’t she stay?” Yelena asked, her voice breaking as she started crying again.

You didn’t answer, mostly because you didn’t have a good reason.

Clint Barton had told you over the phone that one of their lives had to be sacrificed and that Natasha gave her life so that he could return to his family.

That was all perfectly well and nice, but you wanted to scream at him: What about us? What about Yelena? What about Melina, Alexei? What about her family?

You didn’t though. He would have to live with her death for the rest of his life, knowing that he was only alive because she wasn’t. Maybe that would have to be enough.

“Cause she’s a hero. I don’t know. I know it’s selfish, but I need you to promise me something. Promise me that if the world needs saving and it’s your life on the line, you’ll turn around and come home to me,” You said, running your hands through her hair. “The world can burn for all I care. I just need you safe.”

“I promise. No going where you can’t follow,” She replied, repeating your words from the first night that she had returned.

There is no body to bury but there is still a funeral, still a gravestone to visit.

“I don’t want to go alone,” Yelena said, straightening the hem of her shirt in the mirror.

“You won’t be,” You promised her and she took your hand and the two of you drove to the cemetery.

Her grave was recognizable- it was covered with flowers and stuffed bears and candles.

She was renowned by so many and grieved by many more, though none as much as the two of you.

Yelena doesn’t know how to approach it- she froze when she saw it, rooted to the ground.

“I don’t think I can do this,” She said, her voice barely a whisper. “Not yet.”

“Okay. We can stay as long as you want.”

She grabbed your hand and you held on tightly.

“Don’t leave me.”

“Never.”

The two of you look at the other gravestones for about an hour before Yelena finally garners up the courage to go to Natasha’s.

She kneeled, setting the flowers down gently among the others. She seemed to freeze for another moment before her fingers began tracing a word on the gravestone: ‘sister’.

Her hand clapped over her mouth and she leaned back.

You sat next to her as she started crying again, your hand finding hers again.

Yelena didn’t know what home meant for the longest time- it was deception and Russian taught in secret and filling scrapbooks with memories manufactured in one day.

It was scalpels and guns and dead bodies and broken bones and targets. It was sniper rifles and explosives.

It was sitting at her sister's gravestone with your hand in hers, sitting with her until dusk, crying. It was waking up to your nightmares, you holding her tightly until you stopped crying, realizing that she was still here.

It was Natasha’s red hair and her fighting poses and it was your smile and laugh.

It was grief and love, it was her sister and it was you.

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masterofmunson · 3 years

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look after you (1)

TFATWS Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader

Summary: Sam asks you to join him and Bucky on a mission in Madripoor. When you get injured, Bucky feels the need to remind you more than once that he’s supposed to look after you now that Steve’s gone.

Warnings: tfatws spoilers, language, violence, blood, grief, angst, major pining

Word Count: 6k+

Author’s Note: Here she is!! I’m really excited to see what you guys think! This is my first Bucky fic in AGES! I decided to make this into a mini series since this fic is so long haha. Please let me know what you think. Comments, reblogs, and asks are highly encouraged and appreciated! Enjoy!

You hadn’t seen Sam or Bucky in several weeks. You were still adjusting to life post-blip. It had been a long five years for you and just seconds for them. You were no longer the bright-eyed and bushy tailed recruit. You’d grown into your position amongst the established and experienced Avengers. Now, it meant nothing.

Tony’s gone. Steve’s dead, Natasha too. The Avengers had officially disbanded. You felt lost and confused, still blinded by your grief over losing them. You had nowhere to go, so you just floated from place to place as needed.

You were laying low and a shell of the person you once were. You had no one to look towards anymore. Bucky went his separate ways and got some sort of footing in New York City with the pardon he was given by the government since his return to the states. You checked in every now and then with him, but you didn’t want to slow down his progress so you distanced yourself from him.

You know he feels some sort of responsibility towards you. Steve did too, and you suppose now that he’s gone, Bucky feels the need to take his place. It doesn’t matter that you’re no longer the naive 23 year old he met in Berlin all those years ago. It doesn’t matter that there was something lingering between the two of you before he turned to ash. You’re a grown woman now and war and politics has hardened your soul.

He needs to move on from you. The version he has of you in his head is gone, dead. He wants a fresh start, and you can’t give it to him.

Sam checks in with you once in a while. He asks you how you’re doing and you respond the same each time. “Same shit, different day,” you laughed lightly.

He knows better than to ask you to join him on his missions with the military. You’re not in the right headspace to return to the field, least of all if it meant that you were representing the US government wherever the fight was.

Now that John Walker has the shield and has been branded the new Captain America, it gives you all the more reason to stay away. If he had so much as just breathed in your direction, you’d kill him and rip the shield from his grasp and return it to Sam.

You ignored all emails and phone calls that had to do with John Walker. He wanted your blessing on live television, as if that meant anything. Yes, you were close with Steve, but you’re not an original Avenger. You just caught his eye during training one day and he took you under his wing. John Walker just wanted to create a bridge between the two of you since Sam and Bucky were obviously out of the question.

You were the first person Sam called when he told you he was giving up the shield. You didn’t ask why. You knew he had his reasons and you respected him to accept that whatever the reasons were, they were good enough.

So, when Sam called in the middle of the night, you picked up the phone without a second thought. Rubbing the sleep from your eyes, you sit up and fumble for the light on the nightstand beside you.

“Sam? You do realize it’s three in the morning, right?” you asked, yawning into your phone.

Sam curses in your ear and apologizes quietly. “Sorry. You would think with all this traveling, I’d remember time zones are a thing,” he laughed softly.

“What is it, Sam?”

“We’re in a bit of a tight spot. We could use your help.”

Your brows pinch together. “Who’s we, Sam?”

“Me and Barnes.”

Your heart jumps inside your throat. How the hell did Sam manage to rope Bucky into whatever he’s doing? The last you heard, Bucky wasn’t allowed to go on government missions until his therapist thought he made enough progress to do so. You know he’s nowhere near the progress he wants to be, so how is he with Sam?

“Jesus, Sam. You know he’s not in the right headspace to go on missions!” There’s a heavy pause between the two of you before you relent. “Where am I meeting you?”

“Latvia. I’ll fill you in when you get here.”

You hang up quickly and hurry out of bed. After so many years of getting up at odd hours for emergency missions and the like, you’re not surprised that Sam asked you to meet him in the middle of the night. You grab your duffle bag and stuff all your belongings back inside. You travel lightly, and now it definitely seemed to work out in your favor.

You’ve spent the last couple of weeks in a small town just outside of Helena, Montana. It’s nice and quiet and you’ve really taken the time to reflect on your life since things started going back to normal post-blip. The locals are nice and hospitable, and no one asks you about Steve, Tony, or what you thought of John Walker. You hope it had something to do with the fact that they didn’t know who you were. You certainly hoped that was the case. You’ve kept your head down and tried your best to blend in.

You go hiking quite frequently and take drives through the mountains. It’s nice and relaxing, a far cry from what you’re used to. You’ll definitely miss it, and you have second thoughts about meeting up with Sam, but you push them away. Steve abandoned you both, and you wouldn’t do that to him.

It takes you several hours to get to the closest international airport and by the time you arrive, the sun begins to rise in the distance. You hurry through the airport security and send Sam a quick update that you’re about to board your flight before you settle in your seat and fall back asleep.

....

You sleep through the entire flight. You blame it on your ability to sleep anywhere due to the number of missions you have under your belt. You’re wide awake when the plane lands and you’re quick to pull out your phone and send a message to Sam that you’ve made it safe and sound to Latvia.

Your legs are stiff and sore when you stand up for the first time when it’s time to leave. You pull your duffle bag from the overhead compartment and slowly make your way to the front. It takes you nearly an hour to get through customs and now you’re just anxiously waiting to see Sam.

When you see him waiting for you at the baggage claim area, you grin as your eyes meet. You hurry over to him and drop your duffle bag to the floor as he pulls you in for a hug. It’s warm and tight and it’s exactly what you need. Sam pulls away first and reaches for your bag, throwing an arm over your shoulder as you walk out of the airport to his car.

You stop walking when you notice two figures near a very fancy yellow car as you and Sam near them. Sam keeps walking and you take slow, tentative steps. You know one of the figures has to be Bucky, but Sam never mentioned a third person.

“Sam, I thought you said that it was just you and Bucky,” you said cautiously.

Sam stops in his tracks and lets out a nervous chuckle and scratches the back of his head. It makes your heart race and you swallow the lump in your throat as they begin to come into focus as they near the two of you. “Y/n, before you get angry, I just need you to know that this wasn’t my idea. Believe me when I tell you that he is the last person we would ask for help,” Sam replied as his eyes went from you to the two people approaching.

“Who is he?” you asked through gritted teeth.

“Ah! Y/n, good to know that your flight went rather smoothly. It is good to see you again.”

No. There’s no way. You must be dreaming. Hemlut Zemo is not standing right in front of you. He is in prison. He is behind bars for the crimes he committed. The two men that you're closest to wouldn’t jailbreak someone as atrocious as Zemo. There has to be an explanation. It doesn’t make sense.

“What the fuck is Zemo doing out of prison?!” you hissed, looking between Bucky and Sam, demanding an explanation.

“Y/n, honey, I can explain, just please get in the car,” Bucky pleaded, reaching out to touch your hand.

You glare at him and take a step back. “Are you out of your mind, Bucky? You break him out of jail because you need him, is that it? Do you remember what he did to you, because I certainly do!”

Bucky frowns and lets out a deep and heavy sigh. He looks over at Sam. “Did you fill her in at all?”

“No!” you shouted. “I can speak for myself, James! Someone better start talking and tell me what the hell is going on!”

“We don’t really have time for this right now,” Zemo interrupts, “we really must be going. I’m sure Sam and James can fill you in in the car.”

You glare at the Sokovian terrorist and snap at him. “Shut your mouth, Zemo.”

He raises his hands up in surrender and takes a step back. Bucky towers over you and this time you let him take your hand. He squeezes it gently and pulls you into his chest, hugging you tightly. You’re tense and fuming as he holds you.

His mouth finds the shell of your ear and despite the wave of anger flowing through your body, it sends a shiver down your spine. Bucky whispers, “I hate to say it, but Zemo’s right. We have to go. I’ll explain on the way, I promise.”

You huff childishly and turn your head away from him as he kisses your temple. “Fine. If he steps out of line, I’ll kill him.”

Bucky laughs and takes your hand and walks you to the car. “Get in line, honey. Sam and I have first dibs.”

You resist the urge to smile and Bucky opens the door for you as Sam tosses your bag in the trunk and climbs into the front seat. Bucky slides in beside you and he tells you everything.

He tells you about their first encounter with the Flag Smashers. He tells you about how the leader and a few of her followers have taken a newer version of the serum that runs through his veins. He tells you that she plans on giving the serum to more people to build an army and that you have to stop her.

It makes your heart stop. You hadn’t really been keeping tabs on the Flag Smashers. Now, looking back, you probably should have. There’s still a lot of unknown variables to account for and it looks like the boys are taking it one step at a time, and apparently it starts with a trip to Madripoor. Zemo chimes in every now and then as he drives and it makes your blood boil that you’re forced to listen to what he has to say. You hate that he has the upper hand and is keeping valuable information hostage. You want to strangle him.

After a while, Zemo pulls into a private airport. Bucky helps you out of the car and grabs your bag from the trunk as the four of you walk towards the jet just off the runway. You had no idea just how rich Zemo was. Now that he’s out of prison, for now at least, his arrogance returned back in full force in addition to his pompous attitude.

You board the plane in silence, ignoring every word coming out of the Baron’s mouth. You settle in the back of the plane and ignore Bucky’s stares as you look out the window. You’re too angry to engage in conversation. You don’t care that Zemo insults Steve’s legacy. He’s gone, dead, what do you care? Yes, you wanted Steve to be happy, but he abandoned you. He abandoned Sam and Bucky.

Zemo rambles on and on. “People like Steve become symbols, icons. Then we start to forget about their flaws. From there, cities fly, innocent people die. Movements are formed, wars are fought,” he turns to address Bucky directly. “You remember that, right? As a young soldier sent to Germany to stop a mad icon. Do we want to live in a world full of people like the Red Skull?”

Silence fills the space and for a moment, you feel a reprieve. That was until Zemo mentioned the Winter Soldier.

“We can’t go into Madripoor as ourselves. James, you will have to become someone you claim is gone.”

You immediately stand up and protest, storming to the front of the plane. “No. Absolutely not. I won’t let you use Bucky, not again. There has to be another way.”

Zemo clicks his tongue at you and shakes his head. A smug graces his features and you lung at him, wrapping your hands around his throat. “I’ll fucking kill you!”

Bucky leaps to his feet and tears you off of Zemo, dragging you to the back of the plane behind the curtains to give the two of you an illusion of privacy. Your shoulders shake with rage and Bucky’s hands caress your face.

“You can’t be him. He’s not you anymore. You don’t have to do this, Bucky. Please,” you begged, clinging to his hands. “I can’t let Zemo control you again.”

Bucky’s touched with how protective you are over him. He pulls you closer and hugs you tightly against him. Your fingers grip the back of his shirt and he presses a gentle kiss to the top of your head.

“Honey,” he whispered. “I have to. I have to do this so we can stop the Flag Smashers from getting the serum. It’s for the mission.”

You huffed against his chest. Now you’re really regretting your decision to help Sam. You would’ve said no if you had known that it meant watching Bucky turn into the Winter Soldier again, even if it wasn’t real.

You don’t know what to say. He won’t change his mind. Bucky’s just as stubborn as you are and he’ll do anything for the success of the mission, just like Steve did.

You pull away and return back to your seat, crossing your arms over your chest as you stare into the back of Zemo’s plush leather seat. Bucky trails behind you and squeezes your shoulder. You shrug off his touch as he takes the empty seat next to yours.

“And, I’m afraid that where we’re going doesn’t take too kindly to women who are…. how do I put this…. strong willed,” Zemo said.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Bucky barked, jumping to your defense just moments after you did the same for him.

“Selby will see Y/n as competition. We can’t have that happen. She’ll have to stay behind.”

“You’re out of your mind if you think I’m just going to just sit here and do nothing,” you snapped. “I’m coming with. I don’t care if I have to pretend to be meek.”

Zemo turns to look at you. He’s challenging you. You both know it. He’s pushing your buttons and it’s working. He smirks and leans against the armchair. His eyebrows raise and he asks, “Even if it means pretending to be a prostitute?”

Your gaze doesn’t falter and you ignore both Sam’s and Bucky’s protests. It falls on deaf ears. You don’t care, as long as you’re with Sam and Bucky and they’re safe. “Yes,” you answered without a second thought. You’ve done worse things than pretend to be a sex worker. It would be a piece of cake.

Zemo grins, letting out a soft laugh. “It looks like you’ll be joining us after all then, Y/n.”

You scoff at him and look out the window. Bucky drags you from your seat once more and pulls you behind the curtain. You look away from him and he reaches to squeeze your hand.

“You don’t have to do this. You have nothing to prove,” he whispered, brushing the top of your palm with his warm and calloused fingers.

“You don’t either,” you mumbled back.

He smiles softly at your retort and pulls you into his arms. He holds you gently and cards his fingers through your hair. You hum quietly as he holds you.

“Touché, honey.”

There’s a beat of silence between the two of you before you lean back to meet his gaze. His blue eyes pierce through yours and it makes your heart race. You pull away and rub your palms against your thighs.

You disappear behind the curtain once more, leaving Bucky behind.

…

When you arrive in Madripoor, you’re dressed in an outfit that leaves little to the imagination. The dress has a plunging neckline that settles just below your naval. Your chest is barely covered and your boobs threaten to slip over the fabric. You’re dressed for the part, that’s for sure.

Zemo is the first one to look at you when you return from behind the curtain. He whistles at you and it makes your skin crawl.

Bucky shoves Zemo harshly and grips his chest tightly, snarling in his face. “Watch your mouth,” Bucky hissed, shoving him into one of the chairs.

He turns to look at you and you reach to squeeze his hand. You pull him away from Zemo and whisper softly, “It’s alright, Buck. Take a deep breath.”

He grits his teeth and shakes his head, and does what you ask. “I’ll kill him. If he does that again, I’ll kill him.”

You laugh softly and press a gentle kiss to his cheek. “I don’t doubt you will, Buck.”

The two of you trail behind Sam and Zemo as you leave the plane. A sleek black car is waiting just off the runway and you follow behind to the vehicle. When you settle into your spot in between Buck and Sam in the back, Zemo turns to look at the three of you.

“It’s imperative that we don’t break character, no matter what. If you do, we’re good as dead, understand?”

You scoff and roll your eyes as he looks towards you. “Crystal,” you snapped, crossing your arms over your chest.

He turns to face the front of the vehicle and silence fills the car.

Suddenly, a number of motorcycles surround the car as you drive into Low Town. you make sure to keep your eyes forward and Bucky reaches for the hand on your knee. He squeezes it tightly and you do the same.

Reality is now just setting in for you. This is the first mission that you’ve been on since Steve went back to the 40s, and since Tony died. It had been three long months since Tony saved the world and brought everyone back that was taken five years earlier. You know that three months isn’t long, but it still makes you nervous. You haven’t been training to keep things from going rusty. You had no desire to.

Bucky leans into you, his mouth near the shell of your ear. “You okay?”

You nodded, swallowing the lump in your throat. “Yeah, just a bit nervous. I’m a little out of practice. This is my first mission since Steve left,” you mumbled back, squeezing his hand again to keep you grounded. He does the same in return.

“It’s alright. I have your back. I’ll protect you, promise.”

A small smile finds its way onto your face and you shake your head at him. “You know better than anyone else than to promise something like that before a mission, Buck. It’s bad luck,” you teased.

He laughs too and the car stops in what you guess is the downtown area of Low Town. You take a deep breath and Bucky does the same. You squeeze his hand one last time before his hand falls from your grasp. He opens the door and climbs out. You follow close behind and find your spot next to Sam. He gingerly wraps his arm around your waist as you walk into the Princess Bar.

Electronic music blasts through the speakers and the bass vibrates through your chest. You press against Sam as you push through people to get to the bar. The smell of drugs and alcohol is suffocating as you walk and ignore the stares sent your way. They’re not staring at you, but Bucky, who walks just a step behind you like a looming shadow.

“Ready to comply, Winter Soldier?” Zemo asked Bucky in Russian.

It makes your blood boil and Sam squeezes your waist tightly, a reminder that you must not break character. You hate it. You hate that Bucky has to pretend to be the person he’s worked so hard to distance himself from. Bucky is not him. The Winter Soldier doesn’t exist anymore. That part of him is gone, dead. You only hope that Bucky reminds himself that the Winter Soldier isn’t him anymore as he pretends just feet behind you.

You stand in front of the bar counter as the bartender approaches. You keep your mouth shut as Zemo exchanges words with the man, briefly bringing Sam, the Smiling Tiger, into the conversation. Your eyes find Bucky’s and your heart jumps inside your throat. His eyes are cold and void of any emotion. He’s stoic and brooding. He’s fallen into character perfectly and it scares you to think that all the progress he’s made over the years has been destroyed in this moment. For his sake, you hope not.

You tear your eyes away from Bucky at the feeling of Sam’s hand on the curve of your ass. You watch him carefully as he takes a shot. The bartender moves on and you let out a careful breath.

A man grasps at Zemo’s shoulder and sneers at him. He looks over at Bucky as Zemo asks to see Selby before he walks away. Another man approaches Zemo from behind and he speaks in Russian once more. “Winter Soldier, attack.”

You hold your breath in anticipation as the unsuspecting man rests his hand on Zemo’s shoulder. You want to reach out and touch Bucky, tell him that he doesn’t have to, that the two of you still have time to make a run for it, but you don’t. You can’t. Zemo would probably try and kill you if you interfere and it’s the last thing you need.

Bucky stalks over to him with two long strides, and rips the man’s hand from Zemo’s shoulder. He twists his wrist back and throws him to the ground. Another man swings at Bucky and he stops it with ease. He punches his back and kicks him against another crowny. As another man attempts to punch and kick at Bucky. He uses his metal arm and momentum to take each of them out.

“It doesn’t take much for him to fall back into form,” Zemo smirked, leaning over to look at you and Sam.

“Shut your mouth,” you hissed between your teeth as you watched Bucky.

Bucky grabs one of the men by the throat and slams him into the counter. Guns cock all around you as you look around the room. Your heart is inside your throat and there’s ringing in your ears. You reach to grab Bucky’s arm, but Sam beats you to it.

“Stay in character or the whole bar turns on us,” Zemo whispered. “Well done, soldier.”

Sam lets go of his arm and takes a step back, pulling you with him. He squeezes your hip tightly as you watch Bucky’s grip fall from the man’s throat.

“Selby will see you now,” the bartender said.

Zemo moves to follow him and you resist the urge to reach out and touch Bucky. Sam pulls you along and you walk in silence down a number of hallways. The music fades into the background and you’re squeezing Sam’s hand like your life depends on it.

A number of men on Selby’s security detail whistle as you walk by. You bite your tongue and resist the urge to snap their necks. The four of you wait at the door at the end of the hall for several seconds before it opens. You walk inside and Zemo takes you from Sam’s side. Your jaw ticks as he guides you to the empty sofa. His hand settles on your thigh and you tense under his touch.

Zemo and Selby negotiate for information. All you need to know is who created the serum and where they are. That’s it. Zemo needs to stick to the plan.

Zemo stands up from his spot next to you. “Tell us what you know about the super soldier serum, and I give you him…. along with the code words to control him,” Zemo stands behind Bucky, his hand resting on his shoulder. He’s silent and obedient, the perfect encapsulation of who he had been for the last 80 years.

There wasn’t a discussion over what the offer would be when you were on the plane from Latvia. You just assumed Zemo would figure a way out of it, he was clever enough to do it before. You hadn’t thought that he would actually use the Winter Soldier to his benefit outside of protection. How naive of you.

Bucky’s eyes are dark and he stares straight ahead as Zemo caresses his chin. He doesn’t flinch or react. He’s playing the Winter Soldier perfectly and you hate every second. You bite the inside of your cheek so hard that you start to taste blood.

“He will do anything you want.”

Selby grins, leaning back in her spot on the couch opposite of you. She tells him what you need to know. She nears Sam and then the worst happens, his phone begins to ring.

She tells him to answer it and your fingers squeeze into the leather couch. Your heart races and for the first time since you walked into the bar, Bucky’s eyes find yours. You know he can see your panic.

Things are fine momentarily. Sam’s trying his best to stay in character and you know it’s not working as well as he’d like. You hold your breath and your panic settles in at the mention of Sam’s name coming from Sarah.

“Kill them—”

Your eyes widen in horror as a bullet pierces through the glass window in front of you and lodges into Selby’s throat, killing her instantly. The act is over.

You leap to your feet and pull the tactical knife that you hid in your dress out from underneath you. You slice the knife across your attacker’s arm. Bucky kicks him into the wall and grabs you by the arm.

You run as fast as you can out the bar and through the streets of Madripoor. You dodge bullets and fight off others that attack you with knives.

You do well, all things considered with what you’re dressed in. You dig your heel into the boot of your attacker, throwing them off balance. You kick their leg out from underneath them and Sam knocks them unconscious.

Bucky, of course, is doing just fine on his own. You run over to help. You disarm the man closer to you and use the butt of the gun to knock him out.

You barely have time to register the man creeping up behind Bucky. His arm is outstretched with a gun in his hand. Bucky has no clue.

“Bucky!” you screamed at the top of your lungs, running as fast as you can towards him.

He turns to look at you as you use your whole body to shove him aside as the gun goes off.

Time stands still.

You fall to the ground in a daze as the bullet rips through your shoulder. Your eyes stare up into the night sky as it takes you a moment to realize that you’d just been shot.

You try to sit up and get back on your feet. You don’t have time to worry about your wound. You need to get the hell out of Low Town.

Bucky nearly drags you off the ground and you run. You run as fast as you can despite the bullet in your shoulder.

“We need to get out of here!” Bucky shouted, inspecting your wound.

A shadowy figure approaches and Bucky blocks you from view. The hood drops and you peer over Bucky’s shoulder. You don’t have time to be surprised that Sharon is the one standing in front of you.

“Sharon? What are you doing here?” Sam asked.

“We don’t have time for that!” Bucky snapped. “Sharon, please. You gotta help us. Y/n’s been shot.”

She nods and motions for you to follow her. She stops in front of a beautiful blue car and Bucky guides you into the car, pressing his metal hand against your shoulder to stop the bleeding. You ignore Sam and Bucky’s bickering as they yell at you for getting shot. You don’t have the energy to respond.

Sharon races across town and pulls up to a very fancy building. Sharon jumps out and opens the door for Bucky. His arm holds your torso and your uninjured arm is thrown over his shoulder as you walk inside. You gather into the elevator as it takes you to the top floor.

Your entire body goes numb and Bucky guides you to the kitchen counter. Sharon briefly disappears before returning with a heavy duty first aid kit.

“Do you have tequila?” you asked her as Bucky rummaged through the bag for the correct supplies. Sharon laughs softly before grabbing a bottle of tequila from her liquor cabinet. You take a generous sip and the liquid burns your throat.

Bucky inspects the bullet wound carefully. Thankfully it was a through and through. He doesn’t have to fish the bullet out. He works quickly and you grit your teeth as he stitches the wound close on both sides of your shoulder.

The pain lessened to a dull throb now that he’s finished. He cleans the excess blood off your skin before gently placing your arm in a sling.

“Why did you do that, Y/n?” Bucky chastised you, shaking his head in disappointment. “I could’ve taken care of him.”

You scoff and roll your eyes at him. “I don’t even get a thank you for saving your ass? You were vulnerable, I did the right thing.”

He sighs and you look away. Your eyes find Sharon’s. “Can I borrow some clothes?”

She nods and disappears down the hall to her bedroom. Silence fills the room and Sam takes his turn to reprimand you. You ignore him entirely and take another large swig of tequila.

Sharon returns moments later with a pair of clean clothes. You thank her quietly and she points you in the direction of one of the guest bedrooms. You hop off the counter and ignore Bucky’s protests and calls of your name.

You huffed in frustration as you limped towards one of Sharon’s guest bedrooms. You had enough of Sam and Bucky yelling at you for your recklessness, especially Bucky. You’re exhausted and all you want to do is sleep.

You did what you thought was right. You did what Steve would’ve done. You had Bucky’s back. Isn’t that what mattered? Sure, you got shot in the shoulder, but it isn’t something you haven’t done before. You have the scars to prove it.

“Stop running away from me! We’re not done talking about this!” Bucky yelled after you, hot on your heels into the bedroom. “What were you thinking?”

You’re sick of Bucky questioning you. You’re not a child and you’re not the bright eyed recruit he thinks you still are. You did what was right in the heat of the moment. You don’t regret it. You’d do it all over again if it meant that he was safe.

“Stop treating me like a child, James! I’m not Steve’s recruit anymore! I’m a grown woman,” you shouted back at him. Your shoulders shake and you glare at him. “I know you still think I’m that naive 25 year old, but that’s not me anymore. The last five years may have been five seconds to you, but they weren’t to me. Accept the fact that I did what I thought was right.”

“It was reckless!”

“Steve would’ve done it!” you bit back.

“This isn’t about Steve!” he argued.

You laugh bitterly and shake your head. He doesn’t see it. He doesn’t see what you see. You know he sees you as his responsibility now that Steve’s gone. He feels an obligation to look after you because Steve did. You have a part of Steve with you. Bucky’s clinging to any last remains of Steve, and that includes you.

“Isn’t it though? You feel like you have a responsibility to protect me, to look after me. Why? It’s because Steve did and now that he’s gone, you feel like you have to replace him!”

The silence that fills the room suffocates you. Your heart races with anger. You want Bucky to leave you alone. You didn’t ask for this. Sam needed your help, and when you provided it, you got yelled at for it. Now you just want to go home.

You turn your back to Bucky and pull the pants that Sharon gave you up your legs before discarding the dress in the corner of the room. You don’t care if Bucky sees all the scars that litter your backside. Maybe then he would understand that you’ve always done what’s best for the mission, even if that meant getting hurt. You throw the sweatshirt over your head and turn to look at Bucky again.

“Do you have anything else to say to me? Are you going to try and deny it?”

Bucky sighs, running a hand through his hair. “You’re one of the only people I have left that have a connection to Steve.”

Another bitter laugh escapes your mouth. He doesn’t understand. “He abandoned me, James! He abandoned us. Steve’s gone. You can’t hold on to him anymore. You don’t have to do anything Steve did. You have nothing to prove to me, I promise. I don’t need you to replace Steve. I need you, Buck. You’re the one that’s here with me, not Steve.”

Tears threaten to spill over your cheeks and you look away from him. The silence is deafening and Bucky moves to take you in his arms. He holds you against his chest and cards his fingers through your hair. You cry against his chest and cling to his henley. He gently guides you to the bed and sits down with you in his lap.

“I’m sorry, honey,” he whispered, rubbing your back. “You’re right. It just scared me. I don’t think I can handle losing you too. I’m sorry.”

You pull away to look at him with your tear stained cheeks and he carefully wipes away your tears with the pad of his thumb. You blink away the remaining tears and lean into his touch. “It’s okay, Buck. You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

You rest your forehead against his and breathe him in. His metal hand rubs circles against your back and it sends shivers down your spine. He holds you carefully and no words are exchanged. Your eyes flicker to his lips and your heart thunders against your chest.

There’s a soft knock at the door and you pull your body off of Bucky’s. You sit beside him as Sam pokes his head inside the room. “Is everything okay?” he asked, looking between the two of you.

You look over at Bucky and then back to Sam. You smile and nod slowly. “Everything’s perfect, Sam.”

#bucky barnes x reader #Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes imagine #Bucky Barnes imagines #bucky x reader #bucky imagine #Bucky imagines #tfatws #tfatws x reader #sebastian stan #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan imagine #Sebastian stan imagines #sebastian x reader #sebastian imagine #my writing

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absolutepokemontrash · 2 years

Text

An Unfortunate Replacement

Chapter 2

Hmmmm, so it looks like Venus is warming up to Evie! That’s nice! Evie and Lucifer also seem to be warming up to each other~ I wonder how the carnival’s going. I bet nothing bad is going to happen at all.

Genre: Angst~ >:)

Warnings: Mild Body Horror and a fight scene

Previous Part

Next Part

Masterlist

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

“CARNIVAL GAMES ARE RIGGED!”

“And this is new information?”

“Cram it, Venus!”

Lucifer quietly laughed as he watched Venus and Ash bicker over by one of the many basketball games. The pair of them were wasting their allotted five minutes by trying to wrestle the ball from each other instead of actually trying to shoot.

Nearby, Cecil and Asmo were doing their best to try and fish out a rubber duck while avoiding the piranhas that had been placed in the pool. One of the bitey fish popped out of the water and Asmo shrieked, nearly dropping his fishing pole. The rest of Lucifer’s brother’s were crowded by a strength testing game, all of them trying to get the highest score and impress Evie, who stood nearby and applauded whenever anyone tried. Well, she was standing there a second ago, where did she-

“Popcorn, Lucifer?”

He looked down slightly to see Evie holding up a bag of multicoloured popcorn. He shrugged and dug a gloved hand into the bag, popping a few into his mouth.

“I have to ask, Evie, is this your plan?”

“H-huh?”

“Keep feeding me until I explode?”

“N-no! It’s just, you never seem to eat!” Evie sputtered, clenching her hands around the middle of the popcorn bag, making the top of the bag overflow.

Lucifer laughed at her embarrassment. “So what is the reason? Why do you come over to check if I’m alright so frequently?”

Evie’s cheeks reddened as she shifted her gaze over to the rest of his brothers, who were now yelling about how Beel’s score didn’t count because he broke the machine. “Well, um… I just… you made sure I was comfortable and safe during my first few weeks here. I um, I know it was your job, but I wanted to thank you anyway…”

His face softening, Lucifer gave her a nudge with his elbow. “Well, now I need to thank you for being considerate, don’t I? How about a turn around the fairgrounds, we can go on any ride you’d like.”

****************

“Aw man, where’d Evie go?” Ash asked, standing up on their toes to try and see above the other patrons.

“I think she went off with my dad.” Venus replied, trying to keep their voice as smooth as possible.

“Tsk, gross.” Ash sneered.

“Really now? So it’s not gross if she likes Mammon, but it’s gross if she likes my dad?”

“Sh-shut up!”

“Come on you two, not again…” Cecil pleaded, holding a stuffed mouse close to their chest. “No fighting.”

“We’re just fucking with each other, Ceci, nothing serious.” Venus waved a hand, scanning the crowd for any sign of Asmo or the other brothers. “Hey, where’d everyone go?”

Shrugging their shoulders, Cecil made a face and looked around. “My dad saw someone he knew so he went to go say hi, I think everyone else went off to go find Evie or do other carnival things.”

“So uh… what now?” Ash asked.

“Uh…” The Ferris wheel caught Venus’ eye, they pointed up at it. “Ferris Wheel, let’s go on that one.”

“But first I must tell you, I’m the king of Team Plasma.”

“Oh be quiet, Ash.” Cecil blushed and swatted at their shoulder. “Now’s not the time for dated Pokémon references.”

“Dated?!”

As the trio made their way through the fairgrounds, they noticed the crowd had thinned slightly, there was a sudden shriek, and then the sounds of shouting filled the air.

“Oh dammit!”

“A fight, really?”

“It’s not really a fight, the human doesn’t stand a chance.”

That last comment caused the three cousins to stop dead in their tracks. Each of them exchanged paralyzed glances, before sprinting towards the fight. The three weaved through the crowd, Cecil shouted a few “excuse me!”s as they ducked around the other patrons. Venus picked up their pace and when they reached the Ferris Wheel, their blood ran cold.

“Smells… off…” a demon snarled, wrinkling his nose at Evie, who had her hands up and was slowly backing towards an empty game-tent.

“I-If I smell off, I guess that means you won’t want to eat me, right?” Evie laughed nervously, her eyes darting around as she continued to slowly back away.

“Smells human… but not-” the demon’s gaze snapped to the half demons, his eyes narrowed into a glare. “Half breeds…”

Straightening their posture and crossing their arms, Venus fixed the demon with what they hoped was an intimidating scowl. “Get away from the exchange student, right now.”

The demon’s head tilted, a toothy grin spreading across his face. “Defending a human, are you? I guess you can’t hide your roots that much.”

Ash let out a warning growl, but Venus stayed perfectly composed, levelling an arm out to block them from going any further.

“One more chance to walk away.”

The demon scoffed, then fully turned his attention to the kids, baring his teeth.

“Go.”

The moment Venus lowered their arm, Ash bolted forward and lunged towards the demon. They transformed into their second form mid-flight and dug their claws into the demon’s shoulders.

“Lucifer!” Evie cried as she sprinted away. Good she was out of the way.

Cecil sprinted ahead to cover Evie’s escape as the demon whirled around to go after her. They hadn’t even transformed, but their eyes glowed a searing pink. “S-stop it!”

The demon held up their arm to shield their vision from Cecil’s eyes. He felt around, and his hand closed around Ash’s leg, and yanked them off him. Snarling, the demon swung his fist forward, connecting with the side Cecil’s head, causing them to shriek and send them flying to the left.

Ash let out a snarl and jumped back on the demon. “Don’t touch Cecil!”

Venus ran over to Cecil, getting them to their feet and pointing behind them.

“Cecil, go get the others.” They ordered as they allowed their wings to unfurl behind them.

“Uh-uh huh…” Cecil nodded breathlessly and turned and ran in the other direction.

Ash growled and jabbed their horns into the tough flesh of the demon’s back as they dug their claws deeper into his shoulder. The demon slammed his fist into the side of Ash’s eye, sending them sprawling onto the dirt.

Venus cracked their knuckles and dashed forward, feigning right and then diving to the left, slashing the demon’s face with their claws. They twisted around, jumping onto the demon’s back and yanking his head up with his horns.

Ash knelt in the dirt in front of them, watching with unfocused eyes as the demon attempted to throw Venus off of him.

“ASH COME ON!” Venus growled, throwing all their weight onto the horns. “GET OFF YOUR ASS AND HELP ME!”

Shaking their head like they were coming out of a daze, Ash quickly nodded and stuck out their hand, whispering a few jumbled spells. A few white sparks cracked against their palm, but nothing happened. They looked down at their hand in surprise, which was interrupted by Venus being grabbed by their upper wings and thrown at Ash, sending the two soaring backwards.

Venus let out a yelp as they rolled across the dirt floor, the dust shooting up into the air. A loud crack and a sharp pain in their ribs caused them to hiss in pain as they came to a stop, Ash lay nearly motionless on top of them.

“A-Ash?” Venus whispered, wincing in pain as they felt their ribs snap back into place. “Are you-”

“Damn,” the demon laughed, blood dripping from the claw marks down onto his face. “I was expecting better from the children of the Avatars of sin!”

“Oh fuck you.” Ash murmured, weakly lifting a hand, only to have more sparks fly out and fizzle harmlessly. “Fuck me…”

“Oh well,” the demon chuckled and shrugged. “Gotta learn to expect the worst!”

Venus and Ash both scrambled in opposite directions as the demon charged forward. Venus felt the wind whizz past the tip of their nose as they barely managed to avoid him. The demon crashed into one of the game-tents, sending wood chips and plastic flying everywhere.

Shakily getting to their feet, Venus snapped their fingers a few times, whatever ailment Ash was facing was thankfully not affecting them as a bright blue glow materialized in their hands. They stretched the light like taffy until it hardened into a whip, smirking, Venus gave it a warning crack against the ground.

“You we’re saying you expected better?”

Dried blood, debris, and dirt was caked onto the right side of the demon’s face as he let out a snarl, his own magic sparking between his fingers.

Venus strode forward, they raised the handle and cracked the whip, the arm the demon raised to block it sizzled as a long thin gash appeared.

Snapping the whip again and again until the demon’s arms were reduced to bloody ribbons, the demon finally burst forward, his fists coated with purple fire.

Venus took a breath and jumped, their wings flapping behind them as they looped their arms and legs around the demon’s shoulders.

Perfect. Venus thought. Before the demon had time to react, Venus coiled the whip around the demon’s neck and yanked both sides until the whip went taught.

The demon fell to a knee as he clawed at his neck, the whip searing against his skin. He twisted wildly, trying to buck Venus off of him, but the half demon held firm, turning to avoid being gored by his horns.

“Surrender and I won’t kill you.” Venus said, their voice almost monotone. To their surprise, the demon’s face twisted into a grin as he looked over at where Ash was laying.

“Oh little half breed, I think you have bigger things to worry about…” he rasped.

Venus’ eyes snapped to where Ash was, they were on their hands and knees, their knuckles white from strain as their whole body shook and convulsed violently. Sweat poured down their face as they took frantic gulps of air. They gagged and belched like they were about to vomit. Venus barely had time to register what was happening before they felt claws rip down the side of their face.

They jumped back, dropping the whip and causing it to fizzle out of existence. The demon gasped for air, but Venus had more pressing issues. They bolted over to Ash, dropping to their knees and grabbing them by the shoulders.

“Wh-what’s wrong?! What happened?!” Venus demanded, their stomach dropped right to the floor when Ash began to frantically wheeze, their skin turning pale.

“C-can’t… breathe… feels like I’m gonna… explode…”

“E-explode?!”

Ash’s head snapped upwards, their eyes beginning to glow a bright yellow as sweat and blood dripped down the side of their face.

“It hurts!��

Talons burst through Ash’s fingertips, much larger and thicker than their normal claws, they threw their head back and let out a scream as their horns twisted and grew. Their wings stretched, the sharp spikes becoming absolutely massive, Ash let out another strangled wail as their teeth grew even sharper.

“Over there!” Cecil shouted, Mammon and Asmo following behind them. All three stopped dead in their tracks as Ash stumbled to their feet.

“A-Ash?” Venus whispered.

“Vee,” Mammon said, slowly walking towards the two of them. “Run.”

Ash bared his fangs and lunged, talons outstretched and ready to slice Mammon into bloody ribbons. As Venus scrambled out of the way, Mammon rushed towards Ash, catching them by the shoulders and hissing with pain as Ash’s talons tore at his biceps.

“K-kid, it’s me, ya gotta… ya gotta calm down!”

“I CAN’T!” Ash cried, the glow in their eyes flickering and flashing until they returned to their normal blue. Their eyes were wide with panic and terror as they thrashed and convulsed in their father’s grip.

The sickening sound of bones snapping and popping rose to a horrifying crescendo as Ash screamed again. The skin on their face pulled itself back, the muscles underneath clenched and flexed from the effort of trying to keep their face from being torn clean off.

Venus watched in abject horror as Mammon screamed for Asmo to help. The Avatar of Lust ran over, dropping to his knees with his eyes glowing pink.

“Ash honey, look at me…”

“It hurts it hurts it HURTS!” Ash screamed again, tears running down their face. Bright white bones ripped through the sides of their cheeks, blood pouring down from the shredded skin.

“I know kiddo I know just please try and calm down, it’ll stop if you calm down…” Mammon repeated those words like a mantra, over and over again.

“Shhhh… shhhh… it’s okay… breathe, breathe…” Asmo whispered, Ash’s eyes drooped and the frantic rising of their chest slowed.

“What happened?!”

Venus whipped their head around to see Belphie, Beel, Lucifer, and Evie rushing over.

“Shhh… Sh… Belphie… put Ash to sleep…” Asmo whispered, Belphie’s eyes widened, but he nodded and gently placed his hand on the back of Ash’s head. Their eyes fluttered closed.

Everything stood still, no one dared to even breathe as Ash slowly shifted back into their second form, then to their first.

“What…” Venus whispered. “What was that..?”

——————

“It’s simple really, they nearly transformed beyond what their half human body is capable of.”

Barbatos said as he busied himself with looking over the unconscious half demon. Ash was bobbing in and out of consciousness while lying in a hospital bed, their face scrunching with pain every once and a while. Venus couldn’t help but wince, this… wasn’t how the day was supposed to go at all.

The massive gashes from the demon’s claws on Venus’ face had mostly healed up thanks to Barbatos’ magic. Cecil on the other hand, still held an ice pack to their eye.

Mammon sat at the side of Ash’s bed, his face completely devoid of his usual boisterous energy. Levi, Lucifer, Satan, and Asmo stood around the bed, until they were told to give the two some space by Barbatos.

The group had ended up stuck at the Demon Lord’s Castle, Diavolo was holed up in his office, sorting through the needed paperwork from the incident at the carnival. Someone needed to worry about the demon that had decided to enact the suicidal plan of fucking with the exchange student after all…

“Transformed beyond what they’re capable of..?” Cecil tentatively asked. They sat in one of the flimsy green chairs that were pushed against the wall, hugging their knees to their chest. “Wh-what does that mean..?”

Barbatos paused in his activities and gave Asmo a quizzical glance. “Did you not tell them?”

Asmo went pale as he suddenly crossed his arms and refused to make eye contact. “W-well, Cecil just got comfortable with transforming into their second form, I didn’t want to make them more nervous…”

Letting out a sigh between clenched teeth, Barbatos looked to Venus. “Do you know what happened?”

As the half demon shut their eyes and searched through the ocean of their memories for an inkling of what could have happened, a seemingly unrelated piece of advice bobbed to the surface.

“You have to control yourself. Keep yourself in your limits, and never lose control.” Their parent had said to them the day Venus’ wings grew in. “If you don’t, I won’t be able to help you calm down.”

“They lost control?” Venus offered, Barbatos half shook his head and half nodded. “They lost control and transformed again.”

“Almost,” Barbatos began to explain. “You know how our forms work, right? Demons have a more vaguely human-like form, then for the most part, we gain our second and more demonic features as young children. Mid ranking demons and above have a form after that, we gain it in adulthood, but very few learn to control it.”

“And extremely high ranking demons have a fourth.” Lucifer butted in and added. “We Avatars of sin, Lord Diavolo, Barbatos and a few others have fourth forms.”

“Oh… okay… was Ash just transforming into their third form too early..?” Cecil asked. Barbatos shook his head.

“No, the problem wasn’t that they transformed too early, it’s that they transformed at all.” Barbatos let the comment sit in the air. Venus felt the air slowly get sucked out of their lungs as their chest began to constrict. “Allow me to explain how a third form works,”

Barbatos snapped his fingers and a few balls of light began to float into the air. “Magic runs through the blood of demons, angels, and some special humans, in our first and second forms, the magic in our bodies is constantly being released into the world around us, allowing us to cast spells. Are you following?”

Cecil and Venus nodded.

“When a demon enters their third form, they are effectively stopping the flow of magic from leaving their body. All the magic internalizes, trading the ability to cast spells for immense physical strength. What happened with Ash here is what happens to a large chunk of half bree-” Barbatos’ eyes briefly widened and he slightly shook his head. “Half demons. Your human half prevents the safe internalization of magic.”

“So… what you’re saying is…” Venus said, their heart in their throat. “Their own magic nearly… killed them?”

“It’s what happens to most half human children of powerful demons,” Levi said, flippantly waving his hand. He snorted out a laugh as he continued. “It’s actually kinda funny, Satan’s kids never live past forty, they get so angry they transform and-”

Levi was unceremoniously cut off by Mammon and Satan elbowing him hard in the gut. The Avatar of Envy looked from them, to the stricken faces of Venus and Cecil, he remembered his audience and seemed to try and shrink into his sweater.

“U-uh… I mean it’s not funny anymore… but…”

“Levi, stop.” Lucifer said. He turned to Venus and Cecil, his features softening. “We weren’t good parental figures to our half human children before, which is why Diavolo started monitoring who went in and out of the human world. But now, things are different, we have you two.”

“I-is that why there are so few half demons down here..?” Cecil whispered, their face pale. “M-most of them… just died like that?! Because they couldn’t control themselves?!”

Cecil began to hyperventilate, tears brimming behind their eyes. Asmo rushed to their side and began to slowly rub their shoulders.

“Hey hey hey, it’s okay, you’re okay, I’m not going to let that happen to you, okay?”

Cecil burst from their seat and bolted for the door, a sob tearing through their throat.

“I’ll… I’ll go get them…” Asmo said quietly before beginning to trail after Cecil.

“Venus-”

“Don’t.” Venus gave everyone a parting glare before stomping out the door, their shoes clicking against the marble floors.

**************

“Hey kiddo…” Mammon whispered, resting his chin on the bed. “You’re gonna be okay, y-ya just gotta wake up.”

The room had emptied out, his brothers had left Mammon alone with Ash. The only sound in the room came from the faint whir of the air conditioner and the ticking of the clock on the wall.

Ash’s expression changed for a fraction of a second, but their eyes didn’t open. Mammon visibly deflated and ran a hand through his hair.

“Come on buddy, wake up for me… I barely spent any time with ya, you can’t just… leave…” Mammon clamped his eyes shut, his whole body beginning to tremble. “You can’t just die like that… not after what we saw in the Reaper’s cave…”

A candle just as tall as Mammon’s, Ash, Cecil, and Venus had inherited just as long a life as his. A candle snuffed out like that, after only fifteen years…

Maybe this was a punishment… Mammon thought bitterly. A punishment for letting all those other half demons meet the fate that Ash narrowly avoided.

“Mmmph…” Mammon’s head snapped upwards, his eyes widening as Ash sat up and rubbed their eyes. “What happened? Did I get hit by a bus..?”

All the things Mammon wanted to say crowded in his throat, his heart raced as tears of relief spilled down his cheeks. “I love you” “I’m sorry” “how are you feeling?” All those questions raced to be said, but what came out was:

“YA HAD ME SCARED TO DEATH YOU LITTLE SHIT!”

“Geez…” Ash grumbled, shooting Mammon a glare. “If I had known waking up was going to lead to that I woulda stayed asleep.”

“N-no! Just… fuck…” Mammon pulled Ash into the tightest possible hug, Ash squawked and hit his balled up fists against Mammon’s back. “Ya better not scare me like that again!”

“D-dad! Everything still hurts! Be gentle, you old bastard!”

“N-never do that again…”

***************

Venus gripped their sword in a white knuckled grip as they hacked away at the training dummy. Their chest heaved and their shoulders burned from the exertion, but they kept going, slicing and stabbing until the unfortunate dummy was absolutely gushing stuffing.

With one final swing, the half demon lobbed the dummy’s head clean off. The face they had drawn on it still looked unbearably smug, even as it rolled across the dirt and into the bushes of Diavolo’s garden.

Shaking out their hands and rolling their shoulders, Venus let out a frustrated growl. They opened their palm and examined their blisters, hissing from the sting, they balled their hand into a fist.

“You’d get better results if you loosened your grip.” Venus turned to see Lucifer casually strolling into the garden, holding a sword that was much too small for him. He held the blade out to Venus. “And had a sword that you can actually effectively wield.”

“Tsk…” Venus held out the longsword to Lucifer, who took it and casually twirled it in a gloved hand. “What does it matter? I’ll never be as good as you…”

“Is that why you’ve killed that poor, innocent training dummy in cold blood? An inferiority complex?” Lucifer asked, Venus scowled as they took the smaller sword.

“No…”

“Then tell me what-”

“I’ll never be as good.”

“You just said-”

“I’ll never be as good as everyone else!” Venus cried, running their free hand through their hair and shaking their head. “I’ll never be as good as a full demon! Everyone else has third forms they can control, but no, not me! Not Ash, not Cecil! It’ll literally rip me apart, but everyone else can pop in and out of it without a care in the world… it’s not fair! It’s not… it’s not fair…”

Venus trailed off, the world seemed to come to a standstill. The half demon took a deep breath, looking down at their reflection in their sword. A child stared back, a child who had spent years playing catch-up to every other demon, a child who had waited so long to meet their father only to be seen as a shameful mistake…

A hand rested on their head, gently ruffling their hair. “I know it’s not fair, but that’s not something either of us can fix, is it?”

Venus slowly shook their head.

“You’ve come so far, are you really going to give up now?”

They stared long and hard at their reflection. This kid hadn’t given up, had they? They fixed their fractured family, didn’t they? Despite all odds they worked to learn every spell they had to, every potion they were told to brew.

Venus looked up and shook their head again. A smile slowly spread across Lucifer’s face as he stepped back and readied his sword.

“Well, if you’re going to get better at swordplay, show me the proper stance, 24601.”

Letting out a snicker and shaking their head, Venus dropped into their ready position. “I’m warning you, Javert, I’m the stronger one by far.”

“We’ll see.”

*********************

Asmodeus, (Avatar of Lust, visionary, influencer, model, fashion designer, etc.) was not experienced with dealing with fragile people. But their dear child was quite a delicate little flower, they wilted under almost any kind of pressure and required a more delicate hand in comforting. Asmo felt his heart clench at the sight of Cecil scrunched up in one of the beds in one of the guest rooms.

The mattress sunk slightly as Asmo sat down next to Cecil, he gently brushed his hand against their arm. Their chest rose and fell with shaking breaths, the silence of the room punctured with the occasional sniffle.

“Hey, sweetie.” Asmo gently whispered. “Do you want to talk, or should I go?”

Cecil remained quiet, but as Asmo began to retract his hand, Cecil’s arm shot out to stop him.

“…stay.”

“Okay,” Asmo nodded as Cecil sat up and rubbed their eyes. “Do you want me to ask Barbatos to get something for you?”

Shaking their head, Cecil sighed. “I’m okay.”

They took a deep breath through their nose and crossed their arms into a tight self-hug. “Why do things have to be so complicated..?”

Asmo pursed his lips and shrugged. “I don’t know… but I’ll help you, I promise.”

“How?”

“Hm?”

“How? How are you going to help me? I’m barely in control of my second form… how am I supposed to stop myself from transforming and killing myself? Or… or hurting someone else..?”

Asmo gently threaded his fingers through Cecil’s hair, the half demon rested their head on his shoulder and let out a tired sigh. “You’ll be okay, Cecil. The fact that you’re worried shows that you’ll be extra careful. And~”

Allowing his eyes to glow a faint pink, Asmo turned Cecil to face him and gave them a goofy wink. “Besides, I calmed down Ash, and I can try and talk you down too, and I highly doubt you’ll be able to resist Belphie’s sleep magic.”

The Avatar of Lust pushed his bangs to the side and gave Cecil a small smile. “We’re all here to help you, Cecil.”

Cecil bit the inside of their cheek, then nodded. “Can um… can I… never mind…”

“What is it?”

Flushing bright red, Cecil looked away and twiddled their thumbs. “Can I see your third form..?”

Asmo wrinkled his nose and squinted. “Are you sure..? It’s kind of… gross. Very scorpiony-”

Cecil’s eyes sparkled, and Asmo let out a breathy laugh. “What am I saying? Of course you’d love it.”

A soft clicking noise filled the air as Asmo shifted from his first form, to his second, then finally, the flow of magic ceased. Asmo felt his wings gently stretch and grow, his horns and fangs becoming longer and sharper. An extra set of eyes opened on his cheekbones, frantically darting around hungrily. His seldom seen scorpion tail thrashed around before relaxing and resting around the pair.

“Woah…” Cecil whispered, slowly reaching out to touch the scorpion tail. “Cool…”

“Pssst, look.” Asmo flicked his face upwards, revealing a row of serrated teeth. “Very inconvenient to brush.”

Cecil covered their mouth and muffled their giggles. His heart full, Asmo shifted back to his second form, letting his now smaller wings flutter happily behind him. “See, not so scary. If someone as flighty as lil ol me can learn to control that, so can you, Ceci.”

“Yeah… I guess. Hm?” Cecil shifted in their seat, looking over at the doorway. “Evie? What are you doing over there?”

Asmo turned to see the human exchange student, flushed bright red and sputtering out apologies and excuses. “S-sorry for intruding! I-I-I didn’t want to interrupt… I was just told to tell you two we’re supposed to be going home soon! Sorry!”

Evie quickly shut the door and Asmo let out a giggle. “Oh well, we’d better get going.”

——————

“I just don’t understand,” Evie sighed, looking between Belphie and Beel, who flanked her as they walked through Diavolo’s garden. “Why can’t their bodies stand the strain?”

“Humans aren’t as… malleable as we are. We can change and warp our bodies whenever we want if we have enough power and control. The kids’ human halves don’t allow that.” Belphie replied, glumly kicking a rock into the bushes, which the shrubs gleefully seemed to almost eat. The Avatar of Sloth felt his insides churn at the memory of Ash’s screams and contortions.

“Humans are resilient, though, and so are the kids,” Beel gave Evie and Belphie a smile, and reached over to pat Belphie on the back. “They’ll be okay. It’s nice of you to worry though, Evie.”

“Hm?” Evie’s cheeks flushed slightly, and she laughed and shrugged. “Yeah… I’m such a worry wart sometimes…”

“I GOT YOU!”

The sound of raucous applause punctured the shrieks of delight, the sudden noise nearly made Belphie pass right out. Evie and the twins sped up and peeked around a corner, Venus was jumping up and down with glee as they clapped and pointed at the sword on the ground.

“I GOT YOU! I DID IT!”

Lucifer looked down at his sliced palm, legitimate shock on his face, which quickly melted into a proud grin. “That you did, that you did.”

Belphie felt a smile appear on his face, pfft, Lucifer was such a dad. Gross.

“They’re both so cute!” Evie whispered, Belphie snorted and rolled his eyes.

“Eh, I’ve seen cuter.”

“Yeah,” Beel added, beginning to drool. “Remember the eclairs that Venus and Cecil brought home? They had cute little smiley faces on them…”

“Don’t be mean, Belphie.” Evie said, patting his cheek.

“You stop being such a mom.”

“I’ll stop when you stop being such a butt!”

“What are you three doing?” Lucifer interjected, Venus was putting the swords back in their proper place behind him. “If you wanted to watch you didn’t have to hide.”

—————————

Levi straightened himself up in his gaming chair, his eyes glued to the screen, his character dashed around the boss arena, delivering hit after hit. The timer ticked away, he only had 32 seconds left to beat his previous high score.

The boss swung its hammer, Levi gracefully dodged out of the way, he fired his character’s bow, once, twice, three times. The boss’ HP was down to a quarter. 20 seconds left.

Levi’s hands flew across the keyboard, his fingers frantically hitting each button just in the nick of time. Sweat beaded on his forehead. Just a few more hits…

Hit, hit, COMBO! BOSS DOWN! AND WITH TEN SECONDS TO SPARE!

“YES!” Levi threw of his headset and pumped his fists in the air, he swivelled out of his chair and went to grab his half empty bottle of Gatorade that was lying on the ground, only to be met with quiet applause.

Evie stood behind him, a proud little smile on her face. “That you did, that you did.”

“AGH! Wh-when did you get in here?!” Levi sputtered, suddenly embarrassed about the mess. Great… Evie would never want to hang out with him now that she knew what a slob he was…

Levi’s shoulders drooped like a wilting flower as Evie reached out and clasped his (very sweaty) hands in her own. they were smooth and soft as the nicest body pillow… Levi um… needed better descriptors. He hasn’t held many hands in recent history. “I did knock, but you were so in the zone that I didn’t want to interrupt you.”

“Just um… what do you um… want?” Levi mumbled, refusing to make eye contact.

“This is ah… kind of embarrassing but…” Evie wrinkled her perfect brows and bit the inside of her cheek.

“You um… you can tell me, don’t worry! I don’t have anyone to spill any secrets to!” Levi said, frantically trying to sound as not-desperate as possible.

“Well… I dropped one of my favourite hairpins down the downstairs bathroom vent, and I know the vents go down into the underground tomb… I need your key…”

“My key..? Oh! My key!” Levi scambled over to one of his filing cabinets and began carefully moving figurines and miniatures aside, trying to see where he left his key. After Luke ended up in the Underground Tomb, all the entrances were locked with keys only the brothers and kids had, and Levi had just carelessly chucked his onto one of his cabinets.

“AHA!” Levi felt his fingers clasp around cold ridged metal. “Found it!”

Levi proudly presented the key to Evie, who began to thank him profusely. “You’re a lifesaver Levi, really. Thank you so so so much!”

“I-It’s not a problem, Evie, just give it back when you’re done.” Levi blushed and scratched the back of his neck as Evie let out a sweet little giggle and a mock salute.

“Yes sir!”

*****************************

Lucifer glared down at the few remaining papers in front of him. One insanely stupid demon sentenced to death for, well, hurting his child and niblings, a ton in property damages, and a partridge in a pear tree. He yawned and tried to keep his eyelids open, but they were as heavy as lead.

Dammit, he was going to pass the hell out the moment he hit his mattress…

There was a quiet knock at the door of his study, restrained and dainty. Evie.

“Come in.”

The human stepped in, her hands clasped behind her back, her usual look of concern on her face. “Lucifer, I hate to nag but it’s past midnight…”

“I know, I know,” Lucifer signed his name down on one of the papers and shunted it to the side. “I’m almost done.”

As the words left his lips, Lucifer realized how… normal this had become. A human, who was only supposed to be the exchange student, had so easily inserted herself into his family. Well, it was no question as to why, she was sweet, the kids and his brothers adored her, and even Lucifer couldn’t deny how his heart quickened whenever she was nearby.

“Good… good…” Evie pursed her lips and stepped closer to the desk. “I-if you don’t mind me asking, I thought Lord Diavolo was supposed to be handling the paperwork for this..?”

“He was called away for urgent business in the eighth circle. Some souls got loose and are causing a ruckus.” Lucifer replied, his pen smoothly gliding across the page.

“Oh… okay.” Evie nodded, her eyebrows creasing.

“That reminds me, two angels from the Celestial Realm will be visiting. Lord Diavolo insisted that you get to meet them. They’ll be here tomorrow.”

“Oh!” Evie’s voice was louder than Lucifer expected, the ink on his pen blotted slightly and he winced as his perfect signature was marred. “Sorry… I wasn’t expecting that…”

“Don’t worry, they aren’t troublemakers like my brothers. You won’t have to babysit.” Lucifer’s mind wandered to Simeon and Luke. Sure, Simeon lived to bug him like a bothersome younger sibling, but he was never the cause of the majority of Lucifer’s worries. Luke on the other hand, was an adorable yapping chihuahua, no problems there, except for maybe a headache or twelve.

“But I like your brothers, Lucifer.” Evie chirped. “They’re fun, and sweet when you get to know them.”

“Really now? I assumed they’d drive any exchange student insane with their antics.”

“Nope, not me.” Evie quieted her voice down to a mere whisper. “And… you’re pretty sweet too…”

Sweet? Him? Really? Lucifer looked up from his final paper and up at Evie, who’s cheeks were dusted a faint pink as she turned and abruptly walked towards the bookcase.

“U-um… f-forget I said that… s-sorry Luci-”

Lucifer got up from his desk, his hand hitting against the bookshelf, his other hand turning Evie’s face to look up at him. A nervous smile wormed it’s way onto her face.

“You’re an odd one for thinking that, Evangeline.”

The two stared deeply into each other’s eyes, the stars coming in from the window sparkling in Evie’s deep green eyes. Lucifer’s breath hitched in his throat as Evie slowly tilted her head, her hair falling over her shoulder.

“Lucifer… c-can I…”

“Yes.”

Before the word had a moment to settle in the air, Evie looped her arms around Lucifer’s neck and pressed her lips to his. Lucifer’s eyes widened in surprise before he melted into the kiss. He let his hands gently rest on her back, her lips turned up into a smile. Lucifer had to wonder how long she must have been waiting to do that.

When the two finally pulled apart, breathless and bashful, Evie crossed her arms and looked towards the fireplace.

“N-no more kisses until you go get a good night’s sleep… got it?” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. Lucifer chuckled and stroked her cheek.

“As you wish.” Lucifer said, taking her hand in his.

He walked her back to her room, she pressed a kiss to his cheek and smiled. “Thanks Lucifer, see… see you tomorrow.”

Nodding, Lucifer turned to leave. “Goodnight, Evangeline.”

As Lucifer collapsed onto his bed, his thoughts couldn’t help but drift back to the exchange student. Tsk, so odd, he liked this human a lot, didn’t he? He turned over and sighed. Oh well, he’d worry about that tomorrow.

———————————

Evie waited behind her door as she listened to Lucifer’s footsteps disappear down the hallway. She couldn’t wipe the giddy little grin off her face. She kissed him! She really really did!

Ah! And everyone liked her! They really liked her! She felt like she was on cloud nine!

“Oh, right!” Evie swiped a plastic bag off her nightstand and slipped out of her room and into the hallway.

The house of Lamentation in the even darker night of the Devildom was truly a different building. The portraits would flicker and change, each antique seemed to almost glow, and the cold… oh the cold…

Evie shuddered slightly as she began to walk to the hallway where the brothers’ rooms were. She was met with the faint sound of snores as she pressed her ear to each door. When she finally reached Lucifer’s, her heart skipped a beat as she heard his faint breathing through the door. Ah, good, he kept his word. There was nothing worse than sleep deprivation…

Evie quietly walked down the hall, careful not to step on any floorboards that she had learned creaked during her nightly ritual.

She finally reached the kids’ rooms, the door was open a crack. Peeking inside, she saw all three kids, piled into a pillow fort filled with blankets and pillows. Cecil’s rat was snuggled into the crook of their arm, Ash lay on their back, snoring like an old car starting up, a half eaten bag of chips lying next to them. Venus lay in the middle, their head resting in their arms, their thick rimmed glasses pushed against their face. Oh dear… they were going to have red marks in the morning…

A pair of amber eyes blinked at her, nearly giving her a heart attack before she realized, it was just Venus and Satan’s cat. The calico hissed, its tail puffed up, giving it the appearance of an angry stuffed animal. Tsk, the cat still didn’t like her. No matter. Evie sighed in contentment as she left the kids’ doorways. Everyone was asleep and safe.

Content… and dreaming…

Evie took Levi’s key out of her skirt pocket, clenching the cold piece of metal in her palm as she snuck into the dining room hallway, the door to the underground tomb stood large and imposing in front of her. Holding her breath, Evie slipped the key into the lock and turned it. The lock clicked and the door swung open. Evie winced as it quietly creaked and groaned with age.

She slipped into the cold stone corridor, the candles hanging on the walls giving off a faint light, but little warmth. A growl echoed down the hallway, Evie calmly retrieved a bag of dog treats and shook it. The growling stopped. Evie smiled and silently thanked Lucifer for introducing her to Cerberus three weeks earlier. She tossed him a few treats as she passed by, whispering a “good boy” as he quietly munched on his treats.

Finally, Evie reached the long final hallway, dark wooden coffins lined the way to the skeletal statue with a book in its hands, candles painted the entire room a faint warm orange. Her breath caught in her throat as she reached out towards the book, the leather of the cover brushing against her fingers.

Immediately, power began to hum in her veins, her eyes widened and flashed as a smile crawled across her face. The silent thrum that was as natural as her own pulse, the sweet lost feeling…

Evie held the Grimoire in her arms, she flipped it open to the middle, her smile only widening as she marvelled at the book in front of her. She raised a delicate hand and pinched the corner of one of the pages, then tore it clean out.

She wondered,

She really wondered just how long it had been since she had magic coursing through her veins.

————————

Author’s Note

Thank you so so so much for reading! Tell me what you thought by shooting me an ask or leaving it in the replies or tags! ^.^

@tisafinedayforsimping @min-rei @princessfujoshi15 @sanchezbloodline @d3nz3lm0rn @serena-hart-09 @canon-did-us-dirty @kateloveobeyme

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jangofctts · 3 years

Text

Mirrored Heart (captain rex x fem!reader)

rated: 18+ explicit

word count: 5.6k

warnings: smut, p in v sex, unprotected sex, creampies, fingering, blow jobs, clone space racism?

a/n: ANYWAY HERE IT IS. ive had this draft saved since like a year ago and just now finished it. anyway kwjrkejh here YALL GO. also thank you @jango-fettish FOR LETTING ME BORROW SYRENA

It's curious.

Well, you, as a whole are curious—completely outside the realm of what Rex considers normal. As far as senators go, that is.

You're grumpy for one—worse than Skywalker and far more snide than Kenobi—a near gargantuan task bordering impossible. Wit and cleverness come to you easier than breathing, but it's your unwavering kindness towards himself and his brothers that sticks out like a blaster burn against alabaster white walls.

He passed it off as a joke—some sort of mockery. Rex’s existence has been full of them. The past year it’s been made glaringly clear as to what the clones are to the people of the republic—tools. Mindless war machines dressed with flesh and bone, heart and sinew instead of durasteel and a circuitboard. Humanity has been skimmed over with excuses and debates over the hollow argument that clones were created for the sole purpose of war—nothing more. Ignorance is bliss when you are not the one fighting tooth and nail for petty skirmishes and the survival of your family.

Ithyea, your home monarchal planet, is a newer member of the Galatic Republic—one of the firsts to advocate for clone rights—cutting through each argument with the steel headed javelin of hope and determination. Controversial in the eyes of the galaxy but no less than true. Yet with controversy, comes chaos.

Wedged between Takodana and the Cerean Reach hyperspace lane—it’s an essential key to accessing more neutral space sectors without stepping on any toes. While the planet does mirror the size of a larger than average moon, there’s nothing but grandeur with the cutting edge advances in space travel and military innovations. An arts district too, one that’s presented multiple times for the Senate apparently. Rex has yet to see it. It’s an easy guess as to why Ithyea has gone under pointed attacks from the Separatists—it’d be foolish not to try.

And of course comes the intergalactic mess of politics. You are not Ithyea’s first senator. Or second…or third. Just in the last six months, three of your predecessors have been picked off—two disappearances and a suspicious poisoning sandwiched between them. Which sides these assassinations stem from is anybody’s guess—a mix of both perhaps—all to silence and stamp the voice of your people out.

Heavy are the shoulders that wear those abhorrent senatorial robes, and Maker did it take some convincing for another Ithyean to step to the chopping block. It’s just…no one thought it’d be you. The infamous captain of King Arrian Felian’s elite guard—trained in combat levels high enough to contend some of those within the ranks of the Jedi Order. When your name comes up in conversation, it certainly doesn’t scream diplomacy.

Rex is not surprised that you hold the current record of Ithyean senators for surviving the longest. Evading an astonishing two attempts on your life by the skin of your teeth. You were just downright lucky the third assassin missed their mark. Sure, the blade of Syrena Aster skimmed the right side of your cheek and left behind a nasty scar to remember her by, but kriff—even with your background and low levels of public presence, you’re a high priced target. Whoever placed an order with the Heretics, really wants to see you six feet under.

Rex hasn’t been given the full report on exactly who the Heretics are—a rag tag bunch of untrained Force users and skilled assassins from what he’s gathered—but regardless, this attack is just the beginning. Until the Senate and the Jedi are able to retract the price on your head, you’re stuck under protective custody. Usually ushered away into the Jedi Temple or tagging along with General Kenobi and Skywalker. Despondently, no matter the circumstances of your protection, it can’t shield you from the dreadful invitations to senatorial luncheons.

And yes, you tried to slip by for this one.

You don't brush elbows with other senator’s like many of the members in the Jedi Order and your own cohort do. In fact, you actively avoid even speaking to them unless necessary, let alone stand in the same room with seven of them. Odd for an elected official of diplomacy such as yourself to be so cold shouldered—Rex would think senators wanted to mingle.

It's curious because you're standing in plain sight and yet no one pays you any passing thought. General Kenobi and Skywalker hold the majority of their attentions, shoulders already taught with exasperation at keeping everyone from tearing out each other's throats for, kriffing five minutes. Yet you...you are completely at ease, leaning up against a stone pillar, observing the unfolding chaos from afar with a keen eye.

Before Rex realizes he's stepping towards your position, you glance over and dip your chin in greeting. The ghost of a smirk pulls at your normally grim facade—his heart skips. "Captain."

"Senator," he mimics, posting himself to your right. There’s still a thin, healing scab from the assassin’s blade that extends from the swell of your cheek to your ear. Ouch. “Enjoying the evening?"

You snort. "Hardly enjoying it, Rex."

Stars—you shouldn't be allowed to say his name. Your words are razor-sharp like a jagged vibroblade, meant to jab and pierce through armor—tear a person to pieces without having to lift a finger. Everything about you is rough, gritty, brutal, unbecoming of what a senator should be, but—

You mouth his name, purring out the singular syllable with such tenderness that it's like a punch to the gut.

It's hard to swallow and he needs to clear his throat—an embarrassing act on his part, but your attention has already returned back towards the meandering senators. "How d'you mean?"

"Well," you sigh, "let's just say smalltalk isn’t my strong suit."

"Aren't you senators s'pposed to like diplomacy n' such?"

Your thumb smoothes over your bottom lip in thought as you shrug. "Diplomacy? Sure. Politicians? Can’t say I like them. I just—"

You wave your hand around, gesturing vaguely to the crowd. "I just don't understand why they can't say what they mean. Telling someone to have a nice day shouldn't entail certain death, y'know?"

"Speaking from experience?" He teases, gently prying into that harder than beskar wall you've created for yourself. There's fissions in your foundation and he means to tear it down all for just a mere scrap of information.

Your eyes flick over, your lips curling into a vulpine grin. “Perhaps...Though, it was partially my fault, I have to admit.”

“You’ll have to tell me the story sometime, Senator.”

You nod. “Yes, one day—when there aren’t so many political ears jumping at the chance of gossip.”

A swell of laughter interrupts your chat, your attention gravitating to Obi-Wan—ever the charmer with the crowds. The end of your mouth pulls into a frown as you sigh and carefully scratch at your brow with the back of your thumb. Rex might be pulling at straws, but what he mistook as you being standoffish may just be your nerves. Socially awkward and flustered when speaking in such an intimate setting.

Rex’s first instinct is to reach out and place a hand over your shoulder in comfort, but he’s not sure how you’ll respond to the touch. Flip him over your shoulder probably—

Instead he forces himself to jumpstart the conversation—something to distract from your anxieties. “I hope you don’t mind me asking—“ His heart beat kicks up into a flurry of wild beats as you turn you head. “What uh..wh—did you want to become a senator?”

He likes it when you smile—like you’re letting him on some sort of coy secret. You shift your weight and shrug. “The king asked me personally. I’m flattered he thinks I’m clever enough—insulted he sends me to these abysmal gatherings like some sort of show pony.”

Rex chuckles. “Yeah, can’t say I like ‘em either.”

“Although…” Your thumb runs over your lip again, a sparkle of mischief igniting behind your eyes. “As a senator, I do get the occasional tidbit of gossip. Here, I’ll catch you up—“

The captain startles when you snatch his elbow and yank him closer. Maker he’s glad for his helmet because your lips brush against his earpiece as he leans down to reach your height.

“Look." You whisper, nodding casually in the direction of a particularly young senator with a shock of white hair. She's swathed in a pool of royal blue silk, much too large for her tiny frame, and all but hanging off Skywalker's arm with glittered nails filed into points. "That is Senator Ceci Paare of Corellia. She looks innocent, no?"

She does. Wide, crystalline green eyes stare up at the Jedi Knight as a pretty giggle escapes past her ruby painted lips. Skywalker grimaces.

"I quite like her," you continue with a sly grin. "Even if she does try to influence public opinion by an invitation to bed."

There's no time to process as you focus in on an older man. His hazy blue skin, ash white lips and vermillion green eyes cut an almost nightmarish profile, accentuated by mountains of black robes. Rex can’t recall what planet the senator represents. The senator holds his head stiffer than rebar to keep the ornate golden circlet from slipping off, his white lips curling in distaste as Orn Free Taa of Ryloth places a meaty hand over his slender shoulder.

"He is Lord Tal’en Sol Ra'ah. Cunning, but sympathetic to the pleasures of gambling."

It's a game to you—of perceptions and nuances only a trained eye can roll over. Rex expects nothing less. This sort of thing has been hammered into the very essence of your being since you were little—reading an enemy before they can strike. It works on politicians marvelously well.

Truth be told Rex should be paying more attention—but the closeness of your face to his helmet is maddening. His heart twists and coils as your bare hand skims along his gloved one—kriff. He’s not gonna make it before he bursts into a thousand little pieces.

Rex’s spell of lovesick yearning recedes as you swear under your breath. It was only a matter of time before someone approached your little corner.

"Oh, Maker save me," you hiss under your breath as a young Mirialan saunters over, the swatches of rich red and brilliant gold accentuate his violet skin like a bloody bruise. "Pretend you're speaking with me."

"I am speaking with you," Rex snorts.

Your hand waves in dismissal as your brows stitch together, hands balling into fists. Your jaw clenches as the senator in question puts on a dazzling smile. You look downright panicked. Rex has witnessed you face down numerous senators older than dirt and close to blowing away in the wind with plucky fervor, assassination attempts, being held captive, and you're frightened…by this?

This is too good.

Rex has half a mind to help you, wheel you away from your little predicament, but his intrigue with seeing your oh-so-solid resolve crumble is much too valuable and entertaining to pass up. He's going to remember this for years.

"Rex."

"Senator," he mimics, not at all frightened by your poisonous glare. "Some diplomacy might do you good."

You begin to snarl out a threat but are decidedly cut off by your object of horror planting himself before your hiding spot. You cower into the corner like a boxed in loth-cat. "Ah, my favorite Ithyean! I had begun to worry you would not make it, my dear friend."

"Senator Lin," you sigh. The smile you offer is tight and thin; a nervous one much in the same way one would be if presented with a box of toenails for a birthday gift. “How pleasant to see you."

Senator Lin’s deep violet lips part with an easy smile. He waves a hand in dismissal, his silver rings glinting in the warm lighting. "Please—call me Toluka. No need to bother with such formalities between companions."

Rex suddenly understands your trepidation with the Mirialan—he’s slimy. And, not to mention, not at all ashamed with the lecherous looks as his eyes sweep down your body. Rex clenches his teeth and folds his arms behind his back. He’s regretting not heeding your warning now…

Try as you might through brutal small talk and chilly answers, Senator Lin refuses to take the hint. A dark plume of venom green lashes through Rex’s chest as the Mirialan places a friendly hand over your shoulder. You grimace as Rex bristles and glares through the visor of his helmet.

Senator Lin’s lips pull into a gaudy smile as he glances at Rex and then at you.“My dear, don’t you know? It’s not worth wasting your time with a clone. After all, they’re all the same person. How boorish—come join us at the table.”

Your teeth bite into your cheek as your temper, like the silver of blade through the darkness, cuts through your steely irises. With poised nonchalance, you lift your hand and pinch Senator’s Lin’s fingers between your own and pry them off your shoulder. “Is that so?”

“Your campaign, valuable as it may be,” Lin continues, “is a useless endeavor. They are not our equals and never will be--you must know that."

Rex forces himself to remain calm—collected and certainly not imaging a thousand and one ways he’d like to see his fist breaking the fragile bones of the senator’s face.

"Fine buttons stitched upon your shoulders do not compel your worth, Senator,” the harshness of your words is a blow straight to Lin’s ego. His well-groomed brows furrow drastically as his tongue struggles to play catch up and find words to repair his shattered pride.

There’s no chance for Senator Lin to regain his footing as your snatch Rex’s wrist and sweep him out into the hall. Rex can feel your anger roll off of you in waves, frighting and holding the same caliber of roaring waves thundering against black, craggy rocks. It’s a miracle the night didn’t end with your hands wrapped around the senator’s throat or a blaster shot through the chest.

When you reach the lower halls of the cruise ship is when you release Rex’s wrist. You pinch the bridge of your nose between your fingers and release a long, dramatic sigh.

"You are worth far more than that pompous ass," you say with enough edge to slice through a droideka's shields. "He has no right to say those things to you."

“It’s alright,” Rex soothes, placing a hand over your bristling shoulder. “I’ve heard worse.”

Your features scrunch up into a wince. “That...that doesn’t mean you have to suffer through more of it, Rex.”

Sighing, you run a hand through your hair and loosen the heavy outer robes strung around your shoulders. You shrug out of them and fold the thick swaths of fabric over you arm—revealing the under layers of your uniform. You toss the bundle of fabric to the floor with a disgusted grimace and sit on the cargo crate closest to your left.

“Really—it’s ok.” Rex assures again. “I—“

You hold up a hand and shake your head. His mouth snaps shut. “I won’t hear it. To me you are nothing short of perfect and I refuse to argue about it. Maker knows I already do that for a kriffing living.”

There’s a fragile lull in the hollow space—the distant chatter of voices and strange music collecting in the corners. You stand once again, toe to toe with the Captain and there it is again, that elated pitter patter of his heart thrumming through his veins. The nerves of being so close to you—you sweet face and not being able to touch you.

“Let me see your face.”

His hands come up to the edges of his helmet without hesitation, a hiss of hair escaping the seal once he pries it off. You smile and take a step closer until the only thing separating you and him is his helmet.

Rex’s eyes flutter shut, leaning into your hand you gingerly place over his jaw. “I wish the entire galaxy could see you through my eyes,” you whisper, the warmth of your soft palm radiating out and warming his entire body.

It’s a matchstick to kerosene—his helmet clatters to the ground and there’s only a second to spare as both hands move to cup his cheeks, dragging him into a mouthwatering kiss.

He hasn’t kissed many people—save for those rare times at 79’s, head swimming under the haze of one too many shots of Corellian fire whiskeys where he could barely distinguish his ass from his hand. Those drunken make-outs were nothing like this.

No—this…this is what a kiss should be like.

He dreams about you all the time—so constantly ravenous that all he can feel some days is pure ache. Every and all words that spin around his head starts with you and finishes with his pounding heart close to bursting free from his ribcage. Not in the same way a flood rips through an unsuspecting village—more like the brilliance of a thousand doves, marble white plumage thrashing free from their gilded cage. Your lips taste like the core of a newborn star—scorching and yet still so sweet upon the tongue the same way caramelized sugar sticks to the roof your mouth. You are his first and last everything.

There’s a certain kind of tragedy hidden beneath your tongue, fragile promises and the eggshell thin shards of hope stapled to the roof of your mouth. Rex will take it—seize any threadbare strand and run with it—spool it into the palm of his hand until you’re wound so tightly together it’ll be impossible to untangle.

Just when the dizziness sets in from elation and not enough air, you part and leave a sticky trail of warm kisses up his jaw. Rex groans and hugs you closer, you humid breath blooming across his skin. “Let me take care of you.”

The words on his tongue crumble to ash once he nods in agreement. Your kisses dip lower, not even stopping when the reach the edge of his chest plate. Stars, you’re…he never entertained the idea that your lips could look so divine in contrast to the battered plastoid. When you fold onto your knees his heart leaps to his mouth, a flare of arousal flashing through his groin.

You rest your chin over his codpiece and smile. “Do you like seeing me on my knees, sir?”

Rex huffs and studies at the opposing wall—

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Your fingers find the claps over his codpiece. “Can I take this off?”

Rex jerks his head in a yes but grabs your wrist. Not a rough hold—a tentative one as hesitation swirls in his eyes. “Don’t—don’t have t’ do this for me—“

You quirk a brow. “I want to because I like you, Rexy.”

A rosy blush blooms over his sharp cheekbones. The captain nods again.

The codpiece clatters to the ground and immediately you move your hand to palm him through his blacks. He grunts and squeezes his eyes shut. There we go.

Biting your lip, you pull down his blacks as far as the plastoid plating allows, greeted with the hard length of his cock, beautiful and flushed a rosy brown. Fuck—he’s thicker than you thought. You wrap your fingers around the base, delighted by Rex’s airy gasp as he throbs in your palm. A bead of liquid shines at the tip and just the sight of it makes your mouth water.

Moons—you should’ve done this sooner.

With a stuttering inhale, Rex trails his forefinger along your cheek and tucks a stray hair behind your ear. The pads of his fingertips skim lower and lightly pinch your chin between his forefinger and thumb. Your eyes lift to meet his. “You—you sure?”

You answer with a kiss over the dip of his navel, the skin searing hot under your lips. Rex curses and rolls his head back onto his shoulders when your palm slides up the length of his cock and then back down. Your grip is firm and tight as Rex slumps onto the crate, goosebumps rushing up his exposed flesh. Stars, when’s the last time he’s gotten release like this?

You lean forward and lick a languid line from the velvety skin of his balls all the way up to the tip. Rex’s hips jolt. You purse your lips and suckle at the head, dipping your tongue over the slit then down to trace the ridge of his frenulum all the while your hand rolls up and down his shaft. Rex tangles his fingers into your hair with a hiss. You open your jaw a bit wider and take him down a few inches into the wet heat of your mouth, feeling your lips stretch around his cock. You you drag the flat of your tongue along the underside of his shaft to make the thickness easier to swallow down, but he's still only halfway into your mouth when he hits the back of your throat.

“Fuck—" Rex moans as his hips strain to remain still. “S’good—such a good girl.”

You glance up, eyes devouring the attractive length of his clean shaven throat and the underside of his chin. Rex swallows and let’s out another little sound. You whine softly in return and slip a hand into your pants, pressing your fingertips against your throbbing clit as you start to carefully bob your head up and down. Yeah—your jaw already aches just from holding his cock in in your mouth but fuck it—it’s worth it.

Rex's chest heaves with exertion as he mindfully rocks his hips up, pushing and rolling his cock deeper into your mouth until his shaft is nearly seated all the way in. Ditching your own pleasure entirely, you swallow around him, forcing down the urge to gag and simply hold him here. Allowing him a moment to just enjoy the soft warmth of your mouth before launching into the main event.

Rex murmurs your name and strokes his thumb over your cheek. “You’re beautiful—so pretty like—like this..ah—”

You pointedly hollow your cheeks and suck, his flattery warming your chest with pride. You swallow around him another time, squeeze his shaft, your fist following your mouth as you lift up then back down to the base. You grunt at the abrupt jolt of his hips. There’s no distinctive rhythm you can follow as you pull halfway up and let Rex rock his hips into your mouth—seeking out his pleasure without a coherent thought in sight. Just a cacophony of gasping breaths and rough moans of your name.

Soon enough he’s twitching in your mouth, his eyes fluttering shut as his head tips back onto his shoulders. The gloved hand sweetly cradling your cheek slips to the nape of your neck, tangling his fingers into you hair to anchor himself. He’s close—quiet gasps and broken curses tumbling out, hips unconsciously rocking into your mouth in search of release.

Rex whimpers your name, his leg jolting as you work your jaw wider and swallow him down, the dark curls tickling your nose once it brushes his groin. “Oh, fuck.”

You hum around him, delighting in the mumbled praises. Almost there…That’s it.

He’s dangling on the precipice—on tiny shove away from euphoria—

“Wait—“ Saliva dribbles down your chin when his cock pops out from your swollen lips, throbbing from the unintentional tease. “Maker—shit.”

If not for the gloves covering his hands, you’re sure they’d be turning white from how tightly he grips the edge of the crate. His eyes are squeezed shut, slightly bent forward as he falls away from the edge of his release. Rex sucks in a steadying breath, amber eyes meeting your confused ones.

“I don’t—can we—“ Rex’s eyes flit and focus on anything but you as he stutters and works up the courage to ask for what he wants. “Do we have time—“

You rolls your eyes and rest your cheek on his thigh. Silly man. “You wanna fuck me, Rexy?”

“Kriff, yes.”

You smile and wipe your mouth with the back of your hand. “I don’t think they’ll miss us."

Rex doesn’t complain when you take his hands and yank him onto the grubby floor and over your senatorial robes. He props his back against the crate as you shuck off everything below the waste and clamber into his lap. His hands, warm even through the leather, land over the swell of your hips and wrench you closer until your front presses up against his chest plate.

The rough prickle of his stubble is, in all sense of the word, addictive. He tilts his head to kiss you, the slick touch of his tongue on your bottom lip adding jet fuel to the fire low in your belly. Rex groans and cups your jaw, holding your mouth open to dance his tongue along the length of yours. You whine and shudder as he purses his lips and lightly sucks on your tongue before you both part.

Rex drags his teeth over your bottom lip as you both pant for precious air. His dark lashes sweep up his cheeks when he looks at you. This close you bare witness to the dazzling color of his eyes—crystalized pearls of amber over the crackled bark of pine tree in the midmorning sun. Muted gold threaded through the brown like fine lace and the slow shimmer of the sun dappled through water. To think such a man like him is dredged through the bloodied mud of war is despicable.

You blink away the swell of tears prickling at your eyes and kiss him once more. Sighing, you whisper down, mouthing soft nibbles and teasing kisses over his jaw and down his neck. Rex squirms and rock his hips up, your cunt clenching around nothing. You need him.

“Rex,” you groan. You slide your hand between your bodies and grab at his thick length. Rex gasps into your mouth, long fingers clamping onto your waist in a death grip. “I want you.”

“I’m yours.”

Your nibble at his earlobe as you grind your hips against his length, the folds of your cunt teasingly out of reach. “Touch me, Captain.”

Rex tears off his vambraces and gloves, hand wedging between your thighs, touching the very tips of his fingers to your throbbing clit. You whine and clench your jaw—the pleasure is raw—sizzling electricity that crackles with the deadly promises of your pleasure. It’s as if you’ve had the breath knocked out of your lungs the second he bears down a bit more on your clit, drawing tentative circles, each completion sending a shockwave of tightly spooled ecstasy through each and every nerve. You nearly sob as his fingers slip away.

“So wet already,” Rex moans as you tip your head back when two of his fingers begin circle your dripping cunt. They’re thick and long and perfect. Your hips stutter as your cunt easily accepts his fingers, the heel of his palm slotting perfectly against your pussy to stimulate your clit.

Maker you’re seeing stars as Rex rocks his hand into you—the bend of his fingers the perfect angle to catch all the right places that make you tremble. He kisses your cheek and moans your name into your ear, all low and gravelly—

Your body seizes up tight as you soar, plummeting off the edge only to tumble so fast and so hard that tears prick the corner of your eyes. Rex peppers kisses over your cheeks and runs his free hand through your hair, purring praise and adoration as you shudder—your mouth parted in a silent cry as you cum and dissolve into his hands.

When you suck in a steadying breath and open your eyes, Rex is gazing upon you with starstruck eyes—pure adoration that makes your cheeks flare hotter than the surface of two mini suns. Your teeth catch your bottom lip. You’re not sure you deserve to be looked at like this…

However, you’re impatient and running on stolen seconds. As much as you’d like to just simply stare at him—there’s not enough time. Rex wraps his fingers around the base of his cock and slides the tip of himself through your soaking folds. Each stroke against your still throbbing clit makes you buckle into yourself, but the angle that your knees are propped over his hips means you're stuck here.

Rex pauses and cups your cheek. His thumb scrapes over your cheekbone. “You want this?”

You place your hand over his and turn your head to mouth a kiss over the lines of his palm. Oh, fuck yeah. Kind of him to ask as if hadn’t just cum over his fingers but—no. “I need you to fuck me, Rex. That’s an order.”

Rex huffs out a low chuckle and bumps the crown of his forehead against yours. “As you wish, Senator.”

Rex runs the blunt head of his cock through your folds again, slicking himself up with your arousal. You mewl and dig your nails into the hard plastoid as the wide tip of him pushes into your entrance—he shudders as you clench and wiggle. It doesn’t hurt, but he’s in no small. You’ll feel him for days, you’re sure of it as your cunt swallows inch after inch.

You both groan as he finally bottoms out. His jaw his clenched tight as sweat beads at his blonde hairline—Stars above, he’s a sight, struggling not to loose control the second he’s buried inside of you. Desire tickles up your spine, tugging at the fabrics of your being until all you can focus on his how Rex isn’t moving. You shift your hips in tiny, almost imperceptible motions, and squeeze around him.

“Damn—“ A ragged moans slices through his words as your gentle rocking morphs into needy jolts. It’s easy to fuck yourself onto his cock like this, but the measly thrusts are meant to tempt him. “Fuck, cyare, you’re tight.”

You smirk and grab at his sculpted shoulders—it’s the push he needs. Rex snarls your name, cups his hands under the globes of your ass and pulls you off his cock nearly all the way out only to slam back in. There’s no time to adjust before Rex sets a pace, fevered and rabid All pent up energy collecting over the weeks you’ve known each other. Each roll of his hips borders erratic, taking his pleasure without thought—intent on reaching his own end after being denied for what feels like ages.

You squeal in surprise as Rex pushes you onto your back and hoists your legs around his hips. Rex buries his nose into the crook of your neck and moans your name like a sweet prayer wrapped in honeycomb. Rex shifts his weight, widening his knees to sink deeper into your cunt—his stubble tickling your throat as his staggered exhales burn hot over your skin.

You choke out a groan and feel your arousal begin to drip down your thighs—hear the thrusts of his cock into your cunt become shamefully wetter. Electric heat sears down each vertebrae in your spine, scorching through each and every veins with the catastrophic brilliance of an imploding star. Shit—

“So good t’me—so perfect,” he huffs into your ear. Rex turns his head and steals a kiss. “Feel fuckin’ good stretched around my cock."

You clench around him hard as Rex’s hand sneaks between your bodies and rubs tight, little circles over you swollen clit. There’s barely any build up to your orgasm—just a blinding surge of devastating warmth that sweeps through your body, from your aching center down to your toes. It steals away all the air left in your lungs and leaves your clutching his arm and shuddering for a hold in your own reality—the steady warmth of his body that’s unburdened by armor a much needed anchor for the madness that threatens to drown you.

His gentle, and pliant kisses morph into little pricks of his teeth over your neck and collar bone as his hips struggle to keep a definitive pattern. Rex’s curses string together and blur into nonsensical noises and loose tongue admittances that are comparable to moving inches from an imploding star.

“Where can—can I?”

You grab at his head and whine his name. “Anywhere—in me—you can cum in me.”

With a loving caress over back of his neck and a sweet whisper of his name, he reaches release. Rex’s moan is airy as his eyes slam shut and captures your mouth in a sizzling kiss. He’s twitching in your arms as his hips erratically jerk, hot spurts of his release coating your insides and beginning to leak over your robes you lay over. Whatever.

Rex nips at your skin as the last dregs of pleasure jolt up your spine. Neither of you say a word as Rex’s hips come to a slow. Time trickles through your fingers like sand through an hourglass half empty but instead of rushing to dress, you choose to lie on the ground—two halves of a mess someone’s been meaning to clean up for the better part of a long while. You feel at home here—content as your fingers run up and down the back of his head, a bit irked by the armor still covering his back. You’re terrified of the months to come—but at least you have each other. After all, gardens will bloom and flourish with fresh blooded love and wild mistakes sculpted from passion forever if you believe hard enough…wont they?

#we out here #yeehaw #my writing #captain rex x reader #captain rex x you #ct-7567 #captai rex #clone x reader #clone trooper x reader #the clone wars #tcw #anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #star wars #sw

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