#chris hemsworth fan fiction

[chickensarentcheap]

Lost and Found - Chapter 30

Fandom: Extraction

Pairing: Tyler Rake and Esme Drummond (OFC. You do not have to read the original series to understand this fic)

Warnings: slight profanity

It's a lot of dialogue. Sorry :(

Tagging: @tragiclyhip @themaradwrites @secretaryunpaid @youflickedtooharddamnit @munstysmind @karimac @ninjasawakenedmystar @thebejeweledwatercat @alisbackalleybbq @asirensrage @residentdormouse @fanficanatic-tw @kmc1989 @arrthurpendragon @ocappreciationtag @occommunity

Link to Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43179357/chapters/139296199

My tag list is OPEN. Just let me know if you’d lke to be added :D

****

“I figure in a couple of days we’ll go into town. Get you and Millie all the things you still need.”

His voice is raw and husky; laced with both sleep and contentment as it rumbles deep within his chest. Scarred and misshapen knuckles repeatedly skim the length of her spine; their naked bodies pressed tightly together, caught in a mess of rumpled sheets and tangled limbs. Spent and sated; droplets of perspiration littering their skin and gathering at their temples and the napes of their necks. Their lovemaking had been uncharacteristically slow and tender; a combination of reconnecting and worshipping one another’s bodies and his desire to not cause any more discomfort as she continues her recovery.

“It’s a pretty lengthy list.” Her head rests on his chest; eyes closed as the fingers of one hand lazily trace the tattoo that graces his ribs. “We didn’t exactly come with much. Lots of things were left behind. At Alessio’s.”

“Doesn’t matter how much there is. I don’t care how many lists there are. Whatever you guys need…fuck, whatever you guys WANT…we get. Simple as that.”

“You’re going to create a hell of a predicament for yourself,” she chides and repeatedly brushes the tip of her nose along his collarbone. “People are going to think you hooked up with a gold digger.”

“Yeah, right,” Tyler chuckles, palm briefly lingering at the small of her back, calloused fingertips drifting over the curve of each buttock. “Because there’s just so much gold to dig for.”

“You know what people are like. They talk. It’s what they do.”

“I don’t give a shit. You should know that by now. Besides, you stuck around when I didn’t even have anything to offer you. Just tons of baggage and a shack in the outback. I think it’s safe to say you’re not with me for money.”

“Of course, I’m not with you for money.” She presses a series of kisses along his jaw. “I’m with you for your body.”

“As ancient and crumbling as it is?”

“It’s beautiful.” Lightly scraping the fingernails on one hand down his chest, she speaks between kisses and gentle nibbles on the side of his neck. “So…so…so beautiful.”

“And fat.”

She laughs against his Adam’s apple. “I did not call you fat. I called you thick. And I said it with love and admiration. And insane amounts of animalistic lust.”

His fingertips glide across her shoulders, then down the backs of her arms.“My favourite kind.”

“Mine too.” She rests her head in the nook between neck and shoulder, nose pressed against the long-healed bullet wound in the side of his throat. Her eyes closed as she reaches up to comb a hand through his longer strands of hair; allowing them to slip between her fingers before repeatedly curling and twisting sections around her index and middle fingers.

“Whatever you and Millie need, we’ll get it taken care of. Doesn’t matter how long the list is. Gotta take care of my girls, ya?”

“I like how that sounds. ‘Your girls’. There’s something so sweet about it. So…romantic. In a Tyler sort of way.”

“I can’t believe you’d call me romantic and sweet in the same sentence. What did I ever do to deserve that?”

“Listen, I know you have a reputation to uphold, but you DO have your moments. Where you’re just the softest, loveliest, cutest man on earth. You bring your own brand of romance to the table. And it’s perfect. For me, anyway.”

“Ever thought maybe you’re the one that brings all that out? That I’m not like that with everyone?”

“I already know you’re not. In the same way that I know how lucky I am. I get ALL of you. The REAL you. You’ve never hidden that from me. Not even in Dhaka.”

“I’ve never felt a reason to hide anything. Even back then. Something told me you were good people. That I could trust you. And believe me, I hadn’t felt that way about anyone in a long time. If I ever even did.”

“You trust Nik. And Yaz.”

“That’s different. That’s pretty much all business. Related to the job. I know that they always have my back. That they’ll step up if things go bad.”

“You trust them with me, don’t you? And Millie?”

“Not in the way I trust myself with the two of you.”

“That’s because you know what you’re capable of. You don’t second guess your skills or the things you can do. And you’ve always been protective of me. EXTREMELY protective. OVERLY, at times. Now add Millie to the mix…”

“I know that no one can take care of things the way I can; that the two of you are safest with me. Because I won’t fuck up. I won’t let that happen. Someone even thinks of coming near you and Millie, it’ll be the last thing they do, believe me.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. That everything just stays calm and peaceful. That we can just let Nik and her people handle things in New York while we do our own thing here. I just want to concentrate on us. And Millie. On being a family.”

“We’ll just take it one day at a time. Concentrate on getting past what happened.”

“Do you mean in New York City? Or me taking off and never telling you about Millie?”

“Look at me…” Pushing a hand into her hair, he gently tugs on the dark tresses; encouraging her to lift her head from his chest. “...I forgive you. I know you’re having a hard time accepting that, but I do. Yeah, sometimes I’m still pissed and sometimes it hurts like hell. But I DO forgive you.”

“Just like that? Just so easily?”

“I love you. I never STOPPED loving you. And you had your reasons; for making the decisions that you did. I don’t pretend to completely understand them. Not right now, anyway. But one day I will, I’m sure.”

“I really did do it to protect you. I didn’t want anything happening to you., Tyler. And I never would have forgiven myself; if I permanently lost you because of a mistake I made. It just sucks that in the end, all I did was hurt you.”

“That’s not entirely true though, is it? I mean, I AM alive. Nothing happened to me. And things would have gone really bad if the High Table had shown up while I was there. So you DID do the right thing. If you hadn’t left, we wouldn’t be here right now. And Millie wouldn’t even exist. They wouldn’t have cared. If you were pregnant. It wouldn’t have stopped them from killing you.”

“I don’t even like thinking about that. Her NOT being here. She’s everything I ever wanted. And everything I don’t deserve.”

“There you go selling yourself short again. You deserve so much, Esme. You’re not the monster you think you are. Far from it.”

“Boy, deja vu. I seem to remember saying those EXACT same words. More than once.”

“And I learned, didn’t I? It finally got through to me.”

“You’re a lot better, that’s for sure. You’re not filled with as much self-hatred as you used to be. You know what that means, don’t you?”

“What?”

“You really can teach an old dog new tricks.”

Tyler smirks. “You are such a bitch.”

Esme laughs when he aggressively slaps and pinches her ass, then gives a content sigh when he kisses her; long and languid and deep, naked limbs sliding along one another and against the cool, wrinkled sheets. Her breath soft against his skin when she once more rests her head on the centre of his chest; her fingers drawing continuous circles around his navel while his repeatedly comb through her hair.

*****

He finds himself teetering on the edge of sleep when he feels her move against him; placing a forearm across his torso, her chin resting upon it as she peers up at him.

Pressing a kiss to her nose, his hand slides to the nape of her neck. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

“How have things been? With you?”

“You mean in general, or…?”

“In the last two, three years. That’s when you started scaling back on things, right? Trying your hand at a more normal life.”

“Nothing’s been normal about my life. Not for a long time. And especially not since you left.”

“I mean stuff like firefighting. And starting your business. How HAVE things been?”

“Guess I overestimated your spying abilities,” he teases and skims his knuckles across her cheek. “I thought you knew everything there was to know.”

“My spying stopped at your personal life. I knew the basics; the firefighting and how you started your own business. To be honest, I think I was scared to venture past those things.”

Cradling her cheek in his palm, he brushes the pad of his thumb over her lips. “Scared? Of what?”

“Finding out you were with someone. I know that sounds pretty stupid, considering I’m the one who fucked everything up. You had every right to go on with your life; to meet someone and fall in love and everything else that comes after that.”

“I was already in love. With YOU. And that wasn’t going to change.”

“Were you with other people? Other than Delaney.”

“Maybe in the biblical sense.”

“THAT I expected. For you to go back to sowing your wild oats all over the place.”

“Wasn’t all over the place. Just the vast majority of the northern territory. Well, the western part of it, anyway.”

“Oh, lovely. Does this mean I’m going to go to the grocery store and meet up with all kinds of women you’ve bumped uglies with?”

“I never pissed in my own front yard. It would have been too fucking awkward; running into a bunch of one-night stands.”

“I am marrying a whore,” she laughs, and presses a chaste kiss to the corner of his mouth. Briefly capturing his bottom lip between teeth when she pulls away.

“I promise you won’t run into any of my conquests while picking Millie up at school or grabbing something at Maccas.”

“Good. Because the last thing I want is to be sharing stories about your dick and its abilities while I’m in line at the store, waiting to buy shit tickets. “

He arches a quizzical brow. “Shit tickets?”

“Toilet paper.”

“And you say us Aussies have weird slang.”

“You know how long it took me to get used to the words you’d use in conversation? Or even your accent for that matter? It wasn’t that easy; trying to decipher exactly WHAT you were saying half the time. I remember how strong it got; when we were living in The Kimberley. I guess it was from being home so much.”

“Think it was easy getting used to you? You’ve got a pretty wicked accent yourself.”

“I most certainly do not.”

“You do.”

“I’m from Colorado. People from Colorado do NOT have accents.”

Raising his head from his pillow, he presses a kiss to her brow. “Trust me, babe. You do.”

“So other than Delaney…” A fingertip drifts over the scar that runs over the bridge of his nose. “...it was just one-night stands? No relationships?”

“No relationships.”

“Why?”

“I didn’t want to be in one.”

“Didn’t want to be in one or couldn’t find anyone worthy enough to be in one with?”

“A mix of both, maybe. I didn’t want anyone else, Esme. Not in that way. A serious way. I wanted YOU. And if it meant I waited forever or you never found your back…”

“You would have found someone eventually. Someone that you’d fall madly in love with. Marry, have a family…”

“No. I wouldn’t have. Because that is everything I wanted with YOU. Not anyone else.”

“You don’t think you could have learned to love her? Delaney? That you could have moved on and…”

“How could I move on when I was still in love with you? When I always would be in love with you. And why are we even having this conversation? This is supposed to be the start. Of everything. Of US. And talking about this…”

“I’m just curious. Trying to fill in the gaps, I guess. Because I love you and I want to know what I missed. Even if it makes me uncomfortable.”

“You didn’t miss much, believe me.”

“Do you like it? Firefighting?”

“It’s a job. The pay’s decent. Got a little bit of edge. Keeps me busy, at least.”

“You’ve never been one to sit still for very long. Not that surprising you’d thrive at something that keeps you on your toes all the time.”

“I don’t know how much it keeps me on my toes. Not the busiest area. We don’t get a lot of action. I do get a lot of cats out of trees, though.” He gives a playful wink. “And ladies love a guy in uniform, so…”

“I’ve yet to see you in uniform, but I bet you’re hot as fuck. Especially in your turn-out gear.”

“I didn’t think you’d be into that kind of thing. Seeing as your brother is a firefighter.”

“Believe me, Tae. Nothing about you could ever remind me of my brother.”

His eyes close as her fingertips explore the scar on the left side of his forehead and the second one lower on his cheekbone. It’s a form of intimacy as its purest and most innocent of roots; the soft and tender touch of a lover who adores and worships you. Who knows every inch of your body; every blemish, every imperfection. And it’s a closeness…a level of trust and vulnerability…that he’s never experienced with anyone but her.

“What about the business? I assume that’s doing pretty good.”

“Better than I ever thought it would. Got a lot of regular clients, and more and more are coming aboard all the time.”

“Do you have people that work for you?”

“I have a few full-time guys. That deal with the heavy-duty stuff; concentrate on the real manual labour. And a handful of students who help out on weekends and during school breaks. They do small repairs, landscaping stuff, things like that.”

“Who’s in charge while you’re on your little sabbatical?”

“Koen’s my right-hand man. The guy that I trust with everything. Things are being taken care of. I’m not worried about it.”

“I knew you’d find something you’d be amazing at. You always liked working with your hands; doing your own repairs on your truck, putting up the walls and installing the new windows in that little shack of yours.”

“Of OURS.”

“Millie’s really going to get on you, you know. About that treehouse. And she’s definitely going to want to be your little helper. She loves to create. Build things. She’s got a real talent for things like that.”

“I’ll have to get her own stuff. Some tools and a toolbelt, little hardhat, some steel-toed boots.”

“She’ll love that. And probably drive us completely nuts trying to fix everything around here.”

“I’ll start her out slow. Small projects. Birdhouses, flower boxes, some planters for the garden. I promise I’ll keep her away from the power tools.”

“You’re going to have to really watch out for her. Because that child? YOUR child? Isn’t just headstrong, she is completely fearless. I wonder where she gets THAT from?”

“Her mother.”

“Hardly.”

“Well, it’s not from me, that’s for sure. ‘Cause there’s plenty of things I’m afraid of. And they all seem to involve you.”

Sighing, she presses a series of soft kisses along the scar that mars his left shoulder. “I know it did a real number on you. The accident. Seeing me like that. It’s definitely bothering you way more than you’re letting on.”

“I’m not shy. I admit it fucked me right up. All the things I’ve been through? All the people I’ve gone up against? I’ve never…EVER…been that scared. Seeing you like that? Not knowing if you were alive or dead? And if you were alive, was someone going to show up to finish things off? That was…rough.”

“For what it’s worth, I’m really proud of you. For how you handled things. Not just with getting me out of there and making sure I survived, but everything AFTER that. How you just took control. Stepped up. You were banged up and exhausted and hurting and you did what you wanted to do. For Millie. Just focused on her. Took care of her.”

“Why wouldn’t I have done all that? She’s my baby, too. My little girl.”

“It was all still so fresh. So new. You’d barely had a chance to catch your breath. Coming face to face with me, finding out you were a dad again. You had your entire world turned upside down. You…”

“No. I didn’t. I got my entire world BACK.”

His honesty is raw. Real. Powerful. Succeeding in both taking her breath away and bringing tears to her eyes.

*****

“So is this where I get to ask questions now?” His fingers move in slow, methodical circles on the small of her back. “When it comes to what you’ve been doing the last five years?”

“What more is there to know? Didn’t we cover all the bases?”

“Not quite.”

“There’s not much more to tell. Not anything of interest, anyway.”

“You didn’t work or anything? What did you do with your spare time?”

“I picked up jobs here and there. For Nik. Things I could just do from home. Background checks, basic research and tracking people down. Nothing that would draw a lot of attention. So I could stay under the radar. Or try to, at least.”

“Well, you did a pretty good job hiding from me, that’s for sure.”

“We’ve talked about this. I wasn’t hiding from you. Not intentionally, anyway. It was all so complicated. I had to protect Millie. Both of her parents were still in the life. In some way. And we’d both burned a lot of bridges and made a lot of enemies. I couldn’t take the chance that someone would come after her. I just couldn’t.”

“There were other reasons, too. You know there were.”

“Selfish ones. Staying away had nothing to do with you and EVERYTHING to do with me. You know that. We’ve been through it how many times now? It was never about you, Tyler. Not in the way you think it was. At first, it was about protecting you. Then Millie. And finally, it became about myself. Because…to make a long story short… I was a stupid, insecure little girl.”

“You’re not any of those things. It was just a messy situation. All around.” Tangling his fingers in her hair, he pulls her towards him, lips meeting the bridge of her nose. “What else did you do? Other than helping out Nik?”

“Just took care of Millie, mostly. Devoted myself to being a mom. I joined a couple of those mom and baby groups; just to get out of the house and socialize and try and make friends. When she was a few months old, I even signed us up for yoga classes and water aerobics. Millie always loved the water. She was always so comfortable in it. Confident, even.”

“She’s gonna love it here, then. Trips to the beach, being able to swim in the ocean.”

“Except for the fact the thought of an encounter with a shark will be exciting to her. She’ll probably pray for it to happen. I am telling you, that girl is fearless. She’s so much like you, Tyler. More than just the physical. There’s so much of you in her. And it was kinda bittersweet, you know? Seeing you every time I looked at her but knowing I couldn’t actually be with you.”

“I mean, you could have been. But…”

“But I was a stupid little bitch. Like I said. That’s something that will eat at me for the rest of my life, believe me.”

“I don’t want it to. And I’m sorry I bring it up so much. Make you talk about it. Explain yourself. That’s not fair.”

“If anyone has the right to bring it up, it’s you.”

“I don’t want to be that kind of person. I want to be better than that. For you. And Millie.”

“I remember the first time you told me that. How I made you want to be a better man.”

“It’s true. You do.”

“I never considered you a bad man in the first place. A good man who made bad decisions, yes. But bad to your very core? Not even close.”

“You always have been full of shit,” He teases, and curls an arm around her neck, drawing her into a long, deep kiss. His lips against her temple when she settles her head on his shoulder, her eyes closed as his fingertips repeatedly graze up and down her bicep. “Tell me about the guy.”

Her hand slips lazily across his collarbone, down his chest, briefly settling on his stomach before travelling back up again. Finally coming to rest on the side of his neck, nails lightly and repeatedly scratching against the skin. “What guy?”

“The one you dated. In New York. The cop. Or detective. Or whatever the hell he was.”

Esme raises her head from his shoulder, a grin tugging at the corners of her mouth. “How did you know about him?”

“A little birdie told me.”

“A little birdie, huh? What did you bribe her with? Two scoops of mint chocolate chip instead of one? Unlimited Bluey viewing on your cell phone?”

“I promised her a Porsche when she turned sixteen.”

“I wouldn’t put anything past you. You’re going to spoil her rotten.”

“I didn’t have to promise her anything. She just offered the information.”

“Out of nowhere? She just suddenly started talking about my personal life?”

“I MAY have asked her about it.”

“Mmmhmmm.”

“Okay, so I did. I DID ask her. If you’d ever had a boyfriend. I was curious. I wanted to know.”

“Curious, huh?”

“And a bit jealous.”

“Just a bit?”

“A lot.”

“Why are you like this? When it comes to me and other men?”

“Like what? What am I like?”

“Self-conscious. You’ve always been. Even at the very beginning of things. And believe me…” Slipping out of bed, she stretches languorously before padding towards the dresser; a pair of plaid pyjama bottoms and tank top folded neatly on top. “...you do not come across as someone who would be self-conscious.”

“Did I say you could get out of bed? That you could put clothes on? There’s a strict ‘no clothes allowed’ rule in this room. Once that door closes…”

“I know what Millie’s like; if she wakes up in the middle of the night. She’ll come looking for me. And the last thing we need is her seeing both of us in all our naked glory.” Climbing into her pyjamas, she tosses his discarded sweats in his direction. “And don’t do that. Deflect. Answer my question.”

“I’m old.” He grimaces as he swings his legs over the side of the bed, moving slowly as he puts one leg into the pants, followed by the other. Knees cracking when he stands to pull them up. “ My brain is mush. I already forgot what the question was.”

“I asked why you are the way you are. When it comes to me and other men. Why do you always get so bent out of shape about it?”

“I don’t get bent out of shape.”

“You do.” Removing her hair out of the back of her tank top, she moves back to bed; fluffing and moulding her pillows and arranging them to her specification. “And I don’t get it. There’s nothing for you to get prickly about.”

“Like you don’t get prickly about my ex-wife. Or Delaney.”

“Being curious is not the same as being prickly. What is your hang-up? When it comes to me and other people?” She gives a content sigh when she slips back into bed, settling her head on a pillow before rolling onto her side to face him. “It’s not like any of them are still in the picture. And even if they were, they still wouldn’t be a threat to you.”

“I don’t see them as a threat. I know what I bring to the table. It’s not about feeling threatened.”

“What’s it about then?”

“I just don’t like it. You being with other guys.”

“I mean, I was married, remember? I’ve had boyfriends. And girlfriends, for that matter.”

“Since you left?”

“I’m talking about throughout my entire life. And did you honestly think I wouldn’t date? Or at least try to? That I would have just spent the last five years completely alone?”

“You know how you said you were okay with me going on with my life? Meeting someone else? Falling in love, getting married, all that shit?”

Esme nods.

“I’m not that gracious. Not by a long shot. I didn’t want you with anyone else.”

“For the rest of my life?”

“Well...yeah.”

“You’re being ridiculous.” She reaches for him. “Come to bed.”

“So was this guy the real deal? Someone you could have moved on with? Gotten your ‘always and forever, happily ever after’ with? Totally forget about me and…”

“Tyler, I was never going to forget about you. I carried your child inside of me. Gave birth to her. She looks just like you. Kinda hard to forget you when I’m looking at your clone every damn day. Add the fact that I was still in love with you and always would be into the mix…”

“Would you have moved on with him? Gotten married, had more kids? All of that?”

“All of that was what I wanted with you. ONLY you. So no, none of that would have ever happened. I didn’t want that life with anyone else. Just you. And if that meant I never got any of that, oh well. Now…” She pats the empty spot beside her. “...come to bed. Please? I’ll answer whatever questions you have., but just come to bed. Because you standing there like that? It’s making me incredibly anxious.”

He relents. Laying on his side with her back pressed against his front and forearm draped across her collarbone. And he presses a kiss to the back of her head before resting his cheek against hers. “What was his name?”

“Don. His name was Don. And he was a detective. Homicide.”

“How the hell did you ever meet him?”

“I worked a small job for Nik. Nothing serious. I had to find my way into the main evidence locker at One Police Plaza and steal some papers related to an old case.”

“What the fuck….?”

“Someone hired Nik because an old money laundering and embezzlement case they were involved in was going to be reopened. And if that happened, it was going to cause a big old shitstorm; he had some big-name contacts and clients of his own that would be exposed. Some really well-known people, too. Politicians, lawyers, judges. And if all that got out…”

“Heads would roll. Most likely literally.”

“Exactly. So Nik and Yaz created an entire persona for me. I had the credentials; photo identification, passport, fake driver’s licence.”

“Who were you supposed to be?”

“An agent with Homeland Security.”

“Jesus Christ. And you don’t consider THAT serious?”

“You know, for such a huge police department with apparently the best security in the country, they were sure easy to fool. It was like taking candy from a baby. I was in and out of there in ten minutes. Not even.”

“I don’t know whether to be impressed or pissed off. That you even put yourself in a situation like that. Especially with Millie in the picture. If you’d gotten caught…”

“But I didn’t. Well, not until about six months later. But that comes further in the story.”

“So the cop…”

“We met in the elevator. I was running to catch it and he held the door open for me.”

Tyler scoffs. “What a gentleman.”

She scowls over her shoulder. “I thought you promised you wouldn’t get prickly.”

“I’m not getting prickly. I just…”

“YOU asked,” she reminds him. “You wanted to know these things, right? You have questions. I’m just answering them. Do you REALLY want to hear this stuff? Or do you just want to be angry about something?”

“I’m not prickly. Or angry. I’m jealous.”

“Of what?”

“Of anyone that even looks at you the wrong way.”

“Oh for God’s sake…”

“I was never like this before. I never used to give a shit about this kind of thing. I didn’t care how many people my ex dated or fucked before me. Because I was always so far up my own ass that I knew I was better than anyone that came before me. Sometimes I miss that guy.”

“The guy you were before me.”

“I was a drunk and a drug addict before you. So, no.”

“You weren’t ALWAYS that way. You didn’t always have those issues.”

“But I was a prick in other ways.”

“I liked the guy you were when we met. Yeah, you were messy and you had your issues, but so did I. I wasn’t a picnic, either. We were both fucked up. But it didn’t stop me from falling in love with you. And staying that way.”

“And now?”

“Now I like you even more. I’m glad you’re not totally up your own ass, as you put it. I like that you’re not afraid to talk about the hard things. That you’re able to admit you’re self-conscious or…”

“I never admitted to that.”

“Or you’re feeling spiteful or hateful or jealous. I mean, as weird as it sounds, everyone should want their man to be that way. Just completely honest. Because it doesn’t do anyone a lick of good if they keep that all bottled up.”

“So what you’re saying is that it’s okay to be a prickly asshole.”

“Don’t push your luck, Tyler.”

Grinning, he =presses a kiss to her temple. “So, this guy…”

“What more is there to know? You asked how I met him. I told you. What more do you need?”

“You just chatted in an elevator and hooked up with him, or…?”

“He asked me out for an Irish coffee. I said yes. It was as simple as that.”

“Irish coffee, huh? So that’s what the kids are calling it these days.”

“We went out. One date turned into two, two turned into three. Three turned into a relationship.”

“A serious one, or…”

“I mean, we were exclusive. We didn’t date other people. We just…I don’t know…we just did our thing.”

“Did you do HIM?”

“Tyler…”

“I want to know, okay? I NEED to know.”

“Why?”

“Because I do.”

Sighing, she presses a kiss to his forearm, then rolls over to face him. “That’s not an acceptable answer for anyone over seven.”

“Did you? I mean, I think I already know the answer, but…”

“I didn’t sleep with him. And believe me, it wasn’t for lack of opportunity. I won’t lie to you; we did other things and I enjoyed them. I enjoyed them a lot, actually. It was nice; to feel beautiful and wanted and to have someone completely and utterly devoted to you.”

“I would have given you all that. I DID give you all that.”

“And I WANTED it to be you. More than I ever wanted anything in my entire life. But it wasn’t a good time. To just show up on your doorstep. It was all so complicated. Confusing. And I needed to protect Millie. We’ve both burned a lot of bridges, Tyler. Crossed a lot of really bad people. I couldn’t put her at risk. I just couldn’t.”

“But you can now?”

“So much has changed. We’re both walking away. From this life. And I know all of this probably doesn’t make much sense to you. But it makes sense to me.”

“And you couldn’t seal the deal with this guy because…”

“Because it wasn’t fair. To him. To let things get THAT serious. He was a good man and he was great to me and Millie. But I couldn’t give him THAT. That part of me. I just couldn’t. And he didn’t realize it and I never told him about you, but It was always a competition. Between you and him. Everything he did, everything he said. All I would think about is how YOU would handle things. The things YOU would say. And I tried; I really did. But he deserved better than that; a woman who thought of someone else every time he touched or kissed her. That wasn’t fair to him. He wasn’t a bad person. Far from it.”

“I kind of feel bad now. For handling the five years like I did. Me and my wandering dick.”

“Why would you feel bad? Those were my issues. Not yours. You had every right to go on; to deal with things however way you wanted to. You were the one that got hurt.”

“Sometimes I wonder if you hurt yourself more than you hurt me.”

“It wasn’t easy. I didn’t want to leave. And I didn’t want all that time to go by; flying under the radar and keeping Millie a secret. But it was so complicated. The lives we were both living. It was never to punish you or hurt you. It was to protect you. And her.”

He nods slowly, considering her words. “So is that why things went bad? Between you and the cop? ‘Cause you wouldn’t pull the trigger?”

“He was very understanding. Very patient. He just assumed I’d come out of a bad situation and I just wasn’t ready for that kind of thing. And I didn’t bother telling him any differently.”

“So what happened? What made him walk?”

“You mean there’s something the little birdie DIDN’T tell you?”

“She did. But I’d rather hear it from you. How’d he find out? About who you REALLY were?”

“I told him.”

“That was risky.”

“Once I realized he was getting more serious and deeper into things than I expected him to, I just couldn’t do it anymore. I’d spent six months with him; half a year pretending to be someone I wasn’t.”

“Were you getting more serious about things? About HIM?”

“I mean, I liked him. I was attracted to him. And he was very good to me and Millie. He spoiled the hell out of her and she liked having him around; he took her to baseball and hockey games, they went to the zoo and the movies, he braved the Macy’s toy department more than once.”

“And I want to be happy about all that, but…”

“You weren’t there, Tyler. Through no fault of your own. Millie needed someone. A father figure. She wanted someone like that in her life.”

“She had someone like that. She had a DAD. That would have been there had he known she even existed.”

“And THIS is why I didn’t want to talk about this stuff. No matter what I say or do, it’s only going to upset you. You say you want to know everything, but deep down…”

“I have a right to know all of this stuff. I haven’t hid anything from you. About what I was up to in the last five years. I was totally honest about Delaney. It should go both ways, don’t you think?”

“I don’t want to fight. I get it; you’re hurt and you’re angry and you need to take it out on someone. I get it, Tyler. And I don’t blame you for feeling the way you do. You have every right to be pissed. But do you REALLY want to keep doing this? Bringing it up over and over again? Finding fault in everything I say? You tell me you want to hear these things and then…”

“I’m not trying to fight.” He uses his fingertips to clear hair away from the side of her face and loop it behind her ears, then presses a soft, reassuring kiss to her lips. “And I’m sorry. For acting like a prick sometimes.”

“I never said THAT.”

“Not in so many words.”

“I’m not trying to take away how you feel. You have every right to be pissed off. And hurt. You even have the right to take it out on me. But…”

“I don’t have that right. At all. And I don’t mean to do it. I know it hurts you. And you’re the last person I ever want to hurt, believe me.”

“We need help, Tyler. PROFESSIONAL help. Or we’re GOING to need it. To get past all of this. To deal with how we’re both feeling. You and your anger and your hurt and me and my regret and my guilt. I don’t think we can do it alone. Or that it’s healthy for either of us to even try.”

“You want me to see a shrink.”

“Not a shrink. A counsellor. And not just you. US. Someone who can sit with us and help us unpack all of this and work through it. I think deep down, you realize we need it. That kind of help.”

“If you think that’s the way to go…”

“I think it’s something we need to at least try. And then just go from there.”

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Including THAT.”

“Now that’s true love,” she teases, and presses a chaste to the corner of his mouth. “And I think it might do Millie some good, too. To talk to someone. She’s been through a lot; seen and heard things no kid should ever have to. I know she’s a tough little thing, but I also know she’s a lot like you; when it comes to shoving things down and pretending they don’t exist. I don’t want her growing up like that. And I know you don’t either.”

“I don’t. I don’t want that at all. Whatever she needs…whatever WE need…we’ll make it happen.”

Smiling, she kisses him; long and soft and sweet. And when she pulls away, his palm still cradles the side of her face; thumb repeatedly brushing against her cheek. “I didn’t love him.”

“I never…”

“You were going to ask. I knew it was coming.”

“Not even a little bit?”

“I was attracted to him. I cared for him. Deeply. But I didn’t love him. And I don’t think I ever would have.”

“He must have loved you. He just let you walk. After he found out the truth.”

“Maybe? I don’t know. He never said he did. Sometimes I felt, you know? And I wasn’t ready for that. I probably never would have been. None of it was fair to him; lying about who I was, allowing him to get so close, letting him think that maybe there was some kind of future…a happy ever after…in the cards. He deserved a lot better than that. A lot better than ME.”

“You’re not a horrible person, Esme. You’re…”

“I hurt people. Even the ones I love the most. It’s who I am. It’s what I do.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it. You didn’t do things because you wanted to. You did them because you HAD to. It was just part of the job. If you didn’t lie about who you were, the ending would have been a lot worse than fucking up some guy’s ego.”

“I should have never gotten involved with him. I should have done everything possible to just keep my distance. But I was lonely. I wanted someone in my life. Maybe not to have a serious thing with; I didn’t want to live with someone or get married or grow old and gray with them. He made me feel beautiful. He made me feel wanted. I hadn’t felt that in so long. And if I couldn’t get it from the person I wanted it from, I had to settle. SETTLE. How horrible does that make me sound? Talking about another human being like that?”

“It doesn’t sound horrible. It sounds…”

“Needy? Desperate?”

“No. It just sounds…sad.”

“Sad as in pathetic or…?”

“YOU sound sad. When you talk about it. And you must have been sad when it was happening.”

“I missed you. Every second of every day. And it got worse when Millie came along. I had wanted to be a mom for so long. And I finally had this beautiful little girl. Everything I ever longed for. But I couldn’t share her with you. And that wasn’t fair. To either of us. Or you.”

“See? You did hurt yourself more than you hurt me.”

“You have no idea what I went through. I just tried to shut myself off. I was in love with someone I couldn’t be with. Through no fault of his. He’d done nothing wrong. So I told myself I’d never let that happen again. Get close to someone. That it was better if I just concentrated on being a mom. And that’s what I tried to do. I DID. But…”

“Then you met this guy…”

“All of a sudden, I wasn’t as lonely anymore. There was this man that wanted me. And no, it wasn’t nearly to the depths you did. But it was…something. And I desperately needed it. More than I wanted to admit. All I wanted was to feel something…anything…again. But the more I felt for him, the more I missed you. And that’s when the competition began. He was never going to be YOU. Not even close. No matter how good of a person he was.”

“Did he just walk away or…?”

“He was hurt. Rightfully so. It’s kind of a kick in the nuts when you hear something like that; that the person you’ve spent six months with was nothing but a fake. And he felt stupid; that he didn’t sense that there was something wrong or that there was something I was hiding from him. I told him not to take it personally. It wasn’t any fault or weakness on his part. I was just that good at my job.”

“You must have horseshoes up your ass. ‘Cause for him to just walk away instead of not locking you up…”

“Maybe he felt bad for Millie. Putting me away meant she’d have no one. And I don’t think he’s the type to do that to a little kid.”

“You know what I think? I think he was in love with you. That’s why he was so forgiving.”

“And I think you’re reading too much into things.”

“I can’t say I blame him, though. I know from personal experience how easy it is. And how fast it can happen.”

“Now I think you’re overestimating my appeal.”

“Not in the fucking slightest.”

A smile curves her lips, and she reaches up to sweep hair off his forehead. A hand on his cheek as she leans in to kiss him.

“Thank you.” The fingertips of both hands slide across her shoulders and down either side of her spine, gently squeezing her ass when his lips meet her brow. For telling me. About him.”

“Thank you for not totally losing your shit. I was worried there for a minute.”

“Oh believe me, inside I was throwing tables and punching holes in walls.”

“Because that’s healthy,” she chides, cradling his face in her palms as she presses a kiss to each corner of his mouth, his cheek, chin, and finally his lips. And when she pulls away, she finds herself rendered breathless by the way he regards her; the pure adoration and devotion that softens his face and sparkles in his eyes.

It’s overwhelming at times. To be worshipped and loved in such a manner. Realizing that you’ve become such an enormous and integral part of someone’s existence. Yet it’s a love that many fear will never find them; so beautiful and all-consuming and life-altering.

Running the pad of her thumb over his lips, she sweeps her knuckles along his jaw and then wraps both arms around him. Her body pressed tightly against his as she tucks her face into that favourite spot of hers; that secure, safe place between neck and shoulder.

“It’s always been you, Tyler.” Her breath is warm and sweet against his skin. “It will always be you.”

#Tyler and Esme series #Tyler Rake #Tyler Rake fanfic #Tyler Rake fan fiction #Extraction #Extraction 2 #Extraction fan fic #Extraction fan fiction #Tyler Rake x OFC #Esme Drummond #Esme Rake #Chris Hemsworth #Chris Hemsworth Extraction

[darklydeliciousdesires]

Drabble Request - Tyler Rake - Prompt 16 - Preferred Mood: mostly passionate and intimate with just a touch of fluff and male savagery 💗 Thank you so much! 🤗

Hello! Why yes, I think I can manage that for you :)

Smut below the cut, minors DNI!

"Fuck me," he breathes, eyes fluttering shut for a brief moment before opening again, watching his cock vanishing into your throat as he holds your hair back. "God, you give the best head."

Your eyes find his, winking up at him, releasing his cock with a soft pop, your tongue whirling over the head of his erection. "Hmm, I do, don't I?"

He snickers quietly, shaking his head. "There's that modesty I fell in love with." His hand tightens the grip upon your hair, his hips beginning to sway forward, looking down at you with a devilish grin. "Always look so pretty when I fuck that gorgeous mouth, always take it so fuckin' well."

You feel him begin to twitch against your tongue before long, hands grasping his hips and pushing him back, Tyler grunting with partial annoyance as he frowns at you. "I was enjoying that."

"Yeah," you breathe, kissing the vein that runs over his hip. "A little too much. Not ready for you to come yet. You gotta hold me down and fuck me for a while first."

"Nah," he sniffs, moving to the bed, lying down on his back. “I need you to ride me, babe. Right now.” 

"Well," you shrug, moving astride him, sinking down on the most perfect cock you've ever seen. "As long as I get this splitting my pussy, I don't mind."

He pulls you down to his level, kissing you softly, nuzzling your nose with his. "Good."

#tyler rake #tyler rake fanfiction #tyler rake smut #tyler rake x female reader #tyler rake x you #extraction #extraction fanfiction #extraction fan fiction #chris hemsworth #chris hemsworth smut #chris hemsworth fanfiction #chris hemsworth x female reader #chris hemsworth x you

[incorectly]

✨ ✨Appreciation Post ✨ ✨

Dear Blogs that write for Black Readers x Austin Butler or any of his characters he’s played (Or any Black Reader x Any Person), Please don't stop writing, all of y'all’s work is some of THE BEST to be written, EVER. (I’ve been apart of ALOT of fandoms and have read a ton of work) None can compare, you make black women feel seen by making stories that are relatable to US.  (Even if it’s made up). So this is for you, I APPRECIATE all of you and all the time and dedication you put into your work, it does not go UNSEEN or OVERLOOKED, because if I come across your work I’m always liking and reblogging (I’m getting better at reblogging y’all’s work) because I’m always rooting for y'all even if your work isn’t getting the recognition it deserves. You are SEEN. 

Sorry for Rambling it was just on my heart to share

(Tagging a couple people who I think are amazing writers) (If I didn't tag you drop a comment I would love to see your work I’m always up to read more stories) 

@dulcewrites @mamasturn @infernalodie @that-one-anxious-mango @enchantinglyjade @chaeycunty @geminixevans-stan @mauvecherie-writes @syntheticavenger @afriendlyblackhottie @dramaqueeenamby @royallyprincesslilly @blackwomanwriter @jbrizzywrites

(Those are just a few from the Austin butler Fandom and Chris Evans Fandom (Although I need to read more of Chris Evans because I’m slacking, Austin has a tight grip on me) 

Love all of you.🤎

-Incorectly

#x black!reader #austin butler x black reader #austin butler x black!reader #black writers #blackgirlmagic #black authors #blck girl magic #black fanfiction #black fanfic writer #black fandom #chris evans x poc!reader #chris evans x black women #chris hemsworth x black reader #austin!elvis x black!reader #austin!elvis x black!oc #safe space #x black!fem!reader #black reader #black fan fiction #Black Imagines #black blurbs #black safe spaces #black oc #black oneshots

[hiddenwritingsintheworld]

Fun update——

My doctors are quacks and found out my wrist IS broken and NOT just “bruised” 😭😭😭

#supernatural #dean winchester #sam winchester #spn #supernatural imagines #supernatural fan fiction #supernatural one shots #supernatural imagine #supernatural one shot #dean x reader #Chris Evans #chris hemsworth x reader #Jason Momoa

[alagalaska]

A Chrissstmasss Ssurprissse- Part Two

Summary: Three-parter. Christmas is approaching fast and Y/N doesn’t know what to get Thor as a present. 

Pairing: Thor x Fem! Reader

A/N: Welp, here's the 2nd part, FINALLY. Sorry it's taken me so long to post this. This is not edited. I figured that if I did, I would never post it. I know it's not the right season, but I thought if I post this one now, the last part might finally be ready in time for Christmas XD I hope you enjoy.

Story Warnings: None that I can think of? Please let me know if there's anything you think I missed.

Word Count: 3,024

My Masterlist // you can read Part 1 Here // Part 3: coming soon

Please do not copy or repost my work, in part or in whole, including posting to other sites without my express permission, even if I am credited as the author. Plagiarism is a crime. Tumblr reblogs are of course fine and are encouraged! Thank you.

First thing the next morning, you rush to Bruce’s lab again. You know he’ll already be in there, working away; he always is these days. This time you knock on the double doors, cracking one open and poking your head round to peer inside. 

Bruce is sat at his desk, concentrating on the layer of papers spread haphazardly across its surface. The machinery that had been all over the floor the other day, is now gathered up in a heap at the side of the room. It looks no closer to being completed, whatever it’s supposed to be. 

Bruce looks up when he hears you knock. 

“Y/N, hey,” he says, smiling sleepily and pulling his glasses off his nose to rub a hand over his face. You’re judging by the dark circles under his eyes that he’s been awake all night. “Did you have any luck getting a present for Thor?” he asks, stifling a yawn.

“That’s actually what I wanted to talk to you about,” you say, hovering next to the door. “Is now a good time?”

He pushes his glasses back onto his face and starts shifting the papers around on his desk, tidying them into a messy pile.

“Er, yeah, sure.” He gestures for you to come in, frowning slightly. 

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to pick your brains for ideas again,” you huff a nervous laugh and he looks relieved. “I was actually hoping you might be able to… help me find someone,” you say carefully.

“Oh,” he glances up from the papers in his hand, intrigued. “Who?” 

You hover awkwardly in front of his desk and take a deep breath.

“Loki,” you say quickly, before you have the chance to convince yourself that this is a bad idea. “I need you to help me find Loki.”

Bruce stares at you for a moment in silence, his paperwork now laying forgotten on the desk. Squints his eyes slightly as if trying to figure out if you’re joking. He opens his mouth to speak, then closes it again. He lets out a huff of breath and shakes his head, baffled.

“You’re not serious?” he finally asks you.

You take a step closer.

“Look, I know this sounds crazy-”

“Yeah, it does,” Bruce cuts in. 

“But, please, I didn’t know who else to ask,” you plead with him. You knew there was no way anyone else would ever agree to help you. Bruce was by far your best shot. He’d been there when Loki had helped Thor defeat Hela; he’d seen first hand that Loki clearly isn’t all bad.

“But why? Why in the Hell would you want to find Loki?”

His question catches you off guard and you stare at him. You’d thought your reasoning would have been obvious.

“For Thor,” you say simply.     

“And you think Thor would want to see him? After everything he’s done?” 

You have no doubt that he would. 

“Loki’s his brother, Bruce, of course he’d want to see him.” 

Banner gives a laboured sigh and takes his glasses off again, this time abandoning them on the desk. He leans back in his chair to look at you, his brow furrowed deeply.

“Y/N, look, Loki and Thor have a complicated past. That’s something that’s best not getting mixed up in.”

You get what Bruce is trying to say, but you can’t help but feel like he’s wrong about this. As if he can hear your thoughts, he adds, “Trust me, Y/N, it won’t end well for anyone. Loki’s brain is like a bag full of cats.”

“Well that doesn’t sound so bad…” you mumble quietly, in an attempt to lighten the mood a little; but when you meet Bruce’s eyes, they are serious.

In the awkward silence, you lean against the filing cabinet beside you and fold your arms over your chest.

“It’s just, Thor seemed so upset when we were talking about Loki yesterday. I really think he does miss him. I mean, how could he not? No matter what Loki may have done in the past, they’re family.” You look at him pleadingly. “And he’s the only family Thor has left,” you add thickly. 

“If it were my sister… even if she had done all of the bad things Loki has, I would still want to find her.  To know that she was ok.” 

You had thought that Bruce was the person who knew Thor the best out of everyone at the compound, but now you can see you were wrong. It was so obvious to you that Thor was hurting over Loki and everyone else was so blinded by Loki’s wrong-doings that they couldn’t see it. 

Bruce slowly stands and makes his way round to the front of his desk, sitting down on the edge  closest to you. He seems torn. 

“Y/N,” he says, hesitating. “I can’t help you. Even if I wanted to find Loki myself, nobody knows where he is. I’m sorry.”

There’s a sinking feeling deep in the pit of your stomach. 

“You’re right. It was a stupid idea.” You sit down on the edge of the desk, beside him, and hang your head. 

He sighs and reaches over to reluctantly touch your arm. You glance down at it in surprise.

“No, it wasn’t, Y/N. You were trying to do a nice thing for Thor, because you love him. That’s not stupid, that’s beautiful.” He smiles reassuringly at you then takes his hand back. “Even if it was trying to reunite him with his homicidal maniac of a brother,” he adds. You both huff a laugh.

A moment passes in silence and you consider getting up to leave. You glance at Bruce to see him pulling a face, as if he’s struggling to make his mind up about something. He catches you looking at him and seems to cave. 

“Look,” he says, pausing to glance at  you again as if he’s already regretting saying anything, “But, perhaps the next time Thor goes to New Asgard, you should go with him,” he lets the sentence hang there for a second, then quickly adds, “I’m not saying anyone there will know where Loki is, or that they would even want to help you, but... it’s a place to start.” He shrugs halfheartedly. 

You jump up from the table excitedly.

“Of course! Bruce, you’re a genius! Thank you.”

He puts his hands up in front of him, shaking his head. 

“Oh, no. I’m not taking any credit for this.” He looks at you concernedly. “Just… be careful, ok? I don’t want this to backfire, for your sake.”

After speaking with Bruce, you practically skip down the halls of the compound, excited to ask Thor if he would let you accompany him to New Asgard. 

“Thor?” you ask in a sing-song voice, entering your bedroom. He’s not there. You peer into the ensuite bathroom, “Thor?” Not in there either. 

Wondering where he could be, you head back out of your room and down the hall to the communal living area. As the door slides open you notice two blonde-haired, broad-shouldered men, sitting on the sofa with their backs to you.

“There you are,” you say, walking towards Thor and Steve, who both jump at the sound of you. You had always thought it was impossible to sneak up on a Demi-God and a super soldier with enhanced hearing, but apparently they were so transfixed with what they were doing, they hadn’t heard you enter. Thor jumps to his feet and bounds over, intercepting you before you can make it round to the front of the sofa. 

Steve panickingly attempts to cover whatever is on the coffee table in front of him, but you can’t see past Thor’s thick frame anyway. 

“I thought you were going out shopping, my love,” Thor says shiftily, placing two large hands on your upper arms and steering you slightly further away from the sofa. 

“I’m just about to, I had something to do first,” you say, referring to your visit to Bruce’s lab. “What are you two doing?” You ask him, with suspicion, attempting to peer past him. He blocks you with his shoulder. 

“Nothing that concerns you,” he says, but his tone is playful.

“Alright…” you say, narrowing your eyes slightly. “Anyway,” you continue, changing the subject to the reason you came to find him in the first place, “I was just wondering… the next time you go to New Asgard, could I perhaps go with you?”

He looks surprised by your suggestion. 

“I mean, I totally don’t have to, if you would prefer to go alone. I just thought…” 

He cuts off your rambling by embracing you so hard in his large arms that he almost lifts you straight off the floor. 

“That would be wonderful!” He says excitedly, beaming at you. “I can’t wait to introduce you to my fellow Asgardians, they will love you!” 

“Ok, that’s great,” you say, returning his smile, “I’m really looking forward to meeting them.” 

He lets go of you and you straighten your outfit. “Well, I better go do some shopping, or I’ll never be ready for Christmas,” you say then give Thor a peck on the lips. “I’ll see you later.”

“Goodbye, my love,” he says, steering you back in the direction of the door. 

“Bye Steve,” you say, waving to him, still sitting on the sofa. 

Having panicked and finally given in to Sam and Nat’s idea, you’re now hurrying down the busy city street lined with twinkling fairy lights, in the direction of the nearest lingerie shop. You glance at the window of a shop across the street from you and do a double take. 

There’s a large glass tank in the display. You stop abruptly to stare at it from the opposite side of the pavement out of curiosity, causing the woman behind you to swerve out of the way to avoid hitting you with her shopping bags. She tuts loudly as she carries on bustling down the street. 

You carefully negotiate crossing the busy road, then stand on the sidewalk with one of your gloved hands held up to the glass, cupped above your eyes to help you see in through the window of the store. 

You can see the outlines of various tanks and cages along the back wall and, in the ones closer to you, the moving shapes of the different animals inside them.  

The snake in the tank closest to you, slithers slightly closer to the window and raises its head, staring back at you, unblinking. Butterflies start swirling around in your stomach, as you peer in at it. You remember your conversation with Thor from yesterday and how he had said he loves snakes. Is this a totally insane idea? you think to yourself. Not the first one I’ve had today, you add, remembering Banner’s reaction to you wanting to find Loki. 

A small, hopeful part of you thinks as you gaze at the animal, that perhaps it would remind him of his brother and the good times they used to have together. It seems like a good alternative, at least until you can start your search for Loki properly. 

You chew on your bottom lip, still studying the snake. As much as you think he’d love it, what if Thor doesn’t want the commitment of owning a pet? He does sometimes go on long missions and wouldn’t be around to look after it all the time; but you would be there, so it wouldn’t be neglected. 

You’re slowly talking yourself into it, when you’re drawn out of your reverie by a voice beside you. “Unusual creatures, aren’t they?” 

You look to your left, startled, to see a man wearing a smart black suit and overcoat with black shoulder length hair, standing next to you. 

He’s staring straight ahead, but you know his comment was definitely directed at you; there’s no one else around for him to have aimed it at. Following his gaze, you see he is looking through the window at the large tank with the snake in it; the very same snake you had just been considering buying for Thor. 

“Yeah,” you say in response, not really sure what else to say. “I was thinking of buying one for my boyfriend. As a Christmas present.” 

He turns to look at you and offers you a charming smile. “That’s very thoughtful of you,” he says in his posh British accent, then pauses, “I’m sure Thor will love it. He was always very fond of snakes.”

You smile in return then do a double take. 

“What? How… how do you…?” You stumble over your words, causing him to laugh lightly, flashing his teeth. Then it clicks. 

“Loki?” you whisper in amazement. 

He bows his head to you. 

“Lady Y/N.” 

You’re dumbfounded. Opening and shutting your mouth several times. You discreetly pinch the skin on your forearm, just to make sure you’re not dreaming.

“How…?” is the only thing able to make it past your lips, as you gaze at him in wonder and disbelief. 

This earns another soft chuckle from him. 

He gestures across the road towards a small park area with a few benches, “We have much to talk about. Shall we?” 

At a complete loss for words, you simply nod and follow his lead. 

“After we escaped, I had nowhere to go,” Loki explains. “Asgard was destroyed and I couldn’t go back to Sakaar. Which was a shame really, I quite liked it there. Could see myself fitting in,” he adds wistfully. “I’m not exactly welcome here on Midgard,” he casts a wary look around as he says this, lowering his voice. “So I ventured off on my own, trying to find another planet to settle on.”

“So, why did you come back?” you ask. 

He looks at you with a creased brow. 

“I’ve come to tell you to stop looking for me.” 

You scoff softly, taken aback by his suggestion. 

“How did you know I was looking for you, when I hadn’t even started?” Then a thought creeps into your brain, making you shudder. “Wait, have you been spying on me?” you ask in disgust. 

“Oh, don’t make it sound so perverse,” he chastises you. “I like to keep an eye on my brother,” he says hesitantly, as if he isn’t sure he should be admitting this to you. 

“Then why would you come here if you didn’t want to be found?” It doesn’t make any sense to you. 

He casts his eyes to the floor. Then you remember something Clint had once said to you, about Loki’s projections of himself. 

“You’re… not really here, are you?” you ask quietly. You reach out to touch his hand and it flickers slightly, your fingers brushing nothing but air. 

“I couldn’t risk it,” he says in response to the disappointed look on your face. “Besides, Thor doesn’t want to see me. He’s happy now,” he says, catching your gaze. “He has you.” 

You smile thoughtfully. 

“Family is important, Loki,” you say after a moment of silence. “And sometimes we don’t realise that until it’s too late.” Your voice is wistful, as you stare into the distance. 

His face falls at your remark, it seems you caught him off guard. 

“Our mother used to say something similar to that.” 

Although you don’t know much about their mother, Thor had always spoken very highly of her and you knew they both loved her very much. 

“Whenever Thor and I would fight, she would say that one day we’d be all each other would have left. As usual, she was right.” he looks off in the direction you are staring. 

The pair of you stay quiet for a little while, then you speak up. 

“Look, Loki, after all this time you’ve still kept an eye on Thor, obviously because you care for him a great deal. And he misses you, he really does, I can tell. Why don’t you just come back to the compound with me? See him,” you suggest. Loki looks startled by the idea. 

“Absolutely not,” he scoffs. “No.” 

“It’s ok, I get it. You’re scared about seeing him, but I-” 

“I am not scared,” he cuts in stubbornly and you have to fight the urge to roll your eyes at him. 

“Well, how about you think on it?” You suggest, and then you have an idea. “Hey, I know! Come for Christmas!” you say excitedly. You see the look on Loki’s face and dial your enthusiasm back a notch. “You could join us at the compound on Christmas day, I’m sure Thor would love that.” 

Loki continues to shake his head.

“Nobody wants me there, Y/N,” he says plainly. You see the hurt in his eyes. 

“Thor does. And if he does, so do I.” 

He gives you a doubtful look in return. 

“Don’t worry about the others,” you say, “ I’ll handle them.” He says nothing, so you figure you’ve probably said enough. 

You’re starting to resign yourself to the fact that you’ll never be able to reunite Thor with his brother. 

“It was really nice to meet you Loki,” you say genuinely, standing up from the bench, “but if you’ll excuse me, I have to go panic-buy a snake.” 

He gives a small laugh and smiles. 

“You know, my brother is a lucky man.” The corners of your mouth twitch upwards at the compliment. It’s funny, you never expected you’d be having a conversation with Loki, let alone that it would shape out like this. 

“Just, please, promise me you’ll think about my offer,” you say, straightening out your coat. 

He doesn’t say anything but smiles and politely bows his head to you in a final goodbye. You cross the road to get back to the shop and once you’ve made the short walk to the other side, you turn back to look at the bench you had left Loki standing in front of, but he is gone. 

Please let me know if you would like to be tagged in the future/ removed from my taglist :)

@beautifulrare4leafclover @shreddedparchment @sincerelyyourz @readerandcinephileingeneral @hiddeniron @lancsnerd @weebid @supervengerslock​ @clarinetdork9​ @strawberrypoptartodinson @charmed-asylum

#chris hemsworth #marvel fanfiction #thor #thor fic #thor odinson #thor odinson fanfiction #thor odinson fan fiction #thor fan fic #thor fan fiction #thor odinson fic #thor odinson fanfic #thor odinson fan fic #thor fiction #thor fanfiction #thor fanfic #thor fanfics #thor x reader #thor x fem reader #thor x female reader #thor x you #thor x y/n #alagalaska writes #marvel #marvel fanfic #marvel fan fic #marvel fan fiction #thor imagine #thor odinson imagine #avengers #avengers fic

[howfarethestars]

swear to be overdramatic and true

pairing: thor x valkyrie

rating: t

word count: ~3300

chapter 1/5

summary: After Zeus threatens to declare war on New Asgard, Brunnhilde’s only hope to avoid the utter destruction is to marry the man she loves. If only he loved her back.

And for Thor, being forced into marrying the woman he loved wouldn’t be an issue. If only she loved him back.

Or, Brunnhilde and Thor are hopelessly in love with each other and hopelessly terrible at realizing it.

READ HERE <3

#marvel #mcu #thor #thor odinson #chris hemsworth #valkyrie #marvel fani fic #fan fiction #thor x valkyrie #thorkyrie #thorval

[cameronspecial]

Thorn In My Side, Rose In My Hand (Part 3)

Pairing: Rafe Cameron x Reader

Warnings:  Under Age Drinking, Under Age Marijuana Use, and Displays of Toxic Relationship Acts. If I missed one, please let me know.

Pronouns: She/Her

Word Count: 3.2K

Summary: Y/N’s relaxing morning on the beach is interrupted by a potential suitor. But Rafe and Mason aren’t exactly fans of this new bachelor. 

Masterlist

The early morning means no one else is on the beach with Y/N yet. It is too early in the morning for parents to be at the beach with their children and way too early in the day, in general, for teenagers to be out of bed during the summer. She enjoys it when it is just her, her book and the sounds of the waves. The morning is breezy so her sweatshirt stays on while she sits in her beach chair with her book. She is currently reading her mother’s latest release in preparation for her mom’s new manuscript that she is going to get once Cassie returns from Bali. The sound of the footsteps on the sand causes Y/N to look up to be aware of her situation. 

“Ah, a fellow Cassie Y/L/N lover I see. Her magnum opus is Destitues of The Modern World,” a Malibu blonde and steel blue-eyed boy says. In Y/N’s opinion, she hates her mother’s work from before she was born. Even though her mother’s current work is adult fiction (not Y/N’s preferred book age group as she prefers YA fiction), at least it is murder mystery and fantasy. Cassie’s pre-twin writing was fiction based but it was just that. No romance, fantasy, or mystery in front of the word fiction and that bored Y/N to death. She finds no excitement or enjoyment in reading about a person dealing with everyday issues. So Desitues of The Modern World is definitely not on her list of her mother’s favourites. 

She looks up at the boy and gives him a tight-lipped smile, “Oh, I’m not the greatest fan of her earlier work. I am much more of a fantasy or murder mystery fiend.” She made sure not to mention how she is related to the author because as she looks at him more, she starts to notice how handsome this man really is and she doesn’t want him to only hang out with her just because of who her mother is. Y/N could’ve sworn he reminded her of someone but she couldn’t figure out who. Maybe it is Chris Hemsworth. “That is acceptable. Her writing is amazing either way,” he approves as he approaches her, “Where are my manners? I am Wilson Porter.” Wilson extends his hand out to Y/N and she takes it to shake. “Y/N, it’s nice to meet you.” “The pleasure is mine. Might I say you look beautiful.” His voice is smooth like honey and his words make her blush. 

——

At the same time as Y/N meeting Wilson, Rafe and Mason are at the indoor country club pool to practice training for the swim team. During the summer, the indoor pool is emptier because all the club patrons prefer the outdoor pool. The boys finished up their last lap before they take a fifteen-minute break. “Where do you think I should take your sister for lunch? I know it isn’t a date because you are going to be there, but I still want her to have a good time. I mean we are already at the country club so it would make sense if she meets us here, but she also likes going to the Wreck. She might want to see Kiara since I know it’s been a while and Lacey isn’t in town,” Rafe questions before taking a swing of water. 

“I say we go to The Wreck. I hear they have a Po’ Boy special and I think my sister wants to try it.” Rafe chuckles at Mason’s suggestion, “I’m pretty sure you are the one that wants to try the Po’ Boy, Mace.” “Dude, you are absolutely 100% correct. But I bet you if my sister knows about the special, she’ll want to get one too. She likes fried seafood. I’m gonna go to the bathroom,” Mason announces, he gets out of the pool and heads towards the change room. Rafe nods and gets out of the pool to text Y/N the plan. He grabs his phone, smiling when he opens up the text thread between him and Y/N. Hey, so Mace just told me about The Wreck’s Po’ Boy special. We should try it. Meet you @ 12? His smile dims a little when he doesn’t get a reply in the next few minutes because he knows she generally replies five minutes after getting a notification. Looking at the little red number gives her anxiety and she always worries it will be an emergency. Mason returns from the bathroom, which causes Rafe to quickly place his phone back onto the pool chair and gets into the pool. Maybe she’s just in the water.

——

Y/N and Wilson have been talking for a while before she realizes she is getting hungry. She remembers she promised to have lunch with Rafe and Mason. She checks her phone to see if Rafe has told her where to meet them and sees that he has. Sounds good! Meet you there. Before she hits send, she thinks about asking Wilson to join them for lunch. “Hey, I actually have to head to The Wreck for lunch. Do you want to join?” “I have never been to The Wreck; however, I will be happy to join you,” Wilson answers. He gets up and starts helping her pack up her things. “Thanks, let me just send a quick text and then we can walk over.” Sounds good! Meet you there. Could you actually get a table for four, please? I just invited someone to join us. 

——

Rafe text tone for Y/N goes off while he and Mason are in the changing room and he quickly grabs his phone to check it. He opens it up. What he sees makes his smile immediately vanish. “Dude, what’s wrong?” Mason worries upon seeing the frown on his face. “Yo, Lacey’s not back from Paris, is she? I thought she is coming back this Friday,” he asks his friend. Mason shakes his head, “She is back on Friday. Y/N/N and I are supposed to pick her up on the mainland. Why do you want to know?” “She wants us to get a table for four. Maybe, she ran into my sister or Scarlett at the beach?” Rafe really hopes the new lunch mate is a female and not from the opposite sex. “Yeah, probably,” Mason agrees. 

They both finish up getting change and head into Mason’s truck to head over to The Wreck. Mason parks the car then the boys enter the restaurant. “Welcome to The Wr-. Oh, Rafe. Mason. How many people are joining you?” Kiara says with a little disgust, she is not a fan of the boys as they are always bothering her and the other pogues. “Hey, Kie. Table for four, please. Y/N/N and a guest are joining us later,” Mason informs in the nice way possible. He knows if he annoys Kiara for no reason, Y/N will have a lot to say about it. Kie nods her head, getting the menus out for the boys to lead them to their table. She doesn’t want to seat them in her section, the prospect of Y/N coming makes her decide against it. 

The boys wait around five minutes for Y/N to show up with her mystery guest. Y/N’s arrival is marked by a squeal coming from Kiara. “Y/N/N, hey! It’s great to see you again! I missed you.” Y/N giggles at Kie’s excitement and gives her a hug, “It’s good to see you too Kie. We definitely need to catch up because it’s been a while. Maybe you can come over tonight and we can have a sleepover?” “I love that idea! Come on, I’ll take you over to your brother and Rafe,” Kie leads her over to Rafe and Mason. “Hey, guys. Hope you haven’t been waiting for too long,” Y/N sits beside Mason. Rafe sends her a smile, “Hello, Y/L/N. We’ve been waiting an eternity for you slow poke.  So where is this special guest?” “Oh, he just went to the bathroom.” At the mention of him, Rafe internally panics. Hopefully, this guy is just a friend or gay. 

“Wilson, over here,” he hears Y/N call out, waving a blond and blue-eyed man over. Mason looks over to who his sister brought over for lunch and almost laughs at the sight in front of him. The dude Y/N invited looked like a knock-off version of Rafe, despite the hilarious revelation, the disappointed expression on Rafe’s face stops Mason from laughing. Wilson walks over and slides in beside Rafe. It is like Mason is seeing double, although it is obvious that Y/N can’t see the similarity between the two. “Wilson, this is my twin, Mason and his best friend, Rafe. Guys, this is Wilson,” Y/N introduces everyone to each other with a wide smile. Rafe just nods at the intruding guest, scared his voice will crack. Mason places cross his arms and place his elbows on the table to lean on them, “So Wil. When did you meet Y/N/N? I’ve never heard you mentioned before.” “Well, first of all, my name is Wilson. Not Wil. Also, her name is Y/N. Not Y/N/N,” Wilson starts in a condescending tone that goes over Y/N’s head, “Y/N and I met on the beach, this morning.” 

“Okayyyy, sorry. But it doesn’t surprise me that you met on the beach. Y/N spends most of her time there during the summer,” Mason apologizes awkwardly. He doesn’t love the way Wilson spoke for his sister but he knows if he says anything about it that it will only drive her further into Wilson’s arms. She takes it as a challenge when people give her unwarranted advice and she just does the complete opposite of what they say to do. Kiara could sense the tension between the three boys, observing that Y/N is oblivious to it while she talks about who knows what, so she goes to take their order to help alleviate some of the awkwardness. “Are you guys ready to order?” 

Rafe and Mason are relieved to see Kiara and immediately nod their head. “I’ll try the shrimp Po’ Boy, please,” Mason orders, returning the menu to Kie. Rafe quick glances over the menu, “I’ll just have the cheeseburger and fries, please.” Kiara is surprised by the politeness, which he only adds because of the girl sitting at the table with him. “Can I please have the oyster Po’Boy? Thank you,” Y/N requests. Before Kie can confirm she got the order, Wilson speaks up, “Actually, we will both have the Cesar salad. Everything else on this menu is too greasy.” Everyone, except Wilson and Y/N, gives him a disapproving look for trying to tell her what she could eat. It only surprises Wilson when Y/N corrects him, “No, I want the Po’ Boy. Please.” She smiles sweetly at Wilson with the belief he is just looking out for her. Kiara’s pride for her friend shows whilst she grabs the rest of the menus and goes to place their order in. 

After the nickname and order fiasco, Wilson seems pretty normal and nice throughout the rest of lunch. He probably just has the jitters from meeting new people and that is why he said what he did. Wilson even insisted he pays for everyone's meals. The group makes their way to the front entrance. “I must leave now, I am afraid. It was lovely meeting you all and Y/N I would love to take you out to dinner just the two of us,” Wilson notifies everyone. “I would love that! You have my number so text me anytime.” With that being said, Wilson departs from the group. “I’m going to wait for Kie’s shift to end and catch a ride home with her,” Y/N tells both boys before going back into The Wreck. 

——

Mason and Rafe are chilling in the pool on floaties whilst drinking a beer. “So we hate Wilson, right? It’s not just me saying that because I’m jealous,” Rafe tries to confirm with his best friend. “Oh, most definitely. He is a red flag in walking. But he hasn’t exhibited any abusive behaviour yet, Y/N stood up to him and he could’ve just had nerves about meeting us.” “True, but we both agree that if he keeps acting like that and we so much as see a bruise on her or distance herself from us that we intervene.” Mason agrees, “Totally agree, dude. Enough about him though. Let’s talk about how we are going to continue to put you in her good graces for when Y/N and Wilson part ways.” 

“Well, I think I’ve got this figured out. I was going to bring the girls some food tonight for dinner and then I was thinking we can make a fire pit for s’more. I’m sleeping over today by the way,” Rafe plans, relaxing further back into his floaties. The thought of getting to see Y/N again makes him giddy. “Dude, it’s all good. I know you don’t love staying at home. Plus, if my sister falls for you before she gets together with Wilson, it just means he can be out of our lives faster,” Mason says, hoping he will never have to see Wilson again. 

Y/N and Kiara arrive at the Y/L/N residence to the sound of laughter coming from the pool. The girls enter the backyard to see the boys facing away from them floating with no care in the world. How could they have been in the pool for so long without so much as a drop of water on either of them? The matching smiles on the girls’ faces mean they are on the same page. Both of them lay anything they don’t want to get wet on the bar and take off their shoes. Y/N uses her fingers to count to three and once she gets to three, they both jump toward the boys to sink them into the pool. Mason is attacked by Kiara and Rafe falls victim to Y/N. 

“Dudes, seriously. I already washed my hair this morning after training. Now, I’m going to have to wash it again and that is going to dry my hair out” Mason complains, quickly jumping out of the pool to go fix his hair problems. Kie laughs at his misfortune, “Well, I’m going to go steal your shower Y/N/N because your water pressure is better than the guest bathroom.” This leaves Y/N and Rafe alone in the pool. “You seem to like to get me wet, Y/L/N. What is this, the third time this week? Although, I’d much rather be the one getting you wet.” Rafe swims closer to Y/N, reaching out to take one of her hands into his. He’s afraid she might pull away; she doesn’t. “Haha, now you know how it feels to be on the short end of the stick,” she quips, watching his lips get close to hers. He believes she is going to let him kiss her. Finally, the moment he has bee- RING, RING. The sound of Y/N’s phone causes her to instantly pull away to go get it. Rafe’s disappointment can be seen on his face. 

She answers the phone, placing it against her ear, “Hey Wilson, I’ve been waiting for your call. No, I’m not doing anything right now.” Y/N gives a small wave to Rafe, making her way inside the house, presumably to her room. This leaves the lovesick boy alone in the pool. He should’ve seen it coming; life could never be so easy for him. 

——

Rafe returns to the house accompanied by the dinner he promised everyone. He got authentic personal pizzas from the fancy Italian restaurant Y/N loves. “Yo, I’m back. I got salami and olives for Mace, vegetarian for Kie, and fungi with extra mozzarella for Y/L/N. I also bought some Italian soda because I know how much you like it, Mace,” Rafe places the food in front of the corresponding person before settling down with his own meal. Dinner went much like breakfast, without a single argument between the normally feuding duo. Mason is thankful he didn’t have to play judge for any disagreements. 

The group finishes dinner and this means it is time for s’mores. Rafe and Kiara went out back to start the fire while Mason and Y/N clean up the dishes. After the dishes are spotless, the twins make their way to the back. “Rafe, could you please roast me a mallow? You always get them just perfect. Not burnt but also not cold,” Y/N pleads, holding out her stick toward Rafe. He gladly takes it from her and begins roasting it for her. “You know what would make the s’mores even better? A little bit of grass,” Kie suggests, taking out a rolled joint from inside her bra. Kiara lights the joint, takes a drag then offers it to Y/N. Y/N shyly turns away from the sight, “I’m good, thanks.” Y/N did not love the feeling of being out of control of her body that comes with the high; however, she is fine with people smoking it around her. 

Kie shrugs her shoulder and then hands it to Mason. Mason takes his own hit, then attempts to hand it over to Rafe, who surprisingly does not take it. “No, thanks,” Rafe refuses, focusing on making sure he doesn’t burn Y/N’s marshmallow. This action does not go unnoticed by Y/N and this causes her to smile because she is pretty sure he did it so she wouldn’t feel alone in being sober. Rafe hands the golden brown marshmallow back to Y/N, watching her happily assemble the s’more. He notices a little chocolate smudged on her cheek; he quickly reaches out with a napkin to wipe it away because he knows she hates having her face dirty. “Thanks, Rafe,” Y/N appreciates the gesture; she really is enjoying this new side of him. Her neck feels much better without all the head-turning she has to do, which is normally caused by Rafe’s whiplashing personality. 

The night is spent telling stories, eating s’mores and singing along to the music playing on the portable speaker. It couldn’t have been a better night. “Well, I gotta head to bed. Lacey and I are supposed to face time early tomorrow morning,” Y/N waves goodnight to everyone, heading inside to go to sleep. Rafe wishes she could’ve stayed for longer; he almost worked up enough courage to offer Y/N his sweater when he noticed she was shivering a little. Nonetheless, at least she is leaving early to talk to Lacey and not Wilson. He might’ve had a small tantrum if she was. As he lies in the guest bed waiting to fall asleep, he thinks about Y/N's smile when he wiped the chocolate off her cheek. He really hopes he will have a chance to romantically show her how amazing she is. 

Taglist: @itsalexwin @sublimepenguinpeach-blog  

#thorn in my side rose in my hand #rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron fanfiction #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron x y/n #rafe cameron series #outer banks #outer banks imagine #outer banks fanfiction #outer banks x reader #outer banks x you

[ingravinoveritas]

I'm not a hardcore MS/DT person, but I fear I must share the dream I had with you.

Both Michael and David were on the Graham Norton Show and Michael was telling a story. They were in the same outfits from the episode with Chris Hemsworth except Chris wasn't there. I remember WORD FOR WORD what Michael said..

"What I did was the human equivalent of knotting." KNOTTING..?? "David came into my house and because he was travelling, I always feel the need to take care of travellers and *stutters*, y'know, so I laid him down and gave him a cuddle. Then we watered my plants and I just sort of.. ah- remember taking care of David in a lot of different ways."

Cue laughing at the innuendo.

Then, David leans over to Michael and flat out licks behind his ear. Like as a joke at first, kind of going blelele, but then the last one was so *sexual,* like a clean stripe from his neck to his ear with his hand on Michael's neck. Mind you, this is ON TELEVISION.. I can't stop thinking about it.

Oh my sweet-and-sour Jesus on a toaster strudel...THANK YOU for telling me about this dream! Haha. I love it. This seems so perfect, too, given that tonight was the Olivier Awards and both Michael and David were in attendance (though oddly never seen together).

So for those who may not know what "knotting" is, the origin of the term actually refers to a biological process that occurs in canine reproduction. In the realm of fanfiction, however, "knotting" falls under the heading of what is known as the Omegaverse (which I admittedly do not know much about, but if I had to describe it, if fan fiction genres are The Avengers, then the Omegaverse is the Jeremy Renner of fanfic). In the Omegaverse, however, you have what are known as "Alphas" and "omegas," and knotting is one of the sexual acts that tends to take place between these characters. (This post here has a handy dandy full-on explanation, if you're looking for more information.)

But I am just dying at the thought of Michael a) Knowing what knotting is (because of course he does); and b) Making an innuendo on television about doing that to David (because of course he would). I also can't tell if the "we watered my plants" is a euphemism or a Good Omens/Crowley reference, but either one feels entirely within the realm of possibility for something Michael would say on a chat show (especially Graham Norton).

And then the last part?? My god, we should all be so lucky as to actually see that happen. And given that we had David leaning over and doing this to Michael last summer, I really can't rule out the possibility. They were leaning into each other so much on the Graham Norton appearance, too, so that makes it even easier to imagine:

(I also love that we've seen that David is one of the very few people Michael has let touch his neck, so there is no question he would trust him enough to let David do that on television...)

Oh, yes. This was certainly quite delicious (and hilarious), and I am so glad you shared it with me. Let's just keep our fingers crossed and hope for a forthcoming Michael/David appearance where at least some of this could maybe happen. Fingers crossed...

#spoon-holding-whore #reply post #michael sheen #welsh seduction machine #david tennant #soft scottish hipster gigolo #kinky is as kinky does #when i tell you that i screamed #why does this seem so plausible though #i love my anons #and asks #and i physically need this to happen damn it #yes #they are perfect together your honor #ineffable lovers #dreams #discourse #gif by me

[mk-wizard]

“Thor” Speaks Out: We won’t take the hate that you give

First, the She-Hulk TV series’ creators admitted that they made the show with the objective of mocking fans, then Henry Cavill walked out on the Netflix Witcher because he had enough, and now, Chris Hemsworth who is famous for playing Thor in the MCU has had enough and is putting his foot (and hammer) down hard in how he is sick of being ridiculous on purpose.

THIS is what Disney, Netflix and a lot of media have to show making films and series that are not only devoid of love, but openly hate the source material and will create a media based on it just to spite it and its fans. Back when I was growing up, if someone on the set of a movie or show mocked the very piece they were creating and did not take it seriously, they got fired. If you don’t really want to be there and don’t even like what you’re working, then you shouldn’t be there. Now, it looks like insulting the media has become part of the creative process and is even encouraged. And that’s bad.

I admit that even fans laugh at the very fiction they love sometimes because we are not blind to its flaws or silly parts. It is even an art form to sit back and laugh at the silly side of our fandoms hence why we have spoof films like Dracula Dead and Loving it, the famous Naked Gun series, the Lethal Weapon TV series on Netflix, Shaun of the Dead, The Orville, the webcomic 8-Bit Theater and more.

But even then, it was still obvious that behind these parody pieces was a very obvious love and endearment towards the source material. In other words, we are laughing with them together with no hard feelings and we all still love what we love. The creators did not make these films or series because they wanted to make the original material look bad. They did it because they wanted to make us laugh. And even then, they were put together with care and with intent of making something great that all audiences could enjoy.

Now, pieces that are meant to be part of the official lore feel like hate letters to both the original fans and creators. And what do you really have to show for it when you create something with hate, resentment and with the intent to insult and punish the audience? Nothing. All you did was waste your time and made yourself look bad. Not to mention that when you make bad media on purpose, it becomes permanent on your record. Moreover, when you have a chance to work with something as big as She-Hulk, Star Wars, Superman, He-Man or other iconic figures in fiction, it would be wiser to give it your all and make it into something great like Noelle Stevenson did with She-Ra. Even if you aren’t a die-hard fan of the material, it is still honour to be picked to work on it, so it is better to treat it like an honour instead of a joke. And if you dislike it that much, it is better to kindly turn down the job.

The point is that Hollywood needs to not only remove hate from the equation, but to also put love back into the creative process. Too much of Marvel, Disney, DC and now, Netflix are plagued with meanness and hate, and the material is suffering for it. I also truly believe that deep down, these companies don’t want to be hateful or mean to anyone including themselves. They don’t really want to lose their loyal fans and don’t really want to make half-baked films or shows.

I believe that things are going to change and while I admit that maybe it will get worse before it gets better, I have faith. After all, DC, Marvel and Disney have been around long before this new wave of media came along. And it had its bad times before yet braved them. The Dark Knight rose once, he can do it again and so will all the other heroes.

After all, love is stronger than hate. If anything, the fact that these actors are taking a stand and speaking out is a sign of positive change. They are finally saying “no” and if there is one thing I have learned as a parent, “no” has love behind it.

Thank you for reading and as always, stay safe.

-Mary

#made with love #thor #chris hemsworth #henry cavill #the witcher #superman #superman and lois #dc #dc comics #mcu #marvel #marvel comics #she-hulk attorney at law #netflix the witcher #netflix #disney #no more hate

[beheworthy]

Hi, there was something I noticed when going through the anti taika waititi tag and I was wondering if you could answer my question. It seems to me that there are quite some anti-tw people who are also anti Chris Hemsworth. Do you know what that's all about?

There are a few but very vocal people who think:

1. Chris changed Thor's entire course as a character just so he can play himself - a mean jerk.

2. He orchestrated this whole change because he was jealous of side characters and wanted to get back at them like a petulant child. So he 'made' Thor3 so he could finally shine in his own film.

(I think these people should go outside and touch grass. This particular vein of hatred is only seen on this hellsite. No one is that delusion in the real world.)

3. He got his fRiEnD Waititi so he can make the movie he wants - playing himself and degrading others to shine.

(Chris had nothing to do with Marvel hiring Waititi even though he knew him. He has collaborated this enthusiastically with every director he's worked with.)

4. They call him 'Chris Odinson' ('Thor Hemsworth?') in an effort to degrade and debase him but in turn reveal how mature and classy they are.

In reality, Chris vouched for this change because he personally wasn't satisfied with what he was doing with his character and he personally wanted to do something different. End of. I've always maintained that I personally think he went about it the wrong way and it makes me sad that he doesn't enjoy 'serious' Thor.

But at the end of the day, Thor is a fictional character and Chris is a real human being. His health, mental health, needs, and wishes are always above Thunder Guy. He plays him. He can do whatever he wants with him, and as fans, we can say we loved or hated it. And only keep it at that.

But this - assuming he's an insecure petulant child, assuming what he's like in real life, and calling him childish names just because their favorite side characters got sidelined really just reveals these people's character, not his.

#answers #anonymous #chris hemsworth #thor #thor odinson #anti taika waititi #that one popular post that goes 'chris odinson go f yourself' very classy

[kerryco]

“I would love to tell you about it,” McKay told Esquire magazine, opening up in detail for the first time about the “Star Trek” movie never made. “We worked on a couple of ‘Star Trek’ movies. The one you’re asking about would have been the fourth in the franchise, reuniting Chris Hemsworth and Chris Pine. The conceit was that through a cosmic quirk in the ‘Star Trek’ world, they were the same age. It was going to be a grand father-son space adventure—think ‘Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade’ in space. We were really thrilled about it.”

“We worked on it for two and half years with Lindsey Weber, our non-writing executive producer on ‘Rings of Power,’ and an amazing director, S.J. Clarkson,” McKay added. “The movie eventually fell apart and it really was a heartbreak for us…we would have loved to make that movie. I want to spoil a piece of it that’s exciting—how they end up together. Can we do that, JD?”

Payne took over the conversation and said, “There’s an episode of ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’ called ‘Relics’ where they find Scotty, who’s been trapped a transporter for a couple of decades, and they’re able to have cool adventure with him. Our conceit was, ‘What if right before the Kelvin impacted with that huge mining ship, George Kirk had tried to beam himself over to his wife’s shuttle where his son, Jim Kirk, had just been born? And what if the ship hadn’t completely exploded—what if it left some space junk?'”

“Think about when you send a text message and you’ve typed it out, but you haven’t quite hit send,” Payne continued. “On the other side, they see those three little dots that someone has typed. It’s like the transporter had absorbed his pattern up into the pattern buffer, but hadn’t spit him out on the other side. It was actually a saved copy of him that was in the computer.”

McKay concluded, “So the adventure is that Chris Pine and the crew of the Enterprise have to seek out the wreckage of the ship that his father died on because of a mystery and a new villain. In the ship, they stumble across his father’s pattern. They beam him out and he has no idea that no time has passed at all, and that he’s looking at his son. Then the adventure goes from there.”

This sounds like it would have been a fun movie - but also, it always amazes me how people look down on fan fiction, when that’s exactly what this sounds like.

#star trek aos #star trek 4 #star trek #chris pine

[chickensarentcheap]

Lost and Found- Chapter 29

Fandom: Extraction

Pairing: Tyler Rake and Esme Drummond (OFC. You do not have to read the original series to understand this fic)

Warnings: slight profanity

Tagging: @tragiclyhip @munstysmind @themaradwrites @thebejeweledwatercat @youflickedtooharddamnit @asirensrage @residentdormouse @secretaryunpaid @alisbackalleybbq @kmc1989 @karimac @ninjasawakenedmystar @ocappreciationtag @arrthurpendragon @occommunity @theesirenteller @fanficanatic-tw

Link to Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43179357/chapters/138016519

My tag list is OPEN. Just let me know if you'd lke to be added :D

****

It’s exactly how she remembers it. A quaint, three-bedroom home perfect for a young, growing family; antique blue board and batten with a vibrant, mustard yellow front door and a deep, wide porch that wraps around one side of the structure and connects with the deck in back. A fenced-in rear yard ideal for pets and children; enough open land for gardens and play structures and even a pool. Mere blocks from the small downtown core and open-air market; located close to schools and parks and only a ten-minute drive to the beach. The latter had been the ultimate selling point; as close to the ocean as they could get within their price range. Things had been different then; both financially struggling after never receiving full payment from Mahajan, but still having to worry about a stack of hospital bills and various debts.

There’d been no reason to live above their means; content with something small that they could personalize and make all of their own. Add onto if a bigger family was in the cards; firmly settling on having at least one baby, but not fully sold on anything more than that. Being a father again scared him; the guilt and the regret surrounding the death of his son and the decision he’d made in the final weeks still weighed heavily on his mind and soul. And she’d known not to push the subject no matter how much she desired something more; needing to give him the space to not only wrestle with and defeat his demons but build up his confidence when it came to raising another child.

Wick had picked them up at the airport. Twelve days following their desperate escape from New York, and ten since he’d flown to Broome to keep his eyes open and an ear to the ground. After assisting Alcott in identifying -and quickly eliminating- any possible threat, he’s confident that things are secure and no dangers lie in wait; free to return to the States and his commitment to helping Nik destroy any remaining threat on the front line. He looks healthier and more well-rested than Esme can previously remember; casually dressed in a pair of olive green cargo shorts and a simple white t-shirt. His eyes are more vibrant, the bridge of his nose and his cheeks sunkissed. And it's a welcome departure from the usual; the sullenness replaced by a genuine smile and unmistakable glow.

She glances at Millie; fastened in her car seat in the back of the SUV, safe and secure between her mom and dad. Father and daughter both asleep and in the same positions; heads tilted back and to the right, their arms folded across their chests, mouths slightly open as they quietly snore. Their cheeks flushed; sweat glistening at their temples and napes of their necks, wayward strands stuck to their brows. The last two weeks finally catching up to them; the hours spent travelling, the stress, fear, and worry that had weighed heavily upon them, the shared shock and surprise of finding out about one another’s identities and roles in the other’s life. And the dangerous and unpredictable flight from New York City and the two weeks spent at Nik’s while longing for home.

As Wick kills the engine, she tends to Millie, gently cradling her face in her palms and peppering her brow and cheeks with feathery kisses. Repeatedly brushing the tip of her nose against Millie’s until the four-year-old gives a sleepy giggle and a breathy, ‘Momma’; eyes flickering open as she plants a noisy kiss on Esme’s lips.

“Time to get up, little bug. We’re finally here.”

“Home?”

Esme nods.

“Our forever home?”

“Our forever home. Well, unless we one day need a bigger one. Come on…” Unbuckling the car seat’s harness, she lifts Millie onto her lap. “You’re getting big, lovey. Soon I won’t be able to pick you up at all.”

“I’m big like daddy!”

“You definitely are. I always knew you would be; even when you were in my belly and I used to get sneak peeks of you at the doctor. You were long and lanky even then. Now…” She clears sweaty hair away from Millie’s cheeks and out of her eyes.. “...wake daddy up. Tell him we’re here.”

She scrambles off her mother’s lap and onto Tyler’s; her stomach pressed against his chest, a knee beside either hip. And taking his face in both hands, gently shakes his head from side to side. “Daddy! It’s time to get up! We’re here now! No more sleep!” Upon receiving no response, she aggressively taps her palms against his cheeks, then scowls at her mother. “I think he’s dead.”

“He’s not dead. You can see that he’s breathing. Sometimes, he’s a really heavy sleeper. Or maybe he’s ignoring you.”

“You might ignore you, but not me. Never me.”

“Excuse you?”

“Daddy!” Millie bellows into his ear, then tugs at his beard, followed by his ears. “You have to get up! No more sleep! It’s time to wake up and…” She shrieks when his fingers lightly dig into her sides and he begins gently tickling her, dissolving into giggles when he tips her sideways across his lap and repeatedly brushes his beard against her cheeks. And she’s breathless and hiccuping when he once more settles her upright on his thighs, her tiny hands cradling his cheeks in their palms. “It’s time to get up!”

“Says who?”

“Me! And momma!”

You guys aren’t the boss of me.”

“Yeah, right!”

“Why do I need to get up? Can’t a guy get his beauty sleep?””

“You can go back to sleep later! We’re finally here, daddy! We’re home! It’s time to wakey-wakey, shakey-shakey!”

“What if I don’t want to wakey-wakey, shaky-shakey?”

“Too bad! When momma says it’s time to get up, it’s time to get up! Remember, she’s the boss, applesauce!”

“Sure she is.” Placing a kiss on Millie’s temple, he settles her sideways on his lap; palm smoothing over her messy hair as she presses her face against the window and studies her surroundings. “What do you think of it so far?”

“I love it! I love the colour! Especially the front door! I LOVE yellow. It’s a great use of colour, dad. You know what they say? That EVERY house deserves a pop of colour.”

Tyler arches a quizzical brow at Esme. “Whose they?”

She gives a sheepish grin. “People on television. We watch a lot of Home and Garden Network.”

“Especially in the winter,” Millie adds. “When it’s too cold to go outside. Or there’s a snowstorm and we’re stuck in the house.”

“So you think it’s an alright place? That you’ll be happy here?”

“Of course, I’m going to be happy! It’s home. It’s where mommy and daddy are. It can’t get any better than that. But…”

“Uh oh…”

“You know what it needs? More colour. It needs flowers. To up the curb appeal.”

“Are you going to be a real estate agent when you grow up?”

“Nope.”

“Interior decorator?”

“Hell no! I’m going to be the person who builds the house. With my own hands!”

“That’s my girl.”

Esme winces in discomfort as she reaches across her body to unbuckle her seat belt. “Funny thing is, that’s what your daddy does. That’s one of his REAL jobs. He even owns his own business. He might not build houses from the ground up, but he helps make people's places bigger and better.”

“But I thought your job was kicking ass.”

“It is. Just not all the time. Only when Auntie Nik really needs my help.”

“So you have two lives. Two ‘yous’.”

“Yeah. I guess you could put it that way. The ‘me’ that was in New York City? Taking care of business? That’s the me that I don’t have to be very often anymore. The ‘all the time’ me? I help people in a different way. I make their houses bigger and nicer, I put up fences and decks, I build garages and sheds and even furniture sometimes.”

“Can you build a treehouse? I always wanted a treehouse.”

“Millie, I can build you whatever you want. Or at least I can try.”

“You know what his other job is? He’s a fireman.”

Her eyes widen. “Shut the front door!”

“It is. That’s the job I do the most. I won’t be going back for a while though; I’ve got a lot of time off to spend with you and your mom. That’s all that’s important right now. That you guys are safe and taken care of. And that the three of us get to be together. Get used to being a family.”

“Being a firefighter is crazy dangerous! And scary!”

“It can be.”

“Momma’s right! You ARE super brave!”

“I like to think I am. Sometimes, anyways.”

“She told me you’re the bravest person she’s ever known. And the strongest.”

Reaching behind Millie, he gently and lovingly tugs on Esme’s hair. “Yeah, well your mum is biassed.”

“Her mum tells the truth.”

“You’re our hero, Daddy. You’re brave and you’re strong and you keep us safe from the bad guys. We don’t have to worry about them when you’re around. ‘Cause you’ll do anything to stop them from even coming near us, never mind hurting us.”

“There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you or your mumma. You’re my girls. All that matters to me is the two of you.”

“And Lucy.”

“DEFINITELY Lucy. She’s one of my girls, too. Actually, she’s the ORIGINAL girl; I had her before I even met your mumma.”

“Mumma says she’s a really good doggo. A super smart one. I can’t wait to meet her. I hope she’ll like the toys and treats I picked out for her. And I hope she LOVES me.”

“I know she will. And she’s going like having a little sister; someone to play with and chase around and sneak her food under the table. She’ll be like a puppy again, just you watch.”

“I just hope she loves me. ‘Cause I already know I love her. So if she doesn’t feel the same about me, I’m going to be crazy sad. I’m going to…”

Her voice trails off as begins bouncing up and down on his lap; banging her palm against the window when Alcott steps out onto the front porch; flashing that dazzling and waving enthusiastically at her. And she squeals “Uncle Duey!” before Tyler pops open the door; not waiting for it to fully open before she’s slipping out of the vehicle and scurrying up the front walk.

Alcott is on the middle step when she launches herself towards him; his deep, rich chuckle and her piercing, musical giggle floating on the air as he effortlessly catches her and tosses her above his head. Once, twice. Before tucking her into his chest and showering her temples, forehead and cheek with kisses.

Esme pauses with her hand on the door handle. “I know it’s hard for you; seeing how close she is to everyone. The fact they got to be part of her life long before you did. And I’m sorry that it hurts you so much. I’m sorry for so MANY things.”

“I don’t need you to be sorry. We’ve moved past that. I don’t need constant apologies.”

“But…”

“I don’t need them,” he forcibly repeats, then lays a hand on the back of her head and pulls her into him; lips meeting her brow. “And it’s not as bad now. It doesn’t hurt as much. I’m starting to look at it differently. How I’m actually very lucky. You and Millie had these people around; watching out for you, loving on you and keeping you safe. Until I finally got the chance to do it.”

“I just wish I’d given you that chance sooner. I’m sorry I…”

“No more of that word, okay? There’s no need for it.” He’s mindful of the still tender line of stitches embedded in her scalp as he pushes his finger through her hair; hand cupping the back of her head when he kisses her. pushes his fingers through her hair, mindful of the still tender line of stitches embedded in her scalp. “Not anymore.”

“Why are you like this?”

“Like what?”

“So good to me? After everything I’ve done. After hurting you like I did…”

“I love you.” The answer is short and sweet. Honest. “I always have. I always will.”

Her lower lip and chin tremble as she struggles to hold back her emotions.

“None of that, okay? No crying. There’s no reason to cry. There’s been enough of that. And I don’t want this; you holding onto all of this…stuff. I forgive you. Now it’s time for you to forgive yourself. Or at least work on it.”

“How the tables have turned, huh? I remember saying almost those same words to you. About Austin. About how he forgave you. For what you did. And that it was your turn. To forgive yourself.”

“And I got there. Eventually. You will too. You’re not alone in this. You’ve got me. Millie. We’ll help you through it. Now…” Turning and reaching for the door handle, he’s stopped when she snags him by the back of his t-shirt and pulls him towards her. A hand on his cheek as she kisses him; long and soft and slow. A grin tugging at the corners of his mouth when he pulls away. “What was that for?”

“I need a reason to kiss you?”

“I didn’t say that.”

“Have you ever considered that I enjoy kissing you?”

“Have you ever considered you have crappy taste in men?”

“My taste in men is impeccable, thank you very much. Or at least it became impeccable when I met you.”

Smirking, he presses a kiss on her brow. “Sweet talker. Flattery will get you everywhere.”

“Yeah, you’re always up for a good, old-fashioned, ego-stroking.”

“And a good stroking of something else,” he teases, giving her a playful wink and then opening the car door and stepping out. Offering Alcott a nod in greeting before heading to the opposite side of the vehicle and assisting Esme; a protective hand on the small of her back as he leads her up the front walk. “You gonna be alright the rest of the way? While I give Wick a hand with all the stuff?”

“I’ll be fine,” she assures him, standing on her tips with a hand upon his chest as he leans down to kiss her.

“I worry.”

“I know you do. And in a strange little way, it makes you a million times sexier. Which is hard to grasp considering you’re already the sexiest man alive.”

“You and your shit taste in guys.”

“I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, my taste has become impeccable.” Smoothing her palms down the front of his t-shirt, her hand settling on his hips; eyes closing as she rests her forehead upon his chest. “I love you, you know.”

Smiling, he cups the back of her head in his palm and leans down to kiss her temple. “I know.”

****

Alcott greets her with a smile as he holds a squealing and giggling Millie upside down by her ankles. “Well there’s a sight for sore eyes.”

“Emphasis on the word ‘sore’.”

“You’re going to be feeling it for a while. To be honest, I’m surprised you’re doing as well as you are. That you’re even up and at ‘em.”

“It was now or never, I guess. Nik was getting tired of me; I was only a couple of days away from being evicted.”

“Look at mommy’s toe nails!” Millie calls out, as her fingertips swipe at her mother’s feet. “I did those! Watermelon pink! Mine match!”

“You’re going to make her throw up,” Esme warns. “Or pee her pants. She had a huge drink in the car before falling asleep.”

“I might do both!” The four-year-old announces. “I had a cherry and vanilla Coke slurpee! Daddy and I shared it, but I drank the most! Now I got the burps!”

“Guess your mum will be cleaning a hell of a mess off the steps, won’t she.”

“More like her father would have to clean it up. So let’s spare him the horror, okay? Blood and guts he can handle. THAT? He’ll likely toss his cookies too.”

(Millie hiccups as Alcott returns her to an upright position and settles her on his hip. “Daddy doesn’t like barf. I almost hurled on the plane and he nearly had a panic attack.”

Standing on her tiptoes, Esme straightens and tightens her daughter’s pigtails. “We don’t need to give away all of his secrets. Why don’t you run over and help daddy and Uncle John with some stuff? Grab your backpack and Lucy’s toys and treats. I’ll take you to meet her in a few minutes.”

“You just want to talk to Uncle Duey in private. I know your tricks, mom.”

“Well, there’s some things we need to discuss that little ears don’t need to hear.”

“What kind of things?”

“Adult things. That you…young miss…don’t need to be part of.”

“Are you going to hang out for a bit, Uncle Duey? Are you going to stay for supper? We haven’t eaten yet and I’m getting really hungry and I really want you to stay. Will you?”

“If your mum and dad don’t mind having an extra mouth to feed.”

“Are you going to sleep over? Visit for a bit? ‘Cause that would be really cool! Maybe we could even make a tent in my new room!”

“Tell you what, I’ll stay for a few days. So we can hang out. BUT, I’m going to stay at a hotel; so you and your folks can have privacy. You’re a family now; you need to concentrate on THAT.”

“I finally have a daddy. And not just ANY daddy, but my REAL daddy! The daddy that helped make me. Who put me in mom’s tum! How cool is that?! That I’d get my actual daddy in the end?!

Alcott presses a noisy kiss on Millie’s cheek before setting her on the ground, a hand resting on the top of her head. “You know, I think you’re a very lucky little girl. That you have the dad AND mum that you do. Because no one…in this world…could love you more than they do. You’re going to have a long and happy life, my little Amelia. With BOTH of them.”

“Daddy said that when something is meant to be, it always finds a way. He said that’s why mummy needed his help; because they were meant to be together. Do you think that’s true?”

“I think when two people love each other…REALLY love each other…they’ll find their way back to one another. Doesn’t matter how long it takes or how many obstacles are in the way, if they’re meant to be together, they will be. That’s what happened with your mum and dad. Although I do question her standards and her taste in men. Because if you ask me…”

“You know, you can be super duper cute, Uncle Duey. And really romantic.”

“You know, I have my moments. But let’s keep that between us. Our little secret. I have a reputation to keep.”

“Of being a big-time ass kicker!”

“Exactly.” Offering a closed fist, Millie bumps it with her own. “Now, you go.” Laying a hand on the top of her head, he gently steers her towards the stairs. “Listen to your mumma. Go and grab your things. I’ve got a surprise for you.”

“What kind of surprise?”

“A very nice one.”

“What is it?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise. And you can’t have it until you do what you're told; go and lend a hand and grab your stuff. Then you can meet Lucy and…”

“And then I get my surprise!”

“Exactly!”

“This is the best day ever!” Giving his leg a tight squeeze, she hurries for the stairs and then jumps from the landing; landing effortlessly on her feet and rushing off towards the car. Calling out for her dad and her uncle John; giggling when she’s teased and Wick playfully pulls on one of her pigtails; her high-pitched, exuberant voice floating on the breeze as she busies herself with helping pull bags from the trunk.

Grinning, Alcott shakes his head. “She’s…”

“A handful? Believe me, I know.”

“She seems to be adjusting alright. To this new life of hers. Seems excited to be here, that’s for sure.”

“The last forty-eight hours, she’s done nothing but go on and on about Australia. About how she can’t wait to live here. About taking beach trips and going fishing; learning how to ride a bike, going to school and making friends. It’s ALL she’s talked about.”

“She’s been through a lot. It hasn’t been the easiest of three weeks, that’s for sure. Bad enough on all of us, never mind a wee one. How have things been? Since she found out? About her dad?”

“Everything’s been great. Better than I thought it would be; I thought it would take her a lot longer to adjust to the whole thing and to forgive me for keeping him a secret. But it’s like he’s been part of her life forever. Like she’s never known anything different. She adores him. Wants to be around him constantly.”

“The best part of that is that she loved him before she even knew that he WAS her dad. How’s he been? With her?”

“Amazing. He really had to step it up after New York City; I sort of just threw him to the wolves. But he did it; despite all the pain he was in and constantly worrying about me and trying to take care of me. He just did what he had to do. Spent nearly every waking moment with her.”

“As much as what happened sucks for you, it was probably what was best for them. It gave them that time; to be completely alone and invested with one another. Gave them a chance to learn about one another. Without anyone else interfering.”

“As much as my body wishes it could get on board with that, it’s just not having it. How have things been here?”

“Quiet. For the most part.”

“For the most part, huh? I don’t think I like the sound of that.”

“Just a couple of people snooping. Coming around where they had no reason to be. Wick and I took care of them.”

“Took care of them as in…”

“As in they won’t bother you…or anyone else…ever again.”

Sighing heavily, Esme crosses her arms over her chest, hands rubbing at her biceps.

“Hey…” Hooking a finger under her chin, Alcott tilts her face up towards him. “...everything is fine. You’re safe here. Wick and I took care of things on our end, now all Nik has to do is handle things on hers. It’ll be over soon. For good.”

“God, I hope so.”

She glances over her shoulder as Millie and Tyler make their way towards the house. The latter gently suggesting that their offspring make multiple trips to and from the car, while Millie insists -despite the knapsack on her shoulders, gift bag over her wrist, and the top of a pile of small boxes cradled in her arms reaching her eyebrows- that she’s stronger than she looks and can see ‘just fine’.

“You know….” Esme turns back to Alcott, body leaning into his when he drapes an arm across her shoulders. “...I’ve waited five years for this. To be with him again. I have missed him; every second of every day. I spent four wondering what it would be like; to have him in her life and see them together and hear her call him ‘daddy’. Now it’s happening; it’s all RIGHT HERE. And I am so overwhelmed. With everything I’m feeling.”

“In a good way, I hope.”

“In a very good way. This is all I ever wanted. HE’S all I ever wanted. Everything we talked about…everything we planned together…it’s all finally happening. In this place. That we bought together. And that I never spent a single night inside. It’s a lot, you know? To unpack. And I’m so scared that something…someone…is going to take this all away from me.”

“That’s why you…BOTH OF YOU…need to get out of this life. And stay out of it. Once this is all over, you need to walk away for good. Or something bad WILL happen.”

“I’m ready for that. More than ready. I finally have everything I want. WHO I want. I want to be a wife and a mother. I want to share my bed with the same man every night for the rest of my life. Kiss the same man good morning EVERY morning. I want to make cookies for school bake sales and cheer Millie on while she plays soccer and watch her learn to surf. I want to have another baby. Or two. Or three. I am so ready. For ALL of that.”

“But?”

“I’m worried that he won’t be able to walk away. Or stay away. Not for good. I’m worried he’s always going to be tied to that life somehow. That it will somehow find a way back into our lives. Take him away from us.”

“Have you mentioned all this? Talked to him about it?”

“I haven’t exactly had the chance. I spent a week in and out of consciousness, and another five days trying to build up enough strength just to do shit like feed myself and get myself to the bathroom. There was never a good time to bring up something like THAT.”

“You need to. Just get it all out in the open. Let him know what you’re worried about, what you’re afraid of, all of that. Because it won’t do any good keeping that in. You need to say it. And he needs to hear it.”

“You know what my fear is? My worst nightmare? That he’ll take a job and go somewhere thousands of miles away and something horrible will happen to him. That I’ll lose him. Permanently. And he’ll be stuck there; I won’t have any way of getting him out there and bringing him home.”

“Esme…”

“I couldn’t deal with that. I just couldn’t. I’d never survive it.”

*****

Esme slowly approaches the couch; a sprawled-out Lucy regarding her with wide eyes and her head tilted to the side. While Millie trails a few steps behind, she crouches down in front of the sofa and offers a soft, calm smile.

“Hey girl…hey Lucy…” She holds out the back of her hand to sniff, the dog’s nose wet against her skin. And as recollection of a long lost and missed scent begins to creep in, Lucy’s tail begins to thumb energetically against the cushions. “...do you remember me? It’s been a long time, huh? I missed you. So much.”

The thumping of the tail continues, now accompanied by a butt wiggle and a soft yet happy whimper as Lucy wriggles closer. “Yeah…you remember. We were besties. We did so much together. I’m so sorry…” Ruffling the fur at the nape of Lucy’s neck, Esme then strokes the dog’s ears and scratches under her chin “...that I just up and left like that. I never meant to abandon you.” She leans in to press a kiss to Lucy’s nose. “Thank you, sweet girl. For keeping him company. And keeping an eye on him. Until I could get back to doing it.”

Swiping at loose tears with the back of her hand, she reaches for Millie.“I have someone I want you to meet. Someone I love very much. I had a baby while I was gone. And this is her…” Drawing her daughter to her side, she lays a hand on the top of the little one’s head and presses a kiss to her temple. “...isn’t she beautiful?”

“Hi Lucy…” Millie offers her hand for a sniff. “...I’m Millie. Well, my name is really Amelia, but I like Millie better. Everyone calls me that. I’m going to live here now; with you and my momma and my daddy. That makes us sisters. ‘Cause we have the same mom and dad. Just they adopted you and I was in momma’s tummy.” She giggles when Lucy licks her hand, then slides forward and swipes at her chin with her tongue. “I think she likes me!”

“Why don’t you show her what you got for her? I’m sure she’d love to see.”

“I got you some goodies.” Millie holds aloft a neon pink gift bag, filled with white tissue paper. “Some toys and some treaties. See…” Dumping the contents out onto the couch, she arranges them neatly in their respective groups; food in one pile, play objects in the other). “...I got you all different kinds of stuff. Squeaky balls, rope toys, ones you can chew on, a cool tug of war one that we can play with together! I’ll let you pick which one you want to play with first.”

“I think she’s more interested in learning about you right now.”

“Can I give her some treats? Do you think that’s okay? That daddy won’t mind?”

“He won’t mind at all, believe me. Here…” Selecting one of the bag of treats -duck flavoured- she tears it open; dumping a handful of the small ‘cookies’ into Millie’s palm. “...these are her favourites. Hold your hand out and let her take a sniff. She’ll decide if she wants them or not.”

“She won’t eat my hand, will she?”

“Lucy’s the last dog on earth that would do something like that. She might kiss you to death or you might pass out from her stinky doggy breath, but she’s a lover, not a fighter. The goodest good girl. Aren’t you, Luce?” She smoothes a hand over each of Lucy’s ears and the scruff of her neck, kneading lightly at the fur as Millie offers the treats in her palm. The dog briefly sniffing before hurriedly -and exuberantly- gobbling them up. Causing the four-year-old to dissolve into giggles when the nibbling at her palm turns into enthusiastic lapping at her chin and cheeks. “I knew she’d like you. What’s not to like?”

“We’re going to be besties!” Millie declares, and tosses both arms around Lucy’s wriggling body. “Aren’t we Lucy?!

Tyler’s hand falls on Esme’s shoulder as he joins them. “How’s things down here?”

“Good,” she smiles up at him. “Very good. I think it’s safe to say that Lucy and Millie like each other.”

“We don’t just like each other!” Millie declares, as she lies on her back on the couch; Lucy between her splayed legs, the dog’s stomach pressed against hers. Lucy panting and her tongue lolling out of her mouth as her new friend enthusiastically scratches at the ‘sweet spots’ behind her ears. “We LOVE each other!”

“That’s ‘cause Lucy has great taste. Don’tcha girl.” Tyler reaches down to knead the back of the dog’s neck. “Now I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you’re going to have to share me now. We’ve got extra people in the house. Extra b…”

Esme scowls up at him.

“Ladies. I was going to say LADIES.”

“The hell you were.”

“You know I’m just joking. Trying to get a rise out of ya. Although after the past ten days, I wouldn’t mind if YOU were trying to get a rise out of ME.”

She gives a derisive snort and a roll of the eyes. “You are too much.”

His fingers curl around her bicep when she starts to stand; helping her to her feet before his palm moving to the small of her back as she leans into him. Her body leaning into his as his lips meet the top of her head.

“You guys finished? Get everything inside?”

“Just put everything upstairs for now. We can tackle it later. Or tomorrow. Or whenever. There’s no rush.”

“So…” Alcott takes the stairs two at a time. Enthusiastically clapping and rubbing his hands together as he addresses Millie from the bottom landing. “...who’s ready for their surprise!”

“I am! I’ve been ready since you told me! But…” She nuzzles the top of Lucy’s head with her nose. “...can Lucy come and see it too?”

“The more the merrier. This is definitely a family thing.”

Sliding out from under the dog’s body, Millie jumps to her feet; patting the side of her leg and calling for the dog to follow as Alcott leads the way out of the living room and down the hall. Pausing at the door that belongs to the small three-piece bath just off the kitchen.

“Right in here,” he says, and nods towards the door. “It’s waiting for ya.”

“In here?”

“In there. Go on.”

She reaches for the handle, then pauses. “What is it? What’s in there?”

“It’s a bathroom.”

“But what’s IN the bathroom?”

“Your surprise.”

“But what IS my surprise?”

“If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a surprise, would it? Go on. Go see what’s in there.”

Esme’s brows arch quizzically as she glances between Tyler and Alcott. “What are you two up?”

The latter grins. “Just a little something. That we thought would cheer her up, especially after the last couple of weeks she’s had. And we thought it’d help make this new life of hers even better.”

“And just what would make it better? What…?”

“Bea!” Millie’s scream is ear-piercing; bouncing off the ceiling and walls and echoing through the lower level of the house. “Oh…my Bea!” She drops onto her butt in the middle of the floor and scoops the cat into her arms, cuddling her tight to her chest as she sobs into the glistening black fur. A concerned Lucy hurriedly padding into the room; settling herself in a sobbing Millie’s lap as she licks at the tears that stream down the little one’s face. “...I missed you!”

“How?” Esme struggles to hold back her own tears. “How did you…?”

“I had someone bring her to me. Someone I could trust. To get her safely. And here she is. I couldn’t keep a little girl and her best friend apart, could I? It’d already been long enough.”

“This was all you wasn’t it?” Esme glances up at Tyler. “You made this happen.”

“It was my idea. But I had help. Getting it done.”

“I thought you weren’t a cat guy.”

“I’m not.” Smiling, he wraps around her and gatherers into his side. Leaning down to press his lips against her temple. “But I have a feeling this one will grow on me.”

****

It’s before eleven when Esme steps out onto the front porch with Wick, the wood smooth and cool under her bare feet; the light in the front room and a small battery-powered lantern on a small nearby table providing the only illumination. Alcott departed an hour before; needing to get back to his hotel to handle some ‘important business’ before retiring for the night, but not before promising Millie he’d be back to see her in the latter part of the morning. With exhaustion and calm quickly settling in, Tyler tends to tucking Millie into -at her insistence- the confines of her brand new, four-poster bed. A simple piece of furniture that signifies the start of the second bedroom’s transformation; pink and grey camo bedding, the rest of the space a blank canvas for her -with some guidance and help- to turn into her own little sanctuary.

As Wick lingers on the bottom landing, Esme remains at the top of the steps; gathering the sides of the oversized hoodie she sports and wrapping them around her petite frame. “You gonna stick around for a bit? Couple of days at least? Millie would love to spend some time with you. Now that we’re away from all that craziness. And who knows when she’ll see you again.”

“I already said my goodbyes. Or should I say my ‘see you laters’. She knows it won’t be long. Until we see each other.”

“Still, a couple of days would have been nice. Just to sit back and relax. Chat.”

“As much as I wish I could just take it easy, I really need to get back. To New York City. I told Nik I’d help tie up all the loose ends. And I need to meet Charon. We have some…business…to tend to.”

“Business as in Winston.”

He smiles coyly. “The less you know, the better.”

“Do you think the High Table will do anything? That they’ll handle him anyway? For what he did to Tyler? To Millie?”

“They’d be hypocrites if they didn’t.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“He broke their most important rule. The biggest one. They’ll forgive some things. Some missteps. But THAT?”

“He deserves to pay for what he did. He could have killed both of them. Taken everything away from me. Everything I had just gotten back. That I spent five years missing and longing for. Winston tried to take that from me. HIM from me. And for what? Some weird, sick ass obsession?”

“He had it in his mind that you were his to have. And to lose. Winston isn’t used to losing.”

“I was never his. I was never going to be. And I certainly never let him think it was a possibility.”

“I think he felt as if he could guilt into it. Being with him. Hold everything he’s done for you over your head. Manipulate you. Until you not only gave in, but gave him what he wanted. EVERYTHING he wanted.”

“Never would have happened. I’d already lived through one asshole gaslighting me for years. I wasn’t falling for it again. And if he had managed to take Tyler and Millie from me, I would have killed myself before it happened. Before EVER being with him.”

“How about we concentrate on the fact he DIDN’T manage to do it. That Millie and Tyler are safe.”

“I think about it every day, believe me. But I also think about how he can’t get away with this. As if it isn’t bad enough that he was so ready, willing, and able to kill Tyler, he was more than okay with taking Millie out in the process. A little girl girl. MY little girl. My baby. And I’m sorry, but he can’t get away with it. He just can’t.”

“And he won’t. I promise you. Winston will be taken care of. You don’t need to know how or at whose hand, but he will be. You just need to trust me.”

“I do. I DO trust you. You know I do. I trust you with my life. With Millie’s life.”

“Your part in all of this is over now. This life? The job? It’s time, Esme. For you to let it go. To just walk away. Not many people in this world get that chance. So you need to take it when you can. Because if you keep even on toe in this pound, you are going to get sucked back in. And this life will swallow you whole. You know it will.”

“It’s hard to walk away when there’s still unfinished business. When it’s so personal.”

“That business will be taken care of. You need to let other people handle it now. What you need to do is go inside and start over again. Start a new life. The one you always wanted. You’ve been given a second chance with Tyler. To be with him. Have a life with him. Make a family together. Do you know how many people wish they could get that? Who's lost someone and will never get them back? Who would love to be in your shoes right now?”

“I know it’s hard for you. To see it. Everything just playing out right in front of you. You can’t get Helen back. And believe me, if there was a way I could change that, I would.”

“I know you would. But you can’t. You can’t do that for me. But what you CAN do? You can make a life for yourself. A REAL life. You can make that man your husband and you can make more babies together and your little girl can have both her mother AND her father. You never wanted all of this. To be in this world. You were never planning on sticking with it for the long haul. Dying some god awful, bloody death like the rest of us.”

“You’re right,” she admits, leaning against the bannister with her arms crossed over her chest. “I didn’t want that. I didn’t plan on doing this forever. And I tried to get out. I DID get out. And then that adjudicator showed up and turned my entire world upside down. Ruined EVERYTHING. I didn’t want to get sucked back in. I was done. I had met someone. I was going to get married. I bought a house. We were planning on always and forever. But it didn’t work out that way, did it.”

“No. It didn’t. You had to wait longer for it. But at least it’s happening. At least you’re getting it.”

Sighing, she reaches up to tuck wayward strands of hair behind her ears.

Climbing the stairs, Wick takes her by the shoulders and turns her towards him. “You can’t bring Helen back. I wish you could. But you know what you can do? For me? You can get the fuck out of this life. And STAY out of it.”

“I’m trying. But knowing that Winston is still out there after what he did…”

“Winston will be handled. Whether it’s by me or Nik or someone else. It’s not your fight anymore. It’s time to let someone else do the heavy carrying. You’ve done enough.”

“It’s my family. That he tried to hurt. It’s my little girl and the love of my life and…”

“And both of them need you. Not the you that’s connected to the job. The you that’s connected to them. You have to let that Esme go. It’s time. You need to be the Esme that they want you to be. That they NEED you to be. They don’t need ‘job Esme’. They need wife Esme. Mom Esme. And you can’t tell me you don’t need that, too.”

“Of course I need it. I WANT it. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“It’s done. Your old life. Whatever battles are left, it’s up to other people to finish. And it’s up to you to trust them to do it.”

“That’s a little easier said than done.”

“You’ve trusted me before. Many times. Trust me now.”

“I’ll try. And me saying that is no slight on you. It’s just that this is close to home. So personal. To just hand it over, you know?”

“I know it is. But you have to do it. If not for yourself, for Tyler and Millie.” (lightly squeezes her shoulders and pulls her closer to him, lips meeting and lingering on her brow) “You’re going to be alright, kiddo. You’re safe. And we’re all going to keep it that way.”

“You’ll let me know how things go? In New York?”

“Once things are taken care of, I’ll call you. Like I said, the less you know, the better.”

“And call me when you get there? So I know you arrived safe and sound?”

Wick grins “Yes, mom.”

“Well, I AM a mom. Which technically makes me your ‘mom friend’, so…”

“Speaking of being a mom, you should go and do just that. Tuck your little one in. Give her a hug and a kiss. And a squeeze. From me.”

Smiling, she reaches up to sweep long strands of hair off his forehead and away from his eyes.

“Take care of each other. LOVE each other. And be happy. If anyone deserves that, it’s you.”

Swallowing around a lump of emotion, she stands on her tiptoes and wraps her arms around his neck) “Thank you. For everything. Millie’s alive because of you. If you hadn’t helped that night…”

“I owed you one. Had you not helped me, this whole mess never would have happened. Starting with that adjudicator.”

“One had nothing to do with the other. The adjudicator, Alessio and his family. It’s not connected.”

“One led to the other. Had you not helped me that night…gone against the High Table…the adjudicator would have never had a reason to track you down.”

“How about we just call it even? Because I can tell this isn’t an argument I’m going to get the high ground on.”

“You can’t win them all, kiddo. But you’ve won plenty, that’s for sure.”

“You will be back, right? Some day?”

“Some day.”

“Because you know you’re welcome here. That our door is always open. So don’t be a stranger, alright?”

“Alright.” He gives her a final squeeze, then a kiss on the cheek. “You be good, Esme Drummond.”

“I will,” she promises, and then pulls away, using her fingertips to clear away the tears that manage to escape. Once more leaning against the bannister with her arms crossed over her chest, she watches him descend the steps and limp down the walk, heading for his car.“Hey!” She calls to him after he opens the door, causing him to pause before sliding behind the wheel. “I’ll see you soon, John Wick!”

He grins over the roof of the car. “Not unless I see you first.”

*****

She finds him in the master bedroom, standing at the side of the bed in nothing more than a pair of sweats that sit low on his hips. A duffle bag, one of Esme’s suitcases, and Millie’s wheeled Transformer case open in front of him; rummaging through them and throwing any dirty laundry into a pile near the closet. Clean clothing stacked on the bedside chair)

“Millie asleep?”

“Out like a light. Both Bea and Lucy are in there with her. All three are snoring.”

Sidling up beside him, she reaches into Millie’s suitcase. Closely inspecting a t-shirt to determine if it's clean or dirty. “She gets it from you, you know.”

“Her amazing good looks?”

“Her snoring.”

“So you’re saying she’s ugly? Which she also gets from me?”

“You damn well know that isn’t what I’m saying. She gets both her amazing good looks and her snoring from you. There. Are you happy?”

“I don’t snore.”

“Like hell you don’t.”

“I’m not taking criticism from someone who talks in their sleep. Who I can have full conversations with.”

“I haven’t done that in a long time.”

“You just did it last night.”

“What was I talking about?”

“I don’t know some guy. Tall, handsome, built like a brick house, had a huge dick. Apparently gave you the best orgasms you’ve ever had in your entire life.”

“Mmm.” She throws a sweater of Millie’s onto the dirty pile. “Must have been some random hook up in college.”

Tyler scowls.

“Baby, IF I was saying all that, it was obviously you I was talking about. Haven’t we had this conversation before? While I’ve been awake? About how you’re the first guy to achieve the previously impossible? It’s nice not having to rely on myself to get to the finish line.”

“You have dated some real losers, you know that?”

“Not that the list is lengthy by any stretch of the imagination, but yes, yes I have. And I married the biggest one of them all.”

“Maybe your second husband will be a step up.”

“I have a feeling he will be,” she chides and playfully smacks him in the stomach with a dirty sweater. “With some room left over for a little improvement.”

“A little? That’s an understatement.”

“I don’t know. I think he’s pretty perfect already. As is.”

Smiling, he leans down to drop a gentle kiss on the top of their head. “And you have the nerve to call me biassed.”

They work quietly and companionably side by side, and when Millie’s suitcase is finally empty, she moves it from the bed and sets it on the floor. Then takes a seat on the edge of the mattress; watching Tyler, as he continues to work.

“Wick get away alright?”

Esme nods. “Do you think he’s going to be okay? When he gets back to New York?”

“I don’t know. He’s gonna have a lot of big guns after him. Bigger and heavier than the ones that are going to be after me, that’s for sure. But, he’s been in that world a long time. Gone up against a lot of horrible people. And he’s still around to tell about it.”

“I’m worried. About him and Charon. When it comes to the whole dealing with Winston thing.”

“One thing they have on their side is that the High Table is after his ass, too. He broke their number one golden rule, yeah? Drew blood on Continental grounds. If they came after you for a lot less, I like to think they’d fuck him right up.”

“But he sits on the High Table. How willing are they going to be to punish one of their own?”

“You know more about them than I do. I was never caught up on that side of things. Not that I didn’t have a chance to be. It was offered to me. Working under them. More than once.”

“Not many people say ‘no’ to the High Table and get away with it. You’re one of the lucky ones.”

“Didn’t really save me, though. did it? They still found a way to ruin my fucking life.”

“Why didn’t you want to work under them? You could have taken jobs anywhere in the world. You didn’t have to focus on North America. You didn’t even need to step foot inside it at all. Why…?”

“Wasn’t my thing. All the rules, the politics, the bullshit. Less drama working for Nik. Only have one person telling me what to do and when to do it. Not a whole shit load.”

“You are kind of a lone wolf. You do prefer working alone.”

“I don’t know…” He over her, palms flat against the mattress for balance. “... I seem to remember a time I didn’t mind sharing the workload with a hot little brunette.”

“Just the one, huh? No others?”

“Just the one.” His lips briefly brush against hers. “The rest were blondes and redheads..”

Scowling, she places her hands on his chest and attempts to push him away.. “Oh fuck you, Tyler!”

Chuckling, he presses a kiss to her cheek and the side of her neck before returning to the task in front of him. She watches his hands as he works; strong enough to break bones and take a life, but capable of breathtaking tenderness. Long fingers and misshapen knuckles; various scars and imperfections that mar his skin. And his forearms; one of the features she’d immediately noticed when they first met. And she’s about to offer a cheeky comment when she notices the expression on his face; the darkened eyes and the furrowed brow.

“Part of you wishes you were there, doesn’t it.”

“Where?”

“New York City. Taking care of Winston yourself. Or at least helping.”

“I won’t lie, revenge is at the top of my list of wants.”

“Mine too. He can’t get away with it; trying to kill you, putting Millie in danger. It doesn’t seem fair that he could just walk away from it at all.”

“He won’t. There’s enough people out there making sure that won’t happen.”

“You’re not going to be one of them, are you? I’m not going to wake up in the morning and find out you took off in the middle of the night? Went back to the states to handle things yourself?”

“You’re not honestly asking me that are you? You can’t be serious.”

“I know how powerful revenge can be. And I know the lines that Winston crossed. Putting Millie in danger, the things he said about me in that basement, the…”

“I’m exactly where I need to be. Where I WANT to be. All that matters to me is keeping you and Millie safe. And if someone DOES decide to try something stupid and I’m not here…”

“You don’t think that’ll happen, do you? That Alessio will send someone? Or that Winston will track us down? You don’t…”

“I think you’re safe with me. You BOTH are.”

“I don’t doubt that. I know what you’re capable of. And I know you’d stop at nothing to protect us. But…”

“You and Millie are safe here. And I’m going to keep it that way. Do I know for sure they’ll send people? No. Would I put it past them? Also no. But I’m not worried. They can send all the people they want. They can send a goddamn army. I will destroy each and every one of them.”

She blinks at the brutal honesty and the anger in his voice; watching as he gathers up the empty suitcases and stashes them in the far corner of the room. Once more joining her, he drops heavily onto his back in the middle of the bed; a forearm over his eyes, his free hand reaching out to slip under both the hoodie and the tank she wears underneath. Calloused fingertips repeatedly skimming across the small of her back, travelling slowly from hip to hip.

Esme stretches out alongside him. On her side with a leg draped over one of his; her mouth placing a series of kisses along the line of his jaw and at the corner of his mouth before resting her head on his chest. Her eyes closed as her fingertips trace the various scars and tattoos that inhabit the right side of his torso. Unsure of how much time passes as they lay there; breathing in each other’s familiar scents, enjoying the warmth that radiates from one another’s bodies, relaxed by the sounds of their soft, rhythmic breathing.

He stirs against her; removing the forearm over his eyes and his palm moving to cup the back of her head. Thumb and fingers pushing through her hair to gently knead her skin, his lips meeting her brow.

“I thought we could just stay in the guest room. For now anyway.”

Esme frowns. “What’s wrong with in here?.”

“Delaney was in here. Right before I left for New York City.”

Reaching up, her hand briefly rests on the top of his head before her fingers push through the longer strands of hair.. “For what it’s worth, it doesn’t bother me.”

“Yeah, well it bothers me.”

Opening her eyes, she raises her head and places her chin on his chest, smiling up at him.

“In a couple of days we can head into town. Buy new stuff. Just start right from scratch. Make the room ours. No one else. Just you and me.”

“You know, oddly enough, I think that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“Come on, give me some credit. I’ve had better moments than THAT.”

“I know it doesn’t seem like much to you, but for THAT to bother you? To not want to share what goes on in here with someone else? Just keep it between us? That’s pretty intense, babe. No one would expect that from a guy like you.”

“A guy like me? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know, the strong, silent type that’s capable of killing a man a thousand ways with his bare hands.”

“For your information, my hands can do a lot more than that.”

“Oh believe me…” She nuzzles the long-healed bullet wound on his neck with her nose, then runs the tip of her tongue along the lines of his tattoo. “...I know what those hands are capable of.”

“Are you trying to seduce me?”

“Maybe. Is it working?”

“You should know by now that you don’t have to put that much effort into it. If any.”

She giggles against his cheek, her hands shoving their way into his hair when he kisses her; the long, languid, and delicious movements of closed mouth upon closed mouth. A rough, calloused palm begins a slow exploration of her clothed body; travelling over dips and curves, lightly squeezing, softly cupping. And he both hears and feels her sigh into his mouth when he intensifies the moment; pulling away briefly to glide the tip of his tongue over her top lip before aggressively pushing its way way inside of her mouth. Eyes closing and a shiver passing through her when his mouth abandons hers in favour of finding her neck; gently suckling and nibbling at the skin as his free hand pulls open her hoodie and exposes his collarbone.

Her entire body arches off the bed when teeth, lips, and tongue slowly make their way from one shoulder to the other; violently shuddering when the scruff of his beard brushes against the skin just above the neckline of her tank top. Keeping one hand buried in his hair, the other explores the bulging and rippling muscles in his neck and shoulders; tracing scars and tattoos by memories until he moves further down the bed and she loses all contact. Body tension in anticipation when a lone finger slides up the hem of her shirt; the calloused tip gliding across her stomach and drawing a perfect circle around her navel. Toes curling and goosebumps invading her flesh when he aggressively pushes the fabric of her shirt up to the hollow of her throat; his mouth placing a trail of warm, moist kisses from the top of her belly button to the valley between her breasts. And he groans in annoyance and disappointment when she suddenly yanks at his hair, forcing him to look up at her.

“I need to tell you something.”

“Right now? Can’t it wait? I’m kinda in the middle of something here.”

“Right now,” she confirms, and he gives a sigh and rolls onto his side, hand pulling down her tank top, then settling on her stomach.

“We gotta do this fully clothed. Or I won’t hear a damn word you’re saying.”

“You’re half naked,” she points out. “How’s that fair?”

“I’m not as distracting as you are.” Pressing a chaste kiss to her lips, he uses a fingertip to clear strands of hair away from the sides of her face. “You okay? Is this something I need to worry about?”

“No. I mean, yes. I mean…” She chews on her bottom lip. “No. You don’t need to worry. And yes, I’m alright.”

“What do you want to tell me?”

Rolling onto her stomach, Esme places her chin on his chest. “You have to promise you won’t laugh at me.”

“Why would I do that?”

“Because it’s kind of weird. Silly. Well, at least to me, it is.”

“I would never laugh at you. Or make fun of you. Unless it was about your height.”

Giving a small chuckle, she uses the pad of her thumb to trace the scars on his left shoulder. One a military injury he’d suffered years before he’d met her, the other left from the surgery he’d endured after the nightmare in Dhaka. “It IS kind of embarrassing.”

“How short you are?”

“No.” She playfully tugs at the hair on the underside of his chin. “What I’m going to tell you.”

“I thought we got over that a long time ago; being worried about telling each other things. I’m the last person you should feel embarrassed around. I mean, you’ve seen me with a tube up my dick so I could take a piss. You used to help me to the bathroom when I was in the hospital. It doesn’t get much more embarrassing than that.”

“You might change your mind after you hear this.”

“It can’t be that bad.” Combing his fingers through her hair, his hand briefly settles on the nape of her neck, gently squeezing before sliding under the hem of her shirt and resting in the space between her shoulders. Fingertips tracing slow, repetitive circles over bare, smooth skin. Just tell me.”

Sighing, she scrapes a nail along his beard. “I’m nervous.”

“About what?”

“That’s just it. I don’t know. And it makes no sense. I have no reason to be. But I feel shy and awkward; like we’re some couple just fresh into a relationship. We spent a year together. We shared a life. A bed. We were planning to get married. We wanted to have babies. We bought a house.”

“Five years was a long time. To spend apart.”

“But it came so easily to us. When we were back together. We still had that vibe, you know? We still fit together. Like we were never even apart. At least that’s how it felt to me. There was no hesitation. Not anxiety. We just went back to the way we were. Or close to it, anyway. That’s how it was for me. It wasn’t for you?”

“It was. Which is kind of scary in its own way. It should have been awkward. Considering how things ended.”

“But it wasn’t. And DID things end? For either of us? I may have walked away and a lot of time may have passed, but was it ever REALLY over?”

“No,” he admits. “It wasn’t.”

“Look how easy it came back to us. In New York City. Yeah, there was a lot of hurt and anger and I dropped a whole load of shit into your lap, but..”

“There was nothing shit about it. You showing back, finding out about Millie…”

“...things were still there. Between us. We still loved each other. And it was like we went back to how we were. We were always comfortable with each other; we always talked about anything and everything and nothing ever felt complicated or strange. Not even those first days in Dhaka. Am I making any sense at all?”

Tyler nods.

“So why am I nervous now? Why do I feel like this awkward little schoolgirl who’s getting ready for her first hook-up? It’s silly, right? For me to feel this way?”

“I don’t know. I feel a little nervous, too.”

“Really?”

“It was different in New York City. A lot was going on; between us and with the job and Winston and his bullshit. We didn’t really have time to sit down and think about things. We barely had time to catch our breath, some days.”

“I don’t want you to think it’s a bad thing. How I’m feeling. Because it’s not. There could never be anything bad with us. It’s just overwhelming. Being here…in this place…with you.”

“Do you want to maybe get something else?” Looping hair behind her ears, he skims his knuckles over her cheek. The cuts and bruises nearly fully healed. “Put this place up for sale and…?”

“No. That’s the last thing I want. It’s not about you or this place. Not in a negative way, anyway. It’s just so surreal. That we’re actually here. I spent five years wanting this; missing you and wishing things could be different. And now they are. Somehow we found our way back here. To each other.”

“You’re not the only one that spent five years wanting that.”

“You feel it too, don’t you? How overwhelming it is? In this chaotic, beautiful way? I KNOW you feel it. Because I KNOW you. I know your heart, Tyler. I know how deeply you feel things. How POWERFULLY you feel them. So I know I’m not alone in this.”

“It is a little…” He chooses his words wisely. “...scary.”

“I don’t want to screw this up. I did that once. I don’t want it to happen again.”

“It won’t.” Fingertips glide up her back and over the nape of her neck, hand cupping the back of her head and pulling her towards him; lips meeting hers in a long, soft kiss. His eyes riveted on hers as he brushes the knuckles off his free hand over the swell of her cheek; following the line of her jaw before cupping her chin in his palm, his thumb grazing over her lips.

“I can’t lose you. Not when I just got you back. I can’t lose THIS. We’re finally getting what we wanted. What we planned. We get to raise Millie together. Make an amazing life. Have more babies. Grow old and gray together. And if something takes you out of the equation…”

“I’m not going anywhere. Nothing’s going to happen to me. This is it. Once the mess in New York has been cleaned up and things are finished for good, we don’t have to worry about that life ever again.”

“Promise? Promise me you won’t go back to that.”

“I won’t go back,” he vows and pulls her into another kiss. Longer and deeper, tinged with urgency and desperation. Hunger.

Instead of pursuing it, he wraps her in his arms and rolls onto his back. Lips meeting her forehead before she tucks her face into that safe, warm place between his neck and shoulder.

“You’re home now, Esme.” His hand once more slips up the back of her sweater and tank top, fingertips ghosting along the length of her spine. “Where you belong. Where you’ve ALWAYS belonged.”

#Tyler and Esme series #Tyler Rake #Tyler Rake fanfic #Tyler Rake fan fiction #Extraction #Extraction 2 #Extraction fanfic #Extraction fan fiction #Chris Hemsworth #Tyler Rake x OFC #Esme Drummond #Esme Rake

[darklydeliciousdesires]

I love it when you open up requests!!! Can I please have number 3 with Tyler Rake please and thankyou!!😍🥰🤩😘

Of course, you can! :D

Smut below the cut, minors DNI!

Tyler Rake as a lover. The words thorough, energetic, and dirty as hell always come to mind when you think of your guy. He leaves little room for anything else.

Pulling out of the dripping mess of your sex, he gives you the kind of look that could make water catch fire, slapping your thigh, his grin widening. “Bend over, sweetheart. Let me spank that pretty little arse while I fuck you rough.” 

You grin, scrambling off the bed and moving to the chest of drawers, leaning across the smooth surface of the wood, Tyler's knee hitting your inner thighs, pushing your legs further apart before he sinks back into you with a gravelled grunt, his hand pounding off your butt cheek in a hard slap.

"Happy to be home, big man?" you purr, as he about rails you into the drawers.

"Always, darlin'."

#tyler rake #tyler rake fanfiction #tyler rake x female reader #tyler rake x you #tyler rake smut #extraction fan fiction #chris hemsworth fanfiction #chris hemsworth smut #chris hemsworth x female reader #chris hemsworth x you #ddd drabble requests

[hiddenwritingsintheworld]

So..finally back on the writing track….just to have possibly broke my dominant wrist 😅🥹

#what the actual fuck #why am i like this #wtf #I’m a hot mess #supernatural #dean winchester #sam winchester #spn #supernatural imagines #supernatural fan fiction #supernatural one shots #supernatural imagine #supernatural one shot #dean x reader #chris evans x you #chris evans angst #chris evans hot #christopher evans #chris hemsworth thor #christopher robert evans #chris hemsworth #chris evans

[neonponders]

From the Book of Who Asked, I bring you

~Things I’m tired of in this fandom ~

1. Complaining about Anti’s.

Someone needs to be the heretical aunt at the family reunion and it’s me. Stop complaining about anti’s. Either ban them or fuck ‘em. Make up your mind and shut up about it. Yes, I’ve complained too, but if a blog is putting out more posts about anti’s than a ship, you’re not a ship blog. You’re a hate blog. Which makes you as bad as them. Let that sink in.

2. Complaining about Dacre’s Feet.

Millennials found out about fetishes fifteen years ago and proceeded to let NO ONE REST ever since. I’ve ranted about this before, but human beings are literally supposed to be barefoot. Shoes fuck up the muscles in your feet. The feet are stronger and healthiest when barefoot, with calluses. Actors who’ve done extensive physical training know this. You see it all the time in Dacre, Hugh Jackman, Chris Hemsworth, etc. etc. Ironically, they’re all Australian -> a place that is huge on outdoor activities.

All of you need to touch grass and soft dirt with your feet and calm the hell down. These men are right. You’re wrong. Go run around a baseball diamond barefoot and realize you’ve been wrong your whole life. Get dirty for god sake. You’ll be fine, I promise. The experience of running over a random pebble might build character too.

Preferring bare feet over shoes is normal and literally better for your health. Let the man live, good grief. If he had a fetish, he would be posting other people’s feet, not his own. And even so, foot fetishes are the most harmless fetish out there. Look up fisting gloves and maybe you’ll lighten up.

3. Numbers. Don’t. Matter.

Okay, yeah, being the #1 ship for years is pretty rad. It was the easiest defense against haters who went after a fictional character with more gusto than political elections.

And you know what? Numbers didn’t matter then, either.

Here’s a shout out to the rare-pair shippers and small fandom creators because you guys have your heads screwed on right. The point to all of this, is ~fun~. Not competition.

5 years from now, there’s going to be a ST renaissance and all of the teenage assholes are going to have the life experience to see this show entirely differently. Remember how everyone in the HP fandom went from mourning and uwu-ing over Snape, to utterly despising him and how he abused Harry? Yeah. That’s going to happen. How exciting.

4. Steddie vs Harringrove vs God

Look, even I’m tired to Edward Theodore Munson IV. His fandom is Too Much™. I’m a quiet fan, because I still enjoy watching him immensely. I hugely enjoy the Eddissy ship (I firmly believe that anyone against Eddissy is a misogynist against Chrissy, but that’s a separate rant). I enjoy Steddie, Harringroveson, & Mungrove because it’s another way of seeing Steve and Billy being soft and loved on. And it’s cool to see JQuinn go from a small role-nobody to being able to retire if he wanted to. That’s an actor’s dream.

But the difference between Billy/fandom and Eddie/fandom, is that they’re opposites of each other. Fandom makes Billy better. Fandom is making Eddie worse. And the hyper surge of fame, as much as it’s giving to JQuinn, is also super cruel and uncomfortable.

Let the train crash itself. Seek the artists, editors, writers, etc. who are chill, inclusive, and make delightful content. They’re worth finding. Fuck the rest.

5. TikTok

Get the hell off tiktok. Or watch Dylan B Hollis -> someone who actually matters.

#get it while it's hot #delete later #rant

[multiversal-fiction]

♡ Navigation ♡

About Me ✽⚘ꕤ°

Hello! My Name is K or You Can Call Me Author. I’m 21, and I’m British! This is my first time writing fan-fiction so please be patient with me ✎

My Masterlist *ੈ✩‧₊˚

Fic Recommendations ˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ #mfficrecs

Who I Write For ೃ⁀➷

Marvel

Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch

Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow

Steve Rogers / Captain America

Tony Stark / Iron Man

Thor

Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier

DC

The Batfamily (Batmom!)

Bruce Wayne / Batman

Dick Greyson / Nightwing

Jason Todd / Red Hood

Diana Prince / Wonder Woman

Kal-El / Superman

GoT / HOTD

Daenerys Targaryen

Aegon the Conqueror

Visenya Targaryen

Daemon Targaryen

Rhaenyra Targaryen

Viserys Targaryen

Alicent Hightower

Celebrities

Emilia Clarke

Chris Evans

Chris Hemsworth

Sebastian Stan

Elizabeth Olsen

Gal Gadot

Timothee Chalamet

Tom Holland

Footballers

Lionel Messi (GOAT)

Neymar Jr

Cristiano Ronaldo

Kylian Mbappe

YouTubers

Simon Minter (Miniminter)

Ethan Payne (Bezinga)

JJ Olatunji (KSI)

#multiversal fanfiction #fanfic #masterlist #navigation #about moi #fic rec #game of thrones #house of the dragon #marvel #dc #footballer #celebrities