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zepskies · 1 month

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Take Me Home - Part 2

Pairing: Beau Arlen x F. Reader

Summary: You are another lost soul at Sunny Day Excursions. You’re aiming to settle in Helena, Montana, where Beau Arlen is the new sheriff in town. But you’ve both got a past you’re running from.

AN: Thank you so much for all of your lovely comments on Part 1! I know many of you have questions, and I promise, all will be revealed in due time…

(Also, what do you guys think of new chapters releasing on Wednesdays and Sundays instead of just Fridays? A week is a long time, isn't it? 😂)

Song Inspo: “City Grown Willow” by Radio Company

Word Count: 5,200

Tags/Warnings: Tension, hurt/comfort, major angst, and more comfort of a different sort.

❤️ Series Masterlist

Part 2: It’s Not Right, But It’s Okay

Tensions were running high at Sunny Day Excursions.

Over the next few days, Mary continued to press the issue of you staying in Montana with little passive aggressive comments that got on your damn nerves. You proverbially dug your heels in, and became even more stubborn and taciturn as a result.

Unstoppable force meets immovable object.

However, the entire camp was shaken the night Paige and Luke disappeared on a hike. Buck and Sunny assured everyone that they were doing their best to look for the couple, but come the morning, it was Emily who accidentally found Luke in the woods, bleeding from a head wound, and without Paige.

He claimed that they’d gone their separate ways after a fight, and he hadn’t seen her since. Paige’s suitcase and things were gone from her tent, so Sunny could only assume that she’d found her way back to camp and left for home by morning.

“Look, no one’s a prisoner here,” Sunny had said. “If Paige wanted to go home, then that’s up to her.”

There was still something off about it though, you felt. Emily seemed to share your thoughts; you’d heard her whispering with Avery, and Dan, another camper in his early 40s.

You started to watch Luke a bit harder from then on. As did your friend Mary, if for different reasons.

It was still early in the morning when you caught her flirting with Luke in front of your shared tent.

“A personal trainer, huh?” said Luke. His gaze flit over Mary’s form, and she allowed it with a smile. “You know, I’ve got a pretty good workout routine, but I’ll bet you can give me some tips—”

“Drink lots of water,” you said dryly as you approached the tent. You carried your sketchpad and acrylic paints in your hand, and you pushed into the tent without giving Luke and Mary more than a glance.

You heard Mary’s voice outside the tent, all girlish and flirtatious as she apologized about you, and suggested they could keep talking later. Luke readily agreed. You sat down on the edge of your bed and watched his silhouette walk away from the tent.

Mary soon joined you inside, and she didn’t look pleased. She stared down at you and crossed her arms.

“Are you kidding me with that shit?” you asked, gesturing at the scene you just saw.

“Could you be any more of a cockblock?” Mary shot back.

“Number one, that guy is a little too young for you, Cougar Town,” you reminded her. Luke had to be in his early 20s. It had been a hot minute since you and Mary were of college age. “Number two, he came here with his girlfriend, who he somehow lost in the woods.”

“She left him,” Mary said. “All alone in the middle of nowhere. Then she took off and went home so she didn’t have to deal with what she did. I feel bad for him.”

“No, you’re horny for him. There’s a difference,” you said flatly.

You loved Mary like a sister, but she had the tendency to let guys blind her to good sense. (Ha. Pot calling the kettle black, came your self-deprecation.)

Though you could’ve predicted the way she huffed and walked away, once again leaving you alone. You sighed.

Wasn’t this vacation for us? you wondered.

Mary continued to bait Luke with coy flirtation, while you tried and failed to ride a horse again. Cormack had been kind and encouraging in trying to help you onto the creature, but once you were on its back, you were too afraid to let the horse move.

You felt like you were going to topple off at any moment, even with Beau Arlen’s advice. (Which still made you blush whenever you thought about it.)

So Cormack helped you down, and you went back to the mess tent for a mid-afternoon snack to make you feel better: a giant jelly donut.

You were really getting frustrated with yourself now.

“It’s not so hard,” Emily had said. You could imagine that her dad, the cowboy sheriff, had put her on a horse from the time she was a little kid. You were a city girl, through and through. The closest you’d ever gotten to riding a horse was a plastic one—a carousel at a carnival when you were six.

While you finished off your donut, you realized that you’d spent the whole day alone. As frustrated as you were with Mary, she was your best friend. And after this week, you would be staying and she would be going back to Chicago. You didn’t know when you would get to see her again.

So with a sigh, you wiped your hands free of donut icing and went to try and find her.

You started with the tent you shared with her. “Hey, Mary? Look I—”

You gasped when, upon entering the tent, you got your eyes seared. Mary and Luke were tangled together under the sheets. He moved off of your friend and rolled onto his back next to her when you came in. Mary uttered your name in shock. Everyone was shocked, really.

You were that, and angry.

“Really?! In our goddamn bed?” you shouted. Your gaze focused on Luke, and you pointed at him. “Get the hell out of here.”

He hesitated slightly, glancing at Mary, but your furious look scared him more. He grabbed his boxers and got dressed under the sheets before he left the bed, and then fled the tent, giving you a wide berth on his way out.

You then focused on Mary, who somehow looked both contrite and irritated at being interrupted. She said your name in a placating way, but you shook your head.

“No. No. Don’t even try,” you said. “That guy’s girlfriend left him in the middle of a vacation! What does that tell you? Please, screw me?”

“You know what?” Mary snapped. She sat up in the bed, making sure to cover herself with the sheet. She leaned over to grab her clothes from the floor and started hastily getting dressed.

“Luke’s actually a nice guy," she said. "You used to know how to have fun. But now you’ve just become this bitter person who can’t relax or let yourself be happy, let alone anyone else.”

That actually struck you—like a physical blow to your chest. You tried to blink past the sting of tears in your eyes.

“You’re a damn child,” you said, steadier than you felt. “You’re not the one who had your whole world imploded.”

Mary’s lips pursed. She still looked angry, but also like she was hiding the sting of guilt. She gathered up some of her things and informed you that she’d be staying at Luke’s tent tonight.

Freakin’ fine by you.

You’d also have to request some new bed sheets from Sunny.

In the morning, you stumbled out of bed after a rough night’s sleep. It was hard for you to sleep in a new place by yourself, especially out here in the woods.

Especially after how you and Mary left things.

You were so tired, you counted it a small blessing that you were able to put on clothes and get your hair into some kind of normalcy before you trekked over to the mess tent.

There you accidentally overheard Avery and Emily arguing; she’d lost her knife in the woods when she’d happened upon Luke, but Avery was reluctant to let her go hiking by herself. Apparently, her mother was due to join them this morning as well.

It seemed like the day of late comers though. A new married couple, Tonya and Donno, had arrived late yesterday to join the trip. They’d requested a tent at the far end of the camp, closest to the woods. Apparently, they wanted to really experience nature.

All you knew was, they seemed a bit weird.

“That knife’s important. My father gave it to me,” Emily said, interrupting your thoughts.

It made Avery quiet, but they both greeted you more pleasantly when you had to walk by them to get to the coffee.

“Hey, sorry,” you gave a little wave in embarrassment. You hated interrupting moments that had nothing to do with you, but you supposed it was unavoidable in this camp.

Once you’d gotten your coffee and filled your plate with some eggs and bacon, you joined them at the table. You pretended not to notice the way they both glanced at you with measures of concern. Did you really look that bad?

Avery wisely didn’t comment. Emily wasn’t as good at curbing her inner filter.

“Hey, you okay?” she asked. You gave her a thin smile.

“Just a bit tired. Didn’t sleep so well,” you admitted.

Of course, that was when the reason for your bedraggled appearance strolled into the mess tent. Mary came in and noticed Avery and Emily first with a smile. It turned frosty when she glanced at you. You gave her a mocking “smile” right back.

She chose to ignore you and went for the buffet table instead.

Right, you thought. You supposed that was how it was going to be for the rest of this damn trip.

“All righty! Good mornin’, folks,” Sunny said, entering the mess tent. She surveyed all the faces gathered—some relaxed and jovial, and then your table, a bit awkward, a bit tense.

She moved on with a smile that matched her name and her shiny red hair.

“Just lettin’ you all know as a reminder, we’ve got a bunch of activities for you all if there are any takers. Archery, kayaking, it’s gonna be a great time,” she said. “But if you prefer, you’re welcome to keep to the camp have a more relaxed day. It’s your vacation, so it’s up to you how you wanna spend it.”

You all nodded in understanding.

It’s your vacation. You choose how you spend it.

That, you could get on board with.

You spent the rest of the morning alone, as usual. Either you were reading in the outdoor lounge area, taking in the sunshine and the fresh air, or you were painting, taking in the landscape of the tall trees and the great, big mountains peeking out from behind them.

You earned yourself some peace today, one that let you breathe and try to tune out your frustrations with Mary, and your worries about the future. You hummed along to a melody in your mind as you painted. Completely at peace…

Until a hand tapped on your shoulder, making you yelp and sending your paintbrush high in the air.

Cormack came into your line of vision with a barely stifled laugh and placating hands. While you took out your earbuds (and calmed your breathing), he grabbed your brush and handed it back to you.

“Sorry about that. Just wanted to let you know that lunch is served,” he said, though he took a glance at your painting. “Hey, lookin’ real good there. Nice landscape.”

You let out an embarrassed chuckle. “Aw, you don’t have to be so nice. I’m still learning.”

He crossed his arms. “Well, if you’re interested in taking classes, I know someone who runs an art studio in town. Miss Peggy. Nice lady. Not too harsh.”

You laughed more genuinely.

“Good to know, thanks! Send me the address and I’ll check it out,” you said. Cormack agreed with a smile, and he helped you up from the long couch you were sitting on. The two of you walked back together to the central part of the camp, where the mess tent was.

There you met Emily’s mother, Carla, who’d just joined her family at the camp. She wasn’t exactly dressed for camping in her pressed blouse and pencil skirt; professional and smart, her long dark hair a perfect coil.

This woman was immaculate. As you soon learned, she was also a lawyer. You didn’t often feel intimidated by other women, but she could fit that bill, considering you were sweaty and dusty in your plain V-necked shirt and jeans.

And especially knowing that this was Sheriff Arlen’s ex-wife. Avery seemed like the “wealthy businessman” type—the kind of man you’d expect a high-powered lawyer to be with. You found yourself wondering how she’d met the sheriff.

That’s none of your busineeeess, you sing-songed in your mind, while you speared more salad on your plate. As if that could disguise the juicy brisket burger right beside it.

After lunch, you returned to your tent to finally find Mary. She was lying on the bed, looking a bit listless.

“I’m surprised you’re not attached to Luke’s hip,” you remarked, setting down your backpack and paint supplies on the floor. “Or his face.”

She shot you a peeved look. “He keeps ditching me for that weird new couple. Tonya and Donner or something.”

“Donno?” you supplied. “Yeah, he’s weird. He stole the ketchup bottle from the breakfast table this morning. He told me, ‘You shouldn’t ruin good eggs with sugary tomato paste.’”

Mary raised a brow, but she turned to you when you sat down beside her on the bed. There was a moment of tension between you, even though your gazes were softer to each other. The truth was, you missed your friend today. You guys didn’t fight often, and it had you hurting. Maybe she felt the same way.

“Listen,” you said with a sigh. “I’m not sorry for throwing Luke out of our tent. That was gross as hell, and I didn’t appreciate that. But I don’t want to fight with you. I want to enjoy our last few days together before you go back to Chicago.”

Mary’s lips pursed, but she seemed to relent.

“Yeah, that was a bitch move,” she admitted. She knew full well that her tryst with Luke could’ve happened in his tent, not the one she shared with you. She met your gaze with more resignation, as well as apology.

“You’re really staying here, aren’t you?” she asked.

You nodded. “Yeah, I am. I’m not saying there’s nothing for me back home. Of course I’m going to miss you, our friends, the rest of my family…but I need to do this. I need a fresh start.”

It took her a moment, but Mary nodded. She reached over and hugged you. You held her back tightly.

After a beat, she let you go and slid out of bed.

“Okay,” she sighed. “I need to do something. I’m going stir crazy in here.”

“Where’re you going?” you asked.

“Just for a run,” she replied. “I should be back by dinner.”

“A run?” you repeated, your brows furrowing. “In the woods by yourself? Don’t you think that’s dangerous?”

“Well, you could come with me,” she offered. You grimaced. You and running didn’t mix. You were more of a yoga girl.

Mary laughed and finished changing into her activewear and sneakers.

“That’s what I thought,” she said. “No worries, I’ll have my phone if anything. I’ll be okay.”

“But your cell won’t have service out there!” you said.

Mary was already leaving. She blew you a kiss goodbye, though she did stop in the tent’s entryway. Her face sobered with a sincere apology.

“Look, I’m sorry for everything, okay?” she said. “I know I can be a brat sometimes…but we can talk more when I get back, clear my head.”

You were reluctant to see her go, but you nodded.

“Just be back in time for dinner!” you called after her.

Mary wasn’t back for dinner. Even after the sun set, she hadn’t come back from her run. You were really beginning to worry.

All the other campers were gathering up at the edge of camp for a Night Hike. It was an idea Buck and Sunny surprised you all with a few hours ago. You wondered if they were trying to make up for the strange way Paige left the camp.

“The moon’s full tonight,” as Sunny had said, with a slightly too bright smile. “Should be a beautiful time.”

You asked some of the others if they’d seen Mary, but they all replied negatively. Even Luke was nowhere to be found…but someone else was missing too.

“I still can’t believe you let her go into the woods alone,” Carla snapped at her husband.

Avery’s frown deepened. “I had no idea she went off by herself. You know your daughter. She’s headstrong—”

“Yeah, just like her father,” Carla muttered, turning away from him. Avery sighed.

You couldn’t help but approach them.

“Emily’s missing?" you said in concern. "Mary is too. I’ve been waiting for her to come back all afternoon.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Carla said. She frowned as anxiety continued to well up in her eyes. “Maybe they found each other.”

You touched her arm in comfort. “Either way, we can all look for them now.”

Sunny came up to the group with a flashlight and a smile.

“Everyone ready?” she asked.

“Mary’s missing,” you told her, “And so is Emily. Mary went on a run this morning and hasn’t been back since.”

Sunny inclined her head. After she surveyed the rest of the crowd, she settled back on you.

“I see Luke’s not among us either. Maybe they’re together?” she suggested, in a leading tone. You frowned.

“No, she left alone,” you said firmly.

“Don’t mean she stayed alone, darlin’,” Sunny replied, with that Oklahoma twang that so often made her words more charming. “But we’ll be sure to look for her and Emily while we’re out there.”

Carla shook her head and said to her husband, “That’s it. I’m calling Beau.”

“Darling, you don’t need to,” Avery replied, shaking his head. “Emily’s a responsible girl. She knows what time we’re meant to leave—”

Carla shook her head and walked past him and Sunny—towards the hotspot for cell service. You agreed with her; calling the sheriff couldn’t hurt, especially if you all couldn’t find Mary or Emily on this hike.

You still went with the rest of them to start your own search. You tried to keep with the group, but after lingering in certain spots to call for Mary, you eventually realized that you’d lost the trail—and everyone else.

The trees were tall and dark now. The moon was filtering through them like the sun had during other day hikes, but it was much more ominous at night.

“Shit,” you muttered. You gripped your flashlight in worry as panic started to well up in your chest.

Now you were lost.

You jumped with a start when the hoot of a bird passed by overhead.

Shiiiit. This was very bad.

You kept moving forward on what you thought was the trail. That was all you could do, keep moving forward. You made a few turns around some trees, occasionally calling out for Sunny, or Mary, or anyone to hear you.

The panic was back now, full force, and you felt the sting of tears in your eyes. And when you turned another corner, you screamed when you bumped into someone.

A girl’s scream echoed just as loudly as yours in the big, empty wood, but you got ahold of yourself, literally with a hand over your wildly beating heart when you realized who you’d run into.

“Emily!” you uttered. The girl let out a breath of relief to see you too. You went to her and pulled her into a hug, and she hugged you back.

“Thank. God,” she said. Her voice sounded tight with emotion, and you held her a bit tighter.

“It’s okay,” you rubbed her back. “How long’ve you been out here?”

“I don’t know,” she shook her head, pulling away from you. “Couple of hours? Maybe longer.”

You nodded and expelled a breath. Poor thing looked tired. She didn’t even have any supplies with her. You gave her a protein bar from your backpack before you two started walking.

“So the good news is, we found each other. The bad news is, we’re still lost,” you said, counting each item on your fingers. “But the good news also is, I’ve only been walking for about…half an hour or so. I’m thinking we can mark trees or other landmarks as we pass them, like checking them off, so we know where we’ve been.”

Emily glanced at you with a smile. “You’re a checklist person, aren’t you?”

“Absolutely!” you agreed. “Checking things off is satisfying. But it’s also good just to take an inventory of where we’re at.”

You two kept walking for a while. Emily explained that she’d been following Luke, who took off by himself after giving her an ominous warning.

“There are some bad people on this trip. Want my advice? Get the hell out of here,” he’d said.

You frowned in concern. You’d felt that there was something fishy about that guy, pretty much from the moment he and Paige disappeared on that hike. Those newcomers he’d been hanging out with ever since, Tonya and Donno…maybe they had something to do with it.

They’d left camp today to go into town, claiming to check on the restaurant they owned and ran. But with everything now starting to come into perspective, you couldn’t take any piece of information at face value around here.

Suddenly, Emily stopped short.

“What’s…” Your words trailed as you followed her line of vision. There was a frilly pair of underwear on the ground.

That led to a hoodie strewn in the dirt and dead leaves. You continued on, until you found Mary, lying on her back on the cold ground. You and Emily gasped her name, but you moved first, dropping to your knees at Mary’s side. You pressed a hand to her cheek and found it cold.

You moved two fingers to the pulse point at her neck, but there was nothing. No life in her. Your mouth fell open in a silent, shocked cry.

“Mary? Honey, can you hear me?” you tried, shaking her shoulders. When she remained unresponsive, tears burned in your eyes and blurred your vision. You finally saw a dark patch of wet pooled out from under her body.

“Oh my God,” Emily said, voicing your thoughts. She was panicked. “Oh God, she’s…she’s…”

You turned to her and wanted to say, Don’t look.

You had briefly taught highschoolers before you became a college professor. You were used to looking out for your students, and as the adult here, you wanted to shield the teen from the sight of this, no matter how much your mind was spinning.

Before you could say anything, Emily fled the clearing with a scream.

“Emily!” you shouted after her. You glanced back at Mary in desperation, but you forced yourself onto your feet and ran after the girl.

You had slightly longer legs, but she was fast. You only caught up to her because she screamed louder, after running into Buck leading a horse through the woods. She grabbed onto him while you caught your breath behind her.

“What? What happened?” Buck asked. You laid a supportive hand on Emily’s shoulder, and she turned back to you with tearful eyes.

“Mary,” you managed, despite the coarseness in your voice. “She’s…”

This isn’t real, you thought. It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real.

“She’s dead,” Emily finished for you. “Someone killed her.”

Buck’s eyes widened in shock. All he could say was…

“Show me.”

Buck brought Mary’s body back to camp on the back of his horse. The three of you walked in silence all the way there. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at her lifeless body. It was wrong. And if you did, you knew you’d collapse.

Emily was likely in shock as well. Her arm was looped through yours, though you weren’t sure who was steadying who.

Thanks to Carla, the police were already on the way to Sunny Day Excursions. When you reached the camp, Carla beelined for her daughter. Despite how happy she was to see her mom, Emily was a bit reluctant to let go of you, seeing how shaken you were, but you encouraged her wordless to go to her mother.

Carla pulled Emily into a tight hug, kissing the side of her head, and asked if she was all right. Emily just shook her head and pressed her face into her mom’s shoulder. Carla looked up at you with a relieved sigh.

“Thank you,” she said.

You gave her teary smile of your own. You couldn’t speak though, especially when Buck passed by with Mary still on the back of his horse. Sunny gasped and grabbed a blanket to cover the body with.

She then went to you, whispering, “You poor dear. Come ‘ere, sit by the fire.”

She covered your shoulders with another blanket and steered you to sit by the bonfire in the center of camp. You stayed there and stared at the flames. All the while, you didn’t feel the warmth. You didn’t feel the silent tears that slid down your face and dropped into your lap.

“Where’s Luke?” you heard Avery ask.

“That’s a good question,” said Sunny. She turned to her husband. “Buck?”

“I don’t know, but somebody better find him,” he replied grimly.

It was another hour before the police arrived.

You still hadn’t moved from your spot in front of the bonfire on a hard bench, but it was Cormack who gently asked you if you wanted to go back to your tent to relax until the police got around to talking to you about what happened.

You’d agreed, silently, and he helped you up. But you found that you could go no further than the couple of steps that brought you onto the platform outside of your tent. The tent you’d shared with Mary.

You couldn’t go in, and Cormack seemed to realize that. He helped you lower down to sit on the platform, with your dirty sneakers planted on the step below. He gave you a cup of hot tea as well, which you held with both hands and sipped slowly.

You only raised your head when you heard Emily’s voice exclaim in happiness. You watched her run to her father, the Sheriff. He welcomed his daughter into his arms and held her tight. Relief was painted all over his face. You heard the rumble of his voice asking her if she was all right. She just burrowed closer in the safety of his arms.

A blonde policewoman had come with him, along with a whole unit of officers. She went to question Buck and Sunny first, while Beau handled Emily, then Avery and Carla. It didn’t seem like a pleasant conversation, between the two men especially.

Don’t stare, you reminded yourself. You lowered your gaze to the dusty bottom stair between your feet. Your vision started to glaze over the longer you focused on that spot. You weren’t lost in thought. You were just…blank. This entire night still didn’t feel real.

Mary’s last words kept ringing through your mind…

“Look, I’m sorry for everything, okay?” she’d said. “I know I can be a brat sometimes…but we can talk more when I get back.”

You were interrupted from your reverie when two brown boots entered your line of vision. You looked up, and Beau Arlen was there to greet you with a look of sympathy. And yet, there was a professional set to his face that let you know you were about to be formally questioned about Mary’s death.

“Is that spot taken?” Beau asked, pointing to the space beside you on the platform. You shook your head and scooched over, so he could sit down. He sighed on his way there, greeting you with polite familiarity.

“Sheriff,” you nodded back. You set aside your mug of tea and crossed your arms, holding yourself against the chill.

You’d left the blanket by the bonfire, and your sweater had been stained with blood, after helping Buck set Mary’s body on the horse. You’d ripped the sweater off as soon as you got to camp, leaving you in just your undershirt.

“You need a jacket,” Beau remarked. He glanced back at your tent, as if he was wondering why you hadn’t gone inside to grab one. But his gaze was perceptive. Instead of asking, he shrugged out of his faux fur-lined leather jacket and draped it around your shoulders.

“Here, you can borrow this for now,” he said.

“Thank you,” you spoke in a small voice. You grasped one edge of the jacket and pulled it closer around you. It smelled like musky cologne and old leather.

Beau waved off his gesture of kindness.

“I hear you found my daughter in the woods and tried to get her back to camp,” he said. “Thank you for that.”

You glanced over at him, and tears once again shone in your eyes.

“I’m sorry she had to see…”

Beau’s gaze was heavy as he sighed and nodded again in agreement.

“I’m sorry you had to see it too,” he said. “And I’m sorry for your loss. For your friend.”

You took in a shuddering breath. New tears found familiar paths down your cheeks.

“Best friend, since college,” you said.

Beau took that in, before he asked you about the day’s events. You had to explain about Mary going missing first, then Emily, and finally Luke, who still hadn’t been found. You told everything you knew from your perspective.

When you were done, Beau reluctantly asked about the Mary and Luke situation. Your lips pursed, but your upset wasn’t at the sheriff. You knew he had to ask these questions.

“We argued about it,” you admitted. “Me and Mary. I warned her not to get involved with him, and the way Paige left camp was just one of many…but still, I should’ve been there. I shouldn’t have let her go into the woods alone! I should’ve gone with her!”

By the end, your whole body wracked with sobs. You covered your face with your hands to try and get some semblance of composure, but you just couldn’t keep it together.

“Okay, okay,” Beau said gently. He laid a hand on your back and rubbed back and forth. “I’m sorry, darlin’. I am.”

You sucked in a few tremulous breaths, sniffling. You looked up at him with red, watery eyes. He gave you a half smile.

“Sorry,” he repeated, this time for the endearment. “Like I said, got a bad habit of doin’ that.”

You shook your head with a weak curve of your lips, despite how your lower lip wobbled.

“It’s okay,” you said.

But it wasn’t. Nothing was.

You didn’t think you’d ever be okay again.

AN: 😥 I'm sorry about Mary, but I promise, it's all for a purpose, besides following canon. But let me know what you think! There will be much more of the reader and Beau in the next chapter, though you may not expect how their next meeting comes about...

Next Time:

“We’re gonna start here in a few minutes, but until then, you can take a seat,” said Tom. “There’s also coffee and cookies over there, if you like.”

Coffee. Coffee was warm, and it might settle your nerves and help you perk up a bit. You thanked him and went for the carafes on a small table in the back. You poured some coffee into a Styrofoam cup and poured a little sugar and creamer into it, but after you took an experimental sip, you immediately regretted it.

Tastes like damn soil water! You made a grossed out sound and spat it back into your cup.

“Yeah, wouldn’t recommend the joe,” drawled a familiar voice.

You turned sharply to find Sheriff Beau Arlen.

▶️ Keep Reading: PART 3

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int-writersmind · 5 months

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Potential Customer

Summary: You work at a record store, bored out of your mind, until Peter Parker walks in and catches your eye. Peter Parker x Reader

*also I wrote this with the Ps4/5 Peter Parker in mind, but honestly it's generic enough to be any Peter.

Genre: Fluff; Flirting

Word Count: 2k+

When you decided to take a job at So-So Records, you thought it would be like that movie Empire Records where every day would be an exciting romp, well hopefully not a potential job-losing-filled-romp. Unfortunately for you it was much more boring.

Your days were mostly filled with dealing with tourists who were kind-hearted but utterly clueless or pretentious audiophiles who would give you their opinions without even asking you. However, for all your big talk you weren’t that knowledgeable when it came to music, you just liked what your liked and were opened to suggestions (from unpretentious, kind customers of course.)

It was a weekday, you couldn’t remember which, since they all seem to blend together when working back-to-back shifts. You were alone, the shop had a few customers idling around.

You were at the front counter, elbow resting on the check-out counter, head resting on one hand, the other lazily flipping through a catalog. When the front bell rings, your eyes barely flicker upwards. It isn’t until that potential customer who walked through the front door is standing right in front of you do you finally look up.

“Um, hello?” says the Potential Customer.

“Welcome to So-So Records,” you decide to stand up straight and give your full attention to this Potential Customer. Clueless Tourist or Pretentious Audiophile? “Can I help you with anything?”

“Uh, yeah, um,” The Potential Customer, a mid-twenties guy with chocolate brown hair and amber eyes that complemented, reached into his satchel and pulled out a notebook, flipping through the pages. “I’m actually looking for this album? I’ve been to a few other places and had no luck, they all say So-So would be my best chance.”

The Potential Customer, with his slouchy shoulders and tendency to fidget quite often, placed a hand on the back of his neck, rubbing up and down. Your eyes dart from the hand on the back of his neck to the hand that gives you the notebook. Your gaze lingers a little too long on his long, slender fingers. Strange, you know, but sometimes the most attractive parts of a human were really strange.

You refocus, eyes skimming the paper, on it was a title and artist, your brain flickers with the passing glance of the cover. “Uh, yeah, I…think we have this, follow me.”

You move from behind the desk, taking the notebook in hand, glancing at the words once more. You lead–

“I’m Peter by the way, I know you didn’t ask, but still…” You glance back, gesturing to your name tag, as you lead Peter down the aisles of various genres of music. “I actually never been to a record store before, didn’t even know they still existed.”

“I was like that too for a while,” You stop at a section where the older music was located, placing the notebook on one section of records. “Gotta thank the hipsters for making it popular again, even though they are some of the most annoying customers.”

“The only memory of records I have is when my Aunt and Uncle used to play some every so often on the weekends.”

You start to flip through the albums, scanning for the right one, “Do they still find time to play some?”

Peter sighs and leans against a row of records, looking elsewhere, “No, no, my Uncle, actually…passed some time ago...”

You stop for a moment, fingers pausing, you look in his direction. As if he could feel your eyes on him, he looks up at you. His face, neutral with maybe a hint of sadness. Like he was used to saying that a loved one who must have been important in his life was gone, but also still hurt when thinking about him.

“Apologies.” You say, not completely happy with the response. How many times had he heard that?

“Don’t be,” Peter crosses his arms, smirks a boyish grin that makes him even more appealing. “It made me think of a nice memory that I forgot about, more memories about Uncle Ben will never not be nice.”

You smile as you return back to searching for the record, “Oh, look I found it! That’s surprising.”

Peter moves closer, hovering over your right shoulder to get a better look, You sharply suck in breath, turning your head to look at him. Peter glances at you, and smiles, “That’s great, kind of a shame though.”

“Why?”

“'Cause it means I have to leave now,” You hand him the record and the notebook, to which Peter plucks it from your hand, looking over the front and the back, while moving away from you. You exhale deeply as you follow behind him.

“Who says you have to go? Unless you have somewhere to go?” You finally say.

“I think I can spare some time,” Peter looks down at his pretend watch on his bare wrist, “Are you gonna introduce me to some music that will change my life?”

“Please,” You laugh as the two of you lazily walk down the aisle, “I’m hardly the last person to do so.”

“Don’t you-”

“Work at a record store? I know, I know, but I like what I like. Sue me if it’s Top 100.”

The two of you stop at the end of the aisle, you standing at one end of a row of records, Peter moving over and doing the same.

“I guess it’s better than getting made fun of for having an old man's taste.”

“Really? You get hate for having a love for the oldies? That’s some bullshit, especially in a place like New York.”

“Well, when you're a nerdy kid with thick glasses and a love of science, it’s not so cool” Peter flicks through the stack, pulling up an album by a band that was huge in the 70s.

“Hmm, if you like that group,” You flick through some albums on your side, skimming until you land on the second record by a female-led group from around the same time. “How about this?” You model the record, posing with it, flipping it from front to back. “And…it’s on sale.” You move over to the same aisle as Peter, standing close to him like he did to you earlier.

Peter takes the record from your hand, “I think younger, nerdier me would have loved this.”

“Younger, nerdier, you sounds like he was such a cutie.” You response.

“Was?”

You shyly smile back, moving away with your hands behind your back. ”

This was grossly unprofessional, what were your intentions with this potential customer? Making a sale or making a move. You push that thought out of your head, if you were making him uncomfortable or pushing it too far, then he wouldn’t be smirking at you like that. That smile that causes a slight flurry of butterflies in your stomach.

The two of you continue your walk back to the front, the long way of course. Bobbing and weaving through different aisles, many short, some long. Passing through pop–contemporary and classic, and some RnB, ending up at one end of the store, in the rock section. “What were you like in high school?” Peter asks.

“Quiet, mostly,” You lean against the wall and Peter does the same next to you. “Not too popular but I had friends, spent a lot of time with my art and music teachers, focused on doing little stuff like that instead of more fun extracurricular activities.”

“Huh, yeah I get it, I found some time to do some little stuff to distract myself in high school too. Nothing…too exciting.”

You inch closer to Peter and so does he, to the point where the two of you bump shoulders. “Oh sorry…”

“Don’t be,” Peter says.

You open your mouth, but nothing comes out. The two of you just stare at one another, the hum of whatever record you put on earlier lightly plays in the air. The dry smell of the older, original pressings of albums of the past, filling up the room.

You dart your eyes downward, quickly, towards his lips, before looking away. God, now this was unprofessional. “Shit, sorry.” You move off the wall, but Peter’s hand on your wrist causes you to turn. His touch wasn’t aggressive, or rough, but gentle and light. Like a feather was tickling the underside of your hand instead of his long, slender fingers.

Ding-Ding!

Both of your heads turn towards the door, a middle aged couple walk in, wonder in their eyes, cameras slung over their head. Clueless Tourists. You and Peter look at one another, before resigning to the situation and finally making it to the front. You, behind the counter, Peter in front, the two records under his arm.

“Hello, welcome to So-So Records, I’ll be here if you need me.” You say to the newest potential customers, as they give you that polite nod, and split off into the rest of the store. Peter places the records on the table, when all of sudden his phone goes off, he opens it and stares intently at the screen. “Something wrong?”

“No, ah yes, no,” Peter says, his head whipping from his phone to you multiple times. “I-God, I hate to do this but I can’ take these right now–”

“You can always come back.” You take the records from the counter, holding them in your hand.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I close tonight, you can come back later and get them.” You place the records behind you, before looking back nervously. “I mean only if you want, obviously, duh.”

“Duh.” Peter dryly chuckles, glancing once more at his phone. “I really have to leave, but I’ll be back, I promise. It’s a date. I mean, no, not a date, but–”

“I gotcha.” You wink and smile at Peter as he nervously backs up, sneaking in a last look before leaving through the door, with a ding-ding.

God, you can not believe what just happened! Are you some teenage girl whose knees go weak when a semi-attractive guy shoots you a smile? Who’s touch makes your face heat up, even if it’s just shoulders touching, or gentle, kind, fingertips on your wrist?

For the rest of your shift, you did more of the same that you did every day at your job. Helping customers, listening to unsolicited music advice, and a lot of needless flipping through the store’s catalog.

As the day wined down, the sun dipping into the horizon, you made peace with the fact that Peter wasn’t coming back. Whatever, this is reality not some rom-com where fate will bring the two leads back together at the end.

You also decided to buy your recommendation to Peter as well, you had plenty of copies of it in the store, so if he decides to come back after all, he could get his own copy.

You pull down the store’s front gate, squatting down to lock the padlock, pulling it to make sure it was secure, the record under your arm.

“Making away with customers orders I see.”

You turn to face the familiar voice, Peter slightly out of breath, but still as charming as he was this morning. “Potential customer.” You say, standing up, smiling ever just subtly.

“Sorry I’m late,” Peter glances at the closed store, with its darkened lights and gated entrance. “Like really late.”

“Hmm, that’s ok,” You turn to walk down the sidewalk, your head peering over your shoulder, “Walk with me?”

As you walk down the sidewalk, record held in your arms across your chest, Peter falls in rhythm with you, so close that his hand occasionally grazes your leg. Jokingly you say, “I thought you forgot all about me, wouldn’t be the first time.”

“Oh god no,” Pete dryly chuckles. “The only thing I could think about was you, I-I mean coming back here to pick up the records and uh, and also to see you, I guess.”

“Ah, you guess huh?”

The two of you wait at a crosswalk, before deciding to jaywalk as there were no cars in sight, you make a turn once you get to the other side, on the block that you lived on.

“I was actually coming to tell you that I no longer need that record actually, the one I came in for. It was for a, uh, a project that quickly evolved to…something else.”

“Ok, I see,” Your head turns to Peter and he does the same, your eyes lock on to one another, his face filled with nerves. “You were gonna come all the way back here to not buy something. That’s a first, I would have preferred ghosting.”

Peter laughs again, shaking his head, “No, no, I was still gonna get the record that you suggested to me. Sounds more up my alley anyway.” You stop in front of your apartment building, with Peter placing his hand on your arm to move out of another couples way. The two of you stand in front of the building's metal gates. “But it seems I have to come back during business hours to do so.”

“Or not.”

Peter raises his eyebrows in confusion, as you reach in your jacket’s pocket for a notebook you always kept. You write down something on the paper, using the pen you stuck in the notebook holder, tearing off the page. You place the paper on top of the record and push it towards him.

“No I can't-”

“I’m not giving it to you.” You say, “I’m lending it to you. Listen to it, listen to it again and then…call me, or text me and let me know how it is.” Peter takes the record and piece of paper from your hands, his fingers brushing yours. “And don’t ghost me, it would be a shame if I never get to see-talk to you again.”

“Yeah…it would be…”

“Goodnight Peter.”

Peter says your name, it makes your heart flutter just for a moment when he does so, ‘“Goodnight.” But the two of you don’t leave, you two just stare at each for a little longer.

Your phone rings and you’re forced to look at it.

“My roommate, she gets antsy if I don’t come home exactly when I say I will.”

“I understand.”

You nod and turn to walk into the building. Before you go through the doors, you glance back to see Peter staring at the piece of paper before looking up at you, that same smirk on his face.

God, you are so unprofessional.

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Read Part 2 -> Hanging on the Telephone!

Oh my goodness this is my first fic on Tumblr! Please be kind and comment if you like, like if you prefer, reblog if you're like that, I won't judge. Always open for suggestions and to ~virtually~ meet others! I'm so new to this and I know I'm currently talking into the void but, whatever...Bye, thanks if you made it this far!!!

masterlist

#peter parker x reader #peter parker #insomniac spider man #insomniac peter parker x reader #spiderman #spiderman x reader #spiderman x y/n #peter parker x y/n #ps4!Peter Parker x reader #spider man 2 ps5 #ps5!peter parker x reader #spiderman remastered #peter parker fluff #insomniac!Peter Parker #insomniac!peter parker x reader

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xmalereader · 2 months

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Moonknight x Shifter! Male Reader

☆— MASTERLIST — ☆

Requested: can i request a fic that's more of a headcannons post than a fic? i really love the way you write the moon knight boys and was wondering how'd they react to a protective shifter!reader who's usually quite calm and reserved(maybe a wolf just for the irony of wolves being sorta synonymous with the moon)? maybe in a world where shifters are starting to be accepted but some people are still jerks. kind of a "three times reader protected the boys and the time they returned the favor" sorta thing. if all three is too much though i totally understand, im okay with just one, your pick. whatever your schedule allows for ❤️ sorry if this is hard to understand it's a fever at 4am kinda night but i couldn't pass up the chance to make a request lul love your writing! hope you're doing well! i wish you good writing thoughts and dexterous typing times 🫡

CONTENT/WARNINGS: Fluff, slight angst, request, Steven is a sweetheart and Jake is scary while Marc is trying, short, headcannons, reader is a shifter, werewolves, society differences.

WC: 1.5k

TAGS: @luci-the-brat-boy

NOTES: I apologize for the long wait on making this request I’ve been busy on my end but I’ve finally got the time to get these completed! Thank you for enjoying my moonknight shots, writing these characters can be a bit tricky since they all have different personalities but I was able to make it work! I did make a few changes so hopefully it’s still good!

Shifters were still new to society and not many have grown used to them due to the fear of getting hurt one day if they were to shift in front of them and perhaps hurt them or kill them. Each shifter was different and due to their existence, laws were established in order to keep a balance between shifters and none shifters, but the laws didn’t really stop the hate that some people carried for them.

Steven Grant:

Steven didn’t think he’d end up dating a shifter, let alone one who shifts into a wolf the size of a car. He was shy at first since he was new to the whole shifting when it came towards his partner.

After a few dates Y/n grew comfortable in showing Steven his new form, taking things slow with the man since he was always so nervous around him until months of dating he’s grown used to him. Steven had also told Y/n about his DID and about Marc and Jake, giving him very little information about them expecting his partner to pry for more information only to reassure him that he doesn’t have to force himself.

After their confession they continued on with their dating life like normal. Until Y/n started to notice the way that Steven is treated at the museum, each time he paid him a visit he noticed how rude his manager was being to him, making him growl in anger by how to orders Steven around and makes him do the extra work while she sits back and does nothing.

Y/n knew how much Steven loved his job, but there were times that he couldn’t help but interfere with the situation.

It didn’t take long for him to track down Steven's mangers and corner them in an empty hallway, whispering them threats on treating their employees with respect and to not treat them as slaves, frightening the poor women.

“Treat them like slaves again and I’ll hunt you down on the next full moon.”

Lets just say that Steven stopped receiving bad treatment after that which only left him a bit confused and oblivious to the matter.

Y/n was always protective of Steven due to his innocence and oblivious state at times. Every time someone looked at him wrong or stopped his ancient Egypt mid rant he’d slowly turn to the person to give them the stink eyes as if saying, “how dare you stop him from talking about what he loves?!”

He had scary dog privileges…literally.

The first time that Steven actually lost it was when one of their neighbors caught Y/n coming back home from a full moon with Steven next to him. His wolf form looking a little smaller as he padded next to him quietly and tried to regain his thoughts after last nights events only for their snotty neighbor to step out into the hall and scold Steven for keeping a “mutt” around.

Y/n was close to turning around and snapping his jaws at the neighbor in order to scare them only for Steven to step in between them while glaring at the man angrily. Steven was already tired from chasing after his partner through the streets and making sure he wasn’t causing any trouble all night and his neighbors comment was his last straw.

The shifter had never seen Steven so upset, using every cuss word he knows to call the neighbor out, pointing a finger at him and jabbing them in the chest. It caught both shifter and neighbor by surprise until Steven finally cooled down and opens their door to allow them inside.

Once inside Steven slams the door behind him and leans his back against it with his face buried in his hands. Y/n had approached Steven slowly, still a small wolf and whining softly to get the man’s attention only for Steven to drop his hands and look at his partner in horror.

“Did I just do that? Oh god I’m gonna have a heart attack.”

Steven had never blown up like that before that even he was surprised by his outburst that night.

Marc Spector:

Marc wanted to scold Leon for picking a shifter as a boyfriend. Marc didn’t hate shifters he just didn’t know much about them to actually trust them yet, so when he finds out that Steven got himself a shifter of a boyfriend he couldn’t help but be a bit cautious around him.

Y/n didn’t spend much time around Marc since the man refused to be around him when it was his turn to take over the body. The shifter wanted to ignore him and let him do as he wanted, only to end up following Marc secretly whenever he went out.

The two didn’t get along quiet yet, but Y/n is still overprotective of the two of them. Yes, they share the same body but he can’t help but feel like he needs to be there to protect them both.

Only Marc doesn’t need protection he knows how to take care of himself and stick up for others, so the first few times he caught Marc being defensive or fighting back he couldn’t help but find the man quiet attractive.

Marc was perhaps the one who could actually make him blush whenever they spent time together back in Steven’s flat. Even when Marc returned back home stressed and upset, Y/n already knew how to help the man distress by shifting into his wolf form and lying on his back across Marc’s lap and letting the man scratch his belly or bury his face into his warm fur while groaning in frustration as if someone would do to a pillow. Y/n enjoyed cuddling with Marc during his full moons when he’s stuck in his wolf form for long hours of the night.

Y/n was in the cities office when he was first called out for being a shifter while renewing his passport due to Marc wanting to take them on a trip. A few strangers were waiting around for their turn and due to Y/n being a shifter he was first priority since he went through a longer process in getting a renewal which pissed off a lot of people.

Only for Marc to shout at them to shut up and reminding them the laws between humans and shifters and how not everything is fair between them, giving them a deadly glare that made them back off.

Y/n can’t help but crack a small smile when hearing Marc’s words as he focused on his passport renewal.

Jake Lockely:

It was harder for Y/n to get along with Jake since he acted like the silent but deadly brother between the three. He found Jake intimidating that he was perhaps the first person to actually make him tuck his tail between his legs.

Jake didn’t need protection and Y/n knew that since he’s seen the man beat another human to near death until he stopped him from going to far. Y/n didn’t know about Jake until one night when he noticed a change of smell in Steven and Marc’s scent, realizing that they weren’t the only ones.

Jake was suppose to be a secret, hiding in the shadows as he watched over Marc and Steven. Only the cab driver didn’t really need to protect them since they had a shifter by their side, but that didn’t mean Jake couldn’t keep an eye on him too.

Their first night together was awkward for them since Jake rarely spoke and Y/n was too afraid to ask him questions without getting the man angry. It didn’t take long for Jake to notice this that he finally decides to speak up, asking questions that’ll get him closer to the shifter.

They only spent time together during late nights when Steven and Marc are sleeping and Jake is able to take full control. Giving Y/n a chance to join him on his nightly trips and sitting next to him on the passenger seat while talking.

It didn’t take long for Jake to warm up to the shifter, not realizing that Jake had added him to his list of people to protect. Even though Y/n can shift into a large wolf, big enough to kill anyone on sight, Jake still decided to take the roll of taking care of the shifter too.

Y/n first witnessed Jake defending him when he was helping a man into the cab from a club, drunk off his ass while the shifter gets him inside the back seat. What he didn’t realize was the group of men lurking around the club, clearly drunk as they whistled at him, trying to get his attention which he ignored.

That was until one of them had the balls to slap his ass filling him with shock and ready to strike the man down, but when turning around Jake was already doing that for him.

Jake was filled with rage as he slams his fist into the man’s face over and over again. The others tried to pry Jake off, but he was faster than them, kicking their asses and forcing them on their knees and apologizing to the shifter.

Y/n could only stare at Jake with wide eyes as the men whimpered out their apologizes to him.

#male reader #moonknight x male reader #steven grant x male reader #Steven Grant #marc spector x male reader #Marc Spector #Jake lockely x male reader #jake lockley #moonknight #shifter male reader #shifter #au #headcanons

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lucidlivi · 2 months

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Chosen For Pleasure (XV)

Series Masterlist/Warnings

I apologize about the tag list, it’s just so hard for me to keep up with. I also apologize for making you wait for this, I hope you still love the series as much as I do!

Recap

he’s just pretending with you, and he’ll get tired of pretending..

I collapsed on the sidewalk, bringing my knees to my chest and sobbing.

I don’t know how long I sat on that sidewalk for.

It seemed as if lately time was just passing by and I was still stuck in yesterday.

I got up wiping the tears from my eyes. I walked back to my apartment slowly. I could hear Jensen’s voice talking on the phone.

“she kept saying he paid her.. I want him found now.” Jensen growled.

I slowly opened the door slipping inside.

Jensen turned around a furious look in his eyes.

“where the fuck have you been? do you know how worried you made me?” He growled.

“I’m so sorry Jensen that I don’t do everything I’m told, maybe you just really need someone who obeys your every command.” I sassed.

“Don’t be ridiculous (y/n).”

“I saw how she was with you, how you were with her.”

“for fucks sake she had a gun to you, I would’ve done anything to subdue her.” Jensen growled standing over me.

“where is she now, is she still here?” I asked curiously.

“no of course not, she’s in the psych ward getting the help she needs.”

It was quiet for a minute, Jensen and I both taking a deep breath.

“I’m so sorry I know she scared you.” Jensen said running a hand through his hair, a bit calmer now.

“Yeah she did, but you scared me more. I’m never going to be able to be exactly who you need me to be.” I said fighting back tears.

“(y/n).” Jensen said taking a step closer to me.

“don’t crowd me, please I need space.” I said rising from my spot on the arm of the sofa and walking away from him.

“please don’t do this, don’t give up on me.” Jensen said following close behind.

“Jensen I just need to think.”

“don’t leave me.” Jensen said grabbing my arm to keep me from walking further away.

“Jensen I’m scared. You say I’m enough and that this is enough for you but what if one day it’s not.” I whispered biting my lip.

“Not enough?” Jensen asked confused.

Jensen gripped my face forcing me to look deep in his eyes.

“Haven’t I showed you how enough you are? I’m not the same man I was when I met you. I.. I kissed you. I told you things about me I’ve never told anyone else. You are enough and then some. My entire life has changed since I met you. God if anyone should be scared it’s me. I can’t be without you, you’ve already proven that.” Jensen said tears lacing his eyes.

I looked at him feeling guilty.

He was right.

He had completely changed his ways and everything he once believed in. He jumped off the deep end with me and I never realized just how deep he went until now.

I was letting insecurities win.

I was letting them win.

“this is me, all of me, and I’m all yours.” Jensen finished grabbing my hand and running my thumb over his plump lips.

I stared at him, tears rolling down my cheeks.

God I loved this man with every fiber of my being.

I stood on my tippy toes connecting my lips with his in a passionate hungry kiss. Jensen picked me up wrapping my legs around his waist not breaking the kiss.

He ascended the staircase, kicking open the door to my door. He gently placed me on the bed, removing his shirt from over his head.

I bit my lip looking at him.

It was a sight I don’t think anyone could ever get used too.

I quickly peeled my shirt over my head and discarded my bra. I didn’t want to waste anymore time.

Jensen tugged off his jeans before once again kissing me passionately.

I would never get tired of this either.

It was as if I were an addict and his lips were the medication.

Jensen kissed down my neck making me moan. He grabbed my pants practically ripping them off my legs. His lips trailed down my body, his fingers followed sending shivers throughout my body. He stopped when he got to my pulsing core. It was enflamed, aching to be touched. Jensen licked his lips and looked at me from under his long lashes.

“did I ever tell you, you are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” Jensen purred kissing my thighs.

I moaned as he delicately slid my panties down. I gasped as he worked his mouth on me. A mixture of moans and expletives left my lips as he sucked and kissed my core. I was about to burst when the sensation stopped.

Jensen stood up freeing himself from his boxer shorts. I stood up gripping his length in my small palm. His head fell back as I sunk to my knees. I kissed his thighs teasing him a bit as he had done. I took him in my mouth, massaging what wouldn’t fit. I looked up at him as I work my tongue. His moans were gruff, sexy, and loud.

Jensen pulled me up by my chin. As soon as I was up he kissed my lips gently pushing me up against the wall. I jumped in his arms allowing him to enter inside me. Jensen thrusted pushing me up against the wall harder with each thrust. He put a hand beside my head trying to steady us.

I felt myself slipping in to a euphoric coma as I neared my release. I cried with pleasure as the floodgates opened sending my arousal all over Jensen. He groaned meeting his orgasm as well. I was completely out of breath when Jensen pulled out laying me on the bed once again before crawling in beside me. I laid my head on his chest, his hand instinctively went to my back tracing small circles.

“I love you so much it’s scary.” Jensen said gazing down at me with those hazel eyes that I’ve grown to admire.

I gazed in his eyes, they looked tired. I know this whole ordeal has taken a lot out of him.

“I love you too, and I’m not going anywhere.” I said kissing his lips with a peck.

I snuggled back in to him. It wasn’t long before his soft snores filled the room. Once I was sure he was out, I carefully got out of bed without jostling him. I needed some air.

I grabbed his shirt throwing it over my body before stepping out on to the balcony. I shivered as the night air hit me.

I bit my lip looking at the stars.

How in the world did we get here?

I can’t believe that in this short time I’ve fallen in love with a man I could only have dreamed about.

What was even crazier was he was in love with me too.

So in love with me it scared him to lose me.

It was a feeling I’d always hoped I would find.

I glanced back at the large man in my bed.

I knew that no matter what from this day forward I couldn’t be without him.

He was everything.

Jensen’s troubled voice shook me from my thoughts. I ran inside crouching down beside him. His eyebrows were furrowed and sweat cascaded down his forehead.

“no, please no.” He cried in his sleep, the nightmare overtaking him.

“Jensen.” I whisper putting a hand on his cheek.

He jolted awake, his heartbeat rising.

“Jensen I’m here, I’m right here.” I said stroking his cheek.

He expertly wrapped his arms around me, pulling me back in the bed.

I couldn’t have been prepared for the next words that left his lips.

“marry me.” He simply said looking deep in my eyes.

“what.” I breathed in shock.

“I want you to marry me.” He said his eyes fluttering.

“Jensen I think you’re still dreaming.” I said biting my lip and stroking his cheek.

He pulled me closer, burying his face in my hair, his snores once again filled the room.

I felt like my heart was beating so fast that at any moment it might burst right out of my chest.

I don’t know how, but somehow I managed to fall asleep, his words dancing in my head like a melody.

****************************************************

I woke up, the sun blinding me. I reached over feeling the space beside me empty. I could hear a faint rock song playing. I walked downstairs seeing Jensen shirtless, doing push-ups in the living room.

I leaned against the door frame admiring the view. I clenched my thighs each time his back muscles clenched. He was so incredibly sexy.

“are you just going to stand there and gawk.” Jensen smirked mid push-up.

“that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” I said before biting my lip.

Jensen laughed doing a couple more sets. Finally he hopped up wiping the sweat off his forehead.

“good morning, how’d you sleep?” he asked grabbing his water bottle before meeting me in the doorway with a kiss.

“good, and you?” I questioned wondering if he had any recollection of last night.

“good, was out all night.” he said before taking a sip.

“you didn’t have any weird dreams, or like wake up at all did you?” I pushed.

“no, none that I can think of.” He shrugged.

“hmm.”

“I mean there was that little thing of asking you to marry me, aside from that I can’t think of anything else.” Jensen smirked.

I feel the air getting caught in throat. He remembered, which could only mean he was serious. I heaved a sigh of relief pushing his shoulder.

“come on don’t mess with me like that.”

He smirked some more.

“how should I mess with you then huh? like this?” He asked before tickling my side.

“Jensen stop.” I laughed pushing his hands away.

Jensen picked me up, my legs instantly making their way around his waist, my arms gripping his shoulders. I brought my lips down capturing his with a passionate kiss.

Jensen stared at me intensely.

“I meant it you know, I want to marry you.” Jensen spoke.

“why?” I asked still in shock that he would want to marry me.

“because I want to spend every second of the rest of my life with you.” He was quick to answer.

I took a deep breath. Nobody has ever loved me this intensely before.

“I don’t expect you to say yes right away, I know that I can be complicated and intense.” Jensen said .

“just.. just a little bit.” I joked finally finding my voice.

Jensen put his lips back on mine kissing me passionately.

I think I could get used to this the rest of my life.

I hope this lived up to everything you guys were hoping for! I’ll be back with part 16 but don’t worry I won’t take five years to update I promise!

xoxo

Liv

#jensen ackles #dean winchester #jensen ackles x reader #jensen ackles imagine #jensen ackles x you #jensen ackles fluff #jensen x reader #jensen ackles preference #jensen ackles smut #jensen ackles fanfiction #jensen ackles fic #supernatural smut #spnfandom #spn fanfic #supernatural

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spookyscarydemonbabe · 1 year

Text

G- Goofy

A/N- i was very excited to write this one! i’ve been dying to learn how to play dnd and though i don’t have a very good understanding of it i’m glad i could do a little research and try my best to incorporate something like this in a bedroom sense. cause let’s be honest, this is 100% something that Eddie would do. please bear with me, this is the first time i’ve written something kinky and also the first time i’ve written anything about dnd and i’m not the most well versed when it comes to things like that 😅 i also want to apologize for how long it’s taken me to finish this, it’s my longest fic to date! to be honest i’m quite proud of it so i hope you all enjoy it too 🥰🫶 and for those of you who aren’t aware, this is a fic for my series based on my NSFW alphabet 🖤

Genre- Fluff, Smut

Warnings- reader has female anatomy, p in v sex, oral sex (male and female receiving), body worship, use of handcuffs and blindfold, overstimulation, use of ice cubes, nipple play (i think that’s it 😅)

Tag List- @imagine-all-the-imagines @thatsthewaythechrissycrumbles @munsonology @esme-viridian @heydreamchild

Words- 7.2k

You giggled as you sat on your end of Eddie’s bed as he placed a small wooden tray down onto the blankets between you two. On it was a small velvet bag, a little notebook, and a few other romantic touches like flower petals and a few pieces of chocolate.

Tonight was the night you and Eddie had been planning for a while, or at least he’d been planning it for a while. He had been hinting all week at having something special planned, even getting you little gifts to prepare for it. On Monday it was a new little bottle of perfume that you knew he picked out with himself in mind, considering the smell of rose and strawberry mixed in with your natural pheromones was a major turn on for him.

Tuesday was a new pair of black fishnet stockings, complete with a black lace garter belt to keep them held up, which was perfect considering he had destroyed your last pair.

Wednesday was some new makeup that you said you’d been dying to try out. A deep red lipstick, new eyeliner and mascara, and Eddie added one of his own personal touches by getting you a new set of makeup brushes with little bats all over them that he had to have been waiting to give you since Halloween.

Thursday night was a new pajama set, though it was more like lingerie than pajamas. A silk blood red negligee with black lace trim, with a long robe to match it. It was comfortable, it was sexy, and it was what Eddie loved to see you in. Though he would prefer to see you in nothing, this was a pretty good compromise.

Friday night was your favorite gift. A silver chain with a little ‘E’ pendant that hung so prettily around your neck, and you could tell from the way that Eddie placed it so delicately around your neck that he had been planning on giving it to you for a while, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to mark you as his for everyone to see.

Finally, Saturday night came, and Eddie had all of your little presents laid out on his bed for you to change into as soon as you got back home.

He hadn’t told you what your surprise had been, but when he walked into your bedroom with a big smile on his face, wearing only his black boxers and carrying that tray in you knew it had to be good.

You glanced over and saw that he had a few things out on his nightstand as well, things that he wouldn’t normally bring out during sex. There was his handcuffs obviously, but you also saw a small bowl filled with ice cubes, a blindfold, his bandana that he loved to use as a gag, and a lit candle that you seem to remember seeing hidden away in one of his nightstand drawers.

“What’s all this for?” You asked him with a giggle.

Eddie smiled and clapped his hands together, looking at the tray he had set up before him,

“Sweetheart, i have something very special planned for us…” He reached out for the little black bag and untied the top strings, pouring out the contents of it onto the tray and your eyes widened seeing all the different dice fall out.

“Are those new? Oh god, what do you have planned?” You said between giggles.

Eddie tossed the small bag onto his nightstand and reached his hand out to your cheek, pulling you in for a kiss.

“They are princess, and i got them just for us to use. You know i’ve been giving you all those presents this week, but i never told you what i had planned for tonight…” He picked up the little book and flipped through a few of the pages, “I know you said you wanted to try and learn some more stuff about Dungeons and Dragons, and you wanted to try out some new stuff in the bedroom, so i made us our own little kinky roleplay session to do together.”

Your heart was racing, your face bright pink from your blush and Eddie could tell you we’re excited from your smile.

“Really?! Aww, Eddie that sounds like fun! How do we do it?”

“Alright sweetheart, here’s how it’s going to work,” Eddie cleared off the board in front of him, opening the small book to the first page, “I’m going to tell you something that i want to do to you, but instead of just doing it you’re going to roll a specific die and that’ll decide what we’ll do. So, for example, i want to kiss you and i’m sure you want to kiss me too, but you’re going to roll the D20 to see who initiates it.”

Eddie handed you the D20 and you rolled it onto the board in front of you as you bit your lip, watching as it landed and Eddie leaned over with a smile,

“Looks like you rolled a 12 sweetheart,” Eddie leaned himself over the bed and placed his hand behind your neck, bringing you closely into him, “Even means i initiate, odd means you do.”

Your hands went to gently hold onto the sides of his neck as he pressed his lips to yours with a smile, gently suckling your bottom lip as he pulled away.

Though this was just the start of the night Eddie had planned for you, seeing how much thought he put into it was so sweet, and even more of a turn on for him to bring his nerdy things into the bedroom.

“Good girl, you’re catching on quick.” He moved himself back and you were sat on your legs, eager to see what would happen when you rolled the others. He picked up two more of the dies and held them out for you to take,

“These are the D10 and the D8. Normally, you’d use two D10’s but to be completely honest with you i felt like using one would just be easier for us.” You giggled and looked at them in your hand, quickly figuring out which one was which.

“So what do i use these for?”

“The D10 is going to decide what kind of foreplay we’re doing, and the D8 decides how long we’re doing it for. And you can roll as many times as you want sweetheart, i’m feeling generous tonight.”

“Oh, is that right?” You said with another giggle before rolling the D10, “Or do you just want to see how long we can keep all your nerdy stuff in the bedroom?”

“Maybe a bit of both.” He said with a smile before looking at what you rolled, checking the little black book still in his hand, “You rolled a 1, so that means we’re just making out for…” He said as he waited for you to roll the D8, watching it closely, “Damn, only two minutes.”

“That’s ok! I plan on rolling it a couple of times tonight.” You said with a smile, biting your bottom lip,

“Do you want to roll the D20 to see who initiates it?”

“Absolutely! You’re catching on pretty quick.” Eddie eagerly reached out and rolled the D20, the both of you watching it carefully to see what it landed on,

“7. You initiate sweetheart.”

You nearly jumped into Eddie’s lap from your place on the bed, straddling his waist as your hands went behind his neck to pull you in close. His hands immediately went to your body, one grabbing hold of your waist while the other held the back of your thigh, kneading the soft flesh of your ass in his hand as his lips met yours.

Your make out session was quick, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t hot and heavy. You were grinding your hips into his lap as your tongue gently pushed your way past his lips, and he tasted of sweet cherry, almost like he was hoping you would pounce on him as soon as you got the chance to taste his lips on yours.

As you pulled away, you gently bit his bottom lip and giggled as he held you in his lap for a few moments,

“Fuck, princess, you can’t be doing shit like that to me on a night like this… You’re gonna make me want to take you right here and now and say ‘fuck it’ to this whole night i had planned out for us, you wouldn’t want that would you?”

You giggled and pressed your forehead to his, gently kissing the tip of his nose,

“I don’t know… Maybe i do, and maybe i want to see what happens with the next roll…”

Eddie smiled and slid the board next to you to keep you in his lap.

You reached for the D10 once again and you both watched with anticipation waiting for it to finally land, and Eddie smiled as he saw the 6 land upright on the board.

“On your stomach baby girl,” He lifted you out of his lap and you did as he said, quickly removing the robe from your shoulders and gently placing it onto the floor next to his bed, “rolling a 6 means you get a nice relaxing massage, and i’m going to be doing it for…” He picked up the D8 and rolled it on the board, “4 minutes! I’ll make sure to go nice and slow just how you like it.”

You smiled and your body relaxed into his bed as Eddie moved himself over you, straddling the back of your legs as his hands slowly moved up and down the sides of your back before placing a soft kiss to the space between your shoulder blades.

His hands moved slowly and gently, but still firm and loving as they kneaded the soft flesh of your back, making sure to leave a few kisses here and there as he admired your body beneath him.

You closed your eyes and let out a moan as he placed a kiss onto your back before he lifted up the back of your negligee and moved onto your lower back. His fingers delicately traced over your spine and he gripped your waist as he leaned down over you, pressing his chest into your back to whisper into your ear,

“Feels good baby girl?”

You smiled to him and nodded as your head was still relaxed into the pillow. He hovers his lips over your neck before leaving a trail of kisses down to your shoulder,

“My turn to roll princess…” He reached over for the D10 and smiled as he waited for it to land, his lips curling into a smile as it landed on a 2,

“It’s a 2! And that’s a very special roll too,” He moved himself off of you and laid next to you on the bed, his back propped up against the pillows as he moved his hand down and slowly rubbed over his cock that was still covered by the black fabric of his boxers, “If we roll a 2 or a 3 that means that either i’m going to eat you out or you’re going to suck me off… The D20 decides who goes first. Why don’t you roll the D8 for me baby?”

You smiled and sat yourself up onto your knees as you pulled off the negligee that was already halfway off thanks to Eddie being so eager during your back rub and leaned over to kiss him quickly before rolling the D8 on the board,

“Only 5 minutes handsome, but i think i’ve been able to make you cum in less than that before.” You said with a giggle as Eddie leaned over to grab the D20, making sure he was able to get a handful of your ass and squeeze as he did.

He rolled and you both watched it with anticipation, waiting for it to land until Eddie laid back into his place with a smile, sliding his boxers down his thighs,

“4 means i get to go first baby,” He got himself comfortable in his place as his cock sprung free, and though you’d obviously seen it plenty of times before, each time Eddie was fully exposed to you in his state of desire it always made you blush, “come over here and let me hold your pretty hair back. I wanna see your face when you gag.”

With a smile you eagerly moved yourself between Eddie’s legs, his hands moving through your scalp to collect your hair and hold it back out of your face as you leaned down and gently licked the head, already dripping with precum.

You looked up to Eddie as you placed open mouthed kisses all over his length and he watched with a smile, leaning his head back as you took the tip into your mouth and gently suckled on it before swirling your tongue around it.

Eddie was always very vocal whenever there was oral involved, wether it was you or him receiving he always let you know that he was enjoying it and this time was no exception.

As you slowly leaned your head down onto his cock, a few gravely moans escaped his throat as you slid your lips further and further down his length, pulling back as you reached halfway only to sink back onto it.

He hated it when you teased him but god you always made it feel so good. As dominant as he liked to be, when your mouth was on him he was like putty in your hands, entirely under your control. He watched your head bob up and down on him, and as you looked up you could see the glazed over look of lust in his eyes.

His head leaned back and Eddie let out another moan as his fingers gripped your hair, your lips now giving their full attention to his sensitive tip and as he started gently thrusting his hips upward you could tell he was getting closer.

“Stop!” He yelled out between moans.

You took your mouth off of him and looked up to him with concern in your eyes,

“What? Is everything ok?”

“Everything’s fine baby…” He had taken a few deep breaths to compose himself before bringing you close to him for a kiss, “It’s your turn, and i want to make sure i don’t cum until i’m inside you baby girl.”

You giggled and bit your lip as you swapped places with Eddie, laying back against his pillows as he positioned himself between your legs.

His hands slowly moved up and down your thighs before taking off the fishnets and garter, kissing down your legs as he pulled them off and tossed them away before moving to your panties.

His fingers hooked into the sides and placed a kiss to your clothed core before he slid them down your thighs, laying himself down on the bed as he tossed them with your stockings.

You giggled and moved your hands to the sides of his hair, moving it back from his face,

“Now it’s my turn to hold your pretty hair back handsome.”

Eddie smiled and looked up to you, placing a few more gentle kisses over your thighs before licking a long wet stripe through your folds,

“I love it when you talk sweet to me pretty girl.”

Whenever Eddie had his head between your thighs he loved to show you how much he really loved you, and wether he had all the time in the world or only the 5 minutes you were given from the roll of the D8, he wanted you to know how much he adored you.

His eyes stayed on you the entire time, watching as your head tilted back and your back arched as his tongue made sure to reach all the right places. With every whimper and moan that escaped your lips he was only encouraged to keep going for as long as you wanted him to.

One of his hands moved yours away from his hair to interlock your fingers together.

If he couldn’t hold you while he was making you feel this good, he wanted you to know that he was there to give you all the love and affection that he could. It only meant that when the time came for him to be in full control of your body, you knew that everything he did to you was out of pure love and respect for you.

Your legs wrapped themselves around his back, your plump thighs gently squeezing the sides of his head as your toes curled, getting closer and closer to cumming with every whine that left your lips.

With one last lick to your folds, he caught his breath and carefully unwrapped your legs from around him, climbing up and laying over you with his hands on either side of your head.

He brought one hand up and guided you up to his lips for a sweet, soft kiss, giggling as you pulled away,

“I can taste myself on you…”

Eddie giggled with you and pulled you in for a few more kisses before laying himself down over you, his hard cock resting between your legs as you held each other close.

He slowly pulled away from you, glancing over to his nightstand to all the little toys he had set up for him to use on you,

“Want to try the D6 angel? I think you’re going to like what we do with it.” He said, reaching over and handing you the D6.

You moved to lay on your stomach with Eddie moving to lay himself on top of you, placing kisses over your shoulder blades as you rolled the die onto the board.

“It’s a 2! What does that mean?”

Eddie smiled and placed another kiss onto your shoulder before getting off of the bed and grabbing his little book, flipping through the pages. He chuckled and set it back down onto the tray before leaning over to the nightstand, grabbing the blindfold and moving the tray onto the empty space,

“This die decides which little trinket i get to use on you. Rolling a 2 means that you get to be blindfolded, is that alright sweetheart?”

You nodded excitedly and sat up on the bed, moving to kneel before him on the mattress.

He smiled and carefully wrapped the black silk cloth over your eyes, making sure not to make it too tight or get it tangled into your hair as he tied it into a little bow in the back,

“How’s that?”

“It’s perfect! Not too tight but not loose enough to fall off.”

“Perfect. And you can’t see a thing can you?”

You blushed and shook your head, curious and yet nervous as to what Eddie planned on doing to you with this sense cut off.

He reached out and gently traced his fingertips down your arms, taking your hands in his and placing your palms onto his torso.

You smiled as you felt the soft skin of his abs under your fingers, moving them to his waist and bringing him in closer to you. Eddie stepped forward and you could feel his hands go to your shoulders, guiding you back into your position laid down on the pillows.

“Don’t worry sweetheart,” Eddie placed a trail of kisses down your neck to the valley of your breasts, “i’m going to take good care of you.”

He moved himself back up and placed a soft kiss onto your lips before reaching over and grabbing the D6,

“Here pretty girl, one more time.” He opened your palm and placed the die in your hand, moving the board over within your reach.

You giggled and rolled the die onto the board, hearing it come to a stop as it landed upright, and you heard Eddie chuckle. The weight shifted on the bed as Eddie reached over to the nightstand, and you could hear the gentle clinking of his handcuffs.

Your body shivered as you thought about being restrained once again, and though it was something Eddie loved to do often, you never got tired of it. He was always so gentle with you no matter how aggressive he liked to get, he always made sure that your comfort came before his pleasure.

A gentle gasp escaped your lips as he dragged the cold metal over your tummy.

“You rolled a 4. That means we get to use my favorite toy.” Eddie smiled as he gently took your hands, placing a kiss onto the back of each of them as he lifted them above your head, “Don’t worry sweetheart, i promise i won’t make them too tight.”

He placed one around your right wrist and lifted it all the way up to his headboard, pulling the other cuff through the metal bars and placing the other cuff around your left wrist.

“You know what to do sweetheart.”

You nodded and tugged at the cuffs, making sure that they were comfortable and secure around your wrists.

“Not too tight?” Eddie asked.

“Not too tight.” You confirmed for him with a smile.

“Good girl.” Eddie leaned over you and placed a kiss onto your forehead before reaching over to grab the die one last time,

“i’m rolling it one last time sweetheart, then i’ll play with you.”

You heard the die roll and land on the board and the weight shifted on the bed again as Eddie leaned over to the nightstand.

“We’re going to try something new tonight angel…”

“New? What do you me-“ Your sentence was cut off with a gasp, feeling a few drops of ice cold water drip onto your torso.

“It’s alright baby,” Eddie climbed up over you and grabbed your hand, tracing little patterns into the back of it with the ice cube in his hand, the cold water dripping down onto the sheets beneath you, “i rolled a 5, and that means we get to to try these ice cubes out. And i’ve been waiting so long to use them on you pretty girl.” He trailed the ice cube up your arm and slowly down your chest, your body shuddering as he circled it around your breast.

“If it gets too much you tell me, ok?”

You nodded and gasped again as he moved the ice cube to circle your nipple, the cold making it harden instantly and as Eddie heard you gasp again he moved the ice cube and wrapped his lips around the sensitive bud, slowly circling his tongue around it to warm you back up before giving your other breast the same treatment.

Eddie made sure his lips followed the cool trail of water the ice left behind on your skin as he trailed it down your body. As the first ice cube melted over your skin, Eddie reached over and grabbed another one, placing it between his teeth as he tied his hair back. He kept it in place and trailed it over your body once more, this time letting the water flow down your skin, making you shiver and moan as it trailed down between your legs. The cold was almost too much but Eddie’s hot touch that followed soon after always made it feel so much better.

His lips touching your skin as he dragged the ice down your body helped keep you grounded and not get consumed by the pleasure but the ice cold water made every part of you more and more sensitive the longer he had it on your skin.

And all you could do was lay there and take it.

Of course you could always tell Eddie to stop and he’d listen but this sensation was entirely new and though it was different and difficult to keep your composure, you never wanted it to stop. You wanted him to keep using you like his plaything and try to hold on until he was finished with you.

The second ice cube finally melted and Eddie lifted his head away from your body, his hands spreading the little drips and trails of water all along your torso, watching as your skin shined under the dim light. There were little red marks all along your skin, and he couldn’t tell if someone of them were hickeys or from the ice but he loved every little mark he left behind on you. He needed you to always be marked up and claimed as his, wether other people could see it or not.

His fingers gently touched a few of the red spots along your torso and you whimpered and flinched at his touch from the ice making your skin sensitive. It didn’t hurt, it didn’t burn, but it intensified every little touch and kiss that Eddie left behind on your skin.

“Had enough baby?” Eddie asked just as he let the cold water drip from his fingertips right over your folds, making your legs twitch as the icy sensation ran all through your body.

You nodded and gently tugged at the cuffs around your wrists, begging Eddie to release you and let you touch him again.

He smiled and leaned over you, placing a few kisses along your body as he made his way up and put his arms on either side of your head. He kissed the space on your neck just below your ear before whispering,

“Need me to warm you up baby girl?”

You nodded and he carefully removed the blindfold from around your eyes, and as you blinked to let your eyes adjust to the light you saw the familiar look of lust in Eddie’s eyes.

He was smiling down at you, admiring the way that you were completely exposed and vulnerable just for him, and all he wanted to do was show you how loving he could be with you.

He reached over and moved the board towards you, grabbing his little black book and opening it up to one of the very last pages,

“Alright pretty girl, this is the last die we’re using tonight. Are you ready for it?”

You smiled and nodded, excited to see exactly what Eddie had planned for you, and even with your arms restrained all you wanted to do was wrap them around him and flip him onto his back, riding him into oblivion as your thank you for him making tonight so special and so fun for the both of you.

He picked up the last die from the board, the D4 and held it up for you to see,

“This is the D4. Usually it’s used for damage for smaller weapons, something that isn’t insanely important for gameplay, but it still has a purpose. And tonight this is going to be the most important die that we use.”

You tilted your body upwards to get a closer look at the page Eddie was smiling at in his little black book, but he softly pressed his hand to your chest and pushed you back onto the pillow,

“No peeking!” He giggled and moved the book back into his chest to keep you from looking, “I’m going to roll this one pretty girl, and I’ll tell you what it means afterwards.”

He smirked and as he rolled the die onto the board you felt like your heart was beating out of your chest.

The anticipation was killing you and as he rolled the die it felt like you were watching it in slow motion. You had no idea what he had planned for this last roll, but you knew that whatever it was, based on how your night together had gone so far, it had to be something good. Both of your eyes followed along with it and as you watched it land upright, the point at the top showing the number 1, you saw Eddie smile wide and you weren’t sure if you should smile too or be scared of what he had rolled.

He moved the board over to his nightstand along with the dice and his book, staying silent as he did so, a smirk on his lips as he set them down.

“Eddie?” You asked him nervously, still entirely unsure of what was to come.

He slowly moved himself between your legs, placing his hands onto your thighs and moving his palms along your soft skin,

“The D4 decides what position I get to fuck you in angel,” You looked up to him in awe as he kneeled above you, smiling down at you as you laid beneath him, completely vulnerable to whatever he wanted to do to you and yet he was being so caring and so gentle with you, “and I rolled a 1. That means I get to go nice and slow on top of you just how you like it.”

He settled himself between your legs, hands going to either side of your head as he peppered small kisses all along your neck, listening to the little moans escape your lips as he grinded himself along your folds. As he laid on top of you, he reached one arm over to his nightstand, opening the drawer and pulling out a condom, bringing it up to his mouth and tearing it open with his teeth, moving his hand down between your bodies to slide it onto himself before placing his cock over your wetness and gliding over it.

Just the feeling of him grinding between your legs was enough to make you reach the peak of pleasure, but it was agonizing to not be able to touch him. He smiled down at you as he watched your face scrunch with each thrust,

“Baby girl, I’m not even inside you yet and you look like I’m about to make you cum.”

“Eddie…” You managed to squeak out between whimpers, “please…”

He smiled and heard you still struggling with the cuffs at your wrist, seeing how desperate you were to touch him,

“Alright baby, you get to pick one, do you want me to fuck you? Or do you want me to take those cuffs off?” He reached over and grabbed the key from his nightstand, “Because you know you can’t have both right now.”

“Cuffs. Please, i just need to touch you…” You kept tugging your arms down, hoping that they’d eventually break before Eddie was able to get the key anywhere near them.

“Cuffs it is sweetie, but you have to promise me that you’ll be good when they come off. You’re only allowed to touch me from where you’re laying.” He smirked seeing the desperation in your eyes, “You know the rules always make it more fun.”

You nodded and watched above your head as he grabbed your wrists and quickly unlocked the cuffs, tossing them onto the floor with the key still stuck in them as you brought your arms down to stretch them out. Eddie gently held your wrists and kisses over the little red indents left behind from the cuffs before he moved your arms to wrap around his neck as his hands went back to either side of your head.

“Better now?” He asked you, dipping his head down to place a few kisses onto the open spot on your neck as he continued grinding his length up and down, agonizingly slow between your legs.

You nodded and as you held him close to you, your arms wrapping around his back and your fingertips slowly tracing over his spine as you raised your legs up and carefully wrapped them around his waist just to feel him closer to you.

You could feel Eddie shift himself down between your legs and his tip searched for your entrance, your slick providing the perfect lubricant for him to slide in so easily,

“Ready pretty girl?”

You nodded eagerly and Eddie leaned his head up, pressing his lips to yours as he carefully pushed his tip to your slit, wanting to keep you silent as he heard your whimpers while he stretched you out. Your fingers were grasping at his back as you felt him push further into you.

The two of you have had sex before, it wasn’t like it was rare for him to completely lose himself with you every other night in bed, but every time he dragged out your night and extended the foreplay and his teasing it always felt like your first time together all over again. The slight pressure between your legs as he pushed himself inside you all the way to the hilt, his careful attitude making sure that you weren’t in any pain whatsoever, and his warmth and praise providing you with all the comfort you needed to take whatever it was he going to give to you.

He started out slow, keeping an even pace as you were wrapped around him, placing a small kiss onto your neck and shoulder each time he heard a little whimper leave your lips.

He loved getting to take his time with you.

Being able to feel how good he was making you feel, keeping your body pinned beneath him as he kept rhythmically pumping himself in and out of you. He loved how intimate it always felt to be so close to one another.

He could feel your fingertips dig deeper into his shoulders as your whimpers soon turned to moans, knowing that he was hitting that spot so perfectly, waiting for you to start begging him to go faster, to go harder.

“You always take me so well pretty girl…” Eddie chuckled as he felt your legs wrap tighter around his hips, bringing him in closer to you with each thrust, “You want me to go faster?”

The slow, soft, sweet pleasure was too much for words. All you could do was nod slowly as you placed gentle kisses all along his collarbone.

His grip tightened on the bedsheets beneath you as he picked up his pace, your arms wrapping tighter around him as you heard the sound of your hips clashing together between you.

You placed another kiss onto his shoulder as you heard his grunts and groans get louder and louder, knowing how hard he was trying to stay at a steady pace for you instead of holding you down and having his way with you. Thrusting into you as fast as he could as he gripped your hips and tossed one of your legs over his shoulder to hit your g spot at the perfect angle. But he wanted to be slow. He wanted to be sweet. He didn’t spend weeks planning out all your fun for him to treat it like it was any other time you had slept together.

He wanted to make tonight last as long as possible.

“Baby… I cant hold back much longer,” He pressed his lips harshly into your neck and you could feel that a few hickeys would need to be covered up the next morning before work, “I want you to roll again, just one last time, ok? And then i promise you that you won’t be able to walk tomorrow…”

He slowed his pace once more and you giggled as he leaned himself up off of you, giving you one last kiss before slowly pulling himself out of you as you unwrapped your arms and legs from around him.

You groaned as you turned your body to lay on your stomach, reaching out to grab the board from his nightstand and brought it onto the bed before you,

“Which one is it again Eds?”

Eddie laid over you, his chest to your back, and handed you the D4,

“This one my love, the D4,” You took it from him and giggled as he laid on top of you, his weight pushing your body into the mattress, “just roll it one more time for me pretty girl.”

He placed a few kisses along your shoulders and down your spine as you rolled the D4 onto the board, watching as it landed.

“It’s a two!” You said excitedly as Eddie’s lips worked their way back up your spine and you could feel him smile against your back as he laid back over you, reaching over your shoulder to place the board back onto his nightstand.

He moved onto his knees and placed his hands onto your thighs, spreading them wide as he moved himself between them, grabbing your waist and pulling your ass into him and earning another giggle from you,

“I’m guessing the two means you get to take me from behind?”

You adjusted your body, your ass and hips arched upwards as your chest was pressed into the bed, your arms in front of you to hold onto the edge of Eddie’s mattress.

“It does pretty girl, you’re so smart.” You giggled again as he grinded his hips into yours from behind, his length moving over your folds as he adjusted himself between your legs, “Do you want me to start slow like you like it sweetheart? Or am i allowed to use you?”

You arched your ass up a bit more for him,

“You can use me baby, i just want you to go in slow, ok?”

Eddie smirked and moved his hand down to spread your thighs wider, slowly inserting his tip back through your slit with his hands holding your hips to keep you steady,

“Anything for you baby girl.”

You gripped the sheets as he pushed further into you, tilting his head back and groaning as he was fully sheathed inside you, he gripped his hands tightly onto your hips as he slowly moved you back and forth as the gently thrusted into you,

“Ready sweetheart?”

You did your best to turn your head back at Eddie and nod, but he had already picked up the pace of his hips pushing into yours.

Your whimpers and moans became cries of pleasure as he slammed into you from behind, using you to his hearts content. From the angle he was at, it gave him the perfect view of your body moving beneath him, and though he couldn’t see your face your squeals were letting him know he was making you feel just as good as he felt.

His grunts and groans became a string of curses through gritted teeth and he could feel the wisps of his hair stick to his forehead as he started to sweat from the mixture of pleasure and exhaustion. He looked down at your body and smiled at what he saw beneath him.

Your beautiful body sprawled out on his mattress, your knuckles almost white from gripping his sheets between your fingers, your cries now being muffled as your face was pressed into his mattress. He reached a hand down and took a handful of your hair, gently pulling your face up from his mattress,

“No babygirl, you know how much i love to hear all those pretty noises you make,” You could just hear the way he was smiling behind his gravely voice, “and i want to hear you cry out how much you love it when i fuck you.”

You did as he said and couldn’t hold your screams back any longer.

His name left your lips each time you felt him hit your sweet spot, and you just knew that your throat would be sore when you woke up, no doubt the neighbors would be talking about being able to hear you but you didn’t care. You wanted the whole world to know how good Eddie made you feel.

He tightened his grip on your hair and moved his other hand from your hip, placing it onto your shoulder and pulling you upwards into him, his chest pressed up to your back once again as he kept thrusting up into you. He moved his arms to wrap around your body, one around your torso while the other was across your chest, his hand softly gripping the sides of your neck as you moved your hand up into his hair.

“You gonna cum for me pretty girl? Come on, i know you’re close, don’t hold back…”

He could feel you tightening around him and he knew you couldn’t last much longer with him being so deep inside you.

Eddie bucked his hips into you and as he hit your sweet spot one final time, you tilted your head back, your eyes squeezed shut and your hand gripping his hair as you cried out his name and felt a wave of pleasure wash over your body.

As he felt you start to relax around his cock, he thrusted up into you one final time before he reached his peak, holding you tightly to his body as he shot thick ropes of his cum into the condom.

You both collapsed onto his bed, your heads at his pillows, still holding on so tightly to one another. You were a mess of sweat and heavy breathing, doing your best to catch your breath and get grounded back to reality as the wave of pleasure flowing over your body started to fade.

Eddie placed a few kisses onto your shoulder, slowly pulling himself out from between your legs and pulling off the condom, tying off the end and tossing it into the trash before pulling his comforter over your bodies. He went back into his position from before, your back to his chest with his arms wrapped tightly around you, enjoying the warmth of your body as he nuzzled into your shoulder,

“Did you have fun with my little game sweetheart?”

You smiled and turned your head to face him, your hand gently holding his cheek,

“I loved it. Fuck, you really know how to make things fun in the bedroom,” You said with a giggle, placing a soft kiss to his lips, “next time can we try it with a little role playing?”

“Really?” He said with a big smile on his face and you could hear how excited he was.

“Of course! Maybe i can be the princess and i give you a little reward for saving me from the evil wizard who’s been keeping me locked away? You’re good at thinking up things like that.” You giggled again as you saw his eyes light up.

“You’d really want to try that out babe? You don’t think it’s too nerdy?”

“Eddie,” You looked deep into his eyes as you held his cheek, “if i thought it was too nerdy, i wouldn’t have asked you to try it! Besides, i think it’s sexy that you bring all your nerdy stuff into the bedroom.”

“Well in that case, i’m going to have to get started on that first thing tomorrow morning. For now…” He moved your leg over his waist, hooking it around him as his hand went to your thigh to keep you held close to him, “I just want to hold my angel.”

You smiled and rested your head onto his chest, listening as his heart beat slowed to a steady pace, slowly soothing you to sleep as he kissed your forehead.

“I’d love nothing more.”

#stranger things #stranger things 4 #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x yn #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson smut #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fic

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pastafossa · 1 year

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Warning About A Plagiarizing Fic Author

*edit: FIC HAS BEEN TAKEN DOWN OFF AO3! Her blog posts here on tumblr however remain up so I ask that this keep circulating. *Edit again: all accounts appear to have been taken down, and all blogs look down save for her @k-9bails account which she had the audacity to use to try to follow me again. I’ve got a reblog with all the relevant updates but I’m adding it here, too. Original post: Right. Time for the callout post, since the thief has refused to answer my messages or take down the fic. Before we start: do not send her hate mail. At most, I’m looking for firm requests that she take down her fic and, as you’ll see, all the blog posts where she’s stolen content from me. Mostly I’m just trying to apply firm pressure so she takes all the stolen work down, and so that people are aware of what she’s doing so she can’t do this to anyone else. So, let’s start. If you’re in the Daredevil fandom on tumblr and AO3 at all, you might have heard of my fic The Red Thread about a psychic reader/OC referred to as Jane Hind/The Hound, who can see, via third eye, psychic threads of connection between people, animals, and beloved objects. It’s this fic that’s been blatantly plagiarized by @k9bails (who’s blocked me at present, so here’s the link to her main blog which I managed to access before I was blocked). Her fic on AO3 is called Legend, under the username K9bails. She’s also got a side blog called @k-9bails which appears less active, and a wattpad profile here, so please, if you write, make sure your work hasn’t been stolen. She’s only got the first chapter as of today, but it’s already full of stolen material, and her blog is absolutely bursting at the seams with things she’s stolen from me. Fortunately, before she blocked me, I was able to get screenshots, both of the fic just in case she edited it later, and her blog (which I had to screenshot on PC, so apologies for messiness). I’ve made a report to AO3 (please DO NOT report it on AO3, they prefer only one person do the reporting so that the volunteer team isn’t overwhelmed) and I am awaiting word back. But she’s also got my stuff all over her tumblr, and since she’s ignored my messages, it’s time to post it, since she’s active in the fandom and I don’t want her taking anyone else’s work.

Let’s start with the main bit from her fic. Left side is my first chapter, right side is her fic. If you’ve read TRT, you know that the concept of psychic threads seen through the third eye is incredibly important. They connect friends and acquaintances, family, pets, and even beloved childhood objects, with each type of connection denoted by a different color. She’s rotated some colors around, and taken some of the colors I introduce later like white, black, and purple, but this is very much my concept. Note she’s stolen a line almost directly word for word here: ‘Silver threads always struck Scout as the saddest,’ to compare to my, ‘That last always struck you as the saddest.’

In this case, she’s also taken the kaleidoscope effect line from a few chapters later:

I thought this was blatant, but it only got worse: she lifts two of my other original characters, and doesn’t even bother to change their fucking names. In this case, in her very first chapter, she’s lifted both Ciro, my OC’s Italian father figure (I’ve added a screenshot on the upper right from Ch17 of the first time his name is used), and Eli, an OC adopted by Ciro (also added to screenshot, bottom right). Eli doesn’t even appear until ch 36 so this stretches a long ways.

The rest of this I’m going to put behind a see more tag, cause we got a lot to go.

But we’re not done, believe it or not, considering there’s only a single chapter of hers so far - a single chapter containing a very similar opening line, and a bizarre lift of my frequent End Note message that leads to my tumblr??? That one puzzled me because there’s no real reason to steal that.

Yet another: she’s made use of the Hound theme, and made a barebones attempt to change the summary line enough to slide under the radar. If you’ve read TRT then you know, but if not: my OC’s code name is Hound, she’s frequently referred to as Hound or the Hound of Los Angeles, there are Hound metaphors galore, and Matt has taken to calling her his Hellhound, and those references are honestly so common it’d take hours to list them all.

I also happened to notice, after all this, that she’d linked to her tumblr, much like I did. So I wandered over. And it only got worse from there. Her own ‘answers’ to asks mimic mine, including lifting answers from posts I made here on tumblr. I’m not going to keep having side by sides because the post will get crazy long but if anyone wants receipts on any of these, I’ll go find it on a case by case basis.

Here’s where she mentions her character using threads to track people down for Bad Figures who want to kill them, along with tracking down threads for information, aka a major plotline of my fic and literally my character’s stated profession. Screenshot:

Here’s where she describes more about how ‘her’ threads and abilities work (starred paragraph is an almost exact summary of how my character’s abilities work, including how she can send them images and feelings, down to how a red thread is needed to control a person, definitely her taking my major plotline involving body jumping via red threads). She also, SURPRISE! Steals my psychic animals that inhabit the threads, that I’ve hinted relate to the subconscious, and that usually have some traits from the character. Oh, and the part about how doing all that makes her sick, yet again lifted from my fic, where my character gets incredibly sick the more she pushes herself doing all this.

Here’s another section in which she lifted Ciro - my Ciro that adopted Jane Hind is a native Italian, founded the particular family-like group he’s a part of, and also basically adopted Eli - who was raised in the US.

This section is where she’s roughly stolen Jane Hind’s mental trauma and the cause: her childhood arc. I’ve discussed at length here on tumblr (going to work on finding those posts in my tumblr history and update here when I can) and in the fic itself all the things she’s missed, using exactly this sort of phrasing. In fact, our major arc we’re currently going through in the fic (chapters 130 or so)... hm, references frequently missed out Christmases, birthdays, and little things we take for granted. This is one reason I’m sure she’s reading the fic as it’s getting posted. On top of that, she decided she’d also lift how Jane had never seen a beach and fell in love with it the first time she did. It’s a small detail but it’s just yet another thing she’s acting like is hers, just like the details about how this is all new and her Nelson and Murdock friends have taken her in.

Perhaps most bizarrely, her blog has even been reblogging posts friends have tagged me in that I’ve responded to. In this one, though, she gets a little too obvious - not only is she reblogging a post, maybe a few days after another friend tagged me in it and I reblogged it, but she also tried to tag her fic ‘the psychic thread’ as opposed to ‘the red thread’, which is my own series tag.

I have no idea why she’s done this. I have no idea why she was so blatant, why she thought she could get away with it. She also appears to have a few sock puppet accounts - for example, she makes a claim lifted straight from a half-joking post I made about my OC’s potential pokemon and then makes her own post using the same pokemon for her OC, and credits it to another account that seems to just exist to make her look more realistic. It was one of the more bizarre things stolen, since my post about it didn’t get much attention, but it proves she’s actively following me on tumblr quite closely, proven by a friend who snagged a few screenshots of her likes tab where she’d liked my posts.

She’s blocked me now, so I can’t see her main blog. I can’t ask her to take it down anymore, outside of the comment I’ve left on her fic and the report I made to AO3. But she knows, 100%, that she’s stolen my work, and just as frustrating, has gone on at length on her blog about how all your characters should be original, and truly yours, and how you should never imitate other authors. It’s a ballsy move considering how small the Daredevil fic circle is here on tumblr and AO3.

And look. I don’t want her to drown in hate mail. I really don’t. All I want is for her to take down the fic, and remove the posts in which she blatantly stole content from me. I’ve worked on TRT for years, I’ve poured hours and hours and almost a million words into this story, and the fact that this person is still reading it as they’re plagiarizing it is both incredibly insulting and incredibly hurtful. If you’re an author in the Daredevil fandom, I highly recommend blocking her. She’s mentioned a few very popular authors in the fandom in the blog posts, so I know she’s reading your work, too, and I don’t want yours stolen anymore than I do. If you see someone commenting about her fic, tell them its stolen. Warn your DD author friends. And if you’re going to say something to her, let it be a request to take down her fic and delete the blog posts that have plagiarized my content. That’s my end goal - not to burn her life down but to just pressure her to stop stealing something very, very dear to me, and hopefully learn not to do this in the future.

That’s all I want. *Edited 12/20: as of today, her fic on AO3 has been taken down! The scores of comments, or AO3′s plagiarism team, has done the job so this is a huge win, and I’m grateful to everyone that helped! Her tumblr posts on her k9bails account, however, are still up, and she has yet to respond, so let the pressure continue. I’m also hunting for her other accounts since it’s become clear the k9bails account and the @k-9bails account are both not her main blog. If anyone has any leads or knows who this person is, please send me a message! I want to find their main blog in case it’s following me so I can block it, and potentially apply pressure there to get her to take my work down on her k9bails account.

#plagiarism #the red thread #fanfic #fic #daredevil #matt murdock x reader #daredevil x reader #matt murdock x OC #daredevil x OC #using some of her tags so hopefully browsers will see it

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valeskafics · 1 year

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"Always You" - Werewolf!Jace x Reader Modern AU, Part 2 of 2

Part 1 HERE

Summary: Jace finally tells you what he's been dying to say.

TW: profanity, innuendo, p in v sex, mentions of biting, werewolf stuff, Jace's monster dick, idk man

Word Count: 2,163 words

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the House of The Dragon/Fire & Blood characters nor do I claim to own them. I do not own any of the images used nor do I claim to own them.

Tag List: @momochiiiiiiii

“You’re my true mate. I’m in heat and if you don’t let me claim you right now, I’m going to die.”

You stare at Jace for a minute, incredulous, before speaking, “What the hell are you talking about, Jace?”

He crawls in through your window, ignoring your protests and stands in front of you, “I’m a werewolf, Y/N.”

“I thought there are no packs left in Westeros,” you look at him suspiciously, “How do I even know you’re telling the truth?”

He sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose in annoyance, “Damn it, Y/N, you have to believe me!”

You scoff, “Excuse me? I have to believe you? Today is the first day in almost four years that you’ve even acknowledged me! And now you expect me to believe you? That I have to have sex with you or you’re going to die? I-”

He growls at you. Like actually growls. You take a step back from him.

And suddenly, his bones are contorting right before your very eyes, brown hair sprouting all over him, until Jace is no longer in front of you. But a large brown wolf.

You stare at him, not in fear, but in amazement. His brown eyes look at you with the same longing they have these past few years.

“Okay,” you mumble, “That was very convincing,” you pause before adding, “Can I have Jace back now, please? My room is a little small to accommodate a wolf.”

He changes back to the boy you know.

Or used to know.

You take a tentative step closer to him, to which he responds by moving as close to you as possible, “Is this why you stopped hanging out with me?”

He nods, “My stepdad said it was too dangerous for me to be around you. That my feelings were too strong for you and I wouldn’t be able to control myself.”

You are silent for a moment before asking, “When you touched my hand earlier, I felt something. Like, I don’t know, like an electric shock almost.”

“I felt it too,” he assures you, “It means we’re true mates. That we both felt that.”

“What do you mean by being in heat?” you question, “What is that?”

Jace traces the planes of your face with his eyes, able to stare at you without apology and reveling in it, “It means that all I’ve been able to think about since I saw you this afternoon is fucking you.”

Your eyes widen slightly, “Oh. Okay, then,” you bite your lower lip, making him groan, “What? What did I do?”

“The thing! The fucking,” he gestures at your lip, “Don’t do that.”

You raise an eyebrow, “Okay then.”

He watches as you sit down on your bed, fiddling with the hem of your shirt. He hesitantly moves to sit down beside you.

“You just cut me off,” you speak after a few minutes of silence, “Like I meant nothing to you.”

“It was to protect-”

“Protect me from what?” you snap at him, “Jace, if you had wanted to do something with me then, if you had just asked me, I would’ve thrown myself at you in a heartbeat!”

His eyes are blown wide in recognition, “You liked me back?”

“I,” you whisper under your breath, “Like you back. Present tense.”

He immediately leans in toward you but stops himself short of kissing you. It looks like it physically pains him to do it.

“Say you want me. Say you want to be my mate.”

You look at him curiously, asking, “What does being your mate mean?”

“It means,” he moves in slightly, whispering against your lips, “That you love me as much as I have always loved you.”

You look at him. Really look at him. His warm brown eyes. His brown curls, damp from sweat after having run all the way to you. His lips…

“Claim me.”

And he’s on you in a flash, cupping your face in his hands and smashing his lips against yours. And you feel like every nerve ending in your body is on fire when he touches you. It’s the same as that feeling when your hand brushed against his, except more intense because his hands are on you, his lips are on you. You wonder to yourself if he has wolf teeth. He laughs, making you pull back and stare at him.

“It’s a true mate thing,” he looks at you, adoring as strokes your cheek with his thumb, “I can hear your thoughts. If we complete the bond, I can hear them from anywhere. Right now, I hear them cuz I’m near you.”

“Eww,” you mumble, “Not sure if I like that.”

“I promise, I’ll block them out,” he grabs your hands, “I wouldn’t do that to you.”

“If you can read my thoughts,” you pause, “What am I thinking about right now?”

He closes his eyes and presses his forehead to yours to see what you’re thinking about.

Jace is on top of you, thrusting into you with an almost animal intensity, his hands holding onto yours as he fucks you without abandon. “Mine,” he growls as he captures your lips with his-

Jace opens his eyes and stares at you in awe, “Is that what you want?”

You nod. He grins, pushing you to lay back on your bed.

“When we start,” he says, pulling off his basketball shorts, making you gasp at the fact that he had nothing on underneath them, “I won’t be able to stop. My heat will fully take over the minute I’m inside you.”

You stare at his hard-on for a minute before mumbling, “If you can even get that inside me.”

“You’re my mate, Y/N. You were made for me. Don’t worry about that.”

You sit up and pull him into a kiss, raking your nails down his chest and making him groan. You stop your hand short of his erection and grin.

“Let me take care of that for you.”

“Please,” he groans, “Fuck, Y/N, you-”

He goes completely silent when you give him a quick stroke, only letting out a strangled whine. You try to do it again, but he grabs your hand and shakes his head.

“Need you.”

You nod and lie back. He pulls your underwear down your legs and is surprised to see how wet you already are. He looks at you questioningly.

“I couldn’t stop thinking about you after I got home,” you admit, “So I… You know.”

He actually blushes a bit at the thought of you touching yourself while thinking of him. He’s adorable, you think to yourself.

He moves his fingers toward you but you grab his hand, “No, just do it. If we really are true mates, my body’s supposed to adjust to you, right?”

He frowns, “I don’t want to hurt you.”

You take his hand and press a kiss to his fingertips, “I trust you. You won’t.”

He moves his legs to kneel between yours. He leans over you, taking your hands, like he saw in your thoughts.

“I love you.”

You smile at him, “I love you too.”

And he pushes into you. You and Jace realize those old wives tales about your body immediately accepting your true mate are in fact not just tales. The sting is still uncomfortable, and his cock is admittedly quite a bit larger than average. So he just stays there for a moment. Holding your hands and staring down at you.

“I won’t move until you’re okay,” he manages to grind out, barely holding himself together at the feeling of finally being inside you.

You nod and stay like that for a moment longer. He shifts slightly and the sensation isn’t a sting anymore. It feels good. You let out a whine of his name, making him lean down and growl against you.

He pulls out slightly and slams his hips back into yours, his hands still holding your own beside your head, “So wet and tight for me, my mate. My love.”

His eyes are feral as he stares at you, pounding you into the mattress. All you can do is stare at him, the pleasure he is giving you has rendered you unable to speak. He slams into you, over and over, the tip of his cock hitting places inside you that you could never have reached yourself.

He leans in to press his lips to yours again, thinking to himself that the only thing in the world that’s better than kissing you is finally getting to fuck you.

He continues drilling his hips into yours, hitting a deeper angle when you move your legs to wrap around him, lifting your hips slightly to meet his thrusts.

“Jace,” you finally manage to moan out, “Oh, fuck, Jace, you feel so good inside me.”

He bites down on your shoulder, making you let out a low moan, “Your pussy was fucking made for me. My mate, I love you,” his hips stutter slightly as you squeeze around him tightly, “Are you going to come around my cock, my love?”

You throw your head back against your pillow, “Please, Jace, let me…”

He bites down on your neck, sending you over the edge. You feel every muscle in your body tighten, you know you must be squeezing him like a vice, considering that he is unable to even move. He stares down at you, memorizing the face you make when you hit your peak.

“You’re so beautiful,” he whispers, kissing you, “I’m almost there, I promise.”

A few thrusts later, he pulls out of you and cums on your bed.

You wince slightly, “Don’t know how I’m gonna explain that.”

He collapses next to you, grinning, “Well, the actual explanation is you had mind-blowing sex with your boyfriend.”

“Oh, are you my boyfriend now?” you giggle, turning to face him.

“Well, you are wearing my shirt,” he teases you, “Can’t believe you still have it.”

“I wear it sometimes when I miss you,” you admit quietly.

He pulls you into a soft kiss, “I’m so sorry that I hurt you. I swear I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

“Rest of your life,” you grin wryly, “I don’t recall agreeing to being stuck with you for the rest of our lives, Jacey.”

He feels his heart swell at the nickname. You haven’t called him that in years. Not since before the two of you drifted apart.

He takes your hand in his and places it against his chest, over his heart, “This belongs to you. It always has.”

You move his hand to rest against your heart as well, “My heart belongs to you too, you goof.”

He laughs, kissing you again, “You know, one round doesn’t really satisfy a werewolf in heat, right? I was just really,” he rolls on top of you, making you laugh as he rubs his nose against yours, “Really horny.”

“You were? I couldn’t tell,” you scoff, running a hand through his hair, “Don’t you need to do the thing? The bite?”

He stares at you, “Are you sure? There’s no going back from it.”

You nod, “Yeah. I want to be your mate.”

“I promise it won’t hurt,” he assures you, kissing your neck, where he’s about to bite you, “Basically it just completes the bond.”

You smile at him, pressing a kiss to his jawline, “I told you, didn’t I? I trust you.”

He pecks at your lips before quickly biting down on your neck. You let out a low moan, assuring him that it doesn’t hurt. And all of a sudden, you feel closer to him than ever before. You feel his heart beating in time with yours. His breath. His worries.

His love for you.

Everything.

When he lets go, you stare up at him in awe, “I love you.”

“I love you,” he presses a kiss to your lips, resting his forehead against yours, “So, you think we might be able to get another round in before I have to sneak out? Because, to be honest, I really need to be inside you again.”

You smirk at him, feeling that he’s already hard, “You picked a very good time to go into heat. My parents are out of town until Sunday night.”

He grips your hips as you sit up to toss your shirt across the room, “Well, let’s get started.”

———

On Monday at school, you enter with your head held a little higher and a spring in your step. You walk over to Sara and Cregan.

“Have a good weekend? I thought your parents were gone with ours. Being home alone must’ve been a drag,” Cregan questions.

“I kept myself busy,” you smile to yourself secretively.

Sara speaks now, “He’s looking at you again.”

You reply to her, staring back at Jace who smirks at you as he walks toward you, “Yeah, I know.”

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steddieas-shegoes · 8 months

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Rules: post 10 of your favourite comfort movies then tag 10 people.

I got tagged most recently by @every-aj-needs-an-angel (but I also think I got tagged a while back by a few people and I fell way behind on tags)

1. Pride and Prejudice (2005) - I mean we all know why. If you don’t:

2. Captain America: Civil War - I won’t be able to apologize for this. It’s just the most romantic bullshit a person can see. A man going against his country, the world, his friends, for his long lost love? Sigh.

3. Miracle - It’s hockey. I dunno what else I have to say.

4. The Breakfast Club - If you haven’t watched it, how.

5. Beauty and the Beast - This has been my favorite original Disney princess movie since I was maybe four and I learned to read? I thought Belle was amazing and I genuinely told my mom at six years old that I hoped my husband had a big library. What a dreamer.

6. The Princess Diaries - My sister and I watch this almost once a month. I blame naming Eddie’s daughter after Mia Thermopolis because I had just watched it again.

7. Matilda - This one is depressing when you think about it, but my family used to call me Matilda because I would prefer to just sit in my room and read. And then Harry Styles wrote the song and I was like…hmmm that’s something to unpack…and then I just started watching the movie when I was sad.

8. 10 Things I Hate About You - I mean.

9. Hook - I don’t know how many times I’ve watched this movie, but it’s gotta be in the triple digits.

10. Jumanji (1995) - I don’t have anything against the new one, but the original is just unparalleled. You just can’t compete with Robin Williams.

Now, keep in mind that I RARELY watch anything at all, so when I’m watching these, something is very wrong 😂

No pressure tags: @simplebtromance @zerokrox-blog @izzy2210 @estrellami-1 (I think you may have tagged me in this a while ago too so ignore this if you did 😭) @legitcookie @sidekick-hero @steves-strapcollection @wormdebut (or work on your gd fic ffs) @wynnyfryd @messessentialist

#tag game #personal #not steddie

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captaincryolicious · 1 year

Text

your bookstore crush III

➳ alhaitham x gn!reader

➳ oneshot, 1.4k

➳ cw. fluff, established relationship, this turned sappy lol, modern au, maybe alhaitham is a bit ooc here

your bookstore crush? more like your bookstore boyfriend [14.11.2022]

[part one + part two]

@yukina-otome you asked for a tag so here it is!

content under the cut | masterlist

The days you spent working at the bookstore always went by swiftly and rapidly, and you found yourself enjoying every minute of it. Sorting books, talking to customers and seeing them leave satisfied with their purchase, interacting with your handsome co-worker – who you happened to be dating, all in an environment you loved a lot. You grew to adore the little bookstore on the corner of the street all over again.

So why leave when the day of labor was over?

At some point, a few weeks ago, the two of you lingered in the store until long after Alhaitham switched the sign on the door from open to closed. Choosing a dark corner, obscured from sight by the tall bookshelves and cozied up by the dimmed lights, you sat for at least two hours, talking quietly and enjoying each other’s company.

And that grew into a habit.

You never did anything in particular. You and Alhaitham simply closed down the store for the day and retreated to your favorite spot, where an old sofa stood against the wall for people who felt like reading while they were in the store. It was that sofa where you cuddled for the first time, where you had your first kiss, where he allowed you to be so close to him in the most peaceful way possible. You loved the little corner of the store, and it was such a nice spot to wind down together after a few hours of work. After all, it was your spot, of you and Alhaitham.

“What a day,” you sighed, gently sitting down next to your boyfriend. “I don’t say this often, but I’ve had enough books for today. I’ve spent three hours moving around that new batch of fantasy novels and I’m still not entirely done yet.”

Okay, you weren’t one to complain often, but those were a lot of books and you had to move them around all by yourself since today had been filled with customers. Alhaitham simply had been too busy to help you out. You didn’t mind, nor did you hold it against him, but you had to blow off some steam.

“I wish I could’ve lent you a hand, Y/N,” Alhaitham replied earnestly. “I’m not sure why it was so particularly busy today.”

“It’s fine,” you reassured him. “That only means that the store is proving to be a success, right? That’s a good thing.”

“That might be so, but I don’t want you to overwork yourself,” the male reasoned. He offered you a stern look. “Maybe my father should hire someone extra. I have a roommate who can use some money so maybe I can get him a job here.”

“Maybe,” you muttered, pulling your knees to your chest and leaning against Alhaitham with a tired sigh. Okay, you were cooked, but you weren’t too sure if finding an extra employer would make you any happier. You loved working with Alhaitham only. It made the bookstore feel quite intimate, as if it was something between you, and you didn’t want to throw that away.

Alhaitham watched your expression turn sour as your thoughts progressed, but he said nothing regarding it; it wasn’t that hard to guess what was on your mind and now that he thought about it, he found himself agreeing with you. He didn’t want anyone to get in the way of what you had going on in the little bookstore.

“Just don’t overwork yourself, okay? That’d be troublesome,” he said, slowly draping his arm over your shoulders and pulling you a little closer against himself.

“Aww, look at you caring about me,” you cooed, getting cozy against him. “You must really like me.”

“Y/N, we’ve been dating for two months,” the male with silver hair deadpanned. “Of course I really like you.”

He gave you a look and you grinned.

“It’s cute to hear you say it out loud.”

“Apologies, I assume I don’t do so enough,” Alhaitham admitted.

You gazed at him for a moment. His turquoise eyes rested on you solemnly and his expression was as serious as always, but the dimmed lighting made his hair look absolutely fluffy and the male looked softer than ever before. You smiled giddily. He was handsome and adorable!

“That’s okay,” you smiled. “That only makes it more meaningful when you actually say it.”

And it really was okay. Alhaitham was a quiet lover, far from being over the top about it. His love language was subtle, without caps lock and exclamation marks. Having Alhaitham love you brought you a way more mellow side of him, yet it was still so skillfully hidden under his stoic mask. Your days were filled with stolen glances, and his turquoise gaze would grow softer every time his eyes locked with yours. Your days were filled with compliments and sweet nothings hidden in deadpanned remarks that may sound like sarcasm but were heartfelt and sincere – you knew him well enough to know. And then there was the way he loved having you near him, either with your hand snuggly in his or to have you cuddled against him on the sofa – while he pretended to be totally unaffected and that was the biggest lie because he adored every second of your presence.

Would you ever fully break through his stoic facade? You had no idea, but you didn’t mind either way. You loved Alhaitham the way he was, just like the way he loved you. Blunt, serious, unfazed, secretly a tease sometimes, a sucker for dried Zaytun peaches. That was your Alhaitham.

“Why are you staring at me like that?” the male questioned after a while.

You snapped from your thoughts, blinking a few times before regaining your composure after being shaken from your little daze. You shot him a sheepish grin; you got caught.

“Because you’re handsome,” you bluntly said, shifting on the sofa so that you were facing him. “Do you know how much I like you?”

“Judging from the heart-eyes you have when you look at me? A lot,” Alhaitham guessed. “Y/N, I hope you’re also aware of how much I like you.”

“Hmmm,” you hummed teasingly. “I don’t know. Unlike you, I’m not an academic genius.”

“I don’t think either of us needs a degree in how much we like each other,” the male with silver hair reasoned dryly. “As I mentioned before, I like you a lot.”

He spoke in all seriousness, and that was one of the many things you liked about him. He was earnest and serious, blunt and bold. He was also very serious about you and he didn’t beat around the bush when he told you so. The way he looked at you so solemnly made your heart swell.

“Oh, I think I already got that degree the moment I saw you,” you added to the joke, before turning serious. “I don’t think I can like someone as much as I like you.”

Why were the two of you turning so… sappy? Maybe it was simply because both of you were tired after a long day. and the fair share of boldness you adopted from Alhaitham was also playing its part. Usually it wasn’t like that. Most of the time you sat against Alhaitham as he was reading a book, often talking but never like this despite dating for two months already. But you liked it. You liked this sort of conversation with him.

“You speak big words, Y/N,” your boyfriend pointed out.

“I mean it, though,” you swore. “I’m as serious as you are.”

“Nice try, but you’ll never be as serious as I am.” Alhaitham gently flicked your forehead before turning away and grabbing the book that lay on the armrest of the sofa. But you saw it; the rare little smile that rested on his lips as he did so.

Silence followed, in which Alhaitham grew immersed in his book and you rested against him comfortably, thinking about the words that still lingered in the air. Your conclusion? Alhaitham was down bad for you in his own way, but you were so just as much.

#genshin impact #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact scenarios #genshin impact fanfiction #genshin impact imagine #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact alhaitham #alhaitham x reader #alhaitham #alhaitham x y/n #alhaitham genshin impact #al haitham #alhaitham x you #alhaitham imagine #alhaitham imagines #al haitham x reader

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jackie5656 · 1 year

Text

Compromise With; Anthony Lockwood

A/N: An anon requested angst, and who would I be not to deliver? This one took a while, apologies for the wait. Thank you so much for all the recent love, it means so much. I hope you enjoy.

TW: Descriptions of injury, arguing, suicidal ideation(?), Lockwood being a self-absorbed prick :)

Summary: The one where you and Anthony are at odds, and there seems to be little room for reconciliation.

Taglist: @sunshineangel-reads @fox-bee926 @helpmelmao @galactidiot @soupsaurus @nekee-lilac02 (Tagged ppl who seemed to like my last story, lmk if you want to be removed <3)

Lockwood isn’t accustomed to your anger.

Well...That’s not entirely true. You have a bit of a short fuse, sometimes. Accustomed to your occasional irritance, sure. He fancies teasing you, pushing your buttons for the sake of admiring the way your nose scrunches up, how you huff that ever-stubborn strand of hair from your vision.

This, though. Whatever this is, it’s different. You’re practically seething as you search around the lamp-lit kitchen. Booming thunder and relentless London rain the only noise accompanying your movement. That and the boot shackled around your left foot, which thumps pitifully as you rummage the first aid kit. He feels like a disobedient child sat in the headmistress’ office. Ragged hair still damp from the rain after a grueling mission. One that’s left a nasty gash across his forearm, having been forced into a picture frame in the midst of fighting a vengeful type two.

George and Lucy had long gone off to bed. A brisk debrief over a final cup of tea before slugging off to their respective bedrooms. Luckily, your bastard of a boyfriend had suffered the only injury. You’d missed all the action considering your current state, though that hadn’t ceased the fierce beating of your heart as you slumped into the seat in front him. Drawing the oil lamp nearer for better light as you motion for his arm. He obeys immediately, silently, face pulled with the kind of tension only present when he’s really worried.

Good. You honestly hope he’s terrified. Serves him right. Your tense mood is not only due to his ailment, but the lingering frustration from your argument earlier in the evening.

**************

“Absolutely not. You’re not coming along on any missions ‘til that boot is off.”

“Anthony, I’ll be alright. I’ve been getting around the house just fine so far!” “You shouldn’t even be on it as much as have been.” He’s got the audacity to scoff, almost amused. “More stress will only make the healing process longer.” You cross your arms, looking toward your bag-clad friends for support.

“We should check on the cab.” Lucy offers a tight-lipped smile as George nods, ushering her out the front door before you can direct your anger toward them.

“You said yourself this case is going to be especially touch sensitive. That the client reported how evasive the problem was. Sight and sound won’t be as useful.”

“Precisely. Perfect that George is coming along, yes?” Your eyes narrow at his condescension, you’d grown tired of his babying ever since your incident two cases ago. It felt like ages since you’d been in the field.

“George will be too preoccupied with all the evidence! I won’t even go further than a few feet from the threshold. Just let me get a feel of things so I can-”

“I said no, y/n. It’s final.”

“Says who?”

“Says the leader of this company.” You choke a laugh, tossing your bag onto the floor with a heavy thud.

“Right, yes. The one who makes all the calls?”

“Sounds about right.” His brown eyes narrow in challenge, frustrated you’re failing to understand he’s only trying to keep you safe.

“Same one who made the call we go into the Hope residence without well-rounded research? The case we rushed into without enough information and it ended with me on house arrest?” It’s a low blow, undoubtedly. A twinge of wounded guilt flashes across his face before the venom seeps back in. Lump in his throat burning horribly before he swallows it to dissipation.

“Same one who knows if things go South this time ‘round you’ll only slow us down.” Your stomach twists with the distaste in his tone, vision blurring with tears as he turns toward the door. Jumping as it slams shut and takes him with it.

********

“Won’t need stitches.” You note simply, surveying the wound gently. He nods, shoulders straightening in preparation for the oncoming pain. “Still some glass debris, I’ll have to take it out.” He’s lucky, from what it looks like the gash could have been much worse.

“I can manage it just fine on my own.” You bite your tongue. In the year’s biggest plot twist, Anthony Lockwood insists on suffering alone in lieu of his own pride.

“You can’t. You’re not risking any more damage to the arm that wields your rapier. Just let me.” He doesn’t listen, of course. Pinching the tweezers in his grasp and looming forward to get a better look. Dizzying at the sight, he’s not strong enough to prohibit you from taking them back. Pushing at his shoulder so he’ll relax against the chair.

It’s not your typical bedside manner. Usually when injuries happen its gentle touches and muttered sorries or other affections. Soft and kind.

The intruding thought pulls Lockwood’s frown deeper. The throbbing in his arm practically minuscule to the war zone in his mind. It’s awful...He misses you and yet you’re a mere foot away.

His fist clenches as the tweezers near his skin once more, hand taking hold of your wist to cease the uncontrollably trembling of your appendage.

“Love-”

“Shush, I can do it.” You take a deep breath. Wordlessly combatting your conflicting emotions with slow, calculated inhales. You’re an agent. You’ve trained for this. Though the textbooks help little with the patching up tactics when it’s someone you love, when you’re at such odds.

You approach again, steady this time. He sucks his teeth at the particularly intricate extractions, but remains still for you. You move with as much efficiency as possible. Trying to remove the person from the wound, just as the books suggest. Though it’s nearing impossible with his eyes trained on you. Trying to steal every thought from your mind as if they’re his own.

When you’re applying sterile gauze after thorough disinfection, he finds the courage to speak.

“Thank you.” He clears his throat after it falters...From emotion or lack of use, you aren’t sure. Doesn’t matter, honestly. You’re still keen on grilling him.

“George said you followed it up the stairs without telling him and Luce.”

“I was in a hurry. Wouldn’t have found its’ source in time if I hadn't.” You don't event try to conceal the roll of your eyes. Anger sinking back in as you collect the wrappers on the table and toss them into the bin.

“So you’re allowed to be reckless on the job as long as nobody else is?”

“Reckless. I’d argue, is an exaggeration.”

“Exaggeration? Christ, you’re impossible.”

“Yeah?” He stands as you do, holding his wounded arm to his stomach as he leans against the counter. “How’s that?”

“You’re fine with breaking protocol so long as you’re the one doing it. Putting yourself at risk any chance you get without a second thought. It’s maddening!”

“And how do you suppose you got yourself in that boot?”

“Not by beckoning death! Mine was an accident, Anthony. I swear, sometimes it’s like you want to get yourself killed!”

“You don’t-”

“No! I’m not finished.” You step toward him, jabbing a finger into his chest to accentuate your wrath. “You have people depending on you. People that care about you, love you to bits. And you’d rather spend the better half of missions taunting death than preventing it. If you wanted to be so fucking careless, you shouldn’t have made me fall in love with you. Now here we are, both vexed and in varying casts because of you can’t seem to understand the sanctity of your own life.”

He knew that much had been true. Lockwood would risk just about anything in a case so long as it granted him victory. Hadn’t that been in the fine print, though? Guaranteed in this line of work? So long as you were granted this talent, this curse, you had a responsibility to utilize it to the best of its ability.

“Sweetheart.” It’s strained, nearly a beg with the amount of exhaustion ridden in his tone. “We can continue this tomorrow. Let’s go to bed, please.”

“I can’t,” his knuckles go white with their grip on the cold countertop as you hurriedly wipe at your eyes. “I can’t go to bed angry with you.”

“Then don’t.” He takes one, two careful strides toward you. Fingers pinching at your elbow in an attempt to satisfy the burning need to hold you. “Let’s forgive each other for the next seven hours. Then you can go on hating me, okay?” You huff a laugh, forehead instinctively pressing to his chest. He bathes in it as long as you’ll allow, pulling back seconds later and headed toward your room with him in tow.

********

Anthony’s eyes follow your frame as you approach the stove. Taking the cup of tea he’s prepared for you and taking your usual seat between him and George. He pushes your chair out with his foot to allow you easier access, nudging a plate of buttered toast your way. It’s not an apology, not even an olive branch. Lockwood simply refuses to cease these small acts of service no matter how angry you are with one another. It’s practically instinctual at this point, second nature. His brows furrow when you let out a relieved exhale once sat. Joining along your accomplices’ conversation about your ongoing case he’s drowned out momentarily in order to observe you.

“It hurts, doesn't it,” he unknowingly interrupts George’s spiel, “your foot.”

“Only a bit. Just this morning.” It’s a meek defense. An evident dismissal so as not to prove his bench-warming call the right one.

“You’ve been on it too much.”

“It’s fine, I’m fine.”

“You’re not. And if you had just listened-”

“Are we really starting this up again, right here?” Your eyes bore daggers into his frame. Doing your best to conceal your rage in leui of your dear bystanders beside you. Theres a few beats of silence, a moment of peace before the sorry fuck plates the nail in the coffin.

“George, any word of upcoming cases? The sooner we leave for the day, the better.” Your chair scrapes against the hardwood as soon as he’s finished, silverware trembling as you force yourself upward.

“You just can’t help yourself, can you?” It’s practically a whisper, ridden with rage and overwhelming upset. His brown eyes meet yours, cold and distant. Completely unfamiliar.

“So you like to think.” He quips, eyes following your form as you exit the kitchen twice as quick as you came in. There’s silence again, impossibly more awkward than before.

“Dick move, Lockwood.”

“Stay out of it, Luce.”

“She’s right. Real dickish move there.”

“George-”

“Right. Staying out of it.”

*******

Lockwood prides himself for a lot of things. Communication, definitively, has never been one of them.

How’s he supposed to explain it’s easier to put himself in front of the all the danger you face? That the rest of you need each other much more than you need him.

That he’d rather die than lose someone again.

He’s quiet as he creeps in, the usual love-lorn quip forgotten as he enters your shared bedroom. You’d been laying in bed, had been since breakfast. You weren’t usually one to sulk, but you were still in pain and definitely still angry. At your boyfriend, this damned boot, the world.

“Word is your boyfriend’s been a right prick, lately. I’m hoping this can be my opportunity to stake my claim. If you’re cutting him out, that is.” He’s kneeling at the bedside, chin pressing into his forearms as he supports his head. You can feel his heat from here, hate how it weakens your cold resolve. His fingertip traces the skin on your back where your shirts ridden up, a ghost of a small passing his lips when you shudder. You’re pulling up the duvet, ceasing his touch while a trace of you wishes it hadn’t.

You can’t see any hint of amusement leave his features. The dim of his eyes and the stutter of his heart. He swallows, subconsciously shuffling nearer. The need to be close growing tenfold.

“Lovely, will you look at me?” Lockwood can’t help but cringe at how desperate it sounds. Whispered, rushed, fragile. Every indication he cares much more than he’s used to.

He almost wishes he had’t asked. Dread consuming him when you turn to face him, tear stained cheeks and blotchy eyes. Lashes stuck together with moisture, blinking slow and strained. “Darling.” Is all he can manage, wounded and hushed. It makes you want to cry even more.

“Why can’t you see I’m worried about you?” You croak out, voice strained and scratchy. His knuckles brush the moisture from under your eyes, brows furrowed with an expression you can’t quite read.

“I do.” He wets his lips, “I see that.” An implication of I see you and I’m sorry. He’s never been good at apologies, but this time you need one. You need something, anything more than the breadcrumbs he drops. The urge to invite him in plagues your mind, broken expression tugging at your heart strings. You know better than to brush this one off, it’ll only have the same conflict arising again and lead to resentment. The realization reforms the burning lump in your throat, vision blurring with fresh tears.

“I just-we need space.” Don’t we? Lockwood rears back, mustering up resolve he doesn’t have. You don’t mean indefinitely, you don’t mean a breakup, he knows that. Doesn’t make the words burn any less.

“Okay, fine then.” If that’s what you really want.

He’s grabbing the dog-eared magazine at your bedside before you can say anything else. He hesitates at the door knob, begging to force himself to turn around and plead. Anthony Lockwood’s ego is somewhere near the sun, but its no match for how he feels about you.

*******

You know when you suddenly become conscious of blinking? And it starts to feel a little odd, manual instead of automatic? You can almost forget what it was like to not have to consciously do it...

Breathing is kind of like that too

At least, that’s what Lockwood thinks when he’s sure he’s suffocating.

His heart thrums so roughly against his chest he’s sure it’ll burst. He wonders who’d find him, huddled in the corner of the library. Cold and lifeless. He must be trembling, it feels as though the whole ground is vibrating, or-sinking. Swallowing him entirely.

Then there was the pounding. His head, yes. There’s a dull throbbing at the base of his skull. But this is different. A rhythmic thumping approaching. Closing in on him, eager to push him into the sinking floor to meet his imminent demise.

You’re in the kitchen. Leaning over the sink, eyes trained on the tap filling up your glass. The bed feels empty without him. And sure, you’d probably sent a clear ‘fuck off to the couch’ message with your latest conversation...But it hadn’t made falling asleep without him any easier.

You’re taking a deep breath in, preparing for a right pitiful sigh when you hear it. Some sort of squeaking. Your head cocks to the side, discarding the glass in search of its origin. Surely one of the sources wasn’t acting up, that’d be right terrifying when you’re alone. It leads you toward the study, louder and more frequent as you draw closer.

It’s when you cross the threshold do you see him. Tall frame curled into the corner as hiccuped gasps rack his frame.

He scoots impossibly closer to the wall as you approach. Dropping to your knees and lifting his face to study him. A foreign sheen of panic clouds over his eyes, sending your stomach turning.

“Anthony, it’s me. I’m here, I’m right here.”

You’ve coached him through as many panic attacks as he’s allowed throughout the years. The first time, in academy, you were sure he was choking. A plate of biscuits strewn over the floor as he gasped for breath.

They’re unpredictable, no matter how many times you’ve handled them. He needs something different almost every time to snap him out of it. Though it’s mostly physical touch.

“C-cant breathe.” Your boot thumps as you draw closer, eliciting another wince from him. Clutching into the fabric of his shirt as if trying to pull it free. You undo his tie and the first couple buttons, grabbing at the sides of his face in a desperate attempt to get him to focus on you.

“Anthony please, listen to me. I’m going to try something. If you don’t like it you just push at me, alright?” A curt, gasping nod in understanding before you’re enveloping him in an embrace. Squeezing so tight you can feel his panicked heart thrumming against your chest. It makes you want to cry and scream and hold him even tighter. Willing his pain away with all of your might.

It’s not working this time ‘round. He can’t seem to collect himself despite your efforts. You pull away, fearing your persistence will only send him further spiraling. But he’s tugging you to him again. Arms tight around your waist as he buries himself into your neck.

“Dont. D-don’t go. Don’t leave.” The usual cool and collected tone is manipulated to something unrecognizable. Rasped and unsure.

It’s then you remember the look in his eyes when you’d dismissed him. The abandonment he’s feared his entire life. The little boy who forced himself to stay awake all those lonely nights, just in case he heard the lock turn and the front door open to bring them home. His adamant refusal to ignore your connection for years in lieu of protecting his broken heart.

“Hey, look at me.” You’re pulling him back by the sides of his hide, forcing him to meet your gaze. “Lockwood, I’m not going anywhere. Doesn’t matter how angry I am,” you wince when he hiccups a sob. “Doesn’t matter how much you try to push me away.” He shakes his head, something short of a disbelieving chuckle passing his trembling lips. “I’m not leaving. I’m staying right here. With you, always. You understand?” He manages to nod, an inkling of solace flashing across his form.

“Just breathe, Anthony. In…and hold…and out”

Your words sound a mantra in his mind. Your scent flooding his senses, skin on his bringing him back to reality. A morsel of relief prodding its way in as you caress the sides of his face and up into his hair.

“I’m sorry.” He swallows, focusing on formulating the words. “I know I haven’t said it. Never say it enough.” Shaky arms wrap tighter around your waist, keeping you close. Afraid you’ll disappear despite your affirmations.

“Consider yourself forgiven.” You bite back a smile when the tension unknowingly spills out of his body. Frame drooping with undoubted relief at the simple words. “I love you. Even when you’re a right prick.”

“I know.” He pulls you so you’re between his legs. Your back against his bent appendage and your own pair over his other outstretched one. Right side of your body pressing against his chest. You try to push away, unable to fight his affections off despite his weakened state.

“See? Right prick, you are.”

“Shush. You know bloody well I love you.” He presses a kiss to your temple, smoothing over your hair and gaging your reaction. Still catching his breath from before. “I know I don’t say that enough either.” He’s quiet then, brown eyes looking to yours with such sincerity your breath catches in your throat. “I’d do anything for you, you know that.”

“That’s sort of what I’m afraid of, if you don’t recall.” You’re both solemn then. Your fingers intertwining with his in a familiar dance. He can only hum, swallowing thickly.

“What if,” his eyes rake your frame. Studying you again. “What if you came along the next assignment?” You light up at that, searching his features for jest.

“Really?”

“Just outside. Making sure we’re all alright. And I don’t go off getting myself killed.”

“But-”

“Dove.” The nobility in his tone finds him again. A subtle warning. “This is me. Anthony Lockwood, attempting a compromise.” You bite back an abashed smile at his raised brows, urging surrender.

“Noted.” You fiddle with the cool, silver ring adorning his index finger. “I get to select the case, then.”

“Alright.”

“And I get to intervene if things go South.”

“Absolutely not.”

“Figured that was ambitious.”

#lockwood x reader #lockwood and lucy #anthony lockwood #lockwood and co #lockwood gifs #lockwood netflix #anthony bloody lockwood #lucy carlyle #george karim #lockwood imagine #lockwood fanfic #lockwood fic #lockwood x you

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finemeal · 3 months

Text

AO3 Etiquette

Alright, y’all, you already know what I’m about to say. But go ahead get some water, something to eat, take your meds, and whatever else you need to do as I go into this. Ready? Good.

I’ve seen far too many users on AO3 being rude and saying things that I’m not even sure they understand is rude.

If you’ve done these things, don’t sweat it too much. As long as you learn and do better, that’s what’s important. I don’t wanna make anyone feel bad, but I want to make y’all AWARE.

So let’s talk about some basic etiquette for interacting on AO3.

(Disclaimer: not every AO3 author is going to agree. Some are okay with some of these things, some aren’t. Let’s just play on the safe side yeah?)

Comment Etiquette

Listen, we’ve all left comments on fics we like. But here’s the thing, some of us don’t realize what comments are rude or not.

Comments that pass the vibe check:

Hearts

Something you liked about the story

Saying you enjoyed the story

Excited to see more from an author (not demanding an update, not asking for more, just genuine excitement for whatever the author has in store)

Anything that is genuinely nice

Theories on what you think will happen (not necessarily what you want or hope happens)

Comments that do not pass the vibe check:

DEMANDING an update

Treating fic authors like content pumps and not real people who do this in their free time

Critiquing the story

Saying how they should’ve written something different

Constructive criticism that the author did NOT ask for

Saying things that are purposefully antagonistic

Trolling

Anything that if someone said to you about something you worked hard on you would think was rude

Dogging on how a character was written

Comments that are WILDLY different from the tone of the story (i.e leaving a graphically violent comment on a story that does not feature graphic violence)

Any mention on how long it’s been since they’ve updated — you’re gonna make your wait longer

This one is more of a personal ick but any “want to see” comments, specifically on one-shots (I want you to enjoy what I’ve written, not talk about stories you hope I’ll write — unless author says that they specifically want those comments)

Honestly there’s so many comments that do not pass the vibe check I can’t even list them all. But I listed a BUNCH so, general rule of thumb is: If you’re not sure it’s rude, reach out to a friend and ask. Also, you can ask for people in the comment section to vibe check you if you’re unsure. And? If you know it’s rude and say it anyway, you’re an asshole.

ALSO: author’s will read your comments! They may not respond, but 9/10 author’s will read the comment so remember that you’re not posting into the void. And? People will call you out if you’re being rude. Don’t double down. Apologize, delete comment, move on.

Author’s talk, we will block you if you’re a raging asshole cuz we don’t need that kinda energy in our fics. And, sometimes we’ll turn off anon commenters cuz if you’re going to continue to be an asshole, and can’t even say it to our face, you din’t deserve to comment.

Bookmark Etiquette

This one is prolly gonna get a lot of people riled up and I simply don’t care. If you disagree, that’s fine, just know as an author and friends with other AO3 author’s we consider these sorts of things rude.

Bookmarks that pass the vibe check:

No comment

A nice comment with the bookmark

Private bookmarks (no matter what it’s tagged/commented with)

Nice/neutral tags

A note to self about where you left off

Bookmarks that do not pass the vibe check:

Anything rude for the comment/tag section of a bookmark — unsure what’s rude? See comment section above

Ranking the fic (see this way more often in bookmarks than anywhere else)

Unread bookmarks (not always a fail, it’s just weird? You can mark for later, why are you bookmarking my story without reading it?)

If your bookmark is private? It doesn’t matter how you tag/note it/whatever. But if it’s public? Author’s will sometimes go look at bookmarks because people will leave nice little comments that make us feel good. If you say something mean we can’t even delete it. But I can guarantee we’ll block you!

Yes, bookmarks are for the reader, but just because you didn’t intend for an author to see what you said doesn’t make it any less mean. If it’s public: shame on you. Make a bookmark that’s mean in private, then I won’t care.

Conclusion

Don’t be mean. If you don’t like a story, you don’t have to say anything. It takes more time to leave a nasty comment or bookmark something in a mean way than it does to just back out of the fic. I get it, you don’t like the fic. I don’t like every fic I read. You know what we do? We use the back button.

We’re all people, we all have lives and things going on. Just know 2024 is the year I’m no longer replying to nasty comments. I’m deleting them, blocking if I want to, and moving on.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Again, this post has a very aggressive tone because I’m sick of seeing mean comments on my friend’s fics. Will this stop those comments? No, but I hope it lessens them.

This truly is just about educating people. If you have any questions, anything you want to add. Feel free, pop off monarchs.

#ao3 #writer #etiquette #etiquette fails #psa #rant #please just do better

45 notes · View notes

damn-stark · 1 year

Text

Chapter 4 This charming man

Tragedy at the Miller’s Chapter 4

A/N- Not ready for what’s coming

Warning- ANGST, talks of death, swearing, long chapter, fluff :)

Pairing- Joel Miller x daughter!reader, Henry x Fem!reader

Episode- 1x06 (not all of it)

(If you want to be tagged let me know!)

————

Family reunions are supposed to be heartwarming, joyful!

Maybe it was for the first 10 minutes, but now it’s awkward, there’s tension, there’d be deafening silence but the area you’re at is filled with the sound of obnoxious chewing. It’s an annoying sound, a usual pet peeve of yours, but right now, fuck it, it’s the first real meal you’ve had in two years.

“There’s more if you need it,” Maria interjects through the urgency of all the chewing.

“Thank you, ma’am,” your dad says when he finishes chewing. “It’s been a while since we’ve had a proper meal.”

You smile up at her with your mouth full of food and nod in agreement. Your uncle Tommy notices and shakes his head in disapproval, but he can’t help but smile faintly.

“Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper meal,” Ellie cuts in, causing you to slowly swallow your food and look at her with a bit of pity—“this is fuckin’ amazing.”

Your dad shoots her a pointed glare before looking up at the couple in front of him. “Sorry,” he apologizes for her, while you stifle your laugh with the food you shove in your mouth. “Ellie, let’s mind our manners.”

You smirk down at your food, but feel your uncle pat your back. “Don’t worry,” he adds. “Someone tends to have a way with words too.”

You look over at him and respond back with your mouth full of food. “I’m just expressin’ my freedom of speech.” You shoot him a smile and then return to eating, bringing back a bit of silence.

Albeit seconds later the peace is broken by Ellie snapping at someone behind you. “What?!”

You slowly peek behind you and see a girl storming off; you actually recognize her, albeit she was younger then. She liked to help with your sets when you did plays, she’s cool. But yes you understand Ellie’s…caution towards her just staring, but! you don’t get the snappy attitude.

“What’s wrong with you?” You remark Ellie with a pointed look.

“What about her manners?” She counters.

You roll your eyes and catch your uncle's curious gaze at that moment, so you can’t help but smirk faintly now in response—he’ll get hell of a kick out of her, he just needs to get to know her.

“She was just curious,” Maria tries to explain. “Kids around here don’t usually look or talk like you.”

“Right.” Ellie nods. “Well, maybe I’ll teach them. And I want my gun back.”

Yeah that’s not happening.

“They also aren’t armed,” Maria says.

You set your silverware down and grab your cup of water, whilst your uncle interjects. “You know what? Uh, I think maybe y’all got a little off on the wrong foot.”

“She was gonna have her guys kill us,” Ellie snaps right away.

“Well, we gotta be real careful about who we let in this place,” your uncle explains. “But it’s all bark. We’re just tryna scare off those who might wanna try us is all.”

You sit back and sip your water, only choosing to hear the argument being had.

You wouldn't be as…uhm…bold as Ellie, but you also understand her uneasiness of this place and all those people. You were new once too; afraid of everyone and cautious of everything.

“Well, you got a couple of 90-year-olds shitting themselves out there. Not much of a superstition, is it y/n?” She argues with a pointed glare aimed at you.

What? What the hell did you do?

“Ellie,” your dad warns her.

“They say that you leave dead bodies around?” Ellie remarks to your uncle and Maria again.

Now your uncle glances at you and passes an amused look at you right as Maria answers Ellie just as quickly. “Those are the people that tried us.”

“A bad reputation doesn't mean you’re bad,” your uncle adds.

“Not always, at least,” Maria adds in, and you catch her pointed look aimed at your father; which only makes you begin to frown as things get awkward. At least for you since you know the context behind her judgment.

“Ma’am,” your dad cuts in thereafter. “We’re grateful for your hospitality and all,” he pauses and looks between you, your uncle and Ellie. “But it’d be nice to have a moment here, maybe just for family.”

Oh right, given your silent treatment, you never actually talked much about this place or about your life here to him—that makes things uncomfortable. So you slouch and put your cup down to stare at the water.

“Well, uh,” your uncle interjects as he straightens up on his chair. “Maria is family, actually.”

You glance over at them and offer them a soft smile, but when you glance over at your father and see his face of slight disbelief your smile falters.

Why does he look so shocked? It was going to happen.

“Oh, shit! Congrats.” Ellie adds, but you can’t tell if she’s being sarcastic or genuine—probably sarcastic giving she’s not really liking Maria.

“Joel, say congrats,” Ellie whispers to your dad like if he’s some kid that needs a reminder.

A moment of awkward silence passes before your dad says it back a bit dryly. “Congrats.”

Can’t say you’re surprised, he didn’t like Henry at first either.

“She’s the one that helped me get this one through her teenage phase,” your uncle says and pats your shoulder to give it a small squeeze.

You look up at the both of them and smirk before glancing at your dad.

“I can’t say she made it hard,” Maria adds. “She was good…up until she left.”

You scoff and look over at her with a smirk. “Mama,” you whisper. “Besides, I wasn't a teenager then, I was 22.”

“You acted like one,” she rebuttals.

You roll your eyes in a lighthearted manner and shake your head, while your uncle grabs your shoulder and interjects with a lighthearted tone. “How old are you now, Sunny? Old?”

You snap your eyes to him and get ready to spat back, but he continues. “You even have gray hair there.” He points to the side of your head.

Your eyes go wide and you pick up your spoon to see your reflection through it, but he begins to snicker.

“Oh wait, it's just dirt.” He laughs.

You scoff and push his arm off you. “At least I can wash mine off, unlike you,” you counter and use your eyes to point to the white hairs on his side.

He snickers and you glance away, catching your dads gaze and slowly frowning as you catch that same hurt look you caught earlier. Your uncle Tommy notices a glimpse of your tension and sighs before breaking it. “How ‘bout a tour?”

Maria nods. “Yeah.”

Once you’re all completely done with your food you step out again. And you're not obligated to tag along, you knew this place already, it was home, but you want to accompany Ellie until she and your dad get some place to go for however long they’re staying—or correction for however long she’s staying, who knows if your dad has changed his mind about letting your uncle take her.

If he doesn’t then….you’ll go with her and your uncle. Even if being surrounded by the tall walls of Jackson made you finally feel completely safe, and let you drop the habit of needing to look over your shoulder every few seconds. Here you also didn’t have to live on the edge hoping that some infected wouldn’t creep up on you, or some fucker wouldn’t jump you out of nowhere. But if it meant being her one piece of support after your fathers abandonment, then it would be worth it being gone for one more month. Just for her, not for your dad.

“We settled here about seven years ago, just a handful of us then,” Maria tells Ellie and your dad. “That section…”

Her words trail off as suddenly you’re startled by an arm thrown around you. And when you snap your head over to your side, Apollo is next to you with a smile on his face.

“What’s wrong with you?” You quip as you fall behind the others doing the tour.

Apollo snickers. “Just checking you’re not some sort of hallucination.”

You roll your eyes and look ahead again. “I’d be a pretty cool hallucination,” you mumble and catch Ellie glancing at you over her shoulder when she doesn’t see you near her.

“Yeah,” Apollo agrees. “Good thing you aren't though.” He moves his other hand toward you to offer you a piece of dry meat. “Jerky?”

“Please,” you scoff and meet his gaze from the corner of your eyes. “I’ve had enough of jerky for now.” You then begin to smirk and hold his gaze as you throw him a reminder. “Aren't you supposed to be working bum?”

Apollo shrugs. “I was, but again, just checking on you, and…” he trails off and holds the piece of jerky in his mouth to reach into his back pocket and pull something out. “…give this to you.”

He pushes his hand towards you to show the Mariah Carey Daydream casette in his hand. “For you,” he says as he pulls out the piece of jerky from his mouth.

Your grin immediately widens and your eyes twinkle as you stop to take it from him. “Oh my god,” you squeal. “Where did you find this?!”

Apollo steps back and folds his arms over his chest to shrug smugly. “I have my ways. But I thought of giving it to you for Christmas when I saw you, but then I thought, why not give it to her now as a welcome home present.”

You meet his gaze with a smirk. “You were thinkin’ of me?” You tease.

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” He quips lightheartedly.

You shoot him a smirk, and he holds your gaze to mirror the gesture for a lingering moment before you look down at your gift and smile softly. Albeit, you then can’t help but step forward to throw your arms around him.

“Thank you,” you whisper and hold onto him tighter, feeling your heart flutter, and a warmth that wants to mend the bleeding gap that was on it.

“You’re welcome,” he whispers back and rubs your back softly. “I missed you, you know.”

You smile sweetly and try to fight the tears that threaten to rush out at the simple feeling of this embrace. “I missed you too,” you redirect softly, but suddenly begin to feel a twinge of guilt now stab at you as you feel comfort and yearning for him in his embrace.

“Mia is at home,” Apollo says and pulls back to face you. “I haven’t told her yet so it can be a surprise.”

You smirk. “I’ll make her shit her pants.” You snicker.

“I’ll see you at home later, yeah?” He queries in a way that makes it seem like he’s almost afraid you would leave again. “I have a bottle of tequila and a movie of your choice ready for you for later.”

“Can’t wait,” you assure him with a sweet smile playing on your lips.

Apollo begins to walk back and nods as he holds your gaze for a lingering moment before he turns and walks off to go back to work. You now put your gift away and catch back up with your group heading to the barn.

“Who’s that?” Ellie immediately asks once you’re by her side again.

You glance at her and scoff softly before you answer. “My…best friend, Apollo.”

Ellie scoffs and begins to smirk as she turns her head away. “Okay,” she mutters.

You squint your eyes in confusion and immediately press her hint of smugness. “What?” You giggle nervously.

Ellie shrugs before she glances at you and bats her eyelashes as she just simply repeats herself. “Okay.”

Before you can further question her she runs ahead of the group as they’re entering the sheep pen.

“Hey, Joel, check it,” Ellie now directs to your dad, and proceeds to mimic the sheep to tease him. You would’ve laughed but she was just teasing you so you keep quiet and follow them.

“So are you, like, in charge?” Ellie asks Maria.

“No one person’s in charge,” Maria says. “I’m on the council. Democratically elected, serving 300 people, including children. Everyone pitches in. We rotate patrols, food prep, repairs, hunting, harvesting.”

“Everything you see in our town,” your uncle adds. “Greenhouses, livestock, all shared. Collective ownership.”

“So, uh,” your dad interjects, making you glance at him. “Communism.”

Your uncle sniffles. “Nah. Nah, it ain’t like that.”

No it is that. Exactly that.

“It is that,” Maria corrects him. “Literally. This is a commune. We’re communists.”

You smirk, and end up sharing an amused look with your dad before you both glance back at your uncle stopped behind you looking a bit baffled.

“No way!” Ellie exclaims, making you drift your attention back to her and noticing her rushing toward a cute brown foal.

“That’s our newest one,” Maria shares. “Couple months old. You wanna pet her?”

You smile and rush towards the foal too.

“Yeah, what’s her name?” Ellie asks.

“Shimmer.”

“Shimmer,” Ellie repeats as she begins to caress the little baby horse. “You’re so beautiful.”

You lean against the gate and scratch the side of her jaw.

“Well, I’m sure they’d like a shower,” Maria adds on, correctly of course. “Some new clothes. We can put Joel and Ellie in the empty house across the street from us.”

You pull your hand away from the horse and peer over your shoulder.

“Yeah,” your uncle agrees. “It’s a decent place. Pretty much untouched since ‘03, but it’s got the heat goin’ in it.” He nods. “Could do worse.”

“Oh,” you add. “We have been.”

Ellie nods in agreement, but your dad quickly rebuttals you. “We’ve been doin’ fine.”

Yeah cause sleeping in caves and taking watches to make sure you won’t get killed is fine. Whatever man.

“Well,” Maria adds a bit awkwardly. “I’ll take Ellie over there if you two wanna catch up?” She suggests as she looks between your dad and uncle, making you look between both men with curiosity.

Only if you could go too just to snoop and know if your dad would go through with it. And to know how it’d actually go between them.

“Yeah,” your dad agrees and passes a look with your uncle. “Okay.”

“Joel,” Ellie whispers with concern.

“You’ll be fine,” he assures her and walks off with your uncle without another word, making her watch him as he did so.

“Come on,” you encourage her and grab her shoulder to gently nudge her ahead towards Maria

Ellie begins to follow, but spares one more glance at your dads retreating figure. Once he’s no longer in view she immediately questions you. “Where are you going?”

“Not far from where you’ll be,” you assure her. “Just down 2 streets, and then a right. I live in a yellow house with a white fence around it. I’ll be there.”

Ellie glances at the ground and frowns deeper, so you nudge her gently and continue to assure her. “You can come over after you’re done showering, if you want. If I don’t answer the door my friend Mia will, just tell her you came to visit me and she’ll show you to my room, yeah?”

Ellie lifts her gaze with unsureness but nods regardless to assure you she comprehends. “Yeah,” she whispers. “Okay.”

Once you see Ellie off you walk to your own house. A place you always hoped you’d return to, a place you longed for on cruel days. Yet when you’re there, past the white fences gate, at the doorstep of your house, it feels…fucking weird. Like some dream. A good dream you were scared to wake up from.

What if opening the front meant waking up? That’d be terrible.

But you can’t know if you stand there, so you let out a deep breath and slowly wrap your hand around the knob. You hesitate for a second and close your eyes to hope it isn’t some dream—fuck. You open your eyes as you turn the knob and slowly push the green creaking door open. And luckily nothing vanishes, nothing comes at you. You walk in and you don’t fall into some dark abyss; it’s warm, it smells like cinnamon and a Christmas morning. All the furniture you can see is the same, Christmas decorations greet you at the entrance bringing the holiday cheer to the house.

When you close the front door behind you and you take your shoes off at the entrance, happy tears fill your eyes, and a wobbly smile spreads on your lips. You’re home! Home!

You laugh softly with relief and feel tears actually rush out of your eyes.

“Who’s home?” You hear a familiar voice ask from the hall.

You wipe the tears off your cheeks and walk towards the hall in a giddy silence as you also hear footsteps approach. Once you make it under the hall's archway you stop at the same time your friend does only mere inches away from her.

You begin to grin brightly, while she stands there with her eyes widened with disbelief.

“Hi, Mia,” you greet her.

Said girl studies you, the dirty outfit you’ve worn for months, she studies your face and looks into your eyes in that stunned silence that paralyzes her. Meanwhile you give her time to grasp your presence and study her too; her hair is still short due to her fear of having it pulled by infected like when she was young, it’s still dyed like last time, and she’s remained ageless.

“Wh-how?” She stammers before she closes the gap left between you with an embrace that almost knocks you back.

“Hey,” you murmur happily.

“Apollo was just here,” she says by your ear. “He didn’t tell me anything.”

You laugh softly. “Yeah, he wanted me to surprise you.” You pull back and grab her shoulders. “I've missed you.”

Tears roll down her cheeks, and her smile wobbles. “I missed you too,” she redirects. “So much. I was so worried.” She hugs you again and lets out a relieved sigh as she holds you in her arms.

Along with Apollo and Atlas, Mia was one of your oldest friends too. She was a firefly like them and you, she was also your best friend. You all basically grew up together when you were with the firefly’s, you were all unbreakable.

“Did you just get here?” Mia asks and pulls back to turn you around and lead you away from the hall. “Have you eaten already?”

You nod. “Yes, I ate just a few minutes ago, and yes I just got here….with my dad actually.”

Mia stops, making you stop along with her. “What?” She queries and turns to face you. She looks into your eyes to try and read your emotions, but she instead questions you more. “How are you feeling about that?”

You let out a deep sigh that makes your smile falter, and simply shrug. “I don’t know…besides angry, I don’t know where I’m at, but I guess we’ll see won’t we?”

Mia hums and caresses your shoulder, and smiles a lot softer. “I’m so happy you’re back home. You must want to take a shower, and sleep, so I’ll leave you be.”

Yeah until maybe an hour later where she’ll be checking on you.

“Your room has been untouched so everything is in its place,” she adds, and now walks you around the kitchen to walk you to your room like if you’re new and need a tour. “You’ll just need a towel which are out in the closet, you’ll need blankets, I can get those for you, uh, a razor, new sanitary stuff, I can go…” she continues on but you tune her out as you open the door to your room. And as she walks forward you stop just in front of the doorway.

“….We can bake something later,” you tune Mia back in. “We can make your favorite for dinner, Apollo and Atlas should be home then”

She was right, your room was untouched, every piece of furniture was in its place, every decoration and accessory was left the same way you left it. There wasn’t even dust, and didn’t smell odd, which is probably thanks to Mia; your room actually smells like flowers, oddly enough.

“Yeah,” you agree mindlessly with a nod. “Sounds good.”

Your picture wall was still up and well kept, your posters aren’t ripped, it’s all clean.

“Okay,” Mia says as she turns to walk out of the room. “I’ll leave you now and go get that stuff. Need anything else?”

You follow her leaving figure with your eyes and shake your head. “Nah, but if you are leaving mind leaving the front door unlocked, a girl named Ellie might come over so if you aren’t here and I’m in the shower she can just walk in.”

Mia looks immediately curious over who you mention but she doesn’t probe now, she’ll do it later, you’re sure of it. “Okay, I’ll leave a note then.” She lets you know and grabs your door handle to begin closing it as she walks out. “I missed you.”

You shoot her a sweet smile and quickly counter. “I missed you too.”

She offers you one last smile before she closes the door behind her, letting you turn back to fully take in the fact that you’re now standing back in your room—it’s fucking unbelievble, it fills you with happiness and comfort. And as if it’s your first time you walk to your closet first and pull it open, you run your fingers along all the clothes that are hung up and smile.

If you could describe your room to someone, let’s say Ellie, in a few words it would be Old Hollywood meets vintage old money aesthetic—albeit a post apocalyptic version considering you can’t fully fill your room with all the things you want and need….

Sucks…

Anyhow, you then skip on forward to your brown and gold vintage round vanity mirror, and the first thing you notice that wasn’t on it last time is a bouquet of fresh flowers with a small note.

‘Welcome home - Atlas & Apollo’

You smile and tuck the note back to its place to then swipe your fingers across the counter, making sure not to touch the few perfumes and fragile trinkets you had collected. You then proceed to walk to the corner of the room to brush your fingers along the strings of your guitar as you walk to your shelf with music records, cassettes and movies; it’s all still there and now you can add another to your collection, thanks to Apollo.

After that you then walk to your picture wall to study every single picture with a faint smile. The one that makes you the happiest though is the picture strip of Sarah and you; it’s one you had taken in one of those photobooths. Alas it’s when you see the family picture of Sarah, you, and your dad that the happiness turns to sadness, and that smile falls to a wobbly frown.

What would be of your lives now if she had lived? What would she say about your estrangement with your dad?

Would she be mad at the both of you?

Probably.

You were a little family, you were too young to know if it was anything other than perfect, but it worked…you were happy then….

God you miss her….him too. He’s close, here now in Jackson, but it feels like you're strangers. Strangers forced to be together, forced to travel together. You miss him and your relationship. The man he was wouldn't return, but you’re okay with the man he is now, as flawed as he is you’re okay with him, as tainted as his past is you’re okay with him. But, what you are…are strangers.

——

A deep relaxed exhale leaves your lips as you find comfort on your mattress, in your clean clothes, and refreshed body after a long and deep shower.

Fuck that felt good, it’s like you took decades of dirt off you. It’s like you feel fucking lighter because of it now too. Maybe a week-long sleep would suit you well, maybe you can even hibernate like a bear, that’d be nice.

You smile to yourself and only sit up to put on your headphones, and turn your music on blast now that you don’t have to worry about what’s around you—You’ll go deaf your uncle Tommy and Mia would say, but who cares, it’s fun getting lost in the music.

That’s what you do listening to the cassette Apollo gave you. However, not for long because you then feel a nudge on your leg, and when you sit up there Maria is with a very deep purple jacket in hand.

“Hey,” you greet her as you pull your headphones down to your neck. You then look around for Ellie, but she’s not here. “Where’s Ellie?”

“I left her at the house,” Maria says. “I went to grab her this.” She lifts the jacket in her hand, and you scoff in amusement.

“It’s very purple,” you point out.

“Plum,” she corrects you and sits by you on your bed. “I just came to check on you, make sure you were settling in well.”

You sigh with relief and nod. “Yeah, it feels good being back home and showering, and changing clothes.” You let out a deep exhale and fall back on your bed. “I missed it, never let me leave for that long ever again.”

“I tried that the first time, you fought against logic,” she argues.

You shrug to brush her off. “Let’s call it an existential crisis, yeah?” You snicker.

Maria lets out a long sigh that means nothing good, so you sit up and narrow your gaze on her.

“What?” You immediately question.

Maria glances down and doesn’t hold back. She never did. “How did you end up with the cause of that existential crisis?”

Oh yes, you should've known she wasn’t going to leave it alone.

You blow out air and begin to fiddle with the string of your headphones. “We ran into each other at…KC. We were coming to the same place so we decided to travel together.”

Maria scoffs. “Months on the road and nothing seems mended,” she says. “Did he even try?”

You swallow thickly and shake your head softly. “No, but,” you add and pick at the fluff on your sheets. “It’s not like I tried either…if it wasn’t for that girl I don’t think I would’ve stayed with him.”

There’s a moment of silence before she picks on that. “Who is she?”

No one can know Ellie’s immune, as much as you trust Maria, it’s now up to your dad and Ellie to tell who they want, not you.

“A girl, some important firefly’s daughter he was ordered to deliver,” you lie and look up at her so she wouldn’t find you suspicious. “That’s all I know. He isn’t much for sharin’.”

Maria hums and doesn’t seem to find you suspicious so she moves on. Thankfully.

“Look, you’re an adult, you know what’s right from wrong, but you have too much of a good heart….”

You blink and avert your gaze to sigh.

“I don’t want to see you tormenting yourself any longer because of that man y/n—”

“He’s my dad, mama,” you cut her off with no anger or judgment, you cut her off quietly, sadly. “I can’t….” You pause and draw in a deep breath as you feel the need to cry slowly building up. “I can’t just,” you sigh, “forget him. No matter how much he’s hurt me. I can’t do that to him…or her…she’d be devastated.”

Maria carefully grabs ahold of your hand, making you lift your eyes to meet her soft yet hard gaze.

“I just don’t want to see you hurt,” Maria adds softly.

You offer her a comprehensive nod.

“Your uncle Tommy and I are always here, we’re here for you no matter what,” she continues and this time begins to caress your cheek. “You don’t need him. If those plants are dead there’s no need to waste water.”

You stiffen and draw in another shaky breath. You don’t add anything in his defense, you can’t come up with anything else to say but what you already put out.

“Whatever happens to that girl,” she adds on in your silence. “You protect her from him—”

Now you have something to say. “He’s not a bad guy,” you cut her off and meet her gaze with a pointed glare. “He’s just…tough because of what he’s lived through. But he’s not a bad guy.” You understand that now.

Maria raises her chin and doesn’t retreat. “He left you, his own daughter, tell me if that makes him good?”

You blink rapidly as you’re cut off guard by her comment.

“I’m just looking out for you,” she further explains herself. “You’re my family, I love you as if you were my own daughter which is why I just want to protect you.” She pulls her hand away and stands up. “And that girl doesn’t deserve to have her heartbroken by him.”

Maria then waits if you’d say something, but there was nothing you could add anymore, so you let her leave.

“I’m taking Ellie to the movies, enjoy the night with your friends, okay? And at night if it’s hard to sleep, the door will be open, you can sleep in your old room.” She offers.

You break your eyes from the bed to look at her in front of you and nod slowly. “Yeah, okay. Thank you.”

“If you don’t come tonight then come over for breakfast tomorrow, I can make pancakes.”

“Okay sounds good I’ll be there.” You assure her and offer her a very faint smile.

Maria walks to the door and lingers there for a moment before she walks out and closes the door behind you, letting you then throw yourself back to contemplate what was just discussed. She’s right about Ellie, but maybe he deserves time to explain himself to you, even after you said you’d be done with him. He deserves one more chance, if he doesn’t want to try and heal what’s broken then…you’ll stay true to your word and be done with him, for good…

You sigh and slide your headphones back on before flipping around on the bed to attempt and get lost in the music again.

However, now! Now…agony and grief slams back into you just as you were doing good today not thinking about Henry and Sam. All because of the stuffed giraffe on your bed that reminds you of them.

It happens all the time, one minute you think that you’ll get over it, that you’ll heal past that grief and let them be beautiful memories, but it hits you like a ferocious wave. And it’s hard to swim up when it does, you’re slowly drowning each time, sinking deeper and deeper. Not only that but looking at your dad everyday doesn’t make it any easier, there’s just more force that pushes you further down.

Funny and unexpected enough though, it’s been Ellie who has been such a….relief, a breath of fresh air, that ounce of hope that helps you get over the surface. Without her honestly it would’ve been hard getting back home.

Still…as of now it’s taking you again, that damned wave, so you take your headphones off and leave your music on the bed to instead grab the stuffed giraffe and walk outside to your backyard.

The precious meadow that you had grown is under a blanket of snow, much like everything else outside, so you can’t find a bit of bliss there. However, there is something new outside connected to the small white fence that surrounds the cement patio, a wooden bench swing with a canopy and all, hm.

It’s smooth, sturdy, and nice. Now you don’t have to get your ass wet on the snow. Maybe your uncle Tommy built it? Or maybe Mia’s boyfriend built it for her, he thinks himself a carpenter.

Whatever the case, you sit down and just ponder in the silence, watching the stuffed giraffe in your hands and thinking about them; about Henry most of all. You let time pass even as you begin to get cold, and don’t really come back to reality until you hear the backdoor close behind you.

When you sit up and look back you see your uncle Tommy walking to you.

You put the stuffed giraffe down and then beam at him. “Hey!” You greet him.

He offers you a sweet smile and pushes the gate open to walk over to you. “Hey, Sunny,” he greets back. “I’m sorry I let myself in, there was a note on the door.”

You shake your head and pat the open space by you. “Don’t worry about it,” you assure him and watch him study the bench with a smirk.

“Apollo built this for you, did you know?”

You blink in surprise and shake your head as your heart begins to flutter. “No, I didn’t.”

He hums and takes his seat, but rubs the armrests. “Yeah, he said that it’d be a good touch so you wouldn’t have to lay on the grass all the time. Or if you didn’t make it back home then it’d be hell of a memorial...it wasn’t really funny then,” he laughs softly. “But it is now.” He clasps his hands on his lap and glances at the stuffed giraffe before meeting your gaze. “He’s always had a sweet spot for you. He’s a good guy.”

You slowly grin and drop your head to nod. “I know.”

Is he implying something?

“Did you talk to my dad?” You probe and glance up at him. “You guys catch up?”

Your uncle lets out a deep sigh and nods stiffly. “Something like that. We…sorta got into an argument.”

You click your tongue and nod slowly in comprehension. “Sorta?” You probe.

“It wasn’t big but you know how he is.”

You nod. “Yeah,” you sigh.

Your uncle notices the frown and the sadness return in your eyes, so he presses you. “You, have you talked to him?”

You look on ahead at the snow covered meadow and shrug. “Sorta. We talked when we first reunited in KC, but after….after I just got mad at him all over again. I haven’t talked to him since.”

“Is that what has you all down?” He asks and hits you right where it hurts. He knows you too well.

Your eyes sting and your throat begins to feel all clumped up with all the emotions that rapidly build up, but you hold it back as best as you can and try to assure him. And yourself. “I..I don’t want to ruin today.” You offer him a strained smile. “We can talk about it some other day.”

Your uncle shifts in his seat to face you better and doesn’t brush it off. “I cleared up my whole day today for your dad, and for you. I have time to talk. Talk to me.”

He was never one to shy away from an emotional conversation, not with you anyway. Not like your dad. Your uncle Tommy was good that way, open and understanding. Not closed off and dismissive. You owe who you became through all the tragedy to him. It’s sad to admit but if you had been completely raised by your father you would have turned out like him perhaps.

Yet it’s quite hard saying what comes to mind. You part your lips to try and speak, but all you can muster is a shaky breath as you clutch onto the stuffed giraffe.

Your uncle doesn’t press you, he waits until you can finally mutter out.

“Can you tell me…” you pause briefly and glance down at your hands. “If somethings wrong….with me?” You ask in a quivering voice and slowly look up at him, catching his confusion and disbelief.

“My dad left rather than staying with me….and,” you continue through tears. “…the guy that I…loved killed himself rather than wanting to be with me. And I know it sounds selfish, h-he was just grief stricken, his little brother died….but we were partners…and,” you sniffle. “And he left me. So please be honest with me, tell me that I’m no good, that I’m a failure because that’s what I feel.”

Your uncle Tommy lets out a shaky sigh and immediately grabs your face to wipe away your tears and comfort you. “There is nothing wrong with you, baby, nothing. That guy…seems like he couldn’t handle what he felt, it happens, but you had nothing to do with it. And your dad,” he exhales and caresses your cheek. “Your dad did what he thought was best because he loves you. Losing your sister took a lot from him, but that doesn’t mean that somethings wrong with you, he loves you, and leaving was his way of showing it.” He says try and comfort you, and then pulls you in for an embrace, but you only sob more in the comfort of his arms.

You can hardly breathe, your chest feels heavy, your mind is racing, and your heart feels like it was going to jump out of you. Now you couldn’t hold anything back.

“I couldn't help him, he got bit and I couldn’t help. I couldn’t save Henry either, I should’ve just snatched the gun from him but I froze, and I couldn’t help him…just like I couldn’t help Sarah…” you spill out now through sobs.

Your uncle pulls back and grabs your shoulders to keep you close so you’d listen to what he had to redirect. “Sarah was not your fault, you understand that? There was nothing none of us could have done, especially not you, you were only 4. You understand?”

You keep your eyes averted and nod. But that isn’t enough for him.

“Look at me y/n,” he orders, causing you to slowly raise your eyes. “It wasn’t your fault. And I know I don’t know those people you knew, but one thing I am sure about is that it isn’t your fault what happened to them.” He wipes more tears off your cheeks and leans in closer so you’d listen intently. “You cry as much as you want, grieve as long as you need to, but you move on, you keep living for them. You understand? Don’t lose yourself, that’s the worst thing we can do. You understand me?”

You nod through heavy tears and get pulled into a tighter embrace that you sink into, that you bask in for a moment without saying anything. All until your heart slows down, and your head isn't filled with so much noise.

“Thank you uncle Tommy, thank you for listening,” you whisper and pull back to face him with a gentle smile. “I missed you.”

He offers you a sweet smile and wipes away more stray tears. “I missed you too, Sunny.”

You sit back and watch the delicate snowflakes begin to fall from the sky. You sit in silence next to your uncle with a much lighter feeling on your chest.

“I have to tell you something,” your uncle breaks the silence with an obvious nervous voice.

You blink and look at him with a teasing smile and a curious gaze. “What? Oh my, don't tell me…are you pregnant?”

Your uncle meets your gaze and doesn’t laugh even if you said it as a joke, he instead lets out a deep breath and just holds your gaze with the same nervous look that clues you in that you might have guessed right.

“Are you?” You ask seriously now and lean in.

He averts his gaze and nods, making you slowly begin to grin with utter fucking joy. “That’s amazing news, uncle Tommy!” You exclaim and jump off your seat out of excitement. “That’s like, the best news ever.”

Yet you couldn’t help but begin to feel just a bit envious. You were happy, excited, of course you were, but you couldn’t help but feel a smidge of envy. You never thought of that before, you never yearned for that, a family of your own; you were younger, hurt by your own issues with your dad, there was too much going on in your head to even think about that, you wouldn’t have made a good wife nor a good mother. But now after returning from your country wide trip, now after hearing that your uncle's family is growing, there’s this want growing in your own heart. There doesn’t even need to be a baby, but a partner would be nice.

“Why the long face?” You press as he doesn’t seem to match your excitement.

Your uncle sighs. “I'm just nervous, that's all. I’m very fuckin’ nervous, you know it’s going to be a whole human being. I just don’t know…” he trails off.

You giggle and sit back down next to him. “You have nothing to be nervous about, you’re gonna be a good father,” you assure him. “You might not be mine, but you were—are like one, and you did good.”

Your uncle meets your gaze with a soft look and a soft smile. “Thank you, Sunny,” he says.

You grin brighter at him and can’t help but get even more excited. “I’m finally gonna have a cousin, man. I mean I would have appreciated one like 20 years ago, 22 years ago, but I can teach them things now. I’m wiser now.”

He chuckles and then corrects you. “Sister,”

You snap your eyes to him and stiffen.

“You might not be mine, but you are like my daughter.” He says with a smile. “Mine and Maria’s.”

Your eyes water again, but you hold back your tears now and just laugh softly. “Can I hug you now, or do you want to celebrate with a shot?” You add.

“One wouldn’t hurt, but I’ll take that hug too,” he says and lets you throw your arms around him for a tight embrace.

“Thank you for telling me, I needed to hear some good news.”

He smiles and caresses your back. “I’m glad. I’m happy it made you smile.”

You giggle and pull back to shoot him another beaming smile.

He smiles now too and interjects. “Thank you, I needed that too. Made me feel better.”

You lay down on his lap and can’t stop smiling over the news. He sits back and lets his arm rest on you to enjoy each others presence and relish in the joy he brought.

“Don’t push me in the snow,” you warn him as he begins to make the swing sway back and forth. “I just took a shower.”

He scoffs. “Don’t give me ideas, ‘cause I’ll do it. Unless you’re gonna go snitch to your daddy now that he’s here.”

You giggle. “Don’t give me ideas.”

He slowly slides his hand to your back and applies a small amount of pressure, making you stiffen and hang onto the bottom of the seat. “Don’t,” you warn him.

“I ain’t doing nothin’.” He chuckles.

You turn and look at him with a pointed glare, but all he does is smirk mischievously. He then moves his arm back where it was so you turn back to face ahead.

Yet that’s when he gets you and pushes you off the seat, making you fall in the snow.

“Oops,” you hear him say.

You slap your hands on the cold ground, and slowly sit up on your knees to wipe the snow off your face roughly as you turn your head to glare at him.

“Go on,” he says with a stifled laugh. “Bring out your guitar so we can tune it up. Let’s make sure you haven’t forgotten that talent of yours.”

“Fine,” you grumble and stand up to brush the snow off your body. “I’ll get the bottle too.”

You’re only not getting him back because you just got back and because he shared that news with you. You’ll get him back though. Old fucker.

——

*LATER*

The tv played one of your favorite movies, but it played for no one since you and your friends gathered around the living room and got lost gossiping, drinking and playing some card game Atlas insisted on playing to make drinking “more fun”. That cinnamon scent that basked the room was pushed away by the smell of food Mia had made and the alcohol in your cups.

“That’s total bull,” you complain to Atlas about the number of infected he’s killed.

He scoffs. “You can’t say that, you weren’t here.”

You pull away from Mia’s arms wrapped around your neck to lean closer to Atlas. “That number is too high. I don’t believe you.”

Atlas shrugs. “Don’t believe me then, but I did kill that many.”

You roll your eyes and meet Apollo’s gaze to press him for the truth. He however shrugs and just shares a small smirk with you.

“I’ll let you off the hook and tell you how many I killed if you say the truth,” you suggest.

“No,” Atlas blurts and pushes you back to Mia with his foot, making you scrunch your nose in disgust. “You were out in the world, your number doesn’t count.”

“Sure,” you snicker. “You old vanity. You just don’t want me to beat you. You can’t take it. You’re too fragile.”

“Whatever,” he grumbles. “Can we just continue with the damn game before someone here talks about herself.”

You smirk. “I am a very interesting person. Just ask your dad.”

Atlas narrows his gaze and scoffs, whilst you and Mia high five.

“Okay, really did any of us get the number right?” Mia’s boyfriend asks to keep the game going.

You look between them all and shake your head. “Nope, you all drink.”

They all groan and Atlas is the one that mumbles of course. “That’s impossible.”

You watch them all take their shots with a playful smirk, but once you land on Apollo, your eyes linger and your smile softens. However, you then catch him shifting his gaze your way so you quickly look away and just feel his stare.

There’s something different about him now compared to before, the look in his eyes, his face maybe. He was never immature as his little brother is still til this day, but Apollo is far more mature than before. More handsome maybe—well he always was you just never gave it too much thought, you were far too troubled for that. And he was—is your best friend….

Damn….there’s that guilt stabbing at you again.

“Okay!” Atlas exclaims and sits up. “My turn, let’s change this game to the Apollo game.”

Mia groans. “Atlas that game is stupid. We know everything about each other—”

“Y/N’s been gone,” Atlas cuts her off. “So, let’s go on. Remember we make a statement about her and if it’s true she drinks, and you are then you drink, okay? Okay! Come on now SunnyD get up.”

You roll your eyes and sit up to drag yourself between Apollo and Mia.

“Okay,” he keeps yelling and does a drum roll on the ground. “You’ve been in love.”

Fuck.

You swallow thickly and get ready to answer, but a knock then raps on the door at that precise moment. Much to your excitement actually.

“Oh!” You jump up. “I’ll get it, you know how much I’ve missed actually answering a door without fearing for my life.” You run over to answer the door, and Achilles gets out of the couch to follow you to the door.

And much to your surprise once you open it you see your dad outside.

“Daddy,” you mutter in disbelief. “Hey.” You sligtly furrow your brows in confusion due to his very much vivid presence.

Your dad averts his gaze to stare at the ground and swallows thickly before stating his reason for this late visit. “Can we talk?” He asks.

Your heart skips a beat, and you grow speechless for a second. “Uh….sure, come in.”

He looks up at you and shakes his head. “No,” he says and glances past your shoulder to steal a glance at all your friends sitting in the living room listening in. “Can we take a walk?”

Must be important if he bothered to come all this way. “Okay,” you whisper and open the door wider. “Come in, I need to grab my jacket and my shoes.” You step aside and he shuffles inside awkwardly, causing the curious dog to sniff him before he runs back to Apollo.

“Uh,” you interject and walk to the end of the hall. “Now that you’re here, meet my friends from when my uncle Tommy and I were fireflies.” You point to Mia first. “That’s my friend Mia. And that next to her is Arthur, her boyfriend. Over there,” you point to the dark haired boy. “Is Atlas, and,” you shift your eyes to Apollo and smile softly. “That’s Apollo. Guys,” you breathe out. “This is my dad, Joel.”

Mia offers him a very faint half smile and simply waves, and her boyfriend does the same, whilst Atlas smirks and throws up a peace sign and a very quick greeting. “‘Sup.”

Gosh.

“Hi,” Apollo greets more properly, but stays sitting down. “It’s very nice meeting you Mr. Miller.”

You glance at your dad and see him just offer them a stiff wave and a dry greeting. “Hello there.”

Better nothing, and better than a gun to their heads.

“Okay,” you breathe out awkwardly. “I’m going to get my stuff.” You offer your friends a quick smile before you run off to your room to get what you need, whilst your mind races and spins with all the different outcomes to what could be said.

He doesn’t seem mad. Maybe it’s about his heart.

Or about choosing…no, it can’t be that. Positive thoughts only.

You let out a deep exhale before leaving your room to join your dad back at the entrance. “Okay,” you encourage him and throw a quick wave at your friends. “I’ll see you guys.” You open the door and walk out to the snowy night with your dad at your heels.

You expect to see Ellie waiting outside, but she’s not here, it’s only him.

“Where’s Ellie?” You ask as he now walks by your side when you exit your yard and now get on the street.

“Uh, she’s at the house,” he answers. “I just…wanted to talk to you. Alone.”

You shoot him a nervous glance and let out a small exhale. “Okay,” you whisper and grow even more nervous. “What’s wrong?”

You catch your dad scratching the back of his head and averting your gaze at all costs. “Just…just give me some time…I’m not that good at this.”

This doesn’t help whatsoever.

“Alright,” you whisper and glance at the falling snow as you take a turn to exit the street you lived on.

“I just,” he interjects and fists his hands. “I just need you to hear me, that's all I want, you don’t need to say anything, you don’t owe me nothin’. I just need you to hear what I have to tell you. Okay?”

You blink rapidly and nod. “Okay,” you whisper.

But he ends up taking another long moment to himself to think of the reason why he brought you out in the cold so late at night. You even pass your uncle's house, his own house that he was given to stay at. You pass lit streets, and only fill the silence with the crunches of your feet against the snow. You make it to the center of town where the large glowing Christmas tree brings cheer to the town.

“I,” he breaks his silence. “I’m sorry.”

You gasp softly and stop in your tracks as his words…words you never thought you’d hear, words he hasn’t spoken in a long time register in your mind.

“I’m supposed to be the one protecting you,” he continues and stops to turn around to face you. “I was the one who was supposed to teach you how to be the person you are now, I was the one who…needed to watch you grow up, but I…I let you down. I left,” his voice breaks. “I left you even if I knew your mother, even if I knew….Sarah would be mad. I left you, I hurt you…” his breath shudders and you can’t hold back your own tears now, no matter how much you wanted to fight them away.

“And I’m so ashamed of it,” he adds as…tears roll down his cheeks. “I am. But I don’t regret it,” he reveals and meets your watery gaze. “Because if I didn’t leave, you wouldn’t be who you are now, a strong, independent woman. You would only be angry like me, you’d be vain, and a monster.”

You shake your head against his words, but don’t say anything, you keep listening to him.

“I just wish I would have done things differently,” he mutters with more tears steaming down his face, tears that shock you to your core, leave you speechless and heartbroken.

“I’m sorry,” he says again in a tearful voice. “I am. There will never not be a day where I don’t regret how I hurt you.” He shakes his head and steps towards you. “And you have every right to keep on hatin’ me, to move on and not deal with me. I don’t blame you, I wouldn't. I just needed you to hear what I owe you.”

You let out a shaky breath and look up to watch the snowflakes dance down from the sky, littering the ground with their white icy texture, and making the ground twinkle against the street lights yellow hue, against the beautiful colors that wrap the grand green tree a few feet away from you. You watch the sky to take in all his words, to gather your own thoughts.

“I…” you murmur against the winter wind that blows past you. “I don’t understand,” you cry and look down at him, but his face blurs because of your tears, and the twinkling lights cloud him and your vision. “Why….why me? I….” you shake your head. “I love too easily…I don’t like to see the reality of things because it makes me sad, I dream too big and too much, I…I’m too boastful,” you sob.

“I’m not strong, I’ve never been. I’ve tried to change for you, I’ve tried to be a better daughter, one—one who you’d be proud of, but I can't, and you can’t ignore it…you can’t,” you shake your head with your quivering lip and step back away from him. “I’m not enough. I'm not perfect like Sarah was, I’m not…important like Ellie, I’m nothing,” you whisper. “You deserve better. You do.”

Your dad lets out a shaky breath and nods as more tears escape past his eyes. “It’s true,” he admits. “You might be a bit boastful, you might see the beauty of the world and hold onto too much hope, your dreams might be too big, but,” he quivers and takes a step towards you. “That is why I love you. I love every bit of it. I have loved it since the moment I held you in my arms for the first time. You…you are everything to me, baby, you are the reason I keep livin’, you are my entire world, and the beauty that this world lost. You are what makes all this worth it, you are everything to me.”

You scoff softly at his words and let out a shaky sob as you find them beautiful yet unbelievable.

“I’m sorry,” he says again and gets close enough so he can cup your cheeks. “I can’t do this without you. I can’t lose you too.”

You grab his hands, you hold onto them as you hold his teary gaze for a moment, before you throw your arms around him.

He’s caught off guard for a few seconds, but he then hugs you back and presses you against his chest and rests his head on yours.

You don’t have the luxury of time, neither of you, and you know you’d only hate yourself if something happened to him and you couldn’t say what you feel.

“I forgive you,” you assure him and hold onto him tighter. “I do. I forgive you.”

He lets out a relieved sigh and clutches onto you as his tears soak your head.

“Will you forgive me?” You ask, and he quickly pulls back to hold your face in his hands and look at you with confusion. “For not trying either. I should’ve tried too. And for that I’m sorry.”

Your dad quickly shakes his head and wipes away your tears. “You have nothin’ to apologize for, okay? Nothing.”

You sniffle and smile softly. “Still, I'm sorry, just take it, okay?”

He scoffs in protest, but nods regardless before he pulls you in for another tight and loving embrace, letting you find comfort in his warmth that wraps around you, and by the sound of his beating heart that eases as you hold him close to you.

“I love you,” he says by your ear. “So so much.”

You laugh softly and nod. “I love you too. I do.”

He gives you one last squeeze before you both pull away from each other and face the Christmas tree in a peaceful silence, hand in hand. You linger there until you remember what you have for him.

“Can I give you an early Christmas present?” You ask rhetorically.

But he still answers. “I don’t have anything for you, and well you shouldn’t.”

You scoff and turn to pull him back to your house.

“Look,” he interjects. “One more thing, about Henry….”

You blink and feel your smile falter.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.”

You swallow thickly and shake your head. “There was nothing you could do. Nothing any of us could do…” it’s sad to admit now, it tears your heart apart, but it’s true.

“But,” your dad continues. “You’ll be okay?”

You glance over at him and hesitate a moment before you nod softly. “I will. With time. The best thing we can do…is move on.” You know that now after the talk with him, he lifted that weight off you, and helped you from drowning under the depths of the suffocating waters. “As hard as it is, as impossible as it may seem now, we have to live for them, because we don't have the luxury of time….so that’s the best thing we can do, right?”

Your dad lets his eyes linger on you for a moment before he smiles softly. “I would’ve never thought of that…it’s sweet.”

You smile softly and hum, leaving the rest of your walk to your house silent. Once you do reach your house, your friends are still out, but calmer. “Excuse me,” your dad directs at them as you make him follow you to your room.

“Now I didn’t have time to wrap it, but it’s the thought that counts,” you tell him and turn the light on in your room. And luckily the gift is easy to find on your vanity.

“This room is…very you,” your dad comments as you hear him walk over to the corner of your room where your guitar is. “You play better now?”

You scoff and snatch the disc from your vanity to turn and face him. “Yes,” you admit. “I mean I'm not as good as you, but I’m better than I was before.” You grin and then close the gap between each other to hand him his favorite movie, Curtis and Viper 2.

“I never payed much mind to it before, but I watched it for the first time a couple years back, and it’s not bad,” you share. “That is the movie though, right? All I could remember were the funny men from the cover.”

Your dad looks down at the disc in his hands and immediately smiles. “You’re right,” he assures you, letting you let out a relieved sigh. All this time you thought you’ve been wrong—“It’s a great movie,” he adds. “Where you find it?”

You smirk. “I found it in the tunnels at KC. I just never got the chance to give it to you. You like it?”

He meets your gaze and nods. “I love it, baby. Thank you.”

You smile sweetly and clap softly out of joy. He notices your smile and his smile softens.

“It’s not that late yet,” you add, “even if it looks so. My tv works….I can pop it in. If you want.” You suggest.

Your dad doesn’t hesitate—he can’t turn you down, so he nods. “Go on, pop it in.”

You squeal softly and take the movie from him to now head to your small tv. “You can lay on the bed, just take your shoes off.”

He hums, and as you’re putting on the movie you hear your bed sink and shoes thump on the ground. And as overjoyed as you are, someone comes to mind and brings your mood down slightly. Yet you don’t bring her up until you’re laying down next to him watching the previews play with your head on his chest, finding comfort by the sound of his heartbeat and his arm around you.

“About Ellie,” you bring up without shame, hoping he’d be honest. “What are you goin’ to do?”

Your dad lets out a deep sigh and you feel him swallow thickly. “I’m not the man I used to be,” he admits quietly as he caresses the side of your head. “I’m old now. You know that, I’m…not strong enough no more, but…trust me when I say I'm going to do my best by her.”

He’s right about being old, but is he right about letting her leave?

You can’t let her leave with just your uncle Tommy. You know that heartbreak too well, and you know your dad has the best intentions, you wouldn't have seen that yourself before, but hopefully she’ll see it with time. If that’s what he wants. You can’t force him to do anything.

“Alright,” you trust him. “But whatever happens, I’m going with her, I’m seeing her off. For her and for what she can mean to the firefly’s and humanity,” you say softly. “I owe it to Sam, to everyone else that I’ve lost to that infection.”

Your dad lets out a deep breath. “That’s fine,” he says. “That’s good. Your Uncle Tommy plans to take her tomorrow morning. It’s a week's ride.”

You just got home, but fuck it. One more trip and that’s it.

“What about you?” You probe. “What will you do?”

He stays quiet for a moment and watches the movie finally start. “I don’t know.” He breaks his silence.

You sigh softly. “That’s fine,” you assure him. “Just…do what’s best by her, and you. Okay? Promise?”

“I do,” he whispers. “I promise.”

You smile softly. “Good,” you whisper.

——

*THE NEXT MORNING*

Flashlight?

Check.

Extra clothes?

Check.

Books to read?

Check.

Multiple pairs of fingerless gloves that keeps your hands warm but helps with other purposes?

Check.

New cassettes to listen to?

Check.

Every other little thing that goes in the backpack?

Uh….check!

Weapons?

Need to check those out, but it’s all here. Good. You get off the edge of your bed and once you’re at the door you make sure to be quiet since it’s still pretty early and neither person living here gets up just yet.

However, as you quietly step out of your room you almost run into Mia waiting outside of your door with her arms over her chest, and her dark eyes piercing your very soul—she’s pissed. She knows.

“Mornin’,” you greet her with a small smile.

Mia doesn't return it, or return that same energy. She remains pissed.

“Don’t,” she cuts you off. “Don’t smile at me like everything’s okay.”

She might be shy and gentle, but she’s no one to mess with when she’s upset. Like now.

“You’re leaving again.” She knows. How?

You lose your smile and let out a deep sigh. “Yes,” you admit. “I am but not for long. Maybe just a month this time, or even less. I just need to see someone off.”

Mia shakes her head and her brows furrow deeper. “Can’t someone else do that? You just got home from a 2 year trip. A trip you probably barely survived…”

“Mia,” you interject to try and comfort her concern, but she continues and drops her arms to her sides to take an angry step towards you.

“No. No! We waited, I waited for you for 2 years, everyday I prayed that you wouldn’t meet the same fate everyone else did; my mom, my brother. I waited and now you’re leaving again.”

You swallow thickly and quietly mention who you’re going with this time in hopes that would help. “I’m going with my uncle Tommy. I’ll be back, I came back this time. I promise.”

“No, that’s no excuse—”

“And you can’t make me stay,” you cut her off this time. “I appreciate your concern, I do, but I have to see this girl off, I have to make this worth something…I lost people Mia, a guy I loved, and his brother who I adored…he got bit….” You pause and swallow back thickly. “If taking her might be worth something I have to do it for them.”

Mia seems puzzled by what you said since she doesn’t see the bigger picture, but she doesn’t argue now.

“I’ll come back,” you assure and take another step toward her to take her hands in yours. “I promise. I won’t leave after that. I’ll stay home. Just one more trip.”

Mia drops her gaze and hesitates before she nods softly and whispers, “okay. One more.” She then pulls her hands away to wrap you in an embrace. “Come back, okay?”

You return her embrace and nod. “I will,” you assure her. “I swear.” You give her one gentle squeeze before you pull away to offer her one last smile before you continue your way outside.

Yet, of course, as you walk past your yard, there, against the fence is Apollo with a backpack, and Achilles waiting next to him. How the hell did they know you’re leaving?

Did they overhear?

“Apollo?” You question and come to another stop.

Achilles runs to you and rubs his body against you before sitting by your side now, while Apollo turns to face you as he drops his folded arms down to his sides.

“I can get the horses, you check out the weapons.” He peels away from his spot and steps off the sidewalk, whilst you just look at him in disbelief.

“Hold up, where are you going?” You interrupt him.

Apollo stops in his tracks and just peers back. “I’m going with you and Tommy.” He mentions it casually.

You blink in disbelief and let out a breathless laugh. “What?” You shake your head. “Why?”

Apollo turns around completely and looks almost surprised you’d ask such a question. “I accidentally overheard you and your dad talking on my way to bed last night—”

Sure. Accidental.

“I'm not sitting on my ass here while you’re off risking your life and having all the fun—“

You scoff softly.

“Besides,” he adds in a softer voice. “I don’t want to wait for you to come back home again. I’ll go with you this time.”

You breath traps in your throat out of disbelief over his words, and a soft smile begins to appear on your features. “That’s nice,” you tell him. “Very…but…I can’t be who you want…not yet at least. I lost someone, someone I loved, someone I fell in love with. It’s still a fresh wound, ” you scoff as your eyes begin to sting. “I can’t be who you want, or what you want.”

Rather than being hurt, or upset by your words Apollo smiles. “I loved someone too. I was in love with her too. It hurts too. But,” he adds in a soft voice as he takes a step towards you. “I’m not asking you to be my first love, nor do I want to be yours….we can be each other's last, whenever you’re ready, I’ll wait.”

Tears fall past your eyes and you can only whisper. “Okay.”

He grins, but you step back again. “But I can’t make you come with us. I don’t want you to. Your brother is here, your dad,” you insist. “They need you alive.”

“I can die here too,” he interjects. “It doesn’t matter, y/n, I would go to the edge of earth with you. I would’ve had you asked me before.”

Your heart skips a beat, and you can’t help your smile. But as nice as his words are to hear, the answer remains the same. “What if I want you to wait for me here?” You say and now get closer to him. “So you can greet me when I get home. So I can have something to look forward to. A light in the dark.”

“That,” he chuckles softly. “Is the cheesiest thing ever.”

You laugh and nod in agreement, stopping now as you’re only inches away. “Yeah, but will you?” You querie.

He holds your gaze and offers you a soft assuring smile. “I already did, what’s another month or so?”

Your grin widens and you immediately throws your arms around him. He immediately returns the embrace and nuzzles his head on your shoulder.

“Be careful, okay?” He adds.

“I will,” you assure him and linger in his embrace for a moment longer. “You take care too, promise?”

“I promise.”

You smile and pull away to cup his cheek, he offers you a soft smile before he raises his hands to unwrap his scarf around his neck to instead carefully wrap it around yours.

“There, nice and toasty.” He murmurs.

You giggle and hold his gaze for another moment before you pull away before you couldn’t bring yourself to leave, and turn to walk to your uncle Tommy’s house now. You want to look back, but you don’t, you can’t, it’d only make you feel bad for leaving, so you just feel his stare and walk away. You can’t even give it too much or else you’ll feel bad too, you just clear your mind and walk.

Once you make it to the street where your uncle lives you catch him walking out of his own house. He spots you right away, and is rightfully surprised by your presence.

“What are ya doin’?” He asks once you meet halfway in the middle of the street.

You shrug. “Makin’ Maria even more mad.” You glance at his house and nod slowly. “Goin’ with Ellie, and you. Leaving, one more time. And don’t you dare fight me, I’ll fight back.”

Your uncles lips pull into a soft smile and he scoffs as he nods. “Okay then,” he doesn’t question you further, he respects your choice without a fight.

You glance at his house again and sigh. “No pancakes in there, is there?” You ask with a bit of hope.

He shakes his head. “Nope.”

“Well It’s a good thing I ate beforehand then.” You turn and begin to walk to the house Ellie and your dad were staying at. “Wanna go fetch her?”

He nods. “Yep.”

As he goes inside you wait outside and think about your dad now. He said he was going to do right by her, you trust him, but is he really not going to see her off at the gate or even just outside the house? You said your goodbyes last night just in case, but what about her?

“Y/N?” You hear Ellie’s voice as the front door closes behind her.

You lift your head, and offer her a sweet smile and a small wave. “Hey.”

She stops by you and studies you for a moment in this soft shocked reaction before she probes. “Are you coming?”

You nod and begin to follow after your uncle as he leads the way. “Yep. I’ve been gone from home for two years, what’s another month or so?” You tell her. “Besides, I don’t want to miss another hell of an adventure.” You smirk at her, and she offers you a soft smile. “Is that okay?” You make sure regardless of the relief you read on her face.

“Yeah,” Ellie says without hesitation. “Yeah.”

You offer one more smile before you skip ahead to walk at your uncles side. “Stables and then can we get my rifle and pistol? I’ve felt like I’ve been missin’ something all day. It’s weird.”

He peers back and then glances at you to nod. “Of course. How did it go with your friends? Have fun?”

You nod and begin to get ahead a bit. “Yeah. We had fun, we ate some food, we drank, watched Pulp Fiction—which,” you say and look back at Ellie, “we need to watch by the way, when we get back. Sorry, have you watched it?”

Ellie shakes her head. “I never have, no.”

You smirk. “Great movie. You’ll like it, I’m sure of it.”

“Is it romantic? I prefer more action and scary movies.” She says.

You scoff and shake your head. “Nah, it’s not romantic. You’ll like it, trust me.”

“You make a play based off that too?” Ellie comments, making your uncle chuckle.

You shoot her smirking face a narrowed glare. “No,” you deadpan. “I didn't. I couldn’t bring myself to do that to that movie.”

“No but seriously,” your uncle interjects. “Once we come back you need to tell her to make a play, they’re all surprisingly good.”

“Of course they are,” you quip. “And! What is that supposed to mean?”

He smirks. “Just surprisin’ that’s all. Don’t know where you get that talent from.”

You hum and shoot him a pointed glare, and leave at that as you see the stables coming up ahead.

“I get my own horse right?” You ask and run up ahead.

“You’re sharin!” Your uncle exclaims.

“Beats walkin’!” You comment and slow down as you enter the pen. And rather than waiting for them to catch up you walk in the stables to start getting the horse ready.

Albeit, just as you walk in you stop right away as you catch your dad saddling a horse. You know what it means; he changed his mind about staying. So instead of diving into questions you just smile at him as you meet his gaze, and look back as your uncle and Ellie walk in.

“You come here to say goodbye or something?” Ellie asks in an upset tone.

“No,” your dad says. “I came here to steal one of these horses and go.”

He could’ve just asked.

“Well,” your uncle interjects. “I woulda gave you one.”

Your dad pats the horse's neck and looks at his brother. “I know,” he says. “Anyway.” He glances at Ellie. “That was 30 minutes ago, and I guess…” he pauses and walks to Ellie to continue. “You deserve a choice. I still think you’d be better off with Tommy—”

He gets cut off suddenly as Ellie shoves a blue bag of supplies so he can hold, and retorts. “Let’s go.”

Your dad glances at you before looking back at Ellie and adding, “okay.”

Silence follows so you move past them to saddle your own horse since three don’t fit on one. Your uncle helps so the progress moves on faster, but as he does you come to the realization that now he won’t be coming. The only reason he was going was because your dad wasn’t, but now that he changed his mind your uncle stays.

“I’ll make it back before the baby is born,” you break your silence.

Your uncle looks over at you and shoots you a smile. “You better.”

“I’ll make it back before my birthday too,” you add with a playful smirk. “So you better start plannin’, you’ve been let off the hook for 2 years now.”

“You come back and I’ll throw you the biggest party you’ve had,” he feeds to your demand.

You smile softly as you feel sadness in your heart knowing you have to leave him again. “I’ll hold you to it.”

“Wouldn’t expect it any other way.”

You giggle and finish up saddling up your horse to then meet up with Ellie and your dad outside the stable.

“General direction?” Your dad asks your uncle, but he looks to you instead.

“She knows it, she can lead the way.” Your uncle points out. “You remember the school, right Sunny?”

You nod as you caress your black horse's neck. “Yeah. I remember.”

Your dad nods in comprehension, and once he looks back at his brother in front of him they quickly move in and embrace each other. It’s short but sweet, and makes you smile with joy to see that they’re doing okay.

It’s not like it was before, but the love is there.

“There’s a place for you here,” your uncle tells your dad once they’re apart. “For Ellie and you.”

“Countin’ on it,” your dad says, letting your uncle now look at you again.

“You come back now, understand?”

You shoot him a smirk. “Have to. Can’t miss my own party.”

He smiles and lets his eyes linger on you to take in the sight of you one more time.

“Can I borrow that?” Your dad interjects.

Your uncle breaks his gaze away from you to glance at his rifle before meeting your dads gaze. “Yeah.” He accepts and then slides the gun off his shoulder.

“‘Cause Maria took mine, you know?” Your dad says.

“I already said yes, Joel,” he retorts as he hands your dad the gun. “Adios, big brother.”

Your dad offers him a nod before finally moving out. And once you collect your own rifle, pistol, and other supplies you may need, you climb on your horse and head on out. One more time.

But, this time with not such a heavy heart, or a tormented mind.

——

*LATER*

The sound of the gunshot rang against the secluded grass field, and the sound of the bullet breaking a tree trunk echoes out, making you snicker at Ellie’s failure to shoot the close target.

She chooses to ignore you though and shoots again, but once again misses and hits a small pile of snow near the target. And this time you smile at the ground as you shift your position.

She does it a third time, but no luck, so she lets out an annoyed sigh that lets your dad comment. “Wide right.”

Ellie shakes her head in denial.

“You’re flinchin’,” you comment, and unfold your arms off your chest.

“The targets too small,” she rebuttals you and your dad.

“I made it bigger than I should’ve,” your dad mentions and points to the gun. “Eject the cartridge.”

Ellie does so and the bullet falls to the ground first before she argues back. “And I’m not flinching.”

You and your dad share a teasing look before you hum. “Mm-hmm.”

“The rifle just sucks,” Ellie keeps mumbling.

You roll your eyes, and your dad steps forward. “Okay, give It.”

Ellie hands the rifle to your dad with a sigh and another comment. “It doesn’t aim right.”

You crouch down beside your dad as he switches spots with Ellie, and hum again with a little playful smirk on your lips. “Mm-hmm.”

“You’ll see.”

“A deep breath in,” your dad says as he gets the gun ready. “Slow breath out. Squeeze the trigger like you love it.”

“Mm,” Ellie hums as she looks through the binoculars.

“Gentle,” he continues and lowers his head, and closes one eye to look better through the scope. “Steady…nice and slow.”

“You’re gonna shoot this thing or get it pregnant?” Ellie retorts, making you snicker as your dad looks up at her with a disapproving look.

“It isn’t gonna work. It doesn’t aim right,” Ellie continues, so your dad then hits the trigger gently and the bullet hits the target straight on, causing him to lower the gun and look up at her all cocky.

“You dick,” Ellie quips with a grin.

Your dad shrugs smugly, causing you to snicker at Ellie.

“2 out 2?” You suggest smugly.

Your dad smirks and happily hands you the rifle, making Ellie shake her head in disapproval.

“Watch carefully, kid,” you comment as you scoot further in the middle.

“Don’t get the gun pregnant,” she quips.

“Haha, funny,” you mumble and eject the cartridge as you close one eye and aim at the target. “Now…” you trail as you hit the trigger, and the bullet whizzes out and hits the target inches away from where your dad hit it.

“See,” you taunt Ellie and lift your head. “Can I get a bump?” You offer her your fist.

Ellie scoffs lightheartedly and pushes your fist away. “No,” she grumbles, so your dad gently taps your fist with his.

“You guys suck,” Ellie scoffs and turns around to head back to the horses.

You snicker and push yourself to your given height, and hand the rifle back to your dad to quickly catch up to Ellie. “You just need patience,” you assure her and look around the fields. “You’ll get the hang of it.”

Ellie glances at you and then looks back at your dad following at your tail. “Did it take you time?”

You sigh deeply. “Not much, but it’s not because I had much of a choice, I was forced to adapt, forced to learn everything quickly to survive. It’s not super easy for you, but you have it easier, you’re used to all this shit since you were born in it, I wasn’t.”

“So you’re saying I can be better,” Ellie comments.

You glance at her and scoff as you nudge her to the side. “Sure, practice and then we’ll see.”

Ellie smirks and nods in comprehension. Once you reach your horses you continue on ahead down your path, filling the day with silence at times and conversations that come up at other times. Due to the horses it was faster to get around the land, it was also less stressful since they can pick up sounds neither you might hear.

Luckily though they didn’t catch anything bad, no infected or people, the path was clear and the day was easy, making for a calm night in the spot you settled down at.

“Now that we have time,” you interject and grab your backpack from behind you to plop it down in front of you. “I have a Christmas gift for you Ellie.”

“What? Really?” Ellie queries curiously.

You hum and open your backpack. Since what you have for her is placed on top you look over at her sitting to the side of the campfire and add on. “I gave my dad his Christmas gift early, so might as well give yours early too.” You shoot her a smile, and she glances at your dad with slight shock before getting up from her seat to sit next to you.

“Now keep in mind,” you continue and now begin to pull out her gift. “I didn’t have time to go into town to actually shop well, but I do hope you like it.” You fully pull out her gift and hand it to her. “And it’s not wrapped either so sorry.”

Ellie’s smile turns timid as she takes the brown leather holster from you, but she soon grins once she figures out what it is exactly. “No way!” She exclaims and stands up to hook it around her hip. “A thigh holster!”

“Now you don’t have to be scared about shooting off your ass,” your dad comments.

You giggle and nod in agreement as you watch Ellie now tie the last strap above her knee. “Cool,” she mumbles and tucks her pistol in the holster before quickly sliding it out and pointing at the empty space between your dad and you—“Fast move,” she mutters to herself, and then spins the gun around her finger to try and insert it back in the holster all swiftly, but the gun hits the ground instead.

“Jesus, Ellie,” your dad snaps.

Ellie stifles her laugh so as to not piss your dad off and picks up her gun to put it back. However she then finds the tip hits against something inside so she pulls out the gun and digs her fingers inside, and pulls out a leather necklace with a small piece of wood carved into a neat circle with a butterfly burned onto it. On each side of the necklace, over the wood are small wooden beads.

“Is this…” she pauses and her smile softens as well as her eyes. “Is it for me too?”

You nod. “Yeah. The necklace is adjustable so you can have it where it feels comfortable.”

Ellie grins softly and turns the small wooden pendant and smiles wider.

“It has my name on it—did you do this?” She asks.

You scoff and shake your head. “Nah, my friend did. I can’t do that.”

Ellie looks back at the necklace and shifts her eyes to the other thing around it, something small, thin, plastic and shaped like a dull triangle. “What is this?”

You glance over at your dad and let him answer. “A…guitar pick. Uh…I figure that once we go back to Jackson you’ll need a hobby so you won’t get bored, so I thought maybe you’d like to learn how to play a guitar.”

You smile wider and look back to Ellie, seeing her eyes only twinkle brighter. “You play?” She probes.

He nods. “Haven’t played in some time, but yeah, I do. I taught y/n a bit. I can teach you if you’d like.”

Ellie nods quickly. “Yeah, that’d be cool. I’d like that. Thank you, the both of you. I’m sorry I don’t have a gift for you, y/n.”

You shake your head and assure her. “Don’t worry about it. You can make it up for my birthday. My uncle Tommy is throwing me a party.” You share with a sweet smile.

“Oh is he now?” Your dad probes.

You glance at him and nod. “Yep. You guys are invited by the way.”

“I’ll think about it,” your dad teases you, making you scoff and roll your eyes.

“By the way,” Ellie interjects as she ties the necklace around her neck. “Why does Tommy call you Sunny? Is it like a middle name or something?”

“A nickname,” you tell her. “But I don’t know why exactly he does, he just does. I’ve never asked.” You shrug.

“He says it because,” your dad cuts in, causing Ellie and you to look over at him. “Back when y/n was a little girl she always had a Sunny disposition, she was always smilin’. As a little baby she was easy to make laugh too, so one time this song by some 70s band with the same name began to play, and he got it from there.”

Ellie smiles. “Sweet,” she comments, whilst you grin and miss your uncle all over again.

At least this time it’s not as bad as before though, because at least now you do have your father, and are closer to Ellie, so they make it all easier now. They make the long days of riding that follow a lot easier, and even make those days seem quicker. Especially because Ellie has a lot of questions regarding the time before.

Like now for example, as you’re riding on horseback through the woods she breaks the peaceful silence with a question. “So the way they ran stuff in Jackson, was how things used to be?”

“No,” your dad answers this question. “The country was too big for that. Back then there were basically two main ways of lookin’ at things. Some people wanted to own everything.”

“Mm-hmm,” Ellie hums in comprehension, and your dad continues.

“And some people didn’t want anyone to own anything at all.”

“Which one were you?” Ellie asks.

“Neither,” he says. “I just did my job.”

“Which was…” Ellie trails off as she thinks, and glances at you since you had told her once before. “Building?” She asks.

“That’s right,” he answers. “Houses, stores, that kinda thing. We were called “contractors”.”

“The contractor,” Ellie says in a deep voice, making you grin down at your handle—“that’s pretty cool.”

“Yeah,” your dad adds on. “We were cool. Everybody loved contractors.”

Really? Hm.

“Nice,” Ellie says and proceeds to rest her head on his back.

You try to think if he’s right, but you were too young before to know otherwise, and your uncle Tommy never said anything against it so your dad must be right.

“This has been ‘Construction corner with Joel Miller’,” you quote in a deep voice.

Ellie and your dad look over at you, and you laugh.

“It’s what Tess used to say.” You let Ellie know, and remind your dad.

Ellie smiles and then adds her own bit. “The Contractor!” She mocks in a deep voice.

You smirk. “The Contractor!” You mock as well. “Joel the Contractor.”

Ellie laughs and repeats what you said. “Joel the Contractor.”

Where is Tess? You may have not known her long, she might’ve scared you a bit before, but she was nice and cool. You’d ask, but you didn’t want to sour the mood, so you went on going without knowing.

Eventually the day turns to night and so as to not exhaust yourselves you camp for the night; this time in a place deeper in the woods.

“Okay,” you add as you stare up at the starry sky. “So if you could name 3 songs to describe yourself, what would it be?”

Ellie hums, and you glance over at your dad that has his back turned to Ellie and you.

“I wouldn’t know,” she mutters.

“Okay,” you nod. “Then to describe each other.”

You have three perfect songs for Ellie.

Ellie goes silent for a second before interjecting loudly in defeat. “Fuck, I don’t know!”

You giggle, and unexpectedly your dad interjects when he’s supposed to be sleeping.

“Three? For you, y/n, Uptown Girl by Billy Joel, Sunny, and,” he pauses and begins to laugh.

“What?” You probe and flip around to face his back. “What other song?”

“That song you sang for my birthday 20 years ago, by that one rapper named after two quarters.”

“Oh god,” you grumble and flip back around to face the sky. “I thought you forgot that! That’s so embarrassing!”

“Wait?! What?!” Ellie exclaims and flips around to face you and your dad. “What song is it?”

“I don’t know,” your dad says. “Tell y/n to sing it for you.”

“Daddy,” you warn. “Don’t.”

“What?” He chuckles. “It was cute, I told ya it was. She,” he continues and looks over his shoulder. “She dressed up as me that day; she wore one of my shirts, put on this fake mustache, and sang this rap song as one of my birthday gifts. It was great, one of my favorite gifts by far.”

You slap your hands on your face to hide your embarrassment.

“Really?” Ellie probes with a snicker. “That’s nice. Do you remember the words, y/n? I’d love to hear them since you know, I’m not that well up to date about the world before.”

Guilt tripping you? Not nice.

You don’t fall for it, you shake your head. “No!” You deny her, and pull your hands off your face to pull your sheet over your face as you drag yourself further in your sleeping bag. “This is over goodnight!”

“Come on!” Ellie presses you, and you can practically feel her grin. “Just one verse!”

You ignore them and pretend to be asleep. They both then try to press you, but you stay defiant and don’t give in. They eventually drop it after relentless teasing, so the night passes, a day does too and so on until finally that day comes when you’re finally close to your destination.

“Here we were,” you say as you bring your horse, and the other two to a stop in front of the intersection. “We’re here.”

“Well,” your dad interjects. “How ‘bout that? Made it in five days.”

“Easy days,” Ellie says, and you keep on moving now towards the city. “I don’t know what Tommy was so afraid of.”

“Still time to find out.”

“Still time to find out,” Ellie mocks your dad using a deep voice.

You glance over at her and scoff in amusement, while your dad shoots her a hard pointed stare.

“The contractorrrr,” Ellie whispers creepily.

You laugh and play along too. “Joel the Contractor.”

Ellie lets out a chuckle and repeats what you said. “Joel the contractorrr.”

You both share a laugh that’s quickly cut off by your dad.

“Quiet, the both of you, we’re going to enter the city now we don't know what lies ahead.”

You stifle your teasing smile and assure them. “Nothin’, the city isn’t wiped out from infected, but it’s not bad considering it’s where the firefly’s come to. Same goes for stragglers and groups. We’ll be on the clear if we head directly to campus.”

“And that’s where they’ll be?” Ellie asks with no laugh or smile now.

When you steal her a glance you see slight fear and worry, so you do your best to come off confident. “It's where they stay,” you assure her. “They’ll be there.”

Hopefully….

A/N- Why can’t the Miller’s just eat pancakes and be happy? Anyway don’t forget that gesture of reader laying her head on Joel’s chest, it’s gonna come back and bite everyone in the ass iykyk

Tagged- @slut-f0r-u @star-wars-lover @traceylader @givemylovetoall @itzagothamcitysiren @sammy-13 @beloved-reblogger @emiriia @rues-daya @sunfairyy @littleshadow17 @mcu-starwars @bigtuffswordboy @riaqiax @dheet @queenofthekill @joliettes @d4rno @dgraysonss @rana030 @punisherinthealps @pedropascalluvr41 @ahoyyharrington @beaniebeensbaby201 @maeneedsabreak @maelartasch @adristyles @daughterofthequeen @alastorhazbin @ririvilliams @khaylin27 @hypatia93 @hummusxx @v4mpyk1tten @1donoow @your-shifting-gurl

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whxtedreams · 2 months

Text

Chapter 14 - Sunflowers, Sunflowers, Sunflowers

Summary: It's been too long since you left Jackson, Tommy sets off to find you and Joel.

Tags: Tommy POV, Violence, blood, Tommy on the hunt, Joel and flowers omg, happy!joel

Word Count: 4.2k

A thick cloud of murky brown smoke pours from a gaping hole in the side of what used to be a school building. The bodies of the fallen lay all around him as he steps over yet another butchered corpse that still contains a rusted knife protruding from where that dead man's heart should be. The smell of decay and death fills the air as he moves closer towards the building, and the silence is deafening.

Tommy had discovered your note hanging on your fridge the morning after you left. The note had been written in an almost hurried and erratic hand and as he read its contents, he realised once more that you had left without saying a word to him. No goodbye, no notice of where you were going or when you might return, all he was left with was that note and an overwhelming sense of guilt.

You had left him with the chance of never coming back, again.

Tommy found every weapon locker in your garage to be empty, the weapons missing as he stared in frustration at the lack of contents of those lockers. He punched the metal in frustration, his rage at the knowledge that you had left without a word beginning to boil his blood as he realised that the note had been more than just an apology.

He went to Joel’s house next, in hopes that his brother would come with him again to find you once more. Instead of finding his brother, Ellie handed him a note with an apologetic smile.

She was going to go with or without me. I’m sorry. I’ll bring her back, I promise. I’ve told Ellie to come to you if she needs anything while I’m gone. Joel

If Maria had not stopped him, he would have left in that instant and begun the trek to hunt you down and drag you back to Jackson, that stubborn streak in his personality refusing to accept the notion that you had left. She had suggested that he wait a few days, that if he were to bring you back you would just leave again anyway.

It was drawing up to a week before he left to find you.

Ten days after you had snuck away from Jackson without so much as a word of explanation, Tommy now stood in front of the school you had mentioned before you left. The sight of the dying smoke and the bodies at his feet tells him all that he needs to know, this massacre that had occurred had taken place around four days ago. He is now four days behind you, your trail growing ever colder by the moment.

Through a side door that had been cracked open, Tommy moves cautiously with his flashlight, the beam of light casting a cone-shaped field and illuminating the otherwise all-consuming darkness. The light illuminates the thick wall of dust that has settled on every surface, the particles hanging in the air before settling down when disturbed. Tommy continues forth with his flashlight, slowly making his way through the crumbling ruins of this abandoned and now lifeless building.

There are copious amounts of blood splattered all over the walls and Tommy has to bite back the urge to vomit every time he catches sight of that disturbing colour that he fears is an all-too-familiar sight. He searches relentlessly, trying to search every nook and cranny of the abandoned building in an hope to avoid finding your bodies. He has not yet discovered your corpses, which he takes as a good sign but the thought lingers in the back of his mind that the worst has happened and he has been too late.

He nudges open a door slightly with his foot and the door immediately falls off its hinges, revealing an overwhelming cloud of dust and ash that erupts from the floor. The thick cloud fills the air, making him cough loudly and wave his hands frantically in an attempt to clear the air and avoid inhaling any more of that terrible pollution but the effort is futile.

With his rifle held at the ready and flashlight connected to the strap of his backpack, he walks through the room. The flames and smoke had torn through the area and completely devastated the surrounding interior. Burnt paper and broken chairs are scattered all over the ground and he walks through the rubble with a steely resolve.

His flashlight shines on a figure at the end of the room, the harsh light revealing scars and burns that have covered and disfigured their body. The figure sits limply in a chair, their hands tied and their body still and lifeless.

A sudden crunch from behind stops him from moving any further as it echoes through the room and fills the silence with an alarming level of unease. He turns cautiously with his rifle raised as he searches for the source of the noise, his eyes darting from point to point as his heart thuds hard in his chest. He cannot see anything moving out of the ordinary but the slightest noise is sending chills down his spine.

His flashlight flickers.

The sound of boots crunching the crumbling concrete is unnerving, the noise echoing and filling the room with an ominous ambiance. He cannot see anything yet as he flashlight struggles and the uncertainty of what is coming his way is causing his heart to race. He slowly raises his rifle and aims it in the direction of the noise that he had heard, his heartbeat quickening ever so slightly as he waits for something to appear in his field of vision.

The sudden movement to his left catches his eye and he quickly turns to face the source of the sound, his body snapping to face the threat instantly. The man is leaning casually against the wall with his hands in his rust-stained brown jacket, his eyes lingering on the rifle that is aimed directly at him. Tommy's finger hovers over the trigger as he aims directly at the unexpected man that seems to have appeared out of nowhere.

“Move and I’ll blow your brains out.” Tommy threatens.

The man sighs, raising an eyebrow at Tommy at his threat. “You won't shoot me Tommy.”

The sound of his name, spoken so calmly and casually by the man in front of him, makes his breath catch in his throat. He feels a chill run up his spine and he grips his gun tighter, his frown deepening as he glares at the man in front of him. He is unsure of who this man is or if he poses any danger but the use of his name takes him completely off-guard.

“Who are you?”

“Nobody.”

The man in front of him slowly takes a step forward, as if he is uncaring of the gun that is pointed directly at him. He stares at Tommy in a steady and unmoving stare as he walks closer to him. Tommy lowers his weapon and fires a bullet into the floor in front of the man before moving his aim squarely to his head, his eyes narrowing into a steely gaze.

“Next bullet goes in your head.”

“You know you don’t have to kill everyone you see, right? I’m not here to kill you so there’s no need to be so… aggressive.” His voice is carefree, yet dark and cold as he talks. The contrast in his tone and his demeanour feels unsettling. It feels like there's a disconnect between these two aspects of his personality. A part of him seems genuine and casual while the other part comes across as deeply rooted in darkness and shadows.

Tommy knows no good will come from this man, there's something about him that seems off, almost ominous in a way that he can't quite describe. He's seen his fair share of shady people and he can't help but feel like this person is the epitome of all those shady characters combined into one. The dark tones and energy surrounding this man are like a heavy cloud that casts everything into a shadow.

“I don’t trust a damn word that comes from your mouth.” Tommy shakes his head, scoffing at the man.

The man's hands remain in his pockets as if he is uncaring of the danger he is in. It is an unnerving sight to see. It shows a sense of confidence in the face of danger which makes Tommy feel uneasy. The man merely shrugs, seeming to dismiss the deadly threat as he shakes his head in disbelief. "I was trying to be civil Tommy," the man says softly as if the threat of violence was not a real thing at that moment. “Just remember that.”

“Fuck being civil.” Tommy sneers before shooting the rifle.

The man moves with practised efficiency, ducking in an un-nervingly smooth motion to avoid the bullet even as he moves closer to Tommy. As Tommy reloads his gun, the man suddenly takes his hands out of his pockets and throws a small brown fabric bag at him without breaking his stride.

The bag explodes on impact, the smoke engulfing Tommy completely and blinding his vision as he is forced to stumble back. He blinks rapidly through eyes burning from the smoke as he attempts to clear his vision but the cloud only envelops him further, his entire view engulfed by the thick cloud that is impeding his vision and filling his lungs with the acrid smell and taste of ash and smoke.

The sudden chaos of the explosion and the blinding cloud of smoke fills him with confusion but his instincts take over instantly. He hears the man running out of the room and his senses are instantly flooded with adrenaline. He pushes out of the thick cloud of smoke and into the fresh air, regaining his footing.

He strides aggressively out of the room and is filled with the sudden adrenaline rush as anger courses through his blood. His mind is cleared and his eyes narrow with intensity as he rounds the corner and sees the man sprinting down the hallway. His gun rises as he aims it directly at the man before he shoots.

The bullet grazes against his arm and he lets out a harsh grunt of pain, but the man continues to dash across the destroyed hallway, his steps only becoming faster as he pushes himself despite the pain. He manages to get around the corner and out of sight from Tommy's gun before he is able to get another shot at him.

As much as Tommy wants to headshot him, he needs him alive. He wants to know how he knows his name. Who he is and why he’s here.

“Fucking coward!” Tommy yells before running after him.

The man has obviously tried to lose him, blocking corridors and turning corners into narrow spaces but the strategy fails. Tommy's instincts have taken over, the trained soldier in him has taken the wheel and he moves through the ruined and crumbled corridors with practised efficiency, pushing his body beyond its limits as he closes the distance between the two of them.

He kicks open the double doors to the gym, his eyes sharply scanning the large space as he searches for any sign of his target. His breath remains steady despite the intense physical activity that his body is currently undergoing, his movements have become an instinct rather than a choice.

His back is to the wall as he moves his body closer to the centre of the room, his eyes scanning the area and searching for his target. The chair with the pool of blood surrounding it catches his eye, his instincts yelling at him to be careful as he quickly moves closer to it while still keeping a safe distance from the pool of blood. He doesn't know if this is a trap or not but he is not willing to risk getting too close, his senses heightened from the experience thus far.

He steps closer and sees that there are sunflowers in the blood. Sunflowers. Sunflowers. Sunflowers.

The flowers are stained in dark red blood, their once vibrant colours now muted and lifeless, their stems soaked through in the dark liquid. He freezes in his movements as he stares at the flowers with a sinking heart, his breath catching in his throat as he’s brought back to that night.

She had a sunflower in her hair the day she died, the day he held her for the last time. The flowers still in her hair were soaked in blood too.

He can’t stop staring at the blood stained sunflowers.

His knees sink to the floor as he reaches for a flower. The blood is cold on his fingers but the flowers are still fresh. The flowers were put here long after the blood. Someone was messing with him, but why? And how would they know this would fuck with his head, this particular flower?

This man has been watching him.

He rises to his feet and stares at the tainted flower, his body tensing up as a new wave of grief and sadness washes over him. He knew that the man was long gone, only trying to buy himself more time to get away and it had worked. He stares at the flower, his jaw clenched and his mind filled with a mixture of rage and sadness that were both all too familiar to him.

If this man really is watching him, he can track him down later, but right now, he needs to find you and Joel.

He follows tire tracks back into town and Tommy finds the dead horse the next day.

The infected bodies litter the ground, riddled with bullet holes and oozing the thick and viscous substance they had transformed into. The road is stained with a deep red colour and there is a puddle of vomit to the side, the mixture of bile and blood splattered on the road and the grass. No belongings were left behind on the horse and from the looks of it, the two of you fled.

Good. Good.

“Tommy?”

He turns around quickly at the sound of his name again, his fingers twitching near the trigger and the barrel still aimed at his head. The man has his hands raised to indicate surrender and his body shows no signs of any concealed weapon but Tommy still remains alert and cautious. His anger has subsided a little bit but the rage still lingers deep down in his heart, still ready to surge at any moment's notice.

What is it with people knowing his name?

“Joel said ya might come a lookin’”

“Where are they?”

“Back at da home.” He points behind him, smiling.

Tommy's frown deepens further as he looks at the man in front of him, his mind racing as he tries to make sense of what has happened. He knows for certain that Joel would never willingly stay at someone else's house and neither would you. He decides he cannot trust this person in front of him. He clenches his jaw once more at the thought that the man could have hurt them and his eyes narrowed in anger.

“What did you do to them?”

“What? Nothin’! They help us kill cult. Stayin’ while ‘ey get better.”

Tommy nods once in acknowledgement of the man's response before gesturing towards where the man had pointed. His voice is firm and authoritative, the threat of violence lingering underneath his tone. “Take me to them. Now.” He orders firmly, keeping his eyes on the man in front of him whilst his finger keeps a tight grip on the trigger of his gun just in case.

The man quickly obeys his order and begins to walk in the opposite direction with Tommy following closely behind with his gun still pointed at him. Tommy's heartbeat quickens with the thought that the man might do something drastic and his eyes remain glued to his figure, his mind still filled with the possibility that he could be taking him into a trap. He wasn't going to let his guard down for any reason and he kept a firm grip on his weapon with his finger firmly on the trigger.

Tommy's tone is cold and threatening, his voice like ice, his eyes piercing and his gun still pointed squarely at the man's back. "If I find out that you've hurt either of them, you're not going to like what I do to you." He warns him in a threatening tone.

“You sound just like ‘em!” He laughs, completely ignoring the threat.

The man's laughter throws him off and he raises an eyebrow in confusion as he stares at the man's back. The man doesn't seem to take his threat very seriously and that only made him feel more uneasy about the situation.

Tommy follows him down dirt roads until they reach a farm.

His breath catches in his throat as he hears their laughs, it had been so long since he'd heard these sounds that they almost seemed foreign to him. He stops and the man looks back, the sound breaking the tension between them and causing him to lower his gun slightly.

“Told ya they good.”

He sees them sitting in the grass together, backs to him as they are surrounded by children. His breath catches once more as you sit side by side, their hands moving in tandem as you teach Joel how to make the flower crowns. They seem completely oblivious to him, their attention solely focused on the flowers and children as they work together.

He hasn’t seen you touch flowers in months.

A child runs over to Joel, their crown a mess of flowers and leaves and yet it seems so fitting in the innocent and carefree demeanour of the child. Joel's laughter fills the air again and he laughs lightly as the child places the flower crown onto his head before adjusting it and thanking the child in the most warm and gentle way possible. His eyes slowly shift back in your direction and it is clear that his sole focus is on you, no doubt feeling the same pride and joy as he watches you work.

He hasn’t seen either of you happy in what feels like forever.

He calls out to you and you turn around at the sound of your name, a smile instantly appearing on your face and you wave him over to join you. Joel seems to pick up on the sudden shift in vibes and his attention is drawn to the interaction as he calls out to his brother and gestures for him to join them as well.

The man beside him requests that he give up his weapons and it fills him with fear and frustration. The idea of leaving himself vulnerable and unarmed in an unknown location is a terrifying one. He feels your presence behind him and this does nothing to ease his mind. He begins to argue with the man, arguing over the request of his weapons and the need to keep them on his person.

“It’s okay Tommy, we’re safe here.”

“You sure about that Sunshine?”

He turns his head to look behind him upon feeling your touch on his shoulder and his eyes widen as he sees the massive gash on your head. His hand reaches up and touches it with a sense of tenderness as he grips your hand in his own to avoid causing any further injury. He looks into your eyes and his concern is evident on his face as he stares at you, his worry for your well being written all over his expression.

“What happened to you?”

You smile softly, trying your best to reassure him about your wellbeing before shrugging, as if the whole ordeal was not that big of a deal. “There was an explosion but I’m okay, really. Joel got me out and they stitched me up.” You try to downplay the significance of what has happened, as if it were nothing but a minor inconvenience.

"You left me again." His tone is filled with sadness and betrayal and his eyes are fixed on you as if searching for an explanation for your actions.

You sigh, looking over at Joel as another child places their crown on his hair. You look back at Tommy and cross your arms over your chest. “I know. I’m sorry. Can we talk about this later?”

Tommy closes his eyes and lets out a heavy sigh, his frustration apparent as he hands over his weapons to the man. He knows that he can't put up a fight right now and he reluctantly lets it go for the moment. He looks away from the man and focuses on you, his eyes still filled with the lingering sense of betrayal but he tries his best to hide it in his attempt to keep things peaceful.

“Yeah, sure.”

You lead him over to Joel and you sit next to him again, your body sitting comfortably between the two brothers.

He leans back on his hands and looks around at the farm, nodding in admiration at the place. “So this where you’ve been while I’ve been riskin’ my life to find you?” He smirks as he tilts his head to face you.

“You didn’t have to follow me.”

“You and me, remember? Of course I’ll follow you.”

“You said you weren’t going to do this anymore.”

Tommy sighs. “You said you weren’t going to leave in the middle of the night again. Guess we both say things we don’t mean.”

Your hands stop as you pierce a stem, your eyes darting over to him as he wraps his hand around you and pulls you into a side hug. His smile is soft and comforting and your body leans against him, the warmth of your embrace a welcome feeling after the recent events the last few days.

He watches over your head as your hand reaches out to your side, searching blindly for Joel's hand. When your hand touches his, he grasps it in his own and tries his best to thread the stem of the flower through with one hand now. The movement of his fingers is clumsy and not as elegant and smooth as with two hands. His brow is knitted with the intensity of his focus in trying to keep the flower crown intact and he doesn't seem to be succeeding.

“I’ll follow you too, by the way,” Joel adds, his voice barely above a whisper, he doesn’t look away from the flowers as he speaks. The soft and gentle tone of his voice combined with the simple yet caring gesture of still holding your hand and trying to complete the task despite the handicap of using only one hand is quite poetic and touching.

Though Tommy may find the interaction to be gross he can't help but feel a soft sense of admiration for his brother, seeing him showing this softer side. It's nice to see him not acting like an asshole but he would never admit to that.

Joel looks up and smiles proudly as he finally completes the crown, he places it on your head and you smile back at him fondly as he slowly adjusts it and pushes strands of hair out of your face.

Tommy looks at the two of you with a slight frown, his face displaying confusion as he watches the two of you interact with each other. He shakes off the feeling and lets his hand slip from your shoulder.

"We were going to head off in the morning but we can pack up now if you want?" Joel asks Tommy, his hand dropping from your face as he casually brushes the dirt from his pants.

Tommy hums in agreeance.”Think that’s a good idea.”

He pauses a moment before continuing, there are so many things he wants to discuss but he doesn't want to cause more worry for either of you. He's aware of the possibility that they may be being tracked and if he's being tracked that probably means that you are as well. He knows he should talk about this but he's not sure how to communicate this idea without sounding too paranoid or dramatic. Even so, they need to have this conversation and the longer he waits the more dangerous it could potentially become.

He’ll talk it through on the way back to Jackson, it’s a long trip after all.

Yeah, he’ll talk to you about it then.

“Who got one of the horses killed, by the way?” Tommy raises his eyebrows at the two of you, the humour of his voice breaking some of the tension that's been building between the three of them.

You look away from him instead of answering his question, avoiding eye contact with him. He seems to notice your reluctance and his eyes narrow, the curiosity of his gaze lingering as he waits for you to respond.

Joel's eyes are on you when you ooze guilt and a flash of relief passes over your face when he takes the blame for the horse. Your eyes shoot over to him, a look of relief and gratitude upon your face.

Tommy knows his brother is lying but he plays a long. “You’re getting sloppy, old man.” Tommy sighs dramatically, shaking his head.

Joel grunts.

There he is, that’s the brother Tommy knows.

Chapter 15 - coming soon

Notes

writing in Tommy's POV is too much fun. I really like Tommy so it's fun to write from his perspective. Omg who is this mystery person? Saved you now an interaction with Tommy? hmmm!! There's something about Joel and flowers that's just so soft it hurts. I know this chapter is shorter than the others but i'm starting to not pressure myself about word count

tags: @ratoonstown @orcasoul @ashleyfilm @oscarissac2099 @nobodycanknoww @caitlynsixxx @gigistorm

Comment if you want to be added to the tag list!

#pedro pascal #joel miller #the last of us #joel tlou #joel fanfic #tlou #tlou joel #joel x reader #tlou fanfiction #joel x fem!reader #tommy miller #tlou tommy #joel miller x you #joel miller x reader

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