Since I'll be posting fics here, I think I should present myself. I'm Irene and I created this blog mostly because I wanted to post some fics and also practice my English
I'm Brazilian and I'm a self published writer in my native language, so if you understand Portuguese, you can read my book here.
Masterlist
The Last of Us
Helplessly Hoping - Long fic, on going
Summary: Juniper Wright found peace in the apocalypse after discovering a cabin hidden deep in the woods of Wyoming. But when an accident put two strangers in her path, bringing drastic changes with them, she is forced to destroy the walls she spent many years building around herself. Joel Miller never planned to fall in love again. His life was already complete; he had more than he could have bargained for in Jackson. But the girl with bright eyes he and Tommy found in the woods certainly had a way of getting to him. +18
Story's masterlist
You're the knife that I turn inside myself - Short fic, complete
Summary: Ten years after the outbreak, Joel helped a young woman he encountered by chance. +18
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
All men are fools, all men are knights - long fic, on going
Summary: Guided by a strange dream shrouded in mist, Allena Blackwood arrives at Ashford Meadow running away from an unwanted marriage and from her family, convinced that her fate is tied to whatever is bound to happen during the tourney. She couldn't have forseen that her path had to cross with Prince Baelor Targaryen, the knight of all the songs and everything she could ever wish for.
The threads of destiny are fragile things; perhaps Allena is supposed to be the one who sews them together. +18
Helplessly Hoping - Masterlist (Joel Miller x OFC)
Status: on going
Summary: Juniper Wright found peace in the apocalypse after discovering a cabin hidden deep in the woods of Wyoming. But when an accident put two strangers in her path, bringing drastic changes with them, she is forced to destroy the walls she spent many years building around herself.
Joel Miller never planned to fall in love again. His life was already complete; he had more than he could have bargained for in Jackson. But the girl with bright eyes he and Tommy found in the woods certainly had a way of getting to him.
Warnings: explicit sexual content, MDNI. Eventual smut, slow burn at first, rough sex, oral sex, vaginal sex, dom/sub undertones, age difference, older man/younger woman, past trauma, eventual romance, daddy kink
Note: It would mean the world to me to know your opinions about this story. English isn't my first language, so you can message me or comment to let me know if I made any mistake.
Read on AO3
Chapter 1 - A doe found in the woods
Chapter 2 - Juniper, like the tree
Chapter 3 - A glimpse of a new life
Chapter 4 - Watch duty
Chapter 5 - Roman Holiday
Chapter 6 - The witch from the woods
Chapter 7 - Treasure Island Bookstore
Chapter 8 - The Phantom of the Opera
Chapter 9 - Jane Eyre
Chapter 10 - Happy birthday, Ellie!
Chapter 11 - A small thing that you miss
Chapter 12 - There's much about me you don't know yet
Helplessly Hoping - Chapter 14 (Joel Miller x OFC)
Summary: Juniper Wright found peace in the apocalypse after discovering a cabin hidden deep in the woods of Wyoming. But when an accident put two strangers in her path, bringing drastic changes with them, she is forced to destroy the walls she spent many years building around herself.
Joel Miller never planned to fall in love again. His life was already complete; he had more than he could have bargained for in Jackson. But the girl with bright eyes he and Tommy found in the woods certainly had a way of getting to him.
Warnings: explicit sexual content, MDNI. Eventual smut, slow burn at first, rough sex, oral sex, vaginal sex, dom/sub undertones, age difference, older man/younger woman, past trauma, eventual romance, daddy kink
Word count: 2.4k
Masterlist Read on AO3
Chapter 14 - What happened between you and Joel?
Everything happened very fast.
Joel should have been paying attention; he was always paying attention. Only this time he wasn’t.
The gunshot was loud, coming from somewhere in the woods behind him. It hit a spot on the tree, right above Juniper’s head. Her eyes went wide and Joel felt as if he had just swollen a block of ice. One inch lower and she would have been dead right in front of him.
— Drop your weapons now! — A man’s voice echoed.
Juniper dropped the knife she was holding. She had left her beretta in the cabin, thinking they were going to be out for only a moment before coming back.
Only then Joel realized he had forgotten riffle there too. They were supposed to go back quickly, the juniper tree was close to the cabin, and he had been so distracted by her that it didn’t even occur to him to bring it. He felt so embarrassed he couldn’t meet her eyes.
— You too, old man! — The voice shouted.
— I’m unarmed. — Joel said.
— We’ll see about that.
From a hiding spot in the woods, two men came. Juniper could guess they were younger than her and much too skinny, they were probably wandering through these mountains for a while now, lost and with nowhere to go until they found her and Joel by accident.
One of them was tall, his hair pitch black and dark shadows under his light eyes. He had an old pistol in his hands and a knife in the waistband of his jeans. He pointed it to Joel’s head as he raised his hands in surrender and the young man checked to see if he was truly unarmed.
The other one, who looked even younger and had blond, thin hair, came to Juniper’s direction. He was armed only with a knife.
With a gun pointed at Joel’s head, she could only stay still while the man went to stay behind her and put the knife to her throat.
— What do we have here? — The blond man said. — Must be our lucky day. Can’t remember the last time we had one this pretty.
Joel lifted his gaze for the first time, letting her see the rage in his eyes. She decided to speak before him.
— We have supplies. And horses too. — The last part was painful to say, she didn’t want to give up on Ivory and let her go with these awful men. — I’m sure we can negotiate.
The man with black hair laughed. Juniper didn’t miss the way his hands trembled every once in a while. She could tell none of them was much experienced in whatever this was. She figured they would hesitate when it counted, knowing Joel was probably arriving at the same conclusion.
— Negotiate? I gotta a better idea. Why don’t I kill your dad here and then we keep you, huh? I’m sure we can think of a few ways to put you to proper use; good pussy is a rare thing these days.
— Leave her out of it. — Joel spoke for the first time.
Juniper was suddenly aware that his whole demeanor had changed. This wasn’t her kind, caring Joel with sad eyes, the man who took her in his arms in the cabin moments ago. He sounded calm, serene even. But in his eyes, she recognized a mortal glare.
— And why would I do that, old man?
Joel didn’t answer right away.
— I asked you a question! — The man shouted, his hand trembling even more now. — I want you to kneel now!
With Joel’s lack of response, he gave him a push on the shoulder, lowering the gun only for a fraction of a second. It was enough.
Joel elbowed the man with full force and gave him a kick at the same time, making lose balance and fall with a grunt.
It was easy to figure out who was the one giving orders and who was the one obeying in this pair, and Juniper knew the one with the knife to her throat would face a moment of panic with no orders to follow.
So, she kicked him on the shin. The hand that held knife faltered and it was all she needed. In the span of half a second, her own hand tried to grab the knife from him.
The blade ended up getting in contact with her palm, leaving a cut, but Juniper didn’t let go of it. Before she was able to steal the man’s knife, Joel had overpowered his attacker and got the gun.
He shot the man without a second of overthinking, on the head.
— Release her. Now.
Joel’s simple order was enough to make the blond man stop fighting with her, letting the knife fall to the ground. Joel’s eyes went to her bleeding hand.
— Please, man, I… — He tried to reason with Joel. — I’ll just go; I’ll leave now. I didn’t mean to…
— I told you to leave her out of it.
The shot came at the end of the sentence, on the head again.
Joel still held a deathly glare as he approached her, looking at her injured hand.
— What were you thinking? — He asked. — I had it handled; you should have stayed put.
— And how do you know he wasn’t about to kill me if I didn’t do anything?
— I knew it! — He was furious. — I wasn’t going to let you get hurt. When we’re out here, you follow my rules, you shouldn’t have reacted like that.
— I can’t believe you’re scolding me for defending myself. We’re partners here and yet you treat me like a child. — She raised her voice without realizing it.
— Then maybe you should stop acting like a child and listen to me. Let me see your hand.
At first, Juniper didn’t move, not wanting to show him.
— Let me see it. I don’t have time for this.
She lifted her hand for him to see the deep cut.
— You’re gonna need stitches. You ride back with me; you can’t hold the reins with a hand like this.
— But we can’t leave Ivory here. — Juniper sounded worried.
— I’ll come back with Tommy to get her later.
The look she gave him made Joel aware that she wasn’t convinced.
— Hey. She’ll be alright. I’ll come back later today, I promise. Now I gotta take care of you.
Juniper was still reluctant to agree.
— Okay. — She ended up saying.
The short walk back to the cabin was silent. Joel made her stay by his side, glancing at her from time to time, as if he was worried she might disappear.
She felt simultaneously embarrassed and angry at this situation. What was she supposed to do, stay still and wait to see if the man was going to slit her throat while Joel was fighting with the other one? She was starting to feel incompetent, given the way he always seemed to have to save her from one thing or another, fearing she would soon become a burden.
When they reached the cabin, she went straight to Joel’s chestnut horse, intending to mount on it. But he held her by the arm, making her stop.
— I don’t want you to put pressure on this hand.
And with those words, he lifted Juniper with care and put her on the horse’s saddle. He proceeded to climb to sit behind her, his arms encircling her body and getting her even closer to him.
There was no way to run from it, to run from him. Juniper had to sat with the discomfort of wanting him so much and the feeling of inadequacy that came with it.
Joel didn’t say a word on the whole way back to Jackson. He felt deeply ashamed, truth be told. How could he forget his rifle and then fail to realize they weren’t alone in the woods? This wasn’t like him. He remembered the shot on the tree trunk, right above her head, and felt a shiver to his spine. He could’ve lost her. He knew he wouldn’t survive this.
He held her tight, pressing her back against his front, more out of instinct than conscious thought. He shouldn’t have taken her to patrol or to any run in the first place, should have told Tommy she wasn’t cut out for it. But his immensely selfish desire to spend more time with her made him ask to be paired with her at all times. He had put her in harm’s way.
When they arrived in Jackson, Tommy was waiting for them by the gates, coming in their direction as soon as Joel helped her dismount.
— What the hell happened to you two? — Tommy asked right away. — I was ready to send a search party; you were supposed to come back yesterday.
— I got… A bit overwhelmed because I was back at my old cabin, it was snowing and Joel suggested we could stay the night. — Juniper was quick to lie. — And then today we encountered two men and… They wanted… Well, they wanted me. Joel killed them both, but one of them left me with a cut on the hand.
She lifted her left hand for Tommy to see.
— Jesus.
— I’ll take her to the infirmary now. — Joel intervened before his brother couldn’t come up with more questions. — I’ll see you later.
Juniper followed Joel to the infirmary, wishing she hadn’t had to lie to Tommy’s face. She didn’t understand why this relationship, if she could even call it that, had to be hidden from others. All she knew was this unspoken agreement that bound them to secrecy.
Joel stayed by her side the whole time, watching the doctor stitch Juniper’s hand as her face contorted in pain, even though he could tell she was trying to put on a brave façade for him to see.
He realized with a sigh and a painful ache in the heart that he was no good for this girl.
(...)
When Juniper heard a knock at the door next morning, she could only assume it was Joel.
He accompanied her to get stitches and took her home afterwards, but she felt something in him had changed.
She knew he was angry at her for reacting at the same time he did, and she could understand his reasoning, up to a point, even though she didn’t think the matter was this serious. She had had closer encounters with death than this one. Why couldn’t he just move on from it?
She assumed this was what was about to happen. Joel came to see her to apologize.
She was very surprised to open the door and find Tommy, standing on her porch.
— Mornin’. — He said almost apologetically, sensing her troubled expression. — Hope I’m not interruptin’ anything, I have something I gotta talk to you about.
— No, not at all. — She controlled herself. — I just woke up. I was about to make some hot cocoa. You can come in.
Tommy followed her to the kitchen, his eyes scanning through the decoration. The pink front door, a bookshelf half full, a vase with wildflowers on the table. It was all undeniably her, even him could tell.
He took a seat, watching her make the hot cocoa in a bit of a clumsy way, not able to use her left hand, covered in bandages.
— Do you want some? — She asked.
— No, thank you. Already had breakfast.
She grabbed the mug and sat at his side.
— So, what did you want to talk about?
— I’ll be pulling you out of patrols for a week or so, ‘til your hand is healed.
— It’s alright, I imagined it. — She took a sip of the hot cocoa. — It’d be difficult to shoot anyway, since I’m left-handed. Will I be back at the watchtower?
— Yeah, if you don’t prefer to do something else.
— No, no, the watchtower is fine. Eleanor will be happy to have my company again.
Tommy watched her drink for a moment, with a slightly puzzled look, as if he was trying to decipher her. Juniper avoided his gaze.
— I had another thing to ask you. — He finally said.
— Go on.
— Did anything happen out there? Between you and Joel?
Oh the definitive question. What happened between you and Joel?
— It was like I told you when we arrived. We were attacked and… — Her words trailed off.
— This part I know. He recounted the same story to me. I’m asking if something else has happened. — His tone got a bit more serious, but still kind. — Did you two had any kind of fight?
— Fight? What did he say exactly?
— Not much. That’s why I’m asking you.
It wasn’t difficult for him to notice that she was tense.
— He got angry with me ‘cause I reacted and got my hand injured. Said it was his job to handle it, that I should’ve stayed put.
— Yeah, sounds like my brother. And this was all?
For a fleeting moment, Juniper wondered if she should tell him the truth and ask for advice, try to get an insight from Joel’s mind, his brother surely would be able to explain at least some of it, knowing him better than she did. But she didn’t have enough courage to do it.
— Yes, that was all.
Tommy let out a deep breath, a sudden look of exhaustion on his face.
— He asked me to take you out of patrols for good. I thought you were going to tell me why he would do that.
— What? — The anger in her voice was palpable.
— He said you weren’t ready for it.
— And what was your response?
— That I’d think about it.
— Think about it? — Juniper spit the words. — I thought I passed your shooting test with flying colors.
— Look, you’re right, you did. But he was very worried and…
— If Joel doesn’t want to be my patrol partner anymore, you can just pair me up with someone else. But I want to go back once my hand is healed. And I’m not asking his permission to do it, he’s not in charge to decide it. I’m asking yours.
If Joel wanted to end things with her, he could at least have come to say it to her face instead of being a coward.
Hi! Would you mind putting a readmore on your fics? Just to shorten the posts while scrolling the tags! Also consider using quotation marks for the dialogue…
I can put the read more for future chapters, I always forget to do it, but I'll keep it mind next time!
About the quotation marks for the dialogue, I won't be using it ever. I am latina, my native language is Portuguese and it's much more common where I live to write dialogues using the em dash, I prefer it this way. And I don't believe this affects if someone enjoys my writing or not, so I'll be keeping it like this.
All men are fools, all men are knights - Masterlist (Baelor Targaryen x OFC)
Status: on going
Summary: Guided by a strange dream shrouded in mist, Allena Blackwood arrives at Ashford Meadow running away from an unwanted marriage and from her family, convinced that her fate is tied to whatever is bound to happen during the tourney. She couldn't have forseen that her path had to cross with Prince Baelor Targaryen, the knight of all the songs and everything she could ever wish for.
The threads of destiny are fragile things; perhaps Allena is supposed to be the one who sews them together.
Warnings: explicit sexual content, MDNI. smut, rough sex, oral sex, vaginal sex, age difference, older man/younger woman, eventual romance
Note: I'd love to know your thoughts on this story, feedback is what keeps me going. And keep in mind English isn't my first language, so you can tell me if I made any mistake.
Read on AO3
Chapter 1 - The runaway bride
Chapter 2 - The sort of beauty that drives men half mad
Chapter 3 - I only want to think about you tonight
All men are fools, all men are knights - Chapter 4 (Baelor Targaryen x OFC)
Summary: Guided by a strange dream shrouded in mist, Allena Blackwood arrives at Ashford Meadow running away from an unwanted marriage and from her family, convinced that her fate is tied to whatever is bound to happen during the tourney. She couldn't have forseen that her path had to cross with Prince Baelor Targaryen, the knight of all the songs and everything she could ever wish for.
The threads of destiny are fragile things; perhaps Allena is supposed to be the one who sews them together.
Warnings: explicit sexual content, MDNI. smut, rough sex, oral sex, vaginal sex, age difference, older man/younger woman, eventual romance
Word count: 5.8k
Story's masterlist Read on AO3
Chapter 4 - I should keep you as my secret
Baelor Targaryen was a man of restraint.
Ever since he was a boy, he had learned what it meant to be a prince, to be the heir to the throne. He had mastered many skills. How to yield a sword, but never do it as the first resource, how to negotiate, how to listen, how to remember things and pay attention to every detail. And most important of all, how to control his impulses.
After the many tales of his grandfather’s debauchery and the rebellion that came because of it, he knew the crown couldn’t handle another scandal of that sort. Much less one involving him.
The honorable Prince Baelor, the hammer that defeated the pretender Daemon Blackfyre, the image of control and grace.
He, who had been married to Lady Jena Dondarrion for more than a decade until she succumbed to a mysterious fever twelve years ago, leaving him to raise alone two boys, with Valarr being 8 and Matarys only 2 at the time.
It was a political marriage, of course, as royal marriages tend to be. Jena was stiff with him at first, she was part of a deal to ensure the Dondarrions loyalty after years of fighting the Dornish only to see Myriah Martell ascend as queen consort. Jena didn’t want to like him; he could see it from the start.
He was patient and they ended up loving each other in despite of how their union came to be. But it was never the kind of magic poets and bards describe. It was never a violent thrill of losing all certainties and restraints while also being afraid of never feeling it again.
It was never like what he was feeling now.
The rays of sunshine illuminated the chambers as Baelor looked down, to the girl asleep on his chest, on his embrace.
Gods, she was beautiful.
He took note of every detail of her appearance. Her straight, dark eyebrows, the slightly rounded tip of her nose, her heart-shaped face and the peaceful expression she had. He hoped he was able to fulfill his promise and grant her a night of sleep free from strange dreams.
Gods, what have I done?
He had taken her maidenhead on an impulse, a girl much younger than him, from whom he knew almost nothing about, a commoner he could never marry. And yet…
Even though he knew he should, he couldn’t bring himself to regret it. This worried him more than anything else.
With his head clouded by these conflicting thoughts, he felt Sapphire stir in his arms.
— Were you watching me sleep? — She asked, voice still sleepy.
— I was only making sure you weren’t being plagued by nightmares, trying to keep the promise I made you. — He replied as if it was a perfectly reasonable explanation.
She smiled.
— How gallant of you, my prince.
Gallant.
Baelor wanted to laugh at the word, so distant from how he felt after having taken her to his bed.
— How are you feeling today, my beautiful girl? Any pain?
She shook her head.
— No pain. I feel… Good. More than good, to be honest.
He kissed her forehead, a gesture filled with so much tenderness that surprised Allena and made her aware once again that, whatever this was, it was not destined to find a quick, clean end. This was going to last or it was going to haunt them.
— Are you hungry? — He asked. — Do you want me to bring you another slice of lemon cake, perhaps?
She considered it for a moment, arriving at the conclusion that it might appear suspicious if the prince didn’t show up to breakfast with the hosts.
— It wouldn’t be right for you to stay here with me instead of breaking fast with Lord Ashford and the rest of your family. Besides, I should go back, I want to watch the jousts of the day.
The idea of letting her go so soon didn’t sit quite right with Baelor.
— I believe there will be no more jousts for a day or so after… What happened with Aerion and your mare yesterday. I’m sorry to say you won’t be able to watch knights quarrelling for the time being.
Allena sat on the bed, the blanket falling down and revealing her soft, pale breasts.
— Oh, that’s… Rather unfortunate. I was hoping the jousts would help me distract myself for a bit.
She felt a her chest constricting as the memory of Moonflower’s recent death invaded her mind and then, for only a moment, guilt for falling on a prince’s bed in the way she did.
But she decided she wouldn’t allow herself to regret something she had chosen on her own terms. She wouldn’t want to lose her maidenhead with a groom picked for her by someone else, Baelor was… He was all she could’ve dreamt of.
And the idea of leaving his chambers now felt like a knife to Allena’s heart.
— I’m sure we can think of something else to distract you. — His tone was light. — Something better than watching my son joust.
Allena tilted her head at that, a small smile playing on her lips.
— Are you jealous, my prince? — The title was said mockingly. — Of your own son?
For the first time since they met, she thought Baelor had the look of a man with no idea of what to say next.
— I am not jealous; it was merely an observation that you were watching him joust.
She chuckled, finding this whole conversation amusing.
— He appeared to be a safe knight to bet on and I was proved right. I needed his wins to earn the coin so I would be able to buy Moonflower back and pay for my accommodation, since I am alone here at Ashford. I have no interest in the young prince, I assure you.
Baelor would never admit it out loud, but the reassurance was pleasant to hear, to know she only had eyes for him even though he was much older. And her reply also gave him an insight into the mystery that Lady Sapphire was, giving him a small opportunity to ask more about her.
— Don’t you have any family who could’ve come with you and make your staying here less difficult, my darling girl?
Allena knew this question was bound to happen, yet she was still unprepared.
— I… I do, they were supposed to come here, my father and my younger brother, but they… We ended up getting separated on the road and I got here first, still no news of them. We come from the Riverlands. But I'm sure they will show up.
It was not a complete lie; they were supposed to be in Ashford.
Baelor sensed there was more to it, that maybe her family was more complicated than she was letting on. But he decided not to pry.
— They must be worried about you, all by yourself and so far away from home.
Allena looked down, avoiding his gaze for a second before facing him again. Baelor was still lying on the bed, dark hair covering his chest, his mismatched eyes hypnotizing as they studied her.
— I suppose they are, but… At least I’ve found a valiant prince to protect me, didn’t I? The very knight all the songs are about.
She made it sound like a jest, but he could see it wasn’t all mockery. Something in her eyes, in her expectant face made him aware that a part of her believed he was indeed a knight worthy of songs. He would have preferred for her to be jesting entirely, he didn’t feel much noble after deflowering a vibrant young woman such as her outside the wedlock.
— All the songs? I’m not sure of that, my darling girl. — He dismissed her comment.
— Well, now that we are better acquainted, I can think of at least one famous song written about you that proved to be accurate. Would you like to know which one?
— Enlighten me, if you will.
— Oh, I’m sure you’ve heard it a thousand times by now. — Allena let out a mischievous smile. — The Hammer and the Anvil, the one about how you’ve won the war against the rebellion alongside your brother. Country was in peril, the anvil was a rock. The hammer smashed the bastard with his giant veiny cock.
Baelor laughed, of course this was the song she would choose to mention.
— Yes, I’ve heard it a few times.
— Only a few? I’ve never witnessed your military abilities, but I’m pleased to say the song has a rather accurate last verse.
He let out another laugh and, before he could say anything in reply, they were interrupted by the sound of the door being opened. Baelor cursed himself for forgetting to lock it the night prior.
Allena moved quickly to cover her naked breast with the blanket as they heard:
— What the fuck is happening here?
Baelor didn’t need to look at the door to recognize who it was. He tried to hide Sapphire as much as he could, blocking her with his own body.
— Maekar, would you go outside and give us a moment? — Baelor was trying to remain calm.
Even with Baelor in front of her, Allena saw who it was. The anvil had come to see the hammer and found her in his bed.
— Who the fuck is this?
— Maekar! — He sounded firmer now. — Go outside. Give me a moment and I’ll meet you in your chambers.
The silver-haired prince seemed to accept his brother’s request and went out, closing the door after him.
Baelor saw panic in her eyes.
— It’s okay, it’s only Maekar, he won’t talk about what he saw here. — He reassured her.
— He sounded very… Displeased.
— He’s under quite a lot of stress, two of his sons are missing. He probably came here to talk to me about them. And besides that, Maekar is usually displeased with something. There’s no reason to worry, I’d never do anything to put you in a difficult position and Maekar wouldn’t either. He’s just… Surprised, that’s all. I need to go see him, but you can stay here and wait for me.
He took her hand in his and gave her a light kiss on the knuckles.
— Alright, I… I’ll stay. Now go talk to your brother.
Baelor gave her hand another kiss before standing up to get dressed.
Allena stayed in bed after he had left, letting her mind wander to the memories of her own brother. Oh Gods, how worried Addam must be by now.
Addam, who was knighted only last year and who was eager to come to tourney with her, to participate in his first joust. If only his older sister didn’t do anything reckless and spoiled everything for him. She was sure he was looking for her at this very moment.
Allena felt a surge of regret for running away and leaving Addam, for selling Moonflower and allowing her to get killed, for falling in the crown prince’s bed. What a terrible mess she had made because of a couple of strange dreams.
She stood up to look for her clothes, having decided not to wait for Baelor to come back. A more rational part of her knew nothing good or proper could ever come from this entanglement with him and yet…
Yet she could still feel that same certainty, deep set in her bones, that her presence here in Ashford was needed, that she was where she was supposed to be. That their encounter was supposed to happen, that she was supposed to be in his arms.
(...)
Baelor went to find Maekar in his chambers with no idea of what he was going to say.
He knew he should explain, but what was there to explain? How was he supposed to say he had become attached to this beautiful, young woman with no name nor title and then took her maidenhead?
He knocked on Maekar’s door, his brother opening it in an instant and letting him enter with a look of disbelief on his face.
— What did I just see? — The question came as soon as the door was closed. — Did you go out to find yourself a whore while we are guests here and my sons are missing?
— She’s not a whore, I… — Baelor tried to say anything coherent. — I’ve met her two nights ago and I…
— And you’ve already bedded her? Who is this woman?
— Her name is Lady Sapphire; she came from the Riverlands to see the tourney and…
Maekar became even more confused seeing Baelor struggling to find the words. His brother looked almost embarrassed.
— You are telling me you bedded a commoner you’ve met only two nights ago, and you were foolish enough to bring her here, to Lord Ashford’s castle? Have you taken leave of your senses, brother?
For the first time ever since he could remember, Baelor found himself speechless.
— I’ve met her by accident at first and then… Aerion killed her mare during a joust yesterday and…
— Aerion did what? — Maekar interrupted. — What was her mare doing in a joust?
— She had to sell it to Ser Hardyng, who rode against Aerion. Your son’s lance was too low, and it reached her mare. They had to give it a mercy kill and the girl was devasted. I… I tried to console her and…
— Tried to console her? By fucking her, is that it?
— This wasn’t what happened, I…
— Wasn’t it? — Maekar spitted the words. — Haven’t I just found this Sapphire naked in your chambers? Please, don’t tell me you’ve taken the girl’s maidenhead.
Maekar saw Baelor’s face get flustered and knew the answer right away.
— Oh, for Seven’s sake, what is happening to you? You haven’t shown any interest in women since Jena passed away, father even offered for you to remarry with that Tyrell girl and you declined. What is it about this woman that got you abandoning all reason?
Baelor had been thinking about this same question from the moment he had laid eyes on her for the first time. All the Valyrian poems he had read over the years came to mind, but none of them helped with the reasonable explanation his brother was seeking.
— I wish I could answer that. — He ended up saying.
— Is she a witch? Maybe she has bewitched you, you know Shiera isn’t the only woman with this kind of power and…
Maekar didn’t get to finish the sentence, Baelor’s laugh interrupted him.
— I assure you she has no such power, brother, no more than any other lovely woman has. I was the one who pursued her, in despite of what you might be thinking.
— The Seven help us all, then you have gone truly mad.
Baelor didn’t find a plausible way to deny this statement.
— I will deal with it, I will deal with her. There is no need for you to worry. Now, I believe you’ve come to talk to me about something else. Have you found your sons?
Maekar was reluctant to drop the subject, wanting to inquire more about the woman who had made his always sensible brother acting so unlike himself. But he had the feeling Baelor wasn’t going to answer any more questions.
— I asked around. — He finally said. — Daeron and Aegon were seen together at an inn and then Daeron was seen alone at a brothel. I’ll go there to try to find them today. Well, to try to find at least one of them. They can’t be too far from Ashford. And I’ll have a talk with Aerion about killing the horse of your… Of your Lady Sapphire.
(...)
Allena’s mind was in disarray as she left the castle doing her best not to be seen by anybody.
Prince Maekar knew about her and was probably now scolding his brother for getting mixed with the small folk like this. The family had suffered too much thanks to Aegon IV’s many mistresses for Baelor to take a lover on a whim like he did. This was absurd, she knew it.
I need to tell him the truth, Allena thought. About who I am and why I came here.
And then he will know how they called you. He will know you are the witch of Raventree Hall, the maiden who scared off every suitor, who talked to ravens and came here because of a vivid nightmare of mist and men screaming. He will think of you as insane.
Was it too much to ask from the Gods to live this awaken dream with him for a bit longer?
She set a deadline for herself. She had until tomorrow night to figure out the mystery surrounding the dreams. If she couldn’t do it, she would go to Baelor and tell him the truth regardless.
Even if he ended up hating her or accusing her of being a witch, Allena knew she would cherish forever the little time they had together.
— Do you wish to know your future, my lady? — A woman’s voice interrupted her thoughts. — You seem troubled.
Allena had walked to the field and was now near a tent where she had heard a puppet show was hosted every night. She intended to go back to the inn, but the chaos in her mind made her take the wrong turn.
The woman who talked to her was old, dressed in rags. An expectant look on her dark eyes, waiting for Allena’s answer.
— Yes, I’d love to hear about my future.
The woman closed her eyes for a second and when she opened them again, her face changed, appearing to be confused.
— Who are you? I cannot see clearly, I… It is as if your future is yet to be decided.
— But what do you see? — Allena insisted.
— I see… A raven flying in the mist and I see… A golden crown in your hands.
— Only this?
— There is another way. Another thing I could try. — The seer said. — If I drink a drop of your blood, perhaps I’ll be able to make sense of it.
Her cousin Brynden had told her about this sort of magic a while ago, a common practice in Essos.
— No, there’s no need. — Allena decided. — Thank you.
Maybe it was for the best. Maybe the Gods were debating her fate at this very moment.
(...)
When the Sun set, Allena went to watch the puppet show, trying to ease her mind.
The story was familiar, an old tale from the Age of Heroes, from when her family still ruled over the Riverlands. Florian the fool, who was also a knight, had fallen in love with the beautiful maiden Jonquil after seeing her and her sisters bathing in a pool. She remembered reading it when she was a child and then reading it for Addam when he was a boy. She remembered how much he loved it.
A story of forbidden love, how fitting.
After the show ended, her feet took her to the castle. She didn’t wish to go and appear right at his doorstep, so she decided on passing under his window, like she did on the first time they talked to each other, and going to the gardens afterwards. She knew he didn’t go downstairs on that night because of a noise; he went because he had seen her.
She would need a second coincidence for him to be watching by the window again, but what would be another coincidence for them? She believed full heartly it was bound to happen.
And so it did.
Baelor was considering sending Ser Donnel to look for her again when she appeared. As if he had conjured her with his wishful thinking alone. He saw she was headed to the gardens before going after her.
Allena was on the tip of her toes, trying to get an apple from a tree when she heard the steps. She didn’t need to turn around to confirm who it was.
Baelor reached for the tree branch above her head and got the apple.
— Should you be stealing apples from Lord Ashford’s garden in the dead of the night, my lady?
Only then Allena turned to face him.
— From what I can tell, you are the one stealing apples. I didn’t do a thing.
The smile that took his lips was unguarded, one of genuine happiness. He gave her the apple.
— Thank you.
She took a bite of the apple; it was crispy and sweet.
— Were you looking out of the window to see if I’d come, my prince?
Oh, how embarrassed it was that she had him all figured out.
— I thought I had told you to call me Baelor.
She bit the apple.
— You did, yes. Baelor. — She repeated as if she was testing his name on her tongue. — You didn’t answer my question.
He wouldn’t be able to deny the truth.
— Matter of fact, I was. I cannot explain what you have done to me, only that now I need you desperately.
The next bite of the apple tasted so much like victory.
— But I haven’t done anything.
— And doesn’t it make you all the more infuriating? — His hand cupped her face. — What am I supposed to do with you, huh?
— You tell me. You seemed to like doing that last night.
— Very much so, my darling girl.
He caressed her cheek and she closed her eyes for a second, enjoying the tender touch of his rough hand.
— I enjoyed it too.
— You know we shouldn’t…
Allena let the apple fall from her hand and passed her arms around his shoulders, kissing him before he had the chance to try to escape her. He had no real will to resist her and simply kissed her back, holding the girl by the waist.
— We cannot stay here; someone might see us. — He whispered when their lips separated.
— Then take me upstairs with you.
She could see in his eyes there was a battle inside his mind whether he should send her away or not and he, such an experienced knight, was losing it.
— Stay here. — He ended up saying. — I’ll go first and see if there’s anyone in the hallways. If the path is clear, I’ll close my window. It’s your sign to come up. The door will be unlocked.
— Okay.
She watched him go, staying in the part of the garden that allowed her to see his window. When he closed it, Allena smiled, the excitement taking hold of her.
She went to his chambers as quickly and as silently as she could, remembering to lock the door after entering. There were going to be no surprise visits from Prince Maekar this time.
Baelor was sitting on the bed and stood up after she had closed the door. She turned to face him as he walked to her in slow steps. From what she had gathered about him until this point, it was noticeable he wasn’t the kind of man who rushed things.
She stood there, trapped between his body and the door. He took one hand to her face again, his fingers tracing her jaw carefully and then going to her pinky lips, memorizing her by touch.
— We shouldn’t be doing this. — His voice was low.
— So you keep telling me.
— Sapphire, I… It isn’t right for me to do this to you. — He was trying to convince himself.
— Doing this to me? What about my choice in this? You are not doing anything I do not wish you to do. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be other than here, with you. I’d choose this over and over again.
Allena held one of his hands in hers and took it to her mouth, kissing the tip of his fingers and licking them after.
— Is that right, my beautiful girl?
— It is. I know we’d end up here regardless. I know you feel it too. This pull. I don’t believe anything in my life ever felt as right as this.
She kissed his fingers again, looking up to meet his face. Her eyes had that tantalizing quality to them. The eyes of a seductress, yes, but there was something underneath it. A kind of vulnerability, of something that only he got to see, of a rawness that made him feel exposed.
Baelor, always so guarded, always so focused on doing what was right, understood perfectly what she was saying. So he kissed her.
He took her lips with hunger, as if he had been trying to resist her for far too long, even though he had had her just the night before. It wasn’t enough, no amount of time with her would ever be enough.
— I feel the pull, yes. — He whispered onto her lips. — I’ve been feeling it since I laid eyes on you at the gates.
Allena kissed him again in a heartbeat, with an equal amount of passion. He held her by the waist and lifted her from the ground a little, letting her wrap her legs around his body.
Baelor carried her to bed and made her sit before starting to undo the laces of her gown. She moved to help him, but he held her hands.
— Allow me.
He undressed her with patience and proceeded to undo her braided updo, her black hair falling to her waist. He made her sit on his lap to take a moment to admire her beauty.
Baelor kissed the side of her neck and gave it a light bite. When she let out a heavy breath, he bit harder only to listen to her whimper.
His big hand found her breast, feeling its weight before pinching the nipple. He kept going down, until his fingers were at her entrance.
— Already this wet? — The tip of his finger massaged her entrance.
— It’s the effect you have on me. — She said looking up to him and Baelor couldn’t help but feel smug.
He gave her a prideful smirk as his fingers went to her clit to circle it in a motion much too slow for her to come, but just enough to get her closer to the edge. He maintained this rhythm until her legs were shaking and then stopped.
Allena opened her eyes, an expression in which pleasure and agony were mixed.
— What is it, my beautiful girl?
— Please, Baelor.
— Please what? — His tone had become almost arrogant, he enjoyed having her desperate like this.
— Please, make me come. I need it, I…
He had no desire to torture her, satisfied enough with her sweet pleas.
Baelor touched her clit again, faster this time, the perfect motion to have her coming around his fingers a few moments later with a broken cry and the shakiness of her legs intensifying.
— Oh Gods. — The blasphemy escaped her lips.
He took his fingers covered in her juices and took them to the mouth, savoring her taste.
— The finest dessert in all the Seven Kingdoms, my darling girl.
She managed to smile a little, her breath irregular after the orgasm.
— I want to try something with you. — He said. — To be quite frank, I’ve been imagining since the first time I saw you.
— What is it?
Before answering, he took her off his lap and made her sit on the bed so he could stand up to start undressing. He removed the black doublet and the trousers and discarded them on the floor, leaving her hanging for his next words.
Allena’s gaze travelled through his muscled chest, covered in dark hair and battle scars and then went to his cock, imposing in its size and impossibly hard. She involuntarily closed her legs at the memory of the pain of taking him for the first time. He seemed to notice it.
— It won’t hurt again this time, I promise. — The prince reassured her.
— I know. I trust you. — She replied with confidence. — What did you want to try with me?
His hand went to her chin, lifting it up to lock their eyes.
— To take you on all fours. — His voice was low, calm and so full of lust. — The way whores are usually taken.
She raised her eyebrows in a mock expression of defiance.
— Is that what you make of me, my prince? Do you take me for a simple whore?
— Oh no, not at all. I know you are no whore and there isn’t a single thing about you that is simple. But I believe you’d enjoy being a whore for me tonight. I’d make it worth it for you.
What a gallant prince he was. What a sly rascal.
He saw Sapphire surrender without saying a word, a smirk dancing on her lips before getting on her hands and knees, presenting herself for him to fuck.
This was the vision Baelor kept conjuring on his mind when he got distracted during the day. Her perfectly round ass and her pussy, glistening and ready for him to open. Only the reality of it was much better than his imagination.
— I’ve never anything as beautiful as you, do you know that? I’ve been dreaming about your ass, about having you like this for what feels like ages.
— You have me now.
Balor couldn’t resist a moment longer. He positioned his manhood at her entrance and impaled her in one swift movement, letting out a ragged breath at the same second she whimpered.
— Yes, I do. I have you now.
Allena felt only a slight sting of pain as he filled her completely. Even though she still had to stretch to accommodate his size, the sensation was pleasurable from the start.
He gave her a few moments to adjust before starting to thrust slowly at first.
— Tell me if you feel any pain.
— It still feels like you’re splitting me in half, but it’s… It’s good now.
She heard his satisfied chuckle before he started to increase the pace.
— That’s perfect, my beautiful girl, I knew you could take me. I’ll make you feel even better than last night.
Allena was lost in the sensation of having him moving inside of her in this angle. She loved how full she felt, how she could feel him reaching for the deepest parts of her. She loved the obscene noises coming from her pussy and the way she didn’t need to think of what to do, she just had to surrender to him.
Baelor welcomed the chance to dominate, to pretend he was the one in charge, to act as if he wasn’t headed to his ultimate demise by her hand.
No, he was the one in control, he always was.
He felt her tight walls around his cock, her body so warm and inviting. He gave her a hard, deep thrust, a groan escaping from his thin lips. He grabbed her hair, wrapping it around his hand and making Sapphire lift the upper part of her body to get closer to him so he could whisper in her ear.
— You’re gripping me. I think you’re enjoying too much being fucked like a whore.
Another hard thrust followed his words and she moaned. A vulgar, long moan that only worked to intensify his pleasure.
— Do you want everyone in this castle to hear you? To know I’m taking you on your hands and knees like the cheapest of whores?
She was able to suppress another moan that threatened to come out.
— No, I don’t, I… I only want you to know. — A deep breath interrupted her sentence, and Baelor knew she was doing what she could not to moan. — This… This is our secret.
— Our secret, yes. Maybe I should keep you as my secret, to defile whenever I please.
His rhythm became faster, his cock in and out of her, conquering her every part. Allena kept her eyes shut, biting her lips. Lost in the heat of the moment, in the absurdity of being taken by him for the second night in a roll, his idea sounded more than appealing.
— What do you say, my beautiful girl? — He gripped her hair tighter. — Would you like to be my whore more often?
— Yes, yes, I would. — She said almost in a cry. — I’d love to always be your whore.
This was music to his ears. Baelor removed his whole cock from her pussy before slamming it back inside in a thrust that left the girl without air.
He knew she was getting close by the way her breath became irregular, and she started to squeeze him more. He kept the pace.
— You are going to come for me. — He ordered.
The punishing pace he had established made it easy for her to do so. Allena’s climax arrived fast and violent, she would have fallen on the mattress if he hadn’t started to hold her by the waist, making her back touch his front.
His teeth sank at the place her shoulder meet her neck as he fucked her through her orgasm, chasing his own high. Even at that moment, she noticed how sharp his teeth were, he would probably leave a mark on her.
— Please, come inside me. — She said in despite of all reason. — Please, Baelor.
If Baelor were a weaker man, he would have obliged to her request. Truth be told, nothing would bring him a bigger pleasure than spilling his seed inside of her, marking her as his in an even more intimate manner.
But he couldn’t. He knew he couldn’t. She didn’t deserve the burden of bearing him a bastard, he couldn’t stain his family legacy even more than it had already been stained.
So, he let her go. Sapphire’s body fell limp on the bed as he took his cock out of her pussy at the last second and came on her back.
— You disappeared today’s morning. I came back here looking for you. I expect this won’t happen again.
text: [ “Some of you have forgotten that only three years ago you were perfectly capable of writing an essay, writing a eulogy, telling a bedtime story to a child, and it should worry you that powerful companies have convinced us we can’t do things we’ve been doing for 5000 years.” ]
Helplessly Hoping - Masterlist (Joel Miller x OFC)
Status: on going
Summary: Juniper Wright found peace in the apocalypse after discovering a cabin hidden deep in the woods of Wyoming. But when an accident put two strangers in her path, bringing drastic changes with them, she is forced to destroy the walls she spent many years building around herself.
Joel Miller never planned to fall in love again. His life was already complete; he had more than he could have bargained for in Jackson. But the girl with bright eyes he and Tommy found in the woods certainly had a way of getting to him.
Warnings: explicit sexual content, MDNI. Eventual smut, slow burn at first, rough sex, oral sex, vaginal sex, dom/sub undertones, age difference, older man/younger woman, past trauma, eventual romance, daddy kink
Note: It would mean the world to me to know your opinions about this story. English isn't my first language, so you can message me or comment to let me know if I made any mistake.
Read on AO3
Chapter 1 - A doe found in the woods
Chapter 2 - Juniper, like the tree
Chapter 3 - A glimpse of a new life
Chapter 4 - Watch duty
Chapter 5 - Roman Holiday
Chapter 6 - The witch from the woods
Chapter 7 - Treasure Island Bookstore
Chapter 8 - The Phantom of the Opera
Chapter 9 - Jane Eyre
Chapter 10 - Happy birthday, Ellie!
Chapter 11 - A small thing that you miss
Chapter 12 - There's much about me you don't know yet
Helplessly Hoping - Chapter 13 (Joel Miller x OFC)
Summary: Juniper Wright found peace in the apocalypse after discovering a cabin hidden deep in the woods of Wyoming. But when an accident put two strangers in her path, bringing drastic changes with them, she is forced to destroy the walls she spent many years building around herself.
Joel Miller never planned to fall in love again. His life was already complete; he had more than he could have bargained for in Jackson. But the girl with bright eyes he and Tommy found in the woods certainly had a way of getting to him.
Warnings: explicit sexual content, MDNI. Eventual smut, slow burn at first, rough sex, oral sex, vaginal sex, dom/sub undertones, age difference, older man/younger woman, past trauma, eventual romance, daddy kink
Word count: 3.8k
Masterlist Read on AO3
Chapter 13 - J + J
It was all Juniper’s idea.
She had sensed Joel pulling away, avoiding her when other people were around. He wanted to pretend nothing was happening between them, she knew it.
She wasn’t brave enough to knock at his door and talk things through. The mere idea of asking him what they were to each other was terrifying to Juniper. Truth be told, she had no idea of what she was doing or of how to proceed with him.
So she did the best thing she could and created an excuse for them to be alone together before the new patrol list came up.
She told Tommy about Ellie’s request for more science fictions books and about the book collection in the cabin where she used to live before he and Joel had found her. She would be able to find good additions for the library if she went back there. It was only natural that Tommy would agree and send Joel with her.
She was already at the stables, caressing Ivory’s fur, when he appeared. That same scowl he always had, a thick brown jacket appropriate for the cold weather.
— Ready to go find more books with me? — She asked.
— Someone has to do it, right? — He said, but his tone was light, there was no real bite to it.
— Don’t act like you don’t enjoy it. Besides, today we’ll find books for Ellie.
A faint smile formed on Joel’s lips, it lasted only a second.
— She kept telling me about that book you told her to read. 2001.
— See, I’m a good influence for her. And for this town. Someone has care about books and culture.
— Guess you’re right. Now let’s go, don’t wanna go back after it gets dark.
She nodded and mounted on the mare, following him through the gates.
The cold wind hit her face, making her cheeks flushed. At least now she had the jacket he gave her and a pair of gloves she had traded at the market. Still, she would prefer not to face this freezing weather. She was only doing it as an excuse to spend more time with him, even though she would never say it out loud.
He looked back to see if she was alright more times than it was necessary, and Juniper pretended not to notice it when she caught him eyeing her for the third time.
The ride was longer, and they slipped in the comfortable silence that usually accompanied them during patrols. The snow had just started when they reached the cabin.
— Go inside and get yourself warm, I’ll tend to the horses. — He said.
Juniper entered the place with uncertain steps.
Everything was in the exact place where she had left them. The copy of 2001 was in the armchair near the window, an old sweatshirt discarded on the bedroom’s floor, the plate in which she had eaten lunch was at the sink. This was the house she had lived in for three years, where she thought she was going to stay in for the rest of her life. It was smaller than she remembered.
She removed her gloves, left them on the living room’s table and went back to the bedroom.
— This place brings back some memories, huh? — Joel was right beside her, at the doorstep.
— It’s just… A bit strange to be here again. I thought I’d never leave this place and then I thought I’d never come back. It’s all in the same way that left.
— Sometimes life surprises us. Never thought I’d catch a girl in my trap either.
— And yet you did.
In more ways than one, she thought.
She turned to face him.
— You looked so scared that day. — His voice was low, embedded in remorse. — Like a frightened fawn.
— I was terrified. Two strange men caught me in a trap, I had every reason to fear. But now that my foot is healed, I… I’m kinda glad that you found me.
— Me too.
That simple admission made her happier than it should have, and she gave him a bright smile. One that made Joel think for a second that he could spend the rest of his life just gazing at her.
Juniper got one step closer to him, her hands went to the first buttons of his shirt, toying with them.
— What are you doing?
His firm tone made her stop.
— You know what I’m doing.
His big hand moved to hold hers. She looked up to meet his eyes, a hint of embarrassment on her face. Didn’t he want it too?
— Did you forget who gives the orders here? — Joel asked.
At that, Juniper was reassured that she had him where she wanted once again.
— No, daddy, I didn’t.
This girl is maddening, Joel thought. Every time he dared think about putting some distance between them, she gave him that look of helplessness and desire and something else he was too afraid to name. Her pledging eyes and pretty face, she always looked like she needed him. And how could he leave someone like her in a moment of need?
— Good. — He finally said. — Thought I’d have to punish you to remind you of that.
— Punish me?
He didn’t miss the way her expression changed slightly, her eyes growing wider.
— You like the sound of that, huh? Maybe I should give you a taste of punishment then. What do you say, baby girl?
He was still holding her hands and Juniper understood he had made the question to give her a chance to back off if she wanted to. But she didn’t. She wanted to put all the control in his hands.
— I… I’ll do whatever you say, daddy.
— That’s why you wanted to be alone with me again, couldn’t wait for our next patrol. No, you’re too desperate, aren’t you? You’re too desperate and I gotta keep you in line.
— I missed you. — She hated how needy she sounded.
— Oh, I know, baby girl, I can see that. I’ll take care of you like I always do, but I still gotta punish you for being so dirty. Undress for me and face the wall.
Juniper felt a rush of excitement and arousal ran through her body and suppressed a smile. This was supposed to be punishment, after all. She couldn’t get too happy about it.
She started to undress under his watchful gaze, realizing she didn’t feel so shy anymore. He probably knew every inch of her by now and for once it felt good to be desired, to be seen. She left all her clothes on the floor and turned her back at him, facing the wall.
Joel stayed in silence for a while, observing her. Her brown curls, the line of her back, the roundness of her ass. She was perfect and he contemplated what good he had done to this world in order to deserve her like this, all trusting and obedient for him. Joel was a bad man, a selfish one, the temptation to keep her was too much for him to bear.
He got closer to the girl, standing behind her and letting her feel the weight of his presence. He sensed when her breathing got heavier with the anticipation.
— Tell me if you want to stop, okay?
She nodded in response.
— I need to hear you say it.
— Okay. I’ll tell you if I need to stop.
His fingers traced the line of her spine very slowly, making her shiver.
— Since you decided to cooperate… I’ll spank you only five times. Think you can handle it?
— Yes, I can. — Juniper couldn’t help but sound too eager.
His hand reached for her butt, caressing one of the cheeks.
— You’re gonna count for me.
A split second after saying this and with no other warming, he slapped her ass. The sharp sound cut the air, and the impact made her whimper.
— One. — She managed to say.
He caressed her reddened skin.
The second slap was harder and the third came right after, giving her no time to recover.
— Two, three.
— Taking your punishment so well, baby girl. You’re so good to me.
Joel looked at the imprint of his palm on her butt cheek. A darker part of him loved to see his mark on her skin. He wanted to leave her more marks on her body, more evidence that she was his. He wanted everyone to know she was his.
— Think you can take two more?
— Yes, I can. — She answered right away.
His hand went to the other cheek, the one still untouched. Juniper felt she was getting wetter in anticipation, the evidence of her arousal running down her thighs.
The fourth slap was the hardest yet and she let out a cry.
— Four!
— You’re doing so well, sweet girl. Almost finished now.
The last slap was equally hard, making her cry again, her heart hammering on her chest.
— Five! — She screamed.
Joel held her by the waist, making her turn to face him and then embracing her.
— You were so good, I’m so proud of you.
She clung to his shirt, wanting to stay in his arms as he made her go in the direction of the bed. He sat on the mattress and put Juniper on his lap. She hissed when the bare skin of her butt touched his jeans.
— It’s okay, you’ll be just fine. — He held her close. — I wasn’t too hard on you, was I?
— No, no. I wanted it.
— We don’t gotta do anything else for today if you don’t want to.
— No, please. — She sounded desperate. — Please, I need you to fuck me. I’m so wet, daddy, look.
He could feel her wetness dripping on his jeans and when Juniper opened her legs, he couldn’t resist the urge to touch her. The inside part of her soft thighs was wet, he parted her pussy’s lips to find her drenching.
— You’re soaked, never seen you this wet. What a dirty girl, getting so wet ‘cause I spanked you. Maybe I should punish you more often then. To make you more obedient.
He put one finger inside of her in slow movements.
— But I’m always obedient to you.
It was true, he knew it.
He inserted a second finger, moving them in and out of her. Juniper let out a deep breath and looked at him with pleading eyes, asking for more without saying a thing.
— I know you are. — He said as he gave her a light kiss near the lips. — You’re my good girl. Only mine.
— Only yours, yes.
Her words were accompanied by a moan as he kept fingering her, curling his fingers just in the right angle. She closed her eyes and Joel admired her beautiful face, made in the finest porcelain, contorted by pleasure, by his touch.
His fingers went to her clit, circling it slowly. The little moans she was making were music to his ears.
— I need you to come for me, baby girl. Need you to open for me so then I can fuck you. Can you do it?
Even in her hazy state, she managed to nod. She could do anything he asked of her.
Joel circled her clit again and again, increasing the pace as he felt her legs starting to tremble. She let out a louder moan and he smiled to himself. He loved seeing her like this, so soft and pliant on his lap. She was all his.
— Come for me now.
And Juniper did. The orgasm washed over her as she came undone on his fingers. Joel circled her clit for a moment longer, wanting to prolongate her high.
When he removed his hand from her and Juniper opened her eyes, she saw him licking his fingers clean, an expression of deep appreciation on his face.
— So sweet, baby girl. Never tasted anything like you.
She felt her cheeks flushed with the compliment.
Joel made her stay on his lap for a bit, wanting her to catch her breath. He toyed with her breasts, pinching her nipples while he kissed her slowly, conquering her lips with no rush.
When he thought she had had enough rest, he manhandled her to lay on her belly, completely flat on the bed.
— Don’t move.
She stayed still while he undressed, feeling her pussy clenching around nothing. She wanted to have him inside of her now, she wanted him to fuck her all time, to do with her as he pleased, to never leave his bed.
He looked at the marks on her ass again, feeling a sort of pride of knowing that she would be feeling it for the next few days. He had claimed her in yet another way.
Joel climbed naked on the bed and positioned himself on top of her. The sensation of his warm skin against hers and his weight pressing her down was almost enough to make her moan again.
Juniper felt his cock teasing her entrance for a second before entering her, all at once. The sudden stretch made her scream, in pleasure and in pain. Even though she was wet, he was so big that the stretch always burned. But she didn’t mind, she wanted to feel it.
— Shh, you’re making too much noise, baby girl. Can’t have raiders or clickers coming here ‘cause they heard us fucking, can we?
— No, I… I’m sorry.
— You should be. Maybe I’ll have to gag you next time.
She’d let him do it, of course she would. But the only thing she could think of was if this had been a promise that there was going to be a next time.
Joel didn’t move inside of her at first, relishing in the feeling of her warm, tight walls around him, so wet and velvety he felt like he could have spilled right away.
— You’re drenched. Being spanked got you this wet, huh?
She squirmed, trying to make him move.
— Please, I…
— Answer me first and I’ll move.
— Yes, I… — She got embarrassed having to admit it. — It was the spanking, yes.
Joel chuckled at her embarrassment and started to move in slow, deep thrusts.
— It’s okay, baby girl, no reason to be embarrassed. I’m here to take care of you, I know what you need.
And Juniper knew he was right; he knew how to take care of her better than anyone, knew how to give her just what she needed. She laid on the bed, limp and vulnerable under him and with the knowledge that this was where she was supposed to be all along, everything happened because she had to find him.
Joel started to move faster, hearing her little whimpers and moans that only made him want to go harder. She lifted her hips slightly, seeking more contact.
— Look at you, such a lil’ slut for me. — His Texan accent seemed to get thicker with arousal. — So desperate for my cock, ain’t you?
There was no coherent though on her mind.
— Yes, daddy, I’m a little slut just for you.
— Just for me, huh?
He could hear the obscene, wet noises her pussy was making as he moved in and out of her.
— Just for you, yes. — She agreed.
Joel loved the way she said it in a breathless whisper. He wanted to hear her say again and again that she was his, that only him got to fuck her, that only him got to have her submit like this. He couldn’t get enough of her.
— Say it again. — He demanded.
— I’m only yours, daddy, your little slut.
His thrusts became faster. He removed his length from her almost entirely before slamming it back inside as her breath got heavier.
Juniper felt her walls tightening, she was being impaled by his cock. His brutal thrusts had started to get more erratic, and she knew he was close too.
— You’re gonna come for me again?
A loud moan was the response she managed, no words left to answer. Joel covered her mouth with his hand, not wanting her to make too much noise. He put even more of his weight on top of her in the process, making Juniper feel caged by his body.
— Come for me again. — He ordered, his voice low and near her ear.
Juniper got impossibly tight, squeezing him as an orgasm hit. His hand pressed on her mouth was the only thing impending her scream.
It took all of Joel’s willpower and strength not to come inside of her in that moment. If he closed his eyes, he could see images of her pussy stuffed and leaking his cum, he wanted nothing more than to bury himself to the hilt and fill her up.
But he pulled out a second before coming, his seed splashing across her butt instead and painting the red marks he had given her earlier. It was a view worth admiring.
He moved to lay next to her on the bed, putting a blanket over them.
— Are you okay? — He asked. — Are you hurt?
— No, I’m not. I wanted everything you gave me. No need to worry.
She rested with head on his chest and Joel kissed the top of her head.
— If it ever gets too much, you tell me, alright?
— Okay. But I know I won’t have to, I trust you. You could never hurt me.
These simple words worked like a knife inside of him. What else had he ever done in his life other than hurt the ones he cared about? And yet this girl trusted him blindly.
— We can stay here for longer if you want to. — He changed the subject. — I can radio Tommy and tell him we’ll be back tomorrow morning because of the snow.
— That’s perfect, ‘cause I really need to sleep now.
(...)
Joel had trouble sleeping since the outbreak day. Even in Jackson, away from danger, he was able to sleep no more than a few hours per night. And when he did sleep, sometimes he still had nightmares.
But that night felt different. He had fallen asleep with Juniper entangled in him and didn’t wake up a single time. When he opened his eyes, it was already morning and he had the pleasant sensation of having a good dream, even though he couldn’t remember it clearly.
The bed was empty beside him. Before he could think about where she was, he heard it. It was her voice, singing a familiar tune, one he hadn’t thought about in a long time.
Helplessly hoping her harlequin hovers nearby
Awaiting a word
Gasping at glimpses of gentle true spirit
He runs wishing he could fly
Only to trip at the sound of good-bye
Wordlessly watching he waits by the window and wonders
At the empty place inside
Juniper was sitting in the armchair by the window, braiding her hair and singing the old folk song in a low voice. A scene beautiful enough to convince Joel he was still dreaming.
She must have heard him moving on the bed, because she turned her face to look in his direction, putting a hair tie at the end of the braid.
— Morning. — She said. — You were sound asleep, I didn’t wanna wake you up, you looked like you needed the rest.
— Yeah, I did need it. Thanks for that.
— I already packed the books to bring to Jackson. The hardcover copies of 2001 and Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Are for Ellie, the other ones are for the library. I chose only science fiction picks to add some variety, the library can’t keep getting new books solely based on my taste.
— You prefer romance, don’t you? — The question didn’t come with any hint of mockery, only genuine interest.
— I do, yes.
— That book you told me about the other day, the one you said you loved so much you didn’t wanna finish it. About a governess in an older man’s house.
He remembered it.
— Jane Eyre.
— Yes, that one. I wanted to ask you about it. Did you get the happy ending you wanted?
Juniper’s face lit up with a smile.
— Yes. Jane and Rochester went through difficulties, they got separated but found their way back together. I think this is truly my favorite book I’ve ever read. Jane’s life was so hard, but she never lost hope that there was more to it, that her life could be different despite her circumstances. I’ll read it again very soon.
She sounds like someone I know, Joel thought.
— I’m glad you got your happy ending then. That song you were singing…
Juniper looked down, slightly embarrassed.
— It’s just a song my father used to like; I never forget it. You weren’t supposed to hear that.
— No, no, please, don’t get embarrassed ‘cause of me. I like this song too, haven’t heard it in years. I knew how to play it on the guitar. Thanks for… Reminding me of it.
She lifted her gaze to face him again.
— You’ll have to play it for me one day.
She sounded so excited, Joel could never deny her.
— I will, baby girl, I promise. I… I wanted to be a singer when I was young. Younger than you are now. — He didn't know why he said it to her, he hadn't told anyone about this silly dream in a long time.
Juniper’s eyes widened in surprise.
— A singer? I’ve just embarrassed myself in front of someone who can sing for real?
— No, you didn’t embarrass yourself, don’t worry. It was…
— A bit off-key? — She said with a smile, seeing he was trying to find the right words.
— No, not off-key, it was beautiful.
Beautiful like you, like everything that you do, Joel thought.
Her smile grew bigger.
— Thank you. I’ve found coffee in the basement if you want some. I’d like to do one more thing before we go back.
(...)
They had left the horses near the cabin and walked. Joel was following her for once. They kept going in silence until she found it. A juniper tree.
Tall and imposing, it was probably there for at least a hundred years and it would still be there long after they were both gone.
— I’ve been meaning to do this for a while. Thought I wouldn’t get the chance since I moved to Jackson because of you.
Joel stopped a few feet away and watched her take the knife from her boot. She carved a J on the tree trunk and looked back at him.
— But since I’m not so alone anymore…
She went back to carving and he couldn’t see what she was doing for a moment. When she finished, Joel felt his heart stop.
J + J, she had carved.
— Just a little something to register that we were here, you know. That we existed.
That we were here and existed together, she thought.
You got a glimpse of who Tommy Miller used to be... and who he still could become beneath all the pain.
Your hope is not enough to comfort a world that refuses to stay gentle for long.
Fic Summary: Four years after the outbreak, Joel and Tommy Miller are hardened smugglers in the Boston QZ: mean, violent, and willing to do whatever it takes to survive. When they’re paid an obscene amount to smuggle you across the ruined country to Columbus QZ, they didn't ask what secrets you carry to be worth that much. They just expect an easy job. You're supposed to be just cargo. They will soon discover this cargo has teeth… and the power to make even the worst men start to crack.
Tags: Tommy Miller x Reader, Dark!Tommy, Raider!Tommy, Explicit Sexual Content, Post-Cordyceps Outbreak (The Last of Us), Stockholm Syndrome, Dark Romance, Tommy is mean but not too much, Tommy Miller Fanfic, Enemies to Lovers, Tommy was corrupted by Joel, Vaginal Sex, Fireflies (The Last of Us), Slow Burn, Canon-Typical Violence
wc: 9k
2 years earlier
“Come on, pumpkin. Path is free.”
Your uncle extended his hand, helping you climb over the crumbled section of wall. He stayed right beside you, guiding your steps until you were safely on the other side of the debris. He was always this careful and patient, never making you feel weak for needing the help.
But you hated how much you still needed it. By now, most survivors had hardened into something capable. They could run, climb, fight, disappear into shadows. You had none of those skills. Your heart had always made you fragile, and the shame of it clung to you like a second skin. You told yourself it was okay… that your brain could make up for what your body couldn’t do. But deep down, you still felt embarrassed.
Your parents had tried to shield you from everything. Your uncle, on the other hand, had done the opposite. He dragged you into the world anyway, on every errand, every risky supply run, every quiet mission to find people who might sympathize with the rebellion they were planning against FEDRA. He exposed you but stayed close, ready to catch you if you fell.
As you both slipped outside the Denver QZ walls, a chill ran down your spine. Out here the threats weren’t just FEDRA patrols. Infected. Raiders. Hungry survivors.
Your uncle noticed the way your shoulders tensed.
“Hey,” he said softly, nudging your arm. “We’ve done this before. We’ll be fine. You trust me?”
You nodded. “Yes.”
He broke into a warm, familiar laugh. “You, of all people, should be the least afraid out here. Don’t stress. This one will be easy.”
You assumed it was another supply run or a search for potential sympathizers. That’s what these runs usually were. But today your uncle hadn’t told you the purpose, and something in his tone felt… different.
You walked longer than usual, moving carefully through the ruins of what used to be Denver, sticking to shadows and overgrown streets. Eventually, he led you to a half-collapsed coffee shop.
Your uncle turned to you with a small, mischievous smile.
“Today’s not a mission,” he said quietly. “It’s a surprise. For you.”
Your heart lifted with sudden excitement as you stepped inside the wrecked place. It used to be one of those warm, cozy cafes, with mismatched armchairs, shelves full of worn books, and tables where people would play cards. A few faded board games were scattered across the floor among broken mugs and overturned chairs.
He moved to the corner of the space, and reached for a guitar resting in a chair. It was still beautiful and intact. He handled it to you.
“Wow… amazing!” you breathed, tilting it and checking its details.
“Think you still remember how?”
You sat on a dusty old chair while your uncle dragged another one over, positioning himself in front of you.
“Let’s find out,” you whispered, a bright smile breaking across your face. “I’ll try an easy one first.”
You started playing Blowin’ in the Wind.
“Of course it would be Bob Dylan.” Your uncle said, smiling.
The first minute felt messy, your fingers clumsy after so long, but soon the muscle memory came back. By the end of the song, the notes flowed smoother, more confident.
“Well, you’re a natural,” he said softly, pride clear in his voice. “Try your favorite now.”
You smiled, heart swelling, and switched into Girl from the North Country. The melody filled the quiet, ruined coffee shop. When the last note faded, you looked up at him.
Your uncle watched you with soft eyes.
“That was beautiful, pumpkin. Really beautiful.”
“Thank you…. This was so sweet. Bringing me here. Thank you, uncle.”
He gently took the guitar from your hands and set it aside. Then he looked at you for a long moment, something tender and heavy in his expression.
“You know what day it is today, pumpkin?”
You thought for a second, then shook your head.
“Hmm. No.”
“It’s the anniversary of your first heart surgery.”
“Oh! You still remember that?”
“Of course I do,” he said, voice thick with emotion. “How could an uncle forget the day his favorite girl came back from surgery stronger than before?” He paused, smiling. “I remember seeing your tiny feet kicking the blanket away the second you woke up. You were complaining the blanket was itchy, the color was ugly, and it was too hot. Even half-drugged and fresh out of surgery… you were already full of attitude.”
He laughed quietly, reaching out to caress your cheek with the back of his fingers.
“Always a pain in the ass, you mean,” you teased.
“That too,” he laughed softly. “And then came the second surgery. And the third.” He paused. “And here you are.”
His voice grew thicker with emotion.
“To think of those long hours in the waiting room… holding your mom’s hand, standing beside your dad, praying for the doctor to come out and say you made it. Those moments felt like pure torture.” He swallowed hard. “Little did we know… that those surgeries wouldn’t just save your life. That one day, they might help save everyone else’s too.”
You smiled, shy and emotional, a lump forming in your throat.
“You’re the hope for this world, pumpkin,” he said, eyes shining. “I hope you know that. I hope you never forget your purpose… you’re going to be the one who brings the light back.”
Your breath caught. Your heart sped up. In that moment, you felt the weight of it.
Your uncle reached into his pocket and pulled out a small pendant. He held it up so you could see it clearly. On one side was a delicate firefly etched into the metal. On the other, your name and the number 00001.
“We’re making it official now,” he said, voice full of quiet pride. “We finally have enough people. We’re a real revolutionary group.”
Your eyes widened.
“Oh! And… why didn’t my parents tell me?”
“Well, you know them… always busy with theories. And anyway, I wanted to surprise you myself.” He smiled. “We decided to call ourselves Fireflies.”
“My favorite thing when I was a kid,” you giggled, eyes misty.
“Of course it is. And you are the first one. As it should.”
“That’s… so sweet. Thank you, uncle,” you whispered, lowering your head.
He carefully placed the pendant around your neck.
“We’re going to do amazing things for the people,” you said softly.
Your uncle’s eyes shone with pride.
“I have one more surprise.” He grinned.
“We found a lead on your doctor. The lists we stole from the QZ say he could be in either Boston or Baltimore QZ. It’s a long way… but it’s a real clue.”
Your face lit up with pure excitement. “Really?! No way! That’s… incredible!”
He laughed at your reaction, then reached for the guitar again. He strummed a few gentle chords, playing an old, familiar song the two of you used to sing together.
You closed your eyes, letting the music wrap around you like a blanket from another life.
You were about to leave when your uncle stopped.
“One last thing.” He walked over to the dusty bookshelf and pulled out a worn one, handing it to you with a gentle smile. “For Whom the Bell Tolls. My favorite Hemingway.”
“Ohh, nice! I can finally read it myself… What’s this one about again?”
Your uncle expression softened as he recalled the story.
“It’s about an american sent to fight with a group of guerrillas during the Spanish Civil War. His mission is to blow up the enemy plans, but it’s probably a suicidal mission.”
He paused, looking at you meaningfully. “By the time the story begins, he’s already exhausted. Tired of the killing, of the corruption he’s seen on both sides. Tired of watching good people turn into monsters just to survive. But then… he meets a girl. And in just a few short days, something changes in him. For the first time in years, he chooses something good. He chooses love. He chooses to protect someone instead of just destroying things.”
Your uncle smiled gently.
“Anyway. It’s much less about the war, and more about a man who’s seen too much darkness… but still decides that life and love are worth fighting for.”
---
When you heard the soft click of the basement door being unlocked, you were already awake. You expected to see Tommy stepping down the stairs.
But he didn’t. The door remained closed, just unlocked now.
You lay there for a long moment, eyes still closed, letting the remnants of the night wash over you. Your body felt… different. Deeply satisfied in a way you hadn’t known in years. You had slept better than you had in weeks.
But your mind was a storm of confusion.
Because… what the fuck happened? You wanted to prove yourself - and to Tommy as well - that he was able to demonstrate empathy and care. Damn, you wanted so badly for him to take care of you. You saw the way he cared about Joel, how he checked on his brother pain even Joel pretending he didn’t need, he went through hell to get medications… you just wanted to be seen that way, worthy of it too.
But last night? That was definitely not the kind of care you expected.
Not that you would complain. Being on Tommy’s hands had softened every muscle, left a pleasant dizziness in your limbs, and quieted the constant ache in your chest for a few precious hours. You felt re-energized, glowing.
A slow, secret smile touched your lips as memories returned. The way his dark eyes had devoured you, worshipful. But also, the way he allowed himself to feel again.
But the smile faded as reality settled back in. Did he really?
It was like pleasuring you was both a gift and a punishment. Like he felt he belonged there, touching you, making you moan… but didn’t believe he deserved to feel good too. Like he was starving to make you feel good… but he hadn’t allowed himself any release.
Your heart twisted and things were spinning in your head.
The colorful unicorn brooch image comes back. The way he had gone against his own instincts just to do something good.
And then…. the book.
From all the proofs you had used to convince yourself that this man deserved a second chance, this was the final, undoubtable one.
For Whom the Bell Tolls. Lying on the bedside table.
Like a quiet cry for help.
You picked it up again, flipping through the pages slowly. The connection to your uncle made your chest ache with nostalgia… but the parallel to Tommy ached in a different way.
You closed the book, pressing it against your chest.
You waited a few more minutes before slowly climbing the stairs. When you reached the top, Tommy was standing buttoning a fresh shirt. His hair was damp, dark strands clinging to his forehead and neck.
Your eyes met. The gaze lingered too long. There was an immediate thick and awkward air between you. Neither of you spoke. His expression was tight, distressed, exhausted. You could tell he hadn’t slept at all. Had it been nightmares again? Or… had he been thinking about you?
You sat down quietly at the kitchen, watching every movement. Waiting him to say something.
Tommy avoided your eyes. He moved stiffly, grabbing a glass of water, more medication, and some food before disappearing into Joel’s bedroom. He returned a minute later, still refusing to look at you, like he was ashamed of his own actions.
You tried to break the suffocating silence.
“Showered, Thomas?” you said lightly. “What a miracle.”
Tommy gave you a bothered, almost pained look.
“Helped Joel shower,” he muttered. “Thought a cold one might bring the fever down. He’s burning up… started vomiting a few hours ago. Not sure what’s happening.” He stopped mid-motion, as if realizing he didn’t own you explanations.
No... No, no, no.
Two sips. That was all Joel had taken. It wasn’t supposed to hit him hard.
Seeing Tommy this worried hurt even more than thinking of Joel suffering. The guilt twisted violently in your stomach.
“But.. how’s the leg?” you asked carefully, trying to keep your voice steady. “Have you seen it? Is it that bad?”
“It’s bad,” Tommy answered, voice rough. “But he’s been through worse. I think it’s something else.” He paused, clearly uneasy. “I don’t know.”
You fought to control the rising panic.
“Antibiotics take time. It might be at least two days before any improvement. Maybe his immune system was already weak. Maybe it was something he ate.” You speak, too fast.
Tommy stood by the sink, hands braced against the counter, his back to you as he stared out the window.
You continued quickly, as you tried to fill the silence and hide the guilt clawing at you.
“If it’s something stomach-related, maybe we can find some medicine. Or herbs… peppermint tea, ginger, chamomile… those usually help settle the stomach, right? Don’t we have any here? Or maybe in one of the neighboring houses? I’m sure tea isn’t something people usually scavenge for, we might fi—”
“I should have never done that yesterday,” Tommy’s voice cut through yours, low and heavy. He kept his back to you for a long moment, shoulders tense.
“I’m… I’m not this kind of man.”
He swallowed hard, clearly struggling to get the words out. You stopped talking, watching him carefully.
“I’ve done a lot of awful things in my life,” he continued, voice rough and quiet. “But this… That’s… that’s never been me. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—”
“Wait.” You cut him off, almost laughing in disbelief. “What are you talking about?”
Tommy turned his head toward you, surprised by your reaction.
You stood up slowly and walked closer to him, stopping just a few steps away.
“Let me see if I got this right,” you said, voice laced with disbelief. “You’ve drowned me, punched my ribs, wrecked my face,” you pointed at your still-red eye, “and finally, broke my fingers… but that’s what you’re apologizing for? That’s hilarious, Tommy. Actually hilarious.”
He twisted his mouth and tapped his fingers nervously against the sink.
“No, Thomas,” you continued. “You don’t get to feel like you used me. If anything, I used you.”
You step closer. “And for the record… I expect you to finish what you started.”
Tommy turned fully toward you, puzzled. You were close enough to see every detail, the faint scar above his eyebrow, the way his pupils had blown wide, the tension in his jaw.
“Why?” His voice was rough, almost cracking. His eyes landed on your bruised eye and lingered there with visible pain. “Why would you feel any attraction to me after everything you’ve seen me doing? After everything I’ve done to you?”
You held his gaze.
For a moment, all you could focus on were the faint freckles scattered across his nose and cheeks. Your eyes drifted down to his lips, before slowly rising back to his.
“…Have you read it before?” You asked softly but urgently. “The book you brought me. Did… Did you choose it on purpose?”
He let out a small laugh and shook his head.
“Do I look like a man who reads fucking Hemingway?”
“Yes,” you said without hesitation.
He faltered for a second, swallowing hard. “Where are you going with this?”
“You asked me why,” you whispered. “You already know why.”
You stayed close, enough to feel the warmth of his breath against your lips.
“Because you’re not this.” Your voice softened, almost tender. “I like you. I like Tommy. The real Tommy... The one you keep trying so hard to bury.”
You reached out and brushed your fingers lightly down his forearm. Tommy caught your hand immediately, placing his rough palm over yours, holding it firmly against his arm. He didn’t push you away. He simply held you there, torn between pulling you closer and pushing it away.
“Tommy is not the man who broke my fingers,” you continued, gripping his forearm tighter. “The real Tommy is the man who played Bob Dylan for me. The man who’s been trying to redeem himself in small acts of kindness to me. Tommy is the man who risked himself to save a family he doesn’t know... who’s desperately trying to do good, even when it goes against every instinct he has now.”
Tommy’s throat worked as he swallowed, clearly fighting to keep himself together.
“You’re sick, woman. You’re sick and out of your damn mind.”
You continued, voice steady and full of quiet fire. “You still have a chance to be better. We all do. The Fireflies-"
“Stop.” Tommy’s voice suddenly turned sharp, cutting you off. His expression hardened instantly. “Just stop. I can’t hear any more of that bullshit. Not today.”
He tried to pull away, but you dug your nails into his arm, holding him in place.
“I need to go to Baltimore QZ, Tommy. This is bigger than you and me. You can’t just hand me over to Kevin in Columbus. Please… I’m begging you.”
He yanked his arm free with a frustrated growl and stormed into the living room. He started pacing, clearly trying to put distance between you.
You took a shaky breath. It was pointless.
“Can I have a shower?” you asked quietly.
Tommy huffed, clearly irritated. “You and your damn showers.”
“Can I?”
He moved to his pack and started rummaging through it, getting ready to leave.
“Later,” he muttered. “I’m heading out to look for more medicine for Joel.” He walked back toward you and grabbed your arm, pulling you toward the basement. “Come on.”
You anchored your feet, refusing to move. “No, no, please. Don’t lock me there during the day. Let me go with you. Let me get out of this house. I’ll behave, I promise. I won’t try anything.”
Tommy stopped. He stayed silent for a long moment, jaw tight, clearly weighing his options. Then, with a heavy sigh, he pulled your wrists fiercely toward him.
He fumbled in his pocket, took out the small key, and unlocked the cuffs.
“I’m trusting you,” he said, voice low and deadly serious as he shoved the cuffs into his own pocket. “But you better not try any fucking tricks. I’m not joking.”
You simply stared down at your free hands for a moment, feeling the sudden lightness, the quiet thrill of trust. Then, slowly, you lifted your gaze, dragging it up his chest, his throat, until you met his eyes.
Something bold and electric sparked inside you. You stepped forward and wrapped your arms around his shoulders, pressing your body against his. Your chest molded to his, hips brushing. Tommy stiffened, but he didn’t pull away.
His hands eventually rose, settling tenderly on the small of your back. His palms were large and warm, pulling you even closer, fingers pressing into your spine. For several long seconds, you simply held each other that, bodies glued together, breathing the same air.
Your faces were inches apart. You looked at his lips, then back into his eyes, voice barely a whisper.
“Kiss me.”
Tommy’s breath hitched. His gaze dropped to your mouth, lingering there.
Then he exhaled sharply through his nose.
“You’re fucking crazy,” he muttered.
His hands tightened on your lower back for one last second, and then firmly pushed you forward toward the door.
“Let’s go,” he said, voice strained. “Before I change my mind and lock you.”
You huffed in frustration, but quickly slipped on your boots, wincing slightly as your still-sore feet settled inside them. They were healing, but every step reminded you of the long days barefoot on the road. Without a word, you followed Tommy out the door.
He was still limping, though he did his best to hide it. You walked side by side in heavy silence, passing several abandoned houses along the quiet street.
“Aren’t you going to check these?” you asked, nodding toward the buildings.
“I already cleared all these blocks yesterday,” he answered curtly, eyes scanning the surroundings. “Nothing useful left.”
Tommy guided you through the familiar gaps in the barriers you used to slip in the neighborhood. You moved carefully, staying low and alert. After some time, you came across three infected slumped in a sleepy, half-dormant state against an old fence.
Tommy instantly moved in front of you, shielding your body with his own. He pointed silently toward a cluster of rusted metal bins a few feet away. You obeyed quickly, ducking behind them.
You watched, heart racing, as he approached the first infected from behind with deadly silence. In one fluid motion, he sliced its throat. The creature barely made a sound before collapsing. He did the same with the second, then the third almost graceful in his violence.
You couldn’t help but feel a mix of awe and unease at how skilled he was. How lethal.
“Let’s go,” he muttered.
You slipped out from behind the bins and followed him.
You moved in careful silence from house to house. Tommy always entered first, scanning every room with sharp eyes for any threat before allowing you to step inside.
The first six were empty, stripped clean long ago. Nothing but dust, broken furniture and smell of decay. Tommy’s limp grew more noticeable with every step.
When you reached the seventh house Tommy noticed the heavy door in the basement. A bunker.
He raised a hand, signaling you to stay back. He drew his knife, lifted the lantern, and slowly opened the hatch.
The beam of light revealed shelves packed with supplies. But in the far corner, two clickers stood motionless, heads twitching slightly, their grotesque fungal growths catching the light.
Tommy closed the door with agonizing slowness, not making a sound.
“Shit… shit,” he whispered.
“What?” you asked.
“Two clickers. The place is full of supplies, but it’s not worth it.”
“Can’t you kill them?” you pressed. “You did it with the ones outside.”
Tommy shook his head, voice low and serious. “Clickers are different. They’re blind, but they hear everything. The space down there is too tight, there’s no room to dodge if I miss.”
“Well, just shoot them.”
“One gunshot and we’ll bring every infected in a mile radius down on us. We’re not risking it. Let’s go.”
He turned and started walking away.
You followed for a few steps… then stopped.
Your eyes lingered on the closed bunker door. So much medicine. So many supplies. Tommy was already limping badly, and Joel was getting worse. You made a decision.
When Tommy stepped outside the house, you quietly doubled back.
It took him nearly a minute to realize you weren’t behind him anymore.
“Fuck—!” he hissed, spinning around. Panic flashed across his face as he rushed back inside the house, gun drawn.
He found you just as you were climbing out of the bunker. A heavy box of medications in one hand and a sealed box of energy bars in the other.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?!” he growled, voice low but furious as he slammed the bunker door shut behind you with his boot. “Are you trying to get us killed? What the hell were you thinking? I told you it wasn’t safe!”
“You’re welcome,” you replied, voice steady.
He grabbed your arm violently, yanking you toward the front door and out of the house.
“I told you those clickers were too dangerous in a tight space.” he hissed as he dragged you down the street. “One wrong move and we’d both be dead. What the fuck is going through your head?!”
He didn’t let go of your arm, pulling you roughly along, jaw clenched tight with anger and lingering fear. After a few more steps, he suddenly stopped, spun you around, and gripped your shoulders firmly, forcing you to face him.
“Why?” he demanded, eyes dark and intense. “Why the hell would you do something that stupid?”
“I can be real silent,” you said. “Besides… you forget I have nothing to lose.” You pulled the collar of your shirt down enough to show the long, faded scar across your chest. “I don’t know how much longer this thing will work. And if I’m not going to Baltimore, then it’s just a matter of time until I die pointless, anyway.”
Tommy stared at the scar for a long second, then back up at your face. He looked irritated, furious… and for a moment, completely speechless.
Without another word, he snatched the boxes from your hands. He quickly opened both of them and dumped the contents into his own backpack, slinging it over his shoulder with more force than necessary.
“Don’t you ever do that again,” he growled. “If you ever get bitten, I’ll leave you behind to turn into one of those things. That was fucking stupid.”
You let him walk ahead. Once he was a few steps away, you spat back:
“Fuck you. I did it for you. Because you care so much about your stupid brother, who doesn’t even deserve it. And for me… he could die and rot right now!”
Tommy spun around, furious, fists clenched as he stormed back toward you.
You widened your eyes, but something in the house beside you suddenly caught your attention.
“Look at that!!” you exclaimed, pointing excitedly before bolting toward the house.
Tommy swore under his breath and ran after you.
He entered right behind you, gun already drawn, scanning every corner for threats. He heard your footsteps rushing upstairs and followed quickly, heart pounding with anger and worry.
You were in the master bedroom, standing in the bathroom, eagerly turning the shower knob. Water started flowing, first dirty and brown, then slowly clearing.
Tommy stood in the doorway, absolutely furious and ready to grab you, yell at you, drag you out of there—
“Did you see?” you said, voice bright with excitement. “Solar panels! Oh my God, if they have warm water… can you imagine?”
You giggled, genuinely thrilled, waiting as the water ran.
Tommy froze.
All the rage drained from his body in an instant. He was completely disarmed. You weren’t trying to escape. You weren’t causing chaos. You were just… happy. Over something as simple and human as the possibility of a warm shower.
He lowered his gun slightly and put it back at the holster, stepping inside and watching you with a strange mix of irritation, surprise, and something dangerously soft.
“Do you think it will work?” you asked, holding your hand under the stream, waiting impatiently.
Tommy exhaled slowly, the tension in his shoulders easing just a little.
“Maybe,” he muttered, voice hesitant but gentler than before.
The water gradually grew warmer under your palm. You smiled wider, almost in disbelief.
“It’s getting warm!!”
Tommy pressed his lips together tightly, fighting the small smile that wanted to break across his face. He looked away for a second, trying to hold onto the last scraps of his anger.
You kicked off your boots. Then you grabbed the hem of your shirt and pulled it over your head. Tommy’s eyes widened, breath catching in his throat as he watched the fabric slide up your body, revealing soft skin, the curve of your waist, your breasts perfectly embraced by a black bra, your soft skin so different from his scarred one.
Your hands moved to your jeans, unbuttoning them and pushing it down with a little wiggle.
The way your body moved naturally, unselfconscious, glowing with quiet excitement made heat surge through him instantly.
Tommy stood frozen in the middle of the bathroom, completely lost.
He knew he should turn around. He knew he should walk out that door and give you privacy. But he couldn’t. His feet refused to move. His body had betrayed him the second you started undressing.
You approached him with a sassy little smile, wearing nothing but your bra and panties. The confidence in your step made his breath hitch. Without a word, you reached up and eased the heavy backpack off his shoulders and threw it to the ground. He didn’t stop you, he just couldn’t fight anymore.
Your fingers moved to the buttons of his shirt. Slowly, using only one hand, you undid them one by one, never breaking eye contact. The silence between you was electric. When the last button came undone, you pushed the shirt open, revealing his scarred, toned chest. Tommy yanked the rest of the shirt off himself in one slow motion, letting it drop to the floor.
His gaze stayed glued to you, desperate, and helpless.
He was just a man after all. A starving man. And you were standing there like warm light in the middle of his endless darkness. So full of life. So fucking beautiful it hurt. His eyes dropped to the ugly bruises on your ribs. The ones he had put there. And a sharp wave of regret twisted in his chest. But even that wasn’t enough to make him step away.
You reached out, brushing your fingers slowly across his bare torso, tracing the lines of old scars and hard muscle with quiet delight. Your teeth caught your lower lip as you looked up at him.
“You’re so handsome, Tommy,” you whispered, voice soft and sincere.
Then you took his hands and gently guided them to your back, silently asking him to open your bra. His fingers trembled slightly as he obeyed, unhooking it with surprising care. The fabric slipped down your arms and fell to the floor.
His gaze dropped to your breasts. He stared, completely transfixed, like he was seeing something sacred and forbidden at the same time. The soft curve, the way they rose and fell with your breathing. He had forgotten beauty like this even existed.
You tried to open his jeans with just your left hand, struggling with the button. After a moment, you looked up at him with that sweet, dangerous little smile.
“Help me?” you asked sweetly.
His heart was racing; his breath was fast.
He was completely under your spell. Without thinking, he reached down, unholstered his gun and set it in the sink. Then his hands moved to his jeans almost mechanically, unbuttoning and unzipping and slipping out of them while his eyes stayed locked on yours, hypnotized by the way your eyes burned with desire on him.
You hooked your thumbs into the waistband of your panties and slowly slid them down your legs.
His eyes dropped to watch the movement with raw, unrestrained. “Fuck…” he breathed deeply.
You took his hand and pulled him into the shower with you.
The moment the warm water hit his skin, Tommy let out a low, broken sound. The heat was shocking in the best way, cascading over his shoulders, down his scarred back, soaking his hair. It felt like a blessing, like mercy he didn’t deserve.
You folded your arms around his shoulders, reaching up to gently tug the tie from his hair. The moment it slipped free, his wet curls fell forward, dark strands framing his face and clinging to his forehead and temples. You kept hugging him, pressing your body flush against his. Skin to skin. The sensation was overwhelming. Your soft, warm curves sliding against his hard, battle-worn frame, water running between you. His cock, heavy and aching, pressed against your stomach, throbbing with every heartbeat.
You buried your face in the crook of his neck, lips brushing his wet skin. Slowly, you began kissing him there, along the side of his throat, savoring the taste of him, the salt of his skin mixed with water. You moved from spot to spot, like you were worshipping every inch you could reach.
One of his big hands slid down to grab your ass, squeezing firmly and pulling out a sweet moan from your lips straight on his neck. He pulled you even tighter against him. His other hand splayed across your back, fingers digging into your spine as if he needed to make sure you were real on his arms.
The warmth of the water, the softness of your body, the way you kissed his neck like he was something precious… it was all too much. He hadn’t felt anything this sweet in years. Maybe ever. His chest tightened with disbelief. How could the world still give him something this tender after everything he’d done? After everything he’d become?
Yet his hands refused to let go. His hips rolled subtly against you, his hard cock sliding against your wet stomach as the water continued to pour over both of you like a gentle rain. He tilted his head slightly, eyes close, giving you more access to his neck, a quiet, helpless groan rumbling in his chest.
You pulled back just enough to look at him. Water streamed down both your faces, dripping from your lashes.
“Kiss me, Tommy.”
For a long, conflicting second, he simply stared at you. Kissing you meant losing the last tread of control he had… that would be the final line. If he let himself cross it, there would be no coming back. He couldn’t.
He spun you around in one smooth motion, pressing your back flush against his chest. He buried his face in the crook of your neck from behind, inhaling deeply, lips brushing against your wet skin but never quite kissing. His arms wrapped around you, one hand sliding up to knead your breast, the other gripping your jaw before slowly dragging down your throat, over your collarbone, spreading wide across your chest to feel your scar, your skin, until both hands were cupping and caressing your breasts.
The warm water made everything fluid. You moaned softly at the same time he did, the sound vibrating against the back of your neck as he pressed his face harder into your skin.
“You’re so fucking perfect... So fucking beautiful.” He whispered against your skin.
Your hand reached back, fingers threading through his wet curls, pulling him even closer to your throat.
“Kiss me, Tommy… please,” you whispered, voice trembling with desire, while you arched your neck, offering more skin.
He kept close. But never kissing. One of his hands slid lower, trailing down your stomach until his fingers found your pussy. Your knees buckled slightly at the sudden touch. His other arm wrapped tightly around your waist, holding you upright and firmly against him.
His fingers began to move slowly, stroking through your wetness as the water continued to cascade over your bodies.
You let out a soft, shaky protest. “Tommy… I’m still a little sore from last night.”
He hummed low against your neck, his voice rough and soothing at the same time. His fingers stayed firm but careful, circling your clit with just the right pressure.
“It’s okay,” he murmured. “I’ll go slow. You can handle it.”
“No, Tommy…” you breathed, voice trembling with need. “I want you.”
“You have me,” He slid one thick finger inside you slowly. “I’m right here.” He slid a second one, stretching you open. Both of you moaned at the same time, echoing softly in the bathroom.
“No,” you insisted, desperate. “You.” Your hand slipped from his wet curls, reaching behind you, fingers brushing and then wrapping around his hard, throbbing cock for one heated second.
He grabbed instantly your wrist, pulling your hand away and locking it firmly against your chest, pinning it there with his strong arm while his other hand kept working between your legs.
“Don’t,” he rasped against your ear, voice strained with restraint. His finger curled inside you, stroking that perfect spot as his palm pressed against your clit. “I decide what to give you.”
His fingers kept moving and curling perfectly against that spot inside you while his thumb circled your swollen clit with precision. The warm water kept pouring over you both, making everything slippery.
You came hard on his hand with a broken cry, thighs trembling violently against him while his arm hold you fiercely, helping you to keep standing.
He kept stroking you gently through it, savoring every flutter, every gasp, every twitch of your body until you started to come down.
Then he slowly dropped to his knees in front of you. His bad knee protested sharply, but he ignored it.
“Hold onto me,” he rasped.
You grabbed his shoulders for balance as he gently maneuvered you, lifting one of your legs and hooking it over his shoulder. The new position left you completely open to him, your core just out of the direct stream of water.
Tommy leaned in without hesitation. The first slow drag of his tongue through your pussy made your back arch and a loud moan tear from your throat. He licked you with long, deep strokes, then focused sucking on your clit, until your legs started shaking again.
You were losing your mind.
Your injured hand found its way into his wet curls, holding on as much as the pain allowed.
He kept going until you came again, harder this time, crying out his name as your hips jerked against his mouth.
He pressed his face against the inside of your thigh, breathing hard and ragged against your skin for a few seconds, like he needed a moment to steady himself. Then he turned his head and bit down gently on the soft flesh of your thigh. You whimpered at the sharp sting of pleasure.
Before you could recover, he dove back in. You tried to protest, oversensitive and trembling, but he held you firmly in place, one strong arm wrapped around your leg to keep you standing while his mouth devoured you.
It didn’t take long before the third orgasm ripped through you, even more intense than the last. You came on his tongue with a broken sob, fingers tightening in his wet hair as your whole body shook.
Tommy stayed there, face buried between your thighs, breathing hard against your soaked core as you trembled through the aftershocks.
You both stayed like that for a long moment, breathing hard under the warm spray. Your body was still trembling against him. Eventually, you reached up and turned the shower off.
Tommy pulled away and stood up with a quiet groan, pretending the ache in his knee and the much more painful throb between his legs didn’t exist. Every cell in his body screamed at him to take you, to bury himself inside you, but he forced himself to turn away, using every ounce of willpower he had left.
You stepped out right after him, water still dripping down your skin.
“No,” you said, voice hoarse but determined. “You’re not doing that again.”
You pressed yourself against him, hands wrapping around the length of him, clumsily trying to guide his throbbing cock toward your entrance.
He caught both your wrists in one of his large hands. “No,” he repeated.
You didn’t fight him. Instead, you sank gracefully to your knees right there on the wet tile, eyes locked on his aching cock. The sight of you like that — naked, on your knees, lips parted, staring up at him with pure hunger — nearly broke him.
He reacted on instinct, pressing his palm against your forehead, holding you back before you could lean in.
“Please, Tommy…” you whispered, voice sweet and desperate. “Give it to me. I need it so bad. Let me make you feel good.”
“I said no,” he growled, pushing your head back gently but firmly.
You lowered yourself even more, looking up at him from under your lashes, mouth inches from his leaking cock, eyes pleading.
“Give me,” you breathed. “I want it.”
Tommy gripped your hair, holding you still. He looked wrecked: chest heaving, eyes wild, every muscle in his body screaming with need.
“I’m not going anywhere near those teeth,” Tommy growled, voice low and strained.
“I just want to make you feel good,” you whispered, looking up at him with wide, hungry eyes. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I don’t trust you.”
“Please, Tommy… please.” You leaned forward just enough to drag the flat of your tongue slowly along the underside of his cock, licking a slow stripe from base to tip. The moment your tongue touched him, Tommy’s whole body jerked like he’d been electrocuted. A raw, broken groan tore from his throat.
“Fuck—”
He snatched the gun from the sink and pressed the cold barrel firmly against the side of your head, right at your temple. His other hand fisted tightly in your wet hair.
“Okay,” he rasped, breathing hard. “But try anything…”
The metal was cold and heavy against your temple. The danger of it sent a dark thrill racing through you, electric and undeniably arousing. You looked up at him with glistening eyes, lips parted, visibly excited by the threat.
“Oh, Tommy…” you breathed, voice sweet and filthy. “You underestimate how much I want this. I would never…”
You didn’t finish the sentence, you leaned in and wrapped your lips around the head of his cock, sucking gently. Tommy’s hips jerked forward on instinct. You took him deeper, hollowing your cheeks, working him with your tongue while your left hand reached for him and stroke in the same rhythm.
He was losing his mind too fast.
It had been so fucking long. The wet heat of your mouth, the way you looked up at him with tears already gathering in your eyes, it was too much. He was so sensitive he had to fight with everything he had not to come in the first few seconds.
“Shit— wait—” he gasped, pulling your head back by your hair just as he felt himself tipping over the edge.
He barely had time to breathe before you dove back in even more ferociously, taking him deeper, sucking harder and hungry. Your hand kept stroking him along. Tommy threw his head back with a guttural groan, the gun still pressed against your temple as his hips started twitching.
“God… just like that,” he groaned.
You were overwhelmed. Amused. He was so big, thick and delicious on your tongue. However, it wasn’t just by the physical act; but by the vulnerability he was allowing you. This guarded, dangerous man, who had kept so much of himself locked away, was letting you have this. Letting you see him like this, completely at your mercy for once.
You moaned around his cock, the vibration making him curse under his breath.
“Fuck, I’m not lasting if you—”
You pulled off just enough to look at him, lips shiny.
“Oh, look at you, Tommy Miller… All strong, rough and tough… and I ruined all that in a minute.”
You slowly pushed his gun away from your head, smiling devilish.
He let you. He dropped the gun back onto the sink with a loud clatter. In the next second, both of his hands were in your hair, gripping tight.
“You always have to run that fucking mouth,” he snarled, voice dark and dangerous. The dare gave him control back, and he thrust forward, sliding his cock deep into your throat in one rough unexpected motion. “That what you want? Huh?” He held you there and you gagged around him, tears spilling down your cheeks, but you didn’t pull away. You moaned instead, the vibration making him curse loudly.
He started fucking your mouth in in deep, punishing thrusts, holding your head still. Every time you gagged, he pulled back just enough for you to gasp for air, only to push back in again.
You took it all, eyes watering, spit dripping down your chin, looking up at him like he was everything.
He pulled back to allow you to breathe for once, but instead you just dived back, still hungry.
“Jesus Christ… you wild, greedy little thing,” he groaned, voice hoarse with disbelief and lust, still thrusting into your eager mouth.
You whimpered around him, tears streaming down your face, eyes locked on his like you were daring him to break.
And he did. His rhythm faltered, hips stuttering as his control was finally shattered.
You pulled back just enough to gasp against the head of his cock. “Give me every drop.” before swallowing him again.
That was it.
Tommy’s head fell back with a broken, guttural groan. His grip in your hair tightened almost painfully as he came hard, spilling across your tongue and down your throat. He kept thrusting shallowly into your mouth through it, lost in the overwhelming pleasure, hips jerking as wave after wave hit him.
When it finally ended, Tommy was breathing like he’d run for miles, chest heaving, eyes half-lidded and dazed.
“Fuck… that was insane,” he rasped, voice completely wrecked. “You’re insane.”
He leaned down and lifted you until you stood up, bringing your arms around him. One of his arms hooked under your thighs and he lifted you up. The tenderness of his touch was unexpectedly gentle compared to the roughness from moments before. He carried you out of the bathroom like you weighed nothing.
“What are you doing?” you asked softly, still breathless.
“Just… let’s rest a bit,” he murmured. “Twenty minutes.”
He lowered you onto the dusty, abandoned bed and climbed in behind you, pulling your back flush against his chest. His arm wrapped around your waist, holding you close. The sheets were old and messy, clinging to your still-damp skin, but neither of you cared. The warmth of his body against yours, the steady rhythm of his breathing in your hair… it felt too good, almost unbelievable.
You both drifted off almost instantly.
When you woke up, Tommy was already sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling his clothes back on.
He glanced over his shoulder when he heard you stir.
“Let’s go,” he said, voice neutral but not cold.
You got dressed quietly. As you both headed downstairs, Tommy reached the front door first. Instead of just walking through, he paused and held it open for you.
You stepped past him, your shoulder brushing his chest. For a brief second, your eyes met. A small, genuine smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, soft and shy. You smiled back, warm and real, before stepping outside.
The tension between you had shifted. It wasn’t gone, but it felt… different. It wasn’t awkward.
As you walked back through the neighborhood, the silence wasn’t heavy anymore. Tommy eventually broke it.
“You really went back into that bunker just for some meds and snacks?” he asked, a hint of disbelief in his voice. “I have to give you that one. You’re brave as fuck. Reckless, but brave.”
You shrugged, smirking. “Maybe. But it worked.”
Tommy shook his head, but the corner of his mouth twitched upward. “Good thing I checked you all over for bites,” he added, his voice dropping into something boyish and teasing.
You let out a surprised little laugh. “Oh, so that’s what all the hands were about? Just a very… professional bite check. Right?”
He chuckled and nodded. “Thorough inspection.”
Your heart did something dangerous in your chest.
It was happening. There he is.
There he was, the real Tommy. You could see the cracks widening in real time, and God… it made you stupidly, helplessly happy.
A few steps later, his tone softened again.
“…The water was nice, though,” he admitted quietly. “Been a long time since I had a warm shower.”
You glanced at him, smiling softly. “Yes… It felt like heaven.”
You kept walking side by side. Tommy eventually asked something about your life back in Canada, and you answered with a small smile, sharing memories. He listened, nodding occasionally, offering a short comment here and there. For a few precious minutes, it felt hopeful. Until it all shattered.
A low growl ahead made Tommy stop abruptly. Two infected shambled into view. He moved fast, killing them with the precision you’ve seen before. You stayed back, watching him work with that deadly efficiency.
But just as the last one dropped, you both heard it: a faint human voice, panicked and close.
“Stay here,” Tommy whispered, drawing his gun now.
He crept forward to check. A minute later, you heard him curse under his breath. Against his order, you followed the sound.
In the shadows of an old porch, a teenage boy was kneeling on the ground, cradling a girl no older than fifteen. Half her throat had been torn out. Blood soaked the boy’s hands and shirt. He was rocking her gently, babbling through shock and tears.
Tommy lowered his gun slightly, expression grim and heart tight.
The boy looked up at him with glassy, broken eyes. “Please… help me. She’s… she’s not gone. She can’t be gone.”
You rushed forward before Tommy could stop you.
“Hey— don’t look,” Tommy warned sharply, but you ignored him, dropping to your knees beside the boy.
You checked the girl quickly, uselessly, then turned to the boy.
“Are you hurt? Let me see.” you grab his bloody hands, inspecting it. You turn urgently to Tommy. “Tommy, what do we have? In the backpack. Gauze? Meds? Help me here!” you turn again to the boy trying to calm him down.
Tommy grabbed your arm. “Hey.”
You looked up. He nodded toward the boy’s leg. The trouser was torn, and a clear bite mark was there just above the ankle.
The boy was still in shock, barely conscious of what was happening to him.
Tommy pulled you back firmly, voice low and urgent. “Look away and be ready to run. Once I shoot, more could come.”
“No, Tommy, don’t,” you pleaded, grabbing his jacket. “Please don’t kill him. We can wait. We don’t know for sure—”
“He’s bitten,” Tommy said flatly. “He’ll turn. He will kill other people if we let if happen.”
“I know, but let’s just wait a bit. In the Fireflies—”
Tommy’s face darkened with impatience. “I don’t care about your Fireflies and their experiments. This isn’t Denver. This is real life.”
He moved toward the boy, raising his gun.
You stepped in front of him, desperate, trying anything to gain time. “Tommy, you said using the gun is dangerous.”
His jaw clenched. Anger and exhaustion flashed across his face. “You want me to choke him instead? Stab him? Is that better for your conscience?”
“No! Just… wait a little. It costs us nothing to try! That’s not how we do it—”
He abruptly interrupt you. “We? Don’t include me in your delusions. And don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Keep your rebel trials to your gang.”
You held onto his arm tightly, refusing to let go. “No. You’re not doing it. You’re not killing him like that.”
“Enough,” he growled.
The boy suddenly snapped out of his shock, eyes widening in terror as he finally understood what was about to happen. He scrambled backward on the ground, hands slipping in his own blood and the girl’s.
“No, please!” he begged, voice cracking. “Don’t! I’m not— I’m not turning, I swear! Please don’t kill me!”
He tried to crawl away, sobbing, but his injured leg gave out beneath him. “Please… I don’t want to die… I won’t hurt anyone, I promise!”
“Tommy! please, just, listen—"
Tommy’s patience snapped. “See what you’ve done? You made it worse.”
The boy kept crying, tears cutting clean lines through the blood and dirt on his face. “Please… just let me go… please…”
He pushed past you roughly, pressed the barrel of the gun to the boy’s head, and painfully pulled the trigger.
You stood frozen, eyes wide, staring at the scene. Tommy grabbed your arm and pulled you quickly toward a hidden spot behind a nearby wall, shielding you with his body as he scanned for any new threats.
Nothing else came. The street remained deathly quiet.
Tommy stayed completely still for a long time, gun raised, listening. You stood right beside him, frozen and scared, heart hammering against your ribs. When he finally lowered his weapon, the softness you had seen in him just minutes ago — the warmth, the brief crack in his armor — was completely gone.
He turned on you, eyes hard.
“You and your stupid fucking ideas,” he hissed, voice low but venomous. “Keep preaching that Firefly bullshit at me. Go on. Tell me again how we should just ‘wait and see.’ Look what it cost us.”
You stayed silent, watching the last traces of the man who smiled so genuinely at you minutes before disappearing in real time. The gentleness, the vulnerability… all of it wiped away like it had never existed. Beneath his anger, you could see how much he hated what he’d just done. The disgust. The exhaustion.
It wasn’t fair.
Life had punished him the second he dared to let a little light in. The moment he allowed himself even a sliver of softness and happiness, reality ripped it away and reminded him exactly who he was supposed to be.
“Are you even listening to me?” Tommy snapped.
The question pulled you back. You blinked.
“Yes,” you whispered.
He let out a bitter, angry breath.
“Those fantasies of yours just got that kid even more scared than he needed to be. Congratulations.”
That hit you like a slap.
“Don’t you dare call it fantasy. It’s the only thing that still gives me hope in this fucking nightmare.”
Tommy didn’t even flinch. His voice dropped cold.
“Your hope just made a boy die begging for his life.”
He turned away from you, shoulders rigid, and started walking again.
Baelor Targaryen + Allena Blackwood (my oc), the main couple from my fic that you can read here or on AO3.
Summary: Guided by a strange dream shrouded in mist, Allena Blackwood arrives at Ashford Meadow running away from an unwanted marriage and from her family, convinced that her fate is tied to whatever is bound to happen during the tourney. She couldn't have forseen that her path had to cross with Prince Baelor Targaryen, the knight of all the songs and everything she could ever wish for.
The threads of destiny are fragile things; perhaps Allena is supposed to be the one who sews them together.
"— And do you always do the wise thing, my prince? — She asked in a teasing tone.
— Most of the time, yes.
He was becoming exasperate seeing she didn’t want to leave. Who was this woman sent to torment him, why did he want her so much?
— So not always?
— No, not always. — He admitted.
— It’s a relief to hear it because I… I wish to ask you to stay here for the night. Even though I believe this might be a request much too mischievous for you to oblige."
A moodboard for chapter 3 of All men are fools, all men are knights, my Baelor fic that you can read here or on AO3.
All men are fools, all men are knights - Masterlist (Baelor Targaryen x OFC)
Status: on going
Summary: Guided by a strange dream shrouded in mist, Allena Blackwood arrives at Ashford Meadow running away from an unwanted marriage and from her family, convinced that her fate is tied to whatever is bound to happen during the tourney. She couldn't have forseen that her path had to cross with Prince Baelor Targaryen, the knight of all the songs and everything she could ever wish for.
The threads of destiny are fragile things; perhaps Allena is supposed to be the one who sews them together.
Warnings: explicit sexual content, MDNI. smut, rough sex, oral sex, vaginal sex, age difference, older man/younger woman, eventual romance
Note: I'd love to know your thoughts on this story, feedback is what keeps me going. And keep in mind English isn't my first language, so you can tell me if I made any mistake.
Read on AO3
Chapter 1 - The runaway bride
Chapter 2 - The sort of beauty that drives men half mad
Chapter 3 - I only want to think about you tonight
Writing for escapism @ireneadlerwrites - Tumblr Blog | Tumgag
