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justagalwhowrites · 3 days

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Halcyon - Ch. 11: What Else Would It Be?

You deal with the fallout from your ex's visit as you ring in the new year with Joel, Sarah and Tommy. A continuation of Halcyon from the prologue through Ch. 10, a modern no outbreak AU TLOU fic found on Tumblr here.

^Again, we're pretending like this is Joel. Even though he's a little old to be Joel at this point but YOU KNOW WHAT? WE'RE GONNA GO WITH IT HBO I BEG YOU

Pairing: Joel Miller x Female Reader

Warnings: Joel and Goldie being dumbasses. Modern No Outbreak AU, No use of Y/N, Slow burn, 18+ only, Minors DNI

Length: 5.1K

AO3 | Main Master List | Prologue | Previous Chapter

Joel was kissing you.

He tasted like coffee and you could smell his soap on his skin and his hand was on your lower back, fingers twisting in your shirt as he held you close to him.

He pulled back slowly, breaking the kiss for a moment before moving to press a shorter, more familiar one to your lips. He looked at you for a moment, his eyes searching yours before looking to Gale.

“You must be the…” Joel looked him up and down. “Ex-husband. Gus, is it?”

Gale’s jaw quirked, looking between you and Joel.

“Gale,” he corrected. “And I’m still the husband. At least for now.”

“Ahh, right, right,” Joel nodded, tugging you against his side with a sharp little yank. “That paperwork you keep draggin’ your feet on. Can’t say I blame you, I wouldn’t want to let this one go, either, if I were able to lock her down…”

“Wouldn’t call it dragging my feet…”

Joel released you then, stepping closer to Gale. You’d never realized how much taller than him Joel was, the younger man at least three or four inches larger than the older.

“What would you call it, then?” Joel asked. “I might call it tormenting your wife because you can’t stand the fact that she’s got a life outside you after you fucked it up. But that’s me, ain’t it Georgie?”

“Don’t think what happens in my marriage is much of your business,” Gale’s voice was heated, his back a little straighter. “Don’t think I caught your name. Or who you are to my wife.”

“Me?” Joel asked. “Oh, I’m just the one who’s been lookin’ out for her while you take out your problems on her. Don’t worry, though. She’s doing just fine with me.”

Gale looked at you and you snapped your mouth shut, only then realizing that it was hanging open.

“Think I’ll head on out, darling,” he said, ducking around Joel go come and stand close to you, so close you were almost touching. Your heart stuttered and you hated it. “Seems like you might have your hands full.”

He slipped an arm around your waist, making you jump a little, and pulled you close, looking at you like he was going to kiss you the way he used to for a moment. Instead, his lips brushed your cheek, his nose tracing over your temple as he pulled back from you.

“Let me know when you’re back home,” he said. “And think about what I said.”

He released you and Joel took his place beside you, pulling you into him as he watched Gale leave.

“Don’t let that door hit you on the way out,” Joel called after him, holding you tight to his side so you couldn’t follow. His grip on you loosened when the two of you heard the car door slam. “Gonna give it a minute so he has a chance to get outta here but I did come bearing ice cream…”

“Ice cream,” you turned to look at him, incredulous, your heart still racing from when he’d kissed you. “That’s what you’re worried about right now. Ice cream.”

He shrugged.

“I mean, it’s melting…”

“Jesus Christ,” you stalked off to the kitchen, hoping to catch a glimpse of Gale’s car leaving from the small window as you leaned over the sink.

“What?” He followed behind you. “C’mon, don’t tell me you’re all worked up over that…”

Gale’s sleek, black rental car pulled onto the road, throwing dirt up behind it as it went.

“Sorry if I fucked up whatever plans you had with that asshole,” Joel said, his voice a little heated. “But he’s a jackass and if you want to actually cross some of that shit off your list, you can’t just backslide into fucking your ex…”

You just sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose, closing your eyes for a moment. Of course that was the part he was worried about.

Not that you weren’t, too. It had just fallen much further down your list of concerns since Joel had kissed you.

You hadn’t expected Joel to show up any more than you’d expected Gale to.

When you hung up with Joel, a smile spread over Gale’s face and he looked happy to see you. Actually happy to see you, like seeing you was making his whole day.

You couldn’t remember the last time he looked at you like that.

“Are you going to invite me in?” He’d asked, brows raised.

It took you a moment to register that he’d spoken.

“Sorry, yes, sure,” you said, stepping aside. “Come in.”

He smiled a little and came inside your cabin, looking around with an appreciative nod.

“You always did like your quiet spaces when you were writing,” he said, making his way into your living room. “I remember when you were working on Halcyon, how you’d sometimes sit at the back of the closet, lights out, with just your laptop…”

“It kept you from distracting me,” you smiled a little at the memory, that time seeming so close but so far away. “Speaking of which… what are you doing here?”

“Distracting you,” he threw a small smile over his shoulder to you. You rolled your eyes but smiled a little back in spite of yourself. “I meant it when I said I missed you. My life’s been…” he paused for a moment. “Dim without you.”

“Says volumes about Carla’s sparkling wit,” you said wryly, feeling bad almost the second it was out of your mouth. She was young, naive. She didn’t deserve you mocking her when she couldn’t even defend herself.

But Gale laughed once.

“I can’t say anyone’s ever put me through my paces quite like you, doll,” he said. “I didn’t know how I’d miss being challenged until I wasn’t anymore.”

“You never liked when I challenged you,” you said.

“No,” he nodded. “But, turns out… I like being blindly adored even less.”

You scoffed at that.

“I mean it,” he said, stepping close to you, close enough that you could smell is cologne. “Turns out, I need someone like you. Someone who can see me, see my flaws, challenge me, push me to be my best. I need someone who is smart and, believe it or not, intelligence isn’t the prerequisite for ivy league admittance you’d think it is. You’re one of the only people I know who is smart enough to keep me on my toes.”

He reached out, brushing some unseen dust from your shoulder and then trailing his fingers over your neck.

“I need you,” he said, so close to you now that you felt the familiar tug at the base of your chest, the way he’d always pulled you into his orbit. How you’d wanted to kiss him so badly in his office when you’d been young and desperately lonely and he seemed to understand you through your words the way no one had before. How you wanted to kiss him now because you hadn’t been kissed in so long.

You swallowed, hard.

“Tea?” You said quickly before you did something you’d regret later. You turned to head to the kitchen before he could respond. “I was just about to make myself a cup…”

You could practically hear him smirk.

“Sure,” he said. “You always did love your tea.”

You made his tea just the way he liked it, Earl Grey with a splash of milk and a teaspoon of sugar, placing it in front of the seat he’d taken at the table. You sat across from him, hoping that some distance would help, trying to focus on the flavor of the tea you’d chosen - ginger peach - and the thick sweetness of honey on your tongue.

“So,” Gale said after a moment, setting his mug in front of him and crossing his arms on the tabletop. “Tell me about this book.”

You considered not talking to him about it for a moment. Writing had always felt so intimate to you, sharing it in any form while it was in process was mortifying. Gale had been the only person you’d ever been able to bear looking at your work before it was done and he’d always made it better. But he was nothing to you now, just a man who said he loved you once.

Who was making it sound like he might love you again. How could you share this story with him? How could you not?

“Well,” you sighed before you felt like you’d really made up your mind. “It’s about a marriage…”

Gale drifted closer to you as you walked him through the story, how it had already changed over the few days you’d been working on the thing, where you wanted it to go. Before too long, he was beside you, his fingers trailing over your bicep to your elbow and back again.

“I really have missed that mind of yours,” he said when you trailed off. His eyes were hungry on you, his body warm next to your own and, for half a moment, you wanted to kiss him and feel him against you and remember what it was to be desired for a while.

But when he leaned toward you, something inside you shifted.

Yes, you were lonely. Not in the same way you’d been lonely when you’d gone away to college and met Gale the first time - you had Joel now, after all - but lonely in a way that you were acutely aware that you were no one’s and no one was yours. You knew that, before too long, Joel would cross “stable relationship” off his list and you couldn’t just show up at his house and climb in his bed so you weren’t crying into your pillowcase in the dark when things went wrong. He would have his hands full with whoever he decided to actually stick with and Sarah. Anna would have her new baby. You’d be on your own. It was inevitable, the sword of Damocles waiting for love to take the people you cared for most on to their own lives that had little to do with you. Gale had been the only person who had ever, truly, been yours. Falling back into him was tempting for that reason alone but… He wasn’t who you wanted.

You’d never tried to love your husband when Joel was near. You should have known that your feelings for Joel would drown out everything else, that you’d never have a hope of wanting someone else when he was there. And, as Gale leaned in to kiss you, all you could think was that he smelled wrong.

He smelled like cologne and leather and something artificial that you couldn’t place. You’d liked that smell once. Now, it fell short. You wanted sawdust and soap with hints of sweat and chlorine. You wanted Joel.

But… Gale was still someone. And someone was better than no one.

“Gale…” you said softly.

And then there was the knock at your door and then Joel was there, kissing you like it was nothing and picking a fight with your soon-to-be ex-husband.

“I wasn’t planning on getting back together with him,” you said, turning to face Joel, your back against the sink and your fingers gripping the counter as you tried to think about something - anything - beyond how he’d tasted when he’d kissed you. How his hair would feel between your fingers as you pulled him closer.

“Good,” Joel said, standing opposite you in the galley kitchen, leaning back against the counter and crossing his arms as he did. “Because that man is nothing but bad for you, Goldie.”

You rolled your eyes.

“What?” He asked, incredulous. “I mean it…”

“You didn’t know me when we were actually together,” you said. “We were actually a really great couple…”

“Oh yeah,” he scoffed, shaking his head. “Sure you two had a ton in fuckin’ common…”

“We did!” You protested. “I know you hate him on principle and I’m not about to ask you to stop but he’s really not a bad guy. I just… I couldn’t make it work.”

Joel squared his jaw, looking like he wanted to fight you about it, but instead, he just sighed.

“He gone?” He nodded to the window. You nodded once. “Good. I’ll go get the shit from the truck, back in a sec…”

When you heard the front door close, your fingers traced your lips, ghosting over where Joel had kissed you as you tried to shake the longing in your chest before your best friend came back inside.

***

“OK but it’s just one glass,” Sarah rolled her eyes at Joel from across the hot tub.

“And you’re 11,” Joel said.

“But it’s New Year’s Eve!” She protested, treading water lightly even though it was so shallow she could barely go all the way under at all.

“And you’re still 11,” Joel said. “You don’t need to have a glass of champagne.”

“No one needs a glass of champagne,” she rolled her eyes again.

“I might if I have to listen to you two fight anymore,” Tommy said.

“Amen,” you replied, reaching across the hot tub with your beer bottle to toast him. Tommy reached back with his own and the two of you met in the middle, glass clinking together.

“See, Goldie,” Tommy said. “Been saying I need someone else around to survive these two…”

“Please,” Sarah scoffed. “I’m pretty sure I knew how to make breakfast before you did. I think you need us to survive, not the other way around.”

You laughed and Joel watched you do it, trying not think too much about your lips and how they’d felt against him. As if he’d been able to stop thinking about that since he’d kissed you.

“It don’t matter who needs what,” Joel said. “You’re 11, you’re not drinkin’ alcohol. You can have that entire bottle of sparkling cider…”

“But what if I wanted a glass?” You asked, pouting a little.

“Fine,” Joel sighed, knowing you were just making things difficult but too happy to humor you to call you on it. “You can have almost the entire bottle of sparkling cider. You can’t have champagne.”

“You’re no fun,” Sarah slumped back, face scrunched, as the bubbles got the ends of her curls wet.

“That’s what they call me,” Joel said. “No fun Dad.”

“At least he lets you stay up until midnight,” you said, taking another sip of beer. “I didn’t get to do that until I was a teenager.”

“See?” Joel nudged Sarah with his foot. “I could be worse.”

“I guess,” she sighed dramatically before closing her eyes and resting her head back against the hot tub.

You just looked at Joel and smiled a little and Joel tried to keep his eyes from drifting down to your cleavage that sat just below the water. Because he had to stop thinking about you that way. He had to.

He couldn’t have been more grateful for his brother and daughter’s arrival earlier that day. He’d pulled Tommy aside as soon as he showed Sarah her room and gave her a minute to get settled, pulling him onto the back patio where they’d have some privacy.

“What the hell…”

“I kissed Goldie,” Joel hissed, looking furtively back toward the house before looking at Tommy.

“Wait what?” Tommy yelped and Joel was ready to strangle him.

“Shh!”

“Sorry!” Tommy whispered. “You did what? You kissed Goldie?”

“Yeah,” Joel whispered back.

“When?”

“Yesterday, when I first got here…”

“And all the time since, right?”

Joel glared at his brother.

“What?” Tommy said. “Reasonable question…”

“Fuck off,” Joel said. “I can’t do this again, Tommy, I can’t lose her again because I wasn’t able to… Look. This can’t happen again, OK?”

“OK,” Tommy said, voice calm. “So don’t do it again, seems easy enough…”

“It’s not that simple,” Joel said. Tommy just raised his eyebrows at him and Joel sighed. “I can’t stop thinking about it, man. I kissed her. I kissed her…”

“It was just a kiss though, right?” Tommy said. “Not like you two fucked.”

“No…”

“So?” Tommy shrugged again. “It was a kiss. What are you, 12? It’s not the end of the world, man. So you fucked up, you kissed your best friend, shit happens…”

“And it can’t happen again,” Joel said.

“So don’t do it again. I can be a buffer if that’s what you need,” Tommy said. “But it’s just a kiss. Hate to say it but… grow a pair, man.”

“Right,” Joel nodded slowly. He knew you weren’t overthinking this like he was, he knew it wouldn’t have meant anything to you and he needed to keep just playing it cool and pretending like he could think about anything else. “I just… you’re right. It was a mistake, it won’t happen again, I’m done doing stupid shit with her and then regretting it…”

The door to the porch creaked, making Joel jump.

“Hey guys?” You were standing there, looking between the two of them. “You up for a game of Mario Kart? Sarah’s getting the Switch set up…”

“Yeah,” Joel forced a smile. “Be right there.”

Joel sat on the opposite end of the couch from you, Tommy stuck in the middle and Sarah on the floor as the four of you played.

He’d been straining to keep his distance from you since he got here. He shouldn’t have fucking kissed you. That was a mistake, the kind that could wreck his life if he wasn’t careful. What if you just took off again because he couldn’t keep his shit together? What if he had to find a way to excise you from his life again?

That had been hard enough when you were both kids, it would be impossible now. It had only been a few short months but already he wasn’t sure how he’d survived without you. You were a fixture in his world now, the absence of you for all those years more acute now that he knew what he’d been missing that whole time. You could have been there with him if he’d just acted like a fucking adult and had some self control on prom night but he didn’t. Instead, he’d been a dumbass and he’d paid the price for that for years. He wasn’t about to let that happen again.

But you were here, so close, close enough that he could touch you and hear you and fucking smell you.

And he was sure that the plan had been for the two of you to share a room at the cabin. Why wouldn’t you? You shared one at home all the time, Joel sleeping so much more soundly when he could feel you settling into him as you drifted off. When you fell asleep, he always nuzzled into the top of your head as you used his chest as a pillow, taking advantage of the fact that you were unconscious to breathe you in and commit you to memory. He usually woke up curled around your back, your arms stretched far in front of you and your legs tangled in the sheets, nestled into your pillow instead of his skin. The nights you weren’t there, he pulled that pillow from your side of the bed close and held it like he wanted to hold onto you and tried to pretend it wasn’t the most fucking pathetic thing he’d ever done.

The night after he’d kissed you, the two of you had slept in separate beds. That alone was almost enough to make him regret it.

But what the fuck else was he supposed to do when he saw you there in the grip of that asshole you’d been married to? That guy who’d been dragging you through divorce proceedings so roughly that you’d come over and just cried into Joel’s shoulder twice since you’d moved back. That guy who didn’t seem like he was content unless you were under his control.

He was the kind of man who wouldn’t respect that you just said no. But he might respect another man’s claim so he’d kissed you. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time.

Or that’s what he told himself it was. That it wasn’t a selfish excuse to do the one thing he’d been wanting to do for fucking weeks.

Tommy and Sarah being here made it easier to stay away from you, at least. While the two of you had long since stopped acting like you didn’t share a room when you slept over, he had done his best to maintain some semblance of boundaries with you in front of Sarah. Fewer casual touches, no just holding you close because you were near him on the couch and he knew you wouldn’t mind. He didn’t want to confuse his daughter and make her think there was more to this than there was. When Tommy and Sarah were there, he didn’t need to find a reason to keep his distance. When Tommy and Sarah were there, he didn’t need to lie to himself and pretend that he wasn’t fighting to keep from kissing you again.

He’d thought, at first, that he’d at least been able to dodge talking about it. That he’d played it cool enough that he’d thought the reasoning was obvious. But, once you were done angrily texting your agent to demand how Gale had gotten this address to begin with and had a few glasses of wine in you after dinner, you sat on the opposite end of the couch from Joel, a bowl of pecan praline ice cream balanced on your knees as you watched him closely.

“What?” He asked, raising his brows at you.

“Why did you do that?” You asked.

“Do what?”

“Kiss me.”

You said it so plainly, as though you were asking why he ordered spaghetti at dinner or why he painted his living room sage green.

“I know you think I hate your ex for no reason,” he said. “But I have a reason. I’ve seen how he’s been hurting you. Didn’t want him to think you were just his for the taking so…”

He shrugged.

“And that’s…” you paused for a moment, glancing to the side before looking back at him. “That’s the only reason?”

His heart sped up.

“Course it is,” he said, looking back at the movie you’d put on that he hadn’t been paying any damn attention to before, either. “What else would it be?”

“Right,” you’d said. “You’re right.”

Tommy and Sarah being there was a mercy. It saved him from more of those conversations.

Even if he couldn’t stop thinking about kissing you.

“We should think about heading inside,” you said, glancing at your phone. “It’s only an hour to midnight, figure we’d like to all be nice and dry by the time the countdown starts.”

“Yeah, my first champagne toast should really be done in dry clothes,” Sarah said sagely.

“No champagne,” Joel said. “But yes, dry clothes. Let’s go, kiddo.”

She groaned and you and Tommy laughed and at least Joel could take comfort in the fact that he’d figured out this part of his life. He could do this, if he really focused on it. He could just take care of his daughter and just be friends with you and just keep an eye on his little brother. He didn’t need to be anything more to you. He could live with that.

If that’s what it took to keep you in his life at all? He could really, really live with that.

The four of you made your way inside and got changed into pajamas before gathering around the TV to watch people partying around the country, the adults starting in on the champagne and Sarah sipping her cider with her pinky extended.

“So,” you said. “What’s everyone excited for in 2023?”

“Taylor Swift,” Sarah said automatically.

You laughed.

“Alright, maybe that was too easy,” you said. “What’s everyone thankful for going into 2023?”

“Still Taylor Swift,” Sarah said and you laughed again. “But really… probably getting to play soccer and stuff with my best friends. And Swiftie. She’s the best cat in the world.”

“Those are good,” you nodded, looking to Tommy. “You?”

“I’m thankful there are still women in Austin willing to go on dates with me,” Tommy said. Joel snorted and Tommy elbowed him in the ribs. “What about you, Goldie?”

“I’m thankful that I’m someplace I can put down some roots again,” you said. “And that I won’t need to up and move in 2023.” You turned toward Joel, your head cocked and a soft smile on your face and he could remember how you tasted a little like honey when he kissed you. “Joel?”

“Thankful for Sarah, of course,” he said. Sarah rolled her eyes. “What, baby girl? I am.”

“Something besides me,” she said. “We all know I’m a gift…”

“Christ your teenage years are gonna be rough with that ego,” Joel sighed and Sarah laughed. “But… I dunno… probably just having Goldie back in Texas. Hasn’t been the same without her here.”

“Joel,” you looked at him, a little misty eyed. “Really?”

“Course,” he smiled a little. “I missed you, Goldie Girl.”

You smiled back.

“I missed you, too.”

“The countdown is up!” Sarah jumped to her feet and pointed at the icon in the corner. “Just a minute left!”

The adults all got to their feet and pressed closer to the TV screen, watching as the numbers got lower and lower and the year that you’d come back to Joel grew closer and closer to being in the past.

“Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!”

The four of you cheered and hugged and toasted and drank and Sarah pressed herself against Joel’s side, giving him a squeeze.

“Love you, Dad,” she said quietly.

“Love you, too, Kiddo,” he said, kissing the crown of her head and squeezing her back.

She pulled away from him to go hug Tommy and Joel looked to you, finding you watching the screen with your eyes rimmed in tears, champagne glass half empty in your grip. You didn’t seem to notice that Joel was watching you, downing the rest of your drink in one go before setting the glass down on the coffee table and heading for the back door.

Joel glanced back at Sarah and Tommy, a frown on his brother’s face but his daughter seemingly oblivious to the fact that you’d just left. Joel jerked his head toward the door and Tommy gave him a single nod as Joel followed you into the backyard.

He didn’t see you at first. You weren’t on the patio or the deck and then, in the glow of a firework that someone set off from across the lake behind the cabin, he saw you, staring out from the water’s edge.

He went over to you and you didn’t seem to notice him, frozen as you looked at the lake.

“Goldie?” Joel asked as he got close, not wanting to spook you. You jumped anyway. “Sorry, wasn’t tryin’ to scare you.”

“It’s OK,” you said, smiling tightly at him as he took his place at your side. “I’m just jumpy, apparently.”

“You alright?” He asked, standing close enough to you that he could feel the warmth of you. “You kinda blew outta there and it’s cold out here…”

“I’m fine,” you said, looking back out at the water. “Just… needed some air.”

“Air,” Joel said, trying to hide the skepticism in his voice. Another firework cracked over the lake, the sparks of it reflected on the water. “You sure that’s it?”

You looked over at him again, your arms crossed tightly in front of you. Another firework and he could see the fog of your breath in front of your lips.

“Partially,” you smiled a little again before looking back to the water and taking a deep breath. “But… it’s also that this is the second year that I’m alone on New Year’s Eve. Second year I’m starting things off on my own. Second year I can’t even find some random guy to kiss me at a party…”

“You’re not alone,” Joel said gently. “You’ve got me n’Sarah…”

“It’s not the same,” you said. “But the thought is sweet, though.”

“It’s not like last year,” he said. “It’s going to be different…”

“Because things are going to magically get better?” You asked, turning to face him, your brows raised. “Because you’re going to just invent someone who’s going to actually want me so you can help me cross off my check list?”

“Goldie…” You winced, closing your eyes tightly for a moment and taking a deep breath.

“I’m sorry,” you waved him off. “None of this is your fault, I don’t know why I’m taking it out on you, it’s not fair to you. You’re right, it is different now and I’m so thankful I have you and Sarah and even Tommy. I just… I wish I had someone who wanted to kiss me at midnight, you know?”

Joel’s throat was dry, so dry that he couldn’t seem to form the words he so desperately wanted to say.

“Sorry,” you said again. “We should get back before Sarah notices…”

You turned to go, dropping your arms and heading back up the short hill toward the cabin but Joel caught your wrist, pulling you back toward him. You frowned a little, facing him and looking between where he was holding you and his face.

“I know it’s not what you want it to be,” he said, reaching out slowly to gently cup your cheek. “But… I think friends can kiss for New Year’s, right?”

“Right,” you said, a little breathless, your eyes wide. “Friends.”

“Right,” Joel whispered back, dropping your wrist to wrap his arm around your back and pull you against him, making your back arch as you pressed your body into his. “Friends.”

His eyes searched yours, waiting for you to object or to push him away, but you didn’t. Instead, he got closer and closer to you, until his eyes were closed and his lips were against yours and, for the second time in as many days, he kissed you.

For the second time in as many days, he didn’t want to stop.

A/N: I mean I think we all knew I wasn't going to let them get together so soon, right?

Right??

OK, cool.

But I promise, this is going to have repercussions very, very soon in this fic. I love these two and their push pull and I'm so sorry but I'm going to torment you all with it, too. OK?

Thanks for being here! Love you!!

#fanfic #joel miller x female reader #joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x oc #halcyon

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ahockeywrites · 1 day

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surprise pt 1- nh13

pairing: nico hischier x girlfriend!reader word count: 1k warnings: no explicit smut but thoughts of it, swearing bc I’ve written it authors note: this isn’t smut! are you proud of me? part two coming next week lovelies :) part 2

“In what world did my sister think that it would be a good idea for me to go to this event with Dawson,” you groaned into Nico’s chest.

“In her defence,” Nico nuzzled his head into your shoulder. “We haven’t told anyone we’re dating.”

“But that doesn’t mean I want to go to an event with her boyfriend’s friend.” Sighing, you got up from your boyfriend’s lap and walked over to check the calendar that was on your refrigerator. You knew that the charity casino event was coming up and you had told Nico to go it alone. Your sister was going with Luke, naturally, and you were more than happy to have a night in just watching a movie.

But no, she thought that you hadn’t had a good lay in over a year and that you should hang out with Dawson. Little did anyone know that you were perfectly happy dating Dawson and Luke’s captain.

You sipped on the cool water and tried to think of ways of not going to the event with Dawson. He was lovely but if you were going to be going to a Devils event, it would be on the arm of your boyfriend.

“How about,” you thought out loud, “I say that I’ve got a work thing that night that u can’t get out of?”

“Nah,” Nico stole the glass of water from you and downed the rest of it. “You’d have told her about that already if you knew.”

“What if I told Alex I was coming down with food poisoning?”

“Babe, all you eat is chicken tenders and pizza,” Nico raised an eyebrow at you. “You cannot get food poisoning from sticking something in the oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.”

You rolled your eyes at him, even though you knew he was right.

“How about I just say no?” You sighed as all the thinking had started to hurt your head.

Nico ran his hands through his hair as he thought about the situation that your sister had put you in.

“Right,” Nico started. “You tell Alex that you can’t go, I say I’m bringing a plus one. We just announce the relationship by us walking into the event together?”

You and Nico had thought about telling your friends and family about your relationship but you hadn’t found the right time. Maybe this was the right time.

“Okay, I like that plan,” you agreed with your boyfriend. “Now what do I need to wear?”

You flattened down the skirt of your dress before reapplying a touch of lipstick. Nico had let you take free rein of his en-suite bathroom and you had done exactly that. All your skincare and makeup products covered the wash basin and overflowed to the cupboard above the sink. It was a struggle to constrain yourself with all the products you needed and how were you to know exactly what shade of red lipstick was going to work with your dress without trying every single one on.

“Nico!” You shouted from the bathroom as you struggled to put your 13 necklace, a birthday present to you from your boyfriend, on. You had to contort yourself into a position to get the matching bracelet on and the trying it again for the necklace just wasn’t going to happen.

The door to the bathroom opened and Nico stood in the doorway with his mouth hanging open. You looked beautiful in the dark blue dress that hugged all your curves and made Nico want to rip the dress off you and take you right then and there. But no, you had an event to go to first.

“Nico,” you groaned. He shook himself back out of his trance and walked over to stand behind you, hands resting on your hips.

“Fucking beautiful baby,” Nico whispered as his hands wandered further up your body to gently cup your breasts. Your head leant back to rest on his chest which exposed more of the skin of your neck. Nico’s lips started pressing kisses along your neck before you had to shake him off, even if you didn’t want to.

A pout formed on Nico’s face as you looked back at him via the mirror in front of you and instructed him to put the necklace on you. The number 13 sat on your upper chest and Nico’s cock hardened as he looked at it. It was a claim. A claim that you were his. Not Dawson’s, not anyone else’s. You were his. Nico knew that his eyes wouldn’t be on anyone else, how could they be when you looked like that.

“Let’s head out,” Nico commanded and it sent a shiver down your spine. It made you wonder if he would be like that when you got back. “Your red bottoms are by the door ready to go.” His lips pressed to yours and as you turned around, his palm gently swatted against your ass which looked perfect in the dress.

The pair of you were quiet in the drive to the venue. A combination of nerves and awkwardness sat uncomfortably in the bottom of your stomach. Ideas of how Alex would react to you walking in on the arm her boyfriend’s captain, how she would know that you had been lying for the past nine months. It was torturing you and Nico could notice.

“Schatzi,” he spoke softly, picking up one of your hands and rubbing circles on the back of it. “Alex will understand. It might not be right now, but she will. I promise you.”

“I really hope so,” you sniffled out a response but couldn’t let yourself cry. You never kept anything from your sister, she knew everything about your life. Except Nico. She knew nothing about how you fell for the captain of the New Jersey Devils.

#ahockeywrites #nh13 #nhl imagine #nhl fic #hockey writing #hockey fic #hockey story #nhl writing #nhl fanfiction #nico hischier imagine #nico hischier x reader

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studioghibelli · 21 hours

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leather & lace- a joel miller x reader series

chapter one: the silver stallion.

summary: an untamed cowboy and the sheriff's daughter. an outlaw and a goodie two shoes. a hardened piece of leather and a perfect cut of lace. at first glance, you and joel miller are polar opposites, yet somehow fate has managed to tangle you both up in the same spool of yarn.

“You're saying I'm fragile, I try not to be. I search only for something I can't see. I have my own life, and I am stronger than you know.”

warnings: violence (guns, blood, death.) enemies to lovers, an unspoken companionship of convenience, this is sort of a soulmate au? in a very thematic and metaphorical sense, age gap (50’s Joel, 20s reader), themes of guilt and betrayal, domestic abuse. if i missed any, please kindly let me know. thank you!

A silver stallion was galloping across the vast canopy of the dusty sky, illuminating the distant mountains with a sheen of gentle moonlight. It had been a harsh, dry summer, followed by an uninspired autumn, but soon the loving hand of winter would blanket the land in her snowy glory.

The town of Ruby Springs stood glimmering at the base of a mountain, the golden light of dingy hotels and busy saloons flickering in the darkening air.

It was warm, inviting-and there was nothing he wanted more than a pint of beer and a place to rest his aching feet.

How long had it been? Days? Weeks?

The time didn’t matter when his back ached like this. His crooked spine had not felt the plush feathers of a pillow in many moons, his lips had gone too long without a tender kiss from a pretty stranger.

Every inch, every bone, every breath of Joel Miller hurt.

He was getting too old for this, too lousy, too grumpy, too much of everything to keep up with it all. The train robberies, the kidnapping, the late night bank runs. If it were up to him, he would have stopped years ago.

But he was an indebted man, and Joel knew he’d have to sleep with one eye open if he tried to run away from it all. He was reminded constantly of his duties, of the promise he swore to her years ago.

Tess.

His boss, his warden, his burden. She saved a life for him, and in turn, he owed his entire world to her. Every penny, every breath, every move- Joel did so to appease Tess.

And now this.

He had done many things in his life. Cruel, unspeakable things. He had watched skin turn purple and eyes roll blank. He had watched men hang for their crimes and horses die for their loyalty. War, famine, anger, cruelty- Joel had seen his share of the world, of the vast and indescribable horrors of man.

But this. Something about this made his stomach churn. Something deep, intrinsic, something that had been determined by fate many moons before. Something he didn’t quite understand.

The letter detailing his current orders were in the pocket of his worn coat, burning a hole straight through the leather and deep in to his chest.

Joel,

The girl. The boy. Their father. In that order. This sheriff’s been sniffing out our plans for too long, and we can’t have him ringing any alarm bells. Get it done and dusted, and report back to me in Jackson.

He could turn his strawberry roan mustang right around and run off, far into the desert. Where he would go, what exactly he would do- well, he wasn’t quite sure.

But he had ideas. Options. Dreams.

He could ride alongside the screaming eagles through the valleys of mesa rock, make camp beside a Montana stream rich with salmon. He could trade meat with the Apache down in New Mexico and drink moonshine beneath the stars.

He could choose to do anything but that.

No.

He couldn’t, could he?

What was more innocent blood on his hands? Joel had killed before, and he knew he would kill again.

Patting the ivory handled Colt that sat glued to his holster, he guided his steed towards Ruby Springs, stomach tight with the promise of what he was about to do.

The powder room was the color of eggshells with pink satin pillows thrown about, piles of gowns that needed to be washed and trays of powder that were fading had been littered throughout various places. It was pretty. Delicate. Feminine. A room fit for a city girl who had never known a days work. A city girl who was born with a silver spoon in her mouth.

A city girl Joel felt inextricably fond of, without ever knowing intimately.

The room he had found himself camped in smelled faintly of vanilla and cinnamon, and framed photos of a pretty thing and her loyal steed were hung about the walls.

You.

The woman he was sent to kill.

Joel sat behind the bed, careful not to lean back on any loose floor boards. If he made any noise, he know he was screwed. In his gloved hands was a small, circular photo frame, a photo of your face beaming up at him, his target, staring back. Your eyes were full of light, face full of promise. He couldn’t remember the last time he had seen someone so beautiful, someone so fragile.

He wondered what you smelled like. He wondered what your voice sounded like, if you snorted when you laughed. When he looked at your photo, he saw hope. He saw a shadow of someone he once was.

An outline of a little boy with a heart, with a soul, with a dream. A little boy who prayed and laughed and played outside beneath the heat of the sun. A boy who kissed his mamma and brushed his dog and shook the sand from his boots before walking inside the house.

Where had he gone? What had he turned in to?

Down the hall, he could hear footsteps. Heavy and booted, hushed whispers accompanying them.

“Shit.” He muttered, grabbing his pistol and peering over the meticulously made bed.

The doorknob was rattling.

Joel glanced down at the fading picture. He really did think you were the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. A confident smile, pretty hair, dazzling eyes- you were so young, you looked so pure.

And your blood was about to be all over the palms of his hands.

His ribcage felt as though it was going to break, his whole body full of the whistling pressure of what must be done. Before he could even think or mourn, he heard a hiss of pain.

“Get off me, Wyatt!”

Wyatt. Your brother. The boy he was meant to kill.

“You gon’ tell daddy? Betcha’ not gonna do shit about it.” There was venom in his words, it dripped from each syllable.

Joel sat quiet. His curiosity outweighed his allegiance to Tess, and he wanted to see where this was headed.

“You killed him, Wyatt.” Your voice was hushed on that forbidden middle word, killed sounded so foreign when it came out of your mouth. It was as though your tongue wouldn’t dare hold on to the verb anymore than it had to.

“So? Don’t matter. When you’re the sheriff’s kid, you can do anythin’ you want. You should try it sometime.”

“No. I won’t. I’m going to tell him.”

“You wouldn’t.” A challenge. There was the ruffling of a leather strap, followed by the clicking of a gun. Not only a challenge, a death sentence.

Although Joel couldn’t see, the air grew thick with tension, like a beach before a storm. He could hear your little breath of air, he could smell your annoyance. Quietly, Joel peered over the mattress.

Something stirred deep within him. He wanted to protect you, and the thought made him angry.

Wyatt stood tall and dumb, buck toothed and freckled like a growling hound dog. His pistol was pointed right at you, and he wore a mask of pure anger. That’s all he was. An angry little boy with no real reason to be.

And Joel knew how to deal with angry little boys.

You couldn’t remember when it started.

The rage.

It ran unbridled through you, like a stream trickling downwards towards the edge of a mountain. You could feel it in your veins, like the stinger of a wasp, stuck with nowhere left to go.

You knew, ever since you were a young child, that one day the band that held it all together was going to snap. And one day, sweet, innocent, “Oh no sir, I could never!” little old you would snap. You would sink your teeth in the neck of a handsy man, or drive a bullet straight through a gossipy woman’s stomach.

One day that band would break. And one day your perfect socialite image would come crashing down.

Today, spoiler alert, was that day.

That morning, when you had awoken, your thighs were sticky with your own blood, and your skin was covered in a sheen of sweat. Winter was approaching, but the wooden walls of your family home held in the heat from the furnace like no other.

You were hot. You were angry. You were a woman on the edge, standing at the precipice of a ravine full of hatred and violence. One little gust of wind, and you’d be pushed over the edge.

Enter: Wyatt.

Your big brother. Nasty, incompetent, spoiled rotten by your overly doting mother who never, over her now dead body, treated you the same.

Wyatt could get away with whatever he wanted. Why? He was daddy’s favorite. The crown jewel of Ruby Springs. Next in line to be the town’s newest, gluttonous, and corrupt Sheriff.

Wyatt was a pig. A fucking pig you would send to the slaughterhouse if you could. You could do a lot of damage with a nail gun to his forehead, you thought.

When he had grabbed you by the arm and dragged you in to your room to snarl his line of profanities, you were already knee deep in the rotted mud of a shitty day.

One little gust of wind.

“-You wouldn’t.” Wyatt’s tone was full of that disgusting self-righteous attitude he always carried around with him, full of the thought that nothing could ever harm him, full of the thought that there was no one who could put him in his place. When he pulled his pistol out on you, no fear coursed through you.

Why would it?

You had been spanked as a child, damn near shot by your own father when you were twelve and accidentally dropped a bucket of hot water on his feet. When he grabbed you by the throat and threatened to spill your life blood, you felt it for the first time.

That rage. That deep, bitter, heavy rage.

One little gust of wind.

“What are you doing, Wyatt?” You asked nonchalantly, eyes flickering down to his gun.

“Protectin’ myself.”

“From what?”

“You.”

You couldn’t help but scoff. “You’re such a fucking coward. You know that?”

Wyatt held the barrel of his gun against your chin. It was cold. It was… inviting, like a hug from a distant family member. There was a feeling to that frigid metal against your skin that felt familiar, a yearning deep within you that had always been there but never awoken.

Not until now.

“Don’t test me, girl.”

“No, Wyatt.” Your voice was low, like the growl of a cougar. Your dumb brother didn’t notice you reaching towards your vanity, to the pointed hair pic resting gently on the edge. It wasn’t a knife, but it would do.

They say poison was the weapon of women, but you figured anything could work if you gritted your teeth hard enough.

So grit your teeth you did. So hard you could hear them heaving and grinding against another, like the metal cogs of a train engine.

“You don’t test me.”

Wyatt took a step back. A floorboard creaked, from what- or who- you weren’t sure. All you knew was your red tinted vision, the thrumming pound drumming at the back of your head, was filling your mind with the promise of a fight.

“I have put up with you for so long. Your incessant bitching, your stupid fucking crocodile tears. I’ve put up with the abuse- from you and papa- and I’m sick of it. I’m sick of you. You know what doctor’s do when a sickness starts spreading? They get rid of it. And I’m going to get rid of you. You’re a fucking pain in my ass. A disease.”

You had never seen Wyatt go so wide eyed before, like a doe stuck at the end of a bowie knife, a rabbit lost in the woods. There was a bead of sweat forming at his temple, crinkles scrunching at the side of his dark eyes as he squinted, trying to make sense of what was going on in the world around him.

“You-….” He stood up straighter, cleared his throat louder. Wyatt’s eyebrows knitted tightly together as he gained his arrogance back again. “You on your period or something?” The chiding tone of his voice was enough to break that band.

One little gust of wind.

“That’s it!” You screamed out as your legs carried you, your mind completely on auto-pilot as your instincts guided you. In a matter of seconds Wyatt was on the floor, and the hair pic was lodged deep into the flesh of his cheek.

He cried out, a string of curses soon following. “You crazy bitch! You fuckin’ stabbed me!” He spit, a loose molar tumbling to the floor.

“I said don’t mess with me!”

“You’re fuckin’ crazy!” Wyatt easily wrestled you to the ground, shuffling around for his pistol as you struggled against his grasp. Unfortunately he was much stronger, and you held no power over him while he had the high ground.

You felt the cold barrel of his Colt on the temple of your eye, and for a moment you accepted your fate. At least you went out with a bang.

And there was indeed a bang, followed by a thud, and before you knew it, you were being suffocated with the body of your lifeless brother, your neck and face painted with the crimson of his blood.

Joel had no clue what had come over him.

He hadn’t felt protective like this for a very long time.

Not since her.

As he perched behind the cushy mattress, listening to you two bicker like a pair of angry birds, a wave of emotion rushed over him. A bit of fear, an unforeseen amount of admiration, and a twinge of…. well, something he didn’t really know the word for. Interest?

Interest? Joel shook his head to himself quietly. He wouldn’t. And even worse than that- he couldn’t.

Interest. In his line of work? Not a safe option, not a safe feeling.

Joel held his gun steady, ears perked like an alert dog, waiting for an opportunity. An opportunity for what exactly, well, he wasn’t quite sure.

When he heard your bodies tackle to the ground, he knew he had to do something about it. Before he could think about his next move, his mind shut off, and his gun was pointed right at Wyatt’s head.

Something within him could hardly stand it, seeing you there, wide eyed and covered in blood. His ears were ringing, the echo of the shot bouncing off the wooden walls of the house. It had been drowned out by the old church bells right across the street, signaling the turn of midnight, the noisy commotion of the late night saloon bustling about outside the frosted windows.

“Up.” Was all he could manage to get out, extending a gloved hand your way.

Fuck Tess. Fuck it all. He wasn’t going to kill you.

Because God above, were you even more breathtaking in person. He felt his stomach twist and knot around itself, his organs rearranging themselves at the mere sight of you. His palms grew sweaty behind his gloves, his heart slammed against his ribcage, begging for a prison escape.

He didn’t know what to do with all the emotion fluttering about behind his skin.

It was in that moment that Joel Miller decided he hated you.

The weight of a dead body was unlike anything you had ever felt before.

Your mouth was full with the taste of metal and gunpowder, your eyelashes cracking with drying viscera. It smelled like searing flesh, and your nostrils flared at the intrusion.

The strange man stood towering above you. Strong, capable, eyes hidden behind the brim of his dark Stetson.

“Up.”

It was a simple command. Covered in the previous life of your brother who easily wrestled you in to submission, you decided to take both his hand and his offer. It was one of the kinder interaction you had had today.

While rising to your feet, your eyes caught his own.

His eyes.

You had never seen a shade of umber so alluring before. Honeyed spheres full of coffee tinted orbs, his pupils wide and dilated with the rush of taking another man’s life. There was something dangerous about his eyes, something dark and distant, as though he had seen and partaken in unspeakable horrors, as though he had carried the entire weight of the world on his shoulders and survived to tell the tale.

He was a broken man, you knew it right off the bat. A broken man with nowhere else to go, or nothing else to do, except shoot people with bounties on their head.

Oh, you weren’t naive. It wasn’t the first time a man had been found hiding in your room, ready to take you. Why, kidnapping the Sheriff’s daughter for ransom would give them a pretty penny, wouldn’t it? But you have a murderous brother- correction, had- who didn’t mind hunting men down and killing them. Not because he cared about you, of course not, but because he loved the feeling of murder, he danced with the illustrious shadow of death.

That shadow came back to bite him in the ass, and you relished in watching him die.

Fuck Wyatt. Fuck that tool. He had tormented you your entire life and now he was gone.

You shook those thoughts away, returning to the gaze of the man before you. Something rumbled deep in your soul, something you had never felt before. A tug, a pull, towards the person who stood tall in front of you. You had never felt something so intense, so deep, in all your life. It’s like you were stuck in the waves of a tempestuous ocean, with no escape in sight and a mouthful of sea water clawing at the back of your throat.

You were drowning in those honeyed orbs, a gust of wind pulled you back down to reality.

Finally, you could speak. “I’m-”

“I know who you are.” His voice was raw and deep. You watched him wipe his bloodied gloves off on the denim of his pants, and you winced.

“Are you taking me somewhere?”

“Yes.”

For a moment you stopped. You could run out the door, it was three feet away. You could also pounce and grab Wyatt’s gun, it was right at your feet.

Or…. you could go with him. You could run away from the abuse, the suffocating town, the disgusting standards, the burden of having a social life in the public eye. You could prove a point to your father.

You could be your own person.

In that moment you decided that this man was going to be your ticket out of Ruby Springs.

“Can I change?”

“What?” Joel looked at you like you were crazy, a thick eyebrow raising with incredulousness at the sound of your statement.

“Can I change? I’m covered in blood. I want to put on a clean dress, it reeks of Wyatt.”

The unnamed cowboy sighed. “Fine. But be quick.”

You began the tedious process of stripping out of your layers, starting with the buttons on your sleeves. “And don’t think about looking.”

“I ain’t lookin’.” His voice was tired with annoyance, an echo of the man he once was. He turned around on his heel, staying true to his word with his broad back turned to you.

“What’s your name anyways, mister?”

“Why should I tell you?”

“I reckon you and I are going to be spending a bit of time together.”

He snorted, and you watched his shoulders rise and fall with a shrug. “Miller. Joel Miller.”

Your fingers stopped in their tracks, your body short circuiting as the name replayed in your mind, again and again.

Joel Miller.

The Joel Miller.

He was as famous as Billy the Kid, as notorious as Jesse James- he was an outlaw that everyone, even those fancy pants on the East Coast, knew of. And he was standing in your room.

Joel let out a sigh. “Your silence is loud, girl.”

“I just…” You paused for a moment as you flicked through your wardrobe. “I just…. my dad used to tell us stories about you when we were kids. He…. well-”

“Hates me?”

“Damn straight. Made it his life mission to hunt you down.”

“Well he ain’t that good at it. Considering I walked right in to his town.”

You laughed, slipping in to a chemise. “He’s gotten a bit stupid in his old age. Should I go and tell him you’re here? Give him a head start?”

You could have sworn you heard Joel chuckle, but a quick clearing of the throat masked whatever sound of amusement he could have made.

“Where are you taking me?”

“Don’t know yet.”

“You don’t know? That’s not how ransoms work, you know. This isn’t my first time being snatched up.” You held your head up high, buttoning up the front of your blouse.

“Doesn’t surprise me. Lot’s of hunters like your type.”

“My type?”

“Naive little girls with rich daddies. The kind that pay well.”

“Naive? Don’t make me laugh.”

“Don’t have to tell me twice. You’re definitely not naive. You put up a good fight with your brother.”

You had to learn to defend yourself at an early age. You had to hold your own. There were days you would walk back home from school with swollen eyes and cracked knuckles. By the time you hit puberty, your mother started dressing you up in the attire that good little girls from rich little families inside snooty little social circles wore. Dresses the color of poppies, shoes made from silk- it was all lovely, and you grew to love it all, but deep down you knew it wasn’t where you belonged.

You didn’t respond to Joel. You threw on your overskirt, slipping on your tired leather boots. “Ready.” You chirped.

Joel turned around on his heel, looking at you through his eyelashes. There was a short moment of silence before he picked your brother up and tossed him on your bed.

You winced. “Come on. Those sheets were clean.”

He ignored you, patting through his pockets. A few stray bullets and some loose change later, and you were sneaking out the back of your house.

“Can I go grab my horse?”

“That would defeat the purpose of a kidnappin’, girl.”

You rolled your eyes. “Please? I don’t want to leave Fritz here.”

“Fritz?” Joel scoffed at the name, staring you down.

“Please?”

Joel gritted his teeth, hissing out a shot of hot air. “Fine. But be quick or I’m shootin’ you too.”

You smiled a toothy grin, running off to the stables. You had appeared just as quick as you left, an all black stallion standing tall and proud. His mane was braided, and his soft nose was pink. He was a handsome specimen, standing out like a sore thumb beside the strawberry coated mustang.

“What’s her name?” You asked, following him closely on the path that lead out of the town. You noticed you were headed for the mountains.

“My horse?”

You nodded, before realizing he couldn’t see you. “Uh, yeah.”

Joel sniffed a bit. “She doesn’t have one.”

“Why not?”

“Because she’s just a damn horse.”

You rolled your eyes, running your fingers down Fritz’s soft neck. “She’s your companion. She trusts you more than anything, you know. She’s bonded to you, completely at your service, and you can’t even give her a name?”

“Will you just shut up? You’re yapping my ear off, woman. Kidnapee’s ain’t supposed to talk this damn much.”

“Well you ain’t never kidnapped someone like me, Joel Miller.”

As you rode in silence, the early morning thickness hanging in the air, the sound of cicadas lulled you deeper in to your thoughts. Thoughts of Wyatt, thoughts of the strange man riding in front of you.

The strange man who seemed so cold, so mean. And what kind of dick didn’t name their horse?

It was in that moment that you decided you hated Joel Miller.

tag list: @loliwrites @persephone-girl @ilovepedro @noisynightmarepoetry @moel-jiller @bensonispunk @obvitsclaire @redb1cpen @paanchusblog @joelalorian @dragonsanddragons

#studioghibelli #joel miller x reader #joel miller #joel miller x you #the last of us fic #joel miller the last of us #joel miller x y/n #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller au #joel miller fic #joel miller tlou #tlou au #joel tlou #tlou fic #tlou #tlou hbo #tlou fanfiction #cowboy au #western au

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penelopepine · 2 days

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Don't be a stranger! Pt. 8

Part 7 Part 8

Simon "Ghost" Riley x FemReader

Content: Neighbors AU, fluff, developing relationship, non-con drug use, light angst

Simon instantly felt his heart drop, “What do you mean she’s gone?” His voice was cold as he spoke. If Johnny is saying what he thinks he’s saying then someone is going to die today, that Simon can guarantee.

Before Soap can respond though a gunshot rings out. "Soap, where are you? What's happening?"

"We're at the small grocery store in town! Things here went from zero to hundred real quick; Beads is nowhere in sight."

Right away Simon is moving; he has to get to you. "What the hell were you two doing off base?"

"Just- I'll explain when-," Soap suddenly pauses , "Price?!"

"Soap, go 4 aisles down; Gaz is there with Beads." Price's voice suddenly cuts through the phone.

Price? Gaz? What were they doing there? An immediate uneasy feeling rises in his chest. This whole thing wasn’t making sense to him.

He could vaguely hear Soap speaking to Price. The only thing he could make out was the clear anger and confusion in his voice. Moments later Price’s voice comes through clear as day, he can only assume that Price took Johnny’s phone.

“Ghost, stay where you are.”

“Price what the fuck is happening?” Simon growled.

“Ghost.” Price took a deep breath before continuing, “It was all a set up. We planned for the possibility of Beads being targeted and taken once stepping off base. They did exactly what we thought they would do.”

He couldn’t fucking believe what he was hearing, “You used her as bait! Did you keep her in the dark too, or was I the only one that wasn’t given the truth?”

“You, Beads, and Soap weren’t told anything. The situation here is under control though now, and once we're back we can discuss more. Laswell is already waiting for you in the main meeting room; she’ll explain everything a bit more to you.”

Simon hung up. He didn’t want to hear anything more from him. If you’re hurt in any way there will be hell to pay. This whole plan shouldn’t have happened; much less with him not being told about it.

He almost wants to disobey Price, and go find you right now. The only thing stopping him is also wanting answers for what is happening. As much as he wants to be with you he knows that you're mostly likely on your way to him right now. So he turns and storms his way to Laswell.

Once reaching the meeting room he gives a sharp knock, but doesn't wait for an answer before opening the door anyway. Laswell is sitting already with a serious look on her face. "Ghost, sit down. Let's talk about everything calmly."

Calm was the last thing he was feeling right now. All he wanted to do was yell; yell at everyone involved with making this plan. "Explain then." Simon sneered before sitting right across from her.

"On Monday Soap and Beads approached Price about leaving base to go to the grocery store. Beads apparently wanted to make a special meal for you, and Soap said that he would gladly accompany her."

"A Russian terror group broke into both of our flats. They know that she is connected to me. Leaving base shouldn't have even been considered." Simon argued back.

"She's been here for almost a month, Ghost. There has also been no other signs of them attempting to get to you."

Anger filled Simon's veins, "Of course there hasn't been any signs! They've been waiting for us to mess up, and this, sending her out there, was what they were waiting for."

Laswell doesn't react much to his anger; only giving him an unimpressed look, "We had no way of knowing that though, and we couldn't have kept her on base forever. Which is why when Price asked about what I thought about letting her leave I agreed, but not without planning for the possibility that they would attack her."

"Why wasn't I informed then?"

"We knew that you wouldn't have agreed to it. You would have gone with her in full gear; which would have only brought more attention to yourselves."

"And the reason for not telling Johnny then; the one who would have been right by her side if he had known?"

"Soap is amazing at what he does, but he is not an actor." That Simon could agree with; which is why he would have much rathered Johnny to be obviously lying to you, then him not there to protect you. “We had a small team following them the entire time. Price and Gaz were watching her the entire time.” He knew Laswell was trying to calm his nerves as much as she could right now. Simon knew though that the only thing that could calm him was seeing you; making sure that you’re alright.

“So Gaz training recruits and yours and Price’s meeting was a lie to keep me unassuming then?” He lets out an almost defeated sigh, “At least tell me she's alright.”

Laswell for the first time doesn’t answer him immediately. She seems to be taking a few moments to assess his emotions before answering, “Price called me before you arrived. She is safe, whole, alive, but she did end up getting hurt. One of the men grabbed her before injecting some kind of sleeping drug into her-.”

It was sudden ding from Laswell’s phone that stopped her from continuing. She took a few minutes to write them a message back before finally turning her attention back to him.

"She's here."

Simon didn't wait to see if she had anything else to say before he was standing and walking out of the room to the med bay area. He feels guilty; he knows that he had no way of helping you avoid this since he wasn't told of the plan. You had been there though because of him; you had apparently wanted to do something special for him.

If he could he'd go back and tell you that just being around him is all he needs because you are special to him.

He's vaguely aware that Laswell is following him. Simon isn't interested in speaking to her anymore though. The only thing that matters is making sure you're ok with his own eyes; everything else can wait.

Which is why he immediately goes to just walk past Price who was clearly waiting for him in front of the med bay doors.

"Ghost." Price puts his hand on Simon's shoulder stopping him from entering.

Simon knows that he could break Price's hold and continue on his way; he stops though, willing to give him one chance to explain his piece. "Price."

“I know you’re upset, Ghost, and you honestly should be. Believe me though when I say that we were watching her the entire time. She got hurt, yes, but there was no way I was going to allow them to leave that building with her.”

He trusts Price, trusts him with his life. Simon also knows that Price wouldn’t lie straight to his face about something like this, “I want to be included from this point forward. I don’t care if you think I’ll disagree. I need to be involved when it comes to her.”

“I promise.” Price says with sincerity, “Now would you like to see her? She’s being taken care of right now; we can go to her room if you want to.”

Simon doesn’t say anything else, only nods his head. The sooner he can see you the sooner he can finally breathe again.

Laswell during all of this had been silently typing away on her phone. "John, Ghost, I'll leave you two here. The men from the grocery store are ready for questioning. I'll call on either of you if needed. Hopefully this can end the whole situation," she pointedly looks towards Simon now, "You and your friend will be able to walk freely if so." She then turns and walks down the hall away from them.

Placing a hand on Simon's shoulder, Price directs them back to the doors, "Let's go."

Price led them inside down the white sterile halls of the med bay till they reached your room. “Are you ready to go inside?”

Without answering he pushes past and into the room. Then there you were, lying down asleep in a standard hospital bed. A doctor was also there standing next to you writing some things down on her clipboard.

“Ghost, this is Dr. Withers, she has been the one taking care of her.”

The doctor gives them both a nod, “She’s doing well. We’ve already done a blood test, and nothing except the obvious seems wrong.” Looking down at her clipboard she flips through a couple pages, "It seems they weren't able to inject very much of the drug; she'll be in and out for a few hours, but she should be waking up soon." With that she leaves them alone with you.

In the silence that follows Simon makes his way to your side, sitting down next to you, placing his hand near yours. Price stands at the end of your bed, but his attention is solely focused on Simon. "You really care about this girl don't you?"

"…I love her." He whispered to himself, but it was clear as day for everyone in the room to hear.

Simon couldn't believe that he actually said it. He's been fighting with himself about what he was going to do about it, debating ignoring the feeling all together. In the end though this wasn't something he could run from. He loved you.

“You love me…?” Your gravelly voice calls out.

Note: Ahhhh I finally getting this chapter out! Thank you for reading this far. I also hope you have enjoyed the series as much as I have. The next chapter will most likely be the last update on this.

Also a special thank you to @nexthyperfix for beta reading this chapter for me!

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@shizukunora

#x reader #task force 141 #simon riley x reader #call of duty #simon ghost riley #fem reader #female reader #ghost x reader #john price #john soap mactavish

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burntheedges · 2 days

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Maintenance Request Epilogue

Joel Miller x f!reader 18+ | ao3 | main post & chapter list chapter word count: 986

a/n: well, y'all. We made it. 😭 I hope you enjoy this peek into our favorite couple's lives. Thank you all so much for reading.

I have loved seeing all of your reactions and answering your asks about the fic this week (please keep sending more for the celebration if you'd like!). There will be more asks going up today and I'm linking them on the masterlist for the fic as I post them.

I'm getting emotional again. Thank you all. You're the best and I mean that so sincerely. 🧡 and thank you, as always, to @katareyoudrilling 🧡 I think we'll be back to visit these two (I've already got plans for something about Joel finding the poem from Ch 23 thanks to an ask from @toomanytookas) but this is it for the main story. (Also, today is my birthday, so thank you for celebrating with me.)

chapter tags/warnings: fluff, flirting, cuddling, pet names (darlin', honey, baby), allusions to smut

Epilogue

Saturday, May 10 Summer Break

It was a beautiful late spring day, with a light breeze rustling through Joel’s back garden. You stood on the back porch and turned your face to the sun, smiling at the view.

You were tired – you’d lifted so many boxes already that day, you couldn’t bring yourself to even consider opening any of them right now. As you tried and failed to will yourself to at least make a plan, you felt Joel step up behind you. He slid his arms around your waist and tucked his face into your neck.

“I like the way you look on this porch, darlin’. The way your stuff looks in the house. Our house.” He pressed a soft kiss to your neck. “Looks right.”

You grinned and leaned into him. “Well, that’s good, considering it’s way too late to change your mind now. All my books are here.” He huffed a laugh into your neck. “Once we mix them in with yours there’s no turning back. Gave up my keys and everything.” He pressed his smile into your neck in response.

You’d agreed to move in after the semester ended. Tommy, Beth, and Maria had helped, though they’d just left a few minutes ago – Tommy and Maria to return the moving truck, and Beth to pick up dinner. Tess had threatened Joel that he better have a housewarming party for you or else since she couldn’t make it.

You’d just gotten tired of lugging boxes around and stepped outside to see what Sarah, Ellie and Riley were up to. A sudden shout from the far end of the backyard drew your attention and you lifted up on your toes to try to see over Joel’s many plants.

He did the same, arms still wrapped around you, and asked, “any idea what those three hooligans are doing back there?”

You laughed. “Well, judging by the stuff they dragged back there with them, I have a pretty good idea.”

“Oh?” He nuzzled into your neck again, clearly not too concerned with their antics.

You nodded. “Mentos. And Diet Coke.”

He laughed, loud this time. “You’re kidding. They just discovered that old trick?”

“Seems so.”

“Feels like a different student tries it every term, so I guess I’m not surprised.” He sighed. “At least if they do it back there we don’t really have to clean it up, much.”

You elbowed him a little. “My thoughts exactly.” You were both quiet for a moment and you felt Joel relax into position behind you, leaning against the wall of the house and drawing you backwards to lean on him.

“You think Elllie’s got a plan for her room, yet?” He sounded concerned, but you knew it was because he was anxious to help her however he could.

“Yeah, she wants to freehand it. Some kind of mural.”

“Sounds like it’ll probably be pretty impressive. We can get her some paints, maybe tomorrow.”

You smiled at his offer. “Poor Tommy, kicked out of his room.”

Joel laughed at your words, but you felt him shake his head. “He’s busy with Maria, he don’t mind. Got better things to worry about these days.” You hummed, agreeing. “You know, darlin’, we got about half an hour before any of them get back.” He punctuated his statement with a quick nip to your neck and a thrust of his hips.

You snorted. “Joel Miller, are you propositioning me? In front of the kids?” You waved your arm towards the back of the yard.

He huffed a laugh into your neck. “They can’t hear us and I’ve been dying to get you alone all day. Honey, you live here now. You aren’t going to leave later because you’re already home. It’s driving me crazy just thinkin’ about it.”

You let your head fall back on his shoulder and grinned. “Half an hour, huh? Not a lot of time.”

He started pressing soft kisses down the side of your neck and you squirmed against him. “Enough time to make you come on my mouth, baby.”

You started to turn in his arms, already giving in, when there was a sudden, whooshing eruption and shrieks coming from the back of the yard. You laughed. “Sounds like they figured it out.”

“Hmm, let’s worry about that later.” He grinned at you as he started to walk backwards into the house, taking your hands in his to lead you. “We got things to do and the clock is ticking.”

Both of you started giggling as you dashed up the stairs. You almost fell into his (your) room and caught yourself on the dresser. He grinned at you as he closed the door before grabbing you by the waist to guide you onto the bed. “Pants off, darlin’. Let me show you how happy I am to have you home.”

Home. You smiled and did as he asked.

He was right, after all. You were home.

…

...Then love comes, like a sudden flight of birds from earth to heaven after rain. Your kiss, recalled, unstrings, like pearls, this chain of words. Huge skies connect us, joining here to there. Desire and passion on the thinking air. -- From “Rapture” by Carol Ann Duffy

It was like getting a love letter from a tree Eyes closed forever to find you— There is a life which if I could have it I would have chosen for myself from the beginning -- “The Poem” by Franz Wright

...

a/n: thank you all. 🧡

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#joel miller x reader #joel miller x you #joel miller x f!reader #joel miller fic #joel miller fanfiction #tlou fic #x reader #maintenance request fic #JHCGBDM

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woso-dreamzzz · 39 minutes

Text

Injured (Jenni's Version): Future

Grace Clinton x Reader

Summary: You need to leave

"Mami! Mami! Mami!"

You smile slightly, continuing to pack your suitcase as your son lays back on your bed.

"Yes, my James?"

He grins at you. "Can I come?"

You shake your head. "You know you can't."

"But why?"

"Because Paris is a long way away from Lyon." You add another set of pointe shoes to your bag. "And I need you to do a very special job for me."

You sit down on the bed, patting the spot next to you.

James is more than happy to crawl towards you, leaning close to hear his special job.

"You're a very responsible boy, aren't you?"

He nods. "I helped Mummy pick up Ollie's poo yesterday on our walk!"

Ollie's your family dog. Grace had gotten him for you when the first two rounds of ivf didn't take and you'd been so down about it. You were right in the middle of your third round and losing hope when Grace had come home with a German Shepherd puppy.

You called Ollie your good luck charm because two weeks after you'd successfully potty trained him, you fell pregnant with your other golden boy, James.

"That's very responsible!" You tell him," Because I need a very responsible boy to help me out."

"I'm responsible! I'm responsible! What is it?"

"I need you to be in charge of the house while I'm gone," You tell him," That's why you can't come with. You've got to make sure Mummy doesn't order takeout every day and cleans up Olivia's toys when she's done playing."

Olivia's the other light of your life, your nearly one year old daughter.

You didn't particularly want to leave either of them but you'd been called up by the Paris Opera Ballet to be their guest Principal for one of the shows they were putting on and you loved dancing in their venue.

Originally, you were going to say no but Grace pushed you to accept. She was more than capable of looking after both of the kids at once.

"I'll make sure Mummy eats healthy and cleans up!" James tells you," Can I go tell her I'm in charge while you're gone?"

"I'm sure she would love that."

James goes bursting out of the room and you take the time to finish packing.

Ollie whines a little as you zip up the bag.

"I'm sorry, Ollie," You say, gently stroking his head," You know I'll back soon."

Ollie's the family dog, technically, but, secretly, you know he's yours. He had been incredibly protective over you when you were pregnant with Livy and he had been super excitable as a puppy when you were pregnant with James.

Fully grown now, he loved being in the same room as you. He adored the kids and Grace, of course, but you had always been his person.

Frankly, you were getting a little worried he was lonely in the house alone all day so you and Grace had been in talks about getting Ollie his own puppy.

It was only fair to Olivia as well.

Ollie grew up with James. It's only right to have a puppy for Olivia to grow up with too.

But, that was a conversation for when you got back and after your planned trip to Spain in the summer.

It would be nice, you think, to have a puppy for Ollie to be the best big brother too just like how James is the best big brother to Livy.

Ollie follows you down the stairs, his favourite tennis ball in his mouth as you start pulling your suitcase down.

Grace appears at the bottom, hurrying up to swap the bag with Livy and carry it the down for you.

"Careful, beautiful," She says as you swap," You don't want to strain anything before you go on stage." She winks at you and you roll your eyes.

"Did James tell you I've left him in charge?"

"He did," Grace replies with a grin," I think he's already planning on demanding Big Bed access."

"Don't let him," You remind her but your wife just shrugs.

"I don't know. He's making a convincing case. Says that it would be cold without you and he should be there to warm it up."

"If you get him in the habit of sleeping in our bed while I'm away, Grace Clinton, then you're in trouble and I'm choosing what breed the next puppy is."

"Oh, come on!" Grace is laughing though so you know she isn't taking your empty threats too seriously. "Cab's here though. You finished up just in time."

"Okay." You pull on your coat surprisingly well for someone balancing a baby in the other arm.

You litter kisses all over Livy's face as Grace calls James to the door.

"I'll miss you, Mami," He tells you and you crouch down to give him kisses too.

"I'll miss you too, James," You say," I love you, baby."

"Love you too."

He curls into your arms and your rock him side to side softly before pulling away.

"Remember, you're in charge, okay? So I want you to boss around Mummy and make her eat healthy, deal?"

He nods. "Deal."

"I'll see you in a week, amor," You tell Grace, pecking her lips a few times and laughing when she tries to chase your kiss each time.

"Love you, beautiful."

"Love you too."

#woso x reader #grace clinton x reader #grace clinton #woso community #woso imagine #woso fanfics #woso

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yazthebookish · 8 hours

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Why an Elucien rejected bond storyline would be boring

Years ago Sarah briefly discussed Elain and Lucien's mating bond, she changed her plans from having Nesta as Lucien's mate to Elain since she saw there is a great deal of tension, growth and healing to be found for both of them (together).

In my opinion, we are currently seeing them go through the tension stage where there is this distance and strain on both of them due to recent events. Lucien was sexually assaulted by Ianthe and he is settled in the human lands to support Vassa and Jurian. While Elain has to mourn her human life and also the rejection of Graysen (who used the bond against her) + she also grieved her father. It's pretty reasonable for her to feel that resentment and hostility towards the existence of her mating bond with Lucien.

Part 1: As of ACOSF, does Lucien want Elain or did he move on to Vassa?

He and Lucien did not exchange gifts, though the male had brought a gift for Feyre and one for his mate, who barely thanked him after opening the pearl earrings. Cassian's heart strained at the pain etching deep into Lucien's face as he tried to hide his disappointment and longing. Elain only shrank further into herself, no trace of that newfound boldness to be seen.

I won't make this part long because it's right there in the text. His longing. He still longs for Elain. He still tries. If he is so occupied and in love with Vassa, what is he doing spending Winter Solstice at Velaris to give his mate a gift instead of the woman he apparently "loves".

"But he lives with Vassa!"

The concept of friends sharing a house does not necessarily mean they're all hooking up, unless Lucien's comment on Vassa and Jurian liking to be at each other's throats is to be taken literal (and he's the third wheel in that scenario). I firmly believe Vassa and Jurian would end up together.

It's clear Lucien has eyes for one female only and that's his mate.

Part 2: Lucien doesn't want the bond and he can't stand it

And that's when arguments are formed based on out of context quotes, because context always matters to get the full picture.

But there she was. His mate. She was nothing like Jesminda. Jesminda had been all laughter and mischief, too wild and free to be contained by the country life that she’d been born into. She had teased him, taunted him—seduced him so thoroughly that he hadn’t wanted anything but her. She’d seen him not as a High Lord’s seventh son, but as a male. Had loved him without question, without hesitation. She had chosen him. Elain had been … thrown at him.

Is it not valid for him to feel conflicted about this entire situation because he is still processing the fact that the female who he fell in love with, who had chosen him, saw him, and accepted all of him, who was beheaded because she loved him, is not his mate? but this stranger is? He is trying to make sense of it. He doesn't know Elain yet.

Looking at her now … She was pale, yes. The vacancy still glazing her features. But he couldn’t breathe as she faced him fully. She was the most beautiful female he’d ever seen. Betrayal, queasy and oily, slid through his veins. He’d said the same to Jesminda once. But even as shame washed through him, the words, the sense chanted, Mine. You are mine, and I am yours. Mate.

His feelings and thoughts and instincts are all clashing at once. That is much evident in this entire scene.

"I can't stand to be in the same room as her for more than two minutes. I can't stand to be in this court and have your mate pay for the very clothes on my back."

This is often taken out of context to point out that Lucien doesn't want the mating bond or he can't stand to be around Elain. As a mated male, it's overwhelming for him to be around her because his instincts clash and he has to keep himself grounded around her. He doesn't know yet how to approach her or what she expects of him. It's extremely awkward and he can't stand it because he still didn't find a common ground with her.

Using this quote to imply he doesn't like her or stand her is absolutely false within the narrative.

I think so. It wasn't just about what he thought—it was the ... feeling. I sensed no ill will, no conniving. Only concern for her. And ... sorrow. Longing.

Part 3: Lucien is responsible for her trauma

Hard disagree on this one.

Even canon points out that the one who told the King of Hybern about Feyre's sisters was none other than Ianthe. This is not to defend Tamlin because he gave her an opening to do whatever she liked and did not hold her accountable in ACOWAR.

Now about Lucien, what power did he have over Tamlin's decisions when we have seen that despite being his friend, there is a power imbalance and Tamlin does lash out at Lucien. Lucien is not a character without flaws, but neither Feyre nor Nesta ever blamed Lucien. Even when Elain says to his face that he betrayed them, Lucien immediately says it was a mistake. He doesn't try to absolve his role in it or explain his actions to her, he calls it as it is.

I disagree with the statement that he is responsible for her trauma, Lucien was nothing but a spectator.

"But, but, he yelled at her and announced that they were mates!"

Cassian again stirred—trying to rise, to answer Nesta’s voice as she held my sister and cried her name again and again. But Elain was staring over Nesta’s shoulder. At Lucien—whose face she had finally taken in. Dark brown eyes met one eye of russet and one of metal. Nesta was still weeping, still raging, still inspecting Elain— Lucien’s hands slackened at his sides. His voice broke as he whispered to Elain, “You’re my mate.”

Right. He yelled at her.

Great reading comprehension.

And it's like we forgot when Rhys said the moment the bond snapped between him and Feyre, if he stayed a second longer he would've damned the consequences and took her with him. As soon as he winnowed back to Velaris the first word he said to Mor after 50 years was "she's my mate".

"Well he shouldn't have said it anyways"

Yeah because it's not like Lucien is a Fae male and the mating bond is something that alters the Fae on a biological level. It overrides their instincts.

Part 4: Elain choosing the mating bond + Lucien will be a disservice to her arc, it won't be a choice unless she chooses Azriel

“but it definitely offers a wealth of things to explore with this concept of freewill and what is true love. Is it something that’s destined? Or is it something that you make? Is it both?”

I like that Sarah briefly discussed the topic of a character's agency when it comes to mating bonds because it's something that has long been discussed in the fandom.

However, I disagree that if Elain chose Lucien it's not truly a "choice" because of the mating bond. We have seen with both Feyre and Nesta that they didn't choose to be with Rhys and Cassian simply because of the bond, the mating bond was just the cherry on top—they loved their mates for who they were.

"Elain's entire journey will be about choice"

Isn't she already making a choice? Isnt she choosing not to pursue the bond? Isnt she choosing to ignore the bond? Isn't she choosing to not reject it? Isn't she choosing how she is living her life in Velaris? Isn't she choosing how she spends her time? Isnt she choosing to garden and help other gardens in Velaris? And I can go on.

Neither Elain or Lucien had a choice in being mated to each other, but the notion that the mating bond left her with no agency over her life is partially incorrect because she is making choices. Yes, the mating does in a way take some of Elain's agency and Lucien's agency since it's something that alters them on a soul-level, but Lucien's agency is often removed from this conversation.

Currently, the ball is in Elain's court and not Lucien's. She currently has the choice of accepting or rejecting the bond.

And in my opinion, "choice" is a theme that is incorporated in the journeys of all the characters, it's not exclusive to Elain. I don't think "choice" is the core of her story because I think Elain's journey should focus on breaking out of the docile and gentle sister mold (not that she stops being gentle, but stopping others from infantilizing her), finding where she truly belongs, realizing who her true found family are, discovering the world (a trip to the continent let's go!).

Part 5: Azriel (warning: controversial)

This will be a bit of a hot topic but I'll do my best to keep it short (it really isn't).

This kind of follows Part 4, but I will tell you why Azriel isn't a "great" choice for Elain.

Yes, they had a sweet companionship and a friendship and that is usually a good foundation for a relationship, but to me there wasn't anything solid or deeper then that. We have to *assume* they had moments off-page, but we also know that they're not spending time together and Azriel confirmed this. So am I going to wait for chapters of flashbacks after flashbacks to see that build up from the past?

Before anyone jumps the gun, I am a hardcore Gwynriel and a hardcore Azriel fan and I fully understand and accept that Azriel is a flawed character who carries so much self-loath. I dont like him with Elain because I believe it's an unhealthy dynamic compared to how lighter and more open he is around Gwyn and this is not something against Elain, it's more tied to how Azriel perceives the logic of 3 sisters + 3 brothers. Dynamics matter and makes a difference between couples because e.g., Chaol and Yrene worked better than Chaol and Celaena. Mismatched pairings exist but it doesn't mean the characters involved wouldn't work out with others.

So how is the male that centered himself in his entire conversation with Rhys instead of prioritizing what Elain wants, is the ultimate choice?

He argued that the Cauldron was wrong because he didn't get the "third" sister while his brothers got her other sisters, and at this point we know Elain is not interested in a mating bond. If she is attracted to Azriel, it has nothing to do with wanting a bond with him because we know how she feels about it but it's Azriel who wants to center the mating bond in it.

So does that mean the relationship from Azriel's perspective wouldn't be complete without a mating bond? Then why is he arguing about this? Wouldn't it be more romantic for him to say I don't care if she is mated or not, I want her for her—but that's not the case here.

Notice that it's Azriel having these discussions about mating bonds and not Lucien who is her mate. and I promise you if it was Lucine having this exact discussion with Rhys, the entire fandom would drag him to no end.

Back to Azriel, so he also says that he hadn't gotten that far with his planning certainly not beyond the fantasies he pleasured himself to + and said Lucien is not good enough for her and she has not interest in him anyways. Again, he is speaking for Elain when we know one of the big problems surrounding Elain is how others speak for her and assume what she needs. If she doesn't want the mating bond, that's her speech and not Azriel's. I still don't get how people were fine with him speaking for her and I'm not even the biggest Elain fan.

Last but not least, he also was against her scrying despite publicly declaring that no one decides what she can or cannot do and wants to help. Is this truly the "ultimate choice" for Elain? But Lucien's only crime is being mated to her?

Part 6: finally, why Elain and Lucien rejecting the mating bond would be bad storytelling.

So we know that a bond can be rejected, only weakened but it will always exist.

"Elain would have our full protection if she rejects the bond. But it will still be a bond, however weakened, that will trail her for the rest of her existence."

"But he'd know if Nesta were dead. In his heart, his soul, he'd sense it. Would feel it. A mate always did. Even if she'd rejected that bond."

1. There isn't enough time to explore a rejection:

It seems there isn't a ritual or a tradition we are told of about a mating bond rejection, if the female doesn't want it then that's that but it does have a worse impact on males.

As of ACOSF, it's evident Lucien still longs for Elain even if they are distant or occasionally see each other. We know Elain resents the bond but we still don't have her POV to really know what she thinks of Lucien.

What do we get out of a rejected bond with Elain and Lucien? That she just doesn't want him and can say "no"? That she finally has a choice? Even though she is making choices as of the current canon to not explore the mating bond or do anything? I gave examples in Part 4.

And then what? Lucien moved on to Vassa or another female in the next book? That despite a rejection being devastating he's all cool and moved on within months.

No stakes. No challenges. No reprecussions. No consequences. Nothing interesting.

"But it's proof that not every mated pairing works" that would be interesting if we had enough time to discover that but not with two characters that barely spoke to each other and readers have no clue to what kind of dynamic they have.

A rejected mating bond would not be a good story to tell because there wasn't much there to begin with. It's underwhelming.

"I don't want it" "okay cool see you around" < and that's it? Groundbreaking.

"It's a big factor to play into a forbidden romance because Rhys is the obstacle here" easily resolved with one word from Elain and Rhys is removed.

I think Elain and Lucien's mating bond would still be interesting to read about because we never had a mated pairing that knew they were mates but weren't in love yet.

It's giving an arranged marriage trope and the best part about arranged marriage is when the spouses get to know to each other better, they fall harder—I think the tension between Eain and Lucien would be quite delicious and fun to read about as they tip toe around each other and the mating bond.

2. Parallel journeys:

I like what Mor said in ACOFAS and it makes complete sense since it reaffirms that both Elain and Lucien are going on parallel journeys:

Mor drank deeply from her glass. "Stay out of She's not ready, and neither is he, no matter how many presents he brings."

I lifted a brow. "Snoop."

Mor leaned back against the steps, utterly un-repentant. "Let him live with his Band of Exiles. Let him deal with Tamlin in his own way. Let him figure out where he wants to be. Who he wants to be. The same goes with her."

3. Promised HEAs:

SJM already stated that each book going forward will follow different pairings and by the end of their book they'll get their HEA. That's the standard traditional romance formula.

A mate rejection, especially in standalone books, are miserable. Not enough time is given to navigate through it or move on and it also sets an unrealistic and cheap outcome that the other mate could easily move on from the soul-level rejection. No, that doesn't entitle a mate to force their other mate to accept the bond because it would affect them personally, it's just something I think that needs more than a book to discover through the POVs of the characters involved.

This is why a mate rejection is a very rare and an unpopular trope in fiction. There was a temporary mate rejection in the Zodiac Academy series that scarred the ZA fandom because it's depressing.

You have Fated Mates authors like Kresley Cole who published around 21 books with each book including the Fate Mate trope. That's one of ACOTAR's trademark.

Till this day, every SJM character that found out about the mating bond ended up with their mate one way or another. It's an SJM trademark at this point.

4. Then which rejected bond would Sarah explore?

In my opinion, the true rejected bond story that would be extremely emotional, tragic and powerful is the story of Helion and Lady of Autumn.

What they had is the definition of a forbidden romance. Lady of Autumn was married to a High Lord from her Court and Helion wasn't even a High Lord of the Day Court then.

The stakes are extremely high they could've triggered a war between Day Court and Autumn Court. Even though a mating bond triumphs marriage, Lady of Autumn still has children with Beron. She chose her children over her mate in the end. She had to reject the bond because everything stood against them.

While this is currently theoretical but it's strongly pointed at in canon that they're mates.

This makes for a better story of a Rejected Mating Bond because enough time passed to see what were the repercussions, the consequences of their actions and how they both suffered. Do they find their way back to each other in the end or does one of them for whatever reason loses their life? Did Helion have to seek other people to distract him from not being with his mate and her not choosing him? Did their bond weaken?

Conclusion:

I didn't expect this to be long but I hope you enjoyed reading this "essay". The rejected mates storyline is controversial and so many readers feel strongly about it. Everything here reflects my own thoughts and why I think a Rejected Mating bond wouldn't be an interesting one to discover with Elain and Lucien.

I deserve another cup of coffee and on my way to get me one haha. I apologize for any typos in advance.

#elucien

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snivyartjpeg · 24 hours

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Yuma Month Day 26 - Role Swap

god i was excited for this one. it first started off as a joke, but the more i thought about it, the more interesting this swap became. so here's my massive lore dump of changes that'd happen in the story beneath the cut (spoiler warning):

i think, fundamentally, yuma and yakou are very similar characters. they're both very protective and kindhearted, with a strong sense of justice and a penchant for attracting terrible luck. because of this, some things would remain the same, such as the NDA's dynamics with their doormat chief as well amnesia!yakou's massive unpaid intern energy. i think yakou would be pretty similar to how he behaved in the light novel- a bit more optimistic and naive, like yuma. but there are two key differences between them that'd make this a different story, especially in ch 4: yuma has a forte, and yakou is very selfish. so here's some changes:

yakou's wife is his shinigami now, as you can see, while shinigami is yuma's dead wife. i think mrs furio would act cooler than shinigami. she'd still be playful, but she takes her job more seriously. also she hands yakou the solution keys normally without throwing up. they still have to do the dance and mouth sword thing tho. and the other stuff. that's just death god protocol

shinigami (or in this case the unnamed Mrs. Kokohead but i will still be calling her shinigami for convenience sake) was a scientist at amaterasu who studied forensics and thanatology instead of regenerative medicine. this also means that the pill she gives zombie yuma is not going to bring him back, but instead grant the zombie homunculi a peaceful, painless, but permanent death

speaking of zombie yuma, he's the homunculus now! yakou is 100% human and also doesnt have a forte. he's still number one, but instead of having a forte he's just that good at solving mysteries

yes this means makoto looks like yakou now. sorry makotoheads. i think he'd have really long, shaggy hair dyed to be like. idk. black or something. also he's more clean shaven bc stubble with a mask on is a sensory nightmare

yuma still cant cook. he subsists entirely on takeout, meat buns, black coffee, and beer. he's still in a lot of debt and under a lot of stress and his personality is essentially "what if canon number one just gave up"

he doesn't smoke though. he tried once and got into the worst coughing fit

imma say it right now. kurumi is not a love interest. yakou likely disguises himself as a faculty member instead (also i think one of the teachers gets a crush on fem yakou bc i just know she'd be hot)

ANYWAY what about chapter 4? im SO glad you asked! because here's where things get spicy!

so, lets start with the dead wife. shinigami catches onto huesca's inhumane research and she's just as adamant about bringing the truth to light as she always is. she blows the whistle, so he blows her up. yuma investigates, but they dont let him look any further, yada yada, yuma stews in his misery for five years

yomi sends in the evidence to motivate yuma to kill huesca, and makoto lets it happen because a dead huesca would be convenient. he even introduces the hitman, fully expecting yuma to make use of him

yuma doesnt. in fact, he wants to kill huesca with his own hands. and now that these detectives are here, he can do it and even return alive. the thing is, he doesn't want to put them in danger, so he chooses to do almost everything alone (sound familiar?)

his plan is simple:

ask desuhiko for a peacekeeper uniform. desuhiko trusts him enough to take "i want to investigate kanai ward's ultimate secret by infiltrating their ranks" as an answer. he does, however, let yakou know about this as an offhand comment before the mystery ever begins

hold fubuki's hand. it doesnt really matter how. she'll gladly allow it because she's fubuki. he stores her time powers and heads out the sub. yakou also learns this as an offhand comment played off as a joke (maybe fubuki affectionately comments about how she never expected the chief's hands to be so soft... idk. there has to be some way for yakou to have this as a future clue)

use his peacekeeper status to sneak into amaterasu HQ and demand a functioning ama-pal from that one creepy researcher

use ama-pal + fubuki's borrowed powers to bypass huesca's security. sneak the bot past the hard-of-hearing doctor and press the button to shut off security

this would probably alert huesca, but since the doctor never received a warning, yuma has enough time to rush in and stab him before he realizes what's going on

leave HQ while still in uniform, dispose of the disguise once he's safe, and return to the NDA like nothing happened. success!

soooo.... yakou, on that same day, decides to investigate amaterasu HQ with makoto

all the while, vivia has his suspicions about yuma's actions and keeps an eye on him in spectral mode. he... basically witnessed the whole thing, so he gets up off his ass and decides to follow yakou to the lab because he has a Very Bad Feeling about this

just like canon, he senses the death god and deduces that our protag has been killing off murderers, and so he wants to protect his chief as well as his peace and quiet (his dynamic with yuma would be the same as his dynamic with yakou, since it's entirely believable for yuma to treat vivia with the same kindness yakou did)

yakou tries to speak to huesca, but surprise! security is disabled and he's dead in the lab! no one else at amaterasu liked huesca enough to check on him, so yakou and makoto are the first ones at the scene of the crime. yakou, of course, decides to start investigating this murder

vivia somehow sneaks into the lab (dont ask me how) and confronts yakou, threatening him with his boxcutter and adamantly imploring him to stop pursuing this particular mystery in the same way he did yuma in canon. unfortunately, this attracts attention, and now they're in trouble (maybe even yomi's there to fetch his files). at this point, yakou has enough solution keys, so he panics and goes right into the labyrinth (and maybe others can enter for another reason that isnt coalescence idk)

so... they go in the labyrinth... vivia tries to stop him every step of the way, until the answer is right in front of them

yakou kills yuma with his own hands. there's no stab wounds or toxic gas to leave any doubt. yakou begins to question what good his justice really does. it doesnt even save them from their predicament, just like the other deaths. instead, makoto ex machina comes in to save them, and hands yakou a small black box

when they return to the agency, everyone is heartbroken over their chief, who seemingly died out of nowhere. fubuki tried rewinding time, but to no avail. halara tried everything to wake him up, knowing it's futile. desuhiko stood aside, feeling completely helpless. and yakou and vivia return looking like they just came back from hell

they barely get the chance for a funeral before the knockout gas trap activates... you know the rest

AAAAND SCENE! so that's my extremely long winded lore dump about this au. i thought about it Way Too Much but god it's so interesting to me. i love these characters and swapping them was immensely fun

#rain code #mdarc #raincode #master detectives archives: rain code #yuma kokohead #yakou furio #desuhiko thunderbolt #shinigami #yumagami #kokogami #yakou's wife #rain code spoilers #mdarc spoilers #raincode spoilers

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bengiyo · 1 day

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Wandee Goodday Ep 4 Stray Thoughts

Last week, we got to see Dee and Yak getting mutual pleasure from their current arrangement before Wandee got embarrassed at work and decided to lie and say he had a new boyfriend. Dee asked Yak to be his fake boyfriend, but Yak refused on the grounds that they agreed to not get involved in each other's personal lives and also he didn't want to come out as a boxer. Dee ignored this resistance and then tried to trick Yak into spending time with him to get him to agree. Yak, ever the simp, acquiesced after Dee showed vulnerability. Also, we got more insight into Oyei and Cher, learning that Oyei took on debt during COVID, and Cher comes from a wealthy family. The two are a team and I love them.

Whoa are we opening on a nightmare memory?

Okay, I like this moment. If they're going to be friends with benefits, this is definitely a moment when Yak needed a friend.

Drake's tiddies is out. A gift for me and @happypotato48 and @yankeebastard who is here saying "Hey, Daddy."

Yes, Kao, ask that man direct questions. Now, throw Ter into the pool.

Poor Kwan. Ter seems more concerned with Dee than her.

NOT ROOM 666!!! THE DEVIL! This show said "Don't feel sorry for him. Even the Devil can feel a little bad when he got kicked out of heaven."

This show is so good. We cut beautifully to Yoryak enjoying the same offering Dee had given The Devil.

Very invested in these two talking about their crushes between their own tussles.

We got a new sign! "Be Available But Not For Everyone."

Be careful, Dee. Don't fall in love after telling him to practice confessing.

Interesting. I think Cher knows that Yak has plans beyond boxing and this gym. @yankeebastard thinks it might be a promise Yak made to his mom.

Cher is so gentle and careful with Yak. He lets Yak tell him what he needs to say with such sensitive prodding.

Not Yak getting horny listening to Dee exert himself and remembering their hookups.

The editors are doing a great job with the audio cues this week.

Wow, Taem is clearly a leader of Team Tote Bag.

Hold your ankles? Definitely not the first time Yak has been told that, among other things, I'm sure.

Dee, you gotta sort yourself when it comes to Yak.

I love that Oyei is always trying to get Cher in the shower with him.

Kao jumped up quick at the tea, and is so real for wanting to choke Dee out.

Keeping track of these two almost forgetting themselves and kissing. Excellent gay content.

The Devil is back and he is jealous. I hate this man. He meant it before when he said he didn't like men or Dee. Fuck this guy.

The whole gym is judging them and I love it.

Why wear your gym shirts if you don't want to be seen?

Oyei and Cher judging them together is so important to me.

Very smooth of Cher to just talk them out of the conversation about the parents.

David was correct about the mom.

Yes, scratch his back. I love the use of metaphor on this show.

Poor Kwan. I'm glad she can see through Ter.

I love Kao. Tell your friend is he embarrassing both of you.

Kao said try out my new line of products

Yoryak thought he was outside of the MySpace top 8 and got his feelings hurt.

I really liked the way they handled this HPV PSA. Good job, BL.

That was a solid episode. I like that they're tackling the blurring of the lines in the relationship explicitly, and I like that Dee recognizes that he's jealous. It's interesting having The Devil call out the relationship as fake and be right and wrong. I wanna think about the parents for a bit, because Cher checking that Oyei was okay with Yoryak felt pointed.

#Ben watches #wandee goodday #thai bl #bl series

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joelalorian · 2 days

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Petals of Affection - Part III

A floral mystery in three parts, featuring Jackson!Joel x f!reader

Summary: A secret admirer gifts you a different flower and a riddle ten times before you put the clues together and discover that he's been right in front of your face the whole time.

Written for @morallyinept's Flora & Fauna challenge. Please check out all the wonderful works created in Jett's honor!

Word count: 3,049

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, fluff, kissing, f!oral, unprotected p in v (it's 20 years into the fucking apocalypse), it's not stated, but I envision Joel having been snipped pre-outbreak, terms of endearment. POV flops around like petals in the wind. Reader has no established age or physical description aside from having hair that gets frizzy with humidity and often dirt-covered hands, because greenhouses, ya know? No use of y/n, none whatsoever.

Dividers courtesy of the wonderful @saradika-graphics. Gif chosen because of the wonderful floral wallpaper ;)

And this sweet little love story has come to an end. Thank you all for coming along for the ride! Your comments, likes, and reblogs are appreciated more than I could ever say.

Part I | Part II | Masterlist

Jasmine Orchid Eustoma Lavender Magnolia Iris Lily Lilac Eucalyptus Rose

JOEL MILLER

Joyful moments shared; the answer lies in the air.

Overwhelmed by your grace, the answer hides in this place.

Endless thoughts of you, the answer is in the view.

Lost in your scent, the answer is present.

Moments with you, the answer rings true.

In your eyes, the answer lies.

Lost in your beauty, the answer is a duty.

Longing for your touch, the answer means so much.

Evergreen thoughts of you, the answer is in the dew.

Remember my love for you, the answer is in you.

JOEL MILLER!

Maria’s eyes roved over your scribbled notes, a broad smile slowly spreading across her face at the underline beneath Joel’s name. “Took you long enough. I was beginning to question your intelligence, girl!”

Heat warmed your cheeks as you laughed, though you weren’t sure if it was due to embarrassment or the wine. “The answer was right in front of my face this whole time, I just couldn’t see it.”

Flopping back on the couch, you felt a bit overwhelmed. Ducking your head between your knees as you leant forward, you sucked in a few deep breaths before baring your soul to your best friend. “I wanted it to be him. I longed for it to be him. But I didn’t dare to hope that it would be him. Do you know what I mean?”

“I do.” Maria’s voice held nothing but understanding. “Hope could lead to despair if not met.”

“Exactly!” you exclaimed, poking your head up to meet her dark eyes. “I couldn’t handle the despair, so I couldn’t dare to hope.”

Maria settled onto the soft cushion next to you, one arm reaching out to rub your back soothingly. “You have nothing to fear now. Joel did all this, for you.” Her free hand gestured at the flowers and notes scattered across the table. “His feelings for you are so deep, so true, that he came up with this elaborate plan to show you instead of just telling you, like any normal person would.”

Pausing, Maria waited until you met her gaze again with a watery smile, wanting to make sure you understood the point she was making. Her eyes earnest and smile broad, she added, “He was afraid to hope, too. But he did and look what has come of it.”

Tears built up, threatening to spill over as you absorbed everything. Joel loved you, just as you loved him, his grand gesture proving it beyond a shadow of a doubt. He dared to hope when you didn’t and thank goodness he did. You two would still be dancing around each other for who the fuck knows how long otherwise.

You stood suddenly, feeling revived and eager to see Joel at once. “I need to see Joel. I need to tell him I feel the same way.”

“Well let’s go then! He’s probably at my house with Tommy.” Maria led the way out of your house after you both scrambled to put shoes on, marching with purpose down the quiet road under the cover of a clear, starry sky.

Despite the late hour, you needed to see Joel, to return his declaration of love now that he bared his heart and soul to you in such a clever, romantic way. Crisp air filling your lungs as you walked, you felt the effects of the wine wear off. You never felt so clear-headed, so full of promise, so full of love.

“Do you know what you’re going to say to him?” Maria asked as you neared her house. Bright lights shining through the curtains showcased the shadowy movements inside of the two men inside.

“Not a clue,” you admitted, suddenly nervous. “My brain hasn’t gotten that far yet. Fuck! What am I gonna say?”

“Well, you could always just walk in and kiss him. Just lay a big wet one right on his lips,” Maria suggested, the nearly full moon reflecting mischievously in her dark brown eyes. As your mouth dropped open, she added, “Yes! That’s exactly what you should do!”

“Well, in the absence of anything better…”

Laughter still bubbled from your bellies as you followed Maria up the front steps and into her home. Nearing sensory overload, every cell of your body vibrated with the burning need to lay eyes, hands, lips on Joel.

“Is that you, honey?” Tommy called from the living room. The two of you turned the corner into the room, and Maria made a beeline right to her husband.

Ignoring the married couple, your attention focused on the other occupant of the room. Joel sat on the couch, leant back in a relaxed pose, one arm slung across the back cushions. His thick thighs spread wide, just begging for you to step between them.

Wide and unblinking, his burnt umber eyes watched as you stepped further into the room. Head tilting quizzically, he licked his lips as you approached with an impossible slowness. Neither of you could look anywhere else, gazes locked, bodies pulling together like magnets.

Joel’s pouty lips parted in surprise when you didn’t seat yourself next to him, electing instead to climb onto his lap. He blinked owlishly at you as your face moved closer, centimeter by centimeter, until your lips met his in a delicate first kiss. However brief, that initial press of your lips against his ignited an inferno within you both. You mouths came together urgently the second time, as lips, teeth, and tongues clashed. Your fingers carded through his silky soft, thick curls, nails tenderly scratching itches on his scalp he didn’t even know he had. He preened under your touch.

So absorbed in each other after months and months of longing and pining, dancing around feelings you hid for each other, the rest of the room blurred to nonexistence. Your ears picked up soft murmuring from Maria and Tommy, but you ignored it. Your world revolved around Joel, and Joel only, at that moment. You shifted, trying in vain to bury beneath every layer of his skin, until you straddled his lap.

At long last, you pulled back as the need for oxygen became unbearable. You and Joel had been pressed so close together, noses smushed as you kissed, that neither of you could even breathe.

“I take it you figured it out.” Joel’s eyes searched your face, voice rumbling from deep in his chest, the sound like velvety chocolate to your ears.

You nodded, lost for words at first and his lips slowly tilted upwards at the corners until his smile reached its limit and the precious dimple in his cheek poked through. “The flowers and notes were so beautiful, Joel. I’m sorry I didn’t figure it out sooner, your riddles were just too good,” you grinned. Tears pricked at the back of your eyes at the look of complete adoration on his handsome face. Sincere happiness welled within you. “The notes, each one more beautiful than the last, I read them over and over. I feel all of that, too.”

Joel’s eyes took on a different shine at your confession, the fire from the hearth glinted in the sudden wetness glazing over them.

“Can I take you home?” he asked gruffly, the need evident in his glossy gaze.

“Fuck yes,” you breathed, giggling as he shifted you both to your feet and practically dragged you from his brother’s house. Neither of you had the wherewithal to say goodbye to Tommy and Maria. They watched the two of you leave with matching satisfied grins before locking up behind you.

“Yours or mine?” Joel questioned urgently as his large hand grasped yours.

“I don’t care,” you replied breathlessly, “whichever is closer.”

“Yours then.” His long legs led you down the deserted street, boots crunching on the hard ground, stopping only once you reached your front porch. He stared into your wide eyes, taking in the vision of your blown pupils and pursed lips. “Are you sure about this?”

“Joel,” you drew his name out in a long sigh, one hand caressing the scruff on his cheek. “I have never been surer of anything in my entire life. Take me inside and make love to me. Please.”

The pitch of your plea shot straight to his cock as he once again nearly dragged you behind him. Grateful that you forgot to lock the front door, there were no impediments to your journey into the house and straight up the stairs to your bedroom.

The urgency slowed once the both of you reached the center of your bedroom. Facing each other as you stood next to the large bed, Joel’s gaze tangibly seared your skin with the absolute heat of it.

“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, one thick fingertip tracing the ridge of your brow and down the slope of your nose. His bedroom eyes captivating as he pulled at your plump bottom lip with his thumb, lips twitching when your tongue darted out to taste the salt on his skin. “I think I fell in love with you the day we met.”

“Me, too.” Mesmerized by Joel’s touch and thoughtful words, you leant forward, slanting your mouth against his. The kiss tender yet scalding hot as your hands began to slowly undress one another. Part of you could not believe this was happening, while another part of you kept repeating fucking finally.

Once you were both fully stripped of clothing, Joel eased you back onto the bed. The broadness of him hovered over you, legs entangled, and he caressed your skin with one large hand. There was no piece of you he left untouched. Your own hands were drawn to his luscious curls, fingers threading through the locks and massaging his scalp.

Joel soon replaced his hands with his mouth, placing soft, open-mouthed kisses down your body. He paid special attention to your breasts, pausing to lave and nip at the hardened peaks of your nipples. A surprised gasp flew from your mouth when he settled his face between your legs, darting his tongue out to taste your sweetness.

He feasted on you like a starving man, tongue laving at your clit before dipping inside to slurp at your juices. You were so wet for him. Only him. His mouth a form of heaven you didn’t know existed, you mewled and squirmed, muscles twitching as he drew you closer and closer to the cliff’s edge.

“Fuck, you are so good at this, Joel.” The half-moaned words fell from your lips when he slipped a thick finger inside you, quickly followed by another. His mouth continued to work at your clit, licking and sucking as you writhed beneath his ministrations.

A man possessed; Joel drew two orgasms from you before letting up. Easing back, he grinned at you, his facial hair glossy with your juices. “You taste fucking delicious. I could stay down here all night.”

A dewy sheen of sweat covered your entire body from being worked over so well. “Any other time, I wouldn’t stop you. But I want your cock inside me, right now.”

“Is that so?” Joel smirked at you, climbing up your body to settle his hips between your legs. Of their own accord, your hands soothed over the warm skin of his back and down to his ass, where you grabbed handfuls of the meaty flesh.

“Fuck, yes. Please, I need you.”

His eyes sparkled at your plea, but he didn’t move an inch. Your right hand reached between the two of you, grasping hold of his cock and gasping at the sheer size of him. Long and thick in your hand, your mouth watered at the thought of tasting him sometime. Joel grinned again, his expression quickly going slack as you tugged once, twice at his hardened length, running the head between your folds before lining him up with your entrance.

Dark eyes hooded with lust; Joel met your gaze. “You want this?” he questioned one last time, needing confirmation of your consent. The last thing he’d ever want to do is push you too far, too fast. He wanted this to last forever.

“Joel, I promise. I have never wanted someone more than I want you, and only you, right now.” You poured every emotion, every feeling for Joel through your eyes as you pulled him impossibly closer. Angling your hips up, he finally started feeding you his cock, inch by delectable inch. Your mouth dropped open at the stretch when he bottomed out.

“You’re taking me so well, pretty girl.” Joel began to move his hips in a slow, steady rhythm, his arms bracketing your head.

“Ahhh, I’ve never felt so full before. Please don’t stop.”

Soon enough, the only sounds in the room were the gentle slap of skin against skin, your breathy moans, and Joel’s rumbling grunts. Joel kissed you passionately as he fucked into you with deep thrusts, his eyes remaining locked on yours.

Your orgasm built as his cock grazed that perfect spot inside you with each thrust, and the words you’d been too afraid to admit to finally fell from your lips. “I love you, Joel. I love every single piece of the puzzle that you are.”

“And I love you, my angel,” Joel replied, voice gravelly. His hips snapped harder, throwing you both over the cliff. His deep moans were music to your ears as you pulsed around him, drawing every drop of cum from him until he settled heavily half atop you, breathless and sated.

“I can’t wait to do that again,” you blurted, chest heaving, drawing a chuckle from Joel.

“Imma need some time before I can do that again, angel. I’m not a young stud anymore.”

For the first time in many months, you fell asleep in your bed, the vastness of it decreased by Joel’s warm body cuddled up against you.

“You have everything you need, brother?” Tommy asked, helping Joel load up the saddlebags. “Maria tucked a bottle of wine and some glasses in here for you.”

Doublechecking the supplies, Joel nodded. “I think that’s all of it. Thank your wife for me. None of this would be happening right now without you, Maria, and Ellie.”

Tommy patted his older brother on the shoulder. “Being in love has really softened your edges. I actually like this version of you.”

Joel scowled back at Tommy’s teasing for a moment before his face transformed into a glowing, warm smile at the sight of you. Backpack slung over one shoulder, you wore fitted jeans, a tee shirt, and boots with Joel’s green flannel tied around your waist. To Joel, you’d never looked sexier.

“Hi boys,” you greeted, eyes lingering on the older Miller brother as he winked at you. Turning to Tommy, you batted your eye lashes. “Any chance you’ll tell me where he’s taking me?”

Tommy guffawed. “Not a chance in hell, doll. I don’t wanna get my ass kicked by this lug.”

Oh well, you had to try. Shrugging your shoulders, you climbed up into the saddle of a light brown colored horse. “Fine then. You better make sure my greenhouses are still in one piece when we get back.”

“Yeah, yeah. Off you go lovebirds.” Tommy patted your horse’s hind quarter once Joel mounted his horse and led the way through the town gate.

The horses settled into a canter, covering the landscape at a good clip. “It’s a couple hours ride, but I promise you’ll love it, angel.”

“I trust you, Joel,” you replied, lips pressed into a small smile. “I’m just happy to spend time with you.”

The pair of you chatted about anything and everything as you rode, sharing stories about your pre-outbreak past and the struggles faced since. You already knew about Sarah and how hard Joel took the loss of his beloved baby girl, but Joel felt comfortable sharing more stories of her with you. The conversations were interspersed with occasional comfortable silences as you took in the landscape and kept an eye out for trouble. The hours and miles passed in no time and Joel led you to a stop in front of a rusted-over fence. Dismounting the horse, you swiped a hand over a warped sign which indicated the property was a botanical garden in its former life.

“Joel,” you breathed, touched that he thought of taking you to such a place for your first official date. You had no idea it even existed.

“It’s rundown, obviously, but nature has completely taken over in a way that I think you’ll love. There were flowers everywhere when I first discovered the place. This is where I found some of the ones I gave you,” he explained. Pulling a section of fence open, he led you and the horses onto the property before closing it behind you.

“Tommy and I cleared the placed a while ago, but there may still be some cordyceps lingering around. Keep an eye out.” Joel handed you a pistol, checking first to make sure it was locked and loaded, and swung the rifle from his shoulder.

The grounds were quiet except for birdsong and the rustle of leaves in the breeze. Plentiful flora grew in every direction you turned, overtaking dilapidated benches and buildings alike. The grounds were a vibrant sea of colorful flowers and plants, and a mix of floral fragrances nearly overwhelmed your senses. Joel led the horses into a small area cordoned off on three sides, leaving them to graze while the two of you explored.

Joel reached for your hand, entwining your fingers as you walked the grounds. Even overgrown and unkempt as it was, the garden left you in awe. You strolled, recounting information about every flower you recognized. Joel listened, enraptured, as you spoke about their meanings, falling in love with you even more with every brilliant word that came out of your mouth.

He surprised you with a late lunch in a field of wildflowers on the way back to Jackson, gathering a small bouquet in his hands while you ate. Joel tucked a bright yellow flower with long, thin petals into your hair before handing over the bouquet.

“When you’re ready, I’m going to ask you to marry me, my beautiful wildflower.”

fin

#jettsflora&faunachallenge #writing challenge #joel miller #joel miller x reader #the last of us #joel x female reader #pedro pascal characters #pedro pascal fandom #pedrostories #joel miller smut

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yumeka-sxf · 2 days

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It's been a few months since my last merch haul post, so time for another one! As usual, acrylic stands are my main purchases, with the below set being one of the rarest I've found 💖

The reason these are so rare is because I couldn't get them from my usual places on Amiami and Mercari JP. They're from a company called Ultrizon and are currently only sold in China. I saw them advertised on Twitter from a shop in Thailand and decided to reach out on the off chance that the shop would ship to the US. And much to my pleasant surprise, the shop, Chibishiba, replied and said that they would ship to me 😃 I was a bit concerned because they seemed to be just a small "mom and pop" shop, with only Twitter DMs as their form of communication and they kept track of everyone's orders in a google sheet. But I looked around on their social media and they seemed legit, so I placed an order (a few other fanatics I know on Discord did as well!) And thankfully, they were totally legit! They ordered the items from China, then once they shipped to Thailand, they then shipped to me in the US! Only took a few weeks 😁

Here's some more photos because they're so lovely~ For some reason the two Twiyor sets make me think of a scenario where they're going to a dance or other fancy event together (the left ones), but then something happens and they have to switch to "action mode" to stop a villain, save Anya, etc (the right ones).

Bond looks so adorable in his suit~ Also the one of Anya on the left is her totally thinking "Papa and Mama are so cool 🤩"

Even though I typically only buy merch with the Forgers, Yuri, Damian, and Franky were also part of this set. Lol, when I made the below photo of the three of them, I laughed because it looks like they're posing for a photo, with only Damian having fun…Yuri's like "whatever" and Franky's like "how long will this take, I have a date!" 😂

Besides the Ultrizon acrylics, the other ones I was most looking forward to getting were these chibi ones from the cruise arc (two different sets)

Between all of these, I now have acrylics of the Forgers' full wardrobe from the cruise arc 😅 My favorites are suit Yor, "I won't stop fighting" Yor, and Fun Dad Loid!

I really liked these Twiyor acrylics from the recent Tsukuba collab. It's like they're going on a hiking date ❤️

I also got these chibi "famous scene" acrylics from the Waku Waku Park event.

I've been trying so hard to get the complete set of these big acrylics for a few months now...I managed to find Loid and Anya, but no one is selling Yor 😭 (or Bond). I won't stop looking though!

As for non-acrylic figures, I've been looking forward to getting this Yor & Anya figure for over a year! It was actually one of the first SxF items I preordered, way back in November of 2022! Considering they had the colored prototype available way back then, I'm surprised it wasn't officially released until March of 2024. But worth the wait ❤️

For Code White's release, I got the set of Luminasta figures (all three for a good price on eBay).

Also chibi Loid & Yor~ I know there's a ton of chibi Loid and Yor figures out there, but I really liked these for some reason.

Last month I went back to Kura Sushi for the last merch from their recent collab: this nice shirt~ You were able to get it if your bill was at least $70, which isn't hard to do if you bring a friend with you and you both eat a bunch of sushi! (well, he did most of the eating, lol). I'm planning to wear it for the first time at Anime Expo in July 😁

They also had this little Anya dessert.

And miscellaneous items I recently got were these pretty picture cards that I plan to make scans of.

The McDonald's collab booklet, the season 2 complete set box, and the Loid & Anya cloth poster that came with the box. I also plan to make scans of these!

A mug from the Tobu Zoo collab.

And lastly, some new decals for my car! I found this set at Walmart of all places, lol. Found room for them among my other decals.

Since I bought so many new acrylics and figures lately, I had to do a major reorganization of my display shelves. But I'll save those photos for another post~

#spy x family #sxf #spy family #spyxfamily #loid forger #yor forger #anya forger #bond forger #twiyor #sxf merch #damian desmond #becky blackbell #yuri briar #fiona frost #franky franklin

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scmg11 · 2 days

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KATE BISHOP x READER

Maybe your heart isn’t made of plastic

Summary: Y/N always considered high school an hellhole where you need to fight everyday to survive, especially when Kate Bishop ruled over everything and everyone adored her. Everyone except her. She hated her. So she just tried to lay low and mind her own business, but when a new student arrive at their school, madness follows.

After a revenge plan, everything falling apart and just overall chaos, Y/N hooked up with none other than Kate Bishop. And it just kept happening. The two started hooking up wherever they had the chance and old feelings start to resurface. But would things work out or they would fall apart eventually?

[I got inspired after watching the new Mean Girls movie and after writing a too long oneshot about an original story with Kate, so I decided to create a book.]

A/N: HELLO HELLO HELLO BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE!

I am here with a brand new book for you! Someone may already know that I got inspired by the new Mean Girls movie and wrote a 27k long oneshot before deciding to create a book and split it into multiple chapters.

This first chapter just go through the movie to introduce chapters and a bit of the background story, but the real story will start in the next chapter, so- STAY TUNED!

I pretty much have the whole book already written so you guys don't have to wait too much for updates (even if I will be busy with updating my Hailee imagines book too).

As always, let me know what you guys think, it's really important your opinion to me ❤️

Oh I almost forgot, this book is pretty much all smut. So read at your own risk 😉.

Sending you guys love ❤️

Chapter 1

Y/N trudged to her locker on a too sunny Monday morning, almost dragging her feet across the school’s hallways with a big scowl on her face, "morning little flower- damn you are glowing today, sweety. Stop that or you’re gonna lit the whole school on fire."

"Very, very, very funny." Y/N turned around to face her best friend with an unimpressed face and found him wearing a teasing grin as he laid his shoulder on the locker beside hers and crossed his arms, "wow, today you’re screaming gay more than ever." Y/N stated after giving her best friend a once over, taking his rainbow t-shirt in and rolling her eyes, then focusing her attention back in her locker to grab her book for her first class.

"Uh-uh, who the hell peed in your Cheerios this morning?"

"Kate Bishop." Y/N growled under her breath after grabbing her book and accentuated her anger by slamming her locker close harshly. "Speaking of the Devil." Y/N rolled her eyes when she saw Kate Bishop strolling down the hallway alongside her friends with her signature smirk on her lips, catching everyone’s attention as their eyes followed them, including Y/N’s ones.

"Oh hey, Y/N. I’m sorry for earlier. I didn’t see you there." Kate spoke with a clearly, fake apologizing tone and didn’t bother to listen to Y/N’s comeback before resuming her walk to presumably her first class, giggling alongside her friends.

"What a fucking bitch." Y/N shook her head while eyeing the back of Kate’s head, not realizing her best friend was giving her a pitying gaze.

"What did she do, now?"

"She almost ran me over with her car." Y/N turned around to face her best friend with anger boiling under her skin, her hands clenching around her book as she hugged it hard to her chest.

"What a fucking bitch." Y/N laughed when her best friend repeated her words and shook her head, relaxing right away and bumping her shoulder with the side of his bicep. She was too short to aim for his shoulder.

"Thank you Buck. You always know what to say to cheer me up."

"Oh honey, you know I do."

"Good morning, I would like to introduce you to our new student. She is moving from Slovenia-."

"Sokovia." The red haired girl corrected the principal with a shy smile, her awkward smile settling back on the class staring at her bored.

"Sokovia. Right, hm- welcome Wendy!"

"Oh, it’s Wanda."

"My apologies, Wanda." The redhead nodded once at the apologetic man before meeting everyone’s eyes with an anxious grimace on her lips, but luckily her new teacher pulled her out of her mercy when no one said a thing for a few moments.

"Okay, Wanda take your seat, let’s start the lesson." The blonde pointed to the only empty seat in the room and the girl immediately sauntered to it to sit down.

"Hey." The redhead smiled politely to two of her classmates staring at her with wide smiles, a little bit uncomfortable with their unrelenting gazes giving her a once over.

"Hello, fresh meat." Bucky was the first to speak up, sending Wanda a friendly wave before the other girl, with green ends on her hair did the same.

"Hey Wendy. Welcome to the jungle that is our school."

"Hey- HEY! Are you even listening to me?" Bucky punched Y/N’s shoulder when he noticed the girl was trying to balance a chicken nugget on her nose instead of focusing on him rambling about whatever he was telling her, making the nugget fall onto the ground and finally catching Y/N’s attention.

"Yeah, yeah sure. You were talking about something extremely important." Y/N nodded seriously and completely ignored the nugget falling on the ground and sliding a few feet away from their table, moving her attention on a frowning Bucky instead and pretended to not notice a guy stepping on it.

"I was trying to ask you- have you seen the new girl? She ran away."

Y/N shrugged nonchalantly, stabbing some pasta on her fork and chewing on it, all the while Bucky’s eyes never moved from her, staring at her intently. She bit down on her bottom lip at her stomach churning with pity for the new girl and sighed out with an excessive roll of her eyes when her eyes caught Bucky’s pleading ones, already sitting up from the bench, "alright, let’s go rescue her."

Y/N totally ignored Bucky celebrating with a soft squeal and walked out of the room, knowing he was following her. She flipped some dude off that slammed into her on his way to the cafeteria before making her way towards the bathrooms, where she knew the girl was hiding. They smiled politely at a girl walking out and fled in the bathrooms, Y/N crouching down to look under the stalls to locate the redhead and finding her in the middle one, silently pointing at Bucky with her head, who nodded and knocked gently on the door, "hey- everything okay?" She asked with a slightly worried tone and leaned on the first stall’s frame, waiting for the girl to answer. She took a glance at Bucky and found him checking himself out in the mirror and rolled her eyes good-naturedly with a fond, exasperated smile on her lips.

"Yeah." The stall door opened a few moments later and Wanda, with her tray in her hands, appeared, looking a bit uncomfortable and confused but smiled awkwardly at the two best friends nonetheless.

"Rough first day?"

"I don’t know, should it be? I am not used to this."

"What do you mean?" Y/N asked as she grabbed Wanda’s empty tray and threw it in the trash can, waving Bucky off when he looked at her outraged at her gesture, before crossing her arms and lying her butt on the sink behind her, staring at Wanda curiously.

"I was homeschooled."

"Oh that’s so cool!" Bucky exclaimed with an envy, dreamy glint in his eyes as he stared at Wanda, but when Y/N slapped his arm gently he came back to his senses, "so this means you need two guides to help you deal with this shit hole."

"I guess?" Wanda asked more than stated and Y/N already started to like her. She seemed so naive.

"Let’s go. Your first lesson starts now." Y/N signaled for Wanda to follow her as she was already halfway out of the bathroom, Bucky pushing the redhead to move and then followed the two girls out of the bathroom, strolling back into the cafeteria. "Alright- hm, high school is essentially a jungle where if you don’t know how to survive you will be eat alive for sure. That’s why finding a place to belong to is vital. You can choose from the bitchy theater guys, the horny musicians, the dumb jocks, the stoners and the nerdy science guys. Do you feel like you already belong to one of these groups?" Y/N looked at Wanda expectantly after pointing to all the groups sat in the cafeteria, grimacing when her eyes fell on a nerd picking his nose nonchalantly.

"Not really." Wanda shook her head, her face scrunching up in distress as she assessed all the people in the room before looking at Y/N expectantly, "hey, I can hung out with you guys."

Y/N and Bucky shared a quick glance with wide smiles on their lips and nodded eagerly, "it’s fine by us." Bucky shrugged with a wide, excited smile, patting Wanda’s shoulder gently.

"But we need to warn you, we are too cool for this school. Are you sure you can handle all this popularity?" Y/N joked and was glad Wanda caught on it too as she giggled and nodded. Suddenly the chatter in the cafeteria stopped as its doors opened and three girls entered the room.

"Who are they?"

"Oh no, no, no." Y/N shook her head and turned around, pushing Wanda to do the same.

"Do not look them in their eyes!" Bucky whisper-yelled as he covered his eyes dramatically, but Wanda felt like she was frozen in her spot as she watched the trio stroll to the only empty table in the room.

"They are what we like to call them, the plastics. ‘Cause they’re shiny, fake and hard." Y/N explained, finishing with a scoff and a roll of her eyes. "The one on the left is Cassie Lang, she knows everything about everyone. The one on the right is Natasha Romanoff, her parents are famous scientists. She is so good in martial arts I think she might be a spy or something. And the one in the middle is Kate Bishop. Lacrosse team captain and a state archery champion. She is the Queen Bee. She controls the whole school. Everyone is afraid of her." When Y/N noticed Wanda kept staring at the trio now sitting down, Y/N slapped her gently on her shoulder and whispered, "Wanda, do not look or-."

"Hey, you." A voice echoed around the room as chatter slowly started again, Wanda furrowing her eyebrows and pointing at herself confusedly, "yeah, you. Come here."

"No, Wanda!" Y/N tried to grab Wanda’s arm and stop her from walking towards the black haired girl, but she slipped out of her reach and Y/N cursed under her breath as she watched the redhead walk towards the plastics. "Shit."

"What did they tell you?" Y/N asked as soon as Wanda joined them at the cafeteria entrance, the three of them walking down the stairs to go to their shared class after lunch time finished.

"They seem nice. They asked me to sit down with them this week."

"Are you serious?" Y/N asked confused, furrowing her eyebrows and looking at Wanda curiously, stopping in her tracks before she could walk down the stairs.

"Yeah. I don’t know why you two hate them. Kate seems so cool."

"What? No, no, no. Wanda- Kate Bishop is not cool. Kate Bishop is a scum-sucking life ruiner. She is heartless and a master bitch." Y/N nodded firmly when Bucky did the same to her.

"Yeah, Wan. In middle school, Kate told everyone Y/N is-."

"BUCK! Please, let’s move on. I have a plan. You are going to hung out with the plastics and then you’re gonna tell us all the stupid things they say."

"What? You mean spy on them?"

"No. It’s not spying. It’ll be fun!"

"Are you sure? I don’t-." Y/N sighed out imperceptibly and smiled widely at Wanda, leaning her arms on the handrail and then placing her head on them, batting her puppy dog eyes at the redhead.

"You won’t spy on them, we are only going to have fun too." Y/N pushed on and broadened her smile even more, hoping Wanda would give in, which she did a few moments later.

"Okay. I will."

"Yes!" Y/N and Bucky let out in unison to celebrate, before both lifted their hands up to high-five a laughing Wanda. They resumed their walk down the stairs but after a few steps Wanda stopped her friends with worry in her eyes.

"Do you guys have anything with pink I can borrow from you?"

Y/N scoffed outrageously at Wanda and looked at her like she just asked her the most offensive thing in her world, "no."

"Yeah! What shade?" Y/N couldn’t help herself and emit a small snort at Bucky’s enthusiasm, opening their Biology class door and walking in.

"And I’m telling you- Miss Harkness has a big stick up her ass." Bucky scoffed and grunted, closing his locker forcefully, eliciting a soft chuckle for his best friend.

"She does not. I find her funny."

"Just because you have a bigger stick up your ass." Y/N laughed heartily at Bucky’s comeback, leaning her back and head on the lockers before getting ready to deliver a witty counter back, that, sadly, never left her mouth.

"Why don’t you try to take it out? We won’t have to worry about things catching fire all the time." Kate walked by the two best friends with Cassie and Natasha on her trail, laughing at her own joke and subsequently making Cassie and Natasha join her with loud cackles too.

"Oh yeah. Hold on- do you want me to take yours out first?" Y/N smiled politely at Kate, leveling her with a challenging look and lifting her right eyebrow up a moment later, but the plastic just scoffed and walked away. "Bitch." Y/N murmured as she closed her eyes to calm herself down, but her peace was short lived when Wanda came sauntering towards them with a big smile on her face. "Oh no, too much happiness for this hellish environment."

"Sorry, I just- I met a guy in my Calculus class."

"Wow, calculus. You’re smart." Y/N nodded at Y/N in surprise, lifting herself off the lockers to walk out of school.

"Why are you taking that class? Are you trying to punish yourself for something bad you did?" Bucky asked alarmed, eyeing Wanda like she just grew two heads.

"No, I’m pretty good at math."

"Oh, honey, I’m so sorry for you." Wanda shook her head with a small smile at Bucky and shrugged, "anyway, let’s talk about the juicy stuff- who is he?"

"Travis Jarvis."

"What?! No, that’s a big no." Y/N shook her head alarmed, stopping Wanda before she could keep walking and looking into her eyes in warning. "You need to stay away from him."

"Why?"

"He is Kate’s ex boyfriend." Bucky clarified and Y/N nodded in affirmation, Wanda’s frown only deepening.

"Okay? They broke up, right? I can-."

"No. You can’t do anything. He was her property and you can’t touch what was hers."

"But-."

"No, honey. She will eat you alive. You are the prey and she is the predator."

"The apex predator." Y/N clarified, eyeing Kate talking with Cassie and Natasha in the parking lot.

"You guys are just exaggerating."

"Oh no, we’re not." Bucky shook her head with widened eyes, fear glinting into his irises.

"Someone touched Kate’s lacrosse stick in the locker room last year. That poor girl got transferred. To Europe." Y/N watched Wanda swallow visibly and tried to reassure her, feeling pity at her frightened expression, "if you really want to do this, we will support you, but Kate won’t have to find out." They resumed their walk out of the school but before they reached the big doors, they parted ways to not rise suspicions from the plastics.

"And they have this book, this ‘Burn Book’, where they write mean things about all the girls in our school."

"Wait- ooh- ooh- what does it say about me?"

"You- you’re not in it." Wanda lied and looked down at her hands.

"What? Those bitches." Y/N exclaimed outraged, Bucky chuckling from the couch in Y/N’s garage.

"She gave me a pair of shoes for me to wear."

"Oh, show me!" Bucky got up from the couch in a second and pushed Y/N out of the way as he run towards Wanda, making her fall on the couch with a fond, exasperated chuckle.

"Hey guys, what are you gonna wear to the Halloween party this Friday?" Wanda asked curiously, catching her two friend’s attention from their textbooks. Like every other Wednesday afternoon, they were studying at Y/N’s house, the only day Wanda would hung out with them since Kate had her archery practice, but that question plagued her mind and prevented her to focus on her homework.

"Nothing. We’re not going." Y/N stated simply, focusing her attention back on her textbook.

"Why?" Y/N sighed quietly under her breath at the question and gave up doing her homework for now.

"Because we’re not invited. The plastics never invite us to parties."

"But screw them, we have so many funny activities Friday night." Bucky smiled and nodded at Y/N, who smirked back at her friend knowingly.

"Don’t look at us that way. We’re not sneaking in their parties. A nerd from the science group sneaked into one of their party once. We don’t actually know what the plastics did to him, but he didn’t show up at school for a month and he refused to tell what happened that night." Y/N shrugged and flipped a page over on her book.

"I claim that he got tied to a chair in Kate’s garage and they frightened him for life." Bucky butted in and lifted his hand up, but then placed it on his chest and looked at Wanda in sympathy, thinking back to that guy.

"But it’s fine. Go to that stupid party. You will tell us what happened on Monday."

Y/N and Bucky were in the middle of their scary movies marathon, watching a scary movie they hadn’t had the chance to see yet and chewing on popcorn from time to time. "He is gonna catch her, you see." Y/N stated with a knowing voice as she grabbed a few kettle corns to eat.

"Shhh." Y/N and Bucky had their eyes glued on the screen, waiting for the jump scare to happen but they relaxed as soon the woman in the movie did too, as nothing happened. About 3 seconds passed before the two best friends jumped up in fright when the monster caught the woman in the movie a moment later, before jumping up from the couch again in fear a second later while screaming at the top of their lungs when someone opened abruptly Y/N’s garage door, making Y/N threw the popcorn at them.

"Holy fucking shit! Wanda!"

"Sorry." The redhead closed the garage door and trudged into the room with tears running down her face, sniffling under her breath and looking at her friends in sorrow.

"What happened?" Bucky immediately sat up and guided Wanda, with her makeup now ruined by her tears, on the couch.

"She kissed him. In front of me. She told me she was gonna talk to him for me but then she kissed him." Wanda explained after she calmed down from the hiccups, a few tears escaping her eyes again as she explained to Y/N and Bucky, making the two best friends look at her pitifully.

"That’s who Kate Bishop really is. A fucking egocentric cunt." Y/N stated after Wanda finished speaking, looking in the distance with an anger glint burning behind her eyes.

"Now I see why you hate her so much." Wanda lifted her head up and looked at Y/N in her eyes.

"Because that’s what she always does. When we were in middle school, she told everyone Y/N is-."

"BUCK! Not now."

"No, I know the story. You were in love with Kate and you burned her backpack when she didn’t feel the way." Wanda explained as she wiped her tears with the back of her hand, smiling gratefully at Y/N when she offered her a Kleenex. "Thank you."

"That’s what she said? Really?" Y/N asked outraged with fire burning behind her eyes, scoffing and lifting her legs up on the couch to hug them closely when Wanda nodded tentatively.

"That’s not what happened. Let me explain it to you." Bucky sat up and grabbed a box under a drawer and placed it on the coffee table. "With dolls."

"Ugh, Buck, can you not?"

"She deserves to know the truth!" Bucky countered back to Y/N sternly, eyeing Y/N hard and lifted the top of the box only when Y/N sighed out dejected and hugged her knees closer, resigned to listening to Bucky explain the story, "Y/N and Kate used to be best friends in middle school."

"What?"

"I know, right? Shocking! Anyway, they were inseparable. One day, they gave each other these friendship pets and Y/N put this pin on hers to come out to Kate." Bucky pointed to the rainbow pin on the fluffy pet, "Kate was happy Y/N came out to her and put the same pin on hers for support, because- she used to be human." Bucky stated, making Y/N smile at his joke, "a few days later, Kate confessed to Y/N she liked a boy in their class named Kyle. Y/N, of course, supported her- they were best friends. They went to a party and when it was time for the spin the bottle game, Kate was afraid Kyle liked Y/N more, so when he spun the bottle and it landed on Y/N, Kate kissed Y/N in front of everyone abruptly and then brushed it off saying things like ‘I knew she would let me kiss her, because she is a dyke and completely obsessed with me’." Y/N rolled her eyes when Bucky tried to imitate Kate and making the two dolls he had in his hands kiss, but didn’t interrupt him, eyeing Wanda quickly and finding her completely focused on Bucky, "they had a really bad fight and stopped talking. But Kate, the bitch that she is, brought that pet everywhere she went. Y/N heard her making everyone say hi to the pet and call it Sissy Liz, that was a code name for ‘obsessed lesbian’. She was basically making fun of Y/N and everyone knew except Y/N. So during chemistry class she lit that pet on fire to get rid of it. Kate’s backpack caught slightly on fire and Y/N got expelled."

"So when you got home you couldn’t explain why." Wanda finished with a pensive tone, already looking at Y/N in sympathy as all the pieces of the story fell onto place.

"Yeah. And Kate got away with it." Bucky finished with his story and placed everything back in the box, scoffing under his breath.

"I’m so sorry you went through all of that."

"It’s in the past now, Wan. But now you see Kate for who she really is. Now you know she is not your friend. We are your friends. And we’re gonna make her pay."

"That bitch deserves a lesson." Bucky butted in and high-fived Y/N, while Wanda looked at the two confused.

"Yeah, do you want your happy ending with Vis?" Wanda nodded, her eyes already filling up with tears as the image of Kate kissing him in front of her appeared in her mind, "then we’re gonna have a fucking revenge party." Y/N smirked widely at her friends before sprinting to her laptop to start working, while Wanda and Bucky decided to watch a movie. About an hour later she hung a white sheet on the wall, turned on her projector and cleared her throat to grab her friend’s attention. Bucky stopped the movie and both Bucky and Wanda looked over at Y/N’s presentation while Y/N stood beside it with a focused frown on, "so, here’s the plan. We need to take Kate from off her throne. Targeting all the things around her she cares the most. First thing first. Her perfect body." Y/N pointed to the first point on her PowerPoint projection, making both Wanda and Bucky look at her weirdly for how much effort she put on that presentation.

"Wow, talk about dedication." Bucky joked but Y/N waved him off and continued.

"Then putting her best friends against her. And last but not less important, making Vis dump her. Questions?" Y/N looked at her small audience and lifted her right eyebrow up in question, pointing at Bucky, who lifted his hand up.

"You remind me of my first grade teacher. She looked like Satan." Bucky snickered at his own joke and at Y/N staring at him unamused. A few seconds later Y/N grabbed the first thing she had within her reach and threw it at him. "Ohw! Throwing your tubes of paint at me is not nice."

"You should be glad it wasn’t an hammer." Y/N deadpanned with an hard stare directed at Bucky and lifted an eyebrow up defiantly. A few seconds of silence wrapped around them into the garage before the three of them let out loud cackles.

"I have a question." Wanda lifted her hand up after she calmed down and waited for Y/N’s full attention, who nodded after wiping away a few tears that escaped her eyes, "do we have to do these things in succession or-."

"Not really. But I think destroying her perfect image would be the logical thing to do first." Y/N shrugged, turning her head around and staring at the words projected on the sheet as a pensive frown rolled over her features.

"It would definitely make her go mad. Turning her friends against her would definitely come subsequently." Bucky added with a small nod as he leaned back on the couch and stretched his arms over the top of it.

"But how can we do that?" Y/N furrowed her eyebrows pensively and stroked her chin gently, wracking her brain for a good idea to start with their plan. The three teenagers spent about 5 minutes thinking in silence, all staring into space and humming from time to time as they discarded a few ideas. Suddenly Y/N sat up from the coffee table and lifted her hand up in victory. "I got it. Okay- this Thursday we have that stupid celebration for her win as the Spring Fling Queen last year. We can start with that."

"Where is the celebration?" Wanda asked, still getting used to all these school activities.

"On the football field." Bucky explained to Wanda when Y/N didn’t answer right away as she stared at the ground, thinking over a plan of action.

"Oh I got it! Oh this will be amazing- we are gonna fucking hit her with hydrants and drench her in front of the whole school. She will be furious." Y/N explained out loud happily, proud for coming up with that idea.

"Oh I would definitely cry in front of everyone." Bucky nodded with fear in his eyes, looking into space as he probably imagined the scene, and Y/N rolled her eyes good-naturedly at her friend.

"How the fuck is that possible? We splashed water into her fucking face and she transformed into a model? I had my feed full of Kate stroking her boobs with that stupid sexy face. And she even created a new trend. Are you fucking kidding me? Ugh." Y/N punched Bucky’s locker in frustration before leaning her forehead on it, making her best friend gasp at her.

"Hey! Don’t hate on my locker."

"I’m sorry. But our plan had a really shit start. We only made her more popular." Y/N lifted her head up to stare at her best friend in apology before leaning her forehead back on the cold surface with another frustrated groan and closing her eyes to calm her nerves but a rustling sound of paper beside her ear made her lift her head back up and meet Wanda’s eyes instead, eyeing the bar she was eating. "What’s that?"

"Oh, that’s actually my lunch. I need to study before my test, that will be after lunch. I don’t have time to eat so I’m using this bar that my mom used to give to people in need in Sokovia. It helps you ingest all kind of nutrients and vitamins. She gave it to people starving to help them gain weight fast." Y/N was certain that if she was in a cartoon a lightbulb would’ve appeared on top of her head and lighted up as a devilish idea popped into her head.

"Wan, I think you gave us inspiration for step 2 of our plan." Wanda stared at Y/N’s face erupting in a big, mischievous grin and stared at her in confusion, waiting for her to clarify. "You’re gonna make Kate believe these things are used to loose weight in Sokovia instead. In no time she will have to say goodbye to her perfect body."

"Damn girl, I love when you’re such a dick." Bucky chuckled and bumped his shoulder with Y/N’s one, who just shrugged with a fake humble smile before chuckling evilly under her breath.

"Holy shit! Kate just bumped into me on her way to class. I was so shocked I didn’t even register her calling me an idiot. Shit- those bars are starting to work." Y/N sat down in her chair in class and sighed when it luckily didn’t start yet, meeting Wanda’s and Bucky’s eyes with her own widened in bewilderment.

"Yeah, I noticed it too this morning in the parking lot." Bucky nodded with a proud smile, winking at Y/N mischievously.

"Yeah. Yesterday she was so pissed-off she yelled at Natasha and Cassie all the time. Cassie is afraid she hadn’t ‘crapped’ in two weeks." Wanda grimaced in worry and recalled how brutal Kate was being with her best friends the days prior.

"Perfect. That’s just perfect. She is starting to crumble!"

"Buck stop trying to set me up with that girl in your class. I’m not interested." Y/N repeated for the umpteenth time to her best friend as she closed her locker, groaning in frustration when he tried to protest, again.

"I would be surprised if she is interested in you." Kate scoffed as appeared from behind Y/N and snickered at her own joke, making her three friends that followed her around do the same. Y/N fleetingly met Wanda’s eyes over Cassie’s shoulder before moving her eyes onto Kate, staring at her proudly of her insult. She took a deep breath to calm herself down.

"Well, I guess you definitely need to pull a surprised face. I like to people. You’re not the only one good with her mouth in our school." Y/N countered back cheekily, lifting her eyebrow up in challenge as an evil smirk appeared on her lips. She could swear she saw Kate blush, but her angry brain was definitely pulling jokes on her.

"Pft, bullshit."

"Wanna test it out?" Kate imperceptibly faltered in her stance as she swallowed quickly, but Y/N didn’t notice it.

"Y’know what I think? I think you only like to show off with your mouth. I think you only use it for selling bullshit." And with that Kate walked away, purposefully slamming into Y/N and making her hit her back on the lockers behind her, as her friends followed behind her. Wanda sent an apologetic smile at Y/N as she passed by her before stopping abruptly to prevent to fall into Natasha. The plastics suddenly stopped and Wanda lifted her head up to look what was happening and her heart fell down at her feet when she watched Kate and Travis kiss in front of her. "Hm, hey babe. You should push your hair back like this." Wanda watched as Kate slipped her fingers in Travis’ hair and pulled them back, a gesture that Wanda was sure was overly sexual to spite her, "Wanda, tell him her looks better with his hair pushed back."

Wanda swallowed the jealousy she felt bubbling up in her throat and, after taking a calming breath, spoke up with a blank stare, "you look better with your hair pushed back."

With that Kate walked with Travis, Natasha and Cassie out of the school, while Wanda stayed back to catch up with Y/N and Bucky. "What a fucking cunt." Y/N exclaimed, pulling Wanda’s eyes away from the door Kate and Travis just walked out and nod at her in agreement.

"She’s such an asshole."

"We need to hit harder. Cassie is the next one. We need to put her best friends against her."

"I can’t. She is too fragile." Wanda countered back with a sad expression on her face and Y/N sighed out disappointed.

"Dude, she just forced you to compliment Travis when she knows you like him. We need to hit hard. You will end up with Travis as soon as she is off her throne."

"I’ll end up with Travis as soon as she is off her throne." Wanda repeated with a dreamy expression and Y/N grinned widely at her as she started to give in.

"Yes bitch."

"Okay, let’s do it."

"Guys, it worked. Cassie told me a lot of Kate’s secrets. Did you know last year she convinced a girl from the opposite team to not wear her underwear during a game and while they were playing she pushed her pants down and made her flash her intimate parts to thousands of people just to score?"

"That would be something Kate would do, yeah." Bucky nodded after imagining it in his mind, sipping on his tea gently.

"As much as despicable that was, we don’t need it. Anything else we can use against her?"

"She is cheating on Travis. With Ryan Perrick. Every Tuesday and Thursday in the janitor’s closet." Wanda spoke right away, not even thinking about anything else Cassie told her in the school’s bathrooms.

"What? Holy shit, that’s perfect! This way our plan will be over. You’ll see." Y/N grinned mischievously at Wanda as she clicked her cup with Bucky’s one.

"Oh and she also told me Kate is trying a new Japanese or something technique to have perfect skin. I thought it would’ve been useful."

"Yeah, it will definitely will. Buck go get that lard jar in my kitchen. We’re gonna give Kate some new, expensive Italian facial cream." Y/N spoke with a too sweet tone as her eyes lighted up enthusiastically, her best friend running into the kitchen as a snicker left his lips.

"The Queen Bee just got dethroned." Y/N stated with a delighted sigh after taking a seat in her History class, looking at Bucky with the same facial expression.

"Yeah."

"That’s what I call a perfect plan. Kate lost all her power." Y/N high-fived Bucky enthusiastically before eyeing Wanda weirdly as she applied lip gloss on her lips. She shrugged it off and smiled once again at the girl, "hey, are you free this weekend? My art exhibition is this Friday."

"This Friday? Oh no, I can’t. I have this thing with my family. We already have tickets. I’m so sorry." Wanda looked remorseful at Y/N for just a moment before she turned back around and continued touching up her makeup happily, looking herself through the small mirror in her hand.

"Yeah, you really look sorry." Y/N eyed Wanda and scoffed, shaking it off and looking at Bucky, who shrugged at her.

"Do you want to watch a movie tonight? We are watching another scary movie. I love watching Y/N pee herself from the fright." Y/N turned around in her seat and punched Bucky on his shoulder, who chuckled happily at his mocking, but Wanda kept staring at herself in her mirror, not looking at their friends once.

"Oh, I can’t tonight. I have plans with Cassie and Nat."

"But the plan is over." Y/N furrowed her eyebrows confused, but Wanda just shrugged as she sat up, Y/N and Bucky looking at her confused.

"I know, but I want to have fun with one last strike. I’ll see you tomorrow. Kisses."

Y/N and Bucky stared at Wanda appalled and watched her walk away, Bucky waving unconvinced at her before shrugging at each other as their professor showed up a moment later.

"Oh God."

"You dirty, little liar." Y/N exclaimed as she walked towards Wanda with fury burning behind her eyes.

"I’m sorry! I can explain."

"Explain what? That you forgot to invite us to your party?"

"You know I couldn’t invite you. I had to pretend to be a plastic."

"Hey, hon, this is not pretending anymore. You became a plastic too. Cold, shiny, hard plastic." Y/N scoffed with a roll of her eyes and went to walk away to join Bucky, waiting on his bike, but stopped and turned around to send a withering glare to Wanda, clearly not over with the conversation yet. "Did you have fun with your new awesome friends? Had some fantastic shots and just had a great overall time with each other’s awesomeness?" Y/N mocked Wanda with an overly sweet tone, watching as a frown appeared on her face, but she couldn’t care less if she hurt her. She was done with her shit.

"Y’know what? You made me do this shit for your own 8th grade personal revenge, do not blame me."

"Ah shit, at least me and Kate know we are mean. You only like to play the victim for your own good."

"You know what?! It’s not my fault you’re like in love with me or something." Bucky gasped loudly as he put his hand on his chest while Y/N froze on her spot with an annoyed expression on her face.

"Oh no, she did not."

"What?! You see, this is the problem with you plastics. You think everyone is in love with you when news flash baby, everyone HATES you. Including Vis, that after dumping Kate, he still doesn’t want you. You are a mean girl, just like Kate. Here." Y/N threw a rolled up paper to Wanda and walked away with a loud scoff, "you can have this. It won a prize."

"And I want my pink shirt back!"

The next day Y/N and Bucky strolled into what they couldn’t call a school anymore. People were fighting with papers scattered all over the floor and on the walls. They eyed in disbelief what was unfolding in front of them and dodged a few girls pulling at their hair as they finally arrived at Y/N’s locker, where a paper with a picture with her and Bucky was attached on it. Y/N picked it up with her eyebrows furrowed curiously before anger boiled under her skin at the words written under the picture, "Y/N, the pyro-lez?!"

"Bucky is too gay to function." Bucky read out loud and Y/N gasped outraged.

"Hey! I only can say that." Y/N slammed her hand with the paper on her thigh and assessed the caos that was still taking place in the hallway. Girls in the whole school were fighting. Two of them were slamming another one on the lockers on their right, other two were trying to punch another one in the face, one was trying to bite another girl on her ear. It was a mess. Bucky screeched loudly when a girl got thrown right beside him and he cowered behind Y/N, who rolled her eyes somewhat amused at his behavior. "There she is. The new Queen Bee." Y/N spoke purposefully out loud when Wanda walked beside her and both stared at Wanda hard, narrowing their eyes at her when she tried to wave at them, but the principal’s voice booming over the hallways interrupted her. Y/N noticed a smug Kate Bishop standing beside him with her arms crossed and she instantly knew this was all her fault.

"Every girl in the gym. NOW!"

"Okay, who’s next? Oh Y/N, go on." Y/N smiled at her teacher and walked up the makeshift stage, looking one more time at the paper with the apology she wrote on it and prepared to speak up.

"Oh this will be awesome. Maybe she will lit something on fire." Kate spoke up from the crowd, making everyone laugh at her joke, while Y/N bit the inside of her cheek and balled her paper up, throwing it on the ground.

"Okay, I have some apologies to make I guess. I have a new friend, she is a new student. And I convinced her it would’ve been fun messing up with Kate Bishop’s life. I had her pretend to be friends with her and then she would come to my house after so we could laugh about all the dumb things Kate said. Oh and we gave her some bars that would make her gain weight and then we turned her best friends against her. What else- oh yeah- and then Wanda- oh you know my friend Wanda, right?" Y/N pointed to the redhead on her left, making everyone stare at her a few moments before focusing her attention back on herself, "she told him Kate was cheating on him and then she convinced him to break up with her." The anger appearing on Kate’s face was the peak of Y/N’s week, but she kept going with a proud smirk on her lips, "oh and we switched lard for her face cream." Y/N chuckled softly under her breath, "but then it all went to shit because apparently Wanda is just like Kate Bishop. So the apologies are for me." Y/N flipped the bird to Kate and instead of falling into the crowd like everyone did before her, she hopped down the makeshift stage and walked out of the gym and out of the school, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion when she turned around and noticed everyone else was following her. Well not exactly her, but apparently Kate and Wanda fighting a few feet from her, also walking out of the school. She then exited the school and crossed the road to go to Bucky’s bike and wait for him there. She leaned her butt on his friend’s bike and watched Kate standing in the middle of the street fighting badly with Wanda but after a few moments everyone gasped loudly when they saw some stupid student run Kate over with his car.

Luckily Kate only suffered from a back and neck injury, but she was overly fine. Despite that, Y/N had to fight against her guilty feelings. If she didn’t let her hatred for what Kate did to her take over her, Kate wouldn’t have been run over by a car. She knew it was stupid thinking that, but she couldn’t help it. After a long chat with Bucky, he convinced her it wasn’t her fault. None of that was her fault. And luckily Kate was okay. They also stopped talking to Wanda, who went back to being ignored and eat in the bathroom, but the two best friends didn’t gave a shit about her. She was a bitch to them and she deserved it all. After a strangely calm month, the Spring Fling finally rolled over. Y/N had to endure a lot of convincing from Bucky, but after trying for the umpteenth time, she finally gave in and went with him as his plus one. She chose a purple suit that, as Bucky stated ‘hugged her in all the right places’, while Bucky chose a classic black one. "Damn Buck, you almost look straight tonight."

"Bitch, you know I will never be. Here put the flower you so nicely gifted me in my pocket."

"You are supposed to do it to me, not the way around, dude." Y/N reasoned with a chuckle but grabbed the white rose from Bucky’s hands nonetheless and did what he asked her to, before smiling widely when he pulled another white rose from behind his back and placed it in her suit pocket too.

"Let‘s go break some hearts." Y/N laughed heartily at Bucky’s joke and let him pull her out of his house and into his car, jamming to loud songs as they drove towards their school.

"Holy shit."

The party was already in full swing when they entered the gym, now all decorated for the Spring Fling, and Y/N and Bucky stopped at the entrance to take over the room, their eyes watching people dancing on the floor, drinking at the tables or smoking under the bleachers. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Are you kidding me? There’s no way I’m going through this hell without being drunk." Y/N deadpanned with a serious, almost scared face, causing a small laugh to escape Bucky’s lips before he shook his head and pushed her towards the table where punch was on.

Wanda, after making up with Bucky, let him lead her to Y/N, finding her dancing with a few guys and girls from the A.V. Club. She watched her a few moments before taking a big, grounding breath and then tapped on Y/N’s shoulder, watching her turn around and noticing she still had the piece of crown she threw at her after winning in her hand, and with an hopeful tone she asked, "so- friends?" She batted her big doe eyes at Y/N and patiently waited for Y/N’s answer.

"I don’t know, are you still a bitch?"

"No." Wanda smiled softly at the girl and immediately shook her head, her gesture making a small grin grow on Y/N’s stoic face too, instantly calming her nerves down.

"Then we’re cool. C’mere." Y/N chuckled and circled her arms around Wanda, hugging her close for a few moments.

"I don’t know how is that possible, but Kate apologized too, in some twisted and confused way in the bathroom." Wanda told Y/N with a still perplexed expression, her mind still reeling from that moment.

"Oh really? I would’ve loved to witness it. Where is Vis?"

"It didn’t workout. He is with a girl from his science class now." Wanda told Y/N with a resigned shrug and Y/N caressed her shoulder gently in apology.

"Oh I’m so sorry." Bucky butted in, caressing Wanda’s shoulder too, who smiled at her friends gratefully.

"It doesn’t matter."

"We can always make up a plan to make him pay." Y/N joked, giggling at Wanda when she widened her eyes and shook her head furiously.

"No, no, no, no. I’m done with revenge."

"That’s fair." Y/N nodded still giggling and circled her arm around Wanda’s shoulders, Bucky hugging her torso from the other side.

"Besides, I already forgot about him. I just want to have fun with my friends tonight."

"That‘s it, bitch. Let’s go have another drink." Y/N smiled widely and pushed them to the table where all the drinks were, but Bucky stopped her and pulled her and Wanda to the dance floor instead.

"It can wait. Let’s go dance now, bitches!"

"No! I need to drink. Wanda is your dancing buddy from now on." Y/N chuckled as successfully sneaked away from Bucky’s hands and waved through the sea of people to finally walk towards the table where the spiked punch was, grabbed a red cup to fill and took a sip of the strong drink as she leaned her ass on a random table to catch some breath, not noticing she stopped at the table where Kate was sat in. "Hey." Y/N smiled awkwardly at the black haired girl staring at her just a few feet from her and waved at her with her free hand.

"Oh, hey Y/N!" Kate was definitely high from medications if her hooded eyes were anything to go by, and Y/N still smiled awkwardly at the plastic, watching as she blinked a few times into space before struggling to grab her fancy cup and trying to drink from it, only to huff out in frustration when her collar prevented her to.

Y/N sighed out loud and debated with herself for a few moments if she should help Kate or not. A few moments later she made up her mind. She wasn’t a monster. "Fuck it." Y/N whispered under her breath and sat up, walking over Kate and placing her red cup on the table before grabbing Kate’s glass from her hands and sliding gently between Kate’s slightly open legs to let her drink easily and prevent it to spill on Kate’s dress, "here, let me help you."

Kate stared at Y/N gratefully and drank softly from the cup, never moving her eyes away from Y/N. Y/N suppressed an entertained smile by biting on her bottom lip at Kate rolling her eyes slightly back in delight as she drank, "thank you."

Y/N nodded with a soft smile and stared into Kate’s blue eyes for just a moment then started to move away from her, but she just had the time to move to the side from Kate’s slightly open legs before two hands grabbed her waist and pushed her down, making her sit on Kate’s lap. "O-kay."

Y/N smiled awkwardly down at Kate, who stared back at her with a dopey smile while her arms circled around Y/N’s waist, making her gasp softly under her breath at the sudden gesture. "Hm, you smell nice."

Y/N tapped with the palm of her hand the top of Kate’s glass before moving it on top of Kate’s head and tapped her hair gently when Kate leaned her head as much as her collar allowed her to into Y/N’s neck and breathe her perfume in, an awkward smile stretching over Y/N’s lips, "thanks, I guess?"

"You look nice too. I love purple." Kate leaned her head slightly more into Y/N’s neck and hummed softly as she hugged her tightly.

"Kate, what is this?" Y/N couldn’t help but ask after staying awkwardly into Kate’s arms for a few seconds, staring at her seriously and almost regretted using an harsh tone when she noticed the vulnerability swirling into Kate’s blue eyes when she pulled away to stare into her own Y/E/C irises.

"It’s me missing my best friend. I’m sorry I treated you like shit. I really liked spending time with you."

"Kate, you’re high." Y/N shook her head to prevent her brain to fall for the girl’s games again, putting a metaphorical space between them. She wasn’t going to let Kate fuck her up again.

"Maybe. My pills make me like everyone. Can you believe I said I liked Lili’s dress? And she is wearing orange! Who the fuck likes orange?"

Y/N shook her head and breathed out a small laugh. Kate didn’t change so much. And she somehow loved it. "Are you okay?"

"My back hurts a bit, but with you here with me, I feel better."

"Okay, you are definitely so fucking high." Y/N stated with an amused laugh and looked at Kate when she pulled away to observe people dance distractedly. She found herself getting lost in taking Kate in, from her perfectly styled hair, to her light make up, then moving her eyes down her green dress and appreciating it hugging her body as it was starting to become lean and muscular again. Luckily, before she started ogling at her exposed chest, Kate’s voice pulled her out of her inappropriate daze.

"I wanna dance." Y/N sighed out happily when she moved her eyes away from Kate’s chest a moment before she met her eyes and smiled innocently at her, nodding slightly at her.

"Are you sure you can with-?" Y/N waved her hand around her head and neck to point to Kate’s collar situation, but the black haired girl just nodded slightly at her with the same dopey smile.

"Yeah, dummy. It’s here for a reason." Kate laughed loudly at her own joke that Y/N clearly missed but laughed unconvinced alongside her before widening her eyes comically when Kate patted her butt a few times, "get up, we’re dancing." Y/N sat up slowly as her mind still reeled for Kate’s gesture, so much lost in her head she just let Kate grab her hand and pull her towards the dance floor where Bucky and Wanda were still dancing. What the fuck?

"Look who finally decided to join us again! And she brought fresh meat!" Bucky exclaimed, screeching loudly when Kate went towards him and took his hand to dance. Y/N watched Bucky carefully spun her around before the two started dancing back to back in a someway funny way. It was weird watching Kate so care-free but Y/N liked it nonetheless.

"Y/N! C’mere!" Y/N widened her eyes comically when Kate pulled on her hand and turned her around quickly, making her slam her back on Kate’s front as her arms circled her waist.

"Kate- are you-?"

"Shut up and dance." Y/N swallowed the rest of her question as nodded, before swallowing once again at Kate moving her hips to the rhythm and occasionally hitting Y/N’s butt. Was she really grinding on her?

"Oh fuck it." Y/N exclaimed under her breath at her mind reeling and let herself go on the dance floor for once, thanking the alcohol in her system for that. After a few beats of dancing seductively with Kate, she grabbed Wanda’s hand when she stood in front of her and danced care-freely to the EDM music blasting loudly through the speakers in their gym.

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