#the doctors said she would never speak again and she would never have kids but she did both | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

finelinevogue · 1 year

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family will get you through

summary - you go through a life changing operation but you have a strong family to get you through it

warnings: brain tumour, anxiety, self deprecation, swearing, kissing n fluff, hopeful ending, i wrote this 2 years ago so it’s not up to my usual writing standards unfortunately :(

word count: +6.8 k

pairing: husband/dad!harry x reader

Everything was occurring like normal. You were making the kids lunches for school as usual. You were cleaning the breakfast away as usual. Harry was on his last day of tour. Yet, somehow, within 24 hours, your life was going to be turned upside down.

For the worst.

During the hoovering of the carpet you heard your phone ring. After spending 10 seconds to find the bloody thing you finally picked up.

"Hello?" You asked, not recognising the number.

"Hi there. Is this Y/N Styles speaking?" The male voice asked, on the end of the line.

"Yes it is." You answer.

"Hiya Y/N. It's Dr Hughes here." He introduced himself, but it didn't comfort you any more knowing who was on the other side of the phone. Your doctor never calls you unless it's bad news. The last time they called, it was because Sofia might have had suspected appendicitis. She didn't, but still the doctors remained the bearers of bad news.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Dr Hughes?" You asked politely, with a hint of sarcasm dripping in your tone.

"Unfortunately I bring bad news, again, Mrs Styles." He began, making you gulp down your worries unsuccessfully. "The tests that we ran on you, a while back, came back and unfortunately there is a problem." Your heart relaxed slightly that there was nothing wrong with your children or your husband.

"Okay." You urged him to carry on, disliking all the tip-toeing sounds the problem.

"Mrs Styles, there is no easy way of me telling you this." Dr Hughes took a deep breath before announcing the news. "You have a brain tumour, Y/N."

Luckily you were stood by the sofa and were able to collapse on that, when your legs gave way, otherwise you'd have landed on the floor. You covered your hand over you mouth to muffle any noises that threatened to escape, as you were in pure shock.

"It's not an overly large tumour and it will be able to be removed, with quick and efficient surgery, which we can offer, but we needed confirmation that you are willing to go through with this first." Your head was spinning and you couldn't tell up from down for a minute. It took a few calls of your name, from Dr Hughes, to pull you back.

"Um... Sorry. Is there any chance I can come talk to you in person?" You sniffled, but cleared your throat to try and stay strong over the phone.

"I'm free all tomorrow morning, Mrs Styles. Please feel free to drop in at any time." He kindly offered.

"Thank you." You said.

"I'm sorry, Mrs Styles, but if we act quickly you'll be alright. I guarantee it." He assured you and with you final goodbye you hung up the phone.

With him no longer listening to you over the phone you were able to break down in tears. You never thought something like this would be happening to you, but yet here you were. With a brain tumour, no less.

Your cry's were starting to hurt your chest from how heavy they were. You couldn't calm yourself down and all you wanted right now was Harry. Harry... What would he think about all this? Would he leave you? You hated that your brain went straight to that question but that was the hard hitting reality of the situation.

You tapped on Harrys number and called him, hoping he wasn't too busy. He always told you, whenever you needed him, no matter what time, he'll always be there. But would he still want to be there when he finds out his wife has a brain tumour?

After two rings he picks up.

"Hi love, everything okay? You're lucky I was up otherwise I would've been asleep!" The soothing tones of his voice calming you down.

"Shit, H, i'm so sorry." You sobbed loudly down the phone, not being able to bravely hold it in anymore.

"Hey, hey. It's fine Y/N/N. No need to cry over it love." He coos, not fully understanding why you were having a full breakdown over potentially waking him up.

"No. No i-it's not that H." You lean on your knees and cup your hand over your temples to soothe some of the pain, from the headache that was forming.

"Okay then. What's wrong baby? You can tell me, it's alright." His voice slightly trembling, hating the sound of you heavily crying without him there to comfort you.

If you did ever cry like this either Harry was right beside you, hugging you like there's no tomorrow, or you'd get through it by yourself - if he was away. You felt selfish dumping your problems on him when he wasn't right there to comfort you through it. Today was even worse, though. Today was Harrys last concert for the Love on Tour, tour, in L.A. Not only did he have a duty to preform to his adoring fans, he was also thousands of miles away. He wouldn't be able to do anything, other than offer some calming words, but somehow, this time, you didn't see how that was going to be enough.

"I got a call from Dr Hughes." You began and taking a deep breath before continuing, only imagining where Harry's head was at with those words. "H, i'm so sorry. He - uh - he told me I have a brain tumour. He said, with surgery, it can be removed but I need to act quick. I-i'm going to see him tomorrow, but I just needed to tell you."

You expected Harry to cut in at some point, but there was only silence. He was only ever quiet when he was shocked or had nothing left to say, and it terrified you that he was feeling that way.

"Harry?" You trembled out, wondering if he was even still there.

You heard him clear his throat before talking. "Um, yeah okay."

You were taken aback by how little words he was using. You couldn't work out whether you'd rather have had him say nothing at all. Your heart strings started to break a little at the thought that he was, most likely, thinking of different ways to divorce you and so forth. His life was too precious for him to be left with a damaged wife. God knows what you'll be like after surgery, and Harry didn't need to be stuck with looking after you when he should be touring with his adoring fans.

"Sorry, H." You murmured before hanging up, knowing he wouldn't have anything to say back. You regretted not wishing him look for his last concert date tonight, but it wasn't at the forefront of mind right now. You knew he would smash it anyways - he always did.

What if that had been your last goodbye?

You placed your phone on the coffee table and hysterically cried to yourself.

••••

A few hours later and you had called your parents over, after telling them, to pick the kids up from school - seeing as you were too emotionally unstable to be doing so. It made you feel like such a disappointment not being able to be strong enough to pick up your children, but you were worried you wouldn't be able to focus when driving - and you wouldn't put your children in danger.

Your parents had arrived as quickly as they could and spent hours reassuring you that you'd be okay, and that Harry loved you too much to ever say goodbye. You had a hard time believing them though, considering Harry had said all of two words to you - none of which implied that he still loved you and was going to be there for you through it all.

It was times like this when all you wanted, and needed, was your Harry, but unfortunately that just couldn't be the case. If Harry were to leave you, you wouldn't know what to do. You have kids and you always promised Harry that none of your kids would be raised from a broken home - you just couldn't put them through that. Yet, now, it seems inevitable.

After the kids had got back from school and had dinner, which you sat around for but didn't have anything, you and your children had cuddled up to watch some Netflix. Your parents had gone home, telling you that you just needed some time alone with your children. They never questioned what was wrong, but they could tell something was up. It took watching 5 episodes of The Big Bang Theory until your children were all on the verge of sleep, and so you'd shuffled them all along to bed.

"Mummy?" Sofia asked as you turned off her main light and turned on her bed light. You walked over to her single-bed, that was decorated in princesses and flowers, and sat down next to her.

"Yes sweetheart?" You answered. Sofia had been quiet all evening, but you just assumed she had been tired.

"I missed you picking me up today." She told you with her sad eyes. You brushed her hair off her face and behind her ear.

"I know. I missed you too, but mummy had some news today that wasn't very nice and so I didn't want to upset you with me being upset." You told her, not feeling like you had to hide anything from your children.

"Are you going to be okay?" She asked sincerely, with a little wobble of her rosy lips to signify she was worried about you. You hated that your children had to check on you, and yet your husband hadn't, but you also appreciated it greatly.

You thought about how to answer her question, because it was hard to answer. Of course you were going to face complications and re-percussions, later in time, after surgery, but you also would if you didn't have surgery. It was just whether or not something went wrong in surgery, or it actually turned out the surgery was no longer viable. You wanted to tell her so badly that everything would be okay, but you also couldn't lie to her.

"Mummy's going to be just fine." You turn your head to see your gorgeous husband standing in the doorway, looking like he'd been crying due to the red puffy eyes. They were probably similar to yours, however you'd tried to hide yours from your children.

As soon as you made eye contact with Harry the tears fell freely down your face. There was no stopping them either. Emotions were flying all over the place, but the one that stood out the most was relief. You thought you'd have a runaway husband but instead he was right here. He'd flown all the way from L.A. just to see you. You had no idea what was happening with the tour but you couldn't think of anything other than the man stood in the hallway.

"Daddy!" Sofia screamed, like she'd just gained 100 pounds of energy, and jumped out of her bed to run to her dad. Her little legs could only make her run so fast but when she got there Harry was ready to scoop her up in his warm embrace.

"Ohhh I missed you, my love." Harry pressed light kisses all over her face and Sofia started squirming in his grasp, giggling as Harry continued to attack her.

"Did someone say dad is here?" You heard Will day from down the hall, but you'd buried your face in your hands, in disbelief and shock, to truly acknowledge what was going on.

You listened to the sounds of them reuniting and getting bombarded by kisses from Harry, until it got a bit too overwhelming. Harry was actually here and that was something you thought would be a distant dream, and hearing him play with your children was such a joyous thing to hear. You decided that you needed a minute away, and to yourself.

"Excuse me." You announce softly, working your way past the pile of people that were now on the floor. You wanted to laugh at how your children had tackled Harry down to the ground, but your tears prevented you from feeling that way.

You walked to your bedroom, and outside onto the small terrace that was attached to it. It let you have a stunning view of the city in the distant, but you could also had the pleasure of having the rolling hills, and stunning fields of gold, in the foreground. You shut the sliding door over, trying to get the atmosphere as quiet at possible. You rested your elbows on the stone railing and placed your hands on your forehead, before continuing your hardened sobs. Ever since the dreaded phone call this morning, you don't think you've had a second, after it, where there hasn't been a teardrop on your skin.

After 5 minutes, give or take, you heard the sliding doors open. You didn't need to turn and look to see who it was to know who it was - his comforting presence alone telling you.

You turned around quickly to see he had been stood infinitely close behind you, probably apprehensive about touching or comforting you. The way you immediately brought your arms around him, to give him a hug, took him by surprise, but within seconds he was embracing you back and tighter than ever. You buried your face in his chest as the tears continued, but he didn't seem to mind at all.

After a minute or two, hugging in comfortable silence, you tilted your head up and looked from his eyes to his gorgeous lips. He noticed you looking and started to lean himself down slowly, still being wary of how you were feeling towards him. You couldn't take being away from him any longer, and so cupped the back of his neck to bring him down faster.

The feeling of his lips on yours made you feel invincible. You forgot about all yours worries when he was pressed close against you. It was as if nothing else mattered, but only you two. He made you forget that he had been a jerk on the phone. He made you forget that you had a bloody brain tumour. He made you forget every small detail you'd been worrying over for the past 14 hours or so. Even though it only lasted for a minute; he made you forget.

The sound of smacking lips detaching one another allowed you to breathe again. He was good at making you feel breathless and savouring every minute moment he had with you. You both stared in to each others eyes and let them talk to one other. You could tell by his emerald, doe, eyes that he was unimaginably sorry, and he could tell from yours that you forgave him no questions asked.

"I thought you'd left me." You honestly let him know.

"Never, baby. I promised i'd always be there for you, and some fucking tumour, isn't going to change that." You loved that Harry could find the light in a situation like this. It's one of his charming qualities that never ceases to amaze you.

"I have th—"

"Daddy?" You hear from behind you both. You see Sofia standing there, in her cute lilac polka-dot onesie, looking at Harry with adoring eyes. She hasn't seen him in a month or so, and so seeing him, earlier than expected too, has turned her into a little sheep to follow Harry - wanting to spend every spare minute with him.

"Sof." Harry sighed, reluctantly detaching himself from around you. "I told you, sweetheart, that I need to make sure mummy's okay for a bit, alright?" He reminded her, his words filling your heart with so much love and happiness you thought it might burst.

"But daddyyy..." She whines, stomping her foot delicately on the floor.

"No Sof. It's not fair on mummy is it?" He crouched down to her level to caress her soft cheeks.

"H, it's alright. I'm alright. Go and see to her, and the boys too if they want you. I can wait."

Harry stands back up, after seeing how his daughters expression changes to a much more excited one. He walks over to you and cups both your cheeks with his large, veiny, hands.

"You're so annoying, you know that right?" Harry teases you, probably frustrated that your intimate moment, that could've turned into something more intimate, had been interrupted. He gives you a quick kiss on the lips and you pushed him along to go sort out his children.

An hour and a half later you and Harry were sat in the bath together. You were layed back against his chest and his arms, along with yours, were resting on top of your stomach. Your legs were interwoven and your head was back against Harrys shoulder, his cheek to the top of your head. You'd argue that this is more intimate that anything else - to be so desperately close to one another, and yet still hold back from all pleasurable interactions. Sure, the moments leading up to you both needing the bath had been beautiful and raw, sending all kinds of sensations flying through your body, but this was something special.

If you could freeze time, this is where you'd like to be frozen.

"Will you get angry at me if I apologise again?" Harry asked, nodding his cheek further into your hair - which apparently smelt like 'heaven' according to Harry.

"Most likely." You chuckled, knowing that you wouldn't but you'd become irate about it. You'd lost count of the amount of times that Harry had apologised to you this evening, but he said he couldn't ever put a number on how many times he should apologise because it would be too big. He vowed to use the rest of his life to show how he'll love you till the end of your time, and prove he never intended to leave you. You thought he'd proved himself enough over the past few hours he's been back, but you weren't going to stop him from showering you in more love.

"Sorry." Harry buries his head in your shoulder to hide away from your pretend wrath.

You move around in the warm, soapy bath water until you're straddling his legs. The bath water sloshed around as you moved, but luckily you were agile enough to not let any spill overboard. Harry couldn't take his eyes off your mesmerising body, and you had to tilt his chin up for him to lose contact with your chest and gain contact with your orbs.

"You're the worst." You tease him for apologising to you, again, wrapping your arms around his neck and pressing your chest up against his - hissing at the cold contact against your boobs.

"Don't I know it." He rolls his eyes and gives you a smirk, holding on to your back tighter.

"But I couldn't love you any less." You tell him, kissing his lips quickly but enough to send butterflies through your body.

"Hmm. Well that could be a compliment, depending on how much you love me already?" He asked, pointing out the flaw in your nonsense.

You thought for a minute before answering. "I love you more than you love me." You slyly smirk, knowing how badly he hates comparing your love. He's such a sore loser and finds it bruising to his ego when you say you love him more than he does you. He belly laughs at your statement, not being able to control himself.

"Not only did you just deflate my ego, and boost your narcissism, but it's cute that you actually believe what you said." Harry starts of lightheartedly but you can tell he became more serious towards the end.

"But I—"

"I don't think so Mrs Styles." He brings you even closer, which you thought was impossible.

"I love you H."

"I love you... even more." Harry returns, and you drop your head, giggling, on to his shoulder from giving up with him.

•••••

2 months later and surgery had been successful.

The day of the surgery you'd never felt more nervous for anything. The nerves you felt that day even beat your pre-wedding nerves. It was such an intense and overwhelming feeling, and none of it would have been possible if it weren't for Harry being there for you the whole time. Your children were all superstars too. They continuously showered you in love, and although it was Harry buying the gifts, they treated to you flowers whenever you were down. Whether it was a bunch of roses, a bouquet of different flowers or a single sunflower to plant in the garden, it always managed to cheer you up.

You had surgery a couple of days ago and you were still in and out of sleep, not having spoken a word yet. The morphine dosage that they gave you, along with all the other concoctions of medicine they gave you, had been really strong. The doctor had explained to you, after surgery, how you might not come around, properly, until a few days after surgery. No doubt Harry stayed by your side through all of it.

Lying subconscious in bed allowed you to think a lot. It terrified you as to how you were going to be after surgery and how dependent you were going to have to be on other people for a while. Apparently your legs and arms become really weak, because you brain has been out of action and a small proportion has been attacked by a tumour, and that scared you. You didn't want your children to see you helpless - what kind of example would that set to them? You probably would have to be fed for a small amount of time, and either use crutches or maybe a wheelchair, and you, being the strong and independent woman you are, hated that.

Today was different. You could feel it.

You woke up, from your light slumber, with a heavy presence on your hand. If you hadn't become so accustomed to the feel of Harrys hand you probably wouldn't have known what it was, but you'd recognise that soft, bony, feel anywhere.

You open your eyes slowly, letting your eyes adjust to the light in their own time. You noticed you were in your own private room, something that they had very limited numbers of in hospitals here, and it was no doubt due to Harrys constant nagging and persistency that you were here. Looking to your right you confirmed that it was Harry holding your hand. He was slouched in a chair, facing your direction, sleeping, but holding your hand nevertheless. It took another second to realise Sofia was asleep in his lap, looking like the princess she was. There was another few chairs in the corner of the room and you realised your sons were all sat on them. Thomas and Eric resting their heads on each other and Will sat with his hood pulled up over his face.

It was beyond comforting to know your family was still here and waiting patiently for you.

You softly ran your finger over Harrys hand, trying to cause a disturbance. You'd attempted to voice your actions but nothing came out, due to your throat being so dry. You noticed a cup of water next to your bedside table and decided to help yourself. You turned the best you could, with Harry still holding on to your hand, and then moved your arm to the water. It was hard, really hard, but you managed to do it. You held the plastic cup as firmly as you could, with your trembling fingers, and sat up a bit further to take a sip. You managed a few sips before your fingers gave way and you dropped the plastic cup to the floor, spilling the rest of the water on the floor.

The noise wasn't loud but obviously loud enough to wake people up. Everyone except Harry - whom didn't wake up for anyone. He could sleep through an earthquake if he tried.

"Mum!" "Mummy!" A chorus of your children's voices echoed throughout the room, eventually waking Harry up in the process. Thomas and Eric came over to stand next to your bedside, taking your hand in both of theirs. Will rested on the end of the bed, giving you a soft smile which you returned. Sofia jumped across from Harrys lap on to your bed and engulfed you in a hug.

"Umph." You let out the noise when she jumped on you, still feeling a little sensitive all over your body.

"Hey, hey. Sof. You need to be careful with mummy, alright?" Harry comes and removes her slightly off of you, so you don't have to carry as much weight.

"Sorry mummy." Sofia apologises, going to sit next to you, her little legs dangling off the bed and miles from the floor. You gave her a small smile to signify you were okay and that you didn't need her apology. Harry stood nearby her in case she fell.

"How are you mum?" Will asked. Even though Will acted like he was too cool to get involved, you knew that he did honestly care and his question warmed your heart that he was taking an interest.

"A bit achey, not going to lie. I also find it really hard to move my legs and arms, but that was to be expected." You try and say with a strong and brave voice, but you didn't even convince yourself that it was.

"Will, buddy?" Harry asks, catching Will's attention. "Could you maybe take Sofia and the boys to the vending machine?" He hands over a handful of loose change. "Just get some crisps or chocolate for yourselves, please?"

Will obviously understood that his dad was asking for a couple of minutes alone with you.

"Sure. Cmon Sof." Will cheerily spoke, holding out his hand for her. Harry helped her off the bed, and Thomas and Eric both squeezed your hand to show they were here for you. Once they all left, Sofia rambling on about her favourite chocolate bar, Harry came and sat down by you.

He wrapped both his large hands in your smaller, and frailer, one. He leant down to plant a long-lasting kiss to your forehead, the sparks remaining even after he'd moved away. He then rested his forehead lightly on yours, looking in to your eyes the best he could from this angle. You had a feeling he just wanted to be as close to you as possible. You'd be lying if you said you didn't want the same thing.

"I missed you." Harry whispered against your face, your lips ghosting each other.

"You've been here the whole time, H." You remind him.

"But it wasn't the same. Not being able to see these beautiful, dreamy, eyes. Not being able to annoy you whenever I want. Not being able to cuddle up next to you in bed every night. Not being able to hear your angelic laugh." He stops to look down at your lips. "And not being able to kiss these pretty things." He nudged his nose against yours.

"Well nothing's stopping you now." You smirk.

Harry lets out a small chuckle before rushing down to meet your lips with his. It was as if it was the first time he was getting to do it. He was so excited and you could feel the happiness radiate off him as his lips moulded against yours. You had to pull away to catch your breath.

"Yeah. Definitely missed that." Harry stated, making you chuckle.

You tried to move your hands up to cup his cheek but it was difficult to raise it past a certain point, your muscles being too weak to allow it. You sadly sighed to yourself and flopped your arm back on the bed beside you, closing your eyes in disappointment.

A second later you feel Harrys hand lifting your arm. You open your eyes to glance at him and he's reading your facial expressions to make sure what he's doing isn't hurting you in any way.

"Together." Harry firmly tells you, finally resting your palm against his cheek. He leans against it and you can feel the warmth radiating off his skin. Harry makes sure to hold your hand in place so you aren't doing all the hard-work.

"Sorry." You look at him through your sad eyes.

"For what, darling?" Harry looks deep in to your eyes, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"For all this." Your nod your head down to your body, referring to how you were semi-immobile. "I know it's not what you signed up for, but—"

"But I love you no matter what." Harry finishes your sentence for you, not wanting to hear your criticise yourself any more than you already had. "This isn't your fault, baby. You know that. I know that. Everyone knows that. We're going to get through this. You're not alone. That, I can promise you."

His words brought as tears to your eye but Harry manages to kiss it away, leaving him with salty lips, before it can truly fall.

••••

2 weeks later, you were out of the hospital now and back home. It was been very overwhelming the last couple of weeks.

You still were unable to walk properly without the support of crutches, or a wheelchair and sometimes Harry. It was a blessing in disguise that your children were still at school, because it meant that you were able to have a lot of time to yourself, and with Harry, without constant interruptions or fussing over you.

Your children had been brilliant. They helped around the house when necessary, and every weekend, when they didn't have school, they delivered you breakfast in bed. Sofia made your cards, that had messages inside that were all spelt wrong, and drew family portraits for you. Sometimes you'd end up with a blue face and green hair, but you didn't love it any less.

As for Harry. Well he was just another level of amazing. He cleaned around the house, even when you insisted you could. He was very firm and layed out the ground rules early on. You weren't to move without his assistance and it had to be with good reason. I.e. apparently getting yourself a glass of water isn't good enough. He picked up the kids from school and dropped them off, sometimes you'd come along if your medication hadn't made you too drowsy. He did allow you to help cook dinner, what with stirring the pan, to let you feel like you were doing something, but he didn't want to overwork you.

Harry and yourself were currently out in the park, and it was very amusing.

You were in your comfy clothes, whilst Harry was in his running gear. He was running laps of a swimming-pool-sized pond, whilst you were walking indescribably slow with your crutches to assist you. Every time he jogged past you he would joke about how you were 'catching him up', but that was far from the truth. You'd barely gone around half of the pond, whereas Harry had done four laps of it, so far. You found the whole thing hilarious.

Harry was catching up to you again and you attempted to go a bit faster to make it seem like you were racing him.

"Oh I see. You're trying to get away from me now, huh?" Harry shouts from behind you. You laughed to yourself as you continue to place the crutches out in front of you before moving yourself forwards. "I don't think so.." Harrys voice becoming more apparent now, from obviously being able to move faster than you.

You suddenly feel his arms wrap around yours and he twirls you around in the air.

"Harry!"

"I've got you. I won." He attacks your neck with kisses, probably leaving a mark or two. Acting like this with him makes it look like you were still falling in love with each other, not being married and have four kids already. You wouldn't want it any other way though.

"You only win because you're a sore loser." You tease him as he places you back down on the floor.

"Shut up." He mumbles.

You go down to pick up your crutches, which you'd accidentally let go of, but are stopped by Harry.

"It's alright love i've got them." Harry tells you, knowing how hard it is for you to bend over and multitask by picking something up.

"No. It's okay. I want to try." You shyly tell him, feeling stupid that you're even requesting it. Harry proudly smiles at you before you lean down to pick them up.

Harrys hand ghosts over the small of your back, just on stand-by for support in case you need it. You let out a groan half-way down, not wanting to give up but realising that this was more difficult than anticipated.

"You've got this baby. Keep going." Harry comforted you to carry on, even when he knew you were struggling, because he knows you can do it. The mere thought gives you enough strength to keep going and power through the ache.

With one final push you're able to pick them up and stand back up. Harry slinks his arms around your waist and picks you up so he's carrying you around his torso. Your legs instinctively cross over his back, and your arms find way to his neck.

Without any words Harrys lips press against yours passionately, and you know that he is proud of you.

••••

A year later had come another milestone for you.

You'd successfully managed to drive the kids to school, and back home. Harry had sat in the passenger seat, making sure to help you with the wheel or change of gears, throughout. You were both anxious. You, more about ending up having an accident and Harry more for wanting you to prove to yourself that you could do it. But you did it.

The kids had been over the moon to hear that their mum was driving them to and from school, complaining that their dads jokes were getting too old now. Harry was mildly offended and continued with his jokes as punishment.

You'd forgotten the route and ended up at a pig-farm, upon trying to get to school, but Harry found it funny and it made you relax. Minor-amnesia was a product of the surgery, and it was times when you were trying to drive somewhere that it became an issue. Other times it was actually quite useful. For example when you'd genuinely forgotten someones name, you can blame it on the surgery, or if you were meant to collect something and had forgotten you'd be politely excused.

After having dinner with the kids, which was an Indian takeaway from your favourite, you made sure they all went to bed before spending some time with Harry downstairs. He'd mentioned how he needed to talk to you about some things this evening.

Both of you were snuggled up on the sofa, with you practically lying on top of Harry. Harry had a can of beer in his hand and your glass of water was carefully placed on the floor. You'd been advised not to drink alcohol for a while, just until the migraines settle down.

"H? You alright? You've been very quiet." You asked, as you kept your eyes on the TV where the BBC News was playing. You weren't really watching it, but it was just there to fill the background noise with anything other than silence.

"Um, yeah." He clears his throat. "I've been thinking a lot lately."

"About?" You ask, not exactly being able to read Harrys mind.

"Life. You. Kids. The future.." He answers, but you can sense he his nervous as his heart is beating considerably faster than usual.

"Okay?" You press for him to continue.

"I'm going to give it all up." He just blurts out, catching you if guard and making you stop breathing for a few seconds.

You twist around so you're sat crossed legged over his legs. "W-what do you mean?" You ask, confused over his proposal.

"I mean, I quit. I'm done with that part of my life." He answers as a matter of factly.

You close your eyes and shake your head to try and process what's actually happening right now.

"H? What are you doing?" You ask, flabbergasted. "Music is your life.."

"No, Y/N. You are my life. Those children, sleeping soundly upstairs, are my life. Music is a passion and a relaxation. It is a way to express my emotions when I don't have you around."

"But—"

"I know, I know. I'll miss the touring and meeting all the amazing fans, but leaving you is just something i'm not willing to do anymore."

A few tears slip down your cheeks when you realise what you're doing.

"This is all my fault." You begin to cry, covering your face with your palms to hide yourself from Harry.

"Hey, Y/N/N, no it's not. You hear me? It's not." Harry tugs your hands away from your face so he can see your beautiful face. "Look at me, darling." He tells you more than asks you.

"Sor—" You start.

"Sshh. I don't want to hear it. I mean, you having surgery is part of the reason, but there are so many other things that are bigger than that. Y/N/N, I love you so so much. More than you could ever believe and I just want to spend the rest of my life with you now. Of course i'll continue to write, produce and publish music, but i'm just not up for touring, like I did, anymore. From now on I want to become the family man. I want to be there every day for our children, no matter what. I need them so much more than they could ever need me."

"But money H..?" You sigh, even though your spirit is so happy from Harrys insight into the future.

"That is not for you to worry about, right now, alright? I've been planning this for a while now and I have things in place and such. I just needed to tell you, because your my other half - my better half - and I felt you deserved to be involved."

It went quiet for a little bit as you let everything Harrys told you, so far, sink in. You'd stopped crying, mainly because Harry wasn't giving your tears a chance to run down your face. You started to smile to yourself at a life where 365 days of a year you can wake up next to your husband.

"What you smiling at, gorgeous?" Harry chuckled, caressing your cheek.

"You." You cheese. "And how I get to be with you for the rest of my days."

"I can't wait to start living the rest of my life with you." Harry softly says, kissing your nose briefly.

Rest of your lives. You could get used to that.

#harry styles #harry styles x reader #harry styles fanfiction #harry styles x y/n #harry styles fanfic #ask finelinevogue #harry blurb #finelinevogue #harry styles concept #harry oneshot #harry styles blurbs #harry styles fic #harry styles fic rec #harry styles husband #husband!harry #dadrry #dad!harry styles #dad harry styles #masterlist harry styles

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dabislittlemouse · 7 months

Text

tainted angel🪽 (pt. 6)

CHAPTER 4 // CHAPTER 5 // CHAPTER 7

ෆ DABI X HAWKS’ LITTLE SISTER

ෆ cw: Dabi being a flirt and a pervert, corruption kink, smut and noncon/ dubcon incoming. Starts with Dabi’s POV ‼️

Sometimes I get way too excited.

I mentally scold myself for letting my mouth run like that and say risky things. Really don’t want to scare the little angel away, it would only make things harder and less pleasurable if I had to take her by force. Her meek voice already showed me how scared she was, I can imagine her heart beating fast while she nervously chews on that kissable lower lip.

I try to control myself, but those hidden sick desires deep inside of me are urging me to go further. To break her, make her feel paranoid and scared, always wary of her surroundings, always frightened of ending up in my claws. Just so I can eat her out and taste the fear and excitement rolling right on my tongue.

Fuck, that sweet cunt of hers. M’dying for a taste. I could feel the heat of it even through my pants as she sat nicely on my lap. I already took care of myself after she went home, stroking my cock nice and slow at the scent and warmth she left behind with me. But now as my mind replays over and over the way she squealed and whimpered from my touch, the softness of her skin and her perky breasts pressing against my chest, I feel hard again. This never ending cycle is entirely her fault, for being such a tempting little minx and gettin’ me all worked up like this, distracting me from my most important missions.

Yeah, who am I kidding.. she will be right by my side as I burn down the whole world.

The thought gets me all excited, turning a sweet angel like her to be the villain’s girl, to make her go against the rules and morals, that would surely terrify her.

“Dabi, I’d like you to test this nomu, I found one that will totally match your aesthetic!”

The voice snaps me out of my thoughts, I blink in confusion. “Huh?”

“It’s one of the High-End nomus!” doctor Ujiko says.

Ah, yes. The nomus. We’re currently in the lab. The crazy doctor was experimenting with many things lately, and now he wants me to give him a hand. I look at the big glass containers dimly lit in purple light, holding the monstrous creatures inside, most of them still not ready to be awakened.

“Did you even listen to what I said?” I reply, annoyance clear in my features. “I have other matters to attend”

“It won’t be a big deal,” the doctor says, “just let the nomu run free in the city and fight a pro hero, it will obey your orders after all. It’s important to test this nomu in order to proceed with the other ones. And then when it’s done, bring it back here. Easy peasy!”

I hum in response, contemplating things. It would be a great opportunity to test our little pet pro Hawks, sure as hell he wouldn’t like the idea of me bringing a High-End nomu in a populated area. But maybe I can tell him straight ahead, so he can bring me a pro hero in his way, perfect to fight against the nomu.

“Alright” I smirk. “Bring it to me”

***

Doctor Ujiko was right. That monstrosity of a nomu really fit my aesthetic for some reason, I might even start to like it. It seemed stronger than the other bio-engineered nomus I’ve seen before. It could speak a few words, and already learned my name. Seemed more than ready to obey every order that I feel like giving. Heh, if that ain’t a good pet for me. Never had pets before but I could treat myself with a pet nomu this time.

After talking with Hawks, he agreed on the plan that will take place by the end of this week. He would bring a random pro along, I didn’t need any details on who. The High-End was strong enough, I am in fact so concerned for the hero who will take it in a fight. Seems like I’ll have more lives taken away on my name only.

As I turn back to the hideout, my mind goes to my angel. Shit, been too busy with the plan I almost forgot to call her. For some reason I already miss her voice and pretty face, it makes me sick. I grab my burner phone and dial her number.

Though she does not pick up.

I grunt in annoyance before trying again. After two more calls, she finally picks up.

“Took ya long enough” I say, a hint of irritation in my voice, but it fades away as soon as I hear hers.

“Sorry I was cleaning my room and forgot my phone on silent” she says apologetically.

“S’alright, you cleaning your room huh? Good girl. I’ve been a bit busy these days but I didn’t forget ya, doll.”

I sit up and go in front of my mirror, examining my hair while talking to her. “Just called to say that I’ll be taking ya out tonight”

“Oh? Well.. you already made the decision, huh” she replies. “But about that..”

“Don’t worry ‘bout it. This time I’ll take you to a normal place, not empty parks or alleyways” I smirk. “You deserve a real date don’t cha?”

“Y-Yeah..” she mumbles. “But I.. I really wanted to tell you something Dabi. I just… don’t think I can continue seeing you again”

My breathing stops for a moment, seriousness taking over my features as I look back at myself in the mirror.

“Come again?” I reply, and my voice comes off harsher than I intended to. I hear her breath hitch, stuttering a bit on her words as she explains everything to me. My hand instinctively tightens the grip on my phone, almost breaking it.

“I-I think it’s best for me to not be around you. My brother also told me so before, and I don’t want this to be further trouble for me. Besides.. I can’t be around someone who refuses to tell me who he is and what he does, no offence but.. I just don’t feel safe you know.. especially knowing you’ve done bad things and refusing to elaborate.”

I take in a deep breath before letting out a chuckle, my knuckles turning almost white while gripping my phone.

“Told ya it’s not the right moment to tell you. I really hoped you wouldn’t make things harder princess..”

“H-Huh? I’m not making anything harder” she says. “I have more important matters to focus, such as my studies. I can’t let myself get distracted by sneaking out and meeting some mysterious guy.. I mean.. I enjoy your company Dabi, truly, but I don’t think this can go further..”

I click my tongue, feeling the rage in my chest ready to burst out. Ready to get the hell out of here and go take her by force.

“You’re just like your brother aren’t cha?” I respond. “All responsible over your duties, can’t let anything distract ya. Gotta admire that, sure..”

My heated hand grabs a random metallic object on the table, melting it slowly.

“But it is clear as day that you’re being a nasty little liar right now. Tell me doll, once I get over there will you be able to say all this shit straight to my face? That you are oh, so focused on those studies of yours, grade A student, and willing to put down any “distractions”.. I don’t think I’ve told you that I hate liars”

I hear her gasp, a few seconds of silence as she struggles to find words. My voice is stern and threatening, purposely to make her scared and show her that those little games won’t do for me.

“Dabi, just.. just respect my decision okay? I gotta go now, I have stuff to do” she says hurriedly, before hanging up on me.

Oh, you will regret this.

I throw my phone on the ground and bring a heated fist straight to the mirror, breaking it in process. The pieces of glass pierce through my skin, blood already flowing on my knuckles and down my wrist. Though I can’t feel a thing, only rage as my body heats up.

Seems like it’s not that easy to corrupt the little angel, huh..

But through all that rage, I feel a sense of thrill. I’m a lazy bastard sometimes, that I can admit. When it doesn’t benefit my goals, I don’t like chasing anything, pretty much not caring about most stuff. But she got my engines going, as much as I might hate putting in effort, having her has become one of my main goals. And this chase is only going to make things sweeter in the end. She can play hard to get as much as she wants, it only riles me up even more.

Today I will let her be. Tomorrow too. Let her think that I’m a decent guy who will respect her stupid little decisions, that I left her alone for good. And only then, when she is the least prepared, I will appear again, catch her off guard, weak and helpless in front of me.

A wicked grin spreads widely across my face. This game’s just getting started.

*****

[Her POV]

It has been a few days since my last call with Dabi. Even though I haven’t heard from him since, this silence on his side is making me feel uneasy the whole time. I expected for him to send me a text message after I hung up, or maybe for him to call me back again.

But he didn’t do anything. He simply vanished. Of course this is what I wanted, or maybe thought that I wanted. This was the most logical decision I could make on my side, though I do not feel calm with this.

Especially with the way his voice tone changed and got deeper, harsher, I’ve never heard him sound like that before. A voice which held nothing but promising threats, I felt like I really made a mistake.

But Dabi hasn’t appeared or called since, so I should be fine right?

One part of me is still needy for him, regretting that I cut him off like this. The things he made me feel were sinful, but it all felt so good and I couldn’t get enough. Dabi was irresistibly handsome, I tried to not fall for him but-

I should remain logical, and not go down a rabbit hole where I might never escape from. This was for the best.

“I’m going now!” I say to my mom as I grab my bag, getting ready for school. It was early in the morning, and I felt more than ready to start a new day.

“Be careful hun” she responds me as I head downstairs. Lately I’ve wondered if mom is okay, she’s been looking way too lost in thoughts, always zoning out. Jumpy at every sound or anytime the doorbell rang. Almost paranoid too. When I ask her if there’s something wrong, she brushes it off and tells me to not worry, that she’s just tired.

I really wonder why these people like to hide things from me.

Getting out of my house and closing the door behind me, I notice something placed on the doorstep.

No way.

I feel my heart dropping and my eyes stay glued on the blue roses on the ground, wrapped nicely together.

Just like the one he gave me that night.

But that can’t be. He hasn’t been interested to call me back for days, nor come and meet me. Clearly I was some mere entertainment for him right? He’d surely go find another girl to toy around with, that’s what I thought at some point. He’s got to have many options.

My hands tremble slightly as I grab the roses, and I notice a small postcard attached to them.

Maybe I should not read it. Just throw the roses in the trash and continue with my day. But I can’t do it.

I inahle deeply, calming myself before reading the postcard. I feel the world around me freezing, everything falling silent and all I can hear are my own heartbeats.

“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒃𝒆𝒂𝒖𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑. 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒑 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈. 𝑴𝒊𝒔𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖, 𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒍. 𝑺𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏”

-𝑫

My breath hitches as I read what was written, swallowing hard while my panicked eyes study my surroundings. Nobody was there. These might’ve been left overnight on my doorstep.

The thought of him wandering around my house at night while I sleep peacefully makes my skin crawl. And the worst, watching me.

The note he left would normally be called wholesome and cute under normal circumstances. But all I could make out of it was something ominous, a threat wrapped in sweet words and pretty roses. My first thought was to tell Keigo, but some part of me feels guilty, because it was me who gave Dabi the chance to get closer, despite from being told to stay away. And now I can’t get him off my back.

I must deal with this by my own, simple as that. I am not a child to hide behind my big brother’s hero cap.

With that, I crush the roses and throw them in the trash, while tearing off the postcard. I will ignore this for now, and keep watch tonight just in case. This man can’t scare me at my own house, no way. If he shows up again, I will take matters into my own hands.

And if things escalate, only then I will call Keigo.

(Chapter 7 will have smut and nonconsensual stuff‼️)

🏷️ tags: @mostlyheinous @dabislittlebeaniebaby @dabihawksluva @scariusaquarius @touyalove @awalkingshame @syrenkitsune

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prettyevermores · 4 months

Text

tolerate it

( tenth doctor x reader / fourteenth doctor x reader )

a/n: i haven’t wrote on here in so long 😥😥 @sqiim is writing so now im writing and i don’t wanna do my work so here i am !!!

🗡️🗡️🗡️🗡️

You initially didn’t mean to find The Doctor, he found you. The shit day you were having was immediately twisted into an interesting one when you had walked into him. Firstly, you had woken up to the passing of your beloved dog and decided to go shopping after you had taken the canine to the vet for the last time. Then you were walking down the street and your shopping bag broke, spilling out all your shopping onto the floor as you walked into a man in a trenchcoat. You were close to giving up, that’s when he turned around and begun to pick up your pile of oranges that fell out the bag.

“You don’t need to help” You said, shoving items into your other shopping bag. The Stranger locked eyes with you and smiled, he had the most beautiful chocolate eyes and freckles painted his face.

“It’s not a worry, I’m happy to help” He replied, still with a soft smile as he picked up some of your things.

“Thank you, by the way” You spoke softly standing up and straightening out your outfit.

“I’m The Doctor” He chuckled introducing himself before he whisked you away from your lowlife

During those times together, you had seen the most beautiful things with The Doctor. You had seen ancient ruins from meadows of the old age, civilisations dancing under a bright moonlight, betwitched by realms of impossibility. But there was also the downsides of travelling with The Doctor, fighting aliens who look like they belong in the air fryer and covered in cheese, lasers beaming down at you from metal men, loosing people you had grown to care about in a short amount of time. And The Daleks, it’s always The Daleks. They always take the time out of their day to ruin everything.

You didn’t want to leave him, you could never leave him behind. Your love for The Doctor was too powerful to ever let him go from your life. It was quite the opposite in fact, he let you go. He didn’t want what happened to Donna to happen to you. Poor Donna Noble, you wished you could speak to her again one more time.

You would always wait by the door, hoping and wishing he would come back to you but he was much older and wiser than yourself so you thought he wouldn’t understand of waiting by the door for someone to come like you were a kid. You would always set a spot at your dinner table incase he came back home to you but he would never show in the end. He could be out in the universe, finding worlds that hadn’t been discovered just then or not meant to be discovered at all, yet here you were, waiting for him all those years.

When you had heard about Donna Noble’s generosity donating to all those charities, selflessly giving it away even though she had won so much. Something inside you had always wondered that a part of her mind had never truly forgotten The Doctor. Which confused you for a long time, you had always secretly been making sure she was okay. Not in a weird way! She was your best friend at one point and you wanted to make sure she was staying out of trouble.

Five painful, long years after The Doctor’s sudden abandonment of you back on your property, he found himself there again. But this time he was much older and wiser, you were still setting the table with all the fancy shit like you would always do for him if he ever came back. Same face or not, you would always know it was him and you’d always love him. The Doctor found himself with the same face he had met you in, he was originally confused on why he had that face but after The Toymaker, he now understood why he came back to this face, he came back to go home, home where he was meant to be. That home was you (And Donna), he never had to worry about being the renowned Timelord when he was with you, he was just himself.

You were relaxed, cooking yourself your favourite meal for dinner. Dancing to the slow music you had playing in the background, the warmth of your kitchen putting you into a celestial state of peace. You were finally at peace with yourself and what happened with The Doctor, you would never not love him, you could never bring yourself to stop loving him. Then there was a knock at the door, you’d recognise that knock anywhere, the soft but panicked knock resonated inside your head as you absentmindedly turned the stove off.

To say you were nervous about answering the door was an understatement but a part of you said that you should see him again. You still loved him after all. There he stood, still your Doctor but older, he was still as beautiful as ever. Tears pricked your eyes but you didn’t let them fall, creating a cold demeanour around him and you didn’t want to break again in front of him. However, that was short lived as he could see through your demeanour, he could see right into your pain, your heartbreak.

“I’m so sorry” He expressed, you looked away. You didn’t want to let him see you like this, you wanted to stay mad but you could never stay mad at The Doctor. His hand reached out to you, resting upon your cheek and making you lock eyes with him. You didn’t fight it, you let your feelings take over, you’d never let your heart take over your head, but for The Doctor?

Oh, how you’d do it every-time.

“I know” You whispered “You always are sorry, but this time you mean it right? This time please say you’ll stay” Your eyes and contact with him and smiled softly at him.

“I couldn’t leave if I tried, my sweetheart” He chuckled lowly, his hand slowly caressing at your cheek, pushing a loose strand of hair out your face. He moved his face down towards your ear and whispered into it “I’ll always stay with you, until the end of time itself”

His voice into your ear was sending shivers down your spine, you trembled into his touch. Then came the kiss, the missed touch of his lips against your own, it was heavenly, you thought you had died and came back from the dead. The desperate touches and fleeting looks from his eyes. The way his eyelids fluttered as you pulled against his shirt to get any closer to him.

This was his home. This is what he was meant for. He was meant for you.

#val writes!⭐️#david tennant #tenth doctor #fourteenth doctor #doctor who #tenth doctor x reader #fourteenth doctor x reader #10th doctor x reader #14th doctor x reader

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b0r3dtod3ath · 7 months

Note

Hellooooo!!!!

I was wondering if you could do a this request for Oscar!

Ok so reader is vettels daughter and she races.

They are on a karting race and Oscar crashes with her and she brakes her ankle so she’s in the hospital and he goes with a card and flowers to say sorry and Sebastian is a lil overprotective over her

(Try make it so that Oscar and her don’t really know eachother hustam that they race eachother)

When I thought about this I imagined it like them having 13 or 12:)

thanks for your time!!!!

Thank you @cedricsleftelbow for the request! I love this idea. You know how to melt my heart haha <33

Word count: 490

F1 masterlist

The time setting is prob weird - Sebastian is around his current age and is retired, y/n and Oscar are (as requested) 12/13. Fic approximately takes place in 2013 :)

Your dad has introduced you to the world of motorsport form a very young age. You had watched him race ever since you were little so when he retired and noticed your interest in the sport he decided to help you. He never pressured you, you both considered it your hobby. Nonetheless, you were really good at it and obviously wanted to win every race.

Naturally, your dad was a bit overprotective when it came to your karting races. His little girl being surrounded by boys wasn't something he was very happy about.

You were like a little sunshine before each race, you always greeted everyone with a big smile that you inherited from your father. It didn't take long for you to make friends on track, one of the being Logan. Even if you didn't know someone you still were friendly towards them.

Your relation with Oscar was pretty neutral - you usually greeted each other but you never really had a conversation with him. During the race you noticed his cart getting quite close to yours but it didn't cause you to panic. You entered a turn staying on the inside but he left you little room what caused you to bump into a wall. Well, go karts don't usually achieve high speeds but the way that they are build causes the driver not to be fully safe.

This incident resulted in your dad carrying you thru the door of the nearest hospital as you couldn't walk. An hour later, you had done an x-ray and a nurse said "Fortunately, it's just a sprain, nothing serious". As she was leaving a visibly distressed boy entered the room. He was holding a bouquet, full of white and pink flowers, that covered his blushed, embarrassed face. "I'm really sorry, I- I didn't mean to. It was never my intention. I wouldn't do anything like this on purpose." he nervously tried to explain. "Oscar, kid, don't worry. It was just an accident. Things like that happen." your dad said calming the boy down. You were quite surprised by your dad's behaviour - usually you would assume that he would rip the kid apart. "I'm going to find the doctor and speak to him. I will be back in 10 minutes. Behave." he said standing up and leaving you two alone. Oscar set the flowers on a small cabinet. "I'm sorry we have to get to know each other in such situation but I don't think I have ever properly introduced myself. So, I'm Oscar Piastri and again I deeply apologise, I swear I didn't mean to-" you stuck your hand out "Apologies accepted but you will have to keep me company as I recover".

10 years later.. Y/N's second year in Formula 1, Oscar's rookie year...

"Yea so basically he broke my ankle but was really nice afterwards so that's how we met." you said during a press conference, smiling at Oscar.

#oscar piastri blurb #oscar piastri x reader #f1 x reader #oscar piastri imagine #formula 1 x reader #formula 1 imagine

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cowgurrrl · 1 year

Text

What Sarah Said

Pairing: Joel Miller x fem!reader

Author’s note: Listen, I don’t normally write babies into a happy ending but I needed this (PS I love this picture of Nico and Pedro)

Summary: “And when I turned to face grief, I saw that it was just love in a heavy coat.” - Shannon Berry aka you and Joel talk about having more kids (kind of a part two to Sweet Jane) [1.7k]

Warnings: 18+ MINORS DNI, talks of child loss (reader has lost a child), talks of pregnancy, grief, lmk if I missed anything!

You blame Maria. Of course, her well-meaning questions and Camille, ever the adorable toddler, got in your head. It started when Maria told you about her son and, in return, you told her about Jane. She started asking if you and Joel ever talked about having kids or even if you had a plan for if you did get pregnant within the QZ. You always had a plan in mind, even before you started with Joel, but you never talked about it as a couple. Then, she told you about how great her labor and delivery team was when she gave birth to Camille and how they have the equipment to care for anything wrong.

That's when she really started pushing it by talking about schools, work schedules, and even play dates. "I know Camille would love to have a little cousin around," she said. It felt foreign and wrong to be talking about having another kid. You think it would feel that way even if Jane were alive, but her absence doesn't make this any easier. She backed off when you asked her to, but she still got into your head. A million different thoughts have been floating around since you saw her earlier. Maybe that's why you ambush Joel with the question before he can even take his boots off.

"Do you think you'd ever want to have another kid?" You ask as he sits next to you on the couch. Ellie went to bed an hour ago, and you figured now was as good a time as any. You could've approached it gentler, especially since he was on patrol all day. Joel immediately sits straight up and gives you a worried look.

"You're not pregnant, are you?"

"No," you think for a moment, doing mental math to ensure. He waits, the anxiety rolling off of him. "No. No, I'm not. Maria just said something when I was over there that made me think." He sighs and buries his head in his hands. You laugh a little at his reaction and put a soothing hand on his back, the muscles relaxing under your touch. He takes a couple of deep breaths before taking his head out of his hands to look at you.

"Yeah, Tommy said something, too."

"What did Tommy say?" You ask.

"He said something about Maria's doctors and then asked if we had talked about having kids," he says, and you scoff. "What did Maria say?"

"Pretty much the same thing. Even brought up how great the schools here are."

"Sounds like we got set up," He says, and you hum in agreement. "What do you think?"

"I don't know. I mean, this was never a possibility for us before. We never talked about it, even before we left Boston. What do you think?"

"I'm not the one who'd be carryin' a baby for nine months, so I don't think it should be my decision."

"Your feminist thought is always appreciated, but that doesn't help." You say, and he falls quiet. You know to wait him out, to let him sort through his thoughts in silence before he speaks. He glances at his broken watch, searching for pieces of her in the shattered glass, before looking at you again.

"Sarah always talked about how much she wanted a little brother or sister, but… I don't know. I was always happy with just her."

"Jane used to say the same thing. But, my pregnancy with her was so brutal, and it may have been because I was so young when I had her, or something went wrong. I never thought I'd do it again," you say. "There's also Ellie to think about. It'd be a big adjustment for her. She already gets anxious if one of us has a cold, let alone growing a human. There's a lot that could go wrong."

After that, you go back and forth, listing all the ways having a baby would alter your life. You wouldn't be able to go on patrol with him anymore. You'd need medicine and vitamins. All the attention would go to the new baby, and Ellie could start feeling left behind. She just got into a normal routine where she goes to a normal school and does what kids her age should do. You can't fuck that up for her. It'd be scary, emotional, and painful, and that's just the pregnancy. Having a toddler was terrifying enough before the world went to shit. How do you keep a kid that small safe in a world so big? It's obviously possible. Camille and the other kids around the commune are evidence enough.

Even as you go through everything that could go wrong, the idea of Joel being a dad again makes something deep within you soften. He's always been so gentle and natural with Camille, even though it's been decades since he's dealt with a kid that small. He sits at the kitchen table every night to help Ellie with her homework, walking her through math problems like it's second nature, even though you can tell he doesn't understand either. He packs her lunch, walks her to school, and doesn't even blink when she walks down wearing one of his shirts. Domesticity looks good on Joel Miller. He's all relaxed shoulders and big smiles. The nightmares still linger in the shadows of both of your minds, but they're manageable.

That's what so much of your lives have been—manageable. "It sucks, but we'll manage" was your motto for much of your life before Ellie and Joel. You said it to Jane more often than not as a reminder that things could be better, but you were also trying really hard to make life easy for her. You said it to Joel when you started doing drops together. Then, you said it to Ellie when trying to get across the country with her. But now, possibly for the first time ever, it feels like you're doing much more than managing. The thought wiggles through your brain until it sits front and center, a bright, shining "Maybe."

"What?" He asks, breaking you out of your reverie. You shake your head, but he nudges you with his leg.

"It's stupid."

"Humor me."

"I just imagined a little you running around. That's all." You say, and he smiles. It's giddy and touches the corners of his eyes. You have to look away before you get sucked in.

"I thought we were just talking about all the reasons not to have a baby."

"We were. It was just… quick. Something fun to think about."

"Tell me about it," He urges, moving closer to you. You sigh as you reach out and push the hair out of his eyes. "Boy or girl?"

"Girl. We both had girls, so I think it'd be a long shot if we had a boy."

"What were you imaginin’?"

"I imagined a little girl with big curls and your nose running around with Ellie. Playing in the snow and learning how to ride horses and driving us fucking crazy. She'd be a troublemaker, and Ellie would love her for it," you say, his smile only getting brighter as you talk. "I'd go out on patrol, and you'd stay home with our girls because even though you're big and scary, you secretly love playing stupid games with them. You'd sing songs to the baby because she couldn't sleep without them, and you'd spoil her half to death. Ellie'd read the baby books about space, and when I come home, we’d cook dinner together and eat as a family, and we’d live an ordinary, unremarkable life in Jackson."

"Ordinary is good. I could live with ordinary."

"It's a nice thought."

"Yeah," Joel says, nodding. You feel like crying, but you're not sure why. How could you cry over something that's not even real?

"Is it bad that I want all that again?" You ask quietly, like you're afraid if you say it too loud, the universe will take everything away from you. Joel's jaw works as he thinks before he grabs your hand.

"No, it's not because I want it, too." He says. You take a deep breath and nod, looking down at your joined hands.

"What do you think our girls would have to say about all this?"

"I think they'd be jumping up and down and screaming about how excited they'd be," he says. "I think they're doing that wherever they are."

"Me too," you say. Something heavy and dark and familiar weighs down that golden ball of hope still sitting in your chest. It aches as nothing else does, pulling the breath from you swiftly and mercilessly. Like a bomb leveling an entire block and everyone there. Like a stray gunshot hitting the wrong person. Like celebrating a birthday every year but never watching your child grow. "I wish they were here." You admit. Joel brings your hand to his lips and kisses it. His watery eyes match yours.

"Me too." He says. There's an unspoken addition to his sentence. Something about how they are still here because they were a part of each of you, perhaps your best parts, and they live on in you. You keep living because of that and because they loved you and wanted you to live even if they couldn't be around to see it. That might be the only solace when you lose a child.

"Are we crazy?"

"Maybe."

"Are we gonna try to have a baby?" You ask, and a smile overtakes his features.

"I thought that's what our whole conversation was just about." He says, and you roll your eyes before climbing onto his lap. It's a position you've been in far too many times, and you justify it by getting to be close to him, but really he's just pretty to look at sometimes. His hands rest on your waist as you settle, both of you still smiling like idiots.

"I want to hear you say it."

"Mrs. Miller," he starts. "I want to have a baby with you because I love you, and I want a million little yous running around our house." He punctuates his sentence by leaning into you and kissing your neck.

"A million?" You ask, tangling your hands in his hair. He hums against your skin.

"A million."

"Can we compromise for one?"

"I can be persuaded."

🍓

taglist: @evyiione @nyotamalfoy @abbyhaslongshorts

#the last of us #joel and ellie #joel miller #joel miller fic #joel miller x reader #the last of us x reader #joel tlou #joel miller the last of us #joel miller x female reader #joel miller fluff #he’s so girldad your honor #domestic joel miller #he’s so soft #look for the light

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mrsrileywrites · 22 days

Text

Oh well, it seems like my brain was feeling functional today...

Here's part two of this Simon Riley x pregnant reader ask

Enjoy everyone and as always any and all sorts of interaction is highly appreciated 🫶

Side note: I'm still new here so I don't know how to add links and be like "this" and you press the word and boom there's the link, also I do all this from my phone so bare with my millennial old ass 😅

1001 words

"Explain what?" He shouts turning around and walking towards you again, your hands fly to your belly instinctively, protective. You lower your head, eyes glued to the floor, ashamed.

Simon sees your reaction, the fear on your eyes, and he steps back taking a minute to collect himself, to come to terms with this discovery, he runs his hand over his face and hair.

"I'm sorry Si, I was-" you speak softly, your tone apologetic but he cuts you off, "You are not, I didn't want this, you knew damn well I didn't want this" he shouts again and you shrink yourself wanting to crawl out of your skin and not deal with this, not right now at least, your shoulders slump like a child being scolded. "Why didn't you tell me? You had plenty of chances."

"I didn't know how" you pout looking up at him searching his eyes for reassurance that everything would be okay but he is relentless, you see the rage and something else in his eyes, something you can't quite identify. "You didn't know how? Are you fucking kidding me right now? How about, uh oh by the way you are going to be a dad?" He sighs pacing back and forth like an encaged animal.

"I was afraid" you blink away the tears that have been threatening to spill since he walked through the door, your heart is beating so fast you think you may pass out any second. And he sees you, the fear, the vulnerability, the uncertainty and it hits him like a train, you are afraid too and you've been dealing with this for the past two months on your own, he stands in front of you.

"Afraid of what? Of me?" His voice is much softer now and he moves a strand of hair behind your ear, his calloused fingers lingering on your cheek and you nod speaking softly like you always do, because you are nothing like him, you are sweet and soft around the edges "of your reaction, of loosing you, but I get it now... you don't have to do this, it's okay really... I can manage on my own".

His hands cup your face and your fingers curl around his wrists, the look on your face pulls at the strings of his heart and he knows he would never be able to leave you even if he tried, even if that meant to face his biggest fears and become a father, the father he wish he had. "You'll never lose me love, you're stuck with me... We'll do this together, yeah?"

"Mhm" you agree and bury your face on his chest letting the tears run free, Simon rubs soothing circles on your back and apologizes over and over, he said he didn't mean to yell, he wasn't mad he was just shocked and scared shitless and you apologize too.

____________________________________________

From that on Simon was really involved in your pregnancy as much as he could, he even talked to Price and he agreed to send him on not-so-dangerous and not-so-long missions, he even got to do all of his paperwork in his little office at home and go with you to all your doctors appointments, he was holding your hand when he saw the baby for the first time, black and white blob staring at him through the screen, he asked the nurse if he could have one of the ultrasound pictures to show the lads back at base and she give him a bunch, he chose his favorite and put it in his wallet, he tried, in vain, to hide his tears the first time he heard the baby's heartbeat, he didn't complained when he noticed his favorite ice cream running out a lot faster while yours remained untouched, you blamed it on the pregnancy cravings.

He held your hair and rubbed soothing circles on your back every morning while you hugged the toilet bowl emptying your stomach courtesy of the morning sickness and he reassured you every time you felt too overly conscious of the changes in your body, he rubbed lotion on your belly and spoke to the bump every night after you showered and got ready for bed, he cried his eyes out the first time he felt the baby kick while he laid on the couch with his head on your lap and you ran your fingers through his hair.

One night you both laid in bed, in the moon lite bedroom, you were at the 36 weeks mark and your doctor had told you the baby could be born any time now. You and Simon (Simon more than you) had put the nursery together while you boss him around. Simon laid behind you, his burly arms wrapped around you while his hand rubbed different shapes on your belly, he gasped every time the baby kicked.

"I'm scared" you mumbled so low you thought he didn't hear you. "Scared of what, love?" he spoke in a drowsy tone his mouth against your neck.

"Giving birth..." He chuckled and you smacked his hand. "You can't escape that part, baby, can you?".

"I know, I just... You are so big and the baby is big for his gestational age too... I don't know if I'll be able to do this" you sighed. "It's too late to think about that now baby" he chuckled again and you smacked his hand again.

"Simon, this is serious" you scolded him and he squeezed you a little tighter, his voice a low murmur against your neck. "I know it is, but you got this... You've come this far and you've been so brave you are going to be just fine, plus I'll be right next to you... and they'll give you something for the pain, I'll make sure you are as comfortable as possible, yeah?".

"Yeah" you agreed sinking further into his warm embrace and you knew no matter how scary it could be Simon would always be there being your biggest supporter and a great father.

@zlunia

#simon ghost riley #cod mw2 #ghost cod #simon riley #simon riley x reader #simon ghost x reader #simon riley x pregnant reader #mrsrileywrites

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13uswntimagines · 8 months

Text

Luh Ooo (Baby!r x Kellex)

Request: First time baby!r says I love you. Basically r is nonverbal and like 3, and preath or Kellex tell her they love her, and it’s the first time r speaks, she says it back

Alex and Kelley considered themselves incredibly lucky every time they saw your smiling face. Every time they saw your lips tilt into a grin, or heard a giggle slip past your lips, they counted their lucky stars that they got to whiteness it.

Their teammates liked to tease them that they were a bit over the top when it came to you, but everyone understood why. Everyone agreed that they would probably be the same way if they had been through what you and your moms had been through.

Alex’s pregnancy with you had been suspiciously easy.

Her and Kelley had both been prepared for the worst after both of their sister’s horror stories about morning sickness and pregnancy cravings that had their husbands running out in the middle of the night. But Alex hadn’t experienced them herself.

The morning sickness had been minimal. It hadn’t lasted at all past the first trimester and hadn’t ruined any of her favorite foods, so she considered it a win. Then the few times she did have midnight cravings, they hadn’t been for food-related items, and Kelley had definitely enjoyed waking up for it (the pregnancy sexcapades were absolutely worth the sleep deprivation).

In hindsight, the 9 months of smooth sailing should have tipped them off that something was going to go wrong, but they had been too wrapped up in the excitement of welcoming you into the world to prepare themselves for the other shoe to drop.

It made it so much worse when it finally did.

Kelley would never forget the moment the nurses laid your little form on Alex’s chest. She would never forget how you blinked up at the both of them and for a second, everything felt right in the world.

For a split second, your tiny eyes met hers and she felt her heart grow to accommodate the overwhelming love coursing through her.

And then…

Their world tilted on its head.

Your eyelids fluttered rapidly, and the whole right side of your face drooped, before either of them knew what was happening the nurses had grabbed you and whisked you away, talking very fast.

Kelley had made a move to follow them, to chase after you and figure out what was going on, but before she could the doctor was back, using big words and describing tests and procedures that he thought were necessary.

The only thing she really picked up on was the word stroke and MRI, and then he was gone again, taking the happiness in the room with him.

Alex pulled her into the bed with her, and both of them held each other as they both fell apart.

Arteriovenous Malformation

A word Kelley and Alex hadn’t understood when the doctor returned hours later.

A word that they googled and re-googled, hoping it would change what it meant.

A word that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

The doctor said they were lucky because it was near the surface on the left side of your brain. They were lucky because they could operate and remove the tangle of blood vessels that had caused a clot.

They were lucky because it had been caught early before it could cause too much damage.

They didn’t feel lucky.

Not until they were staring at your tiny form through a little plastic incubator box, a large bandage under the yellow knit cap on your head. Not until they could very carefully run their fingers over your puffy cheeks, or have let your little hand latch onto theirs.

The surgery had saved your life, but it had also damaged the part of your brain involved in speech production.

They wouldn’t learn until later how it would affect your development, and they would thank whatever higher power that existed that the only thing that had been impacted was your ability to create words. They thanked the universe that you were such a happy kid despite that.

You loved running around with your many soccer aunts, kicking balls and clapping for your mamas. Just because you couldn’t talk didn’t mean that you couldn’t communicate.

It wasn’t traditional but sign language and the little noises you could make never failed to show the people around you what you wanted.

And while they thanked their lucky stars(and the universe) for the progress that you had made, they both still longed to hear three little words leave your lips.

So yes, the team understood why they were so overprotective and doting. The team understood why they spent so much time working on the assignments your speech therapist gave them, and why they took every opportunity to try and get you to vocalize.

It was why the team tried to help them as much as they could.

*****

You smiled widely as Kelley very gently kicked a ball toward where you were on the sidelines, pushing off of the little blanket you were sitting on next to Bailey (your trusted babysitter).

You clumsily stopped the ball with your feet, steadying yourself with a hand on Bailey’s shoulder and pointing to your Mommy.

You often spent your time on the sidelines, watching your mama’s practice with rapt attention, chasing after stray balls for your aunts and clapping excitedly when anyone ran past you. You knew you weren’t supposed to go onto the field until practice was over, and that any balls that came to you before it had to be returned to a coach.

Kelley’s lips tilted into an indulgent smile and she nodded in encouragement. “Practice is over kiddo, send it back and we can play for a little while,”

Your eyes lit up in excitement, and you didn’t hesitate to kick the ball back toward her.

It rolled towards Kelley and she easily caught it, for a 4-year-old, you had very good aim, and tapped it gently back to you.

You stumbled as you stuck your foot out to stop it, taking an extra second to regain your balance.

“Great job!” Kelley cheered, clapping.

Stopping the ball was something the team had been working on with you (your motor coordination, something Alex and Kelley were more focused on), and you were very slowly getting better at both.

Lindsey joined in, appearing behind Kelley’s shoulder and gesturing to her foot.

Your head tilted to the side and she gestured to her foot again, wiggling it to Kelley’s left.

“Come on kiddo,” Kelley said, and all of your attention returned to her.

You nodded, and hit the ball as hard as you could, toward Lindsey’s outstretched foot.

Kelley kicked out trying to stop it, but Lindsey was faster, collecting the ball and turning to send it toward Emily with a laugh.

“You little monster,” Kelley huffed indignantly, earning a delighted giggle from you and chuckles from the team fondly watching the interaction. “You’re supposed to be on my team,”

You shrugged, pointing to your foot so Emily would pass it to you.

She did, kicking the ball gently (dangerously close to Kelley) and your mommy “missed” her chance to intercept it, so you could catch it instead.

The team clapped when you did, again taking a second to catch your footing before pausing with your foot on top of the ball as Kelley took up a defensive position in front of you.

Your eyes immediately fell to her feet.

You knocked the ball right and then left before sending it through her legs, copying your Mama’s famous move, brushing past Kelley as you raced after the ball.

Several hands extended in case you tripped, even as the team fell into formation behind you.

“I’m gonna get you,” Kelley called as you passed, collecting the ball with your little feet and charging towards the net.

You squealed as Kelley chased after you, doing your best to keep the ball on track as you got closer to midfield.

“Y/n,” Mal called, joining your run, and gesturing towards the wide open space in front of her as Kelley easily gained on you.

You clumsily passed the ball sideways, just as you heard your mommy’s footsteps behind you.

“Come on, it can’t be 6 vs. 1,” She groaned, sprinting towards Mal instead.

“It’s only 5 and a half versus one,” Emily shrugged, taking up your other side as Mal crossed the ball towards Lindsey. “And Mini Morgan is too cute to play against,”

Kelley threw her head back, arching her run to try and get to Lindsey, but it was already too late. Lindsey pushed the ball, sending it in front of Emily so it landed right in your path.

You wobbled as you collected it, slowing down as you nearly tumbled over the ball.

It gave Kelley the perfect opportunity to gain on you.

“Y/n pass it to your Mama,” Lindsey directed, pointing towards Alex making a run to the box as Kelley got closer.

You hadn’t realized your mama was playing too.

She smiled widely, gesturing towards the giant space in front of her, and you slowed your run just enough to kick the ball mid-stride into Alex’s path.

It went slightly off-target, but Alex had no trouble collecting it and sending it into the back of the net.

“Goalllll,” Lindsey, Emily, and Mal cheered as Kelley finally caught up to you, scooping you up and gently tossing you in the air.

“You’re a little gremlin,” She said, ticking you relentlessly even as she tossed you up and down.

You giggled loudly, reaching for Alex as soon as she was close enough.

Kelley passed you to her with little hesitation, and you patted Alex’s cheek. She was always the calmer of the two women, dancing you around but not nearly as much as Kelley did.

You signed goal several times with your little hands and animatedly rehashed the entire play for them as though they hadn’t been watching it.

They both shared a look and smiled gently at you.

“I love you,” Alex said, leaning in and placing a kiss on your cheek after you finished, your aunts circling up around you.

“Luh ooo,” You repeated, tapping her cheek again.

The team froze.

Yes, they had heard you giggle, and cry and make noises, but nothing had ever come close to sounding like a real word.

“Wait,” Kelley said, stepping closer to you, her hand landing on your back and rubbing circles. “Y/n say love you?”

Your eyebrows furrowed. “Luh ooo,”

“Oh my god,” Alex breathed out and Kelley sniffled next to you, trying to hide her tears.

“We love you too baby,” Kelley said, through trembling lips, kissing the side of your head.

“Luh ooo,” You repeated for a third time, frowning because both of your mommies looked sad, leaning up and placing a kiss on Alex’s nose just like she did any time you looked sad.

“We love you more than anything,” Alex added, doing her best to hold the tears at bay.

She had never been more happy to hear 3 little words in her entire life.

It was everything Kelley and Alex had ever wanted.

“And we love you too, short stack,” Emily said, throwing an arm over Kelley’s shoulder and using her other to tickle your tummy, interrupting the tender moment.

You squealed with delight and wiggled widely in Alex’s arm, signaling that you would very much like to be put down, so you could run around with your aunts again.

Alex squeezed you tightly for another long second before she let you down, kissing your forehead one more time before you ran off.

“She said I love you,” Kelley sniffled, tucking her nose against Alex’s neck once she was upright, both women staring at you.

“I know,” Alex said tearfully.

The doctors always said it was a matter of time. Now, they could finally believe them.

#uswnt x reader #uswnt imagine #uswnt imagines #kellex x reader #kellex imagine

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theidiotwhowritesthings · 1 year

Text

A Fresh Start [12]

Din Djarin x F!Reader

Warnings: sick child, fear and panic, angst/comfort, canon violence, mentions of medical trauma, blackmailing

Word Count: 3,588

Summary: When you made plans for your future they never involved being hired by a Mandalorian to baby-sit his adorable, green gremlin of a child. However, after your life fell apart in the span of one disastrous night, you found it to be the only feasible option you had left. Nevarro was a far cry from Coruscant, but the thriving community turned out to be exactly what you needed. Every day you spend in Nevarro you fall more and more in love with your new life, but when your past rears its ugly head you find that perhaps peace wasn’t meant for everyone.

Ch. #12: GROGU, GROGU, BABY, IT’S OKAY

Chapter Summary: pirates, fraudulent doctors, & bacterial infections, oh my!

“Do not question her fire, she could startle the monsters that stop your heart.” -MvDarkLight

Din Djarin. His name was Din Djarin. Every time the name drifted through your thoughts a thrill ran down your spine. You mumbled the name under your breath and it brought a smile to your face. It suited him. Din. Would it be weird if you thought he looked like a Din? Considering you had no idea what he looked like? He felt like a Din. Maybe that was a more accurate thought.

You filled the spoon in your hand with porridge and held it out for Grogu to eat. Since waking, the kid seemed to feel much better in comparison to last night, but you could tell he wasn’t himself. He wasn’t as energetic. On any normal day he would’ve devoured the entire bowl of porridge then been chirping for more. Right now it seemed the only reason he was actually eating was because you were feeding him.

Grogu fussed at you when you scooped up another bite, and in response you set the cutlery back into the bowl. “You done, baby?” He didn’t speak, just whined. You wet a rag to clean his face, but he only let you wipe at him a few times before he squirmed and held his hands up to you. “Here we go. I got you.”

You picked him up and Grogu didn’t hesitate to curl into your chest. Poor baby. You had seen plenty of sick kids before. It was always sad, but you never felt any different than any other patient you had. You could separate yourself from it easily enough. Now, you had a new respect for the parents of those sick kids. This was hard. You knew the medicine behind it, knew this wasn’t life threatening, but hearing Grogu whimper with discomfort as a small cough left him terrified you.

Mando⏤ No, Din. He said he’d have Daelar stop by for a home visit. The idea of it made you blanch in disgust, but it had to be done. You weren’t going to stroke his ego this time. Daelar was going to take you seriously and give you what you wanted. Your eyes darted to the blaster resting on the island counter beside you. Even if it meant holding the doctor at the dangerous end of your new gift. Could you do that? Could you pick up a blaster and threaten an actual person with it? Grogu coughed again and that was answer enough. Absolutely, you could. For the child in your arms, you’d do anything.

Including reaching out to your past.

You picked up the blaster, which felt dangerously comfortable in your hand, and walked over to sit on the couch with Grogu still resting against you. After setting the blaster down, where it’d still be in reach, you tapped on your arm communicator to call a number you had memorized. It rang three times before the other end picked up.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Lee.” You greeted with a tired sigh.

There was a beat of silence before your old friend seemed to gasp in surprise. “...Doc?”

“The one and only.”

“Maker, what⏤ I⏤ I have no idea what to say.” Lee said. “Hi?”

“I think we already did that part of having a conversation. How are you?”

“Me? I’m fine. I’m about to start a shift down in the⏤ nevermind. That’s not the question. How are you? Are you⏤ Are you okay?” The concern in Lee’s voice warmed your heart. This was part of the reason why you didn’t reach out to your past anymore. It hurt to be reminded that you didn’t just leave behind nightmares. You left behind friends too.

You were lightly patting Grogu’s back in a slow, repetitive rhythm. “I’m okay. Doing better than I have in a really long time actually.”

“I’m really happy to hear that.” Lee replied.

“Lee.” You sighed, “I am so sorry that I haven’t reached out to you in over a year,” He tried to interrupt you but you didn’t let him, “and now that I am calling it’s to ask for a favor, but…”

“Ask away, doc.” Lee replied with a second of hesitation.

“Really? Just like that?”

“If our roles were reversed, you’d do the same.” Lee said. “Now, what can I do for you?”

“I’m looking for information on a physician in my area. His name is Daelar.”

His son was sick, his talk with you was interrupted, and the pirates were hunkered down and had them pinned in the lava plains for the last hour and a half. Din was pissed, to say the least. Of all the days for Pirate King Gorian Shard’s men to show their ugly faces again, it had to be today? More blaster fire pelted the boulder he hid behind and Din locked his jaw⏤ teeth grinding together.

“You were supposed to fly in and end this in your usual flair of dramatics, Mando.” Mayfeld growled. “This is not that. This is, arguably, the opposite!”

“Will you shut up before I take a shot at you?” Cara snapped. “I can’t hear myself think over the blaster fire and your whining.”

Din resisted the urge to bang the back of his head against the boulder. When he had arrived, things had started off well until the pirates had a second wave fly in to help them. The good news was that Karga had scrambled some allies to take care of the ships hovering just outside the atmosphere of Nevarro, and that meant the city itself was safe as long as the three of them could hold the line.

The bad news?

The three of them had to hold the line.

“Do we have any pilots in the city right now?” Din asked.

“No.” Mayfeld shook his head. “They’re all in the atmosphere right now.”

“Not a single one can break free and give us a kriffing hand?” Cara asked.

“Those pilots up there weren’t trained. They’re basically volunteers.” Mayfeld argued. “It’s a miracle they’re standing a chance at all right now! We pull even one out⏤”

Cara and Mayfeld continued to argue from either side of him, and Din lifted his communicator. There was one pilot in the city he knew about. He knew she wasn’t already in the air because she technically only in training⏤ she was his literal last line of defense.

“Marshal?” Nima answered.

Cara’s glare left Mayfeld and snapped to him. “Is that⏤”

“Nima, I need you to get the N-1 and give us some cover. Can you do that?”

“Uh, yeah! I, um, okay. Sure.” Nima replied and he didn’t miss the nervous tones in her voice. “Send me your coordinates.”

The line went dead and Cara grabbed him by the arm. “Call her back. She shouldn’t be out here.”

“We need someone to fly the N-1 out here.” Din argued. “She’s out best bet.”

“She’s still learning!” Cara snapped. Mayfeld continued to fire over the blaster any opportunity he was given in hopes to keep the pirates from coming closer. “It’s dangerous.”

“It’s necessary.” Din retaliated.

“And that makes it okay?!” Cara yelled. She motioned to the area around them. “Would you let Soran throw herself into danger because someone deemed it ‘necessary’?!”

Din took in a breath through his nose. No. He wouldn’t. Din understood Cara’s concern, and he wasn’t denying that he’d react the exact same way if he were in her shoes. The problem was, in this moment right here, it was the only feasible option he had.

“As fun as this all is,” Mayfeld drew the attention to him, “It’d be great if I got a little help here!”

Din activated one of his bombs and hucked it over the boulder. The second it detonated, the three of them stood and began to fire into the fray of pirates half hidden in the smoke of the bomb. They managed to push the pirates back just a bit more before they were forced to duck again.

“Cara,” Din said, keeping his voice firm with determination, “Nima won’t be hurt. I swear to you. We’ll have her fire onto the pirates and leave. There’s nothing she can’t outrun in that ship.”

Cara continued to glare at him, but finally gave him a curt nod. Mayfeld threw his hands up. “Great! Glad to know we’re all made up before the pirates gut us.”

“What did I say about your whining?” Cara snapped at him.

Din let out a sigh. Today was going to be a long, long day.

It wasn’t until mid-afternoon that a knock came at the door. The hours spent alone had only made you wired and jittery. Grogu would have spurts, moments, when his energy seemed to return, but they were short lived. He still had a significantly lessened appetite compared to his baseline. Add to that the fact that Din was still MIA, and you were a borderline mess.

You pulled the door open, Grogu still in your arms, and your eyes landed on Daelar. He looked as grumpy and bitter as the first day you met him, but now his annoyance had swapped to anger. He stepped into the house, with no preamble, and scoffed.

“It’s an abuse of power to pull me away from the clinic.” Daelar said. “I didn’t realize the Marshal was so selfish.”

“He’s not.” You already wanted to wring his neck. “He’s out doing his job right now.”

“Oh, preventing parking violations on the landing pad then?”

“Fighting pirates, you ass.” You defended Din. “Now, why don’t you shut up and do your job?” Daelar shifted uncomfortably and you led him deeper into the house. You sat down on the couch, beside your blaster, and Daelar sat down a few seats down from you. “Grogu is still coughing. It’s gotten worse. He was up almost all of last night.”

Daelar nodded. “I gave you⏤”

“The nebulizer didn’t help.” You said. “Steam did. Calmed it enough that he could get some sleep, but he’s still not acting right.”

“Sounds like he’s a little boy who has a little infection.” Daelar said passively. “It happens. They get better eventually with rest and supportive care.”

You shook your head. “This is different. I know a common cold. Something is wrong. It’s⏤” A gut feeling. Years of experience yelling at you⏤ screaming at you to act. You took in a low breath to try and relax yourself. “Instinct.”

“Instinct?” Daelar scoffed. “Are you comparing your ‘motherly instinct’ to my decades of training and experience?”

You knew this was the direction this would go in. You never considered yourself a pessimist, but you had little hope that a miracle would occur here. Daelar was a garbage person, and you didn’t think that was going to have changed suddenly. Apparently, you were only allowed respect if Din were in the same room as you. Luckily, you planned for this.

“Listen to me, you kriffing fraudulent ass.” You started. Daelar jumped up from where he sat, but you stayed seated. The picture of ease. “You’re going to give me your stethoscope so I can listen to my son’s lungs and then whatever medication I deem necessary you’ll bring to me.”

“You insolent little bug.” Daelar snapped. “Who do you think you are to boss me around? I’ll do what you want? Really? Or what?” He motioned to the couch cushion where your blaster sat. “You’ll shoot me?”

You stood up, setting one hand on Grogu’s sleeping back, and kept a steady glare on the man in front of you. “No. As fun as it would be to threaten you with bodily harm, I know you still won’t take me seriously.” Daelar smirked as if he had won, but you took a step toward him and that smug look faltered. “So, I called a friend who pulled some strings and got me some information.”

“Excuse me?” He scoffed.

“I know you won’t understand the concept of mingling with fellow medical staff. You seem like the kind of physician to sneer and look down on any nurse or tech you pass.” You said. “But there’s benefit in treating others with respect and making friends. For example, it offers all sorts of connections. The kind of connections that allow someone like me to find out why you’re working in a small, backwater city like Nevarro.” Daelar’s entire body stiffened and it made a smile creep onto your features. “Yeah. I know about Harris Twiala, the patient you killed because you came to work drunk. Jane Reem, the patient you paralyzed because you mis-dosed her bacta tank. Yelna Tip⏤”

Daelar lifted a hand as if he wanted to hit you, but instead he pointed a thick finger in your face threateningly. “You shut up.”

“You’re a shitty physician which is why I know you’re familiar with the concept of making deals and blackmail.” You said. “That’s how you’ve bounced around so many hospitals. You sign a deal and your sins get swept under the rug. Here’s your next opportunity, Daelar. You help me out here, and I don’t report you to the Inner Rim medical board. And you know what would happen if a single board member saw your file.”

He wouldn’t just be out of a job. He’d be a pariah. There wouldn’t be a single clinic in the galaxy that would take him. His face would be posted alongside all the other physicians and nurses who had harmed patients through negligence or malice. Daelar took a step back from you. He rooted around his inner coat pocket and pulled out a stethoscope to hand to you. You took it with a smile and sat back down.

Peeling Grogu away from your chest, the boy weakly opened his eyes and began to fuss. “I know, I know. I’ll be quick, baby.” You cooed. Listening to his lungs, it sounded junky. Wheezing and congestion. You tossed the stethoscope back to the man and let Grogu cuddle back to your chest.

“You were a nurse then?” Daelar assumed.

“The biggest danger is a bacterial infection running wild. He could become septic.” You thought aloud. “I need fluids. IV gear. Antibiotics and antipyretics.” You shot him a look. “I want those last two in ingredient form. I can compound it myself. I don’t trust your math, Daelar.”

He chuckled, bitter, “Fine. Less work for me.” His glare deepened. “But that’s it. I bring it, and you keep your kriffing mouth shut.”

“Deal.” You spat. “Be quick about it.”

Daelar made his way to the front door and you followed him. He paused by the door to shoot you a smile. A chuckle left him. “You’re the kind of nurse I would’ve liked. You get shit done. I can respect that.”

“Bring me the meds, or next time I see you I’ll do this again but at blaster point.” You threatened.

He nodded once then stepped out of your house. You stood in the doorway, lightly rocking Grogu, until he was entirely out of sight. Right before you stepped back into the house, you heard the sound of a distant explosion. Too far for you to really gain any insight from the sound, but close enough to fill your blood with ice.

“Din.” You mumbled, heart clenching in fear.

Nima had done her job exactly right. She flew in, rained fire on the pirates, and sped away before anyone could even attempt to shoot her down. From there they were able to mow down some pirates and push the remainders to the edge of the lava plains. Din had been here once before, and as he stared at the base through his spyglass he grunted in annoyance.

“Didn’t I blow that up last time I was here?” He asked.

“Yeah. It’s been abandoned since. No Imps.” Cara sighed. “Apparently, the pirates are calling it home now.”

Mayfeld shook his head. “Well, since you blew it last time, how about we just blow it again. Easy peasy, then we call it a day.” He huffed. “I’m ready for a strong drink. Call Nima⏤”

“No.” Cara snapped. “She’s done her part.”

“Fine. So we storm an impenetrable ex-Imperial base, just the three of us, and hope for the best.” Mayfeld began to readjust the sights on his weapon. “Dream team.” He muttered the last bit under his breath. “I am asking Karga for a raise as soon as this is over⏤ if we survive.”

Din shrugged. “You’re already dead, Mayfeld, remember?”

Cara, despite looking exhausted, let out a soft chuckle and Mayfeld rolled his eyes. As ready as he was for this day to be over, Din was not going to half ass this just to be done early. He wanted to end this. Once and for all. Leave no foot hold on Nevarro for the pirates to even consider occupying. In fact, Din’s new mission in life was to wipe Gorian Shard’s existence from the galaxy.

“Let’s go.” Din stood and the others mirrored his action.

It didn’t take too long to get to the hollowed out Imperial base and they weren’t attacked by a single pirate during the journey. A major red flag in Din’s opinion. As they settled outside a blackened shell of a door, they rechecked their weapons.

Mayfeld sighed. “Does this scream trap to anyone else?”

“Yes.” Cara agreed.

“But we’re still going in?”

Din was the one to answer this time. “Yes.”

“Perfect.” Mayfeld nodded. “Just double checking.”

After a count, they filed in with blasters raised, but were met with the empty, devastated halls. Walls and floors were scorched from an old blast. Din changed the sensor in his helmet and that was when the enemy was revealed to him. Up ahead, around a corner, a group of pirates crouched waiting for them. Din held up a hand to stop them then motioned for Cara and Mayfeld to circle around while he approached head on. His beskar would hold up against whatever they had much better than Cara and Mayfeld’s leather based armor.

Din waited a beat for his deputies to get in place then he pulled a bomb from his bandolier, activated it, and threw it to the mouth of the hallway. The pirates scrambled seconds before it detonated and Din sprinted forward. His initial attack had only taken out the two closest, but the others were prepped for a fight. Din dodged a few swings from a vibroblade and fired his blaster into the chest of someone approaching him from the side. The sound of Cara and Mayfeld attacking from the other side filled the air. They met in the middle, things going well, when Din saw a pirate on the floor⏤ one they believed to be dead⏤ lift himself up and aim a blaster at Mayfeld.

He dove to the side to take the blast himself, but Din realized his mistake when the blaster fire turned out to be a taser rather than a bolt. It hit him in the center of the chest and the power behind the blow sent him flying back. Din’s entire body tensed as the current ran through him, but it faded after a second leaving him twitching on the ground with a groan.

Din mumbled a string of curses in Basic, Mando’a, and a few other languages he had tucked away in the back of his head. Maker, that hurt. A hand wrapped under his arm and lifted him up off the ground. The only person strong enough to lift his heavy form with such ease was Cara.

“Are you insane?” Cara scoffed.

“I’m fine.” Din grunted out. Mayfeld jogged over after finishing the last pirate and his question was only half out before Din waved it away. “Fine. I’m fine. Let’s keep going.”

Cara and Mayfeld shared a wary glance before they pressed onward.

Dank farrik. Din needed this day to be over.

The sun was setting, only a sliver above the horizon, and you were pacing the floor. Grogu was hot to touch. Daelar had never come back with the medicine like he said he would, and any attempt you made to reach him was blocked.

You had considered going to the clinic, but the promise you made Din kept you frozen inside. That indecision had cost you though. Because now, Grogu was crying⏤ inconsolable⏤ and every exposed inch of his skin was radiating heat. You hugged him to his chest as reassurance, held an ice packet to his head for the fever, and rocked him while whispering that everything was going to be okay.

Even though nothing felt okay right now.

“Grogu, Grogu, baby, it’s okay. Shhh.” You couldn’t set him down because his cries would turn to screams, but you knew your own body heat wasn’t helping his rising temperature. You tried to balance the ice pack on his head while using your finger to call Din on your armband.

It rang and rang and rang and rang. For the fourth time, your call went to voicemail. You were near tears. Din said to call if you had an emergency and this was an emergency. There was no way he wouldn’t answer your call. Had something happened to him?

Maker⏤

“Din, please. I need you⏤ Grogu is still…” The child’s cries were interrupted by a round of coughs that kept going to the point you were worried he wasn’t getting air. Finally, he sucked in a deep breath only to go back to crying. That settled it. “I’m going to the clinic, Din.”

You were done waiting idle.

A/N: thanks to all the love and reads 🥰. I love seeing the comments and reblogs and all the thoughts on this story. Good to know I’m entertaining more than just myself.

#the mandalorian #din djarin #din djarin x you #din djarin x reader #protective din djarin #good dad din djarin #mando x reader #mando x you #mandalorian x reader #mandalorian x you #Female reader #reader insert #star wars #slow burn #angst/comfort

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temptingfatetakingnames · 9 months

Text

The Last Steve Harrington Part 4

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3

Dinner had been a truly harrowing experience that Steve never wanted to repeat. He would rather fight a horde of Demobats than sit at that table as they all tried to act normal and light and happy. He wanted to scream in their faces or bang his fists on the table – anything to get a real reaction out of them. He was also becoming increasingly terrified of Joyce and her seemingly unconscious need to offer comforting touches to everyone. Get up for a napkin? Pat Eleven on the head. Oh, forgot to get the milk? Rubbed Will’s shoulders on her way to the fridge. The third time she got up, Steve had to grip the table to keep from running. She hesitated for a moment beside him but didn’t reach out, probably because she could see the tension in his posture. He only relaxed when she sat back down again.

Hopper was quiet, but the kids and Joyce kept up a constant stream of conversation, only occasionally trying to draw him in. They failed; he was too on edge to even attempt to speak. The food tasted like ash in his mouth and he excused himself before finishing, doctor’s orders on calorie intake be damned. The silence at the table as he left was deafening. He sat down on the bed in his room and wondered how the hell he was going to do this. He wanted to sink into the floorboards and pretend he didn’t exist. He wanted to run.

Not yet.

He grabbed his backpack from under the bed and counted his canned goods and went over his supplies. The steak knife he had slipped into his sock at dinner when no one was looking was added to the pile. He had plenty of food and could refill his canteen easily, but he needed money.

A knock on the door sounded loud in the quiet of the room. Steve shoved everything in the backpack and put it under the bed before he called, “come in.”

Joyce opened the door, carrying a steaming mug in one hand.

“Tea,” she said as she walked over. “With lots of milk and sugar.”

She set it on the table before sitting down beside him. Steve couldn’t help but bristle at her presence.

“I wanted to ask how you were doing?”

Steve blinked at her. In terms of how he was doing physically, he couldn’t deny that he was better. In terms of how he was doing mentally? He had no idea how to answer that. His thoughts were a messy tangle of grief, anger, guilt, and shame. He thought his feelings on surviving were bad before, but that was nothing to what he felt now – now that he knew what he had done.

He went with the easiest answer, “better.”

It was both the truth and complete and utter horseshit.

“You don’t have to be alright, Steve. I’m going to keep talking to you and asking you questions because I want to get to know you, but you don’t have to answer. I know that you don’t know how to talk to us, and you’re overwhelmed. I guess I just hope that if I keep talking to you like normal, eventually it will be normal. Hopper thinks I should back right off and leave you alone but I think if given the choice, you’ll isolate yourself. So, I’m going to talk and you don’t have to listen and I’m going to ask questions and you don’t have to answer. Is that okay?”

She was right that he would isolate himself if he could. He really didn’t want to talk to any of them. Steve appreciated her explaining her thought process, though. It helped to make sense of why she kept trying to engage with him when he rarely responded back.

He nodded in answer.

There was something he could ask for that would ease his mind more than knowing he didn’t have to talk to her if he didn’t want to. He figured she would want to know if she was serious about making him comfortable.

“Don’t touch me,” he said and after a brief pause added, “please.”

“Of course, Steve.” She held his gaze, projecting sincerity. He remembered his Joyce always being frazzled and stressed… but she had been looking for her lost son and even after she had found him, Will wasn’t okay. This Joyce was calm and… motherly. “I won’t touch you.”

He nodded again and she got up to leave.

“Drink your tea. The green toothbrush in the bathroom is yours when you’re ready for bed and there’s lots of towels if you want to have a shower in the morning. Good night, Steve.”

She left the door open when she left, which didn’t bother him as much as it probably would have before their conversation. He drank the tea, enjoying the feeling of the warm beverage in his hands, and started re-reading The Hobbit for the thousandth time. The evening passed slowly into night. Steve stayed in his room, enjoying the quiet. He was still reading when Will and Eleven stopped in his open doorway.

“Good night, Steve,” they chorused together.

“Night,” he replied and they scampered away.

It took awhile longer for Joyce and Hopper to settle into bed and even longer before he felt sure that everyone was sleeping deeply. He waited in the hallway and listened patiently for any signs of wakefulness or movement before he slipped downstairs and out the door. The hospital had felt like a prison and Steve needed to know he could leave if he wanted to. Needed to take back the autonomy he had lost when he had walked through that portal.

He didn’t see anyone, no people or cars, as he made his way down the street and it reminded him so viscerally of his Hawkins that he shivered. He exited the suburb and turned onto Main Street. Passing the theatre, he saw that there were new releases for movies called Predator and Spaceballs, reminding him that time had passed here. That life had moved forward. He had a year to catch up on… along with everything else. Continuing on his way, he passed the middle school and high school and arrived at the playground. Steve sat on the swing set and looked up at the sky.

It was a clear night and the stars shone brightly. He wished he had paid more attention in school so he could know if they were the same ones from his universe. This Hawkins didn’t seem any different from his, so he figured the stars were probably the same too. Steve wondered again what the hell had made him so different? What had affected him or changed him to make him so catastrophically different from all the other Steves? What was wrong with him?

He didn’t have any answers.

The summer heat had gone with the sun, and a cool wind played with his hair. It was beautiful and quiet and he could almost pretend that he was the only person in the universe. That the past week hadn’t happened and he was still blissfully unaware of parallel universes and he only had his own failure to be guilty of. He sat there for hours. Sometimes swinging, kicking until he was as high as he could go, feet pointing at the sky before falling back down to Earth. Sometimes just sitting calmly and looking up at the sky and listening to the crickets sing. When he could see the sky start to lighten off in the distance he made his way back to the Hopper-Byers’ house.

Hopper was in the kitchen when Steve walked in the door. Standing in front of the coffee maker and waiting for it to finish dripping. He expected him to yell, shout, ask where he had been all night. Instead, Hopper silently grabbed another mug out of the cupboard above him and set it down next to the one already on the counter. When the coffee was done, he poured two steaming mugs and handed one to Steve.

“Milk or sugar?” he inquired.

Steve shook his head and Hopper nodded before jerking his head to the front door. Steve followed him out and they sat together on the porch swing. Hopper didn’t speak again and Steve sipped his coffee and watched the sun finish rising on a new day.

---

Time passed slowly for Steve over the weekend. He mostly stayed in his room, reading or sleeping. He emerged for mealtimes, which didn’t cause him as much stress now that he and Joyce had an understanding. She would sometimes ask him easy yes or no questions that he could nod or shake his to and the kids told him about their summertime days - biking and swimming and visiting the arcade with the others.

When dinner was over, he went to go back to his room but was stopped by Eleven and Will blocking the stairs.

“We are going to watch a movie, do you want to come?” Eleven asked.

A movie could be… nice. Easy.

“What movie?”

“Empire Strikes Back!” Will declared and Eleven glared at him.

“The Breakfast Club,” she argued back.

They turned to look at him, expecting him to choose. He wouldn’t mind watching both, he loved those movies. He wondered if they chose them because they were Other Steve’s favourites… It didn’t matter, he decided. He wanted to watch them.

“We could watch both?”

They smiled and nodded.

He followed them into the living room, where they began setting up the television and VHS player. Empire Strikes Back was put in because Will had said it first, a rule that Eleven seemed to abide by. Steve settled into the corner of the couch, Eleven beside him and Will on her other side. The iconic music started and the text was rolling down the screen when Joyce came in with drinks and popcorn. Eleven held the bowl in her lap so he and Will could both reach it. The popcorn was cooked perfectly, salted and buttery and Steve had never tasted anything so good.

They finished Empire Strikes Back and were watching The Breakfast Club when Steve started to drift in and out of consciousness. He would wake up, watch some teenage shenanigans, then his eyes would get heavy again. He tried to stay awake, but he was always so tired. Maybe the kids would watch it with him again tomorrow night?

“Code red. Over,” Dustin’s muffled, staticky voice came through the walkie-talkie on the table.

Steve jerked, instantly awake as adrenaline rushed through him. Will leapt off the couch and grabbed the walkie. He hissed into the receiver, “Dustin, you can’t keep using code red to check on Steve. Over and out!” He turned the button on the top, turning it off before tossing it on the couch.

Steve was breathing harshly and staring at it like it was a snake that was going to bite him. He closed his eyes tight. Code red. Code red meant The Upside Down. Code red meant monsters and danger and death. He couldn’t do monsters and danger and death again. It was supposed to be safe here. It was supposed to be over.

“Steve!”

He couldn’t breathe. He needed his bat or his fucking gun.

“Steve!”

His heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest, and his breathing was out of his control. He clutched desperately at his neck and sweater.

“Don’t touch him. Back up,” the voice sounded far away.

What the hell was it now? Had Vecna found out about the parallel universes? Did he follow Steve through the portal? He was going to kill everyone. He was going to kill everyone again.

“You’re safe, Steve. There is no code red. Everyone is safe. There is no code red.”

He knew he was hyperventilating when a prickling sensation started in his fingers and made its way up his arms. He couldn’t do it again. He couldn’t watch it again. He couldn’t do it!

Please… Please… Please… Please!

“You’re safe, everyone is safe. There is no code red. Look at me, Steve.”

Hopper? What was he saying? No code red? He had heard Dustin say it over the walkie! Steve shook his head.

“It’s okay, Steve. Dustin has been radioing Will for updates, he’s used code red a few times to get a response. Nothing bad is happening, I promise.” Hopper’s voice was even and calm. So calm. Why was he so fucking calm?

Steve slowly opened his eyes. Hopper was kneeling in front of him, his large body taking up all of Steve’s frame of vision. He smiled when Steve met his eyes.

“There you are. Take a deep breath for me if you can.”

Steve tried but couldn’t do it yet. His heart was still pounding but the panic was starting to subside in the face of Hopper’s calm. He let go of his sweater and flexed his hands. He took a deep breath and held it for a moment before letting it out slowly. He did it again, and again, and again.

“No code red?” Steve finally managed to ask after his breathing had settled.

Hopper shook his head. “Nothing to worry about, Steve.”

“How do you know? For sure?”

Hopper stood and grabbed the walkie from the couch where Will had tossed it and turned it back on.

He held down the button and said, “Dustin, it’s Hopper. What’s the code red?”

Silence. Steve’s panic slowly started to rise again.

“How’s Steve? Over.”

Hopper looked up and shook his head, exasperated.

“You used code red just to ask about Steve? You can pick up the phone, ya know?”

“I radioed all day but Will and Eleven never answered!” a pause and then, “over.” Dustin’s voice sounded smaller, ashamed.

Hopper sighed and pushed two of his fingers into his eyes.

Steve reached up and took the walkie out of his hand. It was the same one they used in his universe. He pushed the button and said, “roll call,” with the strongest voice he could muster.

There was silence for a moment, before their voices all started coming in.

“Dustin. Green. Over.”

“Robin. Green. Over.”

“Lucas and Erica. Green. Over.”

“Max. Green. Over.”

“Mike. Green. Over.”

The longest pause came next before a sleepy voice crackled through.

“Eddie. Green. Over.”

Instant relief. He sagged back into the couch, exhausted.

He looked up at Hopper. “Nancy, Jonathan, Argyle?”

“All out of town. We can call them if you need to hear that their okay.”

Steve shook his head. He didn’t want to bother them late at night. They were safe if they weren’t in Hawkins.

“El? Will?”

“We’re here, Steve,” Will called.

They were standing in the hallway with Joyce, both of their eyes wide and terrified. Steve swallowed down the guilt at causing that expression on their faces.

“El, Will and Steve. Green. Over and out.”

He put the walkie down, closed his eyes, and leaned his head against the back of the couch. Sensing them all staring at him, he opened his eyes again. Now he was just embarrassed that he had overreacted so aggressively.

“I’m alright now. Sorry for freaking you all out.”

“Nothing for you to apologize for. It’s Dustin who’s going to be sorry,” Hopper stated with frightening certainty.

“I’ll make everyone tea,” Joyce said and left the room. Hopper followed her out. He could hear them talking quietly in the kitchen.

Steve was wide awake now, still coming down from the adrenaline rush. He wanted to run to his room and curl into a ball under the bed. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. Will and Eleven came over and sat back down on the couch, their gazes heavy as they watched him. Probably for any sign that he was going to freak out and scare them again.

“We can start the movie over if you want?” Will asked quietly.

He wasn’t going to be able to sleep anyway, and the movie would be a good distraction from his thoughts. He nodded and Will went to rewind the tape before they all settled back down. Eleven sat a lot closer to him than before, and after a moment she reached out and took two of his fingers in a loose grip. Steve had never been so grateful for such a soft and grounding touch. He looked down at her tiny hand and adjusted so their fingers intertwined. She squeezed gently and he squeezed back. Joyce came in a few minutes later with a tray of steaming mugs for everyone.

Eleven and Will were fast asleep before Bender raised his fist in the air, their heads resting against each other.

Steve held the walkie in a tight grip and watched over them, the static from the television flickering in his eyes.

Part 5

@vampireinthesun @just-a-tiny-void

#steddie #stranger things #multiverse #steve harrington #steve x eddie #slow burn #angst with a happy ending

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loulouwrites · 2 months

Text

MOMENTS . ALFIE SOLOMONS

summary: alfie's third child is about to be born, and he reflects on the births of his eldest children. warnings: pregnancy, childbirth, traumatic birth (but it's all okay), strained familial relationships, angst (not as bad as usual), swearing, murder, drinking, unedited wordcount: 2.4k a sequel to home but can be read as a standalone. <3

Alfie called his wife's name from the bottom of the stairs, his exhasperated shout echoing up the staircase and into the master bedroom. There was no response to his call, save for a pained scream that he was almost certain was not directed at him.

He breathed a sigh, climbing the stairs to at a time and knocking on the bedroom door, his wife's cries muffled by the heavy oak door. He called her name again, louder this time. "The kids are bein' fuckin' mental, I don't know what to do with them."

The door swung open, revealing a very angry old woman. Ms Abrams was a stern woman, she had delivered hundreds of babies, including all of the Solomons children, his wife insisting she was the best midwife they could ask for - she was also one of the few people Alfie was genuinely scared of. So scared he had considered stopping getting his wife pregnant just so he'd never have to see her severe, wrinkled face ever again.

"Mr Solomons, your wife is in labour, I will not have a repeat of last time," the woman hissed at him, swatting him away with a blemished hand.

"I don't know what to do with them," Alfie said, desperately, his hands thrown out at his sides. Ms Abrams gave him a pointed look that caused him to shrink back slightly, memories of her beating him with a heavy Charles Dickens book during Bessies birth flashing in his mind.

"You're their father, Mr Solomons - figure it out," she slammed the door in his face before he could protest, and he was left to figure it out alone.

"Dad, Bessie got into your office again!" Benjamin called from the bottom of the stairs, the giggles of his little sister following his voice.

When Benjamin had been born, eight years ago, Alfie had been mortified by the entire experience. His wife had woken up in the middle of the night, in unbearable pain, gripping onto his arm so tightly that in the haze of sleep, he had reached for the gun he always kept in his bedside table.

When she had told him to call for the midwife, he had done so without hesitation, and when there was no answer, he had sent Ollie to collect her and bring her to the house personally - it was a terrible first impression for both Alfie and Ms Abrams.

When the old woman finally did arrive, she had instructed Alfie to leave.

"Go to the pub or something, it's what most men do."

But Alfie was not most men, and had insisted he be close by, just in case. It had not impressed Ms Abrams, who had rolled her eyes at the gangster as if he were a spoiled child, before telling him to wait downstairs for however long it would take.

It was three hours in when Ms Abrams came running down the stairs, hurriedly asking him where the phone was, and he directed her to it wordlessly. He asked to her what was wrong, but she had ignored him, speaking into the phone in a tone that Alfie knew too well - panicked.

His head went fuzzy as he watched the woman clutch the phone to her ear, speaking in a hushed tone to whoever was on the other end.

"We need a doctor here immediately," she had said, and Alfie had started for the stairs before either of them could blink. He ignored the protests of the older woman, rushing up the stairs and into the bedroom too fast for her to catch up and stop him.

He didn't know what he was expecting - maybe blood, maybe his wife lying lifelessly on the bed - but there was no red stains on the sheet, and she was lying on the bed, very much alive, though pale and tired.

"Alfie," she breathed out, her head flopping back on the headboard. "What's happening?"

He had no response, he just lingered in the doorway helplessly.

What was happening?

"Get out," Mrs Abrams pushed past him, a man in a nice suit following behind her, giving the scared husband a polite smile as he squeezed past.

"No," Alfie spat at her. "You tell me what's going on."

Neither of them responded, sharing a worried look, before the man kneeled at the bottom of the bed, ensuring his wife that everything was going to be fine.

Ms Abrams glanced at Alfie, and with a heavy sigh, placed a hand on his shoulder to push him out of the room, closing the door halfway so she could speak to him through the crack.

"The baby is in distress," she said, holding a hand up when Alfie went to interrupt her. "It'll be fine, Mr Solomons, the doctor is here now. I'm certain it will all be fine."

But Alfie could read the midwife's face.

She wasn't certain - how could she be?

Eveything worked out, Benjamin Solomons was born one hour later, his cries filling the house, and Alfie shot up from where he sat on the floor outside the bedroom, waiting for the door to open.

"Your son is here, Mr Solomons," Ms Abrams said, smiling for the first time since he had met her all those hours ago. He nodded at her, pushing into the room as the midwife and doctor left, not paying any mind to them as he approached the bed where his wife lay, with a now quiet baby in her arms.

Alfie had seen babies before, though they were at least a few weeks old, cleaned and dressed properly, ready to meet strangers. This one, though, was purple and swollen, with his eyes scrunched shut and his lips pursed as he took in his new surroundings.

Benjamin was an ugly baby - but he was theirs.

"Bessie, please stop," Alfie sighed at his daughter as she sped around his study, throwing pieces of paper in the air, laughing when her dad would try and catch them before they hit the floor.

She was a fast two year old, she seemed to have endless energy that didn't burn out until the very end of the day, Alfie swore she tried to tire everybody else out first.

The knock at the door interrupted Alfie's protests, and he gave up, scooping the little girl into his arms and making his way to the front door, stopping in the foyer at the sight of his mother-in-law greeting her grandson and stepping into the house.

Her eyes flickered from Benjamin to Alfie, and the smile fell from her lips, pursing into a look of disgust.

"Alfie," she nodded, scoffing when the man ignored her, spinning on his heel as his daughter laughed, reaching her arms out to her 'bubbee'.

He was sat at the kitchen table with Bessie, pretending to listen to her babbling when the woman walked in, hand in hand with Benjamin - they had always gotten along - and it pissed Alfie off like nothing else.

"How long has it been?" She asked, pulling off her gloves and sitting in the chair opposite him.

"Four hours," Benjamin said proudly - he had been counting.

"Might be a while yet," she sighed, turning to her grandson. "Why don't you take your sister to the shop and get yourselves some sweets while we wait?" She was already reaching into her purse to pull out some coins before Alfie could protest.

"Sweeties!" Bessie laughed from her seat, jumping down and pulling her big brother by his hand out of the door.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't do that," Alfie grumbled, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.

"They're just sweets, Alfie, it won't do them any harm," she waved a dismissive arm. "Besides, it looked like you could use a break," she let her eyes trail across the room - he would admit, it had been tidier.

"Surprised to see you, don't usually show up for these things," he was challenging her, and from the way she sat up in her seat, she was ready for it.

"I'm her mother, Alfie, she asked me to be here."

"Well she's emotional," he shrugged calmly. "Pregnancy brings out her meloncholy side."

"I'm trying to be a better mother, I would appreciate it if you let me."

"Yeah," Alfie scoffed, "too little too late for me, love."

"Glass houses, Alfie," the woman glared at him. "You've hardly been an outstanding husband."

"Never threw her out on the streets, though, have I? Let me tell you somethin', you can see her as often as you like but if you dare come into my home and try and poison her, or my children, against me" he leaned forward in his chair. "Your body will be floating in the thames before those kids get home from the shop."

She seemed taken aback by his comment, and it made Alfie want to throttle her, if it wasn't for his wife upstairs, he probably would. She opened her mouth to respond, but was interrupted by the two children running back into the house, the front door slamming shut behind them.

"Dad, she stole my cola cubes," Benjamin whined, pointing to his younger sister, who had a sly grin on her face and her hands tucked behind her back.

"I'm going to go and check on your mother," she spoke to her grandchildren, offering them a smile as she left the kitchen.

"Is mummy hurt, daddy?" Bessie asked, climbing onto his lap, a white bag of cola cubes in her hand.

"Yeah," Alfie nodded, "but not for long. It'll be over soon."

Bessie's birth had gone much smoother than Benjamin's had - from what Alfie could remember.

He hadn't been home when his wife had gone into labour, he had been at the bakery, dealing with business that could not be delegated to anybody else.

The was a rat in the bakery, and after months of searching his men had finally figured out who it was. The phone rang in his office incessantly, but nobody heard it over the sound of the man's screams from the main floor.

Rats didn't die quick. That was his policy when it came to such matters, and this day was no exception. It had taken hours for the man's body to finally give up, for his body to slump on the floor with little fight left in him, and that's when Alfie shot him in the head - like a lame horse.

It was divine retribution in a way. This man died while Alfie's daughter was being born - there was a clear winner in the scenario.

He had drank rum from the distillery after, the phone had stopped ringing and it was quiet again, and he took a moment to himself, drinking half the bottle before he decided it was time to call it a night.

He didn't drink the rum out of guilt for what he had done, nor had he done it in celebration - he just needed a moment of silence, a moment to cleanse his mind of what he had done before he went home and hugged his son and kissed his wife.

He had come home stumbling, Benjamin was already in bed, fast asleep and the house was eerily quiet - until he stumbled into the bedroom that is.

The screams were delayed when they hit his ears, a frown on his face when his bleary eyes lifted from the carpet to his bed, where his wife was sat up, a screaming infant in his arms and an unimpressed look on her face, the midwife stood at her bedside seemingly shaking with rage.

"Fuckin' hell, you had another one?" He laughed, throwing his head back. He was still laughing when Ms Abrams approached him a book from the bedside table in her hands, delivering a smack to the side of his head, knocking his hat onto the floor. "For fuck's sake," Alfie groaned, cradling his ear with his hand, but the woman didn't stop, hitting him repeatedly with the book until he backed out of the room.

"Go and wash the smell of rum off of you and get youself together, man," she hissed once she had him backed into the wall outside the bedroom.

He didn't argue with her, shuffling into the bathroom before she could get another hit in.

"Her name is Elisabeth, by the way," she called out after him.

Bessie was finally in bed when Mrs Abrams came into the kitchen.

"You have another son, Mr Solomons," she said plainly, her coat already on her shoulders and her bag in the crook of her elbow.

Alfie got up from his seat and nodded greatfully at her before he rushed for the stairs, glaring at his mother-in-law as she passed him, heading for the door.

Benjamin was already in the room when he got there, kneeling on the bed to gaze at his new baby brother in wonder, and Alfie approached cautiously, coming to stand at the side of the bed, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder and looking down at the baby.

It didn't look much different to the other two when they had been born, it had the same purple and swollen face, the same scrunched up expression on its face, though he was much smaller than Benjamin had been.

"What's his name, mum?" Benjamin asked bouncing up and down on the bed, trying to contain his giddiness.

"I think your dad should choose this time," she said, looking up at her husband with a dazed smile on her face. Benjamin's head turned to his father expectantly, and Alfie froze. He had had no part in the naming of his first two children, their names chosen before he had a chance to process they were even born, it had annoyed him until this very moment.

"What about Isaac?" He offered eventualy, and mother and son shared a thoughtful look.

"No," they spoke in unison.

"Fine," Alfie sighed. "Benny? What do you want to name him?"

"Noah," Benjamin said proudly, and the husband and wife shared a look, nodding together in silent agreement.

"Benny, go to bed, now." Alfie spoke, ignoring the frown on his son's face as he clambered off the bed.

"I heard you threatened to throw my mother in the Thames," she said when the door closed behind Benjamin.

Alfie shushed her, moving to sit on the bed. "Don't talk about her, Noah's listening."

Her eyes began to droop shut and Alfie gently took the infant from her arms, holding the little thing bundled in a yellow blanket, watching as his eyes began to close too.

Alfie was the last only one who didn't sleep that night, keeping a hold of his youngest son until the sun came up.

#alfie solomons fanfiction #alfie solomons x reader #alfie solomons imagine #peaky blinders imagine #alfie solomons fanfic

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nebulablakemurphy · 9 months

Text

Moves & Countermoves (Part 21)

Summary: No one ever wins the games, even fourteen years later, Y/N is still playing.

Prologue | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20

They try something new, in the form of Prim visiting Peeta with Y/N. Katniss and Haymitch watching from the viewing window. Things are going well…until they’re not. The news of Peeta’s family sends him spiraling. Yelling and cursing Katniss, saying it’s her fault that Snow bombed twelve. That she’s a threat. Telling Prim to kill her.

“Peeta, what you’re saying isn’t real.” Prim says, in a whisper. Withdrawing from the edge of his bed.

“She’s a monster, Prim!” Peeta insists, the angry vein pulsing in his neck.

“Peeta,” Y/N calls his attention back to her. “You’re safe. No one is going to hurt you, I’m here.”

“She’ll kill you too. She’ll kill all of us. She’s a mutt, the Capitol created to destroy us!”

Nothing settles him after that. The doctor has to use a tranquilizer for the first time in days.

Y/N excuses herself to the opposite side of the viewing glass. Catching Katniss’ gaze, holding it as she moves closer. “It’s good to see you up and about. How are you feeling?”

Katniss says nothing, catapulting herself into her mentor’s arms.

“I’m here,” Y/N assures her. “I’ll be here.”

————————————————————————

Haymitch escorts Katniss’ to the Nut in District Two. Y/N hangs back in Thirteen, with the kids and Peeta. Cashmere is sent to stand in for her best friend, which Katniss seems to appreciate, allowing her to weigh in on dialogue for the propo to sway the loyalists.

“Plutarch wrote a speech for you.” Haymitch tells Katniss, as they get into place near the tunnel left for civilians to escape, after the bombs were launched to bury the Nut and all the weapons inside.

The suggestion was Gale’s.

“Killing isn’t personal, Katniss. I figured you of all people would understand that.”

That’s what he told her the night before. Only she doesn’t agree, “killing is always personal.”

Cashmere takes the paper from his hands, reading it thoroughly. “She’s not saying this, they’ll tear her apart.”

“I never said it was a good speech,” Haymitch fires back. “Look, Katniss, you have to remember that you’re talking to everyone. Not just the people in the districts, but the Capitol, survivors from Two. You want them to lay their weapons down, so you might want to experiment with a little sensitivity.”

Katniss nods, though it isn’t her strong suit. “This is Katniss Everdeen, speaking to all the loyalists, from the heart of District Two-”

She is cut short by the train behind her, screeching to a halt.

Boggs wants to get her back, away from the tracks and the people who will soon emerge. But Katniss will hear none of it, especially after shots are fired. Ending up with a bullet in her own gear and unconscious all the way back to Thirteen.

Y/N finds them upon return. “What happened?” She asks Haymitch.

“Bruised ribs, bruised lung.” Haymitch runs a hand over his face. “It’s my fault. Shouldn’t have let her go.”

“Haymitch, you know there’s no way we could’ve stopped her.” Y/N sighs.

“No, but she’s more likely to listen to you than me.”

“I don’t think that’s true.” Y/N swallows.

“How are things? How are the kids?”

“They’re good, they missed you though.” I missed you.

“And Peeta?”

“They showed him the propo, he has real memories of Katniss.” The one’s the Capitol couldn’t taint because they didn’t own them. “He wants to see her.”

“You think that’s a good idea?” Haymitch wonders, feeling his wife reach for his hand.

“I know he’s in there. We can’t give up, there has to be a way.”

“No one’s giving up,” Haymitch assures her. “When Katniss is cleared to leave medical, we’ll ask her to see him. Tell her that he wants to see her. I think that’s progress in itself.”

“Yeah,” Y/N nods.

“Come ‘ere.” Haymitch pulls her against his chest, pressing his lips to the crown of her head. “We didn’t come this far, just to come this far.”

Again she nods, fisting the fabric of his uniform in her hands. Somehow he makes it hurt less.

No one could carry this burden alone, instead they learned to shoulder it together. To trade off when the other was weak, they learned to be two halves of a whole. Trying to pull away from that now seems impossible; excruciating at the very least.

Only when she is there, resting safely against his beating heart, Haymitch can breathe again. “I love you, Y/N.” More than you will ever know.

“I love you too.”

————————————————————————

Days pass, Finnick and Annie get married. It’s beautiful, everything they deserve. They’re glowing; so in love.

Daisy squeals her distaste during the ceremony, until Y/N manages to quiet her with milk.

“I hear ya, kid.” Johanna adds, under her breath.

At the reception everyone dances. Not Johanna. She doesn’t understand how these people can prance around while the world is going to shit. Brooding until little hands pull her to the dance floor. Everest and Arista Abernathy always do get the best of her. Just like everyone else, she was begrudgingly wrapped around their fingers from the day they met..

“Let me go.” Johanna finally demands, with a smile.

Cashmere is their next victim, any and all bystanders are fair game.

Katniss narrowly escapes; finding Johanna among the crowd.

“You saw Peeta, didn’t you?” The victor of District Seven asks. “Did you tell him hi for me? We’re old friends, you know. We had adjoining cells in the Capitol, we’re very familiar with each other’s screams.”

“I’m going to kill Snow.” Katniss says; her tone is cool, calculated. Watching Prim take Daisy from Y/N, so she too can join the crowd. She knows that if she dies, to end all of this, it will be worth it. Prim will have her mother and her former mentors to get her through. She would be taken care of. “Nothing good is safe while he’s alive, and I can’t make another speech about it. No more cameras, no more propos, no more games. He needs to see my eyes when I kill him.”

Johanna’s scowl tips up into a grin, “now you’re talking.”

“I need to find a way to the Capitol while everyone is looking the other way.”

“I hear the medics talking, they’re shipping supplies to the front lines from hanger two, around midnight tonight. Medicine, painkillers, I was gonna go steal some for myself, but I guess I could just stay here and cover for you.” Johanna turns to looks at her dead in the eyes. “Anyone can kill anyone, Katniss. Even a president. You just have to be willing to sacrifice yourself.”

————————————————————————

When Katniss disappears that night and crops up later with troops in the Capitol, Haymitch wishes he could say he’s surprised. But Katniss is who she is and he expects nothing less.

Coin can’t bring her back now. Instead she shoots for plan B, deploying the ‘star squad’ to join her. “It’ll be perfectly safe, you’ll be days behind the main troops. This is just to rally continued support and to document our journey to victory, spearheaded by familiar faces. I’d greatly appreciate if one or both of you could be there. Peeta is being deployed soon as well.”

“Peeta?” Y/N stammers, “Peeta can’t be anywhere near Katniss, let alone a war zone. There are too many triggers.”

“Dr. Aurelius has assured me that you’ve made leaps and bounds together, aiding in Peeta’s recovery. I’m sure that he would benefit from having you there.” President Coin gives Y/N a pointed look.

“I need to discuss this with Haymitch, in private.” Y/N insists, before her husband has a chance to wring the other woman’s necklace.

“Of course.” Alma nods, “I hate to spring this on you, but we are pressed for time. I’ll need your answer by tonight.”

Part 22

Series Taglist: @praline357 @flowercrowns-goodvibes @justheretoparty420 @avocadotoastwithegg @treehouse-mouse @emo-markie @spilled-mi1k @magical-spit @greaser9902 @jessicamellarky @yourebuckingkiddingme @smuha2004 @sendhelplease @ninimackbrews @wittiestrain184 @r1dd1kulus @erenluvr69 @helpimhyperfixating @jackierose902109 @jellybear455 @dreammgc @dadbodfanatic-x @ftdtcmlovr @inky-sun @ms-brek-ker @undercover55655 @mischiefmanaged21 @avoxrising @koiphisch @drwho-ess @daisydaisybilly @misfits1a @nj01 @eruannaaa-blog

#moves & countermoves #haymitch abernathy fanfic #haymitch abernathy x reader #haymitch abernathy #haymitch abernathy x y/n #haymitch x reader #haymitch abernathy x you #haymitch fanfic #haymitch x y/n #katniss everdeen #peeta mellark #johanna mason #finnick odair #annie cresta #haymitch abernathy fanfiction #thg haymitch #hunger games fanfic

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plinthpilled · 4 months

Note

Do you think you could write something with like an angsty/angry love confession (Sej being the one confessing) pls ? <3

yes ofc!! here you go <3

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･

Dr Gaul had just told you and Coriolanus to get sejanus out of the arena as soon as humanly possible. she told you the cameras were cut for a brief amount of time so the two of you needed to be fast. you had been so worried about him after he stormed out of the room after seeing Marcus in such a position. neither of you hesitated and immediately went to retrieve him.

coryo alongside yourself arrived at the arena. the peacekeepers opened the gates for you and told you to be quick, which you weren't going to disobey.

the both of you could see sejanus kneeling by Marcus's corpse, surrounding him with food. you ran up to him as fast as you could without making noise. you grabbed his shoulder and saw the panic spread across his face. "oh.. it's just you. what are you guys doing here." sejanus asked. "to stop you from ending up dead." Coriolanus said bluntly. the dark haired boy sighed. "I needed to do this coryo. it's a tradition back in 2 to give the dead food to make sure they won't be hungry in the afterlife." he said, his voice slightly cracking, an indication he had been crying. "I know you just want to help, sej, but we seriously need to leave. like right now before all of us end up dead." you whisper, seeming to be the only one that cares to not wake up the tributes. "I'm just doing what coryo told me to do. go where they can see me so I can make a difference." you glare at the blonde. "sejanus, Dr Gaul cut the cameras. no one knows you're here. if you end up dead, she's just going to blame it on the flu." he says in a rush. sej sighs once again and nods. "'kay. let's get out of here." he stands up but ends up moving rubble with his feet making a loud bang. almost instantly, tributes start walking towards the three of you. "run." you whisper. they listen and start booking it. unfortunately, so do the group of kids with an insatiable bloodlust.

you get to the turnstiles and jump over them. Coriolanus follows suit. sejanus and his big stature trip and falls hard on one of his knees. he lets out a pained groan, suddenly unaware of his surroundings. fortunately, you were and used your body and a shield against a sword one of the girls had. Coriolanus grabbed sejanus and hoisted him up onto his feet then basically dragged him out of the arena. you were left to fend for yourself against a group of angry tributes with weapons, all while you had a massive gash going from your shoulder to the middle of your back. you grabbed a piece of concrete and threw it at the main girl's leg and sprinted faster than you ever have before, barely making it out before getting hurt or even dying.

from there, everything felt a little bit like a blur. you and sejanus got rushed to the hospital to make sure you were okay while Coriolanus just went home. you couldnt help but be a little bit angry at sej as he had just gotten you into a life threatening situation where the two of you were hurt, more so yourself.

once both of you arrived, you sat in silence, not daring to look at each other. you let the doctors take care of your wound, only giving them the most simple responses. they assessed the cut and decided it would need stitches. they promised to be back soon and left gauze and antibiotics on it while you waited. you had overheard what the doctors told sejanus, that he'd be perfectly fine, that his knees were just badly scraped and bruised. they said it'd be painful to walk for about a week but after that, he should be good as new. this information relieved you to no end, but you kept in inside, still upset with the boy. you felt him staring at you but made no effort to look back until he started speaking.

"hey.. um. I'm so sorry. I never meant for any of this to happen. if I had known it would've gotten more people than myself hurt I never would have went in that arena." he spoke quietly and you could sense that he was being sincere. "well.. it happened anyways." you responded, the words coming off meaner than you had intended judging by the hurt look in his eye. "I know, I'm sorr-" he tried speaking. "no sejanus, you don't understand. all of us could have died there. both of us ended up getting hurt. I know Marcus meant a lot to you but to do something this *stupid* is just unbelievable." you cut him off. you see him tearing up and immediately feel guilty about what you said, knowing you were way too harsh. "you don't understand. you weren't born district. you never had to deal with the bullying. you were born and raised capitol. Marcus was a classmate and a friend to me and to see him strung up, half dead, broke something inside of me." he raised his voice. "sej I didn't mean it like tha-" he cut you off. "but it sounded like it. I'm so serious when I say that I didn't mean to ever get you or coryo in any kind of danger. if someone was going to get hurt or die, I wanted it to be me." he spoke, tears slowly streaming down his face. "sejanus... I know my apology probably means nothing but I really am sorry. also, no one would want you to be dead, okay?" you say. "that's not what other people say. they seem to think everything would be better if I was dead. I'm just a district boy that ruins the prestigious atmosphere of the capitol." the tears get heavier and look to be never ending. it makes your eyes water seeing him like this. "that's not true and you know it! they're all just stuck up assholes who have nothing better to do with their lives than to hate on actually good and kind people." you speak, probably way too loud for this hospital setting. "why do you even care? it's not like you even like me anyways!" you can't help but stare in disbelief. "what are you talking about? you're my best friend!" he scoffs at that. "yeah.. friends." he looks you in the eye, no longer crying. confusion is plastered across your expression. "y/n I have been head over heels in love with you ever since we first met. I have never taken my eyes off of you yet you don't seem to notice, or even care for that matter. I just can't take it anymore. I couldn't let the weight on my chest suffocate me for any longer." he turns away from you.

you are at an utter loss for words. he takes your silence for a no and starts to get up. before he could even stand you grab his arm. he looks at you, clear he doesn't understand why you're doing this. "sejanus plinth, I love you too. I'm sorry if it seems like I don't but I promise you that I do. with everything in my being I adore you. I care about you more than anyone else in the entire world. I'm sorry I got so upset at you today, the fear of something bad happening to you kinda manifested as anger and I'm so fuckin' sorry I took it out on you." you look down at your feet. after a few moments of silence you figured you had said something wrong, but it turns out he was awestruck, just as you had been less than a minute ago. you meet his gaze once again. "can i- can I kiss you?" he asks in a hushed tone, drenched with love and also uncertainty. you smile at him and cup his cheeks with your hands. "I thought you'd never ask." he leans into you, pressing his lips against yours. it was a small kiss but it would be good enough for right now. once you two broke apart, a flush arised on your face. "thank you for saving me. " he said. you grin at him. "I would do it over and over again for you, sejanus."

｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆｡･:*:･ﾟ★,｡･:*:･

an: I hope this was good!! almost cried writing this bc of the angst 😭 anyways anon I hope you enjoy!

#the hunger games x reader #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #tbosas #sejanus x you #sejanus plinth x you #sejanus x reader #sejanus plinth x reader #sejanus plinth #tbosas x reader #plinthpilled

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julianalvarez9 · 1 year

Text

named after you / john stones

author's note: my mind hasn't stopped thinking about that damn interview where john speaks about bernardo's dog named after him so i had to write this. started as a blurb, ended as a full fic + socmed au. i hate myself.

wc: 1.5k words.

pairing: john stones x footballer!reader (doesn't really impact much of the story, except she's injured).

face claim: esme morgan 💌

contains: excessive use of pet names, roasting jack grealish just because (i love you jack), they're in love but they don't know it, mentions of injury and a foot cast but nothing too detailed (because i don't know shit about injuries)

summary: your best friend is dumbfounded to learn that you've never had a dog, not even as a kid. he goes above and beyond to change that when the circumstances ask for a way to cheer you up.

"you've never had a dog before?".

john can't believe his ears. but to be fair, everyone at the little studio set where you're filming the next video for city's youtube channel is as incredulous as he is. you just laugh at his reaction, before explaining. "well, i wanted one when i was a kid, but my parents said i was too small to have one. and then i just never asked again".

his brows just keep on furrowing, and it's like he had forgotten about the stack of cards he had in hand, with the 20 questions he was supposed to ask you for the video prepared by the team. "yeah, but you're what? 24 now? you could have a dog," he said, like it was obvious. to be fair, he was right. after all, you lived alone: no partner, no kids, no family in the country. having a little pet to take care of and love would make you happy, but you weren't sure if you would have the time to take care of a little dog now, with how packed your schedule is. maybe that's why you hadn't really thought about getting a furry friend. "i suppose. didn't think about it before," you shrug.

"fine. i'm getting you a dog".

it's been months since that interaction, and you haven't thought about john's promise since. the video went live on the team's youtube channel a few weeks after, and as expected, everyone loved it. the friendship you had with the city player was always cherished by the fans, and you couldn't really blame them. he was your best friend since you arrived in the club, and having his support from the beginning really made the adaptation period easier.

you realized how much you basked in his affection and care when you suffered a season-ending injury. it wasn't that hard, to be honest, but since the end of the season was less than a month away, you knew that the recovery period would be longer than what it took to get you back on the pitch in time for the last game. john has been there from the first moment, sending you a message as soon as he saw you went down on the grass. you only saw it after the medical exams were done, when the doctors had already told you that you probably wouldn't get to play again until next season.

facing the reality about you not being there for your teammates, not being able to help them in any way, shape or form, at least where it mattered to you -in the pitch-, was rough. you went from the training center for recovery to home, all day, every day, never getting quite far from the prefabricated route: your only focus was to get healthy again. you weren't even seeing john that often, with his schedule being as overwhelming as always and you don’t even daring to set a foot in the etihad if you weren't there to play.

but john, your good best friend john, knew exactly what to do to cheer you up.

“are you home?”.

the call alone was weird. john wasn’t one to talk much on the phone, and much less, while driving. if he wasn’t using free hands, you’ll kill him. “why are you calling me while driving, stones?”.

“asked you a question first. answer, little one”.

the nickname alone made you roll your eyes, and he swore he could picture your annoyed face in his mind. the joke had been running between you two ever since you two meet, really, not only because of the slight age gap, but also, due to how he towered over you. wasn’t rocket science, it was what his position on the field demanded, while you, as a striker, only had to be quick. “yeah, dad, i’m home”.

“whoa, what an attitude. i’m about to get home, so you better fix it”.

you couldn't even process him calling your place home, or protest against him coming without a longer notice -not a 2 second warning, like this one, because he had already hung up before you could even mutter a confused “what?”.

if looks could kill, you’d be charged with a murder.

you’re glaring at john’s car from the second it sets a wheel into your front yard. he’s quick in parking the car and stepping out of it, but instead of going to greet you, standing on the doorway with your arms crossed, he goes to open his rear door.

“what are you doing?” you ask, almost screaming, to ensure that he hears even if he’s quite far from you. john appears to be arranging something on the back of the car, but he smiles when answering your question. “go inside. wait on the sofa. eyes closed”.

you’re about to make a funny comment, except his smile goes away the second you take too long to fulfill his wishes. you decide to quit being difficult and, with a bit of difficulty due to the cast shoe you have in your feet, make your way to the couch. your eyes remain open, though, watching the match your team was playing on the tv. once you heard the door closing, you shut your eyes.

“do you have your hands ready?”.

you frown, but still, your arms are extended with your palms up per john’s request. soon, you’re opening up your eyes when you feel a warm ball of fur placed on your hands.

“john, did you get me a dog?”.

you almost have tears in your eyes when you place the little jack russell on your lap, and it curls into a ball, falling asleep almost instantly. “isn’t he the prettiest boy ever?” john coos, squatting so he can get a good look at the little dog you’re holding. “john, i can’t have a dog. i’m never at home,” you rationalize once the initial emotion has settled in. you start to think about your schedule, how you’re seemingly always away. the worry must have painted on your face, because the man in front of you notices it, and is quick to find your hand, previously resting on the little canine, to squeeze reassuringly.

“yes, you can. you’re home now, aren’t you?” he smiles, and you’re rolling your eyes, again, for what feels like the hundredth time today. “he’s gonna help with your recovery. but you don’t have to worry about him being alone here once you’re back: our schedules don't always match. when you can't have him, i'll take care of him". the way he’s looking at you now, with his fluffy hair and sweet smile is making you melt almost as much as the sight of the little puppy resting on your legs.

long seconds pass before any of you say anything, too focused on your little friend, before you realize john hasn’t told you how he’s called. “what’s his name?” you ask, and he looks up at you before shaking his head. “doesn’t have one. it’s up to you”. the smile you have on your face after hearing him speak, has your best friend thinking that you’re up to no good. and he’s proven right when you open your mouth again.

"i'm naming him after you".

his eyebrows furrow and he’s shaking his head again, clear discontent in his face now. "what? you can't. i won't allow you to," he opposes in a high pitched tone, and you laugh before answering. "why not? he's my dog,” you point out, and the puppy on your lap suddenly wakes up, probably awakened by the small argument held between both of you. you direct your hand to caress his little head, and he rewards you by licking your palm, almost like a little kiss. “i think he likes it. don't you, johnny boy?".

he has to straighten up so you don’t see the smallest pink rose to his cheeks when hearing you say johnny boy. he always told you he despised the nickname, which was why you had stopped using it, but instead, he lied because he liked hearing you say it.

"but why john?" he presses, again, hoping that, maybe, it’ll make you change your mind. he knows it's wishful thinking: after being friends with you for so long, john is aware that when an idea pops into your pretty brain, it’s almost impossible to shake it off. "first, you're the one that got him,” you list off, and it has him rolling his eyes. you think it’s funny how the roles are reversed, and the smallest giggle escapes your list before continuing with your explanation. “second, he's a jack russell".

"and? you could name him after jack," he says, and he’s hopeful when the doubt is planted on your face. it takes you a few seconds before you’re shaking your head, scrunching up your nose in disagreement. "nah, he can't jump that high”. you’ve switched your focus now, from person-john to dog-john, and your voice gets a little higher when speaking to him. “when you grow up you'll jump as high as your daddy here, won't you, pretty boy?".

john feels like he could faint by the amount of pet names that seem to flow effortlessly from your lips. "okay that's enough," he says, and you laugh at how agitated he is. "it's settled then. john stones, meet john stones".

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yourusername everyone, meet john stones

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jackgrealish glad to see he's into football like his daddy 😂 johnstonesofficial

yourusername such a talented little boy 🤍

johnstonesofficial john stones jr*

yourusername so you're john stones sr?

rubendias 🧓🏻🧓🏻

mancity bring him to training next time! 💙

yourusername will do 🤝🏻

#football imagines #football imagine #football x you #football x reader #john stones imagine #john stones x reader #john stones instagram au #john stones social media au #john stones x you #john stones fluff

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