Tumgik
#like a dotting uncle but he pretends he wants nothing to do with them
rebelwrites · 2 years
Text
I Will Never Stop Loving You || Part Two
Charles Leclerc x Reader
Summary: Both broken and in pain can one phone call provide Charles with the glimpse of he desperately needs
Part one
Tumblr media
As always reblogs and feedback is highly appreciated ❤️
Never in a million years did you expect to be back in your childhood bedroom, hiding yourself from the world but here you were.
For the last three days you refused to eat, you only left the safety of your room to use the bathroom. The time was spent crying, trying to force yourself to sleep but it never came and smoking out of your bedroom window. You knew it wasn’t healthy for you but you didn’t care.
Nothing and no one could replace Charles and that’s what scared you the most. Your hand felt wrong without your engagement ring, everything felt wrong.
Propping yourself against the headboard you took a breath before turning your phone back on, the moment it booted up the string of notification sounds filled the room. Unlocking the phone you started on your missed calls.
CharlieBear 🐻❤️:
49 missed calls
30 new voicemails
P.G
12 missed calls
3 new voicemails
C.S
10 missed calls
4 new voicemails
Clearing the missed call notifications you looked at the little red number next to your messages.
79 new messages
Taking a deep breath you clicked onto the app scrolling through all the messages from your friends, all concerned about your sudden disappearance. You quickly fired off a couple of texts to Pierre seeing how the three little dots started dancing around the bottom of the screen
P.G
📲 Merci putain tu es vivant Thank fuck you are alive
💬 Vivant mais survivant à peine 😢 Alive but barely surviving don’t worry about me P, I need time. Time away from everything.
📲 What happened? I’ve never seen Charles so broken. Can you at least tell me where you are?
💬 I flew home.
📲 Oh shit, here if you need to talk 🥰
Swiping off the conversation you read all the other messages from everyone else but Charles, you just closed the app pretending they didn’t exist just like you had done with the voicemails. You couldn’t bear to hear or read them.
The soft knock on your door caused you to toss your phone onto the bed, watching as your older sister appeared with your niece on her hip.
“What’s going on bug?” She asked, her expression soft but full of concern.
“Don’t wanna talk,” you hummed, fiddling with the sleeves of Charles’ hoodie, something you refused to take off.
“This isn’t good for you, bottling everything up.” She whispered as your niece climbed across the bed for a cuddle.
“Hmm,” you mumbled, watching your phone screen light up with Charles' face as he tried to call you again.
“It’s Uncle Char,” your niece grinned pointing at the phone.
Before you had a chance to move the phone Lucy had swiped it answering the call.
“Hi Uncle Char” She beamed, making you want the world to swallow you up. The moment she put the call on speakerphone you once again had to fight back tears as you heard his voice. “Why aren’t you here with Auntie Y/N?” She asked innocently.
“I’m busy with work.” He sighed, the pain in his voice was obvious to you but not to your niece. “Is your Auntie there?”
“She’s right next to me, you are on speakerphone.” She smiled, leaning against your chest.
Running your hand over your face you shot your sister a pleading look hoping she took over the situation. Luckily she got the message from Lucy. “Go find pops, Luce,” she smiled softly at her daughter.
Soon enough Lucy had disappeared leaving the room in silence but no matter what you couldn’t tear your gaze from the phone.
“Look Charles,” Dena sighed, running her hand across her face. “I don’t know what’s happened between you and my sister but she doesn’t want to talk to you right now.”
“Dena, please.” He whimpered, his voice cracking as he spoke, causing tears to roll down your cheeks.
“I can’t force her to do something she doesn’t want to do.” She said softly, her heart breaking at the pair of you.
“Just tell her I’m sorry please,” he cried, “just tell her I will never stop trying to make this up to her, I can’t live without her.”
“I will do Charles.” Dena said. “Look just give her some time and space and whatever has happened between the pair of you will work itself out. You two are destined to be together.”
“Take care of her D.” He whispered before the line went dead.
As soon as the phone was back on the bed you broke down in your older sister's arms. She didn’t say anything as she ran her hand across your back trying to sooth you.
Eventually your sobs subsided, as you roughly wiped your eyes with the sleeves of the hoodie.
“I’m sorry.” You mumbled, reaching for your packet of cigarettes before standing up off the bed pulling the hoodie over the pyjama shorts.
You needed to get out of the room, the four walls felt like they were starting to close in on you and you couldn’t take it any more.
-
The sunglasses on his face hid just how bad things had gotten. He was hardly sleeping, he was forcing food down him when he didn’t want to eat. He just wanted to hide from the world, not race. The last week had been the worst week of his life.
News of what had happened was now spreading like wildfire tearing through the F1 world, every interview he had everyone always asked him about you, where it went wrong.
“What’s your thoughts on today's race?”
“Fucking shit!” Charles snapped, causing silence to fall around him. “At this point what’s the point? Because I sure as hell don’t see any reason in continuing this season.”
Everyone was shocked at Charles' outburst, Pierre quickly jumped into the situation guiding his friend away from the cameras and back into the alpha tauri motorhome as it was closer.
The moment the door was closed it was like the floodgates opened, Charles couldn’t stop the tears from falling. His world was falling apart around him, he knew you meant the world to him but he didn’t quite understand until now that you were the centre of his world. Nothing went right without you.
“J'ai merdé. je ne sais plus quoi faire. I fucked up. I don't know what to do anymore.” Charles sobbed, hiding his head in his hands. “I feel like I’m fucking drowning, I’d do anything to get her back, I’d give up everything if it meant I got her back.”
“Je vais vous donner mon avis honnête parce que je vous aime tous les deux. I'm going to give you my honest opinion because I love both of you.” Pierre said, planting his hand on Charles’ back. “You have a long road ahead, the reason you got to this point was because of the championship, you shut her out.”
“I know, and I hate myself for it.” Charles cried. “What do I do?”
Pierre sighed, he had never seen his friend like this and it was breaking his heart. He had been in contact with you over the last week just checking in and things weren’t much better on your side. He had a couple of late night calls from you in floods of tears.
“I know it’s going to be hard but I think you need to take a step back. Y/N would want you to finish the season, do the best you can and go from there. There’s only 6 more races left of the season.”
Charles sighed, knowing he best friend was right but he couldn’t last that long. Two months was far too long. “Je ne peux pas attendre aussi longtemps, je suis tellement perdu sans elle. I can't wait that long, I'm so fucking lost without her.” He sobbed.
“Mec, elle a dit qu'elle avait besoin de temps donc tu dois lui en donner. C'est quelque chose que tu ne peux pas forcer. Mate, she said she needs time so you gotta give it her. It's something you can't force.” Pierre said softly.
Charles roughly wiped his eyes before pushing himself to his feet, silently saying bye to his friend. He needed to be alone, he needed to get away from the cameras and prying eyes. There was a two week break before the next race and Charles didn’t plan on showing his face to the world. He already had flights booked for Monaco.
Within the next couple of hours he had landed in Monaco, dumping his case in the hallway of his home. Checking his phone for the millionth time, sighing heavily when there were no new notifications from the person he wanted to hear from the most.
Tossing the phone onto the counter he sulked into his room grabbing the other suitcase tossing the clothes he needed into it. After a quick run around making sure he had everything he needed he shut the light off letting the bedroom fall into darkness.
He was only in his home for around half an hour before he swiped his phone off the counter along with his car keys leaving the home you shared. There was no way he could stay here without you, it just wasn't the same, there were too many memories buried in the walls. So he was heading to the one place he would be welcomed with open arms. He was going to stay with his Mum for the two week break.
The journey was only short but it felt like a lifetime for Charles. As he pulled into the drive he shut the engine off, taking a couple of deep breaths whilst he gripped the steering wheel trying to compose himself before he entered his childhood home.
Once he had dragged himself out of the car he slowly walked up to the front door. He didn’t get a chance to knock before the door flung open and his mother was standing in the opening.
Her soft expression broke down Charles’ resolve as he hugged his mum. The feeling of her comfort completely broke him down to tears, cries turned into sobs, his body shaking violently as his knees started giving out on him. Slowly Pascale lowered him to the floor, wrapping her arms around her son tightly. He had already told her what had happened and she had since been speaking to your parents as they were close friends.
“Mon doux garçon. My sweet boy.” She hummed, running her fingers through his dark hair, just like she did when he was a young boy. “Les choses vont bien se passer. Vous sortirez tous les deux de cette tempête plus forts que jamais. Things are going to be okay. You will both come out of this storm stronger than ever.”
“Je noie maman, sans bouée de sauvetage. I'm drowning mum, with no lifeline.” He sobbed clutching her cardigan. “I fucked everything up because I was blinded by the championship. I’m just so lost without her.”
Pascale blinked back tears at the state her son was in, she knew how much he loved you. The pair of them sat on the hallway floor until Charles had controlled his breathing and sobs.
Guiding her son into the kitchen she sat him down at the table, before pottering around the kitchen making them both some tea.
The sound of his phone vibrating against the wooden table was the only sound that filled the room. Charles starred in disbelief as he saw your name flash up on his phone. Quickly he wiped his cheeks with the back of his hand as he felt his heart starting to race.
Wifey ❤️🌎
📲 Can we FaceTime?
Rushing to unlock his phone, he couldn’t believe that you wanted to FaceTime him. Fumbling with his phone he hit the little camera next to your name, setting his phone against the vase in the centre of the table.
The longer it continued to ring the more he started worrying. Did you mean to text him? Did you change your mind? His mind was running a million miles an hour, rubbing his hands down his thighs he hated this feeling.
He breathed a breath of relief as your face appeared on the screen but it also shattered his heart even more. Your hair was scraped back, your eyes were red and puffy, there wasn’t the sparkle in them anymore. It was obvious to him that you weren’t sleeping and he hated himself that he was the reason to start smoking again especially when he knew how hard it was for you to quit.
“Hi,” he said softly, running his hand over his face. “This was a surprise.”
“I’m sorry.” You sighed, taking a long drag of the cigarette.
“Don’t be, Ma chéri.” Charles said, smiling weakly. “C'est bon de t'entendre. It’s good hearing from you.”
“Auntie Y/N, is that Uncle Char?.” Lucy’s voice appeared, making Charles smile.
“Yes baby it is.” You nodded, “I told you he would call, even when he is working he always finds time for your birthday.”
Charles sighed once again, running his hand across his face. How could he forget his niece’s birthday? With everything going on it just slipped his mind. This explained the reason for the contact, it was for Lucy and not you. Once again he felt the familiar pain in his chest but quickly put on a smile as Lucy took the phone from you.
“Joyeux anniversaire, ma princesse. Happy birthday, my princess.” He smiled, leaning closer to the camera as Lucy flashed him a toothy grin. “Did you make a birthday wish?”
“Of course I did silly.” She giggled.
“What did you wish for?” Charles asked, knowing that Lucy couldn’t keep quiet. “I bet it was a pony.”
“Nope”
“A monkey?”
“Nope”
“A F1 car?”
“Wrong again.”
“Oh I know, a unicorn?”
“Nope.”
“Okay I have no clue, what did you wish for sweetheart.”
“I wished for Auntie Y/N to be happy again and for you to be with her.”
It was like the air had been punched from him, he was completely blindsided by a seven year old.
“I overheard mummy and Pops talking and they said you and Auntie Y/N aren’t together anymore.” Her little pout was enough to cause the Monégasque to tear up again.
“Me and Auntie Y/N are taking a little break at the moment darling.” Charles sighed, trying not to break down in front of his niece. Before she could respond her friends were calling her. “Go, go enjoy your party.” Charles smiled.
“I love you Uncle Char.” She grinned, blowing him a kiss.
“I love you too, my little Princess.”
The phone was quickly passed around and your face popped back on the screen. An awkward silence fell across the pair of you, neither of you not knowing what to say, but not wanting to end the call.
“I saw the race.” You said quietly, looking down at something.
“You did?” Charles asked, he was surprised with your confession.
“I did,” you sighed, running your hand over your face. “What happened?”
“My head and heart wasn’t in it,” he whispered, trying his hardest to hold back the tears but one managed to slip, rolling down his cheek. “Do you think we will get back to how we were before this season started?” He blurted out, he knew it wasn’t an easy question but one he needed to know the answer to.
You fell silent as you mulled over his question, his heart was pounding against his chest not knowing what your answer was going to be.
“I don’t know, I hope so.” You said quietly, refusing to make eye contact with him, so you didn’t see the small smile appear on his lips. “I just need some time Charles, we need some time.”
“Prenez tout le temps dont vous avez besoin. Take as much time as you need.” Charles hummed. “Ne m'abandonne pas chérie. Parce que je suis sûr que je ne vais pas abandonner sur vous, sur nous. Just don't give up on me darling. Because I'm sure as hell not going to give up on you, on us.”
He watched you wipe a tear from your cheek, he wanted nothing more than to take you in his arms, holding you until the sun came up.
“Je ne le ferai pas, je te le promets. Mais tu dois aussi me promettre quelque chose, mon Charliebear. I won't I promise. But you have to promise me something as well, my Charliebear.” You breathed finally looking up at the camera.
“Anything.” Charles smiled. His heart skipped a beat hearing the nickname you had for him.
“Promise me that you won’t throw the season away because of what’s going on with us.” You whispered, wiping away some more tears. “I don’t want you ruining your career because of this.” Even though the reason everything was happening was because of the championship you still didn’t want him throwing anything down the drain. “I know there are only 6 races left of the season. Throw your heart into, be the driver that I fell in love with all them years ago. Use your emotions as the fire you need to find yourself on the track again. And once the season is over we can go from there, taking baby steps.”
Your words had reduced him to tears, hiding his eyes from the camera he regained his composure before speaking again.
“I will, for you, for us.” He smiled softly. “Promise you will watch every race.”
“Je promets. I promise.”
“Prends soin de toi mon amour, souviens-toi toujours que je ne cesserai jamais de t'aimer ou de me battre pour nous. Take care my love, always remember I will never stop loving you or fighting for us.”
A small smile tugged on your lips as you ended the call. Charles leant back in the seat letting out a shaky breath, a smile of his own forming as for the first time since his world started crumbling around him he had hope.
Hope he would cling onto for dear life.
Tumblr media
1K notes · View notes
steddiecameraroll · 8 months
Text
Two Years Too Long - part 3
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 ↓ Part 4 AO3
“What do you think about Eddie?” Steve asks while keeping his head down in his Humanities textbook.
“What?” Robin continues highlighting her notes.
“Eddie, y’know, I was thinking like what…who, what kind of guy he might be into.” Steve points his eyes down while Robin slowly raises hers to stare at him across the table.
“What?” She leans her hands on her book and tilts her head toward him.
“I don’t know. He mentioned something at his party the other night. I guess he and Zach broke up and said Zach wasn’t his type. So I was just wondering what his type might be. Y’know, in case I met someone and could set him up or whatever.” Steve runs his finger over a line of text, pretending to read the words.
Robin smirks and shakes her head. “Uh huh, to set him up, sure.”
“What?” Steve looks up and furrows his brow. “I wouldn’t want to get it wrong.”
She rolls her eyes at him and looks back to her book.
“What? You don’t think I could do it?”
“No, Steve. That’s not even remotely what I’m thinking.” She sets her highlighter down and crosses her arms over the book, putting all her attention on him. “I do, however, think you’re an idiot. Why don’t you tell me what kind of guy you think Eddie is into? Let’s take a look back at the guys we know about.”
“Um, I mean Zach, but he said he wasn’t his type.” 
“Right, but there must’ve been something I don’t know, maybe physically, that drew Eddie in. Describe this Zach dude to me.”
Steve sighs and leans back in his chair while he conjures up a visual of the guy. “Well, he’s about six feet or so; no, he’s taller than me. I think he’s 6’2”, actually. Um, plays basketball, so he’s fit. Has brown hair. I mean, he looks like every other dude I played sports with. He’s definitely cute, like the boy next door vibe.”
“Hmm, sounds like you two could be brothers.” Robin cocks an eyebrow.
“Oh yeah,” Steve huffs a laugh. “He does kinda look like my uncle when he was our age.” 
“Ok, what about that guy before Zach? The one at that Halloween party.”
“The guy dressed as Tom Cruise from Top Gun?” Steve rubs his knuckles along his jaw.
“Yeah, yeah, that guy. Describe what he looks like to me.” She rolls her eyes and waits for him to connect the dots.
“He kinda looked like Zach. I think he was on the baseball team. Brown hair, tall, traditionally handsome, and in shape but not bulky.”
“And the one before that?” She grabs her phone and checks a notification letting him continue.
“Um, oh, the guy from the wrestling team. Man, Eddie’s hooked up with a lot of jocks for a dude who says he hates sports.”
“Ironic, isn’t it?” She scoffs.
“Well, ok, um, he was also tall, obviously in shape, brown hair, but it was a little longer, more like mine.”
“Oh, yours, huh?”
“Yeah, but mine’s better,” he shrugs as if it was apparent. “He was handsome too, almost pretty. Had really long eyelashes. I thought he had mascara on the first time we saw them together.”
“He called him pretty boy,” Robin adds.
“Oh yeah,” Steve’s face slips, and he stares at a spot on the carpet, losing himself to the memory.
“Ok, so there are three examples,” Robin snaps her fingers in front of Steve’s face bringing his attention back. “So what kinda guy is Eddie attracted to then?”
“Jocks, apparently, with pretty eyelashes and brown hair.” He sighs and puts his chin in his palm, leaning forward on his elbow.
“Hmm, that’s crazy.”
“Why?”
“That…that kinda sounds like…I don’t know, naw, it’s nothing.” She pretends to brush it off and looks at her book.
“What?”
“I mean, it kinda sounds like…you. I’ve always told you how envious I am of your eyelashes, and people have mocked you for being a jock. Especially Eddie. Also, I’m pretty sure your hair is brown. You’re conventionally attractive if you’re into that sort of thing and about six feet tall.”
“Me?” Steve sits up, and Robin watches as his face shifts between multiple emotions before landing on confusion.
“Doesn’t it?”
“In theory, sure, but that’s just a coincidence.”
“Is it?” She taps the tip of her highlighter on her book.
“It must be. He’s not into me or anything. We’ve been friends for two years, and he never asked me out or showed any interest ever.” Steve closes his book and crosses his legs.
“Eddie’s never flirted with you? Is that what you’re saying?” She stares at him like he’s got to be joking.
“Yes, I mean, there was that one time when he pretended to drown at the lake and asked me if I would give him CPR…. Or when he jokes about my workout outfits and if I need help getting out of my shorts. ’Cause you know they’re those tight lycra ones.” Steve pauses for a second, thinking of other examples. “Well, and he always mentions how ‘pouty’ my lips look when I put on my chapstick.” Steve’s eyes widen slowly, and he sits up straighter in his chair. “Wait…do you think?”
“Finally,” Robin sighs and shakes her head.
“What does that mean?”
“That boy has had a crush on you since his eyes landed on your dumb face. And you have been nothing but stupid the entire time, and now I don’t have to watch this trainwreck any longer.” She leans down and grabs her backpack to clean up. “I’ve done my good deed; now it’s your turn.”
“No, no, wait, since we met? What are you talking about?” Steve reaches across the table and grabs her book, stopping her from packing.
“Dingus, are you serious right now? I know you also like him, but you’re refusing to admit it or accept it or something. I don’t know or understand, but you two have been dancing around this for too long. It’s like you’re purposefully avoiding it and dating shitty knock-off versions of each other. Do you remember Matt?” She stares at him pointedly.
“Yeah?”
“The long-haired bass player in that dumb rock band you made me go see? Or what about that dude that was super into video games, that nerd guy?”
“Chris, they were role-playing games.” Steve presses his lips together and slouches slightly.
“Uh-huh, and that other guy with the long hair? He was super into Philosophy or whatever. Kept grandstanding and having these soapbox speeches in the middle of our hall?”
“Oh yeah, Aaron. That sex was terrible.” Steve winces.
“See what I mean? Stop dating Wish Eddie Munsons, and please just date the authentic original. I can’t stand it any longer.”
“But he told me there’s someone he likes and that he’s done dating anyway.”
“Steven,” she commands.
“What? He told me this at his party.”
“Who do you think this ‘someone’ is, you aggravating dingus?” Her voice is rising, and the duo start getting glared at by the people around them at the other tables in the library.
“I don’t know, he wouldn’t say.” Steve shrugs.
“It’s you, you dummy!”
Someone shushes them from a nearby table.
“Oh,” Steve lets that information wash over him and begins piecing the puzzle together. “It’s me.” His voice comes out quietly.
“Yes, you’re messing around with Chad, and Eddie is probably tired of waiting around hoping you see him. Did you notice how every time you started seeing someone, Eddie almost immediately started seeing someone? They call that a coping mechanism.” She grabs her book from Steve’s hand and keeps packing her stuff.
“We could’ve been together this whole time?” The clear hurt is evident in his tone.
“Probably, but there’s no time like the present. Text him, y’know, use that Harrington charm for good for once.” She smiles while closing her backpack. “I want to hear all the gory details tomorrow.”
A slow mischievous grin spreads across Steve’s face. “Yeah, ok.” He plucks his phone from his fingers and pulls up Eddie’s contact record.
“Go get ’em, tiger. I’m outta here.” She stands and throws her backpack on her shoulders. “Text me tomorrow when you come up for air.”
“Ok, thanks.” He gives her a soft smile. “I mean it.”
She winks at him, “You’re welcome.”
After she walks away, he types out a quick message to Eddie.
Steve: Hey, you up to anything tonight?
Eddie: Naw, what’s up?
Steve: Wanna hang out? My roommate’s gonna be at his girlfriend’s
Eddie: Cool, yeah, what time?
Steve: Whenever you want. I’m headed there right now and will be back in 10 min.
Eddie: I’ll be there in 30
Steve: Can’t wait
part 4
106 notes · View notes
confusedgoldenflower · 3 months
Text
So I have an au FengQing fic in which FQ take HC’s wager and lose, becoming humans (bc they’re honorable unlike those other fucks). I’ve been trying to update (yes, I know I have like nine wips, I AM trying), but that’s not the point.
The point is that my stupid ass brain has fed me yet another crack idea: [besides them going to war, FX beheading a XZ imposter, MQ mocking beyond all reason a Ju Yang imposter, one of MQ’s adopted kids and ex-official ascending during this time, FX not beating the cut sleeve accusations (MQ does not openly drool like he does lmao, it’d be funny, esp since he’d finally not be pretending to hate MQ and actually acknowledge him in all his glory), the two having mwah👌🏻 teamwork, the Chinese-shogun’s (correct later, self) sons deaths bc they’re assholes and power hungry—just after FX thinks aloud to MQ if he shouldn’t just take over that estate if all the sons die and a lil tussle about it, so they take it over upon their return and MQ the Ex-Again-Lower Class changes life for his villagers. Oh and he’s visited by the new general of the south a few times. He pointedly makes her first shrine in the exact spot she ascended bc his autistic ass is that flavor of sentimental (someone else did a good read on MQ being autistic. He is in my fics, no like then scroll).]
—Is FX getting cursed (probably after pissing them off) by some wrath to… be a woman. Of course she’s mortified. Absolutely mortified. MQ can’t do anything, with all his cultivation power and research. Southern General can’t either. MQ offers asking PM (or heaven) for help but FX puts that idea in the grave. So, she’s stuck. But Feng I’ve Always Wanted A Big Family Xin warms up to the idea. Naturally, MQ will NOT break his cultivation nor would FX try to cross the clear boundaries and his promise that he’d never need sex from MQ, but MQ had an uncle (the baby brother of Momma Mu) and a descendant shows up, the spitting image of MQ (we’ve all seen “I’m my great great relatives reincarnation” images). That’s all Momma’s Mu’s genes running strong. Bc of what her husband turned out to be (despite the parents having accepted the suiter and had the option to take her and MQ w them), her “side” wasn’t spoken of highly nor a lot.
MQ and FX have talked about this, as long as FX doesn’t bring home a disease, she’s free to fuck whoever she wants—preferably with subtly. She and cousin man hit it off. Blah blah blah, this is getting too long, anyway he hangs around. Inevitably, pregnancy happens. FX is tickled pink bc yay family and MQ is the anxiety-induced dotting-est “husband” ever (ignoring that FX never thought she wouldn’t be in his position). Cousin man went to idk do a thing and comes back, arguements and discussions are had. MQ gets yelled at for affectively banishing cousin man (MQ is the bbs’ Baba). MQ demands why not since he’s not being trustworthy (given what MQ’s dad was, he’s got high standards). FX admits it’s because she wants her kids to look like him—be a mix of them, the cottage core coupling dream. MQ, not for the first time, questions the allos.
Idk, my brain may have taken “FX is an ornery himbo” and sprinted.
FQ: *argueing over battle strategies* MQ, a man with a special interest of fighting: shut up and listen to someone with more know-how than you. Good boy. FX: … okay… 😳😳😳 Lmaoooo
FX: paint my eyebrows! MQ, a dumbass when it comes to FX: ???? You have too much eyebrow already tho. FX, who just wanted the lovey-dovey stuff: >:0
FX: what’s that look for? MQ: nothing. I don’t have a look. FX: don’t bullshit me! MQ: fine. It’s just… how funny would it be if we made it a rule that any probable suiters for our daughters had to be pure virgins too. FX: … that’s gonna piss so many people off, I love it
New idea that’s too cute not to share: FX walking into the kitchen for some water, and after an unexpected bathroom break courtesy of changed body, early in the morning to find MQ cleaning up some new street kids he’d somehow collected over night. MQ: … 👀 Kids: *frozen* FX, sighing: it’s too early for this. Whatever, I’m going back to bed. MQ, nuzzling the face of the kid he was currently scrubbing: yay🥰
4 notes · View notes
bleumanouche · 9 months
Note
Line(+ reverent if you want to combine them?) for Sweetjane & Reed?
@bokatan
SOME MORE SMUTTY MEMES 
[ LINE ]  our muses are supposed to only be pretending to be together for a mission or fake dating,  but they keep going and neither one of them is stopping which leads to them hiding away to have sex.  
+
[ REVERENT ]  one or both muses have been pining for a while,  sender body worships receiver by kissing all over their body and giving them oral. 
Pairing: Sweetjane x Reed
Rating: Explicit 🍋
Finally finished this.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
It had been months since the first recon mission and it was decided that she and Reed got along well together. This time was different, as it was  going to go a little longer.They had been directed to a settlement that was being scouted as a potential new safehouse. The cover was a relationship of some kind that they were to decide.
Nothing had happened between them since the very first night. They mostly slept in different beds, like a couple in one of the old pre-war sitcoms. No one else on the small farm suspected anything was up. They carried on as if they were boyfriend and girlfriend, the act being very convincing. But that was all it was, an act, a performance, like she used to perform in the in between shows.
Lately Reed started to suggest sliding the beds together. “What if someone came in?” he suggested. “Wouldn’t it look weird that we sleep in separate beds?”
She was suspecting that there was an underlying statement hidden in these questions, something that she noticed happened a lot with him. Eventually she acquiesced, coming around to the logic.
The truth was that she didn’t like the feelings she was starting to develop. It made her nervous. The other times this happened turned out very bad and she was not ready for it to happen again. She also didn’t really want to be alone again. So she just accepted this for what it was, and continued on.
Not much could be done a few nights later as a large storm passed through. They just sat in the two room shack, Read cleaning his guns and Sweetjane making something on the stove. She places one of the chipped mugs in front of him.
“Coffee?”
He looks up at her in disbelief. Is she offering him real coffee?
“How did you?” Then he looked at the beige viscous in the mug. “Who told you this was coffee?”
Sweetjane shrugs, “ My Dat an my uncle  would drink it. Juss what they called coffee.”
Some more time passed, and the storm raged on. Silence was broken as Sweetjane said in a long exasperated,” Wish it’d stop. I’m gettin kinda bored.”
“You. Bored?” he answered not looking up. She stretches in her chair. “Do ya want ta?”
He looked up at her, trying to make out what she was saying. “I’m askin if ya want ta with me…” she slowly glances with her eyes to the sheet they called a door to the bedroom.
His face turned a beet red. “You’re not being serious.”
“I am.” She makes a show of pushing her chair back and heads into the room. “Join me or don’t,” she calls. “Thought it’d jus be more fun with anotha.”
She didn’t have to wait long for an answer.
—---------------------------18+ Under Cut---------------------------
She starts to count the freckles on his shoulders to distract herself. It’s a good distraction, effective for the time being, though it is hard for her to see the paler dots from where her head rests in the curve of her elbow and the darkness from the storm outside. The lightning making dancing patterns over both their skin every few minutes.
Reed is very obedient, as he was told to make it last. He seems to be comfortable where he’s settled between her legs, softly making small kisses on her thighs. Every so often he would drag his tongue through her almost lazily, tasting her and licking his lips as he looks for her satisfaction. Sweetjane stops her counting as he looks at her, the distraction of counting no longer foremost in her mind. He is making it last but she doesn’t know how long she will last. Her patience was starting to waiver by the way he is looking at her, and had to admit she loved it.
She sees the smile in his eyes before he kisses her parts again. One of his hands is lightly stroking the pale area below her bellybutton. Seeing her satisfaction, he opens his mouth a little wider, tongue going a little deeper into her, the tip of his nose teasing her cleft before raising his head slightly. “Is this what you wanted?”
She can tell he is trying to tease her, and she responds by reaching down to brush the hair from his forehead. “This is…” he slides his tongue along her center again, bringing forth a low groan from her. “Yes.”
Reed looks pleased with himself. “Glad to hear it.”
Sweetjane winds her fingers through the brown hair, and presses him back against her. Anything else he had to say were muffled in his own pleasure to please her. He moves his hand from her belly to her hip and dug his fingers into her skin before earnestly continuing. She watched his expression shift, the smile on his face turning to open-mouthed zeal as he obeys. She lightly pulls his hair again as she commands him to look at her.
It takes some effort for Reed to open his eyes, the green becoming dark as forest as lightning struck again. There’s some much longing heat between the two as they stare at each other. She doesn’t know how much until she hears and feels his moan against her. Her skin turns to gooseflesh as her nerves sharpen. She lets out an audible gasp as thunder crashes and he moans against her again. The lids of his eyes start to flutter, but he doesn’t break. She told him to look at her and to relieve her boredom, so all he can do is kiss and lick and suck, guided only by her stare and her grip in his hair pulling him closer.
Sweetjane moves to a near reclining position, bracing herself with an elbow as she tilts her hips and throws her thighs over the dotted shoulders she was staring at earlier. She speaks softly as she surrenders to the sight.
Not longer after and he’s slipped a finger and then another into her. He uses his thumb to draw back the hood of her bud. He delicately brushes his lips against it at first, then with fervor as she press him closer and gasps his name. Sweetjane embraces her orgasm. She holds him fast with her hand and gasped encouragements. Reed holds her too with his adoring eyes as she bites her lip and flexes her thighs, toes curling as the bliss overtakes her. She knows he is still watching her.
Still coming down from her high as she pulls him over her, her fingertips dancing over his  broad shoulders as they kiss. He hitches his breath as her tongue darts to the corner of his mouth and Sweetjane cradles his face gently, smiling as they continue to kiss. “Are you still bored?”
“Not at all.” She groans as he starts to press kisses around her neck. “We kin go on if ya want. We ain’t goin nowhere.”
2 notes · View notes
lostonehero · 10 months
Text
This got out of hand
Tw panic attack
Henry waits in his office wearing a suit he pulled out of his closet. It's big that he hasn't worn one in decades. He's more of an overall and button-up person. Let alone sit in an office, he's uncomfortable and out of place. Yes, he does own Fazebear entertainment much to the annoyance of the shareholders, but if they let him continue what he does, then they don't get into fights. He might be in his 70s, but he isn't a pushover, and he also has a failsafe if they ever oust him, Charlie helped him with that. Highly doubt William would go along with it now...
A knock on his door pulls him out of his thoughts. "Come in, please don't mind the mess. I have to organize my papers better."
The 6ft2in man seems to shrink under Henry's gaze. The man has his blue eyes glued to the floor he was wearing an ill fitted suit. He looked nervous. He sat in the chair looking past Henry like he wanted to pretend to make eye contact.
Henry swallowed, this man no kid remined him of Micheal, he hasn't seen the boy since he was 16, he ran away at that age somehow still manged to finish school. He never did catch him at graduation. Henry pursed his lips that turned to a quick frown, the scar on his cheek. He remembers when he got that. Micheal couldn't have been older than 8 he tripped and fell by the pool, and he caught his cheek on the corner of a chair. He had to get 20 stitches. It would be quite hard to fake a scar or the matching freckles that dotted his face. The blue eyes are the ones he has from his mother, ice cold, and you can get lost in them if you weren't careful.
A small voice a British accent Henry noticed he tried and failed to hide on his lips. "This, this was a mistake. I-i should go."
Henry slaps his cane down, startling the poor boy. "Now why leave the interview hasn't even started, kid." He swallows now, having the boy's full attention.
"I uh sorry." Micheal looked back down playing with his tie.
Where was his confidence, Micheal was a troublemaker, yes, but he was also confident in his actions. When did Micheal become such a frightened kid. "Now Micheal, tell me why you want this job?"
Micheal swallows. "I uh don't, I didn't think I get this far honestly. I didn't even think you would interview me." He taps his foot radiating nervous energy. "My partner convinced me to apply, told me I would regret not jumping on the chance." He bites his lip. "You probably don't even remember who I am. This was a mistake. I'm sorry."
Henry can feel his heart shatter. "Now why wouldn't I recognize my own nephew? Micheal, sit up straight, can't believe you're taller than your father. You grew like a weed."
Micheal gives a nervous smile, seemingly deflating the nervous energy. "Yeah, 16 to 18, I really shot up."
"Why are you so on edge?" Henry didn't expect this question to cause Micheal to cry.
"You should hate me. I was an awful kid, and I did bad things. I ran away after everything like a coward." Micheal rubs the tears from his eyes. "I didn't listen, and I went to work at Circus Baby's, and then mom..." He bites his tongue. "Nothing, forget that. I don't want to talk about her ever."
Henry nods. "Micheal, relax it's ok. I'm not mad. Nobody is mad."
Henry can see Micheal's mouth mom said, but he stops as no sound comes out. Micheal swallows. "You aren't mad at me?"
Henry laughs. "No, not at all, I do have some questions about your health routine, but no, I'm not mad at you. How old are you now?"
"Uh, 53 this past summer." Micheal smiles nervously
Henry smiles, getting up with a soft oof. "Micheal, sit down. I'm fine. " He walks up to Micheal. "Well, come on, I have to show you around."
Micheal nods, he keeps his head down. "Of course, Uncle Henry,"
"No need to be so formal, Micheal." Henry stops to actually look at Micheal, he's skinner then he would of guessed his suit is too big on his frame, he can see lean muscle on him, but it looks like he has forgone eating to exercise. Moreover, it looks like the kid hasn't gotten a proper night of sleep in ages.
"My partner, they uh were right, it is nice to see you again."
Henry places his hand on Micheal's, and the poor kid jumps. "I'm sorry, my old bones aren't as spry as they used to be. Let me just adjust my cane." He lets go amd gives a soft oof as Micheal hooks his arm.
"Don't be, I can help." Micheals eyes scream, please let me be useful.
Henry smile softens. "Alright, help this old man out, won't you? The tour won't take long. I would love it if you would come with me at night past midnight after hours so I can explain what you would be doing when we open nights."
"Why?"
Henry's heart nearly shatters, seeing the confused, scared look. "You've got enough experience to run this place, Micheal, but you have to settle for the night guard position."
Micheal nods. "Right, the job. I'll be back tonight. I have to tell my partner. They have to know where I am." His eyes seem to glaze over as they walk he seems out of focus and doesn't really pay attention to any of the animotronics.
Henry taps Micheal, causing him to come back into reality. "Micheal, that's the end of the tour, and now will you help me to my car."
He nods and heads back. "Join me at 1am Micheal alright. It's ok if you're late." Henry smiles and watches Micheal nod, stumbling away.
Henry's face falls into a frown. "What happened to that kid?" He mumbles he can feel a block of ice form in his stomach as a terrible feeling crawls up his spine."
.......
"Henry!" William shouts, slamming his hands across the glass.
Henry frowns and looks up at the man in the failed rusted springlock suit. "Ah William, my apologies. I seemed to have zoned out."
"The fraud, who was he?" William asks as static buzzed in the air.
"He's coming in an hour old friend." Henry blinks and squint at his watch. "Half an hour."
"Why? You can't tell me you feel for his scam. That can't be Micheal. we both know he died in that place."
"William, he has the same scar on his cheek, and the same freckles, his eyes, his eyes are Clara's."
"Hen..."
"He still has that accent, too. He tries to hide it still." Henry frowns. "He was scared William he was terrified."
William tilted his head. "Micheal isn't scared, yes yes Evan you were the one who was scared." He pauses. "It can't be him."
"Willy, I swear, it was him he'll be here soon. Just be gentle. He nearly jumped out of his skin when I touched him." Henry can hear the front door open and the familiar ring of the welcome bells chime throughout the museum. "That's him, William."
"Henry, wait, stop, it can't..." William tries to shout after him.
...
A shorter, more filled out man is clinging to Micheal's arm. "We talked about this Micheal, just breathe, in and out." He brushes his blonde locks out of his face, revealing a jagged scar around his eye that goes into his scalp. "Come on, you promised me you'll show me which one has your brother. We can compare scars." He tries in vain to spin that dark joke to calm his partner.
Micheal is mumbling something under his breath like a code of repeating numbers. He's stiff and uncomfortable, but he's moving forward.
The click of a cane against the tiles on the floor snaps Micheal out of his trace as he refocused on the familiar image of his uncle. He was counting the clicks, and Henry noticed this immediately.
"Micheal, who's your little friend?" Henry smiles as the blonde man looks familiar to him, then it clicks. It's Jeremy he survived a bite to his skull.
"Ah, Mr. Emily, I apologize for coming with Micheal unannounced. I'm Jeremy it's been a while since we last met, "I uh sorry about the lawsuit, I needed something to cover the medical bills." Jeremy smiles and pats Micheal's back. "I uh you know Micheal, your nephew." He sighs.
Micheal seems to snap out of his trace and mutter. "Jeremy, it's ok." He's quiet, and Jeremy looks up at him and smiles. "Sorry for not calling Uncle Henry, I uh he insited."
Jeremy mock punches his arm. "Of course I did. I uh this museum is very impressive, and the animotronics seem to have minds of their own."
Micheal scowls, then it turns to a small smile. "I uh, I told him."
Henry smiles. "I figured as much you two seem close. Now come along, you know how the patience of a child works."
Micheal is pulled by Jeremy, who waves at the puppet. "His miss Charlie, Mikey told me a bit about you."
Micheal just nods and holds onto Jeremy's arm like a lost child.
Quietly, Jeremy says to Micheal. "See, nobody is attacked, and you're safe." He gently squeezes Micheal's hand, and he feels Micheal relax only slightly, but it's enough.
"So what's in the center, Mr. Emily?" Jeremy smiles, watching the tension fade from Micheal as he starts to look around.
"You don't have to be so formal, Jeremy, or I'll have to call you Mr. Fitzgerald. Please just call me Henry."
"Ok, Mr. Henry." Jeremy smiles at the small giggle from Micheal.
Henry stops just out of eye sight from the middle of the museum. "Micheal, we don't have to visit him."
Micheal shrugs. "My father is here?"
Jeremy, let's go of Micheal. "We don't have to go. We can just go to.."
"N-no, I want to see him. I uh.." He trails off. "No, I mean I, he's better then..."
"Only if you're ok." Jeremy tries to grab Micheal's hand, but he pulls away.
Henry holds his hand up. "Micheal, it's ok if you don't. I know he isn't a good man or a good father, but.."
"It's ok, Uncle Henry." Micheal holds his head up. He can see the uncertainty in his eyes. Micheal pushes past him and heads to see William.
.....
Was his father bad? Yes. Was he happy to see him? He didn't know. Does he want to apologize? Maybe? He doesn't want to prove his mom right. He has to be brave.
The heavy rusted grinding noise of springs twisted on themselves as the mechanical monster of a man drags its broken form to the glass.
Micheal swallows. "I..." He closes his mouth staring up at springtrap, his father, he can see his father skull in the mouth of the faded yellow rabbit. It was comforting to know that his mom was wrong, Dad never went with her, dad never helped her. Dad was innocent of those crimes. Dad wasn't bad like her.
The broken bunny places the hands on the glass and puked it's face upon the glass, seemingly snarling at the man in front of him.
Micheal looked him in the eyes. "Father." He swallows back the lump in his throat he can feel tears prick the corner of his eyes.
"Micheal?" His father voice was rough and horse, but it was still him. Micheal knew that voice. He was upset he didn't sound mad.
"You should be mad at me. Yell, please slam on the glass. Do something, please." Micheal shakes as he stares at his father. "Please just yell, hut me do something, please." He pulls at his hair. "I-i"
A blonde blur crashes into Micheal, embracing him. "Come on, remember, breathe with me." The blonde man helps Micheal to sit on the floor as he calms down.
Henry comes as fast as he can nearly breaking his old cane. He has a haunted, knowing look on his face but sighs. He stands between the men on the floor and William behind the glass. He feels static in his ears, and a piano tune plays over the loud speaker. "Give them room now." Then the building became all too quiet as if breaking the silence would destroy something.
Micheal's frantic breathing eases into a hiccup cry as he clings to Jeremy. He keeps mumbling sorry over and over again.
Jeremy lays Micheal's head in his lap as he slowly drifts off as he comes down from his massive panic attack. "My apologies, Mr. Afton, I seemed to have pushed your son too hard too fast."
Henry is breathing heavily, not used to exerting himself he slides down the glass.
William falls to his knees with the scraping sound of metal. "Henry, what happened to my son?" He sounds lost and hopeless watching his son, his proud boy, the kid who could light the world on fire crumble in mere moments.
Henry clutched his cane head back on the glass like he was resting his head on William's shoulder. He opens his mouth to day something anything, but a strangled sob releases from his lips.
Jeremy sighs. "We met in a support group, well, uh, mandatory grippy sock therapy. I was having a bad brain month gathering myself. Micheal, well, Micheal just escaped from Clara." He pauses, brushing the hair out of Micheal's face. "I don't know the entire details, nor will I push for them. The police report by itself still gives me nightmares."
Henry covers his face as William tries to reach out for him, but his hand always hits glass.
The sounds of static hang in the air, like a quiet buzz trying to lessen the suffocation of the silence.
Jeremy sighs. "We've only been together a year, as partners yaknow. I wasn't his caretaker or anything like that, but we bonded. He has his bad days, and so do I. We make it work." He sighs. "I pushed him to come here to see you again, Henry. I know I was being selfish, but you're basically the only only family he has left... sorry, Mr. Afton, you're kind of dead."
Henry tries to speak again, but nothing comes out, his voice stolen by grief again.
William quietly. "You don't have to tell us. He doesn't have to tell us. I'm sorry, Micheal, I'm sorry I caused this."
Jeremy hums. "He doesn't hate you." He stares at Micheal breathing softly. "He doesn't forgive you either, but he never hated you."
The static in the air grows louder, and the piano starts again. Seemingly trying to wake up Micheal in response.
Henry lifts his head. "Lizzie, Evan, your brother is hurt. You have to let him rest. That means you too, Charlie." He sighs as they quiet, but it's not completely gone.
"Lizzie and Evan, those are his younger siblings, correct?" Jeremy looks around and sees nothing.
"Those are my other children, yes, and like children, they aren't good with boundaries." William says with no true bite to his words.
Henry holds up his hand. "My apologies they aren't fond of talking to strangers."
"I don't mind. I'm close with your brother, I know he's old, but he uh doesn't look like it. He's he's really a good guy, and he's sorry for everything. I uh, it's not my place to say how he feels or what he means, I'm no mind reader, I lost half my mind." He bites his tongue. "Sorry, sorry, I can't really filter my thoughts anymore." He looks down. "He should be waking up he's uh, he doesn't sleep much anymore."
Jeremy combs his fingers through Micheal's hair. "W-when he's up, no no wait when he is up to it, he he has many stories." He frowns. "I'm sorry, I uh er."
Henry reaches out and pats his hand. "Enough, Jeremy, that's enough for now."
Jeremy nods.
.....
Micheals breathing hitched as he sqeezed his eyes together. Someone was touching him, someone was bushing his hair, someone put... something in his hand. He cracked one eye open and lifted up his hand. It was a button... it was his safety button... Evan's golden Freddy has golden buttons he kept one.
"Good evening, Micheal." That voice, he knew that voice, he forced his other eye open.
He opened his mouth and then shut it.
"Do you know where you are?" Jeremy smiles gently, looking down at Micheal.
Micheal slides the button back into his pocket. "Uncle Henry." He mutters. "Father?"
"Yes, They are both here." Jeremy helps Micheal sit back up. "You're not in trouble."
"I am not in trouble." Micheal parrots back voice void of emotion as he blinks and looks around.
"Micheal, are you ok?" William is the one who speaks up climbing to his feet the creaking of metal gathers Micheal's attention.
"I am not in trouble, William." He mutters. His eyes dart to Henry. "I am not in trouble, Henry." His breathing evens out, and he shuts his eyes. He reopens them, blue eyes staring into an empty corner, and life seems to creep back into them. His cheeks flush red, and he huffs.
"Nope." Jeremy hugs him from behind as tight as he can. "No yelling, children are here."
"Dead kids..." Micheal mumbles, and Henry can see the spark of the old Micheal in his eyes.
Henry smiles softly. "My hearing ain't gone, kid. Be nice to your siblings."
Micheal bites at his nail. "Lizzie tricked me... Lizzie." Micheal is muffled by a hand over his mouth.
"How about we get up." Jeremy frowns at Micheal, licking his hand, and he rubs it on Micheal's shirt. "This is enough for tonight, right?"
Micheal blinks again like he realized where he was. He shook his head and got up on shaking legs. "I uh..." He sways on his legs unsure of his next move.
Henry huffs and heffs himself back on his old knees. "Kid, you're my nephew, and I love you, but please, next time, on softer floors."
William can see a faint smirk ghost Micheal's lips. He knows not everything is ok, but we aren't at square one.
Micheal opens his mouth to retort but quickly closes it. He isn't ready. He can't just pretend he didn't just have a massive breakdown. He can't.... he jumps at the sound of something heavy hitting the unbreakable glass. It's his father. He scowls. "Dick."
William chuckles.
Micheal eases his posture. "I think I uh, no, we should go home." He ignores the buzz of static and the faint whisper of 'feel better Mikey" and "daddy doesn't hate you.'''
Jeremy hums. "I hope we aren't cutting this too short."
Henry smiles softly, turning back to look at William and then returning his gaze back to the two. "You aren't imposing on anything, Micheal. You don't have to start right away or at all if you don't want to."
Micheal shakes his head. "No, no, I need to keep myself busy, and I uh wouldn't mind reconnecting with everyone."
Henry nods. "Good, I'll get you both fitted for a uniform."
Jeremy smiles and mouths, thank you to Henry. "Goodbye, Mr. Afton, and Mr. Henry."
Micheal waves only realize that once they get home that Henry said both. "You didn't even apply."
"I guess I'm hired as your keeper." Jeremy sticks his tongue out.
Micheal huffs. "I wasn't that bad."
"You almost told Henry you were scooped, and your father looked like he was going to panic when you asked him to yell."
Micheal frowns. "What did you tell them?"
"Nothing too revealing, but enough." Jeremy could see Micheal wasn't happy with that answer, but he didn't push.
"Can I get my knife privileges back?"
"After today, Micheal, absolutely not."
6 notes · View notes
ofbluesandyellows · 1 year
Text
Eight: Jitterbug Love - Eddie Munson/Reader
Tumblr media
Warnings: heartache? lol other than that just swearing.
Word count: 5,639
a/n: it’s crazy too many how many of you have read this little fic I wrote. I just hope these last chapters are just as enjoyable as the others, and that you find some comfort in it. So here it is! Another chapter, let me know what you think :)
Previous chapter
Your aunt and uncle came back, the conversation between them was all about their little trip and how amazing it had been to be out of town for a couple of days. You half heard what they said, mostly nodding and pretending to laugh when they did. The roses were blooming but not thanks to your constant attention, it had been all the rainy nights. Motty, though, you weren’t sure how he managed to get fatter, as if a magic fairy had been around feeding the furry thing.
You laid in bed a lot, playing Steve’s borrowed cassettes over and over again, by Thursday you had come to terms of what your next step would be, this had been the ultimate decision, you weren’t sure why it had taken you so long to figure it out, it was easy and it was the best for everyone. Except for your two friends.
Yes, you still had another couple of weeks left in Hawkins but things didn’t feel the same, it was obvious that it had nothing to do with any of your friends. The issue was in how you were afraid to bump into Eddie or any of his friends at the store, or at Family Video and you pretty much avoided the phone at all coast, if it rang you pretended to answer, waiting for the person on the other side to talk first and when your aunt—who was the one who used the phone the most—ended her gossipy chats you disconnected the phone for a few hours, not risking Eddie calling.
Was this making you go crazy? Yeah, insanity was becoming a thing. Then what was the point of staying? That’s when you decided to call them. It was a no greeting, no light conversation starter type of conversation, you went straight to the point.
“Uh, this is as bad a time as any so… I’m going to just say it, because it’s probably very unfair for you, and for me too. I honestly don’t want you to think bad of me but, I got a call from college, I have to… go back next week to check a few things about my scholarship or I could lose it and you guys know I’m not wealthy to let it all pass… and i’m sorry because we had plans and I promise for my life that I’ll make it up to you.”
You squeezed your eyes shut waiting for the explosion of complaints, but nothing came. Yes you had lied but it was for the greater good.
“Oh,” Robin simply said on the line. “I mean, it’s not what I was expecting to hear, but I—mmm I don’t think there’s anything we can do about it… are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m just a little surprised about it but it’s fine, mom has things under control for now. Are you not mad?”
“Pff, no. I’m… sad and disappointed because I was planning on introducing you to Vickie for our pool thing… I guess we can wait, Steve is clenching his jaw and now he is showing me his middle finger but he is going to be fine.”
The line cut for a second and then there it was, “you are not doing this for Munson right? Do I need to kick his ass? Just say the word and I’ll do it.”
The smile that spread on your face was not how you expected to react, but Steve was sometimes good with his intuition, “no Steve, it’s just school stuff.”
“Better be true missy.”
“Yes mom!”
That day, as the afternoon hit, you knew Robin and Steve’s shift ended at six. You were there on the dot. The door chimed, both doing their thing not bothering to look around.
“We’re closing, you can come back tomorrow.” Steve’s fake politeness was endearing but you knew the tone pretty well to know he was already exhausted and ready to kick the customer out, he was probably still a little pissed about earlier.
“Not interested in tapes, nor your coupons.” You approached the desk.
“Y/n! Where have you been? We tried to call you back like dozens of times to see if we were still good for tonight, but the line was always busy.” Robin’s elbows leaned on the counter surface, a bunch of tall buildings made of VHS surrounding her figure.
“My aunt is back and I leave the phone off the hook all the time, to avoid you know who” you shrugged, “my mental health is first you know.”
“Told you it must have been the aunt, it’s always the old woman and their gossip.” Steve pointed a finger at your friend.
“We’re almost done! We just need to rewind a few more tapes and put them in their designated spot and we can go to Steve’s.” Robin started to move around knocking stuff out. “Shit”
“Sure, I’ll wait. Let me help you with that.” You took the un-rewind tapes and started the process. Your two musketeer friends knew their way around the store so it was an agile way to finish the job in record time.
You loved how they were so subtle when it came to talking about you or your current ungracious love life. The mumbling was louder than intended, they threw you glances that were too obvious.
“What is it guys? I can see you chit-chatting like five year olds criticizing the kid with the new box of crayons.”
“Told you she was going to notice.” Steve brushed his hair and sighed, “uh… well if Robin doesn’t want to tell you I will… Eddie came by on Monday, also he came yesterday and this morning too. He wanted to talk to you but we told him you were out of town with your aunt and uncle.”
“We know you don’t want to talk to him, so we tried to talk to you but you weren’t picking up, and you caught of off ward with the scholarship thing,” Robin was doing lots of hand gestures, “so we tried to give you space because it’s what friends do and we knew you were going to come here for our UNO night game–or at least we expected so–and we weren’t planning on telling you—“ Steve nudged her “ugh, okay I didn’t want you to know because Eddie is quite a—this is going to sound so bad I’m sorry—but he is a bitch! and I can’t help but be super angry at him."
You could act as if things didn’t have an effect on you, as if all those words your friends just said to you hadn’t felt like a jab on the ribs or a kick on the shin, but you couldn’t and felt the hot itchy tears starting to make your sight blurry.
“You made her cry dingus!”
“Me?!”
Robin hugged you and you hugged her, keeping the feels at bay.
“I don’t want any of you to try and fix this or fight for my honor,” you looked at Robin followed by Steve, who quickly deflected his gaze. “Eddie did nothing wrong, it was all me. I believed we had something happening on solely a few interactions that probably got misinterpreted by my delusional ass.” You felt the tingly nose, “so leave it! I just want to move on and enjoy the last few days I have with you. Okay?”
Both of them nodded and silently continued with the rearrangement of the tapes.
You pressed the rewind button when the door chimed again.
“Oh shit…” Dustin swore, as Max, Lucas and Will clashed at his back.
“Hey! We are closed, wait at the arcade!” Steve said exasperated, placing tapes with hard thuds.
“Sorry, but this is life or death…” Dustin ran to Steve and Max to Robin.
It was obvious now that something was happening when Lucas and Will did their best to help you, just to keep you occupied.
Steve stopped moving, he was looking at Dustin with unblinking eyes, his grasp on the kart filled with tapes hardened around the handle, knuckles turning white. Robin gasped, hand on her mouth.
“You’re kidding right?” Robin’s hand dropped.
“Hey! Look, have you watched Back to The Future, it's a classic. Love the concept of time traveling.” Lucas smiled at you, as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
“What’s going on here, you are not very smooth, you knew that?” you squinted at Lucas, who grinned, a fake one and Will just stood there watching the scene develop with fidgetty hands.
“I’m going to kick his fucking ass right now.” Steve pushed the kart far away, it collided with a shelf, making everything fall messily.
“Where the fuck is he going?” you shouted running behind him.
Everyone yelled your name, but it was too late. You followed Steve who suddenly came to halt at the door, you watched the direction his whole body pointed and… you felt as if a bucket of cold water had fallen over you.
Eddie was kissing Chrissy, he leaning on the side of his van, Jeff and Gareth gaging as they came out of the arcade.
His ringed fingers were between her coppery hair, and she was grabbing him by the waist, and you only watched. Everything felt surreal once more, this was the ultimate sign to get the hell out, it felt like a punch in the gut, like someone had taken your heart had carefully taken care of it just for them to throw it to the ground and step on it, spit on it, dance over it, laugh at it.
Blurry vision and all, the inevitable happened, Gareth had turned in time to see you there.
“Y/n!” they said, a little too loud.
Eddie’s head whipped around, he could’ve snapped his neck by the fast motion. He told Chrissy something and pivoted in his spot, looking around before practically jogging to you.
“Do you want me to punch his face?” Steve said, with twitchy hands ready for a fight.
“No, just—let me talk to him for a second, please.”
Steve nodded once, leaning closer to you he whispered, “I’ll be right inside. If you need help or anything just give me the signal.”
Even in those moments he managed to confuse you, you glanced at him and he made the signal, he wrinkled his nose and touched the tip of it.
“Y/n, hi” Eddie stopped in front of you, “I’ve been trying to contact you… you should check your phone, it rings busy all the time. And I heard you’ve been busy too,” he scratched his cheek, nerves exuding from him “I went to see you but apparently you weren’t home so I went to see Buckley and Harrington but you weren’t there either.”
“Yeah, I’ve been a little… unavailable. But what’s going on?”
You needed to try, being friendly could at least save you the trouble of explaining yourself.
“I wanted to talk to you about what happened the other night… it’s um quite hard–I don’t know how to explain it actually.” He crossed his arms over his chest and then he uncrossed them, going to his hips, you also fidgeted with the hem of your shirt.
“It’s fine Eddie, you don’t owe me any explanations.”
“Of course I do. Come on! It's obvious we… were um… you know.” He cleared his throat, “but… I asked Chrissy out as you advised and yeah–this was before I went to your house and sure, I’ve been a complete dick to you, I know it and Harrington made sure I didn’t forget, not that I had stopped thinking about it or about you.”
Your nose tingled, shit not now.
“Eddie, I’m glad you invited her! Really, it’s what you have been wanting to do for a long time, I’m just the push you needed, that’s it, it’s totally fine.”
“Jesus christ, don’t say that! You’re making me feel worse, that’s not how it was supposed to happen, I like being around you… like a lot, you are fun and kind and nice and I don’t know what I should do. If the circumstances were different, if you stayed… maybe-”
“Yeah well, it’s not happening so… I’m happy for you, she seems nice.” The tears had slipped over your cheeks.
“She is, but y/n” Eddie’s ringed fingers went to the side of his face, he was panicking, “see now you are crying! Shit! What can I do to make it better?” Eddie asked with palpable worry in his voice, his face contorted almost as if he was in pain.
“Nothing! Just… leave it Munson.” you yelled, but it came out as this horrible whimper.
“Please not Munson, I’m Eddie to you, I don’t want us to stop talking, I do care for you!” He looked disoriented, and anxious. Chrissy was walking your way now calling Eddie’s name, he closed his eyes, trying to keep it together. “shit, shit.”
“I just want to go.” You sobbed so hard it hurt your chest, your eyes on your shoes.
Steve suddenly appeared by your side, you knew pretty well those white Nike tennis. You furrowed your eyebrows, unsure if you had unconsciously given him the signal or he was good at reading the room. Eddie tried to get closer to you, to take a look at your face.
“You okay?” Steve asked you. You shook your head.
“Y/n, I’m so sorry.” Eddie’s voice sounded just as hurt as you felt.
Steve pushed Eddie aside, “I’ll take care of her Munson, you’ve done enough.”
“What is that supposed to mean Harrington? I didn’t plan any of this shit."
“I don’t want to hear it Munson, back off.” Steve said with a strong voice, Eddie’s eyes widened but did as told.
You grabbed Steve’s hand letting yourself get dragged to his car, your heart aching, feeling like throwing up, head pounding. The inside of Steve’s car was crammed again, the kids managed to fit Robin in the back just so you could be comfortable in the copilot seat, you weren't sure how they got out of the store without you noticing.
“Y/n… I’m sorry I never, I—shit! Fuck!” Dustin punched the leather seat, this time Steve kept quiet.
You were sobbing now, Robin’s hand poked from the backseat, you held it for dear life. For the first time you thought you had a chance with a boy, one that really mattered, one that you never thought of catching feelings for and still you were head over heels for, willing to try.
You cried a lot, everyone got their turn to try and cheer you up but nothing did much to mend your poor heart, you were not the only one hurting in that car. Dustin had felt so guilty the whole ride back, Steve was gripping the steering wheel with too much force, and he kept repeating,
“I’m going to destroy his face, I swear. This is not over until I say so.”  
Will tried his best to comfort you with small affections of love, he brushed down you hair, you knew it was frizzy as fuck for the sweat and humidity of the summer air. He also put his hands on your shoulders and put pressure to relax your muscles, it did help a little but what hurt was not something he could fix with small touches.
Robin and Max were mumbling to each other about things, they were upset, Steve was angry of course but Robin and Max were upset and wanted revenge of some kind, it was clear they were planning something to ruin Eddie. While Lucas just tried to distract everyone else with some random comment referring to the weather or how Steve’s hair was still intact after all the commotion.
Steve dropped the teens at the mall, as the three musketeers directed themselves to the one and only, the Harrington residency.
“The last one to reach the door pays for food tomorrow.” Robin said as Steve took the car keys out of the ignition.
“That’s cheating Robin!” He yelled but still accepted the challenge.
You did too, you knew this was some trick to try and forget everything that had happened. You gave in, running all across the grass as Robin took the long way to the front door, the one with paved path and strategically placed rocks, you knew your friend had to do things her own way. As you reached the door just a second after Steve did you turned around to see where the hell was Robin.
“Wait, where the hell is she?” Steve squinted trying to find her.
“Dingus I’m over here, please help guys.” Her hand was in the air but the bushes at Steve’s yard covered her body.
“Holy shit!” you ran to her, kneeling at her side. “Are you okay, how many fingers do you see? Who was your crush in kindergarten?”
“Jesus, y/n I just scratched my knee. I wasn't in a car crash, relax dude.”
“Yeah, well, tell that to your jeans.”
“Noooo… These were practically new.” She whined, her knee was bleeding and the jeans had ripped in that area.
“At least it’s on trend,” She punched you on the arm. “It was a joke, ouch. Steve hurry the hell up, we have an injured musketeer.”
“Ladies, chill the F out I was opening the door for us, dammit it’s not that hard to be nice you know.”
The silent house welcomed you again, this had become the main place for plotting and gossiping for you three, which was kinda funny. Even when you told your aunt you were staying with Steve and Robin there, she just told you to not be late the next day, and something similar happened to Robin, there was this weird thing where all parents liked Steve, he was definitely the mom of the group. Certified parent approval.
Both threw their uniform vests on the couch, they met you in the kitchen where lemonade was being made, real lemonade. Black tea brewing, you had the ice and the glasses ready.
Steve tried to clean Robin’s knee as good as he could but the girl was whiney and tugged at his hair way too hard whenever he put the gauze too close to her wound causing the boy to yelp and complain.
“Jesus, Robin, not the hair! If you can’t handle this then let’s see how that knee gets when it’s all infected and the doctors have to cut your leg off for not bearing the sting of a little antiseptic.”
“It’s not just that! you are being too harsh,”
Steve rolled his eyes, shoving the cotton onto her lap, “Then clean it yourself.”
“I am doing so now!”
“Unbelievable.” Steve looked at you, arms in the air until he decided to stand up and walk to the fridge. “Ladies, I’m defrosting the burritos we ordered last week. I’ll be taking no complaints!”
“Fine,” you shrugged, squeezing the lemon into the tea and adding sugar.
You three moved around the kitchen in sync, everyone doing its own thing while engaging in small conversation. You noticed how the dynamic was simple and easy. Robin seemed to not be angry anymore, Steve hummed a song and he even asked Robin about her knee. It all was so fraternal between each other that you felt a warm feeling spreading inside you. You were going to miss that, you were going to miss them more than anything.
After an improvised dinner and two bowls of Scoops Ahoy leftovers, the couches in the living room were so inviting, calling you for a nap. Steve turned the TV on as some basketball game showed. Robin braided your hair, she was sitting on the couch beside Steve and you were sitting on the carpet between her legs, your eyes feeling heavy and swollen, but it had to be Steve screaming at men running in extremely short shorts that put you on alert again. You shook your head, trying to delete from your brain the image of unfortunate events happening to the players.
“Same, those are too short, many things could happen to them.” Robin giggled, it was as if she had read your mind.
“Right? It’s gross to think about, and like why? Steve, is that even comfortable? Aren’t you afraid something may… come out?”
“Y/n!” Steve squealed. “ugh, this is uncomfortable… but answering your question, no, you don’t worry about that during the game, not if you have a good pair of boxes underneath, geez we are not animals, you know?”
“Wow okay, no need to get defensive.”
“He’s always defensive,” Robin pointed.
“Facts.”
“Shh, seriously keep it quiet at least until the game ends.”
You and Robin giggled. But the quietness lasted only minutes.
“Guys I need a favor.” You said, Steve grunted.
“What is it y/n?” He said it in that condescending tone.
“Would you take me to Eddie’s place to give him back his jacket? He forgot it at my aunt’s the other day and I don’t want it around anymore.”
“We should burn it, it’s only fair.” Robin said.
“That sounds like a plan.” Steve agreed.
“Guys… this is for real.”
“I am for real too, he doesn’t deserve to have it back especially if it’s that leather jacket.” Robin tied your hair in a very pretty braid.
“It is.”
“Then we burn it and leave the remaining pieces at his door.”
“That’s so evil, Robin.” You said.
“I think it’s a great idea.” Steve nodded, watching the TV.
You sighed, “Forget it then, I’ll go by myself.”
“I’ll take you but we need to do it on Monday, our free day."
“Yes,” Robin agreed with Steve, “these next couple of days are crazy and we want to spend it together don’t we?”
“You’re right. Can I hide in Keith’s office while you work?” you glanced at them from your spot on the carpet.
“Abso-freaking-lutely.” Steve squeezed your shoulder.
“Yes! We can watch Who Framed Roger Rabbit, it’s been on my list forever.” Robin squealed.
“Robin, how has that been in your list since forever? It came out like three months ago.” Steve said snorting.
“Well, it has the potential to become a classic and y/n hasn’t seen it, or have you?”
“Nope, I know I said I would but didn’t have much time.”
“Uh huh… talking about not having time… why haven’t you talked to me about the college dropout thing? I had to hear it from your mom rather than you.”
“What?” Your voice sounding extra high pitched. “She told you? Why haven’t you asked me then.”
Robin shrugged, “I was hoping you would tell me, but I guess not.”
You grunted, now plopping your ass between your two friends. “It’s hard to explain, I just felt like I was not good for college, not enough, I just wanted to feel like I belonged somewhere and I thought maybe if I… dropped out I could join you here and just—“
“Just what? Be miserable and have a horrible job forever?”
Robin scoffed, she sounded hurt.
“I meant it as feeling like I could be wanted somewhere and not feel so… alone.”
“But… y/n you have this opportunity, don’t waste it on us, not on this town.”
“Yeah, it’s absurd to think you would want to come back here after living in New York, please don’t make us feel bad.” Steve intervened. “You are our only hope, Obi-Wan.”
“Oh nooo… he really did say that?” you looked at Robin at your side, your mouth forming a big O.
“Hell yeah he did,” you all started laughing as Steve hid his face in a cushion.
“I will never quote a movie again, being around Dustin is destroying my honor,” he grunted.
The laughs died down after a while, you whipped tears out of the corner of your eye.
“Wish we would’ve recorded that for reference in the future, Dustin won’t believe this.”
“He definitely won’t,” Robin sighed, “but seriously y/n. Don’t leave college, you are really our only hope, do you think we want to stay here forever and work with Keith? We were hoping to one day-”
“As in very soon,” Steve added.
“We could crash at yours and get jobs there and then we could move out together, wouldn’t that be cool.” Robin looked at you biting her lip.
“Super cool.” Steve said.
“Sure… of course… I’d love that!”
“So you won’t give up, right? Even when you lied about going back early to New York because of that scholarship .” She made quotation marks with her fingers.
Your eyes opened in shock, “how did you know?”
“We know you pretty well but it’s fine, we forgive you. Just don’t waste the time, okay? There’s nothing here for you, not even us, because we are going back to you.”
You nodded, maybe that was the incentive you needed, and–even when you didn’t want to admit it, Eddie’s idea was still playing in your mind, a pang in your chest rippled all over your body. Clearing your throat you dissipated the images from earlier.
“Uh, Steve. Do you still have Nancy’s number?”
His whole face brightened, “yeah, why?”
“I need to have a little chat with her.”
“Of course,” he ran to the kitchen and scribbled the number without hesitating.
“This better not be for a new bestie position in your life.” Robin nudged you.
“Of course not, this is business. I’ll tell you all about it when the time comes,”
“You better.”
Monday arrived, your chest clenched when the honk of Steve’s car chimed. Your uncle helped you put your suitcase in the trunk of the well kept Mercedes, Motty rubbed his furry body against your leg and your aunt handed you a brown bag, a full lunch–still warm–waited for you to be eaten.
“Call us when you’re with your mom, okay? This will always be your home sweetie.” She hugged you, “Thanks for making our summer a little less lonely.”
“Thanks for putting up with my noisiness.” You said, your uncle patted you on the back and off you went.
“Don’t forget to call us!” Your aunt shouted as Steve drove away.
“Well, your uncle isn’t even faking how sad he is, he is even smiling” Robin waved at them as if she was the one leaving.
“He never liked me, he only likes his newspapers and his baseball games.”
“Hope to never be like him or my dad, they are so boring.” Steve shivered, “Promise me you won’t let it happen.”
“Promise,” you said, softly punching his arm.
“Same” Robin affirmed.
“Thanks,”
With that you let the music fill in the silence, Robin would let her hand go through the space between the window and the seat just for you to hold it, it wasn’t easy for any to let the other go.
The leather jacket rested on your lap, you sighed it was a bittersweet feeling when it came to Eddie. He was nice and cool and kind, but the mistake was in believing you two could find a way for things to work out, or at least that was where you got it wrong, now it was obvious he only had feelings for the cheerleader.
Since Eddie left his jacket behind you became quite the creep. Yes, you wore it while dancing and yes you had smelt it and you had imagined the sleeves being his arms engulfing you, keeping you safe, holding you at night; in rainy days, in cold winters. You had imagined how it’d be to have Eddie play guitar to you as you studied or having dinners together or attending his shows. It was so stupid now everything seemed like a dream, you were indeed delusional but no one had to know, those pathetic thought were only yours, and it hurt yet you’ve made your decision. You were one step away from closure.
“Here we are.” Steve came to halt right at Forest Hills Trailer Park.
“Wait for me here, it won’t take long.” you gave your two friends a nod.
“Scream if you need help.” Robin gave you a thumbs up, “good luck.”
“Thank you.”
You inhaled deeply, maybe four times, your head felt dizzy after that, but it was now or never. Knuckles hit the door’s surface, you waited until it swung open. All the façades, all the courage evaporated into a sigh.
“Y/n? What are you doing here?” Jeff popped his head from the inside. His bass was hanging from his chest.
Cool, now you wouldn’t need to see Eddie.
“Hi! I just came to give this back.” You practically pushed the jacket at him, ready to flee.
“Oh I see, do you want me to call Eddie, give me a sec, Ed!“
“No, nooo it’s not necessary, I’m in a rush actually.”
“It’ll be just a minute,”
Fuck.
Gareth came to the door instead. “Uh, bad timing. He went to buy some… drinks.”
“Oh,” your stomach dropped, “it’s all fine, can you give it to him then?”
“Yeah sure, don’t you want to come in?”
“No, I’m—I have a few things to do.” you pointed to your back with your thumb.
“Okay,” Jeff and Gareth traded looks, “we’ll tell him you came by.”
“Er, just before you go y/n.” Jeff said, “He's been a little off lately, hope you get to talk to him, we don’t know what happened between you two but… he is kind of an idiot, don’t give up on him just yet.”
A knot in your throat was starting to form, “Of course not, I’ll talk to him… um, well, see you guys.”
You gave them a tight lipped smile, both boys waved at you.
“Let’s get the hell away from here.” you muttered closing the car door a little too harshly.
“Careful there!”
“Shut up Steve.” Robin backed you up as you tried to calm the accelerated beats of your heart. “He wasn’t there wasn’t he?”
“Nope, but it’s fine, it’s easier like this.”
You weren’t lying but it was so unfair that you felt a little disappointed by not finding him there.
The bus station was crowded with people coming and going. Steve had your suitcase in one hand while you straightened the straps of your backpack.
“These are from the kids, they couldn’t come because some shit went down with Mike and El.” Steve said with a sigh as if it was the most normal thing ever.
You were about to protest, “it’s nothing to worry about.” Robin eased you.
Taking Steve’s package you felt how heavy it was. The brown bag had all these names written along with small messages you could read on the way, you could also distinguish a few cassettes there.
“So I guess this is it.” Robin spoke first, her eyes getting watery as you saw her.
“Don’t cry Robs or you’ll make me cry.”
Steve looked away, but the way he wiped his nose indicated he wanted to cry too, you knew.
“It’s just that… I’ve had such a good time with you and we won’t be seeing each other in a few months and work is going to be so boring without you trying to piss off Steve.” She sniffed.
“I can keep on bothering him on the phone, I know it’s not the same but we can get creative.” you gave her a sad chuckle, both hugging each other clinging to the touch. “I’m going to miss you so much Robin, please keep Steve in check.”
“I always do it, it’s my job, if not who knows what would happen to poor dingus.” a choked laugh came out of her.
“And please keep me updated with how things go with Vickie, yes?”
“Totally, next time I’ll introduce you, my two favorite girls.”
With your thumb you brushed away a tear coming down the side of her nose, “I’m looking forward to that.”
“Ok, scoot over Robin it’s my turn.” Steve pushed Robin softly.
“Who would’ve thought we were besties for life now eh Y/n.”
In a swift move he had you in a strong embrace, one of the warmest hugs ever. If someone had told you that you were going to be clinging to Steve after every inconvenience you would’ve laughed until piss came out of you, but for now you enjoyed it, sniffing the minty scented clothes and aftershave.
“Can’t believe I’m going to say this but… Steve Harrington you are the best friend one could ask for.” you heard Robin chuckle at your side.
“See it’s not that hard to be nice to me. Sometimes I deserve a little love.”
You couldn’t see but he was smiling, at some point the hug became a ball of love when the three musketeers united one last time in one long embrace.
“Ok, I have to go now or else I won’t find the strength.”
Grabbing your suitcase from the floor, you gave your friends a smile, a teary one but one that you expected gave them the reassurance of you being okay.
“Have a safe trip.” Steve kissed your head suddenly.
You wrinkled your nose, “bye dorks.”
Your back to them you started moving in the sea of people.
“Don’t forget our weekly phone calls! Don’t you forget about me! ” Robin said the latter in a singing voice just like the Simple Mind’s song.
Snorting and grinning, you waved at them, “I LOVE YOU GUYS!”
The last you saw of them was Steve putting an arm around Robin’s shoulders, both trying to catch sight of you until the crowd drowned both of their silhouettes.
Next chapter
9 notes · View notes
talesfromlissom · 2 years
Note
ah, a fellow hanzo shimada lover. you've summoned me. i just wanted to request for our beloved hanzo and genji.
what do you think about butler reader ?
when he was a kid, his parents owed a lot of money to the shimada clan, and that led them to giving their one and only son to the clan, to pay off their debt. to which they accepted. he's around the same age as hanzo and genji.
and as time passes he got close to hanzo and genji, mostly genji though because hanzo is a brick wall :'D. he worked as a servant for them for a very long time, he's honest with his work and very hard working. he earned the shimada leader's trust and got promoted to ' head servant ' in his early 20's.
and he later on got promoted to being a butler, because of his honest work and attitude. he make schedules for clan meetings and assignments for the clan leader and hanzo. becuz he da future head clan...
and eventually the shimada lads realized they've liked him all along. the only problem is... the both of them like him...
how would they deal with that ? [ *cough* angst ]
feel free to not answer or delete this request if you're not comfortable. and kudos on your works i like them a lot :D
have a great day !
I'm gonna kiss you on the mouth /s
» Frankly, the two of them are terrified. Hanzo more than Genji. I like to think that the two grew up in a highly traditional household, meaning that if Hanzo or Genji showed any interested in men they’d be shot down quickly. The two even had an uncle that was murdered due to having a male lover. So that fear is there.
» The funniest thing, is that even though Hanzo acts like a ‘brick wall’. The reality is that he does not know wtf to do around people. He’s so used to speaking to people that expect so much from him. That have expectations that he continues to push above and beyond for, so used to being someone else’s puppet, a catalyst, someone to smile at between their jagged teeth. But you’re not like that. At all. You expect nothing from him, just being himself was enough, and that frustrated the hell out of him.
» Genji was the opposite. He loved that you had no expectations for him. He didn’t have to pretend to be someone else around you. He could just be himself. However, it was other people that always did it for him. Genji may not be the Oyabun, or have any kind of power within the clan like Hanzo did, but he’s still scared. He knows that the only reason why Genji isn’t ‘punished’ properly for his incompetence is due to his father, and his brother (occasionally). He fears that you hear the whispers that echo through the halls, of how he sleeps with anybody that looks at him the right way. He doesn’t want you to think less of him. He just wants you to love him for him.
» The two are dumbasses. So at one point the two ended up talking about you, and connecting the dots and going ‘ah shit.’. Now they have two issues on their hands. One they’re both gay in a traditional household. And Two, they have a crush on the same person.
» Again, the two are dumbasses, and they don’t think you realize that the two brothers are head over heels for you. You’ve noticed everything. Hanzo’s stammering and the way he watches you clean. He even offers to help you occasionally. You know that Genji talks about you to his friends, and you won’t ignore him badgering you to go to the arcade with him. But the two brothers aren’t rude to each other. They know you’re your own separate person, and they’ll respect your choice as much as you can.
If you date Genji:
» Genji will be thrilled. The relationship will be kept a secret for the most part, but Genji does begin to take odd jobs. He says its for money to get away from the clan. The clan has kept both of you from living your best lives, and he doesn’t want to live his life hiding who he is. He loves you so much that he’d give up every arcade game if it meant you were safe. He was so close to leaving, he had bought plane tickets even for all three of you. All he had to do was sneak into your room after having this meeting with Hanzo….
» Hanzo, however, will throw himself into his work. Even more than before. Cutting himself off from everyone and everything. He never deserved you, and he isn’t entirely sure why he tried to get with you. He should’ve backed off. His brother had always been the more charismatic of the two. His dragons were wrong.
» I won’t even lie to you. You turning him down and going for his brother sort of fuels his need to kill him. Hanzo isn’t mad at you persay. He’s more mad at Genji. It twists into jealousy. Genji gets everything, and leaves nothing for him.
If you date Hanzo:
» The funniest thing is, this man will be completely nonchalant about it, and will act like he doesn’t care. But I promise you he’ll probably take a while to actually, formally ask you out (after he’s done crying, dealing with internalized homophobia, screaming into a pillow, etc). A month at least, unlike his brother, who screams really loud, hugs you, and kisses you a shit ton.
» The relationship will be the most secretive thing that Hanzo has ever done. It fills him with adrenaline whenever he sneaks into your quarters at night. He’s happy that his dragons were right. So happy that he finally has something he can truely call his. He does train you to fight however. Just in case. He slowly begins to win the clan elders, and his father’s favor in same sex marriage. He’s so excited to tell them, but he has to play it safe. (The saddest part about this, is if he was given the choice between you or the clan…he’d choose the clan.)
» Genji would act like he doesn’t care. Probably saying something to upset you without really meaning it, and never really spending time in the palace. Not going to jobs, meetings, he won’t talk to Hanzo very often. And he’s sure that Hanzo doesn’t even care.
147 notes · View notes
Text
I'll Be Your Romeo If You'll Be My Juliet
Lucius Malfoy x Male Reader
Word Count: 1911
This was a request from an anon for a Lucius x male reader.
I hope this is everything you wanted from your request anon, if it isn't, feel free to send me another request!
---------
It was time for the annual Yule gathering. The Black family had the honor of hosting it this year, and they had taken every opportunity to remind everyone of that fact.
The heirs, the ones that mattered anyway, had been almost insufferable on the lead up to the yule break.
Lucius had mixed feelings on the whole subject, not that he could let that show to anyone.
Luckily, it looked like his betrothed was of a similar mind. The lovely Andromeda Black had been as quiet as he had been lately. If they had had even the smallest bit of interest in each other, they might have brought their concerns up.
Lucius thought fleetingly of a world where they could be in love. They would spirit themselves away to an abandoned classroom where they could talk uninterrupted about all of the things that were bothering them. They would take comfort in not being alone. It would bring them closer together and they could fall in love all over again.
But reality was a cruel mistress, and rarely allowed for such flights of fancy.
As it was, Lucius and Andromeda were just two teens who had been promised to each other from before they had even been born. There was nothing more between them.
Lucius sighed silently as he exited the floo into the receiving room at the Black Manor.
He barely registered an elf banishing the soot from his dress robes as he moved out of the room.
"Heir Malfoy, a pleasure to have you in our humble home this evening. And of course you as well Lord and Lady Malfoy!"
Lucius nodded at the welcome and stood obediently by his parents' side as he waited for the greetings to end. Sometimes he tired of all the stiff pureblood airs and graces.
After the obligatory back handed compliments they moved off into the party proper. With a last terse command to not embarrass the family name, courtesy of his father, Lucius moved away to see if he could find someone a little closer to his age.
He absently took a glass of sparkling cider from one of the floating trays that dotted the ballroom. The Blacks really had outdone themselves this year. The room was done in shades of white, sliver and blue. It really was stunning, but nothing seemed to be able to knock Lucius out of the numbness he had slipped into.
It had started at the start of that school year with the arrival of a transfer student. The other boy was their age, and the most enchanting creature that Lucius had ever laid eyes on. He had watched his sorting with longing, but the dratted hat had put Y/n into Ravenclaw. It wasn't really the end of the world, Lucius shuddered to think if he had been put into Gryffindor, or worse, Hufflepuff. Unfortunately, Lucius was already betrothed, but even if he wasn't, Abraxas Malfoy would never allow him to sully the Malfoy name with a male partner.
So Lucius had had to swallow his feelings as best he could. It hadn't worked very well, so he had allowed himself to pine from afar just a little.
He was jolted out of his daydream by the object of his thoughts. Lucius inhaled his mouthful of cider at the sight of Y/n.
He looked amazing in his dress robes, dressed up all fancy for the ball. Lucius thought to himself that if this was the cause of his death it would be worth it.
He was aware, once he managed to stop choking, of three things. One, everyone was looking at him, two, his face was probably red enough to shame a Weasley's hair, and lastly, that Y/n had the brightest e/c eyes possible.
He was struck with the awful thought that this was probably the first time that Y/n had known that Lucius existed.
'Well, that was a fantastic first impression,' Lucius thought to himself. He pointedly looked everyone who would meet his gaze straight in the eyes. As he had thought, it was enough to discomfort them into looking away.
Lucius raised his chin and moved off into a different area of the ballroom.
-------------
Ever since Y/n had realised that Lucius Malfoy was at the party as well, he had been jittery. The other boy was always looking at him. He had been the cause of enough distraction before this, when he was just someone who lurked at the fringes of his awareness while he studied in the school library. Now, Y/n was sure that he would never be getting rid of the image of Lucius in dress robes. How was he ever going to be able to concentrate again?
He shook himself slightly and tried to focus back in on whatever it was that the Greengrass heiress was talking about. He was supposed to be making connections here, maybe paving the way for a betrothal contract. As the first Pendragon to be seen in this and the previous generation, there was a lot of pressure to make the right political connections. A marriage to someone who was already politically powerful in this community would go a long way toward putting them back on the map in this magical community.
It was the Gods eternal joke that he was the only one that could do this. He only had one other relative, and his uncle wasn't exactly all there anymore. His parents had made it clear that this was their only chance to become the powerful family that they had once been.
Sure, potions had made it possible to have a male pregnancy, but it was still looked down on pretty harshly by most purebloods. Y/n had no idea how he was supposed to get his family back to its former glory, when to do it he would have to marry a girl. Why did he have to be gay?
------------
Lucius was slowly going out of his mind. He had moved around the party doing his best to ignore Y/n, but he couldn't get him out of his head. The other boy was still standing where he had first spotted him, entirely surrounded by everyone their age.
What was worse was that these were people Lucius had grown up with. He had known these people for his whole life, and it was this that allowed him to see what was happening.
They were all flirting with Y/n.
Lucius was almost certain that some of them, most notably his friends, were only doing it to irritate him and not because they were genuinely interested in Y/n.
He had been shooting furtive looks over at the group for the last half an hour, and still they kept it up. Lucius just didn't know what to do. Oh sure, he knew what he wanted to do, but he also knew that there was no way he could actually pull it off.
For one thing, if he showed his hand by going over there and making a fool of himself he would face serious consequences when he got home. He was sure he would already be in trouble for his incident earlier that night, but if his father heard even a hint of a whisper that his only heir was gay, well, Lucius wasn't sure he would survive that particular punishment.
He was pulled up short at the realisation of where he was. He was in a room with some of the biggest gossips in the magical world, all of which could just about smell weakness. He shot his eyes around the room and realised with a start that it was already too late.
He recognised the look in his fathers eyes when he met them. Someone must have said something about his preoccupation with his classmate to Abraxas. Lucius swallowed, noting his suddenly dry throat.
He looked away from his father, toward Y/n and his friends. There might be a way to salvage this, pretend to have been watching another of his friends. He would still be in trouble for lusting after someone who was not his betrothed, but much less than if it had been the very male Y/n.
There was a commotion over by one of the doors, but Lucius was too busy thinking. He was realising that he was done. He couldn't live like this anymore, and he was done pretending that he could.
He squared his shoulders and moved over to his friends.
"Excuse me, may I borrow Y/n for a moment. We won't be long."
He didn't even bother waiting for a response, just grabbed a hold of him and started off in a random direction. The only thing in his mind was getting as far away from other people so he could have this discussion in peace.
He pulled Y/n out of the ballroom and down hallway after hallway until he decided they were lost enough that only a house elf would be able to find them.
He turned back to the other boy after making sure that the area was empty. They were both panting a little after their impromptu jog.
Y/n was looking at Lucius cautiously.
Lucius surged forward and connected their lips.
They were gasping for breath again when he pulled back.
"You know we can't do this."
Lucius cut him off before he could continue.
"I'm done. I'm done being the perfect heir for parents that don't care to know the real me. I'm done pretending that I'm not head over heels for you. Most of all, I'm done holding back from the things I want just because society wants so badly to tell me no."
He pulled in a deep breath, still standing in Y/n personal space. Neither boy had moved back.
"I want you, Y/n, and I think you've known that for as long as I have. If I haven't missed my guess, you want me too. I'm certainly not alone in all the looks I've sent your way, and I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't at least find out if you could feel the same way as I do for you."
Y/n sighed and shifted back a step.
"Those are pretty words Lucius, easy to say them here, alone in a secluded corner of someone else's manor, but how will you feel walking into Hogwarts next week, and letting everyone see. How will you feel when your parents cut you off?"
"I'm not totally helpless Y/n, I'll find a way to survive. I know for sure that if I have you by my side there isn't anything that we can't face."
He softly took Y/n's hand and stroked the back with his thumb.
"So what do you say? Can you feel the same way I do?"
Y/n shut his eyes in resignation.
"You know I do."
They stood at the end of their silent hallway for some time, just holding each other.
"You know this will be the second scandal of the night?"
Lucius pulled back to look at Y/n.
"What do you mean?"
Y/n looked at Lucius, shocked.
"What do you mean, what do I mean? Didn't you hear, just before you pulled me out of there, one of the older Blacks ran in and caused quite the scene. By the looks of things Andromeda is missing. From what I managed to gather, she's run off with that muggleborn from Ravenclaw, you know, Tonks-something, or something-Tonks."
174 notes · View notes
theladyofdeath · 3 years
Text
Life As We Know It {Chapter 14}
Summary: After the sudden deaths of Nesta’s sister and Cassian’s best friend, they gain guardianship of their nephew, Nyx.
Based on Life As We Know It (2010) and a prompt sent in by anonymous for our Nessian fanfic contest. This is a modern au.
Instead of doing a tag list for this story, we have decided to have a set posting schedule. Chapters will be posted weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Occasional surprise chapters could be posted at miscellaneous times. Chapters will be posted on both my and Shelby’s blogs! >>@snelbz​
Tumblr media
Life As We Know It Masterlist
Shelby’s Masterlist
Tara’s Masterlist
Cassian was up far before Nesta, but that was to be expected.
He had worn her out, after all.
In all honesty, though, she had worn him out, too. And he sure as hell wasn’t complaining.
It had taken him a while to fall asleep the night before, to fully digest everything that had happened between the two of them. He didn’t regret it, not for a second, but it was…strange. Nesta Archeron was the last woman he thought he’d find himself in such a situation with.
It had been a pleasant surprise, to say the least. Even when he had finally fallen asleep, it was all he dreamt about.
His hands on her body.
The little sounds that fell from her lips.
The feeling of his mouth against hers.
The feeling of being inside of her.
Dressing, he crept downstairs, not wanting to wake her, and made a pot of coffee. Sitting at the kitchen table, he ran a hand through his messy hair.
Cassian had no idea what was going to come this morning. Was she going to pretend it never happened? Was she going to be mad or say that it was a mistake?
He sure as hell hadn’t thought it was a mistake. He’d loved every minute of the night they’d shared, but he knew that a line had been crossed between them.
He was going to let her decide what would come next.
It wasn’t two minutes after Cassian pulled a pan of crispy bacon out of the oven, he heard a door open at the top of the stairs. He smirked, but felt a sense of dread as footsteps slowly descended towards the kitchen.
Nesta appeared, dressed in long-sleeved flannel pajamas. She stopped in the doorway and cleared her throat.
“I made breakfast,” Cassian said, gesturing to the display on the countertop.
“Thanks,” Nesta said, scratching the back of her head.
“Care to join me at the table?” he asked.
Nesta hesitated, then nodded. “Sure. Thanks.”
Cassian said nothing more as he made her a plate, then himself one, and carried them to the table. He was already popping a piece of bacon into his mouth when Nesta sat.
“So,” Cassian began. “How are you?”
“Good,” Nesta answered, a little too quickly. “You?”
“Good,” Cassian said, nodding.
Silence ensued.
They ate quietly. Cassian glanced at Nesta from time to time. Nesta did the same. Eventually, Cassian dropped his fork on his plate and ran a hand through his hair.
“Alright, this is ridiculous,” he said.
Nesta raised a brow. “What is?”
“This awkwardness,” Cassian said, laughing quietly. “I mean, we fucked, right?”
Nesta nearly choked on a piece of bacon. “We….”
“Had sex,” Cassian finished. “We did, and you know what? It was good. But when we went to bed, it was awkward. And this morning? Still awkward. Why is it awkward?”
“Because we had drunk sex,” she said, laughing, despite herself. “We got drunk and we hooked up, like horny teenagers and…” She shook her head, and looked up at him. And she burst out laughing.
“And we’re adults,” he said, laughing along with her. “We made that choice. I liked that choice. I’d make that choice again.”
Nesta’s laughter quieted. “I know. I don’t either, but…”
Cassian took a drink of his coffee, smirking. “Was it not the best sex of your life?”
Nesta began blushing, and she bit her lip as she moved the eggs around her plate. “I plead the fifth.”
“That’s a cop-out answer,” Cassian said, his mouth full.
Nesta laughed. “So what?”
Cassian’s grin said plenty. “Fair enough. I mean, it was a one time thing, right?”
“Right,” Nesta said, without any hesitation. “So, there’s no need to feel awkward, right?”
“Right,” Cassian agreed. “We were letting off some steam, some stress, and now we’re fine.”
“Exactly,” Nesta said, scooping up a mouthful of eggs.
That silence resumed.
A few minutes later, Nesta said, “It was pretty good, though.”
Cassian chuckled. “Oh, I know.”
She kicked his shin beneath the table.
His grin widened.
“What do you have going on today?” Cassian asked, at last.
“Work,” Nesta answered, simply. “You’ll pick Nyx up?”
“I will,” he promised.
“Great,” she said, taking a drink of her coffee. She glanced at the clock and jumped to her feet. “Shit, I need to go get ready.”
“Go,” he chuckled, shooing her off. “I’ll handle the kitchen.”
She glanced around at the room, which was still a wreck from the night before. Her bikini top was looped over one of the drawer pulls and she blushed.
She couldn’t believe it.
She had sex with Cassian, her sworn enemy for years.
And the most surprising thing of all? She had liked it.
A lot.
He hadn’t been lying when he said it would be the best sex of her life. There was no comparison, whatsoever.
Even waking up after a fantastic night of sleep, Nesta still felt amazing. She was relaxed, albeit a bit sore. Nearly giddy.
And all because of Cassian.
*
Since the accident, Nesta hadn’t spent nearly as much time at the restaurant as she usually did. And not nearly as often as she liked. Her staff had absolutely understood that she needed to get accustomed to her new life and how things worked, but as she hurried between the dining room and the kitchen, she couldn’t help but feel like she was in a bit over her head.
Granted, her mind kept trailing back to the activities she’d had the night before, which flustered her to no end every time she thought about them. She was staring at an open laptop in front of her, the PDF of the new menu staring back, when she heard a throat clearing from the doorway of her office.
She glanced up and found Helion standing there. He was her general manager and made sure everything ran smoothly when she wasn’t there, and he was a blessing in her life.
“What’s up?”
He looked around before slipping into the chair across the desk from her. “You going to tell me what’s got you spacing out so badly today that you mixed fresh salmon into the chicken salad base?”
Nesta cringed, but tried not to show it. “I wanted to try a new recipe. If it bombs, it bombs.”
Helion lifted a brow, not believing her lie for a second.
“What?” Nesta asked.
“Did the walk of shame this morning, did you?” He asked, a familiar mischievous glint in his eye.
Nesta hesitated. “Is it still a walk of shame if you never leave your house?”
Helion’s brows furrowed but then the dots connected. His mouth fell open as his eyes widened. “You fucked the hot uncle?”
Nesta groaned, her face falling into her hands.
Helion had no sympathy. He asked, “Is he the one that’s sitting at the bar asking for you?”
Nesta’s hands fell and she met Helion’s eye.
Helion shrugged. “Didn’t think I just came back here to chat, did you?”
“I…” Nesta was up before she could even think through what she might say to him, rounding her desk and hurrying towards the front of the restaurant.
She wasn’t sure if Cassian’s mid-day appearance was a good thing or not. On one hand, he may have stopped by with Nyx after picking him up from Elain’s. On the other, what if something was wrong? What if Nyx had had a bad night or something had happened? Her steps slowed and she paused before she left the kitchens, taking a deep breath.
Nothing was wrong. She wouldn’t accept any other answer. Tucking her loose hair behind an ear, she pushed through the door.
But she didn’t find Cassian sitting at the bar.
It was Balthazar, whose brown eyes she met and her smile faltered, but only a little. She had it back in place before he had time to notice.
“Figured out how I recognized you,” he said, as she approached from the other side of the bar.
“I see that,” she laughed, softly.
“Turns out I come here often,” he continued, his smile growing. “Turns out, so do you.”
“I would say I make an appearance here from time to time,” she agreed. “So, stop in for lunch?”
“I had the day off,” he explained, shrugging. “Errand day.”
She was just now noticing the designer sweatpants and hoodie he wore. His sneakers alone probably cost a couple hundred dollars.
Apparently the rumors were true…
Doctors made good money.
“And this was on your list?” Nesta asked.
Bal chuckled. “Well, last night I got to thinking that I’ve seen you here once or twice. It just clicked. So, I googled the restaurant, and, believe it or not, the owner’s picture is on the website.”
“Huh,” Nesta chimed. “Funny.”
“Mhmm,” Balthazar crooned. “I thought so. So, I thought I’d come visit and, yeah, maybe stay for lunch.”
“Well, lucky for you, the lunch special of the day is the prime dip, and I must say that it’s absolutely delicious,” Nesta said.
He closed the menu on the bar top in front of him. “Sounds perfect.”
“Give me just a minute to get that for you, and I’ll be right back. Can I get you something to drink?” She asked, sliding the menu below the bar.
“Drink drink or just to drink?” He asked and his smile did strange things to her stomach.
“Oh, I don’t have a liquor license,” she said, scrunching her nose. Too many hoops to jump through, but she would have loved to serve wine with her food. The pairings she would come up with were tempting. “Water, your everyday sodas, and homemade fruit teas.”
“Fruit tea, huh?” He tapped a contemplative finger against his chin.
She couldn’t have stopped the grin if she tried. “Has that piqued your interest?”
“Depends on what flavors you have,” he said, folding his arms across the bar. “I’m very choosy about my fruit tea.”
She laughed, quietly. “Mango, raspberry, strawberry, and passion fruit.”
“Passion fruit,” he repeated. “I like the sound of that.”
“Okay,” Nesta said, quietly with a little smile she couldn’t stop, and hurried back to the kitchen.
Helion was waiting for her behind the swinging door, grinning from ear to ear.
“Not him,” Nesta said, sweeping past him.
“Still handsome!” Helion called after her.
Nesta ignored him, not wanting to give him too much information on her current man-drama, even though she could tell he was far too invested in her private life.
After putting his order in, Nesta was heading back into her office and shutting herself inside, if only to shut out Helion.
When she had rounded the corner and saw it wasn’t Cassian, there was the tiniest bit of disappointment that she had to quickly push away. Then again, it also meant that everything had apparently gone okay with Nyx, which Nesta was happy about.
She and Cassian had been a one time thing.
Yes, they had called a truce, but it didn’t mean anything more than them being civil with one another. It meant co-parenting. Maybe even one day becoming something that resembled friends…but nothing more.
She tried to focus on the proof of the menu she was editing, tried to pay attention to the descriptions she typed out and the pictures she selected as focal points. But after she ended up choosing the wrong picture three times in a row, she closed her laptop and sighed, letting her face fall into her hands. She was distracted and she genuinely couldn’t tell if it was due to the man sitting out at the bar or if it was thanks to the one at home.
Balthazar’s order was up, and Nesta was delighted to find that someone, most likely Helion, had brought him his tea. When she set his plate down in front of him, his tongue swept across his bottom lip, and Nesta couldn’t help but notice.
“This looks amazing,” he said.
“And your tea?” Nesta asked.
“Pretty good,” he grinned.
Damn his smile. Every time he smiled, Nesta couldn’t help but smile back.
“Well, it was great seeing you,” Nesta said, and she meant it. “I should get back to work, though, I’m pretty booked.”
“Of course,” he said, understandingly. “I get it. I did want to ask you, though, if you were free on Saturday night?”
It was only a few nights away, and at first, Nesta hesitated, but then she thought it was ridiculous that she was hesitating, so she said, “Yeah, I’m free.”
“Good,” Bal said, cocking his head to the side. “How about that date, then?”
“I’ll have to check with Cassian,” she said, and when his eyebrows raised, she added hastily, “To make sure he doesn’t already have plans. It’s- We alternate who gets weekends off, and I made a deal with him last weekend.”
Balthazar nodded, and he took another sip of his tea. “Well, then you just let me know if Saturday will work and if not, we’ll figure out another day.”
She smiled and nodded. “Okay.” Nesta turned and was almost back to the door leading to the kitchen when she turned and said, “Lunch is on me today, by the way.”
His own smile was dazzling when he said, “My compliments to the chef.”
With a shy wave, though Nesta wasn’t sure she had a timid bone in her body, she was through the door and headed back to her office. Helion was on her heels a second later, trailing her through the doorway.
“One minute, you’re banging the hot uncle and the next, a Greek god asks you out on a date?” He said, his brows flicking up. “You apparently have fate on speed dial and I need you to give me her number.”
“Shut up,” she groaned, collapsing into her chair. “Don’t you have orders to help cook?”
He hummed quietly as he left her to her thoughts, but did as she said, finding his way back onto the grill line.
Nesta glanced over at the clock. Only two in the afternoon. It was going to be a long day.
*
Nyx blew a raspberry, landing a spray of sweet potato directly on Cassian’s face. His body stilled, but when Nyx started giggling, Cassian’s body quickly relaxed.
“Very funny,” he said, ruffling Nyx’s hair as he stood and went to the sink. After tearing a paper-towel off the roll, he held it under the faucet and wiped off his face.
The front door opened and closed.
“Hello?” Nesta called.
“Kitchen!” Cassian replied. “Nyx is making a mess!”
Nesta was in the kitchen in no time, hurrying to Nyx and kissing his chubby cheeks. “Hi, my love. I missed you. Yes, I did.”
Nyx babbled incoherently in response.
“How was your day?” Cassian asked, wiping off the last bit of potato from his eyebrow.
“Long,” she admitted. “Right before I was about to leave, a shipment of fresh ingredients came in that I needed to get stocked and inventoried.” She dumped a few of the strawberry-banana puffs into her hand and popped one of them into her mouth. “If I have to count another head of lettuce today, my head might explode.”
“Well, fortunately,” Cassian chuckled. “There are no heads of lettuce here for you to count.”
“Have you eaten yet?” She asked, heading for the fridge. “I’m starving.”
“There’s pizza on the way,” he said, attempting to get another spoonful of sweet potatoes into Nyx’s mouth. “I wasn’t sure when you’d be home, or if you’d feel like cooking.”
“You’re a blessing,” she sighed, and sat down at the kitchen table. She watched as Nyx continued to spray food into his face and chuckled quietly. “You want me to take over?”
“Nah,” he said, leaving the splattered sweet potato where it stuck to his face. “No need for both of us to get covered.”
“How gallant of you,” Nesta chuckled, opening the fridge and pulling out a can of Coca-Cola. She rarely did caffeine, but after the day she had, it was necessary. “I, um, did have a question for you.”
Cassian looked over his shoulder, brow raised.
Nesta couldn’t help but smile at the specks of sweet potato that covered his face.
“I was wondering if I could go out Saturday night,” Nesta said. “I mean, I know last weekend I went out, and I don’t want to take advantage of your kindness-.”
“With the doctor?” Cassian interrupted. His tone wasn’t hard, but it did seem uncertain, or another emotion that Nesta couldn’t quite place.
“Yeah,” Nesta began, cracking open her can. “He came by the restaurant today and asked me to dinner on Saturday night. I told him I’d have to talk to you about it first, since I said I’d have Nyx.”
“I see,” Cassian said, turning back to Nyx.
“If it’s an issue, if you have plans, I don’t mind telling him no-.”
“You should go,” Cassian said, shrugging. “I have no plans. I can stay here.”
She blinked, watching him. “You’re sure?”
“You sound like you don’t want me to be sure,” he said, glancing at her over his shoulder. “Are you looking for a reason to say no?”
“No,” she replied, quickly. “It’s just… After last night-.”
“We hooked up,” he shrugged. “We blew off some steam, in a very physical way. But that was that, and, like we said this morning, it was a one time thing, yeah?” She nodded. “Alright, then if you want to say yes, say yes. I can watch Nyx.”
She hesitated for a second, but her smile grew. “Okay.”
“Okay,” he repeated, and gave her a smile of his own. “Go relax for a bit, I’ll let you know when the pizza is here.”
She nodded and was about to head up the stairs, but she turned around, wiping the smeared baby food off his face and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thanks, Cass.”
He mumbled something and waved her off, and she grabbed her phone from her purse before she hurried up to her room.
After changing out of her work clothes and into something far more comfier, she fell back on her bed and unlocked her phone.
Balthazar’s messages were soon pulled up, and Nesta was sending him a text.
Saturday sounds great. Pick me up at 7?
She didn’t wait for his response before tossing her phone aside and going through her nightly routine. She figured she would eat and call it a day.
She was beat.
After washing her face and pulling up her hair, Nesta walked back into her room just as her phone lit up on top of her comforter.
Balthazar.
I won’t be a second late.
211 notes · View notes
rowanaelinn · 3 years
Text
Fire on Fire - Chapter Eight
Chapter seven // Chapter nine
Warnings: suicidal thoughts.
Tumblr media
It’s kinda rushed but it kinda fits with today’s prompt for rowaelin month! next chapter is going to be way longer :)
————
Rowan took a piece of towel and used it to remove the foam from his client's leg, revealing a tattoo he had been working on for four long hours.
It was a large bouquet of flowers, each one a different color to represent a member of the client's family, with writing in the Old Language with their names.
“Here it is,” He told her, holding a mirror above her leg so she could see all the details. Her smile grew as she took in her tattoo. It was one of his favorite parts of his job, the emotion on their face. He loved to be able to bring such feelings to the people he worked on.
“I love it.” She said and Rowan only nodded, a hint of a smile on his lips. He put away his equipment, throwing away the little pots of ink that he hadn't quite finished while his client left, thanking him, before going to sign the last papers at the counter. When he finished, Rowan joined her and gave the invoice to Remelle, their assistant.
He left to clean up his workroom before entering the break room, heading straight to the fridge to take out his food. He had spent an hour yesterday cooking pasta, chicken and cutting up his favorite vegetables to make a salad. Cooking had always helped him to keep his mind busy and these last days it was more than necessary.
A few minutes after Rowan settled down at the round table in the middle of the room, fork in hand and his dominant hand busy holding an Apple Pencil while he multi-tasked eating and drawing for his appointments, Gavriel entered the room.
Rowan tried not to stare at him, exactly as he had done all week. But today it was more complicated as Gavriel sat down next to him, getting his full attention. He tried with all his might to concentrate on the drawing in front of him, but the temptation was too strong. "How's..." He cleared his throat, the words hard to come out. "How's Aelin?"
He avoided any eye contact, his eyes fixed on the tablet even if his drawing hadn’t progressed in the last ten minutes. He hated the feeling of worry in his chest. Rationally, he knew she was physically okay or Gavriel and Aedion would be by her side now. But she had been good at hiding her emotions, so good that her family didn’t see anything worrying. Apparently, he was the only one who saw anything, and it did nothing to help his worry about how she was right now.
After long seconds without a response, Rowan dared to look up at Gavriel. His head was turned toward Rowan, fork a few inches from his opened mouth. His entire face was frozen. Rowan just raised his eyebrows, waiting for anything to come out of his mouth. His boss shook his head, seeming to come back to reality. “Yeah. She is, why?” He could see the confusion on Gavriel’s face but Rowan wouldn’t answer that question so he just shrugged.
Rowan managed to stay quiet a few more minutes, even if he could feel the awkwardness in their air, but another question was burning his throat. “Have you ever met Arobynn Hamel?”
This time he looked up to see Gavriel look at him as if he was an alien, but thank the Gods, he didn’t comment on his interest. “Once or twice, but very briefly. Generally, that was just when he was picking Aelin up.” Rowan nodded, still trying to understand what Aelin had meant by The furthest they are from Arobynn, the safest they are. She hadn’t said anything else, leaving him more confused than anything.
“How did she met him?” He tried to appear casual as he asked that, taking another fork of food in his mouth. The food tasted sour as Gavriel kept watching him suspiciously. He couldn’t ask these questions to Aedion, knowing his friend he would be too defensive of his cousin, especially if Rowan was the one asking the questions. Gavriel knew about Aelin and Rowan’s disdain for each other but he knew less than Aedion, he hadn’t seen the two of them yell at each other or hadn’t witnessed them doing absolutely everything to ruin the other’s day.
He didn’t dare to ask Lysandra either, he was sure the woman would stab him with her hells if he even dared to pronounce Aelin’s name.
So Gavriel was the safest choice.
He seemed to think about who to tell him before opening his mouth. “At a party, when she was sixteen or fifteen, I think.” He took a bite of his food. “Arobynn’s an old friend of her father, both went together to college and were best of friends there, but they lost contact and met again at a gala. They talked about Aelin and found out she wanted to work in the same industry as Arobynn. He’s been her mentor ever since.”
Fifteen? Maybe Rowan’s mind was just fucked up to think it was weird, maybe he was just influenced by what Aelin said the other night. He might not have found it weird if she hadn’t said anything. He was just thinking too hard, trying too hard to find an explanation for what’s happening to her.
“You think he’s good to her?” Gavriel was a wise man, he was trying so hard to be part of his son’s life and it included taking care of Aedion’s cousin. Surely, he didn’t notice the little things Rowan did, but maybe he noticed something else. Rowan’s boss only shrugged.
“He found her a place at her university, made her TA, and gives her a job every summer. So, yeah. I guess so.” And he was paying for her education, a fact Aelin hid from her family. Why would she? It was what didn’t make sense, what was weird with all that. “I’m even sure he’s the first person she went to see when she left her parents in Terassen.”
What?
“What do you mean, ‘left’?” He asked, his brows furrowed. It wasn’t the only thing that didn’t make sense, he knew for a fact Aelin came to the house first. He hadn’t talked to her that day, he and the boys were sent to their room as if they were teenagers the moment a crying Aelin knocked at the door. He had lingered longer than necessary in the staircase, long enough to see her in a dress, shoes in hands, and cheeks filled with black makeup that had run down her cheeks.
Next thing he knew, Aedion spent a week at his father, trying to get Aelin better. Rowan had thought about this night for too long, Rowan always thought Aelin had partied too hard (because from her outfit, it was quite clear she had partied) and it was the straw that broke the camel's back for her parents. Even without wanting to, it had been impossible not to know about Aelin Ashryver Galathynius.
Pictures and videos of her in more than indecent dresses for her age were on page one of every magazine, when pictures of her sniffing coke had leaked it had even been made to National News. She had been sixteen at the time, and it had only been one of many times she had been caught doing what she shouldn’t have.
Before Gavriel could answer, the door opened to let Aelin appear in the doorway. She was holding flowers in her left hand, a smile on her face as she saw her uncle. Unfortunately, her face froze when she saw Rowan. Rowan’s entire body stilled, eyes roaming all over her body. She seemed okay, not skinnier than the last time he saw her, not hurt.
“Oh,” she said, opening and closing her mouth multiple times. She swallowed before clearing her throat. Only a blind person wouldn’t see her anxiety. “I didn’t think you ate there.”
He usually didn’t, having enough time to go back home. It was more comfortable to eat there, but he had been burying himself under work since he woke up in her empty bed. “You thought wrong.”
She was uncomfortable, and he both wanted to make her feel that way for hours and wanted to comfort her at the same time.
Sensing both of their unease, Gavriel stood up and went to leave the room. “I brought you those, your favorites,” Aelin said, giving her uncle the flowers. “I went to your favorite flower shop.”
Gavriel smiled and kissed Aelin’s cheek, earning a smile out of her. “Thanks.” He looked back at Rowan, he knew it was a warning glare but he didn’t care. He needed to speak with her. Gavriel left, pretending to have something else to do but it was all an excuse to let them speak.
“So, you’re alive.”
Aelin snorted. “I don’t know if you look relieved or sad.”
He fought his lips from rising. “Anything to say?”
Aelin looked at him, her bottom lip between her lips and her hands fidgeting. “Your shirt is ugly.”
It was his turn to snort. Of course, she wouldn’t go straight to the point. He arched a brow, waiting for a real answer. Even though he was the one sitting, he held more power than her now.
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t want you to say anything,” he said as he closed his tablet, letting his fork down on the plate to have his hands free. “I just want you to act like the adult you are, and it doesn’t include running away in the middle of the night after telling someone you want to die.” His voice was hard, it made Aelin flinch.
“I never said I wanted to die.”
“You said you didn’t have the strength to live, Aelin.”
“Yeah, never said I wanted to die.”
“But do you?” He had to ask, because if she did… He would do what was necessary, he couldn’t let her die. She was already killing herself slowly, between the sex and the alcohol… She told everyone she was sober from drugs but she had been lying for so long to everyone he had a hard time believing it.
Rowan got his answer when she avoided his gaze, focusing on the floor. His heart broke, he needed to help her and he doubted sending her to a psychiatric hospital would help.
“What are you doing here?” He asked, voice heavy with emotions. With his head, he made her sign to sit next to him, and to his surprise, he complied. She turned her chair to face him, their knees brushing. He could see the dark circles around her eyes from that close, her lips dryer than usual and dotted with small wounds that he knew were due to her teeth.
“I’m coming back home.” He told him, finally looking at him. “I was around, I finished school yesterday and had to sign some things at Arobynn’s office. So I bought Gavriel’s favorite flowers to thank him, I didn’t know you would be here.”
“You hoped I wouldn’t.” He stated and she only nodded. She looked broken as if she knew she could let her guard down after what happened between them Monday. He was happy she knew he would be here for her.
“I was ready to call the cops when I woke up alone, Aelin,” Rowan confessed. He needed her to understand people suffered from her actions. “I was going to until I heard Aedion complain to Lysandra about you leaving him for his father.” He exhaled a loud breath, trying to forget everything he felt that morning. “Aelin, I thought you were dead somewhere.”
Her hand gripped his, he couldn’t hide the surprise from his face. She kept her hand in his, her small fingers enveloping his. He couldn’t tear his gaze away from it, they had never touched like that. “I’m sorry,” her weak voice said. “I panicked. I didn’t think…” He looked back at her, letting her time formulate her thoughts. It was hard enough, she didn’t need to be pressed. “I didn’t think you’d care, to be honest. Nobody ever did, you said it yourself. Aedion was annoyed I was at Gavriel’s, not that I was gone. It’s always been this way, I’ve always been… free.”
It wasn’t freedom, it was negligence. But she didn’t need to hear this now, so he kept his mouth shut, just nodding in understanding. He linked their fingers together, delighted to see the surprise on Aelin’s face, at least they were even now. He squeezed her hand, accepting her apology. Two weeks ago he would have thought Aelin did it on purpose to have attention, but he began to realize he was wrong about her.
“It’s your birthday tomorrow.” He said, changing the subject. He had to get back to work soon, and he didn’t have the time to unpack everything he wanted right now. Aelin still looked at their hands, feeling too hard to describe on her face. She nodded.
“Lysandra and Dorian spent the week throwing a huge party for you,” It wasn’t exactly a surprise, Aelin knew there would be a party but probably thought it would just be her and her close friends. Lysandra and Dorian had another idea in mind. “If it’s too much, we can ditch. We’ll find an excuse.”
Finally, her eyes looked back at his face. She had a small smile on her face, Rowan’s heartbeat eased at that. “No.” She shook her head. “A party is what I need right now.”
Rowan wanted to disagree on that, but she was an adult. She knew what was best for her. “Then let’s party.”
Her eyes widened. “You usually don’t come to my birthday.” She was right, he had avoided these parties full of teenagers as much as he could, but he wanted to stay with her.
“I thought were an English major,” he teased her, pulling at her arm slightly making her smile. “What part of ‘you don’t have to be alone anymore’ don’t you understand?”
At that, she smiled so brightly Rowan could have sworn it lighted up the entire room.
————
tag list: @sheharahu // @morganofthewildfire // @thestoriesyoutell // @fromthelibraryofemilyj // @swankii-art-teacher // @itsforeverinnocent-blog // @becarefuloflove // @imnotsogoodatthis // @rowaelinismyotp // @a-court-of-milkandhoney // @feysand-loml // @surielandiareendgame // @live-the-fangirl-life // @story-scribbler // @loves-books // @fangirlprincess09 // @theysayitscrazy // @hellasblessed // @danibutterr
74 notes · View notes
sasarahsunshine · 3 years
Text
Just sharing some fluffy Aaron Hotchner thoughts (bringing stuff from Discord to Tumblr).
When Aaron retires from the BAU, it’s after Jack leaves for college. He buys a decently large house with a big backyard and a garden (he wants to make sure he has room for his family to come visit whenever they want).
He still jogs most mornings, getting up at 5am on the dot to go around the block and down to a local coffee shop that always opens right as he arrives. They have his coffee and muffin order waiting for him 99% of the time now, and he always tips the baristas well <3
When he’s feeling a bit restless he likes to drive out to the country. Jack surprises him with a rescue dog for Christmas one year, “since you seemed lonely, dad.” He names the dog Boon and loves bringing him with on these car rides.
Every year for the Fourth of July the whole “family” comes to his place since he has the space. It becomes a tradition that nobody misses, no matter what. Even as the kids grow up and go to college, they always come home to go to Uncle Aaron’s for the 4th.
This tradition continues into the children’s adulthood’s: Jack bringing his wife and his kids, Henry with his boyfriend, Hank and Michael with their girlfriends.
Aaron is the best grandpa. He might be getting older, but he likes to pretend he’s just as spry and strong as he was when he entered the FBI. He loves giving his grandkids piggyback rides, as well as swinging them around when they ask.
Derek and Will visit him from time to time, the three sitting on the front porch drinking beer and talking about nothing and everything.
In the winter he likes to sit on the couch with Boon, watching the snow fall as he sips his coffee, and he smiles. His walls are covered in photos of his son’s childhood, graduation, wedding, and now his grandkids. Photos of Spencer doing magic, Henry and Hank playing basketball, Emily and Penelope’s wedding. Photos of his friends, his family.
He made it. He survived, and he’s happy, and he made it.
95 notes · View notes
mello-jello · 3 years
Note
Stupidity, bathroom, fish, accident, taken
Okok so this became part 2 of this prompt: Stiletto, gun, flower, gym, ice cream please read that one first lol
Levi and Hange continued seeing each other at the gym at absurd hours. Levi had never been so intrigued by a stranger before. He wanted to learn more about her. He thought about her all the time.
Hange gave no more hints as to what her night time activities consisted of, and Levi didn’t push further. Seeing that gun in her car had freaked him out a little and it reminded him of the time he spent living with Kenny. Levi had been exposed to far worse than a handgun at a young age. So he kept asking for that dinner date.
“Eventually,” or “When I get my next day off”, was her usual answer. They would settle for curbside dates of whatever fast food was around. They held hands and stole quick kisses but Hange could never stay long enough. She did give him her WhatsApp number so they could chat more, but she hardly answered it anyways. Just quick simple messages saying, “hey will you be at the gym tonight?”
“Yes”
“See you then”.
All was relatively fine, until one day Hange stopped coming.
Levi started dawdling around the gym, hoping she would show up. He would go there twice a day, just to see. He checked his messages incessantly. Nothing.
Months passed.
Levi was just on the verge of letting it go when he received a message.
“Dinner tonight?!”
His heart spasmed and he immediately replied, “What happened? Are you okay? Where have you been?”
He clutched at his phone as he anxiously watched the three little dots do the dance that indicated Hange was typing.
The dots stopped.
Levi held his breath and only let it out when the dots started moving again. Finally, she responded with, “126 Sasageyo Blvd. Reservation for two at 7:15pm”
“Tch” he scoffed at his screen.
A moment later, his phone buzzed again.
“Looks like I’ll be getting some time off. Delete this number.”
She can’t be serious? He can’t seriously be considering going? It was infuriating how little this infuriated him. Anyone else and he’d have told them where to shove it. But this was the mysterious Hange, and curiosity got the better of him. A quick Google search told him it was a very fancy restaurant a few kilometers away in the next town over. He would need a suit just to be seated.
Something about this whole situation put him on edge. It had been a while since he had to use it, but Levi thought it best to bring his knife with him. If anything, he just wanted answers.
--
Dressed in his best black suit, Levi entered the restaurant. The host asked him for the reservation name and he froze. He suddenly realized he didn’t even know her last name. Before the interaction became too awkward, Hange waved from the table, beaming at him.
Levi thought she looked very classy. He had only ever seen her in gym clothes. She wore a long, black lace dress with long sleeves that suited her nicely. However, she was wearing an eye covering. He was determined to not let the butterflies in his stomach distract him.
“What happened there?” Levi gestured to her eye as he sat down, not bothering with a formal greeting.
“Oh, I was in a little accident, but it’s no big deal. I have to wear the patch for another week but my eye is expected to make a full recovery!” She states proudly. “Anyways, tell me about Isabel! Last time we talked, she was waiting to hear back about her university application. Did she get in?!” Her energy almost matched what he was accustomed to. Almost.
Levi narrowed his eyes as he studied her. The changes were so subtle that anyone else probably wouldn’t have noticed them. She seemed tired. Her lower lip was swollen. She had a thick layer of makeup on, but he could tell she had bruises along her neck and he suspected there were more elsewhere, due to the way she seemed to favour her left side. There was also something in her expression that he had never seen before. Stress, worry.
“What happened to you?” Levi was direct. He wasn’t leaving tonight without an answer.
Hange pursed her lips as she scanned the menu “I think I’ll have the fish, what about you?”
“You owe me an explanation… Or else I’m leaving.” He said flatly. He meant it, even though he really didn’t want to.
Hange lowered the menu and looked up at him through her long lashes. “It won’t happen again. I’m out,”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Listen, Levi… you must suspect by now that I don’t- uh didn’t- have a regular job”
“Tch, no shit”.
Hange chewed her lip and stared while she silently deliberated. “Look, it doesn’t matter. It’s over. I quit… I want to start over. With you.” She smiled at him and reached across the table to offer her hand.
He took her hand in his, tracing along her knuckles, silently saying he would very much like that. Levi just silently stared down at their hands, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. He met her gaze again, but Hange’s countenance fell and for a moment, Levi thought he had hurt her feelings or something. But he noticed her eyes were locked onto something behind him. He started to turn around when Hange suddenly gripped his arm with both hands.
“Excuse yourself to the bathroom.” She instructed, her voice suddenly dark and urgent. Her one eye bore into his with such intensity as if to say, “trust me.”
Levi swallowed hard but did as he was told, trying to act as inconspicuous as possible. Once he was across the room, he looked over his shoulder back at their table. Hange had stood up to greet the tall blonde man who had approached. To an outsider, their body language displayed that of a close relationship, but Levi could sense the tension.
Levi checked the bathroom stalls for feet and was relieved to be alone. He looked at himself in the mirror. He should just leave. Whatever situation Hange was caught up in, he didn’t need to be involved. He really should just leave. He waited another few minutes, debating with himself. He was indeed interested, perhaps even smitten, but she seemed to be wrapped up in something sinister. He should definitely leave.
He was deciding if he should at least say goodbye when suddenly the doors burst open. Two unknown men rushed him. Levi was quick to draw out his knife and defend himself. He felt his muscle memory kicking in, as if he never stopped needing to fight. He slashed one of their thighs open and knocked out the other with a blow to the head. Stepping over their bodies, Levi calmly readjusted his coat jacket and tie, regaining his composure. He was leaving. He didn’t even look back at the table. He kept his eyes locked forward as he dashed to the exit.
He was almost to his car when he heard the familiar click of a revolver and he knew it was pointed at him. Levi slowly raised his arms and the stranger led him to an alleyway.
A moment later, the tall blonde man rounded the corner and thrusted Hange to the ground. She stumbled but regained her stance quickly. Two more men stood behind them, blocking the only means of escape, their guns trained on the two of them. Hange and Levi both kept their arms up.
“Zeke, he really isn’t a concern for you,” Hange turned to Levi. “Levi, I’m so sorry.”
“Not a concern?” the blonde one who must be Zeke spoke in an eerily calm and quiet way. One of his men handed him a shotgun. “I have a hard time believing that, considering the lengths you went to in order to protect him, dragging him all the way out here, so far from home”.
Levi raised an eyebrow at Hange.
“It was my own stupidity," she admitted. "Us meeting at the same place at weird hours… It was suspicious. But Zeke, he's not involved, I swear!"
Levi was still just as confused when Zeke let out a roaring laugh that raised the hairs on the back of Levi's neck.
"Oh you really don’t know, do you? That’s rich.” Zeke pretended to wipe a tear from his eye. “You’ve really been so charmed by this man that you didn’t even realize he’s an Ackerman?" Zeke laughed again. “Hange I thought you were smarter than that”.
Hange’s jaw dropped as she turned to look at Levi in disbelief, "You're… an Ackerman?"
Levi knew his uncle was involved in some shady shit, but this was far worse than he ever imagined. “Yes”.
Zeke’s laughter turned to cackling as Hange closed her eyes in anguish. She let out a shaky breath. When she opened her eyes, Zeke handed her his shotgun, no longer worried about her. Jaw clenched, tears spilling down her cheek, she cocked the gun and pointed it at Levi’s face.
“The Ackermans,” she spat through her teeth, “Have taken everything from me!”
71 notes · View notes
klbwriting · 3 years
Text
Pirate’s Heart - Chapter 1
Perfect Color, or Not
Fandom: Six of Crows
Pairing: Kaz/female!Reader
Warning: so this chapter is pretty dark, Kaz’s backstory is dark and there is suggestion of sexual assault but it is not described
Song: Perfect Color - Safety Suit
Taglist: @sixofshadowandbone @thedelusionreaderbitch @itsemy01 @angelicdanvers @marinettepotterandplagg @screen-to-stage @aysegust @sagewrites111 @lilyoflower @hey-peeps @starjane312 @spawn0fsatan @myalupinblack​
Tumblr media
Yellow nice to meet you
Do you know that you just blue my mind?
It was the perfect conversation, I think that I red about one time
And I told a white lie when I told you, I've never been green with envy you
You are the perfect color
 The song would not get out of Y/N's head and she hated it.  Pekka sang it to her about her tail all the time.  And she hated Pekka Rollins.  Well hated him as much as she could without a heart.  Why was she thinking so much anyway?  Wasn't she sleeping?  Why was she moving and why did she hear voices?  She groaned, eyes slowly opening to see two teenage girls standing above her.  They were gazing at her with curious eyes and she tried to wipe her own eyes, only to find her wrists were tied to the table she was laying on.  
"She's awake Nina," she said a girl with bronze skin and dark hair.  
"I can see that Inej," the other girl, creamy white skin with brown hair and freckles.  Nina was light eyed while Inej had dark eyes, and both girls were fourteen, maybe fifteen years old.  How long had she been asleep?  It couldn't have been that long, she didn't feel any older.  She turned her head, finding a mirror on a table nearby and seeing that she didn't look older, only dirty.  
"Where am I?" she asked.  She knew she was on a boat, she could feel the sea moving them, but how did she get there?  She was in the jungle before, bleeding, stabbed where her heart should have been.
“You’re on the Menagerie,” the one called Nina said. Inej tried to shush her and Y/N could hear footsteps nearby.  
“What have you girls brought me?” a beautiful blond woman asked, entering the room.  She was dressed in fine silks with an intricate peacock feather tattoo on her face, making her look almost like an animal herself.   Y/N felt a very strange pang of fear, dulled by her lack of heart, but she felt it enough to worry about this woman.
“Tante Heleen, we found her in the jungle when we were hunting,” Inej explained, her eyes downcast.   Y/N was fast learning that this woman was not to be trifled with, but she didn’t care.  She wanted out of these bindings and she would do what she needed to survive.  
“My, my, she is filthy, we will have to clean her up, get me the sponge and some water,” she demanded.  Nina did as asked, and Heleen started to clean her face.  “Not particularly special in the face, homely and plain.  Face too round for most men…eyes are dark but not special, lips are too pale will need color,” the woman continued, cleaning down her body and commenting on everything.  Breasts were too small, stomach too round, hips too wide, legs… She stopped at her legs, staring in shock as the bright scales that still dotted her thighs. They were remnants of her tail in case she ever got it back.  Heleen demanded Inej get a message out at the port for the commander, they had something special for him.
“What is it Tante?” Inej asked.  The look Heleen sent her made Inej run.   Y/N was becoming very aware of how this ship worked.  Heleen was a captain of some kind of pleasure vessel and all these poor young girls were stuck here attending to the men who paid for them.   Y/N was disgusted, and she could see from the look on the woman’s face that she was going to be the centerpiece of some kind of show for this commander. Like hell she would have another man touch her without her permission.   Y/N looked around the room and realized she would need to wait for her time to arrive.  She started to pretend to be scared, her acting not very good, it had been a long time since she’d been around anyone and Heleen saw right through it.
“O now, I see, you’re fearless are you?” she asked, a snake like smile on her face.  “Well, let’s get you dressed and shackled.  The commander will want us to report back to Argoes immediately.” Y/N’s eyes narrowed.  Like hell she was going anywhere near Argoes, not when Pekka was going to probably be there.  She would bide her time, wait for a moment to strike.   Y/N may have been a lovestruck mermaid but she was also a rare tail, trained to defend herself.  She knew things were different with legs but her upper body defensive maneuvers should be the same.  
Heleen had her hands shackled and took her to a room full of clothes, dresses in bright colors, silk, and lace.  Nina had followed, listening as the captain listed items for her to retrieve.  While they were distracted by clothes Y/N slid a hat pin into her hand, starting to work the cuffs.  Humans learned many things about mermaids and nearly none of them were true.  The idea that they were stupid, unable to function at the same level mentally as humans, they were underestimating Y/N right now and she was pleased.  
The child, Nina approached her, getting her dressed. Y/N saw the girl look at the hat pin, saw the shackles were no longer together and instead of outing her the girl said nothing.   Y/N smiled, she would let the girl live whenever she killed Heleen.  She wasn’t a monster, at least, she didn’t think she was. Heartless or not she wasn’t going to kill a child who was clearly being used by adults for terrible things.  
“Let me cut this string…” Nina said, moving to a dressing table and taking a pair of scissors and moving back to Y/N.  She cut a pretend string and slid the scissors into the sleeve of the dress she wore.  Their eyes met and an understanding crossed between them.   Y/N would kill Heleen, take this ship, and then she would take care of these children.  No more powerful men were going to use these babies for their own pleasure again.  
Heleen took her above, walked her to the side of the ship.   Y/N looked around, all the crew, everyone, was a child except for one man who seemed to be the muscle on this craft. All young girls of various ages, some as young as 7.   Y/N felt bile rising in her throat as she looked in the eyes of some of them, their eyes were much older than they should have been.  She looked at Nina and motioned for her to fall back a little bit. Nina took two steps back and sat down on the deck.  Heleen turned to face the mermaid as she stood, pointing to the island in the distance.
“Now, when we arrive at Argoes…” she didn’t finish her statement. Y/N sunk the scissors into Heleen’s eye, digging in as deep as she could.  She pulled them back out, feeling the blood on her face but not letting the warmth distract her.  As soon she killed Heleen the man came storming over, lumbering a large. Good.   Y/N ducked down, sliding under him and kicking out her leg.  He ran into it, nearly snapping it in half as he faltered, trying to balance.  For a moment she thought he would regain his footing and come for her but then Inej and Nina came out of nowhere and pushed him, sending him toppling over the side of the ship and into the sea.   Y/N stood up, rubbing her knee as she leaned to the rail of the ship.  
“Well, I’m sorry you had to see that…” she started.  Nina and Inej just shrugged and the rest of the girls on the ship looked at her.  She felt her soul ache for these children and realized maybe her soul could harness strong emotions, but it still didn’t feel completely real, still dulled by her lack of heart.  O well, she would protect these children, make them into a force a nature, show the world that they were more than just a body to warm a bed.  
“Come on, let’s push her over,” Inej said so some of the older girls, moving to Heleen’s body.   Y/N held out an arm.  
“No, you are children, you shouldn’t be disposing of dead bodies, you shouldn’t even be touching them,” she said.  “Get the ship ready, we are sailing for any port except Argoes.” She struggled but finally tossed Heleen’s body to the sea.  Turning she sought out Inej.
“Inej love, did you send that message like Heleen asked?” Y/N asked, gently touching the girl’s face.  Inej shook her head.  “Good. Now, you and Nina are my first mates alright?  So, where have you always wanted to go?”
  Kaz Rietveld didn’t know how long he had been on that boat in the middle of the ocean.  He didn’t know what day it was, what time, all he knew was that he was starving and so very thirsty.  Sitting in all this water was making it worse.  He had tried seawater, even knowing that it would do nothing but make him sick, but he had been desperate.  God, is this how he died?  15 years old and in the middle of the cursed ocean.  Fucking hell.  He should have just let his uncle know he was alive when he had the chance, but instead he had hid, never wanting to go back to that horrid fortress.  But instead, he was just going to die here.  O well, what really was his life worth anyway, crippled leg from a botched escape with his brother when he was 11 and now, well now he was broken entirely.  He knew that the moment they got on that boat, but he had gone anyway.  
He was laying down, ready to die, when the water moved, waves hitting the boat harder than before.  He sat up and looked seeing a pirate vessel flying the black colors approaching.  He knew this was his only chance.  Kaz could die in this boat or he could try his best at getting on that boat.  He waved his arms, screaming at the top of his voice.  He thought they were just going to pass but then a rope ladder was dropped down the side as they pulled up next to him.  He scrambled up the ladder and dropped on the deck, panting.  
“Water…please…” he begged.  The men around him smiled, looking like they had found a present. One of the men handed him a cup and he drank before spitting out the burning drink.  Whiskey, not water.  The pirates laughed at him and he saw a few cabin boys standing by, looking fearful of him. No, not of him, for him.  Kaz realized that he may have escaped one prison and wound up in another.  The spirit of the sea witches clearly wanted revenge on his entire family.  Taking his parents before he could remember them wasn’t enough, claiming his brother wasn’t enough, now he was stuck here. Fine.  If the sea wanted a war, he would give it one.  
For the first six months of his time aboard the Crow he was a cabin boy, but just in name.  Truly he was whatever the other men wanted him to be.  He was relieved when they brought aboard women for a week or two when he could just be a normal cabin boy.  Unless the women liked him too.  He noticed the two other cabin boys clung to each other, Jesper and Wylan, keeping each other as safe as they could.  One of the crew, an honorable ex-navy captain named Matthias also tried his best to protect them.  He often would give sleeping drafts to the crew to give the boys a night to themselves, but even he could only do so much.  
Kaz waited, biding his time until the captain himself wanted a visit. Then he put the plan he had with Jesper, Wylan, and Matthias into action.  
         Matthias put the poison in the crews dinner, which they ate at 6PM before moving to do night work on the vessel.  They were all dead before 6:30.  The captain ate his dinner at 7PM so Wylan stayed in his cabin, distracting him by being a bumbling fool and getting a severe punishment for it.  Kaz would have felt bad but he didn’t know if he was capable of feeless anymore.  Jesper brought dinner to the captain and helped a bloody Wylan out of the cabin. Kaz slid in as they left and stood, watching the captain as he ate his meal.  
         “Come here boy, I want a better look at you, want to see what all the fuss among the crew is about,” he said.  Kaz swallowed the sick in his throat and approached, letting the captain touch him, roughly feeling his hands on him.  Then the coughing started and Kaz let out a breath of relief.  The captain clutched his throat as his airways closed and soon he was dead at Kaz’s feet.  
         With the help of the others Kaz had the crew overboard and they headed towards a port far from Argoes to gather a new crew using the money the captain had stashed in a vault in his office.  The four of them argued over who would be captain but Kaz won out, being the only one truly willing to kill for the title.  He decided that as soon as he got to port it was time to reinvent himself. Kaz Rietveld was no more.  It was time to take a new name and become something else.
88 notes · View notes
Text
A wounded soldier knows no peace
Summary: Hunter gets used to his newfound freedom at the Owl House.
Rating: Teen and up audiences.
Tags: hunter, golden guard, self harming tw, cutting tw, suicide tw, suicide attempt by medication, emotional hurt/comfort, Eda clawthorne, Raine Whispers, King Clawthone, Luz Noceda.
AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33803458
 Hunter was free.
 That was a new feeling. No more Emperor's coven. No more Belos. No more Titan's will. No more having to live up to expectations. No more having to prove himself worthy of being alive. Hunter was free.
 And he was absolutely terrified.
 Every second of the day, free. No more midnight patrols. No more sudden missions. No more constant feeling of having to go out and prove himself to be a valued soldier. No more restrictions about when to eat, what to eat, when to spend free time, what to read and what not to read. He was free. Free of the Emperor's coven, free of Belos.
 That would make Hunter dizzy and nauseous.
 No that it wasn't good. No that it wasn't pleasant to sit down in the new bedroom at the Owl House (that he could leave at any time he wanted to do anything he wanted all the time, day or night as long as he was safe) and read Wild Magic books all day. Read about the things that interested him. But old habits die hard, and he would hide the books if anyone was near the bedroom. He would hide his valuables in strategic places. He would pretend to be reading appropriate stuff when he heard footsteps going upstairs, always alert. One of those days, he almost panicked while reading a comic for fun, and Eda was silent enough to surprise him, knocking on the half open door.
 "EDA!" He quickly put the comic book down, hiding it under his pillow, trying to not act suspicious. He was sweating, making Eda frown.
 "What's wrong, kiddo?" Eda asked, a bit worried.
 "N-nothing, I j-just…. You surprised me. That was all." He couldn't look at Eda, that connected some (wrong) dots on her head.
 "I won't judge you for looking at not age-appropriate magazines. I would look at them all the time when I was your age." Eda reassured.
 "What? No! I wasn't looking at those!" He got more nervous, trying to dodge more questions.
 "Listen, I was a teen once, don't worry, I understand."
 Hunter took a deep breath, taking the comic book from under the pillow.
 "I was just… I…. Really like this series." He was shaking from admitting that he liked something else besides academic books. He waited for punishment, but it didn't come. Instead, Eda opened a bright smile.
 "Oh thank Titan! I thought I would have to explain about witch puberty to you and that's a talk I don't want to have! Well, we can get the rest of the series if you enjoy it!"
 "R…. Really? You're not mad?" Hunter tried to make sure, reading her reaction as something fake to hide anger or disappointment.
 "Of course I am not! If you enjoy this series, that's good! I can try to get the whole box to you in a pinch so you can finish the story."
 "Wait, really? You're serious?"
 "Of course!" Her voice seemed welcoming. Hunter tried to get any hint of negative feelings on Eda's voice, analysing how she was moving, waiting for her to lunge towards his face and hurt him badly, but when it didn't come, Hunter tried to calm himself down.
 That was Eda. Eda called him to live with King, Luz, Hooty and Raine. Eda wasn't uncle Belos. Uncle Belos was dead, ten feet deep, buried, gone--
 Hunter felt relief when he thought about it. He felt wrong about feeling relief over his dead relative.
 "Hey kid, are you with me?" Eda asked when he didn't answer.
 "I… I am just… are you      sure     you aren't mad?"
 "Yeah"
 "And you won't invest against me."
 “Nope.”
 "And you aren't disappointed at me for wasting my time with comic books."
 "No, I am happy you actually like something!"
 "Okay, so I am reading something completely useless, you're happy for it, and I am not getting hurt." He put it into words, trying to convince himself of it.
 Eda knew about his past, knew about all the abuse he endured. Raine told her that they needed to reassure at any moment that Hunter was safe but free to leave at any time he wanted. She was still insecure about dealing with all of that, but willing to try.
 "Yeah, and like, if you want to take your comic book outside the house to read in the forest to feel safer, I will totally get it." Eda was looking at him, trying to get any trace of 'what I just said is just too wrong'. When Hunter didn't react at all, she thought she might have said the wrong thing.
 Hunter was again thinking that was a trap. That must be a trap question, right? Eda cleaned her throat, trying to get any movement, but Hunter seemed paralysed. "Hey, kid, I will approach you slowly." She did so, in his field of vision. "Can I hug you?"
 "I…. I don't know." Hunter managed to speak, confused.
 "If you don't want it, that's ok." She sat down on the bed, right beside him. Hunter looked at her, looking like he never had seen such a thing.
 "Why are you being nice to me?"
 "Because you're a teen that had way too much shit in your life, you deserve someone to actually be nice to you for once."
 "But do I deserve it? I hurted so many people, I-I kidnapped palismans, I….."
 "Hey kid. Focus on the present. You're here now. That stuff is long gone."
 "But it doesn't feel better just because it's in the past!" Hunter exploded, yelling at her.
 Eda didn't even blink, still looking at him with the same caring eyes than before.
 "I know. I know it doesn't. But it feels like it's a start."
 Hunter was shaking. He yelled, and expected pain. To be yelled back. To be said that he shouldn't speak out of turn. None of these things happened. Hunter felt like something was missing on this interaction.
 Like this interaction, many others seemed to lack the same thing. Luz would laugh with him, sharing about her own favorite books, instead of telling him that the series he loved sucked.
 King wouldn't scold him for sleeping in the middle of the day, instead, he would curl up on Hunter's chest and pass out as well.
 Raine would teach him how to make some bard spells to take out his frustration in some healthy way, instead of dismissing his feelings.
 Eda would never yell back or hurt him when he exploded, and would teach him how to correctly use his palisman.
 All of that felt so calming, so nice, so relaxing.
 And so wrong.
 Why weren't they yelling at him??? Why weren't they scolding him, hurting him, screaming, diminishing, being at least condescending towards him? All of that felt unbearable. He didn't know how to deal with all of that.
 He was always raised to fight back, to do what he was told. To claw his way into the top.
 Right now no one was telling him to do nothing. The whole day was free. No one was giving him a reason to fight back. There was no achievable top. He didn't need to survive. He didn't need to fight with everything he had just to see another day.
 And he was scared to his fucking death about it.
 He tried to distract himself with books, but it could only do so much. He tried flying with Little Rascal, but when he was alone, thoughts would race in his mind making things worse. He tried to get into new hobbies, but that seemed impossible. Twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week, thirty days per month. Nothing seemed to feel good for him to stop thinking about the overwhelming guilt about well… everything. He even tried to enroll at Hexside!
 This was making Hunter crave for an emergency door. Something to just make him… Stop feeling so many bad things. To stop feeling so much all the time.
 That was when he started the cutting. Small cuts at first, to make his mind feel other stuff instead. Punches on the walls to focus on the pain. Pinching himself when the guilt came. It was a form of punishment, and it worked decently to make him feel like it was what he needed. If he made anything that would upset anyone, like yelling or screaming, or scoffing at them, right after he would lock himself in the bathroom and "punish" himself for it. It was a twisted way of dealing with that, but Hunter couldn't care less about his personal safety, that's something he never cared about, and all the scars were there to prove it.
       The day had been rough. He felt like he could disappear if given the chance. That was it, he couldn't stand it anymore, and he took every potion he could while everyone else was sleeping, in the kitchen. That made him sleepy, dizzy. That would be enough to knock him out for some hours, that was his initial thought. But when he started to have difficulty walking and thinking, he thought that he might have overdosed. And instead of feeling despair, he felt relief. Maybe finally that would be the end of his short little lame life, and no one would miss him because he was a fucking nuisance to everyone. He tried to make his way upstairs, tripped, getting on all fours on the steps. He mumbled something incoherently and probably by luck, King was going to the bathroom at this time and saw him like that.
 "You ok?" He asked, worried.
 "Yeah, yeah, sure. Ok." He closed his eyes with the nausea that was coming. He tried to get up to only lose his balance further and fall to the base of the stairs again.
 King lost no time knocking Eda's door, a bit scared of what was happening.
 "What the deal is?" Eda finally opened the door, rubbing her eyes. Raine was putting their glasses on and yawning.
 "Hunter isn't okay." He only said that, and Raine was quick to stand up and rush to where Hunter was, trying to get him up. He was small, and easy to carry to the couch.
 "Hunter, Hunter?" They tried to offer them some water, some light baps on his face, but Hunter seemed to be losing consciousness. Eda came back from the kitchen with several potion flasks, even more paler than usual, and Raine's face showed fear "You drank all of that????"
 Hunter didn't answer, eyes foggy and fixated on the ceiling. He wasn't reacting to any stimulus, King trying to make him stay awake and failing, he seemed to be drifting off further at every passing second.
 Eda didn't waste time getting her palisman to call someone from the healing coven, while Raine was taking care of the teen. Luz woke up with the fuss, and seemed shocked about it, not talking much and just staying beside him, waiting for someone that could treat it to appear.
 After some hours of treatment, the doctor sighed.
 "He drank a death cocktail, basically. But since you guys saw it soon enough, he will make out of it, don't worry. But all of you might want to keep a close eye on him from now on." Getting his wrists exposed for the treatment exposed the old scars and new wounds as well. None of the inhabitants had an idea of that happening, Hunter made an incredible effort to hide it well from everyone, and worked. Raine was cupping their mouth, blaming themself for not having noticed sooner.
 "What's the deal?" Eda asked, holding their hand.
 "How didn't we….. how didn't we notice it?"
 The healing coven witch sighed, having dealt with this more than one time.
 "Some teens do it and show it as a way to ask for help. Some teens do it and don't show it because they think they deserve it and any help would confront this belief of not deserving. From what it looked like, he hid it well even from his roommates, and it's not an easy feat, so he was making a conscientious effort to not let you guys know. Don't take the blame." Raine nodded, trying to keep it together while the other witch talked. "And if he wanted help, he would threaten to drink all those potions. Not do it silently in the dead of night, while everyone that could help him was sleeping. I bet he doesn't talk a lot about how he's feeling."
 “He isn’t the one to talk about what’s bothering him.” Luz couldn’t stop looking at the scars, thinking about how she also should have noticed before. King had curled into Hunter’s lap and was slightly shaking, afraid that Hunter was actually going to die.
 The healing witch then left, leaving a list of potions that would help Hunter to recover better from the intoxication. They promised to go back in a few days to see how he was doing, but other than that, they only recommended to not leave him alone for too long.
 Hunter started to wake up after some hours. The whole owl house (including Hooty) had made a small camp around the couch. Eda and Raine were sleeping on a mattress taken from the bedroom on the floor, Luz was dozed off on her sleeping bag, Hooty stretched through a window and with his face on the coffee table that was dragged to give space to get near the couch. King was snoring onto Hunter’s chest, looking like a ball of fur.
 He was disoriented, feeling like someone beat him up with a log, and his mouth had a bitter taste, but he wasn’t dead, apparently, unless everyone from the owl house had died too. He moved slowly, trying to sit up, and waking up King in the process. When King opened his eyes, he panted excitedly.
 “YOU SCARED ME!” He hugged Hunter tight, not letting go easily “NEVER DO THAT AGAIN!”
 “W…. What?” he muttered, expecting a much harsher welcome.
 “OH! YOU’RE BACK!” Luz jumped to hug him, crying happy tears “We thought you were not going to make it out of it! Oh my gosh, I was so, so scared I would lose my older brother!” Luz rambled, wiping the tears. “Next time warn us so we can actually talk you out of it!”
 “I… I….” Hunter couldn’t speak, tears starting to stream down his face.
 “C’mon kid, that was a big fright!” Eda was starting to stand up, cracking her back. “You were lucky that King has a small bladder and a lot of thirst.”
 Raine approached and caressed Hunter’s hair, then hugged him close.
 “Sorry we couldn’t do anything before. I wish I could’ve helped with your feelings before.”
 That was the cue for Hunter breakdown. He started to sob, holding Raine tight, and everyone piled around him, hugging as they could and muttering everything would be okay, that he would be okay. All of them muttered affirmations of how much he was wanted there, and how much they liked to have him there, and the amount of happiness they were feeling that he was alive and well. After a long sob session, Raine ended up  getting breakfast for everyone, with baked goods from a little bakery near the house, the smell of apple blood and coffee filled the air, as well as now laughs of relief, Hunter starting to talk slowly about new books on wild magic he had found, and Raine talking about how it could be incorporated into bard magic.
 Raine got to clean and re-wrap Hunter cuts, asking him to the next time he did so, come for them to at least clean and put clean bandages on it, but there was so much care into their voice. No bad feelings, no scoffing, no disapproval. Just Raine telling him to take care of wounds.
 Kind brought a new book on demonics he was studying in class so he could show the highlighted parts that could interest him. Luz showed pictures that her mom was sending with Vee, talking they could visit the human realm all together soon enough for a dinner, and Eda served Hunter a cup of appleblood, kidding that he shouldn’t tell Raine (but it was a teen-safe version, so Raine just laughed about it), while making sure to fill Hunter’s plate with his favorite pastries. After this breakfast, Luz and King told Eda that they would skip classes today, and stay with Hunter. Raine wouldn’t leave the teen alone for more than ten minutes, constantly checking on him and making sure he was safe.
 It was a weird feeling,still. Being cared about was a weird feeling. But Hunter was starting to slowly get used to it. One day at time.
37 notes · View notes
Text
Exception to the Rule
Tumblr media
Fandom: Red Dead Redemption 2
Pairing: Arthur Morgan x Female Reader
Writer: @writings-of-a-hufflepuff​ aka @hufflepuffing-all-day-long​
Rating: M (?)
Warnings: Sexual tension, sexual themes. No smut, but I mean reader definitely wants to ride that cowboy. Period typical shame. 
Summary: There is one exception to your rule about forcing Arthur to forgo chores and take a rest, that is the duty of chopping firewood. 
Notes: Right, so I need someone to explain to me quite why I find men chopping wood to be attractive. I’m sure you can psychoanalyse the heck out of me from that fact alone. 
Can you tell i’m a tad touched starved and needy at the moment? Can you tell, good sirs?
Archiveofourown
Arthur Morgan was the workhorse of the gang and that was a bonafide fact. The man brought in more money and more supplies than anyone else in camp. Added to the fact that he also did more than his fair share of chores, you often worried that the big burly outlaw would work himself to death. Especially with him picking up the slack for those who never seemed to do anything around camp like Uncle and Strauss. 
Normally you’d stop him doing whatever chore he was doing, tell him to take a rest, go have a lie down and sleep or get some stew from the pot since he was the only reason you were even able to eat. You’d pull whatever he had from his hands and gently coax the man to go look after himself for five minutes which you’d manage to turn into at least an hour of down time. Every time he was reluctant, but grateful, asking you, ‘What’d I ever do to deserve you, darlin’?’ and every time you’d tell him something to the effect of ‘You were yourself, Mr Morgan’ while feeling flustered under his gaze. 
There was one exception to this rule you had about getting Arthur to take some time off and look after himself. That rule was that whenever the man decided to bolster the camp’s firewood store you left him to it. Now this wasn’t a selfless decision, not one born out of respect for the man’s love for swinging a heavy axe at a wood log pretending it was Micah’s head. No, the reason for this rule was entirely, completely, most certainly the fact that Arthur Morgan never looked more handsome or primally attractive then when he was chopping wood especially in the height of summer or during the warmer season. 
So, while you were most certainly going to hell and your late mother would be rolling in her grave, you found yourself on a stuffy warm day hands deep in a laundry bucket, but not really focusing on your work at all. 
“Y/N, he’s at it again!” It had been Karen who’d notified you, giggling in your ear as you looked up and across camp towards the tree stump that was used for chopping firewood. Your arms elbow deep in soapy water, you hadn’t really thought to remove them, just lean further forward on your hands, lips parting with a sigh. 
You don’t even care that you can hear the girls giggling behind you as they get on with their work, occasionally sneaking glances up at the same sight as you. 
Arthur was strong, if he were a horse he’d be his 18 hands high shire horse. If he were a predator, he’d be a brown bear. It was always more clear though when he decided to chop firewood. He had his shirt sleeves rolled up to the elbow, exposing thick, strong forearms dotted in scars and dark hair. You watched him roll his thick wrists once, twice before hefting the wood axe into his hands and up over his broad shoulders which tensed as he brought the axe down with a loud crack, the log splitting easily in two. 
You watched the blue shirt strain over the breadth of his shoulders every time he brought the axe down, listened to the grunts that left his mouth with effort, followed the droplets of sweat that beaded at his forehead before rolling down his cheek and neck, disappearing beneath his favourite shirt. He grumbled slightly to himself about the dig of suspenders in his shoulders, slipping them off to rest by his thighs and threw his favourite gambler hat off to the side as it got in the way of his swings. 
There was something about the immense power that Arthur exuded with each sharp decisive swing. The strength of his body combined with the sureness of his strokes made you slip a little with your hands in the washtub, splashing soapy water over the ground and your skirt with a curse. 
You quickly returned your gaze to your work as you noticed Arthur’s head twist to check on you. Ever the helper and protector, he always seemed to zero in on any sound of complaint or unhappiness you made. You couldn’t have him catch on to your favourite chore.
“Y’alright over there, sweetheart?” It was called across the clearing, concern riding his voice as he briefly let the axe fall to his side to check on you. It brought a warmth to your body, blood rushing through you towards your ears and cheeks at his concern and your mild embarrassment. 
“Oh, she’s just fine, Arthur. Don’t you worry about her!” 
“Karen!” You twist from your place knelt on the ground and reach over to slap her arm. The truth was as much as you were interested in Arthur, you were simply friends. You made sure he didn’t work himself to death and he made sure you smiled on bad days. It was nothing more, nothing less, even if the sight of him made you feel weak at the knees. The last thing you wanted was to be embarrassed in front of him over your...thoughts. 
“If you say so.” He gave the two of you a look before turning back to the stump. Putting it down briefly, you watched at first from the corner of your eye before being unable to resist his siren’s call as he unbuttoned the blue shirt and tossed it in a pile with his hat. Left in the top half of his union suit that clung tightly to the broad planes of his chest and the tight muscles of his shoulders, he was quite the sight. 
Your eyes followed the strong line of his neck as he circled his head to stretch out a tight muscle and draw a crack from uncomfortable joints. They followed it down to the unbuttoned union suit that revealed strong collar bones and dark chest hair. Followed it down to the strong wide breadth of his body. More interested in that than the wood he was chopping. 
“You might wanna close your mouth or else you might catch flies.” Tilly teases you, you would give her a playful glare, but couldn’t bring yourself to tear your gaze away from the specimen of a man that had gone back to his wood cutting. 
Another log, hefted onto the stump, biceps filling out as he bent his arms to lift it. Another swing of the axe, broad shoulders seeming even larger under the strain. Another grunt. Another droplet of sweat. 
“My mother must be rolling in her grave.” You say aloud, just a random thought, a little thing. That if she could see the heat of your gaze on Arthur, feel the warmth to your skin, know the itch in your belly, then she’d drag you by the ear to confessional where you’d have to tell the priest about all those thoughts. Like how you wanted Arthur to just throw you over his shoulder and take you back to his tent. 
“Maybe you shouldn’t be having such wicked thoughts about our dear Mr Morgan, Y/N. Mighty improper of you.”
“Mary-Beth, I defy any woman to not have wicked thoughts when Arthur’s chopping firewood.” You hit back eyes finally drifting from Arthur to your friends. Each of them has the same look you’re sure was on your face. Each no doubt having done exactly what you had done when Arthur started unbuttoning his shirt in the summer heat and heaving a heavy axe over his shoulder. 
“She’s got a point, Mary-Beth, that’s a whole lotta man, right there.” Tilly chimes in and some of that guilt that gnaws at you for staring at Arthur in such an improper manner dissolves. You’re not the only one who enjoys watching him chop wood. You’re not wrong for it. You’re just a woman with blood in your veins. 
“It’s a damn shame he thinks he’s ugly. He’s the most handsome man around camp.” You sigh out, thinking about the harsh words he always uses for himself as you watch him continue working on the wood pile. His beard has grown out and frames his face beautifully, even with that spot that he can never seem to grow any hair on. You think he’s the most handsome man you’ve ever met, his treatment of you and the other girls only adds to it. He’s so...soft. So soft for someone so tough and rough.
“He is handsome, but you’re a little biased, Y/N. What’s the saying about saving a horse?” Karen titters.
“Ride a cowboy!” Tilly and Mary-Beth say it so loudly that you’re immediately shushing them, embarrassment flooding through you. As you catch Arthur once again turning in your direction, brow furrowed as he looks at your group. His hand reaches up to scratch as his beard and part of you wants the ground to swallow you entirely whole. 
“I...Get your minds out of the gutter!” 
“Only if you get yours out first!” 
“I...I.” You huff, returning to your abandoned washing, scrubbing one of Arthur’s shirts with a new vigour that you didn’t know you had in you. They giggle behind you before walking off to the washing line to hang clean clothes up to dry. 
You have to admit that your thoughts about Arthur tend to stray to the impure, especially at night when your mind is left to wander. He’s just so broad, so goddamn big and everything about him makes you want to wrap yourself around him like an alligator doing a death roll. Coming from a more high society lifestyle before finding the gang you’re not as comfortable with those thoughts as the other girls seem to be. There’s always that nagging thought in the back of your head that something’s wrong with you for lusting after him. That it’s not what a proper lady would do. But, he makes your heart ache desperately whenever you think of him. He makes your body warm and your lips ache for his. It’s not even just his body, it’s just him. You’re always longing for his company, eager to see him return from a job or a hunt just to hear his southern drawl wash over you with sweet kindness. 
“Are you sure you’re alright, darlin’?” You jump at the drawl, his deep voice unexpected. He’s abandoned his wood cutting, crouching down next to you. The frown speaks of his concern and you can’t help but smile softly at how much he cares about everyone including yourself. 
“It’s nothing, Arthur. Don’t you worry about me.” You assure him, your eyes fixed on the shirt in your tub that is more than clean by now after your aggressive scrubbing. You finally managed to get that damn bloodstain out. 
A hand reaches under your jaw and gently grabs your chin, lifting your eyes to meet his. It has a shuddering breath leave your lungs before you can stop it, the look that crosses his face goes from concern to confusion to understanding and flirtation as he realises just why you’ve let that breath out. Just why the girls were teasing you. 
“I always worry ‘bout you, sweetheart. Especially in this heat. Wouldn’t wan’ you to keel over now, all hot and bothered as y’are.” HIs thumb finds the hollow underneath your jaw and you can’t help but lean into his touch just a little bit more. 
“Seems I should be the one concerned for you, Mr. Morgan. What with you working up a sweat on a hot day like today.” Your voice is breathy and you feel a tinge of shame at how little composure you seem to be able to keep around this man.
“Well I th-” His advance closer to you is stopped, his words halt as Dutch yells from somewhere in the vicinity of his tent, “Arthur! I got a job for you, boy!”
With a heavy sigh and one last gentle swipe of his thumb under your jaw, Arthur pulls away from you. 
“I’ll see you later?”
“Always.” You reply watching him walk away, disappointed but not sure what you were expecting to happen. Were you hoping he’d kiss you? Were you hoping it would escalate further? That this burning in your stomach would find some relief, that your dreams would not be pure imagination anymore but have some basis in fact. 
You sit back on your heels with a heavy breath, eyes turning towards the washtub again. Back to work, you suppose. Like always.
202 notes · View notes
Text
FREAK - FRANK MORRISON X READER
Tumblr media
*female reader
*Race Neutral
*TW ; small descriptions of gore, yandereish frank, blood, mentions of murder, mentions of anxiety and severe fear. Minors DNI
The days were winding down quickly, almost taunting you of what's to come. The cold month of February usually brought on the most snow in your little town. The population nothing more than 6000 people, although as the years went on it seemed like the number grew small and smaller. Part of you wondered if your whole town would cease to exist at one point. As if some entity would bring it down.
You pulled yourself out of your thoughts, moving away from the mirror in the bathroom you shared with your uncle. It's design was rather drab and plain, just how Charlie liked it although it'd be weird if it was any other color at this point. You have grown custom to the old scenery within your home. It was comforting.
You grabbed your dirty clothes off the floor, chucking them into wicker basket by the sink, making your way towards the door you were greeted with your uncles face. His bushy brows were raised.
"You'd just take a shower?"
"Yeah I did, don't worry I turned on the fan."
"Good, I don't need the room to be all steamy while I'm taking a shit."
You backed out of the bathroom with a snort, your uncle was always frank. No filter on that mouth of his but it was part of the charm. With a sigh you started heading towards the kitchen. It was just 10 minutes past 9 and the clouds were already in the sky, blocking any and all sunlight that dared shined today. It was never any match for the heavy clouds of rain or it's friends that consist of snow and fog. Chilly temperatures that seeped through your skin and past your bones, hitting you where it hurt most.
You washed your hands at the sink, looking out the window where it showed nothing the endless trees and hills of snow. These trees stretched out for miles, escalating till they reached the top of Ormond. The largest mountain in Canada. Surrounded by a backwater town no one ever heard of.
Every branch was weighed down by the white sparkling powder, it looked beautiful but beyond the shadows something sinister lurked. Creeping by in the dawn of wake, at least that's what the rumor was.
"Tomorrows the 14th, you think your admirer is gonna come again?"
Charlie's tone was nothing short of being playful but to you? The question felt like a itch that couldn't be scratched.
You dreaded thinking about this, cause you asked yourself the same question. Would they come again? Whoever they were and why?
About two years ago, on your birthday you woke up to a rather unsettling sight. It was a cold December morning (just for the sake of the story, pretend your birthday is in December) you looked outside your window from the second story of your house and what you saw was shocking. In the snow was a red heart. Maybe you think it's for someone else but it couldn't be when your name was right underneath it.
Only two questions ran through your head, one, how did this person know your name? And two, what was the red liquid? Was it paint? Food dye? Blood?
You feared the answer to either question but not as much when it happened again on Valentines Day, after that it happened again on your next birthday, same with valentines day. Just your recent birthday is when it seemed to stop, but you couldn't be so sure. It bugged you to no end that this person knew your name, your birthday and where you lived. Everyday felt like a checklist, lock the doors, scout the front yard, look behind your back... This anxiety of being watched was eating you alive and felt like everyone was mocking you. Your uncle somewhat seriously but mainly thought it was just teenage doings. Your friends saw it as a romantic gesture, instead of a threat or personal attack, and the police? They thought you were insane. It was frustrating, no one took you seriously and you starting to doubt everything yourself at this point. Trauma does that to you.
"y/n? You okay kid? You're kinda out of it."
Your eyes darted to your uncles, he stood in the doorway that separated the kitchen and the living room. It felt cold and dark, you started tugging on your shirt sleeves. The black fabric brought a certain comfort to your hands. Nodding, you turned to look at him.
"Yeah, no I'm okay. Still waking up a little."
Your voice waivers, he can tell your on edge. You and Charlie had a close bond, so he picked up on your moods rather quickly. His forehead creased, a sympathetic look crossed his features.
"Your still thinking about it, huh?"
You nodded, arms folding over your chest. That feeling of being watched crept back up, you felt exposed.
"Well, maybe it's a kid from your school? I wouldn't assume the worst y/n. That's a bad way of thinking."
He could be right, it'd make the most sense. Maybe you were negative, maybe it was the anxiety you had since you were little, maybe it was the excitement, nothing ever really happens here in Ormond. Deep down this could be just you wanting something more in life. You tried to calming yourself down, a deep sigh rustling out of you.
"Yeah, maybe you're right. I don't know, it just feels weird."
You decided maybe some food will settle your stomach, you went to the cabinet and pulled out some bagels. Ready to start your Saturday the best you could.
The clock had just striked 8 o'clock, by now it was dark out and your uncle wouldn't be home for an another hour so you were left to your own devices. The snow was falling rapidly on the ground, an inch already covering your yard. It looked feathery and light. The cold air perfectly whispy as the wind roared on, leaving the pine trees to shake in their wake. They looked like a puppet show, each tree black as silhouettes, covered by the dark night. It was a new moon tonight, something you could of enjoyed if your fear hadn't been eating you alive.
You really did try to take your mind off of  things but it wasn't easy. Your mind wasn't one to rest, you overthink a lot and this was something that couldn't possibly pass by you or your mind.
Currently you were curled up on the couch, huddled into a ball with a warm blanket, the t.v. was playing in the background but it felt like it was static to you. All you could do was sit and stare, checking windows and the front door every other hour. The darker the night got, the more your anxiety burned. Your stomach felt like a hollow hole, your chest was heavy. Each beat of your heart felt like the seconds ticking by, almost as if it was racing against the clock. All you wanted was this night to be over.
Tumblr media
Ten minutes passed and that's when things started happening, you looked to the left of you where one of the large windows sat. Next to an old bookcase that was adorned with nicknacks and thick books, all of which you read through. Your E/C eyes darted to the window and nearly fell out of your seat. You could of swore you saw a figure. Tall and broad shoulders, a gray hood, covered with a Navy blue jacket.
You could practically feel the bile climbing up your throat. It burned at your esophagus, fear had rattled your heart, leaving it to drum against your ribcage. The stuttering of your breath could of been mistaken for how cold you were, but it was fear.
Rushing to the window you plastered your hands against the glass, the cold caused your warm hands to tingle yet you felt like you were on fire. Your skin was hot and flushed, you wanted to rip off your hoodie.
Frantic orbs scanned the perimeter, seeing nothing but the long lines of trees and and darkness. We're you dreaming? Did your anxiety get that bad to the point you were seeing things? Your legs felt jittery, weak almost. Like they buckle at any moment.
Footprints, you could see footprints that tracked in the snow. Leading to the backyard. Quick to connect the dots, the back was a view you could see from your bedroom. Not that it was much different, the area was heavily wooded but that wasn't the only standing factor. The backyard was usually the place your so called "admirer" left their messages. They were here, you had caught them in the act!
Well, not really. Granted you were still in the house, sitting on the floor as your skin ignited with heat. You ripped off the heavy garment before tossing it to the side, left in a black T-shirt with a skirt and stockings, the cold wooden floor was definitely soothing but it didn't help ease any of your fear nor lessen the feeling of nausea twisting in your stomach.
They were here, you knew that much. You weren't crazy, or imagining things. The fear was real, which made it all the more worse.
With a quick dash, you found yourself in the kitchen raiding one of the drawers. Pulling out a rather sharp kitchen knife. You spotted yourself in its reflection. Wide, shakey eyes darted in every possible direction, seeing if they caught up with you in the home. Did they know you were here? Or did they think you were asleep? So many different possibilities ran through your head. It felt like a rush, your brain made everything feel woozy. The bile was practically in your mouth, your heart was burning.
Above every option you thought about, the one that seemed to make the most sense was to go outside. A scratch that you've been dying to itch for so long. Finally you could know who this person might be, with baited breath you tucked your knife into your side, buried in your skirt before grabbing some slip ons, facing the dark truth. Once and for all.
The cold air was like a shockwave. Instantly your skin was covered in goosebumps. A chill sinking into your flesh, hitting you where it hurts the most. But you continued on, across the street was your neighbors house. All the lights were off which meant they had been asleep, pale lights from the street lamps flickered on and off. A few moths circled around each pole. The snow had stopped completely and you felt alone. It was desolate on your street and your not sure how to feel about it.
You found yourself following the trail of Muddy footsteps, whoever this person may be, they definitely weren't clean. The tracks in the snow were large, gritty. They must be wearing boots. That definitely didn't help the sickening feeling in the pit of your stomach.
You stopped, there was it was. The red heart in clean white snow. It was splattered almost perfectly. Crimson red deep in icy thickness. The letter "I" Was before the heart and after it was the letter "U". I love you. Underneath it all? There layed your name ever so delicately, as if it was written with care. You swallowed the vomit in your mouth. You felt raw.
There was no mistaking what the color could possibly be. Too thick to be paint and too dark to be food dye. That was blood, the crimson color always ran deep, all of this felt surreal. You had to be dreaming, this wasn't real. You were imagining it all, why would anyone do this? The fear was getting to you, distorting all of your vision. Black dots floated around your vision as your breath slowed. We're you dying? Or are you gonna pass out? You couldn't tell. All you could feel was a blanket of nerves draping over you, collapsing into the snow, your whole body felt light. It was so warm yet so cold, and soft. God was the snow always this soft?
Wait, no you shouldn't fall asleep here. What's that saying? Don't fall asleep in the snow unless you never plan to wake up? But how could anyone resist? You felt ethereal. Like a bunch of morphine had been injected in your system and it was taking it's course.
Before your eyelids were too heavy, all you saw was your vision spinning slowly. The dark sky was perfect in your view, an ocean of stars reflecting with the crystal snow. Every bit of fear had left your body but deep in your psyche you were still scared. The fear was hidden away from the heavy feeling in your body. You were too tired to do anything.
A masked man had came into your view, peering down at you with heavy breathing. The mask had been a simple design, two eyes with a smile. It looked dirty and worn, multiple scratches had craved deep in its plastic interior. A swipe of blood across that mouth. What stood out the most was a tattoo along this persons neck, you feel like you've seen it somewhere. Maybe it was a dream? But before you could figure it out, your eyelids gave out. Only left with hearing the last thing your heard before you slipped into the abyss of darkness was heavy breathing and the sigh of your name.
Authors note ;
So I finally posted something 👉🏻👈🏻🥺, the ending is rather vague so you can imagine how the scenario might of ended, as always if you wish this to be written in either a different gender reader (male, female, non-binary, demis, I mean any and all) or maybe race specific just shoot me a pm! I hope you like it lol, I spent like three days on this and tumblrs formatting is kinda weird compared to wattpad so forgive me if I did this wrong lol.
.
89 notes · View notes