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#watch a parent decline is not for the faint of heart
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Sweet Creek Falls
From mountains yesterday to waterfalls today.
My dad's health has declined pretty rapidly in the past 3 years. 3 years ago he was hospitalized for over 2 months because of an intestinal adhesion. He had already been showing signs of dementia before that, but his forgetfulness and focus definitely starting getting worse after his surgery. Last year he had a pinched nerve in his back which developed into drop-foot. Even after a back surgery to help relieve the pressure on his nerves he hasn't regained control of lifting his foot and it's been an entire year. His balance is really bad. Until May of this year both of my siblings lived states away. Despite my repeated mentions of concern about his failing cognitive functions, and his physical decline, they just kind of ignored me. . . . In May he received the actual diagnosis of dementia. Out of 7 levels, he's already at 4. Watching someone who was extremely strong, rapidly decline, is heartbreaking.
He asked me to go hiking, but for his own safety I didn't want to take him on the hikes I typically do. I found this little waterfall hike so we went. There was a few tricky spots, but I figured since my mom, sister, and I were all there, we could help him. He still struggled, but he did it. I don't want him to feel helpless. Or that he's not capable of doing hard things. I hope today was a happy medium.
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jo-harrington · 6 months
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Genesis (An As Above, So Below Story)
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**This can be read in tandem with As Above, So Below as it contains spoilers. The scene with Eddie at the end is a direct lead in to Heaven.**
Summary: In the beginning, there was darkness...
Word Count: 4.5k
Pairing: Eddie Munson/Fem!OC (The Knight)
Warnings/Themes: Angst, Fluff, Meet Cute, Origin Story, Minor Gore, Not Great Parents, Religious Elements, Supernatural Elements, Fate vs Free Will
OC is of European/Italian-American descent on her father's side and her mother's side can be left up to interpretation. She is loosely Roman Catholic. I will not be giving her a name, or any major physical descriptors if I can help it but her cultural identity is integral to the larger story.
Note: Damn, so I was just doing an outline for the final chapter of AASB (we are quite a ways away) and this came to me...almost 5k later here we are. If you are reading the series, you might notice some of this popping up again at some point. Thanks to @deathbecomesthem for another set of eyes and enabling me to write something that made my heart ache.
This series is not for the faint of heart, nor is it something that was written with a general audience in mind. Please check the above warnings and ask yourself if you are in the correct headspace to proceed. I am happy to answer any questions via PM or Ask.
You can find my masterlist here.
Please do not interact if you are not 18+.
Enjoy!
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"'What is life for?' he asks himself. 'What is my life for?'"  ― Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life
March 1983
It was a good day.
It made you nervous by lunch.
Well, nervous wasn't the right word for it.
Guilty.
Rightfully so; Nonna would ask how your day was once you were home and if you had anything to say other than something bad or something guilt-ridden, you'd get an earful. And you didn’t mind it so much coming from her, it’s when Mom started butting in that made things complicated.
You couldn’t stand them fighting anymore.
So you prayed for something bad. Well…just something not good.
One of the nuns being in a nasty mood and giving you a pop quiz, one of the boys from Holy Cross making fun of you when you got on the bus home, a nasty customer during your shift at Food Town, even skinning your knees on the walk home after work.
But no. It was a perfect day. Even old Fortunata on 23rd noticed you walking home and brought out a plate of scaliddi because your birthday had just passed and she knew they were your favorite.
She even asked you if you wanted to come in for espresso and you declined around the hand that pinched your cheek.
It might have been strange to anyone else but to you it was normal. You had a handful of friends at school, sure, but your main entourage consisted of all the little Italian ladies who’d worked at the factory and went to bingo with your Nonna.
Which meant Nonna was talking about you during Bingo again.
You invited her over for coffee and pastries after mass on Sunday instead, so she would let you go, and silently apologized to Nonna that you’d have company instead of getting to watch reruns of Dark Shadows together.
Her secret, shameful indulgence. And yours.
By the time you made it home, it was dark. Streetlights flickered on but you paid them no mind. You'd made this walk a thousand times before safely, and you'd do it again.
Even the shadowy figure sitting on the porch steps didn't make you pause.
"It's been a while," you greeted awkwardly, Mary Janes scuffing the sidewalk as you climbed the steps. You held out the plate to him as you passed. "Scaliddi?"
"I don't eat," he shook his head.
"There's always a first time," you joked.
"Your father is home."
That caused you to freeze.
"Oh?"
"He's hurt."
"Oh."
"You don't seem upset."
"Am I supposed to be?" you shrugged. "He always comes back with cuts and bruises...and then he heals. And then he leaves again. Off to save the world."
"Not this time," Gabriel shook his head. You frowned; that didn't sound right. You shoved your key in the lock, ready to go inside and see just what he meant. You turned to look at him as you shut the door, uncaring of the words he said next. "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”
"Shut up," you rolled your eyes and closed the door on him. Locking the deadbolt although you knew that wouldn't do much if he really wanted to come in.
You let yourself into Nonna's flat and heard distant voices at the back. They stopped as you shut the door; Nonna softly called your name and then shuffled down the hall.
You'd never seen her look so weary in your entire life, and it only got worse the closer she got to you.
Deep lines of worry carved into her face, eyes sorrowful, hands wringing over each other. Hands that had a rosary wound around them.
She immediately reached out and grabbed your backpack and Fortunata's plate and set them down on the plastic-covered French Provincial couch that was the centerpiece of her front room. And then she turned back to you and cupped your face. Her lips pursed and she took a breath as though she had something to say...but she exhaled shakily and shook her head, denying herself the chance.
"You ok Nonnie?" you whispered.
There were tears in her eyes and she forced a smile.
"Of course I'm ok, you're home safe," she told you softly. Her hands shook as she squeezed your cheeks and then took one of yours. She tugged you along down the hall behind her, like she had a million other times growing up. "But we have company. Vieni."
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It's tense in the kitchen.
You're slumped in your usual seat, Nonna's seat beside you intermittently empty as she bounces between the table and the stove--stirring and slicing, scooping and serving--and across from you is your father looking...dead. Truly. He looks like he's barely clinging to life, covered in cuts and bruises, one eye so bloodshot you can't see any white, with his right arm in a sling, hand bandaged, missing two fingers.
You're struggling between staring at him and avoiding him altogether.
Beside him, in the chair your mother usually sits in when she's home--you're sure she fled once she saw you had a visitor--sits a stern man in a black cassock. Father Alexander Jinette, one of the Order's contacts within the Clergy. He's calm and charismatic and acts like he knows everything.
He doesn't, you already asked a few curious questions to test his faith and got some bullshit answers in response. But you figured he'd also be testing yours so it was only fair.
Jinette spent the last hour eating homemade bread and telling you how the next few decades of your life will go.
"We'll get you to Rome immediately," he explained. "The Knights have already been called. You'll take your oath and then...let fate take you. You'll probably start where your father left off in Lisbon."
"What about what I want to do?" you asked. "What about school?"
"What about it?" he shrugged distastefully. "What you want doesn't matter; school doesn't matter. You've already learned everything you need to know. Already reading about...Monstrumology and demonology...the Bible? No? You don't need...math. Your studies will be a little more practical from now on. On-the-job training, if you would."
He was the only one in the room that laughed; like he wasn't joking about your life...or your inevitable death.
On and on he went. Explaining how missions work. How often you'd get to come home to rest. How long your father's recovery would take and when he would be back in the fray.
"You, of course, won't see each other," he explained as Nonna handed him a plate. "The temptation to...prioritize one another over innocents...you understand."
"She does," your father answered for you. "She was born for this."
Your eyes darted back to him, feeling a burning sense of...confusion, betrayal...you couldn't pinpoint it exactly. You felt everything and nothing, all at the same time. You were numb.
Nonna slid plates in front of the two of you then sat down with one herself. You snatched a fork off the table and then began to dig into the heap of pasta and chicken when Jinette cleared his throat.
Your eyes slid to him again and he raised a brow in question, then folded his hands in front of him in prayer. Nonna followed suit and your father did the best he could...considering...and you...
"I need a minute," you muttered and pushed yourself to your feet. You darted out of the kitchen, ignoring your father calling after you, and went out to the back yard.
You could hear the distant sounds of the Metra a few blocks away, kids playing further down the alley, and thunderous footsteps down the back stairs following you.
"I just needed air," you defend yourself as your father joins you outside. "I think I'm allow--"
"That was embarrassing," he scolded you immediately. "Don't you realize that?" You round on him and stare incredulously; for a man who looked like he was about to keel over just moments ago, he certainly got his second wind fast when you didn't obey your new master.
"It hasn't even been 5 minutes!" You scoffed. “What if I just needed to smoke. Or had to take a shit?”
“This is not how I raised you—”
“You’re right, because you didn’t raise me.”
You watch the words strike him as hard as if you’d just walked up to him and slapped him.
It felt good.
And all at once, the overwhelming numbness disappeared and you were filled with acute clarity. All the feelings...over a decade of confusion, anger, sorrow, loneliness, and resentment...overcame you.
It was an out of body experience and in hindsight, you should have gone easy on him given his injuries...but when had he ever thought of going easy on you? For as long as you could remember, as soon as he'd made this...legacy...known to you, he'd beaten the devil into you one wicked word, dismissive glance, and denial of "normalcy" at a time.
And now he would have to face its resurgence.
I don't understand why you think you have a right to tell me--expect me--to just nod my head and accept any of this shit. How dare you bring that guy into our home and let him boss me around?
His jaw clenched and he rolled his eyes and scoffed intermittently between your words.
You got to live your life before Papa died. Now you're sending me out there to die before I've even gotten a chance to live. That's what this is...you know that right? It's a death sentence.
He tried to talk over you, tried to say you were being childish, that you didn't know what you were talking about. That this was precisely why you had to go. To grow up.
It'll kill Nonnie if I go. Kill her if she has to stay here alone with mom. They hate each other; don't you know that? Hate each other because of you. Mom hates me...because of you.
Of course it was your mother's perfect timing to pull into the driveway as those words echoed down the block.
Your shoulders heaved as you caught your breath and she stared at you and your father with tired eyes as she slid out of the drivers seat and slammed the door shut behind her.
“Thought you’d be gone by now,” she muttered.
“Nonna made dinner,” you explained.
“Of course she did.”
“Tell your daughter,” your father hissed at her, coming up behind you and landing a heavy hand on your shoulder. “That she’s acting childishly.”
“She’s a child. What do you expect?”
"Well," he spun you to face him now, knowing that he wasn't going to get anywhere with her. "It's time for you to grow up. No more tantrums. No time for teenage rebellion. This is it; it's up to you now. The fate of the entirety of our family rests in your hands.
"You need to make a sacrifice, for all of us. In the end...you'll get your reward. We all will."
"Hasn't my entire life been sacrifice?" You bat his hand away from you. "A sacrifice that I never chose. This was never my choice, dad. I shouldn't be...I shouldn't have been born to be a means to an end. To be your free ticket to heaven."
You watch the emotions morph on his face and you swear you feel the ground beneath you shake just the slightest bit, as though he debated letting it split open to swallow you whole. You might have preferred that. Instead he took his anger out the human way.
"Free? You want to talk about free?" He lunged and grabbed your face, forcing you to look at his wounded arm. "You want to talk about sacrifice? Let's see what happens when the darkness takes its pound of flesh from you. Let's see what you do when you're staring down the jaws of a monster that only means to kill you. I'll be laughing when you come to regret your words. When you face your own mortality."
"Some father," you spit at him. "Laughing. Guess when that time comes I'll just die."
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It was strange, deciding what pieces of your life were a necessity and what could stay behind.
Everything seemed necessary.
Clothes, books, tapes, the abundance of protective tchotchkes that your father had sent you over the years, the little stuffed bunny that you and Nonna had won playing the quarter game at the carnival a few years ago.
Your mother had sent you in to pack.
She'd gotten between you and your father, snapping about "what the neighbors would think." She made sure to emphasize that there would be no dinner until you were ready to go.
Then she slapped the keys to the car in your hand and sent you inside. Alone. So she and your father could talk.
"Probably asking if she could leave now," you sniffed. "No obligation to stay anymore."
But Nonna needed help. As much as they were always at each others throats, you knew they couldn't do it alone. Either of them.
"It's not like you're never coming back," you rationalized. "Mom can just...take one for the team...again...until you're back."
But what if...what if you never made it back?
Your father had been doing this for 16 years and this was the first time you'd seen with injuries like this. He could heal himself, for God's sake. If Jinette and the Order wanted to send you to face...whatever had caused his injuries...with no experience outside of a book and some fucking around in the garage with a knife and a crucifix...
You could play the tough, angry, annoyed act all you wanted but...you were afraid. This shouldn't have been your fight.
It was entirely unfair.
But this was your punishment. To fit whatever you needed for the foreseeable future into a duffel bag so you could go and...be a hero?
"Be a pawn," you collapsed on your bed and hugged a pillow to your chest. "Be a sword."
You didn't want to. You didn't want to. Didn't WANT TO. DIDN'T WANT TO. YOU DIDN'T WANT--
"So what do I want then?" You rolled over and stared at the ceiling.
Who were you? What would your life look like if this wasn't waiting for you?
No one had ever given you the chance to find that out.
No career aptitude tests, no sessions with a guidance counselor, no college applications. You'd floated the idea of taking classes at the community college by your dad last time he'd been in town and he said he'd think about it; did he know that this was waiting just months in the future?
You were doubtful he even knew you had a job at the grocery store or a drivers license. Your mother had caved after months of you begging both times. Nonna just turned a blind eye; whatever made you happy, after all.
Mom...
You glanced over at the keys on your nightstand. You may have had a bit of a temper tantrum and just stormed into your room when you came inside, so the keys had...come with you.
The car was just in the driveway. Papa's dirt brown Mercury Marquis that he'd gotten because he would rather drive than take trains or planes for missions close to home. After he died...well, Nonna certainly didn't drive and your parents had their own cars, so it just sat...rotting in the garage unless your mother wanted a joyride that was a little more rough and tumble than her Sierra could handle.
You'd heard her talking on the phone once, about street racing on Lower Wacker. And how the Marquis could actually go pretty fast when it wanted to.
You wondered what that was like. Your experience driving had only been within the stop-and-go streets of your neighborhood. You'd never even driven on the highway before.
You'd never...lived before.
No concerts, no parties, no field trips, no dates, no first kiss. What did it feel like to go to Disneyland? Or...or see the Statue of Liberty? Or even a drive in movie? You'd never even been outside of the greater Chicago area before. Not even a drive up to Wisconsin for the Renaissance Fair.
You acted before you had the chance to rationalize it, before you had the chance to come up with a plan. Suddenly the things that were a necessity were clear as day and you threw them one after another into your duffel bag.
Clothes and this book but not that one and that shoe box full of cassettes at the bottom of your closet. Your wallet and the little rubber-banded wad of cash in your underwear drawer that you saved from your paychecks instead of putting it in the bank. And, after everything else, the little black cord from Nonna's old mourning robes that now hung from the headboard of your bed.
So she would always be with you.
You snatched the keys from your nightstand and rushed over to the window. You opened it as silently as you could and threw the bag out, then followed it. The slight drop wasn't bad; you maybe pulled a muscle on landing. It wasn't like the movies made it seem.
But that also might have just been what you got for skipping gym one too many times.
You were sure you'd see the light on the back porch turn on when you stuck the key in the ignition and the Marquis ROARED to life.
Or when you forgot to open the gate before you backed out of the driveway and it CLANGED as the bumper smashed into it.
But as soon as your foot hit the gas, it didn't matter.
You looked in the rearview mirror once as you made it to the end of the alley. No one was running after you, no lights turning on spontaneously. No shouting.
Only a familar-shaped shadowy figure that stood unassumingly in front of the still-swinging gate.
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March 1984
You were tired.
It was glorious.
It was tedious.
A year on the run, a year of everything you never thought you’d be able to have. And you’d taken it for yourself, greedily. Contentedly.
Driving and dancing and camping and talking and becoming. Becoming the you that you’d otherwise never get to be if you had followed the path fate had set for you.
Any adventure that you could only have imagined a year ago…suddenly became your reality. You didn’t need permission to be happy, if that’s what you wanted.
Just because you didn’t need permission though, didn’t mean you just got to have happiness.
Any time you decided you could settle, take a break from constantly pressing down on the gas pedal of life, someone would pop up. Gabriel, mostly. Your father, once. And the jobs you’d just taken or the apartments you’d just paid for would get left in the dust so you could avoid their confrontation.
Which is why you were in Indiana. You’d honestly tried to avoid the tri-state area once you left Chicago. It was too close to home, too easy to find. Too easy to be tempted to go back. But you needed to get through Indiana to get to your next destination.
Wherever that might be.
It was a torrential downpour when you exited the highway and soared down dark, suburban streets to your next pit stop. A roadside motel off Route 69 according to your probably-outdated road map. Maybe there’d be a diner or something nearby. Otherwise you could sleep in the car and find breakfast come morning; wouldn’t be the first time.
It was getting tiresome.
You were tired of being anybody; you wanted to be somebody again.
You thought that you’d find out who you were taking on this adventure but in truth…you already knew.
You had been your father’s safety net. Nonna’s best friend, her treasure. Your mother’s burden. You were so incredibly resilient and strong. A whisper with the capability to become a scream. Misunderstood by the simple lack of an attempt to understand. You were brave and adventurous. Crafty and cunning.
Not beautiful but…purposeful.
You had a purpose here on earth and you knew deep down it wasn’t what fate expected of you. What everyone expected of you. You knew because of the way your soul sung when you first backed out of your driveway.
But you were alone. Alone and tired, which brought desperation.
It was a dark cloud that filled you. Consumed your being. You wondered, more than once, if that cloud had been there all along. Desperation led you to running away in the first place and had kept you going ever since.
Only now the dark cloud of desperation made you want to go home to find some light again.
And you knew you couldn’t do that.
The flickering motel sign was a beacon of hope in the dark, and you let out a breath you didn't know you'd been holding.
The manager, an old man rivaling Methuselah, didn't cease his newspaper reading as you ran into the office from the rain to ask for a room. You questioned whether he had heard you when he blindly reached behind him for a key.
"Number 4," he announced and then held his hand out for his payment. You fumbled with your wallet for a second as he explained the check-out time, the free coffee at 6am, and that the vending machine and coin washer were both unapologetically broken.
"Do you need a wake up call?" he said as he stuffed your cash in the register.
"No."
"Hmm, good," he dismissed you with a wave of his hand. An unspoken fuck off then.
You were about to turn and head to your room when you paused and asked, "can I have the want ads?"
He sighed heavily but peeled the pages apart and handed you the requested pages blindly.
"Don't stay in Hawkins too long," he said sagely. "Or you're liable to get stuck here." Then he waved you off once again.
You stepped back out into the rain and fumbled with the room key and the newspaper, only for a flash of lightning to bring your attention to a structure across the street.
A dirt parking lot with all of 5 cars in it and a one story house-turned-bar with a few faint neon signs in the windows.
Better than nothing.
You shoved your key and wallet back in your pocket and then used the newspaper page as a cover as you darted across the street.
The Hideout was nothing to write home about. A handful of mismatched tables and chairs with a few sleepy drunks sipping on beers and throwing back handfuls of peanuts from bowls on the tables. The bar itself was small and sticky, and the bartender was too.
"Can you make a cherry coke?" you asked. He sniffed judgmentally but nevertheless dug out a dusty bottle of grenadine from behind the bar. He grunted something about no cherries, and you didn't know if you were just that thirsty or grateful for a place to sit that wasn't your car, but it was still the best cherry coke you'd ever had.
Thank God for your ability to heal; it was probably going to shut your body down otherwise.
There's a commotion and in the dark corner of what probably used to be the living room, a group of boys start making some noise. There's a "stage" made up of two-by-fours that creaks as they get a drum kit set up and they'd unplugged a Coors neon sign to get power to their amps.
There was no countdown; they just got to playing.
A loud and unrelenting sound that even had you bobbing your head a little. They weren't great but it wasn't the beloved mess of tapes you'd been cycling through for the past year; it was new and it made you feel something. The four of them shot smiles at each other between bouts of concentration signified by closed eyes and tongues caught between teeth.
Your eyes met with one of them; the lead singer...or...guitar player? Or so you thought; hard to tell since they'd eliminated one of their only sources of light. Long hair and long noodley limbs, and ripped jeans and too much...just too much.
But he was cute and he noticed you.
It made your chest hurt a little.
That was enough to get you to turn around and try to ignore him.
You'd met your share of cute road boys who kissed too hard and fumbled too much and didn't ask for a phone number you couldn't give them anyway. You didn't need a wink and small talk and all of that. You needed...
...you needed a place to stay.
You turned around on the shaky stool and tested your luck by asking the bartender for a pen. He passed one over along with another cherry coke and you got to searching the damp classifieds to the cacophonous background.
You let one sigh after another as you read each ad in depth and found each one not to be good enough. A house for sale? No. A babysitting job for triplets? No. You hated little kids. There was an apartment over the deli that might be promising. And a job stocking shelves at the grocery store. You had plenty of experience with that.
You did another cursory search of the paper before looking back to the bartender.
"Hey," you asked tentatively. "What's this town again?"
"Hawkins," came a voice behind you. "You're in Hawkins."
You spun on the seat to face the source.
Noodle boy.
He fidgeted where he stood, fingers flitting at his sides nervously. When he was up on the "stage" he had the unwarranted confidence of a rockstar but here he was...
"Do you like cheese fries?" he blurted out, then wrenched his eyes shut.
You let out a blasting honk of a laugh, and then clapped your hands over your mouth to snicker at him.
He was adorable.
You made to apologize for your laughter, but you were hit with...feelings. His feelings. And yours.
Weariness and hope and adrenaline and attraction and amusement and embarrassment and comfort and discomfort and safety and hunger...
And. And. And.
"S-sorry," you sobered yourself and tried to ignore the feelings. "I didn't mean to laugh, that was just..."
"Out of left field?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "Yeah I kind of just blurt out the first thing to come to mind sometimes. Usually bullshit."
It was endless.
The mix of feelings danced with each other in the space between you.
It felt warm, and after a jaunt in the rain...the warmth felt good.
"Bullshit is good sometimes," you told him with a smile.
"Great, because I'm full of it." You laughed again and so did he. "I'm Eddie."
The feelings were light.
Eddie was light.
And in that moment, you let him shine into the dark parts of you.
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“I told you. You don't love someone because of their looks or their clothes or their car. You love them because they sing a song only your heart can understand.”  ― L.J. Smith
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Note
Hello!!! I adore your one shots and I hope you are still writing. Would it be possible to ask some hc's on Mitsunari as a parent?
Characters: Mitsunari Ishida x Reader Rating: General. Word count: 1333 words Warning/s: Pregnancy. Having children. I mention fluids at some point. Author note: I gotchu anon! Thank you very much for your request ehehehe lately I've been on the baby fever train!
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The announcement
Telling Mitsunari he was going to be a father was…a mess. To say the least.
It was during a rather small feast held at the war council celebrating the latest Alliance between the Oda forces and a daimyo who stood on neutral ground during the war.
You had been eating to your heart's content, happy to fill yourself with all the delicious food now that you were eating for two.
But you were waiting for the right moment to tell Mitsunari about the great news.
Until the moment people started pouring drinks. Particularly Nobunaga who had you stand next to him to give you credit for still granting him luck even in your position as Lady Ishida.
You filled his cup while he chatted with you about menial things until he grabbed the pitcher to fill your cup that had been filled with water and tea until now.
You shook your head, politely declining but Nobu as he was asked “Oh, are you denying me a drink?”
The mess came when your lady-in-waiting knelt at the feet of the dais after noticing Nobunaga’s insistence, bowing deeply in worry.
“I beg you, Lord Nobunaga. My lady is expecting, and sake will harm the baby!”
The room fell into deep silence.
Then burst with loud noise, you not knowing who was really saying what as people laughed, sang cheers, and started congratulating you and your clueless husband who was probably about to faint at how deeply he was focusing on you.
Hideyoshi was both interrogating Mitsunari and you while taking the cup away, Nobunaga was having the time of his life watching the mess around, and Masamune decided it was time to whip more food out to ensure you ate to your heart's content. Ieyasu stood dumbfounded at how on earth you and the airhead (his own words) were having a kid.
You and Mitsunari had to retire after a long time of accepting congratulations, not having a moment alone to speak until you were in your private quarters.
The moment you were in the solitude of your room, he wrapped his arms around you from behind, breathing in the scent of your hair, laying his hands on your tummy.
When you turned around to look at his face, you saw all feelings of inner conflict.
He gently explained himself, not wanting you to think that he was unhappy about you and him having a kid, but more about his worries about parenthood. But in fact, he was elated about the news.
In his mind he could see himself having a family with you, he didn’t think the moment would arrive so soon.
The night ended with the promise of a bright future and new worries ahead, yet the happiness wasn’t lacking.
During the pregnancy:
Goodness, pregnancy is a ride with him.
From sleeping in until late morning and having the maids or sometimes, even Hideyoshi scold you both awake, from Kitty hissing at him whenever he came too close when she was laying on your lap, from him spilling tea everywhere after offering to make a cup for you to clear the aftertaste of your morning sickness.
Mitsunari is a well-read man, but he can’t find any text that can tell him what to expect once your child arrives so guess what he does?
He goes to seek the answers with Ieyasu.
Who keeps avoiding him like the plague.
“What am I? A babysitter? I’m a war medic, I don’t deal with children.”
“But I can’t leave your idiotic mess to care for a kid.”
You find Ieyasu, who is looking more irritated than you have ever seen him, explaining to Mitsunari about the basics of caring for a newborn: hygiene, common illnesses and conditions, and other things you’d classify as “old wives’ tales” with your knowledge from the future.
By the third trimester Mitsunari sticks to you like glue, not parting from your side in case you need help.
Your water breaks when he is reading a very long report and while you were sewing tiny clothes. It’s pretty much painless, and you are glad because Mitsunari has been focused on the report for hours and he is not halfway through it, so it gives you an opportunity to calmly “wake him up” from his trance.
You see his face pale at the sight, he clears his throat and puts everything aside to aid you, getting as serious as he gets on important task or even at the battlefield.
This man deadass drafted a plan on how to act when you were about to give birth, he has it perfectly memorized like a war strategy.
From the room you give birth in, equipped with all the commodities, from the most loyal of servants and physicians to help you along.
You basically see an army play out, but instead of charging into the flames of war, everyone is just making sure you deliver a healthy child while making you comfortable.
Mitsunari absolutely thinks of everything.
Except the fact that the very stubborn midwife keeps him out of the room, where he is forced to sit outside of, waiting.
The moment he hears you whimper and yelling in pain he is at the door, commanding to be let in to see that you are alright, but he doesn’t get an answer but the loud noises coming from inside the room.
Kitty keeps him company during his wait, staring hard at the door just as he is doing. Too focused on the closed door that he doesn’t register the tiny cries from inside the room.
After a long while, Kitty meows as the door slides open, the maids exiting the room while carrying the dirty bedsheets.  Those maids you befriended looking tired, yet they smile with satisfaction.
He hurries inside the room, only to find you in bed, chest exposed while a smaller figure lays against your skin.
Raising a tiny human:
Now as an actual parent, Mitsunari likes the routines. His inner clock somehow always tells him when it's time for the baby to nap, to be fed, or to be changed. It’s a nice way to control how he spends his days, ensuring he is not overworking himself while also doing his job as the father of the child.
Now, what he doesn’t enjoy is how unpredictable children are.
One time, when your child was starting to crawl around, grabbing everything within their grasp, Mitsunari found himself reading an important letter.
By the time he had finished reading it, which was less than a few minutes, the child had somehow knocked the ink from his desk, spilling the contents on the tatami mats and on his own clothes.
He didn’t even notice.
It’s fun though, watching Mitsunari, the love of your life to whom you had grown closer by taking care of him and his routine, doing the same to the little child you had made together.
He loves to hold them while he works, usually on his chest.
He even asks you if you can sew him a little something so he can strap the child to his chest while he works!
Kitty does not enjoy having her tail pulled at though, yet she grows fond of the tiny creature enough that you once find her curled up on your child’s crib next to them, both soundly asleep.
Mitsunari is protective, and he takes on an active role as a parent.
You understand this, as he was left at a temple without parents to care for him and he is doing the opposite, holding onto your child to grant them all the love he lacked.
You are proud of your husband for being more centered after realizing how much of a mess having a child was.
Now you are left to worry about if your child will be as clueless as Mitsunari once was.
Not that you would love them any less.
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evereinefaust · 1 month
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. . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐬 ࿐ྂ
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Pairing: Jaeden Lieberher/Martell X afab!Reader
Synopsis: MC hadn't experienced happiness as often in recent years. The only sanctuary that she had was that one time she watched a movie and fell in love with the main character. And after a fateful meeting with that actor, reality finally dawned on her.
Word Count: 2,690
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I groaned as the sun's rays invaded my room through the windows. I really hate it when the light shines down my closed eyes, it makes it harder to sleep. Though I know that I have to wake up and do my usual shit. I rubbed my eyes and tried to remove the sleep while I propped my elbows on the mattress to lift my upper body. I can hear the birds singing and the noisy people outside. It's just another usual day in my hometown. 
After stretching my body, I got off the bed. I went over to my closet to pick my clothes for today which were white, long-sleeved, off-shoulder, cropped top with a black bunny design, a black sleeveless shirt underneath it, a high-waist, black, flared skirt, and lastly, black heels. I planned on eating breakfast outside since I'm too lazy to make something to eat for today. My parents are very busy this week and are barely home. I didn't let it get to me though, considering how distant I am from them, I'm already used to being alone most of the time. 
I closed my closet and with the clothes in my arms, I went to the bath to do my usual stuff. After 30 minutes of preparation, I then went out of my house and walked towards the nearest Starbucks in town. My eyes scanned over my usual surroundings and admired nature. Every time I decided to take a walk outside, I always brought my journal and sketchbook. It is my only way to escape from reality, after all.
A sigh escaped my lips as I slowed my steps, letting my gaze fall onto the concrete sidewalk. I don't usually let loneliness get to me, but there are really times that I can't help but feel depressed. I let my mind wander off for a bit as I continued my walk down the town, my legs automatically moved to where Starbucks is. I was pretty sure that I was nearing the cafe so I returned my gaze up, only to have my eyes widen in shock.
I am utterly surprised by what I saw — or rather, who I saw. That brown hair. Those green eyes. He is here. Exiting the same Starbucks that I was about to go in. Unconsciously, my feet dragged my body towards him. He was about to leave and I practically ran towards him.
"Excuse me," I gently tapped the male on his shoulder.
The boy turned around to look at me. Shit, he is too handsome. I saw that he was surprised but nevertheless smiled at me.
"Hi, what can I help you with?"
Honestly speaking, I can't believe why I haven't fainted yet. My heart was rapidly beating against my ribcage, my face was flushed due to nervousness and I could feel my whole body heating up. You could even say that I'm blushing right now. I mean, who wouldn't? The one and only Jaeden Lieberher is here, standing in front of my very eyes. His gentle smile sent butterflies fluttering in the pits of my stomach and I could literally melt from his gaze.
"U-um..."
Shit. I can't believe I stuttered in front of my idol.
"You're Jaeden Lieberher, right?" I asked, even though I already knew it.
Call me crazy but I just wanted to make sure my crush and idol was really standing in front of me, not just any person looking similar to him.
Jaeden nodded. Thank god it's really him.
"Um... I'm a fan and I was wondering if I could have a picture with you?" I let my gaze downwards, feeling embarrassed to even ask him such a request.
I was pretty sure that he would decline my request. I mean, he is a famous actor and thousands of thousands of fans out there also want to take a picture with him. A lot of people wanted to meet their favorite idols in real life and I am lucky enough to be able to spot him here in my hometown. Even though it is just a simple request, I'm pretty sure that he is too busy to fulfill my stupid request.
Ugh! I'm so annoyed with myself! Geez, [Name]! You're already lucky to even spot Jaeden in your hometown, yet you still took the liberty to disturb him in his daily life. He has better things to do rather than entertain you, you stupid! I was so busy reprimanding myself that I didn't realize that Jaeden was speaking to me. I snapped out of my short trance and glanced back at him, my cheeks blushing in embarrassment.
"Huh? I'm sorry, can you repeat what you said?" I feel so awkward. If Jaeden wasn't here I would face-palm due to my stupidity.
The brunette just chuckled. "I said, sure. I won't mind having a picture with you."
My heart skipped a beat yet again. I can feel myself smiling a bit despite being in such a confounded state. My hand instantly fished out my phone from my small sling bag. I opened the device and switched to the camera. While I held the phone up, Jaeden scooted a bit at my side, making our arms brush against each other. This unexpected outcome made me even more flustered. And that's not all! Jaeden offered to take the picture instead!
I pursed my lips, trying to fight the urge to hug the boy and calm myself down. I know that I'm being a bit unsettled, but who wouldn't be when in the presence of their favorite idol? Anyways, Jaeden lifted the phone up and adjusted himself so that we could fit in the screen properly. He rested his hand on my other shoulder as he neared his face to mine, our cheeks almost touching. I tried to contain my huge smile and retain a calm exterior, despite having internal chaos within me.
I clenched my heart, hoping that it would somehow make my heartbeat slow down. After three consecutive shots, Jaeden returned my phone and I instantly thanked him for fulfilling my request. Even though I knew that this meeting was purely coincidental, I still believed that it was fate that made us meet.
I scanned the pictures Jaeden took and a smile etched on my face. "These photos are great... Thanks again."
"It's no problem."
Though, as soon as he said that, my smile turned into a frown. I can't help but think about today. Sure, I meet my idol and have a picture with him. A part of me says that this interaction is enough, however, the other argues that I should spend more time with him. You know, cherish the moment. After all, don't let an opportunity slip past you. If you don't take the chances given to you, it might never return and you might regret it.
I stood there for a while, staring at the screen and clenching my sketchpad with my other hand. I can see my reflection through the glass screen. My eyes contained sadness that I never once knew I had. My lips sported that same frown I always wear every day. It just... hurts.
"Hey," a soft voice broke my trance.
"Huh?" I whipped my head back to the speaker, and surprisingly, it was still Jaeden.
I thought that he would leave by now. But recalling our last conversation, I really didn't bid him goodbye. He must've waited for me to say it so he could go. Though I thought he would be the one to initiate that, especially if he's busy and wanted to avoid another fan. Maybe he's too shy to do so, who knows...
"I realized that you were holding a sketchbook earlier. If you want, I can give you an autograph," he offered, sending me a shy smile as he scratched his temple a bit.
Jaeden really does melt my heart. Not only he was good-looking and talented, but he also had a sweet personality. This is one reason why I started to admire the boy.
I nodded to his reply, handing him the sketchbook in my right hand. My eyes watched as the brunette opened the pages and stopped at a blank one. He got out a black marker from his pocket and started writing his autograph. As I waited, my eyes were subconsciously stealing glances at the boy. I can't help it. He's just... something.
"Here you go," the male handed me back the sketchbook.
I smiled. "Thanks again, Jaeden. It's really kind of you to offer an autograph and answer my humble request. I appreciate it."
"You're welcome," he returned the smile with his own. "It's nice meeting you here. I hope your day will be great. I'll be going now. Goodbye."
"Bye," I waved as the figure of my idol walked away.
I remained in my spot. My hand clenched the sketchbook on my quick beating heart which eventually slowed down. My whole face was regaining back its normal color and my temperature wasn't that warm anymore. My eyes were glued to the direction Jaeden left. Another minute had passed and I let out a tired sigh.
I scolded myself for wasting my time outside the cafe and decided to return back to the routine. The bells chimed as I entered Starbucks. The female behind the cashier greeted me and even told me a great job. I just politely smiled at her. I knew that she was observing us from the inside. It was kind of awkward when I realized it. But nevertheless, what is done is done. I can't contemplate it any longer.
I went to the counter and ordered my usual breakfast, paid for it, and seated myself next to the windows. I placed my sketchpad down and fished out my journal from my bag. My eyes scanned the cover, glossing over the leather with my favorite color in it. With a defeated sigh, I opened the journal. I’ve gone through each written page, each containing my thoughts, troubles, and desperation.
Desperation is mostly brought by my secluded fantasy for a specific male. I was never a fan of any idols, to be honest, however, Jaeden was the only exception. There was something about that boy that drove me crazy. It’s funny, actually, since I’ve only seen him two times. The first was in the movie The Book of Henry and the second was the best-selling movie IT. Other than that, I’ve never seen him almost anywhere. And ever since watching those movies, I’ve started to gain interest in him.
“Ugh…” an annoyed groan escaped my lips. I clicked my tongue in annoyance and slowly brought my head down on the wooden table, closing my eyes as I did so. “What’s wrong with me?”
“Here’s your order, miss,” I heard the clank of a cup against the table followed by a plate.
I quickly regained my composure and smiled at the same lady from earlier before she went back to her spot behind the counter. Maybe some nice beverage would calm my nerves down. I picked the cup up and put it in front of my lips. With a few air blows on the hot liquid, I took a sip from it. I felt the liquid travel down my throat and it calmed me down. After placing the cup back on the saucer, I proceeded to write down today’s journal entry.
March 13, 20xx
When was the last time I felt happy? I actually can’t remember anymore… With this life of mine, there was nothing else really happening. Everything is just monotonous. My routine, my environment, my school… heck! I can’t even seem to remember when I last bonded with my parents! They were always so busy with their work that they completely forgot about me. I don’t know anymore. I’m not particularly sad, I’m just…what do you call it? Yeah, right. Empty. It’s like there was something incomplete in my life. There was no excitement, no sparks. This had gone on for many years now, and I would admit that I was used to it.
I smiled bitterly at the memories of when I was always alone at home, my parents rarely came home for dinner or family time together. It was just only me in our house. Nothing more.
However, despite the darkness, there was light. It was dim and distant, but still… it’s light. After many years, I felt somehow…alive. Hopeful. Call me stupid, but… he was my hope. I found sanctuary in Jaeden. I know that I’ve only seen him in movies, but still…! Ugh! Explaining my feelings before wasn’t that difficult. Why is it difficult to express myself now?! Of all times, why now? Ugh… anyways…
My lips were pursed together in annoyance. I paused for a while, letting my pen down on the paper. My feelings were completely jumbled. I don't want to continue writing like an idiot without any proper idea after all. I took a moment to observe the surroundings outside before continuing on. It works for me to think straight.
Jaeden…he… He’s kind and friendly, albeit shy. I felt like I was in a whole new world when I was with him. Meeting him was fate. I wouldn’t admit that it was just a coincidence. No. I wouldn’t accept that. My heart was beating uncontrollably fast when speaking to him. My body was sweating bullets when near him. My face was blushing when we were seeing eye to eye. It was just…wonderful. It was like I was in a fantasy. My fantasy.
Not only that, when I first saw him, I felt like I had a purpose in life. His acting skills inspired me. It was like I was drawn to him. I know that I’m a loner and only good at drawing, but…it doesn’t hurt to try…right? After watching him in movies and observing him on his blogs, I had this sudden urge to experience being with him. He had made friends. Great friends. While I… I’m just a loner. Whenever I think about him, my life seems to become better. My spirits were lifted like he was the cure. 
I didn't realize the smile etched on my face as I wrote this. 
I was so ecstatic that I didn’t want to wake up. It felt like a dream. A wondrous dream. But…dreams don’t last. Just like always, we have to wake up. Despite having him as an inspiration, my insecurities are still killing me. I had no talent for acting. I’m not good with people. I am shy. I am awkward. I’m…. helpless. Just by looking at us, the answer was very obvious.
Though, as soon as it was, my smile transformed again into a frown. 
There is no way for me to stand in the same podium as he is. I have no rights. I’m just a petty commoner. He’s a great actor. I have no friends. He had tons. I am talent-less. He is brilliant. And so on and so forth. The differences are just many. Our gap is too big. While he shines in the light, I am here, watching him from the darkness. He is so far away that all I can do is look up to him. I can’t seem to reach him at all.
I let out a defeated sigh, pausing for a bit. I twirled the pen in between my fingers as I let my gaze fall onto the scenery outside. It was such a wonderful day today. The skies were blue, there were some white, fluffy clouds drifting through the horizon, the trees were swaying softly, the fallen leaves were floating, and the citizens were going on their daily tasks. My eyes gradually softened and tears quietly cascaded down my cheeks.
Maybe it’s better if I should give up… After all, we live in opposite worlds.
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fatherhood
It’s been a long time since Claire Novak had parents. That’s just the way the world works; some kids grow up in a loving family, spoiled by mommy and daddy until their teeth rot out of their skulls, and some kids’ moms and dads get creatively murdered by feathery jackasses of the Lord. Nothing to see here - life goes on, and the world keeps slowly turning.
Except for when Claire gets an unexpected visit from a stranger, and everything falls apart.
-
a study of Castiel and Claire, largely inspired by 15x15 Gimme Shelter.
read on ao3
She’s a cobra, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Just one more second and she’ll have it right where she wants it, prey perfectly lined up for the kill. Just one more second, and she’ll be home free.
A melody rings out in the darkness, and a bright white light illuminates her position.
“Fuck,” Claire Novak curses under her breath – as if trying to be quiet will help her now that her goddamn phone’s given her away. The vamp she’s been watching snarls as it turns towards her, and her ringtone won’t stop fucking ringing, and her phone’s buttons are slipperier than they’ve ever been, her fingers fumbling to decline the call as she scrambles to her feet.
“Hello? Claire, honey, is that you?”
Fuck. As if her luck could get any worse.
“Mommy’s worried about you, huh, sweetheart? Better say your goodbyes now before I drink you dry,” the vamp sneers, showing its teeth. It’s gaining ground, nearly blocking the abandoned warehouse’s rickety doors.
What a goddamn disaster.
“Do you need backup?” comes Jody’s urgent question over the line, all business now. Never mind that Claire’s a state away and can handle this on her own, thank you very much, and would have been out by now if Jody hadn’t called in the first place.
“Don’t have time to talk right now, Jody,” she replies, eyes trained on the vamp that’s now listening in with a dangerous and amused smirk on its face. It lopes toward her slowly, confident, predator chasing prey. Claire’s machete weighs heavy on her back.
“Ooh, on first name terms, are we?” it taunts. “Maybe Mommy won’t miss you so much after all.”
The words still sting, even if in not the way the vamp intends. It’s been so long since she’s deliberately thought of her mother, how Amelia left, how they found each other, how she –
Well. Not important now.
“Not like anyone’s going to miss you either, bloodsucker,” she counters, and takes a step closer.
“Wanna bet?” The vamp grins, all monster, baring its teeth at Claire’s forward movement and taking its own step toward her in response.
“Claire,” Jody’s voice warns.
The exit’s blocked now. No way out but through.
Claire knows what she needs to do.
“Try me,” she says, and the vamp’s eyes glint in the faint moonlight coming through the warehouse windows.
“Who are you, little girl?” it lilts, amused. It takes one step forward, and Claire tenses. “You’re nothing, nobody. Mommy and Daddy aren’t here to save you. It’s just you and me.”
Her heartbeat pounds in her ears, sickeningly loud. There might as well be lead in her arms. Her face is on fire.
Taunting, the vamp takes another step, baring its teeth once more. “And all I see is dinner. So tell me, bitch. Who the fuck are you?”
Quicker than she’d have thought possible, the fire spreads through her body, burning through the lead in her muscles, setting her heart aflame. Fuck strategy. Fuck everything except sending this bloodsucker to hell, where it belongs.
It happens in a flash. The machete makes a satisfying sound as it hits bone on its way through neck, and the vamp’s head rolls away from its body with its horrifying smirk still on its lips. She’ll have to wash the blood from her hair later, she notes absently. Her muscles are still taut, rage still beating a steady pulse through her body.
“I’m Claire Novak,” she spits. Her machete shakes in her hand. “I’m the one who kills you.”
***
The blood rushing through her ears takes another few moments to subside, and when it does, Claire realizes dimly that the faint tinny noises splitting the air aren’t actually faint at all.
“Claire! Claire, are you okay?! Claire, answer me!”
Jody’s voice sounds frantic. It grounds her, slowing her heartbeat to a more acceptable rhythm. A worried Jody is a completely different kind of beast to conquer. Claire isn’t sure she’d be able to handle that right now.
And besides. Jody shouldn’t have to worry about her.
“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Claire mumbles, switching the machete to her left hand so she can push the right through her blood-matted hair. Still holding up pretty well, she thinks – her own curler never stands up this well to a hunt. She’d plan to thank Alex when she gets back, except Alex didn’t exactly know that Claire had stolen her curler to do her hair that morning, so that option’s out. Maybe she’ll log into Alex’s account and leave the company a review.
Great product!!! Love the way I can go through my whole day and my curls never deflate. My hair holds up great after salt-and-burns, butchering vamps, shooting werewolves, and even killing the nastiest ghouls. Five stars!!
She snorts lightly, shaking her head at the idea. Thankfully, Jody doesn’t pick up on it.
“You’d better be fine,” Jody says through the line, firm now, the anxiety gone from her voice. Claire knows better, though. Jody’s had to get good at hiding it, but Claire worries her. She hates it and loves it and hates that she loves it at all. Guilt caves her chest in just a little bit. “Did you forget our agreement? Or did you decide that we’re beyond writing a quick text letting each other know where we’ll be before heading off on a hunt?”
“Well, it’s not like you ever text me to let me know,” she snaps, but even with the annoyance in her voice, the bite isn’t there. It’s habit now, like double-checking her weapons before heading out. She knows that Jody knows she doesn’t mean it.
I’m okay, she thinks in Jody’s direction. I’m safe.
“I may not text you, but I sure as hell do text Donna – ”
“So I’ll text Kaia, then,” she says. Her voice wavers upwards just slightly, just enough to give away her grin. “Or Alex. Ooh, or maybe Patience. Sound good?”
“All right, smartass,” Jody replies, and Claire can hear the smile break through her voice too. Score. “This conversation’s not over, okay? We’ll get to it when you get back. Where are you now?”
“Lincoln,” she says, pulling her phone from her ear and bringing up Google Maps, “but it’s late, and Google says it’ll be three and a half hours, so I’ll probably stay in a motel tonight and head back in the morning.”
“Sounds like a plan. You’ll keep me posted on the way back?”
“Yeah, yeah.” She waves her machete dismissively, even though Jody can’t see it. Pressing her head hard to her phone to keep it shoved between her shoulder and ear, she finally sheathes the weapon against her hip. With a sneer back at the vamp’s disembodied head, she turns on her heel to face her original hiding place. “Any reason you called in the first place, Jody? Or did you just want to turn my hunt up to hard mode?”
As soon as the words leave her mouth, she winces. Maybe not the nicest way to phrase it. Jody’s been good to her. Claire’s not as young as she used to be. Time to grow up.
“’Cause it didn’t work – still easy as pie. Nothing to worry about.”
Nice save, Novak.
“Har har,” Jody answers sarcastically, but her voice doesn’t sting with hurt, so Claire figures she’s in the clear. Slinging her bag over her back, she heads out toward the creaking warehouse doors. “Nothing big, just, uh. We’ll be having a visitor! Tomorrow, actually! He’ll probably be here before you get back, depending on when you’ll get in.”
“Uh-huh,” she says absent-mindedly, pushing through the doors with some effort. God, she’s tired. “You can just say Dean’s coming by to detox – ”
It’s still raw to think about why Dean’s been drinking so much lately, so she steadfastly doesn’t, and the sentence ends there. Her eyes dart to her car, parked and safe in the bushes not far away. Just like any other hunt. Everything’s normal.
“It’s, uh, actually not Dean.”
“So, Sam? Is he bringing Eileen?” Claire’s been dying to meet her ever since she’d heard about her, but, well, God had sort of gotten in the way. Still, she’d been brushing up on her ASL, even if it was a little more basic than she’d have liked. She always loved trading hunting stories with other badass girls on the road.
“It’s not Sam either,” Jody says, slowly, and for the first time, Claire picks up on a note of hesitation in her voice. She’s stalling. Why is she stalling?
“Who’s coming, Jody?”
Her car keys nearly slip from her hands at Jody’s answer.
When Claire’s fingers clumsily fumble the catch, the blare of the car’s alarm drowns out any other coherent thought, numbing her for the whole drive over to the motel. Check-in, payment, settling in. Static in her limbs all along the way, body asleep but still moving, no better than a stumbling corpse.
Her body – unclean, disheveled, alone, empty – occupies the space atop the covers of the single bed. Claire Novak is nowhere to be found.
She closes her eyes, but the static only grows louder.
---
The trip back to Sioux Falls is definitely somewhere in the top ten worst drives Claire’s ever taken.
Usually, the long drive is half of what makes a hunt so exciting. In a house with anywhere between two and ten other people in it at any given time, a drive is a chance to hear yourself think. Or not think, if it’s been that kind of a week. Just Claire and the open road; a hand on the wheel, the wind tossing her hair back over the seat, singing along to whatever playlist best suits the vibes of the trip.
But this time? She might as well pick up some hitchhiking penguins for how much it’s the polar opposite.
Three and a half hours pass, silent except for the sound of the engine. Landscapes streak past her windows, but Claire just drives, watching the road and not seeing a thing.
The longer it goes, the louder the static becomes; first in her hands, then spreading up her arms, in her chest, in her head. This time, though, it doesn’t numb her. Instead, her fingers tap a disjointed, nervous beat against the wheel; her breaths come uneven and ragged as she fights against the growing tightness in her chest; the grinding of her teeth rivals the engine for volume in her head.
It’s only when she pulls onto Jody’s street that she realizes that she’s even made it to Sioux Falls in the first place. The familiar environment isn’t even the giveaway – it’s the Impala, parked unassumingly in the driveway, that does it.
What?!
Claire slams the brakes, parking less than gracefully in front of the house. Jody might kill her for it later, but it’s not like that’s gonna make a difference if she’s going down swinging in about ten minutes anyway.
Wonder if Patience could tell me exactly how long it’ll take before everything goes to hell.
“Where is he?” she demands as the door swings open. Jody turns to look at her from her spot at the kitchen sink.
“Well, hi to you too,” she shoots back, but Claire can tell that she’s not feeling it. It’s habit, saying the words because she always does. Jody’s eyes are too full of pity, and Claire doesn’t need anyone’s fucking charity, and the explosion feels like it’s already happened and it’s just racing toward them like shockwaves from a bomb.
Alex, dishtowel in hand, looks between them knowingly and shrugs as she makes to leave. She doesn’t say a single word, which is just fucking like her, until she claps Claire on the back as she heads up the stairs.
“Don’t start something you can’t finish, Rambo.”
“Shut up, Nurse Piccolo,” Claire shoots back reflexively, and finally closes the door behind her as she heads further into the house. Her eyes dart to the living room as she passes, but it’s empty. “Where is he, Jody?”
“Out back,” Jody finally relents, tilting her head toward the window. Before Claire can even think about moving to head out, though, Jody’s firm hand lands hard on her shoulder, grounding her in place. It rankles, her muscles immediately tensing defensively. What gives her the fucking right? “Claire, try to remember it’s not his fault. He just wants to talk. Just hear him out, all right? Hear what he’s got to say.”
Her blood rushes in her ears, white noise growing louder and louder.
“Great pep talk, but in case you haven’t noticed, you’re not actually my mom.” Her voice is rough and dry as sandpaper. She feels like she’s running cold and sweating bullets all at the same time. “I can handle this myself, thanks.”
She ducks and gives a hard jerk forward, ripping herself out from under Jody’s hand.
Alone, a voice whispers in her ear as she stalks out the door and slams it behind her.
The figure in the back garden is crouched down, looking at the dead flowerbed where Jody, Kaia, and Donna planted chrysanthemums this past spring. Back when Kaia had just come back from the bad place, and Claire’s heart had been full to bursting as she leaned against the side of the house and watched them work. Back when everything was good, she’d gotten a semblance of her life back, and she didn’t have any of this shit tearing her apart any time she so much as breathed.
His fingers brush the dried leaves almost reverently as he stands, and Claire snaps like a broken rubber band.
“What are you even doing here?” she says coldly, folding her hands over her chest.
The figure turns, and for the first time since she’d heard about his very existence, Claire sees the face of Lucifer’s bouncing baby bundle of joy staring back at her.
He’s smaller than she expected, only a few inches taller than her – less, even, in her combat boots. His hands are fidgeting now, pulling at the bottom of his jacket like he’s trying to make a good impression on the first day of kindergarten. He’s even dressed like a fucking Winchester, all the layers minus the flannel, like he’s trying to prove a point.
But the most infuriating fucking thing is that he’s standing there, innocent as a goddamn baby, and all she sees are Dad’s eyes looking back at her. Dad’s eyes, and Castiel’s stupid, unwarranted concern in the lines of his face.
And isn’t that just the fucking cherry on top?
Her fist moves before she even has the chance to process what’s happening. But – surprise, surprise – he catches it mid-swing, his palm closing over her fingers, before it can come too near his face.
“Hello,” says Jack Kline, still holding Claire’s fist in one hand while he raises the other in a small wave.
He’s got a gap between his two front teeth. Jesus Christ.
In the second that Claire’s still frozen, he must decide that he’s not done being stupid today, because he opens his mouth again. “My name is –”
“I know who you are,” she snarls, ripping her fist from his hand to hold it at her side, glaring back at him without quite looking at his face. “I said, what the hell are you doing here?”
Even without looking, she can just about hear his eyebrows knit together in confusion and concern. Every frantic beat of her heart sends pain lancing through her chest. She can’t fucking deal with this right now, she needs to hit something, she needs to get so far away from this –
“I wanted to meet you, Claire Novak.”
It’s like some excited kid blew out their birthday candles with all the breath in their little lungs. The fight just goes out of her, runs down her back like melting ice skating its way down her spine, until instead of being wound up with tension, Claire’s just fucking exhausted. What’s even the point anymore?
“Don’t know why,” she says under her breath, shifting her weight onto one hip and tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear.
“Because I thought you could help me,” Jack answers earnestly, evidently having heard her grumble and chosen to ignore the reason she didn’t say it out loud to him in the first place.
Claire can’t help it. She snorts derisively, folding her arms over her chest for the second time.
“What could you even need my help with?” she asks, even though realistically there isn’t a good answer to that question. “You’re half-angel, aren’t you? Nephilim. And now you’re literally God, so. You can do whatever the hell you want to do.” She pauses for a second. “And you’ve got Sam and Dean if you need anything else. You don’t need me.”
Jack takes a second, letting her words sink in – clearly it hadn’t been what he was expecting to hear from her. Good. Let me keep him on his toes. Time to dance, kid.
But then he tilts his head just slightly to the side, eyes narrowing as he processes what she’s said, and fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Unbidden, the corners of her eyes start to prickle, tiny stabs from the smallest knives, and her fingers dig marks onto the leather of her jacket sleeve in a desperate grip. Fuck. Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, don’t think about it –
It’s impossible. The kid looks so much like Cas that it’s hard to believe they don’t share any DNA. The past two months of strategic hard work and fragile walls carefully built up around her heart shatter in the seconds it takes for Jack to speak again. Fuck.
“That’s true, but this isn’t something that being omniscient can really resolve,” he muses as Claire fights the urge to scrub at her eyes with the back of her hand. “I think Sam would like to help, but I’d be worried that what I want to ask would be too difficult for him to deal with. And Dean is…” He falters for a moment. “I don’t think Dean likes me very much right now.”
“The Impala’s here, isn’t it?” she says, latching onto the distraction with only the slightest waver in her voice. “Can’t be that mad at you.”
“I drove it here,” Jack answers simply. Claire’s eyes widen despite herself.
He what?!
“You – you drove –”
“Yes,” he says matter-of-factly. The ends of his lips twitch upwards again. “I don’t like flying when I’m on Earth, not if I don’t have to. So I took the Impala from the bunker’s garage since I’ve already practiced driving it.” The smile flickers for just a moment. “I didn’t tell anyone I took it, though. I didn’t want Sam and Dean to know I was here. Do you think it’ll be missed? I didn’t think I’d be too long.”
The information whizzes in through one of Claire’s ears and right out the other. All except –
“You stole the Impala?”
Jack’s hand flies to the back of his neck, rubbing it up and down in an embarrassed move that reads so Dean that it nearly punches the breath out of her again. “I just wanted to come by and ask you a question.” He squints thoughtfully, and the gut punch does hit this time. “I think they would have let me take her.”
This time, she can’t help swiping angrily at the sides of her eyes with her sleeve. Fuck this. This conversation’s all small-talk and pain and it needs to be done yesterday.
“So what are you here for then, huh? What was worth stealing the Impala for?” she says. Her voice only cracks once, which is pretty much a win with how hard she’s losing grip on her sanity. She still can’t even look right at him.
His eyes widen a little, betraying his surprise at the sudden reversal of the conversation. He opens his mouth but then pauses, clearly thinking over whatever he was about to say.
What he does say isn’t any better.
“The last case that Cas and I went on was to investigate this religious group at a community center,” he says, and Claire’s ears start ringing. “Well, the case itself doesn’t really matter. But we had to pretend to be new members of the group and the pastor asked us to share our journey during prayer.”
Jack pauses, and the way his fists clench at his side looks like he’s gathering up the courage to continue. “Cas talked about losing his sense of purpose and not really knowing what to do anymore. But he said that he found himself again in becoming a father.”
Claire can’t help but flinch at the word. She takes a step back, unsteady on her feet, and lets out a watery, incredulous laugh. “Must’ve felt good, huh, wonder boy?”
He tilts his head just like Cas again, just more fucking fuel for the fire.
“Well, yes,” he says slowly, like he’s testing out the words. “But he wasn’t my dad first.”
Her breath catches in her throat.
“I – I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she says, another disbelieving laugh slipping through her lips. Her head shakes a no without even a conscious thought to do it. “He wasn’t my dad just because he stole my dad’s body. You’re wrong.”
Her words taste strange coming out of her mouth. She’s not lying – she misses her dad more than anything. She still remembers the last time she saw him, the look on his face, bruised and bloody, looking up at her in desperation as he begged her to take him instead. Claire remembers her fear, her horror, her despair at the thought of her dad leaving again; she remembers Castiel’s calm decisiveness and – even though he was her, even though he was about to take her dad away from her forever, even though he was the world’s number one, top tier, give-the-guy-a-fucking-medal type of jackass – his clumsy attempts to soothe her inside her own head.
There’s nothing to fear, Claire, he’d thought with no small amount of uncertainty, pulling up her most comforting memories to try to make her feel better. The smell of her favourite teddy bear squished into her face when she was cozy, wrapped in her blankets; Christmas around the softly-lit tree, singing carols with her mom and dad; the triumph in her dad’s eyes when she finally got the right answer on the hardest math equation she’d ever had to do. The memories hadn’t helped at all – they’d actively made it worse. He was so fucking stupid. But somehow, he was still trying. Your father will live. He will be serving a greater mission. You will see him again someday, in a better place. Don’t be afraid.
For years afterwards, she’d thought of that whenever she prayed to Castiel to bring him back. He had tried to make her feel better. He couldn’t be all bad. He was going to bring her dad back.
It didn’t take long after her mother started drinking herself to sleep every night for Claire to give up on that idea.
Castiel, douchebag of the Lord, hadn’t even thought twice before he as good as took both of her parents away from her.
She’d tried thinking of that when Sam had called, two months ago, to gently tell them that Cas was gone. She’d tried to remember the anger and the disgust and the absolute, endless hatred at what he’d done to her family. It wasn’t hard; those feelings still fought their way past her carefully constructed barriers around that time in her life whenever she let herself think about it. The problem was, that wasn’t all there was anymore.
He’d broken her out of the foster system, even though he was the world’s worst liar, even if he’d had no idea what the hell he was doing, even if he was doing it more out of guilt than anything else. He’d remembered her birthday, and gotten her a gift – even if it was just a stupid toy from Hot Topic. He listened for her prayers. He texted her with a frankly excessive amount of emojis, and no matter where he was or what either of them were doing, he always made sure to send her good morning and goodnight texts.
Dad had been kind, gentle. He’d kiss Claire’s forehead before bed every night, and even when she’d gotten older, he’d still sometimes make the time to read her bedtime stories. He’d help her when she got stuck on schoolwork. If he ever had to leave for a conference, he’d always bring her a little something from wherever he’d been, just to remind her that she was always in his heart no matter where he went.
Cas never pretended like he could make up for what he’d done, because he knew there was no way he could. He never acted like she owed him anything. He didn’t hold anything against her even when he probably should have. He apologized, and didn’t expect her to forgive him or want anything to do with him afterwards.
He’d tried to comfort her.
Castiel, angel of the Lord, couldn’t have been James Novak even if he had tried. He would never be able to fill the empty void Jimmy had left in Claire’s life, the space that Castiel himself had created in the name of Heaven’s great plan.
That didn’t mean that, with all the shit they’d been through in the last few years, he couldn’t have slowly become – in the strangest, most incomprehensible, most fucked-up of ways – something like a father to her.
It’s the first time she’s let herself even consider the thought.
Jack meets her eyes uncertainly in the silence, somehow looking nothing like Jimmy Novak and everything like Castiel all at once.
It’s still for a moment, all except for Claire’s lungs working overtime to catch a breath, until a small noise pierces the air. It happens again and again, unpredictable and erratic, and there’s a second where she half-wonders where it’s coming from before Jack moves to extend a hesitant hand out toward her and abruptly stops himself in mid-air, unsure what to do next.
Oh. That’s me.
It’s only then that Claire tastes the saltwater on her lips; only then that she realizes that she’s been shaking with sobs she’s only barely been able to hold back. She’s still standing, but it’s a close call, if she’s gonna be honest with herself. And she might as well be, now.
“Claire?” Jack tries gently, hesitantly. With that, it’s like the blood in her veins catches a spark, lighting her up in an uncontrollable blaze. She doesn’t need his pity. She can’t stand him tiptoeing around her like she’s some sort of fucking wild animal, can’t stand his small voice when he talks to her, can’t stand him looking at her with his eyes –
“How does Dean even look at you?”
It tumbles out of her mouth in a rush, a tangled mess of thorns that she can’t stop herself from throwing in his face, and the worst part of it is that it’s true.
Jack’s the one who flinches this time. He takes a step backwards, and he opens his mouth like he’s trying to say something, but nothing comes out. Claire doesn’t know if she wants to laugh or cry.
“You look so much like him, you know that?” is what she settles on saying, and he flinches again, looking away. She laughs humourlessly. “Nobody told me. I hear all kinds of stories about the new kid – the special-est little boy – Cas’ son, but no one thinks I might wanna know that he doesn’t look jack shit like his biological dad down under – no, he looks just like mine.”
Jack’s eyes widen in something half like surprise, half like horror. His lips part silently, but she beats him to it.
“And you know what the funniest part is?” she continues, voice growing louder. “The funniest part is that sure, it fucking hurts to see bits and pieces of him in your face. But you know what I realized? Even with all that, it’s not really Dad you look like.”
She looks up at him, into those piercing blue eyes that she’s only ever seen on one other person, and holds his gaze, however shaky it might be.
“Dad’s been gone twelve years. That wasn’t his body anymore. That was Cas.”
Her breaths are ragged, her fingers trembling, but she can’t stop now that she’s started. It’s like a boulder rolling at top speed down a hill, a chemical chain reaction rushing to explode. “He never moved like Dad did, never smiled like him even though it was the same face. You’re just like him. I look at you and all I can see is his stupid face – ”
It feels like she’s falling apart.
“They’re both gone. They’re – they weren’t even – ” Another sharp, dead laugh bursts from her chest. “How good of a father was either of them? When my dad gave us up, gave up his family because a voice in his head told him he was special? When Cas – when Castiel left, and couldn’t look me in the eyes, and started over with a different, better kid so he could be a real dad?”
“He talked about you all the time.”
The words are soft, but somehow they still stab Claire like a silver dagger to the heart.
“What?”
“Cas talked about you,” Jack repeats, this time a little louder. “He didn’t pretend like you didn’t exist just because I lived with him and you were living here.”
All she can do is blink. Her throat tightens, each dry swallow burning its way down her chest.
“I don’t know what a father is supposed to be,” Jack says simply. “I don’t know if Cas was a good one, to either of us. He left me behind, too. And it’s my fault he’s gone.”
Claire looks back at him, standing there unsteadily, and – for the first time, the only time in this whole exchange so far – Jack looks real.
“That’s not – ” she tries, but he shakes his head.
“He made a deal to save me. I’d rather not be dead, I guess, but Cas made himself unhappy so he could stay here, and when the time came, he left without saying goodbye.”
She remembers Cas driving slow beside her as they talked, Cas putting himself between her and whatever danger was threatening them this time, holding her when her heart was shattering and she didn’t know what she was even feeling. Her phone burns a hole in her pocket with one last “Good morning 🌞, Claire” that she thought she’d have more time to answer.
“I just wanted to know what he was like,” Jack says, and it takes Claire a second to realize that he’s still talking to her. “With you.”
The silence hangs heavy between them. They look at each other, a growing chasm at their feet that neither can cross alone. Claire feels it cracking in time with her heartbeat as she looks back at Jack’s open expression, and she makes a choice.
“He was an idiot,” she says, throwing a rope over the aching canyon to cross the distance. Jack, wide-eyed, holds to it like a lifeline, hanging rapturously onto her every word. “He had to pretend to be my dad once and it was like he’d never met a real person in his life. I don’t think he knew how to exist around a teenager.” She pauses, and for the first time today, Claire Novak feels a small smile tug at the edges of her mouth. “He gave me a Grumpy Cat plushie for my eighteenth birthday.”
“Really?” Jack tentatively offers a smile back. “He got me Marvellous Marvin the Talking Teddy for mine.”
“Are you serious?” Well, fuck. This time, though still incredulous, Claire’s laugh is genuine. “Man, he has one idea and he sticks to it, huh?”
“Sounds like it,” Jack answers, and he lets out a small laugh too.
“He didn’t know what he was doing most of the time, but… he was trying, I guess,” she says slowly, finally trying to put a name to the wall crumbling to pieces around her heart. “We were both trying, even though it was probably the most fucked up relationship in the world. Sometimes I still don’t know how I feel about everything.” Her shoulders sag with exhaustion, but she still manages a shrug. “Right now, mostly, I miss him.”
“Yeah,” Jack says, voice breaking on the word. When Claire looks, really looks at him, she can see the tears gathering at the corners of his eyes like she’s looking into a mirror. “Same here.”
It’s a split second decision, but somehow, it still feels like the moment she makes it stretches into forever.
Before she really knows what she’s doing, Claire takes a step forward, and then another, and one more. When she’s close enough, she takes a deep, shaky breath and lets it out into a long sigh.
“C’mere,” she mumbles, and pulls Jack toward her. He stumbles, startled, but before long his arms gently close around her just like how she’s holding him, two kids in the world’s most awkward hug.
When she hears a small sniffle from right beside her ear, though, she knows she made the right choice.
“Thank you,” comes his small voice, and his fingers squeeze just a little tighter into the leather of her jacket. “Thank you, Claire.”
“All right, all right,” she answers, voice thick in her throat. Be cool, Novak. “Can it, beanstalk.”
Jack laughs again, breathless and a little watery.
Nailed it.
***
When they’ve both run out of stories to share, the silence between them isn’t nearly as loaded as it was at the start. They’re sitting at the edge of the flowerbed, typing their numbers into each other’s phones, when a car door slams shut at the front of the house.
It’s Claire that looks up first at the sound, her brows furrowed.
“I don’t think Jody was expecting anybody today,” she says, but before she can think it through, Jack freezes beside her.
“Jack?”
“Thank you, Claire,” he whispers, handing her phone back and gently taking his as he stumbles to his feet. “If you ever want to talk, you can always text me. I’m pretty sure there’s service in Heaven.” He frowns for a moment, considering. “If texting doesn’t work, you can always pray to me. I’ll always be able to hear you.”
“Whoa, what’s with the curtain call?” she says as she stands, dusting the dirt off her jeans. “What’s going on?”
It’s then that she hears voices floating out of the open kitchen window, and it doesn’t take long to put the rest together.
“It’s Sam and Dean,” Jack whispers anyway, unnecessarily. “I told Jody not to tell anyone except you that I was coming, but Sam must have noticed the Impala was missing. I can’t stay.”
“You don’t want them knowing you’re here?” Claire asks just as quietly.
He’s back to tugging on the hem of his jacket with a hand, his eyes darting fast as lightning between Claire and the kitchen window. The breath he lets out is shaky, and he can’t quite make eye contact with her anymore.
“I don’t know how to save Cas,” he admits, and even though she’d figured it had to be something like that, the disappointment still stings, somewhere deep down. “I can’t yet. I can’t see them until I’ve found a way.”
It doesn’t really make sense – dumb as the Winchesters can be, would they really hold something like this against Jack? – until she hears the clinking of glass and the sound of the front door again, and suddenly it all clicks into place, right alongside the worry and sadness in Jack’s eyes when she’d mentioned Dean’s name earlier. She nods without a word, but taps her phone back as her own reminder.
A wave of relief breaks over Jack’s face, and he nods back, a small smile on his lips and a hand raised in a wave goodbye. He’s gone a moment later, and Claire’s left standing there, alone, looking at the back door.
She knows what comes next, even though she’s had enough of feelings for one day, thank you very much. But this is how Cas has left his family, and there’s no use crying over spilled milk about it.
Time to pick up the pieces.
“…we’re not trying to smother him,” Sam’s voice is saying as she walks past the side of the house. “I just – we just want to know if he’s okay.”
“He’ll be back when he’s ready, Sam,” Jody’s voice answers, gentle from lived experience, and Claire’s heart stumbles over a beat from the tidal wave of guilt washing over her.
Despite that, she keeps walking, steps steady even when nothing else in the world is. It’s not long before she makes it to the front yard and catches sight of a figure leaning, slouched, against the Impala.
The bottle Dean’s holding is hanging loosely from his fist at his side, and he’s turned away from her so she can’t see his expression. It’s been awhile since Claire’s seen him around – Jody must know better than to put them in close range after what happened two months ago. Still, she feels something like déjà vu as she sees the defeat in his slumped shoulders, hears the beer clinking against the door of the car.  
It only takes another second for it to hit her like a freight train. She’s seen this movie before – she knows how this one plays out. Even though they couldn’t look more different, for one long, heartwrenching moment, it’s her mom standing there by the car, about to leave her behind for another doomed wild goose chase.
Sorry, Clairebear, Mom’s gotta get going now. Be good for Nana, okay? Mom and Dad are gonna be back soon.
She’s pretty sure Rotten Tomatoes would rate it into the negatives, as far as endings go. Claire may not have been able to escape it for herself, but she’ll be damned if she lets Dean take up the starring role in the hotly anticipated sequel.
And, well, fuck. It’s enough that she’d been surprise cast into the little horror show her life had become. Jack shouldn’t be forced onto the casting couch from hell either.
Dean’s silhouette slumps a little further as he lets out a sigh, and Claire’s resolve cements itself deep in her chest.
As she moves closer to the Impala, two things become clear to her. The first is that she can tell now that Dean’s watching the setting sun, looking at the horizon without seeing much of anything. His jaw twitches and his lips move soundlessly, almost as if he’s trying to say something, but no words make it out.
The second is that the keys to the junker the two of them drove here are still in its ignition.
Well, fuck it.
Looks like today’s theme is bad decisions, she thinks wryly.
It takes less than a minute for Claire to create a group with Sam and Jody’s numbers in it and text them a quick apology, and then she’s sliding her phone into her back pocket as she draws close enough to grab Dean’s arm.
“All right, old man,” she says, and pulls hard.
Startled, Dean comes away from the Impala with a grunt. It takes a second for his eyes to find Claire’s, and another for them to focus enough to make sense of what he’s seeing.
“Hey, kid,” he says, and fuck. His voice might as well be sandpaper. She can see him trying, though – in another moment, he manages to rearrange his expression so it looks passably like a smile if she squints real hard. The look on his face makes her chest feel tight with an emotion she can’t name. “Long time no see, huh?”
“Sure has,” she answers, and, putting all her weight behind it, she yanks him in the direction of the passenger seat of the Men of Letters’ courtesy car. Dean stumbles, but just like she’d been hoping, he trips toward the door. “Don’t worry, though. We’re about to have a really long catch-up sesh.”
***
It’s an hour and a half into the drive back to Lebanon that Dean finally starts sobering up enough to fully understand what’s happening.
“You left Baby back in South Dakota?!”
“Oh, calm down, princess,” Claire says with a roll of her eyes. Drama queen. “Sam’s the only one you’d let drive her back, anyway. It’s not like you were sober enough to do it.”
The silence that falls over the car is the most awkward it’s been between the two of them since the mini-golf incident all those years ago.
Dean slumps back into the passenger seat with a heavy sigh, and when Claire makes no move to continue, he goes back to staring sightlessly out the window at the twilight, slowly slipping away into darkness to the tune of a soft pattering of raindrops on the roof.
They’re driving down a dimly lit two-lane, a wall of clouds casting pitch darkness on the highway, when Claire speaks next.
“You’re gonna have to talk about it at some point, Dean.”
He snorts derisively without looking at her. “Yeah? So what, you’re about to go all Doctor Phil on me now that we’re trapped in a car for another hour?”
“Fuck no,” she says emphatically, knuckles bone white on the steering wheel. “We are not having this conversation.”
“ ’s different when it’s on you, huh,” he mumbles into his jacket, and Claire stares out at the blackness where the road ends, just outside the faint outline of the car’s headlights. Another long silence steals over the two of them, and Claire drives on.
“I’m not the one that needs to hear it,” she says, finally.
Dean doesn’t answer – at least, not aloud. His shoulders hunch further inward, and she resolutely pretends not to hear his jagged, uneven breathing piercing the dark.
They don’t speak again until they’re less than twenty minutes out from the bunker.
“It’s not like I don’t see it,” Dean murmurs, barely audible over the sound of the engine.
“See what?” comes Claire’s careful answer, taking a corner a little more sharply than she should have.
“Sammy,” he says incomprehensibly, and before she can even begin to process what’s happening, he’s putting his head in his hands, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes. “He thinks I’m like him.”
“Like –”
“No,” Dean snaps vehemently before she can even say his name. “Not him. Like John.”
“John?”
“Turning into Dad,” he says, so quietly Claire almost doesn’t hear it. The streetlights of Lebanon pass over his face, from the black of night to warm yellow to black again, and silently, Claire pretends not to notice the shimmer of tears on his cheeks.
---
It’s too late to drive back to Sioux Falls by the time Dean’s stumbled into bed, but before he passes out cold on top of the sheets, he tells her to pick a room and make herself comfortable.
It’s not like Claire’s turning down the offer; she’s just too wired to sleep, her brain whirring at a hundred miles a minute, trying and failing not to feel the emotions stuck in her throat. There are no bedtime stories tonight, nothing to distract her in a blank room that’s been unchanged for seventy years. Tonight, the static’s gone, replaced with restless adrenaline and a heart on the verge of collapse.
It doesn’t take much tossing and turning for Claire to make the executive decision that trying to sleep is pretty much useless right now.
Even though she really doesn’t need to be – an elephant stampeding outside his door wouldn’t have a chance of waking Dean right now – she’s light on her feet as she slips out of the room and down the hallway.
Dean’s is the only door that’s closed; through one that’s half-open, she catches a glimpse of one of Sam’s bags strewn across his bed, at least a dozen books scattered across his sheets, his desk, the floor. There’s another nearly empty one next, except for a few plaid shirts hanging in the open closet and a glasses case by the bed. Through another, posters litter the walls, there’s a pair of headphones folded up on the night table, and a tank lies empty on the desk. So it goes.
The room after that has its door flung wide open, so really, it’s practically begging for her to take a closer look. On first glance, it’s just the same as every other room; double bed, a night table on either side, a desk, a closet. Nothing looks any different from what her room looks like, or at least not until she overbalances on her heel-turn back toward the door, throws her arm out to steady herself, and feels her hand meet fabric instead of wood on the desk chair.
It’s just a regular army green jacket, like any number of the ones Dean’s worn around before. There’s the corner of what looks like a thin rectangle of black plastic just peeking out of the pocket facing her – if she had to guess, it looks like one of the millions of cassette tapes she’s seen Dean stash away in a mangled box tucked under the Impala’s front passenger seat.
Is he using this as a second room?
Nothing else looks lived in, so it takes her until she finally turns to leave again to notice the tiny blue triangle of fabric caught on the edge of the upper desk drawer. Now that doesn’t look like anything of Dean’s– he doesn’t usually wear much blue – so, against her better judgment, she pulls the drawer unstuck to see what it is.
The first thing that she processes is that it’s not all blue; the fabric alternates diagonal blue and white stripes from one tip to the other.
The second is a memory.
As the fabric nearly slips from her hands, Claire sees it knotted messily, feels her fingers tugging it one way and then the other to tighten it up; hears her own voice, loud and dissonant, echoing in her ears.
Not that you care, but I like you better in a tie.
She’s gone before she even realizes she’s moving.
When the cool, quiet night air hits her face, it feels like her mind finally comes to a stop. Ever so slowly, Claire lowers herself to sit, cross-legged, on the cold concrete of the bunker’s roof; the moon stares, uncaring, down at her through the incoming clouds, lighting up the slight shake in her hands, her trembling fingers still gripping the stupid tie. If she looks closely enough, she can see the usual bright dot that she knows means Jupiter directly above the crescent. Absently, she wonders if Jack is looking at the same sky; if he’s seeing the same stars in reverse, a mirror image, if he’s looking down at them from above.
The planet turns, the galaxy spins, and Cas is still gone.
“Hey, Cas,” she murmurs to the air, her voice barely above a whisper. “You’re a real fucking asshole, you know that?”
Looking down at the tie in her hands – the ghost of a memory that someone couldn’t bear to salt and burn and let go – Claire takes in a deep, shuddering breath and then exhales slowly, on a countdown like Kaia taught her one day after she came back from therapy, lying down on her bed with their fingers entwined. It’s only after a few repetitions, once her heartbeat slows, that she finds her voice again.
“Dear Cas, who art in Heaven,” she starts, and then snorts past the lump suddenly blocking her throat. “Well, not anymore, I guess. Um. I’m gonna start over, okay? Sorry,” she adds, suddenly self-conscious.
“Dear Cas, who art in something called the Empty, according to Sam. You’re probably not able to hear this, but, um, figured it never hurts to try.” She cringes, squeezing her eyes shut. “Ugh, this is so fucking stupid.”
What can you even tell your kind of father figure who, if you’re playing the odds, will never even hear a thing you’re saying?
“Fuck you, Cas,” she says instead, ignoring the way her voice wavers. “You left us all behind. Jack thinks it’s his fault you’re gone. Dean thinks it’s his instead. And you know what? I don’t even know if either of them is right, because you never said anything, you fucking asshole, you never told anyone!
“I’m not – not stupid enough to blame myself. I already knew I made it hard for you to stay. If it – if it was my fault, you’d have left a long time ago.” She takes another uneven breath in a doomed attempt to steady herself. “But you never cared that I made your life hell. The only thing you ever thought about was how you ruined mine.
“And I don’t – look, Cas, I don’t know if I can ever forgive and forget,” she pleads desperately, and fuck, it doesn’t matter how hard she’s trying, she’s still going to cry. “You have to understand that. That was my family, Cas.”
She falters, looking up at the stars again. The cold air prickles her skin, smelling faintly of incoming rain. The tie still trembles in her hands. “But so were you.”
There’s no answer but the clouds swallowing up the last of the moonlight, leaving her alone in the darkness, and the little that’s left of her composure shatters.
“How the fuck am I supposed to feel?” she shouts into the night. “You tell me, if you know so much – if you’re calling the shots – fucking tell me!”
It’s like the air changes, even though she knows there’s no one listening. A sudden breeze whips her hair across her face; it catches, sticking in the tears streaking down her cheeks. Her whole body shudders with silent sobs.
Somewhere far away, a clap of thunder shakes the earth.
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vampickler · 4 months
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BIOS
Ezra Mars
Ezra has always been an oddball. He’s always gotta crack jokes and mostly comes off as super flirtatious (though it’s just him being nice usually).
The vampire was born during prehistoric times—when vampires first began to pop up in the world. He was changed at the age of eight, and stopped aging entirely at the age of twenty. He spent a lot of time at home during those twelve years, gaining control of himself during the newborn phase. His creator had left him with his human mother—who had to endure watching her son go through the change. At the end of her life, Ezra begged her to let him change her, to which she declined. Ezra left her home soon after she passed, and with grief in his heart, took a step into his new life of immortality.
Ezra’s capabilities mainly consisted of mind control, aside from the natural vampire abilities (speed, strength, heightened senses, etc) though he was against using the powers now, he had once gotten onto the vampire council, the Pouvoir, due to them. He didn’t stay with them very long. Ezra enjoyed food from the source, but they were… excessive about it. He still valued the humans, after all the only person he had ever known to care about was a human until her demise. He met a girl named Celeste in the Era of the Plague. He had been hopping around the world for centuries, and had resided in Russia. The girl was his subordinate—star lead singer of a show they were having, and Ezra was the director. Russia hadn’t quite been hit by the plague as bad yet, and it had only started to pop up here and there in England. As the girl stepped on stage and tried to do her part, she fainted. Ezra began to worry when several people began to try and wake her, thinking it was simple stage fright, and she did not come to. The girl he’d spent a while getting to know was actively dying. He did only what he thought was best—and for the first time since he was turned into a vampire, he changed someone to be like him.
He stayed with her in the earlier days, which on average was a decade. She made no progress, and Ezra came to the conclusion that she’d have to learn better on her own terms. He split off from her for quite a bit. The Pouvoir ended up contacting him later, asking him to ward off his creation, and deter her from killing aimlessly, for she was causing attention to their species. He did as they asked, though to no avail. He didn’t stick around to see what happened to her.
Isa Mae-Lynn Buckner
Formerly known as Celeste [redacted].
Born during the start of the plague, Celeste was a star from birth. Graced with wonderful singing talents, the girl's parents believed her to do great things as a singer and actress. Riddled with stress, the girl took on her first major play. She became close friends with many of the staff, especially so with the director of the play. He didn't seem that old, but for some reason, Celeste could almost instantly sense that his physical age was not the same as his real one. This intrigued her. She'd always heard tales of the "old wise ones," powerful beings that walked among humans that hid their true age and form. She couldn't be so sure though. The night of the play, she found herself not feeling quite right. Eager to get on with the show, she brushed it off as stage fright and went to take her spot at the center of the stage. Lights on her. Begin. Only she didn't. She crumpled to the floor, unconscious instead.
The next she awoke she was a whole new person. A whole new being. And she was hungry. The first face she saw was the director's. And... she was scared.
He stayed with her for a decade, though throughout she hadn't managed to gain control of her hunger. He split off from her then. She went rogue, due to lack of impulse control, and admittedly did some pretty questionable things, even for a vampire. She gained so much bad attention from this, that the vampire council, the Pouvoir, was called upon to kill her. But not before her creator paid her a visit. Unfortunately, seeing him only encouraged her. And the day the Pouvior found her, they beat her until she nearly died.
Miraculously, she was able to pull through. She now stays in hiding from them under a new alias, a cute blonde with a thick Southern American accent named Isa. Isa lives in a (assumingly) predominately human, small town and grows crops. Her life is quiet now. Will it always stay like that, though?
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michaeljfoy · 9 months
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Dental Insurance for Dummies?
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Advanced warning: The following plunges the reader into the world of Dental Insurance. It isn’t for the faint of heart.
That tooth’s got to come out. Ever hear your dentist utter that phrase? Yikes!
I say that not because of any physical pain that you may be in for, but for the financial pain. In an earlier blog about this same subject, I commented that I’d cheerily accept pain in order to save some greenbacks. And by “some” greenbacks, I mean a lot.
In that case, I declined the oral surgeon’s anesthesia, because the insurance wouldn’t cover it. I don’t need your stinking anesthesia, I said … in my head. Don’t want to offend the guy that’s drilling into my jawbone.
The procedure I was undergoing was the installation of a dental implant. And it’s a marvelous leap forward in dental science, compared to the removable false-tooth options available to our parents.
But it isn’t cheap — and insurance companies view it as an extravagance. Couldn’t you get by on a set of hand-carved wooden teeth, like the father of our country? If it was good enough for George Washington, yada, yada, yada. I’m sure that’s in their internal company literature somewhere.
Anyway, after the oral surgeon was done with me, I had a bolt in my jaw. Thus equipped, my regular dentist could then cover the bolt with something indistinguishable from a real tooth.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
When the oral surgeon did his thing, I was covered by my wife’s dental insurance from work. But before my dentist could complete the procedure, my wife left her job, vowing never to work again.
Not to worry, I thought. I’ll just purchase an individual plan for us, with the same company. They will then help pay for completing the procedure that was started under their watch. They even confirmed that there would be no waiting period to cover any dental mayhem, since we were just with them.
So all was well, right?
Wrong!
My dentist informed me that the insurance company was balking at paying her. She tried several times. With steam coming out of my ears, I called Customer Service. The entity on the phone (I don’t want to say person because it’s hard to believe a human could be that monotone) stated that they’re not obliged to pay, because the missing tooth issue was under a different company.
My wife worked locally, but her former employers’ headquarters is out of state. They purchased group coverage through the out of state branch; my individual plan was purchased through the Massachusetts branch. Surprisingly to me, and any rational person, the two branches consider themselves separate companies.
“You’ve got to be effing kidding me,” I said. But Monotone Man’s voice inflection never budged in telling me that’s the way it is.
I appealed by email to a higher authority at the company. I tried to blend contrition for having been born with a set of teeth and a sense of “oh, come on; let’s be reasonable.”
Several weeks later, I answered a knock at my front door. It was a certified letter from the insurance company. I had pretty much given up any hope of recouping some of the cost — but this move surprised me.
I tore open the important communiqué. In case I hadn’t been sure that I was being screwed over before, the letter put an exclamation point on it:
Shockingly, they had reviewed my case with respect to internal company rules, and confirmed that I could go pound sand.
Thankfully, I had already canceled my coverage the prior month, after they’d paid for a cleaning and an X-ray.
So take that, insurance company whose name I won't even utter!
An old boss of mine used to say that insurance was legalized extortion. Boy, was he right.
Now, while I shudder at my next run-in with the dental community, I’ll close with a question:
Know any good dental plans?
The End
A short story prequel to the upcoming
Cord Devlin: From Trekkie to Elite NSA Asset
is FREE ($0.00) for a limited time at https://michaeljfoy.com/
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beautifulblhell · 3 years
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Something Better To Do
Mafia! Suna x F! Reader
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A/N: So this is for @nkogneatho​‘s FMFM collab! Thank you for letting me participate and I’m so sorry for the late posting!! My procrastinating ass couldn’t do it in June and when July came life hit me like truck-kun 😭 Typed this with one brain cell as the heat has melted my rest and not proofread, so if there’s any mistakes please let me know!! (Or just pretend you didn’t see it T_T) Not super proud of this, but lately my creativity has been 📉
Tags: smut, fluff, mafia! Suna but nothing dark, all characters are 18+, protection (be responsible) smut is at the bottom part if you are only interested in the smut lol
WC: 3177
The day had started off so well. Your parents had to leave for an abrupt business meeting abroad and left at the crack of dawn. Usually you would meet up with Suna whenever your parents were away, but he has been away for ‘work’ for the past few weeks.
You knew it was for something important for the Inarizaki gang, and Atsumu had been tasked to go on this trip. But he had an argument with Osamu a few days prior, and with the latter refusing to cook for him, Atsumu gave himself food poisoning when he tried to cook for himself.
So Kita had told Suna to attend instead.
Your finger hovered above the messaging app, wondering if you should text him. The last message he had sent was from a week ago. With a sigh, you decided not to disturb him and closed your phone.
Still, this was the longest you had been without seeing Suna.
As if your daydreams blended into reality, you heard the familiar purr of a motorcycle. At first you thought you were dreaming. However, when you looked down from your bedroom window, you saw Suna coming to a stop below your window, the morning sunlight reflecting off his motorcycle. He lifted off his helmet, and those yellow eyes raised up to meet yours, his lips curved up lazily when he caught sight of you.
He was already standing at your doorway when you opened the front door and flew into his arms.
“Rin!” You cried happily.
His name has hardly left your lips when his mouth descended upon yours. He cupped your face and pulled you towards him, your lips repeatedly met together, making up for lost time. It was only when you felt Suna’s lip against yours did you realise how much you missed him. Your head was spinning when you finally pulled apart. The comforting scent of the cologne he wore and a hint of cigarette enveloped you.
It’s been too long, you thought, looking up at his face.
One of his thumb wiped across your glistening lips.
“Somebody missed me,” he smirked.
You rolled your eyes, but you couldn’t stop the smile spreading across your face.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you were coming back?”
“Thought I would surprise you.”
“Well, you certainly did.” That’s when you realised.
“How did you know my parents weren’t home?” You asked in surprise. Suna never came to your house unless your parents weren’t home, and you usually told him beforehand.
The image of your parents’ initial shock was still fresh in your mind when you broke the news about you and Suna being together, which morphed into disapproval then anger when you said you won’t break it off with him when they told you.
“But he’s part of Inarizaki, the yakuza!” Your mother had said in horror. She would have been less shocked if you told her Suna smuggled pandas for a living.
It would be easier if you moved out of your house, but Suna knew how much your parents meant to you even if they didn’t approve of your relationship, so you would meet up in town whenever both of you were both free or when your parents were away.
“Hmm,” Suna only hummed as his arms encircled your waist and he nuzzled your hair, but you caught a faint glint in those narrow eyes of his.
With a sigh, Suna relaxed his whole body, and you stumbled at the sudden weight you had to bear.
“R-Rin, you are heavy!”
He leaned into your ears and whispered, “You didn’t  say that last time I had you under me.”
“Rin!”
He sniggered seeing your red face, and stood back upright.
“Get dressed. I don’t want that nosy neighbour of yours to notice that I’m here and tell your parents once they are back.”
“Where are we going?” You asked, pulling your arms back unwillingly.
Sensing your reluctance to let him go, Suna’s lips brushed against your forehead.
“You’ll see.”
“Are we going to your place?” You asked as you wrapped your arms around his waist behind him on the motorcycle.
“Is that what you want?” Suna flashed you a teasing smirk.
You felt heat build up on your cheeks, and you buried your face behind his back.
“I don’t mean that! Just thought we could watch a movie or do something relaxing since you just came back.”
Suna did look a bit tired. And the smell of cigarettes has been stronger than usual. It was a habit of his, he tended to smoke more when he was irritated or stressed.
“If you continue to be so cute I’ll really take you to my place right now.”
“Nope, take me where you wanted to.”
“Later then,” You could hear the laughter in his words.
Then, with a twist of his wrist, the throttle thrusted the machine forward.
It was always exhilarating sitting on the back of Suna’s motorcycle. He drove fast yet with precision. Instead of driving, the term flying would be more accurate to describe what you were feeling. The familiar scenery of the city blew past as Suna expertly maneuvered between the traffic without slowing down. It was only when he started slowing down did you realize where you were going.
It was a few months ago when you made a passing remark of wanting to go to the aquarium when they finished building the underwater tunnel.
It was one of the things you love about Suna. Sometimes you would make a casual remark about a certain place that you were interested in going to, but Suna would always remember and take you there whenever he had the chance.
As you arrived closer, you noticed the long queue extending from the entrance. It didn’t come as a surprise seeing it was the opening weekend, but you were worried about how long you had to wait.
Instead, Suna simply sped past them and came to a stop at the back staff entrance.
A man in a suit and name badge stood next to a door that said ‘STAFF ONLY’. He had an anxious look on his face, which only deepened when he saw Suna.
“Ah, S-Suna-san, I’ve been waiting for your arrival.” He smiled, sweat running down his face. “I’m the manager, very pleased to make your acquaintance.” He bowed deeply, to which Suna only replied with a curt nod after he got off the motorcycle.
“This way, please.” He gestured towards the back of the entrance.
You turned towards Suna as you walked behind the manager.
“He looks so scared of you. What did you do, hold his whole family ransom?” You whispered, your eyebrows raised.
“No, I told him that I would let Atsumu cook for him for a week if he doesn’t let us into the aquarium.”
You choked back a laugh, trying to hide it since the manager turned around to hold the door open for you.
You had just stepped into the aquarium when Suna’s phone rang.
Suna took out his phone. With one look at the name displayed on the phone screen the decline button silenced the noise. Yet within half a second his phone rang again.
“Just ignore it,” Suna muttered, and turned his phone on silent.
As if knowing the calls will be ignored, your phone chimed.
Sender: Atsumu
‘TELL HIM TO PICK UP THE PHONE!!’
Then
‘I KNOW HE IS WITH YOU’
“Shouldn’t you pick up the phone, in case it’s something important?”
With a look of resignation on his face, Suna picked up his phone. Even with the phone next to his ears, you could hear Atsumu’s excited voice on the other end.
Suna’s eyes flickered to you, and from the look of his face, you knew your date was going to end before it even started.
“Fine, but I’m bringing her with me.”
After he hung up his phone, Suna turned to you with a look of exasperation.
“Atsumu. He said it was an emergency.”
“Oh,” you could feel your heart sinking.
“I told him that you are coming with me, so afterwards we can head back here.”
“Can I?” Your eyes lit up. Suna had taken you with him to a few informal gatherings before
“Doubt it’s anything of importance, seeing who was calling,” Suna muttered.
He glanced at the manager. “We’ll be back later.”
“Ah, that’s absolutely fine, sir,” the man bowed, and you can’t help but feel he was relieved to see the back of Suna.
By the time both of you arrived at the private VIP room in one of Inarizaki's nightclubs, all of the top members have already assembled on the sofa in the middle of the room.
Atsumu had greeted you both enthusiastically when you first entered.
And unfortunately for both of you, his enthusiasm didn’t abate one bit. An hour and a half later, you were still sitting at the back of the room, with the prospect of listening to Atsumu’s voice for the rest of the day hanging gloomingly in front of you.
You looked up at your boyfriend on the sofa, the only one sitting facing you. Thin wisps of smoke rose from the cigarette dangling between his lips. He made a non-committal ‘mmh’ whenever Atsumu’s words seemed to be directed at him, but from the look on his face you knew he was hardly listening.
By now, even Osamu was heaving a sigh at Atsumu.
“Samu, what are ya sighin’ for?!”
“Just wonderin’ how that single brain cell of yours could work for so long without overheatin’.”
“Hah?! At least I got one unlike yer-”
“Osamu.” Kita’s quiet voice was enough to bring an end to the twins bickering in an instant. He nodded at Atsumu to continue, and no one dared to say anything seeing that Kita wanted Atsumu to speak.
You stared in boredom at the sudoku puzzle on your screen, wondering if you threw your phone at Atsumu’s head it would solve the puzzle. You finally get to see Suna yet the precious time you had together was ticking away, wasted here.
That’s when the idea entered your head.
You raised your arm slightly, trying to catch Suna’s attention. He glanced at you questionly.
With a teasing smile on your face, you placed a finger on your lips. Then, you ran your finger down, until you came to a stop at the button of your blouse.
Slowly, you opened it.
Suna’s eyes widened and he froze. It was rare to catch him off guard, and you suppressed a giggle. Holding his gaze, the next button fell open. His eyes darkened instantly as he realised what you were doing.
In the dim light of the room, a sharp light has entered Suna’s eyes. He leaned back, his eyes narrow, as if daring you to see how far you could go.
Your heart was hammering in your chest. If any of the men turned slightly, they would be able to see you. But seeing the burning lust swirling in Suna’s eyes, the way his sharp gaze raked down your body, as if stripping you even more bare, it was more than enough to heat you up and fuel you on.
Biting onto the collar of your blouse, you lifted your bra up.
If only you knew what you were doing to Suna. It took everything he could not just to take you there and then.
Every muscle in his body was tense. He took his cigarette and mouthed the word ‘bathroom’.
With a small smile on your face, you left the room.
The moment he walked into the bathroom, his mouth crushed against yours. One of his hands held the back of your head, and his other arm slammed on the partition of the toilet stall near your head, trapping you with nowhere to go. His hips were pushed against yours, and you could feel the hard bulge throbbing against you. The kiss was hard, furious. The taste of cigarette entered your mouth when his tongue slipped inside, exploring your mouth, twisting around yours. By the time he let you up, both of you were gasping, the sound echoed in the empty bathroom.
“What do you think you were doing?” His voice was low.
“Just thought I would give you something better to do,” you grinned at him. You looped your arms around his neck and pulled him closer to you.
With the partition supporting your back, Suna lifted one of your legs until it rested at the crook of his elbow. His other hand reached down between your skirt and slipped inside your wet folds. The feeling of his long finger sinking inside you so suddenly made you gasp and you tightened around them. His eyes thinned as he felt your wetness coating his hand.
“So wet. Did it excite you that much to flash yourself in front of other men? Do you want to see you like this?” His voice took on that dangerous low tone as he hissed out those words.
You shuddered, temporarily lost in the feeling of his finger reaching so deep within you. It was a good thing you already took your panties off before he arrived, because it would have been torn into shreds otherwise.
“Only you,” you whispered once you got your breath back.
Hearing that, Suna added another finger. He was stretching you hard, finger curling inside you, reaching depths where you couldn’t on nights when he wasn’t by your side.
You pushed yourself against his fingers when his movements turned languid. Suna watched you lazily as you fucked yourself on his fingers, but the heavy desires clouding his eyes betrayed his expression.
“Rin,” you whined. Because you wanted him to fill you up.
His only response was easing his fingers out of you. You whimpered, clenching around nothing.
The sound of a belt being unbuckled never sounded so glorious to your ears. You looked down. Suna’s cock stood erect, precum leaking at the tip. Just seeing the sight of it made you yearn for him.
“Hurry,” you begged.
He ripped the small foil packet with his teeth.
“Don’t think your family is gonna be even more pleased with me if you get pregnant, but is that what you want? Maybe I should just fill you up.” The sound of his low voice made the coil in your abdomen tighten. His fingers traced along your stomach. There have been so many times when he imagined just filling you up, stuffing you full of his seeds until it dribbled out, marking you as his.
But not today.
He hooked his arms underneath your knees and lifted you up easily. Your hands grabbed onto his shoulders and your legs settled around his hips. You lifted your hips up. Suna stroked his cock along your slit, teasing your entrance.
Then in a single stroke, his whole length sank into you. A strangled gasp left your lips.
“S-So big,” you choked out those words.
The stretch burned. His fingers earlier did not prepare you enough for the thick girth that forced its way into your walls, and you struggled to accommodate his huge length that was splitting you open.
Suna cursed under his breath. He rested his forehead against the crook of your neck. The feeling of your wrapped so tightly and deliciously around him made him shudder. He gritted his teeth to suppress the overwhelming urge just to fuck you and ruin you right here.
“Been wanting to do this since I saw you this morning,” Suna groaned.
His mouth ran down your neck, his hot tongue leaving a blazing trail in its wake until he reached your breasts. He sucked on your skin, leaving marks all over. Then, his hot mouth captured your nipple. He rolled it with his tongue, his teeth occasionally grazing it, earning a whimper from you.
Once you got accustomed to his length, you rolled your hips a few times, and seeing the pleasure was greater than the pain, you tried to lift up your body and move on your own seeing he wasn’t moving, but Suna grabbed your hips firmly. “Move,” you begged, close to tears. Suna simply rolled his hips, thrusting shallow thrusts that didn’t satisfy you.
A part of him knew you only wanted his attention, yet another part of him was angry that the other men almost got to see you. A sight that belonged to his eyes only.
“What do you want?” His voice was hoarse. Because he wanted you as much as you wanted him. All those nights he spent alone thinking of you, and here you were finally in his arms.
You looked at him straight in his eyes. “Fuck me, Suna Rintaro.”
The words snapped his last restraint.
Suna pulled all the way out, then slammed your hips back down, hitting the deepest part of you.
You would have screamed if it wasn’t for the fact that all the air was knocked out of your lungs by his sudden movement. Every nerve in your body was on fire. Your fingers digging into his biceps, leaving crescent marks.
The question of how you were going to walk briefly flitted through your mind, but by his next trust, your mind was empty because he had just hit that sweet spot of yours.
‘S-slow down!’
Contrary to your words, your hole was eagerly sucking him back in every time he moved, slick dripping down onto the floor.
His hips snapped to yours repeatedly as he fucked you relentlessly.
It took all you had just to hold yourself up. The pace he set was brutal. Lewd squelching sound and your moans reverberated in the enclosed space. The waves of pleasure crashing through your body threatened to drown you as Suna hit that particular spot that sent your nerves ablaze again and again.
Suna watched the way your eyes glaze over from the pleasure he gave you. The way you looked so perfect taking him all in.
You knew you weren’t going to last long.
“I-I’m coming, Rin,” you managed to say those words in between your moans.
“Then come,” his own voice was strained as he was nearing his own edge, his thrusts losing their rhythm.
It was the sight of you coming undone that led Suna over the edge. The way you arch your back, your walls spasmed around him, clenching so perfectly around him. And the way his name tumbled out of your lips as you came. Suna gripped your hips and with a few particular heavy thrusts, he came with a shudder.
For a few moments neither of you said anything. You were trembling from the high that you’ve just descended from, your heart racing in a furious double time.
Suna’s lips gently brushed against your forehead.
“You okay?” He murmured.
You nodded weakly. “Give me a minute.”
Suna nodded, his lips left light kisses across your collarbones.
Except…
“Wait, Rin, what are your hands doing?!”
Suna looked up at you with a smirk. “Time for round two.”
Masterlist | Ko-Fi | 2021.07.21
404 notes · View notes
inkandpen22 · 3 years
Text
The Princess and The Pogue (pt. 3)
Pairing: JJ x Female!Reader / Topper x Female!Reader 
Warnings: underage drinking, mild swearing, mentions of drugs 
Words count: 2k (it’s short but the next part is long) 
Part Summary: As the night dwindles away, JJ feels pressured to secure a place in your life. His chances grow times ten when Sarah arrives with some interesting news. 
Masterlist
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You and JJ share a log around the fire. His arm rests over your thigh, his hand gripping your knee slightly. Your chin rests on his shoulder as you two exchange whisper back and forth, making the Pogues sick with how lovey-dovey you two already are becoming. 
“What are you doing tomorrow?” JJ asks, kinda hoping he could ask you for real date but he’ll understand if you already have plans. 
“Hanging out with you,” you cheekily answer, earning a blushing grin from him. 
“Oh! cool, cool...” He presses his lips together with a faint laugh, finding it hard to hide his childish grin. 
You giggle at his bashfulness. He’s so shy around you and you can’t help but find it adorable. 
"Here comes Sarah!" Kiara announces as he spots their friend's car rolling up the drive. 
You and JJ finally break your hype-focused attention away from each other. Almost to make up for the lack of verbal communication, JJ shifts closer to you and plants a quick peck to your temple. 
"Hey! Sorry for the delay!" Sarah announces as she walks over from her car. John B rises from his position, trying to intercept Sarah before she sees you and JJ. Once she reaches John B, she notices how you and JJ are sitting. Her brows scrunch together, but she does her best to mask her confusion. "My parents were having a hissy fit about me borrowing the car. I told them and Y/N's parents that we were staying the night at Kiara's since she doesn't feel well. I hope that's okay, Kie," she asks as she gets closer to the bonfire. 
"Yeah, no problem!" Kiara waves her hand, not caring at all. 
"Wait, so what's the game plan?" You ask Sarah, but also everyone else for their input. You're thankful for the group's help, but weren't exactly prepared for an overnight stay. You understand why Sarah did this nonetheless. 
"You all can stay here tonight," John B shrugs as the Pogues do it all the time. 
"Your parents believed it," Sarah assures you. "I would just text your parents to help it seem more legit." 
"Okay! I'll text my mom," you comply with enthusiasm. 
Hey, I told Sarah to tell you but in case she didn't, we're staying over at Kiara's tonight. I had to drive her home in her dad's car because we think she got food poisoning or something. I'll text you when I'm heading out in the morning. Sarah can drive me home or something :)
"Finally! It'll be nice not being the only girl! I was kinda hoping you and Sarah would stay over anyway," Kiara adds, offering you a kind smile. 
"That makes two of us," JJ whispers for only you to hear. 
"My folks were pretty pissed about me ditching on the party, so I feel no urge on going home," Sarah huffs, right as John B asks for her to help him inside real quick. 
You and JJ watch as John B escorts Sarah inside by the arm. They try to be nonchalant, but it's so obvious they're freaking out. Sarah's whispers aren't exactly quiet and John B's doing his best to fill her in on what he knows. 
JJ turns his face toward yours with a smirk, suppressing his laughter. "They're definitely talking about us." 
"Oh for sure!" You nod slowly with a snicker. 
You two share in your amusement as your friends slowly lose their minds. A Pogue from The Cut was caught kissing the Princess of the OBX. If your friends from the other side of the island found out they would have an even more dramatic reaction. 
Your phone buzzes in your lap and it's from your mom. 
Ok. Text me when you wake up. 
"All set!" You voice to everyone remaining around the fire. "I doubt they'll even care since "I'm still on the Figure 8,” you make air quotes. 
"Yay!" Kiara claps her hands. 
"I say we watch a scary movie tonight!" JJ suggests beside you. 
"The Conjuring!" You vote swiftly, earning a laugh from JJ. 
"No!" Pope instantly refuses. "Nope! Last time we watched that you guys made me sleep on the porch and I heard creeks all night!" 
"Aw, I'll stay with you tonight Pope," Kiara offers, reaching for her friend's hand with a pout. "I'll keep you safe from all the ghosties." 
JJ leans in brushes his lips against your ear. "You gonna keep me safe?" 
You smile softly, turning your head toward him as you nod slowly. "I'll have your back if you have mine." 
His beautiful eyes meet yours in the gold flickering light of the fire. "Always, Baby." He plants a kiss to your lips, this time slow and comforting, as though you two have been doing it forever. 
___________________________________________________________
All six of you are gathered in the living room, watching The Conjuring. John B and JJ insisted that all lights in the house must be off, much to Pope's dismay. Kiara and Pope are positioned on the carpet, their backs against the couch. Pope has been hiding in a ball with his face behind the blanket he shares with Kiara. Sarah and John B are sprawled comfortably on the couch, well invested in the movie. You and JJ share the old red recliner, tucked close in a ball under a comforter. Right before the movie starts to get interesting, you shift forward in your position. JJ whines, disappointed in the loss of contact. His pouty face makes you giggle and he playfully tries to keep you close by holding onto your wrist. 
"I need another drink, anyone else?" You offer quietly, making sure not to step on Kiara or Pope on the floor on the way to the kitchen. You receive various forms of declines as you do your best to navigate your way through the dark and unfamiliar house. 
Finally finding yourself in the kitchen, you make yourself a glass of water. The moonlight shining through the window over the sink acts as your saving grace. Suddenly, you feel a pair of arms slip around your waist, causing you to jump. 
"Hey, Gorgeous," the blonde whispers against your neck. 
"JJ!" You gasp your heart racing. 
"Did I scare you?" He chuckles quietly to not alert the others. 
You spin in his hold and nudge him on the shoulder playfully. "You did that on purpose!"
"Not really but-" In one swift motion, JJ picks up and places you on the counter. He parts your legs to stand between them. His palms glide up and down your thighs. "That I did mean to do," he smirks, biting down on his lip. 
"JJ! Y/N! You're going to miss the wardrobe part!" Pope shouts, his voice shaky with fear. 
"I wish I had spoken to you sooner," JJ confesses abruptly, completely his friend in the next room. All he cares about right now is you. 
"Dido," you smirk, placing your arms over JJ's shoulders. 
"Really?" He voices in disbelief. Despite how much you've reassured him or have reciprocated his affections, he still isn't convinced that you truly like him. 
"That first time I saw you at the Cameron's?" You recall with raised brows. "Um, yeah! You looked hot in that pale green Ron Jon shirt." 
"I can't believe you remember that," he shakes his head, leaning in closer to you. I thought there was no way you'd know who I am." 
"JJ," you say his name in a mild groan with a toss of your head. How can this boy not see how amazing he is? "You're definitely worth remembering." 
"It was at the Boneyard," he states a matter-of-factly. 
"What was?" You grin. 
"The first time I ever saw you," he tilts his head back slightly, relieving his sharp jawline. "You were dancing with Topper on the wall. The fire made your skin glow and shimmer like bronze. You wore a navy blue bikini with ripped white booty shorts. Your hair was half up and all I could think about was how much I wanted to run my fingers through it. You were the most beautiful girl I had ever seen," he tells you, never once breaking eye contact. 
"That was last summer!" You can't believe he remembers that. 
"I know," he replies as though it's completely ordinary. 
Your jaw drops, "you're saying you've been waiting to talk to me for a year?!" 
"Okay well, when you put it that way," he tries to play it off and be cool now. 
"Aw JJ!" You express a little too excitedly, bringing your hands to his cheeks. 
JJ is quick to press his hand over your mouth. "Shh, Baby. Before you alert everyone in the living room!" Mischievously, you plant a kiss on his palm, catching him off guard. JJ swallows hard, peering down at you with hooded eyes.  "Okay, now you're just teasing me." 
You place your hand over his and remove it from your mouth. "You make it too easy," you giggle in a whisper. 
JJ simply stares down at your lips as he bites down on his own. Before you have a chance to react, he hungrily presses his lips to yours. Ever kiss up until now has been gentle, new, and hesitant. Now, JJ is forgetting his nerves and is acting on impulse. He breaks away from you and moves his assault to your neck. You comb your fingers through his thick blonde hair, gripping the strands on the back of his neck. 
"JJ," you pant breathlessly as your eyes fall shut. "What are you doing?" 
"Making up for lost time," he breathes against your neck. I'm really kicking myself right now." 
"It's my fault too," you try to speak as JJ makes a track down your neck to your collarbone. "I could've at least said 'hi' instead of smiling like an idiot." 
"At least you were nice," JJ mumbles against your chest. "I was a statue. Plus, I always thought you and Rafe may be-"
"Ew! Don't even finish that sentence," you scoff in disgusts. 
"You were always at the Cameron's. He's always on top of you and watches you like a hawk," JJ explains as he pops up for air. 
"He's had a thing for me for a while now. I've turned him down," you inform him.  
JJ frowns in confusion. "Why?" 
You figured it would've been obvious, especially considering how much JJ hates Rafe. "He's an arrogant ass. He thinks he's invincible and I hate people like that." 
"Well, you can tell him you're taken now," JJ grins, leaning in to kiss you. 
"Oh, I am?" You question playfully against his lips. 
"Yep," the boy nods as he begins to glide his lips across your jawline. "You're mine... and only mine..." He whispers, making you bite your lip with anticipation. Boy, this kid knows how to get you turned on. "I'll make sure everyone in the OBX knows it too," he declares as he starts to suck on the sensitive skin on your neck. At the rate JJ is going, he's certain to leave a mark or two, just as he wanted. 
"You guys!" Kiara calls this time. 
JJ huffs with annoyance as he appears out from your neck. "Coming!" He shouts, completely unfazed by what he was just doing. "Got you're so sexy," he plants a quick peck to your lips. "I hope you know I'm going to be dying through this entire movie." 
Ever the gentleman, he grips your waist and helps you down from the counter. He slips his hand into yours and grabs your water with the other before leading the way back into the living room. 
"She couldn't find the sodas in the fridge. I had to grab a new box from the back," he conjures up as you two cross the living room toward the recliner. 
"Sureee," John B and Sarah say in unison with amusement. 
"Sorry guys, what did we miss?" You ask while you and JJ get settled. 
After you take a quick sip from your water, you place it on the side table between the recliner and the couch before getting comfortable again with JJ. 
"Nice water, Y/N." Sarah giggles as she peaks over from the couch at your hand, earning an eye roll from JJ. 
"The crazy demon lady jumped on the daughter. I hate this!" Pope rushes out to answer your question. 
"Oh my God! You're fine, Pope!" Kiara groans, not hiding her annoyance. 
"I wish it wasn't so dark in here!" Pope shouts dramatically. 
"I kinda like it," JJ purrs in your ear. 
You turn your head to the side and he plants a kiss on your lips. As the others watch the movie, you and JJ spend most of the time whispering back and forth or too caught up in each other physically to talk at all. Of course, you two are respectful of your friends and keep it PG. Yet, you can't get enough of each other. It's all so soon, energetic, and freeing. As the thought of tomorrow morning lingers in the back of your mind, you’re starting to dread the idea of parting from JJ. 
__________________________________________________
Masterlist 
Tags: @starkeythinker @bethii1 @thegunnerkelly @cc13723things
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You and Your Everything - Shouto Todoroki x Reader
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DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of these characters, they belong to Kohei Horikoshi
MHA Masterlist - Main Masterlist
WARNINGS: Your parents being the absolute worst, a few minor curse words, a lil angsty
Requested by Anonymous:
HI i love your writing and i saw that your requests were open? i was wondering if you could do like a shoto x reader but instead y/ns parents are like the opposite of shoto and endeavor? like for an example how shoto wants nothing to do with his dad and and all y/n wants to do is please her parents or make them happy since they never pay attention to her like that? both house holds are still toxic but i feel like thatd be an interesting dynamic
A/N: This was so interesting and cool to write! Obviously, the subject matter was much angstier and sadder than a lot of the stuff I have written, but I found writing this, like, entire paragraph of dialogue of Shouto (you’ll know it when you see it) to be so entirely incredible. I just kept on writing. Thank you so much for this awesome rec!
Word Count: 1.8K
��You’ve reached the voicemail of Kana Y/L/N. Please leave a message. BEEP”
“Hi Mom, it’s me again. Just calling to remind you that third years are allowed to reserve a box for their parents in the Sports Festival arena! I saved one for you and Dad in the front row, which are the best seats in the whole place. The Festival takes place tomorrow, as I told you guys about three months ago so you could put it on your calendars. I’m, uh, looking forward to seeing you again! Love you, bye!” Pressing the red circle that represented an “end call” button, you heaved a sigh and looked through your recent calls. Nine recent calls that your mother had missed within the last three days. Ten that your father had. They’re just busy, you tell yourself, trying to ease your mind. They’re just busy right now, but they had said that they’d come. They’ll come. Your thoughts had consumed you to such a point you didn’t even register the little nudges to your side.
“.../N? Y/N?” You blinked quickly to rid your consciousness of its prior dilemma and turn your head to the side. With heterochromatic eyes blinking fondly at you matched with a slight frown of concern, your boyfriend prompts the same question that had earlier feel upon deaf ears. “Y/N, I was asking if you are alright. You seemed a little… not here when I asked you just a minute ago.” Shouto’s voice, like always, is level, however little hints of emotion always tend to slip in between the cracks of his pronunciations. Like now, for instance, you hear the traces of worry cling onto his words.
“Oh, sorry, I was just leaving a voicemail.” You say simply. The sentence that left your mouth would seem normal to any person that you were friendly with. However, Shouto knew the implications. His shoulders seemed to tense as he took your hand. You squeeze his hand to reassure him. “Don’t worry Sho, they’re just really busy people. I’m sure they definitely carved time out of their schedules to come and watch me. I just need to make sure I get into the tournament round so I don’t waste their time.” You say, laughing a little dryly. Shouto doesn’t smile at the joke you made at your own expense.
“I just don’t get it.” He says, which makes your smile drop into a frown. “Why do you try so hard for them.” Your spine straightens at his words and your grip on his hand loosens. “Y/N, they’re awful people-”
“They’re my parents and I want to make them proud.” You say swiftly, a slight grimace on your face. Silence settles between the two of you, that is, until you feel your phone vibrate in your pocket. Jumping up immediately and grabbing your phone, you take a glance at the caller ID. Your heart sinks as you see it’s a random telemarketer, and click decline call. You look back to your boyfriend, which was a mistake, because his eyes pooled with pity. Not feeling quite right in the space you were in, you grab your school bag and stuff your phone the furthest down it would go. “I’m going to go freshen up before dinner.” You decide, nodding towards Shouto and walking away a bit.
“Do you want me to come with you?” His suggestion on a normal basis would make your face flush and your heart beat a bit faster, however today you just wanted to be alone for a bit.
“No, it’s okay,  I’ll see you at dinner.” You say quickly.
“Y/N.” His grip came softly around your wrist, tugging you back a bit to face him. “I’m… I’m sorry about what I said earlier. I just love you,” he said those last two words a bit softer than the others, “and I want to see you happy.” Butterflies took flight in the pit of your stomach as you held Shouto’s gaze, his heartfelt and earnest words weighing heavily within your heart. Your frown wobbles into a smile as you lean in to place a quick kiss to his cheek.
“I know.”
“Did you see me out there?!” You cheer, careening down the arena hallway towards where Shouto was waiting with open arms. You leapt directly into them and was quickly picked up and spun around in a little circle.
“I did, you were incredible.” Shouto gushes, his cheek squished against yours. You laughed joyously as you felt his arms squeeze you closer to him, your heart racing with both leftover adrenaline from your second round tournament match and the feeling of love from your boyfriend. However, your laughter and the embrace you were tucked into died down when you heard the faint clearing of a throat, causing both of you to turn towards the sound. If you were looking into a mirror, you’re sure you would see your eyes grow to the size of saucers and your jaw dropping just a tad at the sight before you. There, standing about ten paces away, were your parents. Your mother, with her hair tied back in an uncomfortable looking bun with her freshly pressed pencil skirt and matching career jacket. Your father at her side, his suit and pants looking as sharp as ever. And the expressions they held…
“M-mother? Father? You two made it?” You stammer out, dumbfounded at their appearance. “But I, uh, didn’t see either of you in the stands.” You admit, earning a nonchalant expression from both parents.
“Well, with that lackluster performance that you executed, did you really think we would want to show our faces? It’s bad enough our colleagues know of you and all your little failures that you like to categorize as triumphs. Honestly, you really thought that we would want to be on camera for the entire world to see?” Your mother’s bored tone and biting words struck you hard. You felt your spine straighten and your hands stick to your side as you bit the inside of your cheek.
“But… I won.” You said, so soft that the sound of someone’s heartbeat could overpower it. If your gaze wasn’t stuck to your parents’ forms, you would have seen Shouto’s eyebrows narrow, awaiting for the oncoming onslaught.
“Good Lord, you want to call that a win? It makes me wonder how you ever got into this school or passed any physical examination in your class.” Your father’s tone, just as bored and apathetic as your mother’s, sent trembles down your spine. You clenched your fists and jaw to try and prevent crying. But, of course, it was of no use. The tears trickled their way, one by one, down your cheek like raindrops on a car window.
“And you’re crying now. Fantastic.” Your mother retorts, turning her to your father now. “I told you we should have sent her directly to the Hero Public Safety Commission. Would’ve toughened her up in no time-”
“CAN’T YOU SEE SHE’S UPSET?!” You almost didn’t recognize his voice. The soft spoken, pensive Shouto Todoroki that you knew to be your boyfriend rarely got upset. When he did, it was almost always in the middle of a battle or fight, just as he was about to use a special move. But this time, it was pure rage and anger that clung onto his words. Your parents, now sprouting an expression of slight surprise turned their attention to the seething red-and-white haired boy at your side. “All she ever does is work to make you happy. Day and night, twenty-four seven, it’s for you. And now here you come, strutting back into her life with some agenda on how she should fight and how much of a so-called failure she is?! Well screw that! You don’t get to have an opinion when it comes to her! She has been trying to get a hold of both of you for months on end and getting no more than the same damn message from your voicemails, telling her that you’re too busy for her!” Shouto’s face was red now. His fists were balled up and the tiniest flecks of flames were flaking from his left side. “And then, you’re now finally here, and you come with this holier-than-thou attitude! Y/N L//N, your daughter, is the most incredible and capable person I have met in my entire life. The fact that a person like her can rise like a phoenix from the ashes that is your attitudes and parenting styles is a miracle, because in every way, shape and form, she will forever be a marvel. To me, to our classmates, and to the entire world. I just can’t wait to see the look on your sorry asses when the time comes for her to give her thank you speech after becoming the number one hero, and you don’t hear either of your names mentioned once.” The silence is deafening after Shouto finishes speaking. You feel your whole body trembling and can recognize that there are tears falling down past your cheeks, but nothing else. Nothing else, until that constricting feeling that you felt bound to you to your parents’ approval starts to loosen the moment Shouto takes your hand in his. 
“Let’s go.” Your words, merely more than a whisper, is all it takes for Shouto to wrap and arm around your waist as he marches past your dumbstruck parents, towards a private room. The second Shouto clicks the lock shut, you let yourself break down. Sobs racked your body as you clung onto his shirt, his arm, and his love. “They’re supposed to be my parents. How… I can’t even do anything.” You hiccup into his tear-stained gym uniform, the one identical to yours (without the blotches of tears).
“Hey, shh, you’re okay. You’re fine.” Shouto says, his reassuring words grounding you. “You will get through this whole… mess, okay? I know you can. All you need to do is take it one day at a time.” You nod into his chest and let your head lie there as the tears finally started to cease from falling.
“You, uh, probably have to get ready for your match, right?” You sniff, moving one of your hands up to your face to rub at your nose.
“I’m fine here.” Shouto says, wrapping his arms around you. “Y/N, you really were incredible out there. Do not let them make you think otherwise.” You nod again as you feel Shouto begin to play lightly with your hair. “You are enough. More than, in fact. They might think otherwise, but I don’t. I love you, and your smile, and your everything.” You were too fried emotionally to say anything back, but Shouto knew. He knew that it would take time to finally break from your parents’ psychological hold over you and that he would always be there at your side.
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bangchanbabygurl · 2 years
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When You Fall (B. Chan)
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Member: Chan
Request: No
Genre: Fluff, Angst, best friends to lovers AU
WARNINGS: Explicit language, Depression, Anxiety, Abusive household, mommy & daddy issues, trust issues, insomnia, eating disorder, & self-harm.
“So there’s guy, a very great guy. I met him in the school hallways; it was his first day, and well, he had trouble figuring out where his next class was located.” I spoke softly as I turned to look at Rose, who had a smirk plastered on her lips. “And you helped him?” She asked. I chuckled and smiled, “I did, and I don't regret it because if I hadn't helped him, then I wouldn't experience the most extraordinary memories I have of him.” I whispered. Rose laughs lightly, nudging my shoulder with hers. “Have you told him yet?” Rose asked; a sigh left my lips. “No, no, I'm terrified of telling him how I feel. I think it's best if I keep him as my best friend. I wouldn't want to lose him,” I said; a ghost smile appeared on my lips.
A soft knock interrupted Rose, “Love, Chris is here.” Ms. Carter said with a smile. Rose looked at the clock, “It’s 7 pm,” She said. I nodded as I got up from her bed, “I know; Chris calls it a picnic night. I bet it involves star gazing.” I said with a grin. Rose chucks my sweater at me, “Alright, get going, wouldn't want charming prince waiting.” She said, laughing. I waved at her before leaving the room; Ms. Carter pats my shoulder. “Rose will be fine. I'll be here with her; go and have fun with Chris.” She said, opening the front door revealing a flustered Chris. I could feel myself become nervous and shy, “Okay, you know the drill home before midnight.” Ms. Carter said with arms crossed. “I trust you, Chris, so I expect her to be home at 10 pm.” Ms. Carter said; Chris nodded slightly. “I promise,” Chris said, but I could tell Ms. Carter’s sharp gaze made him a nervous wreck.
Fiddling with my bag, I felt this silence was eating me in pieces. I glanced at Chris, who seemed to be in thought. “Chris?” I asked; my stomach began to swarm with butterflies as his name rolled off my tongue. “I...uh,” I was interrupted by his phone; I bite my tongue. Jeez, I almost spilled my feelings for him. Perhaps it's too early for a confession. Should I ask him about his hometown? Should I ask what he likes about books and music? Should I ask him about anything? Chris declined the phone call, “Were you going to say something?” He asked. I let out a small sigh, “Yeah, but I forgot.” I said with a faint smile. Chris laughs lightly; gosh, that laugh made my heart flip. “Maybe you’ll remember if you try retracing your thoughts.” He said, “It was more of a question, what’s it like? Sydney,” I said; Chris smiled.
“Sydney, I think I miss my family and friends more than Sydney, although the beaches are a place I miss,” Chris said; I gazed at him with hearty eyes. I smiled. “So you’re a beach guy,” I said; Chris burst into laughter. “Yeah, what about you? Do you like the beach?” He asked; I noticed that we had arrived at the parking lot. "Last time I've been to the beach was when I was eight," I said.
I followed him onto the grassy field, "I want to go back to Mexico and revisit the beach...someday." I said; I watched him extend a red picnic blanket. "Maybe we should go on one day; I've never been to Mexico," Chris said; I gulped lightly. "So, what made you plan all this?" I asked; I sat down. Chris glanced at me, "Um, I don't know. I was talking to my mom the other day and asked for advice," He said with a shrug. I smiled and chuckled, "That's cute," I murmured. "Also, I know that you like Jane Austen." He said; sitting down, I furrowed my brows. "I noticed that you've read Pride and Prejudice. Did you like it?" I asked. He smiled. "To the point, I had to buy the movie," Chris said. I smiled.
"What are your parents like?" I asked, looking at him, "Mhm, my mom is a kind woman. I love her dearly; my dad is amazing. They're both great parents; they've made me the person I am. I love them both very much," Chris spoke with such fondness and admiration. "They sound amazing, what about your siblings?" I asked; I moved a bit closer to him. "Um, let's see, Hannah is very talented. She's a great kid, bright too, and Lucas, well, he's an outstanding kid. I miss them all dearly," Chris said; I could see that he wanted to cry.
"I can see that you love them very much, and I'm sure that they love you a lot," I whispered; Chris turned his gaze to me. He smiled faintly, "I've talked about my family; tell me, has it always been hard on you?" He asked. I smiled lightly, "Um, no, my mom had her own cleaning business before the alcohol and drugs. She was different when I was younger, till she found my dad having an affair with Erica, Sulli's mom. When she kicked him out, my mom began to date this guy named Ray. That's when the alcohol and drugs started; Dad returned, but it was different.  Johnny had neglected my existence, and Rose was born. Rose, she's the most amazing kid I have had. I was practically her mother since my mom wasn't home that much." I said, inhaling sharply.
"My dad, well, I don't know him anymore," I said, a laugh escaping my lips. "We're so different; you're like the other side of a world. On the sunny side, while I'm on the gloomy side." I said Chris had a worrisome look. "How old were you when your sister Rose was born?" He asked; I smiled. "Eight, I love Rose so much. I don't know what I would do if something bad happened to her." I said, fiddling with my bracelet. "Rose sounds like a great person, and I'm sure you raised her well," Chris said; I sighed. "Yeah, she was released today from rehabilitation. Her foster parents sent her there when  she tried to attempt." I said, "Is that why you left in a hurry?" He asked.
I nodded, "Rose is okay though; she's with me now." I said. I could feel his gaze on me; it was weakening to me. "I'm sorry, you had to be a mother at a young age. You lived a rough life; you deserve happiness." Chris whispered; I turned to look at him. "Rose tells me the same thing," I said. He smiled, "Right, let's stargaze." I said, laying down. A laugh escaped Chris as he laid down beside me, "You know I didn't know that Zelda was engaged," I said. Chris turned to me. "You didn't tell me," I said; he had an apologetic smile. "Yeah, I forgot to mention that." He said. I smiled, "Well, I hope she has a fantastic wedding." I said; Chris furrowed his brows in confusion. "You're  not coming to the wedding?" He asked; a sigh left my lips. "Selene hates me, besides I wouldn't want to be the cause of a bad night for Zelda," I said; Chris nudged my shoulder softly.
"Forget about Selene; I want you to come with me to the wedding. Besides, Zelda adores you," Chris said with a shy smile; my cheeks became flustered. "Ugh, fine." I groaned; we both burst into giggles. My sunlight, that's what he is. Chris has made me see happiness in pain witness the good in friendship. That in pain and suffering, I can find someone is waiting within.
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diegos-butt · 3 years
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Unnoticed (chapter four)
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Summary: He had watch her grown up. He had seen her transform into a beautiful woman, with a strong will but insecurities. Despite being away from time to time, he had fallen for her, hard. She on the other hand, had seen him become a big, strong man. But deep down she knew he had a soft side. She had fallen, hard, for him too. Another thing they have in common? The believe that the other will never feel the same. Will their feelings for each other always stay unnoticed?
Captain Daniel Syverson x Kathy Davis (plus size/curvy/thick OFC)
Warnings: attempted winking, filthy thoughts. Just the usual guys, no worries.
Wordcount: 5.9k
A/N: I hope you like this ✨
chapter one / chapter two / chapter three
•••
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I had been trying to distract myself all week after the little incident with Sy. Yes, I had declared it as a little incident, and I had been avoiding talking about it. Which, obviously, failed since I didn’t show up for the Friday night dinner at the pub, so my phone had exploded with texts from Brianna, Holly and even the guys. I assured them I was fine and I just had a headache.
Brianna and Holly didn’t buy it and they came to visit me on Saturday. They tried to tell me Sy didn’t meant what he said, that he just had misphrased his words. I really wanted to believe them, but the self-doubt in me wouldn’t allow it.
The week passed slowly, I kept myself busy with work and chores. On Thursday I had literally finished all my work for the week, so Brianna insisted I’d take a day off from work the day after.
“Seriously Kathy, you are going to take a day off tomorrow. Relax a bit. Talk to Sy. Clear the air,” Brianna said as I walked inside her office for no reason for the fifth time that day.
“Fine, I will take a day off, but I will not talk to Sy,” I answered and sat down in a chair in front of her desk. But maybe I should? He has been texting me every day. Maybe I should hear him out?
“Look, if you don’t talk to him tomorrow, I will make sure it happens this weekend. And I’ll be there. I doubt you want to discuss your feelings for him with me next to you,” Brianna smirked. The minx.
“You’re threatening me now?” I laughed but I knew she was dead serious. “Maybe, maybe I will talk to him tomorrow, okay?”
“It is not a yes, yet, but I’ll do for now.”
Soon after our conversation ended, we both went home. Feeling restless, I spend my Thursday night cleaning the house. That did mean I had the entire Friday to do nothing, to relax and sleep in. Well, that’s what I thought.
I woke up to the loud ringing of my doorbell. Confused I sat up, I wasn’t expecting anyone. Slowly I walked to the front door, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I unlocked and opened the door to see a large man in front of me.
“What are you doing here?” I asked Sy.
“Good morning darlin’, Brianna told me ya had a day off so I thought we could have breakfast,” he said and held up a basket filled with different kinds of bread, fruit, and other delicious food.
Even more confused I kept staring at him. He cocked his eyebrow and gestured me to let him in.
“Oh, yeah sorry, come in,” I muttered and let him walk past me. Suddenly I realized I was in my pyjamas, a cami top and shorts. It was a little revealing, but since I grew up with him, he had seen me in my bikini multiple times, so I didn’t care.
I watched Sy march into my kitchen and unloading the basket on the small table. He stood with his back to me, and I nearly drooled. That ass is illegal. Really fucking illegal. That back also. God, it just begs me to leave scratch marks with my fingernails on it.
Sy coughed and I realized I had been staring a little too obvious. Feeling my cheeks heat up, I walked towards him.
“Having breakfast is nice, but why on earth did you have to show up this early?” I pointed at the clock on the wall.
“It’s not early. It is already 8.30am,” Sy said and pulled out a chair for me. I sat down, and his fingers grazed my shoulders softly.
“That’s early. Especially on a day off. I’m allowed to sleep until 10am, at least.” I yawned excessively and watched Sy sat down opposite of me. He chuckled and poured me a cup of coffee. “You even brought coffee?”
“Figured ya needed it, to wake up,” he said and poured a cup for himself too. I took a sip, and it was delicious. Immediately I felt a little more awake, and a bit more aware of how I looked. I placed the cup down again and tried to fix my hair the best I could.
Sy had started eating, so I did too. We ate in silence, and I tried to make eye contact with him, but he kept looking away.
“Sy, why are you here?” I asked after we finished eating. I hated arguing, but I hated not expressing emotions even more. Kind of ironic, I know.
“Well, I think this not speaking to me thing of ya has lasted long enough,” he started. “So, I thought we could talk about it. And since ya let me in, and haven’t scratched out my eyes, I think ya wanna talk too.”
I took the last sip of my coffee and pushed a piece of pineapple around on my plate. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Good,” Sy said softly. His eyes met mine and for a second, I thought I saw he was a bit scared. What the hell are you scared of?
“Okay, maybe I have overreacted a bit. Maybe,” I whispered.
“And I should have phrased my words differently. I like being around ya and I prefer your company over everyone else’s.” He grabbed my hands and held them tight. My heart skipped a few beats and a smile formed on my face.
“I like being around you too captain,” I smiled. “But maybe don’t phrase your words like that again, okay?” He squeezed my hands one more time and let them go again.
“I’ll try my best darlin’,” he winked. Well, he tried to wink. I snorted out loud and nearly knocked the coffee cup off the table.
“You’re really doing this on purpose now don’t you?” I said and wiped a tear away that was rolling down my cheek. “You’re really so stubborn you’re not going to admit you can’t wink?”
“Be careful darlin’, you’re quite stubborn yourself,” he laughed and stood up to clear the table. I helped him and together we placed the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
“So, what are ya plans for today?” Sy asked while he was leaning against the counter.
“I don’t have plans honestly, you?”
“I was planning on helping my momma in the garden. Ya wanna help?” he said. I thought I could sense an undertone of uncertainty, but it was gone the second the sentence was over. Spending the day with you. In the garden. While you’re probably going to sweat. Oh god what if he takes his shirt off. Kat, keep it together.
“Yes, of course! I just need to get dressed, I’ll be back in a second,” I said and started to walk away but turned around as I heard Sy speak up.
“No need darlin’, ya could wear this,” Sy smirked.
“Very funny captain.” I shook my head and walked out of the kitchen, but before I was out of the room, I looked over my shoulder. I caught Sy looking at my ass and licking his lips. Quickly I looked in front of me again and walked to my bedroom, giggling. Please tell me I am not just seeing what I want to see. He really checked me out right?
I quickly freshened up and got dressed. I wore a pair of jeans that accentuated my ass even better. If he’s gonna stare at it, might put them of their best display.
Sy was waiting for me on the couch, he stood up as soon as I walked in the room. He smiled at me and followed me to the front door. I locked up behind us and he guided me to this truck. Sy opened the door for me, and gratefully I climbed in.
During the short drive to his parents’ house, we talked like nothing had happened. I was happy about it; I wasn’t one to keep hanging on to the past. Soon, he parked the car in front of the house. We stepped out, only to meet his parents.
“Kathy! Sweety, how lovely to see you!” Sy’s mother said and gave me a kiss on my cheek.
“It’s really nice to see you too!” I said and nodded at Sy’s father. You could easily tell they were Sy’s parents. He had his mother’s eyes and nose, while he had his father’s physique.
“I would love to chat with you, but we are on our way to meet some friends. We will catch up soon, okay?” Sy’s mother continued.
“I thought we were gonna work in the garden?” Sy asked, and I could see the visible confusion on his face. I might be crazy but are his parents trying to set us up now too?
“Yes, but Jane called if we would like to have lunch. Who are we to decline such a lovely offer? But you and Kathy could work in the garden!” she said, and I noticed Sy’s father walk towards his car. Was he laughing?
“Come sweetheart, let’s go,” Sy’s father said and held the car door open for his wife. She gave Sy a kiss on the cheek and stepped in the car. Sy’s father did so too and started the car. Before he drove off, Sy’s mother opened her window. “Have fun you two!” she yelled and winked at us. Definitely trying to set us up.
“At least your mom can wink,” I deadpanned.
“Oh, shut up,” Sy groaned, and I laughed out loud. He turned around and walked around the house to the garden, I followed close behind.
“So, what do we need to do captain?” I asked Sy as we walked into the large garden. Most of it covered with grass, the areas on the outside were filled with different types of flowers and plants.
“We need to remove the weeds between the plants and flowers,” Sy said and walked into the little shed to collect some tools for us to use.
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After an hour of working hard, pulling out weeds, I started to get a little tired. Sy and I didn’t talk much while we worked side by side. I did look at him from time to time. I watched his big arms pulling the weeds out effortless and I noticed he had started to sweat a little. The sight of it made me nearly faint. Sy also let out a few grunts every now and then. Are you trying to make me jump you Sy?
“You want something to drink?” I asked Sy as I was starting to get a bit thirsty. Not only thirsty for something to drink though.
“Yeah, thanks darlin’,” he answered and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.
I nodded and stood up. I proceeded to walk to Sy’s cabin, which was practically hidden in the far back of the garden between trees. I wasn’t even three steps away from Sy when I stepped on an uneven patch of grass. My ankle twisted and before I knew it, I was on the ground.
“Ouch!” I murmured and grabbed my ankle.
“What did ya do?” Sy said as he kneeled beside me. He placed one of his hands on my shoulder and looked at me worried.
“Just sprained my ankle, it’s no big deal,” I said. Sy held out his hand for me and helped me get up. I hissed in pain when I tried to stand on the sprained ankle.
“Yeah, right, no big deal uh?” Suddenly Sy lifted me up bridal style, and I let out a squeal.
“Sy, what are you doing?!” I clasped my arms around his neck, worried for a second, he might drop me, but then I remembered he was more than capable of carrying me.
He didn’t answer me, he just placed me on one of the lounge chairs and walked inside his parents’ house to grab a pillow from the couch. In mere seconds he returned and placed the pillow under my sprained ankle. He had also bought back two bottles of water and handed me one.
“Ya stay here and let that ankle rest for a bit. I might not be able to wink, but you can’t walk apparently,” he mocked.
I laughed and watched him walk away, to finish our work in the garden. While sipping from my water I admired him. His shirt now sticking to his body from the sweat, accentuating his physique even more. That man sweating and grunting above me? I might not survive that. Not that I would complain though. Maybe we should start with a kiss. Oh my god I wanna kiss him so badly. Is he licking his lips? Sy don’t fucking tease me.
After 30 minutes of me obviously checking out Sy, he stopped working. I guessed he was finished. His eyes locked with mine and we both smiled. He walked over to me, and I sat up a bit straighter.
“How’s that ankle doing?” he asked.
“Oh, it’s alright. It doesn’t hurt so much anymore.”
“How can ya know when ya haven’t stood on it since it happened?” Sy cocked his eyebrow. He did have a point, but I wasn’t one to admit I was in pain.
Sy held his hand out for me, I took it and he helped me stand up. Once I stood on both feet again, it was obvious my ankle still hurt.
“Ya are clearly not in pain anymore,” Sy pointed out and chuckled. “Come on, I’ll wrap it for ya. I have an emergency kit in my cabin.” Next thing I knew I was in his arms again, bridal style.
“Sy! You know I can walk!” I yelped and wrapped my arms around his sweaty neck. “Also, you’re sweaty.”
“Ya can’t walk with that ankle. And don’t pretend ya mind I’m a bit sweaty darlin’, I saw ya staring at me.” I felt my cheeks burn and was lost for words for a moment.
Sy carried me inside his cabin, he even managed to open the door while still carrying me. He walked inside his bedroom and placed me on his huge bed. He went into his bathroom and returned with the emergency kit.
“Come here,” Sy said and kneeled in front of me, placing my foot on his knee. He carefully started wrapping my ankle with a bandage. His large hands managed to make my foot look small in his hand, and I let out a giggle.
A few minutes later he was done. He stood up again and pointed at my jeans. They had grass stains on it from my fall. “If ya want, ya could wear some of my sweats,” he offered.
“Very nice offer captain, but in case you haven’t noticed, my ass won’t fit into those,” I smirked.
“Yeah right, I have a big ass too,” he huffed and turned his back to me to wiggle his ass.
“Oh, you do, you really do. But mine is still bigger,” I laughed. Sy shook his head and a playful smile formed on his face.
“I wouldn’t mind helping ya change into my sweats though, maybe they’ll fit with my help,” Sy smirked.
“You’re just trying to get me out of my pants or what?” I laughed. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he shook his head again and grabbed to emergency kit. He walked inside the bathroom, leaving me alone on the bed.
I reached down to touch my ankle. He had wrapped it nicely. I was about to retrieve my hand when I bumped into something underneath the bed. Curious about what it was, I grabbed it. It was a box I had never seen before. I hesitated to look inside, but then the lid popped open. My letters were inside. The letters I had send him while he was away. He kept my letters? Underneath is bed?
A cough caught my attention, and I saw Sy standing awkwardly in front of me.
“You kept my letters?” I asked him, still a bit surprised.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Why?”
“Because I like them. I like reading them. They are kinda comforting,” he said and scratched the back of his head. I could tell he was a bit uncomfortable. “I sometimes read them before I go to sleep,” Sy continued.
“That is really sweet Sy,” I said and stood up. Quickly his hand grabbed my elbow, to make sure I wouldn’t have to stand on my sprained ankle. His eyes locked with mine, and suddenly my heart was beating faster than ever before.
We stood in front of each other, unsure of what to say next. Awkwardly, I looked at the ground until he lifted my chin up with his finger.
“You know what? Fuck it. Kat, darlin’, would ya like to go on a date with me?”
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The whole week was dreadful. Ever since Friday I felt like an idiot, and everyone told me so. Friday night dinner at the pub was not she same without her. As soon as I had finished my meal, I went home. I had hoped she would’ve showed up so we could talk it out. Unfortunately, she didn’t. Kat also didn’t answer my calls or messages. I hated texting, but I tried it anyway.
Working with the guys had been quite annoying the last few days. They used every opportunity to call me out of my actions and told me I just had to go see Kat. They thought she would talk to me if I’d just show up. I had thought about it, and Tuesday late in the afternoon I drove to her house. I waited in my truck but when she came home, I could tell by her movements she was not in the mood to talk. Sighing, I drove back home.
Now, on Thursday, I was starting to get fed up with Kat still ignoring me. I promised myself I would go see her tonight. That was until I got a call.
“Brianna?” I answered the phone.
“Sy, hi. Thank god you picked up,” Brianna spoke.
“Why wouldn’t I pick up?”
“You never pick up, but never mind. The reason I’m calling is Kat, obviously,” she continued.
“Is she alright?” I asked.
“She is fine but could do better. That is actually why I’m calling. I think it is time you two talk this thing out.”
“I’ve been trying, but she wouldn’t answer my calls or texts. I’m gonna go over tonight.” I mean, I should, right?
“Good! You definitely should go see her. You know how stubborn she can be,” Brianna laughed. “But I just tried to talk some sense into her, and I think she is ready to talk to you. She is taking the day off tomorrow, so maybe you could see her then?”
“Yeah sure. Thanks for calling Bri.” After we said goodbye, I hung up the phone. Guess it’s better if I go see her tomorrow, maybe we could spend the day together?
The next morning, I woke up early, really early. I twisted and turned in bed, but I couldn’t sleep again. I wanted to see Kat and talk it out. She couldn’t stay mad forever, right? With a groan I climbed out of bed and took a shower. While I was showering, an idea popped up in my head. Maybe I could surprise her with breakfast?
Satisfied with my plan, I quickly got dressed and went into the kitchen to search for breakfast food. I opened the fridge, and noticed it was nearly empty. Shit. Luckily, I knew I could find everything I needed in my momma’s kitchen.
A few minutes later I stood in the kitchen in my parents’ house, a small perk of living in the cabin in the garden. Hopefully, I would have a house of my own soon. I better make this right with Kat if I wanna buy a house with her.
“What are you doing honey?” I heard my mom’s voice behind me while I had collected a nice pile of food.
“Uhm, grabbing breakfast,” I answered.
“That’s a lot of food for one person, even for you. Spill it,” she said with a stern voice.
Knowing my mom, I knew she would keep me here until I told her the truth. “Made a mistake, so I’m gonna make it right.” She simply raised her eyebrow as she handed me a basket to place the food in. “Fine, I need to make something right with Kat.”
“Ah, I see. Well, you better make it right indeed if you ever intend on marrying her,” she spoke while she helped me fill the basket. “I like that girl, and so do you honey. Don’t mess it up with her, would you?”
After a monologue from my mom why I had to make it right with Kat, I finally managed to leave the house and drive to Kat’s after I promised to help her in the garden later that day. A little nervous I parked the car in front of Kat’s house. I stepped out and grabbed the basket, slowly I walked to her front door. What if she doesn’t want to see me?
I rang the doorbell and knocked on her door. Well, I don’t care if she doesn’t wanna see me, we are gonna talk this out right now. If she wants or not. The door opened, and a very sleepy Kat appeared in front of me. She looked adorable while she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” she asked me.
“Good morning darlin’, Brianna told me ya had a day off so I thought we could have breakfast,” I said and held up the basket filled with different kinds of bread, fruit, and other delicious food. Confused she started at me, I cocked my eyebrow and she stepped aside to let me in.
“Oh, yeah sorry, come in,” she muttered, and I walked past her. She was in her pyjamas, a little cami top and shorts. Ya teasing me on purpose? I tried to not stare at her cleavage too much as I was passing her. I wanted to take her in my arms, and let my hands wander over her body. To prevent myself from grabbing her right there, I walked into the kitchen and unloaded the basket on her little table.
After I was done, I turned around and saw her eyes were glued to my back. With a simple cough, I gained her attention again and she walked up to me. Was she checking me out?
“Having breakfast is nice, but why on earth did you have to show up this early?” Kat pointed at the clock on the wall.
“It’s not early. It is already 8.30am,” I said and pulled out a chair for her. She sat down, and I couldn’t resist to touch her shoulders softly. Just let me place kisses all over ya soft skin darlin’.
“That’s early. Especially on a day off. I’m allowed to sleep until 10am, at least.” She yawned excessively. I chuckled and sat down opposite of her. I grabbed the thermos and poured her a cup of coffee. “You even brought coffee?”
“Figured ya needed it, to wake up,” I said and poured a cup for myself too. We both started eating, in silence. I could tell she was looking for eye contact, but I wasn’t quite sure of what to say yet, so I kept avoiding it.
“Sy, why are you here?” she asked after we finished eating. Well, here we go.
“Well, I think this not speaking to me thing of ya has lasted long enough,” I started. “So, I thought we could talk about it. And since ya let me in, and haven’t scratched out my eyes, I think ya wanna talk too.”
She took the last sip of her coffee and played with a piece of fruit on her plate. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Good,” I whispered. Do I tell her what I feel now? Or are we gonna play pretend for a little longer?
“Okay, maybe I have overreacted a bit. Maybe,” she whispered.
“And I should have phrased my words differently. I like being around ya and I prefer your company over everyone else’s.” I grabbed her hands and held them tight. Her large hands felt good in mine, like a perfect fit. A smile formed on her face. Okay playing pretend for a little while longer it is. I didn’t want to ruin something when I wasn’t sure she felt the same, but I wasn’t sure for how long I could keep this up.
“I like being around you too captain,” she smiled. “But maybe don’t phrase your words like that again, okay?” I squeezed her hands one more time and let them go again.
“I’ll try my best darlin’,” I winked, well knowing I couldn’t. I knew she would laugh about it. and I was right, she snorted out loud and nearly knocked the coffee cup off the table.
“You’re really doing this on purpose now don’t you?” she said and wiped a tear away that was rolling down her cheek. “You’re really so stubborn you’re not going to admit you can’t wink?”
“Be careful darlin’, you’re quite stubborn yourself,” I laughed and stood up to clear the table. She helped me and together we placed the dirty dishes in the dishwasher.
“So, what are ya plans for today?” I asked while leaning against the counter. Ya better have none.
“I don’t have plans honestly, you?”
“I was planning on helping my momma in the garden. Ya wanna help?” I asked. I wasn’t sure if she would want to help, but I just wanted to spend time with her without it being forced or feel awkward.
“Yes, of course! I just need to get dressed, I’ll be back in a second,” she said and started to walk away. Get dressed? Ya better don’t wear more than this. I’d prefer ya clothes on the floor.
“No need darlin’, ya could wear this,” I smirked. A little teasing wouldn’t hurt, would it?
“Very funny captain.” She shook her head and walked out of the kitchen. I watched her walk away, admiring her ass and thinking about how I’d want to slap it. Wait, did she just saw me staring at her ass? Oh, who cares. She has a nice ass, so I am obliged to look at it.
I waited on her couch, and a few moments later she returned. She wore a tight pair of jeans, hugging her figure and making her behind look even better. Her ass would look better naked though.
She smiled at me as I stood up and followed her to the front door. She locked up, and we walked to my truck. I opened the door for her and helped her get in.
While chatting, I drove home. It felt like nothing ever happened, which I was glad about. After a couple of minutes, I parked the car in front of the house. I immediately saw my mom and dad come out of the house. Oh no.
“Kathy! Sweety, how lovely to see you!” My mom said and gave Kat a kiss on her cheek. She better not embarrass me in front of Kat.
“It’s really nice to see you too!” Kat answered and gave my dad a nod. My parents had always liked Kat, and they had told me many times. At one point, I thought my mom would force me to marry her. Not that I would mind marrying her.
“I would love to chat with you, but we are on our way to meet some friends. We will catch up soon, okay?” my mom continued. They did not have any plans today. Are they trying to set us up now too?
“I thought we were gonna work in the garden?” I asked confused.
“Yes, but Jane called if we would like to have lunch. Who are we to decline such a lovely offer? But you and Kathy could work in the garden!” she said, and I noticed my dad walk towards his car. Was he trying to supress a laugh?
“Come sweetheart, let’s go,” my dad said to my mom and held the car door open for her. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and stepped in the car. My father started the car and wanted to drive off, but my mom opened the window before he could. “Have fun you two!” she yelled and winked at us. Oh, come on.
“At least your mom can wink,” Kat deadpanned.
“Oh, shut up,” I groaned, and Kat laughed out loud. I turned around and walked around the house to the garden, Kat followed close behind.
“So, what do we need to do captain?” she asked me as we walked into the large garden. Most of it covered with grass, the areas on the outside were filled with different types of flowers and plants my mother had planted over the years.
“We need to remove the weeds between the plants and flowers,” I said and walked into the little shed to collect some tools for us to use.
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@We worked next to each other for the next hour. We didn’t talk but, it was comfortable. I watched her whenever she couldn’t see. She looked pretty, as always. She licked her lips every now and then, almost like she was begging me to kiss her.
“You want something to drink?” she asked and pulled me out of my thoughts. Yeah, I’m thirsty but not only for a drink darlin’.
“Yeah, thanks darlin’,” I answered and wiped the sweat from my forehead with the back of my hand.
She nodded and looked at me. She walked to my cabin, but before she could reach it, I saw how she twisted her ankle and fell.
“Ouch!” she murmured and grabbed her ankle.
“What did ya do?” I said as he kneeled beside her as fast as I could. One of my hands found its way to her shoulder, the other hovered above her ankle.
“Just sprained my ankle, it’s no big deal,” she said. I held out my hand for her and helped her get up. Immediately, she hissed in pain when she tried to stand on the sprained ankle.
“Yeah, right, no big deal uh?” I spoke. No way she was going to walk right now. She needed to give her ankle some rest. I lifted her up bridal style and she let out a squeal.
“Sy, what are you doing?!” She wrapped her arms around tightly around my neck. If ya wanna choke me, let’s do that in a different situation darlin’. I might let ya.
I didn’t feel like she needed an answer to her question. Instead, I placed her down on one of the lounge chairs. I quickly walked inside afterwards and grabbed a pillow from the couch. I also grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge. When I came back, she was still seated on the lounge chair. Good girl. I was afraid she might have tried to stand up again.
“Ya stay here and let that ankle rest for a bit. I might not be able to wink, but you can’t walk apparently,” I mocked. She laughed, and I walked away to finish the work while chugging down the bottle of water.
It was hot and I started to sweat more and more. I wanted to take a nice, cold shower. Maybe I could persuade her of taking the shower with me? Shaking the thought off, I focused on pulling out the weeds.
After 30 minutes I was done. I had noticed Kat had been looking at me the entire time. That has to be a good sign, right? I looked at her and our eyes met, quickly I walked over to her.
“How’s that ankle doing?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s alright. It doesn’t hurt so much anymore,” Kat answered.
“How can ya know when ya haven’t stood on it since it happened?” I cocked my eyebrow. She hadn’t stood up since I had laid her down there, there now no way she could know the pain was gone.
I held my hand out for her. She took it and I helped me stand up. Once she was on both feet again, it was obvious that she was still in pain.
“Ya are clearly not in pain anymore,” I chuckled. “Come on, I’ll wrap it for ya. I have an emergency kit in my cabin.” I picked her up in my arms again, enjoying having her close to me.
“Sy! You know I can walk!” she yelped and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Also, you’re sweaty.”
“Ya can’t walk with that ankle. And don’t pretend you mind I’m a bit sweaty darlin’, I saw ya staring at me.” She gasped, and I chuckled. I carried her inside my cabin and sat her down on my bed. I walked into the bathroom and grabbed the emergency kit.
“Come here,” I said and kneeled in front of her. I gently grabbed her foot and placed it on my knee. I started to wrap her ankle carefully with a bandage. Her ankle was a little swollen, but it would be fine.
Soon, I was done. I stood up again and noticed the grass stains on her jeans. “If ya want, ya could wear some of my sweats,” I offered.
“Very nice offer captain, but in case you haven’t noticed, my ass won’t fit into those,” she smiled.
“Yeah right, I have a big ass too,” I huffed and turned my back to her to sway my ass.
“Oh, you do, you really do. But mine is still bigger,” she laughed. I laughed and shook my head.
“I wouldn’t mind helping ya change into my sweats though, maybe they’ll fit with my help,” I smirked. I really wouldn’t mind helping ya out of those jeans.
“You’re just trying to get me out of my pants or what?” she laughed. Yes. Fuck yes. I shook my head, grabbed the emergency kit, and walked back inside the bathroom.
I started in the mirror and noticed my sweaty face. I grabbed a washcloth, and quickly washed my face. Keep it together Sy. Or maybe I should just tell her. Maybe I could just ask her out? Don’t tell me she looks at me like that and not feel what I feel.
With a boost of confidence, I walked into the bedroom again. Kat is still on my bed, but this time she is holding the box with her letters. She was not supposed to find those. I coughed awkwardly, and she looked up.
“You kept my letters?” she asked me surprised.
“Yeah, I did.”
“Why?”
“Because I like them. I like reading them. They are kinda comforting,” I said and scratched the back of my head. “I sometimes read them before I go to sleep,” I continued.
“That is really sweet Sy,” she said and stood up. Seeing she was unsteady on her feet because of her ankle, I grabbed her elbow. Our eyes locked, and my heart skipped a beat. I thought I saw hope in her eyes.
We stood in front of each other, unsure of what to say next. Sy, it’s now or never. Just fuckin’ ask her. She was looking at the ground, so I lifted her chin up with my finger, making her look at me.
“You know what? Fuck it. Kat, darlin’, would ya like to go on a date with me?”
•••
> chapter five
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tojisblunt · 3 years
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the sister always wins.
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just a lil dark drabble / dark one shot to give myself a break from writing for the last :))) its been a while since i indulged in my own dark fantasies......
+ includes. cheating, INCEST, dacryphilia, fingering, creampie, consensual recording, overstimulation, mating press, multiple orgasms, squirting
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you hate her.
your precious and handsome nii chan knows how much you despise his girlfriend, and despite his nightly reassurances of how you’re his favorite girl, you can’t help but feel jealousy, anger, and frustration whenever you hear the sounds of her moans and skin slapping against skin coming from your brother’s room.
you hate her, which is why you’re currently crying to your nii chan, sitting on his bed as you whine and sniffle like a brat while he keeps his focus on his game. he’s currently winning, as what you assumed from the victorious yells coming in from his headphones, faint voices screaming about how “you’re so cracked, suna!” whatever the hell that means.
“rin nii,” you cry, shifting closer to the edge of the bed, and closer to him. he keeps his headphones on, pretending to ignore you. if you didn’t know any better, you’d know that he’s just pretending to not hear you to get a reaction out of you, but you don’t. you’re really gullible, and it breaks your heart to see your nii chan “ignoring” you.
suna finishes his game, bidding goodbye to his friends. you smile widely as he begins to turn off his pc, only for your smile to dwindle down once his phone starts to ring. you knew that it was her, and if she’s calling, you knew that your time with your nii chan would be limited.
“hey baby,” suna places emphasis on ‘baby’ knowing that your ears are perked and listening to his conversation. “are you okay?” suna makes sure his voice comes out a little more lovey-dovey than usual just to spite you, getting you prepared for his plans tonight.
you wanna doubt him so much? he’ll show you how much he loves you, and only you.
you keep your head down as suna converses with his girlfriend, paying no mind to you as if you never even entered his room in the first place. as if you never even existed in the first place, and it makes you want to start crying again.
“right now? i can’t,” you look up at the sound of suna’s words, letting curiosity get the best of you. “[name] isn’t feeling well,” suna finishes, and you feel a sense of pride pass through you at the fact that he’s declining that stupid whore’s request of coming over in favor of you.
“she’s my fucking sister,” your eyes twinkle at the sound of your brother defending you, the hint of anger in his voice becoming more prominent as the whore continues to yell at him through the phone. if you made the effort, you’d be able to hear whatever she’s saying, but you don’t care about a single thing that leaves her mouth, so you choose to focus on your nii chan’s words instead. “whatever, fuck you. call me back when you’re not going batshit insane, yeah?”
suna hangs up the phone in a fit of anger, throwing it on the space beside you. he stares at you for a quick second before grabbing you by your wrist, dragging you to your own room without a single word.
“nii chan!” you squeal as he throws you onto the bed, spreading your legs wide with no hesitation. he flips your skirt and removes your panties, a mewl leaving your lips as the cold air hits your warm cunt, your sensitivity already beginning to be fueled.
“why do you hate her so much?” suna asks, keeping his body in between your legs and your ankles are resting on his shoulders. his eyes stare down at your cute cunt, fingers toying with your clit while your body sways side to side from the stimulation.
“b-because she..” you hiccup as suna slides in two thick fingers into your awaiting pussy, groaning at the tightness that he’s welcomed with. “she t-takes nii chan away from m-me...” you sniffle, head thrown back as the tips of suna’s fingers bump with your cervix while his fingers continue to assault your throbbing clit.
“she’s my girlfriend, so of course she will.” suna says nonchalantly, and you whimper at the image of him spending time with her. “but, i told you, baby. you’re my favorite girl, not her.” he coos when you cry out as he slips an additional finger, voice turning dark as his obsessive possession over you starts to show up.
“rin nii,” you whine, giving him the pretty eyes to let him know what you really want. suna smiles, slipping his fingers out of you, taking them in his mouth first before gripping the underside of your thighs, keeping them spread apart as he lines his cock with your leaking pussy.
he slowly pushes the head of his cock inside, relishing in your soft whines of pleasure as he begins to stretch your little cunt. “fuck,” suna groans, eyes focused on the way your pussy is wrapping his cock. he brings his thumb to target tight circles on your sensitive clit, resulting in your legs to start quivering as his cock makes its way to bottom out inside you.
“nii chan,” you whine, grabbing onto his wrist and shaking your head, afraid of the building pressure inside of you. “i feel s-so full...” you sniffle, exhaling heavily as he quickens the speed of his fingers on your clit.
“cumming?” suna chuckles, amused as he watches you cry and convulse around his cock that had just bottomed out inside your messy cunt, your juices coating his cock with your cream.
“yo-your phone, nii chan...” you blabber, and at first you confused him, but as you continue to mutter about his phone, he starts to understand your true intentions.
you want him to record you.
he smiles, caressing the side of your face before grabbing his phone beside you, keeping himself inside of you. he opens his camera app, sliding to the video option and hit ‘record’.
suna brings the phone to your cock stuffed cunt, using his other hand to spread your legs wider and letting the camera get a better view of your pretty pussy creaming on his cock.
“tell her, baby.” suna grunts as he begins to thrust his hips against yours harshly. your eyes widen, realizing his motives. he’s gonna send it to her?! instead of making you more shy, it gets you even more turned on, causing the heat bubbling in your pussy to rise. “who’s my favorite girl?” suna’s voice is husky, sweat dripping down his forehead as he keeps his rough pace of fucking into your cunt fast and hard.
“i am!” you cry, the feeling of his cock pounding into your tight little cunt heightening your senses. “i’m your favorite girl, fuck! nii san, i’m cumming!” you sob, your grip around his wrist tightening as his fingers don’t stop their abuse on your poor clit while his cock rams into you in the most pleasurable manner.
“yeah? you cummin’ on your big brother’s cock?” suna chcukles darkly, placing his phone on the night stand but making sure that the camera still caught both of your bodies performing a taboo activity. “beg for it, baby. beg for your nii chan, come on,” suna eggs you on, and you’re panting, eyes rolling back.
“please, please, please, please!” you sob, shaking your head as you start to feel the bubbling of immeasurable pleasure inside the pit of your stomach. “i’m cumming, please, nii chan, please!” you cry, and with one final stroke of suna’s fingers on your clit, you’re cumming hard on his cock, catching suna’s attention as your cum squirts out, splattering all over his chest and cock.
“holy,” suna chokes, feeling his dick throb at the wet sensation that’s covering his skin. “that was so hot, baby,” suna leans down to share a sloppy kiss with you, his hips continuing with its abuse against yours while you moan and whine into his mouth from the overstimulation.
“rin nii,” you whine uncomfortably, the overstimulation becoming a little too much to the point where it starts to borderline pain and pleasure. suna ignores you, going at a faster pace this time, relishing in the way your moans start to become more erratic and breathy. “no, no, no...” you whisper as you feel your cunt convulsing, a tell tale sign of your impending orgasm.
“ah, gonna cum again?” suna chuckles, using his hold on your thighs to press them against your chest as he leans on your body, pressing his weight onto you. “yeah, one more, give nii chan one more.” he’s breathing into your ear, and you can only respond with a cry as he hits the deepest spots within you.
“mmph!” your cries come out muffled due to the hand you’ve pressed against your mouth to refrain your parents from hearing your brother split your cunt open deliciously. “i’m cumming, nii chan,” you cry in a rushed manner, and he kisses your cheek as your token to cum, and you do, coating his cock with even more of your cum. the base of his cock is wrapped in a translucent white circle, a sign of your pleasure whenever he humps his dick in and out of your messy pussy.
“fuck, fuck, fuck,” suna groans as he cums inside of your cunt, head thrown back and eyes closed as he feels your pussy tighten around him while he warms you up with his cum, painting your pink insides white. he does no move to pull his softening cock out of you, only moving to grab his phone and end the recording.
he’s immediately pressing a few buttons and you stare at him in confusion before he shoves his phone at your face, your eyes focusing and unfocusing on his screen as you adjust to the closeness of his phone on your face.
your eyes widen as your mind processes what he just showed you, but he gives you no time to respond as he begins circling your clit, causing a moan to slip from your pretty lips. he smirks, throwing his phone to the side as he brings you into another mating press, beginning to snap his hips against yours for another round.
your moans and his grunts are so loud that you don't hear the constant dinging from his phone as his girlfriend blows up his phone.
suna: *1 video attachment* suna: we're over btw
unknown (blocked): wtf????? unknown (blocked): this is disgusting unknown (blocked): ur sister?? rlly???? my pussy is better right???? unknown (blocked): baby respond unknown (blocked): fuck you im gonna send this to everyone unknown (blocked): hello???? unknown (blocked): fuck
well, ex-grilfriend.
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swtltlmrvlgrl · 3 years
Text
Stay Until the Rain Stops
Summary:
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier AU. In Bucky’s search of what his “normal” looks like, he finds the reader sitting in a dark alleyway giving shelter to everything else, besides herself.
This story is part of my one-shot compilations inspired by the song “You Shine” from the musical “Carrie”, wherein two people see the way each other shines. This is NOT related to the previously uploaded story called “Accidents Happen”
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader (platonic!sam wilson and peter parker)
Warning/s: allergies, rain, fever, fainting, awkward
Word Count: 4,750
-----
“How can I leave you if you’re looking at me like that?”
You were on your way home from work, and it was raining heavily. To prevent the rain from soaking your bag and the important papers due tomorrow inside it, you positioned it in front of you - as if you’re cradling a baby in your arms. You were typing something on your phone when you heard a cry coming from the direction of the alleyway, you looked around to check if people noticed it too.
The sound of the cry hit too close to home that you weren’t able to ignore it. You walked towards and into the dark alleyway. With one umbrella in hand and your phone on the other, you turned on your phone’s flashlight and searched for the source of the soft cries.
You found it, and it is EXACTLY what you thought it was. Staring straight into your eyes with its pleading puppy dog eyes is obviously a puppy. It’s soaking wet inside a cardboard box. You immediately take off your grey cardigan and crouch down.
“Your parents left you here, huh?” You say, while wrapping the cardigan around the puppy.
You sit down - indian style - and place the box between your thighs. You pull the box and your bag closer to your body to make sure that the dog and your bag is properly placed under the umbrella, not minding the huge droplets of water accumulating on your back.
“I’m sorry.” You tell the puppy.” This is the only thing that I can do.”
The puppy wags its tail slowly. It breaks your heart that you can’t take the puppy home, but you’re allergic to dogs and puppies. The mere fact that you actually had contact with this puppy right now will have its consequences tonight or tomorrow, it’s fine but having it with you every day is a death sentence. Of course, you WOULD know.
When you were a child, you would ask your mother everyday to visit your aunt’s place because she had five dogs. You knew you were allergic to dogs so you made sure that you always drink your antihistamine after visiting your aunt’s house. But after playing with her dogs the whole day for 5 consecutive days, your body did not respond to the antihistamine anymore and you had to be rushed to the hospital. The worst part is, ever since that day, you’re not allowed to visit your aunt’s house and play with her dogs. You can only admire dogs from afar. That experience left a void in your heart that can only be filled by watching dog videos everyday.
“Ah!” You remember that you have a leftover carrot in the lunch box. “Today is your lucky day champ.” You scramble through your things. “My lunch was cut short so I have a few pieces of carrots left.”
You mash the carrots with your fingers, making it easier for the puppy to eat. “Here you go.” The puppy licks the mashed carrots at the tip of your index finger. “Good?” You ask, after you see him finishing up the food. The puppy wags its tail enthusiastically. “Man, how long have you been here?”
The puppy barks in response. “A long time huh?” You pat its head. “Okay. Here’s a deal.” You take his right paw with your right hand. “I’ll ask around the office tomorrow. I promise I’ll find you a new parent. Okay?” You shake his paw and he barks.
-----
Ever since he moved in one week ago, Bucky would always check the alleyway near his apartment building. It’s been pretty quiet and normal these past few days.
But not today.
Even with his hood up, he could clearly hear something in the alleyway. He walked slowly and stealthily, and found shelter a few meters away from the unfamiliar entity.
From where he was standing, he recognized the shape of an umbrella, and a box resting on what seemed like legs in denim jeans. He heard a voice, your voice, having a conservation with … the box?
Wait.
Did the box...bark?
“I’ll stay here until the rain stops.” He heard you say.
Bucky contemplated on what you just said. Is she out of her mind? He looked up and stretched his hands out to check if the rain would stop any time soon. An obvious, no.
After clicking his tongue, he clenched his jaw, and walked briskly towards your direction. He can’t just leave you there soaking under the rain.
Ah, Bucky was caught with a sudden pang of nostalgia. It’s been a while since I saved an irresponsibly impulsive person.
-----
The sound of footsteps approaching you puts you on high alert. The puppy must’ve smelled your fear and starts barking towards the direction of the stranger. The entity stops a few steps away from you. You hold your breath and pray that today won’t be your last day on earth. The puppy stops barking.
After a moment of silence, you hear three small taps on your umbrella. The person at the opposite side of the umbrella cleared his (you assumed he’s a man because of his deep voice) throat.
“I- uh - overheard your conversation with the thing in the box” He starts saying.
You pull your umbrella up, exposing the dog wrapped in grey cardigan and your drenched self to the man. Seeing the state that you’re in, Bucky swiftly takes off his leather jacket, leaving him with only his hoodie to cover his body from the rain, and proceeds to wrap it around you.
“My jacket’s a little wet too but...” He says. “This can warm you up a little.” He takes the handle of your umbrella. “I don’t think the rain’s going to stop any time soon.” Before you can say anything, he stretches his arms out for you to hold. “Maybe we should go and seek shelter first?”
----
“James Buchanan Barnes.” He introduces himself.”But you can call me Bucky.”
You can’t really tell him that he doesn’t need to introduce himself, cause you already know him. You work in the Avengers tower after all, and Sam Wilson has been talking about his new cyborg-brained partner coming in a week.
As a mechanical engineer, you’ve always been fascinated by the technologies coming from Wakanda, and you’ve been particularly curious about his metal arm. But you can’t really tell him that now, can you? Especially now that you’re inside his apartment while drying your hair with his towel. Good thing you always pack extra sets of clothes, it would’ve been awkward if he offers you his clothes, as well.
“Y/N Y/L/N.” You tell him. “Thank you for saving me and the puppy out there. I’m actually...” You sigh. “...allergic to dogs and puppies so I can’t adopt him and take him home.” You continue, while playing with the tip of the towel. “I know this is too much to ask after everything you did but is it okay if he stays with you for now?”
Bucky isn’t responding. He can’t. How can he take care of a puppy, he can’t even take care of himself.
“I’ll find him a parent tomorrow, I promise.” You assure him, while putting the towel down and facing him.
“Sure.” Bucky gives a half-hearted response, while forcing a smile.
You heave a sigh of relief “Thanks!” You run towards him and shake his hands. “You’re a hero.”
Hero. That’s probably the last word that Bucky will use to describe himself, but he won’t deny that being called like that felt good. He didn’t even notice the way his half-hearted smile turned into a full one.
“You can stay here if you want.” Bucky offers as you let go of his hand.
You were taken aback by the offer. I mean, staying with Mr. Barnes would entail a lot of chances to ask him about the arm and maybe more about the Wakandan technology. But that’s too much to ask from him in a day, he’s just being polite and you don’t want to impose.
“Thank you so much for the offer. But I would have to decline.” You say.
The curve on Bucky’s face disappears. “Okay.”
“Okay.” You say in a hushed voice.
“I can take you ho - “ The sound from the puppy cuts Bucky mid-sentence.
The puppy must’ve understood what you just said, and started barking and crying. You and Bucky look at each other for a moment, then to the dog and to each other again. Bucky smirks, and you smile back. You both start walking towards the crying dog. You crouch down and pat the puppy’s head.
“Hey.” He stops crying and wags his tail, while aggressively rubbing his head and his muzzle in your hand. “I have to go.” The puppy starts crying again, a little louder than the first one.
You take a deep breath and sigh. “You’re using the crying technique again. We meet for 5 seconds and you already know my weakness. You’re even using it against me.”
You hear Bucky’s small chuckle from behind.
“Fine.” You rub his head a few more times. “I’ll stay. But no more touching, ‘kay?” The puppy barks once and wags his tail. He does a small twirl and pats your gray sweater-turned-dog-blanket and makes himself comfortable.
You breathe out and slowly stand to face Bucky.
“Don’t apologize.” Bucky starts talking before you could say anything. “The puppy actually did a better job than me in convincing you to stay. I mean -” Bucky rubs his nape and points at the wall clock. “It’s already late. I think it would be best if you stay here for the night.”
“I really, really don’t want to impose. But I also don’t want to leave him crying in your apartment. I promise I’ll go home early in the morning.”
“Sure.” He pauses. “You mentioned that you’re - uh - allergic to dogs, I can go out to buy medicine for you.”
“Oh no no. No need. I actually have some with me.”
“Water?” Bucky offers.
You nod your head. “Thank you.”
“Actually - uhm -” You stop him before he goes to fetch you some water. “I have something to tell you.” You pause for a moment to gather all the necessary strength that you would need for this confession. “We’re actually office or work mates… ish?”
Bucky raises his eyebrows in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“I work at the Avengers Tower.” You say it as fast as you can. “But I’m not like you, or like a superhero or something. I work at the engineering department.” You confess. “Sam, your partner, I help him sometimes with his gears. He has been talking about you since last week.”
“Well. That man really likes talking a lot huh.” Bucky responds.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t know how I’m going to tell you without it being awkward.”
“I don’t think we can get any more awkward than this, Y/N.”
“Agreed.”
“So work mates, huh?”
“Yep.”
“That’s actually good news.”
“Why’s that?”
“I’ll have someone with me on my first day.”
The tension and the awkwardness between the two of you started to disappear. Having some kind of a connection and a common friend, made Bucky feel a bit more relaxed and at ease. You, on the other hand, feel better because you don’t have anything to hide. You still haven’t told him about your interest for his Wakandan arm, but that’s a completely different story.
While you were drinking your antihistamine, Bucky took out his blankets and his extra pillows and laid them all on the sofa, where you will be sleeping for the night. After which, he arranges a pair of pillows and a blanket on the floor, a few steps away from the sofa, where he will be sleeping.
You really feel bad about this set-up, especially with Bucky just sleeping on the floor with just blankets serving as his cushion, but Sam sometimes tells you stories about vets having a difficult time sleeping on beds. It felt too soft, Sam would say, like the ground is eating them alive. Which is why, no matter how uncomfortable it looks and feels to you, you did your best to not put Bucky in a position where he has to explain himself and his feelings.
Bucky turns off the lights, except the lampshade beside the television.
“Good night.”
“Good night.”
-----
You wake up to a very cold sensation, sending shivers down your spine. Your eyes feel heavy and you somehow find it difficult to breathe. Slowly, you open your eyes to wake up and try to sit up. Now you realize, it’s not just your eyes or your breathing is heavy, your whole body feels heavy.
This isn’t good.
You scan through the room to look for Bucky only to find a small piece of paper neatly placed on the table with a glass of water on top to prevent it from being taken away by the wind. His note was written at the center of the short bond paper with a black pen, his penmanship was surprisingly neat and easy to understand.
I’ll just go out for a walk. I’ll be back soon. - Bucky
You massage your head and look at the time. It’s 5 am. A little earlier than what you’re used to, maybe that explains why you’re feeling a little under the weather. Drinking the water made you feel a little better, you massage your head and walk towards the puppy. Seeing him sleeping soundly, gave you a sense of relief.
“Sleep well.” You whisper.
The sound of your phone ringing surprised you. Just from the ring tone alone, you know that it’s work-related. You pace towards your bag and search for your phone. You look at the screen. It’s Sam.
“Hey Sam. What’s up?”
“Y/N. I’m sorry to wake you early in the morning.”
“No probs. I’m already awake.”
“This early? That's new.”
You chuckle. “Yeah. ‘Cause I had a feeling you’d call. Women’s intuition.”
Sam laughs. “Right. I need your help in fixing Red Wing for a mission later, can you come?”
“Like now?”
“Yeah.”
“Sure. I’ll just fix myself and go there.”
“Is that Y/N?” You hear a voice from the background, based on the pitch of the voice, it has to be Peter. “Y/N! I need help with my web shooters too!”
“I just leave for a night and everyone misses me already huh.”
“Perks of being the gang’s favorite engineer.” Sam quips. “We have breakfast here too. We’ll wait for you.”
“Come faster, I’m hungry!” Peter shouts. “And I’ll be late for class!”
“Sure sure. I’ll go now. Bye Sam.”
“Thanks, Y/N. See you.”
“Wait! Sam!” You shout, stopping Sam from hanging up the phone “I have a favor to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Is there a room for a puppy in the Tower?”
“A puppy?” Sam pauses. “Wait, Y/N. Aren’t you allergic to puppies?”
“I’ll explain later.” You tell Sam, while putting out a pen from your bag and then reaching for the piece of paper Bucky previously wrote on.
“Okay. I guess it can stay in my room.”
“Yes! Thanks Sam, see you!” Then you hang up.
Hi Bucky. Good morning. Sorry but I have to leave. Duty calls. I feel bad that I won’t be able to come with you on your first day at the tower but you can always pass by the Eng’g department if you’re free. I’ll be there the whole day.
Also, good news! Sam’s willing to adopt the puppy, so I’ll be taking it with me.
Thank you for everything and sorry for the trouble that I caused.
-Y/N
You pick up the box carefully, so as not to wake the puppy up and went out.
—————
“If you’re looking for Y/N she’s in the clinic.” Sam tells Bucky whose eyes were searching the building room. Inside his backpack was a piece of sandwich because you were and a small carton of milk he bought on his way home early morning, but wasn’t able to give you or the puppy because you weren’t there when he came back. “And the puppy’s in my room.” Sam adds.
“I see.” Bucky answers, trying to be as indifferent sounding as possible. But deep inside, he’s actually worried about you. Is it because of her allergies? Maybe I shouldn’t have let you stay in the same room as the dog.
“It’s not her allergies.” Sam says, like he read exactly what’s in Bucky’s mind.
“Good.”
Both Sam and Bucky enter the elevator going to the 5th floor where most of the weapons, tools and equipment are found. Upon arriving, Sam points at the second door at the right side area, on top of it is a huge sign written with black paint saying ‘Engineering Department’.
Sam opens the door. Lo and Behold at the far end of the room, wearing safety goggles, holding a soldering pen, with sparks flying all over the place, was you.
“I thought she’s in the clinic.”.
“My god! Y/N! I told you to stay in the clinic.” Sam ignores what Bucky just said and walks straight towards you. “I leave you for what? Thirty minutes? and you’re -” Sam takes his eyes off of you and shoots angry glances at the engineering staff. “And you all didn’t even stop her.”
“You know, she can’t be stopped when she’s in the zone.” One of the staff answers and the others nod in agreement.
“In the zone or not, she has a fever for god’s sake.”
“Don’t be mad Sam, I was the one who told them to not stop me.” You continue to solder on Red Wing’s fuel control unit.
“That’s a first. They never listen to you.” Sam stands at the opposite side of your working table with his arms crossed on his chest, the volume of his voice is lower, almost like a murmur.
“In my defense, you’re the one who asked for my help.” You pull the magnifying glass and adjust it a few inches away from the mechanism.
“That was because I didn’t know you had a high fever.” The moment you stop soldering, Sam pulls the magnifier away from Red Wing, making you put your full attention on the man standing in front of you. “I can handle this Y/N. Rest. Now.”
You pull the magnifier back and continue with your work. “Where’s Rain?” You’re attempting to change the topic.
“Who’s Rain?” The familiarity coming from the voice made you stop, you were expecting to see him today but not this soon. You put down the soldering pen, push your goggles up to your forehead.
“Hey Bucky.” You greet him. Bucky notices how pale you are and yet your smile never faltered. Your adorable awkwardness is still present as well.
“Hey.” He responds. “So... ‘Rain’... the puppy’s name?”
“Yeah. Peter, Sam and I named him this morning”
“Wait.” Sam interjects and looks at Bucky. “So, Y/N can call you Bucky but I can’t?”
Bucky ignores Sam’s comment, steps forward and points at Red Wing. “How long are you planning to fix that?”
You look at your wrist watch and then at Red Wing. “I’ll be done in 20-30 minutes.”
“Make it 10 minutes.” Bucky challenges. “If you’re not yet done by then. I’ll be carrying you out of this room and into the clinic.”
“Wait. What?”
“What? Can’t do it? I thought people working here are the best of the best.” Bucky pushes further.
You squint at him and then to Sam and then sighs. “Fine.” You set the alarm to ten minutes and then plug one of the airpods in your ear. “I’ll walk to the clinic myself.” Then plugs the other airpod to the other ear. “See you in 10 minutes.”
“And just like that, you listen to him?” Sam comments and puts his hands on his waist.
Bucky puts his hand on Sam’s shoulder “I had years of experience looking out for irresponsibly impulsive people.” He nods his head inviting Sam to step outside.
-----
“So Y/N reminds you of Steve, huh.” Sam says after getting out of your office.
Bucky smirks. “If by that, you mean, she reminds me of the times that I have to check alleyways ‘cause the sickly Steve “too-stubborn-to run-away-from-a-fight” Rogers might be out there somewhere, then yes.”
“Good thing she’s not the fighting type” Sam continues. “That would’ve given me a headache.”
“She's irresponsible, reckless and impulsive.” Bucky adds. “But she’s a good person.”
“That is something we can agree on.” Sam says.
-----
“I’m done!” With just a few seconds to spare, you shout and raise your two hands to celebrate. Sam and Bucky must’ve heard you cause a few seconds later, they enter the room and walk straight to your work station.
“I did it!” After congratulating you and giving you a high five, the two of them position themselves on each of your sides, Sam on your left and Bucky on your right.
“Now.” You take off your gloves, your goggles and your industrial apron. “A deal is a deal, I will walk - “
Thump.
The goggles that you were supposed to place on the table fell on the ground.
“Y/N!” Sam calls out and immediately checks your pulse. “She’s still alive. Just unconscious. She must’ve fainted because of her high fever.”
“I’ll take her to the clinic.” Bucky hoists you up and carries you like a princess. Bucky starts to run and Sam tries to follow after Bucky, but Bucky was too fast.
“The clinic’s on the 2nd floor.” Sam shouts at the running form of Bucky.
“FRIDAY.” Sam gets the AI’s attention.
“Yes, Mr. Wilson.”
“Please tell the clinic that Bucky will be taking Y/N there.” Sam commands. “Also, show Bucky the directions, I don’t think he knows the way to the clinic yet.”
“Understood.”
“Thanks FRIDAY.”
-----
The shape and form of the room you’re staying at becomes clearer as you slowly open your eyes. Everything in the room is white, white sheets, white curtains, white wallpaper, the cabinets are also painted white. Something or should you say someone, sitting on the white couch does not follow the all-white aesthetic of the room. He was wearing black leader jacket on top of a blue henley. His metal arm is holding a Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban book, while his flesh hand is flipping through the page. His expression is priceless, you can tell from his expression alone that he’s very invested in the scene that he’s reading.
“How long was I asleep?” Your voice catches Bucky’s attention, you kind of regretted speaking too soon, maybe you should’ve let him read for a while longer. “You’re already on the third book.”
“Let’s just say I’m a fast reader.” Bucky smiles and puts down the book on the table beside the couch. “You’ve been out for about …” He looks at his smartphone. “ 7, 8 hrs.”
“That explains my growling stomach.” You push yourself up into a sitting position, with the pillow serving as the cushion between your back and the bed’s headboard.
Bucky gets two trays of food in the small refrigerator and places them inside the microwave. “Sam gave us food before leaving for the mission. He told me that food will be the first thing that you will ask for, once you wake up.”
You laugh at Sam’s comment. “He isn’t wrong though.”
“Are you feeling better now?” Ding. Bucky takes out the first tray of food to the microwave and then places the second one. With the tray in one hand, he pulls the table with the other. He places the tray on top of the table in front of you.
“Thanks.” You fix the tray and Bucky goes back to the microwave oven. “I’m feeling much better now. Thank you.”
You search around the room for a place where Bucky can eat but you found none. So while Bucky was busy finding the utensils and getting the second tray from the microwave, you scoot your way towards the side of the bed and push the table outwards. This way, you and Bucky can sit beside each other and can eat on an actual table.
Bucky notices what you did and hesitates a little. You smiled at him, to reassure him and pat the empty space beside you. From the time when he first met you, he hasn’t been able to resist that smile. He’s starting to think that maybe this isn’t just because you reminded him of Steve.
“Sam hasn’t come back from the mission?” You start the conversation.
“No.” Bucky chews on the food inside his mouth. “The mission got a little delayed, they might come back late.”
You take a spoonful of rice to eat. “Who’s he with?”
Bucky thinks for a moment. “He’s with Clint and Scott if I remember correctly.”
“Why didn’t you join them?”
“I was -” Bucky takes a sip from the glass of water beside him. “I was busy reading.”
You almost choke on what you were eating. “You read three books!” You laugh. “You must’ve been exhausting.”
“Well the book isn’t going to read itself, you know.”
You both laugh at your sarcastic banter. The two of you continue your conversation while talking about how Bucky’s first day at the Avengers tower went. He was introduced to a few avengers present at the tower and the staff and he toured around the compound. He also mentions something about having a room in the tower, where he can stay if he wants to.
Bucky notices how you were gathering the boiled carrots on one side of your plate. “You hate carrots?”
“Oh!” You were surprised that he noticed. “I actually love carrots. I’m just saving these.” You point at the carrots. ”for Rain.”
He looks at his almost empty plate. “You should’ve told me that we’re doing that. I could have saved some for him too.”
“Giving him a place to stay for the night is enough.” You assure him. “I’ll take care of the food.”
“Too late for task distribution. I already bought him milk.”
“You did?!”
Bucky nods.
“I literally just met you yesterday, and I already owe you a lot. How can I even start repaying you.
“Well.” Bucky thinks about it for a second and smiles mischievously. “Sam must’ve mentioned something about your interest to the Wakandan tech.”
“He did?!” You cringe and facepalm at the amount of shame that you feel. “Well. That’s not a good first impression, isn’t it.”
“As a matter of fact, it IS a good first impression. You’re really good at what you do Y/N.”
“Why do I find that hard to believe?” You chuckle. “But yeah,” You continue. ”I can’t deny my interest. I probably talk about the Wakandan tech at least once a day. Thrice, if you’re Sam Wilson.”
“With that being said,” Bucky says. “You can repay me by allowing me to join your conversations about the tech.” Bucky flexes the fingers of his metal arm. “And I can use some help in checking up on this one. I mean, if it’s alright with you?”
“Of course it is! You don’t need to ask to join, you can join in anytime you want! You’ll have a valuable input to the conversation. You’ve been there personally and you’ve experienced their technology first hand.” You take Bucky’s metal hand and sandwich it in between yours. “Thank you, Bucky.” You squeeze Bucky’s hand and let it go. “I’m betting Sam told you about my obsession with Wakandan tech.”
“In your defense, Sam talks a lot.” Bucky assures you.
“He does. And he would hate it if you join our conversations.”
“I’m counting on that.”
“But seriously, I would love you - “ You pause. “I mean - you joining our -”
“I would love that too.”
Bucky doesn’t let you finish your sentence. You didn’t need to. It wasn’t necessary. In a span of two days, you made Bucky feel the most comfortable, and awkward but moreso, you made him feel normal. Despite knowing who he is, you didn’t show any signs of fear, or pity. You just showed yourself. And it was enough to make him think and feel that whatever it is that you would love to do, he wants to be part of it, too.
End
A/N: This came out longer than expected! Hahaha. I would usually limit my one-shots to 1-2k words but this came out loner than expected. I had a lot of fun writing Sam and Bucky's dynamic! You have to have that good balance of care and sarcasm between the two of them. That was enjoyable to do (that's probably why this ended up having 4,5k+ words). Did you enjoy reading it? I hope you did! Feel free to write your thoughts below!
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primalsouls · 3 years
Text
checkup
albedo x m! reader
⚠️ : none but let me know!
theme: general
note: albedo albedo albedo albedo. i just love albedo and want to write something more general because usually the fics i read tend to be too fluff or too angst and sometimes other fics tend to feel like a super slow. like, im not trying to read an eassy. 💀 jkjk lol anyway, enjoy, hope you like it! and thank you for reading! let me know what you think. :)
⊱ ──────ஓ๑♡๑ஓ ────── ⊰
Dragonspine was never in their bucket list of places to visit. It was deadly cold. Monsters roamed around. Even the Fatui were presented. [Y/N] was surprised how he managed to reached the campus set out by the Chief Alchemist further up the mountain. One would think he would camp out with the group based at the bottom of the mountain. He was a skilled swordman and his vision kept him warm throughout the difficult journey as best as it could. He did broke a sweat when fighting a few monsters but all that was important was his destination. Thus meeting Albedo, the genius Kreideprinz. [Y/N] was new to the Knight of Favonius, started back a few weeks ago. Today he was ordered by the Acting Grand Master to assist the Captain of the Investigation Team in one of his experiments. Or alternatively, Jean worried about the alchemist not taking care of himself and potentially risking failed experiments turn to unwanted results in Dragonspine and Mondstadt.
It was his order to check on the man. But, by the Archons, does he had to camp this far up. [Y/N] groaned when he reached a broken bridge. How was he going to get to the other side? Ah, right. Gliding. With a good running start, he could jump just high enough and glide his way to the other half of the fallen bridge with no added injuries. A flawless plan.
Not.
A scream left his lips when he jumped as best as he could after his run. No wonder he did terrible at mathematics. His calculations were off. And now, he was going to pump down to his end. Just to check on some big-time, smart guy. [Y/N] should had decline. But he wanted to prove himself. For what now? Prove he can see the light firsthand? What a joke. He reached out, his hand inches away from the other broken part of the bridge. He was so focus on reaching something to grab on he didn't hear his own scream leave his mouth nor the abrupted tug on his hand held by another. He came to his senses when he smacked against the wall under the brigde harshly, letting out a groan. [Y/N] looked up. [E/C] eyes met bright teal eyes. Such beautiful eyes. It felt like he was staring into emerald instead. They outshined the blues around Dragonspine. Like sun if the clouds ever go away.
"Are you only going to keep staring or help me pull you up?" He heard, the soothe voice snapping [Y/N] out of their thoughts. A blush bloomed on his face as he cleared his throat, using his other hand to keep himself firm in their hold.
"S-Sorry..." [Y/N] mumbled as he was pulled up. Solid, cold ground was what he felt right away. He looked over his shoulder, grimacing at the sight of the long fall he could had experienced first and last. Cursing the fall away, the knight turned back to his savior, about to thank them until he stopped himself. Upon closer look, his savior was... handsome. Their ashy light blonde hair reached below their shoulders, pulled back in a braided ponytail. It lookes adorable. Soft, even. It makes him want to run his fingers through it. Realizing he was staring again, [Y/N] cleared his throat as he shook his head, his blush increasing in color. Eyes darted to stare at the ground instead. "Uh, thank yo-you... Thank you for saving me back there." The knight said with a small smile, looking back his savior only to see them walk away already. "What?" [Y/N] sat there forzen, not believing what happened. He chuckled weakly, now pissed for the rude manner. "Hey, wait up!" He stood up from the ground, dusting himself off from any snow as he ran up to catch up to the mystery person. "You know, it's really rude to jusf walk away like that!" [Y/N] complained, slowing down as he came up to a campsite. His eyes widen a bit. There were bookshelves lined up again the walls of the cavern. Tables filled with written pages and materials. A small set of art supplies in one area and an crafting table by his side. Did his savior lived here? Wait, was this...?
"Are you the Captain of the Investigation Team, Albedo?" The knight said, walking up to the alchemist who simply nodded with no reply. He was focused on his work, [Y/N] could see that. "Oh okay..." He muttered underneath his breath, raising a brow. Well, here he was. The alchemist looked alright. There was no sight of any failed experiments. Mondstadt was good to stay for another day. But [Y/N] wasn't leaving yet. "My name is [F/N]. I was ordered by the Acting Grand Master to check on you... Which is why I'm here..." Albedo only gave a faint hum. What a conversationalist. "Okaaay..." The young man looked around. He couldn't just leave after what he just experienced. He was still shaky.
"Where are you from?" [Y/N] asked, attempting to make a conversation.
"Here and there." Albedo replied bluntly.
"What do you do?"
"This and that."
"You ever-"
"Now and then."
"Gosh, you're just full of information." [Y/N] grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest.
"And you're just full of interruptions." Albedo fired back, finally looking away from his work and turned to the knight. His expression was stoic but his beautiful emerald eyes held a hint of annoyance. His comment made the other man pouted and rolled his eyes. "You done your quest. Now, you may leave."
"What the-? Huh?" He couldn't believe it. He was being kicked out? Reasonable, actually. But still. What a rude alchemist. "Okay, look, I have to actually make sure you're okay and Jean said to stay for a few days before I return, anyway." [Y/N] explained. Albedo sighed softly, disinterested from the interaction. The knight clicked his tongue. "So, no, I'm not leaving." The knight huffed, head held high. Albedo hummed again, already looking back at his work. "Oh my- really?" [Y/N] shook his head, running a hand through his hair. He kept studying the area they were in, trying to locate any sort of self-care going on. There was a cook pot but the burned woods look as if it had went out hours ago. "How long had you been working?"
Albedo shrugged, papers being moved around in his area. [Y/N] sighed. He went to stand beside the table, inches away from him to not disturb his work. With the closeup, [Y/N] saw fainted dark circles under his eyes. He looked a little pale, too.
"Have you eaten at all? Rest?" He asked softly, a frown on his face. His gloved hands rest on his waist. [Y/N] looked like a parent scolding their child. Albedo shrugged again. The knight groaned, head tilted back. The lack of responses were starting to pissed him off. "I'll make you something." He grumbled, looking into his traveling bag as he walked over to the pot. Using his Pryo vision, he watched the flames come to alive once more. He pulled out pre-packaged ingredients he made himself before he set off.
Albedo's concentration was fully on his project but the smell of a delicious meal wandered around his nose. It pulled him out of his priority. The scent made his stomach growled. The Geo user stopped what he was doing and turned around. His eyes spotted the knight crouched down beside the pot, stirring around the contents it cooked. The flames illuminated the small cave, the knight's face glowed from it. Hair swayed back, half-lidded eyes stared boredly at the pot. Soft lips pressed into a thin line. It was a pretty sight. A perfect picture. A gorgeous paint on a canvas. His canvas. The scenery needed to be painted in his canvas.
[Y/N] heard movements behind him but he didn't bother to look up. He figured the alchemist was still all over his experiments. Behind his back, Albedo set up his easel, an 18x24 canvas rest nicely on it. His paints, brushes, and palette laid beside him on a stool with a cup of water on it as well. He began to sketch out the sight, a concentrated frown on his face.
"Hmm... I think it's done." [Y/N] muttered to himself, smiling a bit at the cooked stew he made. He was about to get up but a shout stopped him.
"Don't move! I'm not done yet." He heard the alchemist. The Pyro user blinked, confusion written over his face. "Not done..." Albedo continued, his hand moving a brush around. [Y/N] swallowed, wondering what he was doing.
"Why can't I move?" He asked, still in the position.
"Because I'm not finish."
"Finish with what?"
"The painting... It's not finished..." Albedo trailed off, focusing more on the canvas. [Y/N] was dumbfounded. Ah, right. The alchemist had a set of art supplies. But why could he be painting? Was he painting him? He was just sitting around the cook pot, nothing else. What did he capture in his mind to had the urge to paint? So much questions ran through his head and his face rest back to how it was when the knight stared at the pot. Just what Albedo needed to complete his new piece.
Half an hour passed and the flames were small. the pot was sat beside it. No need to have burnt food. [Y/N]'s legs were starting to cramp.
"Are you do-"
"Done." Albedo finished for him, stepping back from his canvas. [Y/N] sighed in relief as he stood up and stretched his limps out, hearing a few joints popped. Surely didn't sounded good but felt good. He walked over to Albedo.
"Can I see, please?" He asked, tilting his head. Albedo stared at the canvas before shifting his eyes over to the knight. He suddenly felt flustered. What a foreign feeling. It was he was embarrassed. He was not embarrassed. His face felt warmed. Was he blushing? What was going on? [Y/N] waited for an answer, raising a brow as he sent a charming smile his way. Why did such a gesture made his chest tightened but in a good way? Like something fluttered inside him. Was his heart beat increasing? Impossible. Feelings were unfamiliar to him. So, why was he experiencing them right now? "Albedo..." His name rolled out of his mouth. It sounded perfect. Did he just noticed it?
"It's not finished..." Albedo replied quickly, throwing [Y/N] off guard.
"But you said-"
"It's not finished." Albedo repeated, clearing his throat. The knight nodded slowly.
"Okaay..." [Y/N] mumbled, looking back at the pot. "Ah, well, dinner is ready. C'mon, let's eat." He said, walking back at the pot to begin serving the meal for both. Albedo watched him, lips parted slightly. His teal eyes moved back to the canvas. Finished. It was finished. He just... didn't want to show the knight but why? It was beautifully painted. A pretty piece. The look he captured from the knight painted there. Admirable.
"Are you coming or what?" [Y/N] called out, already setting the other table for them to eat at. Albedo blinked and nodded a second later. He placed his brush and palette down, taking his gloves off as he made his way over. There they sat. In complete silence. It wasn't awkward, fortunately. It was comfortable atmosphere. No need to exchange words. Albedo seem to like that. Perhaps Jean did a good thing to sent someone out. It felt nice to have company over for once.
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constellarations · 3 years
Text
moon's wane - reki x gn!reader
Tumblr media
reki's feeling down and you comfort him.
pairing: reki x gn!reader
warnings: sad reki :(
notes: hi
gift for: @hpalways
Reki was acting strangely today.
Actually, he’s been strange for the past week. Week! Why a week? Uh, you weren’t sure.
You wondered if he was possessed. Kyan Reki, a literal skateboarding-fanatic, had suddenly stopped skateboarding to school. Was this what parents called a phase?! An era, even?
He was unenthusiastic, and even when you offered to go skating with him, he declined and said he was busy.
Busy doing what? You munched on an apple angrily. Sure, you didn’t confess to Reki yet. And suuure, you had no idea if he liked you back or even cared about your feelings, but—!
“[Name].”
Okay, honestly, you didn’t even know if Reki was into you. His love for skateboarding probably overpowered any inch of… existence… that you had up in his (tiny) brain.
Silence.
And not to mention the fact that the two of you shared like— zero hobbies in common! What does writing and skateboarding allude to? Uh… poetry about a board? Hello?!
“[Name].”
You took another bite out of your apple, questioning the meaning of life and whether the way Reki spared you a glance for approximately 0.628 seconds meant that he was in love with you.
“[Name]!”
You flinched. Looking over to your side, where your ear was getting yelled at, you were met with the sight of Langa…
… Who had a very unamused expression.
“Did you have a fight with Reki?”
You were offended momentarily, taken aback at his sudden question.
“No?”
“You sound unsure.”
“I didn’t talk to him at all!”
“When was the last time you talked to him?”
Are you a therapist? A detective, even? You sweatdropped, unsure of how to answer.
“I don’t know… yesterday?”
Langa looked surprised. What was he expecting? For you to not talk to Reki for weeks? As much as you wished you could do that, Reki, unfortunately, had some kind of magnet around—
“So he’s sad because of another reason.”
“EH?! Are you saying he’d be sad because of me?”
Okay, now you were actually offended. Did Langa think Reki and you had some kind of bad blood? Hello… that’s a Taylor Swift song! Not your relationship!
“I don’t know.” Langa shrugged. You almost wanted to strangle him, but alas, you were not here to kill pretty boys. “He just seems… off.”
He does. You agreed silently. You were so used to a flamboyant and sunshine Reki, it was odd to see him so down in the dumps. In all honesty, you didn’t even want him to be down. You wanted Reki to be happy.
“I’ll go talk to him!” You stood up with newfound determination. Langa, on the other hand, could only watch you with his usual confused deadpan.
“[Name]-chan, do you even know where he is?”
You deflated slightly. If this were a K-Drama, you would’ve known. Ah, what was the title of that one show? Where they have this little alarm in their head when they come close to the one they love? Yeah, that was what you wanted to be. Though, if you were near Reki with that ability, you may have gone mad due to the repetitive alarm of your mind.
“No… I don’t. But I can find him! Just watch me!”
Langa let out a puff of air, mumbling something along the lines of “no thank you.”
A tick mark appeared on your forehead. The Canadian boy was lucky that he was cute, if he wasn’t, he would’ve been six feet (under)!
And then, you ran off. Leaving a very indifferent Langa and a bunch of questions sprouting in your mind.
Usually, you would find Reki somewhere like a skatepark— but obviously, he was possessed or whatever— so he wouldn’t be at such a place.
Your brain then became the size of the galaxy. His house! You made an abrupt turn, running for your bike that was parked before swiftly hopping onto it, pedalling away to the boy’s address.
Okay, actually, you were no stalker. So you had to pull your phone out to get directions… but let’s pretend that you knew based on instincts because of your undying love for the red-haired boy!
Coincidentally enough, there was a silhouette standing right outside the boy’s house. Squinting, you could barely make out the faint hue of crimson, matched with a very unfitting frown.
Reki. You pedalled a bit faster, desperation rocking each time you did. He’s sad? Why? He seemed to be looking quietly down at his skateboard. The scratches on the bottom represented all of his hard work, and yet, he didn’t look proud.
Finding your voice, you called, “Reki!”
You smiled brightly. It contrasted his solemn look as he glanced up at you instantly. Slightly, you could make out his lips curving up. Somehow, it managed to make your heart beat faster.
When Reki frowns (which was very rare), you would smile. If you could, you would give him every single smile that you’ve ever shown. All of them, any of them. You’d smile for him until your lips could not do so anymore.
Because whenever you were sad, he was there for you. It was only fair to do it back to him. If it were nature’s ecosystem, you supposed that Reki would be the rain and sun, giving you time to flourish. And in return? You’d promise to take care of this grand Earth while he cultivated it.
When did I suddenly become a poet? Your hands subconsciously braked, you suppose it was muscle memory. Docking the bike before hopping off, you walked slowly up to the boy with a small grin.
“[Name].” He seemed relieved when he saw you, and for a moment, it made your hopes fly high. It felt good to know that you were not the only one who was ecstatic over such a brief meeting.
“Want to walk around the town? There’s a new boba place that opened up! We should go together.” You decided to take his mind off of whatever was bothering him. You were no therapist, per se, but it was a start.
And surprisingly, Reki accepted your offer. Weirdly enough, he turned around to his porch before dropping off his skateboard. It confused you a bit— no, tremendously.
Deciding that the sport was the source of his worries, you decided not to pry. I’ll ask later.
With a warm face and a racing heart, the two of you walked off in the direction of the shop. It was odd not biking and him skateboarding, but a change of pace was nice every now and then.
“Hey, [Name]...” Reki kicked a pebble. You almost felt bad for the tiny rock. “Have you ever fallen behind in something you loved?’
Your eyes widened before your mind drifted off. Many times, actually. You were not invincible or a character that was protected heavily by plot-armor— you were just you… kind of average, kind of dumb, but at the end of the day, failure was common, wasn’t it?
“Yeah,” your voice quieted down, and for a second, Reki panicked.
“Sorry! Was that too blunt—?! I’m really sorry!”
You smiled.
“Don’t worry about it, Reki.” You could feel your face get hot, even under the cool Okinawa breeze.
“Actually, I fall behind a lot.” Looking down at your feet, you kind of wanted to sink into the floor. This is embarrassing! But seeing how distraught Reki was, you supposed that giving up your pride would be worth the smile he’d wear after.
“But everyone has different goals and minds. It’s not fair for me to compare myself to others…” You were tempted to give Reki a look as his lips seemed to be quivering.
“Hey, [Name]...” He spoke, stopping abruptly on the sidewalk. You paused, glancing over at him slowly.
“Can you… l-look away, for a bit?” He stuttered, face somehow turning red even under the dimming light. You wanted to question why, but the expression he had and the way his arm rubbed his eyes was enough of a response.
“Sure.” You turned around, refraining from doing the opposite and holding him while he cried. His sniffles grew louder and louder, even when he was making such an active attempt to dwindle them.
“I… I just…” His breath was shaky as he seemed to choke on his own words. “I don’t know what went wrong… what did I do?”
You did nothing wrong. You stayed silent. The male seemed to not need words of reassurance, instead, he only needed a listener.
“He started after me… b-but now I’m just a n...nobody. He’s so much better than me, in everything, anything.” He cried, sniffles turning into hiccups. Don’t cry. You wanted to turn around, but that would be a violation of his request.
So you stepped back. One, two. Counting, you finally felt a wall of fabric. The image of Reki’s yellow sweater popped up in your mind. Cute, you mused. He still wore it in times like these.
You could feel his breath stifle once your back met his. With the two of you facing away from each other, the warmth from his hoodie flourished like ink in water.
“Why do you skate, Reki?” You gazed at the sky. The moon is pretty tonight. The stars too, but right now, the stars reminded you of tears.
And it was then you realized that Reki was not the sun or the rain. He was the moon. Supportive, bright even in the darkest of times, and hidden. Reki was hidden behind prodigies like Langa and Miya, but even so, he was essential.
What would the sun do without the moon? Who would the sun step back for to lay down the burden of giving light? The sun gives for the moon to take, and the moon takes for the sun to give.
If you had looked, then Reki would probably be crying stars. Constellations would be trickling down his cheeks, and maybe, you could make out polaris with it. He could paint the galaxy with him and himself alone, he could do so much, and yet, he was not the sun.
No, he would never compare to the sun. The sun was a completely different essence in itself. It would be unfair to hold Reki up to Langa and expect them to be the same.
Reki was silent. You supposed that in this trek of inferiority, he had lost that essence— that galaxy. What was the reason he skates for? Why did he spend so many hours getting bruises and scratches?
Why did he do so much and expect so little in return?
“Because it’s fun,” he said confidently. If the moon was the sun, then it’d shine so brightly. If the moon was the sun, then the world would never have time to sleep. There would be no way to see the stars, or the constellations in the sky, or Venus and Mars.
With those three words alone, you could feel Reki’s breath speed up. He turned around, resting his hands gently on your shoulders as you could feel his smile alone.
“It’s fun! Skateboarding is fun! It can be done anywhere, anytime—” His voice cracked due to just having cried, and you swore that fumes escaped his ears. You wanted to laugh slightly at his embarrassment, but decided to be benevolent and stay quiet.
“... and can be done with the ones you love.”
You froze. Love. What a strong word, what a broad word. What is love? What does it entail? How can one person want to devote their entire life to another? It was strange.
But you suppose that love is Reki. He is love, he is someone who you’d think about the second you woke up. Was that cheesy? Yes. But when you were a kid, you used to think that the moon was made out of cheese— so it works out. You were quite the poet, Shakespeare kinnie.
“Is that so?” You pretended to question, but Reki knew that you were just saying that to say it.
Reki was an anomaly. As much as you knew about him, and he knew about you, you never seemed to understand him. If it were anyone else, you were sure that they would not recover from a slump with just three words.
But Reki was not anyone else— he was not a nobody either. Reki was the moon and the definition of love, he was sunshine even though he was unappreciated. He was everything and anything.
It was strange, though. You two were only teenagers, and yet, you could envision a whole future with the red-head. Unrealistic. You wanted to scold yourself, but you couldn’t bring yourself to.
“[Name],” Reki called, and this time, he spun you around. He averted his amber eyes from your own irises, a light pout dusting his lips.
“Do you want to… skateboard with me?”
You sweatdropped. What a weird way to confess. Though, you had just concluded that Reki was an anomaly— so this was not that strange.
“Is that your way of asking me out on a date?” You smirked, but that wasn’t enough to mask the way your eyes widened in shock. You were both idiots, but you supposed that wasn’t a bad thing.
“No— yes! Yeah? Wait—” Reki short-circuited, unsure of his own choice of words. Now, he really was reprimanding himself for being such a dummy.
“Relax.” You patted his shoulder, smirk turning into a goofy smile. “If it is… then I accept.”
“R-Really?!” His mouth hung agape, and you could only deadpan.
“Were you expecting me to say no?”
“Well.. I wasn’t really expecting to get this far!” He managed to laugh, even with tear-stained cheeks and reddened eyes.
“Idiot.”
“Hey!”
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