#hopefully my second attempt will be more successful

[likeimsittinginanairportbar]

i tried my best okay 🥲

#why does it look like that #i’m gonna try again #hopefully my second attempt will be more successful #latte art is a lot harder than i thought it’d be #the batman #the batman 2022 #the riddler #latte art

[garoujo]

✩ ˛˚ . WAKING UP WITH THEM feat. 𝓙𝓤𝓙𝓤𝓣𝓢𝓤 𝓚𝓐𝓘𝓢𝓔𝓝!

ஜ ˖ ࣪࿐ྂ characters: gojo satoru, geto suguru, nanami kento, fushiguro megumi + itadori yuuji

warnings! none, fluff ♡ ˖ ࣪࿐ྂ note! hi it’s been so long + i just got a sudden urge to write with the new season + all! life has been super cray but hopefully i get to do some more jjk again ueueue! back to my roots <3

✩ ˛˚ . GOJO SATORU

it was almost a mission getting up next to gojo, or more so having to actually get out of bed when you have your overgrown clingy boyfriend wrapped around you.

his breathing is soft, the rise and fall of his chest is steady and despite the way the light barely breaks into the room you can see the way his lashes still rest along his cheeks.

now’s your chance, you think to yourself as you ease gojo’s arm from where he’s got it draped over your waist — gently as to not jolt him awake as you push yourself closer to the edge of the bed. you gently swing your legs over the edge, but just as you go to push yourself up you hear the slow, drowsy drawl of a man who’s definitely not about to let you do that.

“oh, what’s this? i don’t think so, sweet thing.” your snowy haired boyfriend grunts as his arms take their previous place around your waist from behind, tighter this time before you’re pulled back into his chest with such an ease you almost squeak. you barely heard him move and the speed he always seems to despite the early hours still makes your head feel dizzy.

“you wouldn’t leave me cold would you? where’s your heart?” gojo teases but you note that he’s warm when he’s pushing himself into the crook of your neck, letting his lips graze along the skin there as he chuckles at the way you shudder at the touch. he knows you’re pouting, your little mission not so successful—but he still thinks it’s adorable the way you melt back into him regardless.. like you were secretly hoping for the loss.

“you were literally asleep a second ago.” your words are accompanied by a playful pinch at his cheek before his large palms graze under your shirt, squeezing at your waist as he pulls away to give you a tilted look. his sleepy smirk is in place as it stretches wide before he leans into to press a quick kiss against your lips, then another against your cheek that lingers.

“oh yeah? but i thought i was still in a dream, sweet girl.” crystalline eyes pull back to look over you, mapping out your features like gojo hasn’t already committed them to memory. but you think it’s unfair how handsome he seems to look in the mornings, especially when you’re trying to resist the way he makes you want to give in to his request to stay in bed a little longer.

“yeah yeah, just get up already.”

“nuh ugh, you’ve not even given me my good morning kiss yet. how will i survive the day, hm?”

✩ ˛˚ . GETO SUGURU

you need to get up, geto knows when your alarm goes off for the third time even though it was the first that woke him. “i know you’re awake, pretty girl.” he hums against your temple, but you’re still pressed up into him and every attempt to shake you gently awake has you inching yourself closer to his chest rather than to the edge of the bed.

“come on.” his words are accompanied by the smooth trace of his hands along the curve of your spine and you think it’s a little contradictory, the way he’s making you melt even more into him despite the way it’s supposed to be waking you up instead.

“sugu, but i’m tired.” a kiss to your forehead and a squeeze of his hand at your hips and you hear geto chuckle as he pulls back to look at you — his dark hair still messily framing his features as he pushes himself up.

“yeah? you seemed to be sleeping well when you were snoring.” he teases even as one arm still wraps around you and pulls you into him anyway. chuckling, long and low when you grumble before nuzzling into the crook of his neck to press butterfly kisses along his skin.

“i don’t snore.” you reply before you find yourself lost in him, geto always smelled good, so good you wanted to wrap yourself in him like the blanket you wrap yourself in at night. you hear him hum at your words; like he’s not quite convinced before he’s reaching over you to tap at the alarm, again.

“but we really need to get up.” he sighs but somehow manages to keep you still pressed against him as he sits up, letting you curl up against his chest as the first cold press of morning air rolls over your shoulders while he stretches.

you look up at him with drowsy features but it seems to warm you from the inside out when you notice he’s already staring, a smirk in place before he’s pinching once at your cheek and kissing your lips when they jut out into a pout.

“hey, don’t gimme that look after all of those alarms, pretty girl.”

✩ ˛˚ . NANAMI KENTO

waking up with nanami was easy, or more so being woken up by him. he was always up early, waking you up with a sweet kiss against your cheek, followed by another against your temple. his coffee still lingers on his lips but you think it’s familiar, like it makes the first stretch of the day come a little easier when hes resting over you.

“morning, sweetheart.” his voice is a low drawl but he knows you’ll probably still be in bed by the time he leaves. but you know you’ll walk into the kitchen to sliced fruit on the table and your slippers will be waiting in their place over the edge — perfectly positioned for you to slide into because he knows the floor is a little colder in the morning.

“morning, kento.” your voice is cute, barely audible but nanami’s still close enough to hear it as he lets his palm push gently down the curve of your shoulder — squeezing at the skin affectionately. your eyes are barely open, but you can still feel the way he tucks the comforter over you, sighing softly before he pulls back.

“do you want me to bring in dinner?” he asks, you’re barely awake but he still waits for an answer. a little nod follows and he smiles to himself when you subconsciously roll onto his side of the bed, seeking out the small remainder of the warmth he’d left behind although you’d still rather he be next to you instead.

“then i won’t be late, i have dinner plans now after all.” nanami pulls back to take another sip of his coffee but you still seem to find the consciousness to reach out to grab at the cuff of his shirt. a drowsy blink up at him and he knows he can’t deny you when he’s leaning over you again, leaving you with another few kisses that find him having to smooth down his shirt and hair again afterwards.

✩ ˛˚ . FUSHIGURO MEGUMI

you think it’s charming, the way megumi is already looking at you as you wake, blinking blearily at your dark haired boyfriend as he gives you a content sort of look. you blink again, stretching slightly before you roll onto your side, edging yourself closer before you speak. “were you watching me sleep?”

your question is still drawled as you tease him, barely awake but you can still see the way it makes him jolt slightly — like he’s been caught in a daze as the tips of his ears sting with a blush. “no” but his reply is too quick, followed by a tsk while he’s suddenly looking everywhere but at you with a pout on his lips that only seems to lure you closer.

you giggle as you press yourself into megumi’s side, humming at the grumpy expression on his face because you still think it’s cute the way he lets you climb all over him. “what? i think it’s cute.” he softens at that, slightly as his eyes dart quickly to look at you before they’re gone again.

you let the silence settle for a few moments before you feel his arm reach to wrap gently around your waist, securing you against him before he clears his throat to finally say something. but his gaze remains on the ceiling. “i wasn’t staring..” he begins before he gives you another quick look, “.. you, you just made a sound, i was checking on you.”

you hum at megumi’s little excuse as your press your cheek into his shoulder, failing to hide the way your lips are starting to stretch into a grin that he notices before his brows furrow slightly. “hm? you looked happy about it.” you tease again and you feel his fingers squeeze at your waist slightly as he breathes out a long sigh and curls you closer.

“shutup.”

✩ ˛˚ . ITADORI YUUJI

on the rare occasions itadori seemed to wake up before you, you were never far behind — mostly because he couldn’t seem to wait too long without you. so you always seemed to find yourself woken up by a few messy kisses, pressed quickly into your cheeks, then your neck, then your nose until you’re pushing him away playfully at the way they tickle your skin.

“yuuji! i’m awake..” you huff out as your overgrown boyfriend leans his weight over you, like a giant puppy licking his owner awake in the morning as he sends you a bright grin. you always thought it was cute how pretty he still seemed to be in the mornings, even when his hair is messy and it’s barely 8am— there’s still a soft sort of glow in his eyes when they meet yours.

“morning!” itadori replies, his voice is lower than normal but he still handles you softly despite how tightly he wants to wrap you in his arms. but he was warm, sort of like sunshine and you think you quite enjoy the moments when you get to wake up under the sun.

“do you wanna get breakfast?” you ask softly and you swear you feel your boyfriend squeeze you tighter at that. but your arms wrap around him and he doesn’t think anything is gonna be as good as the feeling of you against his chest right now.

“five more minutes, babe. i wanna cuddle a little longer.” itadori’s words are muffled when he speaks them into your skin, continuing where he left off on his onslaught of kisses as he peppers them across your features. across your cheeks, along your jawline and down your neck until he’s pressing you into your pillows and groaning when you scratch your fingers through his hair.

but you accept, even though in five more minutes you know it’ll be ten.

© 2023 GAROUJO. please do not copy any of my layouts or writing and translate or repost onto any other sites.

#݁ . ࿓ : sealed #jjk x reader #jjk fluff #jjk x you #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen fluff #jujutsu kaisen x you #gojo x reader #gojo fluff #gojo x you #geto x reader #geto fluff #nanami x reader #nanami fluff #megumi x reader #megumi fluff #itadori x reader #itadori fluff #gojo satoru x reader

[kyra-cooneyx]

get her back // a.putellas x reader

based on this request!

cute lil fluffy fic to kick off the new blog

if there was one thing you loved more than football, it was pissing off your girlfriend. alexia had the patience of a saint and you often found yourself pushing to see just how far said patience would stretch.

and that day was no different.

it had started in the morning when you decided to move things around the kitchen so that alexia wouldn’t be able to find what she needed for breakfast then you hid alexia’s car keys and phone, only giving them back to her when she threatened to make you run an unbearable amount of laps if you made the two of you even a second late for training.

you graciously decided to leave her alone in the car.

and considering how long alexia had known you, it really was stupid of her to assume that that was it for the day. so when she entered the changing room and opened her bag to find it completely empty, she knew she shouldn’t have felt so surprised.

when alexia looked over at your cubby, she found you sitting there with a cheeky grin on your face, a small—almost identical louis vuitton—bag hanging from your fingers.

you stood up and made your way over to her, clicking your tongue. “you grabbed my old one ale, you really should check your things before you leave.”

really you were lucky that all she did was snatch her bag from your hand before pushing you back towards your cubby. you could tell from the crease in her eyebrows that her patience was starting to crumble.

but instead of leaving it there like you maybe should’ve, you decided to toe the line a little more. during training, you did everything she said, not as well as you usually would but well enough that alexia really couldn’t call you out for anything.

it was around a minute after the water break had been called that you’d found yourself wedged between mapi and patri, the three of you giggling to yourselves as you squirted bits of your water over pina, accidentally getting alexia wet in the process. you had immediately apologised since your girlfriend was not the intended but given the moods you were both in, alexia simply walked away, not really believing the apology was sincere. your shoulders slumped, watching her retreating figure. and until lunchtime, you gave alexia the space she clearly wanted but wouldn’t outright ask for in front of your teammates.

as you grabbed your food, you saw alexia sat with some of the other girls, laughing at something vicky had said. so assuming the blonde had put what happened behind her, you took the empty seat next to her, joining the conversation with ease.

when alexia lifted her fork and you playfully knocked it against yours, you weren’t expecting her to shuffle away from you at all, never mind as quick as she did. much to your dismay, every playful attempt you made at getting your girlfriends attention had either been met with stony silence or a hard look, both of which left you deflated.

so again, you left her alone for the remainder of lunch. and you had been successful in leaving her alone until everyone started filing into the changing room to go home.

once it had started emptying, you shuffled over to alexia, looking up at her hopefully. the huff you let out at the lack of reaction almost made alexia break and if you were still looking at her, you’d have seen the corner of her mouth quirk.

“ale,” you whispered, eyeing the spare hoodie that sat mockingly in her cubby. any other day you would’ve snatched it without a second thought. and if you’d known that alexia’s genuine annoyance had long faded, you’d have done so again. “can you stop ignoring me now? i miss you.”

when that got no reaction, you began gently banging your forehead against her arm, muttering her name under your breath over and over.

after another minute of doing that, you sighed and took a step back. “come over to my place in two hours, i guarantee you’ll be talking to me by the end of the night.”

you really weren’t sure if alexia would come so when your front door finally opened, you perked up. and when alexia rounded the corner, she found you standing by the table, smiling proudly, where her favourite takeout was plated and her favourite flowers sat in a vase.

the smile that spread across alexia’s face had you sighing in relief. “i did good, right?”

“si, muy buena, mi amor.”

you blushed and motioned for her to sit down, the two of you eating in comfortable silence. once you’d both finished, you glanced over at her. “i’m sorry about today ale, i really didn’t mean to annoy you so much. and i really didn’t mean to hit you with that water.”

you watched as alexia stood, making her way over to you and pulling you up into a hug. you melted into her arms and she kissed your head. “i know.”

“and yet you made me believe otherwise, you’re so mean.”

“maybe. but you love me.”

“yeah, i guess i do.”

#woso #woso imagine #woso fanfics #woso x reader #alexia putellas #alexia putellas x reader #alexia putellas imagine

[aceyogurt]

Technical difficulties

Pairing: ex Vox x reader

Content: jealous Vox, fluff, implied sexual content, SFW

Summary: You and Vox have been apart for some time now, but after hearing you might be with someone new he pulls some strings…

You had originally broken up with Vox due to how busy he was as an overlord along with his dramatically high ego. Which as you can guess he wasn’t exactly content with your actions. Originally he swore you off saying he didn’t need you and even though you knew he was just mad, you’d be lying if it didn’t hurt. But after that break up things became incredibly awkward..

It was especially awkward because, technically you still work under him due to a contract. Which wasn’t ending anytime soon… To your surprise though he didn’t pull any strings to make your work more painful then it already it was.

Well that was until he heard rumors that you might be sleeping with another actor you met on one of your recent sets…

After that you’d been assigned to x10 more projects then you’d been used to absolutely exhausting you. And that coworker of yours was fired due to unknown reasons. And haven’t been responding to your calls.

This extra work load meant much more press conferences and interviews, and the one you had today you weren’t excited for. Why? Because it was Vox’s show, Vox was interviewing you. And boy you were praying he wouldn’t make things weird. I mean he cares a lot about image so surely he’ll be appropriate… right?

You get the recording studio and see Vox speaking to Valentino in the corner of the room, trying to ignore them you make your way to the food display, which had an assortment of treats you enjoyed.

After around your fourth strawberry tart a voice speaks from behind you causing you to jump. “You keep eating at the rate you’re going, you’re going to get sick on set.” You didn’t even need to turn around to know it was Vox. You roll your eyes and respond back to his comment.

“I’ll eat as much as I’d like, thank you very much. And if you didn’t want me to be eating you should’ve chosen different snacks” in response he just chuckles putting a hand on your shoulder. “Well I guess you’re right, we’ll start in five.” And before you could get comment in he walked off to deal with other affairs.

Your eye was already twitching you knew you were going to hate every second of those interview…

You sat across from Vox in a loft chair that was thankfully comfortable. The tape starts rolling and you hear his signature intro start playing.

‘Welcome to the show’ ♪♯

Vox had his typical smile as he starts the broadcast. He introduces you seemingly normal and began to get into the interview wasting no time. “Let’s start off easy, how have you been?”

“I’ve been well, been busy recently.” You say with a slight jab that only he would notice, and you know he does as he attempts to cover up a laugh with a cough. “So I hear, hopefully not in an exhausting way.” He says as if he’s not the one who assigned you this shit, and knowing you’re exhausted. You nod and decide to play his game back, crossing his arms. “Well it’s certainly keeping me on my toes, luckily I have a lot of good co-workers to keep me sane though.” You say purely to get a reaction out of him.

And man were you successful, he’s smile is strained and you can see him fisting his hand from what you were implying. “Well isn’t that lovely.” There was an akward silence before he spoke again. “Well how about we play a game yeah?” The rules of the game were fairly simple you guys draw a challenge card and if you fail to complete it in the given time the other person gives you a consequence of their choosing.

The first few rounds went by fairly smooth, with nothing worth noting, you both had won your challenges so…. This particular challenge you weren’t sure you were going to win though… “Well what’s the card say” Vox chimed in since you hadn’t read it aloud yet. “Eat a cherry pie in under 60 seconds” now this would probably be possible for you, if you for a fact hadn’t ate six strawberry tarts right before this. You already could feel the sickness you’d get from all these sweets. And from the grin Vox had you figured he already knew that.

Not even twenty seconds into the challenge you forfeit not wanting to throw up, you wipe your face with a napkin as Vox speaks about your punishment. “Well seeing you failed to complete your card that means I get to choose a punishment for you right?” He ask as if he hadn’t already planned out what he was going to say. You groan annoyed nodding as you just want to get this over with. “Just say what your thinking already”

He laughs “well, we all have heard the rumors about you and a certain someone getting together… mind telling the audience if what they say is true?” You should’ve known he’d ask about this, of course he would. Instead of looking at the camera you’re now looking at him. “Well normally I wouldn’t share private relations but, I suppose this case is an exception. Me and the person you’re referring to aren’t together nor have we done anything together.” You say unwillingly, see Vox had obviously been paying attention with every interaction you had with this co-worker since the rumors spread and he wasn’t able to fully get ahold of your guys relationship because, you made sure to hide as much as possible.

Now that you admitted that there was nothing between the two of you though another question rises into Voxs mind ‘why be so secretive’ this question though he didn’t want to ask publicly…

The talk show ends shortly after and you thought you were done dealing with Vox. Yeah no, around 30 minutes after the show Vox calls you into his office, which you reluctantly tend to.

“You asked to see me?” You say praying he wasn’t going to bring up what you think he was. “You know I was thinking, you say you didn’t have a relationship with him. But you took so many extra steps to hide from my view, which I can only see you doing if you’re lying about not having any kind of relationship… unless of course there was another reason?” He speaks so obviously full of himself. You bite your tongue in annoyance.

“My relationships and how I protect them are none of your concern Vox” he laughs, like genuinely laughs. “Good one, but we both know why I’d be interested to keep tabs on you guys, now tell me, why’d you do it…” he pauses being a lot closer then he should be to you, he leans down meeting your eyes. “Because if I’m being honest the only theory I have is that you wanted to get my attention”

You try your best not to react but of course your eyes avert his gaze. “Why would I even-“ his voice gets a lot more serious but still egotistical, “if I’m wrong all you have to do is say so” the room goes silent.

“Thought so” he says pleased with himself, you were pissed. And as he turns around he adds one final comment, “I’ll be free tonight”

#aceyogurt #hazbin fanfic #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel vox #hazbin vox #vox x reader #hazbin hotel fanfiction #hazbin hotel vox x reader #vox x you #vox hazbin hotel #vox hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin fandom #vox headcanons #hazbin hotel headcanon #hazbin hotel x you

[thebadboyfanclub]

Together As One (Daemon x Reader)

So this is more a twisted love type of hype, I hope you guys like the way I portrayed this request cause I wanted to give it more of a dark edge since Daemon is definitely a gray character. Hope you enjoy!

Mothers love their children, everyone could agree upon the unconditional love mothers held for their kind with no doubt in their hearts, songs, poems, plays, and any type of art one can think of have attempted to portray such devotion. None, however, could predict that some mothers have a certain type of fear for their child, like some whisper in the back of their heads warning them about the little glimpse in their eyes that was not like the stars but more of a scorching fire threading to burn everything.

That was the exact feeling Rhaenys had for her beloved daughter, the twin sister of Laenor, it would often baffle her how her husband could not see what was clearly there, (y/n) was always in competition with everyone about everything, the finest clothes belonged to her, she had to ride a dragon first, learn Valyrian faster.

Whilst Rhaenys prayed for her daughter's thirst to settle, the others praised her for her bravery, her determination, and her intellect, something that made (y/n) yearn for more.

“I would like to raise a toast to my dear brother, a married man to our future queen, may your wedlock be blessed with numerous children and a road paved with nothing but joy and success, Prince Daemon, hopefully you are next”

(Y/n) stood with a smile of triumph dancing on her lips before she raised her cup to gently take a sip, as she sat down Daemon's eyes followed her, he was well aware of her game, though he seemed unfazed and almost amused by her comment the truth laid somewhere deeper than the surface, not a single soul in this room would have been able to guess that the delighted twin of now future king consort was playing a game of cat and mouse with none other than prince daemon behind closed doors.

(Y/n) had been relentless in her ways to seduce Daemon, sneaking out at all hours of the night, sending people after him so she could know his whereabouts just so she could magically appear, the combination of sweet wine and her alluring voice was enough for Daemon to stumble and fall right on top of her, taking her for a ride to the addictive roads of lust.

She was stunning, flawless, a true Targaryen that screamed opulence and elegance with a face sculpted by the gods, the common folk would gush over the “oceans Angel” a nickname given by the realm for her angelic features, how would they know how dark her mind could get in order to make everyone yield before her?

-

“Mother”

“Dearest, how are you on this fine morrow?”

“I am well, the little one finally decided to let me get some rest”

“When I was pregnant with you I remember thinking you would kick your way out of my belly, the Apple does not fall far from the tree”

(Y/n)s daughter, Leora, leaned as much as she could to kiss her mother's cheek before she sat down next to her to break her fast, queen Alicent had already taken her seat along with her daughter Heleana and (y/n)s other son Elion, Alicent and (y/n) enjoyed each others presence, a mutual bond based on respect had been build over the years that was sealed by marrying Leora with Aegon and Elion with Heleana.

“The maester said you should drink more orange juice, it will help with the fatigue”

“As well as eat more meat, pregnancy is no easy task, you must be as strong as ever”

Alicent chimed, the birth of her second grandchild was one of the most important events, Alicent adored her first grandchild, beautiful Hael, a strong boy who was just now starting to learn how to walk, still, he had everyone wrapped around his finger.

“I appreciate your concerns but I am fine, healthy as a horse”

“It wouldn’t hurt, let us not risk it dearest”

“I thought once I get older I wouldn’t have to listen to my mother”

“Well I am sorry but that will never happen, drink”

(Y/n) had stepped up and appeared as the perfect mother, loving, kind, and caring, she did love her children, however, what she loved most was the things they could do for her, her firstborn daughter was now the wife of the king first born son, and her son was a strong, skill full knight that served the realm and came back in triumph, how could she not adore her perfect creations?

“How is the king?”

“I am afraid his health is decreasing, the maesters advise him to remain abed for the day”

“Rhaenyra will be questioned, he won’t sit this one out I am afraid”

“Ugh the precious Rhaenyra, I wish I could stay in my chambers until those god-forsaken days pass”

(Y/n)s smile was wiped from her face and in an instant it was replaced with an angry scowl, in a split second her hand had grasped her daughter, Leoras' eyes went wide with fear when they met the angry hues of her mothers.

“You mustn’t speak in such a way, I’ve taught you better”

Leora only nodded frantically, (y/n) had her own opinions over Rhaenyra, she however, knew better than to voice them, not even in such a secluded area of the palace, (y/n)s hold turned from forceful to a caress before she directed her eyes back to her friend and queen Alicent.

“Besides, the king will do as he wishes and if the gods bless him with the strength to stand he should be there, isn’t it right Alicent?”

“I couldn’t have phrased it better, my dear”

-

(Y/n) and Alicent were each other's shadows, one compelled the other and in the end one way or the other the result was one of their favor, (y/n) was disciplined and had mastered the act of a gracious and lovely princess, Alicent was strict and slipped under everyone’s nose as she cloaked herself with the act of a pious queen, the two of them had years up on the horse of being able to maneuver their way around the kingdom so the men would not suspect a damn thing.

Viserys had seemed to get worst which made him unable to attend even when Daemon and (y/n) went to his room to assist him, the king could not even sit up let alone walk, Daemon was disheartened, thankfully for him his dutiful and beautiful wife let him rest on her shoulder and like a soothing salve her encouraging words went over his wound of his beloved older brother nearing his end.

“My Love”

“(Y/n)? What- what has happened?”

“I apologize for waking you up my dear, it is your brother”

“Viserys? What about- no”

“My dear husband, you must be strong, I am so sorry”

(Y/n) grasped Daemon's hands tightly before she brought them up to her lips to kiss his knuckles, of course, she was one of the first to know, Alicent had rushed to her chamber and delivered the news herself, she had waited patiently as the king took his last breath, Alicent told no one, not even the maester, (y/n) had to know before anyone.

“Viserys”

Daemon had been taken over by his thoughts, they’ve always had their differences but at the end of the day, they shared the same mother and father, a bond that could never be broken, no matter how many times Daemon has run off he always ended up by Viserys side.

“My love, I understand that this is too much for you, however, we must prepare our daughter”

“What does Elora have to do with this?”

“She is to be queen, she needs her father”

“Queen? Have you gone mad?”

(Y/n) bit her bottom lip in combination with her head tilting to the side, as if nothing but a mere candle lit her face Daemon could still identify the features that he so adored but now he could not wrap his head around what was his wife suggesting.

“My lord husband, King Viserys has left us, it is only natural for his son to succeed him”

“It is expected for his firstborn, Rhaenyra, to do so, not Aegon”

“Where is the princess? But in a place where she could have visited if she wished, when has she even attempted to come and visit her beloved father who was in agony all these years? She only came when her privilege was at risk and then blamed Alicent who has served by the king's side for his illness”

“This is not a matter to discuss”

“But it is, the gods know I loved Viserys and he had been good to me, but let us not forget he killed his first wife in his desperate attempt for a male heir, he remarried and Alicent gave him an heir and a spare and still it was not good enough, he passed by you and his sons to bury his guilt by calling Rhaenyra the heir, it wasn’t because he trusted her or because he saw something in her, he passed the title on to her because he did not trust you and then because he wanted to wash the blood of queen Aemmas from his hands”

Silence fell upon them, (y/n) pulled away from her husband and headed towards the door, as his hand rested upon the handle she turned her head back to lord husband who was visibly shaken, (y/n) might appear disheartened but she could detect that her monologue had started to creep on to Daemons heart.

“I love you with all my heart, that is why I shall leave you to grieve, if you wish to run to her I will…. Understand, it is not like I ever doubted the unconditional love you have for the realm delight, now might be your chance to pursue it”

Her tone was drowning in sorrow leaving Daemon with an unwavering sense of guilt in a dark room as his wife had disappeared to place her hand over a war of fire and blood, (y/n) was correct, Daemon did love Rhaenyra, still, he did not place his flame for her over what he had built with his wife over the years.

(Y/n) walked away with a smile of triumph, she had done her part flawlessly and now she was certain that Daemon would be by her side before the crown was placed on Aegons head, however, she did not have time to waste, Alicent and (y/n) were the ones to wake the new king and queen, preparing them for what they had destined to be.

“You may enter”

“Prince Daemon is asking to see his daughter and wife, alone”

(Y/n) stopped brushing her daughter's head, carefully placing the golden brush down before she looked down at her daughter who nodded in approval.

“Let him in, do not allow anyone to disturb us”

“Right away”

The girl curtsied as quickly as possible before she disappeared only to be replaced by none other than Daemon. (Y/n) took a sharp inhale through her nose once he entered the room, preparing herself for a mental battle, surprisingly when her eyes scanned for his she was met with a certain lightness, an ease to him that caught her by a pleasant surprise.

Instinctively a small smile played on her lips, her Daemon was dressed in his black attire, leather suited him, and his hair was pulled away from his face the way she always told him to do it.

(Y/n) was not made of stone, she might play like she is though her heart skipped a beat every time she was near her lord husband, Daemon was one of the very few people that (y/n) would throw herself in the fire, even though their love felt like the flames licked her back, that sweet pain of admiration and devotion that the poets would sing and the common folk would go mad.

“My dearest loves”

Daemon declared, that their daughter rose from her chair and ran to her father, she was always the one known to succumb to emotions and this time (y/n) could not scold her over it, Leora was her father's daughter, (y/n) might not have spoken over the matter only to allow the young girl the solidarity of her feelings, inside Leora was always waiting for her father to walk through this door.

“You look beautiful, a perfect gown for the queen”

“Father I-“

“Before I handed you over to Aegon I made you a promise, do you remember it?”

“I will do anything to see you happy”

“I will put myself through war if you tell me that this is what you want, all you have to do is say it”

Daemon was no fool, he was certain that the second that crown graced his daughter's head a war would nip their heels, Rhaenyra would not go down without a fight and that meant that Daemon would have to face her in battle, a battle he was willing to put for his lovely Leora.

“I want to be queen, I want Aegon to be our king”

“Very well, I wish you a fruitful reign, may the Gods smile down upon you”

‘May the Gods have mercy on us’ he thought, with a smile he brushed away those dark thoughts only to place a kiss on his daughter's forehead, a small part of him screamed that this was the right thing, his brother never thought he was good enough, now his brother was on the ground and his daughter was crowned queen and would carry on the legacy of the Targaryen name.

“Go on now, I want to have a word with your mother”

“I will be waiting for you”

Leora informed them before she gave them the privacy Daemon desired. (Y/n) stood as still as a statue, her heart pounding on her chest as her throat grew dry and scratchy, she was the master of composure up until now, faced with the only person who could make her waver.

“My beautiful, sweet lady wife, you spoke harshly last night”

“I spoke nothing but the truth”

She threw back in a cold tone. Daemon only smirked as he started to approach her, she did not dare to move, (y/n) was comforted by his light-hearted manner though there was an underlying mischief, Daemon was playing something, and (y/n) was left trying to catch up before it is too late.

Daemon stood before her, his arm finding her forearms and giving them a gentle squeeze, his eyes gazing back at hers with a glimmer that (y/n) had grown to yearn for, she despised the fact that she had to manipulate him like this, she was left with no other choice but to do this, a side of hers cursed the day Rhaenyras and Daemons fates met, this would have been so much easier had (y/n) been the only women Daemon loved.

“You are so bright, I am almost disappointed that you didn’t foresee this”

“The war?”

“No, me, you think I have not caught wind of all the scheming against Rhaenyra? The upbringing of my daughter to become the wife of my brother's firstborn son, putting our son on the sea the minute he was born to have better knowledge of anything driftmark related to gain the favor of your father, every step you so amazingly calculated with Alicent so you can get our family here”

“You have gone mad”

“I saw behind the facade and that makes you nervous, I was there with you every step of the way you mustn’t be frightened, I let you do all this for only one reason”

“Alright, let us entertain this absurd claim of yours, what is the reason?”

“Because I love you”

(Y/n) mouth slightly parted in shock, Daemon had professed his love for her on multiple occasions but the weight on this one was different, he had pulled what she thought was the perfect cover, leaving her bare in front of him, uncovering her thirst that she had kept away from everyone.

“I love you so much that I will let my daughter become the target on Rhaenyras mind, I will go against the woman that you think threatens your position in my heart, I will put myself in the sword before I let her even get one strand of your hair because you and our daughter want this”

“And you don’t? You always held a grudge over the fact that Viserys never declared you as his heir”

“My brother is dead now and because of you our child wishes to be a queen, I picked you as my second wife because I saw your strength, your determination, you need to come on top, that is the Targaryen fire through and through”

“You truly mean all this?”

“You are my lady wife, you gave me a home, now it is time to show the realm that we are the rightful heirs of the throne, together as one”

(Y/n) reached daemons lips for a passionate kiss, his hands slid down to her waist and pulled her as close as humanly possible, sharing this moment meant everything to (y/n), she had him devotedly by her side, he saw her true nature and walked straight into her fire, surrendering in her and even shielding her and her family.

“Let us find out daughter, I want us to be the ones to place the crown on her head”

“I wouldn’t dare let anyone else have that honor”

Requests are open!

#hotd fanfic #hotd imagine #hotd #hotd fic #hotd x reader #daemon targeryen x reader #daemon #daemon targaryen x y/n #daemon targaryen headcanon #daemon targaryen x oc #daemon targaryen fic #daemon targaryen fanfic #daemon targaryen fanfiction #daemon targaryen x reader #daemon targaryen imagine #daemon targaryen x you #daemon targaryen #daemon targeryan #daemon x reader #hotd daemon #daemon x you #daemon imagine #house of the dragon fic #house of the dragon #hotd fluff #SoundCloud

[ellieluvr420]

Friends? Never. Pt.15 (Ellie Williams x reader)

SYNOPSIS: You and Ellie had been bitter enemies for years now but before that you were best friends. You had always planned to be roommates one day but when that becomes a reality the situation isn't exactly how you both imagined it.

Story-typical violence, brief mention of attempted SA and SMUT so mdni pls and thanks xoxo

Wow this is a long one, sorry it took me a couple days but I hope it was worth it for you angels, thank you so much for all the love on this series!! Also only ten more chapters left omg! I'm so excited for you guys to read the next chapter, hopefully you will love it as much as I do already <3

As Ellie approached the cabin, a sickness erupted in her stomach as she struggled to swallow the lump in her throat, it had to be you in there, she didn’t know what she would do if it wasn’t. She inched open the door and called out your name, bile rising to her mouth when the only response is silence. “Fuck.” She calls out your name again and when there’s no response she feels her body crumbling as her heart shatters but just before she goes to turn and leave completely defeated, something catches her eye, a shiny metallic glint poking out from behind the sofa. She rushes over to it and as she yanks it from its position on the floor she gasps. Your cross-body bag you had had on you when you left that morning. “Oh my god you were here.” She mutters to herself before slinging the bag over her body and searching the house just in case, she notes two infected dead in one of the bedrooms but she knows they aren’t you just from their size and clothing, so she moves on without a second thought. When she knows the house is empty she rushes outside and notices the hoof tracks leading towards the shed, the door hanging off its hinges allowing her to see its empty inside also. She can feel the panic driving her to insanity but she concentrates on her breathing as she tries to think rationally about what could’ve happened. Maybe you had just left it because it had no use to you, she ripped it open and when she saw what was inside her stomach only sank further, band-aids, a small bottle of water, a lighter and some other things but each of them would’ve been of some use to you. She had always made fun of you for bringing so many random things in that tiny bag wherever you went but now she understood, so why hadn’t you taken it with you? 

She rushed back to Shimmer as she realised you could be in trouble and immediately starts off again despite the blanket of darkness making her journey all the more dangerous. She had already emptied multiple magazines as she shot at any infected that jumped out of the darkness at her, if she wasn’t in such a rush she would’ve stopped and taken some out with her switchblade but she couldn’t waste any time, she needed to get to you. She was beginning to lose hope, the flame inside her slowly dying as she continued searching with no success until she heard voices, men, chatting and laughing. She hopped off of Shimmer and crept towards the sounds. 

“Did you see the catch we brought in earlier? God she was a fighter but fuck is she gonna be worth it.” 

“She that pretty huh?” 

“Oh yeah, you’re gonna love her.” The rage inside her boils, even if they aren’t talking about you the conversation between the two men still made her want to rip their throats out, she tried to ignore the twisted hope inside of her that they were talking about you because it means you could be getting hurt and abused but all she could think about is if it is you, that means she’s close to getting you back. She emerges from the bushes where she had been crouched listening with her gun trained on them as they both freeze at her sudden appearance. 

“Get on your knees, put your hands behind your heads.” Neither of them move, still frozen in shock. “Did I fucking stutter? NOW!” She cocks her gun and they both immediately drop to their knees, putting their hands on their heads, she rushes over to them and removes each of their guns and a knife from one before throwing them out of reach. She stands before them and as she makes eye contact with one she rapidly aims her gun at the others knee and shoots, he falls down with a shriek of agony and as the other leans forward to look at his friend she slams her foot into his face sending him flying backwards. She crouches over the one she had kicked, completely ignoring the one writhing around in pain from the bullet wound. “Listen to me very carefully, describe the girl you were just talking about.” He groans in pain as he clutches his nose that was bleeding profusely, she grows impatient and stomps down onto his face once again. “I’m not gonna ask you again, describe her.” He lets out a shaky breath and begins describing you in perfect detail and her heart flips knowing you’d be with her soon. “Good, now whisper so that your friend can’t hear, where is she being held?” 

“A-at our base, keep going northeast from here and you’ll find it, it’s not far, please I’ll- I’ll take you there, you can have her back, we can make a deal.” He pleads still in a whisper, she sneers at him and brandishes her switch blade before diving it into the man’s fore arm until she feels it sink into the ground, pinning him in place, he wails and curses her but she pays no mind as she walks over to the other man that had gone grey from blood loss and pain.  

“Where’s your base? Your story better match his.” 

“N-northeast from here, ‘bout a fifteen-minute walk so won’t take you long.” 

“Good, you’re not as stupid as you look.” She raises her gun and without a second thought shoots him straight between the eyes before walking over to the other man who was writhing around desperately trying to free himself from the switch blade dug into his arm, she raises her gun and delivers a shot to match his friends before ripping her knife from his arm, wiping it on her jeans and replacing it in her jeans pocket. She rushes back to Shimmer and heads in the direction of the base until she sees the light of multiple campfires surrounded by tents that varied in size. There was a quiet bustle of people moving around and as she watched she tried to figure out how many she was dealing with and where you could be. She had planned to move quietly and try to get to you with the least confrontation as possible but when she makes eye contact with a man standing by one of the fires she throws the plan out the window and begins shooting at every person in sight. 

She watched them drop to the ground like flies and there was not a hint of remorse in her, most of them were unarmed, arrogant she thought, but it only helped her cause as she moved through the base, searching each tent and massacring anyone that crossed her path. The ground beneath her feet was painted red and the sight only exhilarated her. She was so close, she could feel it, the magnetic pull between you tugging her closer and closer to you. Gun shots began to ring out around her as the few men that had escaped her grasp had armed themselves and were closing in on her where she was crouched behind one of the many tents you weren’t in. She checked the ammo she had left and catalogued it against the number of men she could count, and she was low, really low. As she heard their steps getting closer, she prepared herself for what was likely to be her last fight but as the sound of gunshots is accompanied by the repetitive thudding of bodies dropping to the ground, she pokes her head round the corner to see the men that were creeping up on her, dead in a pile on the floor. She looked around in awe and as her eyes fell on you emerging from round a corner cautiously, she feels her body relax as she exhales a breath she hadn’t realised she was holding in, she jumps up and out from the corner where she was hiding and immediately raises her hands in panic as you raise your gun at her. “Hey it’s me, it’s okay.” You lower your gun hesitantly before running over to her and body slamming her to the ground in as you press kisses all over her flushed face. 

“Oh my god, you’re here. I’m so sorry I ran, are you okay?” 

“I’m fine, are you?” 

“Yeah, yeah I’m good but there’s more coming so we gotta go.” You rush out as you clamber off of her, pulling her up with yourself. “You ready?” 

“Always.” You hand your gun to her before going over to one of the men and grabbing the rifle from him and checking the chamber for bullets. You both run through the base, shooting at anyone that even crossed your path before you gasp and stop, Ellie running straight into you. “What’s up babe?” 

“They have Greg, we have to find him.” 

“Seriously? Shimmer’s tied up just outside, we’ve got a horse.” 

“I know but Ellie he’s my baby, I can’t leave him.” She shoots at a man running at you from behind before sighing and nodding. 

“Fine, come on.” You both sneak away from the main path and begin searching the perimeter until you see the shiny grey speckled coat of Greg. 

“Oh my god, look there he is, watch my back I’m gonna go get him.” You run off before Ellie can reply before slowing down and approaching him gently as to not spook him while you untie his reins from the post he was attached to before climbing onto his saddle and holding a hand out to Ellie, she takes it with no hesitation and you both speed away from the base until you reach Shimmer where Ellie quickly jumps onto her back so you can continue fleeing the scene of your massacre. 

Once you were sure you weren’t being followed you let the horses slow down to a trot to let them catch their breath as you made your way through the dense forest, both on full alert as you’re sure there’s infected that would’ve been drawn to the area from all the commotion. 

“If you wanna keep looking for your parents we can, I’m sorry I was such an asshole about it earlier.” 

“It’s okay, you were trying to keep me safe and they’re probably long gone by now anyway. Let’s just go home.” There was a hint of sadness in your voice but she decides not to press further for now as you both continue on in silence, processing all that had happened in the past few hours. 

4 HOURS BEFORE 

As you walked through the door you let out a choked cry as you immediately recognised the turning-infected standing before you. 

“Mommy.” Your voice is strained as tears begin to fall down your cheeks, you were too late. You don’t even have a chance to grieve them as your father, though not really your father anymore, comes lunging at you. “No, no, please don’t make me do this.” You cry as if they have any control over their actions, you hold him away from you as he snaps his teeth at you and before you can second guess yourself you dive your knife into his neck, his blood splattering over you and the floor as he drops letting choked groans out of his mouth. Your mother screeches and lunges at you and you sob more as you hold her away from you. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I love you, I’m sorry.” You repeat as you take her down too until they are both unmoving on the floor. You walk out of the room, closing the door behind you as the sobs shake your body. As you make it to the living room, you collapse onto the floor as the sobs don’t stop even for a second, your parents were dead, you had killed them. 

You stay curled in a ball, holding yourself as you cry until you fall into a restless sleep. 

You’re woken as you feel your body being shuffled and shaken and as your eyes meet those of the man binding your wrists together your breathing quickens and your eyes widen in fear. “AGH GET OFF ME YOU PRICK!” You scream as you thrash around in his arms, you managed to kick him hard enough to jump up with difficulty due to your wrists being tied and as you make a run for the door, he grabs onto your ankle and yanks sending you crashing to the floor, hitting your jaw hard enough you felt like you had broken it, you groan and kick at him but his grip around you was tight enough you were having trouble breathing.  

“Guys get in here! She’s fucking fighting.” 

“GET OFF ME I’LL FUCKING KILL YOU, YOU’RE ALL GONNA DIE. GET OFF ME!” You shriek as two of his friends walk in with equally excited looks on their faces that make you sick to your stomach.  

The rest of the journey to their base was a blur but as you’re thrown into a tent by two men who then stand at the entrance, guns in their hands you sigh realising the gravity of your situation. You guess a couple hours had passed, though you had no actual idea, before a man you hadn’t seen before walks into the tent with a menacing grin plastered over his features. 

“Wow they didn’t say just how pretty you are.” His voice is gravelly and it sends a shiver down your spine as he inches closer to you. “Hey if you beg I might go easy on you.” He chuckles as he reaches for his belt buckle. 

“Fuck you, I’m not begging for shit.” You deliver a hard kick to his shin and he keels over with a hiss before back handing you hard enough you fall onto your front. 

“You’re gonna fucking regret that.” He sneers at you as he pins you down despite your thrashing, you clamped your eyes shut and prepared for the worst but it never came because gunshots started thundering down just outside the tent causing him to halt his movements and clamber out of the tent. The shrieks and cries are almost drowned out by the consistent gunfire and you realise this is your chance to run, you sneak to the entrance and look through the tiny gap, there’s only one man guarding the tent now which makes your life all the more easier. You burst out of the tent, snatching the gun from the man’s hands and shooting three times, overkill, you thought, but you were pissed. He drops to the ground and you immediately survey your surroundings, there are people scattering in all directions but you watch as so many of them fall to the ground in their fleeing. You creep throughout the base and swap your gun for one lying by one of the many dead bodies, checking the magazine and pushing forward. You’re hidden round the corner of one of the larger tents in the base and you see a group of men, all armed, enclosing on a tent a few metres away and you take your aim and eliminate each one before they even know where the shots are coming from. You wait for a second to check it’s clear before emerging from round the corner where you were hidden to check you had shot them all fatally.  

“Told you you’d all die.” As you’re looking over the bodies with a sick sense of satisfaction you hear a shuffle and immediately raise the gun only to hear the only voice you wanted to hear in that moment. 

“Hey it’s me, it’s okay.” It’s Ellie, she’s here, she found you and she saved you.  

“Ellie.” You whisper to yourself as you leap at her sending you both falling to the ground as relief floods through your veins like gold. 

“So how did you find me?” 

“I found the cabin and your bag and then when I was searching the area for you, I found these two guys from that group... I made them talk.” Ellie mutters the last part of her sentence in shame, she would’ve done anything to find you, but she doesn’t like the thought of you knowing the extent of it for fear you’d see her as the monster that she believes she is. 

“Thank you Ellie. If you hadn’t saved me when you did...” Your sentence trails off as you can’t bring yourself to say the words you’re sure would hurt her more than you, you don’t meet her eyes that are staring intently at yours and she decides not to press further. 

“So errr I think we’re really fucking lost.” She admits as she scratches at the back of her neck as she tries to make sense of any of her surroundings, failing miserably. 

“Yeah I’ve got no fucking clue where we are. Maybe we should find a place to stay and figure it out in the morning when we can actually see more than a few feet in front of us.” 

“Mmm this is why you’re the brains of the operation babe.” 

“Yeah we’d be fucked if it was you.” 

“I was being nice and this is what I get it.” You chuckle at her as you both continue making your way through the dense forest, now looking for somewhere, anywhere, to stay the night. As a comfortable silence falls over you both your mind casts back to the memories of the cabin and your eyes sting as tears prick at them, you’re so trapped in your mind, falling victim to the never-ending voices telling you that it’s your fault your parents are dead, that you’re a monster for killing them, that you don’t deserve anything good, that you don’t notice Ellie’s repeated, muffled calls of your name until her hand is squeezing your shoulder causing you to jump abruptly and spin your head to meet Ellie’s worried expression at your glassy eyes and quivering lip. 

“Babe, what’s up?” 

“Nothing, nothing, just a long day, what were you saying?” 

“I think I see something, look through those trees and up.” She says as she turns your head with a gentle grip to see what she had seen, you can barely make it out because it’s so dark but it is there, a house, a big one at that, in the distance. 

“Oh my god finally.” You smile genuinely for the first time today and Ellie reciprocates it as you both pick up the pace towards the house. 

As you near it you see a barn just behind it and the fence that enclosed the large property, you worry that you won’t be able to get in but as Ellie dismounts Shimmer and approaches in front of you and pushes on the gate, you relax because the door swings open with ease. “Damn I was not expecting that.” Ellie says as she holds the gate open for you, you jump down from Greg and lead him inside, shutting it behind you and pulling the large metal deadbolt across the gate shut. 

“Working lock and everything, seems too good to be true.” 

“Oh come on, you’re supposed to be the optimistic one out of us.” 

“Yeah.” You chuckle unconvincingly as Ellie shoots you a look at your tone. You both walk up the hill through the long overgrown grass, letting it tickle your palms as you glide them over it, until you reach the porch of the house. “Why don’t we put the horses in the barn before we go in?” 

“Yeah good idea.” Ellie begins walking round the house until she hears your footsteps thumping up the porch, she turns to see you looking out into the distance with awe painted all over your face.  

“Ellie, that mountain in the distance, that looks like the mountain on the east side of Jackson, I think it’s right behind it, reckon it would take us a couple hours to get back tomorrow, if that.” 

“Shit really? Lemme look.” 

“Oh what you don’t trust me?” You snark at her as she rolls her eyes before joining you on the porch. 

“Holy fuck babe you’re a genius.” She grabs your cheeks and pecks at your whole face as you giggle, you pull her into a bone-crushing hug and breathe her scent in like it’s oxygen, you both stay frozen like that until Greg neighs reminding you of the task at hand. 

“Come on, they need their beauty sleep just as much as us.” You grab her hand and squeeze as you drag her down the porch and towards the barn once again. 

“You stay with the horses, I’ll go check it’s clear.” Ellie asserts as you reach the large double doors. 

“Yes ma’am.” You do an exaggerated salute at her and she smiles at you seeming like yourself for the first time since she had found you before inching the door open and slipping inside, she stays still for a second just listening for any sign of movement but when it seems completely quiet she moves around the barn trying her best to make out the surroundings despite the darkness. She checks everywhere twice before telling you it’s clear and walking to meet you as you bring both the horses into the barn, you say goodnight to both horses before walking out hand in hand and shutting the doors behind you. As you’re walking back towards the house you stop for a second to look out over the landscape before you, it was breathtaking, it made you feel warm and calm for the first time since you had left Jackson as you lean your head on her shoulder, nuzzling into her. “You ever seen a view that pretty?” 

“Only when I’m looking at you.” You smile and peck her nose before giggling. 

“You’re so corny.” 

“You’re really mean you know that?” 

“Yeah I’ve been told once or twice.” You chuckle as you lead her towards the house desperate for some sleep. You both put your guards up once again as you enter the house quietly and check every room to make sure it’s clear. You couldn’t believe it when the entire house was empty, left in almost pristine condition, all the furniture is clean despite a little dust, there doesn’t seem to be an item out of place as you survey the home and you can’t help but imagine yourself here, cooking dinner with Ellie in the spacious kitchen, watching films on the squishy sofa, sleeping in the large bed together, doing other things in the large bed together, you could picture yourself here, with Ellie, the images warmed you. Even as you looked at the baby crib set at the end of the bed against the opposite wall you felt warm and as you look at Ellie, leaning on the doorframe observing you with a giddy smile, you know she feels it too. “It’s so beautiful here, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a house in this good condition, even the fence is fine, I can’t believe it.” 

“I know, it’s perfect right?” She doesn’t say the words but you’re both thinking it. Perfect for us. 

“What would make it perfect is if there was any food in that pretty kitchen, I’m fucking starving.” 

“Me too. Let’s go look.” She holds out her hand to you and you take it as you walk side by side back downstairs to the kitchen before routing through the cupboards for anything that could quell the thundering in your stomach that was causing it to twist and ache. 

“Shit, fucking score!” 

“I’m starting a swear jar when we get back home.” 

“Okay you’ll fill it up just as much as me.” She retorts. 

“Not possible.” You grin at the frown on her face. 

“What would we even fill it with? Joel said they used to put money in ‘em.” 

“I don’t know, I’ll think of something.” 

“Whatever, just come look.” You walk over to the cupboard she was holding open and your mouth waters at the sight, a whole cupboard full of tinned pasta, tinned fruit, anything you can think of you swear is in that cupboard. 

“Fuck yeah!” 

“How much are we putting in that swear jar for each word?” She says smugly. 

“Shut up.” 

“You pick the food and I’ll find something to cook it with.” Ellie says already rummaging through the other cupboards and drawers, you read all of the tins, moving some around to get a better look at everything and decide on some leak and potato soup to share, something you had a lot as a kid, and some cheese ravioli in a tomato sauce, both look so good already and as you spin round to show the options she nods in approval. 

“El we can literally have a three-course meal, there’s tinned peaches in here too. They could use some better organisational skills, but this is fucking amazing.”  

“Hey, be nice, whoever was here before us is my favourite person right now.” 

“Gonna pretend I’m not offended by your statement.” 

“Oh you know what I meant.” She rolls her eyes as she pulls you into a hug after placing two saucepans down on the stove. “Just gotta hope they’ve got gas.” 

“Well I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” You say as you tear open each can and pour the contents into their respective saucepans. You each cross your fingers as you both turn the dials to set the stove a light and as fires light up underneath the pans you both exclaim in relief. While the food cooks you continue looking around the house, this time observing all the little trinkets and picture frames that told the story of the previous inhabitants. You hope whoever lived here before is alive and well as you read the story of their lives all around you. The sound of clattering sends you straight back to the kitchen where you see Ellie serving up the pasta and soup and you each take two dishes as you walk over to the long dining table, you sitting on the end and Ellie sitting to the right of you. Neither of you speak as you both wolf down your meals until you’re both slouched in your chairs holding your full stomachs. “I needed that.” 

“Yeah I can imagine you worked up quite the appetite running away.” Ellie raises her eyebrows accusingly at you as you smile sheepishly back at her. 

“Sorry again about that.” 

“It’s okay, I get it, are you sure you don’t want to keep looking? We know roughly where we are now at least so we don’t have to rush back if you don’t want to.” 

“Thank you but honestly it’s okay, I don’t think they’d want to see me even if we did find them.” You bow your head, avoiding Ellie’s eyes that were staring at you as if trying to read your thoughts. 

“You know none of this is your fault right?” She places her hand over your shaky one to calm the obvious trembling. You don’t reply, simply flashing a smile that didn’t reach your eyes before you stand, piling the dishes up and taking them to the sink to deal with later before returning to Ellie and squeezing her shoulders. 

“Come on, let’s go to bed.” As she stands you walk to the front door and lock it before following her up the stairs back to the bedroom with the cot in. You both strip your dirty clothes until you’re both in your underwear, not wanting to leave any windows open just to be safe. As you climb under the covers you sigh at the softness of the mattress and pillows that feel like they’re enveloping you in their embrace. You feel Ellie’s hand snake over your stomach as she pulls you into her, so your back is flush against her front as she presses kisses all over your shoulder up to your neck and jaw, at the same time, her hand that was pressed behind your back lifts your head gently to slip underneath it and grab a handful of your boob and squeeze playfully. Her right hand moves from your waist down your stomach, tracing little circles that cause goosebumps to appear on your skin as her left hand’s index finger circles around your nipple. Her little kisses never stop as her hand keeps snaking lower until it reaches the waistband of your underwear where she slips her pinkie inside and waits for a signal to continue. Your small groan accompanied with your hand snaking its way into her hair and tugging a little is enough confirmation for her to delve into your folds, searching and finding your throbbing clit expertly. She knew your body like the back of her hand and that is only proved when she starts circling the sensitive bud with careful precision causing fireworks to erupt in your stomach. You moan as the stimulation from both her hands was causing your body to melt which only furthered when she whispered. “Look at me,” before consuming you with a kiss that causes everything else around you both to fade away into fuzzy nothingness. 

The room is filled with your muffled groans and the subtle smacking of your lips against one another. Your whole body felt like it was burning, like Ellie’s fingertips were being singed as they continued their dance over you. All the heartache and fear that you had felt throughout the day was wiped away as the love you felt for the beautiful girl coursed through your veins and caused your body to hum. The coil is tightening within you as her circles around your clit speed up continuously until your mouth is hanging open, barely able to kiss her back as your body tenses and trembles with the rush of your orgasm. You cry out as your toes curl and your head falls back onto her shoulder as you ride your high until your body stills and the only sound is your heavy breaths. 

You take a second to catch your breath before turning round and kissing her sweetly on the lips. “God you’re good at that.” She giggles at your dazed smile as you both stare into each other’s eyes conveying the love that kept you both pressed together as if there was an invisible string tied round each of your hearts. Ellie scrunches her face in confusion as she feels you shuffling around before she sees your hand emerge with your balled-up underwear in it as you bite your lip and chuck them behind you. She raises her eyebrows as you bite back a grin before she also shuffles her briefs off, mimicking your actions and as she goes to climb on top of you, you push her back down flush to the bed as you straddle one of her thighs and lift the other to wrap around your waist. 

“Well this is different.” She comments with a giggle. 

“Good different?” You question, your voice laced with anxiety. She smiles at the worried look on your face as she leans up and pecks your nose. 

“So good baby.” Your worried face immediately twists into joy as you focus on fitting your hips together the same way she had done so many times before, it takes you a little longer to get the position just right but you know you’ve succeeded when Ellie sucks in a sharp breath as her hands fly to your hips and squeeze. She begins grinding your hips into her as you lean down, pressing your lips to her neck and sucking small bruises as she groans and grunts from the slide of your wet cunt against hers. You match the movements of her hands as they become rougher, you’re sure there will be little bruises in the place of her fingertips tomorrow. She nudges your face with her nose to get you to meet her eyes as you connect your lips, plunging your tongue into the wet, softness of her mouth. You felt like you were both stars colliding with each other as the pressure in your core built to its limit sending you both toppling over the edge as you cling onto each other. You collapse onto her chest as you both heave and bask in the warm afterglow of your releases.  

You can feel the depths of your tiredness causing your body to weigh ten times more than it ever did but before you can fall asleep you sit up and bite at your cheek as you gaze at Ellie’s lop-sided smile. 

“Wanna go look at the stars? Even Jackson doesn’t have as good a view as here.” 

“How are you not already asleep?” You shrug at her question as you climb off of her and walk over to the wardrobe hoping to find some clean clothes. When you open it, you see two fuzzy robes, a pink one and a black one, you pull them out and turn to her with a mischievous grin as you throw the pink robe at her and wrap the black one around yourself. “No fucking way, swap with me.” 

“Can’t hear you, what was that babe?” You rush past her and out of the bedroom leaving her no choice but to wrap the pink one around herself and follow you out to the yard where you’re already walking towards a tractor that was sat in the middle of the long-grassed field. She jogs to catch up with you and as you climb up onto the ladder, she grabs your hips and pulls you back down causing a laugh to erupt from inside you. She climbs up in your place then holds a hand out to you and helps you situate yourself on her lap as you both look up at the inky sky dotted with silvery sparkles of constellations you had never seen so clearly. You sigh contently as you lean back into her, resting your head on her shoulder and holding onto her hands, interlinking your fingers with hers that were clasped together at your waist. 

You take a deep breath and prepare yourself to utter the words you thought you’d never be able to say but in the comfort and warmth of Ellie’s embrace you know you can’t shut down like you had always preferred to do. “My parents are dead.” 

“What?” You feel the shuffle of her turning to look at you but you don’t meet her eyes, choosing to keep looking at the stars that mirrored the freckles dotted over Ellie’s cheeks. 

“I found them but I was too late, they had been bitten and were turning. I killed them. Sorry I lied, I just didn’t think I could actually ever say it out loud.” Your voice doesn’t crack, or tremble, you feel strong enough to deal with the reality you were now faced with in her presence, and you had never been more grateful for her than in this moment. 

“I’m so sorry babe, are you okay?” 

“No, but I will be, you make everything better, I’ll be okay with you.” She leans her head on yours and wraps her arms around you tighter. 

“I love you.” 

“I love you more... and I love this farm.” 

“Yeah?”  

“Yeah.” You hum as you smile. Tomorrow was another day, and you could handle that, because Ellie would be there with you. 

tags: @emiliabby @readbydayana @radioheadfan699 @lil-elliesgf @isitadinosaur @amberputh

#ellie the last of us #ellie tlou #ellie williams #ellie williams tlou #ellie x reader #ellie williams smut #ellie smut #ellie williams angst #ellie williams fanfic #ellie williams fluff #ellie williams imagine #ellie williams the last of us #ellie williams x reader #ellie williams x you #ellie x fem reader #ellie x you #tlou ellie #ellie

[heyidkyay]

And I'm petrified of being alone, now |

Part Twenty-One

Matty Healy x reader

Summary: She’s just trying to get by, really. What with being a single parent to her four year old son whilst simultaneously trying to kick start a successful career as a radio presenter. She’s got everything she’s ever wanted though, friends close by, a mum who’s merely a phone call away, and of course her baby boy. What else is there to wish for? But then, it’s not long before her relatively normal life gets upended and turned on its head, and she’s suddenly forced to deal with situations she’s never even thought to imagine.

What happens when one mention of a certain controversial singer on her show sends a flood of unexpected challenges her way? 

Authors Note: This is a long one, it took me a while but hopefully the waits been worth it? EMOTIONS is all I'm going to say.

Warnings: Lots going on- talks of car crashes, alcohol abuse (both in the past) also some previous thoughts on trauma and different coping mechanisms

> Last update: look back here if you'd like!

Masterlist

It takes a second for change to implement itself, though it can take a while longer for its realisation to truly hit.

…

I could hear him. 

Bustling his way around my kitchen, singing quietly as he worked on the breakfast he’d promised the night before. Tins clattered, the kettle whistled, and the fridge door rattled closed, all whilst I padded my way towards him, pausing in the entryway to simply take in the sight I’d been gifted.

I grinned over at Teddy, who was currently tiptoeing on the wooden stool I had tucked away for whenever he felt inclined to help me cook, and then at Matty who seemed happy enough with making him giggle whenever he chose to lean in close to sing by his ear. 

“Thinking this through… It's like, one,”

“..TWO!” Teddy laughed back when Matty pointed at him, beaming brightly at the sight of the man’s all too amused face.

“Yeah, ‘cause I'm in love with you-”

“I-I-I-I!”

It was something I’d never thought to even picture, let alone see, my son staring up at a man with such adoration and pride. The two of them simply belonging. The whole scene made me ache with a wanting for it to never stop, but even the best of things had to come to an end I supposed.

Matty turned, a smile painting on his features, only to pause when he caught sight of me, watching them from the doorway. He narrowed his eyes, then gave me a sly smile, before he placed the plate he’d been holding down on the counter and shuffled on closer, arms stretching out towards me as he continued to sing along to his own song. I mean, the ego on him.

“… I’m in love with you.”

It was hard going, attempting to dampen the grin that pulled at the corners of my mouth, especially when Matty wrapped his arms around my hips and started to sway us to and fro. He raised his brows up at me, fully expecting me to finish off the song for him, so I rolled my eyes and laughed the final line out, accompanied by a much louder Teddy, “I-I-I-I-I.”

Matty leaned in close to press a quick kiss to the corner of my mouth, his tangled hair tickling my cheek. He chuckled lowly to himself when I wrinkled my nose at the feeling and tried to escape from his hold, but did eventually let me go.

“What are you even making?” I asked the pair of them around a fond smile, crossing the kitchen to ruffle Teddy’s curls and open up the little window there. I sniffed lightly. “Did you end up burning something too?”

Matty rolled his eyes at that and shook his head with a tut, before he moved to pick up his plate once more, sliding past Teddy and I to grab at the toast which had just popped up. “No.”

“Liar.” I laughed with Teddy, picking him up and settling him on my hip whilst Matty turned his back on us to start buttering the bread. “What’s with the big breakfast then anyway? I thought you had to record today.” I asked him, praising Teddy quietly for the way he’d spooned some sugar and two teabags into a pair of matching mugs for us. 

“Later on,” Matty answered me in a quiet murmur as I peered over his shoulder to nick a fresh piece of toast. “Oi!”

Grinning around the bite I’d just taken, I was pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t completely charred. “Better than the last batch.” I told him honestly and with a wry smirk.

Matty just shook his head at me, but even as he turned back to the task at hand I could see the tiny beginnings of the smile he wore. “Said I could cook.”

With a sarky hum, I could only reply, “Does toast even count as cooking?”

I was simply swatted away with a tea towel in hasty retort and Teddy squealed, wriggling to be let down.

“Okay, okay!” I relented with a laugh of my own before I slid on over to press a grateful kiss to the side of Matty’s neck. “It’s very good, merci mon amour.” 

I pulled away with a grin when I felt him tense beneath me, gesturing to Teddy for him to go ahead and grab the milk for us from the fridge whilst I began to pour the hot water into the tea he’d started. 

“What are you up to today then?” Matty asked after having cleared his throat, tossing the butter-covered knife into the sink before he looked over at us. He thanked Teddy proudly when the little monster hurried back from dumping the tea bags in the bin to point at the man’s given cup. “Lifesaver!”

Teddy giggled happily.

Matty’s question had me chewing on the inside of my cheek as I went about lifting Teddy into his usual seat at the kitchen table and laying a plate in front of him. I smoothed down his tousled hair and didn’t quite look in Matty’s direction when I finally said, “You know, the usual… Quick trip to the shops, phone mum, speak to Finn, maybe pop into the park. I hear they’ve put in this new little greenhouse by the pond, you know, just across the bridge?”

I’d thrown it in there, hoping that he might just brush over it. But then Matty didn’t offer me an answer of any kind, so with nothing else to occupy myself with I slowly peered over to where he still stood, propped up against the kitchen counter. 

He was staring down at the bowl of fruit he’d prepped sometime earlier, almost as though the grapes had suddenly grown legs and the banana pieces had turned purple. I sighed quietly to myself and felt my shoulders drop an inch before crouching down to whisper in Teddy’s ear, “Go turn on the tele for me, yeah? We can eat on the sofa today.”

Teddy’s entire face lit up at the very prospect and was so eager in his haste to hurry into the living room that he almost toppled out of his chair. I chuckled in fond exasperation, helping him down and handing him his plate with a quiet caution before allowing him to run off.

It was then that I turned my attention back to the main issue at hand. 

We hadn’t spoken much of Finn and what had happened back at the studio. I’d given Matty his space after it had all gone down, allowed him the time to mull it over and hopefully forget the words that had been said, but I knew that had mostly been wishful thinking on my part. 

Still, I was kicking myself for it now. We’d been good. Things had really been looking up; at work and at home, with Teddy and Matty, and then with Matty and I. Stupidly, I had thought that this might just be something we could have simply plastered over and left to settle, because admitting to the fact that things weren’t alright between two of the most important people in my life just wasn’t something I was ready to face yet.

I’d been selfish in that regard though, it seemed. Because of course Matty had taken the brunt of it all and pretended to shrug it off like it was no skin off of his nose. Leaving me to realise all too late just how much this whole thing had affected him. 

“Matty.” I called to him softly before I gently rested my hand on the crook of his arm, testing if I was welcome. When he didn’t immediately shy away from my touch, I slid in behind him so that I could press my forehead to the curve of his back, to where that little dip in between both of his shoulder blades resided. 

Thoughtlessly, my fingers trailed over the hem of the jeans he’d thrown on that morning, toying with the two belt loops which sat at the very centre. 

We stood there for a long moment in the quiet space of the kitchen, the food going cold but neither one of us really caring. It was only when I felt some of that tension finally ebb in his shoulders that I slowly wound my arms around his middle, smiling slightly when I felt his hands take hold of mine at his front.

“I hate this.” I admitted to him, voice so faint it was muffled by the fabric of his t-shirt. His fingers squeezed my own.

“I know.” He told me after a small pause and I felt him raise his head to gaze out of the small window sat opposite. “I know, Squeaks. Me too.”

I squeezed back.

“I’m sorry we haven’t spoken about it either. That I let it fester. I just wished, hoped even, that you might not linger too much on it, that things would- I don’t know, just end up working out. But I was stupid.”

Matty heaved a weighted breath and I let my eyes slip closed at the motion before he carefully turned in my grasp. He stopped to stare down at me, lifting a hand to tuck a strand of stray hair behind my ear, thumb brushing over a whitened scar I had yet to hide with makeup.

“Don’t. There’s no need.” He murmured to me, though his gaze was focused on the slow movement he’d just made. “Talk to him. He’s your mate, it’d be weird if you didn’t. But, I don’t know. Reckon I just might need some time. That alright?”

I was already nodding before he could even finish his sentence, more than okay with that. “‘Course it is. Though I don’t know much about talking with him, I’m betting on a screaming match. I’m still fuming with how it all went down.”

Matty gifted me a soft chuckle, and although it was hollow he had tried and that was what mattered most to me. It would take time to move past this, I could understand that. “Let him explain first, yeah?”

I frowned, brow pinching with it. “What do you mean? What’s he got to explain?”

He smiled, one of those soft dopey ones of his, the kind he often gave me whenever I’d said something silly or he was humoured by my confusion. “I get it, Mouse.” He sighed quietly, “I don't like how he went about it, it was cheap, shitty even, but he was just looking out for you, babe.”

My frown deepened and I didn't care to give his words much thought. “There’s looking out for me and then there's being a massive prick, Matty.”

With a huffed breath of a laugh, Matty trailed his thumb down my jaw to skirt over the bottom edge of my lip. His eyes finally met mine. “He went about it the wrong way, but he’s been good for you, baby. Looked after you and Teds for years, got you through some hard times, and so for that I give him a little leeway.” 

My expression softened. 

Matty’s fingers pinched my chin as he coaxed me back up to meet his gaze.

“Do that for me?” He asked, and who was I to say no to an ask like that?

Instead of answering him though, I simply leaned in and kissed him sweetly, cradling his jaw in my hands so that I could thumb over the tops of his cheeks. I wondered, momentarily, where I’d gotten so lucky.

–

A kid in the studio had both its perks and disadvantages, Matty had soon come to see. 

Squeaks had been messaging Finn not long before he’d gone to set off, slowly pulling out some clean clothes from the ever growing pile he kept adding to each time he went round to her flat, whilst Teds completed his phonics, sat on the bed.

He’d kept calling out to Matty whenever he’d stumble onto the next, asking him to sound it out for him before trying to memorise it himself. Matty had enjoyed it- enjoyed all the time he spent with the little monster as a matter of fact- but helping him with the lessons he knew that Teddy would soon carry on further into his life… He didn’t know, it just settled something within him. Made him feel needed. 

He hadn’t ever felt much of that.

Anyway, Squeaks had come into the bedroom just as he’d been tugging on a jumper, one she had said she’d liked the last time he’d worn it, and mentioned that she had to get ready to drop Teddy off round Adi’s so that she could head on over to meet Finn. 

Matty had tried to keep his expression fairly neutral each time she mentioned the man. Because he hadn’t lied earlier when he’d asked for her to give her mate the benefit of the doubt. But it still irked him. The whole situation did, in truth. See because he knew that he was running on fucking borrowed time here with her. He’d never claimed to have been a lucky man either, so he knew that something was bound to happen sooner or later. He was merely praying that he’d be able to hold onto this small bubble of peace he’d found for himself for as long as he possibly could.

Teddy had appeared put out by the fact that he would have to head on over to Adi’s, who still lived with her elderly grandmother. All pouty and sweet looking, proper cute in actuality, and Matty had honestly gone and spoken before his mind had even had a chance to catch up with his massive mouth.

Mouse had been just as surprised by his offer to let Teds tag along with him down to the studio, spilling out claims that it would be fine with the guys (who’d yet to even meet the tyke) and that they weren’t actually working on anything too big that afternoon (just recording the ending of a session). And even though Matty hadn’t exactly asked the lot of them beforehand either, he figured it to be true enough.

And with the relief that had visibly fallen off of Squeaks at his reassurance, Matty hadn’t had it in himself to regret the offer. So with that, he’d set to helping her get Teddy ready for the day and then headed out the door.

Thing was though, the last time he’d ever gotten the tube with a little kid had been years before when his mum had visited with Lou. And back then she’d been the one to worry over his every move, not wanting to lose him in the crowd or have him swept under a carriage. Gruesome yeah, but it was a real fucking fear Matty realised. 

This time around it had been his turn though, and God, did he feel sorry for all the shit he’d given his poor mum throughout the years. Was this why parents looked so tired all the fucking time?

Teddy was good enough though, curious sure, always asking questions and pointing at everything, but he listened, held onto his hand and didn’t ever wander off. He’d enjoyed counting the stops on the train too and didn’t think much of the few stares they’d gotten on the platform and again when they’d sat down. 

By the time they’d made it to the studio, Matty had felt as though he’d just gone and ran a half marathon.

It was only when Teds had crowded into his trouser leg upon first walking through the entrance that he realised that this was just as new to Teddy as it was to him, and the fact that he was now being forced into an unknown setting probably didn’t make things much easier for the kid. 

Still, he had managed to perk up on the small tour Matty had given him. Wanting to ease his nerves before they ventured much further, it had just been the two of them wandering the halls aimlessly and simply nodding or smiling at the very few people who passed them by. 

It was only once Matty had figured it time to head into the room the band usually booked did Teddy quieten again.

“Where’ve you been? Only texted you like twenty times!” Matty heard George huff from around the short corner they were hidden behind after he’d called out to let them know that it was just him. 

Matty paused by the door to cast a glance down at Teddy, but the kid was already looking at everything the walls had to offer; the big plaques with the even bigger names, the posters and many album covers that dotted the dark paint. It was only when Matty crouched down to level with him did Teddy glance back.

“You alright, monster?” He asked quietly, wanting to give Teds a second to wrap his head around things. Matty noted that he was back to chewing on his lip again, eyes wide and unsure, but Teddy gripped onto the hand Matty silently offered him. 

After a moment, Teddy nodded at the question and Matty gave him a hopeful smile. “Good, ‘cause imma need you to kick this sorry lot into shape for me, alright? I mean, I know I’m good but they can’t just depend on me for everything, can they?”

He was gifted a quiet giggle, one which eased Matty’s mind a tad. 

“Matt!”

Matty rolled his eyes at the shout of his name then shook his head mockingly at Teddy, who seemed to have jumped a bit at the beckon. “Told you, didn’t I?” He tutted playfully to the boy, rolling his eyes too for added effect, “Fall apart if I’m not here.”

Teddy was back to smiling now, “Like mum.”

Matty laughed at the comparison, certain that Squeaks would say that she had a much harder job with the show than he did here in the booth. But Matty wasn’t too inclined to disagree, she worked far too hard in truth.

“Exactly, mate.” He replied anyway, then nodded in the direction of the many voices that were bouncing their way towards them, watching as Teddy peered round him once more, “You think you’re gonna be okay?”

Teddy blinked and then looked over towards him, it was in moments like these which Matty saw just how much he resembled his mum, he reckoned it was those big eyes of theirs that held so much emotion.

“Yeah.” The boy finally breathed out and so Matty squeezed his hand just once in support, before lumbering back to his feet. He stole a quick breath for himself and then started leading them both further inside.

George was stationed where he always was, by the decks, surrounded by laptops and many a monitor. Ross was sprawled out on the beanbag they’d lugged in on day three, fiddling with the bass he held in hand. Hann, however, had chosen to sit nearest to the door and so he was the only one to glance upon at their nearing footsteps.

Matty watched on as a flash of surprise flickered across his mate’s face. Brows rose and a slow blink was seen before Adam finally smiled, looking every inch the father Matty knew him to be. 

“Just who might you be then?” Hann greeted cheerfully whilst tucking his mobile back into his trouser pocket. He didn’t make a move to get up off the settee corner though, something which Matty felt immediately thankful for, it seemed neither of them wanted to crowd the kid just yet. 

It was with that greeting though that Ross’s head finally shot up and George turned to face them in his big fancy chair. The pair of them flicked both alarmed and shock filled gazes to Matty, who did his very best to ignore their all too familiar mugs.

“This is Teddy.” Matty acknowledged, crouching down once more so that Teds could lean further into his side whilst his wide eyes surveyed their way about the rest of the room. Matty wondered what it must’ve felt like for him, struggling to recall moments from his own childhood when his mum and dad had brought him along to their interviews to sit in the audience.

“Teddy love, these three doughnuts are my mates. You remember, the ones I’m in a band with?”

Matty let Teddy have a second, waiting quietly as the little boy dragged his gaze back towards him with parted lips, he blinked and then nodded, hands wringing the sleeve of Matty’s jumper.

Matty merely smiled, bringing the kid in closer to press a quick kiss to his head of hair. “Look, Teds. See that one there, with the funny face? That’s Hann.” He was delighted to hear Teddy’s soft laughter, however muted it was, even as Adam scolded him with an unimpressed glare. “Then in the corner there, that guy?” Teddy dipped his chin, eyes trained on the bearded bloke who was grinning away like a twat, “That’s Ross, he looks like a giant but cries when he’s hungry.”

“I do not!” Ross shot back scathingly, narrowed eyes pointed at Matty which only proved to fuel Teddy’s quiet chuckles.

“Yeah alright, MacDonald.” Matty ignored whatever else Ross attempted to say after that, rolling his eyes theatrically towards Teddy before he gestured over to where George was sitting in his chair, pushing those pretentious sunglasses he often wore up onto his shaved head. “And that one there, that’s G.”

Teddy leaned in close again to whisper in Matty’s ear, “Drums.”

Matty chuckled despite himself, loathing the fact that of course Teds would have remembered the drummer. Most did. “Yeah, mate. That’s him.”

George quirked a brow at the hushed conversation shared but said nothing on it, at least not then. Instead he just waved Teddy on over, “You want to come see? Got a ton of buttons you can press.” He added as though he was trying to entice the kid. 

Matty dampened the mirthful grin that crawled up onto his face when it seemed to work though, even as Teddy tugged him along by their joint pair of hands. 

By the time Matty finally got around to stepping into the booth to record a few verses a while later, Teddy felt comfortable enough to wait for him just outside the door with the three giant idiots he’d left him with.

–

A stalemate.

That was where we were currently sat.

Even with everything that had gone down, him starting this whole mess, I had been the one to go to him. To his loft where he worked most days when he wasn’t with clients, or visiting galleries. 

Finn had welcomed me in with his usual hello through the intercom, buzzing me up into the building and then meeting me just past the front door. He’d been kitted up when I’d entered, still in his apron and covered in paint, the latter of which he was trying to wash off when I first spotted him. 

He’d had the kettle already going and he smiled slightly after asking me how I’d been. I’d been truthful, said that I was doing good- all things considered.

There’d been an awkward pause at that, the two of us unsure on where we should then go with the encounter, but the kettle had whistled and on instinct I had turned to grab the mugs. 

He had nodded gratefully, but then gestured me over to where his colourful sofa sat by the large open bay windows, joining me with two steaming brews not a minute later. 

“How’s Teds?”

I licked at my lower lip at the question, peering into the still swirling mug. “Good, on Easter break soon enough.”

“What have they been working on then?” Finn asked next, because we both knew this was a safe topic, an easy starter. 

“Phonics at the moment,” I replied with a small smile that couldn’t quite be helped, recalling the way Teddy had puttered around after Matty this morning calling out each sound he’d needed to learn. “He sounds them out after breakfast most days and then again at night.” We shared a brief smile, before I mentioned, “Matty’s been helping too.”

Finn hummed. 

I pressed my lips together to keep from blurting out everything I wanted to say at the sound of it, attempting to stick to the plan I’d formed on my way over here. Letting Finn open up on his own, rather than come in all guns blazing.

“How is that going then?”

My brow pinched as I peered over at him from across the settee, “What, with Matty and I?”

Another hum, though this one was accompanied by a slight nod.

I was wary of how to answer Finn, especially after having learnt what the man truly thought about our whole relationship, but figured I should at least be honest.

“We’re happy.” I love him. “He’s good for me, I think.” It terrifies me. “He brings out a part of me that I haven’t seen much of since- I don’t know, maybe my first year of uni?” I let go of a breathy chuckle, picking at the wrinkled hem that sat at the knee of my jeans. “It’s been, really nice.”

When I chanced a glance back up, it was only to find Finn already looking back at me, his expression carefully set, almost as though he was trying to suss out any sort of lie in my answer. I waited a second and then he smiled. Nothing less than genuine, and I felt my whole body relax at the sight of it.

“I’m sorry for how I reacted.” Finn spoke softly, placing his cup down on a side table to slide on a tad bit closer. He rubbed at the back of his wrist before settling his hands in his lap, “I shouldn’t have gone about it the way I did, I just- You know I care so much, Mouse. And this is me in no way asking to be let off the hook or anything of the like, but, you have to remember I was there through it all.”

Frowning slightly at his words, I followed Finn’s prior motion, putting my own mug down so that I could pull a leg up under me, settling nearer. 

He let go of an exhale, “I was there when you found out about Teddy, I was there before that and then after. I saw the line of broken hearts you left in your wake, chasing this thrill you sought so hard to find, and all of the games you wanted to play.” 

He took my hand then and I just let him, thinking on his words, on how it must have seemed to someone else looking in from the outside. I knew I’d been a right mess after leaving home. 

In truth, I’d been a mess since the night of the accident, when my whole world had been flipped on its head, turning me into this scarred little kid. Leaving me not only alone, but wanting to chase after everything I felt I’d missed out on because of it the second that I’d gotten the chance. Which had meant finding friends and casual sex, bar hopping and clubbing for days on end, looking for the next best thing to simply entice or excite me.

Finn had been there.

He’d been there through most of it, if not it all. He had watched me jump from guy to guy, get my stomach pumped at the local A&E, not just once but three times. He’d been the one I had turned to in my lowest moments, when I’d felt dirtied, when I’d just wanted to cry, or to merely laugh. He was there.

I could understand what Matty had meant now. 

‘He looked after you and Teds for years, got you through some hard times, and so for that I give him a little leeway.’

“I can still picture your face, you know.” Finn murmured, stare fixed on the tight hold I now had on his hand. “That night you turned up at mine after finding out that you were pregnant. You looked a fucking state, soaking wet from the rain and wearing only your pjs.” We shared a light chuckle that echoed before drifting off. “It broke me, to see you like that.”

“I know.” I whispered in a rasp, emotions clinging to the back of my throat.

Finn only smiled sadly. “But it worked out. Enough that you seemed happy enough with what you had. And I know that Teddy will always be enough fro you, but you deserve so much. You deserve to live and to love, to have that family you’ve always dreamed of.” I went to protest but he just shook his head, “I know it’s what you want, Mouse. You don’t have to say anything for me to notice the looks you give other parents in the park, or the kids who meet their mums and dads in the school playground. I can see how much you want that, and not just for Teds. But for you too.”

I swallowed thickly, feeling all too seen suddenly.

Finn squeezed my hand, forcing me to meet his gaze once more. I hadn’t even realised I had shied away. “Does he do that? Does he give you that hope?”

The inside of my cheek had practically been bitten raw these last few days, but it didn’t stop me from chewing on it again as I looked over at Finn with a watery stare. “I think so.”

With a slow, albeit fond, tilt of his head, Finn hauled an arm over my shoulder to crowd me into his side. The two of us huddled in close on his artsy sofa that would look so out of place anywhere else.

I smiled at the thought.

“If he means that much to you, then I’ll make up for what I did. What I said.” Finn reassured me, his voice quiet in the large expanse of his loft. I hadn’t actually expected it to go this way. “But I do want to know. I want to make sure that he knows that he’s not just getting you out of this, that Teddy isn’t a deal breaker here. That he’s grown enough to understand the implications and repercussions of his life and whatever the fuck goes on with it. That he is clean-”

I opened my mouth, guard jumping right back up. But Finn just tucked my head under his chin, hand gripping at my shoulder enough to keep me there with him.

“Sobriety is hard. I understand that. When it finally comes to light that he actually is with you, that means Teddy too, and it’ll be a fucking mess. I want to make sure that he won’t fuck up and throw it all away the second shit gets hard.”

Inhaling, I could only nod. I knew what he meant, it was something I had thought about an awful lot. Too much in fact, I’d worried enough over it that I was still so wary over whether or not to broach the topic with Matty himself. But I hoped, for the first time in a long while.

And that had to be enough for now.

–

Finn’s had been an emotional affair, but not a place I’d lingered too long after our initial apology. We both still needed some time to process and to lick over our wounds.

I’d been more than thankful for it though, it had been a real weight off of my shoulders in truth, because knowing that there was a chance to move on past it without having to pick and choose, or divide my time, was something I hadn’t really held out hope for.

I was a pessimist at heart.

But that being said, I’d been quite optimistic about Teddy’s few hours spent with Matty- alone. Which should’ve been daunting in retrospect, insane even, and had probably once been, but Matty had quickly come to prove himself not only to me, but to Teddy too. So although I’d been cautious, I hadn’t necessarily been quick to stamp out the idea. 

The last little excursion the pair had been on without me had gone down a treat, with Teddy having been tuckered out and fast asleep the second he’d gotten into bed, and Matty having bonded further with him somehow.

Then there had been the whole ‘I love you’ mess.

And God, if anyone would’ve told me that I’d have been the one to say it first I would have laughed in their face. Cackled loudly enough to be heard three streets over and on the very urge of wetting myself. But then exactly that had happened.

The words had been lingering in the corners of my mind for a few weeks before last night. Tittering, almost. Having started popping up around Christmas time, with the unannounced gift giving ceremony we’d shared and the incredible bond Matty seemed to have formed with my son. And had then settled in not long after that demo I’d received and the midnight visit where Matty had turned up at my doorstep in a downpour. 

I hadn’t loved.

Not really.

I’d loved people, friends and family. Sure.

But someone to keep? Someone that I could call mine?

No, that had never really felt like much of an option for me. And Matty… he’d sort of come out of nowhere, hadn’t he? This mess of a man, but so very wonderful in his own way. He had really crept up on me, and looking back it almost felt as though it was bound to happen. Us, I meant. It felt strange to imagine it any differently.

Messages now

I’m here! Come get me, it’s freezing!!

It didn’t take long before his telltale pop of curls emerged from the main entrance to the same studio I had found him perched outside of during the aftermath of the big mishap with Finn. It almost felt like coming full circle with our decision to have me meet the pair of them here after just having talked with Finn.

Matty’s grin was infectious as we moved to meet one another in a quiet hello, his arms catching themselves around my middle whilst I buried my face into the curve of his shoulder. 

He was warm, that was my first thought even as he pressed a chaste kiss to my head, enough so that I didn’t mind the fact that he kept me tucked up under his arm as he pulled away to lead us back inside the building.

“You get here okay?” Matty asked me once the door had rattled shut behind us, his voice travelling in the sparse lobby like area I’d yet to get acquainted with.

Humming, I answered his question with a nod, “Yeah, walked most of it, Finn had a client call out of the blue.”

Matty’s cheeks hollowed a tad but he hummed too before tilting his head over to the right, we started to walk that way. “It go alright then?”

I let go of a heavy breath, eyes surveying every inch of the studio as we wandered further inside, “As well as it could have, I ’spose. It’ll take time, I reckon, though he wants to make it up to you, too.”

Matty appeared to blink at that, the words seemed to have caught him by surprise, but he didn’t falter in his wandering, leading me down a narrow walkway.

“Are you up for that?” I pushed.

He wet his lower lip in thought, dipping his head at a maintenance worker who passed us by before looking back at me. “Told you, I’d give him a little leeway. But I wanna know more about what you spoke about first. If that’s alright with you.”

I was nodding away before he could even tack that last bit on, “Of course, I wouldn’t think not to, in truth.”

I was gifted a sweet smile and quick peck to the cheek before Matty paused, his hand catching on the handle to a heavy door. Soundlessly we slipped past it, Matty closing it slowly behind us to stop it from banging against its hinges and alerting the rest of the room’s occupants to our sudden arrival. Not that it would’ve been all that easy a task, what with the noise that consumed you the second you entered.

Matty smirked at the look that must’ve crossed my face at the sound before he held a finger to his lips, signalling me to keep quiet. I rolled my eyes but took the hand he held out towards me, the two of us creeping over to the corner that gave way to the real chaos that greeted us beyond.

First thing I took notice of was the loudmouth four year old who had seemingly taken charge of the band’s rehearsal, a sight which had me biting my lip to muffle my sudden hysteria. 

George was seated by a stretched desk full of slides and buttons, elbows rested on the tops of his thighs whilst he listened animatedly to Teddy’s thoughts on whatever he had Ross and Hann tinkering about with. 

The latter two were just holding onto their instruments, Ross stood with his bass and nodding along to what strings Teddy pointed at, whilst Hann was told to ‘look happier’. Something Matty had immediately snorted at, endlessly amused by Adam being told to liven up by a kid who’d only been out of nappies for a little over a year and a half.

The snort seemed to catch George’s attention though because his head shot over at the sound, which in turn forced the rest of the room to follow.

I heard Teddy’s gasp before he came bounding over, wearing a pair of sunglasses that probably cost more than my monthly rent. 

“Alright, lovie?” I laughed, swiping up an excited Teddy before he could barrel straight into my legs. “You been having a good time?”

Teddy’s enthusiastic nod was enough to assure me of that but then Ross spoke up, “Should hope so, been hounding me to get this bassline right for ages, ain't you, mate?” He smiled at the giant grin he received in turn before nodding over towards me, “He’s got a proper good ear though. Should get him into it soon, especially if he likes it.”

Blinking, I could only look back down at Teddy, who was now informing Matty on everything he’d missed out on in the sparse moments he’d been gone in a tangent like ramble. 

George sniffed as he made to walk on over to us which forced me to glance up again. Hann had started to take off his guitar strap whilst Ross went back to fiddling with his strings once more. Seeingly wanting to get whatever he was working on down before he had to leave for the day.

“He’s a good kid.” George commented to me, watching on as Teddy reached out to be taken by Matty, the man not even second guessing the motion of catching the boy under his arms and settling him on his hip. “And Ross ain’t wrong either. He seemed to really enjoy himself, had him messing about with the console for a bit and Matty even got him to play a couple chords on the guitar for us.” He chuckled lowly, a soft sort of smile breaking up his typically stoic features.

“Hope he wasn’t too much for you guys, Matty reckoned you’d all be alright with him tagging along but I didn’t even think to double check.” I mentioned, eyes caught on the way Teddy was now so enthralled by the story he was telling both Matty and Hann, arms stretched out wide as he exaggerated something or other.

George was shaking his head when I glanced back at him, “It was nice. Having him here, but seeing Matt with him too.” George’s mouth thinned when he lifted a hand to tug on his ear, “I didn’t think he could be like that. It’s strange, him letting someone else hog the limelight whilst he’s sat on the outskirts.”

We both shared a fond chuckle, because I could see what he meant but also, “He’s taken to Teddy better than I expected, really. It’s something I’m most thankful for, as well as the fact that Teddy seems to really like him too.”

My smile was warm, I could tell, and when George caught a glimpse of it I got to watch him almost mimic the gesture, as though he was thankful for it all too.

“You’re good for him.”

My breath caught a little at that, but I kept on smiling as I peered over at Teddy and Matty who were giggling between themselves whilst Hann, and now Ross, had seemingly taken to shaking their heads at the pair in indulging amusement.

“He’s good for me.”

…

The walk home from the studio had been spent hand in hand. The three of us just padding along the narrowing pavement, Matty more often than not trailing alongside the curb so that we could keep it up.

Teddy seemed to enjoy it though, even more so when Matty and I had started up a game with him, lifting him up off his feet so that he could swing back and forth in midair for a few brief moments.

By the time we’d made it home we were all just content to find something to eat and curl up in front of the tele, me listening to Teddy tell me all about his day with Matty whilst Matty pulled my feet into his lap.

He put Teddy to bed not long after, upon the boy’s sleepy request, and had returned about fifteen minutes later, having read a story and bundled Teddy up under his duvet covers. It had been then that I’d gotten to tell Matty more about the conversation I’d had with Finn, rehashing his words and even delving a little deeper into my past with him.

“How long have you known him again?” Matty asked me, thumb trailing back and forth over the jut of my knee whilst the tv played on low.

“Only since the first year of uni.”

Matty appeared quite surprised by that, he said so too. “Seems like longer.” I grinned tiredly at his musings, eyes squinting with it as I leant further into his side.

“It does a lot of the time, but sometimes it doesn't. Wasn’t lucky enough to have been gifted a group of bandits and made to start a band.” I teased, not unkindly, appreciating the way his hand travelled up to run his fingers through my hair. I peered up at him, “They’re all so lovely, you know.”

He answered me with an airy titter, the sound soft enough not to echo out of the living room and down the hall to where Teddy slept, “You’ve never been on tour with them, sweetheart.”

I laughed then too. “Maybe, but Teddy likes them. And I like them too.”

“I’m glad.” Matty whispered, pressing a kiss to the crown of my head. When he pulled away, I moved to capture his hand in my own. “You have anyone like that?”

I shook my head minutely, not wanting him to disturb his position, “No, wasn’t in school long enough to make any lasting friendships and then I guess when you reach a certain age it always feels a little harder.”

A quiet swept over us then and I took the time to simply admire the few tattoos Matty's forearms held; the passport number, the box, the postcode on his inner elbow.

“Was that because of what happened?”

His voice was cautious, which was unusual for Matty and more than likely the cause which had me peering up at him, rather than his ask that had gone and broken our peaceful bout of silence. 

My nose wrinkled, “What, with my scars?”

Matty gave a soft hum of assent, watching me from under a careful gaze, obviously anxious not to overstep or force my hand on the matter. I smiled at his care and gave his hand a gentle squeeze.

“Yeah, it shook me a lot. I mean, I spent weeks in hospital and then after that, I was on strict bed rest whilst at home.” I explained to him, fingertips trailing over the faint grooves in his palm. “I was homeschooled for a long time too and when I did finally go back, well most of my class didn’t much care for me beyond the horror story they’d been told. It grew old quickly enough though, but even so it was hard to connect with people beyond the basic level.”

Matty’s thumb had begun to trail over the skin of my wrist, settling once or twice on my pulse point before going back to stroking again. “What did happen? I mean, only if you’re alright with saying anything about it, I know sometimes shit can still be hard.”

I breathed out an airy chuckle, turning my head to hide my enamoured smile in the wrinkle of his jumper. “I don’t mind. I don’t like mentioning it with strangers much, which is why it’s not really public knowledge unless you go digging. But it was a car accident.”

I felt Matty tense beneath me but his touch didn’t stray, only became that bit bolder, the hand in my hair coaxing me to glance up at him so that he could kiss me sweetly, nose nudging at the curve of my cheek before withdrawing. I hummed happily.

“My dad was with the local police. High up, but a drinker. Only started though after this one case, and then it spiralled. My mam worked night shifts sometimes at the hospital, which was a good way away from where we lived, so it would just be him and me until she got home.” 

I took a breath, realising it had been quite sometime since I’d actually spoken about the crash, or even thought of it really. The scars were a constant reminder, yes, but the crash itself was something that had occurred almost two decades ago now, so I’d had time to sort of come to terms with it. As much as I could. 

Not to say that it still didn’t wear at me, it had been a big event in my life, changed things in more ways than one. Because it had also been the spark which had sent my dad packing.

“It’d been raining that night, I remember ‘cause the water had been leaking in from under the backdoor. My dad had sworn up a fucking storm when he’d noticed it but could only really stick a couple towels down, claiming that he’d fix it on his next day off.” 

A light chuckle escaped me at the vivid memory my mind made up, his tall figure, the odd phrasings he would use, but nothing of real substance. I couldn’t quite recall his face, or the depth of his voice, seeing as I hadn’t looked over old videos or photos we had since I’d visited mum back home.

“It had been a bad storm, had the tides reaching the cliff peaks if I remember rightly. Which meant that the hospital had started to flood, at least the north ward where mam had worked.” I continued, enjoying the delicate caress of Matty’s thumb as it trailed up my arm, “She’d been sent home after they’d managed to move most of the patients on the ground floor westward, but her car broke down about a mile out.”

I could hear the call even now, the sound of my dad’s heavy footsteps when he’d come to wrap me up in a coat, murmuring that we had to go and pick her up.

“The winds picked up, I guess. Dad didn’t have a car seat, that was what we used mam’s car for. So he just sat me in the front seat before setting off.” 

Matty’s touch faltered slightly, probably having suspected where I was headed with this before it picked up once again. “The rain was relentless and we weren’t too far from the shore so it almost felt as though it was just thick sludge falling from the sky. It was hard to see past the first metre or so.”

I swallowed, noting how the light from the tv screen stretched out across the floor and flickered each time a scene changed. 

“Our town wasn’t huge, but it was big enough to warrant a couple T-junctions and the odd roundabout. There was a fourway, just up past the old baptist church, a road mostly used for when you were coming off the main motorway or headed out towards the airport. Dad had been drinking, you could smell it on him some days, but at night it was always stronger. He blew through it, the traffic light teetering on amber before it finally turned red.”

Staring blankly out across the living room, I could almost picture it. The downpour which had clouded the windscreen, the old dash of my dad’s car, the familiar scent of his preferred brand of tobacco.

I licked at my lower lip, mouth suddenly dry. “A van had been crossing. On the passenger side.” I added quietly, appreciating the grip of Matty’s hand as I carried on, “All I really remember after that are headlights and the blare of a horn. Woke up a couple days later, having missed my seventh birthday and my dad nowhere to be seen.”

I huffed a small chuckle, reaching up to rub at my eyes before turning to face Matty. I wasn’t quite prepared for the wet gaze I’d been met with or the single tear that had seemingly escaped and come to a pause on the bridge of his upper lip.

I lifted a hand up to wipe it away, smiling when he kissed the pad of my thumb.

“You’re incredible, you know that.”

I’d been called many things, but I don’t think incredible was one of them.

I leaned in to kiss him, wanting nothing more than the feel of having him close, even if that meant tasting the salt of his tears or enduring that careful way he held my face. It was everything I had needed then.

–

After the little moment I had shared with Matty the previous night, I’d gone to bed feeling a little more drained that usual, but I’d put it down to the exhausting day I’d had and the fact that Matty’d had to head home so that he could do a skype interview early the next morning.

I’d almost been tempted to say that he could do it here in the flat, but with Teddy you could never tell when the kid would be coming or going, so it was safer for Matty to stick to his typical routine.

But I’d woken up all sniffly and foggy headed the next morning. The pounding at the base of my skull had forced me up out of bed in search of painkillers, as well as the fact that it had just gone ten, which meant that Teds was already up and mulling about.

I took a couple of nurofen I had tucked away in the medicine cupboard with a glass of water and figured I’d be better getting a move on with my day than heading back to bed. I knew that Matty would be popping round sooner or later too, so I attempted to sort through a load of washing that desperately needed to be done as well as tidy away the mess we’d created last night.

Teddy had helped himself to a banana from the fruit bowl at some point but was already asking for breakfast by the time I’d stuck the washing machine on- unaware of how close to crying I’d been after I’d gone and dropped a wad of detergent on the floor.

Even so, I’d set to start on a pot of porridge, knowing he would enjoy it with either some jam or spread, but I was surprised when I heard the front door rattle shut not long later, having not heard a knock nor Teddy answer it. I went to scold him, frowning at the fact that he thought he could just answer the door to anyone when Matty appeared with a few Tesco bags in hand.

“I knocked on the window, so he saw me before he let me in,” Matty was quick to rush out, grinning down at Teddy who had since spotted his breakfast and made a dive for it. “Figured I’d grab some stuff before stopping in, knew you mentioned feeling crap last night before I left so..”

He shrugged, moving over towards the kitchen before I could even think up a reply, a little bewildered by the fact that anyone would have the foresight, let alone the sincerity to do something like this for me.

“Matty.” I breathed out, so utterly warmed by the gesture as I followed after him, “You didn’t have to.”

Matty rolled his eyes at me, settling the bags down on the counter, “Shut up, you idiot. Just let me feel like an adult for once, yeah?”

I laughed, unable to help myself, even as he gestured for me to take a seat at the table, claiming I looked a little warm and confirming it when he pressed his hand to my rosy cheeks. 

“Do you ever stop?” He questioned around an exasperated smile, settling some basic cold medicines down as well as a few sweet treats. “Washing machine’s already going, the kid’s been fed, floor seems to have been swept too. How’ve you not dropped?”

I rolled my eyes at his ever growing eccentrics, though was still wearing a rather pleased smile. It was nice, I deemed, having someone look after me for once.

“I can’t stop, babe, got things to do, a tiny person to look after!”

Matty just shook his head at that, obviously not too happy with my retort, “Guess we’re just gonna have a lazy day then, yeah? Got snacks, popcorn even. Reckon Teds will enjoy it. I can even take him out to the park for a bit, just to let him run off some of that energy.”

I blinked at the maddening man stood before me. Wondering what I’d done to deserve all of the things he'd done for me. And without having even been asked.

“Haven’t you got stuff to do?” I queried, content to simply watch him unpack the shopping he’d bought.

Matty shrugged a single shoulder, wrapping up a carrier bag and tucking it into the stash I kept hidden beneath the sink. “Nothing important.”

“The interview went alright then?”

He hummed, putting a couple tins of soup away in a cupboard just above his head. “Yeah, fine. Hann did it with me, other guy was in Paris or some other, I think. Definitely French though.” His phone sounded then, but it seemed he’d left it in the pocket of his jacket which he’d gone and thrown over the back of a chair upon walking in. “Look at that for me, would you?” He asked, peering down at a carton of something or other, probably pondering over whether or not it went in the fridge.

I was only a little surprised by his request, but did so anyway, trying to find the phone in one of his many deep pockets. “Definitely French?” I prompted, smirking smugly over at him before my fingers finally found the device. “You sound so certain, Healy. Almost as though you’ve been taking notes on the French dialect, or something like it.”

Chuckling to himself, Matty flashed me a big smile from over his shoulder before turning away with a wink. “The French are fit, baby.”

I laughed lightly with a halfhearted shake of my head, then peered down at his phone, “Password?”

“0709.” He told me, and so with a slight pinch in odd wonderment I typed it in.

“Why that?” I couldn’t help but ask, only glancing up again when I heard the shuffle of his feet. I raised a single eyebrow. “What, is it like the death of your guinea pig or something?”

Matty’s face pitched itself into a hearty grimace that made me cackle. “My guinea pig? Who the fuck owns a guinea pig?” He shook his head at me, deciding it wasn’t worth the effort and instead said, “It’s the date we met.”

My eyes widened considerably. “Actually?”

With a light huff, he turned back to putting things away, “Thing gets lost or nicked more times than not, so I’m always changing my passwords. Figured I’d remember that one.”

“Matty!” I all but awed, honestly feeling the love. “You can be such a sap sometimes, you know that. The day we met!”

I received a glare in retort but I simply laughed at him before turning to look down at the message he’d just received. My forehead furrowed.

“You said you had nothing going on today!” I was quick to accuse, eyes flashing up to meet his somewhat startled face, “George’s party is tonight!”

Matty’s mouth formed a little ‘o’ before he merely shrugged, “G will get over it if I can’t make it. You need me here more, and besides, his birthday isn't even for a couple more days. They’re only throwin’ it tonight so that most people can make it.”

I looked heavenwards, hoping that the second pause would give me a little bit of strength. Did it fuck. “Matty, you’re not staying here with us when George, your best mate might I add, is out celebrating his birthday! He’ll want you there.”

“Squeaks, you’re sick. He’ll underst-”

I shook my head, “No, you’re going. I’ve got a little cold, nothing that’s gonna kill me. What will kill me though is you not going to be with G on his special day.”

Matty narrowed his eyes a tad, “Don’t guilt trip me.”

My next bout of laughter couldn’t be helped. “I’m not!”

With a scoff, Matty turned to put the carton he’d held in the side door of the fridge, shaking his head as though I was the one being outlandish. “It’s fine, alright?” He said once he’d spun back around, “I’d much prefer being here anyway.”

My head dropped to the side as I looked up at him, “Babe, please go. It would honestly mean a lot to me, but even more so to George. You know, who’s birthday it is. Go on. Please?”

Matty sighed and ended up dropping himself into the opposing chair, I slid his phone on over to him. “What about you though, and Teddy?” He asked and it was sweet, how much he cared. 

“We’ll be fine.” I assured him, reaching out to take his hand, “The party isn’t til later anyway, so how about we stick with your lazy day idea and then when you need to start heading out, I can just pop Teds in the bath and get him ready for bed.” When Matty still didn’t seem too keen on the idea, I squeezed his hand a tad and added, “You can even head back here after if you want.”

He perked up at that, but was still a little resistant to the whole idea of leaving.

“I promise we’ll be fine, love.”

And oh, did I wish that had been the truth.

#the 1975 #fic #matty healy #angst #radio host #reader #x reader #x you #george daniel #ross macdonald #the 1975 band #adam hann #fluff #humour #smut #matty healy fic #matty 1975 #matty healy x reader #matty x reader #matty healy x you #ao3 #fame #strangers to lovers #mum reader #kid fic #getting together #SLOWBURN #mutual pining #Warnings #aipoban

[marvelmusing]

In Another Life

Masterlist

Pairing: Aleksander Morozova x Alternate Universe!Reader

Summary: When the making at the heart of the world steals you from your own universe and drops you into the fictional country of Ravka you’re thoroughly bewildered. But this is an opportunity for you to right every wrong - and hopefully save one life in particular.

Word Count: 60.5K - COMPLETED

My Masterlist • Series Playlist

Read on AO3 HERE

Part One

One moment you’re going about your usual day, the next you’re in Ravka - the fictional country in a fictional universe. When you realise that the story you know by heart hasn’t even begun, there’s only one person you can think of going to.

Part Two

After a restless night of sleep, you wake with too many thoughts in your mind. The contents of the General’s war table provide an ample distraction, and soon the man himself joins you.

Part Three

You and Aleksander journey to Kribirsk, where everything starts to become real for you, as your plan is finally set in motion.

Part Four

Accompanied by your new recruits, you and Aleksander return to the Little Palace, and soon settle into a comfortable routine. But nothing ever stays the same for long.

Part Five

Alina is presented to the king as the sun summoner, and from that point onwards you and Aleksander become increasing busy - and apart.

Part Six

An unexpected visitor arrives with some good news, and Aleksander makes a earth-shattering discovery.

Bonus Scene

As your first interaction with Baghra occurs, a wounded Aleksander returns from a mission, and you have no chance to ponder over her opinion of you.

Part Seven

The search for the stag takes your group north into Fjerda, but it’s after you return to Os Alta that a surprising event occurs.

Part Eight

The Winter Fete goes smoothly, a perfect evening followed by a foiled assassination. A few days later, you and Aleksander journey into the Fold.

Part Nine

After a dramatic arrival into West Ravka, your group travels to Os Kervo, and you recruit a pirate privateer to join you in the search for the sea whip.

Part Ten

The hunt for the sea whip has begun, but a number of obstacles stand in your way, demanding more from you than you ever thought possible.

Part Eleven

Your near death experience has taken a toll on you, which forces Aleksander to come to a realisation.

Part Twelve

A successful return to Ravka prompts you to share warnings of the future with Aleksander, and a new (but not unfamiliar) character invites himself into your schemes.

Part Thirteen

Slowly the pieces of your plan for the Fold come into place, but thoughts and fears of the future continue to haunt you.

Part Fourteen

Ravka’s seat of power changes, and Aleksander makes a discovery that sends you both north in search of his sister.

Part Fifteen

As Alina is about to bring down the Fold, Aleksander suggests a theory that lifts your hopes.

Part Sixteen

Together, you and Aleksander journey to the monastery of Sankt Feliks. To mend the tear at the making, a sacrifice from one of you is required.

Part Seventeen

With the remains of the Fold vanquished, the people celebrate. Together, you and Aleksander work to establish peace in Ravka and a safe haven for your Grisha.

Bonus Scene

Alternate Ending

Until I Found You - IAL (Aleksander’s Version)

Aleksander isn’t expecting to find love in this lifetime, that is until you arrive. - A collection of scenes from In Another Life from Aleksander’s perspective, as well as a bonus scene.

-

Post-In Another Life

Future Uncertainty

Lingering insecurities rear their head now that everything has been resolved, and Aleksander encourages you to share your fears. (set mid-part seventeen)

The General’s Crown

In an attempt to escape the attention of being a living saint, you retreat into the fields and create flowers for the local children. It isn’t long before your husband finds you.

Christmas Eve

Its your second Christmas in Ravka, your first with the country at peace and Aleksander as your husband. Together, you have the perfect Christmas Eve.

The New Year

It’s New Years Eve, and the first time you’re celebrating with Aleksander as your husband.

What the Future Holds

Immortality suits you well, and your new life with Aleksander is better than you ever could have imagined.

#in another life au #aleksander morozova #aleksander morozova x reader #the darkling #the darkling x reader #the darkling au #shadow and bone au #shadow and bone x reader #shadow and bone

[updownlately]

you said, ‘forever’ (and i almost bought it)

| steph catley x reader | angst | 0.9k | a/n: okay so i feel like i need to put the warning that this is purely fiction here. i've got nothing against any of the people mentioned in this fic lol. in fact i love them all. but anyways, i read @reminiscingtonight's fic australia a few days ago and it just hasn't left my mind (it's a masterpiece if you ask me). and so it prompted this idea :) hopefully this is decent bc i wrote it all at 3am but yeah, happy reading amigos! 🫶

~~~

You don’t know why you did this to yourself. 

You really don’t.

All you know is that your stomach’s dropping six feet under and you have no one but yourself to blame.

Oddly enough, you shouldn’t even be feeling this.

You shouldn’t be feeling your heart break into two, chest tightening impossibly as your stomach knots and your throat closes up. 

The team’s just won the derby and you should feel elated. You should be celebrating like a maniac, probably joining Katie and Beth as they run around the field celebrating with the crowd. 

You should be joining Kyra as she goes around and sprays people with her water bottle.

You should be doing the victory lap with Viv and Cloe.

What you shouldn’t be doing is just looking towards the crowd by the bench- the friends and family section. 

You shouldn’t be staring at Steph, your hands pressed tightly to your sides in a somewhat successful attempt to hide how much they’re shaking.

You also probably shouldn’t be swallowing hard, your breath shaky as thoughts of what if run endlessly through your mind.

You want to tear your eyes away, forget the way she immediately ran to the stands to wrap her arms around someone that wasn’t you.

You want to ignore the way her hold around him is so easy, so fitting, like it was meant to be.

You desperately want to forget that she ever existed to you as anything more than a teammate

But you can’t find it in yourself to, instead choosing to let yourself suffer, lump in your throat getting bigger with each passing second.

You hate that it’s those three words that come to your mind when you see them together - ‘meant to be’- the words like poison on your tongue.

Jaw clenching as you feel your eyes burn, cheeks colouring as you anger begins to course through you, you will yourself to look away, head turning to the side as you try and focus on Victoria chasing Kyra around with her own bottle

The image of her in another’s embrace is seared into your mind though, haunting you even as you’re turned away.

There’s still a bitter taste in your mouth.

You know it’s childish, but you hate that the three words are being used for someone that isn’t you and her. 

You hate that it’s what your mind went to.

It used to be you. 

You two were meant to be. 

It’s what she said to you years ago, when the two of you were lying in your shared bedroom back in Portland. 

Back when the world felt right, with her in your arms, her little huffs of laughter at your stupid jokes filling the otherwise silent night. 

Back when love felt right- when it felt like a hug, a warm blanket tucking you in, like the warm sunshine on a cold winter night.

When love felt anything but like this- like the taste of blood from the way you were biting your cheek in an attempt to distract yourself from the cruel pain in your chest. 

Like anything but the feeling of your nails digging into your palm as you tried to direct your focus to the pitch, to the fans, to the team- anywhere really- anywhere but towards the blonde you once called yours. 

You two were meant to be, she’d said. 

Whispered into the inches of space between you as she’d looked in your eyes, moonlight making her look more angelic than ever, her hands intertwining with yours as she’d tucked herself into your side.

She’d promised you forever that night, a gentle kiss sealing the words.

‘Whatever happens, it’s you and me.’

All that only to go and break your heart months later, Arsenal contract signed easily, a shitty letter apologizing for leaving- a letter you now kept shoved in a cardboard box in the back of your closet, along with all of the other mementos from your three years together.

You two were forever, she’d sworn.

And yet, here you were, head thrown back, eyes pointing at the sky as you willed for the tears in your eyes to not fall. 

Shaking your head as you took a shuddering breath, you brought the bottom hem of your jersey to cover your face, covertly wiping the single tear that escaped you.

How was it that you’d won today and yet somehow all that you could feel was the sickening feeling of your stomach turning? 

How was it that all you could think about was what you used to have, mind wrapping around the fact that at the end of the day, win or lose against the blues, you’d already lost something greater than any derby would ever be.

Running a hand over your face, you did your best to plaster a fake smile on your face, betraying the way you wanted to curl up into a ball and just comfort your shattered heart. 

Swallowing your emotions down, you put your absolute focus on making sure you didn’t look behind you- didn’t let your heart break again.

Instead, walking up to Lia and Noelle, you let yourself fall into step with them as pieces of your broken heart trailed behind you on the pitch. 

‘Maybe’, you concluded bitterly, ‘maybe this ‘falling in love’ thing just wasn’t meant for you.’

#we don't proofread around here anymore #steph catley x reader #steph catley imagine #steph catley #woso fanfics #woso x reader #woso imagine #woso one shot #woso community #woso #my writing #blurb #angst #ysf

[monsterinmyboxers]

jake being a little shit and reader taming him in the forest 🫶🏾

⠀⠀ humbling a brat.

pairing. jake sully x top male reader.

dni. fem-aligned and minors.

author’s note. changed the format again a bit bc my lil meow meow is so hh also im adding titles bc

content. pre-established relationship, jake being a brat and a masochist, under-negotiated kinks, choking, spanking, fingering, overstimulation, degradation, praise, and a singular ‘sir’.

“didn’t know someone could be more hardheaded than me.” a laugh came from jake sully, who was smirking, showing off his fangs.

your ears would press flat against your head, eyebrows twitching out of frustration. you had transferred into your avatar recently after the war had ended, being one of the few humans that decided to stay on pandora, and are just now learning the na'vi language. even though you were doing better than expected, jake would tease you nonstop every time you slipped up. he seemed to completely ignore the fact you were doing much better than he had at first.

it annoyed you, even more than his typical bickering did. everyone could tell, neytiri sensing your increasing anger no matter how hard you tried to hide it. she thought he had taken it too far, considering how tense you became. but, you knew what he was trying to do, what game he was trying to play. you’ve dealt with him long enough to see through him.

he follows after you as neytiri provides guidance, teaching you whilst zoning out jakes taunts, something you couldn’t do. but, that was only because they were directed towards you. and with every comment, he’d brush past you, tail gliding against you whenever it could, taking every chance to touch you without a second thought.

he wanted something, that something being you. your attention. your eyes traveling his body. maybe, he was jealous of how you weren’t giving him an form of regard. your reactions were what he yearned for, and not receiving any in the last few hours was clearly something he could not allow.

so, as a result, he’d talk shit just to spite you. enrage you. make you give in to him. and surprisingly, he was successful. you were pissed off. it gave him such a thrill to see how worked up you were, glaring at him, eyes clouded with what he could only imagine was lust.

he never attempted to stop and think about if he should shut his mouth. not once. per usual, he didn’t think about the consequences to his actions.

you’d do something about that soon.

after your lesson with neytiri was over, without any hesitation, you brought jake out into the forest, where neither of you could be heard by other na'vi. hopefully.

“you really need to learn when to shut the hell up.” the sudden outburst made jakes ears twitch downward, yet he still kept that assured demeanor on display. “aw, did i hurt someone’s feelings?” it’s like he was incapable of taking anything, or anyone seriously.

“jake, i’m going to,” you were quickly interrupted, “to what? fight me? i doubt you could even land a punch. you’re still getting used to your body — i’m already settled into mine. you don’t know what you’re doing, i do.” he said more, he always does, but you just blocked him out. you focused on his face.

how his lips move, how wide his puppy eyes were, how even in this body you could still easily tell that he was your boyfriend. your annoying, overconfident, bratty, beautiful boyfriend.

you let him talk for a moment more, before running a hand up his slim waist. that made him pause, stumble over his words, ears fluttering with interest. you didn’t spare another glance towards his face, paying more attention to how his lower half swayed — as if on instinct.

“weren’t, weren’t you just mad at me?” his tone was less cocky now, yet his confidence didn’t falter. “still am.” you spoke, then suddenly shoved him against the nearest tree. he loses his footing, but fortunately doesn’t fall, grunting once his back hit the trunk.

your name was said, but you didn’t listen, rather pressing your palm against his adams apple and wrapping your fingers around his throat.

you didn’t squeeze, never dared to put more pressure onto his neck, but the mere presence of your hand there had him struggling to breathe. “what, are you doing?” his heart skips a beat as your fingers dance along where his jaw and neck connect. you had such an affect on him, and you haven’t done very much.

“you’re, a dick. you know that? so much so that i, want to push you against the dirt,” you leaned in closer, lips nearly touching his ears. “and fuck you raw.” his tail twitched, almost wagging at your words. he wanted just that, you both knew by then. and, you were going to give it to him — but in your own way.

he’d turn his head a bit, an attempt to look at you head on. it was difficult to do with the current position he was in, so you’d back up only slightly.

“what’s stopping you?” that’d set you off, amusement pulling at your lips before you pressed them against his. the kiss was nowhere near innocent, tongues clashing within seconds. that battle was won by you, his mouth submitting to yours, letting you do as you please. you like this side of him. so bratty until you confront him, a show off until you touch him, give him the treatment he wanted — he deserved.

you pulled away when you couldn’t breathe, both of you panting softly before you move your palm, one gripping his hair and the other on his hip. you rearranged this position, only pleased once his back was facing you, his cheek and hands pushed against the tree. rather rough, he thought you were, the situation uncomfortable for him. though, you didn’t really care at the moment, and honestly, he didn’t either.

he wanted to be used, that’s why he started this shit in the first place. you were so focused on something that wasn’t him, and he couldn’t tolerate it, not for long.

as he was lost in thought, you had slid his loincloth down those thighs, ones that you adored, exposing him for only you to see. it’s not like the thin piece of clothing hid much, anyway. you couldn’t see his dick, but you were sure it was hard, straining, yearning for release. that much was obvious when he whined, quietly demanding that you get on with it; as if he had any control over you or what you determine to do with him.

you almost laughed, jake trying his best to be dominant and at the same time deliberately showing off his ass, back arching and tail lifting. in his head, he still held some kind of authority, while his body presented itself to you.

you would shift his stance, spreading his legs further, then taking your middle and ring finger and placing them onto his bottom lip. at first, he didn’t exactly get the message, until he curiously opened his mouth and you shoved your fingers inside. he let out a low gag, then allowed his tongue to lick between and along your digits.

he hollowed out his cheeks, beginning to suck as if it were your cock between his lips, choking whenever your finger tips hit the back of his throat. once you thought they were wet enough, you pull them out, watching as only a thread of spit connected you and him.

he seemed disappointed as you did this. he’s learned, because of you, that he enjoys oral more than he originally thought. but, that’s a story for another time.

your dry hand massaged his hip, the other rubbing just around where he wanted your fingers most. annoyance got to jake quick, giving you a snarky tone. “hurry up.”

this sudden change in attitude was unexpected, and your eyebrows furrowed. you thought he had given up this front already, and just let you take care of him. apparently, you were wrong.

“fuckin’, come on—” he could barely get the phrase out before he felt a stinging pain on his ass. he yelped, bordering on a damn whimper. you’ve never done that before, and shit, he wish that you had.

you felt a moment of regret, not sure how he would react to that as it was a heat of the moment thing — but your thoughts were shut down quickly.

“that- that all you got?” you let out a silent sigh of relief, jaw clenching a bit before bringing your hand down again. the smack was audible, his body jolting on impact. the moan he let out was choked on, his hands now gripping the bark of the tree he was stabilizing himself on.

he readied himself for another painful sensation, but instead felt something prod at and enter his hole. as no warning was given, jakes chest forced out a keen, tensing for a second before welcoming the intrusion.

you didn’t wait to add your other finger, making the man inhale sharply. no matter how tight he was, you found a way to move in and out, not giving him a break — a moment to take air into his lungs. his mouth was wide open, not caring for any noise that escaped him, or the drool that fell onto his chin and lower.

you played with him throughout, separating your fingers and stretching him out, easily finding and thrusting onto the source of his sensitivity. you unraveled him so fast, too fast, heat building in his stomach. he had no restraint, hand going down to his dick. which you, evidently, didn’t like, spanking him once more.

“don’t you fuckin’ dare.” he whimpered so loud at your tone, deciding to touch you instead. grabbing your biceps, forearms, anything in his reach. “‘m gonna cuh-come, g-gonna come,” barely understanding the stuttered words, you hum, one that rumbled, coming from deep within your chest — effecting him greatly, seeing as he came right then and there.

this was new. you wouldn’t go this far with fingering, making him come and all. you only bothered to finger him for preparation, as requested by him. he didn’t like wasting time on things other than your dick.

jake is rather vanilla when it comes to sex, sticking with the stuff he was familiar with, especially since you were his first ever boyfriend and he was almost intimidated by the other possibilities.

though, you have been talking about how you wanted to go further, try new things, push his boundaries — with his consent. he had to think about it, but in the end, he agreed. so, you took this chance, prolonging your time together, testing both yours and his patience.

you stroked your nails along his prostate, having him experience this orgasm for as long as possible. you stopped when he became lightheaded, body slowly going limp. and as his vision was clearing, you began to pull out.

he thought you’d finally fuck him then, a toothy grin complementing his face once he was conscious enough to do so.

though, he couldn’t get too excited, since you only shoved your fingers back into him. you instantly curl them, earning a wobbled moan, and gasps of protest, “no, no, cock, need your dih-dick, n-need it,” he tried to convince you, but you paid him no mind.

“i don’t think you deserve it.” at that, he sobs. degradation was something you found interesting. you’ve never seen jake, someone so stubborn and prideful, in such a state of distress over something so dirty. you should do this more often.

it was hard to argue with you constantly abusing his insides, but he somehow managed. even though he’s lost his ego, he hasn’t lost his determination. “i’m- i’m sorry, so sorry, plea-please. was doing, for attention, didn’ mean eh-it! promise, promise, pinky prom- fuh-uck!” tears were shed, jake coughing as he inhaled his own spit. god, he was a mess.

your motions were relentless, mind wondering how many orgasms you could get out of him with just your fingers. two? three? four? you wanted to find out. yet, you knew you wouldn’t be able to wait much longer, noticing how hard you’ve become over time. so, you made up your mind, wrist moving back and forth to support your fingers.

“one more, come again and you’ll get my dick.” he barely heard you, trying to regain his composure again and again and failing each time. his lack of response worried you, slowing down and allowing that demanding facade to fade away, leaning in close. “did you hear me, jake?”

it took him a few seconds, but the sudden pause in stimulation got him to concentrate. “ye-yes, sir. can do it,” the title made your tail lash side to side, lips pressing gentle kisses against his jaw. “that’s it, good boy, so obedient for me.” his body twitches, an already existing blush spreading to his ears. the check-in ended shortly, hand getting back to work on jakes approaching orgasm.

with the mix of overstimulation and you whispering praises, he didn’t last very long. “gonna, come, ah-gain, again,” no sentence was left uninterrupted, jake now relying on you to keep him up, trembling arms extending back and wrapping around your neck, nails reaching and scratching at your upper back. he needed something to grip onto, to remind himself that this was real.

yellow eyes were blown wide, pupils dilated as he came again, painting the tree in front of him. you, once again, drew out this feeling of euphoria. this time, you pulled out completely, letting him calm down from his high. he breathed in deeply, something he couldn’t seem to do for the last hour, then exhaled like he was shivering.

embarrassment eventually washed over him, jake hiding his flushed face in the crook of your neck. “dick.” it was stifled, but you knew what he said nonetheless. “you askin’ for it or are you callin’ me one?” that earned you a smack on the arm, since that was the only part of your body he could get to.

you hum, then shrugged him off, jake landing on the wood in front of him. he clung onto the tree, using anything as leverage so he wouldn’t collapse. finally, you’d take your loincloth off, letting out a sigh of relief once you were freed of your confinements.

as expected, you were hard, pre-cum gathering on your tip. you curse under your breath, inching forward and resting your dick on jakes ass. the weight made him gasp softly, a whine following, him now using one hand to grab hold of his ass and spread himself open. you could hear how he gulped, and the unsteady sigh after. he was flushed, nothing hiding how heat spread out from his face to his shoulders. he was hot all over, really.

his eagerness made an appearance, tail whipping around like a dogs would. though, it would stop, but just to wrap around your thigh. you snort, soon grabbing at his braid, tugging at it. he lets out a string of pleas; he’s already waited so long.

you pretend to think about it, an inquisitive hum given, just to draw things out. you would come to a conclusion, mumbling a soft “alright,” before rubbing your head along his rim. he attempts to move, to try and get you into him, but he was only met with a now familiar pain on his ass. he quivers under your touch, cussing you out in his head, not having the balls to be an asshole out loud anymore.

only a few more seconds pass as you decide to give in, spitting down onto your base and rubbing it along your shaft, up to the tip. you’d then press forward, putting more and more stress onto his hole until you sunk inside.

it was a slow process, you making it that way just to tease him, watching as he took you in inch by inch, piece by piece. he heaves, feeling every vein on your cock graze his walls. and while it was torture to never know when his ass was going to touch your hips, he still had a cock-drunk smile on his face. sharp teeth bit his lower lip, biceps flexing as he gripped a nearby vine.

eventually, you bottom out, jake clamping down on you as a response. he tried his very best to relax so you had easy access, but couldn’t help it once you were fully inside him, filling him. he never wanted you to leave.

“if you wanna get fucked, you’re gonna need to ease up on the clenching.” he felt unnaturally shy, your words making his ears fold back and redden. despite that, he loosened up, expecting you to start thrusting then.

but, nothing happened.

you didn’t move, only chuckling softly as he tried to look back at you. “are you going to move?” you beat him to it, jakes eyebrows raising. he knew what you were implying.

a soft cry came from him, hips shifting before he moved away from you, half of your dick dragging out of him. he’d sink back down, moaning out loud — and repeating this action.

it was difficult to go at the faster and rougher pace that he oh so craved, as his legs couldn’t even carry his own muscle by themselves at the moment. once he gave up on being independent, his hips go even slower so he could try and talk successfully, “need, h-help. can’t, can’t do it.” he felt almost ashamed to admit it.

but, that feeling quickly subsided as you combed your fingers through his locks, the soft touch contrasting greatly with how roughly you pounded into him.

he sounded so — vulnerable. it strengthened that urge to ravage him, making it impossible to ignore. your hips switch directions, looking for that specific bundle of nerves once more. it didn’t take long to find it, jake releasing a sob once you did, your thrusts ceaseless as you practically bruise his prostate.

his body presses forward with the force you use, chest scratching the skin of the tree, but he couldn’t focus on that now. the only thing he could think about was how deep you were; the sound of himself, you, and your pelvis hitting his ass filled his ears.

you came in close, breath skimming the side of his neck while you panted, with occasional growls that you weren’t even aware of given as well. they came without your permission, as if you didn’t have power over your own vocal cords. they only turned jake on even more.

maybe a little too much, even.

cum shot out of his dick, creating another mess over his previous ones. though this time, the liquid was thinner, almost losing color. overstimulation caught on fast, jake crying out, “so much, t-too much, can’t, too muh-ch!” you shush him, your rhythm slowing in pity. “i’m right there, jake. you’ve been so good, so good. be a slut for a few more seconds, will you?” your voice held empathy, thrusts becoming shallow.

he gave a mere nod. you continue your movement, relishing in how his warmth sheathed your cock. you words were proven true, it only taking seconds for you to empty inside him, thick cum stuffing him to the brim. a final, rather weak moan was elicited from him, eyes closing as you drain yourself.

after finishing, you both pant heavily, “jake,” you spoke, nose poking at his nape. though, he didn’t respond. “..jake.” no response. “jake?” you worried that he may have passed out, but to your relief, he hummed right before you began to panic.

“you okay?” your hands rub his hips and sides, gliding down his curves, soothing him. “mhm.” he couldn’t say much else, it looked like. yet, you still decided to ask, “did you enjoy it?”

he took a moment, gulping heavily before chuckling. it was a silent one, the sole reason you knew he laughed was by how his shoulders shook. “..hell yeah.”

#fics by jj #jake sully #jake sully x male reader #avatar #avatar: the way of water #dom male reader #top male reader

[crisiscutie]

Fluffy Sephiroth’s reaction at the darlings little pregnancy waddle bc i been wanting fluff.

Sure thing! Enjoy this entry in the Crisis Cutie Collection.

Sephiroth slashed at the wooden training dummies, effortlessly cutting many of them down in a quick succession. He's going to need to come up with more creative ways to maintain his sharp mind and fighting prowess if he wants to cope with this new life. His decision to abandon Shinra with his darling was the best one he made, but now he's plagued with doubts if this new domestic lifestyle is a better alternative. He knew that living in a remote, peaceful village should be a fresh start, but restraints of the past made that difficult. He was trained and raised to be a killer. To search and destroy. He was never suited for normality.

While lost in thought, a hidden sense of his detected a special someone in the fields, approaching him; His darling. He swiveled around, his eyes fixed on her alluring silhouette in the distance. Of course, she was wearing her favorite sun hat... More of her figure became distinct by the second, and he felt some of his tension ease away. He knew that no matter what challenges lay ahead, he must adapt to this new way of life. It's necessary for his darling and their precious unborn child. The thought of losing them is unbearable to him. He wouldn't know what would happen if they were to leave him...

But something seemed off about his darling's gait as she came closer to him. His eyebrows furrowed, slit eyes narrowing in suspicion. ...She's waddling? For a second, worry and concern overtake him. Is his darling hurt!? No, no. No one would dare hurt her when he's around. Despair shall come to them if they did. His gaze then lingered on her baby bump, which seems bigger. ...Of course! It's her pregnant stomach that's making her waddle like that. His expression became eased as he continued to watch her with interest.

He couldn't help but smile at the adorable sight. Her gait affected by the weight of their love's fruit. A dreamy smile began to play on his lips as he fixated more on her swollen belly, yet his eyes still held a hint of sadness. Hopefully, he won't lose his darling, like how he lost his mother... If she can make it through, then maybe life in this village is possible after all.

"I was calling out to you, Sephiroth. Didn't you hear me?" His darling said, now suddenly in front of him. She caught him in his trance.

"My apologies... I was distracted." Sephiroth said, somewhat embarrassed. He looked down and noticed his darling was carrying a wooden basket.

"I know you don't want any distractions when you're sparring, but... I'm worried about you. I know you didn't eat all day." She murmured. He looked away from her briefly, a telltale sign of his guilt.

"I'm fine," Sephiroth said, attempting to appear stoic, but the slight quiver in his tone said it all. His darling reached out and touched his arm, her pleading eyes silently conveying her concern. Sephiroth didn't relent, though. He wanted to remain strong for both her and their child. After a few moments passed, she let out a deep sigh, breaking the tense moment.

"Well, at least let me feed you," she said. "This food shouldn't go to waste." With that, she lifted the basket, revealing fruits and vegetables within it. Sephiroth looked back at her with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "You heard me," she said, her gaze stern and maternal as she put her hands on her hips. "Now, sit down." Her maternal concern tempered the command in her voice. Sephiroth found himself obeying as he sat down on the stone bench near them. Satisfied with his obedience, she happily plucked a ripe strawberry from the basket and held it out to him, her fingers brushing against his lips. Sephiroth's lips twitched into a small smile, as he opened his mouth to accept this lovely gift. When he tasted the juicy sweetness of the strawberry, a wave of happiness washed over him. Perhaps, he thought, more activities like this can help him better adjust...

Sweet boy is struggling... but he's getting better.

#sephiroth x reader #sephiroth #ff7 sephiroth #crisis cutie #final fantasy 7 #ff7 #final fantasy x reader #fluffy sephiroth #domestic headcanons #domestic au #domestic fluff #domestic reader #the crisis cutie collection #final fantasy vii #ffvii #ffvii crisis core

[venus-is-thinking]

A Narrative Defense of Eden Culprit Theory

Hello everyone! 

As I’m sure many of you know, I, among others (notably @accirax, @1moreff-creator and @thebadjoe) believe Eden to be the culprit of the Chapter 2 murder case. I’ve seen a fair number of people say they aren’t convinced for one reason or another. While I fully understand people who don’t buy all the evidence/the insane contraptions we’ve come up with or people who are in denial, I was a little surprised at how many people I saw say that it would be bad writing for Eden to be the killer here. 

While others are fully entitled to their opinions on who the killer is, I want to address this claim. Personally, whenever I’m reading a fangan, I always believe that I shouldn’t consider any killer to be “bad writing” until I see how it’s actually written. After all, there can always be a key twist you’re not expecting to make it actually make sense. Plus, in Eden’s case, I actually fully believe that all the building blocks of a narratively successful killer are already put into place. So, in this post, I’m going to attempt to back up my claim that Eden being the second killer actually makes narrative sense, and it isn’t bad writing either.

Because fangan writing is subjective and what any given author believes is the right move varies, I’ll be doing my best to support my claims with similar content from the canon game trilogy (given that that’s a pretty standard baseline) and from what we’ve already seen of DRDT thus far. That should (hopefully) give us some fair perspective into the sorts of narrative decisions the creator would want to make.

I’ll be going through various points at which I think something could or could not be bad writing, so hopefully that’ll provide some much needed structure to this theory.

Topic 1: Motive

I want to say this early: I do not think Eden is secretly evil. I think that in the context of killing games, “good” people can end up being killers, and I think that’s where Eden’s headed. I understand why, if some people have only seen Eden killer theories in the context of her being evil, they don’t like it. I don't like it either. I think it completely misinterprets her character.

For now, though, I want to talk about what motive she does have. There’s the fact that Arturo is threatening her, obviously. If she feels there’s a genuine threat to her safety, it would be decently reasonable to decide that, if her priority is her life, she’d rather try to get away with a murder than let herself be taken out by Arturo. 

There’s another potential motive out there for Eden that might be enough to push her over the edge. That being, we know she cares a lot about her friends and relationships outside of the killing game too. 

A lot of people, I think, have seen the theory floating around that goes “Eden is trying to leave to get back to the girl she kissed.” I’ve also seen it mentioned that this could be problematic, given that it could be saying “being gay = becoming a killer,” but I think there are several reasons why that doesn’t hold up.

First of all, we have a lot of canonically LGBT cast members. Nico is nonbinary, Whit is bisexual, and in the most recent Q&A, other characters such as Ace, Veronika and Eden herself were also all confirmed to be LGBT+. Given that Eden isn’t the “token gay character,” I think it’s a lot safer to make her a killer without sending the message “if you’re gay you’re a killer.” 

Secondly, I think that there’s more to Eden’s motive than just whoever that girl is. I think the girl will likely be part of it and be relevant, given that it’s Eden’s motive secret. Because it’s the Chapter 2 motive, the motive secrets should play into things in general. But, it’s not like that girl is the only one from Eden’s past that she cares about, right? 

Eden cares about her family, as we see in the scene where she talks to Levi. We know that Eden cares about her friends, as we clearly see within the killing game. We know that Eden cares about this girl. I think it’s safe to say that, for gay reasons or not, Eden has a lot of people she’d fight to get back to.

Rather than using her motive secret as the only way of justifying the “Eden wants to return to her previous life” motive, why don’t we look at other secret Eden content?

I’m talking about the secret quotes. I assume most people have heard about them by now, but basically, if you go to the characters’ profile pages on the main tumblr account and inspect elements, each character has a secret quote that you can find. Eden’s secret quote is “You can’t go back, no matter how hard you try.”

We haven’t really seen much of Eden trying to go back yet. I guess you could say that when she makes breakfast with Levi, she talks a lot about trying to get the group back together and back to normal, and that isn’t unrelated. Still, I think it makes a lot of sense if Eden is someone who’s focused on the past. After all, Eden’s talent is clockmaking. To the extent her talent influenced her personality/character themes, it seems like time is an important thing with her. Trying to turn back the clock and return to her life before the killing game would make a lot of sense thematically. 

I suspect that Eden’s secret quote relates to the fact that she tries to go back to her previous life by escaping the killing game. “No matter how hard you try” definitely sounds like she goes to pretty extreme lengths, but she still fails in the end. That would be when she’s caught as the blackened and executed; she never gets to go back. It’s precedented for secret quotes to directly relate to how characters died; both Min’s “I wanted to save you” and Arei’s “Because that’s what friends do” tie into the way in which they arrived at their death. I could definitely see it being the same for Eden.

Interestingly, there’s another reason to consider that Eden might be extra-motivated to leave the killing game. That point is that Eden has been shown to be the main person fighting against the killing game. For example, she and Hu brainstormed ways to deal with the Chapter 2 motive. 

That doesn’t really tell us anything though, right? It’s just trying to manage the killing game from within. That’s not it, though. It’s actually a repeated thing that Eden is constantly looking for ways to obstruct the killing game.

Even the plan to bore out the killing game, the one Veronika tells us couldn’t work because she’d get too horribly bored, originally came from Eden. I fully believe that there’s a reason we’re being told every other scene that Eden is working towards ending the killing game is that Eden has extra incentive to want the killing game to end, and that’s to try to return to the life and loved ones she left behind.

I also think it’s worth mentioning that, in the canon games, every single second killer commits their crime due to previous attachments that go beyond the killing game. Mondo kills because of the promise he made to his now-dead brother Daiya, Peko kills because of her allegiance to Fuyuhiko, who wants Mahiru dead due to the death of his sister Natsumi, and Kirumi kills because she’s actually the Prime Minister and needs to get back to her duties. Hell, Ryoma is even Kirumi’s victim because he doesn’t have previous outside attachments, which makes him feel like a more understandable victim for her crime. If you throw in “Eden has a lot of meaningful relationships back home and, here in the killing game, she misses them so badly that she’d kill to go back,” I don’t think it feels out of place. 

This is pretty niche, but there’s also something I want to look at in relation to Xander and Min. Notably, the pinned comments by the official account in their bonus episodes. 

Xander’s is “Someone who wants to hold onto the past.” Min’s is “Someone who wants to move on from the past.” While this trend doesn’t have to keep up, I think it would be interesting if every killer/victim pair had one of each. Arei pretty clearly wants to move on from the past where her sisters and classmates ruthlessly bullied her. Eden wants to hold onto it, hoping to return, but she can’t go back, no matter how hard she tries. Just an interesting thing to point out.

But Eden’s motive isn’t the only thing stopping people from believing she’d be a reasonable killer, right? There are other things to consider, too.

Topic 2: Story Arc

To be clear here, “Story Arc” refers to how Eden fits into the larger narrative and story of DRDT. I’ll be talking about her individual story and growth later on in the section labeled “Character Arc.” 

For the most part, the larger narrative, at present, seems to be relating to Teruko and how she navigates her trust and relationships with everyone else. Eden is certainly a key factor in that, given that Teruko has basically acknowledged that outright. 

Teruko actively tries to avoid being friends with Eden, given the fact that she’s very nice and it’d be easy for Teruko to be friends with her. To Teruko, that means she’d be opening up the door to get hurt to easily when Eden inevitably dies and/or betrays her. Wouldn’t it only be proving Teruko right if Eden were to become a killer?

Yeah. It would. And that’s the point at the story we’re at. 

I don’t think it would make any sense for Teruko’s beliefs to be strongly challenged in Chapter 2. Like, at some point, I’m sure Teruko will figure out why it’s a problem to not trust anyone. After all, her secret quote is “It is an equal failing to trust everybody, and to trust no one at all.” However, at this point in the story, things are going as she expects.

Think about it this way. Teruko believes that trusting people is opening yourself up for betrayal, and those who she gets close to will betray her and die. Let’s go through the people who have died so far, one by one, and see how they match up against that.

Xander: Was Teruko’s closest friend. Betrayed her by trying to kill her, then died. Check. Min: Was Teruko’s biggest supporter after she got stabbed. Betrayed her by actually being the killer, then died. Check. Arei: Previously shared Teruko’s worldview that being nice will just screw you over. Opened up and became friends. Had that friendship used against her to kill her. Check.

It definitely seems like, thus far, we’re validating Teruko’s worldview, basically as much as possible. No killer would validate her worldview more than Eden. That would make Arei an even closer parallel to Teruko (the person who she most tried to befriend was the one who tried to kill her in the end), and it would introduce another would-be friend as a killer.

Eden: Was Teruko’s biggest supporter after the first class trial. Betrayed her by being the second killer, then died. 

It looks an awful lot like Min’s, right?

In a more predictive sense, there’s also the popular theory that Charles will be one of the Chapter 3 victims. If that holds true, it’ll be another example in the same wavelength.

Charles: Was more like Teruko and didn’t trust people, avoiding them to stay safe. After rejoining the group and beginning to trust people, he died.

If that prediction is right, it’d mean that the trend continues past the point of the second victim to the point of a third victim, which would mean that the second killer would likely fit into the pattern.

But that’s a whole lot of my opinion, right? After all, maybe Levi or someone who isn’t particularly related to Teruko is the killer, so Teruko stays mostly the same, too. 

I do want to take a moment to acknowledge a bigger critique of this. It’s possible that some people might say that Eden killing here would be too repetitive in regards to Min and Xander. There are some key differences, though. 

Eden was Teruko’s friend after she started being mean and closed off to everyone. Min and Xander never really got the chance to react too much to Teruko’s antagonistic antics because they died before she was really pushing people away. That means it would carry more significance. Teruko has also spent more time with Eden, so their relationship is a little bit more developed. Eden is also someone that Teruko actively tried not to get close to before she killed, which wasn’t true of Xander or Min. 

Plus, I’d argue that it’s also supposed to feel a bit repetitive. This is what happens to Teruko, all the time. This is her life. It makes it feel more real and understandable how she reacts to Xander and Min if we as the audience begin to see and understand, oh, it really is like this every single time. 

Besides all of that, though, there are a few more thoughts that lead me to believe that someone closer to Teruko might be the killer this time around.

One of the biggest points in favor of this interpretation is the MonoCredits. 

MonoCredits are introduced in the scene where MonoTV asks Teruko to caulk the bathrooms. Then, she immediately uses one in the next scene where Charles is confronting her about her more antagonistic ways. At first glance, it seems like MonoCredits may have been introduced solely for that Charles interaction, and as a reason to plausibly get Teruko to help MonoTV out so that she could talk to it, too. However…

MonoTV gave Teruko two MonoCredits. That means she still has one. I wouldn’t blame you at all if you forgot this small detail– and that’s part of why I think the killer will be closer to Teruko. 

MonoCredits, and the fact that Teruko received two instead of one, are a pretty unimportant detail. I wouldn’t expect the creator to necessarily expect the audience to remember that Teruko still has one once we get to, like, the Chapter 4 daily life. I think that, because of that, Teruko will probably end up using this second one sometime soon, so that the audience will have that “oh yeah!” moment when it comes up, rather than an “oh… I kind of remember that…?” moment. 

There’s a very specific scenario in which I think Teruko might use it, too.

It’s pretty specific, but it’s already happened once, right? I think the most plausible situation for Teruko to use the second MonoCredit, if I’m right about it being this chapter, would be if she ends up in a similar situation before the execution again.

I can totally imagine Eden hugging Teruko and apologizing for betraying her trust, and Teruko, in the middle of freaking out, tells MonoTV she’s using a MonoCredit to get Eden away from her, which would then immediately launch into Eden being executed.

I think that could also be the right kind of push on Teruko’s character arc; her desire to get away from Eden led to Eden dying that much faster. It’d be something that could haunt Teruko a little bit and make her start thinking about how she pushes people away and what the potential failings of that are. 

The final reason I have is just, like… overall despair. Chapter 2 is usually a pretty emotionally devastating case for the cast. Taka loses Mondo and Chihiro meets a pretty tragic end; Peko dying launches Fuyuhiko into his grief → survivor arc while Hiyoko mourns Mahiru; Kirumi leaves the group feeling guilty about killing the Prime Minister, plus Ryoma’s death as a result of him loving no one and no one loving him is pretty sad. Chapter 2 is typically a chapter in the canon Danganronpa games where things get worse, not better. 

Then, Chapter 3 is used as a processing point where characters that aren’t in it for the long run are usually killed off, and Chapter 4 prompts the characters to start really moving towards the finale (Sakura’s death spurs people to want to fight and makes Byakuya realize why emotions are important, Gundham’s sacrifice sets the tone for Nagito’s insane Chapter 5 play and Gonta’s mercy kill in Chapter 4 directly leads into all the Kokichi “I’m the mastermind” stuff that happens in Chapter 5). 

I suspect DRDT will follow a roughly similar pattern. Because of that, it would make sense if the creator wants to pick a very emotionally devastating second killer, frequently due to the relationships that character has with the cast. Eden is the perfect pick for this position.

Eden has also gotten A LOT of focus this chapter. Getting focus doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to die right then. After all, Charles, for instance, got a lot of focus in Chapter 1, but he’s still alive. It’s difficult to tell when a character is getting content that impacts their character moving forward and when a character is getting focus because their story is about to end. 

In DRDT’s case specifically, though, the creator seems to heavily emphasize a character shortly before they die. Excluding Teruko, Xander was the most visible character in the Chapter 1 daily life. They focused on Min heavily during the Chapter 1 investigation to make sure that she got enough content in before her death. Between her fight with MonoTV, her heartfelt conversation with David, and the conversations she had post-death confronting David about his secret and defending Eden from Arturo, Arei got a lot of focus just before dying, too. 

Eden is one of the most heavily featured characters, and to me, it feels more like one being set up for immediate payoff rather than long-term. 

For example, David’s personality has shifted in a way that’s very interesting. People will want to see how his relationships with other characters are impacted and get to know the “real him” more before any potential death. Because of that, it makes sense that David’s heel turn is being set up for later, rather than being focus on him before he dies in Chapter 2. 

Eden, on the other hand, has shown us pretty much everything she can with this perspective. If she’s already spent two chapters being nice, happy and supportive, where does she go from there that’s narratively interesting and different? The only answer I can really come up with is “becoming less nice, happy, and/or supportive.” If that’s where her character is heading anyways, then doesn’t it make sense that being a killer could be a succinct way to do it? We already have enough people running around who don’t trust people, and it would feel odd to add Eden to that contingent. 

There’s one more story reason that Eden being the killer would make sense here. Check out the Chapter 2 title screen.

It’s pretty faint, but if you look after the “Glitters,” you can see faint text. It’s easier to see if you crank up the exposure.

You can tell what it is if you squint hard enough. Here’s me tracing it: 

“A Good Person.” 

The original chapter title is “All That Glitters,” which is pretty clearly a play on the saying “All that glitters is not gold” (RIP to anyone who just heard “all that glitters is gold in All Star by Smashmouth and didn’t question it. I was with you there). That seemingly applies a lot to this chapter, with appearances of success not being what they seem. It relates to the fact that J’s celebrity wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, and David’s persona was too good to be true. 

The good person interpretation is interesting, too. If you input “A Good Person” into “All That Glitters,” you get “A good person is not gold.” Now, there’ve been a lot of characters who’ve claimed to be or mentioned wanting to be good people over the course of this chapter. However, I think the person most at the center of that is Eden, who’s been called a good or kind person by a lot of people– at the very least, I know Teruko, Arei and Levi do this.

Eden being the killer would be another way to show that people can’t be infallibly good. Again, I don’t think Eden’s gonna pull a 180 and suddenly become evil, I just think she’ll show a little more nuance. Her being suddenly evil does about the same thing for me as her being undeniably good; it reduces her character down to one trait rather than making her a full human. I don’t want her to be a pure cinnamon roll, I want her to be herself. 

Given this chapter title, I honestly think it’d be weirder if Eden didn’t do something notably Not Good this chapter. There could be other options, too, but Eden being the killer seems by far the most likely to me.

Topic 3: Relationships

I want to talk about Eden’s relationships to others in the cast. I’ve already mentioned Teruko a good bit, so I’m not really going to keep going over that. There are two others that I want to touch on.

One, Eden and Hu are known to be friends. They wash dishes together every night, and they generally seem to rely on each other for companionship and mutual help with steering the group in a more positive direction. Hu is someone who hasn’t gotten that much character arc focus, so I think she’ll probably be a bit more of a spotlighted character in the next daily life. Hu has already lost a friend and trusted co-leader in David, but I think it’d be even more interesting for her if she loses both of those people at once. With David in full-on evil theater kid mode and Eden dead as the killer, Hu will be forced to grapple with the fact that both of the people she trusted to help her guide the group not only aren’t helping her anymore, but did so in a way that betrayed her and her trust. 

That’s very speculative, though. The main relationship I’m here to analyze is with Arei, the victim of the case in question.

Arei and Eden have a very complicated relationship. At first, they were pretty neutral. Then, after the cake scene, Arei appeared to be jealous of Eden and her friends for, y’know, having friends. Later, when Eden tries to invite Arei, Arei goes off on Eden and Eden runs out of the room crying. Finally, when Arturo threatens Eden into silence over his secret, Arei shows up and promises to defend Eden and do whatever it takes to assure her that her friendship is real.

This is pretty much the entirety of Arei’s character arc. Because we know that Arei is the second victim, I want to examine that in the context of the canon games’ storylines in Chapter 2.

Chapter 2 frequently deals with the concept of bullying. Kirumi’s kinda doing her own thing here, but if you look at Mondo/Chihiro and especially Peko/Mahiru (and all the lore behind that one), it’s pretty standard. Chihiro is someone who I’m pretty sure has been bullied, and Mondo fits the bully role well enough. SDR2 is the big one, though, with Mahiru being bullied by Natsumi, Sato killing Natsumi because of that, then Peko killing Sato under Fuyuhiko’s command in revenge, and THEN Peko killing Mahiru in the killing game as even more revenge. So, let’s look at bullying in DRDT Chapter 2.

The big and obvious one is Ace and Nico. Ace bullied Nico, and eventually they snapped and tried to kill him in revenge. That means that the creator, at least in this case, opted for a situation where the bullied kills the bully, rather than the other way around.

Arei also bullies Eden notably in Chapter 2, and now she’s dead. I’m not saying that it has to be the same thing, but I think it would be interesting to parallel Ace and Arei and Nico and Eden. Ace, with his fear of death, would have to process just how close he came to being a victim, seeing the same thing play out with Arei, who actually did die. Nico, who’s trying to dodge any actual blame for their crime, would see Eden get executed for doing roughly the same thing. 

That’s something to address, though. What does this all mean for Eden? After all, Eden and Arei were friends now. It seems uncharacteristic of her to kill Arei for any reason. If I’m going to focus in on Eden’s character relationships, I really have to address that part.

Well, my answer is pretty simple. Eden simply didn’t believe her relationship with Arei actually changed. This might seem like an unfair claim at first, but if you look into it, it’s actually quite supported by the game.

Arei certainly thought Eden didn’t believe Arei’s sudden change of heart. She even goes as far as to call Eden out for it in the moment.

That’s not a very good argument though, is it? It disregards everything that happens afterwards, what with Arei explaining more and Eden hugging her and saying that her promise means “more than she knows.” It’s possible Arei convinced Eden during that second segment, so there’s not really any reason to believe that Eden didn’t believe her anymore.

Except…

Charles gets cut off by Whit here and immediately shuts up, which is played off as a joke. It is a joke, but I’ve noticed the DRDT creator is very good at putting in jokes that actually convey important information moving forwards. 

The fact that the creator put in not one, but two references to Eden possibly not believing Arei makes me think there’s more to it than making a joke or moving dialogue along. Whit even phrases it as “you wanna do that later?” which might be a hint that we actually are going to come back to that point of conversation later. 

For the record, I do think it’s also possible that Eden sort of half-believed Arei. She might’ve been committed to a murder plan by that point or something, so even if she thought Arei was being genuine, it’s possible she intentionally tried to convince herself Arei wasn’t genuine. That gets more into character interpretation, though.

Topic 4: Character Arc

This is the biggest one, in my opinion. If Eden is going to die here, what does her story say? Ignoring the big plot beats, Eden should get to have her own character arc, and if this is its conclusion, I want to look at where it went.

In the prologue, Eden is noted to stay positive, but she seems to be the most scared of the killing game itself. Here’s her slide from the official Prologue Recap video: 

In Chapter 1, we honestly didn’t see too much of Eden. What we did see was mostly her being nice and friendly. It was also established that Arei picked on her. Here’s her slide from the Chapter 1 Recap video:

Notably, the creator paired all the characters up for Chapter 1. We already know Arei is going to be important to Eden’s story, whether she’s the killer or not. They did pair up Xander and Min though, so it’s not like it’s impossible that they paired a victim with their killer.

Anyways, that means that, going into Chapter 2, the things the creator wanted us to remember about Eden are that she’s nice, cheerful, and one of the people who defended Teruko. Through Arei’s slide, we’re also encouraged to remember that Arei picked on Eden specifically for baking. (Arei also manipulated Levi in that scene pretty heavily, but Eden is the one they want us to remember.)

Where does Eden’s character arc go from there? Well, I’d say that she basically doubles down. 

Eden basically spends the chapter trying really hard to prevent conflict and stay friends/befriend everyone. She blackmails Teruko for the sole purpose of actually getting to hang out with her, she washes dishes with Hu, she makes breakfast with Levi, and she invites Arei to clockmaking to make sure she isn’t left out again. 

That means that Eden’s story in Chapter 2 is that she’s trying to be the one to get everyone through this hard time.

Because of that, killing seems rather counterproductive. After all, Eden’s been trying to end the killing game on her own terms, right? 

However, it’s possible that the message the creator wants to send us is that the cast isn’t currently capable of being entirely positive and friendly. While David pretended that the point of revealing all their secrets was so that they could get along, that was a lie. Eden being the killer would fit the messaging: with this cast, in this killing game, friendships aren’t a possibility right now. 

Would it be a change in Eden for her to kill now? Yes, of course. That’s how it goes with killers beyond Chapter 1; something changes that prompts them to kill. Like I examined earlier, I believe the motive of getting back to her previous life, in combination with the constant fighting, Arturo's threats against her and her apparent inability to actually make a meaningful change in those around her, would be enough to get her to break and kill in this Chapter 2 position.

I’ve talked about motive, overall narrative, Eden’s relationships and her character arc. That’s pretty much everything, but there’s one more big point I feel I need to touch on.

Topic 5: Eden’s Breakdown

This is what I assume makes people have the biggest problem with Eden culprit theory from a writing standpoint. After all, this is a very emotional moment and feels very important for Eden’s character arc. If she’s the killer, it would all be a lie, and it would invalidate everything we learned about Eden from this moment.

Except, I don’t think that’s fully true. It’s very possible to have a killer have an emotional breakdown moment mid-trial that makes them seem more innocent, but actually very much relates to the fact that they did kill. 

Even if she is a killer, I still believe Eden is a good person. Because of that, I think that she is genuinely haunted by Arei’s death, as well as Min’s. In fact, we know she’s haunted by Min’s death, before any of this Arei trial stuff happened. 

Given the fact that Eden runs out of the room crying after this, I think it’s fair to say that Arei’s words stuck with Eden. Because of that, pairing it with Eden’s breakdown in the trial, we can conclude that Eden feels guilty for both Min’s death and Arei’s death. Because Min’s death wasn’t Eden’s fault, it’s easy to disregard both as her blaming herself for things out of her control. 

It could be genuine this time, though. If Eden is the killer, at least some of that speech has to be fake (ex. When I saw that note, I knew someone must’ve overheard our conversation). However, what’s really interesting to me is what happens after the main part of Eden’s breakdown.

David goes on a little rant about how the victim would have to be incredibly stupid to actually fall for the note– or they’d have to be Arei, who wanted to be friends so desperately that she’d believe anything “Eden” told her. Afterwards, Eden says this: 

This is Eden agreeing with David’s rant. The non-killer interpretation of this is that Eden is just repeating the same thing, saying that Arei died because of her and her weakness. But, if you look at it from a different perspective, the phrasing is… a little odd?

In her speech earlier, what Eden said boiled down to “I couldn’t defend myself, and because Arei was nice to me and tried to defend me, she died.” Then, David says, “Because Arei wanted to be your friend, she died.” That’s basically the same information and logic, right? 

But Eden asks it as a question. Even though she said “it’s all my fault” earlier, this time she asks, “it really is my fault, isn’t it?” That means that there was something Eden didn’t know in David’s rant.

This could be several things, but I think the most likely thing is that, in my opinion, this is the point at which Eden realized that Arei was genuine about wanting to be her friend. Before this, she still wasn’t sure that Arei was being real, and that allowed her to proceed forward with her plan, keeping it together. However, once David, who got to see Arei in her breakdown, confirms that, yeah, Arei did that because she genuinely wanted to be Eden’s friend, Eden realizes that it was her fault. 

Arei wanted to be her friend, but now she’s dead, and it’s all Eden’s fault.

Interestingly, immediately after that last line, Teruko starts talking, bringing us back to mystery-solving mode. However, if you look at Eden while Teruko’s talking, she’s sobbing. 

Most of the time when a character is shown to the side, they’re left in whatever pose they were last in. For example, look at MonoTV making the :| face back there despite it having no relevance to the current point of the trial. In fact, MonoTV has that face for the entirety of Chapter 2, Episode 10. The last time MonoTV talked was in Episode 9, where…

Yeah, same face. It doesn’t change from there. My point is that, switching Eden’s sprite from the face-on, holding her wrist sprite to the sobbing and wiping her tears sprite is a conscious decision. They want to make sure we know that Eden is sobbing after that interaction with David. While that could be prolonged guilt from generally feeling at fault for Arei’s death, I think it makes more sense if it’s her coping with the fact that Arei did want to be her friend, and she killed her. 

Conclusion

Well, that’s my defense of Eden culprit theory from a writing perspective. Hopefully it was fun to read, whether you agree with it or not. Again, my point here isn’t to shame anyone who disagrees or anything, it’s to provide reasoning for why Eden could be the culprit and to defend the creator’s decision if that is the truth of this case. I’d love to hear about any and all other killer theories as well in order to have the greatest chance of catching the real criminal.

#drdt #danganronpa despair time #drdt spoilers #fanganronpa #theory #thh spoilers #sdr2 spoilers #v3 spoilers #eden tobisa #arei nageishi #long post #drdt theory #thanks for actually reading gang #hopefully this gave some better perspective on why i believe eden could be the killer #and those who believe eden did it bc of evidence but not narratively hopefully this helped #i just feel bad if this is what the creator is doing and people call it bad writing #because it isn't and we haven't seen enough yet to deem it bad writing even if it was #but yeah. eden stuff

[mists-reading-nook]

[Letter Event!]

{Minecraft crossovering time with whatever au(s) you choose!}

--------------------------

(Uh oh! The WiFi in your entire area is out, and you can't play Minecraft with your friend!

(Thankfully, this is the perfect time to write down some information about the game your friend hasn't learned yet.

(Except after looking away from the papers for one second, it vanished.

(Aww maaaan!)

•°•°•°•°•°•°•

(In another world, Il Dottore splays open folded writings not intended for him or Teyvat)

--- 📝 ---

Nether Portal = 3x2 obsidian frame, vertical. Corners don't need to be obsidian. Activate by lighting with flint and steel.

Brewing Stand = 3 cobblestone + blaze rod

Blaze Powder is needed for brewing, craft with blaze rods

Enchantment Table = 4 obsidian + 2 diamonds + book

The more bookshelf surrounding an enchantment table, the better the enchants. 15 bookshelves yield the best enchants, but more expensive.

Lapis lazuli is needed to enchant as are levels and EXP.

(included in the papers are an assortment of scribbles, some 3x3 boxes with doodles inside and a large doodle next to them, a 3x2 black box with the corners crossed out with red, a yellow stick with an arrow next to it pointing to yellow dusts, and more, as if to illustrate the author's instructions.)

--- 📝 ---

(There was much, much more to the contents of the papers, that seemed to write down every little detail about this Nether Dimension, several Potions that could be made through this "brewing stand", and what was perhaps everything to this Enchanting.)

-------------------------

{Dottore has all the knowledge about the Nether Dimension, Brewing, and Enchanting in Minecraft, but will the rules of the block game apply itself to Teyvat? That's for you to dictate.}

{Does Dottore follow the papers to the letter (despite not even knowing wtf a crafting table is) or figure out a different means of crafting?}

{Does he keep this knowledge to himself or reveal it?}

{Does any attempt to follow the papers end in failure or success?}

{Let's find out!}

MINECRAFT AU??? OMFG I LOVE MINCRAFT AUS SKEKEJNSK <3

Minecraft is my most favorite thing on earth <3,so let's do this

****

At first,he tries to tackle it on his own. He sends out any agent he can get his hands on to find this "obsidian". He doesn't find too much,considering Tevyat has a very limited supply. He then tries to make it. He isn't very successful,and people are starting to get suspicious. So,he does what any scientist would do in his situation. Keep going. He tries again and again and again,yet he simply cannot make this "obsidian". He studies the papers quite thoroughly,even making his own notes here and there,but he cannot make heads or tails of it. He wonders if this "nether dimension" is even real. It had to be,considering the papers just randomly appeared on his desk one day,and he didn't see anyone place them there.

At this point he's scrapped all other projects to focus on this one,and it's quite the expensive endeavor. One that's been raising even more suspicion. However,one day he strikes gold. The people he sent out to find obsidian found a vein in Liyue. Perfect. Now he can see what this "dimension" is all about.

Back in your world,a shiver runs up your spine. You have no idea why,but something tells you that something weird is going to happen soon. And you'd be right.

****

Heh hehehe what is Dottore gonna do? We'll find out! Very very soon hopefully...

Anyway,this ask genuinely made my minecraft loving heart very happy,so thank you anon <3

#genshin impact sagau #genshin sagau #sagau #sagau genshin #♡mist answer's<3♡ #sagau Dottore #♡letters from another world♡<3 #sagau x minecraft #maybe i write more minecraft au's...🤔🤔

[theinfernalsanctuary]

Greetings all,

To say that research and study are the backbone of theistic Satanism is probably the biggest understatement of the century, though it can be tricky to know where to start. Most of us in this day and age will start our research online, learning the history of the practice, any active groups, how to avoid cults, and so forth, and while this is a wonderful way to start the sad truth is that it can lead to the spread of a lot of dangerous misinformation regarding practices and rituals. The uneducated leading the uneducated. This is the reason I created this page, to spread actual study and knowledge with those of you who look to walk the cinder laden path to Hell, and to hopefully help you recognize the difference between those who share information for the sake of seeming smart, and those who actually wish to educate like myself.

I have compiled a list of books, all of which are available on amazon, that are a good groundwork for those of us that are actually looking to learn. I would like to add that this list will not include the bible, though it should also be considered even if just for the story of the fall and the first sin. To attempt to distance Satan’s origins from biblical literature is truly incredibly disrespectful, it is to negate the sacrifices that he made to give you the opportunities that you have now. To give you the freewill you have now. I speak not from opinion, or from the nonsensical ramblings of teenagers, but from fact when I say that Satan and Lucifer are one being. It is in the story of the fall and should be recognized if you ever want to be successful on this path.

Admittedly, most of these books are by Reverend Cain (Rev. Cain for short) who is a demonologist and theistic Satanist who has made it his life’s goal to spread the word of Lord Satan and to attempt to right the wrongs that have been done to our community by the uneducated masses. I have great admiration for Reverend Cain and his work, and as far as I am concerned, I believe him to be one of the only writers out there who have any actual qualifications to be spreading knowledge on this subject. Between his religious background, aiming to attend seminary school in the attempt to become an exorcist, and the palpable love and energy that he brings to his writings it is no wonder that his works would be as good as they are.

The first book on my list will forever and always be Rev Cain’s ‘The Infernal Gospel’, Not only is it greatly informative about things like the five Infernal Tenets, but it contains scriptures, information about celebrations and holidays, and so so much more. This should be your first book, if you choose to do your due diligence and study. It can be found here: https://a.co/d/0uFGGVw

The second book on this list, and ideally the second you should consider reading is Rev. Cain’s ‘The Satanic Philosopher’. This book is a deep dive into the five infernal tenets and how they can be applied to life and your practice. It also contains some insight from Reverend Cain detailing his personal experiences. It can be found here: https://a.co/d/8De8HZB

The third book on my list is surprisingly not by Reverend Cain, it is ‘The Lesser Key of Solomon’. The specific copy I will be linking is the one released by Aleister Crowley and S. L. MacGregor Mathers, though they are not the original authors. ‘The Lesser Key of Solomon’ is a grimoire on demonology that was anonymously compiled in the 17th century though the information inside is believed to be a couple centuries older. This one is a difficult read, it is translated from its original text and written as it would have been written then so you can imagine the strain that it has on the modern reader. For this reason I do think that this one, while it should be attempted, can be considered optional, especially when there are easier reads with the same information readily available. If you dare to attempt it, it can be found here: https://a.co/d/bKyv9Gm

The fourth book on this list is actually the “easier read” that I mentioned before, this is Rev. Cain’s ‘Goetia Devils’. The most important information in the ‘Lesser Key of Solomon’ is specifically the ‘Ars Goetia’, a compilation of 72 devils and their abilities, this information is invaluable to any Satanist who wishes to maintain their favor and status among the hierarchy of the Goetia. Reverend Cain takes his iteration one step further, as he also compiles summoning elements for each devil, giving the Satanist a great idea of what they can use for offerings and rituals. It can be found here: https://a.co/d/gLAKZgr

The fifth and final book on this list is another optional one but I thought I would include it for those like me who sometimes struggle to find their words in prayer. Rev. Cain’s ‘The Goetia Hymns’ is a book of prayers and hymns that a Satanist can use to give praise, ask for specific blessings, and otherwise commune with the denizens of Hell. It can be found here: https://a.co/d/8aoB3fF

I hope that this list is useful to all of you who are struggling for information, thankfully, most if not all of these books are available in digital formats for those of you who have to hide yourselves for safety reasons. I am fortunate enough to have been able to distance myself from those who would wish to do me harm over my religious beliefs, and while I hope the same for you I understand that that may not always be the case. I’d also like to look into setting up an outreach program for those of you who want to be able to get these books and continue your study but truly cannot afford to.

May Lord Satan’s light guide you even in the darkest of times.

Ave Satanas!

#hail satan #satan #satanic #satanism #theistic satanism #theistic luciferianism #the infernal gospel #ave satanas

[whereianonymouslypostfics]

The Flip Side Part 3

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~8.4k

Summary: Your motivation to continue working as a mobster in Chicago is dwindling after the birth of your daughter.

A/N: For the anon who asked, there should be 14 or 15 parts to this series if all goes according to plan! There will likely be an interruption to the update schedule soon, but I’ll get into that more when we’re closer to the date. Ignore any typos, I’ve had a headache for days and can’t be bothered to proof read. Enjoy! 

Warnings: Death, blood, angst, reference to alcoholism, teasing, suggestive content

You look to your friend, your big sister with a sigh before admitting how you’ve felt recently. She knows about how things are changing for you at work, but you’ve kept your cards close to your chest recently as you tried to work everything out. You realize how unhealthy this is, and clearly your friends have picked up on it as well. You need to share what’s bothering you, so hopefully you can get some advice, or just share the stress so it’s not all on you.

“I’m going to need a drink before I talk about this.”

Nat frowns at you and shakes her head without missing a beat. She doesn’t like where this is going, but she is at least glad that you’re not brushing her off.

“That’s not funny, yet. You need to be at least ten years out to say that shit.”

You groan under your breath but just nod in agreement. You suppose it is a little too soon, especially considering how many times you’ve imagined drinking this month, and it’s only the first week. You kick the dirt at your feet with a scowl as it gets on your shoes before getting to the point.

“I’ve just been stressed trying to decrease my work load.”

Nat watches you fidget as you consider saying more. She hopes you do because she’s a little confused by this. She assumed that you’d be less stressed by getting all of this off your plate. It’s not until you mention what’s stressing you out that she realized she should have known better.

“Putting all of this out of my hands is making me feel out of control. Like I don’t have a handle on anything anymore.”

You feel Nat shift so she’s standing hip to hip with you and then an arm is wrapping around your shoulders. Nat takes a deep breath beside you and you wait for her to gather her thoughts as you try to relax against her.

Nat’s known that you’ve always been a bit of a control freak and that’s what made you so good at your job. You were on top of every little deal and anything that was scheduled was always on your radar. It was exhausting sure, but it had allowed you to be successful and bring in billions of dollars in revenue over the years. Your attempt to take a step back was proving to be more detrimental than expected.

“I didn’t realize how difficult it would be for you. Maybe we can work something out with Saunders.”

You frown at the mention of the brunette’s name. She was someone that you’d hired to oversee operations, and with her team of maybe a dozen people, she kept record of everything that happened within your territory. It was all in code so if anyone found it, they wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of it, but you honestly didn’t work much with her. She was there to keep things organized, but maybe Nat was on to something. Maybe talking to her about keeping you more in the loop would help. That said, you didn’t want to tip anyone off that you might be trying to leave.

You’re not sure how to say this to Nat without tipping her off, but for the second time today, you underestimate her. She’d put two and two together rather easily and she pulls away slightly so she can shoot you a curious look. She’s a little surprised that you’ve already started preparations to break free from the mob. It’s not something you’d ever mentioned doing, but given that you had a daughter to worry about now, it made sense. She just wasn’t sure how practical it was at this point.

“That could help short term, but you’re more interested in finding someone to take over, aren’t you?”

Sometimes you hate being surrounded by people who are smarter than you. It can be embarrassing when you’re the last one to figure out what the answer is, but in this case you just feel depressed. You know what you want to do, but you’re not sure you’re smart enough to figure it out. Who would want to take over this shit show for you? Better yet, how likely are you to be able to break away from it without consequence. It’s hard to have the answers to these questions, and even with your friend’s help it’s not something you expect to find out until you’ve already done it.

“I do, but that’s a ways off, isn’t it? I think the first thing I need to focus on is dealing with this extra stress.”

You feel your eye twitch at the mere thought of the immense amount of stress you’ve put yourself under. You need to make sure that everything you’ve worked on over the years is enough to keep you on the right track with this new and inconvenient change. You pause at the thought of this, and when you scowl Nat sees it and frowns herself.

The change in your life was your daughter’s birth. That’s not something you want to resent because it’s only made your life better in numerous ways. You feel closer with your wife, your brother-in-law that you’re sure doesn’t like you, and you feel like you’ve accomplished something for the first time since marrying Wanda. You were very successful with your work, every day you made money and progress, but it was starting to feel like empty victories. You didn’t want to feel like this anymore and you needed out. You wanted out for your family, and you wanted out for yourself.

You just needed to figure out how to do this.

She pulls you in for a hug and you sigh in relief as she squeezes you tightly. You take a moment to breathe in Nat’s scent and bask in her presence. You’re not alone in this. There are people who are willing to help you figure this out. You’d realized this years ago when you were at your worst, but sometimes you forgot that it wasn’t a bad thing to ask for help. You know they’d be there for you.

“I’m here for whatever you need, Y/n. Okay? Just let me know how I can help.”

You nod in answer before you turn so you’re hugging the redhead properly. You just spend a few seconds in her arms before you sigh in defeat. You’ll figure this out, but for now you just needed to remember that Nat had your back.

“Thank you, Nat.”

She merely hums before she pulls away to smile at you. You laugh when she grabs you by the shoulders and pretends to give you a stern look.

“You’re welcome. As a thank you, I expect to be invited over soon. I need to see my goddaughter.”

You’re on your way to see Yelena when you get a text from Bucky telling you that Logan will be free to meet you in an hour. You respond at a red light and you breathe a sigh of relief that this is settled. You aren’t looking forward to talking to him about what happened last night, but you want to see if you can get a little more information from him.

As you pull into the parking lot behind the warehouse that Yelena and Kate had completely redone to serve as their home base and literal home, you wonder where Bucky is. He’s always around, but you rarely see him unless you need him by your side. You’d reduced your security detail to just him and one other guy who truly tailed you everywhere in the last year and so far it hasn’t bitten you in the ass. You let Bucky track your phone and Carter tracks your car to keep an eye on you. Knowing this is mostly just a friendly visit, you figure they’ll keep their distance until you go see Logan.

You walk up to the side of the building and immediately hear menacing barking. You swear that if anyone was faced with this and didn’t know these dogs personally, they’d high tail it out of here. You smiled at the cameras that Yelena had set up all around the area before waiting patiently for the door to open.

“Yo.”

You’re greeted by your friend and her three rottweilers. You smile at them widely before you step inside and drop to your knees to greet them all individually.

“Hey there girls, how are you doing today.”

You scratch all three of the adorable block heads in front of you before you wipe their fur off of you and greet your friend. She’s shooting you an annoyed look even though you know she’s really amused by your ability to always have a smile ready for any animal you meet. Except snakes. Those freaked you out.

“And you, how are you?”

Yelena rolls her eyes before leading your further into the building with a sigh. She’d been busy figuring out the numbers for the loans she was collecting later today, so she’s happy to have the reprieve. She hates dealing with money, but honestly getting to be the one to collect it all gave her a thrill like nothing else. She sees that her cat is trying to chew on some of the papers crowding the table and she reaches out to grab her.

“Cyka, get off.”

“Don’t be mean to Blanche!”

Yelena rolls her eyes again before she heads to the kitchen to clean up a little. She’d just finished lunch and she knew if she didn’t clean it up now her dogs would come find it and break some dishes again.

“I wasn’t and I’m fine. Getting you money as usual.”

You smile at this and briefly forget about greeting your friend’s cat as you sit down at her table. You groan as you stretch out your back while glancing at the confusing diagrams and numbers Yelena’s written down. You ignore her as she tidies up as you try to make sense of what you’re looking at. You don’t succeed and you’re too tired to bother, so you just turn your attention back to the trio that have followed you with a smile.

“Hi girls. You’re just so sweet, huh? Have you been good doggos?”

You continue to pet Yelena’s dogs as she sneaks a bottle of vodka into the cabinet before coming over to see what you’re up to. She brings you a bottle of your favorite soda and watches as you continue to fawn over her truly useless dogs. They are all named after the Golden Girls, and they are all rescues from various animal shelters that you and Kate work with. Despite looking scary and having intimidating barks, they don’t serve any purpose other than as companions for the couple. They’d been rescued from abusive owners and they were more timid than any dogs you’d met, but they were so loveable that you couldn’t help but want to steal them.

“Thanks.”

Yelena nods as she sits across from you and moves a good deal of her work to one side of the table. You don’t remember what you wanted to ask her initially as you take a sip of your drink. You hadn’t realized how thirsty you were, and you have to force yourself not to down it all immediately.

“Nat said you’d be stopping by. Is this dog-related? Should I get Kate?”

You shake your head as you briefly glance to the stairs where Kate might be working. She usually listens to music, but you don’t hear any drift down making you think she’s not here. Yelena reads your mind as she tells you that the brunette is sleeping. She’d also had a late night, but she was lucky enough to get to work with dogs. A few years after getting established with the mob, you’d figured out how to do something you really enjoyed. It was all anonymous as far as the government was concerned, but you and Kate had contacted animal shelters and figured out a way to keep dogs alive long enough for them to get adopted. You provided funds to the shelter for their care, and you’ve actually fostered close to 2 dozen dogs yourself. Milo and Rudy, your jack russells were foster fails that you’ve had for a couple of years now.

Kate had a golden for a while, but after he died, she and Yelena rescued the rotties who were more than enough for the time being. Being so young, they had a lot of energy and they went with Kate almost wherever she went just so they got exercise and better socialization.

“It’s okay. This is actually about your next collection. I have a feeling I know what you’re going to say, but I needed to give it a shot.”

You tell Yelena that last night had put you in a difficult position. You needed to get rid of the senator, but you didn’t have the funds to reorganize a hit right now. Even if you just asked another one of your employees, you didn’t have enough to pay them at the moment. Your money was in so many different places, and unfortunately not very accessible at the moment.

“I’m just wondering if it would be beneficial to move it up any.”

Yelena frowns as she considers this. Her sister had warned her that you’d probably ask this, and despite the fact that she wanted to help she’s not sure she could this time. She’s had a set schedule for so long that she wasn’t quite ready to go out and collect debts. Not only that, but the business owners that paid them likely wouldn’t have everything they owed you so it would be a waste of time and an unexpected stressor if she tried to go early. You understood this and despite not liking it, you accepted it because you knew Yelena was the expert. She was the one who dealt with this every day, and you were just going to have to let this go.

“If it makes you feel any better, we’re expecting a little more than usual this cycle.”

She shows you’re her calculations and you have to admit that an extra 1.2 million makes waiting seem worth it. That was basically Nat’s fee for doing the job for you. You sigh as you lean back in your chair and think about your options. Yelena is basically telling you no, and you don’t feel the need to override her on this. She knows better than you anyway, so you suppose this hit will have to wait a little longer.

“What happened with the hit last night anyway?”

Of course, Nat had told her a little about it, but she mostly wanted to hear your opinion on it. It’s no secret that you’ve been on edge recently, and you were really looking forward to checking Jacobs off your list. She watches silently as you finish your drink before rolling the bottle between your hands. You’d had more time to think about it on the drive here, and you’d concluded that you were missing something very important; namely who tipped off the senator. You’ve been stuck on the reporter that he’d supposedly been talking to, and after scouring the web you hadn’t been able to find any recent publications about him that didn’t involve his horrible new policies. You didn’t know what to think, and you were eager to figure out as much as possible.

“Unsure at this time but someone tipped him off, and I want to find out who.”

You reminded her of who you’d asked to carry out the hit and you watch as she frowns at the mention of his name. Yelena, along with Steve, were the ones who did the most recruiting for your mob, and despite hiring him quickly Yelena had her reservations about the blonde. She knew he was smart and he did what he was supposed to, but he’d always been a little squirrely which to her translated to easily manipulated.

“I don’t trust him to tell you the truth, but hopefully he proves me wrong.”

You hadn’t expected your friend to say this and you place the bottle down on the table before shaking your head. You weren’t the only one who was paranoid in your friend group, and you had a feeling you knew what this was about. She’d questioned your decision to give this job to the blonde, but he’d been an employee for years, and he’d yet to disappoint. This was his opportunity to impress you, and although it didn’t work out you hoped that it was for reasons beyond his control.

“I know how you feel about him, but he doesn’t strike me as the mastermind type, Yelena.”

Yelena frowns at the subtle hint at the last person who tried to steal from you. That had been a mess and you’d had to kill him rather publicly to make sure that no one else followed in his footsteps. You scowl at the thought of the dead blonde before you shake your head again and cross your arms over your chest.

“He’s not going to turn into another Vision, and with any luck I’ll figure out what happened soon.”

It’s only an hour or so later that you end up cursing yourself for saying these words. You left Yelena’s after confirming that she’ll come over when Nat does for dinner at the end of the week. You’d let Bucky know where you were going and he told you he was right behind you. You take the almost 20-minute drive to recall your conversation with Yelena. Although you were leaving without a promise of money sooner rather than later, you were more relaxed than you thought you’d be. You credited this to the time you got to spend with Yelena’s dogs. You always felt comforted by a dog’s presence, and you almost think getting another younger one you can travel with would improve your mood.

As you arrive at Logan’s apartment building, you consider what Yelena said about him earlier. You don’t think that he would betray you. He didn’t seem brave enough. Then again, you had thought the same thing about Vision only to find out that he had been plotting against you for nearly a year.

He’d been brought in to help you manage money. That had been your first mistake. You still stand by your belief that your second mistake was not firing him the first time he hit on your wife. He’d been an awkward, yet overconfident man who had visited you one day at Wanda’s restaurant. He’d spent most of your conversation staring at her, and you’d immediately started trying to figure out how to fire him. Wanda had convinced you to let it go and she promised to just be scarce whenever he was around. Except Vision made a point of showing up at her work at random times, or rather when she was there, but you were busy with something else. He flirted relentlessly despite Wanda telling him off, and she’d only told you this after you had him killed for trying to steal from you.

You forget all about Vision as you step out of your car and head for the main entrance. It’s just starting to get dark, so you’re still cautious as you follow Logan’s instructions and head for the side stairwell immediately. You count the number of flights and wonder if you’d be in better shape if you actually had time to work out. Your legs are sore by the time you get to the sixth floor. You remind yourself to work out later tonight as you open the door to the hallway and look the nearest apartment to see the number.

“635”

You’re looking for 602, so you probably should have gone to the other stairwell. You arrive to his apartment and you knock three times before stepping back a little as you wait for him to answer. You’re tapping your foot impatiently as you look around the hallway. You can hear music coming from a nearby apartment but you can’t tell where. You knock again, and when he doesn’t answer a second time you frown before raising your hand a third time.

“Logan, are you there? Hello?”

You wait for a few seconds before deciding to try calling him. You wait as the call connects and you hear his phone ringing on the other side of the door. You frown and can’t help but become suspicious as you reach for the door. You remember last minute to wrap your shirt around the doorknob so you don’t leave prints as you slowly turn it only to find it’s open. You slowly push the door open and the ringing phone becomes louder as you enter the apartment.

“Logan? I know you’re here. No millennial leaves their phone at home.”

You leave the door cracked behind you as you venture into the dark and dingy apartment. You follow the sound of his phone through the living room and it leads you to a room down the hall. You have a hand on your gun by the time you push the door to the last room open slowly. When you see Logan lying in bed half dressed with his throat slit, you’re pulling it from your hip.

“Fuck.”

You don’t bother to see if he’s alive. There’s so much blood that you’re certain he’s not, and you hang up before dialing Bucky’s number. You glance around the room and then check the others to make sure that there’s no one else here. You nearly jump out of your skin as you walk back into the living room and see a cat sitting on the coffee table. It’s a fat black cat and you just stare at them angrily as you try to calm your breathing.

“Y/n, what’s up?”

Bucky’s voice reminds you that you’d called him and you check the kitchen and the dining room before you answer him. Your chest is tight and your voice hoarse as you speak up.

“Bucky, there’s been a development.”

Wanda is pleasantly surprised when you’re home by 7. She’d finished dinner and Natalya was fed and off to bed, but you were still home earlier than she thought you’d be. When she hears the elevator, she smiles as it’s quickly followed by pattering of dog feet as they run to greet you. Milo leads the way followed by Sully and Boone. When they disappear down the hall, she doesn’t think anything of it, but when she hears Milo bark she frowns in confusion.

“Y/n?”

Wanda leaves the kitchen and heads down the hall to find that you’re already halfway to the kitchen. You’re looking down at your dogs as you hold something in your arms. Wanda thinks it’s a jacket or your purse, but as you walk closer to her and under the living room lights, she realizes that it’s an animal.

“Is that—is that a cat?”

You offer a sheepish smile as you struggle to hold the squirmy cat that you’d decided to take on a whim. After calling Bucky upstairs and showing him what you’d stumbled upon the two of you made yourself scarce. You’d decided to send an anonymous tip to the police so they’d find Logan, but you did nothing else as you tried to figure out how this had happened between the time you talked to him this afternoon and stumbled upon him this evening.

You nod before walking toward your wife who looked more shocked than angry. There was plenty of time for this to change though, especially given what you were about to tell her. You frown slightly when you realize that Natalya must already be in bed, but you’ll worry about that after you catch Wanda up.

“Yes, I rescued him from an employee’s place. She was abandoned.”

Wanda had several follow up questions, but the most important ones were disregarded momentarily as she watched you put the rotund cat on the ground. She watches as she wobbles around and sniffs the ground before coming to sniff her.

“She?”

You look up with a shrug before mentioning that you’re just guessing. You hadn’t exactly looked and there was no collar on them so you just picked a sex and went with it. You didn’t think you’d be able to see anything through all her fat anyway.

“Yeah, I figured there’s enough testosterone in this house.”

Wanda would usually laugh but as she watches the cat hiss at Rudy and then run off to hide in the living room, she wonders how this is going to work out. You must see her worrying because you reach out for her and pull her into a hug. You hadn’t greeted her properly and you’d like to make up for this now. You kiss your distracted wife before offering an apology for the unannounced guest.

“I’m sorry for not calling, but it happened rather quickly. It will only be for a couple of days then I can take her to the shelter if you’d like.”

Wanda doesn’t respond immediately as she’s too preoccupied watching the fat cat try to jump on the couch. She doesn’t let any animal on furniture, and if she truly felt that the poor cat could make it up there, she’d run over to stop her. Instead, she just flops back on the ground with a quiet thud, and Wanda turns to you with a sigh.

“What’s her name?”

You’d spent too much time considering this on the way home, but you don’t want to give yourself away as you shrug again before heading toward the kitchen to see what your wife cooked.

“I was thinking Fat Louise, unless there’s something else you liked better.”

Wanda looks at you in astonishment before she turns to see that Fat Louise has curled up into a ball, and she honestly looks like a giant furry blob.

“That’s-that’s not very nice.”

You’re lifting the lid of the pot on the stove as Wanda says this and you offer her a smile before looking around for a spoon.

“You have to admit she’s fat, but like I said you can change her name. I’m not particularly attached to it.”

Wanda thinks about her options as you get dinner reheated for both of you. You take Wanda’s to the table while she gets your drinks. After the soda you had a Yelena’s and then the excitement earlier this evening, you feel a little hyper. Your leg is bouncing by the time that Wanda comes to sit across from you, and when you look up, she’s frowning slightly.

“Long day, detka?”

You’ve started to eat already and you’re chewing as you nod in response. The day wasn’t super long compared to others, but you did a lot of talking, and airing out your concerns always stressed you out. Finding Logan dead and realizing that someone was trying really hard to cover up what happened last night also exhausted you. You would worry about this tomorrow because maybe you’d have the official police report and if you’re lucky it will tell you something you don’t know.

“A lot of catching up with people, but not too bad. How was yours?”

Wanda smiles at the thought of her day, and she tells you how she cooked for a lot of it, but also spent time outside with the dogs.

“It was such a nice day out, and Natalya got to spend some time with her brothers.”

You smile at your wife’s word because although you were the first one to refer to the dogs as Nat’s siblings, Wanda had continued to do so. You’d initially meant it as a joke, but you were glad to see that she also wanted to see them all get along. It was easiest with the older boys for sure because they were more patient and tolerant. The last time you’d tried to have one of the terriers sit with Nat, they’d gotten a little too rowdy.

“That’s wonderful. I wish I could have been here for that, but I did get to spend a little time outside.”

As you say this you take a long sip of the water that Wanda had brought you. You hadn’t realized how dehydrated you were from sitting out in the sun and then running around trying to deal with Logan. You’re thinking about getting some more when Wanda speaks up. She’d been glancing between you and your pets periodically to make sure they were all getting along. Fat Louise was just lying on the rug while the dogs mostly ignored her. Wanda wondered if she was actually larger than their terriers.

“Did you sunbathe as well?”

Wanda’s mostly kidding but when she sees your smile, she realizes there is at least some truth in her words. She wonders if it was with Nat or Yelena that you’d done this, but she doesn’t have to wonder long as you nod in answer.

“A little. I laid out on my car while talking to Nat.”

Wanda chuckles under her breath at the image because she has no doubt that you did this. You could sleep almost anywhere if you put your mind to it, but your car was actually one of your least favorites. She stops short of asking a follow up question when she sees that you’re frowning slightly as you think back on your conversation with Nat.

“She and Yelena are coming over for dinner this weekend, if that’s okay? They wanted to spoil their goddaughter/niece.”

Wanda merely nods as she smiles at the idea of you inviting your friends over. You both wanted them to spend time with Natalya, any maybe if Kate tagged along, you’d get your way about interrogating her. This thought leaves Wanda’s mind as soon as you clear your throat and shoot your nearly empty plate a nervous look.

“We also talked about work in general and how it’s been stressing me out a lot.“

Wanda waits for you to elaborate, but your focus has shifted to your food in an attempt to distract yourself or avoid this conversation all together. Wanda takes comfort in the fact that you’d brought it up at all, so she’s careful not to push too much as she asks for a little more detail.

“In what way?”

Wanda knows that there are a lot of ways that you could answer this question. Your work has always been stressful and ironically the illegal aspect of it wasn’t the main factor. You always found having so many people in your employ stressful because you were responsible for all of their decisions, their actions and unfortunately, they didn’t always do what you asked. Not being able to have a hand in every important decision was definitely something that you were struggling to get used to. It’s only recently that you’ve decided that as long as you’re not caught and sent to jail, or murdered before you can find someone to take your place, it will be fine.

You just wanted to do this on your own terms, and that is where things became a little tricky.

You don’t want to tell Wanda all of this because she would just worry with you. You’d talked to Nat and then Yelena a bit so you were already feeling better now that you had a solid plan. That said, figuring out what happened to Logan and dealing with a possible sabotage was throwing a wrench in your not-so-best-laid plans.

“I’m trying to take a step back as you know, but it’s just a little harder than I thought.”

Wanda doesn’t respond immediately because she’s trying to figure out exactly what you mean. You’ve never told her much because she honestly didn’t want to know, but as long as she knew that you were being as safe as possible and not drawing too much attention to yourself, she wouldn’t complain. The rare visits from the police were always disturbing but luckily, they never turned into anything more than visits. She briefly wonders if you’ve chosen someone to take over for you, but she nearly shakes her head at the thought. That was too much to ask for, and since you’ve given her no indication that you were on your way out, she wouldn’t get her hopes up.

“I know letting go of control is difficult for you, Y/n.”

Your wife frowns when you only nod silently, and she wonders if she’s missed the mark. It’s hard for her to figure out what the real issue is, and short of you sharing it with her she’s not sure she’ll ever know. You know that what Wanda’s saying is right, but it’s only part of the issue. You’re considering opening up more to her when you both hear the soft cries coming through the baby monitor.

“I’ll go check on her.”

You feel a little guilty about how quickly you try to flee this conversation, but this fades as Wanda stands up as well. She’s obviously not done talking about this and you are reminded once again of why you love this strong, stubborn woman.

“I’ll come with you.”

You smile as you reach out for her hand to lead her down the hall toward the nursery. You cast a cursory glance over your shoulder to make sure that the trio in the living room are still behaving. You turn around again missing how Rogue gets up to join you two. Wanda merely smiles before waving him along with them encouragingly. It’s rare that he wants to interact with Natalya, but more often than not he likes to follow Wanda around.

“What story did you read tonight?”

You’re mostly asking out of interest, not because you believe that Wanda’s choice wasn’t a good one. A couple nights a week, Natalya will go to sleep easily, but then wake up later because she’s hungry or lonely. You’re not sure which it is tonight, but you won’t pass up on the opportunity to spend some time with your daughter.

Wanda shakes her head as you both enter the room and leave the door open so Rogue can follow behind you. She hadn’t read one of Nat’s books tonight. She’d decided to tell her a story about her childhood, but since she wanted to eventually teach Natalya her native language, she’d told it in Sokovian. You smile widely as you reach into the crib to pick up your fussy daughter. You kiss her on the cheek before turning toward Wanda.

“That sounds like fun, did you learn anything, Little Nat?”

As expected, she doesn’t do more than just coo for you as she reaches out for Wanda. You smile before squeezing Nat gently as you hand her over to her mother.

“Such a mama’s girl.”

You smirk as Natalya makes grabby hands at her brunette mom’s hair. You smile as she accepts her daughter with a smile of her own that quickly turns into an exasperated sigh as her hair is immediately tugged on. You take pity on her and quickly help untangle Nat’s fingers from her hair. You put it behind her shoulders for her, and watch the duo greet each other. In Wanda’s case, she leaves a kiss on her baby’s nose, but Nat just starts to whimper as she practically smacks Wanda in the face.

“Nat, honey, that’s not nice.”

Wanda leans away slightly but it doesn’t do much good as Nat continues to whimper threateningly. You see a tantrum coming on and you would like to prevent it as much as possible, so you’re already running toward the kitchen for a bottle.

Your wife is on the same page and she follows you out of the room just at a much slower pace. Rogue whines but follows Wanda out as she heads back to the kitchen with a smile.

“Are you hungry, milaya?”

Natalya’s only response is to grab at her shirt and tug furiously. She has frustrated tears in her eyes and Wanda hates to see her so upset. She’s glad that by the time she arrives you’re warming up a bottle for Natalya and waiting impatiently for it to finish.

“Just a few minutes, baby.”

Wanda’s bouncing her baby and luckily, she’s distracted enough to just hold Wanda’s shirt in her tiny fist instead of trying to rip it. You recognize the signs of Natalya being hungry, and you can’t help but smile as your lean against the counter.

“She’s insatiable, isn’t she?”

Wanda can’t fight the smirk that tugs at her lips as she walks over to you. She kisses your cheek before checking on the bottle. 3 minutes left. She leans against the counter with you briefly checking on the pets before falling into you slightly.

“She certainly is. I wonder who she learned that from.”

You grin widely as you reach down to pet Rouge who comes to stand at your feet. He’s sniffing around for second dinner, but everything is out of his reach and he just huffs before heading for the living room. You don’t miss how he stops at the dinner table, but you and Wanda had mostly finished at this point, and Rogue wasn’t a huge fan of Sokovian food. He had stolen a steak from your plate once and you’d been so shocked and angered you’d chased him around the living room trying to get it back. Needless to say, you were unsuccessful and you ended up just watching him eat your steak with a scowl and a wife who was laughing at you from the kitchen.

“I’ll take the blame for this one, Wands.”

Her response is just to laugh as you turn toward her and Little Nat to see the former sucking her thumb. She still has a few tears in her eyes and you frown as you reach out carefully to wipe them away. You just stare at your beautiful daughter until you hear the warmer beep behind you. Wanda turns to grab the bottle, but you shake your head before walking toward the oven to grab a towel.

“Let me.”

You take the bottle out and wrap it in the towel so it’s not too hot before holding it up to Natalya.

“Little one, are you hungry?”

You spend the next five minutes feeding and burping your daughter, you start to clean up dinner while Wanda heads back to the nursery. You hum under your breath as you wash dishes and put up the leftovers from dinner. You’re thinking about what to do with the rest of your time before going to bed when Wanda returns. She’s watching you with a smile as you move around the kitchen in that quick, practiced way of yours. You’re almost finished before you spot her spying on you, and you shoot her a smile.

“She asleep again?”

Wanda nods as she gestures to the baby monitor, she’d left on the counter and you both listen to how quiet it is on the other end.

“She is. Hopefully it’ll stick this time.”

You dry your hands off before coming around the counter and reaching out for your wife. You’re tired, but not sleepy, and you want to get your mind off of work. You consider watching a movie, but your mind wanders easily if you don’t have to focus on what you’re doing. As if reading your mind, Wanda asks you what you’d like to do now. You decide that tonight is a perfect opportunity to spend some time with your wife.

“I was thinking about working out a little.”

You don’t have to look at your wife to see her eyes darken as they look you up and down. She will admit that she isn’t really in the mood for that type of exercise, but if doing so allows her to watch you get all hot and sweaty, while half-dressed, well she’ll just suck it up. She looks up at you with her bottom lip between her teeth, and you have to stop yourself from kissing her right then and there.

“Mind if I join you?”

You would never complain about your wife’s company. After a long day away from her and the amount of stress you’ve been under recently, you would love nothing more than to unwind with her. You nod, not that your expression isn’t answer enough for Wanda before leading her to the bedroom to change.

“You don’t have to ask, Wands, and yes I would love if you joined me.”

Ten minutes later, you and Wanda have changed into workout clothes and you’re struggling to leave the bedroom. You’d been fine and hadn’t noticed Wanda’s appreciative glances, until Wanda started changing into leggings and a sports bra. You’d chosen to wear a t-shirt for comfort, but the sight of your wife’s exposed skin made you regret your decision to work out tonight. Still, you steal a few kisses and touches before Wanda practically drags you from the bedroom.

“If we don’t go now, we’ll never get started.”

You can’t argue with this and after making sure that your new cat is separated from the dogs, you and Wanda head to your in-home gym.

It hasn’t gotten as much use lately because you both have been short on time, but sometimes, depending on her tolerance level, Wanda will walk on the treadmill or even use one of the bikes with Natalya sleeping on her back. It’s been a while since Wanda was in here to do more than that, and she almost forgot how many options there were. You were already figuring out where you wanted to start when Wanda sits down on a rowing machine.

“Do you want to turn on the television, detka?”

You’d stopped to stare at her as she stretched a little before sitting properly on the seat. You don’t realize that you’d been caught looking until Wanda’s voice registers and you’re flushing in embarrassment as you walk over to the side of the room for the remote. There’s a large television on one of the walls that sometimes you’ll turn on just for background noise. You usually just listen to music, but since you need an ear open for the monitor, you decide that this is better.

“Sure thing, Wands. Any requests?”

After choosing something to watch, you and Wanda start working out mostly in silence. The only communication between the two of you is the occasional smile or glance in the other’s direction. You are already sweating as you continue to work on your upper body. Your arms are pleasantly sore as you continue to push yourself while you focus on your breathing. You found working out, as long as it wasn’t in public, relaxing most times. It was both productive and cathartic, and getting to watch your wife do the same nearby was just an added benefit.

You find yourself watching Wanda more than focusing on what rep you’re on. It’s not your fault she’s so distracting. She’s moved onto to a machine that lets her work on her legs and abs, and the way she’s grunts in effort with every other rep—it should be illegal. It’s obscene.

“Y/n, you’re not paying attention to what you’re doing.”

It’s not a question and it only takes you a second to realize that she’s right. You’d stopped in the middle of a rep to watch Wanda, and you quickly release the weights before standing up. You try to get the sight of your flushed and sweaty wife out of your mind as you switch over to a new machine.

“Right, right. Sorry. “

Wanda just smiles at you watching as you glance at the television and stop in your tracks to watch the show for a minute. She decides to focus on herself for now and she nearly groans at the thought. She knew it would be difficult getting back into exercising after taking so much time off. It’s been months since she’d done anything strenuous and at least a couple of weeks since she’d been able to work out without Natalya nearby. She realizes the further she gets into this how important it is to make sure she has time for herself throughout the day. She’s a paranoid, first-time mom, but maybe she can carve out a little time each day to do something solely for her benefit.

“Ah fuck.”

You’re doing pull ups a little bit later when you hear your phone beep from where you’d left it on the table near the television. You are about to use this as an excuse to drop down to the ground and take a break, but Wanda’s voice catches you off guard.

“I’ve got it, detka. Keep going, please. I’m enjoying the show.”

You roll your eyes and meet Wanda’s gaze through the wall of mirrors in front of you with a playful glare. She sends one back as she climbs to her feet and heads towards your phone. The fact that you don’t even seem to mind that she’s grabbing it for you makes her think it’s not work-related, or at least that you don’t expect it to be. It’s hard to know sometimes, but you don’t even turn to ask as you do another couple of pull ups.

“Is it anything important?”

Wanda hadn’t intended on checking for you, but she doesn’t hesitate to unlock it and check your most recent text. She frowns slightly before looking back up at you.

“It’s Bucky apologizing for ratting you out to Nat.”

You consider ignoring the message for now because you are a little ticked a Bucky, but you eventually just shake your head and drop to the ground with a huff. Wanda holds your phone out to you, and you smile wickedly as you take it and start to reply.

“I’ll tell him not to sweat it because I’m currently here sweating with you.”

Wanda shoots you an incredulous look as she reaches out to grab your phone back. You pull it out of reach and laugh as she just glares at you before crossing her arms petulantly.

“Y/n, don’t tell him that!” “Why not? It’s true. “

You keep pretending to type as you wait for Wanda to protest again. She doesn’t let you down and it only takes a few seconds for her to huff in annoyance. You smile cheekily as you look up from your phone, and somehow Wanda manages to look even more ticked.

“You’re teasing me.”

You don’t even try to deny it and you nod before stepping away as Wanda reaches out to slap you. You thought so at least, but she just holds out her hand and you quickly realize what she wants. You hand her your phone with a smile until she sets it aside before pointing back to where you’d been doing pull ups.

“Just for that, you’re going to give me 10 more.”

You raise an eyebrow in question, but your wife just walks over so she’s standing beneath the bar before she beckons you towards her.

“I’m serious.”

You’re unfortunately not one to refuse a challenge, so you walk over to where she is to stand toe to toe with her. She doesn’t back down as you look up at the bar and then back to her with a sigh. You didn’t expect her to budge, and after a few seconds of contemplation you decide to just do it.

“Alright, Wands. Whatever you want.”

You reach up and grab the bar and pull yourself up with barely a groan of effort. You feel the strain on your arms by the fifth one, and you reach the 7th before Wanda is reaching out for you. You look down at the hand on your stomach and jump down when Wanda speaks up with a smile.

“Come down here, please.”

You are about to argue and say that you’re not at 10 yet, but Wanda’s tugging on your shirt so you give in quickly. You drop down to the ground and open your mouth to ask Wanda why she made you stop, but she doesn’t give you a chance. She pulls you forward by your shirt until you’re close enough to kiss her. You hadn’t expected this so you’re pleasantly surprised. You reach out to hold her too, but she breaks away before you get the chance.

“Since those were so easy, how about you try something different?”

You wonder what she could be thinking of as she pulls you into another hug before jumping up and wrapping her legs around your waist.

“Uh…” “Only three more.”

Wanda’s clinging to you like a koala and despite her not being that heavy, you aren’t sure if you can lift both of you. You feel her legs hold you tighter and you just sigh in defeat before giving it a try. As you complete your first pull up you realize it’s a lot harder than you thought. You barely do it a second time before you drop back to the ground and breathe raggedly as you shake your head.

“I don’t think I can do another one, Wands.”

Wanda considers this for a second before shaking her head with a smile. She kisses you quickly before giving you the incentive you need to get this over with.

“One more and then we can shower and go to bed.”

You groan under your breath, but you nod a couple of times before grabbing the bar one last time.

“Alright, but I’m getting cuddles for this.”

Wanda rolls her eyes and holds back her remark about how you always get cuddles as you lift her up along with you one more time. You nearly stumble as you drop to the ground when you’re done, and Wanda’s quick to release you so you can balance. She smiles proudly as she grabs your numb hand and drags you out of the room.

“Good job, detka.”

Any snarky remark you’d had in mind leaves it as soon as Wanda kisses your cheek. You sigh in frustration at the fact that you can’t hide how your cheeks flush at her words. You can’t even pretend to be annoyed as you squeeze your wife’s hand with a smile. You know you’d do anything for her if she asks, and in the grand scheme of things, pull ups are likely the least difficult thing you’ll ever have to do.

Masterlist

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda maximoff #wanda x reader #wanda x you #the flip side #mob au #pietro maximoff #yelena belova #natasha romanoff

[colourstreakgryffin]

do you do ships if so can you do agnst of tanjiro x zenitsu

its a short story about zenitsu dying in tanjiros arms surrounded by the whole squad after fighting a very strong demon

please and thank you :)

Oh? Hmm. I can try something. Never done a actual KNY ship before yet so this’ll be interesting! This is a bit short and a little rushed but I hope you like it!

My Mistake- TanZen/TanjiroxZenitsu

Inosuke held Nezuko in his arms as she laid her head fast asleep on his shoulder in her smaller form, his hidden eyes trained on the hideous sight before him and made him step back slightly, his eyes threatening to water. He thanked the gods his mask filtered the air he breathed so he couldn’t smell how truly bad the pungency was

Kanao kept Genya’s arm wrapped firmly around the curve of her neck to her shoulder, keeping him still on his feet with her body’s support as his temporary demonic powers kicked in to heal the few wounds he was experiencing. She was deeply upset over what she was seeing and her senses overloaded with the misery and the disgust

Tanjiro cried out, mixed with frustration and regret as his strong arms protectively clutched his frantically bleeding friend, Agatsuma Zenitsu, a boy who risked his life for Tanjiro so he could actually slay the unrecognised Upper Moon the little team battled on their own with no Hashira assistance. Kanao had already sent a crow out for help so hopefully, a Hashira with some Kakushi are on their way to pick the group up and tend to their injuries. Preferably Shinobu so she can look after Zenitsu straight away

Tanjiro simply hated how he couldn’t stop the bleeding, even after he tied his haori around the waist wound firmly. There was no stopping it, Zenitsu was truly dying as he laid partly limp in Tanjiro’s grasp as he tried to fight off the ringing in his ears to speak. The blood pooled around Zenitsu’s damaged frame, staining his golden yellow haori and torn uniform

All the Kamaboko Squad were beaten up bad but not nearly as bad as Zenitsu. He, most definitely, sustained a nasty internal organ injury in his successful attempt to protect Tanjiro from the monstrous demon’s almost impossible to dodge Blood Demon Art. A fatal injury that cannot be fixed unless he is magically teleported to the Butterfly Estate in this very moment.

What can he do?! Tanjiro has always been the one to fix every single issue he and his group comes across, but he doesn’t know how to fix this problem, what must he do to stop Zenitsu from dying on him

Tanjiro prayed internally for a Hashira to show up before he could merely blink. He can’t bare to lose another somebody so unbelievably important to him; first his father, then his family, then Nezuko’s human self but no— Zenitsu can’t join that list. He just can’t. Tanjiro tried his best to gaslights himself to believe he wasn’t going through immense grief as he didn’t want to admit he had no real hope to save Zenitsu

Zenitsu quickly gathered his remaining strength to smile at the sight of his panicking friend, who he had developed a secret crush on and kept it hidden for ages. Even if their first meeting was rather rocky, Zenitsu found himself idolising Tanjiro for his pure heart and incredible skills

It was a sense of passionate idolisation at first but then that platonic view dissolved into a real romantic crush. It beyond buried the feelings he briefly had for Nezuko but he kept that facade up in concern he would seem very weird for switching so fast

Was it right for him to like Tanjiro more than a friend, a boy whilst being a boy? Zenitsu knew in this moment, as his functions shut down quickly, that he needed to let his feelings run out before he leaves the Earth for good. Zenitsu sadly wont be able to actually be with Tanjiro, the way he dreamed about but telling him how he feels for him is more than enough

“…Th… an…k… yo… u….” Tanjiro responded instantly to Zenitsu’s very slow speech, anxiety and worry rising every second as one of his hands went up to the wound drenching his dark green and black checkered haori in thick oozes of ruby red blood and pushing down in high hopes to suppress the blood flow but to no avail.

Zenitsu couldn’t say absolutely everything he wanted to Tanjiro with how weak and frail he has become in little time but he was prepared to say the most important thing, his planned confession replayed over and over in his mind whilst overtaking his attention from the intense pain he was in. It was time

“I’ll get help, Zenitsu. Stay with me, I’ll save you!” Zenitsu kept his gentle smile up for as long as he possibly could, his blinking slow and his breathing lowering so much until it seemed that he was holding his breath. Tanjiro felt like holding his own, his stressed glowing eyes locked on the other boy’s darkening irises as he paid his full attention onto him

Zenitsu willingly used almost all he had left of the energy and strength within his rapidly depleting systems to lift his hand up, brushing it over Tanjiro’s trickling lacerated cheek as those uncontrollable tears leaking from his beautiful plum red eyes rolled down his skin to his sleeve. He didn’t want Tanjiro to worry about him anymore as he finally managed to say what he has been wanting to say for days now

“I… lo… v.. e… yo… u… T… an… ji… r… o” Zenitsu mustered out those four words as he begun seeing such a blinding white light before him, his hand dropped to his side with a grassy-cushioned thud whilst his dark electric yellow eyes quickly faded to a dull cloudy white. Just then, Zenitsu had passed away from intense blood lost as Tanjiro screamed out in outrage, loudly sobbing his heart out inbetween begs for the heavens bring Zenitsu back.

All his minor wounds plus the huge injury worked together to squeeze him dry of his needed life essence like a fruit squeezing out juice. He couldn’t keep holding on anymore, the coldness overtook his body and he felt so comfortable in Tanjiro’s firm yet loving grasp that he felt all so ready to walk over the rainbow bridge. Even though, it left his newfound love behind

Tanjiro mindlessly cuddled Zenitsu’s bloodied lifeless corpse, still crying as heavy as before. His throat and eyes burnt with exhaustion as so did everyone of his puckered-out muscles. His entire body throbbed in pure pain whilst he sat on his knees in no care for anything he felt as he just cried over Zenitsu

His friends never left nor moved, silently surrounding the two as they struggled against their sadness over Zenitsu’s death, none wanted to distract the distraught Tanjiro letting his feelings out. Inosuke bit on his lip to try hide his sobbing as Genya and Kanao cried outloud with their heads pressed against each other in attempts to comfort each other

“Zenitsu! I’m so sorry! I love you too!”

#kimetsu no yaiba #demon slayer #anime and manga #kny imagines #headcanons #kny kamaboko squad #tragic #kny angst #angst short story #kamado tanjiro #tanjiro kamado #agatsuma zenitsu #zenitsu agatsuma #tanzen #tanjiro x zenitsu #romance