#ch:stephen

[ahsokaismyqueen]

"It's nothing, I fell down the stairs." // "It's none of your business!" // "Promise you won't tell anyone!" // "You're not going back to him/her, I'm not going to let you." // "If I didn't love you so damn much, I'd let you go. But I can't do that." // "I don't like doing this, you practically make me."

“It’s nothing, I fell down the stairs.”

Now, it could be said that Stephen wasn’t exactly the most observant person in the world when it came to his wife. No, in the short time that he had been married, that was a lesson that he had learned from rather quickly. So not only to help his marriage, but his wife’s confidence in his feelings for her as well, Stephen had been working on being more observant with not only the way he behaved, but the way that she behaved as well. That’s why he had almost immediately noticed the way that she was cradling her hand close to her chest and commented on it, wanting to make sure that she was okay. Now, he gently took her hand away from her, being careful to only touch it with the lightest of fingers as he studied it and the slight swelling accompanying the redness. His eyes narrowed slightly though as he caught a slight pattern to the mark around her wrist, and he couldn’t help but wonder if he was imagining the shape of fingers. “Love, this doesn’t look like you fell down the stairs.” Stephen looked up into his wife’s eyes, concern flooding his own with just a hint of anger in them at the thought of anyone hurting his wife. “Has someone hurt you?” He asked her, tension leaking into his voice. 

“It’s none of your business!”

“I think it kind of is my business since we slept together about the time you got pregnant.” Sebastian said, while the frustrated tone was clear in his voice, he still spoke softly, careful to make sure that no one around could really hear them. He couldn’t risk that, not with the two of them not really “together”. Even more so now that she was apparently pregnant. Pregnancy was something he wasn’t familiar with at this point. He hadn’t thought that he really wanted any, but weirdly although the fact that she was pregnant definitely wasn’t ideal, having a baby with her actually wasn’t terrifying. In fact, if he hadn’t been so freaked out, it might have even brought a smile to his face. He had been in love with this woman as long as he could remember. She had been the one that early in his life he had been sure that he was going to marry. Sebastian had known from the moment that he saw her that she was the one he was meant to be with. Things had just turned out differently than he had expected. When life had brought them back together, it suddenly felt as if he was getting a second chance to do it right with her. As terrible of a person as that made him sound, it seemed like the universe was trying to tell him something. Both of them something. He wanted to know if this really was fate just trying to bring them back together. “Just tell me, okay? Is it mine?” He asked her point blank. 

“Promise you won’t tell anyone!”

“You know, I’m not really good at promises. I find the whole thing rather untrustworthy.” Hunter let his fingertips glide over the soft skin revealed right above where her pants rested on her hips. He had just had her this morning, but one of the great benefits and drawbacks of being a lust demon, he always wanted more, and as fun as this conversation was because he enjoyed riling her up, he was quickly getting distracted by other thoughts. Other thoughts that he very much wanted to act on, but her words were definitely getting in the way of that. He knew what she was worried about. Summoning of demons of any kind was highly frowned upon in most covens even though the type of demon he was normally wasn’t all that dangerous, it still could have some devastating consequences. Hunter knew that if any of the people in the coven found out what Rikke had done, she would be in for some serious trouble. Not that he cared. As evidenced by the fact that he was still here, and had been for days now. A lot of him was staying because of the sex, the other part of him was staying simply because he knew that Rikke wanted him to go, and he so loved doing the opposite of whatever Rikke wanted him to do. It was one of the few non-sexual pleasures he got these days. Of course, he knew today she was more flustered than ever with her whole coven coming over to the house she stayed in. “How about this? I promise to try if you’ll be willing to show up a few minutes late to your meeting?” He asked, reaching for her pants and tugging her towards him by them. 

“You’re not going back to him. I’m not going to let you.”

The intensity with which he spoke surprised Skye even though she was pretty sure that it shouldn’t have. One of the few things that she had learned about Grant Ward in the months that she had been with him was that he was generally a very intense person. If he liked something, he really liked it, and if he hated something, he really hated it. She hadn’t really seen that intensity directed towards her though, and that was what was so surprising. She had to admit too, the protectiveness he seemed to have over her was kind of hot as well. This … thing, whatever it was, between the two of them was new, but she knew that sometimes he tried to hide parts of himself from her, and this … protectiveness? It stemmed from something other than just the thought of someone hurting her. Either way, she appreciated it. She moved close to him, reaching up slightly to gently massage his biceps in the hopes of helping him relax his tense body. “I’m not ‘going back to him’, Grant.” Skye assured him, staring intensely into his eyes to try and convey that he had absolutely nothing to worry about. “He does, however have my favorite pair of underwear and several other clothing items as well as CDs that I really want back.” She told him, smiling softly as he relaxed slightly. “I am also not opposed to bringing a rather intimidating guy to back me up if I have to kick his ass.” Skye added, looking at him suggestively. 

“If I didn’t love you so damn much, I’d let you go. But I can’t do that.”

“You know, through all the years we’ve been together, that’s usually my line.” Tamara told her, a little sad smile on her lips as she looked at Sutton. It had been her line. More times that she could count. It was usually around this time as well. Once Sutton got most of her memories back and started realizing what was going to happen to her at any moment, she’d start begging Tamara to change her. Then the argument began. It varied each time in small things, but had the same general theme. They were meant to be together. This had been proven several times over, and after so many years of being apart why keep putting themselves through the pain of getting separated again when there was another way? Tamara wished it was that easy. She wished she could just feed from her and have Sutton do the same and quietly turn her into her a vampire so she never had to go through the pain of her dying ever again. Unfortunately, it wasn’t that easy. Turning someone into a vampire never was. Not just because of the physical pain, but because of the emotional distress that sometimes follows well … dying. Not to mention for many years now creating a new vampire was against the law. Then there was the argument that she didn’t want this for Sutton in the first place. She didn’t think her girlfriend knew exactly what she was getting into when she asked her to do this. “Sutton, there’s got to be another way. There’s got to be a better one. Please don’t ask me to do this.” 

“I don’t like doing this, you practically make me.”

“Of course I make you,” Hayden practically hissed in her ear. “We’re looking for a drug trafficking ring in a neighborhood that just so happens to have a sailing club. Do you really think that’s a coincidence?” Okay, so he had to admit, it was a little cliche, rich guys selling cocaine off their fancy boats, but he couldn’t ignore the possibilities. A boat full of suburban men in khakis and ray bans with their trophy wives wasn’t going to draw a lot of attention from the coast guard. Hayden knew that Beatrix hated being treated like one of these bimbos on the boat, but if they wanted to fit in and see if there was anything to be suspicious about, it was just something she had to do. Hayden also wouldn’t deny that he did get a little bit of pleasure seeing how annoyed this whole thing made her, having to trim down her dominant personality so much. Plus, just to see her act like a total idiot with the wives was hilarious. It was something he was definitely going to tease her about for years to come. Even more so, it was nice seeing her having to be the one to suffer for a little while instead of him being stuck at the club doing endless amounts of the most boring sport in the universe otherwise known as golf. It made him cringe just thinking about it, but he quickly hid it, smiling at Beatrix and wrapping his arm around her waist to pull her close. “I know babe, I’ll make it up to you tonight, I promise. You can pick the movie, and I’ll even make you dinner.” He promised her, kissing the top of her head, laying on the affection just in case anyone was watching, which it seemed they always were. Hayden just hoped that his suspicions would pay off, or Bea might just kill him. 

[ahsokaismyqueen]

“I’m scared, hold me!” // “Am I dead?” // “How do you accidentally buy sixty birthday cakes?” // “Can’t you pretend to love me this once?” // “Please… hold me. Don’t say anything, just… hold me.” // “I… have loved you this whole time.” // “I bit my lip. Will you kiss it better?” // “How do you really feel about me?” // “Bunny pyjamas, really?”

“I’m scared, hold me!”

“Darling, you’re fine. I promise.” His arms wrapped around her though. He couldn’t ever deny her anything, especially something so simple. It was adorable, her almost childlike fear of the storms crashing around them. He had to admit though that the storm was definitely making them shake violently. It was some rather rotten luck that had gotten them stuck in their carriage on their way home. Right now, the driver was waiting until the moment he could see again so they could continue. At this point, it didn’t seem like that would be happening soon. “I didn’t realize you were so frightened by storms.” Stephen admitted, rubbing her back comfortingly. “You’re safe in here with me. I promise.” He attempted to assure her. He wasn’t quite sure how well he did though as another clap of thunder rocked the carriage. “I’m not going to let anything happen to you Izzy,” he added. He hoping the use of her childhood nickname would distract her somewhat. It had the desired effect, he noted. He could tell by the way she looked at him from underneath those full lashes, a small smile on her face.

“Am I dead?”

“If you are, we both are, and I think I’m in too much pain for that.” Roxy breathed hard through clenched teeth, fighting back a scream at the pain in her leg. Her head fell back against Rook’s shoulder as she tensed, trying to block out the pain. It was easier said than done. Their tumble over the cliff as they had ran from walkers had done some damage. She knew though that they wouldn’t be safe for long. They had to find shelter before the Walkers and the other group caught up with them, but Roxy couldn’t walk. In fact, she was having a hard time not blacking out at the moment. She wouldn’t even glance at her leg, because she knew one look would make her pass out. “Rook … I can’t walk.” She said, looking up at the man above her, unable to hide her terror. What was going to happen now? Was he going to leave her? Would she be stranded with no hope of escaping? Bait for the walkers or other group? He didn’t give her long to ponder, for within seconds she was in his arms. Of course he wouldn’t leave her. She let out a sigh of relief as she buried her face in his shoulder, wrapping her arms tight around his neck. “Thank you,” she managed to say, squeezing him tight.

“How do you accidentally buy sixty birthday cakes?”

“I’m not a fucking accountant! I swear to God I said six! You know this whole thing is ridiculous in the first place. Why the hell does my sister need six birthday cakes in the first place?” He asked, furious It had taken up all the spare room in his car, and Rhett was still having to drive with a few on his lap. Not to mention he couldn’t even see out his back window. “I still don’t understand how this happened in the first place. Who in their right mind would even think about ordering sixty birthday cakes? Did that even cross the minds of those idiots that work there?” Rhett was so mad he almost punched his dashboard. It wasn’t just the fact that he now had sixty birthday cakes in his car. No, it was the fact that he had to pay for sixty birthday cakes. Quite a hefty number. Of course he knew that his parents would most likely reimburse him for the cakes, it had still pissed him off. That had been money he had been intending to spend on a nice night in a motel for Shiloh. They hadn’t had any real alone time lately, with her helping plan his sister’s party. So Rhett just really wanted to get her to himself for a whole night. A whole night of no interruptions would be heaven at this point. Now that wasn’t going to happen. “Any way, I hope you want a birthday cake, because I’m dropping off at least ten of these at your place. Whether you want them or not.” He added irritably.

“Can’t you pretend to love me this once?”

“I - pretend?” Reagen stuttered. The words were so unexpected they threw her for a loop. To be honest, she hadn’t been paying much attention to the conversation. No, her mind was somewhere else completely. A few weeks ago, she had received news from an old friend of hers. She told Reagen that Zack had been looking for her. Of course, she couldn’t think of any way that he could track her. She had gotten rid of everything about her old life that she could. Well, except her car, but it was hidden safely in a shop where no one would recognize it. There was no way he could find her, and she knew harping on it was just making her anxiety worse. Reagen needed to focus on the things that made her happy, like Gabriel, and neglecting him was not the way to do that. He looked amused at how startled she was by his words, and it took her a moment to realize what he was talking about. There was a little note at the bottom of their menu how married couples got a milkshake free. “Oh, I - No that’s not right. I’m not in love with  you, you know that wouldn’t be fair.” She rambled, but the smile never left his face. “I’m not in love with you.” She repeated, but it came out more humorous this time. An awkward laugh she tried to fight back left her lips. His smile still sent those ridiculous butterflies turning in her stomach.

“Please… hold me. Don’t say anything, just… hold me.”

He wanted to say something. He wanted to say so many things to her right now. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her, how she was the only thing he had worth living for. That everything he had meant absolutely nothing without her by his side. He wanted to tell her that if she wanted him to give up everything, he would do it. He had to remind himself that wasn’t what she wanted though. It had taken him a long time to learn that Wyn didn’t want him to try and solve her problems for her. She just wanted him to be there for her. So that’s what he did. Lee pulled the girl into his bloody arms, holding her so tight he was afraid she couldn’t breathe. She had always felt soft in his arms before, and this time was no different. Wyn felt so … fragile, soft and warm as she leaned against him. Her head was in the perfect position for him to tuck her under his chin, and he did so, breathing in her scent. Within moments, she was shaking with silent sobs and all Lee wanted to tell her was that the threat was over. He had taken care of it, and she didn’t have to be scared anymore. The hard part to admit to himself though, was that he knew that would be a lie. As long as he was in his position of power, and she was with him, there would never be an end. So he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and held her closer, swearing to protect this woman with his life.

“I… have loved you this whole time.”

A tide of relief swept through her like a wave at Micah’s words. She had been so nervous to say it. She had never said them to anyone else before. Katrina had never felt strongly enough about anyone to actually say it. Now though, she wanted to say it to him, she wanted him to know how much she loved him. Especially after she had almost died. They had said it once before, but it had been casual, a slip of the tongue, this time though, it was serious. They both meant it. While logically, Katrina knew that Micah loved her, just hearing him say that made her heart soar. It also raised up some questions in her as well. What did he mean by ‘this whole time’? Had he actually loved her for as long as they had been together? She supposed that it could definitely be possible. After all it took forever for her to even realize he liked her. Why not the same thing for this? Looking up into his eyes though, she realized she didn’t want to worry about it right now. Katrina rested her forehead against his, smiling at him. “You’ve got to start telling me these things sooner you know. We’re missing out on a lot of good stuff.” She teased him, leaning forward to kiss his lips with a short kiss before pulling away. “And we’re going to talk about that ‘this whole time’ thing later.” She informed him, poking his chest. “I love you too though. Maybe not for as long as you’ve loved me, but I love you.”

“I bit my lip. Will you kiss it better?”

Grant shot her a look of disbelief at her statement. He shook his head at her, but a grin found its way onto his lips as he turned back to his computer. Currently, Grant was working on trying to figure out how the hell to get the base back online. They were all covered in darkness and could barely see anything. It was Coulson’s request that he figure out what happened, and get them back as soon as possible. Skye, on the other hand, was spending her time attempting to distract him. He was trying hard to ignore her, but there was no chance of it when she was attempting to crawl into his lap. “Skye,” he groaned, his hands finally drifting off the keys and to her hips. “Aren’t you supposed to be encouraging me to do work? Not distracting me.” He asked her. His eyes traveled to her lips though. Those lips were addicting. The softness, the fullness, that was ever present in her pouting … It was almost impossible to resist. Grant Ward liked to think that he was a strong man, but when it came to those lips … he couldn’t pass the chance. HIs lips found hers in the soft lighting of his laptop screen. He sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, tracing his tongue over it. Grant pulled her against his chest, making sure to hold her close. It was only when they were both breathless that he pulled away from her. “Okay, you got your kiss. Can I get back to work now before Coulson comes down and gets pissed?”

“How do you really feel about me?”

Bellamy didn’t think she was ever going to ask him that question. What was the point after all? It wasn’t as if she cared. Why would she? She was about to become the Queen of TonDC. She was engaged to the future King. Even if he was an asshole. Bellamy was just the one who had been trying to ruin her future, wasn’t he? Sure, they had been having sex occasionally, and yes, he enjoyed it, but now what did it matter? They had pretty much stopped talking to each other all together at this point. All her words right now were just confusing. Did she have a guilty conscious or something? Was she worried that she had somehow hurt his feelings with her actions? He just didn’t understand why she was having him to answer this question in the first place. It wouldn’t do either of them any good to learn his true feelings. Bellamy had an idea that she already knew anyway what they were. “Does it matter Clarke? You’ve got a ring on your finger. You shouldn’t worry over the feelings of a Lord who’s soon to be out of your sight. Don’t worry about little old me. Even if I did have feelings for you, you’ve made it clear what your thoughts on the matter are.” He insisted with a sad smile.

“Bunny pajamas, really?”

Skye jumped about a foot in the air as she heard the voice behind her. She turned around so fast she felt her neck crack and winced at the sensation. She brought her hand to the back of her neck, rubbing it awkwardly. She faced her boss with a smile akin to a child who’s hand had just gotten caught in a cookie jar. She looked down at herself, frowning once she realized she was in fact wearing bunny pajamas. “I - uh … in my defense, this was all I had. At least of warm pajamas. It’s freezing outside, and frankly living in a van isn’t good when it’s freezing.” Skye admitted. “I thought I’d just get a little something to warm me up. You told me I can have the occasional free drink, right?” She added, her cheeks coloring as she held up the bottle of whiskey. “I had no idea you were still here.” Skye should have known though. From the little that she knew about Grant Ward, she could tell that he was a hard worker. He was almost constantly in the office as far as she could tell. Now though, she was embarrassed. Skye always made it seem like her situation wasn’t a big deal. She liked living in her van, and going wherever she wanted whenever she wanted. Now though, with a steady job, and being stuck somewhere in the winter … she felt a tint of shame to be caught like this by her boss. Skye wasn’t one to show that though, and she wasn’t going to start now. “I’ll just go back to my van, and I won’t bother you in my bunny pajamas any more.” She tried to joke with a little smile as she made her way back towards the door.

[ahsokaismyqueen]

"I dare you to kiss the prettiest girl in the room on the lips." // "You made me not feel alone." // "I didn't think anyone noticed me." // "So, you're not scared of me?" // "Call the police and send them to my house!"

“I dare you to kiss the prettiest girl in the room on thelips.”

Grant Ward was not drunk enough for this. He still waspretty sure that Skye had been fucking with him when she said that team bondingincluded drinking and truth or dare was mandatory for all Rookie agents, but itwasn’t like he was ever going to tell her no. Not because he liked her, no,because he had to listen to whatever his S.O. said, and since the incident withthe Rising Tide, he was definitely going to do whatever he could to make surethat he stayed in her good graces. Even if it meant sitting here in a circlewith FitzSimmons getting dared to do stupid things. He rolled his eyes at her,watching as Skye continued to stare at him, an amused expression on her faceeven though her eyes were filled with the challenge. Grant had no idea what shewas playing at with all of this, what she was trying to do here. Embarrass himmaybe? See if he would actually do what she dared? He had no idea, but therewas no way that Grant was backing down even if he did end up looking like anidiot. So he leaned forward, cupping Skye’s cheek in his hand, locking eyeswith her just for a moment, feeling a bit of smug satisfaction at the hint ofsurprise lingering in her eyes before he kissed her. Grant had kissed plenty ofgirls in his life time, but none of them were like Skye. Her lips were all softand full, and made his stomach twist in all sorts of weird but … good ways.For just a brief moment, he was sure that she was kissing him back, sure that therewas a subtle movement against his lips, but then it was over. She had pulledaway, but Grant couldn’t miss the small smile there on her face. It was onlythere for a moment, but Grant returned it before settling back against thecouch, ignoring the giggles and pointed looks coming from FitzSimmons’direction.

“You made me not feel alone.”

Rydel was sure there were tears leaking from her eyes as hespoke. It wasn’t often that they had time alone like this. She hadn’t had timewith him like this in months actually. Of course they had random moments on thetour where they could be alone, but with the boys and Tate, those times werefew and far between each other. Now that Jaxon had finished up with the tourfor now, Rydel had known that they were way overdo for some time together. Theyhad been gone for almost a full week now, and it had been heavenly. Tonight wastheir last night in the little solitude that they had created, and as much asshe loved this time with him, she was ready to move back into their apartmentand spend some time with Tate and their family. Right now though, she was goingto enjoy this quiet moment with him, laying out on the sand, a large beachtowel beneath them as the sound of the waves calmed them and the stars shoneabove. Her fingers trailed circles on his bare chest as she made herselfcomfortable in his shoulder. “You made me not feel alone too, and I didn’tthink that was possible.” Rydel said softly, pressing a soft kiss against hischeek before settling back against him.

“I didn’t think anyone noticed me.”

Stephen had to fight back the urge to laugh at thatstatement. The idea of anyone not noticing Isabel was just absolutelyridiculous. She was the most beautiful woman in the entire castle, how couldeyes not drift her way? How could anyone miss her walking into the room withthe elegance and grace that she possessed? He was trying to be more politethese days though, and be more aware of her feelings, and he didn’t want tooffend her in any way even if he was just joking, so he merely shook his headas he looked at her. He continued to move them in a circle, dancing around theballroom as other guests looked on, and he pulled her intimately closer, notcaring about any appropriateness at the moment while he held his wife. “Thereis no way for anyone not to notice you, Isabel. You are possibly the mostbeautiful person in the whole entire kingdom. Everyone’s always looking at youbecause of it, wishing they could be as amazing as you are. I hate to tell you,they definitely noticed you stealing a couple of extra apple tarts, and now thewhole entire kingdom believes you to be carrying the heir to the throne.” Hesmiled at her as he leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “I say we still letthem worry for a bit longer though, don’t you agree? I like no one knowing.”Stephen told her as he gently spun her out and back into his arms.

“So you’re not scared of me?”

Skye scoffed. God this guy thought highly of himself. Sure,he was good, and he obviously knew what he was doing, but she had been on herown since she was fifteen years old. She had spent all the time before that inthe foster care system, and the foster care system, in case anyone didn’t know,was absolutely full of shit. She couldn’t count the amount of bad places shehad ended up before Garrett finally came and saved her. Really, it was a bitinsulting that after everything that Skye had gone through. This guy, Garrett’sgolden boy as she had heard others call him, thought that she would be scaredof him. Because she wasn’t, no matter what she had heard about him, and nomatter how good of a shot he was with that gun. The fact of the matter was, shewas sure that she could take him if it came down to it. Well … reasonablysure. Anyway, it would really piss Garrett off if Ward did something to her anyway.Maybe she didn’t trust him with her back, but she trusted him not to want tofuck anything up with Garrett. “No, I’m not scared of you. Why the hell shouldI be?” She asked, raising her eyebrows at him as she holstered her gun. “Areyou scared of me?” Skye asked him, a little smirk on her lips as she looked athim. She may not look like much, at that gave her an advantage in fights withpeople who underestimated her, but Skye could pack a punch and take care ofherself. She was planning on showing that to Agent Grant Ward today. “Becauseyou should be,” she added as an afterthought as she slid a knife into her boot.

“Call the police, and send them to my house!”

Katrina rolled her eyes as another bark of laughter left herlips. It was so amusing just how terrified her boyfriend seemed to be freakingout because he was locked in her bathroom. She continued to fiddle around withthe handle, trying to get it to open up. “Micah, you are locked in yourbathroom naked, not stuck up in a tree like a cat, I am not calling the policeto help break you out.” Katrina said, shaking her head slightly at thesuggestion. Really she knew she shouldn’t be as amused by all of this as she actuallywas, but she couldn’t help it. She had just never imagined her boyfriendactually getting locked in the bathroom, and the fact that he was naked wasjust a thousand times more hilarious, and she had to admit, even though itprobably made her a bad girlfriend, she wasn’t trying super hard to get himout. She figured that it was about time to end his suffering though, and beganshifting the old credit card around, trying to use it to jimmy open the door sothat Micah could escape. “I’ve almost got it,” she called to him through thedoor as she felt the metal starting to give, and with a few more shifts, herboyfriend was finally free. “I hope you know that since we missed our dinnerreservations because of you, you have to make it up to me, and since you’realready naked …” A little smirk fell on her lips as she wrapped her armsaround him, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

[ahsokaismyqueen]

"I think I love you." // "I don't wanna get hurt." // "I can't erase you." // "Can I kiss you?" // "Stop leading me on." //

“I think I love you.”

Eric’s lips froze against Faya’s neck where he had currentlybeen worshipping her skin. Surely she hadn’t just said that, right? She couldn’thave said that. She knew how skittish he was about that sort of stuff. He hadbeen very clear that there was nothing here other than just him being her boyfriend.That was as far as his commitment could go. Love was not going to factor intoit as much as he … as strong as his feelings for her might end up being, hecouldn’t go there. He was about to graduate from school. He was about to go offon his own, and he couldn’t have a girl, no matter how crazy he was about her,holding him back. With the realization, Eric’s lips moved up her skin slowly,taking in every single breath she took, and how she felt, tasted, against hislips. His arms tightened around her, burying his face in her hair for a momentand just taking in the scent that was so uniquely Faya before cupping his cheekin her hand, tilting her head to face him and meeting her lips in a passionatekiss. He kissed her carefully, thoroughly, like he might never get to again,which he might. He didn’t pull away until they were both breathless, and oncethey had parted, his fingers gently brushed her cheek, studying her face, andmoving his hand to run through her hair. “Let’s get you home.” Eric said quietly,pressing another soft kiss to her forehead.

“I don’t want to get hurt.”

As heated as this conversation had started out, Stephen wasglad that it had ended here. He felt like a complete idiot of course for allthat she was upset with him for. He couldn’t believe how oblivious he had beento her emotions. They were married for God’s sakes, and he hadn’t even knownthat she was upset with him. He supposed it was his lack of knowledge aboutwomen once again that had caused this. He had known that he probably wasn’tgiving her the attention that she had deserved. In his defense, he had beenvery busy getting ready to take over the kingdom, but still, it was no excuse.The thing about Stephen was that even though he had been married for a fewmonths now, he still had absolutely no idea how to read his wife’s emotions.That was why he had no idea what she was feeling until right now when she wastelling him, about how she was afraid that he didn’t care for her, how she wasafraid that he was going to find someone else to spend his time with. Hehonestly hadn’t ever been worried about that because he thought the idea was soridiculous to him. How could he ever want anyone other than her? Now though, heknew not assuring her had been a mistake. “Isabel Destain, I know that peopleview Kings and Queens differently. That Kings are accepted to have mistresses,while Queens are hanged for it, but I for one, take my wedding vows seriously.”Stephen brushed a gentle hand through her hair, trying to reassure her. “Theidea of wanting anyone other than you just seems … ludicrous to me. Howcould I ever even consider anyone’s beauty or intelligence or kindness toyours?” He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “I am sorry for being sooblivious to your worries, but I promise, I’m never going to intentionally hurtyou.” He vowed.

“I can’t erase you.”

Noel sighed as she nuzzled her face into Beck’s chest. Shehated fighting with him. Which was ridiculous considering just how often theydid fight with each other, but she did. It seemed like ever since she had lostthe baby, fighting with him became more and more painful. They were going tohave to find a common ground here pretty soon or else the fighting would justend up destroying them, and that wasn’t what Noel wanted. It wasn’t what shethought she could handle. She had already lost so much. Pretty much everythingand everyone that she could lose. If she lost Beck … She didn’t know whatshe would do. She liked to think of herself as a strong girl. She had neverbeen dependent on someone before because there had been no one who could takeon that role in the first place. Then she had gotten matched to Beck, fallen inlove with him, and started depending on him, and now that she had someone whocould take on that role, she didn’t want to give him back. Noel lifted her facefrom his bare chest, drawing patterns on the exposed skin with her fingertips. “Idon’t want you to erase me. I know I can’t erase you. For one thing we havematching tattoos.” She teased, a small grin on her face before turning serious.“I need you, Beck. I don’t want to push you away anymore. I can’t imaginelosing you too.” She told him, biting her bottom lip.

“Can I kiss you?”

A little smirk fell on Logan’s lips as he looked down atJude. “Never thought you’d be the type to ask.” He said, raising an eyebrow.Really, it was kind of amusing to him that she was asking since he had beentrying to deny the urge to do the same thing pretty much all night. He knewthis was an absolutely horrible idea. Dating your partner’s daughter? Datingthe daughter of the guy who you knew had a gun and was supposed to have yourback? Definitely not something that would be encouraged by anyone who had anysense, but the fact was, he and Jude had something there. There was a chemistrythat he wasn’t going to be able to deny, no matter how bad of an idea it was.Logan had been trying hard to ignore it for the most part. Pretend that itwasn’t there and just keep on with the flirting. It was safer, and that way noone got hurt, especially him because he did not want another gunshot wound sosoon. Tonight though, seeing her in that dress, looking like an absolutegoddess while she danced around the room? He couldn’t deny it anymore, and heknew that she couldn’t either. “Yeah, I guess you can have a shot,” he teased,but before she could even make a move he swept in and pressed a firm kissagainst her lips. They were soft, full, and tasted of the alcohol that she hadconsumed earlier. His hands found a home on her hips, pulling her closer as hetook his time exploring her mouth, memorizing everything about this moment andenjoying it. He had known he was attracted to her, but now … it wasstronger than he had imagined. Eventually though, the need for breathoutweighed the pleasure, and he pulled away, leaning his forehead against hers.“Not too bad, I’d give you an eight. Of course, I’d be all too willing to helpyou practice.” Logan told her, the smirk back on his face.

“Stop leading me on.”

“Damn it, Skye, I’m not leading you on!” He hissed at her,looking around the room anxiously one more time. He had no idea how long hewould have before someone checked the feeds and realized that he was down here,but he was sure that it wouldn’t be long. Running out of time, Grant could seeno other choice, and grabbed the tablet. With a few quick swipes, the barriershone gold for a moment before it disappeared. Grant wasted no moment hurryingacross the room and cupping her face in his hands as he stared into her eyes. “Doyou believe me now?! My brother is coming for you. Coulson is going to give youaway as leverage, and he will put you on a public trial if he doesn’t kill youfirst.” Grant’s hands were shaking even as she covered his hands with her own.Since Grant had become an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., he hadn’t much been scared ofanything, but Christian? The thought of him getting his bloodthirsty hands onSkye made Grant want to throw up. “I cannot let him touch you. You cannot lethim anywhere near you, Skye. You can’t.” He told her, the full blown panic leakinginto his voice. “Promise me. Promise me you won’t let him touch you.” When shenodded her ascent, he leaned forward, meeting her lips for a bruising kiss, akiss that he knew would have to last them a while, so he poured everything thathe had into it. It wasn’t a soft kiss by any means, filled with intensity andworry and Grant’s terror, but as all kisses with Skye, it was one he wouldnever forget. He didn’t want to pull away, but knowing he had to, he did, hisforehead touching hers as he brushed a hand through her hair, slipping a bobbypin into the soft, dark tresses. “Don’t let him touch you.” He repeated breathlessly, his eyes still closed.

[ahsokaismyqueen]

“What’s all this blood?!” // “You should probably sit down for this.” // “Please tell me you forgive me!” // “You promised you wouldn’t do this anymore!” // “Ssh, I heard something again. How aren’t you hearing it? It was loud… and getting closer.”

“What’s all this blood?!”

Stephen looked up as he heard her voice, letting out a sighonce he realized she was already in the room, shoving past his guards to tryand get to him. He had really hoped that she wouldn’t have been informed of hiscondition and found him until after he had a chance to get cleaned up, but itseemed that wouldn’t be the case. “It’s nothing love, just a scratch.” Stephentried to reassure her, but at that exact moment, a healer had decided to pokehis deep cut which caused a moan to leave his lips, his eyes closing at thepain as he tried to concentrate on his breathing and not the pain. He heard hershoes tapping softly on the tile as she made her way over to him and after amoment, felt her cold hand clasp at his bloody one. He opened his eyes to tryand smile at her, but failed rather miserably. He really hadn’t wanted her tosee him like this. He knew how she worried, and he didn’t want his condition toadd to her list of worries at the moment. After all, he would be fine barringany infection or fever. All he had to was make it through the next couple ofhours, and everything would be fine. At least that’s what he was hoping for. “Howis my beautiful wife?” Stephen asked her, hoping to distract her withconversation.

“You should probably sit down forthis.”

Well, that was vaguely terrifying.He had to admit, he had absolutely no idea what this was about, and it made himuneasy. Grant liked to know what was going on most of the time. He liked havinga general idea of what was happening. Obviously on missions it was different,and a lot of the times with Garrett, he hadn’t really had any idea why theywere doing some of the things that they had done together. It hadn’t botheredhim too much then, but around the time he had met Skye it was becoming more andmore difficult to deal with. Now though, that he was locked in a cell with onlyher for company, which he was extremely thankful for, Grant had no idea whatthis could be about, and he found he really didn’t like the feeling. Especiallysince it was Skye who was talking to him about this, whatever this was. He wasusually a master at being able to read situations and people, but Skye wasdifferent. He found he thought about and pictured her face more than anyone hehad ever met, but right now, he couldn’t read it which just made him moreanxious. Grant sighed, but followed her suggestion, sitting down on the edge ofhis cot, but reached for her, pulling her into his lap. Holding her helped withhis anxiety, and he rubbed her back gently, liking how she melted into him. “What’sthis about, Skye?” He finally asked, unable to take the silence any longer.

“Please tell me you forgive me!”

Anger wasn’t something she normally experienced with Micah.Sure, they had their little play fights every once in a while, but it was neveranything serious like this. Never anything that could actually put theirrelationship in danger. This though … Katrina couldn’t deny; she was mad. Furious actually. How many timeshad her and Micah had the conversation? The conversation about how she wasn’tready to see her family. How she didn’t want to have anything to do with them.She didn’t want to see their faces, and she didn’t want to talk to them, andshe definitely didn’t want them ather graduation. Five minutes ago, Katrina had been so excited. She hadgraduated. She was done with school, and she already had a job offer. She hadran to Micah, so happy to see him and excited to celebrate with him. Then shehad looked over his shoulder and saw her mom, dad, and older brother. Obviouslyher excitement had quickly evaporated and before they could even say anythingto her, she had grabbed Micah and dragged him away, wondering what the deal was.When he explained what he had done to her, invited her family without herpermission, she had never been so mad before, and never directed at him. Shecould barely get through the conversation without yelling at him, andeventually decided she had to walk away before it got any worse when he calledthat out to her. “Get away from me, Micah. I can’t deal with this right now.”She told him, yanking her arm out of his grip and storming off.

“You promised you wouldn’t do this anymore!”

Eric knew this wasn’t going to pleasant, but he hadn’timagined just how much hearing that tone in her voice was going to hurt. It waseven worse looking at her face. He could see the tears threatening to escapeher eyes, and it took everything in him not to run to her and apologize foreverything that he had done. To tell her it hadn’t been her fault, to tell her thathe was just being stupid as always, but … he couldn’t. She had said she hadloved him. She had tried to gloss over it, pretend that she hadn’t saidanything, but Eric had heard her. He just couldn’t forget them as much as hewanted to. He was in high school. About to go to college and make something ofhimself, have some fun. Eric didn’t want to be tied down and in love with Fayaas much as he did like her, and he liked her a lot. He didn’t even think that he had realized how much he likedher until he was sitting here, his arms around the blonde girl’s, Cassie, hereminded himself, waist, watching her heart break in front of his eyes. He gaveCassie a nod, and she frowned, but pulled away and past Faya, making sure tobump her shoulder as she did, and left them alone. “Faya … you had to knowthis was coming. We’re about to head to college. I’m not going to change myplans for you.” Oh, but the way she looked at him made him want to. He had tofight so hard to keep his gaze on her face. “I mean, we were great. You weregreat, but this wasn’t ever going to go anywhere. It can’t.” Eric told her,shaking his head. This was the nicest he had ever broken up with someonebefore, because that’s what Faya deserved, but gazing into her eyes, seeing thehurt, the anger, the pain … he didn’t think it mattered.

“Ssh, I heard something again. How aren’t you hearing it? Itwas loud … and getting closer.”

“Jaxon, shut up!” She slapped his arm, probably harder thanshe should have, but she couldn’t help it. She never should have agreed tothis. Ever. It was a horrible idea to watch a scary movie normally, butwatching it on the back of tour bus in the dark that had just broken down onthe side of the highway was even worse. At first she had really only agreed toit because she thought that would mean some good cuddling time with herboyfriend, but oh she’d been wrong. Well, they were still cuddling, but Jaxonseemed to be more concerned with scaring her than actually doing any cuddling,and the movie was already doing a good job of scaring her without his help, soshe found herself annoyed. Rydel took another handful of popcorn, her eyesglued to the screen as she ignored her boyfriend’s pout and wandering hands. Thatwas until she heard the noise Jaxon must have been referring to. She grippedJaxon’s knee tightly, looking back over her shoulder anxiously as the soundcame again. “Louis if that’s you, I swear to god I’m going to kill you!” Sheyelled, moving practically into Jaxon’s lap as she bit her lip anxiously.