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#because i never thought wed end up here but at least your happy
moniswifey · 2 years
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because sometimes the music speaks the truth of my heart
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sanguineterrain · 6 months
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Could we please get a drabble in which Jason and his partner have a fight and the partner walks out of the apartment to cool off and doesn't think the fight was something detrimental but Jason is actually terrified his relationship just ended?
anon?? are we sharing a mental connection?? i literally had this thought a month ago 😳 it fits him so well too :(
jason todd x gn!reader. tw fighting, jason thinks you broke up with him, misunderstandings, happy ending.
****
"You're not being fair."
You scoff, and pinch the bridge of your nose.
"Fair? This is what couples do, Jason! God, I'm not saying we have to go out with other couples every week, but can't we do it at least once in a while? What's wrong with going to one wedding?"
Jason scowls from the kitchen. His arms are crossed, jaw tensed. "Why aren't you happy with just going out together? You're not in a relationship with your friends."
"Because it's good to do new things, and you're someone I want my friends to meet. And I want to meet your friends too!"
"My friends are aliens and Roy. You don't wanna meet them, trust me."
"Yes, I do, Jason. Don't tell me I don't. And I know this relationship is new for both of us, but I don't want it to be that we never go out with people, never meet each others' friends. You don't even have a good reason not to go!" you say.
"I do have a good reason," Jason says. "We don't know them."
"I work with the bride! She's not a criminal—"
"We don't need to go to someone's wedding we don't know," he continues. "Too many variables. Too many things could go wrong."
You shake your head. "That is so ridiculous, Jason. It's not spycraft, it's a wedding!"
"I said no," Jason says sharply, like he's handling a Crime Alley thug.
You take a deep breath.
"Okay." You close your eyes. "This isn't going to work. I need some air."
You grab your wallet and keys and walk out of his apartment. The train station is only a block from where you are; you'll go to the city square, have some lunch, and go back after a few hours. Jason doesn't respond well when he's pushed.
****
It's close to 5pm when you get back to Jason's apartment. He hasn't texted you, but you didn't expect him to; no contact is best for a few hours anyway.
You unlock the door. The apartment is dark.
"Jay?" You put your things down on the side table. "Jason? You here?"
Had he gone on patrol already?
There's a bump in the bedroom, then the door creaks open.
Jason stands in the doorway, clothes rumpled. You turn on a lamp, and he squints. His eyes are red; the skin of his lips are chewed up. He blinks at you, shoulders going to his ears.
"Are you here for your stuff?" he asks quietly.
You frown. "What?"
Jason points tightly to his room. "Your clothes and stuff."
"Why would I get my clothes?"
He takes a deep, shuddery breath, then swallows.
"'Cause we-we broke up," he says, and his eyes become glassy again.
Oh.
"Oh. Oh no, Jay. Jay, baby. No, no."
You walk to him and wrap your arms around his neck. He plants his face in your shoulder, hands going from your hips to your back and down again. He sniffles.
"I'm sorry," he says. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. We can go to the wedding."
"Wait, hang on. Jason. Baby, look at me."
Jason picks up his head. His eyes are wide, his breathing is fast.
"Why do you think we broke up, Jay?"
He rubs his eye, pulling the skin so hard it turns red.
"'Cause we fought and... and when I fight with people, that means things are over."
"Things aren't over," you say gently. "We move on. We talk. We forgive."
"Don't deserve it."
"Oh, Jay." You pull him back into your arms. He bends so he can rest his head on your chest. "Sweetie, we're not going to break up over one fight. Certainly not over something like this. We can always talk things out."
He sighs. "I was stupid anyway. We should do normal couple things. You don't deserve my bullshit."
You stroke his hair. He hugs you tighter.
"Jay, being anxious about going someplace new isn't bullshit. And I don't want you to go to the wedding just because you're afraid we'll break up if we don't."
He pulls back to look at you. You're no more than a couple inches from each other.
"I don't want to go to the wedding," he says. "But... maybe we can start with something smaller? Less people? Dinner with another couple?"
"Are you sure?"
He nods. "Yeah, sweetheart. I'm sure. I wanna do that stuff, I just—one day at a time?"
"Yeah, Jay, of course." You kiss him. "Always."
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buckboi · 28 days
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Angsty Little Coda to 7.6 because I couldn’t get the look on Margaret Buckley’s face out of my head but don’t worry it has a happy ending
*Now edited and on Ao3*
G / 1k / TW for bad parents
“Evan, have you got a moment?” 
Five words from his mother and Buck falls off cloud nine and crashes back to nineteen years old.
But Chimney’s alive and okay. Maddie’s glowing beside him in her gown. Everyone’s chatting and eating the overpriced (but admittedly delicious) wedding cake. It feels like a family gathering, and Buck won’t cause a scene in front of his family.
“Yeah, sure,” he says. Tommy gives his hand a gentle squeeze. Says I’ll be right here with just his eyes. Buck squeezes back, and follows his mom into the corridor.
“Come here.” She pulls a tissue from her pocket with one hand, grabs his chin with the other and starts wiping away the soot Tommy had left on his face when they reunited. “So. What’s all this then?”
It’s a trap, he knows.
“What’s all what?” he deflects.
“All this.” She waves her hand at his face, then towards the hospital room where Tommy is visible through the glass door. “You’re an adult now, Evan. I thought you knew better than to upstage your sister on her wedding day.”
Oh great. Accused of doing exactly what he’s trying not to do. It would be funny if it wasn’t frustrating.
“Second wedding,” he mutters under his breath. Just because Maddie was happy to forgive her parents for missing the first one, doesn't mean Buck has to let it go too.
“Excuse me?”
“I said she knows,” he corrects. This is a happy day. Chim is alive. Maddie is beautiful. Tommy is waiting for him. Things are good. He’s not arguing with his mother. “Maddie. I told her about Tommy weeks ago. She was the first person I told, actually. And she told me to bring him to the wedding, if I wanted to. The only one here who seems to have a problem with it is you.”
His mom scoffs at that, and lets go of his face.
“I’m not homophobic.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“I just don’t think it’s right, springing it on your father like that.” She tuts at him. Like he’s nineteen, fifteen, twelve, eight years old. He almost liked it when she was disappointed in him. At least she was paying attention. “He’s getting older. His heart.”
“You think me having a boyfriend is going to give dad a heart attack?” He laughs at the absurdity of it all. “Do you think we should get him outta that room before he realizes Hen and Karen are lesbians?”
“Evan.” How she manages to say his name with some much judgment when she’s the one who names him, he’ll never know. “It’s different. When you find out your own child has been lying to you for years. And all those girls you’d string along...”
She looks hurt, but not angry, which is its own kind of fucked up. It’s not fair. She doesn’t get to be sad about this.
Not when things are finally feeling good, and safe, and right. When Tommy feels right.
“I wasn’t lying.” It’s maybe more of the truth than she deserves.
“I don’t see how that can be true if you’re gay.”
“Well I’m bi, actually. And I only just-“ he scrubs a hand over his face, probably spreading the soot around worse. “It’s a recent development, okay? That’s why people didn’t know. ‘Cause it’s new. And Tommy and I are taking it slow.”
“I suppose that’s a first for you too, Evan?” she snipes and it’s goddamn unfair because who is she to ask him that? To judge his life when she’s never so much as pretended to take an interest in it?
He has options, now. He could storm off. He could say something worse. He could say something worse, something about dead children and how they can’t disappoint you like the ones who are still alive and then storm off.
She’s not worth it, says a voice in his head. It sounds a lot like Eddie, and Bobby; like Maddie, and Chim, and Hen, and Tommy.
Like someone who actually cares about him.
“Can we just… not?” he asks, and for a second Buck thinks she might actually refuse. Might force the point, but she lets out an unnecessarily weary sigh and nods. “Can’t we go back to the party, and enjoy what’s left of the day?”
“Of course. Why wouldn’t I want that?” Buck doesn’t even attempt to answer that one. “Just let me get you looking respectable again and we can go back.” She grabs at his face once more.
“Buck! Chim wants you back for a team photo,” Maddie says, bursting out of Chimney’s room in a cloud of tulle. Just in time to witness his humiliation. Great. “Aww, you’re wiping it off?” 
“Of course he is,” their mom says. She’s scratching at his face with the tissue. Speaking for him like he can’t answer on his own. “It’s your wedding, Maddie. I won’t let him show you and Howard up.”
Buck takes a deep breath and smiles thinly as his sister furrows her brows.
“Oh, well, Chim said he wanted a photo with your face all dirty.” She laughs sweetly, and grabs Buck’s arm. “He wants to capture every detail of the day.” 
“Oh,” Buck says eloquently as he lets his sister pull him back into Chimney’s room. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright,” she assures him.
“No it isn’t,” Chim cuts in from his bed. “Tommy, again. I want that photo!”
And Buck laughs, because it’s silly, and because he knows his family loves him. He asks, “Do we have to?” not because he doesn’t want to, but because it’s Maddie and Chim’s day, and he never wanted to steal their spotlight, even for a moment.
“Oh absolutely you do, Mister,” Maddie tells him, with just enough tease that he knows she wouldn’t force it if he protested. “Our wedding, our rules.”
Buck has no interest in protesting, instead he turns towards Tommy, who’d been a shockingly good sport about this. Buck’s sure he’s exhausted; probably desperate to get back to his apartment and shower off the day. Kinda wants to join him there if he’s being completely honest with himself.
“Well?” Tommy asks, interrupting his steamy fantasy.
Buck bites his lip like he's a teenager again.
“Hi.”
“H-“ Buck interrupts Tommy’s reply with his lips, far softer than before.
He’ll never ask how his mom reacted - whether she rolled her eyes, or pursed her lips or looked, even for a moment, proud of him - but Buck’s family cheers and jeers and whistles their support.
And he feels free.
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nana-gumi · 4 months
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thinking of you g.satoru
pairings: gojo satoru x fem! reader
cw: angst / comfort, failed marriage, having delusions/hallucinations, mental illness, self harm, naoya zenin (yes he's a warning), manipulation, no curses au, businessman! gojo, arranged marriage mentioned, mentions of abuse, trash family (as usual), suggestive ending! not proofread hehe
a/n: i based this au from katy perry's 'thinking of you' you can listen while reading! also currently obsessed with this blue-eyed king :'(
everything was perfect, your marriage with gojo satoru was already perfect, but then he suddenly wanted a divorce and you couldn't do anything about it. your parents ended up forcing you to marry a man from another powerful clan, naoya zenin.
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gojo satoru was too perfect for you. that was your first thought when you married the man.
even though it was an arranged marriage, gojo satoru wasn't as bad as you thought he would be.
rumors says that he was ruthless, cocky, and he thinks too high of himself, to which is true, but gojo satoru has a side that only you knew, his wife.
everything was perfect, your relationship with gojo satoru was already perfect, but why did it end up him filing divorce?
when satoru told you about the divorce, you couldn't do anything about it anymore. you couldn't even ask him about it, not when satoru never came home for a week, leaving you alone to drown in your thoughts.
what pushed him to file a divorce? where you not enough or did he found someone better than you? you hoped it's the first one because you didn't want to see satoru happy with someone that isn't you.
when satoru came back, you didn't have a choice but to sign the papers.
not once did he talk to you, or explain everything to you. he just watched you sign the paper.
satoru sat across you as he played with the pen on his hand.
"here." you muttered with a hoarse voice as you pushed the folder infront of him and satoru only stared at the paper before closing it.
he stood up, fixing his tuxedo as he took the folder in his hand and turned around. but you wouldn't let him, not when he didn't explain everything to you. you didn't want a divorce in the first place.
"satoru." you called, standing up at the chair as well as he glanced back at you. "satoru.." you called again but this time, your voice was pleading.
satoru gulped the lump in his throat as he looked back infront of him and looked down on the ground.
"i don't want this, satoru." you said as you walked close to him. "say something please, why? what happened?" at this point, you couldn't stop anymore as you spilled every question that you've been keeping for the week that he was gone. "did you- did you find someone?" you asked, looking down on the ground as if you were ashamed of your question.
"i don't need you anymore," he said, but those simple words never failed to put an ache in your chest.
"what?" you said in disbelief.
"don't make me repeat myself." he said with a sigh.
it was silent for a moment and satoru was taken aback when you pulled him by his wrist.
he watched as you place your wedding ring on his palms.
"i don't think i can keep this." you said as you look at his blue eyes, hoping that he would take back everything.
"keep it." he said as you shake your head.
"it's expensive, right?" you said as you sighed deeply. "take care, satoru. our times together, i hope some of it were genuine and real." you said before leaving his penthouse.
-
i don't need you anymore. did satoru only agree to the marriage because he needed something from you? did he finally get what he wanted? but-
satoru did love me at some point, right? at least he did. you said to yourself as you hit your head with your hand, trying to remove the negative thoughts and forcing yourself to think of the positive ones. 
you wonder what satoru wanted from you? was it really from you or your family's business?  
you pinched yourself, hoping and praying that everything was just a dream, and you'll wake up with satoru beside you, kissing you, telling you how much you mean to him, unaware of your tears coming out of your eyes.
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"you had one job! the gojo clan was already in our grasp, how could you let that man file a divorce! you're such a failure." your mother said but your mind was still left in your shared home with satoru, you were still processing the whole divorce incident as you stare at the ground, his last words playing inside your head like a broken radio. 
"what are you crying for!" she said, a scoff leaving her mouth. "i knew you were useless for this job, i should've let your sister marry that vicious man." you mother muttered as she massaged her temples. 
what job was your mother even talking about? you were opposed with their objectives when you married gojo satoru. they wanted the money and power, but you just wanted to be loved, which even satoru couldn't give you. maybe you really are a failure. 
you stayed in your dark room countless nights with your mind was somewhere and your heart? gojo satoru took it with him. he took your heart, and you were left with nothing. 
"satoru.." you mumbled, caressing the cold empty spot beside you, thinking that he was there, lying beside you with that toothy grin on his face.  
you smiled as you hugged his imaginary figure. you were going insane, creating an image of him in your mind to cope up. 
you hugged him as tight as you could but, in the end, it was just you and your cold pillow. 
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"this is her?" naoya zenin said as he crossed his legs. "looks like she just got out of the jungle." he said, laughing at his own words. 
your mother laughs nervously as she forced you to stand infront of her. "i told you to get dressed!" she whisper-yelled on your ear before going back from forcing a laugh. "ah yes, this my youngest daughter, she's still not in her right mind. you know, that gojo satoru ended things with her." your mother said that caught the zenin's interest. 
"oh? gojo satoru, huh?" he said a smirk making its way to his lips. "fine, i accept your proposal." 
"but mama! satoru and i are married!" 
"shut up! you're sick in the head." 
"no!" you said as you pushed her, her back hitting the couch as she was forced to sit down. 
"how could you push me!" she said, gripping your forearm as you whined in pain. "i'm selling you off to the zenin's! you better do your job better this time." she said as you shake your head. 
"satoru will be sad mama..." you mumbled as tears started to gather in your eyes. your mother can only scoff, convinced that you've hit your head and gone insane. 
"satoru answer please." you cried. you already called him multiple times but all were left unanswered and yet you still refused to give up. "please.." you tried and tried, until the number blocked you.  
so this is where it ends.  
a curse left your mouth as you squeezed your hair with your fingers. 
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"gojo satoru wasted a gem like you." naoya zenin said as he clicked his tongue, sliding his finger on your jaw to your lips. "it's his lost, darling." he said, giving your lips a peck. it was disgusting but you couldn't do anything about it as you let him. 
naoya kissed you but all you could think of was satoru. the way naoya hugs you, satoru's hugs were the most comfortable. his words were not as sweet as satoru's. everything naoya does to you, satoru could only be the person in your mind. 
the marriage was private, only your and his relatives were around to witness.
it's been a month and you're still hoping that satoru would suddenly appear and take you away, but as more months passed by, your starting to lose hope.
-
you cupped naoya's cheeks in your hands as you leaned your forehead against his.  
"satoru." you mumbled as you smiled and then a yelp left your mouth when you were pushed. 
"that's too cruel, (name). stop calling me satoru, don't compare me with that piece of garbage." naoya said, squeezing your cheeks with his fingers. "listen, gojo dumped you, even used you! he did not see the real you, he did not realize how precious you are, and it's me! only I saw it. forget about that trash, this is not about him."  
shut up! 
"okay, i will. sorry naoya." shut up! 
"yeah? that's it, clever girl."  
"satoru!" you jolted awake from a nightmare as you looked around the room. 
"it's naoya, darling." 
"oh, s-sorry! i didn't mean-" 
"shh, it's fine."  
"i'm sorry naoya.." 
"like i said, it's fine." he said as he smirked at your helpless situation. "a kiss in exchange."  
"come on, say it." 
"i love you.." you gulped the lump in your throat as you tried to get up from his lap, but he stopped you before you could even move. 
"hm?" he hummed, caressing your waist with his hands. 
"n-naoya." 
"say that again." 
"i love you, naoya." 
"there we go. i love you too." 
"we hate him, right? he's our enemy." naoya said as you hummed in response, but that wasn't enough for naoya. "say it." 
"gojo satoru is a piece of trash." 
"right? he is." he said as he chuckled.
"why did you hurt yourself?" naoya said as he caressed the fresh scars on your wrist. "see what that man does to you? he's poisoning your mind!" naoya cooed as he wiped the tears in your cheeks. "i'm here, you don't need him." 
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you didn't expect to see satoru after the divorce several months ago at a party where all clans were gathered, enemies or allies, it doesn't matter. 
"if it isn't gojo satoru." naoya greeted, a smirk forming on his lips as the blue-eyed man scowled at him. naoya eyes shifted from the woman beside gojo satoru. "such a beautiful lady, your wife, new wife perhaps?" naoya said as the woman exchanged glances with gojo. 
"we're not-" 
"naoya?" your voice cuts off the woman's and naoya couldn't be happier for your right timing. 
"ah, meet my wife." he introduced, your eyes meeting with the blue ones. naoya thought it was entertaining to watch you and his enemy. he couldn't contain his smile as he watched gojo's eyes go widen, but then naoya's eyebrows furrowed when he saw how you looked at gojo satoru. 
you felt naoya's hand tightened on your waist. 
"h-hello, it was nice to meet you." you stammered, avoiding the curious blue eyes. 
"stop bothering me." he said, and your heart couldn't hurt more as he left, your eyes meeting the worried ones of the woman that was just beside him as she followed him. 
all your hope disappeared as you watched satoru leave the venue. 
"see? he's so rude."
"come on, stop crying now. everyone would think we're fighting." naoya said. 
"i'm sorry." you cried, wiping your face with a tissue. 
"gojo satoru was so rude, right? he told you to stop bothering him. poor you." he said as he rubbed your back up and down with his palm. 
"i hate him..." 
"that's right! hate him!" naoya said with a clap of his hands. "he doesn't deserve you." 
"gojo that's enough." the woman, who is his friend, shoko, said.  
"another glass please." satoru said. 
"drinking wouldn't do anything!" shoko scolded, taking the glass from satoru's hand. "i shouldn't have agreed with your request, gojo. you should've asked another woman, i'm a busy person too you know?" shoko said. 
"fuck, i want to kill that bastard." 
"why did even walked out that way? she got sad, i saw it." satoru gulped the whole glass in his mouth as he slammed it on the table.
"satoru, we should carry out the plan now. this is the only chance." 
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"i don't want this, satoru." you said as you walked close to him. "say something please, why? what happened? did you- did you find someone?" you asked, looking down at the ground as if you were ashamed of your question.
"i don't need you anymore," i still do, i'm sorry.
god, no one knew how much he wanted to wipe those tears in your cheek, he wanted to take everything back, but he knew he couldn't. 
satoru cursed himself as he watched you leave, clutching the ring close to his chest.
-
you were calling him continuously and satoru couldn't have the right time to answer it. his father saw it and forced him to block your number.
just like you, satoru didn't want the divorce, but his father forced him saying that your family wasn't a help to their business.
satoru doesn't give a single fuck about the business, he wanted you, not the money.
satoru couldn't stop thinking of you for the past months after the divorce.
you told him your situation in your home, how your parents abused you as a kid. you told him you don't want to go back there anymore and satoru, he promised that he wouldn't let that happen again, but who knows what is happening inside your so-called home now that you were separated.
satoru threw every thing he could reach across his room. he didn't care if some of it were glass, but then he stopped when he get a hold of a frame. it was you and him on your wedding day.
he still remembered how awkward you acted that day.
"fuck, i miss you so much.. my love. i'm sorry." he mumbled, caressing your face in the picture as a tear left his eyes.
-
"suguru, you have a house in new york, right?"
"satoru, what crazy plan are you having in your head right now." suguru joked but noticed that his best friend was being serious. "what's up?" he asked.
"i'll buy it."
"what? why?"
"i'll- we'll run away."
"are you insane?"
"if it's for my wife, i am."
"satoru-"
"suguru, you won't get involved, i promise."
"it's not about that satoru, i'm worried for you and (name)."
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"satoru, we'll meet at the parking lot. remember, don't let anyone see you." shoko said.
"i owe you and suguru, shoko." satoru said as shoko rolled her eyes.
"that's what friends do right? now go, i'll get your woman."
-
"hi!" shoko said as he sit beside you. she looked around, your husband looked busy talking with other businessmen.
"hi.. you're satoru's friend right?" you said. shoko was thankful you still remembered.
"i am. do you want to get some fresh air?" shoko suggested and you were hesitant at first before coming with her.
-
"where are we going?" you asked but she ignored you as he continued to pull you with her.
"sho-" you were cut off, there he was, standing infront of you.
you looked around and shoko wasn't there anymore.
"w-what? what are you-"
"(name)." satoru called as he held your hand but you were fast to retract it.
"don't-" you said as you took a step back.
"i'm here to take you back, (name)." satoru said, trying to reach you only for you to step back again.
"no, you can't.. you can't, he'll be mad!" you said and satoru's heart ached. "he'll hurt you, satoru!"
"he can't do that, come (name), let's run away." satoru said, finally embracing you.
"satoru, it's too late." you mumbled, tears gathering in your eyes. "i'm already married.."
"let's run away." he repeated. "i'm sorry, it took me a long time to get you, i was planning everything out." he said as he cupped your cheeks, your tears stopping at his thumb.
"but you said you don't need me anymore." your voice cracked and satoru hates himself for saying that.
"i'm sorry, i didn't mean it, i swear." satoru said as he brushed your hair with his fingers.
"really?" he nods as he leaned his forehead on yours.
"i love you, and i need you. let's run away, hm?"
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"satoru, they will still look for us." you said as satoru tucked you on his arms.
satoru knew that, but for now, he'll indulge in this moment with you. he used one of their private jets to fly to another country.
"then we'll run away again. i have connections."
"what if they hurt us?"
"i will protect you."
"ok, i trust you."
"what happened here?" satoru asked as he saw the scars on your wrist.
"it's nothing."
"he's hurting you, huh?"
"no. satoru let's not talk about him, please?" you said as satoru's eyes shifted from your lips.
he gave it a peck as you tried to chase it when he pulled away.
you cupped his cheeks and forced him to kiss you as he deepened it.
satoru held you by your shoulders as he cornered you on your seat.
he pulled away as he cursed. he missed this, the taste of your lips.
"did he touch you?" satoru asked and you only kept quiet.
"i thought about you.." you murmured shyly.
"is that so? did he make you feel good?"
"no, only you can!" you exclaimed as he chuckled.
"don't you think they'll let us be together once i gave you a child?"
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qiwoomi · 2 months
Text
officially yours (his)
gojo satoru x fem! reader
fluff, established relationship, marriage, modern au, slightly suggestive in the end
a/n: idk how long it's been, almost about a year but I'm back again. this time school isn't an obstacle anymore :] wrote this while seasons - wave to earth is playing in the background
If years ago you're telling the Gojo Satoru you would marry him, he would tell you it would be a dream out of reach. Because back then, he's not confident in himself to make someone as beautiful- inside and out as you happy. It might be because of his rough past, and he didn't want to risk you going through it as he doesn't want you to get hurt.
You are too delicate, too fragile that he's sure that he doesn't deserve you. Hell, he would even risk letting someone else have you if it meant you don't have to go through a single trouble that he always endures. Though he's used to it by now, but you don't.
So how is it possible that here he is, standing on the shoreline of the vast ocean of your dreams, his shoes a little drenched and stained with sand. But never mind all that. His eyes are on you, teary and red though it won't fall. His lips are trembling, he wants to say something, but he knew that he would be sobbing and he promised himself that he won't ruin the ceremony that unite both of you in sickness and health.
There you are in your white wedding dress, your dream wedding dress, as you held the bouquet of flowers in your hand, keeping up a smile even though you're also on the verge of tears. Your eyes are blurry, but your father guided you to him, letting go of you as you're now standing in front of each other.
You allowed yourself to sniffle. Geto then starts doing the speech and declaration to officiate both of you in your wedding day, Satoru's eyes never fell from yours.
It's time to declare each other's wedding vows, which you anticipate. Satoru fixed his bow tie nervously, as you smiled.
"[Name], my love, my heart, my life, my everything." He starts, and his voice already cracked which earned a few laughs from your families and friends. He was full on sniffling, nose red as the first drop of tears stained his cheek. "First of all, I want to thank you a lot for everything you've done for me. Taking care of me even when I'm whiny and clingy, even though I stained your shirt with my snot as you patted me to sleep. Always being there to comfort me because you know that I'm not fine, even though I insist I am. You always knew before me, and this is one of the reasons why I fall in love with you." He manage to make through the first paragraphs, as onslaught of tears stained his cheeks again.
"Oh my god, I'm crying." He accidentally slipped into the mic, as chuckles are heard again. He's trying to wipe them off with his sleeves now. "Does anyone have a tissue?" He sniffled, as Geto handed him a q-tip. He tried wiping his tears with them, as it didn't do as much. "What does a q-tip gonna do? I need a tissue." He sniffled again, only realising the tissue in his breast pocket when you pointed them out.
"Ah, thank god." He sniffled, as he tried to compose himself while wiping his tears. Now the audiences were laughing, which makes you laugh too even though you're also about to drown in tears. "Okay." He cleared his throat, lifting up the paper in his view which is stained by droplets of tears.
"I'm sure that even if I continue listing them down, words wouldn't be enough to express my love to you- because it runs deep. And it is dangerous, at least this is what I thought when I was so young and naive, still learning what real love means." He sniffled. "But I got addicted to it, you're too addictive that I'm sure the thought of you will never go away. Everyday I wake up, I'm thankful that I even get the chance to be with you. And I try to make it last, even though temporary, these fleeting moments is my motivator."
He inhaled, before reading the next last paragraph. "My love, I want you to know that this has been my dream for the longest time. And to see and experience myself to be officially yours is a dream come true. I'm yours, always yours from the start and eternally. I promise myself from the start, and I want you to know that I'll always be with you no matter in sickness or in health, in the hardest days of your life or the easiest. I love you wholeheartedly in all versions of yourself. My heart, I have devoted myself to you, and should you think that I'm not, I'll always remind you through my actions. I love you, my [Name], my wife now and forever."
Gojo Satoru managed to finish, his tears are now at bay only for it to stream continously again when it's your turn to recite your wedding vows. It is safe to say that Gojo Satoru cried more than you, and he took 1 to 2 business days to process your marriage before finally going back to his 'normal' safe. And you love him all the same.
bonus:
It was late on your wedding night, after making love with him. You laid on his chest, catching your breath as he caressed your hair, his eyes on the ceiling as if lost in thought. It was quiet, but you love it.
"My love?" He starts, his eyes now on you, admiring your features. His hand on your hair is so comforting, that it took you a second to answer him. "Mhm? What is it baby?" You asked, looking up at him with sincereness and love in your eyes.
He pouted, frowning a little. Whatever it is that's weighing on his mind, you want to make it go away. "I'm sorry for ruining our wedding. I just can't hold it- you know. I never thought we would go this far." He mumbled, as you now start cupping his face, making him look into your eyes.
"Hey, it's fine. You know, I love that you're not afraid to show your true self. I love you. You make the wedding more memorable." I reassured him, speaking softly that he might even fall asleep to my voice.
Satoru didn't answer, though it's evident he's happy to know your thoughts now that his frowns and pout go away. "I love you too. You know, we're not even done for the night." He teased, now going back to his 'normal' self.
You slapped his chest playfully, though there's no denying it when your cheeks are flushed.
a/n: this is inspired from one of the videos I came across on ig (iykyk) I wish I copied the link but I lost it ☹️ the video literally screams satoru and you can't fight me.
EDIT: HERE'S THE LINK GUYS!!!
© @qiwoomi
est. 250324
do not copy, translate or repost my work.
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animeficsworld · 7 months
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The Ending We Deserve
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Levi Ackerman x Reader
---
Seeing him in a wheelchair made you knees weak.
Humanity’s Strongest Soldier, Levi Ackerman.
When you left the Survey Corps, Levi and you parted. After many years of working together.
He always assumed you got married, had children or died during an attack.
But you never did.
You never moved on. You always loved him.
And now that the war has ended and you rushed to find him.
You heard news that he died along with the others, you heard news that he survived but was terribly injured and you also heard that he went insane and was locked away.
He didn’t notice you, he was talking to a man while you watched from afar.
You debated during the last couple of days whether you should find him and now, you debated if you should even go up to him. Maybe that old wound should not be reopened.
You watched as the man left with his son and you knew, now or never. 
“Humanity’s strongest watching the sunset.” you said as you walked over to him, he turned and looked at you with a shocked expression. “Before you ask, no, I’m not a ghost.”
“Y/N… how?”
“Mikasa told me everything.”
“Everything?”
You simply nodded before you sat down in front of him on the bench.
“I thought I would never see you. I thought you got married or died.”
“I never got married. It was hard to find another dark midget with a terrible attitude.” he smiled, you knew that you were the only friend of his who was still alive. Actually, more than a friend. “I’m sorry, I got scared and I left. I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologise, idiot. This way at least I didn’t lose you.” you laughed a little.
You looked at the skin as it turned orange and pink.
“I think you know this, but I have always loved you Levi. Ever since I left, every day, I spent worrying about everyone. But I mostly worried about you.”
“They are all gone.”
“Yes, but we are still here. Our lives shouldn’t stop because theirs did. I rent a room closeby, if you want… I can visit tomorrow.”
“Don’t leave. I have a house, stay there with me.” he offered and you could never say no.
Almost a year passed since you decided to go back to Levi.
Almost a year since you two found each other and fell back into the same comfortable partnership that you two had years ago.
And almost a month since you two got married.
The wedding was in a small chapel with no one there. Only you two and a priest.
And it was enough. It was more than enough.
Now, with a simple gold band on both of your fingers, you decided to cook lunch, Levi was outside sitting on the bench, watching as the children of the neighbourhood played. 
You heard him enter the room just as you finished with the food.
“Lunch’s ready.” you said and you felt a pair of arms around you, your back met his chest as he put his head into your neck. You stayed like that, allowing him to have his time.
“I want one.” he said in a low voice, you almost didn’t hear him.
“Lunch? I just made some we can eat-”
“No.” you were confused. What could he mean? You tried to think but you couldn’t realize what he meant.
“W-What do you mean? Tea?” you asked after a few minutes.
“A child.” 
Now, that hit you like a cold shower. No, it was more like hitting a wall while going full speed.
“You what? You want a baby?”
“Yes.” his answer was simple. 
“I didn’t know you would… I couldn’t imagine that you would want a baby.” He pulled back and you turned around, you looked into his eyes.
“Sorry, I didn’t think it through. I guess you don’t want to and its okay.”
“It’s not that.” you said quickly before he could move away from you, you put your hand on his chest, holding him there. “I just never could have imagined that you would want one. B-but I think we can. If you really want to. I would love to have a child with you, Levi.” you smiled at him as he placed his forehead against yours.
“I love you.”
“I love you too.” you said.
Who could have thought all those years ago that you would have such a happy ending?
Who could have thought that you will have the ending both of you deserved?
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starryevermore · 2 months
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the house of snow (15) ✧ coriolanus snow
the house of snow ✧ a royal coryo au | pinterest board| ao3
pairing: king!coriolanus snow x fem!reader
series summary: the king of panem is in search of a bride. and, for reasons you can never understand, coriolanus snow has set his sights on you. it would never be a happy marriage, you’re sure of that. but none of that matters, because when snow decides he wants something, he will do everything in his power to ensure it is his. 
chapter summary: you cannot seem to stay away. 
word count: 1,443
series warnings?: 18+ MINORS DNI, royal au, regency au, arranged marriage, rivals to lovers, obsessive!coryo, jealous!coryo, protective!coryo, eventual smut, eventual pregnancy, more tags to be added later
chapter warnings?: another shorter chapter im so sorry, pet name (petal), not proofread
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The Snow family cottage was beautiful. It looked like it had been plucked straight out of a storybook. The cobblestone walls, the window boxes overflowing with flowers, the ivy growing up the side of the house—all of it was gorgeous. Though you loved your life in the Capitol, a part of you would be content to live here forever and you hadn’t even seen the inside yet. 
“It was a wedding gift from my father to my mother,” Coriolanus said as he walked you up the stone path. “She always preferred the quiet. She would often come here just to escape the noise of the Capitol.”
“Your father must have loved your mother very much,” you said. To build an entire cottage as a wedding gift? You wondered how long it took. Buildings could be erected quite quickly in the Capitol due to all of the resources being sent straight there. But even then, there could be delays when things were not so readily available. How long had it taken to bring everything out to the countryside? 
“They had a long courtship, so he could have the cottage ready by the time they wed,” Coriolanus continued. “In the end, it was worth it to him if only because it was where she chose to have her children.”
Your breath caught in your throat. “She…” you tried to ask, but the words didn’t sound right. It sounded too insensitive to even try. 
“It was the one place that reminded her of my father that had been left untainted by the war,” he said. “I hated this place for so long because it felt like it took her from me. As I grew older, I began to appreciate that at least, through the pain, she felt some amount of peace.” He glanced at you as if to see your reaction. “I hope to make some better memories here with you. If that is alright.”
You swallowed. Oh, why did he have to be so sweet? To share his pain with you, to be so vulnerable…Fuck. Did he do this just so he could confuse your thoughts even more? Or was he being genuine? “I can try,” you offered. 
The corner of Snow’s mouth quirked up. You wanted to kiss it. “Thank you, petal. That is all that I ask.”
But is it all that you will ever ask? you wanted to say. What if you disappointed him? What if you could not provide him with the love he wanted from you? What happens then? 
Instead, you offered a small smile. “Can we go inside? I’m quite hungry after our journey.”
Coriolanus smiled, too, and led you in. It almost felt like you were being taken straight into the lion’s den. You pushed the thought from your mind. You told him you would try. Maybe you couldn’t make better memories for him here, but maybe you could try to understand him. Maybe, away from the Capitol, you could look between Coriolanus from the Academy and the Coryo you’ve come to know and find the true man laying inside. 
You reached for his hand, and gave it a squeeze. 
After lunch, Coriolanus allowed you your space. He gave you leave to pick which room you would like to stay in over the course of the your honeymoon, showed you where he would stay, and other points of interest in the cottage. Then he disappeared into his study, leaving you to do as you pleased. 
A part of you ached as he left. It had been what you wanted—distance to figure things out on your own. To determine how much you cared about Coriolanus without his presence influencing your thoughts. But you had so much time with him in recent weeks, had gotten to experience him so intimately, that for him to leave you be…It felt wrong. It felt like he took a part of you with him. You swallowed your self-inflicted hurt, though, took a book from the library, and retreated into the gardens. 
Still, as you sat among the grand rose bushes that seemed to follow the Snows wherever they go, you couldn’t focus on the pages. The words blurred together until they were unrecognizable. You found yourself glancing to the window to Coriolanus’s study, silently urging him to walk to it, to look out at you. He never came. 
What was wrong with you? 
You closed the book, not bothering to mark the page you were on. You hadn’t processed a single thing on the pages you flipped through. Hell, you weren’t even sure what it was you were trying to read. This was just a cheap attempt to push away your feelings, to not have to bother sorting through them. 
You retreated back into the cottage, setting the book aside on a table, before marching up to Coriolanus’s study. The door was open. Coriolanus’s back was to you as he gazed out the window. You raised your hand, rapping your knuckles on the doorframe. He turned, his pale blue eyes wild with worry.
“Is everything alright?” he asked. 
“You drive me mad. You make me ill every time I see you. I cannot tell if it’s because of the butterflies girls talk about or because you scare me. You do. Scare me, I mean.”
Coriolanus took a step toward you. “I scare you?” he repeated.
“Your anger terrifies me. I don’t think…I don’t think you would ever hurt me. But the idea of what you might do to someone who does…Coryo, I have never been more terrified than when you thought I was going to run away with Sejanus. I was sure you would have killed him where he stood.”
A frown settled on his face. He took another step. “I should have. You are everything to me. I won’t let anyone try to poison you against me.”
“I cannot for the life of me understand why. You could have anyone, Coryo. You could have someone who knows that they love you, who can say those words.”
“I don’t want anyone but you, petal.” He stepped closer. One more step, and he would be in front of you. Part of you wanted to shy away, to put distance between the two of you. Your feet remained firmly planted. 
“Why?” you begged. 
“Because I burn for you. You have burrowed yourself into my soul, if I should have one. Since we were fourteen, all I have wanted was you. All I have ever wanted was to be good enough for you. I made a name for myself for you, I became king for you. I will be any man you want me to be. Just give me the word.”
Your brows pinched together. “We only met when we were fourteen.”
Coriolanus closed the distance. “I fell in love with a girl who could look me right in the face and say I was wrong for thinking the opera useless, a gratuitous performance than something contributory to society. I did not come to love the opera that day, but rather the girl whose face lit up at every note. Who nearly rose out of her seat as if she might be sing too. I have loved you for a long time, petal. I fear I always will.”
He reached up, his hands cupping your face. You leaned into his palm, your eyes fluttering shut. “I will go to as many performances as you wish, petal. I will pretend I love every one. I will build you a thousand libraries. I will adopt a million cats. If you…If you tell me to beg for your love, I will get on my knees without a second thought. I will do anything, I will be anything, for you.”
“What if you tire of me?”
“I could never. The months I spent with the Peacekeepers, the years I spent climbing the social ladder, all I could think of was you and all of it would be worth it if I could hold you just once.”
“And when you learn that I am a far cry from the woman you think me to be?”
“Then I would love her, too. You are it for me, petal.”
You opened your eyes. Your gaze fell to his lips—how plush they were, how his tongue darted out to wet them, how they parted, ready to say more. Words never fell past them, though, for you stopped them right in their tracks. You kissed your Coryo until you were breathless. 
When you finally parted for air, you whispered, “I…think this is better than a love match.”
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Astarion Very Happy Ending, Part 2
Hey y'all, so I did a part two of this because I love happy, insanely, fluffy romantic endings. So I'm going hard here. There will be one more part!
Also, don't judge my Gale x Shadowheart bs here 💀💀 Long story short, first playthrough that was abanadoned, I picked her orgin and did get sweeped up by the mage man. It has not left my brain since.
Also, this has a time skip! A pretty long one too (10 years)
~
Astarion had been having… thoughts lately. Ideas that he couldn’t quite shake. Nothing bad, no. There really wasn’t much to complain about in his life, not anymore. Not when he could walk in the sun freely, unburdened by parasites and his own vampiric nature. The two of you were free to explore the world with no shackles, not including your religious zealotry. And ironically enough, his own. 
Astarion would never have guessed that he’d ever become a Selune convert. Well… even now convert may have been to strong of a word. Yes, he was immensely appreciative for the whole sun immunity blessing and he did have a newfound respect for the work of her worshippers. But Astarion wasn’t exactly looking for a deity, or anyone, to be subservient to. Not again. No, he’d much rather watch his love do the dirty work for his savior than fully commit himself. Besides, just because he wasn’t devoted to Selune didn’t mean he wasn’t devoted to you. Which might as well have been the same thing. 
Astarion loved you, adored you really, but gods could you be nonsensical at times. He was so happy the two of you had met because someone had to keep this idiotic fanatic alive. Someone to remind you that no darling, not everyone is redeemable. Please put the goblin down.
But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy being your protector. It was the least that he could do considering everything you’d done for him. And he just… liked having a valid excuse to accompany you everywhere. Astarion had never imagined himself to be such a clingy lover, but here he was. The two of you had been attached at the hip for nearly a decade now, with no end in sight. You had built a life together, had friends together, adventures and celebrations that filled his days with endless excitement and amusements.
That is one thing Astarion had to give Selune and her worshippers, they didn’t exactly lead boring lives. Though he supposed half of that had to with just how involved the opposition was. The two of you had slaughtered enough acolytes of Shar over the years for him to know just how covert they really could be. But it wasn’t just bloodsport that made things interesting, though it certainly did help. The exploring for ancient artifacts definitely helped to fill the time, as well as the constant search to find a cure for the rest of his unholy symptoms. 
As great as being in the sun was, Astarion wasn’t quite satisfied with that being the end. It was almost certainly impossible to find a full on cure to being a vampire spawn but… that wasn’t stopping either of you from looking for it. It was morbid, but Astarion wanted his life to have an ending. A natural one like what he hoped for you, not one where he was doomed to immortality and bloodlust until the end of time. 
Thank the gods that he had managed to fall in love with an elf. It at least gave him centuries instead of decades to figure out a solution to an eternal problem. Which brought him back to his current problem. Because the two of you had many, many years ahead. And as far as Astarion was aware you both planned on spending them with each other. Which implied… certain things.
Astarion had never been someone to fantasize about marriage. He had no reason to, not when he had been too busy barely surviving. Even when things became serious between the two of you it hadn’t been on his mind. He was much more concerned with keeping you at all instead of keeping you forever. 
But that had changed recently. Maybe it was because he had seen you officiate countless weddings over the years; young couples always clamoring at a chance to get a newlywed Selune blessing. Or maybe it was how others took note of the lack of a ring on his finger, taking it as an opportunity for unwanted flirtation. But either way, he couldn’t stop thinking about it. Obsessing about it really, as he was want to do when it came to you.
He just… didn’t exactly know how to broach the subject. What was the reason? A silly little ceremony and a ring had no bearing on the depth of your relationship. He knew that. The two of you were bound to each other by choice, a love that felt as though it got stronger every day. But… it would be nice to have you in such a way. For the world to be aware of the seriousness of what you had together, shown simply through a pair of rings. And the thought of calling you his wife was quite enticing. 
He wasn’t quite sure why he was so hesitant to bring it up to you. Well… there was the slight delusional thought in his head that reminding you of forever could possible wake you up into realizing just how much better you could do than him. It wasn’t true, he was aware. But gods, your relationship had lasted a damn decade. When was he going to start feeling secure about all of this? 
It didn’t help when Gale of all people beat him to the punch. He and Shadowheart had developed quite the bond since your tadpole days. And your excitement over the announcement was adorable. Adorable enough for him to wonder just how you would react to it happening to you.
But he shoved his worries to the back of his mind, too busy being dragged all the way to Waterdeep for the week-long nuptials. You were highly involved in the wedding, which wasn’t exactly a shock. Shadowheart had stayed your best, most appreciated friend throughout the years, the two of you eternally tied through your shared goddess alone. You wrote to each other constantly and this was far from the first time you had dragged him across the realm for a visit. 
But this was probably the best time. He had to give the people of Waterdeep this, they knew how to celebrate. He wasn’t one to complain over a week filled of music, dance, and drink. The ceremony had been nice as well. Heart-warming even to watch Shadowheart walk down the aisle, smiling in a way she never could when she was devoted to Shar. With Gale sniveling at the other end and you officiating of course. 
The jealousy had been an unexpected touch. He couldn’t help but wonder what you would look like in her place. Dressed in white and silver, walking towards him with eternity in mind. 
It certainly wasn’t helping his dilemma, he could tell you that much. He was still thinking about it when they made it to the reception. It was impossible to bury thoughts of marriage when you were at a wedding. Would you want a large celebration like this? Or something more small and intimate? Hells, the two of you and a cleric in the middle of the woods would suffice to him. 
“To think, Astarion Ancunín at my wedding in the sunlight,” Gale laughed as he plopped down in the seat next to him, effectively putting an end to his internal fretting, “Who would have ever imagined?”
“Certainly not me,” Astarion scoffed with the slightest hint of a smile, “But I suppose things change.”
“I suppose they do,” Gale agreed, his eyes scanning the dancefloor for his new bride. There she was, dancing and giggling with you in the middle of ballroom,  “I just never expected it to be for the better.”
“It is a wonder that we’re all still alive,” Astarion agreed, smiling to himself when Shadowheart dipped you as you laughed hysterically, nearly falling over herself in the process, “Let alone being able to find love. Who would have thought the worshiper of the goddess of the dark would end up here.”
“Turns out she was hiding quite the personality behind the Shar mask,” Gale laughed, “Though I suppose we have Tav to thank for that. It was a real fight on who would have her as their best woman. A fight we both obviously lost. Though officiating seemed a good compromise.”
“She certainly has the experience,” Astarion sighed, “But I have a feeling this one will be her favorite. She’s happy for you two. We both are.”
“I’m happy for you too you know,” Gale added with a small smile, “I always thought the two of you would work out. I even made a killing in the pool we had going on for it.”
Astarion stared at him, brow raised, “You had a pool?”
“Oh absolutely,” Gale confirmed, completely shameless as he listed out the rules, “It got quite competitive after awhile. First, it was all about if you’d ever realize your feelings for her. Then when you went and did that we were betting on how long you’d both last before you left. And then when that didn’t happen, well. Let’s just say I got a few platinums richer.”
Astarion rolled his eyes at the news, barely even surprised, “I feel as though I’ve earned a cut of that.”
“Unfortunately it’s now our honeymoon fund. But I’ll owe you one.”
That was another aspect of this whole debacle that Astarion hadn’t even thought about. But gods, did it sound nice. Whole weeks dedicated strictly to the two of you. No religious duties or adventures to worry about, just… them. 
The joy of the thought must have shown on his face, because the next thing he knew Gale was looking him up and down, a small smirk on his lips, “What’cha thinking about over there?”
“That this wine is mediocre at best,” Astarion lied, avoid Gale’s eyes, “Tell me you at least got a good deal on it?”
But Gale wasn’t taking the bait. He was still watching him like a hawk. That was the problem with getting closer to people, and having, gods friends. 
You had to deal with the discomfort of being read like a book, “Does our little Astarion want to be wed?”
Astarion flinched at the accuracy, taking the time to shoot him a glare as he avoided the question, “I am nearly three centuries older than you.”
“Perhaps, but we both know two of them don’t count,” Gale said, barely missing a beat, “So tell me, do you already have a ring picked out?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“I can help you pick one you know, there are many fantastic jewelers in Waterdeep. I believe she has the same ring size as Shadowheart, we can bring her along.”
Astarion rolled his eyes, ignoring the small blush creeping up his neck, “I want you to know that if this wasn’t your wedding day I would have slapped you by now. Consider my reluctance as your wedding present.”
“How generous of you,” Gale chuckled. But then he started to speak quieter, his voice taking on a more gentle and serious tone, “She would say yes you know. You’ve had her wrapped around your finger since the day you held that dagger to her throat.”
That was an exaggeration, but Astarion would be lying if he said the mention didn’t make him preen the slightest bit, “You forget that I did have competition.”
“Oh, barely,” Gale laughed, “You don’t get to reminisce of what could have been when you won. Gods, no one had any chance against you. And trust me, we tried.”
Astarion blinked at him, more than a little surprised, “You did?”
“Of course we did. We all did. What do you think Shadow and I bonded over? But the pining stopped eventually. Then it became…something more. Something deeper. She’s… a magnificent woman, my little shadow. Who has gone through too much…” Gale trailed off, his eyes still following his bride as he softly smiled,  “Suffice to say, neither of us are pining anymore. And I’m sure Shadow would love nothing more than to help plan her dearest friend’s nuptials.”
“Who ever said that you two would be involved?” Astarion scoffed, just to be an ass, “For all you know we’ll elope in Neverwinter.”
But Astarion’s grip backfired, if the smile on Gale’s face meant anything, “So that means you are going to propose?”
Oh for fucks sake. Astarion glared at him for the accuracy, at a loss for words. Besides it… it was true. Of course he was going to ask, where else would this fanatic line of thinking end? He just hadn’t expected Gale of all people to be the one to force him to admit it. 
“I-yes,” Astarion sighed, finally giving in, “Are you happy now? Yes, I’m going to.”
“Extremely,” Gale grinned, “Because you just won me another three hundred gold.”
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beachylupin · 10 months
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I'm Not In Love || Remus Lupin x Muggle!Fem!Reader
i'm sorry for such the long wait everyone! but here it is! the heartbreak you've all been waiting for! i'm sorry if this is bad, but i didn't want a happy ending just yet. feedback is welcomed and appreciated! to preface: this part takes place at the very beginning of november here's part one and the moodboard word count: 3.8k warnings: mention of alcohol and cigarettes, swearing, descriptions of a panic attack, angst!!!!!!, reader is kind of an asshole, miscommunication, quickly edited
“I really don’t want to go,” you told Lily, hands on your cheeks as you rested your elbows on your kitchen island. “It’s actually like… the last thing I want to do with my time.”
“Please,” Lily begged from the other side of the counter, causing you to groan. “The whole Remus thing was a misunderstanding. He’s been very busy, but I know that he really wants to call you.”
Your head hit the table with a dull thud.
Busy? Remus hadn’t called you even though you gave him your number at Lily’s wedding a month ago. You genuinely thought he was interested, just as you were, and still are, but after the first month of dead silence, you got the message loud and clear. “Busy” wasn’t a very good excuse anymore. As far as you were concerned, he wanted nothing to do with you, and you couldn’t help but wonder why as you tried to forget about him.
Despite how many times James and Lily came to your flat or you went to their new one in that short time, Remus was rarely mentioned until now. Hell, you had seen more of Sirius than you had of him, and now two months after the wedding and a week before Sirius’s birthday, Lily hasn’t shut up about him.
“I’m not worried about the Remus thing,” you lied as you raised your head off the table, rubbing your forehead. “I’m worried about the wizard bar thing.”
That part wasn’t a lie. If a wizard wedding made you feel as self-conscious as ever, you couldn’t even imagine what a wizard bar would be like. They had different drinks with different effects, and you didn’t want to make an ass of yourself in front of someone who made you comfortable at said wedding then rejected you. You just wanted to fit in with a group of wizards, and you were already spiraling because of Remus’ apparent rejection. You had been rejected by other men before, sure, and while it hurt, this blow from Remus really threw you for a loop, causing a sour ache to start in the bottom of your chest whenever you thought about him. That meant the ache never really went away, but it lessened when you were busy with work or studying. You didn’t know if you could handle not being accepted by a whole friend group.
“It’s not at a wizard bar,” Lily huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’ve told you at least twenty times that it’s at the pub right down the road from your complex.”
“Oh, weird,” you said, definitely remembering, but you scrunch your nose anyway, pretending to rack your brain. “I would’ve remembered that, but it’s like… I don’t want to go or something.”
“You’re insufferable.” Lily met your glare with one of her own. “You know I could just lead Remus to your flat, right?”
“You wouldn’t do that,” you challenged, and Lily only smiled. “Lils, please. The wedding was with him was fine, but if he liked me, he would’ve called-”
“Remus wouldn’t just call,” she huffed, crossing her arms. “He’s much more romantic than that.”
“Well, I sure haven’t seen any of it, have I?” You grumbled back. “I’m not going.”
Lily went back to whining, a pout replacing her scowl. “Come on. Sirius would love-”
You began to lie, “I don’t know Sirius-”
“Just show up!” She snapped, raising her eyebrows. “Say it was a coincidence.” You groaned, and Lily grabbed your hands. “I’ll buy you as many vodka crans as you can drink, and you can hang out with the girls and I.”
“Lily-”
“Please,” she said, squeezing your hands. Lily looked so hopeful, her green eyes full of optimism. She knew it would break your heart to say no as she batted her lashes. “Please.”
“Fine,” you grumbled, and Lily squealed, rounding the island to pull your head into her chest in a squishy hug. You threw your arms around her to stabilize yourself on the stool, but she took it as a sign to squeeze harder, rocking you from side to side. “You’re a fucking menace.”
“I promise you it’s going to be so fun!” She cooed, pressing an enthusiastic kiss to the crown of your head before she gasped. “We have to pick you out an outfit!”
The next week was filled with near mental anguish. While you mentally prepared to see Remus again, you fully convinced yourself that he rejected you. He rejected you.
Could it be because you weren’t pretty enough? Or maybe you weren’t interesting enough. You had a sinking feeling it was because you weren’t like him. You couldn’t do anything he could do, and, in fact, you had to work much harder for things than he did. That’s fine, you reminded yourself.
You had to make yourself okay with this. You constantly told yourself that it was okay that he didn’t like you even though he was all you ever thought about. It’s not as though you knew each other. You had met once, you kept telling yourself. It wasn’t that deep. It was just a fun little crush that you had at a wedding. You weren’t in love. It’s fine.
You told yourself that he wasn’t busy. Remus just didn’t want you. That’s why he didn’t call. You weren’t enough for him, and you just had to accept that fact before you had to face him again to avoid any of the awkwardness.
It was going to have to be fine. You were going to have to act like everything was fine.
You arrived late to the party on purpose, busy pacing your flat and preening yourself in every mirror you passed. Nervousness made its home in your belly, anchoring itself by winding its way through your muscles and nerves. You could feel yourself flush scarlet as you doused yourself in perfume for the last time before you absolutely had to go.
You left your complex at a quarter to ten even though Lily told you to be there at nine sharp. Your heeled boots that Lily made you wear clicked on the pavement as you walked as slow as possible to the pub. Catching the reflection of yourself as you passed a darkened store front, you sighed.
You had on a black leather blazer, covering the sheer black tights, a black mini-skirt, and the white, lacy blouse you were wearing. You curled your hair, per Lily’s request, and darkened your lips with a wine-colored lipstick, matching it with a basic, brown eye. She said you were going to look “so in.”
You leaned toward the window, fixing your earring in the glass as you contemplated going home.
“Say it was a coincidence!” Lily’s words rang in your head as you fixed your other earring.
“A coincidence,” you mumbled to yourself. “A funny coincidence.”
You stepped away from the window, huffing to yourself as you set off toward the pub again, spotting it on the next street corner. Rehearsing what you’d say to everyone quietly to yourself, you finally reached the pub door.
Throwing your head back, praying a silent prayer, you entered the busy pub, bee-lining to the bar as if you weren’t expecting to see anyone that you knew. Taking a seat, you ordered a manhattan, scooching yourself closer to the bar.
In all reality, you spotted them right away, the girls were in the small crowd in front of the DJ and the boys, dressed as posh as ever, were around a small table, talking loudly. You knew Lily spotted you too, but you didn’t want to find out who else saw you, or even worse, who she told.
Your drink came with a grin from the bartender as you slipped off your coat, placing it underneath you. You silently thanked him then fished out the cherry at the bottom of the glass, popping it in your mouth and sucking it dry from the whiskey that it had absorbed.
You picked up the glass then turned around on your stool, scanning the crowd.
“... a coincidence!” Lily’s words echoed again. 
You knew that at least Lily knew you were here, so there was no point in blatantly avoiding them. But what would you say? Your pre-planned conversation was gone. The nervousness wound its way up to your throat, forming a lump.
You took a sip of your cocktail as soon as you caught Lily staring at you from the dance floor. She turned around quickly, said something to Marlene, Mary, and Dorcas then walked away from them, a determined scowl on her face as she approached you.
“You’re late!” She hissed, pulling you into a hug. She reeked of vodka, her sour breath wafting into your face as she spoke again. “I said nine, and it’s ten!”
“I was nervous,” you mumbled, holding your drink out so that you could take the rest of it behind her back. “Sorry,” you said after you swallowed thickly.
Lily pulled away from you, her face still in a scowl. “I told you not to be!” She huffed, glancing over her shoulder. “The girls saw you as soon as you came in. You better put a smile on your face because they’re-” Lily’s whole demeanor changed as Mary’s hand met her shoulder. She smiled artificially, her lips pulling up to expose her teeth. “Look who I found!”
You sent your empty glass on the bar, mouth opening with faux surprise. “Oh my God!” You said, smiling widely. “I had no idea that you guys were going to be here!”
You hopped down from your stool, pulling each girl into a tight hug, squeezing them as long as necessary for them to believe that you were actually shocked.
“I was just coming to get a drink!” You gushed, glancing at Lily. “This is such a funny coincidence!”
“Come on, darlin’!” Marlene said, grabbing your coat and your hand. She beamed at Dorcas and Mary. “We haveta go show the boys who we found!”
“We really don’t-”
“Don’t worry, I’ll get you another drink,” Lily said, smiling sweetly. You could see right through it, knowing she was still slightly mad at you. “Vodka cran, right, love?”
You grit your teeth into a smile. “Right. Thanks, Lils.”
Marlene giggled as she pulled you toward the boys, Dorcas and Mary lagging behind. “Mary thinks she’s gonna hook up wit’ Sirius tonight,” she gushed in your ear drunkenly. “‘S never gonna happen, but poor Mary sure thinks so.” She snorted, now walking way too far ahead of you, dragging you along.
You looked at the group of boys she was pulling you toward, all of them engrossed in a conversation except for the one you were actually trying to avoid.
From your quick glance, you could tell Remus’ cheeks were flushed, and you didn’t want to know if it was because the heat seemed to have turned up about ten degrees since you had locked eyes, or if he was drunk. You decided it was the latter in an attempt to make yourself feel better, ignoring the acid that burned your chest.
“Look who ickle Lils found sittin’ at the bar all by her lonesome,” Marlene slurred as soon as you walked up to the boys.
You felt your mouth pull into a smile despite the hammering in your ears. “Hi,” you said, feeling your arm wave a small wave.
You felt as though you were having an out of body experience as James pulled you into a sweaty, beer-soaked hug, squeezing you, and passing you along to Sirius, who kissed your cheek with wet lips. 
“Happy birthday,” you mumbled as he pulled you into a hug, swearing he was sweating Jose Cuervo.
“I told you she was going to come!” Sirius ranted from behind your back. “Pretty girl can’t get enough of me!” He let go, his arm around your shoulder.
“Cat’s out of the bag,” you said, shrugging as he kissed your cheek once more.
“Someone’s more than excited to see you, doll,” he said near your ear, gently nudging you toward Remus.
You took your first real look at him. Remus hadn’t changed much except for the fact that he wasn’t leaning on a cane, and he had gotten his haircut, getting rid of the sun-bleached strands and leaving muddy brown in its place. You could tell he had been drinking by the way the sleeves on his white button-down were rolled up to his elbows, the top two buttons undone. You could see the outline of a box of cigarettes in the pocket of his black slacks.
He looked good. You could feel your face burn, trying to rub it away and playing it off like there was a fly buzzing around your head.
“Hiya,” you said, trying to be as nonchalant as possible as you pulled him into a one-armed hug around his middle.
He sniffed, moving his drink to his other hand as he squeezed your shoulder, mumbling, “Yeah, hi.”
The two of you separated almost instantly. Peter nodded a hello to you while James and Sirius exchanged looks. Marlene had turned around, loudly shouting at Mary and Dorcas who were on their way over.
Your gaze snapped to the ground as you swallowed thickly. The pep talk you gave yourself didn’t help at all.
“I’m going to head to the loo quick,” you said, glancing at James and Sirius. “I’ll be right back.”
Before anyone could protest or tell you that they were coming with you, you shot off toward the bathroom, trying not to break out into a full sprint.
You pushed the bathroom door open, entering a dingy stall and locking it behind yourself.
Sitting down on the surprisingly clean toilet, you let your head hit your hands with your elbows firmly planted on your knees.
“You’re fine,” you mumbled, sucking a breath into your reluctant lungs, pushing it out as you mumbled. “It’s fine.”
You recognized the panic as soon as you saw Remus in all of his glory. You pushed the heels of your palms into your eyes, trying to stop the inevitable tears. Breathing started to seem hard as you sucked another unwilling breath into your lungs.
Your week of talking yourself up hadn’t worked. It wasn’t just a crush. Love at first, or second, sight was real, and unfortunately, you seemed to be experiencing it. 
Your hands started to shake as you took in another breath. Standing, you opened the stall door, walking out to grip the sink and stare at yourself.
You looked fine albeit for the single tear that you swiped from your cheek, so why didn’t you feel fine.
“I’m fine. I'm having fun,” you told yourself quietly. “Just get a drink, a-and act normal. I’m not in love. I’m fine, and I’m here to have fun.”
I’m not in love. The bile rose in your throat as you thought that phrase over again. I’m not in love.
You cupped your hands under the faucet, taking a scoop of tap water into your mouth.
Just then, Lily peeked in, her eyebrows furrowed with worry.
“The lads say you ran off,” she said, clutching your elbow. “Are you alright?”
“This wasn’t a good idea,” you muttered to Lily, shutting off the water. “I feel like I’m going to throw up.”
“What?” Her eyebrows pinched together. “Is this about Remus?” You reluctantly nodded. “You’re fine, okay? He’s just awkward.”
“He wasn’t awkward at your wedding,” you mumbled.
“That’s news to me,” Lily scoffed. “You’re just overthinking.”
“I just really want to go-”
“Come on, you big worry wart,” Lily said, tucking you into her side. “Let’s go see the girls. They’re talking about Mary getting into Sirius’ pants.”
“Lily, please-”
“It’ll be fun, I promise,” she said, patting your shoulder.
“Lils-”
Despite your protest, Lily guided you out of the bathroom and over to the girls at the bar.
“-just so dreamy, right?” Mary cooed, her longing look thrown at Sirius. Lily snorted as Marlene scoffed.
“He’s not into you!” Dorcas groaned, her arm around Marlene’s waist. “He’s not going home with anyone, and I think you’d know that by now!”
“But I could convince him, right?” Mary asked redundantly, glancing at you. “Right?”
You shrugged. “I know nothing.”
Mary whined. “Oh, you’re no help.”
“If he wanted to shag ya, he woulda done it by now,” Marlene slurred, lightly punching Mary’s shoulder. “I would know.”
“Oh, shut up!” Mary huffed, punching her friend back. “That was five years ago-”
“Hey,” Remus said, approaching from behind you with a tight smile. The quiet chorus of girlish hellos answered him. He stopped next to you, specifically looking just at you. “Hi. Alright?”
You met his gaze and nodded quietly, “Yeah.”
The girls continued talking, ignoring his interruption. You tried to listen back to what they were saying, but Remus’ hand met your bicep in a gentle squeeze, pulling you away slightly.
“Can I talk to you?” He asked, lips close to your ear.
Your eyes met Lily’s for a fleeting second, a look of help me flashing in yours as Lily lightly shook her head.
“S-sure,” you mumbled, pulling away from him. You took a step away from the group, waiting for his explanation.
“We’re uh- we’re just going to go have a ciggy quick. Cheers ladies,” he said, and he grabbed your clammy hand, pulling you out of the pub.
You could just walk away. You could completely ignore him and just walk home. You wanted to, but your feet wouldn’t let you, planting you near the wall next to him.
Remus dropped your hand then lit his cigarette, leaning against the wall and blowing out smoke. He glanced at you, then looked down, obviously contemplating what he was going to say. “I- I’m sorry about um… About not calling you? I lost your number, and-”
You nodded, hardly hearing him over your heart pounding in your ears, puffing a small laugh through your nose. “I’ve never heard that one before-”
“It’s not like that,” Remus huffed over you.
You chuckled, feeling the panic in your chest crescendo as you removed yourself from the wall to pace in front of him, “I’ve been rejected before, Remus. It’s not that big a deal.”
“I never rejected-”
“It’s fine, okay?! It’s fine!” You laughed to yourself, your fingers meeting your temple with a dull rub as you stopped pacing. “This is exactly why I didn’t want to fucking come,” you muttered, turning toward the pub door.
“You didn’t want to come because- because of me?” Remus guawaffed, his eyebrows furrowed. “I didn’t reject you!”
“No, it’s fine.” Your fingertips met the bridge of your nose as you paused, trying to make yourself not cry. You huffed softly, facing him again. “Look, okay? I’m stupid, and I shouldn’t have ever given you my number, alright? Just forget about it, alright? It’s fine. I-I should’ve known that something like… like this-” you gestured between the two of you, your voice shaking. “-would never work.”
“Like what?” Remus’ cigarette was abandoned, the coal working its way slowly toward the filter.
“I like you,” you admitted, still looking at him. “A-and I know that sounds stupid because love at first sight is fucking- fucking fairytale shit, but I thought that maybe you thought the same things that I thought about you and that maybe it would work, but-”
“What do you mean?! I like you, I just lost-” He started, trying to take your hand in his.
The panic quickly turned to anger as you ripped your hand away from him.
“Look at us, Remus! We’d be wasting our precious time!” you shouted harshly over him, your hand flying in the air. “You’re a bloody wizard!” you hissed at him. “And I’m not! I-I… I can’t do any of the things that you can do.”
“That doesn’t matter-”
“But it does, and that’s why I’m saying to forget about the whole fucking thing, okay?” You turned away from him, walking back toward the pub door. “Just forget about it.”
“I like you!” He raised his voice, catching your shoulder. “I don’t want to just forget!”
You whipped around to face him, pushing his hand off your shoulder. “You’re just saying that because you feel bad for me,” you said, your teeth ground together.
Remus huffed. “I lost your number.” He enunciated every word, his jaw clenched. “I already told you that.”
“You could’ve gotten it from Lily,” You countered loudly, gesturing toward the building where you knew she was still having the fun she had promised you. “You could’ve rang Lily up and specifically fucking asked her-”
“I did!” He shouted, startling you. You shut your mouth, blinking owlishly. “I asked her,” he said, quieter this time. “But, as you know, they moved about a month ago and she misplaced her phone book, and couldn’t remember it off the top of her head.” Tentatively, Remus held both your biceps, leveling with you so that he could look you right in the eye. He let out a shaky breath, and softly said, “I wanted to call you. Honestly… I-I wanted to show up at your flat with- with flowers o-or something, but that would’ve made me look-”
“Creepy,” you whispered pointedly, nodding. “I get it.”
He dropped your arms, looking away from you with his jaw still clenched. “I’m sorry I yelled at you,” he said earnestly. “I just… I just like you, okay? And I wanted to get my point across, but you weren’t listening, and-”
You could feel yourself begin to well up, and it wasn’t because he yelled at you. You yelled at him, and he hadn’t even done anything wrong. Your panic had gotten the best of you. It was a genuine misunderstanding, just like Lily told you. You were wrong about him, yet again.
Instead of hearing him out, you walked quickly back into the pub, ignoring the way he called your name as he tried to catch up to you.
“I’m going home,” you said thickly as soon as you found Lily.
“Are you crying?” She asked, pulling you toward her. “What happened?”
“Lily, it’s fine. I’m fine.” You said shakily, your mouth pressing into a line. “I just want to go home.”
“Do you want me to walk-”
“No,” you answered, wiping tears off your cheeks as you looked over your shoulder. “Just distract him, okay? I don’t need him following me.”
Lily’s eyebrows furrowed, but she nodded.
“I’ll call you later, okay?” You said, quickly kissing her cheek. “I love you.”
You didn’t even let her respond as you rushed through the crowd, leaving through the back door of the pub.
You felt like a complete idiot. You had made an ass out of yourself, and you were convinced that now none of them liked you due to what you did to their friend.
You couldn’t believe yourself. He had admitted his feelings for you, and you blew up in his face. Your heart sunk to the bottom of your stomach, joining the sour ache that made its home there two months ago.
Remus liked you, and you ruined it.
You stopped, looking up at the nearly moonless sky, sighing out the breath you had been holding in.
“Fucking idiot,” you muttered, and continued on your way home. Alone.
468 notes · View notes
lovebugism · 1 year
Note
sleepover !! on the plane of dad!steve: what about steve finding out reader’s pregnant? they’re young enough for it to be a shock, but established relationship or casual hookup is up to you
i hereby name this the first installment of my dad!steve blurb series: the "crazy little thing called love" universe <3
By all accounts, you and Steve did everything right.
Sure, you got married pretty young, but after surviving the end of the world four separate times, you thought you were deserving of the rapid elopement. You moved into a little apartment outside of town shortly after, working like dogs until you could afford a down payment on one of those pretty houses people put in magazines. 
Neither of you minded that it was in the middle of the suburbs — that it was “expected” of the Harringtons to live within white picket fences. You were just grateful you didn’t have to live in his vacant childhood home that his parents were kind enough to offer as a present for a wedding they didn’t attend. Steve was more than happy to let the place rot. 
It takes your entire first year of marriage to fully decorate the place. 
The pool in the backyard is lined with white and yellow striped lounge chairs. The living room is more plants than furniture. The kitchen cabinets are painted green to match the tile in the bathroom. And the bedroom’s got a gallery of photos of the both of you on one side and a floor-to-ceiling bookcase on the other — Steve stores his vinyls on the upper shelves and you stash your books on the lower ones.
You’re finally getting settled into your new life in your new house when you realize your period is late.
By two weeks, to be exact.
You don’t even realize it until you’re grocery shopping. 
Steve mans the cart while you strike through the list, as per usual. He’s trying to choose between two similarly scented body washes — accidentally squirting some on the tip of his nose in the process — when you return from the feminine hygiene section. 
You didn’t need tampons, you realized while standing in front of the vibrantly colored boxes, because you had a full pack at home for a period that never came.
Steve uses his sleeve to wipe the peppermint-scented soap from his nose when you return, looking pallid and ghastly — like you’ve just seen a ghost looking for period underwear. His hand slows before falling to his side. “You okay?” he cautions.
You nod before the words catch up to you. “Yeah… Yeah, I’m— Yeah.”
“You could at least try and sound a little more convincing,” he laughs as he puts both bottles back. Neither was worth getting soap up the nose, turns out. “C’mon. Just tell me. It can’t be that bad, right?”
In his head, you’ve just seen someone from high school. You saw an old friend or a mean girl who hated you for no reason or a boy you had a fling with. They tried to chat you up while you were deciding between regular and super tampons, and the unexpected encounter’s got you all shaken up.
The image is so vivid in his head, Steve could laugh just thinking about it.
You clear your tightening throat, inching closer to him when another couple enters the aisle. You whisper like you’re telling him a secret. “My, um… My period is late. By, like… a lot.”
Steve’s blood runs cold. His eyes go wide and he forgets how to breathe. “Oh. Okay. Yeah. That’s— That’s bad, huh?”
“Yes,” you agonize, breathless. “Yes, that’s bad. That’s very, very bad.”
“Alright, c’mon. I’m standing right here,” he half-jokes.
“I just got promoted. If I have to take a year off work for maternity leave, I’ll be right back where I started.”
Steve can sense the panic radiating off of you. It’s rising with vigor like a faucet turned on high in a stopped-up kitchen sink. Once it starts overflowing, it’s harder to stop. Despite his own distant worry, he tries to quell your own.
“You might not even be pregnant, right? So why are you already worrying about maternity leave?” he questions with a gentle laugh. He takes both your arms in his hands, squeezing you in a soft reassurance. “You’re right. You just got promoted. Maybe, you know— Maybe you’re just stressed out about it. That’s all.”
“Yeah… You’re probably right.”
“Let’s take a test first, huh? Then we can start panicking.”
He presses a kiss to the tip of your scrunched nose. 
You’re able to breathe again.
You pick out three different brands of pregnancy tests, shoving them quickly into your cart and hiding them beneath your groceries like sex toys. 
The boxes are stacked on top of each other as they move slowly on the conveyor belt at the checkout counter. The older woman with pink lips and pinker nails smiles as she scans them through.
“It’s exciting, huh?” she gushes, smacking bubble gum between her teeth.
“Yep,” you nod, though the word comes out slightly strangled.
Steve’s charming smile wavers. “Totally.”
The paper bags of groceries are quickly abandoned on the kitchen counter when you get home. You’re far more worried about the pregnancy tests, and Steve’s more concerned about calming you down.
He sits with you on your shared bed, back propped up against the headboard, with you in between his legs. He works your palm with his thumbs, smoothing out the tension you seem to hold there. His chest you lean upon rises and falls with deep, even breaths. 
You’re not sure how he can be so calm about this, but you’re almost comforted by it.
Almost.
“It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, you know?” Steve admits after a minute or more of pure silence. “If you were pregnant. Actually, you know, I think I’d be pretty happy.”
“I know you would be. It’s totally different for you.”
His brows furrow, though you’re not looking at him to see. “What do you mean?”
“You wouldn’t have to be the one to take off work. I’d have to drop my entire career, and I’m— I’m just getting started. It would change everything for me.”
Steve hums to himself. It’s not the pregnancy that scares you, not the birthing process or the late nights or the constant crying. It’s the thought that you wouldn’t have a life outside of it all.
“I’d be here to help you, you know?”
“I know,” you sigh softly, tiling your head on his shoulder so you can stare up at him. His chin juts closer to his neck so he can look down at you too. “But for a while, we both couldn’t work. For the first couple of years, probably. And we can’t get a babysitter because we wouldn’t have double incomes, and… I don’t know if I’d trust someone to take care of our baby anyway—”
Steve tries not to smile but completely and utterly fails. 
You’re already talking like it’s a for sure thing — you having a baby. His baby. 
He doesn’t want to get his hopes up too high.
“Hey. It’s okay,” he almost coos to end your panicked rambling. “We’ll figure it out, I promise. Let’s just take this one step at a time, yeah?”
You take a breath you didn’t know you were holding. “Yeah…”
He waits for you in the bedroom while you check the tests in the adjoining bathroom. He offered to come with you, of course, but you told him you could do it on your own. You said they’d probably be negative anyway, that it likely was just stress delaying your period, and that you were just making a fuss over nothing.
It’s quiet for all of ten seconds.
“Fuck!” you shout, a bit louder than you intended, muffled from the bathroom.
Steve winces.
“I take it they were positive?” he questions when you storm back into the bedroom, completely and utterly frazzled.
“We’re so stupid,” you chastise, pacing ahead of the bed. “We’re so, so stupid.”
Steve finds it in him to laugh, still a bit dazed by the results. “We’re not sixteen anymore. We’re married. Married people have kids—”
“But I’m not ready yet!” you shout with wild eyes. Your hands flail at your sides as you gesticulate. “I wanted to wait, like, five years, at least. I wanted to be CCO before we even thought about having kids.”
“Things don’t go as planned sometimes, babe. We know that more than anybody.”
He was right. After saving the world, you shouldn’t be shocked by anything anymore. You were so jaded by the time spring of 1986 rolled around that Vecna hardly scared you. The thought of uprooting your life to raise a child frightened you far more than any alternate dimension and monsters without faces.
“I was just announced Vice President, Steve. No one else in company history has gotten to oversee the marketing department so quickly. You don’t know what it’s like in the firm, alright? It’s vicious. They’ll replace me the second I’m gone.”
“No, they won’t,” the boy says with so much confidence it almost makes you angry.
“You can’t know that—”
“I do know that, actually,” he argues as he slides to the edge of the mattress to meet you. His larger hands engulf your shaking ones. His honey eyes twinkle as they gaze up at you. “‘Cause they’d be idiots to let you go. ’S why I married you, yeah? There’s not another person in the whole world like you.”
“It’s just something I’ve always wanted, you know?” you sigh, less prickly than before, but still visibly terrified. “I’ve been dreaming about corporate savagery since I was twelve…”
Steve grins. “You can still have all that. I’ve seen you set monsters on fire — you can raise a kid and run a company. You’re the most badass person I’ve ever met.”
“But what about you?”
“What about me?”
“If I can’t work, we’ll be living on your income. I don’t… I don’t want you to have to work more than you already do.”
“I’ll be okay,” he promises, squeezing your trembling fingers. “You’ll take maternity leave for however long you need to, your coworkers will grovel hands and knees to get you back, and I’ll… I’ll stay home with the baby.”
Your face scrunches with worry. “Is that something you want?”
“Yeah. I mean, I’ve always wanted to be a dad, you know? I can’t… I can’t really see myself doing anything else.”
Steve always thought he was broken in that way. His dad was already building businesses by the time he had a kid. He coached Steve to do the same — to graduate, to spend thousands on a degree, to have ten assistants by the time he was twenty-five. But Steve never wanted that. Not Ever. Especially not after the tenth near-death experience.
He just wanted to have a family of his own. 
He wanted to be with you and to be still. That was all. 
“Besides, you always said you wanted a house husband,” he jokes with a crooked smile.
That makes you laugh. A giggle sputters from your lips before you can stop it. The sunshine feeling overpowers your lingering worry.
“I would like that,” you concur with a sheepish grin. 
You can picture it so clearly — Steve with a baby, greeting you with a kiss when you get home, a spit-up towel thrown over his shoulder, hair mussed and jaw stubbled. It was something dreams were made of. 
Your potential reality. 
Your future.
“We’re gonna be the happiest damn people on the planet, babe.”
You lean down to kiss him. It’s hard, though, because you’re both smiling so wide.
Your laughs entwine, pressed into one another, as Steve flops back on the bed and drags you down with him. He rolls you onto your sides, one hand propping his head up and the other resting on your belly. 
My kid is in there, he marvels in his head. This is where my baby’s gonna grow.
“What do you think about Apple?”
Your brows pinch together. “What?”
“For, like, a girl name?”
“…Please tell me you’re joking.”
“Apple for a girl and Wolfgang for a boy,” he jokes with a wide smile on his rosy lips. He shrugs. “And if we have twins, they can be Apple and Wolfgang. Really rolls off the tongue, don’t ya think?”
“You’re an idiot, Steve Harrington.”
With your hands cradling his jaw, you pull him down for another interrupted kiss.
“What about Moon or— ah,” he gasps with wide eyes. “Or Rainbow?”
“Steve!” you groan.
“What? Tell me Rainbow Harrington isn’t the cutest damn name you’ve ever heard.”
“That is so not a baby name.”
“Anything can be a name if you make it a name,” he argues with all of his Steve Harrington sass. “Like Queen… Or Journey.”
“Yeah, let’s just name all our kids after your favorite bands,” you quip, giggling.
“I know you’re joking, but that doesn’t sound like a bad idea.”
You shake your head at this boy and his wild head filled with wilder thoughts. 
You sit in silence in your marveling, letting him ramble on — “There’s Roxy and Berlin and- wait, do you think babies can be named after numbers? Because, like, B-52 is a badass name. Sounds like something out of Star Wars, huh?” 
You can’t believe you married this man. You can’t believe you get to be married to this man.
You’re stuck with Steve Harrington and his dumbassery for life.
God, you can’t wait to spend forever with him.
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eddiemunsonswhxre · 2 years
Text
drunken confession / eddie munson
masterlist
one shot
cw: begins angst, drunk eddie, tooth rooting-ly sweet love confession, fem!reader
after being upset because you got a date, eddie drinks himself to blackout and ends up revealing how he's imagined your wedding
--
 “eddie!” you squealed as you bursted into the hellfire room. eddie looked up from his throne where he was sat working on notes for his next campaign. hellfire had ended twenty minutes ago, but eddie was always here late.
  a big smile takes over eddie’s features at the sight of you. you were his best friend and the sight of you could make even his darkest moments be overtaken with happiness. “well, hi there, sweetness,” he chuckled as you wrapped your arms around his upper body in an excited hug.
  you pulled away with a grimace on your face. “i’m being too much again, aren’t i?” you mutter in embarrassment. eddie grabs your hand, pulling you to stand in the middle of his legs.
  he shakes his head and holds both your hands in his. “no, you’re not. it’s adorable, y/n, i tell you everytime,” he reassures you. you look away from him with heated cheeks as you smile. “so, are you gonna tell me why you came in here screaming like you just got pit tickets to metallica?” he quirks an eyebrow.
  you giggle at his facial expression and shake your head. “charlie asked me on a date!” you say excitedly, squeezing eddie’s hands. his smile drops for a second, but you don’t notice as you keep rambling. “like, he asked me, ME! and i’ve been interested in him for what? months now? and who would’ve thought, a basketball STARTER asks me out?” you question in disbelief, radiating pure happiness. 
  eddie tries to replace his smile as he lets your words sink it. he knew what you meant and why you were so shocked. you weren’t part of the popular crowd, but you weren’t labeled as a freak either even though you were best friends with the hellfire king himself. you were pretty quiet, more of a nerd who never fully left her awkward stage. and eddie loved that about you.
  he clears his throat and weakly squeezes your hands back. “that’s great, y/n,” he says, trying to sound sincere. 
  you squeal again, bouncing from foot to foot. “i know!” you say excitedly.
  eddie hopes for once you can’t read him like a book. “well, where’s he taking you?” he asks, trying to seem interested when really he didn’t know if he even wanted to know the details.
  you lean back on the table and pull your hands from eddie’s to prop yourself up. “we’re going to the drive in, isn’t that so cool? i’ve always wanted to go. and he has a truck so we can go stargazing after and lay in the back and it’ll be so romantic, eek!” you say, stomping your feet.
  eddie feels a sharp pain dig at his heart. stargazing was your thing. he knew how much you loved it so every night it was clear he’d pick you up and take you out to the hill where dustin once set up his super radio and you’d lay under the stars for hours. he didn’t want you to do that with charlie. he didn’t want you to take him to your spot. “you never told me you wanted to go to the drive in?” eddie finally questioned, his voice raising slightly.
  you shrugged, brushing it off while it broke him inside. he knew everything about you… or at least he thought. “you always talk about how cliche it is. and how it’s a waste of money to sit in your car and watch a movie when you could be on your own couch. thought you wouldn’t want to go, so i never asked,” you explained and eddie’s smile did drop.
  “i would’ve gone with you if you did ask,” he says, hating that he’d pushed away the possibility of taking you to do something you so badly wanted. 
  you wave him off as if it’s nothing. “it’s okay, eds. you wouldn’t enjoy it so there’s no point,” you say with a smile. there is a point. you. he would do anything to make you happy.
  there’s a bit of silence as you wait for eddie to say something else. “when is… when’s your date?” he asks, feigning curiosity. 
  your smile gets wide again as you think of it. “tomorrow night. oh god, i need to find out what outfit to wear,” you say in realization. eddie’s heart rips farther in two. tomorrow. he didn’t have time to convince you not to go if he decided to.
  he bites the inside of his cheek to hold back his emotions. “wow, that’s close,” he says with a short nod.
  you smile, looking up to the sky as you think maybe just maybe you’ll finally get your chance at a relationship. “yeah. well, i should get going, mom’s got the night shift so ginny probably needs let out,” you say, pushing yourself up. eddie nods, not wanting to say much more. “seeya,” you say, leaning down and kissing his cheek like you normally do.
  eddie wants to cry. you wouldn’t be able to do that much more if you got a boyfriend. “seeya,” he waves. you give him another smile over your shoulder before scampering out of the room. he deflates into his throne, throwing his hands over his face as he feels his world begin to crumble. he had to expect this would happen one day if he never told you how he felt.
~
  at about one in the morning you wake up to your phone ringing. you groan, being woken up from your wonderful dream about rob lowe. you blink a couple times before sitting up and grabbing the phone from your nightstand. “hello?” you question groggily, hoping whoever was on the other line has a damn good reason for calling you this late. 
  “y/n, hey, it’s mike,” mike wheeler says into the phone.
  you furrow your eyebrows, wondering why some freshman is calling you in the middle of a friday night. “mike? what do you need at one in the morning?” you ask in annoyance until your body floods with panic. “are you okay? is something wrong?” you ask frantically.
  mike let’s out a breath on the other line. “no one’s hurt or anything but i need your help,” he says.
  you let the panic fade from your body and sigh in relief. “okay? with what?” you ask.
  mike winces to himself, not wanting to explain. “well, we all went to gareth’s after hellfire for a party since his parents are never home, you know. very last minute type thing otherwise you would’ve been invited i’m sure-“ mike panics.
  “mike, it’s okay, i don’t care about being invited,” you laugh.
  you can see mike relax in your head at your words, causing you to smile in amusement. “yeah okay, um, so eddie got here later and then we all started drinking. everyone’s drunk except me really and eddie keeps trying to leave. he keeps talking about how he needs to go for a ride and is getting pissed because we’re hiding his keys. i’ve never seen him so drunk and he screamed at gareth about how he doesn’t want to be here and that someone needs to take him home or to your house. he’s been talking about you for the past hour and everyone who can drive is too drunk so could you please come get him? he’s not angry anymore, just really drunk and persisting he sees you and honestly it’s annoying,” mike rambles on.
  you put your head in your hands as you took a minute to think. eddie never got this drunk and he knew better than to drink and drive. “uh, yeah. i’ll be right there,” you finally say, pushing the blankets off you and standing up.
  “oh thank god,” mike breaths into the receiver. “you’re honestly amazing, y/n and i- eddie! hey, hey get away from the window. oh my- i gotta go,” mike says and then hangs up. you move to throw on a pair of pajama pants instead of your shorts and throw a zip up hoodie on over your tank top. 
  you jog down the stairs, grabbing your keys and running out to your car after locking the door. luckily, you and gareth lived only about five minutes from each other so it wasn’t too hard to get there quickly. when you pulled in the driveway, mike and gareth were standing outside as eddie laid on the ground pouting.
  you jumped out of your car and walked towards them. “eddie,” you called out, grabbing the long haired boys' attention. mike sighed in relief at the sight of you as eddie rolled over to push himself.
  “y/n!” he says excitedly, standing only to start swaying and stumbling. you make it to him, grabbing ahold of him and trying to stabilize him. “i was just thinking about you,” eddie slurs, trying to reach up and grab your face. you put his hands down to his sides causing him to frown.
  you turn to look at gareth and mike. “i know you said he had a lot to drink, but how much are we talking?” you ask worriedly. you’d never seen him this drunk either. eddie held his alcohol well, he was nowhere near a lightweight.
  gareth purses his lips and looks to mike. “he had a six pack to himself,” he says, looking at eddie who was staring at the side of your face.
  “and he’s been drinking straight out of the vodka bottle for the past hour. i don’t know how full it was when he got it but there’s only like a fourth left,” mike continues.
  you nod and then look to eddie. “what were you thinking, eddie? you don’t even like getting wasted,” you sigh.
  eddie gives you a toothy grin before looking at your clothes. “what time is it?” he murmurs.
  “it’s almost one thirty in the morning, eds,” you say.
  his face scrunches up in confusion. “but you gaw… woah, you go to bed at like ten or e-eleven,” he hiccups.
  you nod in confirmation. “yeah, but mike called saying your dumbass was trying to drive to my house while you’re like this. so i came to get you,” you say.
  eddie takes a moment before turning to mike, now angry. “hey! how dare you wake her up, wheeler, she stays on a schedule,” he yells, his finger pointed as he tries walking to him.
  you step in front of him and grab his arms to steady him again. “eddie, stop. i’m here already so let’s just go, yeah?” you say trying to calm him. 
  he looks at you for a minute before nodding. “i’ll help you get him to the car,” gareth says and you nod. it’s not hard to see gareth is also pretty drunk, therefore you’re glad they had called you to get eddie.
  eddie thumps his head on your car as he gets in causing him to cuss. mike hands you his things and you sigh. “sorry for waking you, i just knew i had to call,” mike says and you shake your head.
  you pull him into a side hug as eddie is finally sat in the car seat. “i’m glad you did, i’ve never seen him this bad,” you say, more concerned than you’re showing you are. 
  “do you want me to go with you? help with getting him to bed and stuff?” he asks, looking down (damn this kid is tall) at you. 
  you shake your head once again. “nah, i got him. you keep a look out for everyone else, okay?” you say and walk to the door. you close the car door on him, causing him to jump. mike and gareth bid you goodbye and good luck before you get in the car. eddie watches you carefully, eyes bigger than normal as you placed his stuff on the dash. “give me your seat belt,” you say, holding your hand out. it takes him a moment of fumbling with it before he can grab it and hand it to you.
  you buckle him in and he giggles. “i'm a child,” he mumbles to himself. you buckle yourself in and start your car as eddie mumbles to himself. “where are we going?” he asks once you get to the end of gareth's road.
  “my house,” you tell him, your mind scattered as you come up with a plan. 
  eddie gasps and it causes you to look at him alarmed. “that’s where i - i wanted to go,” he hiccups, looking at you as if you were psychic. 
  you hum in response, letting him talk nonsense the rest of the way to your house. when you finally get there, you unbuckle him. he silently watches you get out of the car and finally understands that he should too. he opens the door, moving to get out but almost face planting. luckily you’re there to catch him once again. “eddie, you need to just wait for me, okay?” you sigh, using all your body weight to pull him up.
  a frown covers eddie’s face as he feels bad. “m’sorry,” he mumbles sadly. 
  he tries his best to stay steady as you walk him in the house and all the way up to your room on the second floor. he sees you walking towards your bed to set him down but he stops you. “wait,” he mutters and you look up to him. “i-i have to piss,” he tells you, slightly embarrassed.
  you close your eyes but nod. “can you… can you do it by yourself?” you ask, voice cracking. eddie nods quickly so you guide him towards your en suite bathroom instead. “i’m gonna leave the door open just in case so i’ll be right here, alright?” you question as eddie leans against your sink.
  “okay,” he says and then pushes himself towards your toilet. you lean against the wall, picking at your nails as you wait for eddie to finish up. eddie grumbles and tears come to his eyes as he tries to unbuckle his belt. he was so frustrated and mad at himself for being so drunk he couldn’t get his pants off. he couldn’t even see straight, let alone grab his belt buckle. he let out a whine as a few tears fell from his eyes. “y/n, can you… i-i need help,” he calls out pathetically. he turns towards the doorway where you cautiously step in.
  you frown when you see his tears and quickly walk up to him. “hey, hey, it’s okay. why are you crying, eds?” you ask, grabbing his face in your hands to wipe the tears away with your thumbs. he closes his eyes as his lip quivers.
  he leans into your delicate touch and stays quiet for a moment until he remembers he could piss himself at any moment. “i can’t undo my pants,” he whispers, refusing to make eye contact with you. 
  you nod slowly, pushing away the thoughts of how awkward this was because he was so drunk he wouldn’t remember this tomorrow. “it’s okay, eddie. i can help, okay? no big deal, no more tears,” you comfort and he sniffles. you reach down to his belt, ignoring your previous fantasies of doing this in much different circumstances. there was nothing hidden behind this, you were just a friend helping a friend. you unbuckle it quickly before sticking your fingers slightly into the waistband of his skinny jeans to pop the button. you grab the zipper and pull it down for him before moving your hands to his upper arms. “you got it now?” you ask, praying to every god that he does.
  “thank you,” he murmurs as he nods and leaves a wet, sloppy kiss on your forehead. 
  you go back to waiting outside the door, ignoring the sound as best as you could. when you hear him start to try and redo this pants you call out. “eds, don’t try and put them back on we’re just gonna go to bed,” you say and wait for him to drunkenly stumble out to you. you wrap an arm around his waist and bring him to your bed. he flops down quite hard but just giggles as he bounces. you smile at how cute he is.
  you kneel slightly in front of him which causes his eyes to widen. “i like this posit-“ he tries to flirt but you slap his leg.
  he exaggerates a reaction but goes back to smiling at you. you untie his signature shoes, pulling them from his feet and setting them at the end of your bed. you pull off his socks as well, knowing he’d refuse to sleep with them on before reaching up to his hips. “okay, dumbass, can you push your hips up for me?” you ask with a fond smile. eddie does as you tell him too, barely able to hold himself up very long. you make it quick and put his jeans with his shoes before standing up between his legs. 
  “you’re so good to me,” eddie smiles, the last couple words sounding like one. you roll your eyes and help him out of his vest and jacket. “m’serious,” he mumbles. “y/n,” he calls, trying to get you to respond.
  you fold his jacket, laying it with the rest of his clothes before raising your brows. “yes, eddie, i’m listening,” you say, stepping back to him. “shirt on or off?” you ask, and eddie blinks.
  he thinks for a moment before looking down at his hellfire shirt. “off,” he finally says and you reach down to grab the hem of his shirt. “i love you, y/n,” he slurs, putting up his arms so you can pull the shirt over his head.
  “i know, bub, i love you too,” you reply as you normally do while folding his shirt up.
  eddie knows you mean it as a friend, but that’s not how he means it. he wants to tell you. he wants to beg you not to go out with charlie because he knew he could treat you better. and he goes to open his mouth to do just that but you’re cutting him off. “i’m gonna go put on some other pajamas, go ahead and lay down,” you instruct before walking to your drawers. it was too warm to wear your thick pajama pants, so you were going to put back on your shorts. your tank top however, that was a bit too revealing so you decided on a white t-shirt instead.
  when you came back out of the bathroom, eddie was laying on your pillow and staring at the ceiling. he looked up at you as you turned off your lights and climbed into bed. you handed him an unopened water bottle from next to you as you sat next to him. “sit up a bit and drink some, hopefully it’ll help your hangover a little,” you say carefully, watching eddie push himself up.
  when he hands the water back to you, he looks down to your shirt. “you always look so beautiful in white,” he compliments, laying on his side as you’re still propped against your headboard. 
  you laugh at him and brush some hair out of his face. “thanks eddie, but i barely wear it,” you say. 
  eddie shakes his head lightly. “you wore a white dress to that fundraiser banquet your sophomore year, you remember the one for the homeless kids?” he says. you furrow your eyebrows at how he remembered something from over two years ago now but nod. “i think that day was it for me,” eddie confirms quietly.
  “i don’t know what you mean, eds,” you say as you run your fingers through his hair.
  eddie hums in delight as your fingers scratch his scalp. “i think i fell in love with you that day,” he murmurs as he wraps an arm around your legs and cuddles into your hip. your fingers still at his words. “i saw you, in the pretty and frilly white dress with the lace on the sleeves and i asked myself if you’d wear something as beautiful on our wedding day,” he says, speaking more into your leg.
  “eddie,” you say lightly, petting his hair as you feel guilty. he was drunk, he didn’t know what he was saying.
  eddie shakes his head at you. “i’ve actually had our wedding planned for like a year. we’d have it at that old greenhouse on knox, the one i used to take you exploring at when i was a junior. you loved that place, i don’t know why we don’t go anymore,” he observes, eyes closed in bliss as he talks.
  you bit your lip. “eddie,” you try stopping him once more.
  “it’d be during the winter, preferably january, because you love the snow. we could renovate the place, have it heated and shit. the colors would be green, dark green like you like, and then gray or maybe silver, i don’t know you could pick. and you’d want us to decorate with plants, lots of them, and those stupid twinkle lights you can’t buy enough of,” he keeps talking and you feel a lump grow in your throat.
  he’d really thought so hard about this? “eddie, please, stop talking. you’re going to regret this in the morning,” you beg.
  eddie waves you off, knowing that this needed to all come out. “we wouldn’t have the basic song to walk down the isle to though, you’d probably want the beatles or something and i’d let you. your niece amy, she’ll be old enough by then, could be the flower girl,” eddie continues, amazing you not only at how thought out this is but the fact that he doesn’t sound so drunk anymore.
  your hand reaches up to cover your mouth as tears build behind your lashes. “you always talk about wanting a chocolate lab, so i told myself that if i finally got the nerve to ask you out and once we graduate we could move in together and i’d buy you one. how cute would it be to have our dog be the ring bearer?” he chuckles to himself.
  “eddie, you’re drunk,” you say, tears falling from your eyes.
  eddie shrugs. “i still mean it,” he says, rubbing circles on your thigh. “i don’t know who you’d have as your bridesmaids, i assume robin would be your maid of honor but i don’t know about the rest. my best man would be gareth, obviously. we’d have the reception in the same place and for dinner we’d have chicken alfredo, or maybe if you wanted something less messy we could do grilled chicken and vegetables and stuff,” he keeps going.
  “we’d both cry at the speeches because come on, i'm a sap. and then we’d have our first dance. we’d dance to always and forever by heatwave, yeah, that’d be our song. the first time you got high with me we danced to that in my kitchen, you were only fifteen. i had just turned seventeen then, but i knew that i really liked you. you’d get a dance with your dad and i would probably end up dancing with steve as my mom but it would be funny so i don’t care.”
  eddie knew he was word vomiting at this point, but he was too drunk to switch it off. “you’d probably want something like raspberry lemon cake, but i really can’t eat that shit no matter how hard i try for you so we’d have to get at least a part of it be vanilla or chocolate. we’d do the cute thing where we feed each other cake but i would most definitely shove cake in your face. unless you got me first. it would be the happiest day ever. we’d dance all night, probably get pretty drunk and then it’d be over. i would get to take you home, to our home, and we’d smoke a blunt and talk about the rest of our lives. we would most definitely fuck, but i’ll spare you those fantasies, promise it would be romantic though,” he reassures, kissing the bare skin of your upper thigh.
  tears were free falling down your cheeks now. eddie had been in love with you for three years? so much so that he planned this all? you felt stupider than ever for never believing he could like you. of course you had a crush on eddie, did you love him? well… after that it would be hard not to. “i-i don’t know what to say,” you whisper.
  eddie closes his eyes, feeling exhaustion take over him. “s’okay. time to go to bed,” he mutters, blinding reaching up to grab your side and pull you down. you let him hold you tightly, moving up to rest his head atop yours as you cry. he’s snoring in minutes. you however are up late, thinking of just how you were going to tackle tomorrow.
~
  eddie woke up with a groan, burying his face into his pillow as the sunlight burns his eyes. he takes a deep breath, trying to will away the pounding in his head. he’s taken aback when he inhales the scent of your shampoo. he pushes himself up, opening his eyes and grunting from the irritation. he finds he is in fact in your bed in your empty room. 
  when the hell did he get here? he rubbed his eyes, looking to the clock on your bedside table. it was almost two in the afternoon. he sighed in relief when he saw a bottle of tylenol on your bedside table along with a glass of water. “what a godsend,” he mutters to himself as he grabs the bottle. he sees a piece of notebook paper sat underneath it and picks it up too.
good morning (or afternoon) eds,
i didn’t want to wake you up since you were so drunk last night, you needed the sleep. i had some important things i needed to do but i should be back by three or so, please stay if you don’t have anything to do. mom and dad know you’re here, if you go downstairs they’ll make you something to eat.
-y/n
  eddie smiles at your note and takes the tylenol. he gets himself out of your bed, helping himself to use your bathroom and shower as usual. it takes about thirty minutes and then he’s walking downstairs in his clothes from last night, hair still soaking wet, and a killer headache.
  “sleeping beauty is awake, i see,” your mom teases eddie as he steps into the living room. he blushes looking down as your parents look to him. “y/n said you got pretty drunk last night, you feeling okay?” she asked, standing up to walk to him. just like you, she was extremely caring.
  eddie just shrugs. “got a bad headache but that’s my fault. to be honest i don’t even know how i got here,” he explains.
  your mom nodded and felt his forehead with the back of her hand, just checking. “y/n said she went to pick you up from gareth’s. what do you want for lunch hun? i’ll make you something,” she questions, walking towards the kitchen.
  “oh, you don’t have to make anything i was just going to get a pb&j,” he waves, following after her.
  your mom walks to the fridge and opens it. “if you want a sandwich at least make a good one. here, i got this new honey ham from the deli, you should try it,” she smiles, putting it on the counter. “help yourself to anything else, you know this,” she says, patting his arm and leaving the kitchen. 
  eddie loved your house. he loved your parents. it really felt like a home here and your parents loved having him over. your mom was a nurse and worked a lot of night shifts but she was super caring and you really did look just like her. your dad was a businessman and worked on marketing all over the country. he traveled a lot and was definitely more intimidating than your mom. eddie and him still got along, but he’d definitely rather talk to your mom.
  eddie jumps as he feels a hand clap his shoulder as he unties the bread bag. “hey, son,” your dad says, causing him to let out a breath.
  “hey, ken,” eddie says with a small smile.
  “so, i don’t know if y/n told you but i was just in LA,” he starts and eddie turns to look at him.
  he nods. “she did, was it as amazing as it’s supposed to be?” he asks, genuinely interested.
  your dad shrugs, a sly smile on his face. “i’m more of small town guy but it was alright,” he says and eddie nods in understanding. “but hey, remember that tape you made for y/n?” he brings up.
  eddie chuckles. “which one, she’s had me make her tons?” 
  “the one of you, your band, corroded coffin?” he says and eddie’s eyes widen.
  that type of music was definitely not something your dad would like. oh god he hoped he didn’t listen to it and think he was insane or something. “oh, yeah, that one,” eddie gulps.
  your dad smiles and leans back against the counter. “well, son, i took it with me out to LA to show to one of my friends in the industry,” he says, reaching into his back pocket. he holds out a small card. “this is the record company he works for, they’re interested in you guys. wants to fly you out after graduation and record a demo, see how it goes,” he smirks as eddie takes the card.
  his eyes are wide as saucers. “are you for real?” he asks in a shaky voice, looking down at the card and scanning it.
  “sure am, son. they’re out of office until monday, but you should talk to your band and give them a call,” he says. eddie puts his hand to his mouth, feeling like life wasn’t real. “hey,” ken says, catching eddie’s attention.
  he pulls eddie into a hug which eddie greatly accepts. “thank you so much, ken. this means everything you have no idea,” he says.
  ken pulls back and shakes his head. “no, thank you, kid. this was the least i could do,” he purses his lips. eddie looks at him in confusion. “before y/n met you she wasn’t the same. she was going through a rough patch and you brought our happy girl back,” ken explains.
  eddie was in shock over many things as he continued making his sandwich, ate it, and went back up to your room after talking a bit more with your parents. when you finally came back around three eddie was so excited to tell you the news. your dad didn’t tell you yet, wanting eddie to share his excitement with you.
  your door opened and eddie sprung up from the bed. you barely closed the door behind you before eddie was wrapping his arms around your waist and picking you up to twirl you. you screamed in surprise at his action. “eddie, i have bags!” you yelled. eddie put you down long enough for you to free your hands before crushing you in a hug again.
  “guess what?” he asks, all giddy. you feel confused. he obviously didn’t remember last night and right now you felt extremely weird letting him act like it hadn’t happened.
  you figured you couldn’t ruin his excitement, so you’d just put off the start of your plan a few extra minutes. “what, eddie? what has you squeezing me like we’ve been separated for five years?” you ask with a giggle. he pulls away and places the business card in your hand. 
  you look at it in confusion. ready records? “your dad took one of the corroded coffin tapes to LA and showed it to his buddy from this record company. they want to fly us out after graduation and record a demo. if it goes well then they’ll sign us,” he says excitedly. your jaw drops and you throw your arms around him.
  “eds, that’s amazing!” you squeal, holding him tight.
  “i know!” he matches you, rocking you two back and forth. you pull away and place a kiss to each of his cheeks causing him to blush.
  you hold his face in your hands. “you deserve it, eddie. you really do. ack! and i'm gonna be able to go to your shows when you blow up!” you say, jumping up and down. you almost blow your plan and lean in to kiss him then, but you don’t. 
  eddie kisses your forehead back, the biggest smile across his face. “i was thinking we could go out and tell the guys. get pizza and celebrate together?” he says excitedly. your smile falters and eddie looks at you worried for a moment before his own face falls. he lets go of you and takes a step back. “right, you have a date,” he says, and you now know just how much it’s killing him inside.
  “i’m not going on the date, i canceled,” you said causing eddie’s brows to scrunch together. so many thoughts were running through his mind but he couldn’t lie he was happy about it.
  he didn’t want you to know that, so he tried his best to act concerned. “oh. why? i-i thought you really liked charlie,” he questions.
  you shake your head, biting your lip to keep from blurting out that you know. “i wanted to spend the night with you instead. just us, if… if that’s okay?” you whisper, looking down to the ground.
  eddie feels majorly confused. no, it wasn’t odd for you guys to hang out just the two of you, it really was basically every weekend. but, you had been so excited about this date… “no, yeah, that’s totally okay. but, why y/n?” he asks again.
  you shake your head and wave him off. “i’m gonna take you to go get your van so you can go home and change out of yesterday's clothes. wear something kinda nice… but i’ll be back at about seven to pick you up,” you explain. eddie opens his mouth to question you but you just smile. “no questions,” you say and turn around. 
  you do as you said you would, taking eddie to his van before going home to make everything look cute. including yourself. 
  it took some digging but you finally found the white frilly dress with the lace on the sleeves that you hadn’t worn since sophomore year. you were surprised it still fit you. you’d filled out more since then and it definitely hugged your ass a bit tighter than you’d like but oh well. your cleavage was also more on display but you didn’t mind, you knew eddie would love it. you threw on a small amount of makeup and opted for your white converse since you’d have a bit of a walk. 
  “what’re you doing?” your mom asks, sipping her glass of wine as you pull the picnic basket out of the hallway closet.
  you purse your lips and avoid looking at her. “i’m taking eddie on a date,” you say plainly, turning and walking to the kitchen. 
  your mom’s eyes bulge and she quickly follows after you. “you are?! when did this happen?” she asks excitedly. her raised voice catches the attention of your dad, so he also follows you into the kitchen. 
  you set the basket on the counter with a sigh and reach for one of the bags you’d brought home. “nothing has happened yet, mom. he doesn’t even know it’s a date yet,” you explain, pulling out the two boxes from the bakery, each containing a single slice of cake.
  “you and eddie are going on a date?” your dad asks and you wince. you turn to them both and sigh.
  ever since you were little you’d told your parents everything. you had a relationship with them that most kids would be jealous of and you were forever thankful. “last night, when eddie was drunk, he told me he was in love with me. he-he said a lot of stuff actually but he doesn’t remember it,” you say and watch smiles cover your parents faces.
  “what’d he say?” your mom asks and you cover your face with your hands.
  did you really want to tell them about this and your plan? “well… he mentioned how he’s imagined how it would be to um get married… to me. so i was going to take part of that and uh- use it to ask him out,” you say, avoiding eye contact.
  your dad smirks. “so he’s whipped? see linda, i told you!” he says, grabbing your mom by the waist.
  she scoffs, leaning into him. “like i ever disagreed,” she mutters.
  “you guys knew?” you ask, slightly dumbfounded.
  your mom gives you a smile and walks up to you. she grabs your hands after setting down her wine glass. “baby, i think the only people who didn’t know you and eddie have been in love with each other for a very long time was yourselves,” she says and it makes your heart soar.
  “i think i hurt him,” you admit, sighing as you closed your eyes. “you know the charlie guy from school? who i said i liked? we were supposed to go on a date tonight. obviously, i canceled but i was so excited to tell eddie about it and now that i think about it, it definitely hurt him really bad,” you say.
  your dad comes up, placing a hand on your shoulder. “did you like this charlie kid?” he asks.
  you shake your head no. “he was nice, and i never thought eddie would like me so i thought he was my chance. turns out he was just a distraction,” you say.
  “well, that’s over now. let me help you pack for this date,” your mom says, smiling and moving to the bags. 
~
  just before seven, you pulled up outside eddie’s trailer. you bit your nails anxiously as you waited for him to come out, hoping you’d grabbed everything to make this perfect. eddie came out the door, wearing a pair of his signature black ripped jeans with his chains only this time he wore a white button up that he most definitely took from wayne. he had his jacket over his arm as he bounded down the few steps and to your car.
  you took a deep breath as he reached for the door handle. “this nice enough for ya, princess?” he teases, getting in the car.
  his eyes catch the dress you’re wearing and he freezes for a moment. “you look absolutely dashing, eddie,” you joke and throw your car in reverse.
  he scans the dress, it looking exactly how he remembered it to except it was definitely tighter in certain areas. “you look really beautiful,” he says seriously, causing a blush to take over your cheeks. he blinks, realizing what he just said and turning to face the road. “so uh, what are we doing?” he asks.
  “it’s a surprise,” you say, pulling up to the stop sign at the entrance of the trailer park.
  eddie frowns. “i hate surprises,” he says, pouting.
  you shake your head at him before turning up the radio, one of the many tapes he made you playing. “you’ll love this one, promise,” you say, holding out your pinkie. he eyes it for a moment but wraps his pinkie around yours.
  the two of you sing along to the songs as eddie tries to figure out where you’re taking him. you pass the leaving hawkins sign and eddie furrows his brows. there’s only one place this far out you’ve gone before. the old abandoned greenhouse.
  you hadn’t been there in probably a year and eddie wondered why you decided to go there today of all days. “the greenhouse?” he questions over the music. you smile and nod, turning onto knox road. you pull into the familiar lot and turn off your car.
  “help me carry stuff, munson,” you say, hoping out of your car. eddie follows you to your trunk, a look of puzzlement on his face as he examines its contents. a big blanket, a picnic basket, and a boom box. you grab the heavy boom box and hand it to him.
  he takes it, chuckling at your struggle as he takes the blanket in his other hand. “what’s this all about?” he questions with a smile. 
  you grab the picnic basket and close the trunk. you reach up, kissing him on his cheek before turning and scampering away. “let’s go, eds, i'm hungry,” you giggle.
  eddie watches you with pure love in his eyes. the lowering sun was casting beautiful shadows, turning your white dress that he loved so much golden. your hair blew in the the slight breeze as he watched you step over a log and make your way up the small hill to the greenhouse. he jogs to catch up with you, wondering how you could be so perfect.
  you push open the fragile door that was barely still on its hinges and sighed at the view. a wedding here would be gorgeous. it was super dirty right now, but with a little cleaning, some new wiring, and a few replaced window it would be perfect. 
  eddie walked slowly, taking in the place as you walked over to the place he’d many times imagined the two of you standing under a wedding arch. he wondered how you’d react if you knew, but he couldn’t risk that. “come on slow poke, i need the blanket,” you say, snapping him from his daydream.
  you kick a few stray rocks out of the way as eddie sets down the boom box. the two of you grab the edges of the blanket and lay it out. you gesture for eddie to sit as you move the basket to the blanket and he does. “you gonna tell me what this is yet, dork?” he asks as you pull out two insulated bowl type things.
  you dig around for some silverware and shrug. “can’t two friends just enjoy a date night together?” you ask smugly, reaching for the bottle of champagne your mom let you take (only if you promised to drink one glass and one glass only).
  eddie chokes on his spit, eyes widening. “a date?” he asks immediately and you feel warmth fill your chest.
  “is that okay?” you ask, pulling out the glasses.
  eddie feels his mouth go dry as he re-assess the situation. a date? was this really a date? but you said friends. but do friends have date nights? “uh, yeah, yeah, that’s- that’s fine,” he confirms. you smile handing him one of the bowls and a fork before popping the top off the champagne.
  you pour the two glasses, carefully setting them on the blanket before grabbing your own bowl. “well eat, weirdo,” you chuckle and open yours. eddie follows your actions, still slightly taken aback by the whole date thing.
  “chicken alfredo?” he questions, not surprised by your choice as he digs in.
  you laugh, chewing your bite and swallowing before responding. “it’s from enzo’s, it’s the good stuff!” you say with a big smile. eddie smiles back at you, and the two of you fall into usual conversation.
  when you finally finish, eddie falls back with his hands placed on his stomach. “i’m stuffed,” he mutters, closing his eyes.
  you nudge his thigh with your knee. he looks to see you with a pout on your face. “but i bought dessert,” you say. eddie smiles at how cute you are and props himself up on his elbows.
  “well, i guess since you already bought it…” he trails, admiring the smile that comes back on your face. you quickly hand him the black box and a new fork as you grab your own. “oo, cake?” he questions, looking at the moist and fluffy chocolate cake.
  you smile, wanting him to start to take the hints. “yep, i got you chocolate and i got raspberry lemon,” you say. eddie just nods as you shuffle closer to him. “can we do the cute thing?” you ask shyly.
  eddie looks up to you, smirking. “you want me to do you?” he flirts. you roll your eyes fondly but give him a curious look. “you’re gonna have to elaborate, sweetheart,” he says, raising his brows.
  you bite your bottom lip before reaching to his cake and digging your fork into it. “can we feed it to each other?” you ask quietly and eddie feels his heart skip.
  his mind goes fuzzy and you can see it on his face. chicken alfredo. raspberry lemon. the greenhouse. his fantasies. he blinks rapidly, looking at you in slight panic. did you know? how could you know? he’s never told anyone about them… you just look at him expectantly, hiding the smugness. “oh- um, yeah, sure,” he says shakily, reaching to grab a piece of your cake.
  you raise your fork to his mouth as he does the same, mind racing. you both take the bite, enjoying how wonderful this cake tastes. you put your pointer finger in the frosting of your slice of cake and dab it on eddie’s nose. your version of shoving the cake in his face. eddie feels panicked, nervously laughing at your action. “something wrong?” you feign innocence.
  “no, no, just uh… it’s not important. thanks for the cake,” he says, wiping the frosting from his nose before focusing on his cake. his heart was beating ridiculously fast as he ate. he was so in love with you.
  once you both finished your cake you smile, excited for the final phase of your plan. “eds?” you whisper, biting on your lip. he looks up to you and hums. “can i ask for one more thing?” you ask.
  eddie nods, nerves bubbling in his stomach. you reach over to the boombox, pressing a button before standing. “will you dance with me?” you ask, holding your hand out. eddie feels all air leave his lungs as the familiar beginning notes of always and forever by heatwave floods his ears.
  he wants to almost cry… but he’s too blown away. he places his hand in yours silently, standing and walking with you off the blanket. he feels like he’s holding his breath as you grab his wrists, placing them on your hips. “breath,” you reassure him, wrapping your arms around his neck and resting your head on his chest.
  he stares down at you in disbelief and fright, swaying with you as you begin moving. you wait for the chorus to hit before pulling back to look into his eyes. he was still not believing what was happening, his lips parted and eyes wide. “eddie,” you spoke quietly, your own nerves starting to flood your body. he looks at you, still not knowing what to expect. “i…” you start, eyes flickering to his lips that looked so kissable. “i’m in… love with you too,” you whisper, and eddie freezes.
  “w-what?” he asks breathlessly. first not understanding how you knew he loved you, then realizing you had the same feelings.
  you smile at his bewilderment and bring one hand to the side of his face. “i’m in love with you too, eddie munson,” you repeat, louder and more confident this time. eddie’s hands squeeze your waist as his brain short circuits. he tries opening his mouth to speak, but he doesn’t even know what to say. “can i kiss you?” you ask and eddie sucks in a sharp breath. he nods, and you waste no time leaning in.
  the second your lips connect, it feels like literal fireworks. one of his hands come up to the back of your head, holding you against his lips as his eyes flutter shut. your lips move in sync, the music playing in the background as you both revel in the feeling of each other.
  you don’t pull away until you literally need air but you keep your foreheads pressed together. “how did you…” eddie trails between pants.
  you give him a shy smile. “last night… you were gone, like so drunk. and you told me. everything,” you start and eddie’s eyes widen for what felt like the millionth time. “everything. that you’ve loved me since i was fifteen, about amy being the flower girl, about the dog, the snow, the colors, the decorations. about robin and gareth, the food, the first dance, the cake, and even what we’d do after,” you explain and his heart drops. “you left out the details of the specific part though, don’t worry,” you giggle at his expression.
  “oh my god,” eddie says, closing his eyes in embarrassment. 
  you grab his face in both your hands to get him to open his eyes. “that’s why i did this. because i’m in love with you too… because even though i haven’t thought it out like you, i want it too,” you say in reassurance.
  eddie scans your face, a part of him telling him it was just a sick prank. but it wasn’t. so he presses his lips back against yours, trying to pour his love into it. “i really do, i love you so much,” he mumbles into your lips.
  you smile into his kiss, feeling the adoration from him. you pull away. “oh, i almost forgot,” you say, disconnecting yourself from him. you walk back over to the basket, rummaging around before walking to him with a small box. you hand it to him and he eyes you. “open it,” you say, shoving his shoulder slightly.
  he does, looking at it in confusion. it was a necklace that resembled a singular wing of a bat. you grabbed it, holding it to your chest, where the magnets made it snap together with your own. the two wings lining up to form a heart. eddie feels his eyes water as he grabs it back from you. “i love it,” he whispers, wondering how he got so lucky. you help him put it on before pulling him in for another kiss.
  you two sit back down on the blanket, cuddling together as you admire the sunset. “this is literally, the best day of my life,” eddie admits, looking down at you. 
  you smile, squeezing his arm. “mine too,” you whisper. 
this was originally supposed to end with some cutesy smut but i was already over 8 thousand words so...
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unicorn-gallerexy · 2 months
Text
Howdy, I totally mean to post more and didn't do any of that but then i got stuck with this idea and getting it out so here ya go, i want it out my face. There will be part 2, but i need a break bc this too so long and is longer than i wanted it. Only mildly proofread, rada rada, yknow the drill
Word count: 12.7K (i managed to hit the end of like 3 keep notes, i ain't ever done that)
CW: (technical) Homewrecker!Atsumu x Wife! Reader, smut, (kinda/justified) cheating, manipulation and mild threats (not from Atsumu), open marriage (you weren't vibing with it), trash treatment from husband, Long af, Atsumu being mad bc wtf is up with your husband?
One for Another
When your husband asked his question, excited just after coming home, you thought you couldn't hear. Or maybe it was that you didn't understand?
Either way, you asked him to repeat himself.
"I want to open our relationship. It sounds like a good idea, yeah?" He smiles, like there's nothing wrong with his sudden asking, and the look you give him is blank before it obviously reads upset.
"Why?" You steady your voice a lot easier than you steady your mind. You were hurt, this was so out of the blue. Yes, he had voiced a bit of an issue with your extra few pounds, or how you didn't dress up more often, or how you didn't have as much sex anymore (which was more his fault but he blamed you and the weight you put on) but you were working in it. You started working out in your own home because he was insistent that other people, like his coworkers, could see you let yourself go. You worked on being consistent with skincare and wearing more clothes that flattered you. You were actually looking quite a bit better than you had before. At least you and your friends thought so...
"Because it's a great idea?" He says it so easy as if you should be understanding. Seeing as you don't look pleased, his smile drops and he heaves a sigh so heavy at the thought of explaining himself. "Look you and i haven't... Been on the same page for a while. You and I just aren't matching up right now, so i figured it would be good to open the relationship so we can fill in those gaps."
"What gaps? I've been working on myself for damn near two months now, solely because you asked. What am i not doing for you?"
"Jesus Christ, this isn't about you. It's about us being happy, and im not happy. Im also not just trying to leave you high and dry but im sure you're not happy either." He says the part about you not being happy as if it doesn't matter to him. His emphasis was on him not being happy, and the part of not leaving you sounded more like a chore than a willful choice.
He swept you off your feet and promised a life a comfort. He was working on a promotion, he complimented you regularly and the sex wasn't bad at all. You fell for his charm easy, and he seemingly fell for you just as hard. After a few years, he asked you to marry him and made it known you could depend on him completely. Your job was basically down the drain by the time the wedding happened due to higher positions deciding the right way didn't make them enough money fast enough. He said you could trust him to take care of you, that he'd keep you happy and comfy, that he didn't mind a housewife for a while. You let yourself fall into that role, it wasn't hard. The house he bought was sizeable but not too big, the chore list was never too long and you did indeed live comfortably.
Over time, through his several promotions to an executive seat, you moved into bigger and better, all while he coaxed you into being his lovely little housewife and homemaker. Anytime you talked of going back, he'd mention how the job market wasn't the best, reports of customers abusing staff locally, rumors he "heard" here or there about owners and managers of places you were looking into, and always mentioning how you complained of every job you had. How you hated working, but how you were basically just taking care of yourself and he was taking care of you by working and giving you a card of his he didn't need to keep track of.
This was more temporary than you thought it was.
In the last two promotions, he had been given an assistant that always seemed a little too close for comfort. If you ever brought it up, he'd only mention how he married you and how she worked for him, so he couldn't be cheating on you. He blamed your insecurities and said you were forcing your own self doubt on him, and how that wasn't fair. At first the responses seemed loving, in their own way, before they turned angry. He'd shout about you being insecure, how you were trying to accuse him of things you had no proof of. He'd leave the house and even when he came back, he rarely ever apologized. He'd simply place more money onto the card and talk to you as he normally would. He pretended to care with a kiss on the forehead and half holding you in bed every so often.
That didn't stop him from pointing out your mounting flaws over time. It didn't stop him from refusing any sort of advances you made, day off or not. Didn't stop him not inviting you to company events as he had in the past and instead saying he was going with *her instead because "family isn't invited this time around" as if there weren't pictures posted later of his coworkers with their wives who you know don't work for the company at the same event.
You would've left a long time ago, really. But he wasn't wrong in saying you were insecure. Or that he'd leave you high and dry. He managed to manipulate you into not having a job for years, which doesn't look the greatest when applying for new ones, which created your dependency on him for financial reasons but he also had preyed on the parts of yourself you couldn't stand, made you feel like he and he alone loved you, like no one else would or could love you. You defended his words when your friends brought up concern by citing that he was right, as no one had really come up to you to flirt or asked you out prior to him so there wasn't really much competition for you. And, at the time, he at least liked you.
All for it to be thrown back in your face now. The waves of realization hit like you're in a losing boxing match. You feel your eyes burn but refuse to let any tears fall. He, unfortunate as it may be, can still read you at least a little. He comes and wraps his arms around you in a hug that makes you feel slimy, but you don't pull away as there's no where else to go really. "Listen baby, this isn't just a good thing for me. It's a good decision for both of us. I'm not giving you what you want, you aren't giving me what i want, don't you think it's better to find those things in other people and still have each other to come home to? At least give it a shot." He insists. It's obvious to you now, he doesn't care about you finding someone, only about him being allowed to do as he wants without being called a name that fits.
Part of you want to ask, but you figure you won't get answers if you do. You feel backed into a corner with no real way to lash out. So, you give a reluctant and strained yes, giving in to your defeat in hopes it hurts a little less. He kiss the back of your head and quickly slips away from you, grabbing his keys and saying something about being back later before slipping out of the door. You hear it lock, you hear the car start and drive off, and looking at the time on the clock in the stove behind you, it now reads 7:38pm. You could swear he turned his head to look at it when he was behind you.
The weekend comes in shortly after, he says he's going on a trip and you don't bother to ask where to or when he'll be back. You're already distant and its only been a few days, not that he cares at all. He packs and leaves in a hurry, only sending a text of "I love you" about an hour later. You've yet to tell anyone, feeling overwhelmed with shame and stupidity at not seeing any signs earlier on to avoid this. Or maybe because you feel ashamed that you couldn't keep your husband satisfied? That he was seduced by someone you'd consider younger and prettier than you'll ever be. You're not that old, nor are you bad looking but that's not how you see it. Your eyes only seem to find more and more inadequacies each time you look into a mirror. From the bags darkening under your eyes to your hair becoming more tangled with your lack of care, from the flaring breakouts across your face from stress and ditching your routine to the weight you worked off coming back with friends because you wallow on the couch and dropped your workout routine.
What was the point?
You had nothing else to work towards. Sure you barely looked different from before him, and if you got back into all of it, you'd look basically the same as you did then, maybe a bit better, but what would be the point? No one wanted you before he did, he literally had no competition for your affection or attention. The only thing that's changed that you can't undo is the passing of time. Sure, in the grand scheme of things you really weren't that much older than you were then but, if no one wanted you then, who would want you now?
You couldn't give an answer, and thus your brain concluded with: no one.
You eventually wind up inviting friends over about 2 weeks into his trip and, not having heard from you for longer, they jump at the chance to see you. When they arrive, and you answer the door, disheveled in sweats, they can see that you're not holding up well and the sweet smiles and loud hi's drop. Being asked what's wrong sets off the water works, not having cried in or out of his presence made the dam behind your eyes too full, and concerned friendly voices opened the gates. You step aside to let them in and they immediately hug you, telling you to calm down enough to at least tell them what's wrong but the sobs are violent, shaking your body completely and taking the strength from your legs. They guide you to the couch, sit at your sides and tell you to cry it out, seeing as every time you try and speak, it's unintelligible.
When you manage to calm yourself enough in your friends arms, you don't lift your gaze from the floor, explaining why you haven't answered calls or texts and why you just spent a literal hour crying into them. To say their furious is an understatement. They shout question after question, most at how he could do this and feel nothing. You cry into your hands, and that's when they calm down, starting to throw suggestions, the first being divorce. You remind them of how he basically holds all your financials, your place to live, and a solid position in his company. Your friends sigh as they realize that leaving, at least now, isn't a real option. After a moment of quiet thinking, and soft sniffles, your first best friend grabs you by both shoulders with a smile. "Open relationship, right? That means you can also do what you want. We can get you back on track with all your routines and go out, take you with us on singles night!" She's beaming even if you don't look the most into the idea, your other best friend seeming to voice your thoughts for you.
"As if he'll actually let her have another relationship outside of him with no repercussions. Be real, May. He'd flip his shit because he just wanted to go out and fuck anything that breathes without being called a cheater" May pouts, having already thought of that in a more minor capacity.
"I figured that, Kura. We don't have to tell him shit. He's not even being that discreet about it, with the 2 of us helping her out, he'll never know." She leans to speak over your shoulder to Kura before looking back at you with soft, loving, hopeful eyes that you feel you haven't experienced in a while. "Maybe we can actually find you a real man who'll treat you right and wont do this shit. You don't deserve to just wallow here by your self." Her hands cup your face as she awaits an answer and you shake your head in her hands.
"No one wanted me before, May. Who's gonna want me now? I'm older and-"
"Still hot, at least when you're not distressed." Kura says from behind you, smiling with some sort of support for the plan. You shake your head as May keeps hold of you.
"Okay but everything is here, workout equipment and-"
"We'll take you to the gym with us! Kura has been wanting to get in there for a while but she keeps bailing on me. I'll take you two with me and then we're all obligated to go. We'll go on spa days, I'll call you so you don't have to acknowledge him while you do your routine here. Trust me, thought out much more than you think." May beams, Kura chiming in about possibly just moving rooms so you have space if you haven't already. Both paw at you and basically beg, saying it'll at least be good just to get out for a little while every day even if you aren't man hunting. You tear up again, and when asked why, you say you thought they'd me mad at you, tell you i told you so or something because you didn't listen when they spoke up. You're given the warmest embrace you've had in a minute as they tell you it's not your fault, it's his. He preyed on you, just to throw you away for nothing substantial. You cry, and say ok, agreeing to go with them and along with their plan, causing them both so squeal with joy before May goes to bolt upstairs.
"Where are you going?" You sniffle, caught in Kura's arms as you look up the stairs.
"To run you a proper bath. We're having an at home spa night now. You need it." She scrunches her nose in the way that makes you laugh and knowing you still have some happiness makes them happy.
The night goes on as they wish, both helping wash your hair and your face, saying you need a break as they pamper you and do their best to drive away the sadness in your heart, or at least distract from it. They help you move things into another room, opting to watch terrible B and latter alphabet movies, doing your face routines together and eating proper food since you've seen gorging on junk food for a while now. They opt to stay over for a few days when you tell them your husband wont be home for another 3 weeks. Both girls help you clean up, do laundry, and essentially reset your home to brinf back a real sense of normalcy. May sits and picks out a couple gym appropriate outfits, laying them on top of the dresser, before they leave you a couple days before your husband is supposed to be back. They kiss your forehead, hug you tight and tell you the day of a group gym trip so you look forward to it. Kura notes she wont back out if you don't, putting a sense of responsibility on you to ensure you don't bail last minute.
When your husband comes back, he finds you lounging about in the other room, only to ask a question you truly dreaded hearing. "Hey, I can still have the bedroom to myself for a bit right?" Behind the doorway, at his side you can see another shadow in the sunlight that bathes the house and a feminine giggle from behind him. You simply wave him off, a half hearted mumble sending him on his way to the bedroom, girl in tow. You hear the door shut, lock clicking into place as you curl into yourself and text your friends. They send you texts to just forget about it as much as possible, you telling them it's hard when you can hear them through the walls and know he feels no sense of remorse.
That was what killed you most, the fact he was doing it all and seemed to feel nothing for you. No remorse, no guilt or shame, not even the tiniest bit of pity even if it would piss you off. You realized quick he didn't feel anything negative about it, but that didn't mean it didn't suck to have such a blatant display of what you could only feel was disrespect. Then again, you're surprised it didn't happen earlier.
Your affluent living situation meant a very nice, expensive gym wasn't too far away. May and Kura didn't live in the expensive part of the city but they had good jobs and kept up with the monthly payment plan that even you and your more frugal upbringing balked at when you got the sign up paper at the desk. Once paying the overcharged fee and getting your membership card, May lead you and Kura around to show you the facilities the gym had to offer and blabbed about the famous and influential people she's seen in passing from actors to local businessmen to athletes. Kura and you keep up as she taps your arm for your attention. "I'm kinda starting to regret coming with May." She whispered, no malice behind as you nod and hum in agreement.
You feel exposed even if your fully clothed. The sports bra and crop you normally wear to workout at home suddenly feeling to short to be worn outside (even if you've done so a million times) and the yoga shorts holding your ass nicely feeling all too tight to be worn in public. You can't help the shy stance you keep as May guides you past a the sauna, pool, and cryo rooms towards the side of the building, keeping one arm wrapped around yourself and the other down at your side. Kura is dressed in similar pants, but her top is a loose cotton shirt you wish you'd gone for instead. May, being the one used to being here, is in a good sports bra and yoga shorts due to the weather. Once her tour is over, she guides you into the large workout room, complete with just about any and every machine you'd need for every part of your body. You wanna vomit.
You know you left to get away from your currently shitty home life but now you actually kinda regret coming. May turns with a big smile that falls quick when she takes note of yours and Kura's faces. She keeps hopeful, taking you both by the hands over to the treadmills that face out of the window. "We can start here so that you two can get a bit more comfy, yea?" You both nod and hop on, the 3 of you starting at the same pace and making mild small talk.
After you and Kura seem to loosen up, noted by you finally dropping your arm from around yourself, May takes the opportunity to switch it up and get you guys through some stretches. From there, it's basically downhill. May is fit, not annoying about it and it shows. She puts you and Kura to your limits and genuinely encourages you the entire time in such a way that's hard to be mad at. You're at it for hours until the final stretch for your cool down when she beams "And we're done! That was fun, wasn't it?"
"I regret.. My decision." Kura pants.
"Fun isn't what id give it but i mean..." You trail off with a weak wave of your hand on the floor next to Kura as May hops up to drag you both down the hall and to the sauna. When you both express dismay over the sound of sitting in a hot, moist room on a hot day after being worked to near death, May assures you that you'll just both feel so much better after and if you're so inclined, she'll take you to the actual pool for a bit after. You and Kura grimace at the thought of being more openly exposed than you already are at one another as you follow May and say you'll both pass on that part today.
Out of clothes, wrapped in towels, May hands off your clothing to one do the workers before noting to you as they leave that they're gonna wash them. You and Kura share a surprised look at her as she pushes you both into the (thankfully) empty sauna. She does everything to set it up and soon enough the room is hot and steamy, her eyes fixing to continuously check on you two as you close your eyes and drop your head to relax in the warm, wet heat. "So how long can we be expected to be alone in here?" Kura asks, scooting to put just a bit more distance between you two which you're thankful for.
"With how long we've worked out, not too much longer. But we don't have to leave or anything like that. We can basically stay in here for as long as we want, though it is recommended to leave at some point to prevent overheating." She sighs.
"With how much we have to pay for a monthly membership, we better be able to stay in here for as long as we want." You complain, Kura letting out a small laugh as she lays her head against the wall. She and May look at you, your head still down and eyes still closed.
"Black card for your thoughts, lovely?" Kura mutters, you shake your head before answering.
"Just thinking about home, unfortunately. Thinkin about how i let it get here honestly." Kura pushes your arm and you look at your friends, both sets of eyes stern but full of care as they note him and whatever he's doing isn't worth any more of tour head space. Kura throwing the idea to take him for what he's useful for and buy everyone lunch after, naming off pricy places your younger self could only dream of going. You laugh at her, especially as may joins in with the new ultra luxury bakery that just opened up and is known to be pure Instagram fodder and not actually good baked goods. Just as you near snort with laughter at their suggestions, about to cut in with something cheaper and actually good, the door opens and causes you three to scoot a bit closer to one another in a corner and 4 actually fairly familiar faces trail in, shortly followed by a duo that you can tell aren't with the prior 4. Your husband's work and you being his previous arm candy piece at work events let you passionately shake hands with plenty of elites, faces recognizable to you easy. The 4 who are making conversation amongst themselves are athletes, specifically the (debatably) most popular members of the team. Koutarou Bokuto, Shoyo Hinata, Kiyoomi Sakusa, and Atsumu Miya.
The other 2 are businessmen that you've seen at damn near every single even you went to with your husband, higher ups from a company his worked with. They were always hitting you in the worst way so your nose unconsciously crinkles before you turn to Kura and May. You aren't too surprised, May did say plenty of the wealthy who live close by here and even some who don't come to this gym just because of how nice and/or exclusive it is. You hope somewhere inside yourself that the duo doesn't notice you at all, as that would help the first day back to a workout routine all the better.
Of course, you cant ever have what you want. The universe curses you by making one of the idiot duo loudly recognize your left shoulder tattoo of a chubby kitten playing with stars from various franchises, like animal crossing fragments and Rosalina's stars from Mario games. "Oh shit! I remember that dumb little tattoo! Y/n, how have you been babe?" He says. You roll your eyes hard enough to hurt as you feel every pair of eyes in this small room land on you. You force a smile and turn your head, giving a strained hi and fine. He and his friend start to bombard you with questions at your minor acknowledgement. Your husband, what he's been up to and things like that. You answer most, half with lies as Kura leans over your back and tells them to call him if they've got "such a hard on for him" instead of harassing you.
Kura has taken on most of your lost bite while you work to get it back, and you find yourself plenty thankful for it. You don't miss the small snorts of laughter from the other side of sauna and neither do the duo on the other side of you. Not liking to feel any sort of embarrassment, and somehow deciding that the wife of their business colleague is their prime target, the second one opens his mouth with venom. "You know Y/n, i have friends who work with your husband. We haven't seen you at any of the company get togethers anymore, yknow? But we have seen him with this real pretty dame on his arm. You make him get a replacement so you don't have to be there or what?" They way you stiffen is visible and your brain short circuts on what to do next for a half second. Both have this smug smile on their face as everyone looks wide eyed at the two, and they look at you.
You stand, eyes lifting from the ground where you had planted them during talking to them initially. "The fact you two are so mad because you cant even get escorts to sleep with you, much less me when im married so you go around saying shit like that is honestly pathetic." Your hand slaps the one who opened his mouth before you can rethink it, turning on your heels to leave at you hear not just your friends but the other men in the room giving them quite the reprimanding as you float your way to where you can pick up your freshly washed clothes. You must've been in there for longer than you thought, as they're set out with your membership card on top to show ownership. You're quick to change as you hear voices outside looking for you. You step out and toss the towel into the bin they have out for them and your friends rush to your side and try to comfort you but you simply tell them to get dressed so you can go and eat.
They're dressed in a flash and following you out the front door, you never noticing the sets of eyes that manage to trail your form as you storm out with your friends hot on your ass, wiping your eyes. Once in the car, there's a beat of silence as they seem to try and find what would be the rihht thing to say after that. What do they say? Your tears don't wait, a uncontrolled sob escaping you before your hand covers your mouth to hold back the rest of the noise as you cry. He's so brazen about it, of course other people notice but the last thing you wanted was to be confronted with it anywhere else. You're hugged from two directions, hands rubbing your back and arms to soothe you as May says she wont blame you for bailing after that. You shake your head, taking deep breaths to calm yourself and taking the tissue Kura passes you from her bag to wipe your eyes and blow your nose before you close your eyes. Clearing your throat, you croak. "I'm still going to do it... I'm not gonna let this stop me... Even if it sucks..." Kura pats you on the back, saying she'll still be with you and May clapping at you not letting it throw you down without a fight.
You get to pick lunch. A nice sit down hot pot spot that's having a slow day, so they wave the typical time limit they have and sit you three in a cozy booth. You loose track of time, your friends being efficient in distracting your mind from the day's sour turn, laughing and eating to replenish some energy. You three can see the door, and have made a game of betting (without money of course) on if the groups and couples who come in have ever actually been to a hot pot place or if they came in because they think it's "exotic". It's a dumb little game that results in fun banter. Lo and behold, the bell advice the door dings again and in walk... The same 4 athletes who basically saw you getting outted as being cheated on. The MSBY black jackles, with the rest of the team in tow. The owner working the register guides them to the large booth in the opposite corner from you and your friends, who ask if you wanna go after seeing the 4 familiar faces. You shake your head, saying you're having fun and betting that the extra shy, probable assistant, hasn't been to hot pot before as you slip a leafy green veggie in your mouth. You're friends smile and agree with you're bet, and you let your night continue.
The three of you fall easy back into yourselves as the waiter comes to top up your broth for the 3rd time, never noticing the pair of eyes that seem to linger along your form here and there. You don't even notice how the same eyes trail you once again as you leave out with your friends, looking considerably happier than when you left the gym. He knows he shouldn't be looking so hard, but he just cant seem to understand. Why would a man who married you not want you or not want to show you off?
You keep to your word and go back three days later, muscles sore the day after from how hard May worked you both but you return nonetheless to join her again as she says you'll both get used to it and she'll keep the routine the same for a while to help speed up that process. She beams at both of your forlorned faces as she makes you both get down on the floor for your stretches.
She keeps to her word, and you get back into your prior habits as your friends remind you that self care shouldn't be tied to the scumbag you live with as they have now deemed him. Your days with them are your highlights, whether it's just lunch and the gym or if they come over to insult your husband in the guest room you've moved into. Your gym trips are a bit better for your mental health tho, having made a couple of friends through May's bubbly personal skills and being away from your husband's revolving door of women. You tend to avoid anyone who has more consistent contact with your husband or his job to avoid any more incidents like your first day and that seems to do you well, though you've of course run into several big names that have worked with his company or him once or twice. You don't mind those, especially since some are constant faces anytime you go to be whipped into shape by May.
Some of the more consistent faces you see are those of Athletes, specifically coming across the MSBY team again and again. The 4 who initially witnessed your sauna incident either didn't remember it or simply never seemed to show they did, none giving you any odd looks or pitied glances any time your eyes seemed to catch theirs in passing. You were always the first to turn away, never catching on to the way one of them seemed to stare. At least not at first. The more often you came, the more you saw them and vice versa. The more you saw them, the more he could stare. The more he could stare, the more you seemed to catch him and while he would avert his gaze elsewhere or focus of the weight in his hands, he'd still eventually find a way to stare at you again all whilst taking pride in the way you seemed to fluster under his gaze. That man was Atsumu Miya.
Of course, his blatant "eye fucking" as Sakusa would call it didn't go unnoticed by the others, Bokuto and Hinata scolding him for essentially hitting on a married woman. When away from other who knew nothing about the information they had heard in the sauna, Atsumu defends himself. "He's cheatin on 'er anyways and i haven't even said anything. Why can't i look?" The others always reply that it's not the point.
"They might be trying to work it out?" Hinata mutters, making all of them turn their nose and Atsumu respond with a "Fuckin hope not." The boys were raised on better teachings so, even if they were reprimanding their friend for his borderline inappropriate behavior, they still don't like the idea of some poor, pretty girl "working things out" with a man that obviously doesn't care about her. Atsumu's typical defense doesn't hold up for long though. As time passes, the more he sees you, the more he tries to find ways to talk to you. From bringing you and your friends water to engage in small talk under the guise of being kind before he's called back to managing to catch you and your friends as you're about to leave some other amenity after making sure he worked out for just a bit longer, saying it was to not slack close to a game, to be sure he caught you at the tail end of your swim or sauna sit. Atsumu continues to argue that there's nothing wrong with making small talk or incidentally running into someone in a shared public space.
"You don't even know what incidentally means, homewrecker." Sakusa shoots, Atsumu having an aghast expression at the word. Though, with more time and the tiny tidbits of info he learns about you personally, the more the insult seems to not matter. You're a nice convo partner, and he's just being nice, right?
Of course, you have other obligations to attend to aside from the gym. You know he still expects you to clean the house, that damn bedroom you can't find it in yourself to even look at much less sleep in anymore included, and make him (and guests he brings) food. You'd refuse if he didn't opt for the coercive method of throwing the fact you don't have a job right now in your face, guests there or not. You just go with it at this point to avoid talking to him, moving away or giving minimal acknowledgement when he tries to soothe you with empty hugs and worthless words. So the supermarket is your other safe haven. No hard work, no husband or women he's fucking, no real stress aside from not finding something you're craving. Crossing into the refrigerated section causes a shiver, eyes scanning over price tags you've never gotten used to looking at. As you reach out for a pack of chicken with a decent tag, a stronger hand brushes in front of your to cross in the other direction. Looking up reveals a familiar blonde headed athlete who seems to beam at seeing you, as if he didn't see you a couple aisles ago.
"Hey, been a couple days. How ya been?" He asks, taking his hand away and gesturing for you to grab your thing first.
"Been alright, resting up before my May drags us back. You?" Conversation comes easy, he's noticed you're kinda quiet so he takes the lead in asking questions and talking about his own things. He's careful, even subconsciously, about asking certain questions as to not put you in a sour mood. You ask him the occasional question as he seems to follow you around, noting he doesn't have anything else to do except his own personal grocery trip, like about his games and team. He has no issue answering, giving the occasional jab at them and joking with you to make you giggle behind your hand as you both float around the store until you both have to check out. When he realizes that the window is closing on the most in depth conversation he's ever had with you, he spings an invitation as you both exit the store. "Umm... Hey, do you maybe wanna come over to mine later? To keep talking? I think you're actually pretty interesting." He says quickly, trying to make sure you don't think what he feels you are.
You smile, laughing softly. "Your reputation is starting to sound a bit more true. You always invite girls over to 'talk' after you grocery shop with them?" He smiles and shakes his head, free hand rubbing the back of his neck.
"Nah, just you." He flirts, and liking the feel of the missing male attention, you agree. He comes and tells you where his place is, and upon looking at it typed out, you realize that it's actually not far from where you and him live. Like, just a bit farther, just almost out of sight due to the curve, down the long street that your house sits at. You can walk to his house. When you tell him as much, he laughs. "Small world, huh? I'll leave the door open then." He shoots you a wink before heading on his way to his car ad you do yours.
When you get home, you don't speak to your husband. This is now normal. You simply put away the groceries you bought save for what you cook after. Once you've rushed through making a meal you have no real intentions of eating, you simply shoot him an "I'm heading out." Before slipping out of the door and taking a slow, leisurely stroll down to Atsumu's place. It takes about 20 minutes at that pace, and once in front of the door, you get butterflies. That old familiar flutter in the base of your tummy makes you hesitate to knock but you're a big girl, so you reach your hand up to give a few solid pounds to the heavy door. His place is nice, you've seen every house in the neighborhood at least once but you never really knew who lived in them. You were already housewife status before you moved here so you rarely came outside or interacted with any neighbors except next door and directly across the street.
The door opens with the slightly sticky sound of the seal meant to keep the outside out, and in the way of your view into the luxury home stands a broad chest. Your eyes get stuck for a half second before they trail up to his face, bright smile already splayed across his face. "Well howdy neighbor." You've heard him speak so the accent wasn't low on you but there sure are some words that really bring it out. You bow your head with your greeting and he turns himself to the side to let you in. "What took so long? I was waitin for ya." He asks jokingly, and you smile as you tell him about having to cook before you left because if you didn't do it, who would? He hears how lighthearted you make it sound, and he swallows the frown before it gets to appear on his face. You're keeping your head high to cope and it makes him wanna gag as his eyes trail up you, seeing no real flaw as to why some man wouldn't wanna be with you. He thinks you're real pretty, gorgeous even. You're also smart, funny and pretty quick witted when your head's not in the clouds. He knows it's a little odd to feel so strongly for the situation of a woman you just met, but his mama taught him so much better than that so when confronted with shit like this, it's hard to fathom. Even more so when the subject of it is right in front of him, oh so beautiful with your-
"Atsumu? Earth to pro athlete, need you back down here, big guy. Atsumu?" Shit. He had zoned out looking at you as you spoke so when he shakes his head and politely asks you to repeat the last thing you said, he feels awful. You seen a little too used to it as you shrug it off, which he feels makes it worse, and ask again. "I said: Did you have a plan when you invited me over or were you just gonna go with the flow and see what happens?" You stand with your hands behind your back so to not touch anything, and he struggles with his mind wandering as he motions for you to sit down and quickly jogs into his kitchen.
"I mean, we had a pretty nice time talking at the grocery store so i figured we could just pick up where we left off." He calls before coming to set a glass of lemonade down in front of you on the coffee table. "And if you stay long enough, i wouldn't mind you joining me for dinner?" It comes out like a question, you've been here for all of 2 minutes max and he's already inviting you to stay longer. He's so eager in a way you cant help but giggle and agree. You watch as he sits on the other side of the couch before starting to engage you in some bit of conversation from before. What you pick up on is that he constantly tries to get you to talk more and he pays actual attention to what you say. Anytime you quiet down out of habit, he asks you another question. The conversation hops from life experiences, to vacations, to upbringings. Anything to get you to talk to him more, anything to learn as much as possible about you, anything to make you smile and giggle like he's getting so enamored with.
He can't keep convincing himself that he's just being nice.
Not as he moves just a bit closer every time he sits back down from refilling your drinks. Not as he keeps trailing his eyes up and down your form when you laugh hard enough to close your eyes. Not when he has to fend off the mild shutter that slides up his back at certain words you say. Not as he continues to mentally say you're basically in the right if you were to do something outside of your marriage, and how he'd offer himself up in a heartbeat despite the guilt he'd been raised to have. Maybe if he finds out just a bit more about your garbage life partner, he can get rid of all the guilt he has. So he asks as you sip at the wine he offered up along with dinner, citing he's not as good as his brother in the kitchen but he does know a bit.
"Hey, i understand if it's still kinda touchy and you really don't have to answer if you don't wanna but, im just having a hard time wrapping my head 'round it." He starts, and your stomach turns as you know what he's gonna ask. But you sigh and down the rest of the glass, feeling It's better to get it out there now rather than feel like you're manipulating the situation later. The feeling of being wanted for a bit was nice while it lasted though. You set the glass down next to your empty plate and turn to face him, questioning when he went from the other side of the couch to only a couple inches away, motioning for him to continue. He ponders on how to say it without seeming insensitive before he sighs and just blurts it out. "Why the hell is your husband cheating on you? I genuinely can't understand." He stops himself before he goes on a tangent about how pretty you are or how nice you are or how he'd treat you plenty better.
You feel your eyes burn. You thought you'd be over it by now but maybe you had just pushed the thoughts away, far enough that it was basically outta sight, outta mind. You blink quickly to get rid of the tears and once Astumu catches the glossy look, he shakes his head. He opens his mouth to tell you to forget about him asking but you out your hand up to stop him. He fears you might just up and walk out, looking like a kicked puppy along with you as you take a deep breath to compose yourself. You open your eyes and put your hand down, speaking before he can. "He wanted an open relationship, so he's not actually cheating on me." Saying it feels gross, and if you took your eyes off the floor you'd see Atsumu with a face that agrees. Not because of the open relationship thing, because of how you phrased it.
"So you didn't want the open relationship?" He asks for clarification and though you and Atsumu don't know each other as well as you know your best friends, he's a comfortable presence that feels empathetic to you in a way, despite feeling like he's pitying you too but that's just your mind talking there. You shake your head, dropping it into your hands to rub away the tension that's building your temples.
"He sprung it on me out of no where, said i wasn't making him happy anymore. Saying i had 'let myself go' and whatnot. I was working on it, really. Working out at home, keeping up self care routines, trying to initiate even though that isn't normal for me. He just... Didn't want me anymore." You're quiet as you talk, a small sniffle in the middle of your statement tugs hard at his heart. Well now he can't possibly feel bad. He asks you about the dudes at the sauna the first time he saw you and lets you explain that they work with with your husband under a different company. "They've probably seen him with his pretty little coworker who he's been sleeping with. By the sound of it, they aren't the most discreet about it so it's just embarrassing for me. They're the types to get pissy when turned down. He rolls his eyes hard enough to hurt, feeling like his brain is throbbing in his skull over how dumb it sounds. Your husband, he colleagues, whatever whore he's screwing that most likely knew who you were and that the idiot was married. It gives the most sour ass milk taste to him.
"And what about you? Since he forced it, wouldn't it be good to get out and see someone?" He asks softly, particularly because he's yet to see you truly conversing with another man in the time he's been talking to you. He's also never heard you talk about anyone else, not that it would truly be any of his business but it just intrigues him. You simply shake your head again though.
"He's... He's the only man over ever been with. We met when i was young, got engaged and married pretty quick but i wasn't the prettiest thing in the group so he had no real competition. When that happened i kinda just stayed inside and didn't bother even after starting the working out thing with May again. I mean, if no one wanted me then, why would they now and I've just gotten older?" Your insecurities have shown before but Astumu's about to start asking some real serious questions about how your husband treats you if you think so low of yourself.
"So why not leave? I mean it's obvious he doesn't care 'bout ya, and you don't seem like the type to stick around for shit like this." He admits its a bit assumptive but he can read people pretty well, and he'd bet on this assumption for sure.
"He married me when i was young and kinda took over most things. Pre and post me leaving my job and agreeing to be his fulltime housewife. I kinda can't... At least not right now." You admit. Atsumu has genuinely never wanted the throttle a man so badly. He's basically holding you hostage so he cant look bad but is forcing decisions on you whether you like them or not so he can do as he wants. Yea, he definitely doesn't feel bad anymore.
"I want you." It's a simple statement but it has you whipping your head to look at him and the serious face he has that somehow also looks like he's bored almost.
"What?"
"You asked who'd want you since time has passed and stuff, right? Me. I do." Your eyes widen as he continues. "I think you're fuckin' gorgeous to be honest. Inside and out. You're funny and sweet when you're comfortable, you've got a good heart and 's all bundled up in this lovely, lovely body o' yers." He starts to smile mid way through his declaration as he notices your dace get more and more flustered. His accent seems to get just a bit thicker as he talks faster towards the end, enthusiasm radiating from him as he closes that tiny 2 inch gap between you two on the couch so your thighs touch. You're shocked honestly. It felt like he liked you but your self doubt said it was just pity, but you also felt there was nothing wrong with being a bit delusional and taking what you could get from a nice man giving you attention. You stutter, trying to get something out about how you feel but he hold up his hands and leans back a bit, never scooting away from you though. "If ya don't feel that way about me, i understand even if it hurts a little. But I would love to show you how a proper man should be treating someone as beautiful as you." He's laying it on thick but you feel he's being honest about your ability to back out if you want.
You still can't manage to figure out the words you want to say to him. You don't really think you'd know where to start, being the way he didn't seem judgmental towards you or the fact he apparently had actual, genuine interest in you. So you hug him instead. He's surprised for a moment but quickly hugs you back, finding that you're so much softer, warmer than he expected this close. He nose catches whiffs of your soap and shampoo, you even smell gorgeous. And your husband didn't want this? Fucking idiot. You pull back after a while, just enough to look him in the eyes. "Thank you, but... You don't..." You start how you want, but you cant seem to find the correct way to finish. Atsumu understands from the way you avert your eyes, flustered and shy in a way he finds all too cute on you. He puts his hand under your chin to gently redirect your gaze back to his, confident smirk still splayed across his face. It's a reassuring look really, one that says he really does want to do what he said.
"If you don't want to, that's fine. I understand, but don't think that i don't want to. Because i really fucking do." His voice is low due to his proximity, leaning his forehead against yours as he searches for any sign of you pulling away or rejecting his advances. It's like a little game behind your eyes plays out before you opt to say fuck it and close the small gap between your mouths. He reciprocates immediately, moving his hand from your chin to the back of your head as your hand begin to wind themselves in his soft blonde locks. The kiss goes on for what makes your lungs feel like eternity, but your brain feel like mere seconds. When the burn in your chest is too much, you pull back and take a deep breath, letting the oxygen take your brain through thoughts of this really being a good idea. Your eyes scan Atsumu, from the lidded gaze to the slightly swollen lips to the heaving chest and from what your eyes take in, your brain says it's a great idea. I mean, if he's willing to give you what you're missing, why deny yourself?
He stands up and holds out his hand to you, letting you take it as you ask about where he's leading you to. "Well i did say i'd be proper bout it, right? Can't take you on the couch first time around, that comes later." You note how confidently he said later, as if he's assured a next time. And while normally you'd say that was a bit presumptuous of a man, you couldn't help but think of the kiss you shared and allow him to have his confidence. He smiles when you don't deny him too. He leads you to a room that's cleaner than what you'd expect from an athlete if you're honest. The room smells of lingering cologne and linen air freshner as he closes his door. He comes behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist and placing his face into the crook of your neck to kiss and nip at the skin as you tilt tour head to give him more space. You giggle as he kisses at certain spots, whimpering when he finds that particular spot that has you slightly buckling in his grasp.
His hands play with the hem of your shirt and pants, gently tugging as he sucks and bites at the spot that has you depending on him more to help you stand. "You can still back out now, (y/n). I really don't-" you wind up snaking your hand back into his hair, turning your head to bring his mouth to yours.
"I want to, Atsumu. Please, lemme have this." The way you whine has his eyes rolling in a good way this time, gently pushing you to his bed before he opts for turning you toward him and tossing you on it. His grip firm as he halfheartedly flung you onto the soft sheets as if you weighed nothing and without a single complaint either. He's quick to crawl over you and place his lips back on yours, tongue slipping in before you can fight him on it. You don't fight with him too much for dominance, more so to just be playful. He takes it, sliding his hands higher under your shirt than before to touch your skin as you fingers dig into his shoulder. He takes time to pull away every so often to ask if he can remove some piece of clothing from you, seeming as if he truly couldn't get enough of you. First your shirt, then pants, then his own. He barely detached his body from yours as he stripped you or himself, wanting nothing more than the feel of your soft, pretty skin on his. When he inevitably did have to pull himself up onto his knees to take off your bra, he couldn't help but take in the sight in front of him.
You're underneath him, as he's wanted for a bit now, neck only slightly marked up from before, lips swollen and a little of the mixed saliva from him keeping your mouths together making Its way down your cheek from the corner of your mouth. Your chest is heaving from him giving you minimal time to breathe between kisses, and to top it off you're basically half naked, the pretty body he's seen clad in various workout clothes finally exposed properly for his eyes to drink in. His staring to you on the other hand, has you feeling self conscious. You take a breath and start to move to shield your body from him, crossing your legs and bringing one of your arms over your chest to hide. He quickly stops you, whining at you, gently smacking your hands and thighs to get you to move them. He settles himself properly between your thighs and moves to pin your hands above your head with one hand. "Don't hide, beautiful. 'M only staring cause i think you're pretty." He smiles at the flustered look that comes back across your face and trails his free hand over the too of your bra. "I can take the rest of it off, right?" He asks, eyes still glues to your chest.
You hum and nod, so he wastes no time before reaching under you to unhook the only thing keeping your chest from his mouth. He almost drools at the sight of them when he moves his other hand from your wrists to toss the garment to the floor. There's quiet fuck that slips from him as his eyes catch on your tits the same way yours did earlier, and under such admiration you can't really tell when, if ever, your husband looked at any part of you with such genuine hunger. If feels nice to be looked at like this, so you try not to let your hands fall from where they rest above your head. His hands smooth down your sides, gripping every so often at the soft flush under his fingers til he gets to the hem of your panties, pulling and letting them snap against your hip as you yelp. He's tempted to rip them in all honesty but decides against it, simply sliding them down and off you to the floor as his eyes rake up and down you to figure out where to start.
His hands reach for your chest, kneading your tits and watching how responsive you are to him tweaking and thumbing over your nipples. He takes in every tiny whimper and breathess noise you make before taking your left nipple into his mouth and moaning at the taste of your skin. Your hands come down then, rethreading through his hair and unconsciously pushing him just a bit more into your chest. They're more sensitive than he thought, and you seem to love the way he flicks the hardened bud with his tongue before he takes a teasing bite and pulls it with his teeth just a little. He's not one to show favoritism in the bedroom, so he swaps to lavish the other with the same attention, biting just a bit harder to get you to make more noise for him. It all has him rutting his still clothed cock against your center, the wetness quickly seeping through the thin fabric and driving him to take his open mouthed kisses down your torso, leaving marks here and there to show his pathing until he's kissing the top of your mound. You tug his hair and he lets his drunken gaze float up to yours, mouth still kissing around between your thighs.
"You... Don't have to, if you don't wanna... Just so you don't feel obligated or something..." His brows furrow as his mouth sticks to one spot just above your clit as he takes in what you just said. His foggy brain has a moment of realization when he sees that you aren't just flustered, but embarrassed. He sits up a bit more as you gulp and raises his eyebrow at you.
"Did that fuckwit tell you he didn't like eating pussy?" He asks so bluntly it makes you curl up a bit as you avert your gaze, hands stroking his head still.
"He said it wasn't his favorite part but he did it because it was expected so I'm just- ah!! Fuck!" You're abruptly cut off as Atsumu opts to dive head first to your center, tossing your legs over his shoulders and running his tongue from your hole to your clit before sucking it into his mouth. Atsumu eats pussy for his own enjoyment, for fun. Your husband had you at home all the time and didn't constantly want his face between your lovely thighs? He didn't want the warm soft earmuffs and the, to Atsumu, gentle pressure of you squeezing his head with them? Because to Sumu, this feels like heaven. The muffled squeals as he slides his tongue from lapping at your clit to fucking your slippery hole and nudging his nose against your clit to keep the cute little button stimulated have him rutting into his mattress. You're overwhelming his senses and he's in love with it, it's a contender for being his favorite part of it in competition with how you taste. One taste and he's actively trying to devour you, as if he hadn't eaten dinner maybe an hour or so ago.
His hands grip onto your plush thighs and encourage you to clamp them even harder than you are now around his head as you whine and keen under him. Your fingers tug at his hair as you halfway guide his mouth where you want him, also grinding your cunt against his face and breathlessly moaning everytime he hums in pleasure against you. He opens his eyes when he feels one of your hands leave his head and lets them trail up you see your head tossed into his pillows and the hand you freed from his locks grasping at your chest, kneading your breasts as he did earlier and he can't help the way he basically growls into you. "Atsumu~ mmphf! Fuck, Sumu!" Oh god if he wasn't determined to get you to cum from the dumb shit you told him earlier, he was now.
He keeps his grip on your thighs, sluring and lapping feverishly at your pretty pussy, making sounds you'd truly be embarrassed of if you could find yourself thinking straight. He lets you use his face, lets you tug and pull his hair in a way that would be damn near painful, if he could think straight either to, to let you throw yourself off that cliff. He's only focusing on the moans clawing their way from your throat, getting higher and higher in pitch until you feel like you're about to crush his skull between your thighs. You call his name over and over, louder and louder until you go rigid and squeal as he helps himself to your sweet release, guiding you through wave after wave of pleasure.
Once you begin to paw and push at his head, he pulls himself up to look down at you with a wolfish smile and drunken gaze. His chin and lips shine in the daylight that floods through his bedroom window, the subtle warmth that still enraptures you keeps you from being as embarrassed about the sight. He moves his hand to swipe your juices from his chin before placing those same fingers into his mouth and humming at the taste. "You're husband has absolutely no taste, does he?" You giggle and move to sit up, a hand reaching to trail down his abdomen to the hem of his boxers but are stopped short by him pushing you back down and crawling to blanket you with his body. He kisses you deeply, sharing the taste still on his tongue with you and swallowing the little whimpers you give.
"Are you not gonna let me reciprocate that?" You ask when he finally parts, moving to trail his mouth down your neck and shoulder as he shakes his head.
"Uh uh, at least not this time. Next time." He assures, and you laugh softly in his ear at his confident insistence on this not being a 1 time thing. It makes you giddy, a man desiring you in a way that seemed so fairytale lately even tho you were supposed to be happily married. He nips at your shoulder and hums when you don't respond. "You'll let there be a next time, right darlin'?" He mumbles against your shoulder. You nod, dreamily humming as you turn to kiss his temple. At your agreement, he grinds himself against you, letting your slick completely soak through his underwear as you both moan into each other's skin. You grab hold of his shoulders as he keeps going, his grunts heavy on your neck as he tries to keep from going overboard. He does sit up, chuckling breathlessly as you whine at the loss of his heat.
He quickly slides off his boxers and when your eyes meet again, or rather when he looks at your face, the smile that crosses his face is smug. Your eyes were glued to between his legs, your lower lip caught between your teeth. He was bigger than your husband, longer and thicker though you'd say they were similar heights. Impressive sure was one way to describe it, the tip pink and glossed over with his arousal that began to run down his length. He trails his fingers from his abs to wrap around his dick, giving it slow stokes which catches your attention. You let your eyes follow up from his dick, soaking in the way the muscles under the skin of his tummy ripple and quiver, taking in how his chest rises and falls with his labored breaths. From his chest, you look to his face, catching how his eyes are intently glued to you as he seems to fight the urge to fist himself faster. Your grip on your lip becomes bruising, the wet plaps of his hand around himself causing you to twitch and pant.
He smiles as he stops, bringing his wet hand to your mouth with a slightly raised brow, a tiny gasp escaping him as you eagerly take his hand in yours and run your tongue over his palm and between his fingers. It sets him off, as he's quickly over you again, freshly licked hand guiding his hardness to your weeping center and mouth on yours with the full intent to make it hard to breathe. He lets his cock slide through your folds, swallowing your moans every time his tip rubs your swollen clit. "You ready, sweetheart?" He slurs against your mouth. You nod, clasping your hands together at the back of his neck, desperate mutters of "Please, Sumu..." spurring him on as he slides his way into you. He was happy at how easy it was; despite how tight you were, your pussy was wet enough give give him little resistance. He only pulled away from the heated kiss to watch your eyes roll into the back of head and listen at the drawn out noise you gave him.
When he feels you hike your leg over his hip and push him into you, he almost giggles at your eagerness. He moves his hands to the sides of your head, starting a steady rut into you before both of you whine at the feeling not being enough. "Please, Astumu.. Gimme more~" you ask so sweetly, how can he deny you? His hips begin to snap into yours, drawing out pretty high pitched moans and grunts from both of you. He moves his face to mark your throat and shoulder as he pumps into you, hands moving to grab your hips to prevent you from scooting up the bed as he starts to thrust faster and faster. He keeps his moth on your throat, grunting at the feel of your sounds on his lips and your nails digging into his shoulders as you wrap your other leg around his waist.
"Feel .. s'good baby. Y'er grippin me soooo fuckin tight- shit!" He curses into your neck, mindless babbles being all he receives in return. The smile on his face never seems to leave, even as he sits up to sit back on his haunches and starts using your hips to bring your velvety pussy onto him, your ass propped up just a bit by his thighs underneath. The angle has you keening, arching your back and grasping at his wrists as a way to ground yourself as he pistons into you again and again. The sticky wet squelch between you drags Atsumu's eyes down to where you both connect, rolling and threatening to close as the sight of his pelvis all glossy, pretty white ring encircling his base and shaft completely coated. The feel of your walls convulsing and clentching as your hips buck against his in a futile effort to keep up with his brutal pace is mind numbing, dragging almost whiny moans from his chest as his hands garb onto any bit of you they can and please.
When he does manage to tear his eyes away from your swollen cunt sucking him in, he lets his gaze lick up your body. From your tummy that he can see bulge with every pump in, to your tits that bounce so nicely, to your pretty face and the adorable fucked out expression that's plastered across it. He genuinely thinks you're so pretty, he can't wrap any part of his mushy brain around how someone could have you and not want to worship you all the damn time. You deserve so much. And he's damn sure gonna give it to you. "Y'er- so- fuck-in pretty!" Every syllable is punctuated with a harsh kiss to your cervix, just bordering on painful but still adding to the pleasure that has your eyes glued to the back of your skull. Your whines and moans are broken as they hit his ears, one large hand moving from your hip to your front, letting his thumb rub your clit and his other four fingers press above where his cock hits inside.
You shudder under his hands, twitching as you let out a weak warning of your impending orgasm. Though teary eyes, you see him nod. "C'mon darlin, cum nice an' hard f'me." He grunts, leaning up onto his knees just a bit more for leverage to throw you over.
And he does.
Your eyes clamp shut as you basically scream, his name tumbling out again and again as he fucks you through it. He's honestly a bit disappointed in the fact you didn't squirt, but there's always next time, right? He does fall over the edge after you do, your gorgeous climax having a domino effect on him as he grunts out your name like a mantra until he can't. The after shocks of yours guiding him through his own overwhelming haze of pleasure, and he finds himself drooling slightly by the time he comes back to earth. His body collapses next to yours after he pulls out and watches your cunt twitch and clench, letting his cum seep out and admiring it as it follows the curve of your ass onto his bed. He pulls you to him and you let him, snuggling into his chest.
He lays there for a bit, basking in the afterglow with you before getting up to get a wet towel to clean you up with as a bath runs. "Oh, you don't have to-" The stare he gives cuts you off as he wipes down your lower half, eyes narrowed at what you saying that now implies about how you were treated at home.
"I just fucked your pretty little brains out, sweetheart. I am not only obligated to clean you up and take care of you, but i want to. As any real man should." He emphasizes what shouldn't need to be said as he finishes wiping you down and goes back into his bathroom to finish up your bath. He carries you, despite protest, and sets you in as he says he's going to change his sheets. "Do... Do you maybe wanna stay over?" He's suddenly bashful, and it makes you wonder if the man who just made you cum harder than you have in years just a moment ago and this sweet, shy, country boy who can't seem to find your eyes is the same man. You nod, saying you'd like that. He finds your eyes then, dopey smile out in full as he hops off to clean his room.
He comes back just when you're clean and about to fall asleep, calling for you as he helps you out and dries you off, admiring your sleepy form as he slides a clean tshirt over your head. He guides you out this time, you smacking his hands when he tries to pick you up, his bed now dressed in a pretty deep grey color as he lets you lay down and get comfy. He's about to walk into the bathroom when your phone rings from the floor, you sucking your teeth at the ringtone. He rummages through your pants to find it again and frowns at it being the man neither of you wanna hear from. He does not the lack of guilt he feels about what happened tho. He hands it to your grabby hand and listens from the bathroom as you answer.
"Hello?... What does it matter what im doing?... I'm not at home, your dinner is in the oven. Is that not everything?... What you do in that house, in that bed is none of my business. I don't wanna hear about it either, not like i sleep there..... I have an attitude because you're bothering me... That's not even fair, what for?!... Sure, whatever. Move it i guess.... No, im not. Can i go now?" He hears you sigh and groan, but you seem to be off the phone, so he quickly hops in the shower before coming to cuddle with you in bed. The evening sun has set, the sky it's deep inky black through the window as he flicks on the tv to something neither of you pay attention to. He wraps you tight on his embrace and kisses your head, asking what your legal partner wanted. "He wants to use the guest room I'm staying in to house his little tramp because she's having 'family issues, don't be such a bitch. She's going through a hard time.'" You grown and half flail like you're having a tantrum, pressing your face into his chest. He grips even tighter, his blood boiling. That man has 0 respect and it shows so much.
"You can bring whatever things you don't want him to touch here." He offers, and you turn your sad, puppy like eyes to him. Even in the dark, under the mild light of his tv, he can see how glassy they are. It hurts his heart. "You can come by whenever you want, too. I'll never turn you away." You open your mouth, voice raspy with tears as you tell him of not wanting to intrude or be a burden but he stops you with a kiss. "Im not him. You will never be a burden to me. I mean it. Whatever or whenever, you always have a sizable place here." The tears fall but you smile at his sweetness, sharing kisses and sniffly thank you's with him. He pulls you on top of him, letting your head lay on his chest as he soothes his hands over your back, telling you to get some well deserved sleep. He thankfully doesn't miss your mutters of how much you like him already and how thankful you are before you're out cold. He places another kiss to your head, smiling as his own eyes close from his own exhaustion. Be it from fucking you like that or from being angry at your paper-only lover, he doesn't know or even care right now. He knows he'll have to explain himself to someone at some point, but that's a task for future Astumu.
Besides, he's just doing what his mama taught him was right, right?
Comments, likes, and reblogs are appreciated! Hope you guys enjoyed! ♡´・ᴗ・`♡
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kasagia · 1 year
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Heyyy! So I was wondering if it was possible for you to write something where klaus forces the reader to marry him and they have a daughter hope(she can be a baby or a kid) and the reader can kind of tolerate klaus for the sake of her daughter but actually hates him and over time she falls in love with elijah's nobility and confesses to him at a party or something and klaus overhears ending is up to you<3
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Loved by them two
Pairing: Klaus Mikaelson x reader, Elijah Mikaelson x reader, Summary: After your parents (pack leaders) arranged your marriage to Klaus (with whom you accidentally had a one-night stand earlier), you tied your fate irrevocably to the Mikaelsons. Problem? 1. You hate your husband for tricking you into this marriage. 2. His noble brother is too alluring. 3. You find out the hard way that hate, love, and lust are a very explosive mixture. Especially when you add the two Mikaelsons to it. Warning(s): argument, fight, blood, love triangle, smut, the first time I wrote something bordering on smut, angst, fluff, the reader kisses Elijah and then goes to bed with Klaus; generally, the reader doesn't know what to do; but she has two hot brothers on her call; three in total because Kol is her best friend; I really like this one after all Nonsense from me: I combined these two requests because they seem to go together. Also sorry if I didn't include enough Elijah x reader (despite my huge crush for all the Mikaelsons, Klaus will always get somehow a girl 😅). I also took a gif from here, because... well it's good. Word count: 8,3k (it's pretty long, I admit, but I don't regret any minute of writing it.)
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You hated Klaus Mikaelson with all your heart. Your abhorrent, psychotic husband. A man who somehow was the father (even though you've tried to disprove it many times) of your precious, sweet little daughter Hope.
If the devil could take human form, no doubt it would be your husband.
You met him by accident. You and your friends went out into the city to have fun. You met a hot, handsome blond guy in a bar, went to bed with him, and left his house the next day without a word, expecting never to see him again. You wouldn't think that when you get back to your pack of wolves, your parents - the alphas of the pack - will tell you that you're getting married in a month. And not just anyone. Klaus Mikaelson was going to be your husband. A 1,000-year-old werewolf and vampire hybrid.
You will remember for the rest of your life what they told you when they were destroying your chance for happiness.
"The pack must be strong. This marriage and your assumption of power will guarantee us a secure position in New Orleans. No witches, vampires, or other werewolves will stand in our way. This alliance with the originals will guarantee us power beyond our ancestors' imagination. The crescent wolf and other packs will succumb to our strength. It is your duty to do this for your people."
Of course, you objected to the idea as soon as they told you. But you weren't a leader yet, so your opinion didn't matter much. Especially when your first meeting with your fiancé was only a few minutes away. At least the first official meeting.
You thought the guy must look like a walking fossil. You were surprised when you met that hottie from last night.
And from then on, your whole life became hell.
You tried everything to back out of that engagement. Really everything. Even a fake pregnancy with another, which turned out not to be so fake after all. And unfortunately for you, the father of your child was HE. The curse of your existence.
So he sped up the wedding, and you became the wife of the most dangerous vampire in the world. Cool! At least you got lots of presents and access to his bank accounts all over the world. The pros of being an incubator for a miracle baby.
Then you met your guardian angel. Elijah Mikaelson - the older brother of your awful husband. Your only consolation (other than Hope) in this terrible situation. Your friend, soul mate, and the man of your dreams.
Fate liked to make fun of you, it forced you to marry the wrong brother.
Elijah was everything any woman could ask for. A tactful gentleman, respecting and supporting female feminism, always keeping his word, a walking ideal. The complete opposite of your cruel husband.
You were completely in love with him. So much so that when he held your beautiful one-year-old daughter in his arms, you imagined that he was her father. Your fantasy was almost always spoiled by your husband stepping on the three of you and taking the baby out of his hands.
You had no idea why Klaus had even chosen to make your life a nightmare. There were other ways he could have taken control of the city; he didn't have to become the leader of your pack and marry you.
But he always did and took what he wanted. You found out after being stuck in this happy swamp of being married to Klaus for a year. So you took great satisfaction in denying him the one thing he could never have and so desired - your love and affection.
It was another big mystery for you when it came to Klaus and his complicated personality. Yes, you had a child together, and you were stuck with him, but before that, you didn't know each other. So why did the mighty hybrid decide to find a mate and lead his own pack with them? And why was he strangely obsessed with creating a happy, loving family with you and Hope?
Worse, he turned out to be a good alpha to your pack and an even better father. You couldn't say a bad thing. You two ruled the werewolves, enhanced by your fusion, as equals. And Hope loved it when he sang her lullabies and tucked her in to sleep. Ironically, she calmed down better in the murderous original's arms than in yours.
Even your own child was against you.
Fortunately, in this cold, dark Mikaelson mansion, there was one soul who stood by your side no matter what. The only one you could trust implicitly without fear of ending up with a stake in your back.
Elijah was a gift from heaven to you.
During your pregnancy with Hope, he helped you in every possible way. He was always there for you, whether it was holding your hair as you returned all the breakfast he had prepared for you earlier or reading aloud to you as he massaged your aching ankles.
And when did you become a hybrid? He was the one who taught you self-control for the most part (while Klaus was busy doing something else and couldn't see the two of you, of course).
There was only one problem. Your terribly possessive husband.
As soon as Klaus came into your sight, Elijah had to move two meters away from you, or all hell would break loose.
And you're not exaggerating at all.
One day, when you were watching a movie and lying on the couch, leaning against each other and covered with one blanket, you didn't notice the hybrid enter the living room. You didn't even blink when your companion was dragged from his place and thrown to the other end of the house. A second later, a very angry and jealous vampire took his place, hugging you much closer than his brother and placing his hands on your growing belly.
You didn't react to his show of strength then.
Elijah and Rebekah taught you long ago to choose your battles with Niklaus. It wasn't worth arguing with him about everything he'd done. Especially since you were pregnant at that time - you didn't always have the strength to get into fights with him.
But now as a hybrid, queen of your pack and whole New Orleans? Oh no, you wouldn't let that man fucking rule you.
You tried to make his life hell. You defied him every step of the way, overthrowing his dark plans and bringing your own to life. Of course, you did it all with a sweet, stupid smile, occasionally showing him small acts of tenderness, such as hugging or kissing on the cheek or forehead (on exceptional, life-threatening occasions, you even sacrificed and kissed him), to lull his vigilance.
But Klaus wasn't stupid. He knew exactly what you were doing and was happy to let you change a couple of his plans if it meant a kiss from you.
And you thought it was what made him fall for you.
You were stubborn, always getting your way, going over the dead to achieve your goal if it was to protect your loved ones.
And Klaus loved it. You don't know if it was his weird fetish - the guy always got what he wanted and no one dared stand up to him, so he felt for the girl who didn't want to succumb to him. You were probably one of the few survivors of the rebellion against him. And the one who could do literally anything without any fear of the hybrid hurting you.
You get used to this life. Secret meetings with Elijah in the library, discussions in the living room while Hope played with her toys on the carpet and watched cartoons on TV, occasional shopping and girls' nights with Bekah and Freya, and even to Kol's pranks and tricks.
Even your relationship with Klaus has been better lately. You tried so openly not to show your hostility towards the hybrid. After all, he was your daughter's father and Hope deserved at least a semblance of normalcy - parents who don't want to kill each other every 5 minutes.
But tonight, everything was about to change.
~•♤♤♤•~
"So you want me to go with you to some weird party organized by your current archenemy Tristan, and Klaus gave you his permission to take me out of the house?" you asked the original who made the pancakes for you as you discussed another plan to outsmart the de Martel siblings while cradling Hope in your arms.
"I wouldn't call him an archenemy... just a minor inconvenience."
"Is that why you and Klaus tremble with anger every time I say his name?"
"No, it's because a beautiful lips as yours shouldn't be tainted by such a terrible name."
"So whose name should I keep saying, Elijah?" you asked with a teasing smirk, licking your lips.
The original leaned slightly towards you. The tension in the room was palpable between the two of you. You looked down from his captivating, mesmerizing eyes to those alluring lips you've dreamed of kissing ever since he turned out to be more than your asshole husband's brother to you. You were only a few centimeters apart... so little...
Hope's squirming in your arms reminded you of the baby's presence. And that you were standing so close to your husband's brother in broad daylight and in a place where anyone could easily walk in and see you two. Against your darkest, most hidden desire, you have moved away from the noble original. Elijah cleared his throat, going back to continuing your breakfast.
"I'll be ready at 8 p.m."
"The party starts at 7."
"So? Don't you think being fashionably late will be the perfect combination for the act of surprise when they see me hanging on your arm? We'll get their attention, so Klaus and Kol will do what they do the best."
"You know ladies don't usually talk about such… bloody things while holding babies in their arms?"
"Ladies, Elijah, but my wife is everything but that." the hybrid came out of nowhere with that arrogant smirk on his lips. "Hello, my queen. My little princess." Klaus smiled fondly and took Hope from you, making funny faces at the baby. The traitor started to giggle. You rolled your eyes but also smiled slightly upon hearing your daughter's cute laugh.
"Dada!" she screamed, grabbing his nose with her hands.
Yeah, this little traitor could already talk. No, the first word she said wasn't dad; it was mom. The problem is that her happy "dada" came out of her mouth too often compared to mama. Klaus was too pleased with this fact than you would have liked.
"Well, maybe if my loving husband was an exemplary gentleman, I could act like a lady."
"I love you too, sweetheart."
"How is Aurora? Did she let you out of her arms so quickly?" you asked sarcastically, trying to throw him off balance. You weren't in the mood to put up with that annoying asshole today.
"Did I just hear jealousy in your voice, love?"
"Haha, you wish. You have my full blessing to spend time with whoever wants you."
"Niklaus. I believe we were supposed to have a meeting before we put this grand plan into action. Will you forgive us, Y/N?" Elijah interrupted you before you two broke the incredible peace between you that had lasted for 4 months and started to jump at each other's throats.
"Just take him wherever you want."
"Brother, shall we?"
Klaus muttered something under his breath. He handed our daughter over to me and planted a quick, wet kiss on my neck before stepping out of my personal space. I growled at him, showing my golden eyes. The man merely laughed, waving to the little one before leaving the kitchen.
"Enjoy your meal, Y/N."
"You can try to lose him on the way back!" you screamed after the retreating man in the suit.
"WON'T HAPPEN, LOVE!" your husband shouted back, ruining (as usual) all your dreams.
"It's always worth giving a shot." you murmured, knowing full well that he would be able to hear you. You smiled victoriously, hearing his irritable, grumpy voice as he snapped back at one of his vampire errands.
~•♤♤♤•~
"You look amazing, Y/N." Elijah greeted you with a delighted smile as he watched you descend the stairs in a long, tight black dress with gold embellishments at the waist and the ends of the sleeves.
With your little tiara in your hair and a gold snake necklace entwined around your neck, you felt like a fucking queen.
You're not going to lie—you went all out with your preparations, and Rebekah made sure she did your makeup for your first big, official outing since Hope was born.
It wasn't until you came downstairs that you noticed that Elijah wasn't the only person sitting in the candlelit room. Klaus was sitting right next to him, looking at you with the same fascination and admiration as his brother. You felt a little uncomfortable being watched by two originals with heart-shaped eyes.
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"Maybe I should choose a dress with a higher neckline after all?" you wondered as you watched them almost drool over your looks. They were both 1,000 years old but acted like horny teenagers.
"So I guess I'm dressed well enough to be a distraction for tonight?" you asked, bringing their attention back to your face. They both decided to act nonchalant, as if they hadn't been staring at your ass a few seconds ago.
"Maybe even to well, love." Klaus' heavy, watchful gaze didn't let you down an inch. You felt an involuntary shiver run through you with each step you took closer to the originals.
"My brother may be right. No one will be able to take their eyes off you."
"Thank you, Elijah."
Klaus cleared his throat as he got up from his chair and faced you. He took your hand gently, and after softly caressing the wedding band and engagement ring from him, he shifted his attention to your wrist, suddenly stopping his movements.
You looked up at his eyes, catching his gaze. You felt enchanted by these calm, blue eyes, their beauty mostly made you went to bed with him a year ago. You felt like any little move could break that strange spell between you two.
At one point, you felt cold metal settling on your wrist. You turned your gaze to the charming bracelet that, surprisingly, matched your outfit.
"It's for protection. In case you need help and no one can find you."
"So you've always known where I am? What is this, some kind of dog collar with a tracker?"
"No. Freya enchanted it for me. It's supposed to sense when you're in danger and let me know." he rolled up his sleeve, showing you a new bracelet on his wrist. "I have a similar one."
"Oh." you groaned in shock, completely not expecting something like this from him.
"Exactly. Oh. I guess I'm not the bad guy all the time."
"I didn't mean..."
"Of course you didn't. Have fun with my brother, love."
For the first time since you've known Klaus, you felt sorry for him. Due to the growing guilt you were feeling, you kept an eye on his receding shape until he passed through the door. You sighed, turning to face Elijah, who had already approached you from behind in a moment of your inattention.
"Don't worry. He'll get over it. Niklaus can't blame you for being careful with him." he tried to comfort you, but deep down you knew it was your fault this time.
And you weren't going to act like your husband, so you decided to apologize to him at the next opportunity. Unlike some, you were able to admit when you were wrong. However, Elijah didn't need to know about your plan.
"Maybe you are right. Let's go to this party."
~•♤♤♤•~
You were talking to Elijah at the bar while sipping your drink. You entered as planned—late, attracting the attention of most people. Rumors quickly spread throughout the supernatural community. Your favorite was that during that year of your "absence," you divorced Klaus and married his brother, now parading proudly with him around the salons. Elijah seemed to like it too.
You were enjoying the party until one of the de Martel siblings showed up. Tristan.
"Famous Y/N Y/L/N Mikaelson. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."
"And you sir are…?"
"Tristan de Martel. You must have heard about me from dear Elijah."
"To be honest, not so much. I only know that you're the one who invited us, for which I want to thank you." you played a stupid, naive girl with joy while watching the frown on his forehead. To remember: He does not like to be diminished or underestimated in any way. Mr. big ego.
"So perhaps you would do me the honor and dance with me? We could get to know each other better."
"Actually, this lady promised me her first dance. If you'll excuse us, Tristan."
"Of course. Enjoy yourselves."
Elijah grabbed your hand and led you to the dance floor. He pulled you closer to him, rocking you to the beat of the song. The original wanted to cause even more rumors... you wonder if Klaus agreed to his actions.
"He's a slippery guy. Now I know why you wanted me to stay away from him and his sister."
"You just spoke to him, how do you know..."
"Well, starting with the extravagant look of the room, the fact that his suit and watch literally scream I'm rich, and ending with the fact that he carries himself as if he were the master of this world, I've noticed other manic behaviors as well. Besides, it's obvious at first glance that he's desperately trying to imitate you. I don't like him."
"Should I assume that you don't like me as well?"
"No! No. I like you. More than you know. I don't know how I would have dealt with vampirism and all of this without you. Thank you for being there for me. Always." you murmured, resting your head on his shoulder, inhaling the scent of his cologne.
"And forever." he said, placing a tender kiss on top of your head. "You're more to me than I could ever admit."
"Do we have to? Pretend and hide the truth?" during your conversation, you didn't even notice when he led you to a more desolate place. Nobody was looking at you. There was only him and you.
"Niklaus..."
"Have you ever, in your entire, very long life, done something just for yourself, without thinking about your brother or sibling? Have you ever acted selfishly?"
"I can't be selfish with you." he said, resting his forehead against yours. You were so close to each other, so close to getting what you both wanted.
"Why?"
"It will destroy us all."
"Then let the world burn... just for a moment."
Elijah, after a moment's hesitation, leaned closer to you, embracing your slightly trembling figure with anticipation even tighter. He cupped your right cheek with his hand and finally brought your lips together in the long-awaited kiss.
Your first kiss with the original was… completely different from what you imagined. His soft lips didn't match up with yours as well as they did with…
You froze in complete shock as you realized your subconscious was comparing Elijah to Klaus. And surprisingly, it was more sympathetic to your hated husband, from whom you wanted so much to be free. In spite of this strange feeling of guilt that you somehow betrayed Klaus, you returned the kiss with more passion than before, trying to feel that wonderful tingling and buzzing in your head.
But it never came.
Something was missing in this perfect, fabulous setting for the first kiss with the love of your life. And you had no idea what was wrong.
Maybe first kisses with someone new were so… awkward?
Your treacherous mind reminded you that there was NEVER such an awkwardness between you and Klaus. Only pure passion and desire.
What the fuck happened to you? Why didn't you feel anything special when all your wet dreams were coming true?
You moved away first under the pretense of taking a breath. Staring into Elijah's eyes, you could feel the same attraction that accompanied you every time you stole those furtive glances from each other.
"I love you, Y/N. I've loved you since the first day you gave me a lecture on how Pride and Prejudice is Jane Austen's best book; how cliché it wasn't." you hit him on the shoulder, making him giggle. "And if the circumstances were completely different, if it were someone completely different, I wouldn't hesitate to be selfish just this once and take something from my brother. But I will not allow any harm to come to you or Hope through my actions."
Before you could say anything, you two heard a howl.
Klaus and Kol.
Elijah nodded at you. You disentangled yourself from his arms and ran upstairs to fulfill your role in the Mikaelsons' plan. You just hoped the guys would distract them long enough for you to find what you were looking for.
You searched their house, wondering how Elijah's confession would affect your relationship now.
But little do you know that you weren't the only one who heard it.
~•♤♤♤•~
It was a really fucked up night.
The peaceful surveillance of the de Martel house turned into a bloody battle between the originals and the first vampires they turned. Klaus' therapist, Cami, barely escaped a jealous attack by Klaus' ex-Aurora. You wonder how Klaus managed to reach Cami in time and why the red-haired psycho didn't target you and your child. Klaus must have put on quite a show for her.
In all the chaos, you didn't get a second chance for a moment alone with Elijah. The subject of your feelings still remained the elephant in the room. And frankly, you've had enough of it all. All you wanted now was a warm bath and playing with Hope. No more family drama.
Without Klaus, everything would have gone to hell. And as much as you hated that he forgot to include you in his plans for today, you couldn't help but be grateful to him for helping you protect your pack from vampires today. He didn't have to. He could watch the de Martel vampires kill your people and attack them when they get tired of fighting werewolves. Another demonstration of him being more than a villain to you.
It amazed you how one minute he was an irritating, ignorant, disrespectful asshole and the next your savior, protector, and equal partner in crime you could rely on.
You guess that's what your husband was like. Full of contradictions and surprises. Your private pet of nature.
You sighed in relief as you finally walked to your home. You took another step towards the mansion when you saw Klaus and Elijah getting out of the car and heading for the entrance.
You were about to join the originals, but you stopped dead at the sound of Klaus' pretentious voice.
"So we're just going to pretend you didn't kiss my wife and confess your feelings to her, or maybe you have an explanation?" you hid, eavesdropping on their conversation. "Don't think that after all that's happened, I've forgotten that you went a little too far in distracting the de Martels. You may get Aurora away from her that way, but it was superfluous, and I know you enjoyed every bloody second too much for me to just walk away from this."
"I don't have to explain myself to you. If she wants me, it's none of your business, Niklaus. You only married her because you made up a plan - Y/N has never wanted to be your wife and you have never cared about her." Klaus stopped, watching his brother blankly. He looked like something had broken inside him.
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The hybrid suddenly lunged at the other man with his fists.
They started punching each other and throwing things at each other within reach. At one point, they both pushed off each other, landing on opposite walls. (Creating another dent to patch.)
"SHE IS MY WIFE! My mate! My queen! MOTHER OF MY CHILD! You have no right to her, brother! So I'm warning you… If I ever hear the littlest rumours about her having the smallest crush on you, I'll put you back in that bloody coffin, and I will release you after our eighth child comes into this world. She will be so madly in love with me that she won't even spare you a second glance when you meet again."
"I didn't know you loved plans that take over a thousand years to complete, brother. I never thought you could be so patient."
Klaus growled, throwing himself at his brother with a scream. From your hiding place, you could hear the sounds of a fight and shattered furniture.
You decided to wait a little longer before stepping in and heroically separating the two combatants. You didn't want it to seem like you overheard their argument.
Only when there was a sudden outburst followed by a suspicious silence did you decide to run into the house. You wouldn't expect them to demolish the entire living room in minutes, and Klaus would be bleeding out dangerously while trying to patch up the wound and drive the dagger into his brother's heart. 
The men didn't notice you as they tried to disable each other. You weren't going to come between them or stand on either side until Elijah, out of nowhere, pulled out Pappa Tunde's blade.
Your body reacted faster than your brain. You instinctively threw yourself between them, shielding Klaus from the blade.
They both froze when they saw you.
Time seemed to stop as both shocked and incredulous looks from the originals fell on you. To be honest, even you were surprised which side you were on. You blamed your stupid tendency to act instead of think in difficult situations. But you weren't going to show them that you were insecure about your actions. Not when they were both holding weapons harmful to the other one.
"Put it down." you said, looking straight at Elijah. "You too." you added, glancing over your shoulder at your husband, who was staring at you with a strange, unidentifiable look. Amazingly, he dropped the dagger to the ground first. Soon after, Elijah did the same. You quickly bent down to grab both weapons, putting them in your pockets. "Good. Are you calm now?" they nodded silently, waiting for your next move. "Great. So, WHAT THE BLOODY HELL YOU TWO WERE DOING?!"
Elijah took a breath, probably intending to give you some clever answer, but stopped as soon as you felt an unexpected weight fall down your back. You caught Klaus just in time before he slid to the floor. Holding him up, you noticed a wound on his right side. You reached out to touch his wound, but the hybrid's strong grip on your wrist stopped your hand.
"Don't. You'll get burned. Verbena and the wolfbane. Grenade."
"What the hell?! Elijah how could you throw a grenade at him?! Do you throw one back?!" you asked the man in your arms.
"I wanted. You stopped me."
"God, from now on, you're both grounded from being with Hope. Hell knows if that rage won't attack you in front of her! Come Klaus. I'll help you clean it up. Elijah, you can clean up here before Rebekah or Freya come." you said, casting a disappointed look at Elijah's outfit before helping the hybrid up the stairs.
"I would never..." Klaus tried to explain himself as you dragged him to his bedroom.
"Just shut up and sit down." you growled at him, pushing him onto the bed. You took the first aid kit from the bathroom and went back to him to disinfect his wound. "It'll hurt."
"Will you kiss it later? To ease the pain and speed up the healing process, of course."
"Don't try your luck any more today." you warned, rolling your eyes at his mischievous smirk.
He snorted, offended. He looked like a child who had been grounded for snacking on sweets. You sighed, trying not to laugh at his scowl. Unwittingly, you began to wonder what Hope would look like when she went through her rebellious period. Probably like her father when he did something wrong and got caught doing it. Well, at least you'll have some practice before she grows up.
"Do you love my brother?" he burst out suddenly while you were cleaning his wound made by verbena and wolfsbane. Why they had pomegranates from these plants shouldn't shock you as much as it did.
"What?" you asked, shoving a water-soaked cotton ball into his wound, which made him groan in pain. You gave him an apologetic look as you continued working on his side.
"Don't act stupid, it's not like you at all. Do you love my brother?"
"Of course I do, he's my friend and Hope's uncle." you replied unfazed, continuing your work.
"Let me rephrase that. Are you IN LOVE with my nobel brother?"
You tried to pretend that his question had no effect on you. You put down the cotton balls and tried to avoid his gaze to give some answer, but Klaus grabbed your chin, forcing you to look into his eyes. Fuck. You couldn't lie now. He always knew when you were lying, and now that you were exposed to his watchful gaze, you only knew one way out of this fucked-up situation.
So you pulled him closer to you, kissing him passionately.
He moaned, surprised by the feeling of your soft, enticing lips on his own. He wasted no more time. He put you on his lap, wrapping an arm around your waist to pull you as close to him as possible.
The feeling of his warm skin against your clothed body reluctantly brought back memories of the night it all began.
Intoxicated by the feeling of his captivating lips on yours again (after so long), you didn't even notice when he threw you onto the bed, only momentarily breaking your kiss to let your hair down. He melted back into your mouth, hovering over you. The hybrid tangled his hand in your hair, tilting your head so he had better access to your equally eager mouth and tongue.
He moved to your neck, leaving wet kisses and gentle bites and rubbing every inch of your skin, effectively ruining any thought process in your head.
It was just you and him.
And after a very long time, you felt extraordinary pleasure and much-needed relief from the tension that your body had gone through today.
"Nik!" you moaned when he started sucking on the most sensitive spot on your neck, which he knew damn well existed and used every time to tease you.
But this time you moaned for him like a whore, too overwhelmed by the sensations his skilled hands and lips were giving you.
And this time, Klaus didn't hold back. His amber irises and possessive growl were the only warnings he gave you before he ripped your dress in half, revealing your dressed-in-lace-underwear body to him.
His wolf howled inside him.
He pressed his lips to yours greedily, caressing every inch of your newly exposed skin. You growled into his mouth as he bit your lip harder and dug your nails into his back. He reciprocated by squeezing your thigh tightly as he wrapped your leg around his waist, rubbing your most sensitive parts against each other. You both moaned in unison, pulling your lips apart for a moment. You decided to repay him and slid your fangs out to dig into his neck, drinking his sweet blood greedily. You've been dreaming about it since you became a hybrid. Only in your darkest, wildest dreams, after which you were ashamed to look into the eyes of the hated hybrid who probably drove you to Stockholm syndrome because you wanted him more every day—the man who was the cause of your misery.
It was impossible for you to love him. To love the man who tricked you into this marriage; who lied and killed and tortured so many people; who made you fall head over heels for him. Maybe that's why you fell in love with Elijah? He was his complete opposite. He was self-possessed, calm, reasonable, and kept his word.
But there you were, rubbing against him and moaning as his blood ran down your throat. Wanting him more than his brother—the man of every woman's dreams.
Maybe you were as fucked up as your husband.
Moments later, he copied your idea and dug himself into your neck. The moan coming from him sent shivers through your body all the way THERE. How could a man make you so desperate for him with just some kisses and the slightest touch?
You'd probably go all out and lose yourselves in each other's touch for the rest of the night (and possibly part of the morning) if Hope's cries hadn't come from the baby monitor on his nightstand. You broke apart, breathing heavily. Klaus licked off the rest of the blood dripping from your wound until it closed. He rested his head against your chest, inhaling your scent.
You unknowingly ran your hand through his curly hair, also closing your eyes and getting lost in this special, unique moment of tenderness between you two.
"I love you, Y/N." his soft whisper, combined with the gentle movement of his lips against the skin of your breasts, sent shivers down your spine. The realization of his confession left you completely still, holding his arms in a gentle embrace. "I know you don't feel the same way about me, but I promise you that one day you will. I will be worthy of your affection, my brave, wise, beautiful, merciful queen." he said, placing one last longing kiss on your lips before climbing off of you. He got dressed and left the room to soothe the crying Hope.
You closed your eyes, taking shaky breaths. You covered your mouth with your hand to drown out your silent sobs as you heard the familiar lullaby that Nik usually sings to Hope.
Klaus has really changed for the better since the first time you two met. And any other woman in your situation would surely fall in love with him in a heartbeat. But you've already given your heart to someone you'll never have. Or so you thought.
You felt an inexplicable attraction to Elijah, but with Klaus... everything just felt right - even though the hybrid drove you crazy and was the complete opposite of your dream prince on a white horse, in which Elijah fit perfectly. So maybe your Mr. Right wasn't someone you'd imagined in your head a long time ago…
And now, crying silently on your husband's bed, you realize what you should have done ages ago. But before you did the right thing, you could afford to pay a little attention to your troubled, lost heart.
So you cried until you got tired enough that all you did before falling asleep in Klaus' bedroom was to cover up any traces of your tears. You promised yourself a long time ago that no matter what, you would be the only witness to your tragedies. You'd rather be seen as a cold bitch than a weak, lost girl thrown into the fights the originals always fought.
Because in the end, it was only you (and Hope) against the whole world. Just like always.
~•♤♤♤•~
"I need you to do me a favor, Kol." you said as you walked into his room without knocking. The original was on the bed, flipping through something on his phone. He lazily shifted his gaze to you. You groaned internally. Bored Kol is a Kol who is very hard to work with. But—shame to admit it—he was your last and only resort.
"Hello to you too, Y/N. Thank you for knocking before storming into someone's room. How am I? I'm very glad you're asking; I'm fine. That's a very beautiful day, don't you think? Yes, indeed. Did marriage with my brother completely make you lose any manners and tact?" he teased as he drank the blood from the bag.
"I want you to compel me." he spat out his drink, choking and staining another carpet. "Rebekah will be mad at him." you thought as you watched how the original was coughing.
"What?!" he shouted, finally coming to himself. "Why?!" he asked, reaching for his half-full bag again.
"I want you to compel me to love Klaus." he spat out his drunken blood again, suffocating. He tossed the bag on the nightstand, deciding not to reach for it again in the face of new revelations. He probably thought you were completely out of your mind.
"What the bloody hell?! But I thought you and Lijah…" he began, confused, jumping out of bed to face you.
"We never gonna happen, Kol. I realized it very clearly yesterday. And I don't want to feel these stupid things around Elijah any more. He will never be mine, and I will never be his. I have Hope. I had to think about her future and happiness. And she deserves… everything. So if I can give her a happy, normal, loving family, I will do it. Even if it means falling for Klaus by your compel."
"Are you sure, darling? Do you even know what you're asking me for? Do you really want me to erase your memories of you and Elijah?"
"No. I don't want to forget. I want to remember all those stupid moments that led me to this fucking rollercoaster of emotions. I need you to convince me that... it was always meant to be Klaus. That my love for Elijah is just a fleeting fascination, and that Klaus is my fucking soulmate and partner, someone who will treat me as an equal and put me and our daughter above everything else. And that seeing him so close with Aurora and Camille made me realize that I only want to be with him."
"You know that these things aren't far from the truth, do you? My brothers love you. Both equally strong. Are you sure that…"
"Yes. I made my decision. I'm just asking you to help me sort out my emotions properly. I can't be the girl who sails between two brothers. I will not let Hope grow up in this mess my feelings have caused. My fate was sealed the day I met Klaus. Now it's time for me to finally accept it."
"I'll help you, darling. On one condition. I'm not going to keep you under my compel forever. I'll take it off someday. Are you then ready to face the consequences of your actions? Organize your feelings on your own? What if you really fall in love with Nik? What if you somehow fall in love with both of them? If Elijah finds someone else? Do you even think about what it will mean to you? You'll be living a lie, Y/N. Are you ready for it?"
"I'll do everything to give Hope the family she deserves. Besides, I'm Y/N Y/L/N-Mikaelson. I always know what to do. And for now, this is the perfect solution. I think I could be happy with Klaus after all. And after everything that happened recently... I just want to finally be happy, Kol. Without all the extra problems that being a Mikalson brings anyway."
"I only hope you're not going to regret this... Look at me, darling. Today you will feel something more than hostility or a little friendliness toward my brother Klaus. After seeing him, being a hero for your pack, and rescuing that human Camille from getting killed, you realized that you'd always had some feelings for him, but before today they were weaker than what you feel for Elijah. You realized that Klaus could be the man of your dreams, someone you want to spend the rest of your life with. You will never forget what you experienced with Elijah, but now you see him more like a brother and an uncle to your child than a life partner. You like Klaus; he's the only man you could be romantically interested in until Hope comes of age. After this time, my compulsion will cease to work. You will forget that I compel you. I told you to get that stupid idea out of your head and told you not to ask anyone else for such a favor. You will follow my command." you snapped out of your stupor, blinking as you tried to remember what the hell had just happened.
"Well, at least promise me you won't tell Klaus, Elijah, or anyone else."
"I hate to say it, but you have my word. Everything will stay between us."
"Good." you nodded your head and left his room. Kol's concerned gaze led you all the way to the door.
At least he circumvented your request and didn't force you to love Klaus directly, he just dulled your infatuation with Elijah. If you started to feel anything for his hybrid brother, it would be real. He only hoped that when Davina, Rebekah, or Nik found out, they wouldn't castrate him for it.
~•♤♤♤•~
You were pissed off. Incredible furious with your stupid husband and his older brother.
These two morons went with Kol on a solo quest against Lucien and Tristan, locking you (Freya, Davina, Rebekah and you) in the house.
You don't need to tell anyone that they came back with nothing and narrowly escaped death. As soon as the boundary spell was lifted by your witches, you ran out of the house with Hope and went straight to your pack. You left your daughter with your cousin Lily and her witch girlfriend while you went to get wood. You must have landed your rage on something. Trees were better than innocent people or your very guilty and stupid husband, whose face you didn't want to see right now because you knew you'd use it as a dartboard.
However, you forgot that your husband had no self-preservation instinct.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" you growled as you sensed his presence, continuing to chop wood. He really was asking to die today.
"You took our daughter and left the house, you think I won't follow you? Besides, we need to talk, love."
"Well, it's too fucking late now. Fuck off before I shove a branch up your ass."
"Where does such an aggression of yours come from, love?"
"You dare to fucking ask me?! After what you did?! You could all die or get caught! I know you don't care what happens to me, but have you thought about Hope? Your fucking daughter! What would happen if they came for us, for her, when we were closed in the cage, you made?! Tell me, honey, was it your brilliant idea? Or maybe Kol's?"
"It's fascinating that you have such faith in my noble elder brother that you don't even entertain the slightest possibility that it was his plan."
"Elijah wouldn't do something so stupid. He's better than you. Do you even know how it could..."
"Of course our dear Elijah would be a better husband for you!" his brain apparently focused only on that damn part, not the one where you scolded him for being so careless because you were worried about him.
"Don't you dare fucking bring him into this! He was the only goddamn person who cared about my fate after my transformation! He cares enough about me to let me know about his plans, Klaus!"
"I saw perfectly well how he cares for you - by shoving his tongue down your throat!"
"Maybe if you weren't acting like a fucking, arrogant, condescending dick who knows everything best, you'd be in his place!"
"Well, I went further with you than he did last night. You didn't even moan against his mouth as you did against mine. I guess being a dick pays off after all." he replied with a feisty, smug smile.
"You! Fucking! Disgusting! Pervent!" you growled, punching him in the chest each time, causing him to back away from you until you pinned him to a tree. "I fucking hate you. Every time I see the shadow of a man worth loving in you, you always screw it up! I hate you and despise both you and myself that despite all the damn things you've done against me, somehow I still fucking want to see in you someone worth my love!" you screamed, taking out your anger on him with every blow you landed on him.
It shocked you that he didn't do anything to stop you. He just took your punches, standing still in complete silence, until you got tired.
"Better?" he whispered, staring at your panting, disheveled figure as you both tried to calm down.
"A little."
"You tremble." he noticed, carefully touching your cold shoulder. "Let's go back to the camp. We need to warm you up." he said as he took off his leather jacket and tossed it over your shoulders. He grabbed your hand and started leading you through the dark forest.
You don't even remember when you got this far in your anger. It took you a good half silient hour of walking to get back to the sleeping pack.
You sat by the still-burning fire. Klaus added a few logs of wood to make sure it wouldn't go out. He then sat next to you and unrolled the blanket, draping it over your back, creating a warm cocoon around the two of you.
You sighed, leaning your head against his shoulder and staring into the fire. You blissfully absorbed the silence between the two of you, losing yourself in Klaus' warmth and scent.
"I'm sorry." he broke the long silence between you. "I should have let you know about my plans or not locked you in the house. You're right. You deserve someone better, love." he said, his voice slightly trembling as he spoke the last words.
"I could love you, you know?" you felt his piercing, surprised look as you played with one of the sticks, staring stubbornly at the fire to avoid his gaze. "A long time ago. If you hadn't acted like a condescending asshole and tried your best to lock me up in that damn house with Hope. If you'd let me in, help me get past that evil, cruel hybrid facade and see the real you, you would have what you so secretly desire."
"And what is that?"
"Unconditional love from someone who isn't forced to give it to you. Unlimited trust and devotion-something you have not experienced in your very long life. You know one day you'll get it from our daughter, but it won't be the same. She will love you because you are her father, her love is conditioned by the bond you have shared since she was born. That's why you want me to love you so much. You want someone who cares about you for no reason."
"And could you? Love me just because you want to? After everything I have done?" he asked, pulling you away from him, not too far away, just enough to look you in the eye.
"You were never quite the villain in my story. I have to admit, I've hated you since I met you... but over time, I've seen that you've made me more than I could have imagined, someone much more powerful, someone whose opinion really matters. You always helped me, even when I thought it was some kind of sabotage against me and when I disagreed with your plan, like when you decided to stop Dalhia alone or play partners in crime with your bloodthirsty father. You take care of my pack like it's your own, and you're such a good father to Hope that sometimes I envy her. Maybe our beginnings weren't the best, and maybe along the way we'll start arguing and fighting like bitter enemies again, but I couldn't imagine anyone else to do it with."
"Even after I forced you into this marriage?"
"Well, if it weren't for you, my parents would've arranged one with a possibly stupid, self-centered werewolf anyway, so I didn't get the worst of it."
"Good to know I'm not the worst option."
"At least you're hot and handsome." you replied, nudging him with your arm. He did the same, making you both laugh.
You stared into his eyes as the firelight reflected in his beautiful irises, emphasizing sparks of amusement and... tenderness.
"I want to be the man who deserves your love."
"Can you let me in then?"
He did not answer. Instead, he pressed his lips to yours. If it had been any other man, you would have insisted on answering this important question. But you knew Klaus too well to know that this passionate, sultry, tender kiss is a silent promise he makes to you. A promise he intends to keep.
Klaus wasn't the perfect man of your dreams, and he often made hasty, sudden decisions without considering the opinions of others. But deep down, you knew there was no other man in the world who made you feel the way you did with Nik. Even Elijah couldn't make you feel half the way you did with his brother. His kiss, his touch, his smile, and his scent made you feel insane. And that (desire, passion, tenderness, warmth, and thristing for his little affection) was the type of love you want to lose yourself in.
Maybe it was Klaus who was supposed to be your Mr. Right after all.
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m1ssunderstanding · 3 months
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Understanding Lennon McCartney Rewatch Part 2.4
It's in the paper that Allen Klein was involved in 40+ lawsuits and John doesn't question it? At this point, I feel like he just didn't want to let Paul be right about anything. 
My question is who did that work on before? I mean who fucking does business like that? Let alone business with the most successful man in the world. 
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John's complaining about Paul being too good at his job is both hilarious (what the hell is Paul supposed to do with that) and sad (it shows just how far their musical relationship has degraded from partners to rivals)
How did they lose Northern Songs? Genuinely, if anyone can break it down for me I'd be so grateful. Anyway I'm sure it was devastating for both of them. “Who'd have the children?” “Dick James”. 
I know I'm insane, but can I be allowed to see a glimmer of goodness here? I really do think it's John's kinder side winning out when he decides not to lie. Like, yes, he gets a buzz off of watching Paul go white at his words, but I think he also just – in that moment – didn't have the heart to trick Paul into staying. 
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But also. Why are we trying to maneuver Paul at all if the end game is for John to leave? It just doesn't make sense to try to trick Paul into signing the contract unless John's divorce threat is at the very least not meant to be final. 
I will never understand this picture. Even in the emotional state he's in, he's still hamming it up? There is something seriously wrong with this man. 
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I do find it interesting that the fact that Paul cried his eyes out after that meeting isn't even mentioned in the doc. I wonder why. 
Let's put the bizarre, super-warped timeline in this quote aside for a minute. Apparently the depression started after Brian died and it lasted for about two years and John was still in it during Pepper. Okay. That aside . . .
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I have to assume this negative lense on what I can only assume means the period between 66 and 68 is highly influenced by hindsight bias. I agree that John was depressed at the time, in an unhappy marriage, doing too much LSD, etc and that looking at Paul's prolific talent and expansive , fast-paced life would have been maddening. But everyone go back to the end of part one really quick. He looks extremely happy. He sounds extremely happy. Everyone who knows him says he's never been happier. I think he just can't accept right now that there was so much good and he's lost it. 
“I look from the wings at the play you are staging . . . I don't know why nobody told you how to unfold your love.”
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Insanity quote Hall of Fame. Paul explaining why the Beatles just had to break up, obviously, because he and John "didn't marry the same girl." Someone write the fic where John and Paul both marry the same girl. Could be Yoko or Linda. Sister trad wives au. 
Okay, cool, so this means I have full permission to interpret and tin hat about any lyrics I want then, right?
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But also. Are we just not going to talk about the fact that Paul dumped a bucket of garbage water and punched this person? And are we not mentioning the depression and alcoholism and heroin abuse during this time?
It's so embarrassing how he looks to her for confirmation here. John, they asked you what you think. Just you. Not some complicated definition. Not Yoko's definition. Just your own thoughts.
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“I couldn't wait for them to make up their mind about peace or whatever. About committing themselves.” Yeah, John. You sound real committed to peace. Or whatever. Here's a theory that anyone can shoot down if they want: John asked Paul for some kind of commitment (a friendship wedding, a partnership contract, a mutual wanking pledge) in India and Paul was a chicken about it. 
What was that day like, I wonder? I imagine extremely stiff and professional and horrid. But who knows. Maybe it was nice, and maybe that made everything worse.
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I will go to my death believing that instant karma was for Paul. 
Do we think John actually did send Paul “about twenty postcards from Denmark” all covered in hearts none of which Paul responded to? Paul could be just as cruel in his lack of reaction as John was in his over reaction.
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I'm sorry but that is not what a man says when he's just lying to the press to buy time for business. That's what a man says to the press when he's trying desperately to communicate with someone who he can't get through to any other way. 
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But really, I just don't understand why the creator chose to minimize Paul's emotional response to John's divorce statement. If we don't see him bawling his eyes out and losing the will to live, he comes off like a self-assured, uncaring, jerk. Which. To be fair. John didn't see those things, and that is exactly what John thought of Paul during this time. But still. The audience now comes away from this doc with a skewed view. 
All we get is Paul being pissed off about Phil Spector butchering Let it Be without his consent and John and George trying to change McCartney's release date without his consent. Which are both a) understandable and b) strong, male, angry reactions. Making this section portray Paul in the same one-dimensional hyper-masculine way that John so often is. Which isn't my favorite. But hey, it's my only complaint about this doc so far.
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Anyway, update: I won't be able to do part three until it gets reuploaded, so we're on hiatus for this project for the time being.
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abiiors · 11 months
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haunt // bed - pt. 1
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a/n: a while ago, i wrote do me a favour after which i said, i would write a matty hate sex fic. well this is it (and perhaps a bit more than anyone asked for), read dmaf again if you want to refresh your memory, or don't. there are 3 parts to this + an epilogue. i also know very little about western weddings, so ignore the inconsistencies lol.
a note about the banner: the photo in it is only meant to describe the dress, not the race, body type, hair colour, etc of the reader <3
minors dni! part 2, part 3
wc: 2.7k
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see u in an hour xx
charli’s text flashes on your screen, illuminating a small corner of the dimly lit room. it’s not that late in the day, in fact, it’s quite early—only about 10 am. you’re supposed to be hurrying around the room, checking for any last minutes things you might have forgotten. you won’t be back home until tomorrow after all. yet here you are, surrounded by the things that should have been packed in your bag last night. 
the dress, laid out on your bed, feels like a weapon; red silk slippery enough to slide between your fingers effortlessly. “a wily vixen”, that’s what charli had called you when she'd seen you in it for the first. the thought of that day—bridesmaids dress shopping with four other excited girls—brings a small smile to your face. 
everything laid out here is a weapon really; your four-inch, sharp heels, the delicate and dainty diamond jewellery, the makeup you plan on wearing—blood red lipstick, a perfect shade match for the dress. an expensive crystal bottle of the same perfume you have used for the past six years. 
familiarity breeds contempt. familiarity is also an excellent knife to twist in someone’s gut. because everything here, today, is meant to maul and wound him.
see you in an hour babe, love you. you write back and chuck your phone onto the pillow where it bounces a little before nestling between its creases. you stare at it, maybe your body still yearns for a call that will never come? no more can’t wait to see you up there. no more cheeky selfies in a state of half-undress. just a smooth, black screen.
right then…time to get going. 
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charli has been flittering around the room for the last twenty minutes. her white dress fits her like a dream, her makeup is a work of art and her excitement about marrying george is so palpable in the room that at least one person squeals or sighs every five minutes. 
most importantly, the smile on her face is a permanent fixture. and every time you look at it, a warmth spreads through your body. she deserves this—the happiness, the celebration. the happily ever after. no matter how your marriage ended, you won’t stop believing in it for her. 
“so!” charli walks over to you and takes your hand, “how do i look?” she twirls and the dress swirls around her, the tiny crystals catching light and making her shimmer like starlight.
you laugh in response, “like george is about to go into cardiac arrest the minute he sees you!”
the pair of you giggles like teenagers. you can so clearly picture it before it has even happened. the joy and love that will shine on george’s face; his excitement, quiet yet infectious and for a brief moment you’re transported back to your own walk down the aisle. 
small, unsure steps, worried about falling flat on your face in those tall heels, but all of that had evaporated the second you had seen his tear-stained face. and the bright smile that had bloomed a split second later. 
but that’s how long the ache lasts; a brief moment. it’s bad enough that you’re going to have to be civil to him, there’s no need to make it worse with unnecessary nostalgia. 
besides, there’s her to think about. 
she in question is a beautiful, leggy blonde who is at least seven years younger than him. not that you’ve seen either of them today…yet. it’s only because you and charli got drunk one night, four weeks before the wedding, and she felt bad about keeping it from you that matty had a plus one. and that’s how you fell into the rabbit hole of scrolling through this girl’s Instagram profile at two in the morning. 
if you thought you knew his type, you would be dead wrong. physically speaking, she is the exact opposite of you—someone who looks like they belong on a giant billboard in times square, perfect and stunning. then there’s the more questionable aspects of her feed. the flat tummy tea adverts and the paid partnerships with various brands that are always under fire for being unethical.
but that’s the ugly green monster rearing its head. it’s not like you aren’t known for indulging in vanity every once in a while. 
she will be here today, no doubt, clinging onto his arm like a decorative little thing—woah, where did that snide thought come from?! you shake your head to yourself, at least a little embarrassed. he’s not even here yet and he’s already screwing with your head; pushing you back into old jealous and insecure habits. someone clears their throat. 
nora, one of charli’s longtime friends, has her champagne glass raised. a toast. she takes a deep, shaky breath and smiles tearily at the room, about to give her sentimental speech when a resounding knock echoes and cuts her off before she has even begun. 
five heads turn to the locked door and you happen to be standing closest to it. 
‘i’ll get it,’ you tell no one in particular, hand already on the doorknob. the possibility of it hits you way too late. 
it hits you right as his clean-shaven face comes into view. 
it has been ten months. ten months since you gave up the last name healy and changed it back to your maiden name on all your official documents. it had felt like a form of catharsis, getting it done with such urgency back then. but you also remember the days when you would be asked to state your full name and stagger a little at how odd it sounded to no longer have healy in it. to not have a ring around your finger to fidget with. no one to hold you at night. 
but back to now. back to here. 
it’s not hard to see that he has changed a lot in the last ten months. he looks serious; not necessarily sombre—it’s his best friend’s wedding, after all—but mature, more grown up. the grey in his hair, in his beautiful curls, is now much more prominent. the crow's feet around his eyes are more or less the same (and it sends a small pang through you; has he not laughed recently?). his mouth holds—held—a faint smile that’s already slipping, already morphing into a thin line. the exact same face that you woke up to for years now turning into a mask of carefully arranged neutrality.
“charli,” he whispers roughly and then clears his throat, “here to check on charli.” and just like that, he steps past you and into the room where he’s engulfed into a hug by the bride (and slapped on the bum by another bridesmaid but you ignore that for now).
pointedly, you also ignore the sting that comes with being sidestepped so easily. 
you stand by the door, back still to the room, for a second longer than necessary. it doesn’t even register that you’re letting the warm spring air in. is this really how little seeing you impacts him? it must have. because if he’s here then she is also here. 
“tell him i’m fine!” charli’s voice brings you out of your thoughts, making you shut the door softly. “and tell him not to meddle, i’ve got my girls.” she looks at you over his shoulder and throws a wink. your gut tells you it’s nothing but a charity gesture, just trying to gauge the tension between you two. guilt gnaws at you—she shouldn’t have to play peacemaker, she shouldn’t have to worry about two adults behaving themselves. 
“only doing my duty here,” matty raises his hands defensively, “keeping the groom happy.” 
the rest of them tease and taunt him playfully while you take the time to admire—no, simply look at—his suit. it’s nowhere near as nice as the one he wore at your wedding, of course not. but it’s beautifully made, tailored to fit and accentuate his muscles. and there are a lot of those now, that much is evident from the way his sleeves stretch over his biceps. he fills it out nicely, not that he didn’t before, but something about the fabric straining across his arms does funny things to your stomach. funny, you thought that feeling was a thing of the past. then there’s the navy trousers that compliment his backside rather nicely. 
there’s a part of you that is appalled at all these observations you have been making but there’s another part—bored and much more matter-of-fact—that reminds you that there’s nothing under those clothes that you haven’t seen, touched, licked or sucked before. there’s nothing new. he is still the same as he was before, just now with a few extra muscles. 
“go away,” charli’s nudges him gently toward the door. “we’ll be out in fifteen.”
he hugs her just before he leaves, dropping a friendly kiss on her head. after everything you’re glad no one had to pick sides in the divorce. you’ve at least managed to hold the friend group together, even though the same can’t be said about your marriage. 
matty leaves just like he came in, sidestepping you and making sure he’s looking straight ahead. there’s a brief second however—a fraction of one really—when he slows down and breathes in. his adam’s apple bobs roughly and his face struggles to hold the blank expression. 
but it must have just been you projecting right? no one can go through that much in half a second. 
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“there you are, darling,” denise walks in on you mid-smoke. “i was looking for you.”
she’s in a beautiful pink dress that brushes her knees and makes her look ten years younger than she is. you blush slightly at having been caught smoking; it’s a recent habit, not one she would be aware of, and you don’t want her to judge you for it. 
“denise,” you try to hide the half-smoked cigarette, “you look beautiful.”
she pointedly looks at your hand and laughs. “my son does enough of that.” then she straightens up, as if bringing matty so casually into this conversation was a mistake. you suppose it was—it does make your heart skip a beat. 
“i just wanted to say hi, darling,” she adds hastily, “and look at you…” her eyes scan you from head to toe, linger on your face for just a second before she smiles again. “simply stunning.”
“thank you.” your voice comes out in a whisper, fighting to get past the lump in your throat. you didn’t think there would ever come a day when she would have to so formally stop by to ‘say hi’. yet here you are, almost a pair of estranged mother and daughter. 
“i don’t…” she starts but shakes her head minutely, “i don’t want to condescend you. but are you okay? with matty bringing that girl, i mean.”
that piques your interest. “that girl?” you stifle a little giggle. “sounds like you don’t like her…”
denise shrugs, leaning against the wall and looking at the bushes in front of her. “she’s okay, i guess.” then she takes a bit to smooth out her dress. “but she’s not you.”
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“dearly beloved…” the officiant, charli’s godfather, begins, which you tune out instantly. weddings are lovely and romantic, wedding speeches are dull and boring. besides, like it or not, something else has captured your attention. 
you stand behind the bride, holding the ring she’s supposed to put on george later. and right in front of you stands matty, holding the matching platinum band in his hands. adam and ross stand behind him, smiling and occasionally laughing along with the rest of the guests. you tried it at first too, to only keep your attention on george—who looks very handsome and beams wide the whole time—but it’s impossible when you feel your ex’s piercing stare right on you. 
you would have thought he would stick to the little ignoring act from before. instead, his eyes have lingered on you from the second you walked down the aisle as a part of the processional. tracking your every move, every small step. frankly, it’s insulting. does he think you would ruin the wedding as some sort of diabolical revenge against him? you scoff internally; of course, he would think such self-centred thoughts, it’s just all about him, after all.
you raise an eyebrow at him. what’s your fucking problem?
he smiles back; an arrogant curl of his mouth that turns his face from sweet to insufferable within a matter of seconds. you, his eyes seem to say, you’re my problem. 
well too fucking bad then…
you huff and look away to the side at the guests. it’s only about fifty people from both sides. just family and friends—a lovely kind of intimacy the couple had asked for. you smile at george’s parents who sit in the first row. his mum dabs at her eyes, clearly overwhelmed with emotion. and behind them sit denise and tim. right next to her. 
she’s exactly what she looks like on her instagram page. dainty and beautiful, picture-perfect elegant. her whole face looks like it could be hand-crafted by the gods (or very expensive surgeons according to the snide little voice in your brain) but her eyes are bone dry. 
that’s because she doesn’t belong here, your brain chimes in. not among your friends and your family. 
well, ex-family…
her name doesn’t immediately come to the forefront of your mind. all you know from that drunken night is how charli made you block all her socials at the end of it. as if you were going to go back to them again and again. as if you have no purpose in life other than obsessing over your ex’s new girl. 
she sighs, then looks out the window with a bored expression on her face and you have to focus your attention back to the bride and groom before you do something drastic. not before you catch matty looking at you from the corner of your eye, however. 
not just at you…he’s staring at the plunging neckline of your dress that shows off your cleavage wonderfully. with the big window to your side, it’s so clear to see every little detail of his face—his teeth gnawing on his bottom lip (he’s unaware that he’s doing it. you know that for a fact). his pupils that are blown out wide, making almost the entirety of his eyes look black; dark and hungry. 
your mouth curls into a smirk, arrogant enough to mirror his own. well, this is interesting. 
matty’s mouth presses into a thin line. even now, after you caught him so red-handed, he’s trying to deny it. but you don’t miss his ears turning the telltale shade of pink. 
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“...and i promise to love you for the rest of my life.” george’s voice breaks on the last word, the tears flowing freely but he smiles through all of it. in front of you, charli’s shoulders shake. they haven’t even put the rings on each other yet and they’re already emotional. it makes you laugh, and surprising, you feel the tears escaping your eyes.
i promise to love you for the rest of my life. that’s what matty had said too. i promise to dance in the kitchen with you and do all my silly little romantic gestures. i promise to never let you fall. i promise, i promise, i promise…
so many of them unkept, so many of them just pretty words spoken on a perfect day in front of a tearful audience. 
“i do!” charli squeals before the question is even finished, making everyone laugh. a wet chuckle escapes you at her infectious joy. 
“do you, george, take charli to be your lawfully wedded wife?” the officiant asks. 
“i do,” he says patiently and charli sticks her tongue out at him. 
you sincerely hope they stay like this for the rest of their lives—polar opposites who complete each other. not people who are so similar, they don’t know how to exist in the same space anymore. 
matty smiles, first at the couple and then, shockingly, at you. husband and wife he mouths. 
jarringly still, you smile back. 
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i would love to hear what you think 🤭
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icallhimjoey · 1 year
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To Have And To Scold
♥ ♥  Joseph Quinn x Fem!Reader
Summary: Your best friends are getting married, and who else can they ask to be their best man and maid of honour but you and Joe? It’s just that… you don’t really get along all that well, do you? At least, that’s what you think.
CW / disclaimer: sort of enemies to sort of lovers, slooow burn, language, rpf, fem!reader, panic attack
Author’s note: when i reached 7K i kind of knew the poll’s results wouldn’t matter to me anymore – there is going to be a part 11, or an epilogue if you will, because there’s just... it’s just too much. I need to thank @thebellenouvelle for the inspiration behind eyelid kisses, and @alwayslindie for fisticuffs (ifykyk) SO SORRY BUT THIS IS NOT THE END pls enjoy
Wordcount: 7.1K
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part one - part two - part three - part four - part five- part six- part seven - part eight - part nine- part ten - epilogue
Today was not the day you expected to find yourself in a dark coat closet of a hotel suite, hiding from your friends with Joe's hand covering your mouth as you made big shocked eyes at him.
Today was about Poppy and Mark.
The happy couple. Getting married. Mark, and Poppy. Poppy, and Mark.
It was about them. Full focus just on your friends. Just on his friends. Nothing else. No one else.
So then why the fuck had Joe hurriedly pushed you into a closet in a full scuffle of frantic limbs when he heard Poppy and Mark outside the door? And why did you, despite still being so angry, and hurt, and so fucking embarrased - why did you like it?
Joe had to recount his steps. How did he get here? How did he find himself in a small, enclosed space that instantly created a sense of intimacy and closeness which intensified all and any existing feelings he had towards you?
Joe remembered having looked himself in the eye in his hallway mirror that morning, right before he headed out, and had sighed deeply at his own reflection.
Today was going to be impossible.
He thought about setting reminders on his phone because he knew, he fucking knew his mind would be with you all day. Guilt and shame and embarrassment and, God he felt so awful.
As he should. He was well aware.
But today was about Poppy. Poppy and Mark. And yes, he was going to be seeing you again, which... ugh, he could eat himself alive at the prospect.
For two and a half weeks after he'd gotten to touch you, and smell you, and taste you - Jesus Christ Joe had actually gotten so much more than he'd ever even dreamt of - he had almost reached out thousands of times. Had hovered fingers over a text thread. Over your name in his contact list.
But what was he going to say?
How was he going to break the ice? The thick, thick, thick thick ice that had frozen over because of his doing. He'd known the second your front door fell shut behind him that he'd done the wrong thing. That'd he had fucked up in a way he knew he could never come back from.
Joe was the worst.
When Joe thought of you now, it didn't involve swooning or tender romantic feelings. Instead, it was all gut-wrenching guilt and violent shame that made him want to hide himself away.
The thing he'd been so scared of, the chance of things going wrong and ending badly between the two of you, had happened before anything had even really started at all. He'd been left humiliated by his own actions, and couldn't even begin to imagine how you must have felt. Left disheartened by the vast impact of his mistakes and the loss of something that he had never even had made him want to get away. To leave. To move abroad and not tell anyone. If he could, Joe would happily disappear and skip this whole wedding all together.
Obviously, he couldn't.
Today was about Poppy. Poppy and Mark.
And Joe was the maid of honour after all. And so, after a last stern look at himself, Joe walked out and made his way over to where Poppy and her gaggle of bridesmaids were meeting to get ready for the big day.
In your flat, you gave the e-mail a last once over.
Joe had e-mailed you a week ago. You still had to go over your speeches, and instead of being a normal person and perhaps reaching out to apologise, to maybe talk things through - instead of that, he'd gone and sent you an e-mail.
An e-mail.
And it was all professional too, which was... you couldn't even begin to organise your feelings about it. He'd attached his speech 'for your acknowledgement' and you'd had to drink three fat glasses of wine before you'd been able to read it.
It had the audacity to be good. Rude. It made you rewrite your whole speech with a clenched jaw whilst tipsy and you'd regretted not backing up what you'd previously written the next morning, because you definitely had only made it worse.
But.
Today was about Mark. About Mark and Poppy.
Not about how angry you still were with Joe. Not about all that weaponized disappointment you could feel sit inside of your chest that hadn't gone anywhere, because you weren't going to be the one to reach out to Joe, were you?
You were stubborn like that. Embarrassed like that. Because Joe had fucked up, and in doing so, for some weird fucked up reason, you now had feelings for Joe.
Very real feelings that were conflicting and painful and so, so stupid. It made it all too easy to pivot the anger and aim all of its arrows right at yourself, when, no. Joe had fucked up. Not you.
Joe was the one that fucked up and, Joe could be the one to fix it, too.
You know, if you'd actually let him. You weren't sure if you'd even let him, but you wanted to see him at least attempt it. It was the least you deserved, you thought. And then after that, you could just avoid him for the rest of your life. You'd work something out. Find a system. Something.
So then... how had you even allowed yourself to be shoved into a closet by Joe before he quickly stepped inside himself and closed the door, engulfing the both of you in darkness? And why did Joe feel that it was totally okay to press his full palm over your mouth in order to make sure you didn't respond when Poppy and Mark walked in and called out for you?
As you had made your way over to the hotel suite where Mark and his groomsmen were going to be getting ready, you tried to get rid of the exasperated feeling in your fingertips at the prospect of having to be near Joe all day.
But the feeling was still there when you walked in and got hugs from all the heavily-cologned men who were all scattered throughout the room, each attending to their own individual tasks. Some were carefully doing their hair, others were using lintrollers all over themselves, and you spotted two of them keeping busy polishing their shoes to a high shine.
The feeling was still there when you let a photographer into the room, to take some photographs of the camaraderie and brotherhood among the groomsmen as they joked and teased each other. Men being men, boys being boys, with you mixed in among them, the only one not in a matching suit.
And the feeling was still there when all of them made you help them with their ties.
All together they were a picture of elegance and sophistication, but beneath the surface, you could feel the excitement and anxious anticipation for what the day held. Everyone was a little nervous, and obviously Mark probably was a lot nervous, but fucking hell, why couldn't your hands stop shaking? The bottle of whiskey Mark's brother opened, because, "the girls are having champagne, aren't they?" really helped, and, yes, you hated whiskey, but fuck it, please, let's fucking go.
You used the excuse of having to put your dress on to slip into the bathroom. In there you took your sweet time, because the large bathroom gave you some time to yourself, and all the cool luxurious white marble that surrounded you in there was calming.
When you stepped back out, the groomsmen were just on their way out, following the photographer who was going to use them for test shots.
"My turn," Mark said to you as the door fell shut, leaving the large suite quiet, and he held out his tie for you to help him with.
You grinned and took it, glad you were given a task you could manage. Maybe that was the secret. Just keep your mind occupied the whole day. Right in the middle of doing a full Windsor knot, Mark suddenly placed both palms over your biceps and ducked his head down a little to force eye-contact.
"It's all going according to plan, isn't it? We're on schedule, right?"
"Of course we are," you said, but Mark could see your eyes find the clock on the far end of the room behind him to check.
"We're actually ahead of schedule, which is great," you said, finishing off his tie and making sure it was straight before you patted him over his chest.
"So, then... why are you shaking?"
You paused and curled both hands into fists to hide whatever shaking Mark had detected.
"It's just... my best friend is getting married today," you said quasi-casual, trying to make Mark laugh. "It's kind of a huge deal."
You looked up to see Mark's hair was flipping outward over his ears, and you used both your palms to flatten the hair, to push it back the way you knew Poppy liked it.
"Speaking of huge deals," Mark started, and for a second you made eye contact before stepping away. Off to find your make-up bag that you'd brought with you.
"When were you going to tell me that you've had Joe over at yours?"
Bent over your bag on the floor, your froze immediately. Who had said what to who and, what did Mark know?
He might not have known anything.
Just that Joe dropped you off at your flat the night of the stag do.
"Poppy told me," Mark continued after you hadn't moved from your position, hovering over your bag still, and you didn't know what to respond.
Of course Poppy had told Mark, because Joe had told her and Joe was the worst person alive, so that checked out. Of course that's what happened. The man couldn't tell his best friend about you sleeping in his bed fully dressed that one time, but this, this was fine.
Joe could go suck a thousand dicks.
"Joe said you kissed,"
Ah.
Just kissed, huh? Was that all he had said?
All right.
You cleared your throat and finally got back up, make-up bag in hand that you zipped open.
"We did."
You tried your bestest best to sound so very casual about it, but feared that the tone of your voice had just given away too much. You couldn't look Mark in the eye. Had to keep your eyes at the make-up bag in your hands as you searched for the lipstick that was a quintessential part of your look.
How did you ever think Mark wasn't going to see right through you?
"Do you like him?" Mark frowned through a small smile as he asked the careful question. There was no judgment. There was definitely confusion, though, and he stepped a little closer to not have this conversation across the whole room.
Did you like Joe?
Ugh.
Where to even fucking begin?
You bit both your lips into your mouth, squeezed the tube of lipstick in your fist and looked at Mark a second as he stopped right in front of you.
"Hey," he poked your arm with a finger by ways of showing affection, the way siblings would do. "It's okay if you do."
A loud, deep and very annoyed sigh left you as you frowned deeply, because you were meant be all angry with Joe, and you were, but, what the fuck? Yes. You liked him. It was confusing and infuriating, but you did. Joe had been weird and distant, but then also sweet and kind, and he'd hugged you and made sure you didn't have to walk home late at night all alone, and had let you spent the night in his bed and hadn't taken advantage, and then he had kissed you, and for three seconds, there had been more than kissing before all of it had ended and now...
Now?!
Now you wanted more.
Didn't people always want what they couldn't have?
Now wasn't the time, though.
Because today was about Mark and about Poppy and about them together.
Not about you. Or about Joe.
So you just shrugged, signaling that you didn't want to get into it and said, "Joe's a weirdo," which made Mark laugh. That, in turn, made you smile.
Mark looked good. Radiant and happy, tie all straight and his hair the way Poppy liked it.
"Got your vows?" you asked, trying to round this up, and thank fuck, Mark just went with it as he patted his chest over the pocket of his jacket.
"Rings?" you asked, holding your hand out, and for a moment, you were ready for a snarky comment. For the same joke you'd heard time and time again for months now. But it didn't come. Mark just went, "Yes," and found the little red box that held both wedding bands inside.
"Here you go. Guard it with your life."
"I will. Promise I won't–"
You were about to reference the joke yourself, but were interrupted by a knock on the door.
Mark went to answer it, and you stole the moment to quickly do your lipstick in the full sized mirror. Mark didn't look through the peephole before he opened the door, so there was zero warning, and you almost left a fat stripe of lipstick all across your cheek when you turned your head at the sound of his voice.
"Hey," Joe smiled politely, hand scratching the back of his head, in the middle of a deep breath. You could tell he was nervous.
Good.
"The bride has requested to talk to you,"
"Oh no, cold feet?" Mark joked and turned his head to find your face to laugh with you. Except you weren't laughing, because you were still applying lipstick and pretending that Joe wasn't standing in the doorway.
"Um- no, not you, sorry. Poppy needs some girl talk."
Poppy had seven bridesmaids.
Poppy probably hadn't had anything but girl talk all morning.
But sure. You could go talk to Poppy.
You didn't look Joe in the eye when you walked past Mark, touched his arm and said you'd see him in a bit. Told him he should probably also go see his parents before the ceremony, and snuck past Joe, who stepped aside and gave you all the space and then some. Which offended you.
He could've done whatever, actually, and it would have offended you.
As you made your way down the hallway, you heard Mark say, "Actually, now that I've got your here, can you..." before it trailed off and the door closed.
Interesting... not suspicious at all.
You had to promise yourself you weren't going to drive yourself insane today, weren't going to fret over what information Joe and Mark would share with each other, and instead went over the itinerary in your mind several times. It did a great job of calming you down a bit, especially since so far, everything was on schedule.
"I have a confession to make," Poppy blurted out the second you saw each other.
She looked gorgeous. Absolutely stunning.
"Uh oh," was all you managed to say before closing the door behind you.
"You are here for one reason, and one reason only, which is that Mark wanted to talk to Joe and I had to get you out of the room,"
You gave Poppy a blank stare before narrowing your eyes at her.
"What's with the secrecy... he could've just said–"
"They have... things to talk about," Poppy said, giving you a pointed look. "Don't they?"
You weren't sure what she was insinuating, but you had an inkling that she wanted you to spill the beans. Which you weren't going to do.
"Well... Mark's getting married to his best friend, I'm sure they've got lots to talk–"
"I've got another confession," Poppy frowned and waved a hand, dismissing what you'd tried to sell her would be their topic of conversation.
You couldn't help but frown deeply at her in response.
"I'm not sure I like all these confessions, Pop,"
"It's my wedding day," Poppy resonated, grabbing both of your hands in hers and wiggling them around a bit. "Let me get all of this out, please."
You closed your eyes and breathed through flared nostrils, keeping quiet, silently granting Poppy permission to confess whatever needed confessing.
You knew exactly what was coming.
"Joe told me you kissed."
"Yea, I gathered," you said flatly, letting unwilling laughter escape you when you opened your eyes to see Poppy biting down on her bottom lip to hide her excitement. This wasn't what you expected from her. "Mark let something slip earlier."
"No!" Poppy groaned immediately. "Ugh... Joe said I wasn't allowed to tell Mark, but Mark promised me he wouldn't tell you!"
It was official. This little group of grown ass whole adults could keep no secrets from each other, ever.
"Did um... did Joe tell you about what happened?" you tried, carefully, because this was meant to be Poppy's most important day ever and you didn't want to ruin it.
But your expression made hers falter.
"He didn't..." Poppy stared into space as she thought back a second. "But, to be fair, he told me you kissed and I... I kind of... even if he wanted to tell me more about it, he couldn't have, because I freaked out,"
You winced a little. Wanted to apologise, even though you knew within your soul you'd done nothing wrong.
"No, no, don't worry, it was the good kind of freak out. Are you joking? You and Joe? I knew something was up when I saw you hug outside that day, and now, this is so great, it's–"
"Pop..." you started, and shut her up instantly.
Besides the fact that you had never expected this reaction from her at all, Poppy clearly had only heard a very small little titbit of what had transpired that night. You wondered how Joe had even brought it up in conversation with her, and what the vibe had been.
Her eyebrows knitted together, copying yours, and you sighed.
"Oh no..." Poppy knew something was up. "What did he do?"
And yea, what did he do was the right question to ask, it kind of made your insides shriek. But this wasn't the time to answer it. Not the time to reveal to Poppy how her friend had done you wrong. Instead, you smiled and cupped Poppy's face with both your hands, told her she was beautiful and that today was about her and about Mark and that you'd talk about this later.
For a second it looked like Poppy wasn't going to accept the postponing, but an urgent raise of your eyebrows in question made her give you a little nod.
"Come here, you pretty bitch," you said, grinning wide before pulling her into a hug. "You look like a princess,"
"I feel like one," Poppy spoke, voice a little strained from how tight you squeezed her.
"I can't believe Mark gets to marry you," you said when you pulled back, and kind of meant it. Poppy was too good for him.
"Meh, we'll see," Poppy quipped. "I could still run." she shrugged one shoulder which made you laugh and then squeeze her even tighter than before. Poppy was far too good for him.
On your way back over to the groom's suite, you walked with stiff arms that held two hands with crossed fingers down at the end.
Please don't run into Joe. Please don't run into Joe. Please, don't run into Joe.
You turned a corner and...
There he was.
A mere few feet away from you.
For a split second you contemplated walking backwards, back around that corner, just, rewinding yourself in time and hiding somewhere so you wouldn't be forced to have whatever awkward exchange this was going to be. But Joe had seen you. You couldn't pretend you hadn't spotted each other, and so you didn't.
"Hey," Joe called, and it seemed a bit urgent. Like he was glad he had just ran into you.
You just gave him one of those polite nods. The kind you'd give a the driver of a car that stopped to let you cross at a zebra crossing. You even almost added the half-wave – just a raised hand with only the index finger flexed.
Joe'd stopped walking, but you were about to whizz right past him because you weren't going to do this – didn't want to do this.
But then Joe grabbed you by the arm and it stopped you in your tracks. His soft touch lit you full body on fire.
"This is yours," Joe said, holding out a white plastic card. The hotel key to the groom's suite. "Mark went to go see his parents."
You took it from him, eyes not meeting his. You couldn't.
"Listen, I need to– want to... I want to apologise, for– um, for not reaching out sooner, and, I mean, not that you–" Joe stumbled through his words and suddenly had to cough loudly after choking on his own spit. "Excuse me– sorry. I have to, um, apologise for–"
"Let's not..." you started and looked down at where Joe was still holding your arm.
Joe followed your gaze and startled himself, quickly letting go.
"Just... let's just stick to wedding stuff today, all right?" had this been a month ago, you'd have given Joe a polite smile at this point. But this wasn't a month ago. This was now, and Joe had humiliated you in the most extreme manner you had ever been humiliated – had left you dripping with your own arousal and his pre-cum with a full tit out in your kitchen. Said he'd see you around.
This didn't really count as around, you thought.
You saw how dismissing his attempt at an apology completely worked something behind his eyes before he gave you a quick nod.
"Yes," he looked down at his own feet a second before looking back up at you. "Of course. Did you– I sent over my speech, um, last week. Did you get–"
"Got it."
This chat needed to be over.
"You never replied."
"I didn't."
You couldn't muster up anything but coldness for Joe. Distance. The same type of harshness sharp by the edges that Joe had reserved for you for years. You were treating Joe the way he had treated you forever. It was kind of the only way to go about it, because you were angry and Joe needed to feel that you were angry, but you also knew, you fucking knew that the second you'd drop this hard exterior, you'd absolutely fold for this man.
"But I received it fine."
You would've stuck a thanks to the end of that sentence if you weren't so fucking stubborn.
"So, you ready for the day? Got your own speech? Got the rings?"
Oh, motherfucker thought he could be cute and joke, did he? You were mid-way through an eye roll when you suddenly stopped breathing.
No.
Your eyes grew twice its size.
No.
"What– what's wrong?"
You'd never quite felt a panic take completely hold of your entire being quite so fast. This was no slow-building storm but instead an instant raging tempest within your chest.
You were immediately sweating when you realised you didn't have the rings.
Where were the fucking rings?!
Mark had given you the rings, you'd applied your lipstick, and then you'd gone to visit Poppy in the bridal suite. Had you even taken them to the bridal suite?
Your chest constricted itself into a tightness you hadn't experienced so lucidly before, which made you only more aware of how fast your heart was beating and what the fuck was happening?
"Are you– Jesus, breathe," Joe grabbed you by both upper arms, and you spluttered through a big inhale, noticing the sudden heat within your face and why did it feel like you were on a rollercoaster ride hurtling towards an inevitable crash?
"The rings," you managed to squeak out before turning your head towards the bridal suite from which you came.
No.
It couldn't be in there.
You hadn't touched anything in there. Hadn't placed anything down anywhere. Groom's suite. It had to be in the groom's suite still.
"You lost the rings?"
Just for a second, you looked Joe in the eye, both entirely blank faced, faces reading nothing, before your brain managed to tell your legs to tell your feet to start moving and Joe let go of you.
Your dazed walk quickly turned into a frenzied run down the hotel corridors, and Joe followed you on your tail.
"Mark!" you called out, hurriedly knocking on the door when you reached it.
"Key, key, you've got the– use the key," Joe scrambled, about to take the plastic card from your hands, but you wildly evaded him and shakily opened the door yourself.
Inside, you immediately traced your own steps.
"Red box," you panted. "It's a little red box, square, rounded corners, bright, bright red,"
And without thinking, Joe started throwing pillows from the sofa, pulling sheets from the beds and tipping over whichever bin he could find.
The two of you turned the entire room upside down, all anger and awkwardness forgotten for a second.
But it was nowhere to be found.
No red box.
Fuck.
How could you mess up this fucking badly?
You felt your throat grow rigid, the panic intensifying and overwhelming you until it was too much to bear. Sliding both hands into your hair, you closed your fingers and pulled. You couldn't cry. Had to keep a level head. Think straight.
Mark was going to murder you.
You couldn't cry.
"Let's hit the bridal suite," Joe said, jumping from the bed, over the covers that were now splayed out across the floor, jogging past you towards the door.
"They've got to be either here, or there," Joe reasoned, and you knew he was right, but... but what if he wasn't?
"Come on," Joe said, beckoning you, and you were about to blindly follow him when suddenly, he stopped. He froze completely and you nearly crashed into him.
Voices.
Mark and Poppy.
No.
Joe pushed you back inside and quickly closed the door. You saw him look behind you, the room a full mess, and then, without much thinking, opened the coat closet to his side that he then shoved you into.
"What– Joe!"
"Quiet!"
Joe pushed you deeper into the closet, following you inside before quickly and quietly closing the doors behind you. It was all just in time, as you heard the small beep from the door unlocking as Mark and Poppy walked into the suite.
They called out for you and for Joe, and you could heard Mark go, "Jesus, what happened in here?"
All you could think about was that Poppy and Mark weren't supposed to even see each other before the ceremony. Not because anyone thought it would be bad luck, they didn't buy into that shit, but because you knew Poppy, and Poppy wanted that big entrance, that big reveal that would get Mark all choked up.
You were about to step out, about to say something, but Joe sensed it and so with both arms he held you in place, folding one palm right over your mouth so you wouldn't make a peep.
Your eyes were still adjusting to the dark, and you could barely make out Joe's face, but everything felt like he was being absolutely serious.
So there you were, pressed up against each other, both bodies impossibly tense, wholly focused on staying quiet.
"Well, they've clearly been in here," you could hear Poppy say.
"What the–" Mark's voice sounded far away, and you could picture him walking around the entire suite, taking in the mess that you and Joe had just created mere seconds ago.
"Did they fight? Like, full fisticuffs you think?"
"No, I think they were looking for this, look," you could practically hear the smile in Poppy's voice, and inside the closet, you and Joe frowned at each other.
"What are you..." Mark gasped. "Poppy! How did you get a hold of those?"
No fucking way.
You had touched one thing in the bridal suite. You had touched Poppy.
You peeled Joe's fingers from your face to mouth, "the rings," at him with wild eyes. As a precaution Joe raised his fingers up to his mouth, signaling you to stay quiet. Which you were. Joe could fuck off.
"Took them,"
"No, babe... that's not funny–"
"It's not meant to be funny, it's meant to create a little hiccup that–"
"A little hiccup?!"
"Mark, listen! Think about it... who is going to help her find them?"
Jesus fucking Christ.
Poppy could fuck off too.
"You're aware she's going to stab you with the cake knife later if she ever finds out about this?"
"She won't get the chance to, because she'll be too busy making out with Joe."
A silence fell within the hotel suite, and you were suddenly very aware of how the enclosed space you were in started growing hotter.
"Mark, he's been in love – like, actual love with her for fucking ages, if we don't help them out at least a little, nothing's ever going to happen,"
What the fuck?!
You saw in real time how Joe went from looking all stern, fully focussed on making sure that you kept quiet in every sense of the word, to his full face scrunching up before his head dropped down entirely, nearly head-butting you in the process.
"It's my wedding day. I deserve this." Poppy continued, and you heard Mark scoff.
"And I'm sure that for today, you'll be excused. But there's going to be a tomorrow," Mark was ever the voice of reason.
Meanwhile, Joe hoped the coat closet was dark enough for you not to see how his entire face had turned beet-red, or how his heart was trying to jump its way out of his chest. He still had you wrapped up in his hold, so he logically understood there was no hiding anything.
But still. Joe could hope.
"You know what he said to me?"
Fuck, fuck. Poppy shut the fuck up.
Joe was about to move his hands to cover your ears, but in a small scramble, you managed to grab hold of both his wrists and pushed them down.
Joe's elbow nearly knocked into the panel behind him.
"He said he cares too much, like, cares about her, and that he just wants to hold her hand and kiss her over the eyelids... he wants to kiss her eyes, Mark. You've never kissed me on the eyes before."
"Come here,"
"No! It's too late for you!"
"Too late?! We're getting married!"
Outside of the closet, the mood turned playful and you heard Poppy shriek followed by footsteps that chased each other.
Inside the coat closet, the air was thick. You were so aware of your breathing, of where your bodies were touching, and of Joe's eyes on you. He looked mortified.
"You care too much?" you mouthed, completely inaudible but for the movement your tongue made within your mouth.
Joe nodded, but it was careful. Insecure, almost.
You frowned and shook your head.
Joe couldn't care too much. Joe was a friend of a friend who never really took to you. Always remained aloof and stand-offish. Was weird around you. Made no contact, and then when he did, made misplaced jokes.
"You left me,"
Joe closed his eyes, and in the little light that the doors let in, you could see his jaw tense and nostrils flare.
"I didn't want to hurt you," Joe let a little bit of his whispered voice slip through as he spoke on an exhale
Your frown deepened.
"I care," Joe followed up, completely silent again, and for a moment the two of you listened to Poppy and Mark going around and putting the room back together. Shuffling of duvets, thumps of cushions being thrown, and had you not been staring into Joe's eyes whilst being pressed up against him in a space far too small for two adults to spend this much time in, you would've stopped them. They were in their wedding outfits. Tidying a hotel suite ahead of their own wedding. What the fuck were they doing?
But it just so happened to be that you were staring into Joe's eyes whilst being pressed up against him in a space far too small for two adults to spend this much time in. And then Joe's lashes fluttered as he looked down at your lips and...
Joe was in love with you?
Had that registered properly?
Were you able to process that right now?
Fingers then curled around your neck, and soft palms pressed up underneath your jaw.
For a moment, you just stood like that. Shaky breaths, trying to stay quiet still, and God, it was so fucking hot in there.
But there was not a chance you were going to break away now.
This coat closet suddenly was the exact right place you needed to be.
You were already so tense, were still sweating from the panicked search for the rings, and then tension built up even further as your noses touched.
"I care,"
You automatically closed your eyes and let your mouth fall open in a little gasp before you kissed Joe. It felt like he'd been waiting, because the frevour with which he returned the kiss was on a whole different level. Joe guided your head, turned it so he got the best access and licked his way into your mouth like a starved man.
It made all tension slip off of you.
The shakes you had earlier, when you had help Mark get ready? You could feel them pour from your finger tips. The anxiety you'd felt when you'd ran into Joe in the corridor? Ran down your frame like water off a duck's back.
Joe was making out with you, and it was a perfect push and pull of hot breath, wet lips and soft tongues.
It was really fucking hot, and you allowed yourself to forget everything for a second.
You couldn't forget that you had to stay quiet.
No noises allowed.
You couldn't make any sounds. If you didn't, this would last longer, so you really tried.
Your hands found Joe's hair, and you let your fingers slip into it, scraping his scalp as you did and it made Joe pull your face back a little.
"Don't," he mouthed, worried he was going to be the one to make a noise, but dove back into your mouth immediately.
It made your knees nearly give out. You were folding. Folding hard, and folding fast.
So.
You knew you were hiding in a closet with two of your friends on the other side of the doors somewhere still, but, how much convincing would you need to do to let Joe finish what he'd started weeks ago?
The second you thought it, you heard Joe's throat stutter.
Probably not a lot, then.
You wrapped both arms around Joe's neck and were about to hike up a leg, let Joe know what you wanted from him, but, that ruined everything.
Because your knee knocked into the panel behind Joe loudly.
The two of you stilled instantly, and your face grimaced. That hurt, but moreso, that was far too loud for Mark and Poppy not to have heard.
Shit.
You waited in complete silence, frozen on the spot, breaths held, both with huge eyes, and listened for a reaction.
But you got none.
It was silent in the hotel suite, and for a moment, you considered just opening the door and peeking out. Maybe they had left already. There was a huge chance you hadn't noticed.
But then, footsteps.
"Okay, let's go!" Poppy said, her voice raised to a volume it didn't need for Mark to hear her.
"The ceremony is in about half an hour, best not be late!" Mark replied, uncharacteristically chipper, voice becoming louder as he walked right past the coat closet that held the two of you inside.
You were holding your breath for fear of Mark hearing you and pulling open the doors to reveal the two of you completely entangled with each other.
That didn't happen though.
Instead, you heard the door open, heard them walk out, and then heard the door fall shut.
It took less than a second for the two of you to fall out of the closet into the cool air of the hotel suite.
And there it was.
Sat right in the middle of the hotel suite, promptly placed centre stage so you couldn't possibly miss it.
The red ring box.
Fuck.
They had obviously heard you.
You picked it up and turned to show Joe, but when you made eye-contact, the both of you gasped.
Your lipstick was fucking everywhere.
Joe looked shocked and anticipated your panicked state to fully grab a hold of you again. He was ready to go straight back into apologising. Reassuring. Calming you down. Comforting you.
But then you burst out into laughter.
This was so stupid.
Joe didn't know if you were laughing at the absurdity of the situation, or if you were laughing at what he looked like with lipstick smeared all over his face. He didn't care. You were laughing, and it felt like genuine, honest laughter. Sounded like music.
"Come here," you said and beckoned him to follow you into the bathroom where you still couldn't stop the giggles as you opened a packet of make-up wipes.
"Oh Jesus," you said when you saw your own reflection, and the laughter picked up once more.
Joe couldn't help but laugh along.
This was a delicious way to break any and all tension, and Joe knew he'd be apologising for... well, for forever. But it'd be worth it.
You knew Joe loved you now.
With a smile still plastered on your face, you took hold of Joe by the chin and with a wipe wrapped around your fingers, started cleaning off the maroon smudges.
"My eyelids, Joe?"
Joe grimaced, but let out a huffed laugh as he did. He blushed and looked down as he pursed his lips, trying to minimize the smile he had going.
"Well, anywhere, really," Joe couldn't lie. He didn't just want to kiss you on the eyelids. He kind of wanted to kiss you all over.
His answer made your breath hitch in your throat as your face slowly fell.
Joe was in love with you.
You didn't understand how that could be true. How that could even work.
Joe didn't say anything, but watched as the cogs turned in your head and you stared right at his chest with the make-up wipe hovering in front of him for a moment.
Joe was in love with you.
Suddenly your snapped back up at him.
"I'm still mad at you,"
"Yes, of course," Joe immediately accepted the fact that you were.
"That's going to take me a minute,"
"I'll make it up to you," Joe smiled sweetly as his eyebrows knitted together.
He looked cute like that.
"I'm not sure if you can,"
Another silence lingered, and you decided it didn't need more words from you. So you got back to ridding Joe's face off of your make-up, and then bent closer towards the mirror and cleaned up your own face. Joe gazed at you intently as you did, and when you made eye-contact through the mirror, he loudly cleared his throat and pretended something needed doing outside of the bathroom.
Joe was an idiot.
Made you smile.
Ugh. Fuck.
Yea all right. You guessed Joe's awkwardness could be cute now, or whatever.
Jesus Christ.
You finished redoing your lipstick, and you could still faintly see how the smears had stained your skin, but this was going to have to do.
You were going to go down and get through this wedding and pretend nothing had happened and you were ready for it. Were going to power through this. You were tough. And strong. You were going to give a killer speech, make sure the cake cutting happened at the right exact time, and would get enough people to fill out the dance floor in the right amount of time with the right music playing.
You were an amazing best man, and this was the time to really fucking prove it to everyone.
You stepped out of that bathroom, chest puffed out, shoulders pushed back with your back as straight as you were going to get it.
You felt like superwoman.
"Ready? Let's go." you didn't wait for Joe to answer as you marched towards the door.
"Um," Joe said, and you heard the soft snap of the ringbox closing.
"Oh my God,"
You were an idiot.
Joe threw you the box, and you caught it with one hand, impressing yourself as well as Joe. You gave the small little red box a once over in your palm as Joe walked past you, opening the door before stepping aside to let you through first.
"Hey,"
Joe stopped you right in the doorway, fingers around your arm the way Joe always seemed to stop you.
You looked at each other a second, and you could see his eyes flick down towards your lips again.
"Fresh lipstick, Joe," you commented, but couldn't help the curling of the corners of your mouth.
"I didn't say anything," Joe feigned innocence. Pretended he didn't want to bend down to give you another kiss. But in a second, you'd be at Mark and Poppy's wedding and it would be all about them.
About Mark and Poppy. About Poppy and Mark. Not about you. Or about him. Or about you and him. Him and you.
And you felt it. Felt what Joe felt. Almost wished you didn't, but not because you didn't want to, but because the timing of it was so awful.
"Here,"
You had an idea. A risky one. But you were going to go for it. Because Joe was in love with you.
You took hold of his wrist, and raised Joe hand to your mouth where you pressed a soft kiss right into his palm.
It made Joe groan as you made eye-contact with him.
You checked and saw you left a perfect kiss print on his skin, and just to be a little gross, because you really were angry with him still, you followed it up with a quick lick. It made Joe pull back his hand as he laughed.
"Let's go," you fought a smile of your own as you both left the hotel suite, ready to make your way down to see your best friends get married to each other.
Joe was in love with you.
And you couldn't fucking believe it, and definitely weren't going to admit it. Not to Joe. Not to yourself. Not to anyone. Not today, at least.
But Joe was in love with you, and you were in love with Joe.
Joe was in love with you.
And you were in love with Joe. ---
(just letting you know, once again, this is NOT the end, there WILL be a final part!)
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