#she got mad at me ofc but i am just so fed up with this shit | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

1994sunflower · 3 years

Note

Hey! First of all, I love your story SO MUCH, you’re such an amazingly talented writer! Also, I was wondering if you could dig deeper into Micheal’s soft side (never get tired of it) in which maybe Y/N is sick, like she collapses for high fever or something, and he has to take care of her

thank you so much!! and ofc, I love exploring michael's soft side. he can be such a sweetheart when he wants to be (which is like never lol).

in which you’re sick

It would have been bearable if it was just exam week. You’d done that a million times. But the fact that you were also doing grad school applications along with your extracurriculars - suddenly you felt as if there was not enough hours in the day. In a week even.

Even with the sacrifices you’d made. You’d taken to forgetting food times. When you did remember, you’d have to eat during one of your other activities, usually studying and that just led to spills and half eaten food. It had only been about a week into these habits that you had gotten sick with a cold. It wasn’t a surprise, you were overworked, exhausted - no wonder your immune system was depleted. But it made your work and concentration that much more difficult, you’d cried more than once at the circumstances.

But maybe the hardest has been forgoing seeing your beloved boyfriend. It wasn’t that he was a nuisance, it was just that he was distracting and right then, you didn’t have to time to deal with distractions. Lest he succeed in distracting you like he so often does.

It’s been nearly two weeks since the last time you saw him. Something he agreed very begrudgingly to. But he knew how important your grades were so he agreed nonetheless. You texted him nearly hourly but still it felt nothing like having his comforting presence right next to you. It might have been the reason you caved and let him come visit you after he insisted. Not that he likely would have accepted your denial. He missed you just as much and he needed to see you, especially with how worried he was starting to become.

He used the excuse of bringing you lunch and you, weak and missing him, accepted it, knowing he would probably try to stay for much longer than just that.

But you could deal with that and him firmly when it came to that. He always listened to you.

You were at your desk, crumpled papers beside you, tissues, and about ten different tabs open on your computer, with the beginnings of one of your many application essays open on your tablet. You kept alternating between the two works and by the end of it, you almost felt a hysterical scream wanting to leave you. Nothing was good enough.

When you heard the keys clinking at the door, was the only time you had snapped out of your almost unhealthy focus on your work. By the time you realized just how awful you look, it was too late. Your hair was in a ponytail, different strands already falling out of the scrunch by how much you tugged at your hair in frustration. You wore no makeup and the bags under your eyes were more prominent than ever. The sick pallor to your face was probably so much more obvious, if the sniffles and occasional cough didn’t give your sickness away. Not to mention the pajamas that still adorned your body.

But Michael had already opened the door before you could even think of last minute changes to your appearances. All you could do was turn around in your chair to face him, clearing your throat in hopes of pushing back any coughs.

Just as it’d been nearly 2 weeks without seeing him, it’d been 2 weeks of you living this mentally drained lifestyle. And you looked it. Not that it mattered. Michael had never made you feel insecure or anything but the prettiest girl he’d ever laid his eyes on. He loved you, no matter how you looked.

And that was proven when he finally took you in after 2 weeks of not seeing you. His eyes shone with the same love they always held when he looked at you, now with also a sense of relief at finally being right with you. No hint of judgement.

There was a third emotion there too. Worry. But you didn’t have time to try to dissect it because you knew it would just lead him to get you to take a break and lose time you could be spending on working.

Normally you’d be the one who greeted him first, excitedly. But you were too tired to hold that same energy and you hadn’t used your voice for anything other than frustrated groans. All you could do was smile weakly when Michael lifted the bag of food in his hands. The action made you swoon just a bit, you knew it was likely his first time being so attentive to someone, going beside himself to make sure they’re fed and bring it to them. He never would have the same detail with anyone else.

“Got your favorite.” Michael gravely voice finally hit your ears and you had to close your eyes for a second. You’d missed him, much more than you had allowed yourself to think of.

Opening them back up took more effort than you wanted to think of. It seemed that now that you weren’t hyper focused on the work in front of you, the mental tiredness you had been ignoring was finally starting to seep in.

When you stood, you had meant to say a ‘thank you’ before walking over to serve your food but the moment you got to your feet, you felt a wave of dizziness overtake you. Your body swayed for a moment, only stopping when one of your feet that had almost lost its footing, stomped down and you took a hold of the back of the chair you just left. Eyes closed tightly to try to center yourself.

When you opened your eyes, Michael was staring at you with wide eyes, intense with the worry that had been there before much more prominent. “Are you okay?”

You nodded, coughing slightly despite yourself. “Yeah, sorry. I think I might just be hungry.” You tried for a giggle to lessen the mood but Michael didn’t smile or relax at all. His eyes just raked in your figure.

“Are you sick?” That would have been bad enough but if he knew you were sick and didn’t tell him so he could have made sure you were okay, all hell might break loose.

“Sorry I didn’t have time to make myself look better today, okay?” Your tone was a lot snappier than you intended for it to be and that he expected, as evidenced by him rearing back in surprise. You were just so tense. But instead of apologizing you just made your way over to him. No wobbling, no swaying. You were fine.

You didn’t want to deal with defending how you took care of yourself (or rather how you didn’t). You didn’t have time anyway. You’d barely have time to eat what he brought you but the least you could do was eat a bit of it.

“It smells great.” You sniffled. You tried to reach for your food but Michael moved the bag back. His eyes never left you, analyzing every little move you made. It was unnerving. You couldn’t imagine how others withstood his gaze whenever he was angry at them.

“Y/N-” You made an impatient sound. Every time he said your first name, he was serious. And somehow, right then, it made you defensive. “You said you only needed a few weeks to focus on your shit and that you’d be fine without me having to check on you.”

“I am fine.” You muttered yet you couldn’t quite meet his eyes when you said it.

“Yeah? Is that why you got dizzy just from fucking standing up?” His words were harsh and loud but you knew it was because he never really figured out how to show concern any other way. He was worried.

“I told you, I’m just hungry. I didn’t have breakfast today.” But maybe it wasn’t the right thing to say because you saw his eyes flare up with even more concern and anger. But right then, after spending days multitasking and still not even making a dent on the work you needed completed before your rapidly approaching deadline, you were able to match those emotions.

“Michael, I’m really not in the mood to argue with you today, okay? I’m busy and if I’d known you came here to judge everything I’m doing I would have told you not to come. I’m doing my best! Why is that….why…”

It was getting hotter in the room. You’d felt the warmth all day - week even - but as your anger and voice rose, so did the temperature. You barely had time to register the light headedness.

Your breath was shaky by the time you finished your rant and your eyes becoming suddenly distant as you looked around, confused, before you were falling backwards. You would’ve hit the ground if Michael hadn’t moved first and caught you in his arms.

You didn’t hear the frantic calls of your name, more scared than perhaps anyone had ever heard him, the apathetic man he was, sound. You didn’t feel the way Michael’s hands gripped your body, trying not to move you too much lest he do more damage. You didn’t feel the same dropping of his heart when he saw you go down and the freezing fear in his veins. The only thing you felt was his huge, shaky, sigh of relief when you opened your eyes a handful of seconds later.

With much effort, fluttering them to try to keep them open. You couldn’t really see what was in your line of vision, everything was so blurry. Eventually, it was too much effort and you kept them closed, but you felt yourself being picked up and carried. His heartbeat was fast, you felt as he carried you with your face pressed against his chest.

The first movement you made when he finally put you down on the soft bed was furrow your eyebrows, then your hand was rubbing your face. By the time you opened your eyes, confusion set in “What…?”

You didn’t finish when you looked beside you, seeing Michale on his knees next to the bed to be on your level. He looked paler than you’d ever seen him, eyes wide and watching you like a hawk.

It was then that it hit you that you didn’t really know how it ended up that he carried you into your room. You remember getting mad at him, the warmth that slowly overtook you, then the next thing you knew, you were in his arms.

Panic struck you next. How much time had you wasted? You had a final paper due by the end of the week. You had to submit an application in two days.

But when you attempted to sit up, much too fast if your dizzying head was anything to go by, Michael pushed you back down. No longer trying to negotiate with you. His eyes shown fiercely - letting it known that there was no room for compromise.

You couldn’t stop the four coughs that escaped you as you stared at him, pleadingly.

“Don’t.”

“But I have to-”

“You just fainted, Y/N.” Michael almost sounded mad but the waver in his voice gave away his true emotions. “You’re sick and your body’s exhausted, obviously. You’re not going to do shit. You’re going to rest and I’ll…handle it. Contact your professors or whatever so…don’t worry about deadlines or anything.”

His voice made it clear there was no point in fighting against him. Even though his relationships with professors was less than friendly and he never cared enough to ask for extensions for anything before in his life.

He took your hand in his big ones, dropping his head to rest his forehead on top of your fingers. As gentle as you’d ever seen him. “Why haven’t you been taking care of yourself?”

You didn’t answer for a long time and you were grateful that he wasn’t looking at you anymore so he couldn’t see the way your eyes filled with tears and your lip wobbled. You didn’t mean to scare him, or neglect yourself. But if you took the time to do anything else, you’d be behind. You were so tired.

“I d-don’t know.” You said as a few hot tears ran down your cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

You felt his hands brush some of your hair from your face softly. “You scared me.” He admitted and somehow, you knew that for Michael, admitting that weakness was hard. But he didn’t mind being vulnerable in front of you.

His eyes bore into you, almost too intensely for you to be able to handle. Until his hand came up to your forehead and you found the excuse to close your eyes so you wouldn’t have to watch the worry in his.

“You have a fever.” He got up and you didn’t even get the chance for your sluggish brain to wonder where he went before he was already back, carrying a small bowl of water with a rectangular mini-towel on top. You weren’t sure how he knew exactly what to do for you, how he seemed so soft and tender in these actions that were so unlike him.

He put the cool, wet towel on your forehead as he sat next to your lying form on the bed. He was so close to you, leaning over you. You were scared he would get sick because of you but when you finally opened your mouth to speak again and told him so, he ignored you. As if that was the last thing he was worried about.

From the moment you collapsed, his attention had been on you and nothing else. Nothing else mattered in his mind. And that translated in every attentive action that made you feel so taken care of. This side of your brash boyfriend, the caring, delicate side at a time when you needed it most nearly brought tears in your eyes. It made it very obvious that despite what he might seem to everyone else, he was the perfect boyfriend, would make the perfect husband. For you. He made you feel supported and at home even when your body and energy seemed to be turning their backs on you.

“I’m hungry, Mikey.” You tugged at his sleeve. You weren’t sure if you were, really. You’d gotten used to the pulsing headache from the lack of food throughout the week. But judging by the heaviness of your eyelids, threatening to close and the weakness in your body, in your energy, if you didn’t eat, you might shut down again.

Your voice was croaky but he didn’t comment on it. His answer was almost automatic, “I’ll get the soup I brought you.”

You’d almost forgotten why he had been there in the first place. He’d insisted because he had missed you. And you missed him. He came to take care of you, going out of his way to do what he would never do for anyone else, just never imagining you were at your limit.

It was almost embarrassing. Being in your weakened state in front of him and having him tend to you like a child. Especially when, sitting up in your bed with a disorientation and a feeling of tiredness that seemed to be the only things you could truly feel at the moment. Plus the muted feeling of stress that never seemed to go away; it was screaming that you should be doing your work, that you’d fall behind.

But you didn’t have time to dwell on it before Michael came back with a bowl of warm soup in his hands and sat next to you again. Saving you even from your own thoughts without realizing it. He placed the soup on your nightstand and it wasn’t until he began to get a spoonful that you realized he meant to actually spoon feed you.

To think of your boyfriend doing anything so nurturing seemed almost unnatural. Yet here he was, without an ounce of hesitation or embarrassment. It was such as mismatch from his personality, his reputation and it melt your heart to think that he cared about you so much to throw all of that away for you and his worry for you.

You could only manage a feeble, “You don’t have to…”

Michael stared at you silently for a while, not a decipherable emotion seen in his face, before bringing the spoonful of soup up to your lips. “I want to.”

And while you knew Michael wasn’t a big talker, those three words dripped with sincerity. Matching the loving actions and gestures he was currently doing for you. It was clear, if it wasn’t already before, that nothing was more important than being there for you when you needed him the most.

He didn’t let you talk again until you finished the food, feeding you each sip. Until he was satisfied that you had eaten enough to compensate for your lack of nutrients the weeks he spent without you. This was just as new to him as it was for you to see, this side of him. Doing things that he never would have dreamed of doing for someone else. But it felt like second nature when he saw the woman he loved more than anything else in such a vulnerable state. He yearned to take care of you, to provide for you. To keep you happy and healthy. Especially with how often you take care of him.

“Was it good?” He asked. Though he knew you would’ve liked it. If not simply for the fact that you hadn't eaten much else then certainly for the fact that he went out of his way to go to your favorite restaurant and pick your favorite item from their menu. The one you got every time he took you there.

You nodded, “Thank you.”

You weren’t expecting it when Michael enveloped you into a hug. So tightly you couldn’t even hug him back even after you got over the shock. His face was buried in your tangled, messy hair. He breathed you in as if taking in the fact that you were okay, he mumbled into your hair, “I know how much you care about school and how hard you try because of that but….none of that shit matters compared to you.”

It was so hard for him to be without you for so long. But he did it for you, to give you the time you had asked for to focus on your work. It had never occurred to him the bad mental state the solitude could leave you in, what it would do to your physically. If he had known, he never would have let you be alone. He would’ve fought you tooth and nail if it was what it took but he would have checked up on you, been there for you. And that’s exactly what he’ll be doing from now on. He’ll be there for you.

“Get some rest,” He reluctantly let you go. “You need to sleep.”

When Michael got up, though you were objectively much too warm because of your fever, you felt a lonely cold. You didn’t want him to stay away so you could study and work anymore. You needed him and all the comfort he brought to your soul. And he didn’t want to leave you anymore either.

“Mikey!” You called to him as he switched off the light to your room. You heard him hum in answer. “Don’t leave, please.”

He didn’t answer you. But you felt him get into bed beside you, kicking off his shoes as if it wasn’t the middle of the day - as if he had nothing else he would rather do than sleep right then next to you. And by the way he put his entire day on hold the minute he saw your condition, you guessed he didn’t. You had an inkling that while you had every intention of not letting him distract you when he had first arrived, that he had already been planning on staying the entire day anyway.

You were glad he did. You wouldn’t have been able to keep going the way you were if he hadn’t forced you to confront your self-neglect and tended to you with such dedication and love.

Both of you were silent and you could feel your tired body begin to drift to sleep when your boyfriend spoke up from beside you. “Promise me you’ll start looking after yourself, no matter how stressed or how much stuff you have to do. Promise.”

You weren’t snuggled into him like you would want. But you could feel him on his side, staring at you in the dark. His voice was serious with a hint of desperation. He needed to hear you say it. To know that his loved one would never be put in such a mistreated circumstance ever again, you didn’t deserve it. Nothing deserved to have you feeling anything but cherished, healthy and confident. Not even yourself. Because he believed in you so completely.

Though he never planned on leaving your side, emotionally or physically, to have any negativity enter your thoughts or habits ever again. He was willing to carry the weight of the world if it meant you would feel the strength and happiness that had been beat out of you.

“I promise.” Your words were small but it was good enough. Michael took you in his arms then, again not caring for any risk he was running of getting sick himself.

The next time you spoke, it was mumbling against his shirt. “I’m sorry you had to see me like this. I must’ve looked so gross because I didn’t really get ready all week and I-”

“Shut up.” His words held absolutely no bite, they were whispered. “I don’t give a damn what you looked like today. You never look bad to me. I only cared about making sure you were okay. And I’ll keep being here to make sure, I’m never leaving you alone again. I promise. No matter what you say.”

Your heart felt so full at his sweet words, just for you.

Then it was back to the comfortable silence. Until you began coughing again, this time against his chest and you tried to pull away quickly, both scared for his health and embarrassed. “Michael, seriously, you’ll get sick.”

But Michael’s strong arms were like steel bracketing you to his body. Unmoving despite your protests. He only cared about finally keeping you to him, where he knew he could protect you and keep you close, especially after so long without you and having your health deteriorate because he wasn't around.

“Yeah, maybe I’ll get my own class extensions then if I do.” He said it seriously, and knowing his academic achievement, or lack thereof, you didn’t doubt he meant it.

But still, you couldn’t help but giggle at his words, knowing he was smiling right alongside you without even having to see it. It felt foreign, laughing after so long of your negative thoughts and stressed lifestyle but nice especially because of all those things. A positive, carefree spirit that filled you because of your loving boyfriend and being so cocooned in his protection right at that moment.

#5sos #5sos fluff #5sos angst #michael clifford #michael clifford x reader #michael clifford fluff #michael clifford angst #bad boy michael #bad boy fluff #bad boy angst #5sos imagines #college au

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erensonly · 3 years

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Cuddle Buddies (Bakugou x Black! Reader)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Chapter 8: Moving Into The Dorms~

0,1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6.2, 7

Love Maze (song for chapter)

(don't play the song yet)

"Y/N, get up." You felt someone trying to shake you awake. "I ain't gon tell you again. Let's go." Groaning, you sit up, disoriented.

"C'mon, get up and start packing. You gotta have all this stuff in that dorm by tomorrow. And when I come back you better be up. I'm going to get you some boxes."

Mama walked out of the room. Going to the bathroom to do you morning routine and get the day started.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Grabbing a suitcase, you go to your closet to try and decide what you want to go with you and what you want to stay.

Deciding to take most of everything in the closet, you start to stuff them in the suitcase. Going to your drawers, you start to grab stuff to try and put it in the suitcase.

Hearing your phone ring, you go to pick it up. Seeing it's Bakugou, you answer the Facetime, and put the phone down to continue packing.

"Why am I looking at the ceiling?" Here he go, you thought.

"Because I'm busy. Why did you call?"

"Because I may or may not be outside..."

"And why-" hanging up the phone, you walk down the stairs and go to open the door, seeing Bakugou at the door. "Why are you here?"

"Not happy to see me?" He pulled you in for a hug. Wrapping your arms around him, he leans in for a kiss. Smiling, you kiss him back.

Finally pulling away, you grab his hand, dragging you to your room. Seeing your suitcase and clothes on the floor he asks, "Where the hell are you going?"

"I have to move into the dorms by tomorrow, so I'm getting my stuff ready," you continue packing.

"... need help?" that's sweet.

"Um... I have some stuff on that vanity that I want. If you could put that in a box for me I would appreciate it." Going to get a box from mama, you walk to her room to see where she put them.

"Mama, where did you put the boxes. I think I only need a couple."

"I put them in the hallway next to your room. By the way, is somebody here?"

"Yeah, Bakugou is here helping me pack some things. Wanna come say hi?"

"Maybe later. Finish packing."

"K."

Walking with a few boxes, you hand one to Bakugou and put the others down.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

"Ugh," you groaned," finally finished. Thanks for helping me Baku-"

"Don't call me by my last name."

"Ok Katsuki. Thanks for helping me pack. Now I have to move this to the car and into my dorm."

"Let's go, we can get food on the way back."

Katsuki grabbed the boxes while you grabbed your suitcases. He put everything in the car while you went to tell mama that you were leaving.

Getting in the car, he puts a playlist on shuffle and starts to go towards the school.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ Seeing the U.A building, you get out of the car, not excited to have to stay here for the rest of the year. "I think mama said Aizawa should be here to show me my room. Let's go."

Going to find Aizawa, Katsuki grabs your hand, walking behind you. Not seeing your teacher anywhere in the common area, you're just left confused. "He's probably in his room. C'mon," he lead you towards Aizawas room, knocking on the door.

"Who the hell- Oh it's just you. Let me show you to your room." He sluggishly walked in the opposite direction.

After walking for a little while, he points at a door. "Here's your dorm, right next to Asui and in front of Bakugou. Do you need anything else?"

"Nah, I got it, thanks." He walks away, leaving you two alone. "Come on Y/N, hurry up and get your stuff, I'm hungry."

"Don't rush me."

Going to spotify on your phone, you play Love Maze (by my faves ofc. play song) you start to sing along.

Cause I'll be in love maze Cause I'll be in love maze

Hearing the beat of the song always put you in a good mood. You start to sway with the beat of the song, taking things out and putting them away.

Katsuki grabbed a box and started to place things where you directed. Still singing the song, you turn to grab a poster of of the box to put on the wall, but noticed that Bakugou was slightly swaying with the beat as well.

"I take it you like the song," you laughed at him and his slightly stiff movements. "Shut up. You're just jealous you can't dance like this." This dude-

"Yeah right. Gimme your phone." Handing you his phone, you add this song and all your other favorite songs to a new playlist.

(i'm so bad at syncing songs but forget it. gotta keep the story going)

"Oo, this is one of my favorite parts," you rap along.

But I don't wanna use my head I don't wanna calculate Love ain't a business Rather like a fitness

Turning to look at Katsuki, you start to sing to him,

Let them be them Let us be us Love is a maze damn but you is amaze yeah

He blushed, not looking you in the eye anymore. You grab his hands, trying to get him to dance with you. "C'mon 'Tsuki, dance with me."

Feeling the rhythm of the song, you feel him start to loosen up a bit, dancing with you. Even though he couldn't understand too well what was said in the song, he still enjoyed it.

Baby just don't give a damn

Getting ready to hear your next fave part of the song, you bend down a little, getting ready to really get down on him (iykyk)

Hearing the beat change slightly for a second, you move your ass to the beat. Standing up straight, you both start to move with the beat, syncing each other, his hand on your waist and yours reaching back to grab the back of his neck.

Just looking into each other's eyes, indulging in each other's company. Staying there for a while you pull away. "Let me finish putting this away and we can go eat, k?"

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

"I want Chinese food."

"Did I ask what you wanted?"

"I will make you crash this car right now. Don't play with me." Obviously he was joking, so you naturally played along.

"I don't wanna die with yo big headed ass," he laughed. Deciding to play with his emotions a bit, you pretend that it hurt your feelings.

Furrowing your brows, you cover your face and start to fake sniffle, trying not to laugh. He glanced at you for a second, not being able to turn his full attention towards you due to him driving.

"Why are you crying? I didn't mean it," he rubbed your thigh. "Ok, we can get Chinese. You can get whatever you want." His tone was softer than usual.

You couldn't believe he actually fell for it. Not being able to hold in your laugh anymore, you burst out laughing at him. He look appalled. How could you just play him like that?

He scoffed and took his hand off your leg. "You ain't getting shit now." He was pissed that you played him like that. His temper is short as hell.

"Baby I'm sorry," you continued to laugh, "don't be mad at me. I didn't mean it."

"Whatever." He kept driving in silence. Was he actually mad at you? It wasn't that bad. You kinda felt bad.

Arriving at the restaurant, he got out the car, still silent. "Are you still mad at me? I'm sorry, don't be mad." You reach up kiss him, thankfully he kisses back.

"Don't play with me like that. I really don't wanna hurt you," he hugged to close to him. "Now, let's get you fed," he grabbed your hand, walking in the restaurant.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

Getting in the car with a full stomach, you groan. "I'm so full and tired."

"When aren't you tired?" Here he go being a smartass.

"Shut up. Take me back to the dorms so i can sleep and call my mama."

The drive home was quiet with music playing quietly. Getting out of the car, you head to the door so you can go to your room. Seeing everybody in the common room you wave at them and kept it pushing.

Crashing on the bed, you sluggishly grab your phone, clicking on mamas contact.

"Hello?"

"Hey mama, just wanted to let you know i'm at the dorm and i'm ok."

"Alright. You got everything set up?"

"Yep."

"Alright, try and get some sleep and make sure to call me tomorrow."

"Alright, love you." Hanging up the phone, you try to go to sleep. Tossing and turning. Just feeling restless. You were genuinely so tired, but your mind wouldn't slow down, it kept thinking about that day.

Big Head🐥 can you come to my dorm

Bakuboy💥 Yeah What's wrong??

Big Head🐥 cant sleep

Soon after, you hear someone knocking on the door, the coming in. "Why can't you sleep?" He sat next to you on the bed.

I cant tell him that yet. I want to but... not yet

"Dunno."

He knew you knew why you couldn't sleep, but he wouldn't push it. Not yet. "Probably because you're wearing these uncomfortable clothes. Go get changed."

Changing into comfy clothes, you go back to lay down. "Come cuddle me."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. It's ok if you don't want to though."

"I'm not supposed to be in here. But for you."

He turned off the light, laying behind you. Wrapping his arm around your waist, he soothingly rubbed his thumb on your stomach. "Go to sleep pretty girl."

Humming, you snuggle into him. Feeling your mind quiet down a bit. You slowly fall into a deep sleep,feeling safe.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

and that's a wrap. this was alright, slightly rushed but🤷🏽‍♀️ um if you didn't like the song choice then idk what to tell you exactly. anyway i hope you enjoyed this chapter. there will be tings starting to unfold in the next chapters coming out so be on the lookout for that. have a good rest of your night/ day 🖤

#katsuki bakugo x reader #mha bakugou #bakugou x black reader #kenmasblackwife #mha #mha fluff #black reader #bnha

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wiypt-writes · 3 years

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Stark Spangled Banner

Ch 10: You’re My Mission

Summary: The Asgardian Staff case is wrapped up but before Katie and Steve can be re-united, the Super Soldier has a mission of his own to complete. Their reunion doesn’t disappoint, and as she weighs up the events of the past few months, Katie reaches a conclusion about her future with SHIELD

Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark

Warnings: Smut (NSFW) over 18s only thanks. Bit of bad language….

A/N: Another lovely edit from @angrybirdcr of Katie in action.

Disclaimer: This is a pure work of fiction and classified as 18+. Please respect this and do not read if you are underage. I do not own any characters in this series bar Katie Stark and the other OCs. By reading beyond this point you understand and accept the terms of this disclaimer.

Chapter 9

Stark Spangled Banner Masterlist // Main Masterlist

Tarim. Yemen. The hottest place Steve had ever been. Ever. And a place he had no desire to go back to. Ever.

As far as he was concerned, this whole mission had been a cluster fuck of epic proportions. The Mercs they had been sent in to deal with were slightly more ruthless than they had anticipated, taking a group of school kids from the square hostage. Evans and Rollins (in Katie’s absence) managed to contain most of them, taking them down with non-fatal injuries, as was the agreement with the Government, but one of them wasn’t going quietly and had snatched up a kid as he made a break for it.

The Yemeni Special Forces were on their way, and Steve knew that if they arrived permission to execute a kill shot would be given. But even that was dangerous, as the guy had the kid held in such a position, his back to a wall, her held across his chest, that the angle would have been impossible. Steve ordered the team to lower their weapons, and stepped forward, hoping to talk the man down. And then Rumlow had taken a shot, off-loading a bullet straight between the Merc’s eyes.

And Steve was mad, mad as a wasp.

“I gave you a direct order…” He stood, hands on his belt in the jet as he looked at Rumlow, the nerve in his jaw twitching.

“I made a call.” Rumlow shrugged “If I hadn’t they would have gotten away…”

“You put those civilians lives in danger.”

“That’s a little dramatic…”

“Yeah, come on Cap.” Rollins spoke.“The kid was fine, we got the weapons Government were ok…no harm done.”

Steve rounded on him, his blasé tone set his teeth on edge.

“That isn’t the point.” he blazed “I wouldn’t have asked Barton to take a shot like that. I wasn’t, and never will be, willing to risk anyone’s life like that, not to mention that of a child, for collateral damage, just to get what we need. It makes us no better than the people we’re trying to stop.”

“It worked didn’t it?” Rumlow shrugged

“Sheer luck.” Steve retorted.

“Well sometimes you just get lucky.” The STRIKE leader shrugged.

Steve sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He didn’t need this shit.

“Look Cap, with all due respect, I’ve been running this team for years. You don’t get to do our job without taking a bit of risk.” Rumlow looked at him. “Now I’m sorry if you feel I was challenging your authority…”

“It has nothing to do with my authority.” Steve blazed at him.

“Really? Because that’s what it looks like from my position.” Rumlow shook his head “I’m sorry you feel this way. But it isn’t as simple as that. Life isn’t split into good guys and bad guys, it ain’t black and white… more shades of grey.”

Steve didn’t reply, he simply stared at Rumlow, his eyes raging before he moved away to a seat for take-off next to Natasha.

“Let it go Rogers.” She drawled softly to him. “You’ve chewed him out…you want my advice, leave it there.”

Steve didn’t reply. He was pissed and didn’t trust himself to say anything. He hadn’t heard from Katie so far today, but he wasn’t expecting to as he’d fired her a message last night, or this morning (he had no idea what time-zone he was in anymore) to tell her he was off on an urgent mission.

It was pathetic, he knew, but being away from her was really setting him on edge. Not just because he found jerking off in the shower was far less satisfactory now than before he’d actually started sleeping with her, but more so he was missing the stupid things, like her draping her legs over his on the couch whilst she was reading, her singing when she was cooking, the way she laughed till she cried at Brooklyn Nine-Nine, even demanding he make her a grilled cheese at 02:50 am…

Steve watched with amusement as the girls walked out of the bar, a little shaky, Katie leaning on Natasha laughing at something. He’d dropped them both off earlier in the evening and said he would pick her up later, even though they said they would get a cab. He had insisted, he loved looking after her and that was what boyfriends did right? Picked their dames up. However, as they teetered over to Katie’s car, it looked like he was about to inherit a pair of drunken, giggling idiots to look after, and the thought made him smile with fondness.

“Hi baby!” Katie greeted him as she climbed into the seat. She leaned over to give him a peck on the cheek and he smiled.

“You had fun? You look like you have.”

“Fun is my middle name Rogers.” Nat winked and Katie sniggered in the seat next to him as he pulled the car off from the curb.

“Nat’s gonna stay at mine.” Katie turned to look at him, her cheeks tinged pink with the alcohol “Afterparty!”

“Don’t you think you’ve both had enough?” He teased and. Katie put her fingers to her lips and told him to shush whilst Nat leaned forward.

“Just because you can’t get drunk.” She narrowed her eyes at him.

“Whatever, your funeral Romanoff.” He smirked, eyes on the road.

“God he’s so sensible, how do you cope?” Nat looked at Katie. Through the corner of his eye he saw a wicked smile cross his girls face.

“He has hidden talents” She quipped, before the two women descended into fits of giggles.

Steve let out an exasperated noise through his nose, but secretly he didn’t mind. He loved that she’d had a good time, even if he had the sneaking suspicion he’d been the butt of a few jokes, probably even a few risqué girl chats too.

“Hey, yoooo wanted to come get us..” Katie picked up on the noise he had made and looked at him. “Can’t stand the heat stay the fuck out the…” she paused “erm…”

“Kitchen?” Steve supplied, looking at her, left hand on the wheel, amused grin on his face

“Yeah, that.” She pointed.

“Kitchen is very much your domain sweetheart”

“Not what I heard” Nat chipped in. “She says you make a mean grilled cheese….”

“Oh my god.” Katie said suddenly “can you make us one?”

“What, now?” he frowned.

“Well obviously not right now as this is a carrrr” She rolled her eyes, gesturing around her “But when we get home. I’m hungry.”

He looked at her “Doll, it’s almost three in the morning.”

“Pleeeeeeeeeeeeese Stevie.” She pouted, batting her eyelashes at him in a ridiculously over the top manner, which he couldn’t do anything but laugh at.

“Alright I’ll make you both a grilled cheese” He nodded, unable to stop the smile creeping across his face, even when he heard Natasha burp the word “bitchwhipped” from the back seat.

Emerging from his memories, Steve lay his head back against his seat, shooting a glance over at Rumlow. The man was still being deliberately obtuse about the fact he was going out with Katie and he knew full well that the disobeying of order was a direct ‘fuck you’ aimed at him. But, as he thought about it whilst they flew home, he knew Natasha was right. The more he kept going on about it, the more likely it was to cause a bigger rift. With that in mind, during the debrief with Fury, Steve remained calm and when the time came he nodded at the STRIKE leader, giving him the floor when needed, both sticking to the facts- the operation had worked (Steve didn’t go as far as to use the word success), they had managed to seize the weapons and capture the main cartel leader who was now in custody of the Yemeni Services.

“What I wanna know is why are there so many of these weapons turning up?” Evans asked. “The DODC ran an extensive clean-up operation.”

“They were littered all over the New York, spreading the entire Manhatten area.” Steve said, answering as he looked at the Texan. “The DODC did as much as it could as fast as it could but people were already out there taking bits for themselves before the Chitauri had even been stopped. Katie says they’re still tracking through any leads, sifting out those who took them for souvenirs and those who took them for less scrupulous reasons…it could take years.”

“It was always going to happen.” Natasha shrugged “Terrorists are always looking for the next big thing.”

“Which is why we will always be looking for them.” Fury drew the meeting to an end as he stood up. “Alright, written reports to me no later than forty-eight hours. Other than that, you can head home.”

“Sir” Steve nodded as everyone started to file out. Steve noticed Natasha was hanging back.

“You ok?” She asked.

“Tired, fed up…” he sighed.

“Missing your girl?”

“A little” He admitted, before deciding to ask Nat what was on his mind because he could trust her honesty “Am I being old fashioned here, you know, with not wanting people to die?”

“No.” Natasha shook her head after a pause and he could tell she was picking her words carefully “I just think sometimes…well, we have to accept that we have to take risks.”

“You think Rumlow was right?” He sighed.

“Not as such.” she shrugged, “But I understand why he did it. I don’t necessarily agree with his methods shall we say but…”

Steve ran his hands over his face and couldn’t help thinking to himself how much simpler it had been in the war. They shot at them, they shot back. He let out a deep breath.

“You still taking some time off?“ She looked at him.

Steve shrugged and then looked at his fit bit for a second, thinking to himself the stats would make interesting reading. It was 5 in the morning. He hadn’t slept now for almost twenty-two hours bar the quick nap he had gotten on the jet. At that point his phone sounded with a message from Katie. A photo taken of Galway Bay in Ireland. Smiling at the simple message “Wish you were here.” he looked back at Natasha and nodded.

“Yeah. I think I am.”

****

“Are you sure he’s okay to go out into the field?” Katie asked Coulson, one eye on Ward’s back. The man had just slammed a case shut, making everyone jump in the hanger and he was growing increasingly broody. Despite herself, she was feeling a pang of sympathy for him. She knew how hard it had been for him to open up about his past, and holding part of the staff had really shaken him. “He’s not exactly acting like himself.” she concluded.

“But he knows it. He’ll be fine.” Coulson replied as they walked to the SUVs. It was a short ride to the Monastary which was located just outside of Galway and Katie spent the time watching the scenery. She loved Ireland, she’d been a few times when at University in the UK. Her mind wandered to her soldier, who himself had Irish roots, his mother and father hailing from Limerick. Smiling, she pulled out her phone. She knew it would be late back in the US, it was barely touching ten am where the where and the time difference would make it the middle of the night. That is if he was back from the mission yet. Still, she took a photo of the coast road they were on skirting the edge of Galway Bay which in the November sun looked stunning, the light bouncing off the calm blue sea reminding her of those deep ocean pools she loved to look into. She sent it to Steve with a simple message ‘wish you were here’ and then shoved it back into her jacket pocket.

The monastery itself was a beautiful gothic building set into the side of a green hill. They all climbed out and checked their weapons, Coulson once more going over the plan of action before they headed to the large front door.

“Well, it’s been a while.” Elliot said quietly as they walked into the building, Katie taking a moment to appreciate the architecture, another thing Steve would love. “I wonder – ah, yes. There it is. Still here”.

He walked to the front of the room where a book lay set up on a stand.

“Well, the nose isn’t quite right, but…”

Katie and Coulson walked up behind him, followed by the rest of the group to see that he was looking at a drawing of a man wearing long robes and holding the staff.

“That’s you?” Katie asked, looking at him.

“Yeah, they venerated me a bit as a saint.”

“They’re idiots” Ward spat viciously. They all spun round to look at him, where he was stood a few feet behind them all. “Where’s the staff?”

“It’s upstairs.”

Elliot led the way, the team following up a set of spiralled staircase. Katie and Coulson were directly behind him, taking the lead with May and Ward shortly behind them as deputies.

“It’s quiet.” May said softly

“ Why do you think I trusted them with my secret?” Elliot shrugged, still walking on ahead. He Elliot stopped in front of some sort of cabinet and ran his hand down the side before he reached for the handle. “They take a vow of silence.”

“But when you get them talking, they squeal.” A low male voice said, it’s owner appearing from behind one of the walls to the left of the cabinet, holding two pieces of the staff, one in each hand. It was the man whose mugshot Katie had seen on the tablet earlier that day, Jakob. Suddenly he held one piece up high and stabbed Elliot in the chest with it, he fell to the floor.

He turned and advanced on the rest of them, and Katie reached for her gun, readying herself. To her left she felt someone bend down to Elliot, presumably to try and treat him.

“No one else wants to get hurt.” Coulson spoke to Jakob, his gun raised. Jakob cocked his head to one side, looking at it before he stared back at Coulson.

“If you want to defeat a God, you must become one”

Suddenly there was a loud yell and a scream. Katie spun round to see Ward had bent to Elliot, only it wasn’t to treat him, it was to retrieve the piece of the staff stuck in the Asgardian man’s chest. He held it in his hand and then suddenly threw himself at Jakob, knocking Katie and May out of the way as he went. The two men fell over the banister railing to the floor below.

Katie scrambled to her feet and looked down to see Jakob recovering from the fall first. She aimed with her gun but couldn’t get a clear shot in, as he picked Ward up like he weighed nothing and slammed him back down to the ground.

“We need to help him!” Skye said, looking at Ward before she ran off.

“Skye!” Coulson called, he was now bent over Elliot and speaking furiously into his coms for Jemma Simmons to come help. “She can’t fight, she’s not trained…”

May nodded, “We’ll get her. Stark, with me.”

Katie nodded and ran after May, the pair of them practically jumping down the stair. Ward was now on his feet and as Jakob lunged at him, he flung himself to the right out of the way.

“Skye.” May instructed as they caught up with the dark hared girl who was watching Ward now ducking and diving the swipes from Jakob “Stay outta this…”

Both Katie and May stepped forward, but as they did so, Ward paused what he was doing and bent to grasp the part of the staff that was on the floor next to him. His face contorted in rage and when Jakob came at him again, Ward punched him hard in the face, enough to cause him to fly back against the wall where he slumped to the ground before Ward rammed him straight in the chest with the staff in a fit of rage like nothing anyone could comprehend. Ward’s chest was heaving and he spun round to see the other three agents watching him cautiously. His eyes were blazing with a fire Katie had never seen before.

“Ward.” May approached, tentatively stopping when Ward held his hand up.

“Get away from me.” His face was contorted in rage.

“Grant.” Katie tried gently, stepping forward so she was level with May. “They’re right, that thing, this isn’t you.”

Something clearly registered in his brain and his face softened slightly but then suddenly the door was kicked open and they whirled round to see the rest of Jakob’s group enter the monastery. The three agents regrouped and Katie took her fighting stance, weighing up their opponents. It had been a while since she had been in a full force hand to hand combat, but she was pleased to find that her training with Natasha and Steve had kept her prepared. She dodged, ducked, punched, kicked, flipped up and over people, taking them down with her using her legs as the room filled with rowdy men and women, all yelling. May was working through them almost 2 at a time and Ward, now holding two of the staff pieces from somewhere, was easily fighting off a group of them, the power he was gaining from the staff clearly visible.

Katie grabbed one man in a choke hold just as he was trying to get up, and as he stopped struggling she threw him to the ground, and looked round at the now quiet room. May nodded at her, taking a deep breath and Katie turned to see Ward who was shaking drop both pieces of the staff he was holding and collapse to his knees. Skye hurried over and knelt in front of him.

“Are you alright?” May looked round Katie. She nodded looking giving her a small grin, reaching up to tenderly brush at her cheekbone. One of them had landed a good shot.

“Been a long time since I had a full on fight like that, not using my guns.” she said, and May’s mouth curled up at one side before she made her way over to help Skye get Ward to his feet. Just as Katie was about to join them, the door opened again. She spun round to see another face she recognised from the photos, Jakob’s girlfriend, Petra stood there, the third piece of Staff in her hand.

“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me” Skye said from behind Katie.

Katie looked around glanced at May who also turned her attention to Petra as she was now circling the room. Which a quick flick of her gun, Katie aimed a shot at her, but she simply whipped the piece of staff out in front of her and it tinged the bullet off to one side.

“We’re no match for her whilst she has that” May said and instinctively Katie glanced down at the two pieces of staff on the floor near them. Grant wearily sighed and went to pick it up but Katie dropped down on one knee and grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

“You’re not in any state to do that.” she said not unkindly as she looked at him, “Let me help.”

“Kay…” he started to argue, the use of his nickname for her registered but now wasn’t the time to chastise him, nor did she really find she cared enough to do so. It was then that May cut in.

“She’s right. We can’t beat them unless we’re on a level playing field.” She shot him a look and he nodded.

“Okay.”

Skye helped Ward away as May and Katie watched Petra as two men from the group they had taken down earlier got to their feet. Petra looked round the room and let out an audible gasp as she saw Jakob’s body for the first time. Katie slowly and apprehensively reached out for a piece of the staff, hesitating for a moment as she had no idea what was going to happen when she did pick it up. May looked at her nodding and then the pair of them reached out, each gripping a piece. Katie gasped as a warm sensation flooded up through her arm and then her head was like it was somewhere else. Which it was, she was back in what, according to Professor Randall, should be the worst moment of her life, only it wasn’t the moment she had initially thought of when he’d told them that…

Rhodey was on the doorstep of her Chelsea apartment at three am local time. She knew instantly that something was wrong. Without a word he entered, and told her that Tony’s ARV had been attacked and they had no idea where he was. She almost collapsed and he helped her over to the sofa where she sat still, tears falling as she listened. The room fell silent, and with a shaking hand she reached for the remote and turned the TV on to the News Channel, to see her Brother’s face plastered all over the screen.

“I’m sorry Kiddo…” Rhodey’s voice was choked and she turned to look at him “I should have been with him but he insisted on riding in the other ARV, the FunVee…” he shook his head, snorting angrily.

“Who’s taken him?” She asked, swallowing.

“We’re think it was an Ambush by the Ten Rings.” Rhodey swallowed. “We’ve not had a ransom note yet but we expect it’s a matter of time. We’ll find him.”

“It’s finding him alive that’s the issue, Rhodey” She wiped away the tears from her face, the sick feeling in her stomach threatening to overwhelm her and it felt like someone had a band over her chest that they were constricting, hard…and then it was to much, and she bolted to the bathroom, emptying the contents of her stomach into the toilet…

Gasping Katie took a deep breath and looked up sharply as one of the men flew at her. Letting out a yell of rage, pent up anger and hurt she launched forward as Petra did the same. Their pieces of staff blew against one another and soon they were battling, fiercely. Katie was fighting to kill, and she instantly understand what had made Ward run Jakob through with the staff.

It felt good.

She could hear and see in the corner of her eye that May was also tackling a few more members of the group, easily keeping them at bay but Katie was focussed on one thing, the woman in front of her. She was good, matching Katie blow for blow but eventually Katie’s tenacity and training started to win out and she began to get the edge. She swung forward with a huge swipe and knocked Petra to the ground causing the woman to drop her part of the staff. Automatically it joined with the piece Katie was holding in her right hand, glowing orange again.

“It’s been a month, Katie…” Obediah said “A month…I hate to say this but the chances of him coming back…”

“I don’t wanna hear it, Obi!” Katie wheeled round “Tony is alive, and until someone shows me any kind of evidence to the contrary…then things stay as they are, I don’t give a shit what the board say.”

She watched him out of the room before she dropped her head to the desk and began to cry. She didn’t stop, even when Pepper walked into the room and dropped an arm round her shoulder, the pair of them lost…

A crash caught Katie’s attention and she saw May had dispatched the remaining fighters. She glanced up, and saw what Katie was doing and instinctively threw her piece of staff over to her. Katie grabbed it, joining it with the other combined pieces completing the staff.

Katie gave a yell as once more that warm feeling spread up her arm to her chest and her memories swallowed her.

“Your government has for far too long sold weapons, manufactured by Mr Tony Stark, to our oppressors, to our enemies. This is blood in exchange for blood, death in exchange for death, meet our demands or within 48 hours the great Tony Stark is no more…”

The room came back into a bleary focus, just as Petra staggered to her feet, swaying slightly.

“I am not afraid of you.” She spoke, her accent thick.

“You should be…” Katie snarled, as she advanced towards her. Quick as a flash she let out a loud cry and struck Petra with the staff, hard in the face. She fell backwards to the floor, deadly still.

And then a different voice spoke in Katie’s mind a clear voice. Her own voice.

“He escaped, though. And he was fine, well as fine as Tony ever is. So there’s really no need to fear this memory because that’s all it is, a memory. It all worked out in the end…”

Katie dropped the staff and fell to her knees, her entire body shaking with the exertion of wielding the Asgardian weapon. Her head was pounding with those memories, the voices, everything. Her hands flew into her hair as she bent over, trying to focus on anything but her thoughts.

“Hey…” Two hands were on either side of her face, and Katie looked up into May’s eyes. “Focus on me, Stark.” Katie took a deep breath as May’s hands slid gently down to the side of her shoulders. “Can you stand?” She asked. Katie nodded and then looked over at Petra.

“Is she…” She managed to croak out. Had she killed someone? In blind rage?

“Don’t worry about her” May shook her head, “I’ll take care of it.”

Katie got to her feet with May’s help, glancing over at Ward and Skye. Ward gave her a small nod of his head, which she acknowledged with a small incline of her own as May helped her out of the smaller Vestibule room they’d been fighting in and through to the entrance hall of the Monastery, the sun streaming through the stained glass windows.

“That thing…” Katie took a deep breath “Ward wasn’t wrong…it…”

“Tell me about it.” May’s voice was quiet, and Katie realised the normally stoic woman was shaking, although not quite as violently as her. The two of them settled on a large slab of stone. They were shortly joined by Ward as he sat besides them, the three of them didn’t talk for a while, merely lost in their own thoughts, Katie wanting nothing more than to get home to see Steve.

“When you held it…” Ward said eventually, breaking the silence. “Did you see anything?”

May nodded, and so did Katie.

“Then how, Kay? How did you hold all three?” Ward looked at her

She paused, thinking about it for a moment.

No need to fear this memory

“Because it’s a memory that I don’t need to be afraid of.” she shrugged eventually. “And I see the reason why every time I look at Tony.”

*****

Steve packed a bag. There was, sadly, one last mission standing between him and his girl. And he no idea how long this particular mission was going to take. It was completely rogue, way off SHIELD’s official radar anyway, only Fury and Natasha knew what he was doing.

Oh, and Tony. He’d enlisted the Billionaire’s help because had a somewhat personal interest in this case. So much so he’d leant him the Stark Jet, because he couldn’t use the Quinjet, and the fact that like everything Tony owned, his jet was faster and better than anything else, it had shaved a good 2 hours off what the journey would have taken had he flown full commercial, not to mention saved him a load of messing about in the meantime with bookings and check ins.

The jet was comfortable, he had flown on it a few times with Katie before back to NYC when they didn’t drive that was. As soon as he was airborne he face timed Katie using the connection on the plane and had hissed at the bruise on her cheek. She had batted off his concern and instead went on a rant about how cheap Fury was. He had to laugh at her indignant tone, apparently they had arrived at a Premier Inn a few hours ago and she had refused point blank to get out of the SUV and after a battle of wills with Coulson had upgraded the entire team to the Sheraton just outside of Galway within ten minutes. Apparently overnighters weren’t standard for the team she was working in as they had the Bus but Coulson had decided they all needed some down time after what sounded like a gruelling mission.

“And what better way to do that in a 5 star hotel with a spa, right?”

They talked for the longest time they had in the three, almost four days she had been gone and Steve loved it. She didn’t go into much detail about the mission itself, bar to say it had ended in a pretty ruthless fight and that she was mentally and physically exhausted, promising to tell him all about it when she saw him. He told her in no uncertain terms that they were both going to take some time out, Fury had cleared it and her face had lit up, but then fallen when he sadly told her he had one last mission to sort. After assuring her it wouldn’t take long, and it really wouldn’t, she had smiled and told him she couldn’t wait to see him.

“Me either Doll, me either.”

He took the opportunity to get some sleep, and was awoken by one of the stewardesses a few hours later who informed him they were an hour out. Thanking her he headed off to change out of his comfy sweats and into his specially selected outfit, one that would make him blend in a lot more than the stealth suit. Once he had arrived, cleared customs at the private airfield they had landed at, he climbed straight into the arranged official looking blacked out SUV and the driver set off, not a word spoken. The driver already knew their destination, Fury had already patched that information through before he had taken off.

It was easy to blag his way in to the building he needed to be in. Dressed in a black suit, all he had to do was quickly flash his SHIELD ID badge and the woman at the desk was only too happy to provide him the information about where he could find his target, and access to the required area. He didn’t take the elevator, it was too easy to be spotted. Instead he snuck round and found the service stairs and bolted up them two at a time to the seventh floor, his kit bag containing his shield slung over his shoulder.

****

After they had checked in to the decent hotel, not that Premier Inn (which she was sure was clean and perfectly comfortable, but she wanted fucking luxury after three nights of being in that pokey room) and she’d spoken to Steve for at least an hour, Katie showered, changed and headed off out to explore the area with Skye. The two had chatted, Katie really did like the girl, and they’d done a bit of shopping, had a late lunch, before they had headed back to the hotel and made use of the Spa. Then, she’d sat and eaten with the team, before bidding them all goodnight and retiring to her room with a bottle of Krug (because, why not?) and a long assed hot bath.

She tried to face time Steve again, but this time he didn’t answer. Probably elbow deep in whatever mission he was on this time, he’d been very vague about this one, saying it was hush hush but he would explain all in person, including what had gone down in Yemen which sounded like an utter shit-storm.

Changing for bed, Katie dropped onto the comfortable couch of the suite (ok, so she’d upgraded herself a teensy bit more than everyone else), poured herself another glass of Krug, slightly disgruntled to see the bottle was empty. So she rang down for another, fuck it.

Just as she had put the phone down, her cell called.

“Hey baby.” Steve spoke and Katie could hear the smile in his voice. “Sorry, the phone won’t let me face time for some reason.”

“Well that’s a shame because I’m naked.”

Steve groaned and Katie felt herself grin. “Don’t do that to me.”

“Sorry.” She giggled “I’m not really, just wish you were here.”

“I know.” He sighed “Me too”

“I’m taking it that seeing as you can talk your super-secret spy shit mission is done.”

“It was surprisingly easy” He mused, “Target didn’t suspect a thing and thanks to a very helpful lady I met, I got in with no fuss.”

“Helpful lady?” Katie narrowed her eyes. “How helpful?”

Steve let out a chuckle “All I had to do was flash my ID and smile”

“Coz you’re a regular charmer, aint you?” Katie laughed, and then there was a knock on the door. “Oh hang on… room service.”

She got up off the couch, made her way to the door, phone still in her hand and she pulled it open.

“Hey Doll.” Steve grinned at her and her mouth dropped open, the phone slipping out of her hand to the floor. “Surprise.”

She was a sight for sore eyes. Silk cami top and shorts, her hair falling in damp waves around her face. God he’d missed her.

“What…you…” She stammered, taking him in, the black fitted suit and tie he was wearing looked far better than it would have on anyone else and he laughed at the look of utter shock on her face “The mission, I thought…”

“You’re my mission, Sweetheart” He grinned, stepping into the room, dropping his kit bag, picking his phone up as he did so. And, no sooner had he straightened up, Katie gave a little shriek and threw herself into his arms.

“I can’t believe it.” She whispered, her hands straying to his face “You are here right? This isn’t just some weird trick my mind is playing?”

“I’m here, promise.” He placed a soft kiss to her lips. There was a clearing of a throat and Katie peeked over Steve’s shoulder to see a rather embarrassed looking hotel worker clutching the bottle of Krug she had ordered along with a fresh glass and an ice bucket. She tapped Steve’s arms and he reluctantly set her down so she could sign the receipt with a flourish. Steve smiled at the man, taking the ice bucket before closing the door. He followed Katie into the large hotel suite, and dropped the ice bucket and her phone onto the coffee table before sinking onto the couch and Katie climbed onto his lap, winding his tie around her hand.

“For the record,” she murmured as she looked him up and down, “this is a good look.”

“Glad you approve, Darlin’” He grinned as she tugged on his tie, pulling him closer to her, and she pressed her lips to his in a deep kiss.

He responded eagerly, hands creeping into her hair to hold her head in place as his tongue slid against hers, his hips rocking up before his lips dropped to her collarbone

“I missed you.” He purred as she let out a small groan, her hand sliding into his hair.

“I missed you too” She muttered, his hands gently fell to her hips, giving them a squeeze. “Take me to bed.”

Steve didn’t need asking twice. Standing easily, drawing a giggle from her as she wrapped her legs around his waist, he paused and looked around.

“Trust you to get a suite that’s bigger then my apartment.”

“I have very high standards.” She shot back. “Door to the right.”

He gave a quick laugh and strode over to the door, pulling it open and stepping into the plush bedroom which was softly illuminated by the bedside lamp. Dropping her onto the huge bed he crawled over her as she once more grabbed his tie and pulled him down.

“You really do like this huh?” He arched his eyebrow, ooking down at her as she gently slipped his jacket down his shoulders and he shrugged it off, tossing it to the floor.

“What can I say, I’m a sucker for a suit. Although I still think the Stealth one is better.”

“Maybe I should bring that home one night.” He muttered as his lips slid against her neck and she groaned.

“Please do. Your ass looks great in it.” She moved, pushing on his shoulders. Steve sat back on his heels and she locked her eyes on his, undoing his tie gently, a move she managed to make incredibly arousing and Steve let out a groan and he kissed her.

“Fuck, I missed you.” He whispered into her mouth

“Save it, you’re wearing too many clothes.” She replied, undoing the button on his collar and then her soft fingers made their way down his chest, her eyes following as it fell open. He shrugged it down before he fell back down on top of her and moved to pull her vest top over her head. As he tossed it aside somewhere he let out a gentle moan at the sight of her in front of him, and he wrapped his arm around her back and tugged her up slightly as his head bent to take a nipple into his mouth. He used both his hands and his mouth in a nearly coordinated attack that left her all but dying, and completely desperate for his touch elsewhere. He could read her body signals like a book and happy to oblige, one of his hands slid down, dipping into her bed shorts, finding him hot and wet for him. He groaned into her chest his fingers playing with her.

“Baby you’re soaked.”

She managed to moan in response, and then it was a race for the pair of them to get out of their remaining clothes as fast as they could. Once there was no barrier between them he kissed her hard, Katie shifting so that her legs went around his waist, pulling him flush against her, wanting to touch every inch of him possible. Steve repositioned himself slightly, gently working into her, the pair of them letting out a satisfied sigh as he bottomed out, stilling slightly just to savour the moment.

“Stevie…” Katie whispered into his ears “Please…” At her plea, he began to thrust, slowly, deeply, running his hand down Katie’s leg until his hand stopped at her knee. Katie looked at him as he seemed to hesitate for a split second before he directed her leg up, casually resting it over his shoulder so that he could go even deeper. She moaned loudly, he’d never done that before and it felt so unbelievably good, like nothing ever had before. Her fingers dug into his arm as he starting pushing a little harder, a little faster, then faster, until he had reached a relentless pace. Katie could do nothing but reach up, bracing herself on the headboard of the large bed as he continued, making her curse and leaving her short of breath, eyes closed in utter pleasure.

He slowed for a moment, making her look at him, letting out a noise of protest. “Don’t stop.” she begged, “Fuck, Stevie…”

He grinned, and it was a wicked grin, coupled with the mischievous flash in his eyes and it made her gulp slightly. She’d never seen him like this before, it was as if something had snapped and he was finally letting himself go fully, realising that after almost six months of sleeping together he didn’t have to be a gentleman all the time as she wasn’t going to break. As she stared into those baby blues, his pupils blown with desire he slowly pushed himself up so he could put her other leg over his other shoulder.

“Oh, holy fuck-” Her voice cut off and turned into a loud wail as he picked up the pace once again, pounding into her over and over and it wasn’t long before his name and another plethora of curses tumbled from her lips as her orgasm ripped through her like nothing she’d felt before. Her back arched, fingers dug into his back as he coaxed her through it before dropping her legs from his shoulders, laying atop her and chasing after his own end furiously. Katie held him close as she came down, gently encouraging him into his ear, his rhythm eventually stuttering and changing as he came with a frantic gasp of her name.

The pair of them were slick with sweat and absolutely spent as they laid still, no sounds coming bar the ragged gasps for air from them both. Steve buried his head in the crook of his girl’s neck and she ran her fingers through his hair, his forehead still clammy and he let out a loud hmmm of contentment.

A moment or so later, Katie broke the silence.

“Baby.” She said softly, a playful thought rising in her mind. His response was simply another hmmm because he was still utterly blissed out. This caused Katie to smile a little as she spoke again. “Did Cap just come out to play?”

She felt him grin into her neck, “I think he may have done, yeah.”

“Well you can tell him from me that was amazing?”

“I’ll be sure to let him know…” Steve mumbled, still not moving.

“In fact, I’d go so far as to say that’s probably the best sex I’ve ever had.”

“Just probably?” Steve lazily raised his head to look at her and she made a show of looking upwards as if she was thinking about it.

“Ok definitely” She grinned, kissing him gently.

*****

Katie bid goodbye to Coulson’s team the next morning, Steve remained in the hotel room as he’d been under instructions from Fury not to speak to Coulson or draw attention to him in any way. Then they’d taken 3 glorious days break in Ireland, hiring a car and driving to Limerick.

As they drove, Katie told him all about the mission, what the staff had made her see, and how it had surprised her slightly what her worst memory was.

“I always thought it would be the time Tony told me mom and dad were dead” she said, softly a Steve cruised their hired Audi Q3 down the motorway. “Guess I fear losing Tony more.”

“It kinda makes sense.” Steve said, his hand straying to her knee “you were very young when the crash happened. Tony’s been your dad for, what, 22 years now? Far longer than Howard was I suppose.”

“Yeah.” she said gently, looking out of the window “I mean, I don’t remember a lot about my parents to be fair. I have memories, but sometimes I wonder how many of them are mine and how many of them are what people told me.”

Reminiscing seemed to be the theme of their brief trip away. They spent a day visiting the places Steve’s Ma had told him all about, then the next day, after a lazy morning they drove up to Dublin where they had both drunk a fair amount of Guinness after Katie dragged Steve to Temple Bar, showing him the places she had spent a fair few weekends in on trips over from the UK. They forgot all about SHIELD, all about Fury, all about missions. They were just a normal couple enjoying a break, and Steve had frankly never had as much fun in his life.

It was on their last night, just after they were curled up in post coital bliss after their 3rd round that evening when Steve mentioned about how it was back to reality the day after that Katie propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him, biting her lip.

“What if I don’t want to?” She asked quietly.

“Don’t want to what, Honey?” Steve asked, kissing her head.

“Go back. To SHIELD I mean.”

Steve’s hand paused its journey up and down her spine as he turned his head to look at her, frowning. “You want to leave?”

“I’ve been thinking about it a lot over the last 3 days.” she said, her fingers gently tracing over the dark blonde hair on his chest. “I can’t do it anymore Steve, I’m tired.”

“What’s brought this on?” he asked, turning so he was on his side facing her, pushing her hair back off her face.

“I can’t pin point one thing.” she said, looking down. “But…”

Steve paused, waiting for her to continue, and after a deep breath she did, her words coming almost as a jumble as she poured her heart out to him in the darkness of their hotel room.

“If I’m honest I’ve been thinking about it since we found out that they hadn’t been destroying the Chitauri weapons. Look what happened when Fury started fucking about with the Tesseract… I mean how do we know they’re not making more weapons just like they were before New York?”

Steve remained silent, that had been bubbling away in his mind too. He wasn’t best pleased about the situation but knew that Katie, who had headed up the DODC clean- up had taken it personally. She’d flipped out when Tony had told her what his latest hack into SHIELD had discovered and Steve had had to stop her marching into Fury’s office and calling him a liar there and then. He understood completely, she felt betrayed after having being told she was heading up a clean-up operation when in actual fact it turns out to be a goddamed technology harvesting operation.

“You now when Coulson died, I blamed myself. I made a decision to try to free Thor not help Coulson and I know I’d probably do it all over again because it was the right call, but the point is I blamed myself, for the past what, 18 months or so and Fury…he let me do that, he let me think he was dead…”

She was getting worked up, Steve could hear it and sense it, even if he couldn’t see her properly.

“Hey…” he said, his hand gently moving to her arm, rubbing softly as she continued her ramblings.

“And then there I get to The Bus and there’s more secrets there, not being told Ward was on the team, which to be fair wasn’t as bad as I thought but still, it’s more lies…”

She was crying now and Steve sighed, wrapping his arms round her and pulling her to him. She pressed her face into his chest “This isn’t me Steve, it’s not who I am.”

He held her close, hand wandering up into her hair as he chewed over what she was saying. From a selfish point of view the thought of her leaving SHIELD worried him. She’d been his linchpin, his rock at the agency, and he relied on her more than she would know. He loved working with her, seeing every day and he was scared if that changed, so would their relationship. But there was a small part of him that also worried when she was on missions, and there was no doubt if she did quit she’d be a hell of a lot safer. And not all couples worked together, right?

He pulled back slightly, his large hand cupping her cheek “Hey, you know I got your 6 right? I’ll support you no matter what you decide.”

“I know.” She sniffed softly. I just feel like if I do quit, then I’m taking the easy way out, you know, I mean SHIELD is dad’s legacy.”

“Maybe once.” Steve popped his shoulder. “Times have moved on, SHIELD has changed. I doubt your dad, Peggy or Colonel Phillips would have ever imagined in a million years how it would evolve.”

“You’re telling me times have changed?” She quipped and he chuckled.

“Guess I am, but I learned pretty fast when I got that serum that you can’t live your life being who people want you to be or think you should be. You need to be true to yourself”

She nodded and stifled a yawn.

“Sleep on it.” He urged, his thumb stroking her cheek. “And then if it’s still what you want tomorrow, ’ll even write your resignation letter.”

“I got it planned” She yawned. “Dear Fury. Fuck you. Love Nova.”

Steve laughed and pulled her to him, kissing her head. “Maybe drop the Love Nova.”

****

“You sure you wanna do this?” Steve asked as they stopped outside Fury’s office. Katie nodded, taking a deep breath.

“Okay, I’ll be right here.” He said, both his hands on her face. She gave him a smile and then turned and opened the door.

“Agent Stark.” Fury swivelled in his chair “Take a seat.”

“It’s okay Sir, this won’t take long.” She declined his offer, taking a deep breath.

“Do I need to borrow Captain Rogers SHIELD?” He looked at her, raising an eyebrow. “I’m assuming this is the bit where you’ve come to tell me exactly how pissed at me you are.”

“I’m not pissed” She shook her head, “I was, but not now. I’m just disappointed.”

He eyed her, and gestured for her to continue.

“I expected better from you Sir. You lied to me. You let me believe Coulson was dead. You know I blamed myself for that for months, and then if that wasn’t bad enough you sent me to a team containing my ex boyfriend…and don’t even get me started on the fact you’re secretly hiding Chitauri technology instead of destroying it.”

At that Fury’s face slipped and his face grew dark. “How do you…”

She arched an eyebrow and Fury gave a groan.

“Son of a…your brother is a liability.”

“Maybe, but at least he isn’t a liar.” She shot back. “And neither am I. I pride myself on being honest, doing the best I can and I don’t like being used or manipulated.”

“Agent Stark…”

“I can’t do it anymore.” She hook her head. “I’m tired of it all, the lies, the secrecy. This isn’t…it isn’t me.” she finished, shrugging.

“So what are you saying Nova?”

“That you can consider this my formal resignation.” She looked at him, eyes not moving from his and for a moment she was sure she saw a flicker of something that looked like regret flash across the Director’s face. But it disappeared as fast as it had arrived and she took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders back. “I will, of course, work any formal notice period.”

“I don’t suppose there’s any point in me trying to change your mind?”

“No, don’t suppose there is.” She shook her head.

“In that case, there’s no notice period necessary.” Fury spoke calmly, his posture returning to normal. He took a deep breath and strode round his desk, holding out his hand. “I’m sorry it’s come to this. You’re one of the best agents I’ve had. Coulson said you worked wonders on the Staff case.”

“Thank you, Sir.” She swalloed, fighting to keep her voice from cracking. “This hasn’t been an easy decision. For the most part, it’s been an honour to serve.”

She gently reached into her pocket, pulling out her official ID and ran her fingers over the silver badge before she handed it to him. Fury took it from her, and with one last smile she took a deep breath and turned, to leave, the tears brewing in her eyes.

This had to be one of the hardest decisions she’d ever made in her life but she wasn’t backing down. She’d talked it over with Steve extensively over the last two days and Tony too for that matter, her brother telling her that he, and their father would be proud of her no matter what. Undeniably her role at SHIELD had given her everything. A purpose, a new outlook on life, Steve. But now it was time to channel that energy in a new way.

“I would like you to remain on our books, in an advisory role.” Fury’s voice stopped her in her tracks and she grinned to herself, suddenly transported back to when he had said the same thing to Tony a few years ago.

She turned back and winked. “You can’t afford me.”

**** Chapter 11

**Original Posting**

#stark spangled banner #steve rogers #steve rogers x ofc #steve rogers x original female character #Katie Stark #steve rogers smut #steve rogers fanfiction #chris evans #chris evans characters

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forasecondtherewedwon · 3 years

Note

I really really love that your one chapter fic became a two chapters fic and that maybe it could turn into a three chapters one. I also love you are taking prompts. So one, what about Benny and Beth being themselves while Benny prepares to face Borgov and he actually wins this time? Ofc just an idea...

Copenhagen Revisited

Pairing: Beth Harmon/Benny Watts Rating: M Word Count: 3165

Summary: Two years after Beth beat Borgov, it's Benny's turn to face him. They make Cleo's West Berlin apartment their headquarters as Beth prepares Benny for the match.

Benny travels like Van Helsing—staring out the window of the plane with an expression of feverish determination. The fact that he’s compared Borgov to Dracula more than once may be what’s leading Beth to her own character association. Mostly, she’s just watching him and wishing he’d taken the aisle seat. He’s blocking the view.

“I can practically feel him breathing down my neck,” he complains, shifting in his seat and drawing his jacket closed protectively across his chest.

Beth rolls her eyes and sips their Coke through her straw.

“He’s never even beaten you that badly,” she remarks, passing the drink to Benny, who sucks absently at his own straw.

“But he could.”

She scoffs.

“How? You’re better than you were the last time you played him.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because,” she says firmly, “you’ve played me a couple hundred times since then. Borgov’s not as tough to beat as I am. I proved that in Moscow two years ago.”

“Oh, did you? I hadn’t heard.”

Narrowing her eyes at him for his snark, she takes the Coke back and sets it on her lowered tray.

“You weren’t this nervous in New York.”

“We weren’t flying towards him in New York.” Benny tugs his jacket again. “And I’m not nervous.”

“Right. Well,” Beth reminds him, “you’ll have time to acclimate. That’s why we’re going early. And it’s not like Borgov’s going to be nearby. I don’t think being a celebrated chess player is enough to balance out his nationality in the eyes of West Berlin. Not exactly warm feelings towards Russians.”

“Is this a good idea?”

She looks at him carefully. He doesn’t usually ask her questions unless they’re rhetorical, teasing, or both.

“Yes,” she says decisively. “It was a good idea for Cleo to offer her apartment and it’s a good idea to go early. When we fly to Copenhagen in three weeks, you’ll be ready to give Borgov the same treatment you gave Najdorf.”

“You know journalists still ask me about that game?” Benny says, finally swiveling his face away from the window to meet her eye. “I was eight. I don’t even remember it. All I ever say about it is something I remember saying before. It’s just me quoting me quoting me—” He makes a rolling gesturing with his hand. “—all the way back to something I can only assume is the truth.”

Beth makes a dismissive noise.

“They print what they want anyway.”

“It’s lousy.”

“What is?”

“Feeling like a pawn. Can never move backward,” he mumbles.

“I’ve never chaperoned you to a tournament before,” she observes. “I didn’t realize the anticipation would make you so dramatic.”

“I’m not—”

“You are. Maybe you’re not irreversibly out of touch with your eight-year-old self.”

He stares sulkily out the window.

“I get airsick,” he finally admits in a low voice.

“That’s what’s wrong?” Beth laughs. “No wonder you drive to all the domestic opens.” Taking pity, she passes him the Coke again. “Here, the carbonation will help.”

Benny drinks, then rests his head back against the seat with a sigh, closing his eyes.

“Vampire bastard,” he groans.

Beth holds the bottle for a minute, then places her cold hand against his forehead.

“It’s his slicked-back hair, isn’t it?” she guesses.

“Could be.”

—

Cleo isn’t at her Berlin apartment. She’s not in Berlin. She was planning to be, when she volunteered her place as Benny’s training ground, so Beth and Benny are doubly stupefied to hear that she left three days earlier for a job in Milan. Cleo’s neighbour tells them this—another model, Beth would guess, based on her arty haircut and the smudge of hazy blue eyeshadow around glazed eyes. She’s higher than they were when they flew over the Atlantic, but thankfully functional enough to press Cleo’s key into Benny’s hand. Her stoned, accented English stomps the ear like a heavy tread, then grinds the words like a cigarette beneath a boot heel. She also invites them to a party at her apartment later. They don’t make it; jetlag strikes and they collapse on Cleo’s bed, dragging the scrappy, colourful assortment of decorative shawls serving as blankets over themselves and falling asleep.

Unlike when Benny trained Beth in his underground apartment in New York, they can’t count on ’round the clock silence here. It’s a loud building, boisterous and bohemian, and the parties of Cleo’s neighbour seem to occur nightly. Beth confronts a startlingly hungover teenage girl tottering up the stairs one morning as she’s going down. She jumps. The girl is a reflection. The girl is a ghost. The girl is possibly swearing at Beth for staring, judging by the scowl accompanying the words that come grating from her dry throat.

Fortunately, nightly parties also mean that the place is quiet most of the day as people sleep off whatever they drank, smoked, injected, or otherwise ingested the previous evening. Quiet is good. Quiet is perfect. She and Benny take slugs of strong German coffee (Benny is especially pleased, though he only hums softly to show it) and play match after match until noon at the small table under Cleo’s kitchen window. With the window propped open, they listen to the rush of traffic below. Beth breathes deeply and watches Benny chew his lip as he contemplates his moves. Their focus is the endgame—Borgov’s specialty.

When she promises they won’t get up to anything like the neighbours next door, Beth’s able to coax Benny out some evenings. They take in the culture; she does it for the memory of Alma and suspects that Benny does it for her.

She scrunches her eyebrows together in confusion as they prepare to depart on a Friday and he’s not wearing his hat.

“You’re not forgetting your head,” she says carefully, “but it’s almost as serious.”

“I don’t want it getting in the way.”

Beth stares at him, waiting for clarification.

“Come on, kid. I’m taking you dancing.”

An hour later, in his arms, she says, “As your trainer, it should’ve been me forcing you to take a break.”

“Ah, it might not be your tournament, but you’re just as intense. You love to study.”

“Maybe I would’ve studied less if I knew that you knew how to dance.”

“Yeah, I’m sensational. Just don’t look at my feet.”

They laugh their way through it and, though she can’t actually hear them laughing over the volume of the band at the hole in the wall Benny dragged her into, she’ll recall the way his eyes squinted and his teeth showed and fill in the laughter after the fact. Their hands clasp and release and their fingers misalign in a haphazard grip and she laughs. She sways against him, clutching his half-unbuttoned black shirt, and feels his shudder. They hurry back to Cleo’s apartment and have sweaty, desperate sex against the wall just inside the door. Beth rakes her fingers through Benny’s uncovered hair, gasping. When they’re done, they receive a muffled cheer from the neighbouring apartment. She drops her forehead to his shoulder with a smile.

The time flies and, at Benny’s behest, their play becomes more disciplined. They only replicate Russian matches to reenforce the coldblooded style he’ll meet when he sits down across from Borgov. They begin to use a clock; up to this point, their exchanges were untimed, to allow for contemplation and debate following each move, if necessary. They even—finally—get fed up with the neighbours. Benny walks out of the apartment for fresh air and comes back with a bloody nose and reddened knuckles that are beginning to swell because, apparently, some hazy partygoer staggered into him in the hallway and they got into it for no good reason. Thank god he didn’t pull his knife. Beth’s witnessed enough nasty little fistfights behind Mrs. Deardorff’s back at the orphanage to assess that Benny’s nose isn’t broken, though the skin under his left eye very quickly begins to purple. Great. He’ll face Borgov looking like a pugilist. She prepares him a nice bundle of ice and accidentally drops it onto his hand to communicate her contempt for his stupidity. Reckless asshole.

“You could’ve at least told me you were really going out to pick a fight.”

“What would you have done?” Benny wonders, shifting the ice from his knuckles to his face with a wince. “Taken a couple swings yourself?”

Beth puffs up, straightening her spine.

“Of course.”

“Nah, honey, your nose is too pretty to chance it.”

She can’t decide: it’s either the endearment she doesn’t know what to do with or the implication that she’d be witless enough to stand there and take a jab to the center of her face that makes Beth rise and kick the leg of the chair Benny’s sitting right on the edge of. He looks mad enough when his backside hits the floor, but he sighs and glances up at her.

“You want a game?”

She smiles.

“I’ll play black.”

The night before they fly to Copenhagen, she sees it’ll take more than fresh air, yet another chess match, or a bop on the nose to calm him. He’s pacing, pointing, and lecturing—each habit sufficiently annoying on its own, but in conjunction? He’ll drive them both crazy if she lets him carry on.

“Come on, kid,” she says, and makes him sit on the edge of the bed instead of the chair.

Beth’s efficient at undoing buttons, even from behind, and has her back-buttoning blouse stripped off before Benny’s redirected his thoughts from the game they left set up on the board in the other room to what’s happening in front of him. When she starts unzipping her skirt, he catches her hands and takes over. She sits on his lap and rubs him through his jeans until he rolls her onto her back. Breathless and fumbling at his belt, Beth tells herself Cleo had to know they wouldn’t just be using her apartment to play chess. If there’s one language Cleo speaks more fluently than the others, it’s sex. Feeling absolved, Beth hooks her legs up around Benny’s hips.

—

“Well, well, well, look who’s still famous,” he mutters to her after jerking open the door of the venue to the sudden flutter of flashbulbs.

“I’m sorry,” Beth offers with a smirk. “I wore sunglasses and everything. I was trying to be inconspicuous.”

Benny grins back because that was never going to happen. She hasn’t exactly kept her head down for the last two years, steadily working her way through American Masters, felling them. It’s kind of a hobby. Still, she’s chosen an active chess career in the States over the spectacle of European tournaments, so for the international press, Beth’s appearance today is quite an occasion. But it doesn’t trouble Benny. He’s never struggled with monopolizing the spotlight.

“I’ll answer five questions before my first match,” he announces, arm around Beth’s waist. “Who’s first?”

“Mr. Watts, what’s it like to be back in Copenhagen?”

“Great. It’s been a while. The flight was quick with no turbulence, exactly how I like it.”

“Your eye—have you been in a fight?”

“Chess is a rough sport.”

“How are you feeling going into your first match?”

“Prepared.”

“Do you plan to meet Borgov in the final on Saturday?”

“Wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”

“What is your relationship with Miss Harmon?”

Benny glances sideways at her. Above her sunglasses, Beth raises an eyebrow. Some people might be thrown by the abrupt switch in subject matter, but the moment of hesitation as he parts his lips to answer is mischievous.

“Waiting for her to make an honest man outta me. That’s five, boys,” he points out, lifting a hand that does double duty as an acknowledgement and a brushing aside motion; it parts the small crowd and he guides Beth through.

“Well now they definitely won’t print anything about you.”

“Sure they will. My name right alongside yours: ‘Watts and Harmon.’ Maybe ‘Harmon and Watts’—sounds a little better. Anyway, they’ve got enough to suggest that we’ve been working together and that’s the edge that’ll get to Borgov.”

“If he picks up a paper between tomorrow and Saturday,” Beth clarifies.

“He will. Or somebody’ll do it for him. One of his KGB babysitters, probably. They seem like they’d be gossips. But Borgov’ll hear about it and the mention of your name will put the fear of god into him.”

“Oh, it will, will it?”

“No question.” He halts and looks at her seriously. “You mind if we find someplace quiet to sit down for a minute?”

She checks her watch, the cracked glass face long ago replaced.

“Yeah, you’ve got a few minutes, but wouldn’t you prefer to go in and, how did you put it? Breathe down the neck of your competitors?”

“Cute, but I’m a little worried I’d be sick down the neck of my competitors.” He squeezes his eyes shut momentarily. “Ugh, that plane ride.”

“But there wasn’t any turbulence!”

“Beth, please. Don’t even say the word.”

He plays two games that day, with enough turnaround time in between that they go for a walk and she takes a few non-press photographs of him in front of attractive backdrops. Behaving like real tourists seems to distract him. Benny even allows Beth to charm him into surrendering the end of his sandwich so she can use the bread to feed the little birds in a park they walk through.

The following day, the schedule tightens up. Lesser players are vanquished and Benny is presented with more people to beat, each one smug from their recent win until Benny shuffles things around on the board with exchanges so swiftly conceived and executed that it might be sleight of hand, one complex magic trick until—ta da!—he’s hemmed their king. He’s fucking brilliant, Beth thinks as she observes him, occasionally shaking her head in amazement. Her pulses races each time he sits down across from someone with a look on his face like, I hope you’ve made peace with your god. They screened too many movies of a biblical bent at Methuen. Prayer and faith certainly never lifted her high, but watching Benny does.

The next day is the second to last and Benny plays once, in the morning, with adjournments and the deciding of third and fourth place of the tournament in the afternoon. Winning his game isn’t anything special to him; he was always looking ahead, intending to square off against Borgov. In Benny’s style, Beth considers, it’d be a gunslinger draw at high noon. In Borgov’s (via Benny’s perception of him), Van Helsing advancing on a crypt with a garland of garlic bulbs and a raised crucifix.

She sits patiently with him in their hotel room. Unlike the night before they departed from Germany, he isn’t stressed. He’s calm. Beth asks if he’d rather stretch his legs, go find some of his friends that played at this tournament (and lost) and talk to them, work the room in a way that simultaneously captivates her and makes her roll her eyes. No. He prefers to stay with her. They sprawl on the bed and play out a couple of his slickest games, then the last twenty moves of the ‘68 Moscow final: Borgov v. Harmon.

“Let’s go to sleep,” he says softly, when she’s dozing with her head on her arm. He’s been staring at the board in silence for a long time.

“Are you sure?” Beth yawns before continuing, “I could order up some coffee?”

Benny’s already gathering the pieces and folding the board.

“You can’t do any more for me than you’ve done, and I can’t learn any more tonight than I have.”

“You’re prepared,” she agrees. That might not be quite what he meant, but she figures even Benny Watts needs a little reassurance.

“For most things he could do.”

Beth pulls her pajamas out from under the pillow on her side of the bed.

“You know how he plays. It’s clean. You just have to keep your eyes open. Borgov isn’t the sort of player to pull something creative out of nowhere.”

“You say that, but once, I had an opponent threaten to kick me in the crotch.”

“Mm, well, that’s not Borgov. Like I said, no creativity.” She watches for a minute as Benny strips his shirt off and flings it onto the chair. “By the way, it wasn’t a threat, it was posed as a question—rhetorical, even philosophical—and only because that opponent felt she wasn’t being taken seriously.”

Benny smiles and walks around the end of the bed. He cradles the back of her head and gives her a slow kiss.

“Will you kick Borgov in the crotch for me if I lose?”

“Now you want me to fight your battles for you? Where was this attitude in Berlin?” She grabs Benny’s butt as he walks back to trade his jeans for pajamas. He turns to look at her inquiringly. “I won’t have to.”

He spends all the next morning proving her right, not succumbing to how Borgov’s pieces shoulder their way across the board. They knock Benny’s aside some, but he hangs in and they adjourn in the afternoon for an after-dinner resumption. Though the reprieve is nearly three hours, they don’t go back to their room. There’s no international call to wait for—every bit of encouragement from their friends was given before they left New York. Benny has a drink with dinner and when that doesn’t loosen him up enough, Beth gets a little fresh under the table as she’s adjusting the napkin in his lap, just until she’s sure he’s in a new mindset.

At seven o’clock, the jacket, the hat, and the man are back in position opposite Borgov. Benny makes the move he sealed earlier, then leans forward by his shoulders. In that gesture, Beth knows Benny’s got him. He confirms it sixteen moves later and Borgov concedes the match in a gracious bow of his head. Benny dawdled a little, not dropping the guillotine blade the way she did with her swift Ohio victory over him, but he’s a different player. An admirer of historic matches, a showman with quick fingers and no better place to be than in front of a chessboard. That’s what she’s always guessed his mentality to be. Where she loves to win, he loves to play.

He rises from the table to a roomful of applause. His eyes find hers and she whistles with her fingers in her mouth, the way he taught her one night in his apartment. The sound is shrill enough over the rest of the noise that the photographer beside her turns to glare and tell her to shut the hell up. He begins to apologize when he recognizes her, but Beth shakes her head impatiently and points past him.

“Don’t look at me,” she says. “Look at him.”

#thanks for the prompt!#my writing #The Queen's Gambit #Beth Harmon #Benny Watts #beth x benny

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holylulusworld · 4 years

Text

The end of my empire

Summary: Dean Winchester, notorious mobster, lady killer – the man holding your life in his hands.

A/N: I had a request for a stripper!reader fic with Dean so here we go with a mini-series to this request.

Pairing: Mobster!Reader x Stripper!Reader

Characters: Sam Winchester, Benny LaFitte, Charlie Bradbury, Bobby Singer, Cole Trenton, OFC’S

Warnings: angst, arguments, sad reader, Benny being a good bro, scared reader, hurt & comfort, mentions if injuries/knee pain, violence

A/N: Y/M/N = your mother’s name; Y/F/N = your father’s name

Explosive - Masterlist

“What else can we do to ease her pain? I had hoped that after she got over Nick that Y/N has a chance to become happy. Sadly, the ballet company didn’t give her a chance and now her career is completely ruined.” Your mother sniffles showing Bobby the result of your examination.

“Looks bad, Y/M/N. According to Alex, the damage is irreversible. The swelling and inflammation didn’t help, though. I should’ve ripped that boy a new one.” Bobby grumbles, remembering your shaking form when he arrived at your mothers’ shop.

“That man, she’s in love with him. We can help her with money, her knee, and everything else but healing her heart again is an impossible task.”

Your father holds back a sob when he looks at the picture of you in your tutu and ballet shoes. The picture he keeps in his wallet since you are five years old.

“She was so talented, and that bastard ruined everything.”

“We both know that Y/F/N, but what can I do? Nick lied and we could only arrest him for drunk driving. Y/N made the mistake to admit she urged her idjit of a boyfriend on to drive faster.” While your mother sighs, your father balls his hands into fists.

“I will kill that man if he ever gets close to my munchkin again. He has no right to come here and fake he wants to apologize for treating my girl like …” Crossing his arms over his chest your father’s features darken. “I will not repeat that word.”

“Dean Winchester is a dangerous man. He has clubs, money and according to the feds – he’s involved in a lot of more than shady deals.” Bobby opens a folder to show your father the information he got from Cole Trenton.

“I am not afraid of a bastard. At my best times, I ran three of those guys over. I will not cower for such a pathetic little shit.” Panting your father jumps up and your mother admires the gang tattoo at his right arm.

“Darling.” Your mother gently pats your fathers’ arm when she steps closer to him.

Even after being married for over 25 years, her heart flutters when her husband gets mad. It reminds her of his ‘wild times’. “It sounds like Dean Winchester is a mobster, not just a wild guy with a bike.”

“We all know Y/F/N, I and Rufus weren’t only youngsters with a bike, Y/M/N. Back then we did a lot of illegal stuff, you know that but…” Closing the manila folder Bobby sighs. “That agent, he said Dean is dangerous, even threaten to kill Y/N but…”

“But…?” Rage in his eyes your father glares at Bobby. “Why didn’t you arrest that monster?”

“Cole Trenton gives me bad vibes. The way he talked about that Winchester guy, the way he reacted when I told him about Y/N and that Dean came here to find her made my stomach churn. I do not trust that guy.”

Bobby finally gets up to place one hand onto your fathers’ shoulder. “I promise that the Winchester boy will not get the chance to hurt your girl, but we shouldn’t involve that fed.”

“I trust your guts, Bobby. If you are telling me the FBI guy is fishy, I believe you…”

“Why can’t you just leave me alone?” Robbing toward the edge of the bed you try to get up, but Dean holds you back. He can see you are in pain again and leaves the bed to pick you up. “Let me down I want to go to the bathroom.”

“I can help you with the toilette, Sweetheart.” Face deadpan, lips pressed into a thin line you glare at Dean. “No problem.”

“I want to have a warm bath to help my knee relax. I can do it alone…” Grumbling you rub your hand over your knee. “Mom helps me when she’s around.”

“I can do this too, Baby Girl. Let me help you, please. I’ll do anything to make you feel better.”

“Let me go and never come back – this makes me feel better.” Your eyes fill with tears, but you refuse to let them out. “You damaged me enough. Just look for another girl you can play with.”

“I never played with you, Y/N. Yes, I was an idiot, a monster, and the man hurting you but please believe me it was only as I never could trust anyone but my brother and myself. All women, friends, and even family turned me down for a few bugs.”

“My mom will strike you down with a pan again. Dad will run you over with his bike and Uncle Bobby will arrest your ass.” Arms crossed over your chest; lips pursed you groan as Dean carries you into the bathroom.

“I thought about what you said, Y/N. Maybe it’s time that I give up something important. I could give up my clubs and give them to Sammy. He was better at running the business from the beginning.”

Silent you do not react to Dean’s words. All you do is to grasp for the washbasin when Dean carefully places you onto your feet. “Wait, I’ll run the bath and help you undress…”

“Forget it! I will not let you help me undress.” Your eyes narrow and you slap his cheek harshly, only to lose balance and end up in his arms again.

“I hate you! You’re like Nick. He promised to love me, promised he would never even look at another girl. But then I got hurt and he replaced me with another girl in a blink of an eye.“

“Baby Girl, I did not replace you. All those months I was sulking in my room and slept on your side of the bed. I desperately tried to forget you but…” Pressing his lips to your hair Dean sighs. “I can’t forget my fairy. If you give me the chance, I’ll prove I can be the man you want, the one you deserve.”

“Dean, just let me go. I can never believe anything you say as when I needed you the most, you weren’t there. Even worse, you caused more pain than anyone before.” When you hear the front door, you panic. “My parents are back; you need to go.”

“I’ll not leave you alone. Whatever your mom wants to do with the pan to me, I’ll bear it.” Dean states but you push against his chest. “I’ll stay in town no matter what you say.”

“Fine. We can talk tomorrow but now go!”

“I’ll be there, Sweetheart…” Dean lifts you easily to help you sit on the edge of the bathtub. “Shame you didn’t let me undress you…”

You do not smile or look at Dean, but you toss a bottle of shampoo at him and he smirks. “Love you too, Y/N…”

“Hello, Ms. Y/L/N.” Your blood freezes and your hands start to shake when Cole Trenton out of all people stands in your mother’s café.

“I’d like to continue our conversation from a few months ago. We still haven’t found Mr. Winchester's latest victim but it’s only a matter of time.”

“Get out of my mom’s café and this town! You ruined everything. Dean he…he got mad and hurt me. You ruined my relationship; my knee and my job now leave town, or I’ll call my Uncle Bobby!”

Limping toward your purse you want to call Bobby, but Cole grasps your arm harshly and your mother drops a plate with pie.

“Let my daughter go! Do you have no manners? Grabbing a girl who can barely stand on her injured leg. You…you monster!”

Ready to attack Cole your mother grabs her rolling pin, ready to split his head but the door swings open and Dean, followed by Benny and Sam steps into the café.

“I think,” Dean dips his head, glaring at Cole. “The friendly lady said you shall let go of her daughter. If you are here to arrest me, do so. If not shove your ass out of the store and keep your hands off my girl.” While Benny pats his gun, Dean and Sam step closer to Cole.

“Last warning, Mr. Trenton, or shall I call you fake agent?” Charlie peeks out from behind Sam, waving at you. “Hi! I am Charlie.”

“Fake agent?” Gaping at Cole who still won’t let go of your arm you sniffle. “Let go of me!”

“What the…!” Bobby’s eyes dart from Benny who’s ready to shoot Cole to the agent holding your arm in a painfully tight grip to Dean who looks like he wants to rip Cole’s throat out with his teeth.

“I am Sheriff Singer, and this is my town. Let go of miss Y/L/N or I need to arrest you.”

“I am a federal agent.” Bobby huffs, recognizing Cole’s face.

“I don’t care if you are the Queen of England. This is my town, the girl you are hurting is my goddaughter and I am sure the gentlemen next to me would gladly help me get you out of this nice establishment.”

Reluctantly Cole let go of you and Dean lunges forward to slam his fist into the grinning agent's face.

“That wasn’t smart, Winchester.” Dean doesn’t care Cole snickers, nor does he flinch when the agent gets his handcuffs out. “I will arrest you for…”

Dean carefully picks you up to bring you away from Cole who tries to end his speech but Sam and Benny step closer, along with a pissed Bobby Singer.

“I think you did not understand me. I’ll explain it to you as if you are a toddler.” Bobby checks on you in Dean’s arms, a soft smile on his lips as you hide your face in Dean’s chest.

“This is my town. This is my territory and you dared to lay a finger on my goddaughter. According to your boss, the case against Mr. Winchester is one big lie.

You and your lovely fake witness Lisa Braeden tried to create a case against him and threatened my goddaughter. I saw the video you vulture dared to touch her during an interrogation. I talked your boss and he said I can arrest you if you are stupid enough to get close to Y/N.”

While Cole follows Bobby outside, a dark look on his face when his boss exits his car your mother tightens the grip on her rolling pin as she steps toward Dean who refuses to let you down.

“I’ll give you ten seconds to let go of my daughter or I swear I’ll rip you a new one.” Benny snickers while Sam takes a step backward.

“One…”

“Ma’am, I can assure you I will not hurt Y/N.” Dean gasps when your mother pokes the end of the rolling pin into his bicep.

“Two…”

“Please, I apologized and will do anything Y/N wants as I love her. I…I made a terrible mistake but I called my brother and friends to show my Sweethart, that I want to change and give up my old life.” Your mother gives Dean a disapproving grunt before she pokes him again.

“Three…”

“Dude, maybe you should let Y/N down and talk to her later. That asshole got arrested and we will stay in town for a few days…” Sam tries but Dean presses you closer to his chest.

“No…” He’s eyeing the rolling pin warily, gulps even when your mother swings it.

“Four…”

“Mrs. Y/L/N, I love your daughter. Maybe I do not deserve forgiveness, no that’s sure but I’ll do anything to get her back. You can hit me hard with that thing but I’ll not let her go.” Dean presses a soft kiss to your hair and you stir in his arms.

“Five…” Blinking Dean carefully places you onto a chair, covering your shaking form with his jacket before he nods at your mother.

“Do it!”

“I am not joking you…you bad guy.” Poking the rolling pin into Dean’s chest your mother keeps an eye on the mobster while she tries to check on your arm. “I should have hit that bastard.”

“I am sure he will get what he deserves, ma’am. Do you mind if we order some pie?” Benny rumbles.

“Pie...” Dean looks at the pie, licking his lips while your mother keeps him at arm's length with the rolling pin.

“Sammy?” Looking for help, advice, or anything to keep your mother from killing him Dean glances at his brother.

“Sorry, Dean but this is your problem.”

Benny smirks while he walks toward the counter to order pie for Sam, Charlie, and himself. “I want pie too.” Whining Dean looks at the pie. “I love me some pie.”

“Rules, Winchester.” Your mother looks at you with worried eyes when you finally speak. “I want to live here. I will not leave and if you want me, you’ll have to stay here with me.”

“Will I get free pie?” Angrily poking Dean’s chest your mother shakes her head. “You’ll have to pay for it, idjit.”

“What else do you want? Maybe I can help you with fulfilling your dream…” Dean looks at your knee and you need to stifle a sob.

“It’s ruined, always was. There is no dream left…but…”

“But…?” Dean kneels to grasp for your hand. “What dream? Tell me and I’ll help you…”

“I want to save the dance school in town. I learned to dance with Mrs. Carson and always imagined becoming like her. A retired ballerina teaching young girls and boys how to dance.”

Looking at your knee you sniffle silently. “Guess I am not allowed to call me a ballerina…not even a retired one.”

“I’ll buy it for you. We can do together. I am the big bad guy making sure that no one messes with our school and you can teach the girls.” Dean exclaims while you downcast your eyes.

“It’s just a stupid dream, nothing worth trying.”

“No…no. It’s your dream, Sweetheart. I’ll buy the school and every fucking pie in this café. We will make it…please…” He’s picking you up in bridal style, a smug grin on his face. “Mrs. Y/L/N I’ll kidnap your daughter to have a look at the school.”

“It’s a rotten building and no one dances…” Your mother stops talking when you look up at Dean who tells you he’ll make sure the dance school will be yours.

“Can you tell me where to rent an apartment? I’d like to not sleep at that motel or my car again.” Hopefully looking at your mother Dean gives her his most charming smile.

“We don’t have free apartments. Only this huge house at the end of the street, but that’s for sale and expensive.” Humming you smile.

“I liked to sneak through the fence and have a look at the house. I was huge and they had a backyard with roses and other flowers. It was nice…”

“You liked it?” Dean looks at your happy face and he knows; you love the memory of the house.

“My friends and I imagined what it looks like inside and sneak in one day. There was this fireplace as high as the whole living room and shelves full of books. It looked like in a fairytale.”

“I’ll buy it for you, and we can restore it…” Not accepting any argument Dean looks at the cherry pie. “We will eat the pie and we’ll look at the houses later. Your mom can come with us to witness that I’ll not hurt you.”

“We shouldn’t, Dean. You should go back to your life.”

“No. My life is empty and loveless without you, Sweetheart. If I have to live in this small town, run a dance school and buy a house straight out of a fairytale, so be it. Dean Winchester will retire…which means…”

“Which means?” Your mother cocks a brow, still the rolling pin in her hands.

“This is the end of my empire…”

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champhangman · 4 years

Text

Bleed Into the Night

Title: Bleed Into the Night Part: Four / ? Characters: Hangman Adam Page x OFC Summary: She wasn’t looking. Neither was he. For a brief flash, they found each other. Word Count: 12,552 Warnings: Cursing? Masturbation Previous: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | A/N: :)

Tagging: @adampage / @cowboyshit / @baysexuality / @lilmisswhiskeygypsy / @bigpixiefoot / @mindofasagittaruis / @kalliravenne / @sadlittlecountess / @baronsbelleevangeline / @brie-mode-activated / @xbreezymeadowsx / @irish-newzealand-idian-dutch / @allizoneme / @heelsamizayn / @what-does-mine-say / @waywardwrestlewritingwaif / @drewshoneybadger /

Part Four

"Hey Nick?" Adam had waited until they were alone to speak. He hadn't wanted to ask in front of everyone else, in front of all the ones who would begin razzing once they realized what he was asking. He waited until his friend looked up from his phone.

"Hey Adam?" Nick grinned. "What?"

He rubbed his palms over his thighs. "I'm leaving right after my match, okay?"

Nick looked surprised and Adam couldn't blame him. He was one of those that stayed until practically everything was loaded up. He jumped in to dismantle the ring, to load boxes of merch. Sometimes he, Matt, and Nick were the last ones to leave. He loved doing it, because it was one of the ways he could show how thankful he was for all his friends had done for him. Because he believed in the company and knew they believed in him.

"I mean… It's just…" Anxiety was making him sweat. Reaching to run his fingers through his hair, he sighed when his fingers instead smoothed over the bun he'd dragged it into. "Well—"

"Serena's in a show nearby."

Adam had to bite his tongue to keep from asking how Nick knew. Of course he would know that NXT had a show nearby. Unless he'd been talking to Serena? No, she would have mentioned it. He knew she would have, because in the past week he had learned many things about the woman.

Once she got into a conversation, she could talk for hours. About wrestling. Music. Movies. Animals. Food. She had even spent thirty minutes telling him the process she went through to dye her naturally dark brown hair the bright pink it was currently. If she had seen or spoken to someone she thought he knew, she told him, and would then want to know how he knew that person. She told him when she'd talked to Cole, and when she had talked to Britt. She'd even told him about conversations with people she worked with that he'd never met. So, obviously, she would have told him if she'd spoken to Nick.

Amazed at her talkativeness, he had spent many hours listening and agreeing and trying to get a word in whenever she paused for breath. He'd learned they tended to talk over each other. One would interrupt the other because something said had reminded them of something completely different.

Unless they were sleepy. Then it was long but not uncomfortable silences peppered with the occasional comment. The first time it had happened he'd thought she hadn't wanted to talk to him, but when he'd said he would let her go, she had insisted she was keen to talk and had a lot to tell him.

It was just that she was tired and wanted to hear his voice. Which was something that had made him happier than it probably should have. It also comforted him, because sometimes he just wanted to hear her voice, too.

Amazing what their night out with the others had done. They talked several times a day, and just as he thought that his phone dinged with a text from her. He knew it was from her because, not wanting to constantly check to see who was messaging him, he'd finally set a custom alert for her. Just as he'd set a custom ringtone for her, going so far as to create it himself after hearing her sing part of one of his favorite songs.

He couldn't help it. She'd been singing The Chicks, for fuck's sake.

"Adam?"

Blinking, he nudged the memory of Serena singing aside and focused on Nick. "Yeah?"

Nick gave him that speculative gaze for a moment, then shook his head. "Go."

His lips began to lift into a smile. "You sure it's okay?"

"It's fine." Nick chuckled, shaking his head. "You've got it bad."

"Do not," he defended. He couldn't have it bad. Having it bad implied there was an it to have. And he didn't. There would be no it with Serena. That thought made his smile fade, and he picked up his phone to read her text.

You're really coming? To see me? Wow. Promise not to laugh at my flippy shit?

"I just want to see her live," he admitted. "I've only seen her matches online."

From what he'd seen, she had untapped talent. Watching some of her most recent work, he could tell she had potential to be a multi-faceted wrestler. Despite her saying she wasn't keen on doing high-flying, she executed flips and dives with precision. He especially liked her hurricanrana off the top rope. Her promo was good, it just needed a little more finesse that he was sure she would grow into. She'd been right when she said she wasn't cut out to be a babyface. Her heel promo had made him grin, and the way she had twisted words and referenced other women in the industry had been close to sublime. Her character wasn't underhanded or mean, she was mad. Fed up. Tired of everyone overlooking her.

Which he could relate to. Not just on a character level, but a personal one as well.

"You know you don't have to defend your reasons for wanting to see her live, right?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I just… Y'know…" Shrugging, he began a message to Serena.

Really coming. And I won't laugh. My match opens the show so I'll miss the first hour.

"Shit," he muttered.

"Now what?"

"Nothing. I just remembered I need a ticket." And would they even let him in if he missed an hour?

"You forgot to get a ticket?" Nick snorted on a laugh.

"Shut up," Adam groaned, shaking his head when he began to chuckle.

"Told you, you've got it bad."

"Maybe I do," he murmured thoughtfully. That would be bad, if he did. But he didn't, which was good. But if he did, it would be bad. It would be the opposite of what he and Serena hoped to get out of the relationship.

Maybe he shouldn't go. He didn't need to see her live. He could just mute the commentary and imagine that instead of sitting in a hotel room or in his bed at home he was in the arena. He had a decent imagination. He could imagine the excitement of the crowd. He could recreate the buzz of a live show.

But he wanted to go. Wanted to see her in action. Wanted to watch her without commentary distracting him.

He wanted to chase that little thrill he got whenever he was in the same room with her.

He shouldn't go. He was sure to be spotted. Eagle-eyed fans were everywhere. It hadn't even been a month since that time he'd gone to the grocery store and been approached by fans while trying to choose between liquid or capsule Pepto Bismol. And only a few weeks since he'd stopped to fill his truck with gas and was adjusting his crotch when a man and his young daughter popped around the gas pump to say hi. Sure as shit, as soon as he slipped into his seat someone would spy him and then everyone – or at least everyone who knew who he was – would be looking at him.

He didn't want that for Serena. Or for whoever her opponent was. They worked hard for the accolades they received, and he didn't want the attention on him instead of their work.

"Fuck," he muttered.

"Now what?" Nick sighed.

"I can't go."

"Hunter banned you already?"

"No. At least, I don't think so. Would he? It's not like I'm trying to lure her away from them. We're just…dating." He furrowed his brow in thought.

"Stop," Nick said softly. "I was joking."

He knew that. Sighing, he dragged a hand over his face. "No, I just thought that… I don't want to get there and some fans realize who I am and start watching me instead of her. She doesn't deserve that."

"Go incognito," Nick suggested with a shrug. "Wear your glasses and put on a hat. Half the people we work with don't recognize you with your glasses."

He had a point. Adam nodded, made up his mind that he would go, then shot a message to Serena asking if she could make sure he'd be let in the doors.

But he worried for the rest of the afternoon. He didn't know if he should tell her his worries. If she would think he was crazy. Which, he decided while flipping the beer bottle cap between his fingers, he probably was. He looked down at his fingers, trying to come up with a good reason why he hadn't thrown the cap away. It had found its way from his pocket to the top of his dresser in his apartment. From there to another pocket, to his suitcase, to the bowl of change he kept at home, to jeans again, to the nightstand at the hotel, and all over again. He couldn't understand why he couldn't bring himself to throw it away. It was trash.

And yet, every time he pulled it out and rolled it from one finger to the next, he felt his stress ease. When he held it, he was able to think of hearty laughter, water splashing, and a pair of eyes the color of amber that sparkled like the fairy lights overhead.

Maybe it wasn't trash.

Releasing his breath, he flicked the cap into the air and caught it in his palm, closing his fingers around it for a few seconds before setting it on the seat next to him.

He would go. He had told her he would, and he believed in keeping promises.

"Man, it's a wreck in here," Matt announced as he swept into the locker room they were sharing.

Adam glanced around and shrugged. He'd seen locker rooms that looked worse. There was a little trash lying around – empty water bottles, candy wrappers, and someone had left a crumpled Diet Coke can on the floor – but for the most part it was alright. Sure, suitcases were open and clothes were spilling out. Leaning to grab his empty Skittles bag, he crumpled it into a ball and tossed it into the trashcan, then stood to get his gear out of his suitcase, nodding to Nick and Kenny when they entered.

Tugging his t-shirt off, he felt a rush of panic when Matt reached to sweep the cap off the sofa. "Hey," he yelped, stumbling forward and snatching it from the man's grasp. "Don't do that."

"It's trash," Matt stated flatly. He looked at Adam as though he were insane.

"No. It's…" Adam clutched it in his hand and drew in a deep breath. "It's not trash. It's mine, okay?"

Matt blinked slowly. But when he opened his mouth to speak, music came out.

Yeah, I could use a Texas man, who's not afraid to take his time. He's gotta have patient hands, 'cause the way to my heart is through my mind.

Shit. He hadn't put his phone on silent. And now three pairs of eyes were looking at him with amusement.

Been way too long since somebody's body kept me up all night… Yeah, that good kinda keepin' me up all night.

"Heart eyes?" Kenny inquired with a knowing smile.

"Yeah," Adam muttered, cheeks heating as he reached for his phone.

"Heart eyes?" Nick lifted his eyebrows.

"Serena," Adam explained, swiping to answer the call. "Hey."

"He's going to see her tonight," Nick told Matt and Kenny.

"He is?" The trashcan slipped from Matt's hand and landed on the floor.

"Leaving right after his match," Nick answered with a grin.

"Hey! I'm on the phone." Adam held up his phone and pointed to it so they'd understand.

"Sorry." Matt's expression was as far from apologetic as possible. "Tell her we said hi!"

"And we'd come see her if we could," Nick added.

"We should go see her in action," Kenny said. "I've seen some of her matches, but you know it's entirely different live."

"Oh, Jesus Christ," Adam groaned, bringing the phone back to his ear. "The guys say hi. And they'd come to see you tonight if they could."

Serena's laughter was all he could hear for several seconds. "You're getting teased as much as me, huh?"

"No… That's normal," he said, sidling out of the room as his friends continued discussing the logistics of seeing Serena at a show. He didn't know how, exactly, they would manage that, but wasn't about to bring their attention back to him. Easing the door closed behind him, he sighed. Then frowned. "You're getting teased?"

"Oh, just some of the guys shouting 'cowboy shit' when they see me. Nothing major." She laughed again, softer this time. "And a couple of the girls asked if I was jumping ship to AEW."

"Are you?" he asked, lips twitching into a grin.

"Please. Y'all couldn't handle me."

I'd like to. The words popped into his mind and were immediately on his tongue. He swallowed them down, though. And shifted to safer thoughts. "How do they even know about us?"

"Twitter. It's all those fan accounts tweeting that pic from my Instagram all the time. And because Britt posted that video. "

He couldn't help the smile that pulled at his lips. Britt hadn't just posted a clip. She'd posted the entire song. And even though it was almost a week later, Adam saw screenshots of it in his mentions, as well as the picture from Serena's Instagram.

The one she'd posted of them at the bar. The one he supposed Brandon or Matt had taken. The one of them sitting together, his arm around her, her smile showing her dimple, him laughing. He had no idea how she had gotten it, because he couldn't remember her giving her number to anyone, though he supposed Cole or Britt could have taken care of that. But it didn't matter. It had been cast out into the universe. A great night, she'd captioned it. Even though he wondered if her bosses wouldn't like her posting pictures of him, he was glad she had. Because he liked that picture. Had saved it and occasionally pulled it up to remember the warmth and happiness he'd felt in those moments. He pulled it up to remember the heat of her hand on his thigh. To remember the way her breath had stuttered when he'd leaned in, and the sudden longing to find out what her lips tasted like. To remember the softness of her skin against his cheek.

And the unmatched feeling of her in his arms. The perfect armful. The scent of strawberries and the sound of the wind whispering through the trees. He'd been surprised by the hug, but damn if it hadn't been welcome. He'd enjoyed holding her close. The comfort of being held, of holding onto her, had eased his weary mind. Her hair under his palm, her head nestled over his chest. It had felt so natural to curl close, let his head rest on hers.

It had taken everything in him to hold back the urge to ask her inside so he could keep holding her.

"Anyway, I called to let you know there's a ticket waiting for you. Come to the East concourse entrance. I'm sending you a pic with that marked because it's on the west side of the building and honestly whoever named the parts of this place must have been on acid. But it'll be there and they'll let you in no matter when you get here."

"Thanks," he said, continuing to smile, but now for her thoughtfulness.

"No problem. I didn't know if you'd bought a ticket already. If you did they'll refund you. If there's a problem tell me and I'll have Hunter take care of it."

Like Hunter would go out of his way to help him. Adam snorted. "It's fine, Serena."

"I'm excited about you coming," she admitted with a small laugh.

"I'm excited too," he confessed. And he was. "I can't wait to see you do an enzuigiri."

"Fuck you," she laughed. "I'm never gonna do one at a show."

"Bet you do," he challenged.

"Nope. That move can go straight to hell. My legs were not designed to stretch like that."

He doubted that. Suddenly, he was wondering just how far her legs could stretch. If he could help them stretch more. He closed his eyes, trying to fight against the mental image of his hands gripping plush thighs. Spreading them. Guiding them over his shoulders or stretching them up until her knees were at her chest. Sweltering heat swept through him and he hissed, "Fuck."

"You okay?"

No, he wasn't. He was gripped with a sudden longing to hold onto her thighs. To feel them squeeze his waist. To find out what sounds would spill from her mouth if he slipped his hand between them. To learn how she would feel and taste on his tongue. His mouth went dry with desire and his cock twitched in his jeans. "Y-yeah," he managed, licking his lips. "I'm fine. …Just hit my funny bone."

"Funny, how hitting your funny bone isn't funny," she mused.

"Right." He cleared his throat. Pushed thoughts of things that would never happen as far from his mind as possible. He inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly, willing his lust to subside.

"I better go. I've got some video package stuff to record."

"Video package?"

"Apparently I'm in the running for the title."

She said it offhandedly, as though she'd won five bucks on a scratch-off, but he could pick up the trace of excitement hidden in her voice. He could almost see her grinning. Could see that dimple. And he began to smile. "Really?"

"Yeah. Not set in stone. You know, plans change?"

"But you're in the running. That's a big deal, Dimples."

"I know, but I'm trying not to – Did you just call me Dimples?"

Fuck, had he? It had rolled off his tongue so easily after popping into his mind. "Maybe I did…"

"Why the hell would you call me that?"

"Because your dimple's cute," he said honestly.

"Thanks," Serena said flatly. "I hate it."

"The nickname? Or the dimple?"

"Both," she said after a moment.

"C'mon," he teased, knowing he had a stupid grin on his face but unable to care. Even when the door opened and Matt glanced out, he continued to grin. "You know your dimple's cute."

"It's a split muscle, Adam, not a beauty mark," Serena scoffed.

"Do you have any of those?" He wanted to know. At the same time, he didn't. Because he would never see them. Glancing up when the door closed, he was surprised that Matt had retreated without comment.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she murmured.

Yes, he would. His tongue darted over his lips. "I'd rather—"

"Shit, they're hollering for me."

"Go record your video package stuff, Dimples. I'll see you later." He pushed away from the wall and pushed his hand into his pocket. Felt the crimped edge of the bottle cap and felt oddly soothed.

"Stop calling me Dimples!"

"Nope." He grinned. "I don't think I will."

"Asshole," she muttered.

"Sweetheart," he corrected.

"Good boy?" It was uttered softly, questioningly, and renewed the heat he'd tried sohard to tamp down.

"For you? Yes ma'am," he sighed. Wondered if she had any idea how much he enjoyed hearing those words. Wondered if he shouldn't enjoy them as much as he did.

"You're a flirtatious bastard, aren't you?"

"Hey, you were the one asking when I'd start flirting."

"Hmm. So I did." She sighed. "I gotta go."

"I'll see you tonight," Adam said.

"Can't wait."

"Me either," he admitted.

"Text me when you get here?"

"Yes ma'am."

She gave a breathy chuckle. "Good boy."

***

I'm here, Dimples.

Oh god stop calling me that!

Never.

Bad boy.

How, Serena wondered, had she and Adam gone from barely tolerating each other to getting along and singing to… Was this flirting? Why would he flirt with her? It wasn't as though anyone would see their texts. And, why would she flirt with him?

Because you like him, a voice taunted in her head.

She did not – okay, she liked him. She would have found it near impossible to not like him. He was funny, charming, and, yes, damn it, a sweetheart. Letting her phone rest in her lap as her makeup was touched up, she pushed him from her thoughts and focused on her upcoming match. The match that Hunter had told her could keep her in the running for the championship.

It was too soon for her to become the champ. Wasn't it? She'd been on TV just two months. She was an unknown. But, for some reason, Hunter seemed to believe in her. As did Shawn and Matt and Sara.

She only wished she could believe in herself half as much as they did.

"All finished, sweetie."

"Thanks." She glanced at her reflection and nodded while sliding out of the seat. Her phone chimed and she looked at the message she'd received from Adam.

You left me a fucking pass?

I think it's a backstage pass, not a fucking one.

You know what I mean.

Yeah. I did. You don't have to come backstage if you don't want to. She didn't even know if he was going to stick around after the show. If he planned to go out or go back to his hotel and crash, or if he had a flight to catch. She should know that, shouldn't she?

I'll come back after the match.

Serena smiled down at her phone.

"Twenty minutes, Serena!"

Fuck. She made a timer for fifteen minutes to give her time to center herself before going to Gorilla.

You booked to win? Or do I gotta see my counterfeit girlfriend lose?

Girlfriend? She almost choked on air while moving away from makeup and slipping around coworkers in search of a quiet spot to compose herself.

Or are we still just fake dating? Pretending to see each other? Hypothetically going out? How am I supposed to label us? I'm not good at this stuff. Let me rephrase. Do I gotta see the lady I'm pretending to talk to lose? That doesn't look right either.

Rolling her eyes, she leaned against the wall.

I'm not telling you the outcome. And… Why do we have to label it?

Good point. And why won't you tell me?

Because if you know I win or I lose you might not be as invested in the match.

Oh come on. I'd tell you.

Because you're a sweetheart. I'm not.

No. You're Dimples.

Ugh.

Closing her messages, she opened Twitter to post a tweet about her match, then allowed herself a few moments to scroll through her timeline. She liked a couple of tweets from coworkers.

And froze when she saw that Adam had tweeted. It was a picture of the NXT banner above the entrance, and his caption made her snort on a laugh.

shit i'm lost

"Idiot," she muttered under her breath, liking the tweet and closing Twitter.

In my seat. Good view. Hope no one notices me.

She wondered what he'd done to appear anonymous. He'd said he'd be somewhat incognito. She almost asked him but didn't. She knew the general area he would be sitting in, she would look for him when she made her entrance.

Why don't you want anyone to notice you?

Because. I don't want people to pay more attention to me than you and… who are you facing? Them. You've obviously done something to earn being in the main event and I don't want to take away from that. Maybe I'm being egotistical but that's why.

"Oh," she whispered. Oh. Oh. The words made her heart squeeze. And for the moment she was able to forget all about the sham. Granted, she forgot all about their alleged relationship when they were talking. When it wasn't flirting and was just talking about wrestling or movies or music or TV or books. When they talked like the friends she thought they were becoming.

I'm facing Rhea. And oh. She sent that, then sighed and began to type again. Deleted the gushing message she'd composed and tried again. Then, finally, managed five words that summed up her thoughts. You really are a sweetheart.

I try to be.

Her timer went off and she silenced it. Sent him another message while walking towards Gorilla. Almost time. See you.

Just before she handed her phone to Hunter for safekeeping, he replied.

Can't wait, Dimples.

She hated the nickname. She really did. But her heart did a funny little flutter that she chalked up to nerves, and her lips pulled into a silly smile. Sliding her phone onto the desk in front of Hunter, she drew in a deep breath and hurried to get into place for her entrance. She had half a minute to compose herself and share a hug for luck with Rhea.

The grinding guitar of her theme began and she shook off the last-minute nerves before ducking through the curtain. Waiting until she was in front of the camera to smooth the front of the t-shirt she'd cut into a tank, smirking for effect while pointing out her first official piece of merch. Basic, maybe, but she was still thrilled to have a shirt in the shop. Her eyes scanned the crowd on either side of the ramp and her smirk deepened when she spotted a couple of fans wearing one. She could tell by the swoop of neon pink that represented her hair in the silhouette. Striding toward the ring, she tossed her hair over her shoulder while ascending the steps.

She ducked between the ropes and realized while jumping onto the second turnbuckle that she was getting more reaction than usual. Her heart pounded in her chest and she stood there for a split second to let the sensation sink in then put a hand over her eye and peered at the crowd as she always did. She had done it during her first entrance, trying to spot her parents in the audience, and Hunter had liked the effect. Told her to do it every time. And when someone had asked on Twitter why she did it, she had decided that her character was looking for someone worthy of watching her perform.

She spotted Adam immediately. Incognito or no, there was no mistaking him. He wore a plain white t-shirt and his hair was pulled back under a cap and he was wearing glasses, but she knew it was him. It was the way he held himself as he stood there, clapping. And though she tried, she couldn't help the little smile that pulled at her lips when she saw him.

Her music faded out and she jumped down, moving to the far corner to wait for Rhea's entrance. And, in the few seconds before her opponent's music started, she heard it.

Cowboy shit!

"Oh my god," she said out loud, clapping a hand over her mouth to keep from laughing. He'd been spotted. She wasn't surprised. His disguise was defective.

Rhea's music began, then Rhea was in the ring, and she forgot all about Adam and the fans chanting his catchphrase.

Until midway through the match when she caught Rhea with a clothesline that sent her spinning. When, as she leaned against the turnbuckle to catch her breath, she heard the chants start up again.

Of fucking course, she thought, squatting down to wait for Rhea to get to her feet. That was one of his moves, wasn't it? And, fuck her, fans knew they'd gone out. Had seen him in the pictures she'd posted. And if they knew he was in the building…

Hunter, she mused before launching into action again, was gonna be pissed.

If he was pissed, he didn't show it. Then again, she had always thought he had a resting asshole face. Breathless and slightly unnerved because she had been allowed to win, she watched him approach after she stepped through the curtain. She gathered her hair at the back of her neck and winced when the movement sent an ache through her shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Landed wrong," she said. She doubted it was anything seriously. It just ached a little. She could rotate it fine without major pain. "I'll get it checked."

He nodded. "Great showing."

"Thanks." She was handed a towel and a bottle of water and held them, waiting for more from Hunter.

"You didn't tell me he was coming," he sighed.

"Didn't I?" She cringed. "I'm sorry, but—"

"It's fine. Just warn me next time, alright?"

"Did he do something?" she asked, worried now. "I saw he posted something on Twitter before my match, but… He isn't here to start shit, Hunter. He just came to see me perform live."

"He—" Hunter's face softened, and Serena was reminded of why the entire NXT locker room referred to him as Papa. "He's important to you, isn't he?"

"I think so," she admitted softly. "It's only been a few weeks."

"He didn't do anything. But people knew he was there." Hunter pulled her phone out of his jacket pocket and handed it over. "You've worked too hard over the past year to have your talent outshined by who you're dating."

Well, fuck, what was she supposed to say to that? She hadn't considered any of that when she had formed her not-so-brilliant idea. She had never imagined Adam would come to see her at a show. Had thought their so-called relationship would involve only the occasional text and showing up together at a few parties. Not what it had become. Constant texts. Frequent phone calls and FaceTime chats. Giddiness when he flirted so easily with her. Thinking of him and wanting to talk to him when she learned something new or had heard good news. Wanting to hear his voice when she was having a bad day.

The slow clarity that she wanted it to be real.

"Go get your shoulder checked," Hunter said, gently patting her other shoulder.

She had made two steps when he called her. She turned, eyebrows raised, and saw him smiling.

"Don't forget you're gonna be in the title match at TakeOver."

She had forgotten. Blinking, she stared at Hunter for a long moment before her lips spread into a grin. "Holy shit."

After giving him a grateful hug, she made her way to the back. She was met by Cole, who congratulated her on the match, then grinned.

"You didn't tell me—"

"That he was coming, I know, I was busy. Next time I'll make an announcement, okay?" Her shoulder ached and pain always made her a little cranky. Frowning, she muttered an apology. "It was kind of last minute. Have you seen him?"

"He just got back. He's talking to Finn. Go get your shoulder checked."

"How did you—" Serena cut off with a sigh. Of course he knew. Seeing that he was about to head off, she tugged at his sleeve. "Hey, Cole Slaw."

"Yeah, Mermaid?"

"I'm scared."

Cole's smile faded. "Of what?"

"I think they're pushing me too soon," she admitted, grateful when he tucked his arm around her and guided her down the hallway to the trainer's room. "I've only been on TV for three months."

"And you've been kicking ass," he pointed out.

"But it's too much," she attempted to explain. "I don't want to be thought of as Hunter's new favorite and that's why I'm getting a major push. Shouldn't I flounder until I get my footing? Grow as a character? What the hell is my character except for the pissed off fat chick sick of seeing the pretty girls get the spotlight?"

"Mermaid… Serena." Cole stopped and turned her so she faced him. "Hunter wouldn't be pushing you if he didn't believe in you."

"I know that. But I look around at girls like Candice and Mia and Dakota. They've been here so much longer they're me. And they're amazing! And I'm…I'm not."

"Serena—"

"I'm not," she insisted. She needed him to understand. She was sure that, if she could get her jumbled thoughts in a decent formation, he would. "I know I'm good. I know I'm improving. But… I just can't help feeling that it should be one of them and not me."

Cole sighed. "Kid. You can't think like that. Well, okay, you can. But don't focus on it, okay? Because sometimes you only get the one shot. So you've got to make it count."

Serena nodded. "I know," she whispered. "I don't want to sound ungrateful. I just…"

"You worry and second guess yourself all the damn time. Which is why you can't master your enzuigiri," he added with a grin.

"You…" Serena scowled and pushed at his shoulder. "You know what? Fuck you. Fuck the enzuigiri. I'm gonna master that fucking move, and when I do? I'm taking your stupid head off with it."

His laugh followed her all the way to the trainer's room.

After getting her shoulder evaluated, stretched, and iced, she exited and nearly walked straight into Adam. His hands caught her upper arms to steady them both. She could feel the plastic of a bag crinkling between his hand and her arm and briefly wondered whose merch he'd bought. She couldn't bring herself to look, though, because the only thing she could see was his handsome face lit up with a grin.

"Hey," he said. "Your shoulder okay?"

"Fine." She saw Cole heading toward them. "Did you enjoy what you saw of the show?"

"C'mere," he murmured.

He drew her close, even though she was sweaty and gross. His lips met her forehead in a sweet kiss and she smiled, wrapping her arms around him. She allowed herself to enjoy his arms around her, not bothering to lie and insist in her mind that she was only doing it because others were watching. Because, as soon as his lips touched her forehead, she forgot anyone else was around. He drew her closer and when his lips slid away, she sighed, tipping her head back to look up at his face.

"You were great out there," he said, smiling.

His hands moved up and she lamented the loss of his embrace. But they cupped her face, thumbs sweeping her cheeks sweetly, and she mirrored his smile. "Thanks. I'm glad you got here in time to see."

"Me too. You… I had no idea… Oh, fuck it," he muttered, leaning down.

She gasped softly in anticipation. Felt his breath fan over her lips. Could almost feel the heat of him.

"You two lovebirds got plans?"

"God damn it," Adam muttered, forehead meeting hers before he pulled back.

Serena agreed with his statement and pulled her gaze from his lips, turning her head to see Cole approaching. "What?"

"You two got plans?" Cole asked.

She unclenched her fingers from Adam's shirt and released her breath slowly. She still felt shaky. As though she'd been kissed. Licking her lips, she took a step back. Did they have plans? She had no idea. She couldn't remember. "Do we?" she asked Adam softly. "I'm starving."

He chuckled, fingers trailing her jaw as his hands fell away. "We'll go eat, then."

"I won't be long. Just gotta get a quick shower."

She heard his breath stutter, saw his tongue drag over his bottom lip. "Yeah?"

Filled with a sudden longing to have his arms around her beneath the hot stream of water, she licked her lips. "Yeah."

"God, get a fucking room," Cole muttered. "Where are we going to eat?"

"Does he have to come?" Adam asked her.

"Am I a bitch if I say no?"

"Yes," Cole answered loudly.

"Britt would be mad if we left him out," Serena sighed.

"Yeah. And even though she's a pain in my ass, I don't want to upset her," Adam agreed.

"She is a good friend," she allowed.

"So is he. Sometimes."

"We can lose him if he gets too annoying?" she suggested hopefully.

His sigh was filled with regret. "Too late for that."

"I'm right fucking here," Cole reminded them.

"Go take your shower, Dimples," Adam murmured.

***

About halfway through their meal, his knee began to bounce. He didn't even notice at first. He was used to his anxious energy and his inability to sit completely still. His knee would bounce, he would drum his fingers, he would fiddle with whatever object he could reach – a hair tie, a pen, a straw wrapper. He became vaguely aware of the movement, though, and tried to lessen it while he, Serena, and Cole discussed the possibility of he and Serena having dinner with Cole and Britt soon.

"Yeah, that sounds fine with me," he agreed after checking his schedule and letting Cole suggest a tentative day the next week. About to ask if Britt would be good with it, he picked up his fork to take another bite of his food.

And dropped it when a hand landed on his thigh.

He glanced down and saw Serena's fingers splayed across the denim. He'd never noticed that her nails were painted the same shade of pink as her hair. Pressing his lips together tightly when she squeezed, he cleared his throat and picked up his fork again.

"Okay?" she asked softly.

"Yeah," he murmured, reaching with his left hand to cover hers.

It wasn't until they were being served dessert that he noticed his knee had stopped bouncing. Her hand had stayed on his thigh the entire time, squeezing occasionally. When he pushed away his plate and draped his arm over her shoulders, her fingers dug in. He watched them relax, instinctively sucked in his belly when they slid until they rested at his inner thigh. His gaze darted to her thighs, mostly concealed by the napkin she'd laid in her lap.

Would she mind if he reciprocated? Would she push him away if his hand slipped beneath the napkin? He knew she was wearing a pair of shorts. He couldn't remember what color or pattern they were, but knew they left plenty of real estate exposed. And he had the sudden overwhelming craving to feel her skin beneath his fingertips. To watch her face and see the shock. Surprise. Pleasure? He could hope.

Cole was talking but Adam didn't hear a word he said. It was obvious Serena did, because she was speaking, too. He pulled his arm from her shoulders and reached for his glass of tea. Took a sip in hopes it would quench the sudden dryness in his throat.

Would she be upset if he touched her thigh? He couldn't come out and ask her. Not with Cole sitting across from then, laughing and talking about… Whatever he was talking about. Adam heard a few bits and dismissed the topic as nowhere near as interesting as Serena's thighs. And how they would feel beneath his palm.

How they'd part for him. The breathy, gasping noise she would make when his fingers crept upward. How her eyes would glow as he cupped her.

How she'd feel. Wet and needy. Was she a moaner? A squealer? Or did she pant? Gasp? He longed to find out. To stumble his way through until he unlocked the secret touch that would have her screaming. And then he wanted to hold those thighs apart and find out how she felt around his cock. Whether she liked it fast and intense, or slow and tender.

He took another gulp of tea, pushed his glass onto the table, then reached to clasp her hand. It kept straying, and though he wanted nothing more than for her to keep moving it until she was holding something harder than his thigh, he knew he wouldn't be able to take it. Her hand slipped into his easily, their fingers lacing together so naturally he didn't know it had happened until her thumb hooked around his. And when she drew his hand into her lap, he gave a little sigh.

"You're not listening to a word I'm saying."

Adam blinked. Saw Cole sitting across from them. His mind warred between focusing on his friend or memorizing the plushness of Serena's thigh against the back of his hand. Sucking in a breath, he reached with his left hand to adjust his bulge as inconspicuously as possible. Then, meeting Cole's eyes, he grinned. "Not a fucking bit, man."

"Asshole," his friend muttered.

"Leave him alone," Serena chided. She slipped her hand free of Adam's and pulled her napkin from her lap.

"Yeah, leave me alone," Adam said with a chuckle, biting the tip of his tongue when his palm landed on flesh softer than any silk. It took all his willpower to keep from squeezing it tight, but he allowed his fingers to stroke idly. Glancing quickly at her face, he saw her tongue dart over her lips and gave her thigh a tiny squeeze.

"Excuse me," she said suddenly, dropping her napkin onto her plate.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Fine," she promised with a small smile. Her hand covers his and squeezed. "I've just got to go to the restroom."

"Hurry back," he whispered without thinking before standing so she could slide out of the booth.

She looked at him, her expression adorably sweet, when he held out a hand to assist her. "As quick as I can."

Her shorts were white. How had he not noticed before? And how had he never noticed that her skin held the glow of a natural tan?

"So it's going good?" Cole asked.

Adam tore his gaze from Serena's hips and looked to his friend. He'd heard the man's voice. Knew he'd asked a question. But, lost in his thoughts and the fantasies he knew would never come true, he had no idea what had been said. From the corner of his eye he watched her bright pink ponytail sway as she turned the corner and disappeared and gave his head a tiny shake. Sitting down, he cleared his throat. "What?"

"You and Serena." Cole laughed and leaned back. "It's going good?"

"Oh. Yeah. I think so? It seems to be. We're taking it slow." God, he hoped those were the right things to say. He and Serena hadn't discussed just how they would answer questions like that. He thought about sending her a quick text, but noticed she'd left her phone on the table. Clearing his throat, he took a sip of his tea. "Yeah, it's going good."

"Have you two…" A hand raised into the air and gestured wildly.

"Jesus Christ," Adam groaned. He felt his cheeks burn and wondered why. He'd never been embarrassed about sexual talks before. He had done his fair share of bragging. And hadn't he just been imagining all the delightful, sexual ways he'd like to enjoy Serena's body?

"You don't have to answer."

Thank god.

"I don't fucking want details, because she's like a kid sister." Cole shuddered as though he'd been plagued with a disgusting mental image. "But I can tell you are."

"You can?" His voice sounded strained.

"Dude." His friend chuckled. "It's practically radiating off you guys."

"What's radiating off us?"

"Sex." Cole looked at him knowingly. "It's in the eye fucking."

"We're not eye fucking," Adam argued.

"Please, it's all the two of you have been doing since you met up backstage."

"She's like your kid sister. You really want me to tell you if I've been fucking her?" Adam asked.

"No!"

"Then why bring it up?"

"It was an observation. Fucking hell, I'm happy for you, man."

"Because I got laid?" He glanced in the direction of the restrooms. Where the hell was she? Why did it take so long for a woman to take a piss? When would she come back and save him from this torture?

"Ye-No." Sighing, Cole picked up his glass and shook some ice into his mouth. "Because you're happier than I've seen you in a long time, dickhead. And I'm happy that you're making Serena happy."

Adam managed a smile. Was he making her happy? Or was she just that damn good an actress? "I'm not making her happy."

"Sure you are."

"No." Adam shook his head. "She's a happy person, Cole. I knew that when I met her. Maybe I help her relax after she's had a stressful day? Especially with you bugging her about moves and practice and over-analyzing every little thing instead of giving her time to breathe."

"She has it in her to be the best," Cole defended. "I saw that the first time I watched her practicing at the PC. But she's got self-doubt and… It holds her back."

I know my place, Adam.

"Hey," he said suddenly, glancing in the direction of the restrooms to make sure she wasn't on her way back. "Why's she so down on herself?"

"How do you mean?"

"Come on," Adam sighed. "You've got to know. She… She thinks she's not good enough. For anything."

Cole sighed heavily. "I don't know for sure. But right after she was signed, she went out a few times with… It's not important who. She didn't tell me everything, but she was a wreck after they stopped seeing each other. It was obvious to me that he crushed her. I can tell she's always had insecurities, but they were worse after him."

"Who?" Adam demanded.

"It's not my place to tell you." Cole smiled sadly. "I was gonna fuck him up, but she made me promise not to. She said he just…"

Adam waited while his friend hesitated.

"He just confirmed the fears she had about herself," he finished softly.

Deflated, Adam sank back in the booth. He wondered if he would be able to wrangle the name of the bastard from Cole. Or from Serena. No, he doubted that would happen. They hadn't talked about previous relationships, except for the ones Cole and Britt had tried to nudge them into.

"It's why me and Britt have been so pushy about her putting herself out there. Our friendship clicked when we met, you know? But after that… I couldn't see her go through that again, man. She's my friend, yeah, and I bitch at her constantly, but I want the best for her. Not just in the ring but in life. She deserves happiness."

"She does," Adam agreed softly. He caught movement out the corner of his eye. A flash of pink. Turning his head, he watched her approach the booth. Her pretty, dimpled smile was in place, and he felt his heart tumble over itself when her eyes locked with his.

"She's happy, Page," Cole murmured.

"I know."

She stopped to chat to their server, and he watched her smile turn into a grin. Smiled himself when the server pulled out their phone and she leaned in close to take a selfie with them.

"Page?"

Adam turned his head to look at Cole. "Yeah?"

"She's happy. Whether it's you or because of you or just because you being around lifts her spirits… She's happier than I've seen her in months." His friend's face shifted into seriousness. "Please keep doing what you're doing."

He bit his tongue and swallowed to keep the panicked laugh from bubbling past his lips. What the fuck was he doing that was so great? He was just talking to her and texting her and letting his mind come up with positions their bodies would never be in. All he was doing was letting himself pretend it was real. Just a little bit.

He was just setting himself up for heartbreak.

Standing when she approached the booth, he breathed in the aroma of her as she slid in. The fruit was from her lip balm. Her hair smelled of coconut and cocoa. Sitting down, he instinctively reached for her hand, eyes meeting hers as their fingers twined. Their thumbs hooked and he smiled, his heart giving a little jump when she smiled in return.

Yep, he was going to get his heart broken. And there wasn't a fucking thing he could do about it.

***

It was late when Adam got to the hotel. Grumpy with sleepiness, he jerked the earbuds from his ears and headed straight for the bed. He was almost on autopilot as he plugged his phone in to charge and stripped, tossing the earbuds onto the nightstand after setting a series of alarms for every ten minutes so he would get up on time.

He was about to lie down when he groaned and dragged himself into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Then, switching out the lights, he crawled into bed. Had just gotten comfortable when his phone screen lit up with an incoming call. He almost ignored it but was already reaching for it. Dragging it close so he could see who was calling him. It took him a few seconds to remember he'd changed her name.

Dimples.

Was something wrong? Frowning, he accepted the call and brought the phone to his ear. "Hey."

No reply.

"Dimples?" He listened closely but heard nothing.

Then, a faint rustle and a soft sigh.

She must have accidentally called him. He pushed the phone tighter to his ear, trying to gauge if she was asleep or busy getting ready for bed, but could hear nothing. About to disconnect, he froze when he heard a small noise.

A soft moan.

Over the weeks, he had heard several different types of moans pass her lips. The growly moan she made when she was sleepy. The tiny moan of pleasure when she was eating something delicious. A groan of pain. A moan of frustration when he was being a sassy asshole. But this… This was different.

There was a rustling, and he heard her breathing.

Then a breathy gasp.

"Oh…"

"Fuck," he whispered without meaning to.

Was she getting herself off? Had she called him so he could listen in?

No, he decided, licking his lips as another moan filled his ear. She wouldn't do that. Nothing remotely sexual had happened between them. Their teasing stayed playful, and when he could feel himself wanting to turn it erotic, he shifted gears or came up with a reason to end the call.

Carefully, he rolled onto his back, biting his lip. He should hang up. She would be mortified if she knew he was listening. Wouldn't she?

She moaned again, louder, and he dragged his hand over his face. His cock stirred and he held his breath, willing himself to pull the phone from his ear, end the call, and go to sleep. But the phone stayed where it was while she moaned once more. He was still heady from her hand on his thigh. From the plush thigh beneath his own hand. From the several times they had almost kissed. His cock grew hard and twitched. And, with a shiver, he reached to snatch his earbuds from the nightstand. It took three tries to get them plugged in, and he had the foresight to mute his end of the call, not sure he'd forgive himself if he made a noise that ended her self-pleasure.

Her moans grew long. Deep.

Was she lying on her back? Sitting up, legs spread? He exhaled sharply, pressing one hand down over his dick to alleviate the pressure as mental images began to swarm. Picturing the fingers that had danced over his thigh tracing a wet slit, he licked his lips. Let his eyes drift closed as her moans filled his ears.

More rustling. A soft gasp.

The unmistakable sound of fingers moving over a slick pussy. Holding his breath, he palmed his dick, picturing her fingers growing wet. He squeezed, spread the precum down. Focusing on her little gasps and the muffled sounds of her wet pussy, he began to stroke hard despite telling himself he would take it slow.

"Oh fuck," she whined.

He could see her in his mind. Thighs spread, hips lifted off the bed. The tits he tried so hard not to think about swaying. Her face masked in indulgence.

"Fuck," he hissed, pulling his cock faster. It had been too long since he'd been, however accidentally, helped in getting off. Too long since the sounds in his ears hadn't been the obviously fake sounds of porn. For a fleeting moment he feared he wouldn't last long enough to enjoy the sound of her cumming but pushed the thoughts away and fixed his mind on gratification.

Her breathing was jerky. Punctuated with gasping moans and the occasional whimper. He tried to time the movements of his hand with her, but she flitted from slow to fast so quickly he lost track. Panting, he worked his cock, other hand slipping to grasp the sheet.

"Ohh…" It was a desperate growl, accompanied by the sound of her fingers working faster.

"C'mon," he moaned, squeezing his dick tightly. He was so close. He needed to cum. Needed her to get him there. He might never get to feel her cunt spasm around his dick, but he could savor her sounds and pretend.

"Ah—" Serena's squeal ended in a soft cry.

"Oh fuck," Adam growled, throwing his head back. His hips rolled, his body focused on its pursuit of release. He was gonna—

"Adam!"

His cock throbbed in his fist. His heart thudded in his chest. Ecstasy ripped through him, wrenching a strangled cry from his lungs. Arms shaking, he heard her cry of his name echo in his brain as he came. His eyes clenched shut, he slowed the movement of his hand, working his dick in fluid motions to urge out every drop.

"Oh my god," she was gasping when clarity returned to him.

"Oh my god," he echoed, lifting a trembling hand to drag it over his face.

Loud rustling filled his ears, scattered with her short breaths.

He released his cock and slowly sat up, hissing as his cum trickled down his abdomen. Sweaty and sticky, he suddenly craved a hot shower. Almost as much as he craved holding her in his arms. He groped for his phone. Reaching to unmute his end, he winced when his thumb jabbed the end button and her little gasps were cut off.

Should he call her back? Tell her he'd heard everything?

He didn't want to tell her that. Didn't want her to feel shame or guilt for pleasuring herself. He just had an overwhelming urge to tell her what had been in his heart and mind for several days. He just wanted her to know that he was open to making it all real.

He just needed to tell her that it was real to him.

But it was too late at night for that kind of talk. So, ignoring the cum drying on his skin, he brought up his messages and hesitated before tapping out a quick message to her.

Good night, Dimples. He stared at it, then added a heart emoji before pressing send.

When he returned to the bed after a quick shower, he pulled his phone close to see if she'd replied.

And smiled when he saw she had sent a heart emoji.

***

"Hey," Adam said, cupping the back of his neck with his hand as he spoke into the phone. "Just checking in. Again… I know you're busy today, but can you please call me back? We… I really think we need to talk."

He pulled the phone away from his ear and hit end with more force than necessary. Was she avoiding him? Had she figured out that she'd called him and he'd overheard her? He slowly pulled in a breath and ignored the stab of lust at the memory of her crying out her name.

"Everything okay?"

Kenny. Looking up from his phone, which mocked him with its silence, Adam blinked. "Yeah?"

"You keep dipping out and making calls." Kenny's face showed concern. "What's wrong?"

"Serena."

Kenny frowned. "What happened?"

"Oh! No, no, she's fine," he promised. "At least I think she is. I haven't talked to her today."

"She's probably busy."

"Yeah." He knew she was. Had spent an hour that morning stalking through social media to find out she had several TV spots, a radio interview, and a meet and greet before lunch. He didn't begrudge her being busy. It was kind of exciting, knowing that whoever was in charge of such things at NXT believed in her so much they scheduled so much for her to do. But damn, he'd hoped she'd at least call and say hi between interviews or while on her way to her autograph signing. He hadn't even gotten a text from her. And she always sent him a text after she had breakfast to tell him what she was going to be doing that day.

"Are you two…" Kenny pressed his hands together and tapped his mouth with his index fingers. "Serious?"

"I think it's getting that way," he admitted with a sigh. And, because it was Kenny, he kept talking. Because he knew he could trust Kenny. "I didn't think it would be at first, y'know? 'Cause I haven't had serious in a long time."

"I know," Kenny murmured.

"I like talking to her every day," he confessed softly.

Kenny smiled. "I'm sure she likes talking to you, too. Otherwise she wouldn't call so much."

Adam chuckled, remembering how her call had interrupted their segment they'd recorded for BTE. Brandon's laughter when the ringtone had begun to blare. Kenny's indulgent smile. Then his own insistence he have a few minutes to chat with her before they did it again.

"She'll call," Kenny assured him.

Would she? He hoped so.

She didn't call. Even though he called her three more times between lunch and dinnertime. Even though he sent several texts. Even though he called Cole for some made up reason and mentioned he hadn't heard from her that day. He knew it wasn't because his phone was messed up. Other people called. He talked to his parents. His sister. He even talked to a former student who was trying to talk him into coming to a reunion at the high school.

Was she scared to talk to him? Had she looked at her recent calls and seen they'd been connected for thirty minutes at three in the morning? Had she known when she'd picked up her phone after recovering from what, to him, had sounded like a damned good orgasm?

He almost texted her that he'd listened. He even pulled up their message thread and began typing out the words a few times, ranging from carefully worded to abrupt. I enjoyed your late-night call. Let's do it again? had become I like the way you scream my name. had become I haven't cum like that in ages. Maybe we should try it together?

He hadn't sent either of them. Had cleared the words and settled for something innocent and safe. The time his match was supposed to start, with the addendum that he hoped he'd be able to talk to her before he went out.

Still his phone stayed silent. As though completely dead, the screen stayed black while he got into his gear. And while he warmed up.

Then, when there were just five minutes before he was supposed to make his entrance, it began to ring.

Yeah, I could use a Texas man, who's not afraid to take his time.

"Heart Eyes," Kenny guessed with a grin.

Laughing with relief, Adam snatched up his phone and accepted the call. "Hey," he greeted, nodding his thanks when Kenny took his tag belt. Grabbing his bandanna, he followed Kenny down the hall. "I've been blowing up your phone all day, Dimples."

"Sorry." She sounded embarrassed. "I've been running around like… What's a cute Southern phrase for busy?"

"Like a chicken with its head cut off?" he suggested, too happy to hear her voice to be mad she hadn't called him until now.

"That's gross," she laughed.

"Like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest?"

"That would probably be seen as offensive."

"A one-armed wallpaper hanger?"

"We'll stick with the chicken," she decided. "I didn't get much sleep and had to be up at six forty-five to do media."

"Why didn't you get enough sleep?" he asked carefully.

"I was too keyed up after dinner," she said after a moment, her tone just as careful as his had been.

"Dimples—"

"Are you doing anything tonight?" she blurted.

"Not a damn thing." Feeling the bandanna slipping from his fingers, he glanced to see Kenny taking it to tie the ends.

"I'm about to go out for my match, but I'll call you after? I know you're too far for us to see each other, but… I know you need to talk to me." Her tone was apologetic. "I wasn't avoiding you. I promise."

He'd known that, but it felt good to hear her say it. He felt weight lift from his shoulders. "I know, Dimples."

"We can FaceTime?"

"Sure." He took the tied bandanna from Kenny. "I'm about to go out for my match."

"Us, wrestling at the same time?" She laughed. "Someone would probably say it's destiny."

"Us, whooping ass at the same time," he mused, unable to stop grinning. "Sounds like it's meant to be."

Us. He liked them being us. He could barely wait to tell her he wanted them to really be us.

"Adam?"

"Yeah?" He knew he needed to end the call. Heard one of the production assistants call out that there was only a minute until the next entrance. His entrance.

"I…" She sighed deeply. "I can't wait to talk to you later."

"I can't either," he promised.

"Have fun out there."

"I always do," he murmured. "You too."

"I do." Her voice was as warm as a crackling fire on a cold winter's night. "Bye."

He ended the call, still grinning. Funny, how just a few minutes talking to her eased the stress of his day. He handed his phone over to Cody and tugged his bandanna into place, clapping hands with Kenny and leaning into a quick hug just before his music began.

The match passed in a blur. The cheering of the crowd. The lights blinding him when he landed on his back. The world spinning when he flipped over the ropes. The taste of blood when Butcher's elbow caught him in the lip. The ringing of the bell echoing in that split second before the cheers turned into a roar and the music filled the arena.

He wiped the blood from his lip as he and Kenny stepped behind the curtain. Took a towel to scrub the blood away. Had just been handed a bottle of water when Cody approached him.

Adam knew in an instant that his friend was bringing him bad news. The water bottle slipped from his fingers and fell to the floor. He barely felt the splash of cold against his leg. "What?"

"I'm sure she's okay," Cody began. "Go—"

"What's wrong?" he demanded, throwing the towel down to catch whatever water had spilled.

"I don't know for sure." Cody dragged a hand over his face. "Serena lost her footing on the top rope and fell. She hit the apron. Brandi showed me some videos on Twitter."

"How bad?" Adam whispered, heart rattling in his chest. Hadn't they just been discussing injuries the day before? And hadn't she said she'd been lucky enough to avoid anything worse than a busted lip? When Cody didn't answer, he tried to swallow the lump that was forming in his throat. "How bad?"

"She was bleeding. She finished the match. Nick's on the phone with Cole. But Adam—"

"Nick?" Adam's head turned, looking for his friend.

"Locker room," Cody said.

He was already heading in that direction. Cody had looked too worried for it to be something minor. Her finishing the match didn't mean a fucking thing. Did it? Suddenly, everything he knew about in-ring injuries disappeared from his brain. He heard footsteps behind him, heard Kenny's voice, but pushed ahead, bursting into the locker room. He skidded to a stop when he saw Nick standing in the center of the room, phone pressed to his ear and brow furrowed with worry.

"Hold on, he just came in," Nick murmured into the phone. Lowering it, he looked to Adam. "They're treating her for a concussion."

"Is she okay?"

"They don't know yet. He and Shawn are at the hospital with her."

"Fuck," Adam wheezed. It had to be bad if Shawn had gone with her. He pushed his hands through his hair. He needed a shower. He was sweaty, sticky, and reeked of the beer he'd chugged ringside. "What are they doing?"

"Cole doesn't know. They're running tests."

"Adam." Kenny's hand rested gently on his shoulder. "Go take a shower, okay? I'll order an Uber for you."

"Thanks," he whispered, hating how broken the word sounded.

"We'll get you there," Kenny promised, guiding him forward with gentle pressure. "Just get ready."

He had more questions. They formed and tumbled in his mind as he took the quickest shower of his life, and by the time he dried off and began to dress the questions were a storm in his mind. When he came out from the shower, he saw Kenny, Matt, Nick, and Cody waiting for him, their faces showing concern.

"You shouldn't go alone," Kenny said.

Adam shook his head. He didn't know what to say. He didn't care if he went alone or if the entire fucking company went with him. He just needed to get there. Needed to see her. Once he found the words to say, they came out in a whisper. "Any word?"

"She's getting a CT scan," Nick answered when everyone else looked to him. "They don't think it's bad, but she was throwing up. And she was confused. Kept saying she had to get ready for her match and talked about calling… You."

Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. He needed to see her. Talk to her. "Where's the Uber?"

"It's coming." Kenny moved to Adam's suitcase and began picking up his scattered things. "Come on, I'll help you pack."

"I'll go with you," Nick offered.

Adam blinked, mind flashing and echoing. Serena dancing in Nick's arms. Laughing at things he said. Serena saying that Nick had texted and called her. And even though she wasn't really his, he didn't want the man near her. "No," he blurted, scowling. "Fuck you."

He saw Matt's eyes widen at his outburst, heard the man ask something. Watched Nick shrug.

"Adam." Kenny. Voice still gentle and calming. "I'll go with you, buddy, okay?"

"Yeah," he said, aware that his hands were shaking as he dropped his gear into his suitcase.

"Why not me?" Nick asked.

"Because fuck you, that's why," Adam snapped, eyes on Kenny's hands neatly tucking his things into the suitcase.

"He's in shock," Kenny said. "Don't take it personally."

Adam snorted. Lifted his head in time to see Nick squinting with doubt. He looked back to Kenny. "No I'm not. Fuck him."

"You know, you—"

"Shut the fuck up," Kenny warned. "Go away. Please."

A hand landed on his arm. Kenny's hand. Pulling him back. He looked down. Saw that he'd moved toward Nick. Felt his hand tightened in a fist. Exhaling shakily, he let himself be pulled back. Sank down on the bench and unclenched his fingers.

"We'll go meet the Uber," Matt announced, jerking on Nick's arm as he headed out. "Dude, what the hell did you do?"

"Nothing," Nick yelped, stumbling after his brother. "Unless he's pissed at me for texting Serena?"

He was on his feet for a second, then was being dragged back down.

"Don't," Kenny said softly. "He deserves it, but it won't fix anything."

Adam sighed, picking up his toiletry bag and shoving it into his suitcase. He glanced up when the locker room door closed and saw that they were alone. "Can we go?"

"The Uber's not here yet." Kenny's eyes were sympathetic.

Adam suddenly felt as though he were going to cry.

"She's gonna be okay."

"I gotta get to her," he whispered, raking his fingers through his hair. It was still wet. He'd barely swiped the towel over it.

"You will."

"I gotta take care of her. She's my girl. That's what I'm supposed to do, right? Take care of her."

"Of course," Kenny agreed, moving to pack his own stuff.

"Even if she isn't really my girl." He frowned. Thought of her calling them us. "I want her to be my girl. It's a mess because I wasn't supposed to feel things for her. It…"

He trailed into a huff of air, slowly raising his head to see Kenny looking at him. And he knew that Kenny had known all along. Was certain when his friend dipped his head in a brief nod.

"I want her to be my girl," he said again. "I was gonna tell her tonight. Because… 'Cause…"

His eyes burned. His vision blurred. He blinked. Felt the scorch of tears on his cheeks.

"Adam. Adam. Hey." Kenny. Moving closer. Arm around his shoulders. Drawing him in and squeezing him. "It's okay, buddy. I know, alright? I know. But it's gonna be okay. You can tell her you want her to be your girl after you help her get through this."

"I don't know what to do." He scrubbed at his eyes. Wishing he could quit imagining her lying on the floor with blood pouring from her head.

"We'll figure it out. C'mon. Let's head out, so we can get you to Heart Eyes."

A shaky laugh escaped. "She'd hate it if she knew you call her that."

"Would she?"

"She hates that I call her Dimples. She says she does. But when I say it she smiles, y'know? And I get to see that dimple." He needed to see that smile again.

The night air was cool but Adam hardly noticed, chewing on his thumbnail while he and Kenny climbed into the Uber. The driver spoke. Showed signs of being chatty. But Adam was grateful when he fell into silence once they were on the road. He reached for his phone so he could text Cole, then panicked when he found his pockets empty.

"Here." Kenny handed over his wallet and phone, then the handful of change Adam always kept on him.

He picked through the change. Found the item he'd been thinking of and clutched it in one hand while shoving his wallet and change into his pocket. The ridged edges of the bottle cap dug into his skin and he squeezed it harder, inhaling deeply and trying to think of splashing water. Fairy lights. Laughter.

It worked. Barely. Able to breathe, he held onto the cap while unlocking his phone and opening his texts. And although he knew there wouldn't be one from her, he opened the thread with Serena and read over the last few texts she'd sent.

Okay so you say you won't wear my merch because it has pink. But you wear that pink western shirt a lot. Therefore, you can wear my merch. And if I can wear 'cowboy shit' while doing a podcast stream, you can wear my silhouette with the pink swoop. Getting you one from the merch stand tonight.

He'd wear it with pride. Fuck, he'd even wear it in a BTE bit. He'd post an Instagram story of him wearing it. If she was okay, he would wear it until the pink wore off. And he'd even tell her he'd already bought one of her shirts when he'd gone to see her match.

Just realized I didn't answer your question when we were on the phone! Yes I did listen to some Peck. His voice is gut-wrenching and his melodies are bittersweet. A little reminiscent of those old western musicals, don't you think? Anyway, I want someone to pull some strings so I can get him to write me a new entrance theme.

Adam smiled. He'd told her she'd get Orville Peck to do her theme over his dead body, because he was angling to get his own redone by the man. But… As long as she was okay, he would do everything in his power to make it happen.

Britt texted and asked if we had a "song" yet. That's cliché as hell isn't it? But cute. I haven't answered her, but if we've got to have a "song" can we be cliché and make it Don't Go Breaking My Heart? Since it's the first song we sang together.

He wanted to sing with her again. Wanted to see her smile because she was having fun. Wanted to hold her hand and serenade her. Wanted to hear her tell him he sounded like Kenny Rogers.

He just wanted to hold her hand. He liked holding her hand. He liked the comfort of it, the way her thumb idly stroked his.

Fans outside when I got to the venue. When I was getting out of the car they started chanting 'cowgirl shit' and honestly? Tempted to tell Hunter I want to change my gimmick. Would you sue me for copyright infringement or is it ok since we're dating?

Scratch that. I want to be myself. I refuse to ride your assless chaps into stardom.

Smart woman, his Serena. He didn't want her to gain popularity just because of him. Especially since what they had wasn't real.

But God, it felt so fucking real. If it wasn't a little real, would he be so worried? So upset? Would he be praying and attempting to bargain with the big guy upstairs if he didn't care?

No.

He did care. Each day he cared more. Each day it was getting harder and harder to remember that it was a sham. Especially late at night when he would call her or she would call him and they would sleepily talk about their days. When he would lie in bed with his phone on the pillow next to him and could almost pretend she was lying there. When he ended the call and turned off the light and wished she were there to hold onto.

Specifically now, after she had called his name at her most passionate moment.

"Oh god," he gasped, bringing both hands up to his face. She had to be okay. She had to. So he could hold her in his arms and tell her that he didn't want it to be a charade. That he was starting to fall and, damn it, even if she wasn't, he wanted her to give him a chance.

"Bad news?" The driver asked, sounding concerned.

Kenny rubbed Adam's shoulder and sighed. "Yeah. His girl got hurt at work, but she's gonna be okay."

His girl. He wanted nothing more than for his girl to be okay. He needed her to be okay.

****

#adam page fanfiction #adam page imagine #aew imagine #aew fanfiction #my fics #multipart:BITN #they just keep getting longer and longer #I could have chopped this into 2 parts couldn't I?#oh well too late now

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boogiewrites · 4 years

Text

Reports & Repertoire 18: Sex and Set backs.

Characters: Eddie Brock x Venom x Candace Miller (OFC)

Summary: With Eddie weighed down with worry, he's not much for getting it up, so Venom steps in to ease a tense Candy's stress. Candy's best-laid plans play out.

Warnings/Tags: Candy x Venom sexual content. Talks of defeat, revenge.

Click on my icon then go to Mobile Masterlist in my bio for my other works and chapters.

Eddie hadn’t been sleeping particularly well and it was time for Venom’s weekly feeding, a combination that led them both to be more difficult to deal with. Without Candy they went out someplace new and snatched up a mugger. Just another Friday night. They return to Candy’s through the upstairs window left open on this particular night every week so escape was seamless.

Venom was feeling very full and satisfied afterward, alive and awake. The total opposite of Eddie. They shut the window behind them as they spilled into the dark room to see Candy in bed. Eddie is relieved at the mere sight of her safe and resting, posed under the thick comforter. Venom rustles inside him at the sight. Blood pumps fast through them, both theirs and the latest victims.

“Let’s have her Eddie.” Venom hisses hungrily in his tired mind. “She is relaxed and she tastes so good when she’s like this. Bet she tastes like strawberries.”

While stripping off his clothes sloppily and stumbling all the way, with none of the grace he held while Venom was in control, Eddie groans. “Yeah, she’s hit the daiquiris hard lately. But I’m too tired, man. We’re sleepin'.”

“You may sleep. I can be awake for… lots of things.” Eddie feels a prickling up his spine that he wishes he could react to, but his spirit just wasn’t as willing as his symbiotic counterpart was.

“Yeah, sure, whatever dude. Go for it.“ he dismisses him with a yawn and crawls into bed to a mewling woman. He hadn't thought Candy would go for it, but a horny alien wasn't something he had the energy to barter with right now. He didn’t even notice she was wearing lingerie when he pulled back the covers. He was already out as she stirred to kiss his cheek.

With a frown, she sighs, running her fingers through his hair. It was hard to be mad at him when he looked like that. He’d been so sweet and protective lately, but not in an overbearing way. She expected him to come home a ball of energy as he usually did after Venom fed. But she was left with a sleepy puppy who wasn’t any use to her needs tonight.

“Night Eddie baby.” she gives him another kiss before rolling over to her side of the bed. “Goodnight Venom” she calls out sweetly.

“You are not sleepy.” he responds.

She turns her head to see him looming over her. “Well, not exactly no.” she shrugs.

“You are... disappointed. And… aroused.” his second accusation is growled out and she narrows her eyes at him as he leans in closer. “I can smell you, Candy.”

“Yeah I…” she takes a breath to see Venom and his silky skin just like her nightie rippling at her confession. “...wanted to have sex with you tonight. I needed some stress relief and some, closeness, y’know but…” she motions her head to Eddie’s softly snoring face mushed into a pillow.

“He is tired. But I am not.” he grins and rubs against her cheek as affectionate as a cat in his mannerisms.

“Well I kinda... need him don’t I?” she huffs out an almost nervous laugh, getting ready to roll over, call it a loss and try again tomorrow.

“Do we?” he suggests, the tone and question caught her attention. “We are close Candy. As close as you and Eddie. We are three. We are all one now. A team. Why can we not play without Eddie when you and Eddie play without Venom.” there was no hurt in his voice but something peculiar to it.

“I…” she looks over at the sleeping man, oblivious. “I don’t know? I’ve never talked about it with Eddie.” It was almost an excuse but it was also the truth. She didn’t want to cross any lines she couldn’t step back over later with Eddie.

“I have.” Venom bows.

“You have? Really?” she pauses and looks around the room in thought. The information came as a surprise. But perhaps it shouldn’t? “What did he say?” Her voice is quiet and Venom can feel the curiosity in it.

“He said he didn’t care.” A tendril flips out casually in its explanation.

"Really?” she challenges over with uncertainty clear on her face.

“Yes.” he nods again.

“I mean... I was looking forward to it all day, I’ve been… annoyed and horny and thought he might wanna get close and fool around before we went to sleep.”

“I can do those things.”

“Well, I was going to include you.” she grins sheepishly, making him hum contentedly.

“Then let me take care of you. We have been growing closer Candy. You and I. Venom and Candy. Yes? With the murders. The vengeance and the blood. I can hear your heart race, feel your body vibrate with excitement. I know what it does to you. It does not do this to Eddie. We understand one another.”

“I get killing for survival, killing one to save many, yeah.”

“Yes, and I want to… reward you for it. It is so nice to have a human understand.”

“Reward me?”

“Give you what you want tonight. I’ve wanted some one on one time with you, but the occasion has never presented itself in such a way.”

“By one on one you mean-“

“Let us fuck, Candy, our sweet. Our babe, our love, our-.”

“You’re being very sweet Venom... but Eddie.”

“I told him I could handle your needs alone. He did not care.”

“You aren’t lying are you Venom?”

“Lying is what bad people do. And we are not bad.”

“No, you are not.” She shakes her head and believes him. And technically, he wasn’t lying. “I don’t wanna wake up the poor baby if he’s that tired.” After a pause, and a small snore from Eddie she continues.”How do you want to… do this?”

“Quietly.”

She smiles at his answer. “Yes, and without much movement.”

“Agreed. Which is easily achieved with me.” A certain pride comes from his animated face.

“That’s true, you slippery thing.” She coos affectionately.

“Then let me explore you, our beautiful girl. Let us make you cum.”

The words in his deep tone that sounded like Eddies but with a wild distortion and bass makes her blush at the words. She agrees and lays back, watching him slither up and caress her face.

“You are nervous. Why?”

“We’ve never done this. Just you and I. It’s like our first time or something.” She gives him a more reassuring smile.

“And I will rock your world.” He promises with a lick of her cheek. She forgives the dated terminology immediately and feels the soft warm silk and slip of him against her skin.

He slinks beneath her nightie with no trouble, warm and almost wet as he moves across her like vines. A circling and sucking of her nipples first, a heavy caress of her thighs before parting her legs himself. Reassuring strokes to her skin when he felt her heart speed up, feeling the tension growing between her legs and waiting for his moment. Without Eddie's thoughts, without any orders or suggestions, he’s free to do as he pleases. He uses her as a playground and explores almost every bit of her. He covers her almost entirely, becoming in tune with her on a more intimate level. He knew her pulse, her Ph, her ticklish spots and the way her breath escaped her lips in a sweet puff that smelled of a fruity cocktail she’d had before bed.

He begins the part he’d craved, to be solely responsible for a woman’s orgasm. Eddie took such pride in it that Venom wanted it for his own. He could make Eddie cum, he could make Eddie squeal like a pig if he wanted, but a woman was different, more Complicated and his complex brain was wanting the challenge. Tendrils encase her, pressure and strokes, lapping at her clit first, teasing around her opening as she grew wetter for it. He sucked and flicked, pinched and circled all the while waiting to hear those moans that got Eddie, and thus him, so hard.

She holds it in with shakey breaths at first. A bitten lip and eyes squeezed shut to cope but eventually one does escape As her toes curl, her hips buck, he's there to catch it. He covers her mouth and allows her to breathe through her nose and still make all the sound she wanted.

“See? Quiet. Only I can hear you now Candy. Let me feel all those sounds of pleasure. I want to know what I’m doing to you.”

She nods, not left with any choice really but to give in, and it was glorious.

He could feel her swollen insides, pushing on the outside to the underlying pleasurable pieces of her clit, a pressure to her lower stomach as he enters her, each stroke growing in girth until she whines at the stretch.

“You can take so much, Candy. So much more than Eddie. You can take me. I can touch you in ways he never could. We love Eddie, don’t we Candy? But he cannot do this.” And with the taunt he swells to push her insides, hooking over her pelvic bone and surrounding her cervix she lets out a wanton moan she’d never released before. She felt so impossibly full. Every inch of her full and throbbing with him. He pulsed like a vein inside her, a tendril rubbing away at her clit and within a few beats, she was gone.

He encased her shaking body, extensions between her fingers to hold her fisted hand and keep her from waking his host. A rush of cum from her from the pressure is whisked away by him and savored. Something he’d never tasted before and hoped to taste again. Eddie would like this, he thought. Eddie would like to see Candy enjoying herself like this. Venom was already planning how to play with her while Eddie watched.

“There, there.” He whispers, resting her back in the bed and brushing her hair back. “That was perfect our sweet.” He states softly in her ear as he unravels around her and leaving her mouth last so she didn’t make too much noise.

“That was perfect.” She agrees and smiles out a quiet dopey laugh. Giddy on the high of her first full-body, squirting orgasm. “I… I needed that. Thank you. Thanks for… talking me into it.”

“We can do it again soon.” A smile of his rows of sharp teeth didn’t frighten her anymore. The moonlight hit them like pearls and his veins shined like Opal. He was a beautiful thing, truly.

“Yes, we can.” She strokes his cheek as he nuzzles back. “Do you mind if I sleep now? You kinda… wore me out.”

“You get sleepy after orgasms.” He states it as the observational fact that it is.

“I do.” She admits.

“Sleep then Candy. I will see to Eddie. We will be with you tomorrow.”

“Night sweetheart.” She sighs out as he pulls the covers up over her shoulder.

And Eddie was none the wiser.

——————

Despite what Candy considered the most dangerous bits of her plan being over, it was never far from her mind. Having the two boys in her life made things easier most of the time, others not so much. Like when she would get lost in thought and someone was there to snap her out of it. She didn’t want to lie but she didn’t want to worry them when they asked what was wrong. Like now. She wished someone had told her that doing the right thing would be so hard.

She was at work, a place where she could usually find some distraction from her worries. She’d kept this case entirely separate and had done a good job. Or so she thought.

She’s handed her usual stack of mail and goes to open them, nothing out of the ordinary until she unfolds a very generic looking envelope.

“You have been warned. Stop now. Or face the consequences.”

No header, no signature or anything else on the blank page. For as vague as it was, it was perfectly clear what it was about. This was a sign she thought. They’re worried. She’s got something that could do some damage. But they would be looking to her to make the next move. So she had to be one step ahead.

Candy has everything lined up. The footage and proof all set and now given over to the small-time reporter looking to take on the big guys Candy couldn’t. The exchange was simple. Candy's name was left out, there was no footage or the sound of her voice on the videos, she could now sit back and watch it all unfold. She had done it. She’d outsmarted them.

Except it didn’t happen.

There was nothing for a week. Candy became worried, reaching out to the girl and receiving nothing in response. She takes the chance to go to the brick and mortar of the small paper and she was there, but reluctant to talk. She spoke with her in a backroom and was clearly shaken.

Tells her she should forget it. She can’t say more. But she isn’t the woman to do it for her. Telling her the proof was gone. The things she printed were gone. Her laptop, phone, everything. Telling candy to be careful because who they were messing with was willing to use violence to keep the status quo.

And with that, Candy was left to feel defeated again, guilty for a new reason. These men weren’t fucking around. But neither was Candy. But what could she do to get back at people with infinite resources? Venom couldn’t eat them all. As much as he’d like to try I’m sure. She needed something new. Something they couldn’t touch.

——-

“I don’t know Candy. I think we should leave it.” Eddies rubbed the back of his neck defensively.

“Really? They’re breaking the law, raping women and covering it up. Threatening people to keep quiet about it. It’s bad!”

“And YOU don’t have to be the one to expose it. I’m sorry babe, I really am but it’s not worth the risk. Venom and I… we can only keep you so safe.”

“We just need something they can’t deny! Something-“

“Something that’s going to draw too much attention to you. I need you to stop and think for a minute. You’re just one person. A major network won’t take this, won’t print it, won’t broadcast it or post it. There’s no way to get it out there without them knowing and it reaching enough people to make it known. It’s just not in our power. Maybe just do a piece on Roofies? No names or places or accusations?”

“They need to pay for what they did.” He sees her growing more tired, the hurt and sadness and fear catching up to her as she took a shakeup inhale.

“Comfort her.” Venom whispers and moves him towards her.

Eddie holds her and it only takes a moment for her to break. She starts to cry, and for so many reasons. Frustration, it all felt so unfair. The fear she felt that night, the need to help others and keep them from suffering the same fate or far worse. She was powerless against them no matter how much she fought, there was no winning this one.

“I’m so sorry Candy. I know how much this meant to you.” He didn’t know what else to say. And neither did Venom. He felt Eddie's pain, a dark cloud washing over them at being unable to fix it, unable to save those that needed to be saved. But even he and Venom have their limits.

@hardygal69 @marvelgirl7 @emerald-bijou @brianaisasongbird @vale0413 @izzy-the-ginger @chortletortoise @onomatopoetic-aesthetic @anrm1 @jademox @nightcraver @venomous-possibiities @tinastarkandco @chipster-21 @ugly-crying-over-bucky-barnes @queenof-wakanda @s-h-e-w-r-i-t-e-s @peakys-mystic @jaegeeeeer

#venom fanfic #venom fan fic #eddie brock fanfic #venom smut #eddie brock smut #venom #venom fandom #venom fic #venom fan fiction #venom x ofc #venom x reader #venom x oc #eddie brock au #venom eddie brock #eddie brock fic #eddie brock fan fic #eddie brock fan fiction #tom hardy

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thisisthehardestthing · 3 years

Note

wait r u fr? tumblr ate the ask? pls i’m so fuckin mad i literally typed paragraphs about how much i loved it so here we go i’m gonna try to be more coherent this time:

this mafia fic is my favorite haikyuu fic i’ve ever read and one of my fave fics in general. like the amount of hard work and research u put into it is so clear and it shows in the amazing quality of the fic. ur pacing, the flow of ur words, ur characterizations of tanaka and val, the way u pull off that last scene. everything is so well done and all of those things are super hard to pull off on their own so props to u for being able to do all of those. like wow i really am in awe of ur talent and i’m so thankful for ur hard work and the fact that u posted this like u rlly took me thru an emotional ride and gave me such a good piece of writing to enjoy and i love that.

okay so: details. i love the way u include the little things in the fic. stuff like the name of the designers and the names of organizations and stuff in the fic helps me picture the scenes so much and it just really adds to the extravagant feel of the fic.

with symbolism, i could literally write paragraphs about how well u included symbols in this fic. like i deadass gasped when the viper necklace was crushed in the final scene at the end right before tanaka did it. the parallels!!!! god ur so good at writing and obviously ur brain is huge to have thought of that and seamlessly included it into the fic.

okay so idk what the proper term for this is but like, the way that action happens in the fic is so well done and not predictable but still in line with what you’ve revealed to us about the characters. like ofc tanaka would pull the necklace out of his pocket at just that moment as a way to reveal to daichi what he felt. it’s just so perfect and so true to the person he is in the fic. about his characterization, god i love it so much. all of the pain and yearning and sheer want in his person were clearly conveyed thru his perspectives and his actions. like that boy just wants to be loved and that’s why it made such good narrative sense to have daichi ask him who he loves more in the scene right before the ending. like i saw the tag for death and expected a million things but u somehow managed to surprise me and yet still stay true to the world and characters u created and ugh, it’s all so perfect.

speaking of, the pacing of this fic is so good. like u manage to take us thru a whirlwind time period that doesn’t feel fast or drawn out or anything other than perfect. u have such a good awareness of pacing that it makes me so jealous and yet so pleased as a reader. like nothing about their love confessions or trysts felt rushed or forced. it felt so natural and true to the people they were and the world that they live in.

also i said before in the other ask how i love the way u utilize sex scenes in the fic. u sprinkle them in at just the right moment and they manage to be hot but they also reveal so much about the characters involved. like i’m specifically thinking of the scene in tanaka’s home where she asks why he won’t touch her and he says that she didn’t give him permission. like the love and devotion in that way of thinking felt so true and yet in the end he still did it and ugh that breaks my heart in the best way bc i know my pain as a reader is nothing next to his pain as a character. i would actually love to pick ur brain about how u decided on the ending. did it come to u in the moment or did u set out writing the fic knowing it would end up like that? so many questions rlly bc u created a world and a cast of characters that are so interesting like i would literally read books about them. (esp val. i loved how headstrong and proud she was but also how weak and emotional she could be. her ending made me sad but u kno, it made sense) and i’m especially curious to find out how tanaka copes after. like i can’t imagine that daichi would just accept his loyalty again but u do manage to surprise me in the best way so who knows. but i also mourn for him which is a little odd for me bc after finding out that he knew about daichi’s affair i felt betrayed and it hurt for some reason which is so interesting bc i trusted him and felt like i knew him, but u still managed to keep parts of him hidden, which is so cool.

oh and despite the tragic ending, u fed us so good with scenes of the two everywhere. like i love how we got to see tanaka and val in their own homes and at parties and we truly got to see how they act when they’re alone and when they’re comfortable and when they’re playing the part of loyal bodyguard or loyal wife. ugh it’s all so good and tbh i only finished it like maybe half an hour again but i already want to read it again bc it was so fucking good and the way u write emotions like yearning and heartbreak is so good like ugh. everything about the way u wrote this fic was so amazing and fuck tumblr for eating my ask but i hope i at least manage to repeat the majority of what was in the og ask lol.

hello anon <3

It is the weekend so I finally have enough brain power to reply.

I wanted to be selfish and keep this in my inbox forever, because this might be the kindest, most appreciative thing everyone has ever said to me about my writing. Toska is a piece of my heart and my soul in written word, and to have received something like this? It’s... indescribable. You have picked up on so many of the small details, symbols, and more that I littered throughout the fic, and you’ve called out the things that I was excited about people reading and reacting to.

Fic Spoilers below the cut.

everything is so well done and all of those things are super hard to pull off on their own so props to u for being able to do all of those.

Thank you so much. I constantly worried that it was too long, too boring, that there wasn’t enough smut in there to be sexy, or that the plot ultimately didn’t make sense. This means everything to me. Pacing is one of the most important things in a fic to me, because I am the kind of person that easily loses interest when I read.

details. i love the way u include the little things in the fic.

ahhhhhhhhh!!!! I’m glad this helped you to picture everything! I actually used real life dresses, shoes, locations (google Villa La Vigie, it is STUNNING). I was a fashion student, and I now work in the fashion industry so small details to convery luxury is extremely important to me. I love that it made all the difference to you.

i could literally write paragraphs about how well u included symbols in this fic.

fuck, wow. this. This is what I was truly hoping for. I love figuring out foreshadowing in movies, in books, in tv series. I try to write things that foreshadowing what going to happen in the end throughout of every one of my fics, but this is the first time someone called it out, and I am truly grateful for it. The viper necklace thing is a moment I was very proud of. and when Tanaka tells Val to stop talking about Daichi when they’re alone on the bed together: that’s the first instance where we see his guilt that he knows. Also, when Tanaka says “why dont i finish what I started,” is another thing I linked to the ending.

the way that action happens in the fic is so well done and not predictable but still in line with what you’ve revealed to us about the characters.

kasjsdfhksjdfsd I always thought people could see right through me and how I was going to end it!!!!!!! This means so much thank you! I kept thinking, “fuck people know he’s going to kill her, this is so predictable, all these extra scenes are so boring, is it even worth it?” so AH thank you!

thank you again for the pacing comment <3

i love the way u utilize sex scenes in the fic. u sprinkle them in at just the right moment

hehehehehehe this makes me very happy. tbh, I wasn’t expecting there to be SO MUCH PLOT when I wrote this fic. I had mapped everything out and planned for it to be about... 5k? words? It ended up being 21k all together lmao. I actually thought there wasn’t enough smuttiness in the entire thing, so thanks for letting me now that it was just the right amount. I was worried because the only time I actually describe them fucking with Tanaka’s dick inside her, is that measley one paragraph at the Monte Carlo Casino. When I realised that, I was in utter shock. I was texting @mindninjax in the discord server like “FUCK. I can’t believe I haven’t actually written sex sex.” Then I went into thinking how disappointed people were going to be and phew, it was a whirlwind of a night.

i would actually love to pick ur brain about how u decided on the ending. did it come to u in the moment or did u set out writing the fic knowing it would end up like that? so many questions rlly

ask away, send in questions. I built this world beyond what I’ve written. I have character layouts and plans for every person I introduced, and have ideas for fics on all of them.

To answer your question, I knew exactly how I wanted it to end before I began writing. That end scene is what I thought of first. Exactly like that, with it being cut off mid-sentence to represent her being shot. That sort of “boom” or feeling of shock where you just stare at the screen is the exact reaction I wanted to get when I finished writing, so I hope that is what happened.

So just, thank you so much anon. For everything, for taking the time to write out this ask a second time after Tumblr ate the first one. It has kept me going since the day you sent it. I really appreciate you, and please, chat to me anytime x

Thank you.

Spasiba x

#spasiba #claudia rambles #toska asks #fic spoilers #spoiler #i love you so much #thank you

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lancearcherinrippedjeans · 4 years

Text

It Started with The Janela Zone

ICBeing The Elite Part 1

Pairings - Adam Page x OFC, Chuck Taylor x OC, Marq Quen x OFC

Catergory - VERY FLUFFY, LOTS OF COMEDY, with the TINIEST TINIEST bits of angst

Warnings/Promises - Lot’s of cussing lmao. Talk of FAKE, I’ll say it again, FAKE death. And talk of anxiety.

Word Count - 4,503

Summary/Desc - Gabby goes live the Joey Janela every week. But when Parker and Bri are with there this time, Joey makes a decision to invite them to a show. And once they show up, they get two things they didn’t expect, being special guests on BTE, and finding potential love.

There beginning and end with be like “real life” and the middle with be like BTE (Intro and Outro is included)

(JUST A THING, PARKER, AKA ME, I PUT BOTH BY PRONOUNS IN THIS she/they, SOOOO, JUST A THING)

N e ways,,,,creds to @westanaew , it’s not just her first collab its also MINE. We did this together <3

Also, Gabby is gonna be the main character in part one :)

(happy birthday Hangman)

“I don’t know what you want from me Joey.” She laughed. Gabby and Joey were live for Janela Zone, like they did every weekend. “What do you mean Gabby,” Joey chuckled, “I told you to chug the White Claw or listen to Barbie girl for 1. Hour.” Joey said. This was the normal for them, just two people going live for the entertainment of their fans. Joey Janela was, well Joey Janela. But Gabby was a fan that wanted to go live with her idol, which quickly turned into a friend when the people started liking on their lives.

One day Gabby was with her friends, Parker and Bri, that she met from being wrestling fans. They were together at a hotel, something they didn’t do often since they lived in different states.

“Bitch I know you’re not about to go live with us here!” Parker yelled. It was time for Gabby and Joey’s weekly stream, and she was doing it either way. “I mean I can go get food, I’m kind of hungry anyways.” Bri offered.

“Humans just be normal. It’s only for a few hours.” Gabby tried to explain, but Parker wasn’t having it. “I know you did not just saying a few fucking hours-“ Parker seemed fed up, but Gabby knew she would get over it.

“Guys let’s see if Gabby is in here.” Joey said. Gabby was ready while Parker and Bri sat in the back awkwardly. When Joey added her, he noticed Bri laying on one of the 2 beds in the background. “Who’s that in the background?” Joey questioned. “Oh them? Those are just my friends, Parker and Bri.” Gabby said then looking back at a surprised Parker. “Hi Joey, big fan” Parker stated. Eventually Parker and Bri joined in and the whole group had a lot of fun on live that night, so much fun that Joey would offer them something. “I swear, I got to fly y’all out for All Out next Saturday.” They didn’t think he was serious till Gabby got a dm after they got off of the live with Joey asking if they could actually come. Of course, they accepted and off to All Out they were in 2 weeks.

The Day of All Out

“Look how big it is!” Gabby said, pointing at the titantron, amazed. “That’s what she said.” Parker smirked. “Bitch be wholesome for 5 seconds, geez!” Gabby exclaimed. “I knew y’all would do this.” Bri laughed with her head down.

“Hey! Gabby over here!” Joey said waving towards them. Parker and Gabby waved back. “Omg y’all that’s like actually Joey Janela!” Gabby was excited, but really emotional about it. Before all the lives, Gabby was a huge fan of Joey, and his wrestling helped her through a lot of stuff. She dreamed about meeting him even though they were friends, today was the day her dream would come true. The group made their way towards Joey, Parker and Bri excited while Gabby was in shock it was really happening.

“Hey guys!” Joey said when we made our way over to him. “What’s up Joey, thank you for everything, we really appreciate it.” Gabby said, fighting back tears. She didn’t wanna get all emotional right now so she held it in. ”Sup Joey, nice meeting you” Parker said, trying not to burst out of excitement.

”Hi Joey, great meeting you.” Unlike the other two, Bri hugged Joey, then behind his back winking. Gabby caught this, “Not today Brianna.” Gabby whispered but loud enough Bri got the message.

Bri rolled her eyes at Gabby while letting go of Joey, Parker holding back laughter so Joey wouldn’t know what was happening. “Joey let's get a picture, this’ll be my biggest flex.” Gabby said, pulling out her phone and opening Instagram. All four of them took a group photo then all getting individual photos with Joey. “You guys wanna head to catering? I’m sure you’ll run into someone there.” Joey offered. “Sure why not!” Parker agreed, trying not to sound too nervous. They all headed backstage to the catering area.

“Ok guys, the food is over there against the wall and that’s about it. I’m 100% sure you’ll run into someone over here. I’m gonna head out to find Sonny, so have fun.” Joey said, he really invited them then left.

That’s when the group heard a very familiar voice. “What’s up guys,” He motioned towards one of them, “are you Gabby?” said Nick Jackson, coming over to sit with them. “Yes I am, are you Nick Jackson?” Gabby said in a sarcastic but funny way. Bri sat and smiled while Parker sat there like an idiot, mouth agape, starstruck by the man sitting across from them.

“I like your attitude,” Nick laughed at Gabby’s sarcasm, “and from what I’ve heard you guys are funny, so I’m inviting you on BTE. We needed some extra people this week and you guys seem to fit the spot.” Nick offered.

“Deadass?!” Parker questioned. “I'M DEADASS!” Nick shouted, then breaking a smile. “I’m down.” Bri said. “Yea me too, it’ll be fun.” Gabby said, checking her phone for a notification.

“Okay sounds great! Gabby I think we’ll have you working with Adam, Joey said you guys were pretty similar,” He pointed towards her, and she looked up from her phone surprised from what she was hearing. “Parker, from what I’ve heard? The Best Friends bit sounds perfect for you, and Bri, I think you’ll go best with Private Party.”

“Alright.” “Amazing.” “Sounds good to me.”

“Okay,” He clapped his hands together, “You’ll have a bit of time to pre plan before we start shooting in,” he checked his phone, “About an hour, so, see y’all in a little bit.”

Once Nick walked away Parker and Bri turned towards their friend, “Gabby and Adam sitting in a tree.” Bri sang, wanting to get on her nerves, “Not now, Brianna.” “She is c-h-o-k-i-n-g.” Parker finished, “Parker Lorin Jones!!!!” The three joked before breaking off, finding the groups for their bits on Being The Elite.

Gabby walked around Daily’s Place, until she found Adam, sitting, clearly waiting for something. She took a deep breath before approaching him, “Hi Adam, I’m-” “Gabby, working with me for Being The Elite?” Adam cut in, and she felt her cheeks get hot, “Uh, yeah.”

The blonde nodded, “I’ve watched you on Janela Zone before, you seem pretty chill. Shall we talk about the bit before we start?” He held out his arm for her to hook it. She was nervous at first but she inhaled, then exhaled, and hooked her arm through his, “We shall.”

The Elite

The The Elite

The Elite

The The Elite

The Elite

The The Elite

Superkick PAAARRRR-

“I’m going to use the bathroom, don’t die while I’m gone.” Gabby said while getting up from her seat. “Bitch you know you dying first outta us.” Parker said, gazing over to the side avoiding to make eye connection with Gabby. “Go choke Parker.'' Gabby said, walking away to find the nearest bathroom, that’s when while walking down the hallway she spotted a lonely cowboy sitting at the bar by himself.

It was Adam Page, then she saw an angry Kenny Omega walking out of the bar. “Fuuck.” She saw the cowboy whisper, then taking a drink of his Jack Daniels. Gabby saw a look in his face that she didn’t really see on tv, a more sad than angry look in his eyes. So she took it upon herself to go sit with him at the bar.

“Excuse me can I uh, get 1 whiskey?” Gabby asked the bartender. “You must be Joey’s friend everyone’s been talking about.” Adam said, taking another sip of his drink. “Yup that’s me.” Gabby said, taking a sip of her whiskey. She followed that up with, “You didn’t look like you were doing well and-“ Adam cut Gabby off, “Gabby I don’t know you and you don’t know me so what’s up? If you want a one night ssand you can jusssay that.” Adam said, slurring his words and still drinking. “No it’s not that, I just saw the pain in your face. What happened with Kenny?” She asked, she let the one night stand comment slide since he was obviously drunk. ”Kenny’ssjust being complicated, he doesn’twant me drinking with Cash and Dax. And I know they have their problemssbut that has nothing to do with me.” Adam said, finishing off his drink.

“I feel you, but sometimes you just gotta let people be mad. And put yourself first.” Gabby said, then also finishing off her drink. “Nice talk, wesshould talk more. I like you.” A drunk Adam Page mumbled out, still slurring his words. “Yea I’m down.” Gabby got up, tipped her cup towards Adam and made her way out the bar. Adam tipped his glass right back at her before looking back towards the bartender.

LaTeR iN tHe EpIsOdE

Parker was walking backstage, minding her own business and looking at her phone. “I wonder where Gabby WEN-” Parker was grabbed by her arm and dragged into a room.

Parker held up their fist, when they put them down, “God, what do you guys want?” “Look, you gotta help us,” They looked up at Chuck Taylor, “We’re trying to kill Brandon.” “Excuse me, WHAT?”

Trent put his hands on their shoulders, “He’s been annoying us about a bit for weeks, so we’ve been planning to, y’know, take him out.” Parker sighed, “I don’t know, Orange what do you think?” They all looked towards Orange Cassidy who shrugged and gave them a lazy thumbs up. She looked back towards Chuck and Trent, “God, he’s persuasive.” She looked like she was weighing her options, before she blurted out, “Fine! But I swear to God,” They held up a finger to their faces, “If you even THINK about blaming all this on me, I will kill you guys next.” The pair just nodded their heads and looked towards the door.

Brandon walked in, looking peeved, “Do you guys have a bit?” Trent talked to Brandon while Chuck motioned Parker towards the bat in the corner. She picked it up, making that face you knew said, “Really bitch?” He made the motion of him just swinging the bat. Parker walked behind Brandon, Trent and Chuck made faces and mouthed at her to just do it.

The camera went black and the sound of the bat hitting a surface was heard.

The screen showed all them standing over the man, when they all started screaming, except Orange, who kept his cool. “What do we do what do we do?!?!” Parker yelled, freaking out. Trent looked around, “Uh, put him in the closet!”

Parker shook her head, “No, no being in the closet isn’t fun at all.” Everyone in the room, including the now dead Brandon put on a straight face and looked directly at the camera, “Get it?”

They all went back to their worried, chill and dead faces. Trent, Chuck and Parker all looked around the room when all their eyes fell on a suitcase. They all knew what they had to do, when the screen changed to a different place in a building, showing a different bit.

tImE sKiP

The same group of the Best Friends and Parker walked towards the EVPs office. “You tell them that you killed Brandon.” Chuck said, pointing at Parker. She looked at him, offended, “Listen here you Kentucky born idiot! It was YOUR idea!” “Okay but who hit him with the bat?” Trent added in. “Are you serious right now? I-” They all started arguing, so loud that Matt looked out the door, “Hey, can you guys keep it down?” Parker pushed the men back before pointing at them, “They killed him.”

“What the- killed who?” Trent stepped forward, “Oh please, Parker is the one who hit Brandon over the head. They’re the reason he’s dead.” Matt looked at them all confused, “Brandon is in here, he hit his head or something and we found him stuffed in a suitcase. Are you guys okay?” The three looked at each other before looking into the office, to see Brandon with ice on his head.

Parker shook her head, peeved looked on her face before walking away, “Man what the fu-”

This ain’t water

Private Party and Bri were walking backstage, laughing and joking around when they bumped into Nick Jackson. “Oh, Nick! This is our friend Bri.” Marq said in a happy tone. Bri held up her hand, “Hi, nice to meet you.” Nick looked awkward before shaking her hand. Isiah smacked his lips, “Man why you being rude? We’re just tryna introduce y’all.”

Nick put up his hand, “Look you seem nice and all, but I’m not interested.” “What are- why wouldn’t you hang with all this.” Marq said, motioning towards Brianna. “I don’t need to ‘hang’ with all that.” Isiah rolled his eyes and groaned, “Why you bein difficult?”

“I don’t need Bri. I’m fine.” Nick said, sounding annoyed. “Oh you don’t need Bri, that’s a funny joke. Come on.” “I already said no, I don’t need another girl in my life.” Marq laughed, “It’s not a big deal, just another friend you know?” “I’m not gonna say no again.”

Isiah laughed, “Yeah,” got close to the camera, “he actin like he don’t got other friends.” Bri laughed at Marq and Isiah overreacting when Nick was clearly getting angry, “You think I’m not being serious?” “Nah.” Bri said through her laughter.

“I’m DEADASS.” A loud noise played while the trio flew back, Isiah on the floor, Marq staying still and Bri trying to support herself on the wall.

Marq grabbed Brianna’s arm, “I guess people don’t like making friends nowadays.” They turned to walk away when they bumped into Matt Jackson, the trio shook their heads, scared of what's gonna happen next.

Their fears became a reality when Matt (does whatever he does ?????) and they all flew back again. Bri stomped her foot and turned away, “Man I can’t believe this!”

Join The Dark Order

The friends, talking about their day on BTE, sat at a table in catering, all with different expressions. “Gabby, I still don’t know how YOU ended up being Adam’s drinking buddy.” Bri questioned. Gabby shrugged, “Okay but at least Nick didn’t think that I was about to get set up with him.” The two went back and forth about it before they turned towards Parker, “What did you do today Parker?” Gab asked, curious why her friend was quiet for once.

Parker shuddered, “I don’t wanna talk about it.” “Why? Did-” The girl went silent when Alex Reynolds and John Silver approached, Kool-Aid and water in hand. “Ladies,” Alex motioned towards Bri and Gabby, “Non-Binary friend,” he motioned towards Parker, “how are you doing today?” Parker and Gabby rolled their eyes and sighed while Bri spoke up, “What do you guys want?”

John clapped his hands once, “Let’s get things straight, we want you three in the Dark Order.”

“No.” “Nope.” “Absolutely not.”

“Just hear us out, hear us out.” “We’re not joining a cult.” Gabby spoke up. She looked towards Bri, who looked tempted to do so. “Bri!” “What? I mean, it’s grape Kool-Aid, right?” Parker slapped their hand against their forehead, “Bri I swear to God if you drink that mess I’m gonna smack the hoe outta you.”

The three started arguing when Alex and John calmed them down. “Look all you have to do,” Alex said, pouring Kool-Aid in the three cups of water, “is drink the Kool-Aid.”

The three friends looked disgusted, “What. The Fuck. Is this?” Gabby said, grabbing the cup and looking into it. Bri shot a glare at the two, “Are you trying to poison us?”

“No! We got Griff Garrison to drink it.” John spoke, trying to get the point across. “Who the hell is Griff Garrison?!” Parker questioned, confused.

Gabby put her hand up to calm down Parker, “Okay okay listen, there ain’t no way we’re joining your stupid cult.” “Cause one, there ain’t no sugar.” Bri said, adding on. “Too much water.” Parker said, attitude in their voice. “And you didn’t even mix it up.” Gabby said, sounding disappointed.

“Wait wait wait!” John and Alex yelled as Parker and Gabby got up and walked away. Bri looked behind her and sighed, grabbing her Kool-Aid anyway and walking with her friends. “Damnit Bri!” Parker said offscreen, throwing the cup back at Alex.

John slapped his hands against the table, “Goddamnit!” “This is why Brodie always throws paper at you!” The men walked off, arguing.

“Hey, did you like that video? Click the screen for more.”

“And where do you think you’re going?

Before you check out our official merchandise page found at prowrestlingtees . com/youngbucks.

And to support the entire cast you can visit prowrestlingtees . com/aew

And thanks so much for Being The Elite.

The Elite The The Elite

What Nick you’re not gonna sing it all with me this time?”

Gabby, Bri and Parker were hanging out in the hallway, laughing about their bits they filmed. It all stopped when Nick came up to them, congratulating them and telling them how great the bits turned out. He also told them that the people they had filmed with invited them out for drinks. They all agreed and got their stuff ready, waiting outside for the Uber the three of them ordered.

“Are you guys excited?” Parker asked, clearly nervous. Gabby nodded, shaking. “Oh you bet I’m excited.” Bri said, that certain tone in her voice. “Bri don’t scare Isiah and Marq off with your flirting.” Gabby said, a bit of a chuckle in her voice. “To be fair, Marq was flirting back earlier.”

Gabby and Parker started teasing Bri, who was already tired of it, when their Uber had pulled up, they pulled their masks over their face and climbed in the car, light conversation the whole way.

When everyone arrived they all broke off into groups, with the people they had filmed BTE with earlier today. “Let me get two Jack Daniels please.” Adam said, already a bit drunk from earlier. Gabby smiled at him, Adam with his hair pulled back and round glasses on was attractive to her. “So tell me about yourself, cowboy.” Gabby said, curious about his answer. “Have you not read my twitter bio? I’m an anxious millennial cowboy. That’s all anyone needs to know.” Adam said, swallowing down his drink faster than earlier.

“Anxious huh? I suffer from anxiety so I’m sure you have an understanding of it.” Gabby said, taking a sip of her drink, but not as big as Adam’s. The two started to talk about their anxiousness and anxiety, then speaking on their mental health issues. They were both drinking heavy and in about 40 minutes were drunk. They were like each other’s therapist in that moment.

That’s when out of nowhere Adam leaned in for a kiss. Gabby didn’t push away from it. Adam made his way to Gabby’s thighs, grabbing them then pulling her in closer. That’s when they both heard a voice, one that as soon as she heard it she knew who it was.

“Hey Gab-E, can I borrow a 20 so I don’t have to use my credit ca-.” Parker looked up from her phone and stopped when she saw the scene in front of her. “Oh my God Park-er what do you want?!” Parker stifled their laughter, “Well, I needed a 20, cause I didn’t want to use my credit card for a tip later, but it’s fine, I’ll uh, go to an ATM.” Gabby groaned and rolled her eyes dramatically, “Adam, this is my friend, Parker.” Adam just waved and Parker returned it, “I’ll uh, just go back to hanging out with Chuck and them.” “Yeah, you do that.” Gabby spat.

Parker turned and walked a few feet when she turned back around, “Oh, and make sure you use a condom.” “God Parker go!” Gabby yelled, and Parker walked away, laughing.

Gabby let out a sigh, “I can’t believe that bitch”. “It’s ok, now where were we again-” Adam said, licking his bottom lip, looking Gabby up and down. “I don’t know if I can continue after that, cowboy.” Gabby shook her head no, letting out a soft smile. “I love your smile, it’s cute.” Adam tilted her head up towards him, placing a soft kiss on her lips. “You know, I don’t know what it is Gabby, but something about you and me just click. And I know we’ve only known each other for less than a whole day but I really like you.” Adam looked down with a smile on his face, blushing at the fact that after one day he’d catch feeling.

“Me too Adam, fuck. It’s nice having someone that understands you and can drink with you. Plus you’re” she stopped herself in the middle of her words to let out a silent sigh. “You’re attractive, and nice, and I feel like this will be more than a one night thing”. Adam signaled his hands for Gabby to come closer, which she did. She sat on his lap, digging her face into his shoulder. “I’m gonna follow you on Instagram, you're more than Joey's friend now.” Adam whispered, hugging her tighter. Gabby laughed the comment off while still in Adam’s hold. She released her head from his shoulder, placing a kiss on his forehead.

“Well then cowboy, I’m already hooked to you so there’s no way out.” Gabby smiled. Adam smiled back at her, letting her go out of his hold.

Across the bar sat Parker and the Best Friends, laughing and acting stupid. “I’m serious! I didn’t actually expect you to retweet it James.” They were talking about one of Parker’s tweets, with them in Orange Cassidy cosplay and makeup. “We all thought it looked great, what do you mean?” Trent asked, genuinely curious. Parker took a swig of her drink before answering, it’s just, I try getting noticed by you guys a lot. I literally nicknamed myself ‘Chuck Taylor Thot’.”

Chuck, hearing that, spat out his drink with laughter, “What?!” She hid her face in her hands embarrassed, “It’s not funny.” “Sure, totally not, at all.” James said, stifling his laughter. “You guys wanna go play darts or something?” Trent asked. Parker shook their head, “You guys go ahead, I suck at that stuff.” James and Trent just shrugged and slid out the booth. Parker looked next to her, “You’re not going to play?” Chuck shook his head, “Last time I played darts with them I got one stuck in my foot.”

Parker laughed, imagining all them freaking out about it. “What’s so funny?” She put on a straight face, “Nothing, nothing.” He shrugged it off, “So I’m sure that you know a lot about me, so tell me about you.”

She rolled her eyes at that joke in the beginning before she thought for a second, “Well uh, I’m in my early twenties, I met Gabby and Bri a few years ago and uh, I don’t know what else is that important.” “That’s nice and all but I’ve been around you all day, c’mon, I know you aren’t lame.”

She sighed before really thinking what she could say about herself, “Umm, I’ve been a wrestling fan most of my life, I used to actually hate AEW, then it easily became one of the most important parts of my life and every time I see you wearing a Pacer’s shirt I freak out because you’re repping MY state.” Chuck looked towards Parker, “You’re from Indiana?” She nodded, “You were born in the wrong state.”

“No way, Kentucky for the win, plus Indiana Gentleman just sounds stupid.” “Kentucky Gentleman sounds like a douchebag.”

“Oh shut up!” The two just laughed. When they both stopped they just looked at each other, smiles on their faces. Out of nowhere he started looking closer at them. They started touching around their mouth, “What? Do I have something on my face?” He didn’t answer before he asked a question with an obvious answer, “You have freckles?”

Parker felt her face get hot when she just nodded, “Yeah, I realize they’re not as cute as other people’s but-” “I think they’re adorable.” Parker just sat there, mouth hanging open like an idiot. She shook her head when she realized she was just sitting there, “Um, uh...thank you.”

He just smiled before saying, “You’re really cool Parker. I think I might want to get to know you better.” She couldn’t even say anything and just sat there, smiling. He realized she was too awkward to say anything, so he just wrapped his arm around her shoulder, turning them towards Trent and James, arguing over who’s turn it was. She laid her head on his shoulder, watching the funny scene across from them.

A few tables over were Bri and Private Party, which despite all their energy, was pretty chill. “Okay Bri I see you with them nails.” Marq said, complimenting Bri’s nails which were blue and pink, just like Private Party’s merch. Bri smiled, modelling her hand. Isiah looked over towards the entrance when a girl walked in, he looked towards Bri and Marq, who were nodding for him to go. He jumped up out of the booth and over to the girl who walked in.

Bri and Marq turned towards each other, smiling. “I got a question.” Bri said, nervousness in her voice. He nodded his head, “Do you think I’m too, y’know, flirty?” Marq put his drink down and looked towards Brianna, like she just said something stupid. “Of course not, why you think I’ve been flirting back all day?” Bri smiled at his answer, when they started to move closer to each other, so close that their lips were almost touching, when Bri suddenly stopped and turned away, throwing up all over the floor.

“Oh shit!” Parker yelled, grabbing her jacket and sliding out the booth. She yelled for Gabby and motioned for her. They both ran towards Bri, Gabby grabbed Brianna’s purse and jacket while Parker kept her hair out her face. Parker turned towards Marq, “Sorry, this happens whenever we meet up.” Marq just nodded, “Alright, I’ll text you Bri, feel better.”

Parker turned towards Gabby, “Did you order the-” “It’ll be here in 2 minutes.” They walked towards the exit, they were halfway out the door when Chuck yelled, “Wait Parker I never I got your-” The door shut, “Number.”

Their ride was there quickly, and they climbed in the backseat, starting their ride to their hotel. “Bri I told you to stop drinking so much when you’re in a random place!” Gabby yelled. Bri just shrugged. Parker wanted to lecture Bri as well when she got a notification. The girls looked over at her, “Is it from Chuck?” Gabby asked.

“No...it’s from Nick. He wants us back next week.”

Come back for part 2! Coming out soon!

#Adam Page #Chuck Taylor #marq quen #adam page x ofc #chuck taylor x oc #marq quen x ofc #being the elite #AEW #aew fanfic #aew dynamite #aew fanfiction #nick jackson #matt jackson #brandon cutler #Kenny Omega #isiah kassidy #trent beretta #orange cassidy #the dark order

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royallyprincesslilly · 4 years

Text

Title: Love, Maybe {41}

Chris Evans X Reader OFC Vixen Giovanni

Warning: Cursing, Heavy Angst

Word Count: 2.4K

Summary: After a night of drunkenness you wake up next to warm, hot as hell body, a migraine and no memory of the night before. When you come to realize that the hot body belongs to none other than Hollywood’s golden boy Chris Evans you freak out. As events unfold you become even more panicked to find out you got married in your drunken haze. What else is there to do but get it annulled, right? Before walking away, you share one more night of molten kisses and passion. Three years later you are still living with the repercussions of your brash decisions, but the surprises don’t stop there. The past has a way of coming back and have you questioning is this fate that you’ve been running from, hell could it have been love, maybe?

NOTE: **Italic texts is an inner Vixen thought. Bold Italic texts is an inner Chris thought.

**Loosley Edited/Proofread**

Thank you guys for reading!!!! If you enjoyed this please LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG. 😊❤❤️

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Chapter 41: Options, Everyone Has Em’

-Vixen-

You had no idea why you were here. You didn’t even know you would be here. You’d gone on a run, had breakfast with Ella, cleaned out your voicemail by listening to most messages. Most meant all the messages that weren’t his. His you deleted automatically. You responded to most texts even the crazy ones from your friends and explained what exactly happened. They were still pissed you’d lied but weren’t too pissed that they didn’t forgive you. In the words of Drea, “who could stay mad at Chris Evans’ wife?”

You’d meant to drive to the restaurant but the voicemail you got while stuck in traffic led you here. You vividly remembered the first time you were here. It looked relatively the same but some aspects were different. The carpet was a teal color now and the décor looked a lot chicer but overall it was the same.

“Ms. Giovanni.”

You looked into the smiling and welcoming face of a man who was at least half a foot taller than you, slim build that contradicted the wide breadth of his shoulders. He held his hand out to you as if to shake your hand.

“Max Loren, we spoke.”

You nodded and shook his hand. “Yes.”

“Please follow me.” He walked ahead leading you down the hall to an office three doors down. He ushered you inside and motioned to one of the three free chairs. Once you sat down he did the same behind his desk and plastered that smile on his face again.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. My wife is super excited about the opening of your restaurant. She is a big foodie.”

“Oh, thank you. That’s kind of you to say.”

“I’m glad you could make it in on such short notice,” Max continued.

“You were on the way to where I needed to be, two birds.”

Max smiled and nodded. “So I can assume that is enough small talk, right?”

You scoffed and crossed your arms and waited for him to continue. “My job is to explain your options. I can imagine this is not what you expected. You thought you were rid of this years ago and due to an error you’re not. You may be wondering what does it all mean? How can this be fixed? Let me tell you there is an easy fix.”

There was a quick knock at the door before it opened. You turned and saw the same lawyer from three years ago, Sherman walk into the room. He had a bashful look on his face as he came to stand next to Max.

“Sherman, I don’t think now is a good time,” Max began.

“This is still my practice, it’s my name on this building. Sit down, son.” Max sat back in his seat and you got a bit of satisfaction from it. Something about Max rubbed you the wrong way.

“Ms. Giovanni. I was going to cower in my office from shame but I decided to face you. I want to apologize for my error those years ago. I also wanted to explain. I had a complete mental and emotional breakdown not too long after we met. As you can imagine in this town they are quite common. I lost everything and with it my mind. I went into rehab and my work and responsibilities fell to the wayside. I am solely responsible for dropping the ball when it came to processing the paperwork for your divorce. I sincerely apologize.”

You didn’t need a lie detector test to know he meant it. He really was remorseful. You couldn’t hold a mental and emotional breakdown against him. Mental health was important to you and nothing should supersede it. Yes, it was inconvenient your situation fell through the cracks but you didn’t want to make him the bad guy.

Taking a deep breath, you slowly released. “Sherman, it’s all right. I understand the importance of mental and emotional health. I’m sorry you went through a tough time. I’m happy you’re doing better now.”

He looked surprised and speechless as if he’d expected a whole different reaction. No doubt his other clientele would have been livid and threatened lawsuit upon lawsuits to nail his ass to the wall. He stuttered for a few moments before composing himself.

“Ehm, uh, thank you. That means a tremendous amount to me, especially coming from you.”

You smiled and nodded, then sighed.

“So options?”

“As I was saying,” Max began bringing your attention back to him. “We can assist you in refiling for the divorcee. The papers would be submitted and processed in about--.”

“Three to five months, right,” you filled in.

“Right.”

“I’m a pro at divorces now, although I’ve never actually gotten one,” you sarcastically joked.

“It all would be quick, painless and easily executed. Both of you just go your separate ways,” Max added.

“Don’t believe one word he says, Ms. Giovanni.” Your head spun to watch a tall, beautiful woman dressed in a sharp pencil skirt outfit walk into Max’s office.

“Excuse me? Who the hell are you?” Max was on his feet with a clear annoyed look on his face.

“Names, Charmaine St. John, from St. John & Associates. We’re across the street. My third assistant’s job is to watch this building and report who goes in and who goes out. When she told me you walked in, I knew this was my chance. It’s a good think I came when I did these two were about to swindle you all for the benefit of their client,” she explained.

You looked between the three faces and waited for someone to pull whatever chosen weapon lawyers preferred and duke it out.

“I’m calling security,” Max started.

“What Mr. Loren doesn’t want me to say is that quick, painless and easily executed is a crock of shit, especially when it comes to your divorce.” You looked to Max and then Sherman who wore different expressions. Max looked fed up and at his wit’s end while Sherman looked calm.

“Their client, Chris Evans is a huge Hollywood star, he is worth millions. If the rumors are correct and I assume they are, there was no prenup. That little detail that the two of you have foregone means that you are entitled to everything he has. Homes, cars, income, jewelry, and anything that matters. They don’t want you to know that.”

Again, you looked to the two men. You wouldn’t put it past either of them. “Before you barged in Ms. St. John, it would have been addressed,” Sherman began. “I am not here to swindle anyone. I want this handled as quickly and as amicably as possible,” he finished. You smiled to yourself and nodded.

“If that is true for our client, then the same is true for you Ms. Giovanni,” Max announced.

“Excuse me?”

“There was no prenup, Chris is also entitled to everything of yours as well, including this new deal with your upcoming restaurant and any other deals that were made up until as recent as this morning.”

Once he said that you paused. You never thought this deeply about any of it.

“And you two have a child together, there are a slew of things that can come up there. Custody, visitation, child support,” Ms. St. John added.

Your stomach fell to the floor at the thought that he could try to take Ella from you. to hell with him getting half of your accomplishments, the thought of Ella being dragged through this tore you apart—literally. This was a lot more complicated now.

The three of them spoke for the next thirty or so minutes but after Ella was brought up your attention faded as you got lost in your thoughts. So many things were possible, especially considering how attached he seemed to have grown to her and all his admissions with how much she meant to him. It was possible he would try to get some form of custody, even if he didn’t try to take her away completely. Before any of them finished speaking you stood and walked out in a daze. You needed air.

The elevator ride was the longest thing. You felt as if any moment you’d vomit and felt as if the walls of the elevator were closing in on you. Thankfully the doors opened before you puked, and you stumbled through the lobby outside to gulp in much needed oxygen. You stood there panting trying to slow your heart, calm your thoughts, and stop your impending panic attack.

“Vixen?” Your spine stiffened at the sound of his voice but the butterflies in your belly began instantly. You looked to the side and there he was, all six feet of muscle, beauty, and charm. Only he looked like he’d seen better days, there were bags underneath his eyes, he looked paler than normal, his eyes were near bloodshot and he wore sweatpants and a hoodie. He looked off. When you realized what you were doing you rolled your eyes and walked off.

“Wait, please.” Ignoring the plea, you continued your walk to the parking lot around the corner.

“Vixen, please. I’ve been trying to call you. We have to talk. Let me explain, please. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the full truth as soon as I found out. I’m sorry about everything.”

As you walked you could hear his words but you didn’t want to listen so you picked up the pace of your steps while looking around. You had to make sure paps were around. That was your life now, because of him. a fresh wave of anger filled you and it was enough to get you to your car.

“Vixen, come on. This isn’t fair. I don’t deserve this. I miss you, I miss Ella--.”

Seeing your car you spun around while walking and looked at him. “Leave me alone! We were better off without you.”

As soon as the words left your mouth he stopped in his tracks and the rest of the color drained from his face. Not waiting to see any more you turned and jogged the rest of the steps to your car then climbed inside and sped off.

You were pissed for the rest of the day. Everyone knew it, so they limited their interaction with you hoping to steer clear of the fury that was Vixen Giovanni when she was pissed. After a quiet dinner and solemn bathtime with Ella, you sat out back with a glass of wine.

“What’s wrong?”

“I went to see his lawyers today.”

“Oh, how’d it go?” You looked at Nex giving her the look. She instantly knew it was bad.

“We don’t have a prenup. Normally that means I’m entitled to everything he has but now it means he’s also entitled to everything I have, everything Nex, including the restaurants, the deal with Kassius, even the Food Network deal. He is rightfully entitled to all of it.”

“Do you want half?”

“What! No, of course not. I don’t care about his money. I don’t want anything from him, I didn’t then and I definitely don’t now.”

“But you think he’ll jump at the chance to take half of yours,” Nex filled in. You rubbed your forehead and finished the glass. “You don’t honestly believe that Vix.”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore Nex. I don’t know him, I know nothing about him.”

“Bullshit. You spent an entire night with him in Vegas. Something meaningful must have happened for you to have sworn off men and everything for three years. Something meaningful must have happened to make you fall for him, and marry him. Then these last months, it was clear the two of you were reconnecting. You’ve spent a lot of time together. You know more about him than ninety percent of the world. So this bullshit about not knowing him is a crock of shit,” Nex berated.

You refilled your glass and took a few gulps.

“Then this other lawyer, Charmain St. John who looks like she is vying to be my lawyer in all this brought up Ella. There’s a bunch to work out there, custody, parental rights, visitation, child support. Then it dawned on me he could try to take her from me. He could fight for shared custody. What then!”

“Vix. Are we talking about the same man? Chris Evans who we’ve both spent weeks with, who has grown into this amazing dad right before our eyes. The guy wants the best for Ella. In no way could he believe the best for Ella is a life without you or less of you. It’s just not going to happen.”

“People do strange things when they feel their backs are against the wall or they’re losing something.”

“Is that why you’re going off the walls, you feel like you’re about to lose something?”

“Yeah, my child.”

“Is it your child or is it Chris?”

You groaned and finished the glass. The sound of his name elicited conflicting reactions, want, desire, sadness, and anger. It was confusing.

“Vix. Think about things thoroughly and slowly. Things happen for a reason, every single thing. You have to think about the reasons why you slept with him and married him before and think why you chose to open yourself up to him a second time, why did you sleep with him this time? Usually we act on feelings we don’t even recognize or haven’t fully acknowledged consciously. You should step away from everything surrounding him not telling you about the marriage and try to think about everything else.”

“I can’t Nex. I’ve tried. I just—can’t go there.”

“You’re gonna have to or prepare for this court battle.” With that Nex walked off inside leaving you alone with your thoughts, fears, and worries.

As you passed Ella’s room to yours you heard her murmur your name. Walking in and stooping at her bedside you brushed her cheek.

“Go to sleep, sleepy head.”

“Mama, wayo da-da? I wan da-da.” Pinching your lips, you did your best to keep it together. You kissed her forehead and hummed to her hoping to gently lull her back to sleep.

Once you had you disappeared into your room and buried your face into your pillows and bawled yourself to sleep, yet again, only this time with the realization that one of your biggest fears had come true.

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@airis-paris14 @thiccdaddy-mbaku @wakandas-vibranium @wakanda-inspired @theunsweetenedtruth @ashanti-notthesinger @reignsxjackson @halfrican-heat @ambthegamer @simplyyamberr @muse-of-mbaku @sisterwifeudaku @mejustme06 @ilcb7 @leahnicole1219 @destinio1 @maliadestiny @drsunshine97 @blowmymbackout @purplehairgawdess @thehuntoyobun @wakandamama @wakandawinning @profilia @zxddy-panther @h-challa @babygirlofwakanda @misswakanda2018 @ororowrites@hutchj @myfavemarvelfanfics @lavitabella87 @afraiddreamingandloving @autumn242 @purple-apricots @skysynclair19 @hersheyskissesss-blog @blue-ishx @90sinspiredgirl @tchallaswife @tchallamakesmeh0lla @turn-thy-paige @blackchickfics @blackpantherismyish @inlovewithmakeupcomicsanimelove @naturally-bri @flawlesslybeautiful14 @qweentbh@lunaerly @theoutereffect@twilight-sapphire-lover @pupyluv247 @stark-red19 @cockyboysandsugarism@maverickabull @madbadsiren @aykanna @myaw731 @ruruly20 @mixedmelanin @brittyevans @bezzywazhere@laketaj24 @soulsparker @theresnomoregoodones @syreanne@loveandcigarillos @heyauntieeee @heybriheyyy @wakanda-bcth @uhlxis @maliadestiny @dadinhas-heat @yaachtynoboat711 @geeksareunique @bultalongthewayside @ajspencer1892 @captiansaveasmut @imaginewhoever @terrablaze514 @starsshines-blog @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade @darkandlovely94 @sithlordslut @wavyyc @naturalistamisslyn @nigarachi15 @madamslayyy @blackandfair @kreolemami @mylastnameisthe-fish @kaykay0829@chaneajoyyy @tequilajay27 @blacklotus-of-the-black-kingdom @slimmiyagi @im5ftbutmythroat66 @jaeee-http@madhatterhelsing @sunflowerpsalms @wakanda-shit-is-that @deliciousstreetkidcroissant @jecourt @vebner37 @disneysdarlingdiva @melaninmarvel @alanastormborn@dolphinpink310 @yourwonderbelle @ohleucothea @queentearra @bitchbetterhavemydinner @fentybabyy @kaykay4454fan @priya212 @kitkit1690 @chrismarcs @beautycomesindifferentformsworld @blackpantherimagines @ovohanna24 @sweetpeachjones @kslo000 @nubian-queen18 @omgsuperstarg @airis-paris14 @sisterwifeudaku @mejustme06 @ilcb7 @leahnicole1219 @destinio1 @drsunshine97 @blue-ishx @inlovewithmakeupcomicsanimelove @prettyprincessushio @treeondrea @ursapharoh05 @blackpinup22 @kaytauru @big3gocandykahn @kissingpineapples @wildaboutchrisevans @fitfineandstayingalive @misspooh @michele-onel @gorjiss @blacklotus-of-the-black-kingdom @muva-milaje @limbo-limbo-limbo @awkwardlyabstract @blxck-brxndie @meeky-imagines @inlovewith3 @metalarmlover @mellowjellow6 @scrumptiouslytenaciouscrusade @thatrandomhetaliachick @missdeerstalker15 @ursapharoh05 @treeondrea @ovohanna24 @marvelheaux @romanceoftheeveryday @mufasathatniggatho @cltex84 @sweetbearcolorgarden @msincognito67 @mosagram @lunaerly @mar-ta-3 @ljstraightnochaser @lewatigress @akimi-youngblood @bekahdean87 @jasmindaughteroftheworld @cocooned-butterfly @emoniclark22 @chereedrop619 @theblulife @niggarachi15 @drsunshine97 @msincognito67 @missdeerstalker15 @wakandamama @avenger-marvel-fan @arieljamiyla @vibranium-soul @monae-boss @queenxchallaxkillamonger@amirra88 @jaeee-http @omg-itsnadi @fonville-designs @sydneebleu @cherrystainedlipsbaby @behindthesehazeleyes27 @areubeingserved @kelbabyblue @academic-glowup @patzammit @yourwonderbelle @pennywisesmistress @squeackygee @noramushrooms @titty-teetee @ab-baybay @kreolemami @impossiblegiantrebelbasketball @dangerouslovefanfic @heladoom @renesmeeharelds @zaddysqueen7 @alyxkbrl @hello-therree @taylorveebee @a-dizzle777 @deidrashouseofpain @coldmuffinbanditshoe @evemej @chaselovinggert @ben-wyxtt @designerwriterchic @chrisgalore @jennmurawski13 @rynabarnesrogers @yunggyeezyy @kemkem101 @dearkyrainez @minton131@momobaby227 @jesseswartzwelder @briellableu @browneyes9125 @mjey12 @magdelen69 @hannahholland1811 @lo-cheu

#love maybe fic #Chris Evans #chris evans fanfiction #chris evans x reader #chris evans x you #Chris Evans X black reader #chris evans smut #angst fanfic #slow burn fanfic

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